The Warhawk themed space for PlayStation 3's virtual world Home debuts today, giving fans of Incognito Entertainment's shooter/vehicle/flight combat mash-up a virtual space to call their own.
In addition to the standard Home activities of chatting and emoting at strangers, the Warhawk Command Center will feature screens that display server statistics and leaderboard information, and terminals that will over guides and advice to new players, offering information on weapons and game strategies.
But the real reason for Warhawk devotees to log in to Home is the Sand Table, an interactive table that allows players to view all of the game's maps, plot tactics and strategize before matches. I recently met with Dylan Jobe, studio director at Incognito Entertainment, for a quick walkthrough on what this bit of "tactical furniture" has to offer.
The Sand Table features support for all of the environments and maps offered in the game, and displays them as a sort of hologram. Bases on a particular map will appear in their appropriate locations, and a slew of icons can be placed onto the table and moved about, allowing players to discuss strategies and tactics. If you'd like to order a few Jeeps to charge a particular base, for example, simply drop a jeep icon at the location you'd like them to meet. Number icons will allow you to dictate the number of troops you're sending, or perhaps split your squads up into groups, and arrows of various shapes and sizes will help you direct players to different points on the map.
Of course, you're simply dealing with icons here, so they can mean whatever you want them to, and players (and their clans) will likely develop their own interpretations while they're working out strategies and formations. All of the actions that the table's operator takes will be synchronized on the screens of players standing nearby, so they'll actually be able to see icons moving about the table before they're affixed to a particular spot – handy for discussing complex maneuvers, or goofing around. It's a rather simple tool, on the surface, but Warhawk fans who prefer planning tactical maneuvers to simply scurrying about a map are offered a unique opportunity to do so in a space with like-minded players.
Once you've planned your strategy, you'll be able to launch directly into the game from the Home interface. You can create a private game, and only invite the players milling about the table, or create a public game and overwhelm the masses with your team's well honed strategy. Launching Warhawk from Home is relatively painless, but you'll still have to sift through logos and EULAs before you're directed to your particular match. Once you've quit you have the option of jumping right back to Home, so your team can meet up after a match and berate each other for not following the plan.
There are some caveats. At the moment, only one person can control the Sand Table at a time – this is intentional, designed to protect your well laid plans from passersby who'd like nothing more than to spell their name on your tactical screen. The problem of course is that queues will likely begin forming up for players waiting to use the table for themselves. You don't actually need to own Warhawk to use the space, so I wouldn't exactly be surprised if some of the Internet's less scrupulous individuals decided to camp out beside a table for hours at a time, and re-enact their favorite battle dramas. I was told that a timer would eventually wrest control away from an inactive squatter however, so at least you won't have to worry about someone who walked away from the table to run errands.
There's also no way to save your well-laid battle plans. While that functionality is planned, at the moment those early adopters who meet up with their teams to plot strategies had better bring a pen and paper along to take notes. The developers ultimately hope to offer players Sand Tables of their own to place in their private clubhouses, allowing clubs to strategize in private spaces with multiple users collaborating at once, and letting them create and save battle plans for their Warhawk-centric meetings.
To celebrate the launch of the Command Center (and suck more players into the Warhawk fold), the game and its booster expansion packs are being offered at a discount for a limited time. The demo has been available for quite some time if you've been on the fence, and if you like what you see you have until March 11th to snatch the game up at a reduced price.
Images courtesy Incognito Entertainment
Warhawk Command Center Goes Live in PlayStation Home Today! [Playstation.blog]
See Also:
