PlayStation.Blog » Michael Buffaloe

LittleBigPlanet Karting: DLC Cross-Compatibility Out Today!

Michael Buffaloe — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 17:30:21 +0000

From dressing up your Sackperson in the latest styles to tricking out your Kart with the new hotness, customization is one of the most rewarding parts of playing LittleBigPlanet Karting. It provides a powerful, dynamic way to express yourself while you’re venturing through the abundance of tracks, arenas, and other fantastic content that Karting has to offer.

However, the LBP universe is vast. So vast, many of our biggest Karting fans are also huge fans of our other LittleBigPlanet titles, such as LittleBigPlanet 2 and LittleBigPlanet PS Vita. So instead of limiting your wardrobe to what’s available in Karting, today we’re adding a new feature to the game that will allow you to bring your other LBP DLC costumes along for the ride – entirely for free!

Plus, if you purchase any new costumes in the future, your updated wardrobe will be automatically available across all of our LittleBigPlanet titles. So no matter which LittleBigPlanet game you’re enjoying, worrying about your costume options are now a thing of the past!

For more information on Cross-Compatibility, be sure to check out our FAQ.

As if that weren’t enough, we’re also offering four new Emergency Services Karts as well – a Police Car, a Fire Truck, an Ambulance, and even a Recue Dinghy – which are actually designed to match each of the Emergency Services uniforms!

Of course, these Karts are exclusive to LittleBigPlanet Karting, so don’t miss your chance to snag them. You won’t see them anywhere else!

LittleBigPlanet Karting – Ten Terrific User-Created Tracks

Michael Buffaloe — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:59:53 +0000

With the holidays wrapped up and a new year ahead of us, now is the perfect time to share some of the best content the LittleBigPlanet Karting community has to offer. In that spirit, the following list contains ten user-created tracks (in no particular order) made since Karting’s launch that have seriously impressed us one way or another. Have some favorites of your own? Let us know in the comments!

Winter Epicness by Tony_Too

Return to the Sandbox by ApertureNOBLE

Mount Hades (God of War) By FIaco

Twin Rivers Valley by CAPNDigital

Magma City Xtreme by patof-103

Wintery Wonderland by leklack

Swamp of Madness by Mish80

The Majestic Milk Machine by VintageOctopus

Jungle Jam by Ebolaids

Aren’t Tomb Many by D33C0MBOBULATOR

Remember, these are just the tracks we really like. There are tons of others worth exploring too — have fun!

LittleBigPlanet Karting Track Creation – Tips and Tricks

Michael Buffaloe — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 16:00:39 +0000

Creating a quality track in LittleBigPlanet Karting is no easy task, so we’ve gathered this list to arm you with the knowledge you need to make use of some of the more advanced Creative methods. Have your own ideas? Let us know in the comments!

Track Modification

Did you know your paint roller can follow the elevation of the terrain? Simply press L1 while painting your track and it will automatically stick to the topography below. This is a great way to keep your track flush to the ground without accidentally changing the terrain itself.
If you’re looking for more precise track Creation, consider modifying your track’s Control Points. Control Points are automatically generated lines along your track that define its length, width, elevation, and direction. To modify them, simply use the Horizontal Shift / Vertical Shift tools (in your Track & Arena Edit Popit menu) to edit the position of existing Control Points, and the Add / Remove Control Points tool to create / delete them entirely.
Consider including a shortcut! Well-designed shortcuts are fantastic ways to reward clever racers with a small head-start or a hidden prize (or both!). To create one, you have two options at your disposal (in Track & Arena Edit): Branches or Breadcrumbs.
Branches are fairly simple to create but more limited in terms of potential, making them perfect for quickly making alternate paths or other more “basic” shortcuts. Just pick two points along the track and, provided they’re valid, a shortcut will be automatically generated.
Breadcrumbs are not as easy to utilize for shortcut creation, but they’re also very flexible – making them perfect for more carefully-crafted off-track experiences. After choosing a starting point, simply use Left Stick to “drive” out a new Breadcrumb path. Provided you return to the track and save, your new path will always be a valid route. However, Breadcrumbs are not displayed on screen in Play mode, so racers will not know about your new route automatically – you have to tell them somehow!

