We’ve have a ModNation Racers artist showcase for you today. Sucker Punch’s Lead Designer, Nate Fox, steps into the driving seat and tries out the creation tools in ModNation Racers.

Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed the new US TV advert on the US Blog. Don’t fret, we’ll be showing you our European advert in the near future.

Enjoy the video!

Greetings all and Merry ModNation Monday,

So what happens when the crew responsible for the PS2 classic Sly Cooper franchise and the recent PS3 hit InFAMOUS decide to have some fun in ModNation?

Empire City gets rebuilt… ModNation-style!

This is an example of what happens when you combine some time and imagination with ModNation Racers. We look forward to bringing you more examples of this in future installments of the Artist Spotlights video series.

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Hi all,

So as the Karts start lining up on the ModNation Racers starting grid so do the fans of the game. Below is a pretty cool piece from the guys over at SCEA. Check out what happens when we let Ted Price of Insomniac Games (the Creator of Ratchet and Clank) loose on ModNation Racers!

Be good

LQ

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Hi all,
We are counting down the days to the launch of ModNation. So to celebrate the countdown we have set up a Fan page on Facebook.

It’s a chance for you to find all the latest videos, cool screen shots and find out the latest news from trackside.

We plan to be updating the page on a regular basis and even have some cool exclusive content coming over the next few weeks.

Below is a quick run down of what you will find on the page:

THE WALL
Check out the latest news on all things ModNation! Post a comment or even declare your love for this hot new game.

INFO
Just a little general information about ModNation.

PHOTO

Say ‘oooohhh’ and ‘ahhhhh’ and maybe even drool over the latest pictures from ModNation.

Take a look at the Mod Galley for a few that where made earlier…. Once the game is launched will be turned over to you to start sharing your creations. Over the coming weeks we will be adding a Kart Gallery and a Track Gallery.

There are also ModNation Galleries for the PS3 and PSP version of the game. So keep your eyes peeled for hot new shoots from each game.

But that’s not all, The Modding Your World Gallery is a place to share the strange world of creative arts and Modding, stuff that happens in the real world, your world! Maybe it’s an outrageous modded car or maybe it’s a cool piece of street art. Start sharing what you see around.

VIDEO
Pictures are nice but videos are better, within this tab you will be able to watch the hottest moving pictures around. We will also have exclusive content that only fans of the page will be able to see.

DISCUSSION
Meet, chat and discuss anything and everything relating to ModNation. Maybe you wanna collaborate on a mod or design a racetrack together. The discussion boards are now open for you to chat.

LINKS
We will look round the whole internet for exciting cool things we think you will like. From crazy modded cars in the real world to amazing exclusive content. Our ModSpotters are out there looking for cool creative content.

REVIEWS
Once we start getting some we will post those reviews here.

So become a fan and tell your friends!

ModNation Racers (Official European Fan Page)

Promote your Page too

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As promised, here’s Nick Letizia from United Front taking you in depth with the different weapons you can find in the game. Enjoy!

Hi PS Blog dwellers,

Because Mat has already gone in to how racing skill and split-screen are key in ModNation Racers, I’m here to chat about a key part of the title — weapons. Specifically, it’s what we like to call the “Boom Box” weapon system.

Take a peek at our new trailer for a taste and read more below on how ModNation Racers will bring the BOOM on May 25.

Designing the Boom Box
When making ModNation Racers, we realized the need to advance the kart racing genre to the next level with a more physical driving model, but we also wanted to change how players use weapons. Nothing feels better than taking an opponent down, but that feeling of euphoria is soon forgotten when you are on the receiving end of an attack. Weapons can change the course of a race — it’s one of the defining characteristics in this genre, but we wanted to reduce the frustration of unskilled randomness.

Strategy – Using the Ladder
In ModNation Racers you can choose to make your weapons more powerful, but that doesn’t always come easy. When you get hammered with a lightning bolt from the sky, at the very least, you know your opponent had to work for it. In addition to having the choice between powering up your weapons or using them right away, we wanted players to plan out attacks and utilize weapons in different ways. With that in mind, we designed each to have three distinct levels – so when you level up, each level changes the properties of the weapon, which then gives the player a different style of attack.

