Homeworld

Homeworld
Logo (manual version)
Studio	Relic entertainment
Publisher	Sierra Entertainment
Erstveröffent- lichung	September 28, 1999
platform	Windows
genre	Space real-time strategy game
Subject	Science fiction
Game mode	Single player , multiplayer
control	Mouse , keyboard
system advantages preconditions	CPU 200 MHz, 32 MB RAM, 150 MB hard disk space, 4-way CD-ROM drive, DirectX , 4 MB graphics card with 16-bit colors and DirectX support, 32-bit internet connection with 28.8 kb / s Modem or LAN for multiplayer mode
medium	1 CD-ROM
language	German
Current version	1.05 (2001)
Age rating	USK

Homeworld (Engl. For home world ) is a book published in 1999, real-time strategy , developed by Relic Entertainment , distributed by Sierra Entertainment . It was one of the first real-time space strategy games with full freedom of movement in all three dimensions of space. The game became a three-title series and a later remaster.

action

The background is the story of a people who colonized the desert planet Kharak and took their first steps in space travel . By chance, this people discovered the remains of a 4,000-year-old spaceship with the remains of a hyperspace drive, which was left behind by the ancestors of the Kharakians, under the sands of the Great Desert - why no one knows yet. In the vicinity of the ship, a fundamental object of the game is finally uncovered, the so-called "guide stone", a black stone with engravings and numbers that show a point in the outer western spiral arm of the galaxy (kharak) and another point near the galactic core . Next to this is a single word, older than the oldest clans of Kharak: "HIIGARA" - home.

Later investigations suggest that the stone originated in the area around the center of the galaxy, presumably the homeland of the Kharakians, labeled "Hiigara". This supports the theory of xenogenesis, which states that the Kharakians are not from Kharak. Soon the whole planet is facing only one goal: to explore the origin of its stone. All remaining and already scarce resources of Kharak will be used to build a huge colony ship in orbit that will bring a selection of 600,000 people to the old homeworld to found a colony. This "mother ship" has enough space for the colonists and the ancient and scarcely explored hyperspace drive, which allows huge distances to be overcome in a very short time, as well as a fully equipped shipyard which, from simple hunters to heavy cruisers, uses raw materials to be collected en route to create a complete space fleet can build. But over time, a far bigger problem than the construction appears: the data transmission. The mother ship is so complex that even the largest and best supercomputers Kharaks are unable to process the amount of information and at the same time manage the individual sections. The problem is solved quite radically by the same researcher who discovered it: Karan S'jet, a neuroscientist who connects her own brain to the mother ship to keep the data flowing. All of this is very dangerous, but the only solution and after all it is about the past and future of the people of Kharak. From this point on, Karan S'jet is in command of the fleet and is embedded in the mother ship. After 60 years of construction, the mother ship is completed and undertakes a first exploratory journey by hyperspace drive into the outer areas of the Kharak system, where the auxiliary ship "Khar Selim" is to meet. The aim is to improve the drive and analyze the hyper-jump core, the main component of the hyper-jump drive.

The “Khar Selim” is found destroyed and alien enemy ships attack the mother ship. After the attackers are destroyed, the mothership returns to Kharak to carry out the necessary completion work. But a smoldering heap of rubble awaits them around the old home planet, the habitable polar caps have been destroyed and completely covered by a black layer of smoke and rubble. Only the colonists in their cold sleeping chambers survived in orbit and must be protected against the attackers, parts of the fleet of a huge interstellar empire, which banished the Kharakians to the prison planet Kharak thousands of years ago. After the colonists have been brought to the mothership, it gathers the last of the usable raw materials and flees into hyperspace before the attackers return.

After the homeland has been destroyed, there is no going back, there is only one way forward - Hiigara is the Kharakians' only possible hope of survival. In an epic odyssey, the mother ship crosses half the galaxy with a constantly growing escort fleet in tow. Each mission brings new battles and challenges, but also new friends who stand by the exiles. The homeless fight pirates, strange fog inhabitants as well as fleets and stations of the empire, look for allies in huge spaceship cemeteries and slowly but surely get closer to the galactic core and learn amazing things about the empire by which the Kharakians were once banished. A civil war breaks out within this empire and the renegades stand by the exiles. In addition, the mysterious Bentusi traders who speak in riddles, an ancient and peaceful people, who supply the Kharakians with technology and information in exchange for a small amount of raw materials and finally reveal the truth about their past to them, often appear. The climax is the final battle high above Hiigara against the imperial fleet and the Emperor himself, who are now relentlessly defending the homeworld, which is already close enough to touch, at any cost. Finally, the Galactic Council convened by the Bentusi arrives to defend the Kharakians' claim to Hiigara acknowledges and ends their long journey.

