For those of you who have been with us since we started Early Access in May of 2023, it should be no surprise that Hawken Reborn has had quite the journey, with many learnings and uphill battles to overcome. From a name synonymous with PVP, to an Early Access moniker that still c
For those of you who have been with us since we started Early Access in May of 2023, it should be no surprise that Hawken Reborn has had quite the journey, with many learnings and uphill battles to overcome. From a name synonymous with PVP, to an Early Access moniker that still came with high expectations, Hawken Reborn went live with the intent of developing a Hawken formula for all types of players to enjoy in a tumultuous videogame industry.
Over a year later, we learned a ton about what can work with a Hawken game and what doesn't, based on the mountain of feedback received. While it was great to hear from players as the game was still baking and making major design improvements like the current iteration of Patrol Mode, it's clear to us that we need to make even more significant changes to the game to make a more noticeable dent in this seemingly insurmountable hillclimb. This means that we will be pausing further development on Hawken Reborn in its current iteration.
The game will still continue to be available to play on Steam indefinitely to give players a sense of what a modern version of Hawken can be, but we’ll be going dark until we’re able to release a new version of a Hawken game that can face the headwinds that comes with a franchise of this stature. Until then, THANK YOU to the passionate community who has voiced their feedback and cheered us on during this turbulent time. It was a fun adventure and we look forward to hopping back into the pilot seat again in the future!
GENERAL Enforcers have been rebalanced so that solo players have a better chance of destroying them. The Raptor Enforcer has been added back into the game. At TL 60, there is a chance to spawn either the Raptor or the Guerilla Enforcer. See updated Codex picture in-game for detai
GENERAL
Enforcers have been rebalanced so that solo players have a better chance of destroying them.
The Raptor Enforcer has been added back into the game.
At TL 60, there is a chance to spawn either the Raptor or the Guerilla Enforcer. See updated Codex picture in-game for details.
There is now an option in the Settings Menu to disable notifications across the front end.
COMPONENTS
Ferrox Mech
Rebalanced to be stronger across the board to meet its Hero Component status.
HULL HP and Shield values have been increased.
The Ferrox recoil MOD tree attribute has been replaced with Maximum Shield Strength.
Centurion Mech
Fixed a bug where the Centurion mech’s textures were glitching when you swapped bays or front end screens.
Removed the Centurion VFX due to issues found when playing in First person.
Cliffhanger Thurster
Lowered the brightness of the thruster VFX which was causing issues for players in third person view.
BUGS
The player TL no longer changes incorrectly if players join during a short period as the session is loading.
The player TL can be zero in a multiplier session.
Fixed a bug where textures were not showing correctly for the Cliffhanger Thruster.
Fixed a bug with the Minigun where if players modded a non TL attribute, the weapon could not achieve a TL of 76.
Fixed a bug where the MMAL’s SFX could be heard all over the game world.
Fixed a bug where doors and gates would appear open whilst leaving the collision in a ‘closed’ state for players who joined after an engagement that contained doors or gates spawned into the world.
Fixed a hole found in the game world geometry in Zone A.
Closed off access to the Korolev Pass area as it is not ready for exploration.
Multiplayer Coop takes a major leap forward in Hawken Reborn Update 0.5 as we turn up the heat with a new Player Vs Player Vs Environment (PVPVE) game mode! Along with this exciting new mode, you can expect to see some new mechs and fight your way through our updated Enforcer min
Multiplayer Coop takes a major leap forward in Hawken Reborn Update 0.5 as we turn up the heat with a new Player Vs Player Vs Environment (PVPVE) game mode! Along with this exciting new mode, you can expect to see some new mechs and fight your way through our updated Enforcer mini boss system for exclusive rewards only available to skilled pilots brave enough to challenge their presence.
Player Vs Player Vs Environment (PVPVE)
With the current set of multiplayer co-op improvements from our last update, another layer of combat has been implemented to give players another way to explore Illal, only this time, you’ll risk destruction in the hands of other pilots with PVPVE.
This new mode will allow for two sets of 3-pilot-teams to dog fight their way across Illal as each team vies for valuable resources. Along with farming resources from enemy mechs, fallen PVP foes will also drop loot so be sure to stand your ground if you ever find yourself getting shot at by another pilot. Weapons in PVPVE also hit a little differently too due to balancing requirements so be sure to let us know how the game feels in this first iteration of this new mode.
THE FRACTURE ZONE
The gates have been breached from the Refuge and players can now take the fight over to the all new Fracture Zone which features the fiery wreckage of a crashed ship. Across these lands you’ll also come across 30+ new enemy encounters to test your mech loadouts in this hostile zone.
Like most of the mechs currently available in Hawken Reborn, players of the original Hawken may recognize our Ferrox mech as a Technician Light mech. As with its predecessor, the new Ferrox jumps into battle as a tough adversary to dispatch with its higher hull health and nimble maneuvering skills.
With its unknown origins and equally mysterious appearance of tubes and heavy armor plating, the latest heavy hitter to enter Hawken Reborn is an original mech, the Centurion. This Heavy Bulkwalk mech not only boasts increased survivability with higher shields and mobility, but is also a prized item that can only be crafted by skilled pilots willing to take down our Enforcers for loot specific to this mech.
A new Centurion Enforcer has been added during the Patrol sessions so be sure to set your sights on this mini boss if they come knocking at your door.
NEW BULWARK GEAR
Speaking of increased mobility with the Centurion, Bulwark Type mechs are getting a few pieces of kit that will give their pilots a little more versatility in battle instead of slowly lumbering around the map.
Cliffhanger Thruster
Take Bulwark mechs to the skies with the brand new Cliffhanger thruster and turn your bulletsponge mech into a much more maneuverable floating fortress.
Garwood Minigun
Bulwarks are known for being able to handle the heat in the midst of battle with their strong shields, but now they’ll be able to dish out some extra heat against opponents with sustained fire from the high capacity Garwood minigun.
Those are the main features that you can expect to see with this release! With combat evolving into a new PVPVE mode and an increased arsenal at your disposal, Update 0.5 is an exciting step forward for Hawken Reborn. We’ve seen what players can do against our enemy AI and now that enemy combatants include other players, we’re excited to see how much piloting skills players are able to flex against each other. This update is also one that will require a lot of rebalancing since it represents an all new playing field for our development efforts so please be sure to join our Discord Server and share your feedback!
GENERAL Player nameplates have been improved, including improving the clarity of text on the nameplates. If a component is equipped in another mech bay then it will no longer be present in other bays to be equipped/unequipped. A Notification system has been implemented to draw at
GENERAL
Player nameplates have been improved, including improving the clarity of text on the nameplates.
If a component is equipped in another mech bay then it will no longer be present in other bays to be equipped/unequipped.
A Notification system has been implemented to draw attention and guide to newly crafted/unlocked components and if components are eligible for upgrading.
New tooltips have been added for new player mech and weapon progression requirements.
The player will now become invulnerable when they are connected to an MTP and have selected 'Return to Hangar'.
FEATURES
PvPvE
PvPvE (Player vs Player vs Enemy) game mode has been added to Hawken:Reborn.
2 teams of 3 players are now able to join a session if PvPvE is enabled when creating lobbies.
New radar icons have been added to distinguish between the 2 PvPvE teams.
New radar functionality has been added to PvPvE allowing players of the opposing team to be pinged on the radar whilst they’re firing, whilst not firing they’ll be hidden from the opposing team’s radar.
Weapons have been rebalanced exclusively to a PvPvE session; normal values are retained for use in PvE.
Players on the opposing team will now drop loot when they’re destroyed.
Radio Missions will now alternate between both teams in PvPvE.
Team B will now start at either Wyndham Moores or The Fracture MTP when playing PvPvE.
Loot caches in PvPvE mode now only give the loot to the team members of the player that opened or destroyed the loot cache.
A new Codex screen has been added for PvPvE mode.
New tool tips have been added for PvPvE mode.
A new screen following the Patrol end screen has been added for PvPvE showing a summary of player highlights of the session.
GAMEPLAY
Centurion
The Centurion platform has been added to the game.
The Centurion is a new platform with unknown origins, boasting high shields and increased mobility in the line up of our Bulwark Platforms.
The Centurion is a new Bulwark-type mech.
Has its own new modification tree.
Ferrox
The Ferrox platform has been added to the game.
The Ferrox is a returning platform as part of the Prosk family. Where its shield lacks it makes up with higher hull values compared to its Vex counterparts.
The Ferrox is a new Vex-type mech
Has its own new modification tree.
Garwood
The Garwood Minigun has been added to the game.
The Garwood is a new weapon designed for Bulwark platforms, with the highest magazine size currently in Hawken:Reborn it’s made to fire for extended periods of time.
The Garwood is a Bulwark-type mech weapon.
Has its own new modification tree.
Enforcers
A new Enforcer has been added for the higher difficulty levels – using the new Centurion loadout.
Enforcer loot pools have been updated for the Knee-breaker, Centurion and The Guerrilla.
The Fracture The Fracture is the aftermath of a downed ship which decimated the area that controls the water flow of Valkyrie Landing upon its crash landing. In the wake of the destruction, The Fracture became a warzone for the factions trying to stake claim over the cargo onboard.
The Fracture has been unlocked as a new zone for both PvE and PvPvE game modes.
30+ encounters are present within The Fracture for fighting and looting.
Player Components
New Codex screens have been added to explain progression requirements for the new mech platforms and new weapon.
Added the 3 new components to the store rotation.
BUG FIXES
Unit banter has been fixed to play during specific AI events.
Locked lobbies no longer show up in lobby lists when searching for parties.
Fixed an issue where the ‘Transfer Loot’ button at an MTP would sometimes disable itself under certain circumstances.
Fixed an issue where the Player mech would float in the air if they were killed whilst flying.
Game Mode selection will no longer reset when creating a party.
Fixed an issue with UI Widgets that prevented them from storing the current state because they thought they were read only.
The Component XP Button will now refresh after you upgrade the component.
Fixed an issue where if you fail to locate a lobby to join you didn’t automatically create your own lobby.
