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[Zyrusticae]

I just placed first by a decent margin in a full deathmatch game that I joined 3 minutes in with a level 1 recruit assault mech.

Yeah, I'd say this game has a decently high skill cap! Heh.

 

[Sax Russel]

Noticed something in the inis, if you open up DefaultSystemSettings (in the install folder) it has sections tied to various graphics levels. However even the in-game setting of Ultra only uses the "High" or [SystemSettingsBucket3] settings (you can compare the values vs those set in your HawkenSystemSettings.ini in the My Games folder). There's SystemSettingsBucket going all the way up to [SystemSettingsBucket5]. If you take everything under there and paste it in the High/SSB3 section, then change your in-game setting to High as well, you'll be using those settings now, two steps higher than what you've had so far with things like a bit more draw distance and higher resolution shadows (4096 vs 1024). While you're in there you can also set MLAA to False everywhere =P.

 

[efyu_lemonardo]

Invited all the Europe folks Hope to get some games going !

Done the same

Thanks Lavalamp1138 for the spreadsheet!

 

[helvetica bold]

the game looks amazing. especially after watching the Pacific Rim trailer I really want to play a mech game.

Any word this will come to consoles??

You guy can recommend any good console mech shooter besides the transformers game?

 

[Izayoi]

For some reason, setting the PhysX level to 3 on my machine just causes the game to crash when it loads into a match. Something to do with APEX_BasicIOSCHECKED_x86.dll (from the crash info). Google search yields nothing. It's not hardware as I have two GTX 670s. I already deleted the file (and everything else with the prefix "APEX") and repaired the installation, still nothing.

Not sure what to tell you. It works fine on a single GTX 580. Maybe it has something to do with SLI?

Sound seems... off somehow. I have everything updated in terms of drivers, but everything sounds weak and there random static every now and then. None of my other games have a problem with sound, so I'm going to have to dig deeper.

Does it sound like the difference between this video and this video? I know the video with tinny/crackling audio is on a laptop. Maybe that has something to do with it?

Posted about it in the Hawken forums, maybe I need to update drivers..

Yeah, nVidia released new beta drivers with a focus on Hawken. Try downloading them and see if it helps.

The F2P model looks disturbing though, it looks like Pay to win, I just hope things aren't priced too highly to prevent non-paying customers from falling too far behind.

Items really aren't that big of a deal (especially now that the Recruit Assault starts with the Rookie internals). It might take around 5 hours or so to unlock the offensive item that you want, but after that you're pretty much set. The starter mech is, as of right now, the most powerful in the game.

the game looks amazing. especially after watching the Pacific Rim trailer I really want to play a mech game.

Any word this will come to consoles??

You guy can recommend any good console mech shooter besides the transformers game?

It was originally planned to come to consoles, but it looks like those plans have since been scrapped.

As far as console mech games go...

Uh... Armored Core? ZoE HD? ...Halo 4? This gen has been terrible for mech games on console.

 

[BurnOutBrighter]

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

OT, but to be specific, humans didn't "learn" to walk, that's not Darwinism. Creatures that could walk survived better than those that couldn't, and they were the ones able to pass these traits on to their descendants.

 

[mandiller]

During the tutorial mission at the start of the game where it teaches you to control the mech the instructor doesn't have any audible voice for me. It's just text and no audio. Is that normal or is my sound not getting all the channels?

 

[Des0lar]

I can't seem to change the settings. Once I change something it always defaults my graphical settings to medium once I start the game...

Can anyone help?

 

[Unicorn]

Wow. I was totally wrong about controller support. Native and glorious.

 

[BareKnuckle]

During the tutorial mission at the start of the game where it teaches you to control the mech the instructor doesn't have any audible voice for me. It's just text and no audio. Is that normal or is my sound not getting all the channels?

