[img]http://i.imgur.com/kXWIkEW.png[/img]
Welcome to Homeworld, the quintessential three-dimensional space RTS. When it first came out in 1999, it blew everything else out of the water, being heralded as the pinnacle of gaming in gameplay, visuals and musical pieces alike. It went on to win "Game of the Year" awards from many of the major reviewers (back when GOTY was actually an honour) and, alongside its expandalone "Homeworld: Cataclysm" and its sequel "Homeworld 2", the Homeworld series has gone down as a piece of nostalgic wonder.
[img]http://i.imgur.com/ysmif79.png[/img]
Where other space RTSes might restrict ships and battles to a 2D-plane, Homeworld instead offers complete spherical movement, much like in real space. Where a game like Sins of a Solar Empire, for example, keep battles organized and flat, battles in Homeworld can - and often do - end up with battlecruisers surrounded by hostiles ahead, astern, abreast, above and below. In addition, Homeworld doesn't put emphasis on any single class of ship. Where other games might put capital cruisers center-stage with frigates and fighters as a passive cloud of support, Homeworld lets you build your fleets however you please. You could be strategic and sneak boarding parties in through the dust clouds. Or you could send a fighter-laden carrier and pretend you're William Adama shepherding vipers around. Or you could go for the sledgehammer and blow through the enemy with a battlecruiser. No matter how you play, every class is as viable as the other and every playstyle is useful to the end.
And of course, Homeworld was designed not to be played from afar, but to be viewed up close. Battles can be viewed from the CDC (complete with background CDC chatter and radio reports from your pilots), or from the wing of an interceptor as it mercilessly chases a target into the night (or gets cut down mid-mayday).
[img]http://i.imgur.com/GLc5o0m.png[/img]
[b]Homeworld[/b]
[t]http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20070826004544/homeworld/images/0/09/Kushan.jpg[/t]
The original game, while somewhat dated by today's standards, still holds up for a number of reasons. Firstly, Homeworld features a compelling storyline that legitiately brought many to tears within the first act. More on that later. And while its controls may seem clunky to some, Homeworld made an effort to make sure you were involved in every battle and that you felt every loss and every victory. It featured persistent units across the entire campaign. This means that if you built, salvaged or captured a ship in mission one, it would stay with you right to the epilogue unless it got shot down. You didn't feel the power you'd normally get from an RTS' endgame. You had to fight to survive and anything you could scavenge was worth its weight in gold.
[b]Homeworld: Cataclysm[/b]
[t]http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/homeworld/images/1/15/Kiith_Somtaaw_preBeast.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20080329125204[/t]
An expandalone to the original game, it became exceedingly rare when the developers lost the source code. Nonetheless, those that played it remember it fondly, and with good reason. Set shortly after the end of the first game, it brought about new gameplay factors in a way that once again forced a survivalist mentality on the player. Not much can be said about this one without spoiling it, but suffice to say that Cataclysm was a damn good addition to Homeworld.
[b]Homeworld 2[/b]
[t]http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20070414151407/homeworld/images/4/4c/Hiigaran.jpg[/t]
The sequel, released in 2004, released to a very Marmite-esque atmosphere. You either loved it or hated it. Many liked it for its massive graphical improvements and its more intuitive controls. On the other hand, many hated it for its somewhat light-hearted undertones when compared to the original. It had less of a survivalist mentality and more of a classical vengeful one. Naturally, both sides have their merits, but overall Homeworld 2 came out as a decent sequel with a different but nonetheless-entrenching atmosphere. Its improvements to graphics and controls, however, keep it alive and well even to this day, with mods still in active development.
[b]HOMEWORLD: REMASTERED[/b]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXjI3DgyOqM[/media]
Back in the days of THQ, the Homeworld franchise was one of the many IPs that THQ held onto and, consequently, one of the many IPs that were auctioned off when THQ finally drop-kicked the bucket. This IP would eventually find its way to Gearbox and, after a very fortunate series of events, the original Homeworld One devs would be brought on board to make the remastered edition. Cut to today, and we have both Homeworld One and Two polished up better than we could ever have hoped for. It also comes with the original games gratis, both patched to run flawlessly on modern systems. Quite the godsend if you've been trawling craigslist for a copy since 2005.
[img]http://i.imgur.com/ZDFH9R3.png[/img]
[b]Obviously, there's no spoilers here, but the Homeworld games are regarded as pinnacles of storytelling, so there's nothing better than experiencing it yourself[/b]
In [b]Homeworld[/b], the Kushan lived on a desert planet by the name of Kharak. Kharak was for all intents and purposes uninhabitable and unremarkable: a barren heap of sand out at the very edge of the galaxy that featured deadly heat anywhere that wasn't at the poles or deep underground. But despite this, the Kushan had lived - and indeed thrived - on its face for over 4000 years. Life was simple and relatively peaceful, until a guidance failure caused a space telescope to scan the sand instead of the stars. What it found, however, would change the Kushan forever.