General Armour plates that were implemented as part of our new Crit Points system can now be individually targeted and shot off the enemy mech leaving an exposed area that deals first shield, then HULL damage when targeted. ‘New player’ default camera view is now the 3rd person C
General
Armour plates that were implemented as part of our new Crit Points system can now be individually targeted and shot off the enemy mech leaving an exposed area that deals first shield, then HULL damage when targeted.
‘New player’ default camera view is now the 3rd person CENTRE view.
Added option for players to select DirectX 11 or DirectX 12 when starting the game.
Bug Fixes
Disabled the Transfer Items options when connecting to a player portal if no loot has been collected.
Same faction NPC’s that are locally placed, but from separate encounters will now turn hostile alongside their faction soldiers.
‘Breadcrumb’ waypoint icons will now ‘complete’ for all players, not just the lobby leader.
Failing to locate a lobby to join will now automatically create your own lobby.
General Combat music now triggers in game across all locations. Enemies now react to the player trying to destroy the water pipes in the mission “Toxic Behaviour” and will turn hostile towards the player when attacked. Made the Micro-Missile Auto Launcher (MMAL) full auto to corr
General
Combat music now triggers in game across all locations.
Enemies now react to the player trying to destroy the water pipes in the mission “Toxic Behaviour” and will turn hostile towards the player when attacked.
Made the Micro-Missile Auto Launcher (MMAL) full auto to correctly match the weapons item description.
Neutral factions guarding checkpoints at their territory borders now react to the player ‘hopping the fence’ and will turn hostile.
Added a new Enforcer screen into the codex to inform the player of the spawn requirements for each Enforcer.
Tripled the range at which the player is able to pick up loot drops.
Mech Balancing
Vex
Updated the player Hornet (Vex) base Shield Regen Delay to be 1.4 seconds (Previously 0.9).
Updated the player Nimbus (Vex) base Shield Regen Delay to be 1.7 seconds (Previously 1.2).
Aerial
Increased the player Apex (Aerial) Max Shield to 2710 (Previously 2520)
Reduced the player Apex (Aerial) Shield Regen Delay to 6.87 seconds (Previously 7.47)
Increased the player Shark (Aerial) Max Shield to 2420 (Previously 2230)
Reduced the player Shark (Aerial) Shield Regen Delay to 6.3 seconds (Previously 6.9)
Bulwark
Increased all Bulwark sprint speeds.
Enemy Balancing
Enforcers
Increased the shield regen delay on all Enforcers.
Swapped around the Platforms of the Guerilla Enforcer and Knee-Breaker Enforcer.
The Huntsman Enforcer
Updated the Sentium Huntsman Enforcer weapons – The Volta has now been removed from them as it was causing an unseen amount of destruction and has been replaced with a Sniper Rifle.
Increased the Sentium Huntsman Enforcer’s Ultra Rapid Fire SMG damage.
The Knee-Breaker Enforcer
Updated the Knee-Breaker Enforcer’s Micro-Missile Auto Launcher (MMAL) projectile to deal damage – previously was doing 0 damage upon impact.
Bug Fixes
Ensured the Lobby UI disables ‘find party’ when you create or are part of a party.
Removed the currency icon from the repair button in the Hangar Screen.
The rebuild button is no longer blocked by the dialogue triggered the first time a mech is destroyed on a Patrol run.
Fixes to the Stat Comparison screen to correctly show the icons for increase/decrease for the corresponding stats.
Made all in-world forcefields indestructible to prevent accidental logic breaks of content by shooting the forcefields and breaking various events.
Missions now correctly remove themselves from the mechpad menu when completed/failed/abandoned.
Removed friendly turrets from the Mission “Defence Core Deliver” that caused issues with attitude changes and wouldn’t wake up when in combat.
All Faction attitudes have been reviewed across Refuge and Wyndham Moores to better represent how they react around the player.
Made the spawned hostile Payload destructible in Bratticeloft entrance and made it spawn loot too!
Removed the Orbital Laser VFX from triggering when Interacting with the payload in some pieces of content.
Adjusted geometry in Wyndham Moores Junkyard to prevent the Enforcer getting stuck on an extractor fan when spawning in.
Removed a concrete block and other assets causing navigation issues for enemy AI.
Made some places in Discretion Reclamation Plant inaccessible to AI to prevent them getting stuck in isolated locations where they couldn’t escape.
Six long months have passed since we last talked about coop coming to Hawken Reborn in Update 0.3 and the major changes that we’ve incorporated to hone in on features that worked while scrapping those that didn't. Gone are the handheld linear tutorial and story mode that didn’t q
Six long months have passed since we last talked about coop coming to Hawken Reborn in Update 0.3 and the major changes that we’ve incorporated to hone in on features that worked while scrapping those that didn't. Gone are the handheld linear tutorial and story mode that didn’t quite stick where it needed and instead was a much more truncated experience that literally threw you into the fires of Illal’s dystopian battlefield without any training wheels.
Update 0.3 represents our commitment to keep chipping away at the game to gradually improve it, but also our limitations as a very small dev team that can’t move much faster than an Atlas’ walking speed. In the time since our last build, we’ve been continuing to define areas of improvement that can contribute to a stronger foundation for the game. Last week we released our full Update 0.4 Patch Notes that listed out all major areas of improvement we’ve been focusing on such as improving coop matchmaking and a bunch of subtle, but hopefully welcomed quality of life improvements.
Today, we’re proud to finally release Update 0.4 and let players get back into the pilot seat to see what we’ve been cooking all this time. Here’s a list of a few notable features that have been added to this latest build.
CODEX
In the absence of a full tutorial that caused a lot of player frustration when first playing the game, we’ve added a new CODEX system that defines several important game mechanics and features that will make onboarding into the Hawken Reborn experience a little clearer. Some of the explanations are a bit long due to the nature of their fundamentals, but we’re hopeful this can be a good touch point that players can rely on when running into questions they might come across during their sessions.
COOP MATCHMAKING
The game is meant to be played with other pilots and our previous implementation made it extremely clunky to find others so we’ve implemented an array of changes that make getting into the action with other mech pilots significantly easier.
For starters, you will no longer need to find a 32 character Lobby ID, DM it to a friend or Discord Server member, and then join a group lobby before finally getting into the combat. Instead you’ll be sent straight into a coop session if one already exists by default since every player session is technically a multiplayer game session.
If you prefer to play solo, you can choose to restrict the type of party to Open or Invite Only as well as the Threat Level of players that join your sessions.
CRIT SPOTS SYSTEM
Previously we had a crit spot system that had no visuals to show players where to hit and instead relied on the color patterns that appeared as damage numbers sprayed out of enemy mechs. It was a very basic system with lots of room for improvement so one of the things we have focussed heavily on is trying to add layers of depth to the moment to moment combat with this system as a key ingredient.
As its next evolution, our new crit spots have manifested into a more visually representative system that will see enemies wearing plates of armor that will increase in quantity as Threat Levels increase. In addition, you’ll find some other visual accessories attached to the chassis that you’ll want to target in combat.
ARMOR PLATING fortifies certain spots on a mech and reduces the damage received by enemy mechs by 90%.
SHIELD AMPLIFIERS will increase the amount of additional damage a shield can absorb based on a mech’s Max HP. Be sure to knock these out ASAP to greatly diminish an enemy’s lifespan on the battlefield!
SHIELD BATTERIES and FUEL RESERVES are soft spots that when destroyed deal extra damage based on a mech’s Max HP. Fuel Reserves can’t be damaged while shields are up so be sure to target the batteries first!
COMPONENT XP
Similar to our mention about confusion from new players and a need for implementing a CODEX guide book, we saw a lot of feedback in the Workshop where players were accidently crafting multiple items during the upgrade process. With the implementation of the new Component XP system, we hope to better decouple these two essential areas of our gameplay loop by changing how the upgrade process works.
Once a component (Mech Platforms, Weapons, and Thrusters) is in your inventory, the upgrading process is now as follows using a Mark I to Mark II crafting example:
Unlock the next Mark II level of your component by filling up the CXP BAR.
Required Schematics for the next Mark II component will now be collectible through combat and farming.
Once all Schematics and materials are acquired, build each completed item.
Assemble your Mark II component
Keep an eye on the left side of your HUD to see CXP earned when you deal a killing blow to an enemy as well as the end of the session screen that shows you how close you are to being able to upgrade each component.
RADIO MISSIONS
With the change in how we approached combat in Patrol Mode, our Radio Missions were largely removed from the game and we’re excited to see their return in Update 0.4 with a total of 12 brand new Radio Missions. Six in each zone with some having objectives that span into other zones so be careful.
Also notable is that Radio Missions are now the only way of earning our soft currency Credits in the game and also have a chance of giving our hard currency, Scrip, as a completion reward.
As this is a completely new mission system that had to be changed due to the new core game changes, there are still a few kinks to iron out so let us know in our Discord channel of any issues you find.
UPDATE 0.4 IS OUT NOW
There’s a lot more under the hood of Hawken Reborn Update 0.4 that new players may not notice, but for those of you who have been around since we ventured into Early Access, there have been quite a bit of changes that you’ve undoubtedly experienced and hope to keep rolling out through these updates. Though a slow development process, we hope these changes continue to help redefine the Hawken Reborn experience and would love to continue to hear from players both directly in our Discord Server and Reviews! See you on Illal!
Hawken Reborn Update 0.4 is currently getting its final adjustments before going live at the end of the month and introduces new ways to enjoy PVE co-op with improved matchmaking tools, adds new layers of combat complexity against enemy mechs, and a range of quality of life enhan
Hawken Reborn Update 0.4 is currently getting its final adjustments before going live at the end of the month and introduces new ways to enjoy PVE co-op with improved matchmaking tools, adds new layers of combat complexity against enemy mechs, and a range of quality of life enhancements to make your time on Illal more enjoyable. Here's what else we've been cooking over these last few months!
FEATURES
- 12 brand new radio missions have been added giving pilots a more guided experience through Patrol Mode and the ability to earn in-game currencies as their rewards. - New players will be added to an active Patrol session making experiencing multiplayer coop easier for all players. This feature can also be disabled by the host in case they want to play solo sessions. - Additional Critical Points system now incorporates a visible armor system on enemy mechs to increase degree of strategy in combat. - New Component XP system allows items to be leveled up from Mark I to V by destroying enemies in battle. - Enemy AI has been improved in combat to make their combat engagement against players more challenging. - New Codex has been added to the Mercnet in the hangar with tutorials for several important features of Hawken Reborn. - A new tutorial tooltip (circle with ? icon) have been added across the hangar to give a brief overview of various elements and mechanics.
