Earlier this week we released the third DLC pack for Killzone 3, ‘From The Ashes’, as well as a DLC Bundle containing all three DLC packs which you can find here. Of course there’s only one way to celebrate this momentous occasion: organize a Triple XP Weekend!

You read that right – from Friday, June 24 at 17:00 PM UK time, until Monday, June 27 at 9:00 AM UK time, all XP earned in Killzone 3′s multiplayer matches will be tripled. So whether you’re exploring new DLC maps or just re-acquainting yourself with the stock maps, you’ll rank up faster than ever!

The first preview video features Tharsis Depot, a Guerrilla Warfare map for 16 Players based on the Killzone 2 classic. After incurring damage during the ISA invasion of Helghan, the depot has been converted to process nuclear Petrusite. The Helghast made extensive use of jetpacks to facilitate the reconstruction process, but the harsh conditions resulting from the damage still made it a grueling endeavor. The ISA have locked their sights on Tharsis Depot now that it’s back in full-scale production, and this time they intend to finish the job they started.

To give you a sense of what’s changed, this video shows comparisons of the original and the new version:

The second video shows the new version of Radec Academy, a Warzone map for 24 players. Devastated by the ongoing struggle between ISA and Helghast forces, the once-proud Radec Academy is now a ruinous shell of its former self. Although the soul of the Academy remains intact, the compound has suffered greatly, with strewn rubble and emplaced StA-3 miniguns serving as grim reminders of the fierce battles fought in the area. As the ISA forces once again push into the Academy compound, attempting to scavenge a downed MAWLR, the Helghast troops hastily fortify their defenses within its perimeter.

And this video shows comparisons of the original and the new Radec Academy:

DLC Pack 3 “From The Ashes” contains four maps and will be available from the PlayStation Store on 22nd of June for €4.99\£3.99. Newcomers to Killzone 3 will be interested to learn that we’re also releasing a DLC Bundle Pack including the Retro Pack, the Steel Rain Pack and the From The Ashes Pack for just €9.99\£7.99. Stay tuned to Killzone.com and the official PlayStation.Blog, because we’ll have a montage trailer of the From the Ashes Pack for you tomorrow.

We’re happy to present a live action short that takes place before the events of the Killzone games. Some of you may have read the back story on Killzone.com and found out about the origins of the Helghast, the start of the war, etc. We’ve been looking for ways to add a personal touch to this back story. We found a team that was able to transform it into a live action short, which tells the story of two friends from different backgrounds, who are separated and become increasingly alienated from one another.

In the short, we listen in on video communications between the two friends, one on Vekta and one recently exiled to Helghan.

We hope you enjoy this small glimpse into what life was like before the war started in Killzone!

Thanks,

I was recently asked to contribute to a new volume in Ballistic Publishing’s line of digital artist master class books, titled d’artiste: Character Modeling 3. The request surprised me a little at first, because I’m not a character artist myself; I’m a director of character artists. As my job title implies, I direct other artists in the creation of assets for the Killzone franchise, making sure their output is consistent with the gritty, ‘hard sci-fi’ look for which our games are known.

However, I soon realized this would be a good opportunity to share my unique vantage point overlooking the entire character creation pipeline at Guerrilla. The resulting chapter has become a rather comprehensive overview of the character creation process used for Killzone 2. Taking Rico Velasquez and the Helghast Sniper as examples, the book walks the reader through every step of their development – starting with the rough initial ideas, and ending with their finalized in-game models. Along the way, various tools and techniques used at Guerrilla are explained in detail.

In addition to the chapter on Killzone 2, d’artiste: Character Modeling 3 also covers the works of Giovanni Nakpil and Cesar Dacol Jr., both renowned character modelers for major Hollywood productions such as Pirates of the Caribbean and 300. Their contributions to the book are nothing short of breathtaking, and I was extremely honored to see my name featured on the cover alongside theirs.

In short, if you’re a budding character artist or just a hardcore Killzone fan who’d like to know how characters are created at Guerrilla, d’artiste: Character Modeling 3 is a book worth tracking down. It’s the sort of resource I wish I’d had when I just started my career in the games industry. You can preview the entire book on the Ballistic Publishing website, or purchase it from their store in both limited and slipcased editions.

