Hello Everyone!

So here I sit on a Saturday afternoon at home, putting the finishing touches on a Development Update since it wasn't something I was able to finish before I went home last night. Granted at about 8:30pm I went out for wings and beer with some team members but I decided at that point in the evening, I had put in a decent day and could finish up what was needed on Saturday. I know all of you would have loved to have something up yesterday instead but well... here we are today.

I tend to take time on such postings, going over them again and again because that's just how I function by default. This Development Update in particular has proven tricky for me and I have stared at a blinking cursor perhaps more than I have in the past. Why is that? I think it's pretty clear that expectations become increasingly higher as time passes regardless of what daily level of communication we have with everyone. People want the meat, the future, a glimpse into what's coming and not a lot of concrete details have been shared recently.

It's funny because as I type this I'm wondering how much will remain after ZC reads it and offers his feedback on what should be changed... There's a reason why people like me aren't community managers and why I have someone like ZC to protect me from myself.

Something that's happening with the project right now is a bit of incurred technical debt that continues to surface and impacts the goals of the company as a whole, not just HAWKEN. We have contracted an external strike team to resolve some of this technical debt and even for them, it takes time. I'll dive into a little more detail on what's going on with this in a below section but it won't change the fact that you, the dedicated players want to know what's coming up.

The forums these days are a rainbow of fruit flavors which include speculation, hunger, love, anger, frustration, apathy and passion. Some will be satisfied with this Development Update, some won't. I'll refrain from giving my prediction on what those percentages will be but regardless of your reaction, I want to make sure that something is clear.

HAWKEN represents years of dedication from some talented people and if you think anyone has stopped caring about what happens with the game, well... that's just crazy talk! It's a true passion for many of you and for those working on the project it means also our livelihood, careers and families. Now ultimately, all of that doesn't matter. It doesn't. If you come into our restaurant and an oil fire erupts in the kitchen, it has zero bearing on your desire as a customer to have a nice meal and share a romantic candlelit evening with your loved one. It's our responsibility to put the fire out and move forward with remodeling and sharing the wine list at the same time. Just because you smell smoke in the dining room though, that doesn't mean the kitchen doesn't know there's a fire.

Nobody has forgotten about the community either, but sometimes there just aren't new and exciting things to talk about. Add this to being constantly reminded of things we're also frustrated with, the more destructive tones that have surfaced recently and it becomes a less and less attractive place to spend your time. I mention this purely to remind everyone of the human aspect of our jobs, we are only human after all. You will see plenty of postings, but they aren't always obvious and sometimes get buried. I'll ask people here to make some more noise.

MIGRATION STATUS / STABILITY
As discussed in the last Development Update, we are in the process of migrating databases which includes new software and new hardware. This is still ongoing but has also continued to cause some hiccups in services recently. We had a failing on the new database hardware on Monday and that took HAWKEN down for a while as a more recent example. The further down the rabbit hole we go with this migration, the more issues that tend to surface. It impacts stability in live without question, sometimes taking the service down completely for small chunks of time. It goes without saying this isn't a desired result but the strike team is working on this every day. We have a room in our company wide IM service that's an ongoing conversation on the status of services, servers and automated alarms. I assure you it's a non-stop topic. We are however starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and we're really looking forward to that time!

HACKING
The forums are sometimes ablaze with the discussion of new potential hackers and we continue to take the matter seriously. We look into the reports generated for us, review reports by players and don’t rely on automatic banning. There are too many events that can cause false positives, so it’s something we look into on a case by case basis. We do not share the outcomes of any investigations and ask that you please continue to refrain from calling out specific targets in the forums. It’s done with good intentions to be sure but can also unintentionally backfire on us in our attempts to keep HAWKEN a game for fair players!

In the last month we've banned or suspended approximately 150 accounts and have banned IPs as needed too. We may not comment on every single report submitted but that doesn't mean we aren't investigating. It's an ongoing process and always will be, so if someone posts asking for a status, please feel free to point them to one of the posts where we've discussed the topic. It would be a big help!