GAMEPLAY
- Enforcers (mini boss towards end of Patrol session) now start spawning at TL 25. If defeated, a new enforcer will spawn at additional TL thresholds with increasing difficulty at later and higher TL thresholds. - New enemy type added: Sniper Turret - Coop Threat Level scaling improved in areas of difficulty and quantity depending on the number of players presently in a session.
GRAPHICS
- The Nanite swarm at the end of a Patrol session has been visually improved to better convey the urgency of heading back to the hangar before your imminent destruction. - Various locations have had their visuals and geometry polished for improved gameplay.
QUALITY OF LIFE
- Repairs in the hangar no longer cost any currency. - Rewards improved across various areas such as enemy encounters, resource nodes, loot crates, and mission completion currencies. - Reloading weapons now have an Advanced Reload option allowing players to hold R and then pulling the trigger on the weapon they'd like to reload vs pressing R to reload both weapons at the same time. - New Thruster Activation Mode gives pilots the option to keep thrusters engaged or toggled when jumping. - New damage number indicators pop up in a dedicated location near the crosshair with damage numbers + color coding to indicate various types of damage. - Additional gamepad settings added to improve Look Controls. - Additional camera viewing options lets players choose between in-cockpit 1st person view and left/middle/right 3rd person view. - Pilots can now control who enters their play session by creating a lobby with 4 new party type options: Open, Friends Only, Invite Only, & Single Player. - Current and selected component stats can be directly compared before equipping them.
REBALANCES - All player bullet-based weapons have had their project speeds increased by approximately 100 m/sec excluding the Rasiseri shotgun. - All Area of Effect weapons have had their base projectile speeds increased by approximately 50 m/sec. - The Rasiseri's "Firing Spread
REBALANCES - All player bullet-based weapons have had their project speeds increased by approximately 100 m/sec excluding the Rasiseri shotgun. - All Area of Effect weapons have had their base projectile speeds increased by approximately 50 m/sec. - The Rasiseri's "Firing Spread Decrement" mod has been changed to "Vertical Recoil Reduction" and existing point assignments have been upheld. - Following a damage falloff bug fix, weapon stats have been rebalanced for the Deadeye, Goddard, Kettie, Micro-Missile Auto Launcher, and Volta. - Volta rebalanced following beam weapon collision and performance fixes.
GRAPHICS - New Schematic icons have been added in various areas for better visual clarity.
PATROL MODE - The caves in the Refuge have been split into two locations to allow for simultaneous events to trigger in the general area.
GAMEPLAY - Drones will now activate their abilities at a lower health threshold. 40% for the Meteor and 50% for the Asteroid. - Machine Gun Turret damage has been reduced by 25%.
QUALITY OF LIFE - Within the Steam client, player status has been updated to identify where a player is current playing the game such as in the Hangar, Coop Lobby, or in a Patrol Mode session.
UI / TEXT - Various adjustments to nameplates have been made to increase legibility including font changes and font size increases. - Neutral units now have a yellow name plate indicator instead of orange for better clarity against red aggro units. - Various item descriptions have had their naming and stats corrected. - Removed missing "TEXT BLOCK" error and graphic from the warning pop up.
BUGS - Volta bug preventing full damage when fired has been fixed. - Load times optimized in instances where players with large inventories potentially had longer than expected load times in the game. - Missions involving a payload have been added back after fixing a bug that caused a server crash upon their destruction. - Fixed the collision detection of a few props in the game causing players to get stuck or clip through when interacting with them. - Some Area of Effect and Beam weapons have had their damage falloff range adjusted due to an earlier bug applying them when they shouldn't have. - Adjusted applicable maximum Weapon Recoil ranges to originally intended recoil range of 30º vertical and 5º horizontal. Previously bugged at 2.5º and 0.75º respectively.
MISCELLANEOUS - Poet Neil’s supply crate has been returned, but sadly, he’s still missing.
We've issued Hot Fix ver 0.3.0.1 to address some very important bugs that caused players to lose out on progression and experience broken mechs upon entering a session. Multiplayer Co-op - Fixed a bug that caused mechs to be severely damaged upon entering a multiplayer coop sessi
We've issued Hot Fix ver 0.3.0.1 to address some very important bugs that caused players to lose out on progression and experience broken mechs upon entering a session.
Multiplayer Co-op
- Fixed a bug that caused mechs to be severely damaged upon entering a multiplayer coop session due to TL scaling.
Gameplay
- Loot should now sync with a player's inventory due to a bug that caused a desync between Game (Hangar) and Patrol Mode sessions.
Misc
- Fixed a few bugs that caused crashes to periodically occur.
FEATURES - Multiplayer co-op is now enabled with a new lobby system that allows players to create private sessions of up to 3 total pilots. - Patrol Mode gameplay loop has been overhauled with a time capped play session that features a wide array of challenges in varying difficul
FEATURES
- Multiplayer co-op is now enabled with a new lobby system that allows players to create private sessions of up to 3 total pilots. - Patrol Mode gameplay loop has been overhauled with a time capped play session that features a wide array of challenges in varying difficulty to earn resources and level up. - All players will have a starting loadout featuring a mech of each type equipped with two weapons and one thruster. - Vex, Aerial, and Bulwark combat types have been added as identifiers for how corresponding weapons and thrusters can be assigned to them. [V] = Shotguns, Sub-Machine Guns, Compact Cannons [A] = Grenade Launchers, Assault Rifles, Sniper Rifles = Beam Weapons, Machine Guns, Missile & Rocket Launchers - The Threat Level system has been normalized to values between 1 - 100 across all areas that utilize this numeric system to indicate power level correlations. - RNG has been removed from all areas of the modding system and replaced with one that yields consistent stats when points are assigned.
PATROL MODE
- Private Patrol Mode session invites can be facilitated by creating and sharing a lobby ID or inviting Steam friends by activating the Steam community overlay with Shift + Tab. - Radio Missions and Random Encounters have been removed temporarily while our new gameplay mechanics are implemented and tested. - Patrol Mode now has a 40 minute timer. - A new Enforcer mech unit type will now spawn into Patrol Mode at the final 10 minutes of a Patrol Mode session. If you see it, RUN. - Some locations will spawn in enemies at higher TLs to increase the risk of engaging them. - Loot caches have been added around the map that drop various resources and Scrip currency that scale based on the World TL. - Causing a nearby faction to turn hostile towards you by attacking them or their property will cause nearby members of the same faction to also turn hostile. - Factions have their banners placed in locations that they have control over.
GAMEPLAY
- The new Meteor Burst SMG Drone and Asteroid Gun Drone have been introduced as new aerial enemy types. - Enemy units now scale in both difficulty and stats based on the number of players in the multiplayer co-op session. - Drones now fly through the air more fluidly with improved spatial and navigational awareness. - Tracers on projectile weapons have been reworked to have clearer and better visuals. - Improved aim assist to target the closest enemy unit instead of a random one. - The crosshair reticle will now expand when sustaining fire to visually communicate the weapons bloom. - All shielded enemies will now visually show their shields popping when depleted. - Enemy accuracy has been rebalanced after the implementation of our recoil system. - Assault and Sharpshooter infantry retreat behaviors and animations have been improved. - Added a little more grit to infantry to be braver against mechs before running for their lives. - Rebalanced the Rocketeer thruster to have better handling. - Components and platforms have been updated with a new socket locked system in line with our new Vex, Aerial, and Bulwark combat types. - Faction hostility towards pilots has been changed to the following categories: Hostile - Prosk & Sentium Neutral - Burning Flag Friendly - Dawning - TL scaling has been reworked to factor co-op gameplay, time, and other variables. - Mission rewards now give better and more resources based on Threat Level. - Persistently getting too up close and personal with neutral factions will cause them to turn hostile towards you. - Enemies with Threat Levels that are 100+ will have a skull icon above them.
AUDIO
- Various areas of game sounds have been remixed for a better audio experience. - New sound effects added when shields and hulls take damage from various weapon types. - Weapon audio should feel more balanced against the combat music that plays in the background. - Several weapons have had their sound effects reworked including the Kalituhan, Tornado, Shershen, Gieren, Kettie, Deadeye, and Rasiseri.
GRAPHICS
- Improved destructibility across various objects in Zone A (Refuge). - Fixed various structures around the world that created collision issues causing players to get stuck. - Can you fly, Bobby? Infantry now have more realistic physics effects applied when being shot, crushed, or sent hurling into the air by a mech. - Sent a maintenance crew out to the Any Weather Wharf in Zone B (Wyndham Moors) to fix some structures that made it a bit cumbersome to engage in combat.
QUALITY OF LIFE
- End of session screen has been reworked in various areas for better visibility and quality of life changes such as scrollable resource lists of collected resources and schematics. - The enemy area of engagement has been decreased to avoid hostiles from a substantial distance from attacking the current combat zone of a pilot. - Increased the minimum distance required to spawn enemy encounters to avoid having too many instances that can cause combat encounters to overlap. - Connecting to an MTP will put pilots in an invincible state while interacting with it. - Enemy sniper laser sights are now only activated while they are aiming at a target. - It's now easy to equip and unequip items in the hangar making swapping items between slots much more fluid. - Schematic drop rates increased to make crafting components quicker and easier. - Credits are no longer available as a purchasable currency to avoid any potential Pay to Win scenarios. - Repairs are now done with Credits instead of Credits or Scrip. - Resource nodes have been repositioned to make it easier to reach in certain areas. - Enemy nameplates are updated with subtle animations and have clearer color indicators to indicate their danger levels relative to a pilot. - Faction flags have been added to name plates above non player characters. - In Camp Valac, an MTP portal has been moved to ground level for better accessibility. - Resource icons have been updated to better communicate their types and rarity colors.
