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Starhawk dev lays off 24, 'much smaller studio' to focus on first iOS title [Update]
Update: Lightbox Interactive President Dylan Jobe has told Joystiq his company will see "a sizable reduction in staff." Twenty-four staff members have been informed that Friday will be their final day at the Texas-based developer. Jobe added that "all 24 of them are getting a severance package.""Lay-offs always suck but they are an unfortunate reality of business sometimes. The best we can do is try and treat our people with respect during the shocking transition of a lay-off," he said.Jobe says Lightbox will become a "much smaller studio" after the cuts as it focuses efforts on the development of its first game for iOS.Original Story: There are rumblings that LightBox Interactive, the developer behind the PS3 exclusive Starhawk, will lay off most of its staff by Friday. 3D Realms founder (and previous layoff predictor) George Broussard tweets, "Good luck to my buddies at LightBox in Austin. Layoffs and rumors of near whole studio gone by Friday."Yesterday LightBox Interactive president Dylan Jobe sent out an ominous tweet, reading, "And yeah, its time for another drink...." LightBox artist Jonathan Lindblom tweeted early this morning, "I feel like my brain has been taken out and passed around, I can't think straight, everything is muddled." Associate producer and community manager Pete MacKay tweeted his thoughts today as well: "And so another chapter closes on my life. Let's see where I go next! (taking suggestions)."We've contacted LightBox Interactive for clarification.
Starhawk 1.02 update adds free 'Cypress' map pack
LightBox Interactive's PS3-exclusive shooter Starhawk has received, among other things, two new free maps as part of the game's recently applied 1.02 update. As seen in the video above, both maps take place on the planet Cypress, which is where the game's plot-vital "Rift Energy" was originally discovered long, long ago.The two new maps maps, "Cypress: Collider" and "Cypress: Origin," both feature more locations for troops to use as cover, as well as pre-built structures with interiors -- two features fans have asking for, according to a post by LightBox Interactive president Dylan Jobe on the PlayStation Blog. The 1.02 update also includes a multitude of other tweaks, fixes and adjustments, such as the addition of "Prestige" levels (Alpha through Omega, specifically) for players able to rank beyond Level 50. Other changes/additions include a new Homeworld called "Waypoint," as well a revamped voice chat system and the ability to eject from in-flight jet packs. Complete patch notes can be found at the source link below.
Starhawk 'Uplink' companion app now available for iOS, Android
A leader without information is an ineffectual leader at best, and a liability to the fate of his/her entire team at worst. When everyone you've ever known or loved is dead, their horrified faces burned into your retinas for the rest of your traumatized existence, will you have enough strength left to curse your own name for being so poorly prepared for battle?Hopefully you'll never have to find out, as a free Starhawk companion app has been released to help you stay on top of things. The app, compatible with iOS devices and Android devices running Gingerbread or newer, lets players access leaderboard information, view individual player and clan statistics, as well as access an encyclopedia of weapon and battle structure data.
Starhawk online pass grants free Warhawk download in Europe
There's a good chance a lot of Starhawk players haven't experienced the game that started it all, let alone for free. Every new copy of Starhawk comes bundled with a free copy of Warhawk (PSOne) in Europe.It's part of the online pass voucher, which is visible on the back of the instruction booklet for Starhawk. Once you input the code and unlock online functionality, the original Warhawk will be added to your download list. Here in The States, however, you need to grab one of the first-run "limited editions" available exclusively at GameStop.
All Starhawk map packs free in response to divisive Warhawk content
All of Starhawk's future downloadable map packs will be free, Dylan Jobe, president of Lightbox Interactive, has announced. Writing on PlayStation Blog, Jobe noted that the paid downloadable content divided the Warhawk community with every expansion, and "after we released three expansions, our player community was pretty fractured."Lightbox hopes to remedy that this time around by making all map packs free. Jobe added that there is still paid DLC in the works, though Lightbox is "still playing around with what that will be." The studio is already working on the first map pack, which will include the planet Cypress, pictured in the early concept art above.
Starhawk beta participants get extra cosmetic options for their service
The Hand of the Founder is a glowing glove you can affix to your right or left hand, provided you played in the Starhawk beta. If you played Warhawk and the beta, you'll also get some exclusive paint schemes for all of your rides.