Don't worry, it is meant to be just text

 

[MrBig]

Hawken

Why'd they take the heat gauges off the frame of the cockpit? It looked nice and didn't clutter up the center of the HUD, which looks way too busy overall with all the useless lines, dual compasses, and an overly complex crosshair. All that space at the bottom where they're blocking the view of your environment could be put to actual use, have everything besides a simple crosshair down there

 

[Unicorn]

Wow. I was totally wrong about controller support. Native and glorious.

But dear god do I suck now.

 

[Izayoi]

Can anyone help?

Try exiting the game, and deleting your config files under C:\Users\Des0lar\Documents\My Games\Hawken\HawkenGame\Config. If you're worried, back them up somewhere else first, then delete the ones in the directory I mentioned. Start the game and see if you can change your settings afterward.

 

[Haly]

Why'd they take the heat gauges off the frame of the cockpit? It looked nice and didn't clutter up the center of the HUD, which looks way too busy overall with all the useless lines, dual compasses, and an overly complex crosshair. All that space at the bottom where they're blocking the view of your environment could be put to actual use, have everything besides a simple crosshair down there

it was kind of annoyingly inconsistent between suits. Some of them had it in the center and it was nice and all, but others were placed on the top, or to the sides, and it made your eyes water having to flicker back and forth between your target and the heat bars.

This is a good change.

 

[SomeOneInaHat]

Just sent everyone on the spreadsheet a friend request.

 

[superbank]

I take back what I said about the heavy mech. All you gotta do is hang back, let the lighter mechs duke it out while you support with missiles. Up close I was able to fend for myself many times as well.

 

[Psychological Intellect]

hmmmm, i remember the graphics looking a lot more impressive.

 

[Sysgen]

I was REALLY interested in this...until it went free to play.

Now i wont touch it with a 10 foot pole.

Same. You're not alone.

 

[Izayoi]

Just sent everyone on the spreadsheet a friend request.

I didn't get one. ;_;

This is a good change.

Absolutely. I could do without the compass and the rangefinder, but the heat bars should definitely stay in the middle.

hmmmm, i remember the graphics looking a lot more impressive.

If you tweak your .INI, Ultra settings will be enabled in-game. See here for some .INI tweaks everyone should be using anyway, and then enable Ultra in-game.

Same. You're not alone.

Might I ask why? The mech you start with is the best in the game, it's about as far as you can get from P2W.

 

[Sysgen]

I didn't get one. ;_;

Might I ask why? The mech you start with is the best in the game, it's about as far as you can get from P2W.

Same reason why I have never touched an MMO. The inherent structure of F2P has evolved into time sinks and pay as you play. I'm not saying every one of these games is identical because they're not. It's just a general principle of don't even get started with that, the same approach I've taken to MMO's, i.e. stay away and don't get sucked in. I signed up for the Hawken beta because I thought this was a normal game. I love these games and am still an owner of Steel Battalion but I'm not going anywhere near MMO or F2P based games. The free in F2P is like the vacuum salesman at your front door who just tries to get his foot in the door. No thanks.

 

[Sax Russel]

Sounds like a self control issue? I mean, lol, I don't even know, there's nothing about the fundamental gameplay that is adversely affected by the F2P model. I haven't spent a cent and I've had nothing but fun with the game.

 

[drkOne]

The inherent structure of F2P has evolved into time sinks and pay as you play.

Not trying to pick a fight here, as I clearly understand what you're saying, but why do you feel like they are time sinks more so than the usual online game?
I put over 1k hours in CS/Warcraft/Starcraft/L4D, I consider those a time sink, and for me it's even worse than the F2P model you're describing, since I'm not really getting anything new out of my invested time.

 

[thetrin]

Same reason why I have never touched an MMO. The inherent structure of F2P has evolved into time sinks and pay as you play. I'm not saying every one of these games is identical because they're not. It's just a general principle of don't even get started with that, the same approach I've taken to MMO's, i.e. stay away and don't get sucked in. I signed up for the Hawken beta because I thought this was a normal game. I love these games and am still an owner of Steel Battalion but I'm not going anywhere near MMO or F2P based games. The free in F2P is like the vacuum salesman at your front door who just tries to get his foot in the door. No thanks.

