What does the Warhawk v1.3 free update bring? Along with two new troop weapons, there’s an easier way to set up matches with your friends, trash talk with your enemy, and oh, just a little thing called Home integration…

Yes, you heard me right. Home integration will be coming with v1.3 and the game’s creator, Dylan Jobe, tells us how this will exactly work. With the release of v1.3 patch, players will be able to form groups, meet in their Home apartments, discuss tactics, and then launch a game of Warhawk…all together!

This is the most detailed information we’ve had about game integrations with Home, and the ability to launch into a game with your friends straight from your apartment is just the type of integration we want.

This is how it will work. When you’re in your Home apartment, all you need to do is get out your virtual PSP, select ‘Create Game’ and pick Warhawk. From there, you can start your own player server, pick a game rotation, set server options and then launch Warhawk with all of your friends.

You can also choose to not make your game viewable to the other Warhawk players around the world, or you can make it a ‘public’ game to allow other Warhawker’s to join. Games launched from HOME show up in the global games list in an attractive gold color.

Now this isn’t the end of Home integration for Warhawk, and Dylan Jobe sounds a tad excited about what they have planned.

Now this is just the beginning of what we’re gonna to be doing with HOME and there’s some really neat stuff on the horizon. I’d love to show you more of the cool HOME stuff that we’re working on but I suspect I’d get a PR-shank to the spine…or possibly a lung.

So I gotta say that I’m actually super relieved that we’re putting in *REAL* legit value for players and *NOT* making HOME a portal for SONY to jam branding and marketing schwag down player’s throats!

As a gamer, I’m excited *and* relieved to see the direction HOME is taking.

Since the patch has been in testing for a while now, it does not appear to be a very long way off. Dylan even says they are thinking of implementing other server options, which they may not ship because they need “more play testing”. This must put a release for patch v1.3 sooner rather than later, even though now official release date has been given. What can be presumed is that the patch will be released after the release of Home, and so Home may be closer than we think.

We know there will be big Home announcements at GDC’08, but what could be a bigger announcement than “it will be available to PS3 owners in March”? Furthermore, another Warhawk downloadable pack called “Broken Mirror” is rumoured to release on March 20th, so perhaps this date can be put in your diaries for Home’s release also? We’ll keep you posted.

To find out about all of the features in this Warhawk patch, including two new weapons, new VOIP options and paint jobs, please visit the Playstation Blog.