Level 2 Bolt attack will hit multiple karts / If the driver a head of you is bringing the HEAT, these puppies will SEEK it.

Using the Bolt ladder as an example, players can decide to fire off a level-1 Bolt attack for a quick but risky electrical takedown, they can save up to a level-2 Chain Bolt for a more powerful homing attack that can electrocute multiple opponents. Or they can wait until they have a level-3 Bolt Storm (the most powerful) and try to shock entire pack.

Drop it like it’s Hot

Finally, any level of weapon can be dropped behind the kart as a mine…the higher the level of weapon the more potent the mine. This is a great way to leave traps for your opponents, and incidentally, gives the pack leader the ability to still be able to use the weapons he has collected. Now you’re probably asking, “Why would I not just save up and always fire a powerful level-3?” Well, a number of reasons actually, but first and foremost is that your weapons can be knocked out by an opponent’s attack, so holding a weapon for too long might cause you to eventually lose it.

This is going to hurt.

Also, level-3 weapons take time to work their way through the pack, so your opponents might finish the race before they are hit, or they may have built up enough boost to shield your attack.

Balance
One of our core mantras when balancing the weapons was to ensure that there aren’t any “silver bullets.” No matter how powerful the weapon is, there is still a chance to evade it. We also wanted to ensure a tight race, so the power of each stun is scaled based on your position in the race and distance from the player attacking. What that does is allow anyone in the pack to always have a chance. This isn’t so much a “punish the leader” situation, but a way to prevent stalemates. If players in positions 7th to 1st are hit by the player in 8th and stunned for an equal length of time, nothing will change. By having the weapons stun time (slightly) increase as it passes through the racers in front of you helps to create a more dynamic race. This then opens up more opportunities for everyone to have a chance at changing their position.

Sonic Bombs will give the kart in front of you an earful / The Sonic Rift Blasts all the Racers between you and First

Let’s be clear though, there isn’t going to be a significant difference between the weapons power on the last racer as compared to the leader, but enough to make the leader worry that there are always racers on their tail. We have raced thousands millions of times in the office, and a skilled driver utilizing all of the tools at their disposal can maintain a lead, and that was an important factor for us. Skilled drivers should be rewarded for skilled play, which in turn causes other players to have to think and play differently.

We have a particular useful strategy we sometimes employ here at the office to take down a skilled driver. Two players will “team up” to swap positions and then each fire at the player in front in quick succession, the first to hopefully drain their shield, and the second to take them out. Very effective, although normally those alliances last about as long as the distance it takes to get to the next set of item pods, at which point all bets are off.

That’s weapons in a nutshell. I’m sure everyone is going to find all sorts of fun ways to take out opponents online when the game is released, so until then I will leave you all to your plotting.

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Hi all,

Last week SCEA announced their Preorder plan as well as confirming their release date, while I told you that we are releasing the same week. Well I can finally reveal the European Preorder packs and over the coming weeks I will be able to let you know where you will be able to pick up each pack in your country.

So lets confirm the following:

• Yes we will have Kratos
• Yes we will have Drake
• Yes we will have Ratchet &Clank

But that’s not all we are giving you….

There will be 3 packs in total each of which contain one PlayStation Hero and TWO United Front created character and karts. So that three cool goodies to get you racing round your tracks in minutes.

So which pack do you want?

Kratos ‘God of War‘ Pack

Nathan Drake ‘Uncharted‘ Pack

Ratchet and Clank Pack

Keep checking the blog for where you can pick up each pack in your country.

So that’s one piece of good news now for another…

Anyone fancy a split screen race?

Yep that’s right ModNation will have 4 Player Split Screen. So get your mates round grab Four Dualshocks and Drift, crash, burn rubber to the finish line!

but that’s not all, maybe you just have one mate, one loved one or only 2 controllers… Well why not play against the world in a 2 player splits screen on-line race! that means 10 other foes can feel your wrath as you release that hydra weapon on their butts (we had to censor what I originally had written)

and finally I just wanted to leave you with a awesome trailer showing you the crazy racing fun to come with ModNation

Look out for a blog post from United Front’s Nick Letizia later tonight to tell you more about ModNation’s great weapons

Be good

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