WarHawk dev knew about tilt

By Tom Bramwell Published 3 July, 2006

For a while, says Sony man.

WarHawk developer Incognito may only have "officially" known about the PS3 tilt controller for a couple of weeks before E3, but Sony Santa Monica game director Brian Upton now claims the companies had been plotting for ages.

"Actually, Incognito has secretly been working with Sony on the tilt technology for a while," he says in an interview with IGN, "but it wasn't until the last few weeks before E3 that they received a working controller."

Speaking to us at E3, Incog's Dylan Jobe said that the team only received the final controller the Sunday before Sony's Monday press conference.

"As for improvements since then," Upton continued, "right now we're integrating the aerobatics system so you can use it to perform cool stunts like loops and spins, as well as testing out other gameplay in our ground modes."

WarHawk is still the only confirmed supporter of the tilt sensor technology Sony unveiled at E3, although everyone from Pro Evolution Soccer producer Seabass to Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima has expressed interest in working with it since then.

Despite using the controller though, allowing players to manoeuvre a plane by twisting the controller through the air, WarHawk will also offer traditional control schemes for those who want them.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (28) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Markusdragon #1 6 years ago

    Despite using the controller though, allowing players to manoeuvre a plane by twisting the controller through the air, WarHawk will also offer traditional control schemes for those who want them.

    Which smells to me like the game was originally designed for normal controls.

  • York #2 6 years ago

    "Actually, Incognito has secretly been working with Sony on the tilt technology for a while,"

    Which makes it all the more suprising that the game controlled so chaotically at E3.

  • Gurgeh #3 6 years ago

    The horse has already left the stable, Sony.

  • #4 6 years ago

    "Despite using the controller though, allowing players to manoeuvre a plane by twisting the controller through the air, WarHawk will also offer traditional control schemes for those who want them."

    Hmmmmm..... It does sound a little familiar to me...

  • sh0cked #5 6 years ago

    I love this over the past week Sony have released about 7 "interviews" in which they are outlining "Amazing support for PS3" "We didnt copy Ninty" "PS3 will win over x360" Jesus !

    I dont know about you guys but I think Sony are more worried about PS3 then ever! I mean I watched the E3 conf and it just seemed like a damage limitation exercise to me and all this up talk of the console just reinforces that belief! I think they know they have a turkey on their hands.

  • yiannis #6 6 years ago

    LOL...
    They try desperatelly to cover their image mishap.
    They'll probably find more "undercover" studios that were working with tilt SECRETLY
    ...as always :)

    Anything to prevent Nintendo from exclusivity contracts :)
    It's ok sony guys, plagiarism is not a crime. Just sux :)

  • djchump #7 6 years ago

    lol - so he worked on it sooo secretly that he didn't bother to tell the rest of his dev team until 2 weeks before E3?
    lmao, yeah right.

  • Darren #8 6 years ago

    Apparently none of the PS3's launch games will be using motion-sensing technology (Warhawk isn't a launch game) as developers found out about it to late to include it. I don't know how true that is but it would be insane if it was... launching a console with motion-sensing controllers but no actual games that use it...

  • moggsy #9 6 years ago

    I bet they all support the now non-existent vibration function though.

  • kangarootoo #10 6 years ago

    @Markusdragon

    "Which smells to me like the game was originally designed for normal controls"

    Um, or of course it could equally smell like they wanted to provide both control options.

    Though as it is, given the development cycle time of modern titles, I think it is pretty obvious that it was originally designed for a normal controller.

    Has anyone at Incognito or Sony actually ever denied that? Before we go all conspiracy theory on them, should we not perhaps check that there is even a conspiracy to contest?

    Its interesting to note that during E3, when fanboy madness was at its peak, this thread would have been filled with over 100 posts of bile by now. Good to see normal sanity has been resumed.

  • gaselite #11 6 years ago

    This would be fine if I believed it... but I dunno

  • chupachups #12 6 years ago

    --Apparently none of the PS3's launch games will be using motion-sensing technology (Warhawk isn't a launch game) as developers found out about it to late to include it. I don't know how true that is but it would be insane if it was... launching a console with motion-sensing controllers but no actual games that use it...--

    Sony clearly just added this at the last minute, partly to try and lessen the threat from Nintendo and partly to make up for the loss of the rumble feature.

