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[Izayoi]

Posted this in the other thread, so for those who missed it:

See this thread for some helpful .INI tweaks (removing DOF, removing bloom, removing film grain, and turning off motion blur).

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Loving everything about this game so far except for the number of credits I get per match completed. They either need to increase it, or decrease prices in the store.

Yeah, the prices seem pretty out of whack. I've got a level 13 and a level 9, and only about 4000 HC. At least the XP comes very quickly, pleased about that as the closed betas were way too slow as far as progression was concerned.

On the plus side, the mechs and items are very reasonably priced as far as real money is concerned. $5 a mech is a steal when compared to $7-10 for a gun in Planetside, or up to $25 for the heavy mechs in MW:O.

Very glad I bought into the Vanguard initiative before launch, I've got all of the mechs, items on all of them, and MC to spare.

 

[Corky]

Posted this in the other thread, so for those who missed it:

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I'm blind can't find the post with the corresponding lines ( for removing grain etc )

 

[Zyrusticae]

What if the thing you want is a hero costing 6300 IP? In some kind of twist of fate, Riot has only released been releasing heroes priced at that "it's going to take you a month" price point.

It takes three games a day (assuming you win at least one of them) to be able to afford a 6300 IP hero within two weeks (which is how fast they come out). If you're more active than that, it's entirely trivial to afford those heroes - assuming you're dead-set on not spending any money.

It takes time and effort, but that's the trade-off for not spending anything. That's the thing all F2P games have to balance themselves on - they want to make it possible to get what you want by spending enough time playing the game to get the credits, but at the same time they want it to take long enough so that it's not desirable to do so if you can just spend money to expedite the process.

Personally, I played my way to buying champs like Anivia and Ezreal and I really didn't mind doing so. The game itself is fun enough that even just messing with the free champions doesn't feel like a waste of time.

Of course, if you just don't like the game enough, everything is going to feel like a grind. Why even bother at that point?

I'm blind can't find the post with the corresponding lines ( for removing grain etc )

I don't see it either. Searching for 'grain' within the topic gives me no results.

 

[Respawn]

[IM]http://i.imgur.com/D0CtH.jpg[/IMG]

"Just as when humans learned to walk upright! THAT is the real evolution in weaponry!"

I never will and ever believe that Darwinism nonsense. Any way bipedal tanks are awesome. Also reverse joint are just as great.

 

[Kokonoe]

Can't really get the hang of this game, suppose it's not for me. Did look interesting, though.

 

[Izayoi]

How long does it take in Hawken to earn a mech? How many hours?

I'd wager around 10-15 hours of play time, depending on how well you do.

I'm blind can't find the post with the corresponding lines ( for removing grain etc )

I don't see it either. Searching for 'grain' within the topic gives me no results.

I'm a scrub, linked the megathread instead of the thread with the specific info.

Correct link is here.

Can't really get the hang of this game, suppose it's not for me. Did look interesting, though.

It's all about mastering the dodge. Once you start properly utilizing dodge, you'll be dancing circles around your opponents. It's very satisfying!

 

[Lotto]

Game is pretty great, played a few hours during the last closed beta they had. The desert map is probably one of my favorites to play in and Scout is probably my go to class, just love the mobility. I can't see myself ever spending money on this game or spending too much time with it but it's great in short bursts.

 

[superbank]

I can't get cosmetic changes without paying real money? That's kinda messed up. Is that how most F2P games are? If they made it ridiculous to grind for but still possible that would be a better solution than pay only. At least I could work towards that, keep playing, and maybe if I enjoy it enough I'll pay for something.

It's a fun game though. It's cool they're letting us try the other weight classes too. I like popping in and out with the small mech.

 

[Jtrizzy]

Are they going to add bots at any point? Some sort of co op? It's a very solid game.

 

[kami_sama]

I can't get cosmetic changes without paying real money? That's kinda messed up. Is that how most F2P games are? If they made it ridiculous to grind for but still possible that would be a better solution than pay only. At least I could work towards that, keep playing, and maybe if I enjoy it enough I'll pay for something.

It's a fun game though. It's cool they're letting us try the other weight classes too. I like popping in and out with the small mech.

Every F2P game has the cosmetics hidden behind a paywall.

