Warhawk Operation: Fallen Star

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So I’ve been dropping hints for a few months now on the blog and finally, at Leipzig Games Conference this week, we unveiled our third expansion for the Warhawk Universe — Operation: Fallen Star.

The sweet, sweet hotness that is the Icarus Mk.1 Rocket pack and once you’ve played it, you wonder how you ever played Warhawk without it!


Normally we announce stuff here in the States but we thought since Warhawk has a global player base, lets show it at Leipzig first this time.

Before I answer some of the questions that I’ve seen from the past couple of days, let me give you all a rundown of what’s included in Operation: Fallen Star.

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There is an entirely new level – Tau Crater! It’s a smoky, forested island that features lots of vertical elements to give players tons of cools places to use the jetpack; huge trees that you can fly up into and land on their branches, an enormous recovery crane with lots of trusses and platforms to fly around, and of course, the name sake, a truly gargantuan capital ship wreckage smashed into the ground forming, you guessed it, Tau Crater.

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The capital ship is fully traversable meaning you can use the jetpack or other aircraft to fly up to its various surfaces, pipes, and destroyed sections. Hop out, use them to recon the other bases, snipe, call-in a binoc strike, whatever.

Around the crater are salvage platforms that have been constructed and serve as some of the bases in the Tau Crater. There’s also a huge fiery hole in the middle of the wreckage that you can climb though as a troop to quickly cross from one side of the level to the other.

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There are massive chunks of wreckage scattered around the level and the recovery efforts at these locations are bases as well.

Tau_Map

In total there are 10 new layouts for Tau Crater and since the jetpack is a massive, game-changing addition to Warhawk, we included a crap-ton of bonus layouts for the original game too — there are 30 bonus layouts that add jetpacks into the Warhawk’s original content.

TC_Mission_CriticalTC_West_CoastTC_Tug_of_WarTC_Eastern_ShoreTC_Direct_AssaultTC_Crater_ClashTC_Heavy_LiftingTC_On_the_DeckTC_Holed_UpTC_Under_Fire

And yes, of course the jet pack can be used with both of the new free game modes that we released with the v1.4 Update. Jetpack Collector mode is awesome!

Now the jetpack itself is big departure from the way we normally do vehicles and this was very, very intentional. With each of our Booster-Packs, we specifically look for mechanic changing ways to freshen-up the game — and Operation: Fallen Star is no exception.

So here’s the run-down on the jetpack…

Icarus

First off, the jetpacks are equipment that the salvage crews are using to work on the wreckage so the style of it is very much like the equipment you might see at a construction site. This is true for the Daedalus Rapid Assembly Device (D-RAD) as well. Think of it as a vending machine for jetpacks. One of our players on the Warhawk forums asked if it was like a “hot-dog-stand”…well, yes it kinda is :-)

You run up to the Daedalus and then press SQUARE to grab a jetpack off the rack, like you would to mount a vehicle or turret. The Daedalus then begins its automated construction process and makes a new jetpack for another player to grab. This construction period helps control the balance of the game so that not every single troop always has a jet pack.

Daedalus

Now to help protect against brutal base camping, we opted to not have the vending machine, err….the Daedalus be destructible. In some of our early play sessions, it just was too easy to ravage the other team if you could destroy the Daedalus.

The Warhawk forums also wondered if a jeep could drive the vending machine around, sorry, the answer is no. We spent a lot of time tuning the placement of each of the vending machines and towing them around the level would have introduced some pretty brutal exploits.

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You can also mount other vehicles if you have a jetpack. So you and your team can coordinate fast strikes with the 4x4s and then all jump-jet out to make a flag run or scoop-up a team’s cores. If you have jetpack equipped, you are also allowed use it like an ejector seat and bail out of our Warhawk or Nemesis if you get into a dicey situation. Another great tactic is to use the Warhawk and run fly-by at the enemy base then have your buddy in the passenger slot bail out with the jetpack.

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The controls for the jetpack are really easy too and operate the same as any other vehicle in the game so it should feel really natural to start using one.

R2 is the thrust button. Press it to engage the jets and your character will be carried higher and higher into the air. While you’re flying, use the analog sticks to move around. You can let off the thruster button to disengage the thrusters and your character will begin to drop towards the ground.

If you are flying around and you need to focus on combat and not thrust control, all you have to do is hold L2 and the jetpack will automatically emit enough thrust to maintain your current altitude. This way you can focus on raining death from above :-)

The jetpack also has a boost-dodge feature, similar to the afterburner for the aircraft. Simply double-tap R2 to engage the boost-dodge. The direction of the boost-dodge can be performed in any direction, backwards, forwards, side to side, even straight up depending on which direction you are pressing when you dodge.