Creating the world of Starhawk with music
What do an orchestra, heavy metal guitars, harmonicas, Chinese flutes and dobros have in common? The Starhawk soundtrack, of course!
Starhawk beta invites start rolling out on Tuesday
You're only a few short days away from sampling Starhawk, folks! Well, okay, you have to be a veteran Warhawk player and have opted-in for the beta, but we're sure you already did that, right? At the very least, we're sure you'll get to check out some videos on YouTube. But we digress. The PlayStation Blog reveals that Tuesday beta keys should be hitting anxious inboxes for the select few who'll be in the semi-private beta. If you don't see a key on Tuesday, don't fret: SCEA's Harvard Bonin says this will be a "slow rolled" beta -- as the beta chugs along, Sony will slowly be adding more players. So try to be patient!
Starhawk launching a semi-public private beta for Warhawk veterans in November
Lightbox Interactive is hosting a private beta for Starhawk in November, but with a twist -- this private beta will be selectively public. Lightbox will invite "a bunch of" dedicated Warhawk players to test out Starhawk this November, chosen by their rank in Warhawk, their community involvement and a few other undisclosed parameters, president Dylan Jobe said. The public private beta will include access to a secure SCEA forum for players to discuss the game and ask questions of the Lightbox team, who will also post their PSN handles and be available for voice chat in-beta. If you're a Warkhawk beast with a clean record, look for an email with an invite soon.
Buying Uncharted 3 gets you into next year's Starhawk beta
When you buy Uncharted 3, you won't just get Uncharted 3 (and an optional belt buckle); you'll get a ticket into space. All retail copies of Uncharted 3 will include a code for entry into a Starhawk multiplayer beta that will be active sometime in early 2012. Think of it as Sony's response to the persistent complaints that the Uncharted series doesn't have enough transforming mechs or mutant cults. Or, more realistically, think of it as more evidence that Sony's marketing plan will pack a beta of some first-party PS3 game with every other new first-party PS3 game from here on out.
Starhawk makes a smooth transition into a new cutscene trailer
Starhawk first got us excited with its E3 cinematic teaser, in a Borderlands, Halo, Red Dead Redemption, Terminator kind of way, and now LightBox Interactive is revealing more graphic goodness at Comic-Con, showing off the game's transitions between cutscenes and gameplay. The video follows the story's introduction, featuring Emmett Graves, a mercenary with a special connection to both the overrun town of White Sands and the Outlaw who are holding it captive, making the game kind of like a backwards District 9 as well. But whatever we call it, Starhawk's transitions sure do look smooth here (also like Shaft).
Starhawk's brutal universe detailed in E3 2011 cinematic
There are, like, so, so many things in Starhawk to drive/pilot/murder with, and the latest cinematic teaser for the forthcoming sequel depicts nearly all of them doing what they do best. There's even a dude with glowing eyes! Talk about cinematic!
Starhawk multiplayer footage loosed from Sony Santa Monica
We have to imagine that editing the two and a half minutes of Starhawk multiplayer footage -- pulled from a Sony Santa Monica in-house tourney -- was extra difficult, given the ubiquity of expletives thrown around at tournaments; nonetheless, Sony persevered! Check it out after the break.
Starhawk has matchmaking, server lists ... and space battles
Though LightBox Interactive blew the doors open on Starhawk a couple of weeks ago at a reveal event, not every question about the game was answered. To provide more information to anxious fans, LightBox head Dylan Jobe took to the PlayStation Blog for a Q&A. Among the most interesting tidbits is the news that Starhawk multiplayer will allow players to find each other using either matchmaking or a server list. And for those of you wondering whether you'd be able to leave the planet's surface, apparently you can. " 100% YES," Jobe said in response to a question about the existence of space battles. "The outer space environment set that the art team here at LightBox Interactive has put together is really awesome. Super fun to play on and looks great." Whether that means specific levels take place in space, or if you'll just be able to fly straight up in one of the transforming robot/plane "Hawks," remains to be answered. Jobe isn't talking details about this feature yet: "Some of the elements are still being worked on and we don't want to show it untill we're 100% happy with it," he said.