Publishing Information
ISBN #: Limited Edition: 978-1-921002-66-3 / Slip cased: 978-1-921002-67-0
Pages: 208 pages (Slipcased) / 208 pages (Limited Edition)
Authors: Cesar Dacol Jr, Jan-Bart van Beek, Giovanni Nakpil
Publishers: Daniel Wade, Mark Snoswell

It has been a exciting week at Guerrilla Games with the release of the third DLC map pack “Napalm & Cordite”, the release of patch 1.29, the latest update to www.killzone.com, the announcement of the “Map Pack Bundle” and the opening of “Our World” an art exhibition here in the Netherlands based around the visually creative process of making the Killzone 2 universe and those that inhabit it.

So to celebrate all this we have decided to give back to the folks who have supported us through thick and thin since the release of Killzone 2: You. The most attractive and charismatic fans any video-game can have. (Yes, flattery won’t get me anywhere) And what better way to thank ones loyal fans than with POINTS!

This weekend from Friday at 17:30 GMT till Monday morning at 09:00, any games created will give extra XP points to let you guys rank up quicker and unlock those Badges and climb up the Leaderboard.

That way you get more bang for your buck, more meat on your sandwich, more points for your prizes, more sauce on your fries, more … okay I think you get it.

A Win will earn you a 2.5 multiplier and a Loss will still grant you the normal multiplier for a Win: 1.5. This applies only to individual points, not Clan Valor and will be available in all regions during this time.

We hope all those coming new to Killzone 2 and the veterans alike will take part in this celebration and make sure to keep an eye out for people with [GG] in front of their handles. We’ll be rocking the new DLC this weekend too.

Tomorrow our third DLC “Napalm & Cordite” will be released, allowing you to nail or toast your enemies with the addition of the Boltgun and Flamethrower. For those of you that might have only just picked up Killzone 2, or have not jumped on the DLC wagon yet, we’ve got an announcement to make.

Also going live tomorrow is a Bundle of map packs Steel & Titanium, Flash & Thunder and Napalm & Cordite combined. And we are calling it the ‘Map Pack Bundle’, original I know, but it does what it says on the lid.

So enjoy all the destruction and beauty of Killzone 2 Multiplayer DLC with these 6 great maps.

Seb, MotherH, Downie

Napalm: The VC1 Flamethrower
Found in the Suljeva Cliffside map, the VC1 Flamethrower projects an ignited stream of flammable liquid at high pressure. Consisting of low-octane gasoline and an unidentified component indigenous to Helghan, this form of Napalm is extremely effective for clearing out enemy trenches and bunkers.

Cordite: The Boltgun 4400
Also known as “The Handyman”, the semi-automatic Boltgun 4400 can be picked up in the Arctower Landing map. It uses Cordite to propel metal bolts at an extremely high velocity, often pinning its targets to walls and other objects. In addition, each round contains a time-delayed explosive charge – so if impalement doesn’t finish the target off, the ensuing explosion will.

Napalm & Cordite – an explosive cocktail
Both of these weapons radically alter the Killzone 2 multiplayer dynamic, delivering an experience that’s as fresh as it is intense. If you’re a veteran Killzone 2 online player looking to mix it up, or if you simply liked wielding these weapons in the single player campaign, Napalm & Cordite is your ticket. Look for it in the PlayStation Store from July 23!

For more information visit Killzone.com

As with any good DLC, it needs a great patch. We’ve been scouring the forums, stopping and interrogating you in the streets and using futuristic mind-reading technology* to find out what you wanted changed in Killzone 2 and have done our best to try and accommodate that with our patches. So it is time for the latest and greatest update to come to Killzone 2, imaginatively titled: Patch 1.28. (How we come up with these snappy names I’ll never know)

So without further ado, here is the official press-release with the list of new features and fixes for you to go through and discuss further. I’ll be hanging around the comments section for a wee while, so feel free to ask any questions you might have regarding the below, or anything Killzone related.

Over and out. Seb “MotherH” Downie

*Futuristic technology comprising mainly of some rope, a hammer and some knee-caps.

On Tuesday, June 14th 2009 at 8AM Greenwich Mean Time, Guerrilla Games will release the 10th update for the visceral shooter, Killzone 2.

Patch 1.28 will be 91MB in size (316MB for Asian release) and will be released worldwide simultaneously pending a server update. There will be an anticipated server down-time of about 2 hours while the patch is rolled out and the server updates are completed and tested. The following fixes and features are included in this latest release:

• Feature - Code support for DLC pack III “Napalm & Cordite”. The update will enable players to create games with the newest maps “Suljeva Cliffside” and “Arctower Landing”
• Feature - Code support for DLC to allow the additions of the Flamethrower and the Boltgun to multiplayer.
• Trophies – New trophies added for DLC pack III “Napalm and Cordite”.
• Feature - Detailed information screen when browsing games. Items displayed include: Friendly Fire, Faction Balancing, Custom Weapons and Custom Badges as well as the region, game size, selected maps and allowed Missions and Badges.