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Now this feature not only is a great way to get around the battlefield, but the “dodge” part of the boost-dodge is key for scrubbing missiles. There is only one missile in the game that can acquire a jetpack lock-on and that’s the troop missile launcher. So if you are up in the air and you see the missile warning pop-up on your screen, you better do a dodge, otherwise that missile is going to nail you! Now if you have a jetpack equipped but you are just running around on the ground, the missile launcher can’t get a lock on you…and this is another good way to help avoid getting hit.

Another question that our players wanted to know is if you can fly with the flag using a jetpack and the answer is yes. We took a lot of time to make sure all the traversal speeds were tuned just right and CTF and Collector mode are crazy fun with the Jetpack — hell, even just straight up deathmatch is way more fun!

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So here are some of the details: Operation: Fallen Star is being released on August 28th worldwide and is $7.99 in the Playstation Store. We also worked with SONY to get a new bundle pack ready too. The new Booster Combo Pack includes all 3 of the expansions for only $15.99. That’s like getting all 3 Booster-Packs for the price of only 2!!! Quick — deploy the wacky waiving inflatable arm-flailing tube men!!!

As a reminder, keep you eyes out for our FREE v1.5 Update that goes LIVE on August 27th!

So that’s it for now — I’ll do my best today to answer comments cause I didn’t get to at all with my last post cause I was crazy busy traveling for meetings. So let ‘em rip!

Oh, and one last thing, Kudos to 3 people (topodisc, mattnz, cubehouse) who were able to breakdown my crazy color-swatch-HEX-string-mythology-reference!

Rock on,

dylan

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384 Comments

58 Author Replies

  • nice, there are going to be alot of happy gamers out there!

    i think i’ll wait for all the expansions!

    oh yeah..

    JETPACKS!!!!!!

    lol!

    PSN id FritoZ

  • As always, thank you for the info and thank you for the continued support of this great game.

  • Hey Dylan and co. Thanks for choosing my blood spattered Nemesis design for the European Warhawk/insignia contest! Keep up the fantastic work :)

  • so dylan.. what happens when a plane rams a jetpacker at full speed? do they go flying across the level and slam into a building?? because that’d certainly be an interesting view if you were in the jetpack :)

    • Depends on how fast you\’re traveling in the Warhawk — but lets just say that its somewhere on the spectrum of hucking you and splattering you.

      BTW — there\’s a trophy for it too :P

  • This expansion is going to be amazing. I’ve been getting back into Warhawk lately because of the drought of actual quality games. This update and expansion are going to drive my desire to keep playing. I’ve been drooling over the notion of Jetpacks since they were first rumored.

    Regarding trophies, Warhawk clearly has A LOT of them. What are the actual limits on Trophies? I look at a game like Uncharted, which has 48, and only 3 Gold. Then i see Warhawk with its 57 and like 6 Gold…and its hard to detect what the actual limit is. Any input on this?

    • SONY is pretty cool with the leaving it up to the developer. There are a few ground rules they impose on us, and of course I\’m not allowed to talk about them but its a really good system and the team and I were kinda stunned at how much flexibility it gave us.

  • this looks great…thanks guys…you always seem to make me want to keep playing this game. One question….is there anyway to lock on to a jet pack flyer with a warhawk missile or do you have to use your guns?

    • You can\’t lock-on with any Warhawk missiles, the heat signature from the jet-pack is just too small.

      The Warhawk machine guns though do provide a bit of aim assist against jet-packs.

      The troop rocket launcher is the only weapon that can acquire a lock on a JP.

  • THANK YOU!!!! Finally! :)

  • ******THANKS DYLAN*****

    2 Questions from your freinds over at the PSU forums.

    1. Are u guys addressing some of the lag and glitching issues that are showing up more and more?

    2. Are u even planning on another update of anytype??

    ****THANKS DYLAN*****

    • The v1.5 patch does has a fix for the exploit that allowed players to get under the water and then up underneath the levels. This sucked and we\’re really hoping that the latest fix resolves the issues!

      I know what you mean about the lag. We haven\’t changed any code in the game specific to network latency and packet broadcasting so we need to ping our network team in San Diego and see what they notice after the v1.5 patch is deployed on Wednesday.

      As far as another update or booster, that\’s really SONY\’s call. The executives in the Santa Monica studio make those decisions.

  • Welcome to the world of jet packs!!! =p
    Looks like the Trophies are going to be a challenge.