Deep in the heart of the deserts was the wreck of a starship, and inside that was a long-lost hyperspace core and a stone with a map of the galaxy. It had a straightforward line and a single word: Hiigara - Home.
A generation later, the Kushan would build the Mothership and shepherd over 600,000 souls on a blind journey across the galaxy to find the only place that mattered anymore: The Kushan Homeworld.
A generation later, [b]Homeworld: Cataclysm[/b] would tell the story of Kiith Somtaaw, a mining clan trying to get back on its feet after a long period of hardship. They expected pirates, deserters, the usual fare. But they never expected to find what they did. And they most certainly were not prepared to face the consequences. But nonetheless, Kiith Somtaaw would be forced to protect not only themselves and their people, but their whole galaxy, from the cataclysm they had unleashed. Many more generations would pass before the start of [b]Homeworld 2[/b].
By now, the Kushan, now calling themselves the Hiigarans, were sailing relatively-smooth seas when the Vaygr warlord Makaan, self-dubbed as the Chosen One, would threaten to devastate the Hiigarans and take what he wanted by force. The Hiigarans would choose to meet his axe with a spear, and so would construct a second mothership to carry the fight to Makaan.
[img]http://i.imgur.com/sz19Bio.png[/img]
[B]Homeworld[/B]
[t]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v61/caciss/homeworld-1.jpg[/t][t]http://www.lgdb.org/sites/default/files/node_images/2074/3523.jpg[/t]
[t]http://www.neuneu.fr/jeux/gj/homeworld/ingame_1.jpg[/t][t]http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/mixmaster/Homeworld_War.jpg[/t]
[B]Homeworld 2[/B]
[t]http://www.incgamers.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/HW2-0001.jpg[/t][t]https://mthec.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/home05.png[/t]
[t]http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/0/1492/1824330-homeworld2background9.jpg[/t][t]http://www.3angrygamers.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Homeworld+2.jpg[/t]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/KcoGtyY.png[/img]
[b]HOMEWORLD: SHIPBREAKERS[/b]
[URL=http://facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=1299600]Dedicated thread here.[/URL]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgylViCFHAs[/media]
Originally called Hardware: Shipbreakers, it was picked up by Gearbox alongside the Homeworld IP when they noticed that the devs were A.) Original Homeworld devs and B.) So homesick (pun not intended) for Homeworld that they used the same artstyle, basic backstory, musical style, narrator and even font. It was then turned into a Homeworld title and has laid dormant ever since its sudden announcement almost two years ago. We still don't know when it'll come out or even when the next press release is. But since the remastered editions of Homeworld are coming out soon, there's a glimmer of hope for Shipbreakers yet.
[img]http://i.imgur.com/IDBAs6j.png[/img]
And so is the [URL=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/FPhomeworld]Facepunch Homeworld Group![/URL] Come join us whenever you're bored and want to play a game or two.
amazing games! if you haven't played it yet, you're missing out.
how long have we known about the remastered collectuon? I hadn't heard about it until yesterday,kinda popped out of nowhere which was an amazing surprise
[QUOTE=PredGD;47013242]amazing games! if you haven't played it yet, you're missing out.
how long have we known about the remastered collectuon? I hadn't heard about it until yesterday,kinda popped out of nowhere which was an amazing surprise[/QUOTE]
i think gearbox announced it early last year?
Gearbox announced it a while ago but have been practically silent on it ever since. Yesterday was the first time we see screenshots of it, let alone video.
[video=youtube;KpxPtX5MQkI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpxPtX5MQkI[/video]
Ingame footage in case people haven't seen it. Over on the Gearbox forums they've said a lot of the demo is still very much a WIP, so the HW1 ambassador corvette having two turrets is something they'll have fixed for launch for example. The DoF used when following individual ships very closely will be a graphics option you can disable.
The HW1 footage of the clip includes a tooltip for the refueling pod that suggests fuel is still a thing for HW1 - which is curious considering there's gonna be a HW1/HW2 cross multiplayer beta later. Balancing big gameplay differences between HW1 and HW2 would be a pain to balance, so I assume Multiplayer will have special equalized gameplay elements.
I miss this game so much. exited to play the first one my only experience was some demo that came in a magazine back when that was a thing. Played the shit out of 2 when i still had my disc.
will the remastered edition include cataclysm?
[QUOTE=Hamaflavian;47013584]will the remastered edition include cataclysm?[/QUOTE]
Apparently the original code was lost and I think the rights disappeared with Barking Dog (which got swallowed by... Rockstar I think).