Selection and Grouping (add 1)

The dedicated Grouping Tool is useful, but we also have a nifty shortcut for those looking for quick Grouping. Simply grab one of the objects you’d like to Group, move it until it is touching the others (look for the highlight around them), then press and hold X until you see “Glued!” pop up on the screen. Voilà – you have a new Group!
Although Karting supports standard Groups, you can also create temporary Groups which immediately disband once you are done modifying them. To make one, whip out your Popit cursor, press the Down directional button to enable Group mode, then hold down X and “paint” the cursor through each of the items you’d like to Group. When you’re finished highlighting, simply press X again to confirm the selection.
Need more precision when creating temporary Groups? Instead of painting your selection with X, use Triangle to individually select each item you’d like to include.

Materials

Not all Materials are made equal – some have different physical properties, some are animated, and some even serve special Create purposes. Make sure to experiment!
Like the shape of your new object, but not a fan of the material? Have no fear: the Material Changer is here! Simply grab the Material Changer from the Functions menu in your Tools Bag, pick out a Material you like, and then select an object to instantly change its material. (Remember, this includes physical properties too, such as weight and friction. Keep this in mind, as it can have a huge effect on your track!)
Sometimes you’ll find that you like the material of an object, but you don’t like the direction its pattern (or “texture”) is facing. That’s where the UV Tool comes in! The UV Tool allows you to modify both the rotation and position of the textures on each of your object’s sides (or “faces”), allowing for very detailed customization of its appearance. Simply snag the UV Tool from the Functions menu in your Tools Bag, select with X the object you’d like to modify, and then follow the on-screen tooltips to make changes to each face.

Miscellaneous

Tutorials can be viewed from both your “Me” Pod menu and the Create Mode Popit “Tutorials” menu, but did you know there’s also a third method? While in Create Mode, simply highlight any Tool, Gadget, or other item in your Popit and press Square to view its context menu. If a Tutorial is available, a special “Tutorial” option will appear that you can use to instantly brush up on how that Popit item works. Handy!
Creating custom weapons? Be sure to explore the Weapon Frequency page in the Weaponator Tweak Popit menu – it allows you to customize a racer’s chance of receiving each available weapon based on their current position in the race, making it a very powerful tool for influencing the way your track ultimately plays.
Don’t forget to check the Global Settings menu in your Popit. It’s packed to the brim with ways to further customize your Track: sounds, lighting, fog, and more!

If you enjoyed this post, consider picking up the LittleBigPlanet Karting Prima Official Game Guide! It’s packed to the brim with even more tips, tricks, and other ideas, making it the perfect companion for budding track Creators. Grab your copy today!

LittleBigPlanet Karting: Tips for Customizing Your Sack-Racer

Michael Buffaloe — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 16:00:04 +0000

LittleBigPlanet Karting is packed to the brim with opportunities to customize the way you play, from dressing up your Sackperson in the latest Sack styles to decking out your Pod with all the trappings of home. With that in mind, we’ve collected this list of handy tips and tricks that you can use to get the most out of the huge breadth of customization options available to Karting fans. Fancy yourself the creative type? Leave your own tips and tricks in the comments!

Basic Customization

Stickers and Decorations can be positioned using Left Stick and rotated / resized using Right Stick. Using the two together allows you to place them pretty much wherever you’d like – with one exception…
While in the Pod, your Sackperson and Kart face forward by default – which means, normally, the back of both would just be out of reach. However, we included a feature that allows you to rotate them using R1 and L1 (Right Stick when the Popit is open), so you can customize those hard-to-reach locations just as easily!

Sackperson

Trying to customize your Sackperson but his Kart is in the way? Press Square (while in the Pod editing Stickers and Decorations) to prompt him to exit the Kart and stand on his own feet. He’ll even hold still for you while you decorate him!
Feeling uninspired? Try the “Random Character” feature in the Characters Popit menu – it’ll instantly choose a random selection of clothes, accessories, and other items for your Sackperson to wear.