It's not hard to never spend a cent when playing a decent F2P game, though if you like the game, there's nothing wrong with spending a few bucks, considering the game is free to play otherwise.

 

[Zeliard]

I've put about an hour in and it's decent dumb fun, but man do I hate the HUD. It feels so cramped and obstructive - mech cockpit, mini-map, ammo/time/score/XP counters, large crosshairs. They all fill the screen up. I know they want you to feel like you're piloting a mech, but in a competitive setting the most important thing is visibility. FOV being apparently locked to 90 also doesn't help.

Gonna see if it gets comfortable at some point, but personally, the more visible screen space and the less shit cluttering it up, the better. And that especially goes for multiplayer PC shooters.

 

[RockTurtle]

It's not hard to never spend a cent when playing a decent F2P game, though if you like the game, there's nothing wrong with spending a few bucks, considering the game is free to play otherwise.

i understand this argument. however, i know myself. and $1 here and a few cents there turn into "it's only $1, i can live with it. at least i'm not paying $10 a month! that's $120 a year!"

and next thing i know i have spent $200+ in 6 months without noticing.

 

[thetrin]

i understand this argument. however, i know myself. and $1 here and a few cents there turn into "it's only $1, i can live with it. at least i'm not paying $10 a month! that's $120 a year!"

and next thing i know i have spent $200+ in 6 months without noticing.

That's what makes it such a brilliant business model in comparison to monthly fees or up front charge.

 

[Zyrusticae]

i understand this argument. however, i know myself. and $1 here and a few cents there turn into "it's only $1, i can live with it. at least i'm not paying $10 a month! that's $120 a year!"

and next thing i know i have spent $200+ in 6 months without noticing.

The key is to keep a running tally of how much you've spent on the game so far.

Of course I do that with just about everything anyway (because money is really tight in my house), so I guess I have a natural advantage there. At any rate, I limit myself to X amount of money per game per month, and that tends to keep spending in check. It also helps that I have specific tastes and usually don't find piles of stuff I want right now...

 

[Zeal]

So I can seriously only upgrade my mechs body by buying Meteor Points? Aka, Free to Pay crap? If so, no thanks.

Game has amazing graphics like nothing I have ever seen, like a living anime. But I am not going to play something that gives everyone an unfair advantage based on how much money you throw at it.

 

[Zyrusticae]

So I can seriously only upgrade my mechs body by buying Meteor Points? Aka, Free to Pay crap? If so, no thanks.

Game has amazing graphics like nothing I have ever seen, like a living anime. But I am not going to play something that gives everyone an unfair advantage based on how much money you throw at it.

Ummm. What?

The only 'advantage' you get from spending money in this game is... nothing. The default mech is the strongest in the game and you're given a shield and turret item right off the bat (they're infinitely reusable, too).

The game has to charge somewhere. Obviously they'd go under as a business if they just gave the whole game away for free.

I get the impression that you'd rather the game have a box fee, in which case you may as well pay $50 anyway. That'll get you pretty damn far.

 

[antitrop]

But I am not going to play something that gives everyone an unfair advantage based on how much money you throw at it.

Oh, good. You should really like Hawken, then.

 

[Orayn]

Ummm. What?

The only 'advantage' you get from spending money in this game is... nothing. The default mech is the strongest in the game and you're given a shield and turret item right off the bat (they're infinitely reusable, too).

The game has to charge somewhere. Obviously they'd go under as a business if they just gave the whole game away for free.

I get the impression that you'd rather the game have a box fee, in which case you may as well pay $50 anyway. That'll get you pretty damn far.

Path of Exile and Dota 2 give away all of their substantive content for free and don't sell anything that affects game balance, but Valve and Grinding Gear seem oddly pleased with their performance so far.