• Feature - Higher values for Bodycount mode. Players can now create games with 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 50, 100 and 200 points to increase the time of the mode for 32 player games.
• Feature - Moderators can now create double-points events.
• Fix for persistent squads now working correctly when users using separate Japanese accounts join Friends.
• New loading screens.
• Moderation – Additional powers and functionality for online moderators.
• Fix for Clan Leader leaving his clan before an active Tournament of Clan Challenge.
• Fix for score replication on different clients.
• Fix for a Clan Challenge results displaying a won/lost games as a ‘Draw’.
• Fix for incorrect Tournament timings being displayed for (semi)-final.
• Fix for an empty message pop-up being displayed.
• ‘High Precision Mode’ now defaulting when requested.
• Fix for stuttering audio on the Asian version.
• Fix for network error displayed when trying to log in with another users account.
• Fix to reduce network traffic and improve performance.
• Fix for occasionally being displayed an empty background when ‘Join Friend’ via Communications tab.
• Exploit – Pyrrhus Rise map boundary fix.
• Exploit – Radec Academy collision fix to prevent players being revived inside a pillar and using it to their advantage.
• Cosmetic fix for Medic Gun visual effects.
• Cosmetic fix for Search & Retrieve object being cloaked by the Scout.
• Cosmetic fix for Scouts body remaining cloaked after being mortally wounded (i.e. headshot).
• Gameplay – Damage from Sentry bots tweaked back on request of the community.
• Collection of minor code fixes.

For the latest new content, news and all things Killzone, visit www.Killzone.com which will also reflect the changes made to the game such as being able to view Battle Replays of games played out on the new maps or being able to use the new settings to create Clan Challenges or Tournaments. Further features and fixes to www.Killzone.com include:

• Feature - Tournaments – Full tournament functionality enabled once again.
• Feature - Upcoming Tournaments are now displayed in a clan’s calendar.
• Feature - Upcoming Tournaments are now displayed in My Killzone upcoming events.
• Feature - Upcoming Tournaments are now displayed in clan communication center.
• Feature - Tournament and Clan Challenge support for DLC Pack III “Napalm & Cordite”.
• Feature - Additions of sounds in Battle Replays.
• Feature - Additional animations in Battle Replays.
• PlayStation®3 landing page updated.
• Higher selectable Bodycount values when creating Tournaments or Clan Challenges via www.Killzone.com.
• Various bug-fixes and minor updates.

Firstly, the magnificent Killzone 2 Visari Throne Room will be available from the Shopping Centre as of tomorrow morning. To celebrate the launch of this great personal space, we’re giving you the chance to get hold of an exclusive Killzone 2 PS Home Reward – the Visari plant & container. This exclusive item will look great in your new Visari Palace Throne Room, (or Harbour Studio at a push…) just bear in mind it takes up quite a lot of space…!

The Visari plant and container PS Home Reward

To get hold of this rare item simply keep an eye on the EU blog over the next couple of days. We will publish a promotion code, as a comment within this article, which you will need to redeem; (T’s & C’s apply – click here) but you’ll have to be quick; the promotion code will be valid for one week only!

Update: The promotion code is now in the comments below as promised, but it’s becoming rather tricky to find it! So, to make things simpler, here it is, to save you hunting through lots of comment pages:

J7BH-C4BR-2RTN.

To redeem the code, go into the PlayStation Store and select the [Redeem Codes] icon from the [Store Top], then just follow the onscreen instructions – the plant will be in your inventory when you log back into PS Home.

In addition to the Visari Throne Room, this week you will also be able to get your hands on an exclusive Helghast Tacticians outfit (for both male and female avatars), some fantastic Killzone t-shirts, as well as a variety of furniture items to kit out the Visari Throne Room – check out the screenshots below.

There will also be a second limited edition promotion code available on Killzone.com which will unlock another exclusive item for the Visari Throne Room. I won’t give too much away here, however be sure to keep an eye out Killzone.com, since no Visari Palace would be complete without one of these rare items…

In addition to the Killzone news above, you’ll be very pleased to hear that we also have the SOCOM Tactical Operations Centre launching in the SCEE region tomorrow. Great for all you SOCOM fans, check out the post here for more info on this new space.

