PlayStation.Blog

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• Bringing brawling to life in Midnight Fight Express
• How Naughty Dog rebuilt The Last of Us Part I
• New RE Village The Mercenaries Additional Orders details revealed
• Watch the Gran Turismo World Series — Everything you need to know

Bringing brawling to life in Midnight Fight Express Posted: 22 Jul 2022 06:00 AM PDT Midnight Fight Express is a high-intensity 3D brawler that brings the player back to the heyday of '80s action cinema and gaming. The title is developed mostly by one man, Jacob Dzwinel, and is published by Humble Games for release on PS4 August 23. To help bring the game's dynamic battles to a new level, Dzwinel enlisted the help of Kratos's stuntman himself, Eric Jacobus, who brought together an action team at his Las Vegas-based SuperAlloy Interactive studio to design and perform motion capture for the game's unique combat engine. What makes the game different Dzwinel's love of '80s entertainment inspired him to design combat with exciting counter-attacks, a variety of weapons, brutal (and sometimes funny) finishers, and a unique multi-direction combat system. What makes this game truly unique, though, was how Dzwinel and Jacobus collaborated to bring the action style to life. A match made in Humble Long before he came on board MFE, Jacobus had been watching the game's progress through a series of posts made by Dzwinel showing the core loop of the gameplay engine. Jacobus told his business partner and executive producer Zac Swartout, "We gotta work on this game. Let's contact this guy." The problem was, Dzwinel, a lone developer in Poland, seemed to be almost unreachable, so Jacobus gave up the hunt. But then one day, Humble Games contacted Jacobus asking if he'd be interested in doing motion capture on a game they were publishing. When he found out it was Midnight Fight Express, Jacobus jumped at the opportunity. Motion capture in session After an introductory call, Jacobus and Dzwinel decided on a four-day mocap shoot during which the team would pull off a planned 300 shots including combos, parries, finishers, environmental attacks, and enemy moves. When shoot day began, Jacobus and Dzwinel realized there had been a miscommunication: each move had to be performed against an enemy to the north, south, east, and west. There weren't 300 shots; there were 1,200 shots to be done over the course of 4 days. "No matter," said Jacobus, who was performing with long-time stunt associate and friend Fernando Jay Huerto. "Jay and I have worked together for decades. We'll just have to get every shot on the first take." Over the course of four days of intense motion capture, the team would narrowly pull off the necessary 300 shots for each day. The Action Design Process Dzwinel organized the combat with loose parameters: hero engages enemy, hero does a finisher, enemy dies. Jacobus and his team were allowed to fill in the rest. Dzwinel Skyped into the shoot via a laptop to ensure that the mocap team stayed within the confines of the combat system. When designing the action, Jacobus knew the tone had to be fun. "The audience has enough super-serious action games and movies. MFE can be the cathartic release they need, not only with physically exciting movements, but also verging on the ludicrous." Jacobus and Huerto would suggest their ludicrous ideas, and Dzwinel would say whether it was too long, too short, too crazy, or (more often) not crazy enough. Mocapping 300 action shots per day Jacobus and Huerto knew they were hard pressed for time. With a goal of 300 shots per day, this gave them only 1.6 minutes per shot to look at the shotlist, choreograph the movement, confirm the move with Jacob, slate the shot, run mocap, perform the take, and cut. They sped up the creative process by making a system for the cardinal directions: north side involved brawling since it was head-on; west side was Taekwondo, Eric's first martial art style, since it involved his good kicking side; south side was Muay Thai, which was better for being attacked in a blind shot; and east side was a mix of Hapkido, another style Eric knew, and wrestling, Huerto's specialty. Know thy combat engine After the initial four-day motion capture shoot, Jacobus and team were commissioned to perform 40 more finishers for the game's pistol and shotgun weapons, this time in a four-hour motion capture shoot, giving them six minutes to complete each shot. Despite a more relaxed schedule, Jacobus devised over 50 finishers in advance to ensure they could complete them all, involving cool pistol tosses, acrobatic disarms, and fancy melee attacks with the shotgun.  Unfortunately, Jacobus soon discovered another unexpected curveball: the MFE engine pins the weapon to the right hand, but all of Jacobus's finishers involved the weapon leaving the right hand. So once again, Jacobus thought quick on his feet, and he and Jacob rethought all 40 finishers and completed ahead of schedule. The key takeaway? Know the combat engine before you do previs! Putting it all together The motion capture process now over, Dzwinel had to integrate all the motion capture animations into MFE. Dzwinel had hand-animated combat moves, but now he had over 1200 animations to play with. When integrating the animations, Dzwinel says it was a simple process. "The process of integrating all the animations from the mocap sessions was so easy that I could simply put them in the game, cut the animations to the necessary lengths, and have them working within a few minutes. I had a lot of them so I could choose from the best takes and have a lot of variety in my combat system." A bright new future for action games Jacobus believes that games like MFE are signs that there's a sea of change underway in game development. "In the past, developers didn't cede much control to the action team. Now we're integrated into the project like a development house. In fact, our action team was bigger than the entire development team!" Dzwinel notes the importance of variety in Midnight Fight Express. "The multitude of animations is what makes Midnight Fight Express so exciting. It was a great experience for me to have a chance to work with Eric and his team. I wouldn't be where I am right now without his help. We did something special together, and I hope people will enjoy the variety of things they can do in Midnight Fight Express."  Jacobus notes how Dzwinel laid the foundations for a collaborative experience. "He created a process that allowed us to come up with as many ideas as possible, and the crazier it was, the better. After our main shoots were over, I would secretly capture miscellaneous moves and combos and send them over to Jacob. I never wanted the mocap process to end. If Humble hadn't asked me to stop, I'd still be mocapping this game today." Midnight Fight Express launches on PS4 August 23.

