17 replies to this topic

[Elix]

I'd like to begin by making it clear that this post is my own personal opinion and is not endorsed or approved by anyone at Adhesive Games or Meteor Entertainment. I am not affiliated with either company. I'm just a beta tester that's been around since late Alpha 2. I am also not calling out or referring to any single member of the forums; this advice is broad and general. I'm kind of hoping this gets made a sticky if it's good enough, but I won't cry in my hangar if it isn't promoted.

Welcome to Hawken Closed Beta Test 2!

I thought that I would write a brief guide to help new people with the closed beta tests. This is part FAQ, part advice on how to best help Adhesive and Meteor improve Hawken before Open Beta begins on 12.12.12. This is my own personal advice and I welcome feedback in the comments.This is not a comprehensive guide to everything Hawken, just a starting point for all the new people that'll be coming.

1. How to download and install Hawken, and common problems on this step.

First, you will need to have a beta key. If you don't already have one, you won't be able to post in this forum, so go get one from any of the sites linked in this thread. If they're all out, check the official Twitter account at @PlayHawken, the official Facebook account, or r/Hawken on Reddit. Instructions on redeeming the key should be listed next to any of the giveaways, but in short, register an account on playhawken.com (that's this site), and then paste your beta key or invite code into the "Redeem Code" box along the top. Go to http://www.playhawken.com/beta/ after it says that your code is accepted (make sure that you're still signed in on the beta page), and the download link for the installer should be there once the beta begins.

Once you have downloaded the installer, run it. Please note that this is currently Windows-only. Sorry, Mac and Linux users. Other OS versions might be available sometime, but during beta, Hawken is only being built for Windows. The installer will do its thing and may install some files for DirectX. This is normal.

The installer will ask you to log in with your Hawken account (email address and password). After you have logged in, it will then check for any necessary patches before starting the game. If you receive the error "Unable to download manifest", it means that the patch server is not currently up. This will happen whenever there is no active beta test under way. You will need to wait for a test period to begin. If this occurs during the testing period, it may be a technical issue with your computer, but it is probably a problem with Hawken's patch server, and it will be fixed soon.

2. Important things to know about Hawken's Closed Beta phase.

I'm about to answer 50% of the questions asked during the first closed beta test that were not due to a technical problem. These are important, and reading this will save you a lot of time and hassle. Hawken is in Closed Beta, and that means several important things.

a) You are here to help test the game. This is a very important thing to understand. Not everything is going to work. Not everything will be perfect. You will have fewer options than you might expect. This is normal; the game is currently in testing. Take this into consideration when you are about to post a complaint or a suggestion to the forums. Your feedback is important and it's why you're here, but keep in mind that you are playing an unfinished game. Your help is needed in order for Hawken to be the best game it can be when 12.12.12 rolls around.

b) There will be a full wipe of all purchased mechs, parts, boosts, exp earned, Hawken Points earned, everything, before Open Beta on 12.12.12. Everything will be reset except for your callsign and your account. It's likely that there will not be any wipes between closed beta test sessions before Open Beta, but you should be prepared for it to happen just in case.

c) Use the search function and read stickies before making a new topic. This is critical. The beta forums are watched closely by the development team, even if you don't see them post often, and they rely on the forums for our feedback. If you are giving feedback about a major element of the game, or you are reporting a major problem or bug, please check to see if someone else has already made a thread about it. Making duplicate threads just clogs up the forums and makes it harder for anyone to see smaller, less-active threads. Use the Search function in the upper right of the forum, read stickies, and read the first two pages of the forum to see if any of the thread titles seems to match your situation. If you don't see anything relevant, then go ahead with a new thread. Remember, you're not just a player with early access, you're a beta tester.

d) No, seriously, use the search function. I'm repeating this because it's that important.

e) The Rookie frame, aka "TV Mech", aka Fred, is probably here to stay. There's not much point in complaining about it. Like I said earlier in the post, this is still closed beta. The devs have many more options (including some returning old favourites, for people who were in the NDA'd Alpha phase) for when the game is going public.

f) Please make sure you use the right subforum in the Beta Forums for the correct situation. An "unable to download manifest" error does not belong in Beta Discussion, it belongs in Beta Support. A bug report where your mech's exp resets to 0 does not belong in the Beta Support section, it belongs in the Beta Bug Reports section. Suggestions on how to improve Hawken go in the Beta Suggestions forum. Please do your part to help keep the forum tidy.

g) Use the search function! I hope I've made my point clear, here.