 

[ShinobiFist]

Just think for 2 seconds please, not everything needs to be Pay2Win to succeed and make money. Path of Exile is cosmetics and extra bank slots only, DOTA2 is cosmetics only. Both thoses games are doing very well for each other.

Just throwing it out there they could of gone:

* Cosmetics, charge for extra character slots only
* In game ads
* Paying $5 minimum gets rid of ads plus you get updated to VIP
* VIP gives you access to creating clans / server priority / ability to create custom servers + other stuff that has no impact on game balance

At least with in-games ads you make money off free-loaders. Its a win win and everyone is happy.

This is a great explanation. I've been meaning to tryout a F2P game in a while(I do have PS2)But not sure if I wanted to invest time into because of the stereotypes that are connected to the F2P model. Thanks for the breakdown.

 

[superbank]

Every F2P game has the cosmetics hidden behind a paywall.

How about the separation of in-game currency and real money? These things are pretty shady from an outsiders perspective. I understand why they do it but if it was slightly more friendly I can see potential benefits, for us and the devs.

 

[jon_dojah]

It's some of the best 3D I've seen, and I've tried most of it. As I said the reticle isn't done properly yet, so the depth is off. It's not even rated by Nvidia yet, and the beta just started so I can't complain. Although it is obviously something they will have to fix, and get the frame rate optimized in 3d.

The cockpit, and the game world have great depth though. I didn't even mind playing it in 720, which usually drives me crazy. When it was running at 60 it looked so awesome. I tried it in 1080p24, it was comical how bad people were beating me though at that refresh rate.

I need to read up on the rift though.

Awesome...the only thing that sucks is that my screen gets cropped an inch or two on all sides in 3D. Nvidia had a hotfix to resize desktop awhile back but it didn't help. In Just Cause 2 the map/hud is cut off in the top left corner and the beacon that blinks whenever you're near a collectible is barely visible. Hopefully Hawken won't have an issue like that. I'm downloading now so soon will see.

 

[SapientWolf]

Just think for 2 seconds please, not everything needs to be Pay2Win to succeed and make money. Path of Exile is cosmetics and extra bank slots only, DOTA2 is cosmetics only. Both thoses games are doing very well for each other.

Just throwing it out there they could of gone:

* Cosmetics, charge for extra character slots only
* In game ads
* Paying $5 minimum gets rid of ads plus you get updated to VIP
* VIP gives you access to creating clans / server priority / ability to create custom servers + other stuff that has no impact on game balance

At least with in-games ads you make money off free-loaders. Its a win win and everyone is happy.

I don't think game advertising is where it needs to be to support something with a AAA budget. But I suspect that there will be enough whales buying cosmetics to carry the game if it reaches critical mass. It just looks bad on paper, because there is no logical reason for people to spend millions of dollars on skins and hats. And yet they do anyway.

 

[Portugeezer]

Seemed like a competent game from the tutorial level, but the few times I tried matchmaking it never found a match.

Graphically it looks good, some framerate issues when I went up high and showed a lot of the map, I guess lowering the draw distance or something would fix that, but other than that I was getting decent framerates.

 

[Jtrizzy]

Awesome...the only thing that sucks is that my screen gets cropped an inch or two on all sides in 3D. Nvidia had a hotfix to resize desktop awhile back but it didn't help. In Just Cause 2 the map/hud is cut off in the top left corner and the beacon that blinks whenever you're near a collectible is barely visible. Hopefully Hawken won't have an issue like that. I'm downloading now so soon will see.

Are you on a 3dtv? What kind?

 

[DaBuddaDa]

I'm a scrub, linked the megathread instead of the thread with the specific info.

Correct link is here.

Thanks for posting. I turned off the grain filter and bloom and it looks a lot better.

 

[Unicorn]

Sad there's no native controller support. Don't really care if it puts me at a disadvantage. I'd rather be comfortable playing

 

[Jtrizzy]

Sad there's no native controller support. Don't really care if it puts me at a disadvantage. I'd rather be comfortable playing

I use motioninjoy to emulate a 360 controller and it seemed to work just fine. My wireless dongle and play and charge kit are no longer working with the wireless pc controller.

 

[Unicorn]

I use motioninjoy to emulate a 360 controller and it seemed to work just fine. My wireless dongle and play and charge kit are no longer working with the wireless pc controller.