Karts

You can apply Stickers and Decorations to any location on your Kart’s body. Used in combination with the previous tips, this allows for a plethora of Kart customization possibilities: paint jobs, mufflers, even spoilers!
You can customize the sound of your Kart just as easily as you can its look. Simply head over to the Kart Sounds page in the My Karts section of your Popit to fine-tune the sound of both its engine and its horn.

Pod

Although the game camera doesn’t usually move in the Pod, while placing Stickers and Decorations it will automatically adjust to allow you to see what you’re working on. Use this to your advantage – it allows you to customize more of your Pod than you would be able to otherwise.
The openings on the left- and right-hand sides of your Pod are actually solid windows, which means you can easily apply both Stickers and Decorations to them. Keep this in mind – it allows for much more variety in your Creative efforts.

Popit

You can “Heart” any Popit item (Stickers, Decorations, etc) and they’ll automatically be added to a dedicated Favorites menu in your Popit. This saves a lot of time, especially if you find yourself using a certain Popit item regularly.
Popit items are already categorized for you, but you can also create custom categories and assign Popit items to them. Simply press Square on any item and choose the appropriate Categories option. With this feature, you can essentially customize the layout of the entire Popit.
The far-right page of the Popit is dedicated to the PlayStation Eye – if you have one, you can use it to take pictures, turn them into in-game Stickers, and then place them on your Sackperson, Kart, or any other Sticker-able surface you want. (This is also a great way to add custom colors, patterns, or other options to your Creative palette.)

Miscellaneous Tips / Tricks

If you’d like, you can actually customize the look of both your Earth and your Moon as well. While in your Pod, grab hold of the in-game Dualshock and head to Me > Decorate. From there, you can use Materials to alter their basic appearance and Stickers & Decorations to fine-tune their look further.
Almost everything that you can customize – your Sackperson, Kart, Pod, Earth, and Moon – can all be retained via their respective Save options, so don’t worry about losing your work if you want to try something new.
If you make a Sticker big enough, you can use it to apply certain colors to your Sackperson, Kart, and other customizable items. This allows you to use one or two colors from the sticker without showing the full design, making it a really useful tool for deep customization.
Want to get right to customizing? You can pick up the Timesaver’s Pack for $2.99 from the PlayStation Store to instantly unlock all Stickers, Decorations, and other in-game items!

LittleBigPlanet Karting: Demo Out Now, Watch the New Trailer

Michael Buffaloe — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 16:30:12 +0000

Still haven’t gotten behind the wheel of LittleBigPlanet Karting? You’re in luck: the official LBP Karting Demo is available now! Containing a Tutorial track, two Story tracks, a minigame, and a solid selection of costumes, karts, stickers, and more to customize your experience with, the Karting demo is a fantastic way to try our game before you buy.

Give it a go and if you enjoy it, remember that the full game contains over 10 times more tracks, costumes, and other content than the demo. And that’s just what’s on the disc! Add to that all of the content made in Create mode and the list becomes nearly endless. LittleBigPlanet Karting has only been in the community’s hands for a few weeks now, and there is already a ton of content to download and start exploring. So if you’re not feeling especially creative and would rather jump right into some pre-made levels, there’s plenty to choose from.

We’re also releasing a new trailer for Karting today, which showcases the massive potential of the game’s Creative toolset. We could say more, but let’s let the trailer speak for itself.

Like what you see? Then click here or head over to your favorite video game retailer to get your copy today!

LittleBigPlanet Karting Out Today, Watch the Launch Trailer

Michael Buffaloe — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:00:46 +0000

You heard correctly:LittleBigPlanet Karting is finally launching today! All of us at United Front Games and Sony San Diego Studio have been hard at work on this game for nearly two years, so we’re very excited to finally see our fans get their hands on Sackboy’s new karting adventure.

In LittleBigPlanet Karting, visitors known as the Hoard have arrived from far, far away on speedy go-karts and seek to steal Craftworld’s most precious prizes. Now it’s up to you to hop in a kart, beat back these otherworldly invaders, and reclaim Craftworld once and for all! Before you take the wheel, though, we have some launch goodies to share with you.