And last, (but by no means least!) we will also be launching the fantastic inFamous ‘Abandoned Docks of Empire City’ space tomorrow morning (including the great Reaper Shock mini-game). Here’s what SCEA’s blog team had to say about this great new addition:

“The Abandoned Docks of Empire City marks a first for Home in that it will broadcast exclusive media developed by Sucker Punch specifically for the hardcore inFamous fans. We also managed to squeeze a mini-game into the space – a scrolling shooter-type button masher called Reaper Shock that lets the community compete for high scores on the built-in global leaderboard (and rewards the most highly-skilled with some rad reward items to decorate your avatar and your personal space with).”

I’ll be around for a while so if you have any questions about any of the above, blog away – otherwise, be sure to keep an eye out for that Killzone promo code

Best
Elliott / iELL

Helghast Field Manual 15: Surviving the Southern Hills
The treacherous ISA forces have resorted to using nuclear devices in their futile efforts to invade our beloved home-planet of Helghan. This cowardly act will not go unpunished and the Helghast High Command training corps has prepared a field manual to ensure its loyal soldiers do not die in vain. Read the below carefully as it could be the difference between your survival of a nuclear attack and turning into a burning corpse.

• When you hear the siren, drop whatever you are doing. Just run like heck. A live soldier is a lot more useful to the Helghan Empire than a scorched, smoking one. You’ll only have a couple of seconds to get to cover, so don’t waste any time.
• Science be damned! Just Duck & Cover! If you see the nuke going off the in the distance, simply ensure that you have a roof above your head. You don’t even have to close the windows or anything. Anyone caught outside will be turned into a something resembling jerky.
• If you spawn in your base and hear the sirens going off, just stay where you are and the let the folks outside deal with the problems. You’ll be much quicker off the mark once the dust settles.
• Sentry Bots and Sentry Turrets are not immune to the devastating power of the nuke. Don’t leave them sitting outside, or they will turn into burning chunks like anything else. Place Sentry turrets inside to ensure their safety and they will cut off the enemies path to shelter.
• If you are inside, watch the doorways for enemies ducking inside to safety. Or even better, mow them down with an emplaced machine gun before they get anywhere near. That’ll teach ‘em to run like dogs!
• Out in the open? Any base can be a safe spot from the impending nuclear annihilation. If you find yourself far from home, just go duck into the enemies’ base. Your chances of survival will be higher than out in the open.
• The Bots in Killzone 2 do have a sense of self-preservation and when that siren sounds, they will try to save themselves as much as any living player. Follow them for the closest safe-spot, but make sure no sneaky ISA scum are hiding in there in the first place.
• Repaired ammo boxes and Emplaced MG’s will not be destroyed by the blast, so you won’t have to repair them again.
• Assassination targets! If the siren goes off, get to cover. I repeat, run like hell. Nothing worse than successfully defending the target and having it turned into smithereens before your very eyes and not being able to do anything about it.
• If all else fails, climb up the ladder to the roof of the central base to get a good view of the explosion in the east. It might cause you a fiery death, but damn it the explosion is too sexy not to look at in all of its splendor.

Keep these tips in mind when the ISA Cruisers launch their gutless assault on our beloved planet and you might just survive another day.

All hail Visari!

Master Sergeant Downie
5th Helghast Training Corps

Pyrrhus Rise

For a Q&A on the Flash & Thunder DLC pack, visit www.killzone.com.

Sackboy is dusting off his tuxedo as LittleBigPlanet is nominated in the Family, Multiplayer, Soundtrack, PlayStation Game of the Year and Ultimate Game of the Year categories. Killzone 2 is on his six and competing for the Multiplayer, PlayStation Game of the Year and Ultimate Game of the Year awards.

And with all of the announcements and revelations from E3 fresh in your mind, now’s a good time to vote for your most anticipated game in “The One To Watch” award; where God of War III and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves are battling it out to see who’ll be at the top of our wish lists for the next year.

Head over to the Awards website for a full list of the categories and nominees – cast your vote and you could win some cool prizes for yourself in the Golden Joystick Awards prize draw.

The Golden Joystick winners will be announced on 30th October as the grand finale to 2009′s London Games Festival.

Who will you be voting for this year? Let us know below, or head over to the PlayStation Forums to see what games everyone’s talking about and compare notes on your favourites.

Have you ever peered out of the windows of your cosy Harbour Studio apartment and wished that the view was a little less… serene? Maybe you’ve stared down at the calm, sunlit marina and wondered what it would be like to overlook a burning, war-torn cityscape. Perhaps you feel that the clean, contemporary architecture of the Studio doesn’t quite possess the grandeur to match your megalomaniacal ego.