UI / TEXT
- Some resources now come from multiple types of nodes so their descriptions have been updated to reflect this change. - Link to the Official Hawken Discord (https://hwkn.link/discord) has been added to the Patrol menu to better direct traffic to our server for sharing lobby IDs and joining our multiplayer co-op section. - Once an item or mech unit has reached its maximum TL level, it will be marked by a skull icon. - All components in the hangar will now have a V, A or B icon to indicate their Combat Type. - Some weapon and component descriptions have been updated to reflect some reworks to their abilities and stats. - Post-mod stats are now visible in the modding menu before deciding to craft.
BUGS
- Volta beam weapon should no longer continue to fire after releasing the trigger. - Removed instances where an enemy spawns in as a friendly and then becomes hostile. - Weapons should no longer stop firing for no reason.. - Some zone notification pops no longer constantly trigger unnecessarily or appear in places where they should not have. - Fixed idle state for some Drones that were stuck in water. - Heat weapons should now clearly display how their heat management works in the HUDs ammo indicator. - Weapons no longer stay pointing up during certain collisions with the environment. - Enemy mechs should no longer sit idle when being shot at.
MISCELLANEOUS
- Asked Neil the poet to take a breather to make way for new combat encounters where he’d normally lament about his sorrows.
It’s been a while since we first talked about Hawken Reborn Update 0.2 being our biggest set of changes since Early Access. What was an exciting release to show that we’re making positive changes to the game also turned into the sad departure of several members of our development
It’s been a while since we first talked about Hawken Reborn Update 0.2 being our biggest set of changes since Early Access. What was an exciting release to show that we’re making positive changes to the game also turned into the sad departure of several members of our development team due to layoffs across our organization late last year. In its wake, the Hawken Reborn team has dramatically changed and so has the game’s original development plans.
DEVELOPMENT TEAM
With a much smaller core development team, our focus has shifted away from a larger vision of an intriguing sci-fi narrative to one that is laser focused on ensuring the game’s core design can achieve a level of polish that will keep players coming back for more. That led to the removal of a lot of story elements like the original Story Arc that faced similar challenges to retention akin to the original game’s tutorial mode. This also means that future updates coming out of Hawken Reborn will be changes to the game’s combat, movement, and overall mechanics that are mission critical to a fun experience for all pilots.
Fortunately for our team, the foundation laid out thus far has a lot of elements that we’re able to expand on. Most notably a rework of the Patrol Mode that originally saw pilots spending too much time in game before seeing significant action start to pick up as Threat Levels around them crept up with player interaction.
In the near future, you’ll see the release of Hawken Reborn Update 0.3 and as we’ve previously mentioned, an “Update” signifies major features that players can expect to see. The biggest feature of which is going to be Multiplayer co-op, which we know many of you have been eagerly waiting for!
MULTIPLAYER CO-OP
Hawken Reborn has always been designed as a multiplayer game from the start, which is why it has been an “always online” single player experience since we entered Early Access. While it isn’t evident in the current build, each time a pilot launches into a Patrol Mission means that they are in a multiplayer lobby with two openings for a 3 player co-op experience.
While we were in this single player phase of Early Access, we took the constructive feedback from the community and worked on the areas that needed the most improvement to the individual piloting experience. Those changes surfaced as we weren’t shy to make significant changes to things like the First Time User Experience (FTUE), In-Game HUD, Mech Weight, Infantry Crushing, and a slew of other adjustments that made sure the game felt like a mech game.
Since the release of Update 0.2 last September, we’ve made some significant strides into the right direction and now it’s time to expand this next phase and see what Multiplayer co-op will bring to the table. The most significant of which is a game design that truncates your experience in Patrol Mode into a much shorter, but more satisfying session that turns up the heat faster, earlier, and hotter from the start.
TIMED PATROL MODE
We’ve seen mention of how the game has a lot of similarities to extraction shooters with the in and out gameplay that Patrol Mode has to offer. Those comparisons are definitely fair since that feeling of an endpoint was our aim, but we also wanted pilots to have agency over how much they were willing to gamble in our risk reward loot system. Unfortunately, we ran into issues where it was taking too long to get to that endpoint for a variety of reasons including difficulty scaling and resource farming mechanics that made waiting a benefit rather than a detriment.
We ended up seeing sessions that took much too long to get to a point where the action felt meaningful. In many cases beyond the hour mark and for an FPS franchise that prides itself on frenetic combat, we obviously need to refine this formula even more.
With these considerations, Patrol Mode will be shifting towards being a more time limited instance to allow us to better balance all of these variables. Thematically, this is due to the raging nanite storms that are some of the regular perils of everyday life on Illal. There will be some moments of respite where a window of opportunity will present itself for you to venture out and endure the world’s hazards for a rewarding bounty. It’s these windows that we find our pilots hopping into Patrol Mode. Practically speaking, each instance of Patrol will start with a 30 minute countdown clock that warns of an incoming nanite storm that destroys everything in its wake so spend your time wisely as the storm will force you to make your escape or you and your hard earned resources will succumb to its wrath.
COMBAT ENCOUNTERS
Radio Missions have been temporarily disabled for future integration into our new game designs. As their replacement for resource farming, the world will be populated with points of interests that have an element of game design that feels a bit more organic instead of the clearly defined nature of our Radio Missions. By “organic” we’re referring to the nature by which your combat encounters play out. No longer does the same mech pop out from the same spawn point, but you’ll now have a slight element of surprise when combat starts and enemies start to make their presence known in the form of projectiles to your face.
You’ll now have to contend with both land and air more strategically as drones also get a big rework in their navigational programming. To make them feel more like aerial enemies, we’ve updated them with a 3 axis navigation system that allows for a more fluid flight path making them less grounded and more menacing from above so make sure you’re checking your surroundings up high in combat too!
In addition to the points of interest, new Loot Crates are now scattered around the map that will reward your efforts if you should decide to tackle the obstacles between you and their spoils. Some Loot Crates will be easily attainable simply by stumbling onto them while others can be fortified behind a heavily protected barrier that you’ll have to forcibly plow through waves of enemies to get through. Along with a wide variety of loot that these crates have stashed in them, you’ll also potentially earn Scrip, which in Update 0.3 is the only way to attain the currency until Radio Missions make their return.
CONDENSED MISSION EXPERIENCE
With our new time-boxed experience, you can expect to not waste any time as the game ramps up the difficulty quickly with thrilling combat encounters that will reward players for toughing it out until the very end. Whether that’s with you defeating all the obstacles or succumbing to the challenging new mechanics we’ve thrown at you is the test that we’re presenting in this first iteration.
MECH COMBAT TYPES
We saw the positive feedback regarding how weight felt much better in Update 0.2 and to make our mechs continue to have their distinctive characteristics, Weapons and Thrusters will now be socket locked to specific mechs that have a better thematic fit. We’ve also adjusted how quickly any given mech can turn to better convey the heft that specific hulls need to look around.
Another element that we’re focusing our design efforts on is shifting away from purely focusing on Light, Medium, and Heavy as the nomenclature for our mechs. We’ve found that with our socket system, these weight specific terms didn’t provide enough context for how our mechs play so in future updates, we’ll be categorizing our mechs around their individual combat types with these identifiers:
VEX utilize their evasiveness and potent short range hit-and-run tactics to make up for their weak defenses and small fuel reserves. Their aggravating playstyles are a constant menace to their slower moving opponents due to being able to quickly duck into combat and back out to take advantage of their second to none shield regen.
AERIAL performs best at long range and in the air, hovering out of cover, before diving back down to recharge and reload. This type is best suited for pilots who like to be in the air, keeping their enemies at a distance while they oversee the battlefield from above. They do not do well in enclosed spaces such as tunnels.
BULWARK are lumbering fortresses, unleashing volleys of sustained fire, considerate forethought must be used when piloting this type as they cannot get out of a bad situation fast. Fortunately their strong shields provide the fortitude necessary to sink your feet down to outlast your enemies.
HANGAR LOADOUTS
An updated mech garage also awaits players 0.3 as we make the barrier of entry easier from the very beginning. All players can expect a hangar filled with a fully loaded mech from each of the game’s three combat types mentioned above. Each mech will also be equipped with 2 weapons and 1 thruster to ensure your starting arsenal will give you a good sense of the different play styles from the start.
MODDING
While diversity in how our mechs are starting to feel is an overall positive, diversity when crafting the exact same items in our modding system was not. We want to ensure that components you build don’t feel weaker due to a “bad” RNG roll so we have made the decision to remove the RNG element from our mod system completely while reviewing all mod stats to ensure your components still gain meaningful improvements! This will ensure that every item made will have the expected outcome and players don’t feel like they need to spend more hard earned resources to attain that “god roll”. For those who have already crafted a few items in Hawken Reborn, you’ll now see that all your upgrade points have now been refactored to this new formula.
FACTIONS
The world of Illal is a treacherous one with hazards all around you. Among those perils are the five different warring factions that are stationed across the map. Marked by their holo banners that warn trespassers of their dangers, factions will now be even more present in Hawken Reborn not only visually, but in the long run, they’ll also be the gatekeepers of highly sought after components that are only obtained by hunting them down.
THREAT LEVELS
The difficulty variable of Threat Levels is now going to be normalized on a scale from 1 to 99 to better communicate the sense of danger you’ll face as you explore the world. In some instances, you’ll find TL’s of 100+ that have enemies marked by a big indicator to tell you to run away. Whether you choose to do this is up to you and we’re excited to see how this pans out.
ENFORCERS
Serving as a bouncer to the Patrol Mode’s end is the aptly named Enforcer. These mechs are TOUGH, but not completely unstoppable. Their job is to remind you to start making your way home or it’ll do it for you. We strongly urge that you run away from them in this build, but defeating an Enforcer in the future, should you be brave enough to make an attempt, will earn you a reward befitting of the high risk gamble you made.
CO-OP MATCHMAKING
In co-op situations, Threat Level will dictate the pace at which all pilots traverse through the environment by dropping the World TL to that of the lowest pilot. This makes the content more accessible for all and we know there can be some situations where a lower TL forces the host to have an unwanted experience. Therefore we’ve opted to make finding lobbies a bit manual to mitigate these issues.
While co-op will be implemented in the build, it’s also our first iteration so there’s still going to be lots of areas of improvement. One of which is making sure you’re able to find co-op lobbies, which in its current state will require players to share their lobby IDs with other players in order to get a true co-op session going.