In celebration of LittleBigPlanet Karting’s launch, we have a brand new trailer we’re ready to show off. From a new single player journey, to racing and battling online in the multiplayer mode, to creating and customizing your own levels with an expanded set of unique creation tools, it’s clear that LittleBigPlanet Karting offers players a virtually endless set of gameplay possibilities. Not to mention, for the first time ever in LittleBigPlanet’s history, Craftworld is now expertly re-created in a stunning 3D world. Don’t take our word for it though; check out the trailer to see for yourself.

No LittleBigPlanet game is complete without a rare week-one shirt, and LittleBigPlanet Karting is no different! This time around, we’ve opted for a design that celebrates LittleBigPlanet Karting’s Canadian heritage, designed by Karting’s Canadian based developer United Front Games.

This jersey will be available for one week only (starting today) at $4.99, so don’t forget to snag yours before the opportunity is gone for good!

If you haven’t picked up your copy yet, you might want to consider a trip to Target. The North American retailer is offering a special exclusive free gift with your purchase. When you buy LittleBigPlanet Karting at your local Target (or online!), you will receive a Target-branded racer costume and kart as a free download and then you’ll be off to the races sporting Target’s iconic red bullseye. Remember, this DLC is exclusive to Target only – you won’t see it anywhere else!

That’s all from us today. We’ll see you all online and we can’t wait to see all of your amazing creations once you start experimenting with all of the create tools. LittleBigPlanet Karting is available now across North America. If you haven’t picked up your copy yet, what are you waiting for? Pick up your copy today!

Sackboy Gets Spooky With New LittleBigPlanet Karting Halloween Trailer

Michael Buffaloe — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 16:00:53 +0000

Last week, Steven shared with you the wonderful LittleBigPlanet Karting Story Trailer, which tells you a bit more about the The Hoard, the venomous villains which have travelled on speedy go-karts from far, far away to seek out and steal Craftworld’s precious prizes.

This week, in celebration of Halloween, the team is ready to present a brand-new LittleBigPlanet Karting trailer befitting the spookiest of nights! Dressed up as a vampire, hands gripping a wheel of bones, Sackboy and his racing buddies rev their skull karts’ engines… to battle each other in a race through a mystical and spine-chilling version of Craftworld!

LittleBigPlanet Karting hits the streets on November 6th in North America, so make sure to pre-order your copy from GameStop if you’d like to secure the Headstart Pack (a GameStop exclusive) as your pre-order bonus!

LittleBigPlanet Karting: Meet The Hoard, PAX Recap

Michael Buffaloe — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 15:01:37 +0000

The summer may be over, but fall is now upon us, which means we’re getting closer and closer to LittleBigPlanet Karting‘s November 6th finish line. It won’t be long before Sackboy’s fastest and most competitive adventure will hit store shelves everywhere!

Now that we’re closer to launch, one of questions that we’ve been hearing a lot lately is: Who exactly are these mysterious characters that our stitched-together hero must race against throughout LittleBigPlanet Karting’s Story Mode? Well, we’ve decided it’s time to let you in on some of the backstory.

Long after Sackboy defeated the Negativitron in LittleBigPlanet 2, visitors from far, far away arrived on Craftworld driving speedy karts, with plans to seek out and steal its most precious prizes. These swarms of otherworldly scavengers became known as The Hoard. As you might have guessed, The Hoard want all of Craftworld’s prizes for no reason other than to hoard them – they essentially embody the antithesis of Creative Sackartistry. So, the LittleBigPlanet Karting adventure begins with a very distraught Sackboy – distraught because he is forced to watch The Hoard fly past him and steal prizes at speeds greater than he can possibly match!

But, Sackboy has always been clever: as one of The Hoard crashes nearby and loses his kart, Sackboy sees his chance! He hops in the vacant kart and begins his journey to drive out The Hoard and return the stolen prizes to Craftworld.

Now that you know the story, here’s an exclusive peek at The Hoard, so you’ll have an idea of what Sackboy is up against…

LittleBigPlanet at PAX Prime!

