Operation Burnout writes: "Criterion Games have published 4 new screenshots of the Island...

The island is scheduled for release as part of the Davis software update. The Davis update, due in August, is the same one which will see bikes introduced to the Burnout world. Criterion have previously stated that the bikes will have to be something you pay for. Will the island be too?"
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Criterion games latest feature: the Burnout Paradise Save Game Analyser!

Here's how it works:

PS3 players with the recently-released Bogart software update will be able to import their save game via USB drive or Memory Stick and analyse it on criteriongames.com!

Based on that, they create an interactive map that allows you to view the location of all incomplete discoverables. That includes Jumps, Smashes, Billboards, Junkyards, Body Shops, Paint Shops, Gas Stations and Car Parks.

Criterion games technicians are just putting the final touches to this feature ¿ they expect it to go live imminently!
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The 1.2 patch for Burnout has been released by Criterion Games for the Playstation 3. The patch includes many new features and more. According to Kotaku.com the fixes and features include (prior to release):

"Fixes:

* PS3 game can crash when a player is taken down and the player that has performed the Takedown leaves the game.
* The game indefinitely displays "Connecting to Paradise City Servers" if it's having problems communicating with the rebroadcast server.
* Disconnecting the controller before a race begins can mean that race timings can be manipulated with players who didn't cross the line first being awarded the win.
* Repeatedly joining and leaving a game with 8 players can cause the game to hang.
* Hammering the A (360) or X (PS3) after unlocking a car can cause the game to hang.
* East Crawford and Watt St achievements cannot be achieved if the player goes online and sets road rules before attempting them.
* Audio distortion when using 5.1 / DTS and looking back at the car.
* Enhanced 360 streaming performance stops instances where the game seems to pause for a second or so.
* Total time driven in player stats would stick at 145 hours.
* VoIP connection problems with 8 player games. This is now live on the Paradise City servers.

The update also adds the following game experience enhancements:

* We fixed Head-on Takedowns as these seemed generally unfair and unrealistic. Unfair low speed Takedowns have now been eradicated.
* Increase online race timer timeout so players have a greater chance of finishing the race.
* Fix drifting bug when drifting and boosting. There wasn't any real control on the brake so players would grind around the walls of the corners. Giving you all better control of the car.
* Stabbing the boost has too much of a jerky behaviour in the car handling, when in Stunt Run.
* Surround sound f...
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Bikes. As in, bikes are coming to Burnout Paradise. Don't believe us? Look: "For the first time, we'll let you loose in a Burnout game on motorbikes!" Criterion exclaims, explaining that it's planning to get bikes in via its Davis update for the racer. It's expecting to have the update out in August."And because we're dedicated to bringing you game-changing new Burnout Paradise content all year, bikes will feature their ... » Read More

From PS3 Attitude:

After all the excitement of learning what is coming in the Burnout Paradise 'Cagney' and 'Davis' updates, revealed in our Burnout news premiere yesterday, we're pleased to say that Criterion have released 'Bogart' as planned today on the PS3.

Effectively v1.20 of Burnout Paradise, Bogart fixes a number of issues in the game.

The Top 10 problems reported by users have been fixed, these are:

- PS3 game can crash when a player is taken down and the player that has performed the Takedown leaves the game.
- The game indefinitely displays "Connecting to Paradise City Servers" if it's having problems communicating with the rebroadcast server.
- Disconnecting the controller before a race begins can mean that race timings can be manipulated with players who didn't cross the line first being awarded the win.
- Repeatedly joining and leaving a game with 8 players can cause the game to hang.
- Hammering the X button after unlocking a car can cause the game to hang.
- East Crawford and Watt St achievements cannot be achieved if the player goes online and sets road rules before attempting them.
- Audio distortion when using 5.1 / DTS and looking back at the car.
- Total time driven in player stats would stick at 145 hours.
- VoIP connection problems with 8 player games.

The update also adds game experience enhancements and other high-priority fixes
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Criterion has been talking about getting a live update board in Burnout Paradise for a long time, so it's great for them to be able to finally unveil something!

Hit the link to see some shots.
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Burnout Paradise looks to be featuring motorbikes in an upcoming update for the game on PS3 & Xbox360
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Excerpts from PS3 Attitude: "Yes - motorbikes are coming to Paradise, for the first time in any Burnout title."

"There is still some work to do in terms of bringing car vs. bike racing to the game - you won't be able to do that in Davis - but Criterion are committed to improving all of these new features over time. Road Rash for the 21st Century? Possibly!"
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Good news for Xbox 360 Burnout fans ¿ the latest software update (codenamed Bogart) is now live. PS3 version will be available on 24th April.

And here's a reminder of everything you can expect with the download.