We hope to have a much more fluid system implemented later, but for now we ask that players head over to our Hawken Reborn Official Discord server to find other players or share your lobby IDs directly with your friends to start sessions.
RELEASE TIMING
Hawken Reborn Update 0.3 is planned to release at the end of February. This milestone marks an extremely exciting time for the game and it’s also one that is a humbling experience considering the road we’ve traveled thus far. We’re really excited to finally bring co-op to our players and even more excited to finally get the conversations going again after our recent hiatus.
As with previous Updates, we’ve made some significant changes to the way Hawken Reborn looks and feels in Update 0.3. From refactoring how gear is assigned, to changing up our categorization of our combat types, to introducing brand new game mechanics, we’re not shy to try to make changes that make this game better. A lot of these mechanics are still in their early stages of development and we would love to still hear your feedback both negative and positive so that we continue to improve your game experience.
What we’ve shared so far is the beginning of our new journey and there’s still a lot of features that we haven’t mentioned that are making their way into this update. Prior to launch, expect to see new patch notes getting into the nitty gritty and as always, we’d love to hear from you again so be sure to join the conversation on our Hawken Reborn Discord Server and official social media channels!
Our latest patch makes various quality of life changes, updates to UI/text elements and streamlines the player experience so that pilots can get into the action quicker. Take a look through all this and more below! Features Story Arc is now removed and new players can launch stra
Our latest patch makes various quality of life changes, updates to UI/text elements and streamlines the player experience so that pilots can get into the action quicker.
Take a look through all this and more below!
Features
Story Arc is now removed and new players can launch straight into Patrol from the hangar.
Quality of Life
Random encounters should spawn earlier and more frequently when in Patrol.
Random encounters should no longer linger in your missions list.
Enemy mechs now have clearer colors indicating their aligned factions.
Keyboard schematic added to the settings page.
Enemy attacks now do more damage to increase challenge factor for encounters.
Radio missions stay on the screen longer to give pilots more time to evaluate them.
Resnode resource drops in Zone B have been rebalanced.
Graphics
Flash effect for Gieren muzzle has been reduced to avoid excessive strobing.
Draw distance rendering adjusted to avoid distant objects popping up.
Frame rate should no longer drop when taking hull damage from explosions.
Mech legs now rotate closer to the speed of the upper torso.
Adjustments made to intensity of lights emitting from mechs.
UI/Text
Missions in the Mechpad now have clearer designs to indicate their status.
Various typos and missing text strings have been corrected in the menu and dialogue pop ups.
Ammo bars will turn opaque when the mech is sprinting to indicate weapons cannot be fired.
Bug Fixes
Collected items should now display correctly upon completion of a Patrol.
Location names should no longer pop up excessively after crossing into them.
Random encounters should no longer occur whilst a mission is in progress.
Miscellaneous
Exhausted Illal's supply of paint giving enemy mechs a fresh coat to make them pop in Patrol.
Until next time, be sure to join the conversation on our Hawken Reborn Discord Server and official social media channels to let us know how you’re feeling about the upcoming release of Update 0.2.0.0!
Today's update introduces the largest amount of content we've added since launch. The team have been hard at work iterating on your feedback, so expect to see the now unlocked Zone B, reach new heights with a raised Pilot level cap, embark in an all-new mech kitted out with the U
Today's update introduces the largest amount of content we've added since launch. The team have been hard at work iterating on your feedback, so expect to see the now unlocked Zone B, reach new heights with a raised Pilot level cap, embark in an all-new mech kitted out with the URF SMG, Multi Missile Launcher, Long Jumper Thrusters, and experience a plethora of fixes and quality of life changes. Oh, and did we mention you can stomp infantry units now?
Take a look through all this and more below!
Features
Maximum Pilot Level cap increased to 35.
Wyndham Moors (Zone B) is now accessible.
Third person camera is now implemented as the default view.
All weapons now have infinite ammo.
180 degree turning is now available.
Ostentum Heavy mech platform blueprint now available at Pilot Level 26.
Ultra Rapid Fire SMG blueprint now available in the workshop at Pilot Level 26.
Long Jumper Thruster blueprint now available in the workshop at Pilot Level 27.
Multi Missile Launcher blueprint now available in the workshop at Pilot Level 27.
Audio
Audio degradation arising after long play sessions should no longer occur.
Fixed audio issues that would occur towards the end of A0E6.
Bugs
A drone should no longer spawn underground in mission A Busted Pipe Dream.
Audio no longer becomes muffled if a session is disconnected.
During the Patrol mission Mech Bait, the smuggler mech's health will no longer randomly deplete resulting in a failure.
Enemies will no longer fall between the crates at Blackport.
Enemy health bars will no longer appear too small during the Patrol mission Poetry in Motion.
Enemy mech will not spawn behind rocks in A0E6.
Fixed misc. bugs causing the game client to crash.
Havn will no longer get stuck under the MTP platform during A0E1.
Pilots should no longer be able to launch patrol without a second weapon equipped.
Players will no longer experience an infinite loading screen when repairing a mech.
Prompts should appear correctly when approaching a console whilst dashing.
Rock clipping should no longer cause pilots to get stuck through them.
The game will no longer crash when modifying a component before the previous is completed.
Toggling between windows during the loading screen should no longer cause pilots to get stuck in an infinite load screen.
Various improvements to Adam Slek in A0E6 that were progression blockers fixed.
Volta laser sound no longer lingers after an enemy death.
Gameplay
A total of 3 Patrol Missions can be discovered concurrently.
Critical hit spots are now present on Mechs in the game and are indicated by the colors of the damage numbers upon impact.
Enemy infantry crushing is now possible by making a direct impact with them that burst their shields, incurring a small amount of damage to the player’s mech.
Infantry will now flee, and retreat from mechs in certain instances.
Medium drones will fly kamikaze into pilots when on low health as intended.
Weapon recoil system has been reworked to create an improved shooter experience.
Thruster speed and fuel consumption has been improved for increased utility.
The final encounter in the To Trail an Assassin mission should now scale accurately in difficulty.
There is an increase in random encounter locations throughout Zone A.
All existing Thrusters have been rebalanced to create more unique characteristics for each Thruster.
Minor weapon and platform stat changes following Power Level formulae refactors.
Graphics
A number of visual environmental issues in Zone A have been fixed.
Environment elements have had additional layers of polish.
Improved textures across various structures across the game.
Windowed full screen option now available.
Improvements
Additional objects across Zone A & B are now more destructible.
Patrol Mission rewards have been rebalanced.
Thruster sizes now scale according to the Light, Medium, and Heavy mech class chosen.
Patrol Mode
Threat Level is no longer on a constant tick and instead will increase based on your actions in the world, such as completing missions and defeating enemies.
Players should no longer experience rogue random encounters spawning during missions to avoid any confusion between objectives.
World Threat Level will now increase when a certain amount of resnodes are broken.
Quality of Life
Dash ability has been rebuilt as part of the Thrusters system to remove bugs and offer future opportunities of Dash focused Thrusters.
Mouse sensitivity settings have been adjusted for better calibration.
New cross hair in the center of the screen now displays remaining ammo in magazine, weapon heat, and clearer accuracy indicator.
Resnodes have been rebalanced for both frequency and provided resources.
Heavy class mech platforms have been rebalanced to offer much greater health pools in exchange for their decreased mobility.
UI / Text
Crosshairs will turn red when aiming at enemy turrets as intended.
Fixed a bug that prevented a weapon upgrade when skill points were spent.
Fixed various missing text strings
HUD elements will now appear to be curved with the cockpit.
Loot notifications will no longer overlap with the radar's compass.
Players will have separate control options for third and first person mouse sensitivity.
Press P in-game will toggle between 1st and 3rd person camera view. Gamepad is up on the D-Pad.
Third and first person camera views can be toggled from the in-game menu.
Top up button in the Hangar will no longer spill out of the panel.
UI elements displayed in the cockpit should no longer overlap with one another.
"Quit" button is now clearer in Mech Pad settings.
Miscellaneous
Sacrificed a few infantry crush test dummies to stomp out additional improvements in various areas of gameplay.
Until next time, be sure to join the conversation on our Hawken Reborn Discord Server and official social media channels to let us know how you’re feeling about the upcoming release of Update 0.2.0.0!
We’ve been talking quite a bit about how our development efforts so far in Early Access have prioritized a new player’s experience and with Patch 0.1.1.0 out of the way, it’s finally time for us to announce that… new content is on the way to Hawken Reborn! Yes you heard that righ
We’ve been talking quite a bit about how our development efforts so far in Early Access have prioritized a new player’s experience and with Patch 0.1.1.0 out of the way, it’s finally time for us to announce that… new content is on the way to Hawken Reborn! Yes you heard that right. The new release of Hawken Reborn will be a big one that will have some exciting features to sink your teeth into.
UPDATE 0.2.0.0
Let’s start with the biggest milestone which comes by way of an “Update”. This is our designation for a build that comes with a significant amount of new content and improvements to the game. Previously, we’ve pushed out hotfixes and patches to address specific chunks of developments, but Update 0.2.0.0 will have an array of new features across many different categories to improve your overall gameplay.
HUD EVOLUTION
The next evolution of the HUD has some revisions that we’re really excited to share. Since launch, we heard a ton of feedback about how our UI made critical combat information too difficult to discern. From a color palette that blended too much with the background to a health bar that was too far from the action, there was a lot of great feedback for us to digest.
Here are some noticeable improvements that you'll see in the new HUD:
The weapon reticle has been redesigned at the center of the screen that now communicates how much ammo is left or heat has built up with your weapons.
The overall UI is now curved to feel like they’re a part of the cockpit of your mech.
Health and shield bars have been redesigned to be bigger, have more contrast, and are closer to the center.
A new Threat Level indicator has been added to the top of the screen and now gives a better assessment of your zone’s risk factor relative to your Pilot Level. As the threat increases, the world threat level will change colors to show how much risk you’re putting yourself in.
The fuel gauge now has its own dedicated location at the bottom of the HUD with a similar visual glow up as the health and shield.
The radar has been moved to the top left and mission comms will appear just below it.