TEST DRIVES
We are also aware of the strangeness that has taken place with Test Drives over the past couple of weeks. What's been happening is the rotation for the week is unknowingly being reverted to the previous week when certain platform changes are rolled out. It's not intended but rather a side effect of the migration work being done. Unfortunately there's no automatic way to be notified of this and we just have to wait until the migration process is complete but we'll keep our eyes open. Please don't hesitate to use the Test Drive thread for that particular week to let us know if something looks amiss.

NEXT
Outside of the above there isn't more information that can be shared at this time. We must take the coming weeks one step at a time while some of this necessary work is accomplished first. Anything else shared regarding ongoing development would be something I'd be discussing without a high level of confidence yet. I do wish I could open the floodgates and share some specific details, but I assure you it's not the right time yet, not even for a hint.

We will have another Development Update in a couple of weeks and will provide a status update on not only what was discussed above, but also the current state of actual HAWKEN development. I do really hope to have some great things to share because who doesn't like sharing positive news and updates?! Sharing little or neutral news is not why I wake up in the morning. The passion is always appreciated and means a lot, just please try to keep the conversations positive. We all care about HAWKEN but it's also a game and is out there for people to have fun with.

Me? I'm going to go and have dinner with my loved one over a take out pizza and hope I don't smell smoke coming from the kitchen...

Attention, mech pilots!

For a limited time, you can test drive the Predator, Reaper and Brawler mechs for free. Try before you buy! All 3 mechs are come fully equipped with items and internals.







Head to your garage to test drive these mechs right now until June 17!


Click here to view the article]]> Wed, 11 Jun 2014 02:22:51 +0000 https://community.playhawken.com/topic/65621-free-mech-test-drive-predator-reaper-and-brawler/ https://community.playhawken.com/topic/65417-development-update-662014/

Greetings Pilots,

It's our pleasure to bring you another Development Update and we're glad you could join us. There is a lot of speculation coming from the community right now about what's next for HAWKEN and the interest in what we're working on is truly appreciated. Earlier this week I made a small post on a separate thread, touching upon this very topic so let's start this Development Update with what was mentioned there.

The forums have been a little quiet in the way of updates from us about what's on the horizon and some of the primary people responsible for such updates in the past haven't been available lately, including myself. ZamboniChaos was away for a little while to go on a trip and yes it's true, Vanashinkaku has left Adhesive Games and is spending time on other projects of his. I don't know the details about what he's working on but we really enjoyed having him and hope he can come back to us sometime in the near future!

I haven't been as visible on the forums myself over the past couple of months because I've been spending my time on something different for HAWKEN. There isn't any information to share at the moment, but we'll provide updates as soon as it makes sense to do so. As a result of where we're putting some of our efforts, some of the more major content updates are being slightly delayed. Development hasn't stopped of course and we've already released 2 small patches just over the last week addressing some emergent issues and polishing up some private server features. Speaking of which, as many of you know there were also some hiccups with the game over the last 24 hours and they should be fixed. The issues were related to platform work, database work and some problem servers but the changes were rolled back for further investigation. We're sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused!

Behind the scenes we have started taking steps to migrate to our new database. As you know it's been in development for a while and it's a very big deal to us that migration can finally begin. All of this should be fairly seamless to you and we won't be announcing a sudden flipping of a giant switch. Instead we will be migrating gradually, starting with small steps such as enabling dual writes to both databases so we can catch issues, making adjustments as needed. This change brings with it improved performance, a reduced cost and greater deployment flexibility.

A priority for us continues to be improving server performance and I'm happy to say that as of this week, we've entered the final stages of preparations to move to another primary game server hosting company. This is another important step for us as we work on what we feel are important issues for the game. It may not be as flashy as a new feature but it does impact the HAWKEN experience for everyone in a positive way! Also, this brings new regions and private servers to the table as options for everyone sooner.