What's in a Name: LightBox Interactive
While a raucous Starhawk multiplayer session went on in the front two rows of Austin's Alamo Drafthouse theater, LightBox Interactive creative director Lars DeVore spoke to Joystiq about the high concept behind the name of the studio formed by Incognito expats. We sat around and we did the whole list of names. What it comes down to is that the "lightbox" itself is the idea of restrained energy. We felt like we were at a point as a studio where we were boxed in, and we wanted to be able to explode that box, and to express this energy, these ideas, and this creativity openly. We wanted to be able to bust out. Get that feeling out there. LightBox Interactive is working on Starhawk, a PS3 exclusive coming out in early 2012. Like this feature? Be sure to check out the What's In A Name Archives.
Starhawk gameplay footage highlights 'build and battle' features
You've read about it -- now see Warhawk's successor, Starhawk, in action in this developer video featuring LightBox Interactive boss Dylan Jobe. Using plenty of gameplay footage, he breaks down the new universe, "build and battle" strategy elements and, of course, transforming jets -- er, Hawks.
Starhawk preview: The final frontier
Rather than just remake Warhawk with spaceships, Texas-based developer LightBox Interactive built Starhawk into something that maintains the DNA of its predecessor, while adding a few major components that turn it into its own thing. It's got a single-player mode, for example -- with a storyline and everything.%Gallery-123409%
Starhawk takes Warhawk into the future on PS3
You've probably heard the name before, but now Sony and LightBox Interactive have officially unveiled Starhawk, the follow-up to 2007's multiplayer-only PS3 game, Warhawk. Due next year, Starhawk brings the on-foot and vehicle-based third-person shooter into a new setting -- desolate moons full of highly valued "rift energy." It also adds a single-player story mode and a new "Build and Battle" system that allows players to choose structures from a menu and drop them into the level as they fight, adding a layer of real-time strategy-esque gameplay. You can see the first screens in our gallery, and a LightBox dev diary after the break. You can also read about the game in more detail in our hands-on preview!%Gallery-123409%
Rumor: Starhawk reveal coming in mid-May (Us: Try to act surprised)
We've been hearing about a rumored follow-up to Warhawk for nearly two years after Sony Computer Entertainment of America registered a trademark for a game known as "Starhawk." And though the rumors have gone quiet for quite some time, SystemLink PlayStation claims to have spoken to an anonymous Sony employee who revealed a wealth of details about the alleged sequel -- details that are reported to be part of a big reveal in mid-May. Lightbox Interactive is said to be in the pilot's seat -- a studio made of ex-Incognito devs, the same folks who made Warhawk -- and the game will be exclusive to the PlayStation 3. According to the report, the core gameplay doesn't deviate too much from its predecessor -- "a third-person shooter with jeeps, APCs, tanks, and now spaceships." As for space combat, the piece claims that only some maps will allow spaceships to exit the planet's atmosphere, with specific areas intended for ground combat. The game is also said to feature both single- and multiplayer, with a heavier focus on the latter. No details are provided as to whether it's a digital or retail release (or some combination of both, like the original game). As the piece points out, Lightbox Interactive president Dylan Jobe has been tweeting up a storm with his excitement, with such missives as "Been running in silent mode for too long. This is killing me. I can't wait to be able to talk about it" and "Thank you all for your patience. Really! I want nothing more than to show off the new game to our fans!" For what it's worth, an SCEA rep told us, "We don't comment on rumors or speculation," but we'll hopefully find out what's what in a few weeks.
Dylan Jobe leaves Incognito to start new PlayStation-focused studio
Incognito Entertainment's Dylan Jobe, director of Warhawk, has announced that he is leaving Incognito and taking other staff with him. The group has formed a new studio, Lightbox Interactive, which will relocate from Incognito's home of Salt Lake City, Utah, to Austin, Texas this fall "to take advantage of Austin's creative culture and its well established game development community." PlayStation fanboys concerned about losing talent to one of the other platforms need not be concerned: Lightbox's website mentions that the new studio is under a multi-year contract with Sony to develop games for "the PlayStation family of platforms." Well, now we know what Jobe will be talking about in the GDC "The Big Picture 2009: Managing Your Game Dev Deal and Operating Your Game Dev Studio" panel. [Via Kotaku]