3. Some Hawken tips.

Hawken is a fast-paced FPS in big, hulking mechs. I, myself, am not that great of a mech pilot, partially from lack of practice and partially from having a computer that couldn't render a pack of fuzzy bunnies if you gave it a week, but enough excuses from me. Hawken is a bit different, and it requires a bit of a different playstyle than some people are used to.

Don't stay still. You're a target, and the less you move the easier you are to hit.

Don't be afraid to retreat. Remember, you can heal yourself if you can get away and hide.

Maintain situational awareness. As much as possible. In a chaotic deathmatch, this can be hard. Use your radar, and remember that radar jammers may be in play.

Be aware of your mech's limitations. Hawken CB test 1 had three classes of mech: A, B, and C. CB test 2 probably will have the same. You get more heavily armed and armoured, but slower, as you go from A to C, and this drastically changes your options in a firefight. Don't jump into a fight that you won't survive unless you have no choice; it will take longer for you to respawn and run back to the battle than it will to run away, hide, repair, and come back.

Watch the tutorial videos. It's what they're there for.

Manage your heat. Overheating shuts your guns down for several critical seconds. Overheat at the wrong time and you're dead.

Support your team in team game modes. This especially applies to missile assault and siege, where multiple roles are needed in order to win. You need to coordinate, and you need to stick together. A lone wolf is a dead mech, and dead mechs can't capture or complete round objectives. Watch your teammates' backs in team deathmatch.

Have fun. Don't take the game too seriously, and don't let someone else ruin your enjoyment of the game. If you aren't having fun in a particular server, leave it and play in a different one. Hopefully, you'll have a more fun experience in that one. Don't flip out on the player and start saying nasty things about their mother. That sort of behaviour tends to get you in a load of trouble in most games.

"Fuzzy bunny" is a word filter for a variety of unpleasant words on the forums. Keep the language clean and be respectful to other posters, please. This isn't from me, this is from the mods. Note that not every instance of "fuzzy bunny" represents a bad word the poster tried to use. I typed it out in full twice in this paragraph, and a number of veteran posters will do that instead of actually cursing. Don't try and evade the word filter to curse at someone; the mods really don't like punishing people.

A quick message to Alpha/Beta veterans.

Be nice to the new kids. Be patient when they ask questions that have already been answered a billion times since Alpha 2 ended. Remember, they don't have the experience you do. English may not be their first language, as well, so there may be reading comprehension issues that make it more difficult for some people to find the answers to their questions. Blow them to bits in-game, but be nice to them. Click the "Report" button on rule-breaking posts, but don't reply to them. That only creates more of a mess for the mods to clean up and just escalates the thread.

Edit: Formatting tweaks.

Edited by Elix, November 08 2012 - 05:03 AM.

[bac9]

Thank you so much for taking the time and having the patience to explain all that. I second everything there. :)

Wanted to add a bit to that:

Quote

Support your team in team game modes. This especially applies to missile assault and siege, where multiple roles are needed in order to win. You need to coordinate, and you need to stick together. A lone wolf is a dead mech, and dead mechs can't capture or complete round objectives. Watch your teammates' backs in team deathmatch.

Guys, that part about "sticking together" is extremely important not only for your well-being, but in order to succeed in completing round objectives in Siege and Missile game modes. Please understand that sniping people from afar without participating in missile launchers control is usually not helping your team, even if you are an expert in SABOT rifles and precision god. Opposing team can avoid your fire quite easily, using plenty of cover that is always available around the launcher, - all without interrupting their control influence. If you're seeing that your team is being overwhelmed (on the control balance display), rush to the objective and help your buddies in close combat.

I've seen a lot of Missile and Siege matches where a team would have several K/D ratio leaders playing solo while their team is being completely stomped objective-wise by less experienced, but coordinated players who are actually paying attention. Your kills won't always help, you can contribute to success in other ways too.

Obviously, you're in there to have fun, and if you like keeping your distance at all times, good for you, it's not something we can dictate. But consider that there are game modes more suited for lone wolf sharpshooters. For instance, that playstyle sometimes can be a tremendous help to your buddies in Team DM mode, which usually proves to be more satisfying than listening to constant nagging from your teammates in Siege or Missile matches. Remember, enjoyment comes not just from pretty K/D stats, and this game shines the best in emergent moments of collaborative victories. :)

P.S.: Oh, and by the way, well-played Siege match nets you an insane amount of XP, so consider that another reason to follow objectives too. :)

Edited by bac9, November 08 2012 - 04:31 AM.

