Warhawk (2007 video game)

This article refers to the PlayStation 3 game, for other uses, see Warhawk (disambiguation)

Warhawk
Developer(s)	Incognito
Publisher(s)	SCEA, Incognito
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3
Release	PlayStation Store: USA: August 28, 2007 JPN: August 28, 2007 EUR: August 30, 2007 AUS: August 31, 2007 Blu-ray Disc: USA: August 28, 2007 AUS: September 20, 2007 EUR: September 21, 2007
Genre(s)	Third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Split-screen multiplayer, 32 player online play

Warhawk is a remake of a flight combat game of the same name; released as a launch title on the original PlayStation. The remake is multiplayer-only, with the ability to take control of planes, tanks, and jeeps. Though the game was initially to have both single-player and multiplayer modes, the single-player was scrapped because developers decided that it was vastly inferior to the game's multiplayer component.

Gameplay

See also: Warhawk points system

The game takes advantage of the PlayStation 3 SIXAXIS controller's motion sensing capabilities, allowing players to maneuver aircraft by tilting the controller in different directions rather than the more conventional methods of using the D-pad or analog sticks. However, a traditional control scheme is optional. The game engine features procedurally-generated water and waves, as well as volumetric clouds. Warhawk features 32-player online battles exclusively, with the ability to have 4 players use one PlayStation 3 in split-screen mode. Either player can seamlessly enter or exit the game while a match is in progress. Warhawk will be one of the first games to support the recently announced DualShock 3 controller, where a software update will be required for the game to utilize the controller and its rumble functionality.

File:Warhawksplit.jpg

Warhawk features four player split-screen.

Though the game does not offer a single-player campaign, there is the option to play four way split-screen, where players can simply connect another controller to the console and jump into the game, world wide online playing with up to 32 players, and LAN with only one game disc (or downloaded file) needed. Note that for all offline play (no connection to the internet whatsoever), four controllers must be present in order to enable split-screen (by pressing start on all four). There are medals and rewards awarded for certain achievements, and the developers have also strongly hinted at the possibility that these rewards will come in the form of trophies displayed in the upcoming online service PlayStation Home. Players are also able to fully customize their characters with armor squad markings, Warhawk paint schemes, and other accessories to allow full personalization.

There are five maps with 5 sections each, resulting in 25 different permutations of Warhawk game size (player number). In a game you are able to choose which areas are open. Archipelago is a group of tropical islands floating high in the air with a giant castle in the middle. The Badlands is a desert canyon area with little civilization and a huge fortress. The Destroyed Capitol map is at the top of skyscrapers in the ruins of the Eucadian capital from the Chernovan invasion. The Island Outpost is a military outpost with bases on each end. It is wanted by both forces, and Eucadia is a mountainous group of islands, linked by bridges, with scattered villages and a large statue overlooking the map.

Vehicles

File:Warhawktank.jpg

The Eucadian tank fighting on a bridge.

There are three vehicles for each faction; a Warhawk/Nemesis aircraft, a jeep, and tank. The eponymous Warhawk is the plane for the Eucadian forces. While it has a regular flight mode that resembles a fighter jet it also has a hover mode that resembles a helicopter. The official site says that it is an artistic mix of the P-40 Warhawk and the A-10 Warthog. The Chernovan plane is called the Nemesis. Its design was a combination of the Messerschmitt Me-262 and the F-35 Lightning II. An off-road jeep-like vehicle which can carry up to three soldiers; a driver, a passenger, and a gunner. Fast with little protection, they have a mounted machine gun on the back. The jeeps of both sides are essentially the same, only with a different visual style. The tanks are also similar for both sides. The heavily-armored tanks can hold a driver/cannon operator, and a passenger who can use their personal arsenal by popping out of the hatch. The tank is the slowest vehicle.

Turrets

File:Warhawkturret.jpg

The Anti-Aircraft Turret shooting at a plane.

There are three different types of turrets. The Anti-Aircraft Turret functions as a flak gun, intended to destroy warhawks. It has short burst of ammo and long reloading times. The Homing Missile Turret (aka SAM missile) has a good advantage with its lock-on function, but when firing makes your back side vulnerable to enemies. The Heavy Machine Gun Turret is identical to the machine gun on the back of jeeps, but on a solid place. If you fire the machine gun too long it will overheat, making you wait for it to cool down before you can resume firing.

Aircraft Weapons

File:Warhawkcloak.jpg

A Nemesis using the Avionics Package.