How Naughty Dog rebuilt The Last of Us Part I Posted: 21 Jul 2022 05:05 PM PDT The Last of Us Part I on PS5 will feature a host of gameplay and presentation enhancements that will bring the game closer to its original vision, according to Co-President Neil Druckmann. You can learn more in a new video from developer Naughty Dog that dives into the game's many updates and enhancements, with Creative Director Shaun Escayg and Game Director Matthew Gallant. While the Last of Us Part I can render Native 4K at targeted 30 FPS or dynamic 4K at targeted 60 FPS*, and features PS5 mainstays like DualSense wireless controller haptics, trigger effects, and 3D audio**, it's clear that there's a lot more going on here than a simple resolution and framerate bump, it's a complete overhaul. From the art direction to the character models, the entire game has been rebuilt from the ground up to take advantage of a new generation of graphical capability, allowing this game to reach the visual fidelity that the studio aspired for when crafting this experience. The PS5's powerful hardware drives a host of visual benefits, from denser physics with tons of bumpables and chipables (bullets can now rip apart concrete and environmental objects) and cinematics now transition seamlessly to gameplay. Motion matching technology means that character animations flow more convincingly, intuitively and realistically; all adding another layer of believability to characters and their interactions with the world. Further, AI upgrades mean that characters inhabit the world in a more authentic and realistic way, such as buddy characters navigating cover to avoid enemy NPC sightlines more authentically. The enhancements are all in the name of increasing the game's immersion, but the improvements don't stop there. Naughty Dog worked with their community to integrate some fan requests, including a "permadeath" mode, a speedrun-focused mode, and a host of brand-new unlockable costumes for Joel and Ellie. The game also hosts 60-plus accessibility options, outpacing what the developer was able to offer with The Last of Us Part II, and includes a new Audio Description mode, ensuring that play is rewarding and inclusive for all. The Last of Us Part I launches on PlayStation 5 September 2, 2022. *4K display device required. **3D Audio via TV speakers or analog / USB stereo headphones.