  • hey dylan you absoluty rock!! but plz may you adress the bluetooth problem.. and also dlan on a previous update for the ps3 there was a feature added where you can record in-game and upload to youtube. there are games that have been pathced for this such as pixeljunk monster and eden came with it.. i think it would be AWESOME if you guys pathced it into the next update, so we can record and share major clan battles easily throughout the community!

    also can you guys start thinking about a level editor where you can place weapons or vehicles or take them out complety, that would be nice..an all ground war in eucadia would be pretty sweet!!

    • The BT problem is a pisser, not doubt. We have provided feedback and information to SONY team, including some links to the threads you guys have on the forums.

      If we could fix the issue we would but I know SONY is on it.

      You Tube support in Warhawk sadly won\’t happen. Sorry.

      I love that feature but enabling it requires spare resources that Warhawk can\’t afford to give up.

  • Dear Dylan.

    Does this mean that you are able to use the jetpacks in any of the other expanion packs?

    Thanks Ellis

  • I would love to get this expansion but I have not credit card, and I can’t find the PSN cards anywhere :(
    Release the dam psn cards already sony

    • Let me see if I can get a list of locations where you can get the cards.

      If i get it back from our product manager Mark, I\’ll post it here for you guys.

    • Just talked with our Sr. Producer Harvard and he\’s looking into it right now.

      We\’ll keep you posted!

  • How about a BM and FS booster bundle too??? ;)

  • The Driver of a Warhawk can eject out of their plane?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

    whats stopping someone from just jumping out of their plane when they are about to be killed. its gonna piss alot of people off.

    • There is nothing stopping a player from bailing from their aircraft if they are taking a lot of damage.

      It creates a great tension moment as you want to try an destroy the other aircraft before the other player can react and eject.

      I understand you concern through and rest assured that we spent a lot of time validating this feature of the jet-pack. It may sound scary at first but it\’s a good addition.

  • You guys are amazing. There very few game developers out there that actually support their games almost a year after launch — and you’re one of them.

    Every single time you guys come out with a new update, it brings me back to the game and gets me re-addicted. I love that feeling!

    This game will be perfect after the new update…however, I still would think it would be kind of neat for the next update to support the YouTube upload feature like in PxelJunk Eden!

    Great work you all!

  • very nice… kinda reminds me of Rocketman. I love rocketman. I will love this too!

    peace,
    Lh

  • Please Comment:

    The Mission Critical and Direct Assault layouts look exactly the same. Is this just a mistake on your part or will we have two identical map layouts?

    Also, will the rank up glitch be fixed with 1.5???

    Thanks for the update!

    • Those two layouts have the same top-down map but different base/layout configurations. So they seem similar in the little graphics I used for the blog post.

      Can you give me the specific glitch you are talking about? There are no known valid rank-up issues…emphasis on known :)

      Most of the time it is people failing to get a prerequisite.

  • is there any way to prevent people from padding the tropies?? im sure people are going to be setting up rooms just to get tropies.

    people will start a clan and get 10 people to join then disband the clan and join another.

    • Unfortunately there is no really good way to stop padding. We could institute some really horrible rules to lessen it…but it would really just suck for all of the normal players too.

      But you are right, a player could technically just form a clan get 10 players to join it and then disband the clan.

      Padding is a horrible inevitability…like death and taxes.

  • Hey, Dylan!!! Once again you have done an amazing job at supporting Warhawk & bringing us amazing, quality game modes to the game. It’s funny how Microsoft kept boasting about the exclusive content coming to GTA 4. Each booster pack that’s released for for this game keeps getting better & better, which puts their exclusive content to shame.

    2 thumbs up to you and your team for all of the hard work that your putting into Warhawk & all of the new content that has yet to be released for it. You are truly a Game Designers’ designer!

  • what 17 said, the wrong link or is there some strange out of boundness?

    or are the starting bases in different locations?

    thanks for the info dylan, look forward to using the jetpacks

    and of course that new game you keep hinting at… ;)

  • Magoo is goin’ at it lol.

    I would also like to ask how many jetpacks are going to be spawned from each D-RAD? Like once you take 10 jetpacks from it will there be a min. spawn delay or what?

    • the D-RAD will continue to generate jetpacks during its construction phase.

      It never really runs out.

      Initially we tried it that way but found the opposing team could just starve a main base of jet packs and then the base-slaughter was totally unbearable.

      This way players always have a fast way to get out of their base if its getting trashed.

  • I have a few questions I hope you can get to ;)

    1)Have you considered a lower price for those who have bought the other packs at full price (to be nice to the loyal fans lol)?

    2)Are previously unavailable areas (such as some buildings you couldn’t land on to get to before) now become available with the JetPack, so you can land on them?