The Homing Missile is exactly what it sounds like. It can lock on to aircraft or be dropped like an air-to-ground bomb. The Swarm Missiles are multi-target and able to be targeted onto one target or many. The Cluster Bomb is an anti-ground bomb that when dropped splits into 25 little bombs. The Chaff Dispenser is able to throw off any missiles locked on to you. The Tow Missile is a special missile that must be launched while in hover mode. When fired you can guide it to its target with a first-person view through the missile. The Aerial Mine is a mine that floats in the air and will explode when hit by aircraft. The mine will not be set if you are too close to the ground. The Stealth Avionics Package makes you invisible from sight, on the map, and locking on.

Soldier Weapons

File:Warhawkfire.jpg

The Flamethrower being used by a soldier.

The Service Pistol is standard with all troops and has unlimited ammo. The Combat Blade is also standard, but can only be used in close range attacks, it can, however, take a soldier out with just one hit. The Combat Blade also keeps you off the map and your username won't be on the screen. The Grenade is used against troops and ground vehicles. The Binoculars have two levels of magnifications and are used to request air-strikes. The Automatic Rifle has a longer range than the pistol and has a faster rate of fire. The Portable Missile Launcher is able to take out ground vehicles and aircraft with a lock on function. The Sniper Rifle includes two scope magnifications and can also take a soldier out with one shot. The Flamethrower is used against troops and vehicles, as well as for clearing landmines. It's a good weapon for when being attacked at close range. Landmines can be placed around key positions such as your teams flag.

Ranks and Rewards

Main article: Warhawk ranking and awards system

Warhawk features a ranking system based on your in-game points and awards earned. These points and awards are received for playing on ranked servers only. The higher your rank is, the more customization options you have for your character and planes. Warhawk features a series of Medals, Badges and Ribbons that you earn by playing on ranked servers. Medals are the hardest to earn, taking the longest amount of time to get. Then come Badges the first level of which (Bandit) can be earned in a single game. While Ribbons are the easiest to earn, with multiple ribbons being able to be earned in a single game. Warhawk keeps track of when you last received each medal, badge and ribbon, and for ribbons a count of how many times you have earned each one is also kept.

Development

File:Warhawkservers.jpg

A picture of the towers of PlayStation 3s used as servers for Warhawk.

In August 2007, Sony Computer Entertainment America released news that PlayStation 3 consoles would be used as the dedicated servers for Warhawk. The photograph shows a server room with several PlayStation 3 consoles in racks. Each server is able to support 32 players. Additional downloadable content is planned. This is likely to include new maps, weapon upgrades, additional game modes and more character customization options. The developers have mentioned they plan on looking at feedback about what the players want in the game. Sony has announced that there will be a update for Warhawk so it is compatible with the DualShock 3's rumble feature.

Release

File:Warhawkheadset.jpg

A Jabra BT125 headset akin to the one that is bundled with Warhawk.

There was initial confusion as to how this game would be distributed to consumers, after the announcement that it would be a multiplayer-only title. Sony announced on May 16, 2007, that there would be two iterations of the game. The game alone is downloadable from the PlayStation Store for US$39.99 (£19.99, €29.99). The second is a retail Blu-ray Disc version that sells for $59.99 (the standard retail price of most PlayStation 3 games upon release). This version features extra content such as behind-the-scenes developer interviews, concept art and trailers. In addition, the retail version of the game comes bundled with a Jabra BT125 Bluetooth headset in North American and the Jabra BT135 in Europe, allowing players to chat with other players online while playing the game. On October 10, 2007 a $39.99 disc-only version of the game (no Bluetooth headset) was released to North American consumers.

Expansion

The most recent issue of Game Informer allegedly includes some information about a new expansion for Warhawk, which will apparently add a new vehicle called "the dropship"—a huge airborne warship with missile launchers designed to transport friendly vehicles. No other specifics about added content were given, other than a suspected release date of December of this year (2007).

Network problems

Many network issues existed in the Warhawk beta, but their extent was not fully discovered until the high volume of launch players stressed the servers. Incognito was initially silent on how they intended to resolve these launch problems, and received criticism for appearing to ignore the problems over the long Labor Day weekend that directly followed the launch. Immediately after Labor Day, between September 5th and 7th, Incognito released two patches intended to resolve the major issues in the game. On September 7th, Dylan Jobe, the main Incognito/Sony developer on Warhawk, made the following post to the official Warhawk/PlayStation US forum in regards to the patches:

"As you all know, we have been diligently working on the stats issue. It totally sucks that your stats aren't posting and we take it very, very seriously. So...some of you may have already noticed that we are bringing the entire system down right now to deploy a server-side patch for out stats database in an attempt to resolve the errors when games post stats. We have performed very thorough internal testing but, as will be the case with any large online game, the ultimate test is to get a huge player base to smash the hell out of it. I think it’s fair to say that if this update doesn't resolve the stats issue...you will all let us know! :-P This update is rolling out RIGHT NOW...servers will be brought off-line, from 4:15pm PDT and will be down until 6:15pm PDT. Many apologies for this incredibly late notice but we are absolutely committed to making sure you all have great service, and playing Warhawk this weekend with stats fixed has been our #1 priority!!!"

