Motorstorm Pacific Rift Megathread

[BlueCali]

MotorStorm is a racing video game developed by Evolution Studios and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the Sony PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system. First announced at E3 2005, the game was released in Japan in December 2006 and the rest of the world in March 2007. Motorstorm has achieved global sales of over 3 million copies.[2] The sequel to MotorStorm, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift, was released near the end of 2008.

The game moves away from the desert environments of the original title and relocates itself in "a lush island environment, full of interactive vegetation"; and also includes monster trucks and four-player split-screen capability. Monster trucks are able to ride over cars (except big rigs), break most vegetation, and destroy structures. Bikes also have new capabilities so they can bunny hop and the driver can duck. Custom music tracks using a player's own music stored on their PS3 hard drive are available[8] as are trophies (to unlock more Drivers and Vehicles) and camera angles are improved for crashes; vehicle damage is also improved.

 

[BlueCali]

GamersDigest can confirm that the 1.01 patch for MotorStorm: Pacific Rift is now out.

The update contains improvements and amendments to the game, and fixes for several issues reported by players on the MotorStorm forums.

Full list of changes below;

* The stability of the game has been improved (the source of many of the problems which would cause the game to ‘hang’ or ‘freeze’ have been eliminated).

* The Saved Data file is no longer copy protected (making it possible to back up Saved Data and restore it if it should become corrupt, and allowing the file to be moved to a different PLAYSTATION 3 (providing that the User Account the Saved Data is being transferred to is the same User Account that the file was created under originally)).

* An on-screen ‘MotorStorm Helmet’ icon is displayed whenever the game is making a critical save.

* The glitch which enables a player to exploit the Boost system is no longer present (the Leaderboards will also be sanitised).

* Any Time Attack times and online Rank information which have not been processed to the servers (due to a problem with the servers) will be processed systematically (as the problem has been resolved).

* Voice chat has been fixed so that more than 4 players can talk simultaneously.

* The volume of the official Sony PS3 bluetooth microphone has been improved.

* In the Race Lobby screen, vehicles with light coloured liveries are more clearly visible.

* In the Race Lobby screen, the player’s chosen vehicle is displayed alongside their PlayStation®Network Online ID.

* When a player becomes the leader of a group, or the host of a custom game, the members of the group or Custom Game are informed as such.

* Maximum party sizes for Ranked Matchmaking has been increased to 12.

* During the matchmaking process, a timer is displayed to show how long it is taking to find a match.

* The online Rank system has received a slight balancing tweak.

* During the matchmaking process, the player’s Rank is now displayed.

* Rank icons show a number to make a player’s Rank more instantly recognisable.

* When selecting a vehicle in the Festival, the relevant track information is also displayed.

* In Eliminator events, eliminated vehicles will now emit fire and smoke to make them more easily identifiable.

* In the Festival and Free-Play modes, it is possible to pause the game before an event begins.

* In Time Attack, it is possible to toggle the current session ghost on and off.

* In Photo Mode, the level of detail has been improved to ensure better quality pictures.

* In split-screen multiplayer, the Boost gauge has been visually enhanced.

* The audio for the Monster Truck’s engine has been improved.

* Many of the track reset points have been revised and modified appropriately.

* If a controller becomes disconnected in a split-screen multiplayer game, the game will return to the “number of players” screen.

* Group Invites work correctly for a player while they are viewing the Ranked Leaderboards.

* In the Speed event “Dark Territory” on Mudslide, the track reset points have been improved.

* In the Speed event “Go With the Flow” on Razorback, the gate timings have been refined.

* In the Speed event “Go With the Flow” on Razorback, a collision problem has been improved.

* In the Festival, the on-screen display no longer flashes if ‘Start’ has been pressed before the race begins.

* In the Festival, a glitch which caused the medal requirements to remain on-screen as the event begins has been resolved.

* In the Festival, a glitch which caused the “Final Lap!” notification to malfunction has been fixed.