    They can't possibly have worked on it for very long if there was only a working version available three weeks before E3, a whole year after Nintendo announced and demonstrated their own controller. They had one game demo which supported it and nothing else, whereas Nintendo already had several different game demos at E3 2005.

    And this isn't even a proper motion-sensitive controller like Nintendo's one: the PS3 controller can only detect tilting but the Wii one can detect both tilting and location in 3D. That's why the PS3 doesn't use a controller sensor, because it doesn't support location sensing.

    It's damage limitation all the way. Sony needs to start focusing on why gaming on the PS3 will be really good, but all they've done so far is copy other consoles (controller from Wii, internet service from Xbox) and promote non-gaming features (blu-ray).
    Edited by 1 at 03/07/06 @ 14:48

  • Azazel #13 6 years ago

    zOMFG! C0nspir4cyz0r! They are cleary agents of the Lizard Army!1

  • Steroyd #14 6 years ago

    It's damage limitation all the way. Sony needs to start focusing on why gaming on the PS3 will be really good, but all they've done so far is copy other consoles (controller from Wii, internet service from Xbox) and promote non-gaming features (blu-ray).

    uhm... the sole purpose of E3 this year was to show the playable games nothing more.

    And FYI Sony started the motion sensoring fad through games with the eye-toy, and did everyone forget about the Online service that Sony promised on the PS2 and failed to deliver (people keep bringing that up wonder why nobody brings it up now?) maybe instead of seeing what MS did and copy it they had an idea of what they wanted to do on the PS2 and taking that infamous over-promising slide to the next level on the PS3.

    If you see it at E3 2000 Sony came up with an online service slide that looks exactly like MS's XBL before XBL even existed they even demonstrated it working at that E3 as well or was that E3 2001.

    /rant off
    Edited by 1 at 03/07/06 @ 15:47

  • #15 6 years ago

    "Sony clearly just added this at the last minute, partly to try and lessen the threat from Nintendo and partly to make up for the loss of the rumble feature."

    To make up for the loss of the rumble feature? They said they had removed the rumble feature to make room for the tilt sensor! Plus experts have already said that Sony can make room for the rumble feature too if they really want to; Immersion has even said they'd be happy to solve the problem for them!
    The thing is 1)they don't want to pay another hefty sum to get Immersion's license for the rumble feature, 2)They can't help but copy other companies’ ideas as usual.
    Personally as a PlayStation fan I am so angry with them, because they have removed something as essential as the rumble pack simply to replace it with an incomplete clone of their rival's controller.

  • Steroyd #16 6 years ago

    dude Wii motion sensing and PS3 controller motion sensing are completely different things

    if anything the wiimote should be compared to.
    What the eye-toy will evolve into
    Edited by 2 at 03/07/06 @ 16:51

  • #17 6 years ago

    "dude Wii motion sensing and PS3 controller motion sensing are completely different things"
    They are different but not completely different, they use more or less the same technology and the PS3 tilt sensor does some of the things that Wii's controller deos. And there's absolutely no point in having it, especially that they've had to remove the rumble feature to make room for it.

  • Arwin #18 6 years ago

    @York: it didn't. Just check out some more videos. The guy at the E3 presenation just really exaggerated his movements so the audience could see it properly (or else he's just not a great gamer ;) ). But there are movies of others playing on the E3 show floor where you can see the game controls very smoothly with the motion detectors.

    @Chupachups: it is NOT just a tilt sensor. Like Wii, it can sense all '6 degrees of motion'. But unlike Wii, it doesn't need a sensor bar placed in front of your tv with a wire running to your console to do so. We'll just have to wait and see what, if any, are the up, and downsides of that. The wii-mote mainly distinguishes itself from the PS3 controller by having rumble, a speaker, and a place to attach extensions like the "nunchuck". But they can both sense 6 degrees of movement (i.e. lateral movement along the x,y and z axis, and rotational movement along the x,y and z axis).