[EMEUTIER]

Great work on this post, it really should be stickied at this point.

You have covered pretty much everything that we (who have been here since alpha1) have seen asked hundreds of times already yet still keep being asked.

Its good to see that you have also included useful hotlinks too. Hopefully this will be useful for anyone new to the Hawken beta.

[Ezio]

Cool post, helped me out even though I've been here awhile.

[Fragxile]

Very good post Elix, I call for this to be stickied. Also would like to highlight the last paragraph, maybe send it out on the mailing list or something. Keep up the good work.

[Ferret06]

bac9, on November 08 2012 - 04:14 AM, said:

Thank you so much for taking the time and having the patience to explain all that. I second everything there.

Wanted to add a bit to that:

Quote

Support your team in team game modes. This especially applies to missile assault and siege, where multiple roles are needed in order to win. You need to coordinate, and you need to stick together. A lone wolf is a dead mech, and dead mechs can't capture or complete round objectives. Watch your teammates' backs in team deathmatch.

Guys, that part about "sticking together" is extremely important not only for your well-being, but in order to succeed in completing round objectives in Siege and Missile game modes. Please understand that sniping people from afar without participating in missile launchers control is usually not helping your team, even if you are an expert in SABOT rifles and precision god. Opposing team can avoid your fire quite easily, using plenty of cover that is always available around the launcher, - all without interrupting their control influence. If you're seeing that your team is being overwhelmed (on the control balance display), rush to the objective and help your buddies in close combat.

I've seen a lot of Missile and Siege matches where a team would have several K/D ratio leaders playing solo while their team is being completely stomped objective-wise by less experienced, but coordinated players who are actually paying attention. Your kills won't always help, you can contribute to success in other ways too.

Obviously, you're in there to have fun, and if you like keeping your distance at all times, good for you, it's not something we can dictate. But consider that there are game modes more suited for lone wolf sharpshooters. For instance, that playstyle sometimes can be a tremendous help to your buddies in Team DM mode, which usually proves to be more satisfying than listening to constant nagging from your teammates in Siege or Missile matches. Remember, enjoyment comes not just from pretty K/D stats, and this game shines the best in emergent moments of collaborative victories.

P.S.: Oh, and by the way, well-played Siege match nets you an insane amount of XP, so consider that another reason to follow objectives too.

Just go easy on us newbs that have never played before! therefore have no idea what is where on the maps. yet.

[Kellyxix]

Thanks for clearing up that unable to download manifest problem I was getting. Just have to wait until it starts.

[Frenotx]

Still not available for pre-download. The anticipation continues.

[NoNacK]

It's nice to see that kind of message. I have not played the game yet, but I can feel this community seems very good ! Hope we can play together in the future.

[TheFrostnessMonster]

This is going to be good.
P.S. teamwork is everything in TDM, Siege, and Missile Assault.

[Elix]

Teamwork is critical. It's going to take some time for all the CBT2 newbies (and even some of the older guys) to find their ground. Be patient with 'em, folks.

[NIGHTRAV3N]

Great job Elix on a VERY informative post for the new addition of pilots in CBE2. I agree with this being stickier for future use for everyone.

Keep up the great work and I will see all of you out on the battlefield

[Elix]

....

Edited by Moderator03, November 09 2012 - 10:46 AM.
Edited for "bumping" post

[Aelieth]

Appreciate this, Elix. Good work.

[Sparkard]

@bac9:
Lol, no.

Edited by Sparkard, November 09 2012 - 11:44 AM.

[Elix]

Sparkard, on November 09 2012 - 11:30 AM, said:

@Elix:
Lol, no.

"Lol, no," what_ I wrote quite a lot in this thread, and I'm not sure what you're responding to.

[Brave_Sir_Robin]

Elix, on November 08 2012 - 03:22 AM, said:

I, myself, am not that great of a mech pilot, partially from lack of practice and partially from having a computer that couldn't render a pack of fuzzy bunnies if you gave it a week...

"Fuzzy bunny" is a word filter for a variety of unpleasant words on the forums.

"If you get fuzzy bunny by a pack of fuzzy bunnies, it will be your fault!"

[Sparkard]

My apologies, i've meant to refer to bac9's post. Fixed.