THIRD PERSON CAMERA
At any time, you can now toggle between first person and third person views when piloting your mechs. This new way of seeing the game not only affects your immersion from within a cockpit, but switching over to third person view also changes the way you play Hawken Reborn as you’ll have more situational awareness with where your mech is. Especially when handling a new combat mechanic against infantry outlined later in this blog.
MECH BALANCING
Weapons, Platforms, and Thrusters have gone through a rebalance that improves their overall experience across the board. Along with these adjustments, weight will also have a bigger impact on movement, especially the Dash which now factors in both the equipped thruster and weight class of your chosen mech.
Traversal has always been a critical part of Hawken Reborn with its open expanses to explore and while bunny hopping has thus far been an effective means of transportation, it never was intended to actually be an option for getting around town.
To keep traversal more grounded to the sprint ability, Sprint has now been reworked to increase its speed significantly while maintaining better fuel efficiency. Sprint speed will also be dictated by the mech weight class. This is a small, but critical way in designing thrusters to make them feel more unique across the board.
With these Sprint buffs, bunny hopping will be less of a core mechanic to movement so you’ll find it harder to do on the majority of loadouts. That’s not to say it’s no longer possible however. For pilots who enjoy pouncing around town, be sure to get the new Long Jumper thruster and build it out ASAP.
DASH 2.0
Similar to sprint speeds, the Dash ability will also undergo some changes that feel noticeably different across thruster choices. In the future, certain thrusters will offer design variations such as a much shorter cooldowns that allow them to string dashes together in quick succession.
HEAVY CLASS
The Heavy Platform class is getting a buff in the literal sense. From community and internal feedback, Heavies weren’t as popular as other classes due to offering less mobility for only a small advantage in bullet sponginess. While they’ll still retain their heftier mobility, upgrading them will now see noticeable improvements to their armor that will make them feel like a hulking mobile fortress that’ll make them a more viable build.
180 DEGREE TURN
The 180 degree turn makes a re… turn to mouse and keyboard with gamepad integration to come in a later update. This popular feature amongst some hardened pilots will come in handy as you maneuver across the battlefield against your agile opponents.
WEAPON RECOIL
Firing weapons now has a new recoil system that offers a more realistic feel to the spray patterns of different guns. While you could decide to dual wield two Ultra Rapid Fire SMGs, be mindful that this new recoil system will dramatically affect the effectiveness of different combinations of weapons. Remember, many battles are won or lost before you even leave the hangar so choose wisely as you head into battle.
WYNDHAM MOORS (ZONE B)
Our time on Illal so far has been spent in the outskirts of the Refuge and the gates are literally about to go down as we open up the next region, Wyndham Moors (Zone B).
The Wyndham Moors are officially part of The Dawning's territory, but the sheer number of refugees from the Giga Structure's spread in the west has overwhelmed their limited resources. Conflicts between settlements for food, water and power are commonplace, and several criminal gangs have moved into the area to exploit the scarcity of these essentials. Wyndham Moors are also thought to house a number of smuggler networks, and members of the Burning Flag revolutionary movement have been sighted near Blackport.
In Wyndham Moors you’ll find 10 additional Patrol Missions and 40 new random encounters scattered throughout the map. For those already familiar with the crafting mechanisms in the hangar, you’ll also find it a more enticing location to visit as you’ll be able to obtain more explosives that are critical to leveling up your weapon’s Mark. With these new rewards comes risk though so be careful when entering Wyndham Moors as the base Threat Level in this area starts at Threat Level 70.
Combat against infantry units is about to step in a new direction. Specifically: a step into the faces of infantry who are fleeing for their lives as you come barreling through them. And we mean that in the literal sense of the word as you now have the ability to crush enemies with the sheer size of your mechs. With the infantry crushing system implemented, infantry shields will pop against the crushing weight of your hulking mechs. This will cost a few ticks of shield damage, but the results are worth the cost of entry.
With this realization of impending doom at the feet of pilots, infantry have also gotten a little smarter with additional actions designed to make fighting them a bit more authentic. They’ll now flee in terror if the odds are stacked against them from fallen comrades or even retreat cautiously laying covering fire as your powerful mechs prove an insurmountable opponent. Plan on dashing straight into them with your newfound crushing powers? Some might successfully dive out of your way to avoid getting classified as a “former” resident of Illal.
ENEMY MECH CRIT SPOTS
In addition to being able to fling infantry to their demise, combat against mech enemies is also getting upgraded with a new crit spot system that will be an important component when entering combat especially against bosses who are able to handle a healthy beating against pilots.
The first iteration of our crit spot mechanic in Early Access comes by way of color indicators that pop up when you hit areas on enemy mechs. Certain crit spots such as cockpits, legs, or shoulders will create damage multipliers that tick numbers above an enemy. Pay close attention to those colors as it’ll help you determine where you’ll want to concentrate your fire on.
Cyan = Shield damage Grey = Armored spot damage White = Non-crit spot damage Yellow = Crit spot damage Orange = Non-crit spot Critical hit Red = Crit spot Critical hit
You’ll see the crit spot mechanics evolve over time as we continue to iterate and give them a bigger impact on game play. For now, please give it a shot .. or multiple shots and let us know how we can improve this vital part of combat!
PILOT LEVEL INCREASE AND UNLOCKS
Early Access Pilot Level will now increase from 25 to 35 giving players more areas to expand their inventory. At Pilot Level 26, you’ll unlock blueprints for the Ostentum Heavy mech and Ultra Rapid Fire SMG gun. At Pilot Level 27, the new Long Jumper thruster and Micro Missile Launcher (replacing the Loren) blueprints will also unlock. Expect other blueprints to unlock beyond these thresholds, but until then, progression into max level 35 will unlock upgrades for these 4 new items into the Mark V tiers.
OSTENTUM HEAVY MECH
“Every specialist soldier is an investment in training, time and equipment. Protect that investment with the Ostentum luxury heavy mech. A single Ostentum can protect your snipers and e-war units, needing only seconds of rest for a full recovery. This is not just any mech, this is the Sentium Ostentum heavy defensive platform.”
ULTRA RAPID FIRE SMG
“The Ultra-rapid Fire SMG is more than just a force of nature - it’s a force of Prosk! Your enemies will run screaming the moment they see their mech support get liquified in this hail of bullets. Stop wasting time, buy yours today.” - Big Shot bountycast
MICRO MISSILE LAUNCHER
Akin to its high rate of fire URF cousin, the new Micro Missile Launcher will offer an exciting loadout option for those who enjoy very high projectile velocity with the added joy of explosive AOE rounds.
LONG JUMPER THRUSTER
The Long Jumper is pretty decent on the ground – fast sprint, and the reactor regenerates your fuel really fast. But in the air, it’s… Well, it’s a matter of taste. Do you happen to like being shot out of cannons? Because it’s a lot like that. ~Havn
RELEASE TIMING
So when will Update 0.2.0.0 launch? This new build comes not only with the items mentioned above, but it also will come with a hefty list of bugs and other miscellaneous changes that we’ve addressed. Due to the sheer size of the update, QA which is currently underway will take longer than usual and we expect this update to release sometime around early October.
CLOSING REMARKS
We usually would end these blogs with a few updates of features in development, but today we’re going to wrap it up at this juncture since there’s already a lot of information to digest. Know that we’re still actively working on more features including multiplayer coop. While now isn’t the time to share details on this exciting update, we hope you’re seeing how we’re taking in community feedback and working towards delivering a Hawken Reborn experience that you know you’ve played a hand in helping shape.
Until next time, be sure to join the conversation on our Hawken Reborn Discord Server and official social media channels to let us know how you’re feeling about the upcoming release of Update 0.2.0.0!
We reworked our entire First Time User Experience (FTUE) and made hopping into the action significantly quicker in our latest Hawken Reborn Patch 0.1.1.0. Now after playing through the first story mission, pilots will be able to freely explore the game at your own pace to learn a
We reworked our entire First Time User Experience (FTUE) and made hopping into the action significantly quicker in our latest Hawken Reborn Patch 0.1.1.0. Now after playing through the first story mission, pilots will be able to freely explore the game at your own pace to learn all the new mechanics that the game has to offer.
Along with this big change to the FTUE experience, players can expect a slew of additional changes that offer improvements to gameplay including: - The 30 missions in Patrol Mode are now more accessible via an improved Mission Director. - Graphic improvements including better atmospheric effects and a frame rate increase to 240 FPS. - Combat encounters throughout the map will trigger at a more frequent rate to increase the action as you explore the world. - Slight movement adjustments (among many future plans) to give dashes better utility during combat.
Early Access is only just under way and we've got more features actively being worked on. For now, please feel free to share your thoughts as we continue to take in feedback and make improvements to the game for a more enjoyable experience for all pilots!
Hey Pilots, Hawken Reborn Patch 0.1.1.0 will be landing next week, getting players into the action earlier with an overhauled onboarding experience and an array of bug fixes! Check out our latest Dev Blog for all the goings on, and make sure to drop by the Discord to leave any an
Hey Pilots,
Hawken Reborn Patch 0.1.1.0 will be landing next week, getting players into the action earlier with an overhauled onboarding experience and an array of bug fixes! Check out our latest Dev Blog for all the goings on, and make sure to drop by the Discord to leave any and all feedback you have for Hawken Reborn.
Bugs
Muffled audio should no longer occur if your game instance rejoins after being disconnected.
A hangar bug deactivating the Start Contract button after repairing a destroyed mech has been fixed.
Adam Slek will no longer freeze during mission six.
Adam Slek will no longer shoot backwards during "Use of Weapons".
Barriers can no longer be traversed over.
The laser gate to Wyndham Moors should no longer be breachable.
During the first Story Mission (Starfall), the shield animation should no longer get stuck upon spawning in.
Enemy nameplates and health bars should no longer disappear.
Fixed a bug that allowed two instances of the game to be played by the same account on separate devices.
Fixed a bug that caused an infinite load notice in the hangar during repair sequences.
Fixed a bug where VO text disappeared from the M-PAD dialogue box in some instances.
Game load screen with the Hawken Reborn logo should no longer stay stuck when first connecting to a server.
Havn should not keep shooting after all enemies are defeated on story mission two.
Players will no longer experience a game freeze after completing story mission six.
The drone that blocks progression by not dying during mission five now disappears as intended.
Underground drone during "Dangerous Games" now appears as normal.