  • #19 6 years ago

    @ Arwin
    "it is NOT just a tilt sensor. Like Wii, it can sense all '6 degrees of motion'. But unlike Wii, it doesn't need a sensor bar placed in front of your tv with a wire running to your console to do so."

    Actually it's just a tilt sensor. In fact it can't even do half the things the Wii controller does. It's true that it can sense 6 degrees of motion but that's about it. It uses translational acceleration which means it can move from point to point in the same direction, that is tilting. However the Wii Remote is able to sense movement and orientation. It can sense linear motion along three axes, as well as tilt in 6 degrees of motion.

  • Mordum #20 6 years ago

    @Steroyd
    "If you see it at E3 2000 Sony came up with an online service slide that looks exactly like MS's XBL before XBL even existed they even demonstrated it working at that E3 as well or was that E3 2001."

    Not familiar with what they showed back then... so what happened to it? did Sony not believe in the idea enough? or were they unable to pull it off? The service they went with was pretty poor in comparison to Live, so I'd be interested to know why they dropped any good ideas they might have had for an online gaming service.

  • Scimarad #21 6 years ago

    "And this isn't even a proper motion-sensitive controller like Nintendo's one: the PS3 controller can only detect tilting but the Wii one can detect both tilting and location in 3D."

    But there is the not inconsiderable bonus that it can be used as a standard pad AND as a tilt controller, which is more than you can say for the Nintendo effort.

    /waits for Ninty fanboys and dual shock haters.
    Edited by 1 at 03/07/06 @ 18:29

  • Hughes. #22 6 years ago

    What I want from a motion sensing controller is proper grenade chucking skills. Most shooter's grenade trajectories are preset and very hit and miss with it. A flat under-arm lob through a window or a lofted drop-short chuck over a wall would be so much simpler with a good motion detection system. I suppose it would work for ball throwing in sports games too, but I'd rather blow stuff up.

  • Nikanoru #23 6 years ago

    But there is the not inconsiderable bonus that it can be used as a standard pad AND as a tilt controller, which is more than you can say for the Nintendo effort.

    Ehh, the PS3 pad being shaped like a regular pad really doesn't work in its advantage. Trying to control a plane with it looks very awkward and almost painful. But on the other hand, ignoring your fanboy comment, it's a fact that the Wii controller is also able to be used as a standard controller, and perfectly at that, as demonstrated by the new mario game. So...yeah. Not sure why you think it isn't. Of course, there's always the "retro" Wii controller.

    Besides that, I think the Dual Shock design is a piece of shit and always has been since it was born from the rape of the original PSX controller (which was just fine on its own). But that's just my humble opinion.

  • CyberClaw #24 6 years ago

    The PS3 controler doesn't even come close to what the Wii can do.
    The PS3 controler can sense 6 direction tilt.
    The Wii-mote can sense 6 directions tilt, 6 direction paralel movement, and you can also aim with it to the TV (many FPS are going to make use of that feature obviously).
    The tilt is basic, the 6 direction paralel movement is something that'll turn the controler from a "analogue stick", to something that is able to recognise more advanced movements and paterns (a club swing, for example, it's impossible to use only a tilt sensor to do a decent job emulating it). And the aiming (like a Lightgun), well that's going to be the star of many FPS I hope =) Added to all that, you can get the numchucks, with a standart analogue stick, extra buttons, etc. (if anything I'm worryed that Nintendo will go overboard in the pricing of this extras for the controler).

    The PS3 tilt sensor doesn't hold a candle to the Wii remote. And the tilt sensor alone, is a novelty, that soon wears off as much more imprecise than a analogue stick. People who tryed tilt sensors before will tell you. It's fun for a hour or 2, but then, you get back to using good old analogue sticks, because you are simply better at gaming with them.

  • chupachups #25 6 years ago

    --uhm... the sole purpose of E3 this year was to show the playable games nothing more.--

    No it's not, it's designed to show off anything game-related, including tech demos of new gaming technology.