Thank you for reading everyone, we'll check in with you again very soon and have a great weekend with HAWKEN!

• Fixed game invites not working anymore on public servers.

• New Vivox SDK version integrated containing various voice chat fixes. Please note this does not mean voice chat has been completely fixed. Problems with voice chat continue to persist and are still being worked on.
  
• Added a new private server mod that prevents repair orb from dropping on player death.
  
• Added a way to specify a list of mods in the private server config file.
  
• Added a password prompt dialog when accepting a game invite to a private server.

• Fixed error dialog sometime showing an error from a previous session.
  
• Fixed error dialog not showing the kick reason after being kicked from a private server.

Attention, mech pilots!

For a limited time, you can test drive the Berserker, Sharpshooter and Rocketeer mechs for free. Try before you buy! All 3 mechs are come fully equipped with items and internals.







Head to your garage to test drive these mechs right now until June 10!

Special thanks to erathic for this awesome Rocketeer art!

[*]Economy Rebalance

[*]All mechs have had their MC costs reduced.
[*]All primary weapons and items have had their MC and HC costs reduced.
[/list]
[/list]Features

[*]Test Arena Map

[*]This is a new, untextured test map in an arena style designed primarily for competitive 1v1 matches, also known as HAWKEN Fight Club. This map is only accessible through private servers.

[*]The Rules of Fight Club

[*]In fight club, pilots will face off in a Best of Three 1 v 1 fight to the death to determine who is the ultimate mech pilot.
[*]Two pilots will enter the arena via the mech teleporters located on the BLUE and RED side of the arena into their designated "Staging Pits".
[*]After both pilots are ready and in their respective "Staging Pits", a spectator pilot will begin the match countdown for the battle to begin.
[*]After the match countdown reaches "Zero" or "GO!" , the match begins and the two competitors begin their match.
[*]After a player has lost 2 rounds, that player is eliminated from the competition and two new pilots will move on into the arena to take their place.
[*]The last pilot standing at the end of the fight club is the victor!
[*]Remember, these are merely suggestions on how you, the players, organize and conduct your Fight Club matches. If you feel your event would run better with different rules or organization, go for it! This map exists for the sole purpose of being used by our creative community.
[/list]
[*]Spectating Made Easier

[*]Special rules have been applied to the Fight Club map that makes spectating the arena easier.
[*]While in the spectator stand, you will not be able to fire, use items, and most of the HUD has been disabled to enable players to watch the fights clearly.
[/list]
[*]Use the Teleporters!

[*]Simply walking up to the spinning teleporters will teleport you in and out of the arena.
[*]There are also two more teleportation devices installed on the sides of the arena to allow players to move between the arena's sides.
[/list]
[*]Swap Your Mechs

[*]There are multiple Mech Swap Stations installed around the arena.
[*]If you need to change Mech before battles or need refresh your items and ability, simply walk up to one of the many Mech Swap stations and press the "E" button.
[/list]
[/list]
[/list]Mechs