LittleBigPlanet had an amazing showing at PAX last weekend! We were prominently featured in the PlayStation booth, where we had plenty of stations showing LittleBigPlanet Karting and LittleBigPlanet PS Vita for fans to test out. We hope that everyone who attended had a great time and got a sweet sample of our upcoming LBP fun.

We’d also like to announce the winners of our LittleBigPlanet Karting PAX T-Shirt Design Contest! Thank you so much to all those who participated. We received so many awesome and creative entries, it was very difficult to choose a winner.

Congratulations to Brian from Nevada, who scored first place! His “pinstripe art” design was the inspiration for our giveaway shirt. It was a total hit at PAX! Here’s a look…

Finally, we’d like to showcase the five runners up who also had great submissions!

Hope you all had fun!

LittleBigPlanet Karting Game Jam Video, Pre-Order Goodies Detailed

Michael Buffaloe — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 15:01:03 +0000

This summer from June 25th to 29th, seven of our LittleBigPlanet community super creators joined the LittleBigPlanet Karting team at SCEA’s San Diego Studio for a Game Jam to help test drive Sackboy’s fastest and most competitive adventure yet. During their stay, they Played a variety of the built-in tracks, Created using LittleBigPlanet Karting‘s revolutionary 3D Create mode, and Shared their thoughts and opinions with all of us here at the studio, so that we could utilize their feedback to help shape LBPK into the best game possible.

On the last few days of the visit, we took the opportunity to document their experiences and get their take on LBPK as a whole, so that we could turn their impressions into a video and share it with our fans. So, in honor of PAX Prime this weekend – a show designed for the fans – we’re happy to present the finished product with all of you. Enjoy!

LittleBigPlanet Karting’s November 6th release date is coming up fast — don’t forget that you can pre-order the game now! Those who pre-order at GameStop will receive the exclusive Headstart Pack, which unlocks over 900 items – karts, costumes, materials, and music – as soon as you boot up the game. This way, you can start creating and sharing amazing levels without having to collect every item. With a new 3D LittleBigPlanet Karting world, there will be no end to the unique content you can invent! Also for GameStop preorders, fans will receive a United Front Games General Costume and an Arcade Cabinet Kart. These pre-order items are in addition to the previously announced Kevin Butler Sackboy Costume and Executive Golf Kart – pretty cool!

If you find yourself in Seattle for PAX this weekend, come visit the LittleBigPlanet section of the PlayStation Booth for some major Playing, Creating, and Karting! We will be showcasing new race and battle courses in LittleBigPlanet Karting, and our lucky and loyal fans can score a PAX-exclusive, fan-created, LBPK T-shirt chosen from last month’s PS.Blog contest. It’ll be a LittleBigParty weekend — you won’t want to miss out!

LittleBigPlanet Karting Coming November 6th; Watch the Sackboy Summer Sports Trailer

Michael Buffaloe — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 13:01:39 +0000

Good news, everyone… we can finally share the release date for LittleBigPlanet Karting! You’ll be able to get your hands on Sackboy’s fastest adventure yet in North America on Tuesday, November 6th.

Here’s a new trailer to get your competitive juices flowing:

Now that we’ve got you nice and amped up, don’t forget you can pre-order LittleBigPlanet Karting right now! Those who do will receive an exclusive Kevin Butler Sackboy Costume and Executive Golf Kart.

Also, don’t forget you still have one day left to enter the LBP Karting PAX T-Shirt Contest! This is your chance to design our PAX Prime LBP Karting t-shirt, which will be shared with thousands of fans at the show in Seattle — you might even win a PlayStation Vita! Check out the contest page for all of the details and rules, and to enter.

In LittleBigPlanet Karting, get behind the steering wheel and get ready to race through fun-filled tracks, discover unlockables in 3D environments, and battle in karting arenas filled with pick-up items and weaponry, all in an unmistakably LittleBigPlanet open world. Players can sculpt their own unique racing experience using the in-game editor to customize tracks, karts, weapons and Sackboy costumes, then download designs built by players around the world — your race never has to end!