The US have recieved a huge update to the PlayStation Store this week with plenty of new content for the holiday period. The content included a new playable demo, 4 new full games, lots of game add-on content and several new videos, themes and wallpapers. Europe, on the otherhand, received a moderately large update with a new playable demo, two full games and some new game add-on content. Europe also had several new videos, themes and wallpapers available to download. This week’s update also brings with it the first Warhawk add-on pack to both the Euro and US stores.

Europe:

• Playable Demos
  • Timeshift Multiplayer Demo
• Full Games
  • Toy Home (£4.99)
  • Populous The Beginning (£3.49)
• Add-on Game Content
  • Warhawk Operation Omega Dawn (£3.99)
  • Motorstorm Holiday Paintjob (Free)
  • Guitar Hero III – Boss Battle Track Pack (Free)
• Game Trailers and Videos
  • Devil May Cry 4 TGS 2007
  • Sega Rally (Canyon and Arctic)
  • Kane & Lynch
  • Metal Gear Solid 4
  • Assassin’s Creed
  • Grand Theft Auto IV Trailer 3
  • High Stakes: Poker
  • Sky Diving Trailer
• Movie Trailers
  • CJ7
• Themes and Wallpapers
  • Retro Theme
  • Nature Theme
  • Manga Theme
  • Pixels Theme
  • Uncharted Wallpaper
  • Pain Wallpaper

US:

• Playable Demos
  • BlackSite: Area 51 Demo
• Full Games
  • Toy Home ($9.99)
  • Snakeball (free demo, $9.99 full game)
  • Trials of Topoq ($4.99)
  • Mesmerize: Distort ($1.99)
• Add-on Game Content
  • Warhawk Omega Dawn Booster Pack ($7.99)
  • Folklore Holiday Add-On (free)
  • MotorStorm Holiday Skin (free)
  • Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Holiday Add-On (free)
  • High Stakes: Poker Edition Add-On 1 (free)
  • High Stakes: Poker Edition Add-On 2 (free)
  • Rock Band
    • “Brass in Pocket” – The Pretenders ($1.99)
    • “Buddy Holly” – Weezer ($1.99)
    • “My Iron Lung” – Radiohead ($1.99)
• PSOne Games
  • Warhawk ($5.99)
• Game Videos
  • GT 5 Prologue Trailer (free)
  • Warhawk Omega Dawn Trailer
  • Devil May Cry 4 Final Trailer (free)
  • Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground – Mike V’s Skater Story Trailer (free)
  • Turok – Gameplay Vignette #3 Dino Mauling (free)
  • Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune “Facial Animation” Video (free)
  • PS3 Universe of Entertainment (free)
  • PS3 "Only On" (free)
  • PSP Feature Video (free)
• Movie and Blu-ray Disc Trailers
  • Strange Wilderness Trailer (free)
  • Shakira Oral Fixation Tour Blu-ray Disc Trailer (free)
• PS3 Theme
  • Warhawk Theme (free)
  • PAIN Cookie Theme (free)
  • PAIN Santa Theme (free)
• PS3 Wallpaper
  • High Stakes: Poker Edition Wallpapers (2) (free)

Yesterday’s PS3 Firmware update added an unexpected new feature to the PlayStation 3, allowing the PSP to play PSOne titles via Remote Play. With PS3 Firmware 2.10, the PSP can now be used to play PSOne titles downloaded from the PlayStation Network Store or using an original PSOne disc. This is great news for those of you who have kept your old PSOne games, and also good news for those who have downloaded PSOne titles.

In order to play PSOne titles, your PS3 needs to be running Firmware 2.10 and your PSP must have Firmware 3.80 installed. If you are using a custom firmware, you are advised to wait until Dark_AleX releases Custom Firmware 3.80 M33, which he is currently working on.

Yesterday’s PS3 Firmware update added an unexpected new feature to the PlayStation 3, allowing the PSP to play PSOne titles via Remote Play. With PS3 Firmware 2.10, the PSP can now be used to play PSOne titles downloaded from the PlayStation Network Store or using an original PSOne disc. This is great news for those of you who have kept your old PSOne games, and also good news for those who have downloaded PSOne titles.

In order to play PSOne titles, your PS3 needs to be running Firmware 2.10 and your PSP must have Firmware 3.80 installed. If you are using a custom firmware, you are advised to wait until Dark_AleX releases Custom Firmware 3.80 M33, which he is currently working on.

The Warhawk v1.2 patch will go live today at 10:00 AM GMT (2:00 AM PST), and as a result, the game servers will go offline for approximately 6 hours while the patch is rolled out. The Warhawk add-on pack, Operation Omega Dawn, will go on sale after tomorrows PlayStation Store update. Dylan Jobe over at the PlayStation.Blog has posted a detailed FAQ on Operation Omega Dawn, which you can find below.