[*]Berserker

[*]MC price decreased from 1440 to 1224
[/list]
[*]Infiltrator

[*]MC price decreased from 1440 to 1224
[/list]
[*]Scout

[*]MC price decreased from 1440 to 1224
[/list]
[*]Reaper

[*]MC price decreased from 504 to 490
[/list]
[*]Technician

[*]MC price decreased from 864 to 792
[/list]
[*]Assault

[*]MC price decreased from 504 to 490
[/list]
[*]Sharpshooter

[*]MC price decreased from 1440 to 1224
[/list]
[*]Bruiser

[*]MC price decreased from 1440 to 1224
[/list]
[*]Raider

[*]MC price decreased from 864 to 792
[/list]
[*]Predator

[*]MC price decreased from 1440 to 1224
[/list]
[*]Brawler

[*]MC price decreased from 504 to 490
[/list]
[*]Rocketeer

[*]MC price decreased from 1440 to 1224
[/list]
[*]Grenadier

[*]MC price decreased from 864 to 792
[/list]
[*]Vanguard

[*]MC price decreased from 864 to 792
[/list]
[*]Incinerator

[*]MC price decreased from 1440 to 1224
[/list]
[*]G2-Assault

[*]MC price decreased from 1440 to 1224
[/list]
[*]G2-Raider

[*]MC price decreased from 1440 to 1224
[/list]
[/list]Weapons

[*]Primary Weapons

[*]MC price decreased from 576 to 468
[*]HC price decreased from 6408 to 5447
[/list]
[/list]Items

[*]HE Charge

[*]MK-II MC price decreased from 252 to 216
[*]MK-II HC price decreased from 2564 to 2243
[*]MK-III MC price decreased from 360 to 288
[*]MK-III HC price decreased from 3846 to 3204
[/list]
[*]Detonator

[*]MK-I MC price decreased from 252 to 216
[*]MK-I HC price decreased from 2564 to 2243
[*]MK-II MC price decreased from 360 to 288
[*]MK-II HC price decreased from 3846 to 3204
[*]MK-III MC price decreased from 468 to 360
[*]MK-III HC price decreased from 5128 to 4165
[/list]
[*]EMP

[*]MK-I MC price decreased from 360 to 288
[*]MK-I HC price decreased from 3846 to 3204
[*]MK-II MC price decreased from 468 to 360
[*]MK-II HC price decreased from 5128 to 4165
[*]MK-III MC price decreased from 576 to 432
[*]MK-III HC price decreased from 6410 to 5126
[/list]
[*]MG Turret

[*]MK-I MC price decreased from 360 to 288
[*]MK-I HC price decreased from 3846 to 3204
[*]MK-II MC price decreased from 468 to 360
[*]MK-II HC price decreased from 5128 to 4165
[*]MK-III MC price decreased from 576 to 432
[*]MK-III HC price decreased from 6410 to 5126
[/list]
[*]Rocket Turret

[*]MK-II MC price decreased from 252 to 216
[*]MK-II HC price decreased from 2564 to 2243
[*]MK-III MC price decreased from 360 to 288
[*]MK-III HC price decreased from 3846 to 3204
[/list]
[*]Shield

[*]MK-II MC price decreased from 252 to 216
[*]MK-II HC price decreased from 2564 to 2243
[*]MK-III MC price decreased from 360 to 288
[*]MK-III HC price decreased from 3846 to 3204
[/list]
[*]Area Scanner

[*]MK-I MC price decreased from 252 to 216
[*]MK-I HC price decreased from 2564 to 2243
[*]MK-II MC price decreased from 360 to 288
[*]MK-II HC price decreased from 3846 to 3204
[*]MK-III MC price decreased from 468 to 360
[*]MK-III HC price decreased from 5128 to 4165
[/list]
[*]Radar Scrambler

[*]MK-I MC price decreased from 252 to 216
[*]MK-I HC price decreased from 2564 to 2243
[*]MK-II MC price decreased from 360 to 288
[*]MK-II HC price decreased from 3846 to 3204
[*]MK-III MC price decreased from 468 to 360
[*]MK-III HC price decreased from 5128 to 4165
[/list]
[*]Repair Charge

[*]MK-I MC price decreased from 360 to 288
[*]MK-I HC price decreased from 3846 to 3204
[*]MK-II MC price decreased from 468 to 360
[*]MK-II HC price decreased from 5128 to 4165
[*]MK-III MC price decreased from 576 to 432
[*]MK-III HC price decreased from 6410 to 5126
[/list]
[*]Hologram

[*]MK-II MC price decreased from 252 to 216
[*]MK-II HC price decreased from 2564 to 2243
[*]MK-III MC price decreased from 360 to 288
[*]MK-III HC price decreased from 3846 to 3204
[/list]
[*]Blockade

