Below you can read the full changelog, but the most important part is this: you are now officially allowed to share in-game footage of the closed Beta, so lets get some good screenshots/videos out there!

Official News:

HAWKEN’s Closed Beta is upon us! We can’t wait to see everyone dive in and tear each other up. The latest build introduced a lot of changes, so we tied the developers down and got the straight scoop from them. Read up before you mount up!

What’s New in Closed Beta Event 1

User Interface
The front-end user interface is all-new, and is now much more welcoming! We redesigned the Garage and changed menu flow to streamline your preparations for battle.

Mech Progression
Players can now earn experience (XP) on their mechs, which unlocks important upgrades including more tech points for use in the optimizations tree, as well as improved weapons and ability performance. Mech weapons have three levels, increasing their effectiveness as you become more proficient with that specific mech chassis.

New Items
We added new offensive, defensive, and functional items for your mechs. Drop a rocket turret or HE grenade on your enemies, or activate a shield to save your own skin. Other additions include holograms, repair charges, and radar scramblers. Each item can extend your survival and give you the extra edge necessary for victory. Don’t leave home without them.

Experience Point & HAWKEN Point Boosters
We introduced our XP and HP booster system, which allows you to earn XP and HP at an accelerated rate. At the top of the main menu, click on one of the items next to the HAWKEN logo, select the duration you’d like for the boost, and complete the purchase with the points we’ve given you. The extra bonuses come into play when your points are totaled up at the end of a battle. This will help you experience more of our mech progression system in a shorter amount of time.

New Game Mode: Siege
Call in gigantic battleships to destroy the enemy base in HAWKEN’s newly released Siege Mode. You and your teammates will assault and defend energy stations to fuel and launch your battleship. Shoot down enemy battleships by seizing control of the massive anti-aircraft missile battery, and keep it out of enemy hands. Siege Mode is available on our new Titan map, as well as our updated and expanded Sahara map.

Additional Maps
Face off against your foes in our new Titan and Alleys maps. Titan’s massive structures and narrow corridors make for close combat, while strategic objectives lure pilots into the open. The contrasting claustrophobia and massive vertical relief in Alleys will change the way you fight. Titan maps will host each of HAWKEN’s match modes, while Alleys engages players in Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch battles.

Updated Audio
We added in lots of new sound effects to make the combat more visceral and immersive. Hear that glass cracking? You’re almost out of armor points. Any closer to the action and your life would be at stake!

Free Mech Rotation
Try before you buy with a weekly rotation of free mechs for you to test drive. New mechs will rotate in each week. Test them out for a limited time and buy the ones that set your world, and foes, on fire. For Closed Beta Event 1, we added the Infiltrator for you to pilot. Still has that new mech smell.

Friends List
We’ve brought our core friends system online to make it much easier to play with your friends during the closed beta. Select friends by their callsign, then invite them to accept your request. See when you friends are online and join their servers, too. This is just the beginning, as we have a comprehensive social system designed for HAWKEN.

Languages
¿Habla Español? Parlez vous français? Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Now HAWKEN does too! Spanish, French, and German localizations will be available in Closed Beta.

Real actors mixed with stunning CGI sequences are for you to see. Story-wise the teaser doesn’t reveal much, but it does a great job of building the atmosphere of a corporation-ridden planet, where mech pilots have to fight for their lives.

To watch the trailer click on the thumbnail to the right, or visit our gallery!

You can take a look at a lot of new low-res screenshots over at the chinese article, we will add them to our gallery as soon as a better resolution is available!

The article at PhysXinfo also features several new screenshots, you can check them out in our gallery!

Sources: PhysXinfo
Links: Screenshots @ Alibaba.com, PhysXinfo

The first one will premier at E3 in Los Angeles in June!

According to O’Flaherty, the goal was to put names and faces to the mech pilots. “Through these characters I wanted to begin to speak to the fiction behind the game, to introduce people to a mythology that is just as interesting and intriguing as the first view of HAWKEN made me feel.”, O’Flaherty says.

The shorts are filmed on multiple set designs and the costumes included apparel from Endless Ammo. Creative Director Khang Le about his visit to the set: “It was so awesome to see the physical set of HAWKEN. Seeing the film crew working passionately to capture the feeling of the HAWKEN universe was a humbling experience.”

For further information check out the full article at Gaming Nexus!

Source: Article at Gaming Nexus
Links: Gaming Nexus

There is little new information, Hughes tells us a little about the backstory, design choices and how Hawken is different from other mech games, with its faster pace while still maintaining a high level of immersion. As we already heard some times by now, the art design is mostly influenced by Blade Runner and Ghost in the Shell, and should resemble a kind of realistic future, a “corporation driven wasteland of devastation”.

As far as the free-to-play model is concerned, Hughes ensures again that Hawken won’t be pay to win. One of the big advantages of the model is that a big player base can be built quickly, the game itself will be monetized by customizations and “giving users additional options” which hasn’t been specified.

To watch the full interview, click the thumbnail on the right or visit our video section!

A dystopic vision of a war-torn future, pretty atmospheric to say the least. Check it out.

Also, join our forums to talk about your own ideas for the game, or if you feel the need for more gameplay footage head to our video section!

Boasting influences from Blade Runner and Tekkonkinkreet to Nausicaä and Ghost in the Shell, Hawken is a breathtaking portrait of a war-torn world where greed is good, war is life, and survival is for the few with the most ammo.

To find such a gritty and grounded vision of our future was inspiring. Sure, the game is gorgeous and really fun, but Meteor isn’t simply creating a great game. They’re creating an entire universe fans can enjoy and explore for years to come.

Sources: Original Article on DigitalSpy

To watch the new hawken trailer just click the screenshot to the right!   ——–>>

Join the discussion in our forums and check out more gameplay videos in our video section!

• Server: irc.quakenet.org (port 6667-6669)
• Channel: #HawkenHQ

For those of you that aren’t familiar with IRC, it’s basically a full-fledged chatroom with some additional features. To fully use it you will need a downloadable IRC client like KVIrc or mIRC, but you can start out with just your web-browser: webchat.quakenet.org (channel: #HawkenHQ)

The channel (chatroom) is located on the famous quakenet servers, where you can easily join some other gaming related channels too. Sounds convenient, doesn’t it?

Join the HawkenHQ.com admins for a chat or just hang around and chill with some fellow Hawken fans, it’s up to you.