Can both teams have a dropship at the same time?
YES – the Combat Dropship only spawns in at specific locations and these bases become really important to hold. They also take awhile to respawn so you don’t see them constantly. But some of our best memories from working on Omega Dawn are from crazy Dropship-on-Dropship battles where nearly everyone in the battlefield is in the air!

Can you give us a roundabout estimate as to how much damage a dropship can take before kaboom time?
It’s really hard to estimate the time because it varies from weapon to weapon. It also varies because, just like a classic BOSS, the dropship has a weak point that causes more damage. I’ve seen a well coordinated team take a dropship down pretty quickly…but the inverse is also true. I’ve seen a team command a dropship for 10 minutes or more. It really depends on how you and your team or clan works together.

Out of curiosity, what button grabs the vehicles and do you have to keep it held?
The CIRCLE button picks up vehicles and you don’t have to hold it the whole time. Also, the player who’s inside the vehicle being carried can also cut power to the tractor beam by pressing CIRCLE as well as long as they are in a “safe” place to dismount.

Will it be available through the game like an in-game store or will we have to back out and go to the PS Store, download it, then go back in?
You can buy the Omega Dawn Booster Pack in both places; the PlayStation Store *and* at the Warhawk in-game store. When you buy Omega Dawn from the Warhawk in-game store, it’s very streamlined. You just pick the product from the list, download the content, it automatically installs and BAM, you’re good to go. You don’t even need to restart Warhawk.

I can see how people can be kept out of the new map if they don’t buy it but what about the dropship on the old maps?
The v1.2 patch includes some new features for the server/game list. It allows you to see maps that you don’t have but Warhawk lets you know they are locked until you buy them. So if you don’t have Omega Dawn, you won’t be able to join server running an update dropship version of an older map.

Will the SCEA, SCEE and other dedicated servers indicate the need to purchase the new content before entering the server?
We have also added a very simple color code to the server list. Players will now see a Green, Yellow or Red dot next to the server name that shows that servers content status. For example: if you see a Green dot, your content matches perfectly with the content of the server. If you see a Yellow dot, you have some but not all of the content. If you see a Red dot, you have none of the content.

If you join a server that is running content that you don’t have, you will be allowed to join but prompted that you need the required content to join the game. We then allow the player to buy the expansion content right there once the server has determined what they need.

By the way Dylan, will we see new troop weapons in the near future?
Good question!! I can’t talk too much about it right now but let’s just say that there is some new stuff in the works for ground troops…and it will be FREE for all players!

How about v1.2? I know the Omega Dawn is BIG but I’d like to know how 1.2 is progressing?
We’re done with both. The v1.2 patch comes out on December 19th at 10:00 GMT and the Omega Dawn Booster Pack will be released on December 20th.

How will this effect CTF? Will the dropship be able to carry someone who has the flag? Will it be able to carry a vehicle that is carrying the flag?
It makes a huge difference!! First off, you *can* be in a ground vehicle with the flag when you get picked-up by a dropship. This really changes the way teams work together when playing CTF. Swooping in to pickup your teammate that’s under fire, and whisking him away to safety is awesome!

You can’t be a normal passenger in the dropship when you have the flag, just like a Warhawk. However, if your server is set to allow “FLY WITH FLAG” then you can, just like in any other normal Warhawk game.

Ever consider doing a snow/mountain level?
Hmmm … snow you say?

The question I have is, will someone be able to be in the vehicle while its being transported by the dropship?
YES – its one of the great things about the dropship. You can pickup tanks and 4? with players still in them!

Is this pack being released in all PSN stores at once or will it be available only in the American store?
Very good question!! The Omega Dawn Booster-Pack will be available in all PlayStation Stores world-wide!

Will we be seeing a world-wide release on this or will Europe have to wait?
Ahhh … there’s a trend emerging here! Europe will *NOT* have to wait. Warhawk is a global game and our v1.2 patch and Omega Dawn Booster-Pack is being released simultaneously world-wide. The v1.2 patch is being release at 10:00 GMT and the Booster Pack goes on sale December 20th. The specific hour of the Booster-Pack’s release varies from country to country but definitely on December 20th!

Do you have any idea how much this will cost in the United Kingdom?
YES – It will cost £3.99.

How big will the download be? I’m running short on HDD space at the moment?
The Warhawk v1.2 patch is 42MB and the Omega Dawn Booster-Pack is 143MB.