The Top 10 problems reported by you have been fixed, these are:

* PS3 game can crash when a player is taken down and the player that has performed the Takedown leaves the game.
* The game indefinitely displays "Connecting to Paradise City Servers" if it's having problems communicating with the rebroadcast server.
* Disconnecting the controller before a race begins can mean that race timings can be manipulated with players who didn't cross the line first being awarded the win.
* Repeatedly joining and leaving a game with 8 players can cause the game to hang.
* Hammering the A (360) or X (PS3) after unlocking a car can cause the game to hang.
* East Crawford and Watt St achievements cannot be achieved if the player goes online and sets road rules before attempting them.
* Audio distortion when using 5.1 / DTS and looking back at the car.
* Enhanced 360 streaming performance stops instances where the game seems to pause for a second or so.
* Total time driven in player stats would stick at 145 hours.
* VoIP connection problems with 8 player games. This is now live on the Paradise City servers.

The update also adds the following game experience enhancements:

* We fixed Head-on Takedowns as these seemed generally unfair and unrealistic. Unfair low speed Takedowns have now been eradicated.
* Increase online race timer timeout so players have a greater chance of finishing the race.
* Fix drifting bug when drifting and boosting. There wasn't any real control on the brake so players would grind around the walls of the corners. Giving you all better control of the car.
* Stabbing the b...
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Criterion games have today officially announced that custom soundtracks will be coming to the Playstation 3 version of Burnout Paradise.

Selecting to play the custom soundtrack will be as simple as selecting the option through the easy drive menu.

This will then bring up an XMB soundtrack page where you can select what songs you wish to play and toggle shuffle and repeat.
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Road Rage, Marked Man and Stunt Run modes will all appear as new online game modes in a future update of Burnout Paradise.
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Criteriongames.com reports:

"All good things must come to an end...

...and so is this the case with this demo. I know I've said it before, but the servers that allow the online games to take place are finally going to be taken down.

A sad day for many of you no doubt, but I hope to see some of you in the massively popular online games taking place in the full game.

Want to set up a race, 350 Freeburn Challenges and up to 8 players online again - no problem!

See ya there! "
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The second major update for Burnout Paradise will hit PSN and Xbox Live on April 24.The update, codenamed 'Bogart,' will fix a huge list of problems, and a typically diligent Criterion Games has listed the lot. Here you are, then:The Top 10 problems reported by you have been fixed:    * PS3 game can crash when a player is taken down and the player that has performed the Takedown leaves the ... » Read More

If you cast your mind back to early March you may remember the Burnout Team announcing that Burnout Paradise V1.2 (Now Codenamed "Bogart") was in development.
Now Criterion have announced the release date of these updates. They will be available to download from either PSN or the Market Place on the 24th April, free of charge.
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Xbox360 Fanboy: "The devs over at Criterion must be happy, their game was received well, their upcoming DLC is looking good and Burnout Paradise, their newest game, has sold over a million units."
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Criterion says that three updates it has in the works will "transform Paradise over the coming year." These updates will be so significant, Criterion says, that giving them the usual numbered names just isn't enough. "You may have noticed us referring to our future new content by codenames. Just to clarify - you'll see them in this order 'Cagney', then 'Davis' and then 'Eastwood'," teases Criterion. It goes on to boast: ... » Read More

Operation Burnout has reported that Criterion Games have uploaded an image and a couple of videos showing off the new island.
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From the official site: "If you find the Paradise servers are not running on Tuesday mornings, that's because we run routine maintenance on them every 2 weeks at that time.

We usually run some diagnostics to check the servers are working well and deploy updates to address issues like disconnects or VOIP problems and generally make improvements to the service.

We try to minimise the disruption to you guys as much as possible ¿ this normally takes a few hours, but at the latest, the servers will be back up by mid afternoon.

We've just finished today's maintenance, so expect this again on 15th April and keep an eye on the site for regular updates."
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Criterion Games writes:

"What we're working on now goes way beyond conventional content updates, so we figured the usual 1.1, 1.2 version numbers didn't do it justice.

We will TRANSFORM Paradise over the coming year.

...and we won't hold back on this blog. Our goal is to bring you EVERYTHING - as soon as we have it."
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Criteriongames reports:

We've got a stack of posts on the forums about yesterday's 1080i story! It seems a few of you don't believe us.

I guess that's the problem with posting on April 1st, but when it comes to enjoyment of Burnout Paradise in high def ¿ we never joke around.

We set up this site, so we could listen to you ¿ the fans ¿ and respond to your requests. We want to bring you the news direct and as it happens, so if that means posting on 1st April then that's what we'll do.

We want to talk directly to you guys and be THE source for the most up-to-date and accurate information on our games and how we build them.

PS3 1080i support is real and working and will be available as part of the Cagney update.

Here's Paradise's expert on this subject, AlexF to give you a little more detail on how this happened:

"With the latest SDK Sony freed up some memory. We've upgraded to this SDK and made use of the extra memory to scale the 720p game to 960x1080 as part of the very final post-process render stage in the game; this 960x1080 video mode uses the PS3 hardware scaler to upscale the image horizontally to output at 1920x1080.

"This scaling process in Burnout costs a very small amount of frame time (under 0.4% of a 60hz frame, which we can afford without dropping frames) since we're going to a larger number of pixels, but it enables those with 1080i TVs that don't support 720p to play in HD.

"We really hope that this new option in 1.3 helps those people (with 1080i but not 720p-capable TVs) to enjoy Burnout Paradise in HD!"
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