The Visari Throne Room apartment for PlayStation Home is just what you need. Based on the throne room inside Visari’s Palace from the final mission of Killzone 2, it combines the majestic proportions of Helghast architecture with the regal aesthetic of the Autarch himself. Tastefully lit by a hellish, alien sunset, it is guaranteed to impress and humble anyone you invite over for a chat.

Of course, no palatial chamber is complete without stately furnishings to match. For the Visari Throne Room, we’ve created five pieces of furniture based on actual palace furnishings from Killzone 2: two types of Visari-style chairs, an administrative desk, a plant container with authentic Helghan vegetation, and a freestanding painting which portrays an important moment in the colonial history of the Helghast. In Killzone 2 these were mostly used by Radec’s elite guard to barricade the palace hallways, but don’t let that stop you from arranging them however you like.

The Visari Throne Room and matching furniture are scheduled for release in the second half of June, with pricing TBD. Be sure to visit Killzone.com soon for a closer look at the new PlayStation Home content, including additional images of the throne room!

Nice new home you guys have here and thanks for inviting me. My name is Seb Downie and I am one of the Producers at Guerrilla Games and want to start off GG’s contribution to the blog with details of the latest and greatest update to hit Killzone 2. It was meant to be out a week ago, but on the 11th hour before release we found a bug that needed fixing, so unfortunately we had to delay it, but now we are ready to rock, erm I mean, ready to patch!

Today, Guerrilla Games has released their 9th patch for their best-selling shooter, Killzone 2.

This patch not only contains fixes, but also new functionality that has been requested by the Killzone community. Patch 1.27 will be 75MB in size (272MB for Asian release) and will be released worldwide with the following fixes and features:

• DLC – Enables support for downloadable content pack #2 “Flash & Thunder”, released on June 11th on the Playstation®Store
• Network errors – Improved handling of large message groupings to decrease network errors on heavy loads. Should decrease some instances of network errors
• Stability – Fix for potential Quick-join stability issues when DLC pack “Steel & Titanium” is not installed
• Stability – Removal of DLC could result in stability issues when using game pre-sets
• Stability – Crash fix for potential Search & Retrieve issue
• Stability – Fix for infrequent hang on loading when using spectator mode
• Exploit – Search & Destroy objective exploit fix
• Exploit – Collision fix for map MP04 – Visari Hammer
• Exploit – Collision fix for map MP07 – Blood Gracht
• Exploit – Collision fix for map MP07 – Blood Gracht (2)
• Exploit – Collision fix for map MP08 – Corinth Crossing
• Exploit – Collision fix for map MP08 – Corinth Crossing (2)
• Stats – Fix for clans not always receiving the clan match win medal
• Controls – Addition of High precision mode option for both Single Player and Multiplayer. New accounts will have this mode set as standard and existing users will have to enable it manually. More details can be found here:
• Feature – Players will be automatically placed on the same faction, if they are friends upon using the ‘Join Friend’ option
• Feature – Players will be automatically placed on the same squad, if they are friends upon using the ‘Join Friend’ option
• Feature – Squads will remain constant over multiple rounds unless disbanded. More info on the above features can be found here
• Feature – Faction balancing only checked when entering the game to the pre-game lobby or spawn-select New faction select screen on spawn-select
• Feature – In-game faction changing now allowed on heavily unbalanced factions
• Feature – Skirmish – All Badges and Abilities are now unlocked for Skirmish mode to allow users with lower bandwidth network connections to experience the full range of weapons and abilities available in Multiplayer mode
• Gameplay – Invulnerability when spawning on a deployable spawn-point outside of a base-camp is now disabled
• Gameplay – Armor of Assault class reduced from 100 to 50 hit-points
• Gameplay – AI and health of the flying Sentry Bots has been tweaked upwards
• Gameplay – Firing rate of the Sentry Turret’s rocket system has been reduced slightly
• Bug – Cooked grenades dealing friendly fire damage despite the option being disabled
• Bug – DLC Pack 1 “Steel & Titanium” front end text fix for Japanese sku
• Moderation – Enhanced moderation tools for SCE Moderators
• Killzone.com – Revived players now appearing correctly in Battle Replays
• Misc – Various minor bug fixes

For more in depth information on some of the bigger features to come with this patch, check out the Q&A with Eric Boltjes our Lead Multiplayer Designer here.

I’ll be checking out the comments section and will try to answer some of your questions about the update. We are by no means done with Killzone 2 and will continue to improve the online experience with your (constructive, fair and balanced) feedback *ahem*.

So thanks for having me and I hope you enjoy this latest update. We’ll be back soon with some news on Home. Also make sure to keep an eye on www.killzone.com for the latest news, gossip and content.