 

[Unicorn]

i just learned those yellow orbs that drop from dead bots heals you

First time I went positive on KDR in a match.

 

[The One and Done™]

Why would you put legs on a tank?

 

[Zyrusticae]

Path of Exile and Dota 2 give away all of their substantive content for free and don't sell anything that affects game balance, but Valve and Grinding Gear seem oddly pleased with their performance so far.

Stop that. We already have a thread for that.

Getting kind of sick of all the people whining about the business model in this thread... I wonder how many of them are going to be drive-by posters, too.

 

[Izayoi]

So I can seriously only upgrade my mechs body by buying Meteor Points? Aka, Free to Pay crap? If so, no thanks.

Uh... If by "upgrades" you mean "cosmetics," then yes. You paid nothing for the game. Meteor can't win for losing, lol.

There is no P2W in Hawken, the mech you start with is the most powerful one. I feel that it should be at the top of the OP at this point. The thread is getting constantly derailed and it's kind of annoying.

 

[Unicorn]

So, all the mechs are all "prebuilt" where you can then unlock primary weapons by leveling that "class" up and also spend real monies to get different cosmetic part (chassis and vent systems, etc.)

So, there's no way to get a different secondary weapon (TOW) on the CRT starter mech? There's no "custom class" options?

It would be nice if they could go a little more Armored Core with it, but I'm sure that would be a balancing nightmare

 

[Izayoi]

So, all the mechs are all "prebuilt" where you can then unlock primary weapons by leveling that "class" up and also spend real monies to get different cosmetic part (chassis and vent systems, etc.)

Yes.

So, there's no way to get a different secondary weapon (TOW) on the CRT starter mech? There's no "custom class" options?

No. Each class works with its given ability and secondary weapon, in conjunction with its three main weapons.

 

[superbank]

So since they've gone the microsoft route of obscuring the prices with space bucks I converted it for your convenience. Let me know if there's any mistakes.

Category/Name        |  M   |  H   | $USD
MECH SHOP            |      |      |
 Mech                | 720  | 6410 | 5.00
BODY SHOP            |      |      |
 Upper Chassis       | 288  | N/A  | 2.00
 Middle Chassis      | 166  | N/A  | 1.15
 Lower Chassis       | 151  | N/A  | 1.05
 Strut Arms          | 137  | N/A  | 0.95
 Repair Drone        | 216  | N/A  | 1.50
 Thruster Nozzle     | 259  | N/A  | 1.80
EQUIPPED             |      |      |
 Offensive Item      | 432  | 3845 | 3.00
 Support Item        | 432  | 3845 | 3.00
 Counter Measure     | ???  | 107  | N/A
 Offensive Internal  | 288  | 2563 | 2.00
 Defensive Internal  | 288  | 2563 | 2.00
 Functional Internal | 288  | 2563 | 2.00
PAINT SHOP           |      |      |
 Paint               | 291  | N/A  | 2.02
                     | 411  | N/A  | 2.85
                     | 579  | N/A  | 4.02
                     | 1722 | N/A  | 11.96
 Taunt               | ???  | ???  | ???

M = Meteor Points purchased with real money
H = Hawken Points earned through playing
$USD = United States Currency (rounded)
N/A = Cannot be purchased with these points
??? = I don't know the price because I haven't leveled enough or
because I haven't purchased meteor points it won't show me

I'd appreciate if this was added to the OP so people can know upfront what the pricing is like.

So a mech costs $5 and if you wanted to change every piece on it, it would be an additional $8.45. Paint job goes from $2-4 dollars (I don't think anyone would want the $12 one ). Counter Measure items are the worst because they can be depleted. So .85 cents is for one use. Though to be fair they're not exactly important items, i haven't used the free ones yet and I'm doing fine. But I can see how it could be abused P2W style. edit: Apparently there's no way to purchase Counter Measures, Hawken Credits only.