[*]MK-I MC price decreased from 252 to 216
[*]MK-I HC price decreased from 2564 to 2243
[*]MK-II MC price decreased from 360 to 288
[*]MK-II HC price decreased from 3846 to 3204
[*]MK-III MC price decreased from 468 to 360
[*]MK-III HC price decreased from 5128 to 4165
[/list]
[*]ISM Disruptor

[*]MK-I MC price decreased from 360 to 288
[*]MK-I HC price decreased from 3846 to 3204
[*]MK-II MC price decreased from 468 to 360
[*]MK-II HC price decreased from 5128 to 4165
[*]MK-III MC price decreased from 576 to 432
[*]MK-III HC price decreased from 6410 to 5126
[/list]
[*]Heat Mine

[*]MK-I MC price decreased from 360 to 288
[*]MK-I HC price decreased from 3846 to 3204
[*]MK-II MC price decreased from 468 to 360
[*]MK-II HC price decreased from 5128 to 4165
[*]MK-III MC price decreased from 576 to 432
[*]MK-III HC price decreased from 6410 to 5126
[/list]
[/list]Bugs Fixed

[*]Fixed a bug where thrusters were not unlocking globally if a player had purchased them in the past.
[*]Fixed a bug where lots of blank spots were appearing on the Service Awards list.
[*]Viewing another player's profile now shows the correct count for multi-kills (stat will show as 0 until a player gets another multi kill).
[*]Fixed a bug where the "Launch" button wouldn't revert back to "Play" if the player left the Quick Match or Server Browser screens.
[*]Duplicate Market offers no longer appear after player completes any training mode.
[*]Buying another mech that is already owned now shows the correct messaging.
[*]Fixed a bug where Incinerator's SAARE launcher would not always play the fire animation.
[/list]

Click here to view the article]]> Thu, 15 May 2014 02:20:58 +0000 https://community.playhawken.com/topic/59040-may-minor-update-patch-notes/ https://community.playhawken.com/topic/58999-free-mech-test-drive-scout-predator-and-vanguard/

Attention, mech pilots! For a limited time, you can test drive the Scout, Predator and Vanguard mechs for free. Try before you buy! All 3 mechs are come fully equipped with items and internals.



Head to your garage to test drive these mechs right now until May 20!

Click here to view the article]]> Tue, 13 May 2014 21:29:31 +0000 https://community.playhawken.com/topic/58999-free-mech-test-drive-scout-predator-and-vanguard/ https://community.playhawken.com/topic/58541-developer-stream-fight-club-all-stars-tournament/




Greetings pilots!

On 5/9/14 at 6 p.m. PDT, we'll be doing something a bit different for our weekly stream. Instead of playing normal matches, will be hosting a Fight Club tournament. 12 of HAWKEN's best players will battle each other in 1v1 duels to determine who will be crowned the ultimate mech pilot! The format of the tournament is as follows:



• 1v1
  
• Best of 3
  
• Single Elimination
  
• Map: Origin
  

Tune into our official Twitch TV channel tonight to watch the tournament! [HWK]Vanashinkaku, [HWK]ZamboniChaos and Fight Club organizer Saturnine will be on hand to provide match commentary. You can check out the official tournament bracket on Challonge.com by clicking here.

 

See you tonight pilots!



Click here to view the article]]> Fri, 09 May 2014 20:57:25 +0000 https://community.playhawken.com/topic/58541-developer-stream-fight-club-all-stars-tournament/ https://community.playhawken.com/topic/58466-game-update-5914-at-930-am-pdt-gmt-7/ May Update.

We expect the downtime to last approximately 1 hour. Thanks for your patience!]]> Fri, 09 May 2014 01:15:37 +0000 https://community.playhawken.com/topic/58466-game-update-5914-at-930-am-pdt-gmt-7/