Maybe if sales are high enough they'll remake Cata from scratch, but I wouldn't get my hopes up unless they involve fan-made mods.
does anyone know if remastered will have LAN still?
[video=youtube;9Jgc695vvSk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Jgc695vvSk[/video]
Some Behind-The-Scenes stuff including new and old footage. A few notes I made:
- Multiplayer's gonna be in beta at launch because balancing's gonna be really difficult. So sounds like many HW1 gameplay elements are gonna get carried over.
- Taiidan mothership now has an engine subsystem. Based on Multiplayer footage.
- Kushan resource collectors no longer have a "magic plasma cone" with which they suck in resources, and they no longer rotate around their target. They're much closer to their HW2 equivalent now: They get up really close to the asteroid, fire away "harvesting lasers" from the front and stay stationary. Based on Singleplayer footage. Looks a bit weird since the lasers come out of what I presumed to be the tank instead of the component on top, but then again the footage is low quality, the ship was at a weird angle against the light, etc.
I hope the remaster for the first game still lets you do custom formations, in MP as well. I always liked screwing around making my own shapes with that, and I need to be able to fly ships in the shape of a dick right at my friend's fleet while he gets crushed
Need some thread music.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQq3dD7ZMb8[/media]
Both HD remakes are running on the same engine now. So there's going to be some gameplay element overlaps. Hopefully though, the Homeworld Gameplay will be left intact. If anything, I hope they give Homeworld 2 gameplay closer to the original. The lack of formations and the fact that all tactics did was set how soon the ship would return fire made Homeworld 2 lack a lot of the original's depth. There was also no damage based on facings. We had subsystem sure, but those weren't terribly worrisome.
[QUOTE=Furnost;47013838]does anyone know if remastered will have LAN still?[/QUOTE]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/whfzXXb.png[/IMG]
Seems like it.
I really want the remastered collection, Homeworld 2 is great and i haven't played the first game. I'm not sure about the current price, though.
[video=youtube;KRtqy0CGur4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRtqy0CGur4[/video]
HD version of the ingame footage played during the Behind the Scenes video I posted!
Looks like asteroids get glowing veins while you're harvesting them (~28:30), fancy. Harvesting laser still looks a bit foreign to me, but I'm sure it'll grow on me.
[QUOTE=Marik Bentusi;47014912][video=youtube;9Jgc695vvSk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Jgc695vvSk[/video][/QUOTE]
They did a fantastic job of remaking the Homeworld 1 models. Seeing them in motion like that is glorious.
At 7:30 they show the mothership launch cutscene. Oh man, I really don't like the new crew voices.
The garbled radio transmission voice for the ships in the first Homeworld is so iconic to me that them "improving" it just sounds wrong to me. I've heard on the forums if they didn't re-record a voice they used the original source but re-did the mix and saved it with a higher quality. The crew voices really do sound like the original voices but with similar voice modulation but without the crazy voice compression artifacts.
Bleh, I know it's a really petty thing to complain about and I'll probably just get used to it with time but it's driving me crazy. Karen and Fleet Command both sound great, it's just the crew voices I don't like.
For reference, at the beginning of the launch cutscene is what I'm talking about. Here's what it used to sound like:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAiJgdjKArg[/media]
[editline]26th January 2015[/editline]
Some of my initial suspicions in how they're handling HW1 turned out to be wrong.
For Remastered they ported all of Homeworld 1 into the Homeworld 2 engine. Like Marik says, some of mechanics from Homeworld 1 still seem to be around if the fuel pods and the sphere formation are still things. However, the ship subsystems from Homeworld 2 are retroactively implemented onto the HW1 ships and the way the Resource Collector sucks in resources is the HW2 method rather than the original way.
It's really hard to tell any more details from the footage they're showing. I'd love to see a complete match in direct feed of Homeworld 1. They don't show the build or research menu. I wonder if both of those mechanics are going to be done in HW2 style because its the HW2 engine or if they're going be the original style with concurrent production.
I've only ever played Homeworld in German, so everything in English sounds weird to me.
Too bad we'll only get full English audio on launch according to the Steam page. Tho maybe mod support + classic game files will be able to somehow fix that. [t]http://www.facepunch.com/fp/ratings/rainbow.png[/t]
I'm sure somebody will mod in all the original voices for all the dialogue. There's already dissent on the forums about the new recording of the Kadeshi ambassador even though it's the same voice actor.
Looking at the HD footage again, looks like there's a full row of formations to choose from in the bottom left corner. I'm seeing all the classic formations (Delta, Phalanx, X, Claw, Wall, Sphere) as well as three buttons I don't recognize. Maybe custom formations or even ways to switch between HW1 individual units & HW2 squad unit modes?
God I can't wait!
In that video, they mention the same tools I used back in the day. I'm glad they're coming back with mod support.