If I purchase this expansion pack, will all users on my PS3 be able to access it or will it be limited to my (master) account?
If you purchased a Blu-ray version of Warhawk then *any* account can play just like you’ve always been able to. If you purchased Warhawk from the PlayStation Store, then you already know that you are required to use the account that purchased the game.

Any chance of adding minimum rank limited servers in the booster or patch instead of just MAX rank?
YES – We are adding this in our v1.3 patch. I’ll discuss that more in a later post.

Are we going to have flashlights or something like that? Maybe spot lights to shine the sky?
NO – Sorry there are no flashlights or spotlights

You are going to make sure that the patch/content works on non-NA PS3s this time, aren’t you?
Ha…Yes of course!!! That wasn’t really the problem that we faced when the wrong European v1.1 patch was released but long story short … YES!

Have there been any additional fixes in the 1.2 patch or is it exactly the same stuff which was mentioned before?
The same fixes that we mentioned back in this blog post are the ones that you’ll all be seeing in the release of our v1.2 patch on December 19th.

What kind of defenses will the dropship have? I know it will have that cannon but what help would that be against a missile turret? Will there be a stealth mode for it? Can it pick up the same powerups as the Warhawks?
The Dropship is very powerful and has a lot of health. It also can acquire chaff pickups. It can carry 6 of them. Chaff and health are the only pickups that the Dropship can get.

Is it possible that we will see game with more than 32 players and also more official (ranked) servers?
You probably won’t see more that 32 player in Warhawk. On the topic of more servers, we monitor our Official server load very closely. Right now we’re keeping up with demand and if it looks like we ever aren’t keeping up, then we’ll look at supplementing our server cluster.

So I’m guessing America will get this a month before Europe?
Oh wow … this is a bad trend indeed!!! Everyone around the globe will get Warhawk Omega Dawn at the same time!

When you enter the KT-424 as a passenger can you free roam in the ship? Or is it going to be like flying as a passenger in the Warhawk?
NO – it’s not like a capital ship with different rooms that you can walk around in. Size-wise, it’s about 4 times bigger than the Warhawk. When you are a passenger, you get to control a swarm missile turret so that you can help defend the dropship and attack incoming aircraft and other targets.

How will it work for those that do NOT download the content?
Players that choose not to purchase the Omega Dawn Booster-Pack can continue to enjoy the same fast-paced gameplay they have been for the last 4 months. However because they haven’t purchased the Booster-Pack, they won’t be able to play on any of the new Omega Dawn layouts or play with the dropship.

As for this update any chance it will be free after awhile?
Well…I’m not the pricing guy so I couldn’t tell you. Sorry. I will say this though. Our patches like the v1.2 update that gives you new server features and new layouts will always be FREE. I’m a firm believer that an online game needs to continue to fix bugs and exploits but also add new value for the player community.

As far as Booster-Packs…again, I’m not the pricing guy but I gotta believe that we won’t be giving Booster-Packs away for free.

Are the dropships the big ships we saw when Warhawk was still in dev?
NO – those were very early capital ships that were from our singleplayer campaign…may it rest in peace

So, by the sound of “boss”, that means there will only be 1 per map?
There are at most 2 Dropships per map. The vast majority of the time players will see only 1 dropship at a time but sometimes, when the respawn timers are just in-sync and the battles have played out just right, you can get some really great dropship-on-dropship battles that last a long time.

Is this December release for Europe as well or will it fall into 2008?
We take our European players very, very seriously. Actually, we take ALL our players very seriously that’s why we are launching our Booster-Pack simultaneously world-wide.

My question is how will the dropship affect pure deathmatch games?
This is a very good question! The dropship had a very big impact on pure deathmatch games. So much so that we felt it was massively unbalanced so we disallow dropships in pure-deathmatch games.

Will the downloadable content be region coded?
More or less yes…it’s not based on hardware region code, but based on the region where you purchased the game Warhawk. USA, Europe, Japan, etc.

Will Omega Dawn be released on Blu-ray?
NO – The Omega Dawn is available on the PlayStation Store only.

How long are you guys gonna keep making Warhawk Booster-Packs?
For billions and billions of years!! Ha…no seriously we’re not sure. As long as there is a market for it I think we should continue to develop them.

Is the tank glitch gonna be fixed?
YES – OMG! It was a problem that resulted in players being able to mount invisible turrets and warhawks too. It was a terrible exploit that is fixed in the v1.2 patch!!

Will there be new extras like a set of night vision goggles?
There are no new night vision goggles, sorry. But as I alluded to earlier…we do have some new troop stuff in the works for our v1.3 update.