    3)I guess the speed, and maneuverability of the JetPack will have to just be found out when it launches, right? :~D

    • LOL — Pricing isn\’t really my thing. And I think SONY is probably glad that\’s the case :)

      As far as unavailable areas, let me try to explain:

      YES, there are some areas you can get to now that you couldn\’t previously. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. As you all know, the game was not originally modeled for jetpacks that would allow players to get anywhere they wanted. So we had to do some retro-fitting to get this to work.

      Now the retro-fitting was not any visible geometry so don\’t worry, it wont change the layouts. What I mean is that in some places where you couldn\’t land the Warhawk, we really wanted you to be able to land with a jetpack. So we had to fix these spots.

      There were also some ares that we didn\’t or rather, couldn\’t let you land in a jetpack for numerous reasons. So we had to fix these too.

      One of the key behaviors of the jetpack is to auto-detect if it can land in a specific area. So even if you fly up to a roof-top, that the game says \”no, you can\’t land there\” , the jetpack will just keep you in hover mode with your feet off the ground. So it\’s like you are standing on the surface anyway but without introducing funky collision problems with the older levels.

      Hopefully this clears things up a little.

      As far as speed goes, its really hard to describe but I can tell you the team spent a lot of time tunning just the right normal and boosted speeds. I think you\’ll just need to play it and see. :)

  • plz dont ignore me dylan PLZ!! the community really wants this, and it seems like a easy patch-in that would be truly appreciated :)

    • I answered the post above — and as soon as we get some answers/info from SONY on the BT issues we\’ll be sure to pass them on to all of you guys!

  • Dylan, sorry to put this question in this Blog but I’m from the UK and due to our “not so good” ISPs I cannot host a Ranked server and will never be able to achieve the “Bandwidth Donor” Trophy and never achieve Platinum. Do you think this is fair?
    Apart form this I’m loving the game

    • Hey Silvernige

      Sorry to hear about your bandwidth situation but…technically, you can still get this trophy if you host a server with a lower player count. I know that in your case you may never get enough players to get out of \”Pre-Game\” but you will still be awarded the trophy for you efforts.

      Hope that helps!

  • That’s some pretty cool stuff. And 30 new layouts is certainly no simple task. I commend you for the value you’re bringing with this pack.

    Much thanks. :D

  • Sorry if this seems like a dumb question but i dont think u clarified entirely if a PILOT could eject from a plane with a jetpack, I think alot of people are interested in this

  • Could you push up the release date so say… NOW?!?!?

    Can’t wait!

    • LOL — Yes we could in some countries but we pride ourselves in global coordination and we like rolling out the products at the same time around the planet.

      The v1.5 patch is globally synchronized down to the hour and the booster-packs are synchronized to the same day. This is mainly because different region\’s Playstation Stores update at slightly different times.

  • Incredible update… the booster packs just keep getting better and better!

    It’s really quite amazing when you look back at the original core game and how far it’s come!!

    Thanks for the great work on this Incog and Dylan!

    (um… by the way… if you’re still in existence, you might want to have a look at Incognito’s Wikipedia page… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incognito_Entertainment – because for a company that went “defunct” sometime last year – your team is doing some awesome work!!)

    • LOL — sure is funny how the internets works some times.

      Like the rumor that we were working with Studio Liverpool.

      I think people got confused when Scott Campbell left the company to form ESP with Dave Jaffe. Both those guys are super-talented and many people on their team used to work here at Incognito as well.

      We are good friends with many of them and the team and i can\’t wait to see their next game!!

  • More support for an already excellent game. What more can a gamer ask for? Thanks!

  • Are there any plans to release layouts that use the add ons from all 3 expansion packs at once? I like each of the new vehicles I just wish we could use them all.

  • man i love the game its amazing but i cant buy the booster packs because i my credit card does not match my addrees information. can you please help???

    • I just talked to our Sr. Producer at SCEA and he\’s digging into it right now. I asked him to make a blog post when he has an update.

      We\’ll keep you all posted!

  • @ tbztbz

    Get a pre-paid card from Wal-Mart or something like that. I’m pretty sure those will work.

  • @23 ModnarKing

    I truly doubt this “easy patch-in” is as easy as you think. So many gamers underestimate how difficult it is to program a game, let alone all of these “easy patches.” They have to take everything into account, including the performance lag that recording would bring. True, PixelJunk Eden has it, but it’s not exactly pushing the limits on PS3 performance.

  • prepaid cards don’t seem to work since the video store was added. I try a visa and a matercard gift card, and the don’t work anymore because the work before

  • Wow… Simply wow…

    I honestly thought I couldn’t love Warhawk anymore than I already do, but hell. You proved me wrong Dylan.