The only thing that really worries me is about everything on the same engine part. I just worry that my favorite sphere tactic will be dead, due to the fact Homeworld 2 has no formations outside of squads. And even then, formations depended on the tactic, and it had no effect on the squad's effectiveness. I mean, more then anything, I just want the same old Homeworld, but better looking. I do like that they brought force fire back.
Definitely going to take launch day off, and stream the game.
I'm fucking dying with anticipation, this is going to be a very long month. Don't fuck this one up, Gearbox.
Also, here's a fact about Homeworld. Most of the radio effects on voices were done IN ENGINE. The sound files were not altered, but there was equalization and other effects applied within engine. If you ever rip the sounds, you can hear them in the unaltered form. The fact that the engine could do real time sound modulation is huge, even the year of its make.
[QUOTE=nightlord;47015289]I really want the remastered collection, Homeworld 2 is great and i haven't played the first game. I'm not sure about the current price, though.[/QUOTE]
$30 is okay in my books. You're getting the original homeworld and homeworld 2 plus the remastered version.
If it was $50 I wouldn't buy it but $30 is reasonable.
Either way with steam workshop and all the new engine updates plus 8 player multiplayer without desync issues -- worth it right there.
I was wondering why it was taking so long to have a homeworld sequel or remake
I'm glad they did it when they did because the ships look incredible
[editline]27th January 2015[/editline]
all we need now is a release date for enemy starfighter
THQ sat on Homeworld for ages because they didn't know what to do with it, and didn't believe making an update or new game was going to be profitable. Gearbox however is doing this, even if they had no hope of making money on it. And I find that respectable.
Meanwhile, here's a thing I made.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZzZw6-RgN0[/media]
Some official info about HW1/HWR from the gearbox forums:
[quote]I want to say that [resource collectors] orbiting may have run into some problems with navigating and colliding with nearby asteroids and/or multiple races harvesting the same rock but I'm not entirely sure. There was definitely a reason behind it and it was considered and measured so to be sure this [making HW1 collectors HW2-style] was the cleanest way to maintain balance and minimize players having their resourcing fail.[/quote]
[quote]I think the community is going to end up generating a huge list of stuff like this [thread about HW1/HW2 mechanics transitioning into HWR] for us to either justify/explain - or treat as bugs/needed tweaks. So I want to make it clear I appreciate that you guys notice the small stuff. Hell, here's one huge reason MP is beta - we _know_ the early players are going to be vocal, and help us focus on what matters most to the experience. Right now, as we march towards Feb 25th, please don't read anything into our silence - because it's early, we are a small team, and BUSY AS HELL. There'll be time later to tell some crazy story and explain how stuff got the way it is. ;)[/quote]
Sounds like there'll be still a lot to do after launch, by devs or modders.
Here's the PAX presentation in HD. I don't have time to rewatch it now, but it's all there to see and pick apart.
I'm not happy with Homeworld 1 being ported to Homeworld 2 because I always preferred the first game's gameplay. Regardless, the game looks gorgeous. They did a great job of updating the models. Having the original artists handy (Rob Cunningham and Aaron Kambeitz, both who are artistic heroes of mine) when creating the new models is terrific news. Gearbox really does seem to be doing this out of love and used their money to assemble a dream team to do this right.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRtqy0CGur4[/media]
Huh, Marik's post must've gone up while the same time as my last post because I never saw this video until now.
I wonder why they can't remake cataclysm in much the same way as HW:R.
I know they lost the source code and all that shtick but I'd imagine most of the challenge is remaking all the arty assets and cutscenes, which is the same process they used with HW:R.
Just a thought is all.
Also, as soon as I saw this pop up on steam it was bought, looking forward to replaying HW1 again in the new fanciness.
[QUOTE=Kickasskyle;47020909]I wonder why they can't remake cataclysm in much the same way as HW:R.
I know they lost the source code and all that shtick but I'd imagine most of the challenge is remaking all the arty assets and cutscenes, which is the same process they used with HW:R.
Just a thought is all.
Also, as soon as I saw this pop up on steam it was bought, looking forward to replaying HW1 again in the new fanciness.[/QUOTE]
I believe a lot of the work also stems from moving to newer technologies, and overhauling the graphics side of the code. So no, HW:C needs more than just art assets and cutscenes, they don't have a code base to start from.
People who paid for Gearbox's community day 2013 pack were guaranteed a free copy of Homeworld 1 and Homeworld 1 Remastered. But according to the email I just recieved, they decided to expand the offer to include the full collection.
Gearbox is pretty rad
Hopefully they release the Homeworld 2 sound track, one of the best soundtrack used in video games in my opinion. Homeworld 1 is pretty good too, but I think the sound track is already released.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.