After these multiple server-side patches, as of September 23, 2007, some users continue to experience issues while for others the patches have resolved the issues. The issues include:

• Problems with ranking and statistics tracking, resulting in lost ranking points and/or incorrect rankings.
• Skipping ranks. Another major problem among those who have recently purchased the game. Some players with a low rank such as Recruit become high ranks such as Sergeant or 2nd Lieutenant after just a few matches, with points and badges/ribbons/medals greatly below that which is required. This makes it impossible for novice players to join servers of their level and the game becomes unnecessarily difficult.
• Random PlayStation Network login sign outs and game connection problems.
• For some players, the favorite server list did not exist or function.
• Upon attempting to join servers listed as having open spaces, many gamers are given "Game is Full" denial.
• Game freezes during play without any obvious cause.
• Though not a server problem, there is an increase in players who kill their own team members to deliberately annoy them, etc.
• Invincible Aircraft/Vehicles - the vehicle that someone is in becomes invincible for no apparent reason.

New Updates

On 19 October, 2007, Dylan Jobe (Game Director of Incognito) announced via Sony's PlayStation.Blog, that several updates, (including two patches) will be released to address nearly all of the issues with the game.

"We’ve also been working on a lot of fixes, server-side updates and client patches. Because lets face it, while the team and I were really happy with our launch and players around the globe were having a blast playing, there were some problems that players encountered once we rolled the game out to the masses (stats, connection issues, etc). I’m not going to sugar coat that with a strawberry-flavored, pink, PR candy shell – it’s the truth."

The first few updates were server updates released by the developers to tackle connection and other issues. For these updates players did not have to download any patches.

"All of that said, we have been hard at work to address the big issues that our Warhawk community currently is experiencing. We have already addressed the majority of our stats-related issues with the deployment of a few server-side updates. These were updates that we rolled out “on our end” without any of the players having to download an actual Warhawk patch. These updates also fixed many of the connection issues. But not all."

Server-side updates:

• Stat database stability improvements
• Improved server stability
• Max Clan limit changed from 32 to 64
• Viral Rank-up bug fixed and correct for players that were accidentally ranked up.
• “Time-in-Vehicle” Stats fixed so certain awards can now be granted properly.

After these updates, two further patches will be released for players to download. The first, v1.1, will be available worldwide by the end of October.

Client-side updates for Patch v1.1:

• Stat connection, fetch/post fixes
• Significantly improved client connection stability
• Quad “????” Ping display bug fixed.
• Added support for Player-Ranked Servers.
• Game synchronization fixes due to fluctuating network conditions (packet-drop).
• Crash fixes for end of game and split screen.

V1.2 patch

On October 22nd, 2007 Dylan Jobe posted the details regarding the second patch on the PlayStation Blog. PSM3 gave the game a 9 out of 10, saying, "It's a masterpiece of balance, of design, and the jewel in Sony's online crown." The reviewers at EDGE magazine gave Warhawk an 8 out of 10. 1UP gave Warhawk an 8.5 out of 10, but said, "It's just not quite $40 worth," referring to the price of the downloadable version on the US PlayStation Store. IGN reviewers gave the game an 8.8/10 and an IGN Editors' Choice Award, calling it "a AAA experience that is an adrenaline rush for online fans." Game Informer reviewed Warhawk and awarded it with a score of 8.25/10, stating that it was "better than they'd hoped for".GamePro rated the game 4/5, stating that although Warhawk offers an intense online combat experience, being dropped immediately into the action leaves you "somewhat bewildered" and doesn't give you that "feeling of connection" to the game. GameTrailers gave Warhawk an 8.6/10, saying, "It's simply fun, easy to compete, but challenging to shine." Adam Sessler from X-Play gave it a four out of five and complimented it saying "...I wouldn't have it any other way."

See also

• Warhawk ranking and awards system
• Warhawk points system

External links

• Official Warhawk site
• Ad free promotional video
• Trailers, reviews, and gameplay videos for Warhawk
• Warhawk Stats - Site with all coverage on ranks, awards, points, maps and tips