Last time I tried that method the "mouse look" set to the thumbstick made things move in a very 8-directional way, making it completely worthless. Do you notice that same effect going on? When I last tried it, and experience that, was with Morrowind and Bad Company 2

 

[rac]

Sad there's no native controller support. Don't really care if it puts me at a disadvantage. I'd rather be comfortable playing

Controller would probably be pretty cool with jump mapped to left bumper and shift mapped to left click. I don't think it would be much of a disadvantage either.

 

[Jtrizzy]

Last time I tried that method the "mouse look" set to the thumbstick made things move in a very 8-directional way, making it completely worthless. Do you notice that same effect going on? When I last tried it, and experience that, was with Morrowind and Bad Company 2

I just tried this again and honestly the controller support is flawless. And since it's not as twitchy as a COD for example, you aren't at as huge a disadvantage imo. You still need kb/m to navigate menu screens though.

edit: yes the boost and dodge are L1/R1, its really nice.

 

[Unicorn]

Controller would probably be pretty cool with jump mapped to left bumper and shift mapped to left click. I don't think it would be much of a disadvantage either.

I just tried this again and honestly the controller support is flawless. And since it's not as twitchy as a COD for example, you aren't at as huge a disadvantage imo. You still need kb/m to navigate menu screens though.

edit: yes the boost and dodge are L1/R1, its really nice.

Maybe i'll fiddle with it later.

 

[Izayoi]

Are they going to add bots at any point? Some sort of co op? It's a very solid game.

There were strong hints that the training mode could evolve into something much more than it currently is. I'd wager that we'll see bots at some point.

How about the separation of in-game currency and real money?

I do wish there was a system similar to GW2, where you can exchange game currency for the currency purchased with real money. Honestly I don't think that pay walling cosmetics is a big deal (even pay to play games do it), and as someone with a bunch of MC, I still haven't used any of it on cosmetics.

Awesome...the only thing that sucks is that my screen gets cropped an inch or two on all sides in 3D. Nvidia had a hotfix to resize desktop awhile back but it didn't help. In Just Cause 2 the map/hud is cut off in the top left corner and the beacon that blinks whenever you're near a collectible is barely visible. Hopefully Hawken won't have an issue like that. I'm downloading now so soon will see.

I used nViidia 3D Vision with a compatible monitor and did not encounter any problems. Fantastic depth, the only thing that really needs to be fixed is the central UI depth (the reticle in particular). I did just fine with it on, but I think I'll be playing without 3D until they properly sink the reticle in depth, causes kind of a disconnect otherwise.

You can disable the HUD in UE3, I think, but I'm not sure how to do it in Hawken.

 

[feel]

Game is pretty fun and cool looking, hope they unlock advanced visual options soon, I don't feel like messing with the .ini files.

Sad there's no native controller support. Don't really care if it puts me at a disadvantage. I'd rather be comfortable playing

360 controller works, it just doesn't show the buttons on screen.

 

[Izayoi]

Game is pretty fun and cool looking, hope they unlock advanced visual options soon, I don't feel like messing with the .ini files.

Ultra with a 2 or 3 setting on PhysX looks fucking great. It does drop my framerates on a 580 to sub-30 levels at times, unfortunately.

 

[LQX]

Cool so far except for the sound...this is a big giant Mech yet they seem to be making hardly any sound. My bass should be going off with this game.

 

[Artanisix]

This is stupid.

NOBODY NEEDS EVERY SINGLE HERO.

Just like nobody needs every single mech, every single item, and every single internal in Hawken.

It's a rubbish argument. Get what you actually want, ignore the rest. It's that simple.

That's a stupid argument. Games are a lot more competitive and interesting when everything is unlocked in the first place. Trying to justify League's bullshit unlock system is hilarious though so keep at it. Quite frankly there are much better of ways of running F2P (see: TF2, Dota 2) than locking all the competitive items behind a pay wall. And it is a pay wall, don't pretend that it isn't, because unlocking every hero in League the free way would require thousands of hours of time investment.

I haven't played Hawken in a while. Updating my game now, will be excited to remove the grain thanks to some help from the high-res screenshots thread.