Gameplay
All front end tutorial prompts in the hangar have been disabled.
Enemy difficulties should now be balanced to Player Threat Level.
Resnode locations and their resources dropped have been balanced.
Resnodes will now drop resources appropriate to their name and appearance.
Balanced material drop rates to more effectively factor in a mech's TL when certain materials are dropped.
Graphics
Frame rate cap increased to 60, 90, 120, and 144 FPS
Volumetric fog by default should no longer make the world look dull and flat.
Misc. mech clipping issues resolved in certain areas of the Refuge.
Resolution will remain the same when changing between windowed and fullscreen mode.
The application window can no longer be resized to any size.
There should no longer be blurriness when switching from windowed mode to fullscreen mode.
Patrol Mode
Patrol Mode is now accessible after playing the first Story Arc mission and is accessible through the hangar menu.
Mission Director should give previously completed missions less frequently in Patrol Mode.
Long Patrol Mode sessions should no longer crash.
Threat Level should now increase at a faster pace.
Total playtime in Patrol Mode should now display correctly upon exiting.
Mission completed screens will now display schematics earned as intended.
Patrol Mode now has a new narrative introduction when loading into it for the first time.
Players should no longer be able to destroy the payload on the A Little Something Extra Patrol mission.
The "Rearm Weapons" option in Patrol Mode should no longer display weapons with a full capacity.
Quality of Life
All cutscenes are now skippable.
Enemy difficulties should now be balanced to Player Threat Level.
During a LAN disconnection from the internet, the game should send players back to the title screen to avoid continued gameplay that results in lost resources.
The application should now minimize when changing tabs.
UI/Text
Cockpit UI updated with a larger ammo counter and thicker health/shield bars for better visibility.
Settings can now be adjusted prior to loading into the first mission.
Thrusters now display additional stats pertinent to their additional characteristics during different states of use.
A range of Hangar visual tweaks to the UI were made for clarity, including a reduction in transparency of panels, and outlining mech stats.
After reaching Pilot Level 25, players should no longer see the Level Cap Reached pop up window after the first time.
Apply Settings and Reset Settings options have been added to the menu.
Changing resolutions no longer requires cycling through different screen sizes until finding the desired choice.
Enemies should no longer have small and unreadable health bars/nameplates.
Front end mech stats should be easier to understand with clearer respective units of measure.
Listening to an audio log will be better indicated on the screen.
Replaced misc. placeholder text in the hangar.
Reward names and icons will now appear correctly for story missions.
The waypoint icon will be visible at all times on the radar.
Various UI quality of life changes for better legibility and more intuitive placements.
Miscellaneous
Clipping has been fixed for various rocky structures around the world.
During mission two, players should have sufficient resources for the Marathon thruster when reaching this part of the crafting.
Players should receive their mission rewards appropriately when completing story missions.
Repairing your mech should now have a cost as intended in the hangar.
Greased some gears, cogs, thingamajigs and whatchamacallits to create a smoother ride for pilots.
To stay up to date on all the latest Hawken Reborn news and connect with fellow pilots, join us at our official social media channels.
With Patch 0.1.1.0 around the corner, July has been particularly busy as we took player feedback that dissected all the elements of Hawken Reborn and did a bit of our own dissecting by prioritizing the entire month towards reformulating the First Time User Experience (FTUE). Whil
With Patch 0.1.1.0 around the corner, July has been particularly busy as we took player feedback that dissected all the elements of Hawken Reborn and did a bit of our own dissecting by prioritizing the entire month towards reformulating the First Time User Experience (FTUE). While this is only the tip of the iceberg, it’s a significant part in how we address the “survivorship bias” comments that we’ve seen relating to how much great constructive feedback we’ve highlighted from the community, but seemingly ignoring others who simply put the game down due to their negative first impressions.
There are many more areas of improvement that we’re tackling, but this one in particular is this massive undertaking that requires a pivot from a heavy story lead experience into one where a pilot can truly explore at their own pace without the initial 3+ hour grind to get into Patrol Mode.
If you need a refresher from our Dev Blog #3 - Baselines, Patch 0.1.1.0 will let pilots hop into Patrol Mode after completing the game’s first mission (Starfall) and then they’ll be able to learn the ropes of repairing, crafting, and upgrading mechs at their own leisure. This will take approximately 15 minutes and from there, a pilot can choose to explore the free roam areas of the Refuge (Zone A) or hop back into the game’s narrative driven Story Arc for the remaining 5 missions, which will give a preview of the other zones in the game.
PATCH 0.1.1.0 OVERVIEW
Even though it may not seem like a lot of changes if you’ve already played a few hours of Hawken Reborn, it’s still a critical detour on this Early Access journey that paves the way for some really exciting things to come. Here’re a few notable adjustments that we’ve made that all players will notice immediately.
Pre Launch Settings
Right out the gate, pilots will be greeted with a settings page before starting the first mission. This will allow you to set up the game how you want to play without having to worry about the always online server instance (for future co-op) that you’re about to load into. Unfortunately this settings page does not have a key binding option, but it’s definitely something that we know is a much desired feature and on our list to tackle.
Dash Cooldown
Just a small, but critical part in dialling our movement formula is the dash which will see a noticeable cooldown reduction that will allow for more agile close quarters combat experience. Future updates will factor in mech weight and thrusters which will open up a lot of customization options based on your specific playstyle.
Mission Director
The Refuge has 30 total Patrol Missions available, but due to the current Mission Director programming, most players were only able to experience a handful of the same missions over, and over, and over again… So instead of getting your fill of vitrolum laced wine runs or escorting our favorite tragic poet Neil around, heading back into Patrol Mode will now surface several new missions that were previously very tedious to obtain.
HUD Improvements
Similar to our update to the dash ability, our HUD is going to get a revamp factoring in feedback that we’ve received from the community. Things such as clear ammo indicators in the center, better health/shield bars, and an array of other design changes that will do a better job in communicating critical information are in the works. For now though, you’ll notice that the ammo indicator has significantly been increased in size and damage markers will now vignette as you take hull damage in combat.
Climate Change
Illal gets a little dose of climate change as the green haze has been dialled down for a cleaner viewing experience. We’ve seen some feedback that the game has a bit too much green haze that can blur the lines between what’s part of your cockpit vs the external environment. This aesthetic is mostly relegated to the Refuge, but since you spend most of your Patrol Mode time here currently, it’s a much needed change to make things easier to distinguish when combat can get a bit chaotic.
FEATURES IN DEVELOPMENT
We’ve talked a bit about the changes that are coming with Patch 0.1.1.0 so let’s get back on track to some of the big developments that are going to make an exciting impact on your gameplay experience in the future.
Multiplayer Co-op
Originally listed as an Early Access Phase 3 feature in our road map, Multiplayer Co-op is now being moved up in our development plans. We felt that making sure multiplayer co-op has ample time to polish in Early Access is an extremely critical variable. Since its earliest inception, the game has always been built with co-op in mind, which is why there is no pause button in its current single player experience. You, as a player, are on an active real time server, which means that you’ll be hosting fellow pilots in the future. When specifically we aren’t able to say just yet, but know that co-op is currently in high priority development.
Arsenal Additions
In addition to the existing 5 Mech Platforms, 6 Thrusters, and 9 weapons that launched with Early Access, a few new additions are going to be added to the garage to increase the variety of options available to take into battle.
Ostentum Heavy Mech
Released only as a cosmetic in H1 as the Falum, Hawken Reborn’s Ostentum is the next tank-like heavy platform that will be unlockable as its own dedicated mech for your garage.
Description: Every specialist soldier is an investment in training, time and equipment. Protect that investment with the Ostentum luxury heavy mech. A single Ostentum can protect your snipers and e-war units, needing only seconds of rest for a full recovery. This is not just any mech, this is the Sentium Ostentum heavy defensive platform.
New Weapons
Ultra Rapid Fire SMG
Loaded with small calibre rounds at a medium effective range, this new Sub Machine Gun will dispel targets easily with its extremely fast firing rate and even larger clip than your standard SMG.
Loren Missile Launcher
Boasting semi-automatic high velocity lock-on missiles, the Loren is your answer to dealing with distant waves of enemies at a time. Don’t be fooled by the low clip size, these missiles pack an explosive punch.
Wyndham Moors (Zone B)
Currently only the Refuge (Zone A) is available in Patrol Mode. This is because the start of Early Access meant having a complete Story Arc 0 and one zone featuring 30 patrol missions with full voice acting to enhance the narrative. During your playthrough of the Story Arc, you’ll get a preview of the other zones in Hawken Reborn, but they are still locked out because their Patrol Mode missions are still in development.
For context, these are the areas and their respective missions.
Mission 4: The Dead Body Problem - The Fracture Mission 3: Love, Death and Giant Robots - Korelev Pass Mission 6: Use of Weapons - Wyndham Moors
Wyndham Moors (Zone B) will be the next area that we’ll be dropping the barriers to explore. In contrast to the Refuge, you’ll see a much more vibrant pop of color as this area has several facilities that are utilized by the inhabitants to thrive in Illal's harsh environment.
CLOSING REMARKS
With Patch 0.1.1.0 soon to be released and the curtain lifted for some new developments, we hope that you’re walking away as enthusiastic as we are! The upcoming development cycles are going to be an exciting time on Illal as we start to roll out new game features that’ll layer in more and more polish to the Hawken Reborn experience. Until then, we encourage you to take this time to level up a few mechs and find the right combination of loadouts that feel right to you.
Now that we’ve had a chance to dust ourselves off from the Hard Landing that inaugurated Hawken Reborn’s Early Access, our team has been at work pushing updates and doing deep dives into all of the feedback that we’ve been seeing. In the six weeks since launch, our priorities hav
Now that we’ve had a chance to dust ourselves off from the Hard Landing that inaugurated Hawken Reborn’s Early Access, our team has been at work pushing updates and doing deep dives into all of the feedback that we’ve been seeing.
In the six weeks since launch, our priorities have been focused on tackling major game breaking bugs and optimizing pain points that lead to a negative overall experience with the current game. These changes came by way of three “hotfix” patches that addressed soft locking bugs, combat balancing, refactoring difficulty curves, resource farming adjustments, and a slew of other gears that needed retuning. As of version 0.1.0.3, the game is in a pretty good position with a few lingering bugs, but we’re overall happy by how stable things have been this early into production.