 

[Lavalamp1138]

Oh wow! Thank you so much, superbank! I'll definitely add it to the OP.

 

[superbank]

Thanks.

 

[Zyrusticae]

85 cents per use? Damn.

I wasn't planning on using them anyway, but that's definitely cemented my position on them (which is to say, don't bother). I'd go through an entire stack every two matches on average. That's $12.75 per 30 minutes, or $24.50 per hour!

I can see how someone with thousands of dollars to burn on a video game might be tempted by them...

 

[Orayn]

Just a few additions/corrections...

1. You can currently only buy countermeasures with Hawken credits, as far as I can tell. They're also available in packs of 10 for 1068HC, 50 for 5180HC, or 100 for 10146HC.
2. Functional internals are the same price as offensive and defensive.
3. Boosts are 1440MC for 30 days, 864MC for 14 days, 576MC for 7 days, 374MC for 3 days, and 288 for one day and double either your XP or HC gains. You can have both types active at the same time.

Unlocking a chassis and all possible items and internals for it costs 82023HC, or 158 hours of playing Deathmatch and winning every single game. There are nine unlockable mechs, meaning it would take at least 1422 hours to get everything.

If you pay in spacebucks, it's 9216MC per mech, which works out to $64. The price of a retail Hawken box with every non-cosmetic item included would be $576.

 

[epmode]

Yeah, the countermeasures are kind of pay-to-win, even if you can't buy them directly. It's especially disappointing since I didn't see any of that garbage in the closed beta.

 

[superbank]

Just a few additions/corrections...

1. You can currently only buy countermeasures with Hawken credits, as far as I can tell. They're also available in packs of 10 for 1068HC, 50 for 5180HC, or 100 for 10146HC.
2. Functional internals are the same price as offensive and defensive.
3. Boosts are 1440MC for 30 days, 864MC for 14 days, 576MC for 7 days, 374MC for 3 days, and 288 for one day and double either your XP or HC gains. You can have both types active at the same time.

Unlocking a chassis and all possible items and internals for it costs 82023HC, or 158 hours of playing Deathmatch and winning every single game. There are nine unlockable mechs, meaning it would take at least 1422 hours to get everything.

So you can't add meteor credits? There's an option when you click it but I don't want to add any money yet to test it. Is there anyone with meteor credits who can confirm if it's purchasable?

 

[Orayn]

So you can't add meteor credits? There's an option when you click it but I don't want to add any money yet to test it. Is there anyone with meteor credits who can confirm if it's purchasable?

It just brings you to the normal page for buying MC. Countermeasures have no listed price in MC right now.

 

[superbank]

It just brings you to the normal page for buying MC. Countermeasures have no listed price in MC right now.

I see. That needs to be removed then.

And those hours and prices you're listing are crazy. Very unfortunate cause the actual game is fun.

 

[antitrop]

I see. That needs to be removed then.

And those hours and prices you're listing are crazy. Very unfortunate cause the actual game is fun.

Good thing the Open Beta is the perfect time to tweak such things.

 

[superbank]

Good thing the Open Beta is the perfect time to tweak such things.

I agree. But lets be honest here, this is the pricing they saw fit to release to the public. If we didn't complain they would leave it as is while making stacks of money. Their current scheme doesn't give me confidence that they'll cut back significantly.

 

[Doc Holliday]

hmmmm, i remember the graphics looking a lot more impressive.

Hmm i remember talking to some rep at e3 saying that had to reduce some of the textures. I think he said they were 4k at somepoint. I still think it looks amazing esp since they arent even using normal maps afk.

 

[MrBig]

Hmm i remember talking to some rep at e3 saying that had to reduce some of the textures. I think he said they were 4k at somepoint. I still think it looks amazing esp since they arent even using normal maps afk.

I really love the art direction, but a lot of the texture work and environment models are really low res. They rely on greebling and texture noise a lot to increase detail in the environments. Mechs are great all around though