Holy shit at this game in 3D. I'm not a huge proponent, but it's great in this game. The reticle/hud thing isn't done properly yet, but the inside of the cockpit looks so awesome. I tested it at 1080p24 (with a controller, can you imagine the sluggishness? lol) and 720p60, which they clearly haven't optimized for yet, frame rate would go all the way to 30 at times (in 60hz mode), with my 580 at like 33%. But it looks really good...well with the exception of garage, that map is really bland.

I can only imagine this on the Occulus Rift...

I've been meaning to upgrade to 3D monitors for a long time now. What monitor and graphics card do you use?

 

[Orayn]

Sad there's no native controller support. Don't really care if it puts me at a disadvantage. I'd rather be comfortable playing

I was able to map buttons and sticks on my wired 360 controller, and it worked fine, even analog control of movement direction and speed. These were my bindings, by the way.

RT: Primary weapon
RB: Special weapon
RS: Weapon action (Middle mouse)
LB: Jump
LT: Boost
Y: Repair
X: Ability
A: Support item
B: Offense item

Covers everything with buttons to spare.

 

[Jtrizzy]

I've been meaning to upgrade to 3D monitors for a long time now. What monitor and graphics card do you use?

I'm playing on a Panasonic VT25 plasma with a gtx 580. Once the center hud/reticle is fixed, I'd rate it as one of the best 3d games I've played.

 

[Artanisix]

I'm playing on a Panasonic VT25 plasma with a gtx 580. Once the center hud/reticle is fixed, I'd rate it as one of the best 3d games I've played.

Awesome, thanks a bunch. I'm excited to try it. Do you play at 1080p?

Also, finally finished updating and... what the fuck? Where did all my mechs go? I had a ton of them unlocked.... All I have is the recruit mech now...

 

[Izayoi]

Cool so far except for the sound...this is a big giant Mech yet they seem to be making hardly any sound. My bass should be going off with this game.

In one of the Alphas, your mech made footsteps and they made it impossible to hear anything else. People complained and the footsteps were toned down a lot. Personally, I think the sound is amazing. Maybe I'm tainted because the early sound design was nowhere near as good as it is now. The cracking cockpit glass when you're damaged, the weapon spin-up sounds, the boost sounds. The only thing I'm really disappointed with is the voice acting, which seems to be lackluster at best.

Awesome, thanks a bunch. I'm excited to try it. Do you play at 1080p?

Also, finally finished updating and... what the fuck? Where did all my mechs go? I had a ton of them unlocked.... All I have is the recruit mech now...

Everything reset between closed and open beta. All of your stuff will stay with you from now on, though.

 

[Zyrusticae]

That's a stupid argument. Games are a lot more competitive and interesting when everything is unlocked in the first place. Trying to justify League's bullshit unlock system is hilarious though so keep at it. Quite frankly there are much better of ways of running F2P (see: TF2, Dota 2) than locking all the competitive items behind a pay wall. And it is a pay wall, don't pretend that it isn't, because unlocking every hero in League the free way would require thousands of hours of time investment.

Your opinion is noted and promptly disregarded.

You seem to be under the impression that not having access to all of the heroes somehow puts the player at a disadvantage. This may be true in a complex fighting game where you actually need to memorize an opponent's move set to do well, but this hardly the case in MOBAs and shooters like LoL and Hawken. You'll frequently get more than enough chances to acclimate to literally every champion every released just from playing normal games. The move set simply isn't that large.

Both F2P models have their place. They clearly do - after all, they're both successful, though League of Legends is wildly moreso. Anything else is a matter of opinion.

 

[antitrop]

Your opinion is noted and promptly disregarded.

You seem to be under the impression that not having access to all of the heroes somehow puts the player at a disadvantage. This may be true in a complex fighting game where you actually need to memorize an opponent's move set to do well, but this hardly the case in MOBAs and shooters like LoL and Hawken. You'll frequently get more than enough chances to acclimate to literally every champion every released just from playing normal games. The move set simply isn't that large.

Both F2P models have their place. They clearly do - after all, they're both successful, though League of Legends is wildly moreso. Anything else is a matter of opinion.

I have to agree with and corroborate pretty much everything you just said.

 

[Artanisix]

It's a distinct and heavy disadvantage in MOBAs. The basis of the game is team-building and executing strategies based on that built team. You are at a severe disadvantage without access to the full pool of heroes to surprise/counter the opposing team and to choose compliments for your current team. This issue is probably relaxed quite a bit in League since the competitive atmosphere there is generally a joke; most heroes are hardly distinguishable and easily replaced within their own little group of bruiser, support, junglers, so on. The lanes are also static and predictable. In something like Dota or Heroes of Newerth, having access to all heroes while some players only have access to a few heroes would be absolutely game-breaking.