* In Time Attack, a glitch (which caused the “Paused” game-menu and on-screen display to stop working correctly) has been repaired.

* The navigational controls function correctly in the Player Stats screen.

 

[BlueCali]

Game Update 2 is also on the way soon, which has some very cool new content in it, especially if you have a bit of a penchant for collecting cool stuff, or if you’re the type of person who enjoys PS3 Trophies and the like. I’ll say no more for now, and leave that one hanging there…

 

[BlueCali]

Hope you’re having fun ripping it up in the jungle on Pacific Rift because starting this Thursday, May 14th, we’ll be sending a downloadable vehicle livery pack your way every week for the next eight weeks exclusively via PlayStation Store. Each pack features new paint jobs for three vehicles, and the full set will give MotorStorm: Pacific Rift players a cutting-edge new look for every single vehicle class in the game: Mudpluggers, Quad Bikes, Monster Trucks, Rally Cars and more. Each new livery has been designed by one of Evolution’s top studio artists and the result is a collection of some of the craziest and out-there vehicle sprays ever seen in a racing game!

And to top it off, all these liveries are FREE!

Additionally, Game Update #2 was just released, and provides a number of useful fixes and updates for MotorStorm Pacific Rift. These include:

* Sugar Rush short-cut removed – The short-cut to the left of the “keep right” arrows going into the sugar field was not intentionally included and has been removed
* Sugar Rush respawn point fixed – Crashing at a certain point on the track no longer respawns the vehicle in a generous position
* Inclusion of Microbadges

Actually, wanted to focus on these new Microbadges as these are very cool ways of giving each player a distinct identity when online in MotorStorm Pacific Rift. Microbadges are in-game displayable ‘medals’ which let you flaunt your proudest personal accomplishments and your off-road racing prowess to every other racer online.

MotorStorm Pacific Rift - Microbadges MotorStorm Pacific Rift - Microbadges


Microbadges go beyond the usual Trophies that MotorStorm Pacific Rift already awards; the idea is that they should be dedicated to things you’d want other players to know about while you’re racing online. Here are some examples:

* Gold Festival – Completed Pacific Rift Festival with all Gold medals
* Immortal – Win an Online Ranked race without wrecking
* Flame and Fortune – 20 Boost explosion wins
* Time Attack Master – Record an impressive Time Attack time on any Leaderboard
* Supreme Victor – Win any Online or Offline race by a margin of 15 seconds

Microbadges are displayed beneath each Online ID, and players can display up to three badges from the get-go. Three more badge slots (there are six slots total) can be earned by working up the online ranks, and players can unlock 40 microbadges total. Players can choose which badges to show off and highlight what they’ve achieved in the game. Microbadges will also provide retroactive credit, so if you’ve already put in the hours, you’ll be reaping the rewards.

MotorStorm Pacific Rift - ATV

Last but not least, we wanted to give you a heads up on the photo contest we highlighted earlier.

Well we have finally gotten our winners, and they will be officially announced later this week on the official MotorStorm VIP site: vip.motorstorm.com. Keep an eye out to see if you are one of the lucky winners!

 

[BlueCali]

As ‘Stormers’ worldwide continue to collect their FREE Signature Liveries every week, all eyes are turning towards the coast of the setting sun to see what’s in store next. We’re well aware of what you’ve all been wishing for – Tracks, Modes, fresh Rides and a few surprises on the side. All wishes, we’re very happy to report, that we’re about to make come true.

If you’re one of the fortunate 40,000 attending E3 at the LA Convention Center on June 2-4, and you’re a MotorStorm fan, then you’ll be able to count yourself amongst the first in the world to witness our 2 new major downloadable content packs, ‘Expansion: SPEED’ and ‘Expansion: ADRENALINE’. Rammed bumper-to-bumper with new content, you’re going to need to set aside some serious time to investigate them both fully.