[Via: PlayStation.Blog]

A new update for the Folding@Home client on the PlayStation 3 will become available to download shortly according to a blog post over at the PlayStation.Blog. The update will add several new features to Folding@Home for the PlayStation 3 including an Auto Shutdown feature to turn off your console after the current folding operations have completed or after a fixed amount of time. In addition, there is a new music playback option has been added. Check out the features below.

Automatic Shutdown:

• Go to Settings menu, select Automatic Shutdown and then After Current. You will see a little clock appearing on the top right hand corner of the screen. When this clock reaches zero, the machine will power off completely so you can sleep quietly through the night. In this option the machine will power off after sending the data back to Stanford University so your contribution to the project is maximized.
• You may also choose to shut down after a limited period of time (for example, 3 or 4 hours). To do that choose the Automatic Shutdown option and click on the “In 01h:00m” timer. You will now be able to change the timer settings. After rotating the timer to a new time, you should now see your selected timer appear at the top right corner of the screen. This timer will count all the way down to 0 and then power off the system.
• To disable active timer at any time, go to Settings, choose Automatic Shutdown and then Disable.

Music Playback:

• To activate the music player select Music and then a channel. The channels are automatically populated with songs you have stored on your Hard Disk Drive! For holiday music I prefer to choose Dramatic (yeah!) and voila – music is playing.
• If you wish to skip to another track, just use a combination of X + left or right arrow. You can also change the channel by choosing X + up or down arrow. Happy listening!
• To stop music from playing, select Music again from the main menu and choose “disable.”
• Your music playback selection will be saved between consecutive runs of Folding@home.

Once the update is available, you can update your client by selecting the Folding@Home icon from the XMB. You will then be prompted to update your sofware.

Firmware 3.80 for the PSP is now available to download. As reported in our previous article, the new firmware update adds an Internet Radio application and allows those with 1Seg TV Tuners to now record TV programs onto a memory stick. In addition, there are several other changes to the software including a new previews for Scene Search and new RSS options.

Changelog for Firmware 3.80 (translated from Japanese Website):

• Network
  • [Internet Radio] has been added.
  • [RSS Channel], OPML files can now be used.
  • [RSS Channel] Photos can now be viewed without download
  • [PlayStation Spot] "BB Mobile Point"services offered by the "PlayStation Spot at "BB Mobile Point" is now supported.
• TV
  
  • The one-segment broadcasting recordings available.
• Video
  • Scene search now has preview

Following yesterday’s announcement, Firmware 2.10 for the PlayStation 3 is now available to download. Although the regional PlayStation Websites have not been updated yet, you can download the latest firmware using the PS3 Network Update feature. As mentioned in the earlier report, Firmware 2.10 adds DivX support to the PlayStation, but has a few restrictions, and a few other new features. You can check out the changelog below.

Changelog for Firmware 2.10:

• Settings:
  
  • You can change the tone of a voice that is input from an audio device such as a microphone. High and low-pitched tones can each be adjusted to five preset levels. You can vary the tone when using voice / video chat under Friends.
    
• Music:
  
  • You can now select [Type 3] as an option under Settings > [Music Settings] > [Bitmapping]. This bitmapping process was developed specifically for the PS3 system to enhance audio playback.
• Video:
  • DivX and VC-1 (WMV) have been added to the types of files that can be played.
    • To enable VC-1 (WMV) playback, you must enable the WMV Playback option from the settings menu
    • Copyright protected DivX files and DivX 3.11 encoded files cannot be played
    • Files larger than 2GB cannot be played
      
  • Blu-ray Disc Profile 1.1 is now supported.
    • Picture-in-Picture (PIP) playback enabled. This feature depends on the disc.
      
  • [BD Data Utility] has been added.

Firmware 2.10 hits the PlayStation 3 tomorrow, adding some new features to the system including DivX support. As previously reported, DivX support is finally added to the PlayStation 3 and Blu-Ray Disc Profile v1.1 is now also supported in the new update. There are also a few other previously unmentioned additions including a Voice Changer feature. Check out the changelog below.

Changelog for Firmware 2.10:

• Voice Changer feature:
  
  • You can change the tone of a voice that is input from an audio device such as a microphone. High and low-pitched tones can each be adjusted to five preset levels. You can vary the tone when using voice / video chat under Friends.
    
• Music:
  
  • You can now select [Type 3] as an option under Settings > [Music Settings] > [Bitmapping]. This bitmapping process was developed specifically for the PS3 system to enhance audio playback.
• Video:
  • DivX and VC-1 (WMV) have been added to the types of files that can be played.
    
  • Blu-ray Disc Profile 1.1 is now supported.
    
  • [BD Data Utility] has been added.

Look out for more information about the update tomorrow.