It's the same issue in Planetside, where some people have access to a wide variety of weapons and vehicle upgrades and it's incredibly difficult to compete with someone who has access to those sorts of items. With Hawken, the disadvantage isn't as dramatic, especially since it's just matchmaking right now. But if there ever comes a time where private games are open and actual teams are formed to play against other teams, well, there is no doubt that the team with more mech variety will have a distinct advantage to play off of a map's strengths and weaknesses.

The way Hawken, Tribes, Planetside, League do F2P -- "pay 2 win", in varying degrees -- is completely crippling for competitive circles.

 

[jdl]

after playing the beta, i'm probably more interested in just roaming the enviros than actually shooting mechs.

 

[rac]

Your opinion is noted and promptly disregarded.

You seem to be under the impression that not having access to all of the heroes somehow puts the player at a disadvantage. This may be true in a complex fighting game where you actually need to memorize an opponent's move set to do well, but this hardly the case in MOBAs and shooters like LoL and Hawken. You'll frequently get more than enough chances to acclimate to literally every champion every released just from playing normal games. The move set simply isn't that large.

Both F2P models have their place. They clearly do - after all, they're both successful, though League of Legends is wildly moreso. Anything else is a matter of opinion.

If not having access to all the heroes doesn't matter than why does riot unlock every hero to all players at a competitive tournament?

 

[Card Boy]

If not having access to all the heroes doesn't matter than why does riot unlock every hero to all players at a competitive tournament?

Pretty much, it's all about picks and counter picks in DOTA-esque games. Missing 88 of the heroes is bullshit and anti-competitive.

 

[Zyrusticae]

If not having access to all the heroes doesn't matter than why does riot unlock every hero to all players at a competitive tournament?

A better question is why wouldn't they do that? It's a bloody tournament. It's a very special case.

More to the point, anyone who's actually interested in being competitive in these types of games is going to be the kind of player who invests thousands of hours into them; they'll be able to afford to buy everything they need simply by default. I wonder if anyone who's actually on the competitive circuit feels the way you do?

And if you're not actually looking to make money winning tournaments, why bother complaining? Really?

 

[rac]

A better question is why wouldn't they do that? It's a bloody tournament. It's a very special case.

Why wouldn't they do that? Because it doesn't make any difference according to you.

More to the point, anyone who's actually interested in being competitive in these types of games is going to be the kind of player who invests thousands of hours into them; they'll be able to afford to buy everything they need simply by default. I wonder if anyone who's actually on the competitive circuit feels the way you do?

What about the player that wants to be competitive with the game but doesn't have the time to grind unlocks? They don't matter?

You just argued that only the players that spend thousands of hours with the game get to be competitive.

edit: Also I'm willing to bet that everyone in the dota 2 competitive circuit feels the same way as I do.

 

[Artanisix]

A better question is why wouldn't they do that? It's a bloody tournament. It's a very special case.

More to the point, anyone who's actually interested in being competitive in these types of games is going to be the kind of player who invests thousands of hours into them; they'll be able to afford to buy everything they need simply by default. I wonder if anyone who's actually on the competitive circuit feels the way you do?

And if you're not actually looking to make money winning tournaments, why bother complaining? Really?

That's... stupid. Sorry. "You don't NEED all the heroes, only the ones you want. There's no disadvantage from having only 10 heroes unlocked. But we'll unlock all the heroes at a tournament because those are super special cases that no one else deserves, not because of balance issues or anything." And way to completely dodge everything I posted about disadvantages because, wait, you don't actually have a good argument against that.

And the excuse that "oh they'll earn the characters anyway" is laughable. That's the argument you're falling back on? That only the hardcore, competitive players deserve access to the full content of a game? Those filthy casuals will just have to settle for their Recruit mech for the rest of their game time.

 

[Zyrusticae]

Wow, you guys. Enough. We're stinking up the topic and I'm done feeding you.

Talk about Hawken the game and make another thread if you want to argue about business models. This is getting way out of hand.