* Expansion: SPEED will be the first off the start line, and screams into view fully tanked up with MotorStorm goodness; 3 brand new tracks (Quicksands, Engorged and Dark Fire Swamp), 3 brand new track variants, 4 sweet new vehicles (sporting 3 paint jobs each) and a whole brand new 48-event Mini-Festival, ‘Speed Weekend’, packed with unlockable rewards, trophies and Microbadges.
* Expansion: ADRENALINE is racing along beside it, neck-and-neck, and bringing with it even MORE content! 3 MORE new tracks (Reefrunner, Brimstone and Hollowed Earth), 5 new track variants, 4 more exclusive new race machines (each with 3 liveries to choose from), 6 brand new characters (each sporting 3 different costumes), and a whole big fat stash of fresh new paint jobs for your existing vehicles.

Let’s look at those numbers for a moment - between these two packs, we’re almost DOUBLING the track count in the game, giving you plenty more locations for online races, plenty more Time Attack ghosts to chase, and plenty more settings for split screen fun with your buddies. And you’ve got to believe me guys, these new tracks and the new track variants are some of the best-looking, best-racing tracks we’ve ever made.

 

[BlueCali]

The third major game update for MotorStorm Pacific Rift, which prepares the game for the upcoming Expansions, is available to download right now! Read on to find out what’s in the update, and how you can download it.

How do I download the update?

To download the update, ensure that your PLAYSTATION®3 is connected to PlayStation®Network and then insert the Blu-ray Disc and/or run the game, and accept the download when prompted.
You will need to download the update to be able to access the online sections of the game.

What’s in the update?

The update contains improvements and amendments to the game, and fixes for several issues reported by players on the MotorStorm forum.

> Microbadges – Secret Microbadges unlocked.
The hidden Microbadges are no longer a mystery: check them out from the Microbadges screen in your Garage.

> PlayStation Home – ‘Game Launching’ now available.
Online races can be launched from PlayStation Home.

> Audio Settings – Preference order is now DTS followed by AC3.
DTS audio settings are automatically configured if available.

> Audio Settings – Vehicle horn volume control added.
Volume of vehicle horns can now be adjusted using a dedicated sliding scale.

> Garage – Competition Winners Gallery added.
A Gallery for photo competition winners can be viewed from your Garage.

> Speed Events – Gate visibility improved.
Not only are the next two gates now visible (instead of only the next one), the colour of the flares at each gate have changed to make the Speed Events a little easier: orange smoke on the left and yellow smoke on the right.

> Speed Events – Gate ‘passed’ issue fixed.
When playing in standard definition, the issue with some gates not registering as ‘passed’ has been fixed.

> Split-screen – 4-player Split-screen lock-up fixed.
A potential lock-up situation, occasionally caused by leaving a 4-player split-screen race, has been fixed.

> Online Racing – “Never-ending (zero lap) races” fixed.
Races will no longer begin with (and remain infinitely at) zero laps; a problem which affected various online races since Update 1.02.

> Online Racing – All 12 positions displayed in race results.
Since Update 1.02, only the top 8 positions were displayed at the end of a race. This is fixed and all 12 results are displayed at the end of the race.

> Online Rankings – Rank cap increased.
In order to alleviate the congestion at the top of the Leaderboard the rank cap has been increased.

> Online Leaderboards – Player’s stats added.
You can now view any player’s stats from any of the Leaderboards in the game, and compare them with your own.

> Online Matchmaking – “Searching for Matchmaking” screen fixed.
The “Searching for Matchmaking” message no longer overlaps, as it did in certain languages.

> Soundtrack – Track previews added.
Highlighting a track on the playlist (from the Soundtrack screen in the Options menu) will play the track.

> Soundtrack – Track details added to Pause Screen.
The artist and song title of the track being played are displayed on the Pause Screen.

If you have any feedback on Update 1.03, on the upcoming Expansions or on MotorStorm Pacific Rift in general, or you’d like to discuss the game with other MotorStormers, visit the MotorStorm forums and have your say!