    How fast can Jetpacks fly Dylan? Can they keep up with a Jeep or even a Warhawk for that matter?

    And is mid-air Warhawk wrenching possible? Without trying to get your self splattered across the guys windscreen of course…

    I think I can pretty much safely say from me and everyone on here, we fully appreciate every little bit of after service you’ve given to Warhawk over the past 12 months. Its just fricking awesome

    As always, keep up the #*@&#$* awesome work Dylan and Incog. We salute you Old Snake style.

    Ad-Kemp

    • Yes — mid air wrenching is possible. You can use any troop weapon while using the jetpack.

      In fact, when an enemy Warhawk is camping you base, its wicked fun to jump-jet up to his plane and huck a proximity mine on his wing.

      :)

  • VERY COOL!!!

    Thanks again to you and your team for supporting this game…

    Hey Dylan, I’m working on a website, and I have an off topic question. How can I pass that on to ya?

    On the topic of Warhawk.. I’m doing a Giveaway next month. Anyone that hasn’t experience this game yet needs to, so if you what information send a message to promotion@pslevel.com for information on how to qualify.

  • How are you going to arrange the new FS servers regarding flying with objective? always on, off, or provide servers mixed with both?

    Will we also see FS maps move into the ALL rotations, as technically it now belongs there?

    Do you think we’ll ever have a “real” all rotations server, whereas every large map from the available boosters is implemented (eg; island outpost with APC, then with dropship, then with jetpacks)? I enjoy playing both OD & BM, but dislike that we’re stuck with a certain vehicle depending on what map is up

    Are there any other changes which you’re going to be making while updating the servers eg: time limits, score limits, rotations?

    Lastly, there is an increasing amount of interest in the ability to pick and choose which vehicles and weapons are available in games (mutators), so please talk with your team and see if this is possible. ground war only would be epic.

    • You can always grab a Core or Flag with the Jetpack so it behaves differently than the server option for \”Fly with Objective on/off\”

      We are always up for making changes to our server rotations and we\’ll be rolling new ones this Wednesday as well. I\’ll let our team know about your comment as its a good suggestion.

      What do you think about the currently deployed server rotations? You asked if we are going to be changing the time and score limits…what do you want them changed to and why?

      I agree mutators would be awesome! I have so many fond memories of different games in UT with the mutators. The team and I have talked about these from time to time for sure. Nothing concrete though.

  • i can’t wait!!! although i’m moving this weekend and won’t have internet till saturday… why? why god why?

  • I need 8 bucks.

  • Ok Dylan, let me give you a couple of reasons why you should mix boosters:

    1) I would enjoy playing with the APC, Dropship and Jetpack all in one game.
    2) You have so many empty servers you could turn just 5 into the Premium (3 Booster) Servers. This way you wouldn’t divide the community because they still have their regular servers.
    3) I know everyone that put in their money to get the boosters would love to play them all at the same time.
    4) I know it’s possible.

    Thanks for considering!

  • I definatly will break out the wacky waiving inflatable arm-flailing tube men, for update 1.5! Jetpacks are going to be so fun.

    will there more expantion packs in the future? and will there be more trophies made for them?

  • @41: I think there is a point limit in regards to trophies and how they’re calculated, so it’s doubtful there will be any new ones after 1.5

  • This is why Warhawk is my favorite online game, not only do you guys release new maps, you add in things that change how a match will play out, i can only imagine how a game with dropships, APCs and jetpacks will play out

  • I’m going to buy this as soon as I can, but what’s the difference between the layout Mission Critical and Driect Assault?

  • oh and dylan will there be cross booster gameplay now?? i think with jetpacks added people will be more willing to enter the dropship without dieng to the fate of a crappy pilot.. and we would be able to get out and repair the dropship in mid flight!!

  • Please dont tell me that you about to roll out all this with out fixing the Mic issues..

    • Believe me Jezer29 — If we could fix the mic issues we would!

      We\’ve sent info to SONY regarding the BT issues that many games are running into and they are working on it.

      :)

  • can’t wait

  • jetpacks is a mad good idea i cant wait for this… im definitely gunna start playing warhawk again now.. thanks for the continued support on this game it keeps getting better and better

  • I LOVE THIS GAME!

  • O yeah I almost forgot about the bluetooth Mic issue and most recently USB Mic issue.

    How is that coming?
    I am sure it is a Firmware thing though.

    • We\’ve passed along some update info to the SONY team and I know they\’re on it.

      As soon as they give us an update I will pass it along.

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