New RE Village The Mercenaries Additional Orders details revealed Posted: 21 Jul 2022 05:00 PM PDT Hello PlayStation fans! I'm Tsuyoshi Kanda, producer of Resident Evil Village. Preorders for the Winters' Expansion, as well as Resident Evil Village Gold Edition, have just started. Today, I would like to talk about the new playable characters in The Mercenaries Additional Orders and a special bonus item available with pre-purchases.   Chris Redfield The first character is someone many of you know well: a hero throughout the series, Chris Redfield. As a legendary hero, Chris utilizes many firearms as well as his robust strength. When you take down enemies using Chris, his Onslaught Gauge will increase. Once it's full, you can unleash his unique onslaught mode. In this mode, Chris' movement speed, reload speed, and attack damage greatly increase, and you can take total control of the battlefield. If you can take down an enemy using Straight Punch, you'll get a major boost to the Onslaught Gauge, as well.   Target Locator is one of the powerful weapons in Chris' arsenal and is capable of unleashing a strong supporting attack. Make sure you have a clear line of sight towards the horde of enemies you plan to use it on.   Karl Heisenberg Second is Karl Heisenberg, one of the four lords who serve Mother Miranda. This character wields a huge hammer, and also has the ability to control magnetic forces. You can charge electricity by swinging his hammer and by slamming it on the ground, then release all that energy to deal damage in a wide area. By activating Heisenberg's Magnetic Field, you can pull an enemy close to you. Some attacks become more powerful under the Magnetic Field, as well. Of course, Heisenberg has his terrifying creations at his disposal, too. Summon a Soldat Jet to the battlefield to barrel down on enemies with a swift attack! Be careful, though… they'll self-destruct when they run into a wall.   Lady Dimitrescu The third and final character is everyone's favorite, Alcina Dimitrescu! She's also one of the four lords that serve Mother Miranda. Standing more than nine-feet tall, Lady Dimitrescu slices through enemies with her talons. Her unique Thrill Gauge increases by attacking enemies or by using the "Lady's Lipstick" item. As the Thrill Gauge increases, Lady Dimitrescu's movement speed and nail damage increase, and new moves are unlocked as well. When the gauge is maxed out, her damage will also be at its peak. You can summon one of Lady Dimitrescu's daughters when the Thrill Gauge is maxed. The Mercenaries Additional Orders includes not only new playable characters, but also new stages as well. We'd like to share a few screenshots of the Bloody Village and Bloody River Stages. Street Wolf Outfit Before we sign off, I would like to reveal the pre-order bonus: the Street Wolf Outfit. This is a costume for Rosemary Winters that players can select when playing the upcoming story DLC, Shadows of Rose. You can see that there is an emblem design of Chris' Houndwolf Squad on her outfit.   The Winters' Expansion includes The Mercenaries Additional Orders, which we showed today, Third-Person Mode, where you can play the main story mode from a fresh third-person perspective, and Shadows of Rose, a story DLC that takes place 16 years after the original story of Resident Evil Village. If you choose to purchase Resident Evil Village Gold Edition, it will also come with the Trauma Pack DLC. Those who played the original Resident Evil Village can preorder the Winters' Expansion, and those who are new to the game can preorder Resident Evil Village Gold Edition and get the Street Wolf Outfit!

Watch the Gran Turismo World Series — Everything you need to know Posted: 21 Jul 2022 08:00 AM PDT With the Gran Turismo World Series 2022 Online Season 1 now complete, attention turns to the top-ranked players who are gearing up for some flagship events available to watch online. There is plenty of action to come on Gran Turismo 7 over the next two weeks. First up is Round 1 of the World Series. The top representatives from 12 leading manufacturers contest the Manufacturers Cup that can be seen on Saturday, July 23 at 6:00am PDT / 2:00pm BST. While the 16 leading players from the 2021 Nations Cup can be seen in action the following day – Sunday, 24 July at 6:00am PDT / 2:00pm BST. The action continues the following weekend, but this time with an in-person live event. The World Series Showdown will gather the top racers from around the world at the spectacular Red Bull Hangar-7 in Salzburg, Austria. The first gathering of Gran Turismo players since the World Tour event in Sydney in early 2020 will be lived streamed, with 12 teams of three drivers battling it out in the Manufacturers Cup on Saturday, July 30 at 12:00pm PDT / 8:00pm BST and 32 racers aiming for Nations Cup glory on Sunday, 31 July at 12:00pm PDT / 8:00pm BST.  Last year's Manufacturers Cup champions Team Toyota have looked strong in the online series, but 2019 champions Subaru have some competitive racers aiming to regain top spot in the forthcoming races. Meanwhile, the series welcomes newcomers Genesis, who will be represented in the Round 1 broadcast and in Salzburg. In the Nations Cup, the established stars of 2021 will come up against the fastest racers from Online Season 1 in Salzburg. The stakes are high as they are competing for a spot in the next two World Series rounds and the World Finals in Monaco in November. The 2021 champion, Italy's Valerio Gallo, will be the man they are all aiming to beat. More information is available on Gran-Turismo.com. All the action can be watched on the official Gran Turismo video channels:  Championships Overview GT Live YouTube Facebook Twitter Instagram TikTok

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