This is also entirely pointless because League of Legends remains the biggest F2P game ever made and has a very strong tournament scene. If the problems you're purporting were anywhere near as big as you want to make them out to be, this wouldn't be the case.

There's absolutely no point arguing this, especially in light of the facts.

 

[1.09]

Wow, you guys. Enough. We're stinking up the topic and I'm done feeding you.

Talk about Hawken the game and make another thread if you want to argue about business models. This is getting way out of hand.

This is also entirely pointless because League of Legends remains the biggest F2P game ever made and has a very strong tournament scene. If the problems you're purporting were anywhere near as big as you want to make them out to be, this wouldn't be the case.

There's absolutely no point arguing this, especially in light of the facts.

Very strong tournament scene? IIRC Riot encourages ghosting and cheating in tournaments. Nice tournament scene.

Hawken is cool and robots shoot other robots. Any tips for a newbie who just got into the game?

 

[bzm]

Wow, you guys. Enough. We're stinking up the topic and I'm done feeding you.

Talk about Hawken the game and make another thread if you want to argue about business models. This is getting way out of hand.

This is also entirely pointless because League of Legends remains the biggest F2P game ever made and has a very strong tournament scene. If the problems you're purporting were anywhere near as big as you want to make them out to be, this wouldn't be the case.

There's absolutely no point arguing this, especially in light of the facts.

Lose argument, abandon thread. Classic maneuver.

And yea, im pretty sure 109 is right with the riot being all sketchy about tournaments.

 

[Beaulieu]

Very strong tournament scene? IIRC Riot encourages ghosting and cheating in tournaments. Nice tournament scene.

Hawken is cool and robots shoot other robots. Any tips for a newbie who just got into the game?

I don't know about this ghosting or cheating, but LoL really has a big pro-gaming scene.

 

[VanillaCakeIsBurning]

LoL has a strong tournament scene because Riot created one by throwing money at it iirc instead of it developing naturally. They are owned by Tencent, the third largest tech company on the planet. So they have access to funds that would let them do that.

As for Hawken, the game is fun but doesn't seem to be able to hold my attention for as long as I would like. Will give it a few more days before I come to the decision on whether I want to put anything into it.

 

[Anbokr]

Wow, you guys. Enough. We're stinking up the topic and I'm done feeding you.

Talk about Hawken the game and make another thread if you want to argue about business models. This is getting way out of hand.

This is also entirely pointless because League of Legends remains the biggest F2P game ever made and has a very strong tournament scene. If the problems you're purporting were anywhere near as big as you want to make them out to be, this wouldn't be the case.

There's absolutely no point arguing this, especially in light of the facts.

So everything you say orassume is fact? Everything you disagree with is opinion? Fact: Restricting the hero pool puts people at a competitive disadvantage. Your opinion: I like to spend hundreds of thousands of hours to unlock heroes. I'm sorry, but restricting characters in fighting games, restricting factions/units in an RTS, selectively restricting weapons or vehicles in an FPS is anti-competitive. It takes olympic-esque mental gymnastics to convince yourself otherwise.

LoL has a strong tournament scene because they throw boatloads of money at it. If I create a stick figure animated PvP game and throw up million dollar tournaments, it's going to have a thriving competitive community. That doesn't mean that the game itself or the tournaments are competitive by nature.

Yo artinasx hit me up I just got hawken, lookin for some people to play with.

 

[Card Boy]

Zyrusticae is right (regardless of losing argument), we should talk about failed F2P in another thread. I might make one after.

 

[Tomat]

Wow, you guys. Enough. We're stinking up the topic and I'm done feeding you.

Talk about Hawken the game and make another thread if you want to argue about business models. This is getting way out of hand.

This is also entirely pointless because League of Legends remains the biggest F2P game ever made and has a very strong tournament scene. If the problems you're purporting were anywhere near as big as you want to make them out to be, this wouldn't be the case.

There's absolutely no point arguing this, especially in light of the facts.

"Guys stop arguing about this because I'm right -> stop shitting up the Hawken thread, plz talk about Hawken -> also let me get in the last word here -> there's no point in arguing this because I'm right."

---

On topic: Anyone from the Hawken closed beta, do you find that the game runs better for you now in the open beta or is it about the same? I was having some issues getting a stable framerate in the closed beta.

 

[Cameron122]

...

So yea, Hawken is pretty fun.