    --And FYI Sony started the motion sensoring fad through games with the eye-toy--

    The Wii isn't ground-breaking because it has the motion sensor, the Wii is ground-breaking because it has the motion sensor AS STANDARD.

    The Eyetoy was great but it only had about 20 games released for it, compared to 2000 or so non-Eyetoy PS2 games which didn't support it. This is because the developers couldn't be sure if their customers had an eyetoy or not, and chances are that they didnt.

    With the Wii, all of its games can support the motion sensor if the developers want to do so, because they KNOW that all Wii owners definitely have the right kind of controller.


    --and did everyone forget about the Online service that Sony promised on the PS2 and failed to deliver (people keep bringing that up wonder why nobody brings it up now?) maybe instead of seeing what MS did and copy it they had an idea of what they wanted to do on the PS2 and taking that infamous over-promising slide to the next level on the PS3.--

    Sony promised Toy Story graphics and a "surfing cyberspace" interface for the PS2, they promised multiple screens on the PS3, they promised all kinds of crap and didn't deliver on most of it. You've got to just look at what Sony actually do, not what they claim they'll do.


    --If you see it at E3 2000 Sony came up with an online service slide that looks exactly like MS's XBL before XBL even existed they even demonstrated it working at that E3 as well or was that E3 2001.--

    They came up with a graphic demo, but nothing working ever actually happened. Anyone can come up with a nice looking demo, just check out the Phantom website.


    --it is NOT just a tilt sensor. Like Wii, it can sense all '6 degrees of motion'. But unlike Wii, it doesn't need a sensor bar placed in front of your tv with a wire running to your console to do so.--

    It IS just a tilt sensor. All it can do is tell which way you're tilting something, it can't tell which way you're moving something, which is what the Wii controller can do.

    You could tell by the tech demos, the PS3 one just had them banking the plane, but the Wii ones had them moving and manipulating objects in 3D.

  • Canadian_Mike #26 6 years ago

    Hi,

    A couple interesting things about the controller from the official Euro PS3 site...

    "In addition to the “3-posture-axis” of roll, pitch and yaw, “3-dimension acceleration information (X, Y, and Z)” can be detected in high-precision and in real-time. In addition to standard key input available in existing controllers."

    Also...

    "The shape of L2/R2 buttons located on the top of the controller has also been enlarged with increased depth in stroke for more subtle control in games. At the same time, the tilting angle of the analog joy sticks has been slightly broadened to enable more delicate and more dynamic manipulation. Along with these improvements, precision of above information detection (L2/R2, analog joy stick) has been increased from 8 bit to 10 bit."

    Interesting.....


    EDIT: Anyone know if the buttons are still pressure sensitive?
    Edited by 1 at 04/07/06 @ 15:28

  • CyberClaw #27 6 years ago

    Canadian_Mike, that's very interesting, and the wikipedia site also mentions it... Although I can't recall a single E3 demo that showed any "3 dimentional acelaration" for the PS3. I can recall cases of Mario Galaxy (where you had to roll and pull the wand), for the Wii, but for the PS3, all they showed back then, was pitching, rolling and yawning (I was yawning myself). This only serves to further feed the "conspiration theory" that the controller was made at the last minute, and now they are still adding stuff to it. Still, the dual shock was designed to be held as a standart gaming controller. I don't think it'll be very usefull to do stuff like simulating opening a door, or swinging a bat, etc, like the wand let's you. The way you hold the dualshock, just limits what you can do while holding it (since it wasn't designed thinking on motion sesitivity, but arround the dual analogue sticks), unlike the Wii wand, that gives you pretty much freedom to use as a baseball bat, a arrow in a bow, a gun, a hand holding a door lock, etc (stuff like the bow or like the gun, also use the aiming which is something the PS3 controler doesn't have)

    All in all, I just admire the inteligence of Nintendo. They held off on showing what made the Wii controller special, because according to them "they didn't want the competition to steal the ideas", and what would you know...

  • Carrybagma #28 6 years ago

    First!

    (c) Sony Corporation


    Don't be surprised if the controller 'grows' a little bit bigger closer to launch, in order to accomodate extra sensors. You may even see a special (bigger) version with rumble fitted in.