In terms of feedback, we’ve been pouring over the vast amounts of posts across Hawken social channels, Steam reviews, analytics, and direct community conversations to establish some insightful baselines to guide our development decisions. Many thanks to everyone who has engaged with us and shared their thoughts! Here are just a few of those baselines that we’d like to point out.
COMMUNITY FEEDBACK Our number one priority is engaging with all Hawken players and the amount of feedback that we’ve seen has been immense to say the least. We’ve seen the impassioned critical walls of #forumposting and just on our Discord Server alone, there are over 200+ feedback posts made by players. While we can’t comment on every single one, our community team has been working behind the scenes to flag them with our development team and have started to tag the feedback in our Discord Server to give players some visibility into how we’re sorting their posts.
STEAM REVIEWS As of today, our Steam reviews sit at a “Mostly Negative” rating from 1,591 reviewers. At surface value, that’s a pretty disheartening number and obviously something that’s of concern as it detracts potential players from wanting to try the game. On the other hand, it’s also a pretty impressive number of reviews considering we intentionally pursued one exclusive interview before launch so it goes without saying that the Hawken community is a passionate bunch.
Just like playing Hawken Reborn, if you look past the current review rating and take the game for a test drive, you’ll find some interesting things that point in a positive direction. Here’s what we’ve gleaned from the reviewers.
Of the 1,591 reviews giving Hawken Reborn a 23% Mostly Negative rating, 606 players (38% of total reviews) have played more than 1 hour of Hawken Reborn. Those 1+ hour players have rated the game at a 39% Mostly Negative rating, but just 1% shy of Steam’s “Mixed” 40% threshold. That’s a 16% difference just by playing the game an hour or longer. As we dive into the longer play times, the numbers look more promising and help surface other additional insights.
We have other back end data to help analyze the above, but looking at these public reviewer numbers, we know that players who spend 2 hours or more in the game will average in the “Mixed” rating. That to us is a playtime milestone that we need to improve since the current heart of Hawken Reborn resides in its Patrol Mode gameplay loop that’s only made available after playing the first 4 of 6 Story Arc missions during our First Time User Experience (FTUE). Our data shows that the median to this Patrol Mode threshold is approximately 3 hrs 15 mins so you can see that we have a significant time barrier that we need to truncate.
The stats also shows that as players approach the 5+ hours mark, we get closer to the “Mostly Positive” 70% Steam rating and starts pulling back around the 9+ hour mark. This leads us to believe that players are having fun with the game after they familiarize themselves with it, but are likely running out of fresh fun factor sustaining content to play beyond that 9+ hour mark.
Some of our more acrobatic pilots have already gotten a preview of our upcoming Zone B area and while it’s not ready for show time just yet, know that we are actively working on getting new content out to players so that you can stretch your gameplay experience outside of our current Zone A Refuge area.
FIRST TIME USER EXPERIENCE (FTUE) MENTALITY SHIFT In the course of designing our Hawken Reborn FTUE, we focused on building an introduction to the game to help onboard all types of players and not specifically built for those only familiar with the original Hawken. This is attributed to the game’s PVE pivot making it a new game for everyone. Now that we’ve gone public, it’s obvious to us that for most gamers, piloting a Hawken mech and acclimating to a looter shooter environment isn’t their first joyride. Due to this key learning, we’re making a concerted effort to decouple our Story Arc FTUE as a requirement to unlock Patrol Mode.
What this means is that after our next patch, all you’ll need to get into the Patrol Mode is to complete the first Story Arc Mission “Starfall” which will take approximately 20 minutes and gives you the choice to play the rest of our Story Arc or go straight into Patrol Mode with the first base Apex platform to looter shoot at your own pace. We’re hoping that this change will let players freely test drive Hawken Reborn and see how much enjoyment potential they can have.
PATCH VERSION 0.1.1.0 We mentioned the 3 hotfixes that were released previously and with the much larger change to the FTUE and Patrol Mode changes, the next update will come by way of an actual “Patch”. This is an internal term for larger updates and Hawken Reborn Patch Version 0.1.1.0 is going to be that first of these large updates. This patch also means that we’re going to focus a significant amount of development efforts in the trenches and less on hotfixes which means our previous 2 week cadence is going to take a lot longer for this next patch. We’re currently estimating it to release sometime in August.
In the future, we hope to not have such a long lull in between big patches, but think of it like the Great British Video Game Development Bake Off. We fired all cylinders on high to get the hot fixes out during this initial cook, but now it’s time to dial it back down to medium so we can ensure Patch 0.1.1.0 is properly developed without burning our development team out.
QUALITY OF LIFE UPDATES Other than the above mentioned changes to how quickly players can hop into Patrol Mode, the next patch will address a few other quality of life changes amongst its extensive list of patch notes that we’ll be publishing.
Threat Level Indicators One of the biggest balancing acts in Hawken Reborn and a core component to its gameplay loop is Threat Level. Whether it’s Pilot, World, or Enemy Threat Level, this measure of difficulty is structured across all elements of our UI, crafting meta, and combat.
We spent the first weeks prioritizing how the game’s world scales up the Threat Levels as players hop into Patrol Mode and now that we’ve got a good base for this scaling, our next phase is to update the UI to better indicate how much of a risk a pilot wants to take. This information will be displayed in a dynamic HUD graphic at the top of your screen that will show your Threat Level relative to the zone’s Threat Level. With this critical information, you’ll know when you want to rush in guns blazing or head back home to avoid getting one shotted by enemies and risk losing your hard earned loot.
Patrol Mode World Building Our current gameplay loop is Build mechs/weapons in the Hangar > Hop into Patrol Mode to farm loot & XP in an active battlefield > Head back to the Hangar to repair/upgrade/build > rinse & repeat. One balancing issue that currently exists in Patrol Mode is that periodically there isn’t an active mission or spawned enemies on the map to keep the action going.
In our next build, you’ll notice a stark increase in activities in the map with more instances of Random Encounters to occupy your time while waiting for missions to pop up. This should make things feel more like an active battlefield to ensure that there’s always something to shoot at to maximize your valuable time. We’ve also got other activities in the works, but will save those for a future update.
FREQUENTLY SEEN QUESTIONS Before we wrapped up this third installment of our developer blog, we wanted to address a few questions that are still lingering amongst the community.
Can you make the original Hawken playable on PC again while you work on Hawken Reborn? This was a topic we’ve seen since the beginning of Early Access and while we won’t go into the technical reasons why this isn’t a simple flip of the switch, we can discuss it from a practical perspective. In short, no, the original Hawken will not be made available to play on PC again. Not only does it cannibalize potential players from playing Hawken Reborn, but we have made a 100% commitment to Hawken Reborn’s development to continue to improve the game over time.
How big is the development team behind Hawken Reborn? Our team has gradually scaled up during the development of Hawken Reborn to its current size of roughly 50 members. As the game evolves, so too will our team as we continue to bring in additional talents to support the title and have no plans of slowing down.
Why is there a store in Hawken Reborn when the game is this early in development? Hawken Reborn’s Early Access is about testing ALL facets of the game and that includes the store. Since our first interview, we’ve always stated that our foundational philosophy around MTX is based on the premise that any item purchased from the store affecting core gameplay such as mechs and weapons can be obtained through gameplay with no inherent advantage.
Take for example our resident mech thicc boi, the Atlas that is in our store rotation. That mech’s blueprint is unlocked to all players who hit Pilot Level 7. Once a blueprint is unlocked, a player will need to farm schematics and use materials found in Patrol Mode to eventually craft their mech. The store acts as a way to shortcut getting an item quicker with no other advantage beyond avoiding the grind since both methods of obtaining the item will yield the same result.
Like many similar games in the market, this grinding element is and will continue to be an ever evolving part of the game’s core design. Our philosophy has always been that we want to be as generous as possible in terms of loot unlocks to avoid the perception of a heavy grind. In cases where this does happen such as the recent bugs resulting in the Impure Explosives scarcity, we’ll be actively working to address the issues head on.
That’s a wrap for our third installment of Hawken Reborn’s developer blog! If you’ve read down this far, you know that we’ve got a ton of work ahead of us and we look forward to sharing more news and eye candy in the future. Until then, be sure to follow us on our official social media channels and visit our official Hawken Reborn Discord Server to join the discourse with other pilots!
To stay up to date on all the latest Hawken Reborn news and connect with fellow pilots, join us at our official social media channels.
Hey Pilots, We're back with another update to address a number of core known issues and bugs raised by the community. Make sure to drop by the Discord to leave any and all feedback you have for Hawken Reborn. Fixed Issues Gameplay Asteroid Drone’s excessive damage has now been si
Hey Pilots,
We're back with another update to address a number of core known issues and bugs raised by the community. Make sure to drop by the Discord to leave any and all feedback you have for Hawken Reborn.
Fixed Issues
Gameplay
Asteroid Drone’s excessive damage has now been significantly reduced
Aggro has been fixed on some passive infantry who did not fight back when being attacked by pilots
Heavy drones no longer enter an idle state in some instances
Patrol Mode
Zones with lower Threat Levels than the player's will catch up at an accelerated rate
Random encounter's Threat Level will increase with the zone's TL
Resource nodes have been adjusted to drop more explosives
Threat Level should no longer increase every two seconds after transferring items through the MTP
Certain instances of Threat Level increasing too quickly have been balanced
Quality of Life
The cursor should no longer clip outside of the game
UI / Text
Jetpacks will no longer display the weight stat in the hangar as it's no longer a contributing factor
Miscellaneous missing dialogue and hangar text has been fixed
Hitting Alt+Enter to toggle between windowed and full screen mode will now accurately display in the Settings page
Misc.
During the repair tutorial in the First Time User Experience (FTUE), pilots will no longer be stuck in an infinite loading state
Hawken Reborn's application icon will now be HR themed
Legacy menus should no longer be accessible
Player ID copy button in the hangar now works as intended
Miscellaneous improvements to various cogs, axles, bearings, and doodads greased up for a smoother ride
To stay up to date on all the latest Hawken Reborn news and connect with fellow pilots, join us at our official social media channels.