Gameplay

The player takes on the role of the fleet command (or Karan S'jet, who has connected her brain to the ship's systems) and commands a steadily growing collection of different combat ships with which the mission objectives must be fulfilled. The ships are very different in their sizes and tasks, their strengths and weaknesses complement each other. The size classes range from small fighters and probes to corvettes, frigates, destroyers and carriers to heavy cruisers, as well as repair and tankers as well as raw material collection ships. There are two equally playable races (Kushan and Taiidan), which are largely identical in their characteristics and ships. With both of them the way from Kharak to Hiigara can be covered, the opponent is then the other race. The level of difficulty is determined in advance and can only be mastered through precise planning of operations and the best strategies. Fortunately for the untested admiral, you can save and load at any time. At the beginning of each mission is automatically saved.

development

Homeworld series logo

Artwork and graphic design

The game's spaceship designs and space backgrounds are very similar to the science fiction illustrations by artists Chris Foss and Peter Elson , both of which are mentioned in the special Thanks To section in the credits. In addition, the works of the British science fiction illustrator John Harris influenced the developers.

Soundtrack

There is a song called Homeworld by the rock group Yes , which is part of the music of Homeworld (1999). It comes from the album The Ladder , the group's 16th studio album (1999). Most of the soundtrack was composed by Paul Ruskay, who won the 2000 Best Score Award from the online magazine Eurogamer. The music in the intro, on the other hand, is a classic piece: Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber (1910–1981).

Homeworld SDL

On September 26th, 2003 Relic Entertainment released the source code of Homeworld , which with the help of SDL for porting to previously unsupported platforms, e. B. on Linux , Mac OS (but without network play), Pandora , Maemo / N900 and Android . The game is not free software , however , as it was released under a restrictive, non-standardized software license. The license limitations significantly hinder the further development of Homeworld SDL, which is why the community has been trying to achieve a re-licensing since the transfer of the rights to Gearbox in 2013. In September 2013 Gearbox responded openly to such re-licensing ideas.

reception

At the time of its publication, Homeworld was characterized by the convincing single-player part, which combined new accents in real-time strategy with an epic story about the homecoming of the displaced. The background music by Paul Ruskay, the graphics as well as an innovative, yet sophisticated game mechanics with lovingly designed missions and cutscenes, thanks to the control of the units in three-dimensional space, were also praised . The game received numerous awards for this:

• E3 1999 - Game Critics Awards : Best Strategy Game
• IGN 1999 Game of the Year
• PC Gamer 1999 - Game of the Year
• Well-Rounded Entertainment 1999 - Game of the Year
• PC Joker - " Game of the Year 1999 "
• Metacritic - Best and Worst Computer Strategy Games , Top 10: 3rd place (2010)
• PC Games - 89% fun
• GameStar - 84% fun, rating: "very good"

License history

The rights to the Homeworld series fell to THQ when Relic was bought by them in 2004. After the acquisition, some of the Relic founders and former Homeworld developers left Relic Entertainment and founded Blackbird Interactive in 2007 to develop their own space RTS, but without the Homeworld rights.

After the bankruptcy and subsequent breakup of THQ in spring 2013, the rights to the game titles, including Homeworld, were auctioned. A Kickstarter campaign to finance the license purchase by the independent development studio Team-Pixel raised a total of approximately $ 70,000, but was outbid in the auction on April 15, 2013. On April 22, it was announced that the rights had gone to Gearbox Software for $ 1.35 million .

Gearbox Software announced an early release of Homeworld-HD - and Homeworld-2-HD - remakes along with the original versions of the games via online distribution platforms such as Steam and GOG.com at PAX Australia in July 2013 . The development of the Homeworld Remastered Collection dragged on until 2015 and was released on February 25, 2015.

In September 2013, Gearbox announced a cooperation with Blackbird Interactive at PAX Seattle , which allows Blackbird Interactive to use the Homeworld franchise as well as financial support. Blackbird has further developed the game Hardware: Shipbreakers under the name Homeworld: Shipbreakers and released it on January 20, 2016 as Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak . It's a prequel to Homeworld .

Continuations and new editions

Homeworld: Cataclysm

→ Main article : Homeworld: Cataclysm

This continuation of the Homeworld saga in the form of an independently functioning add-on no longer has the whole Kushan people as the focus of the story, but one of the smaller Kiithid (clan): the Kiith Somtaaw, who is primarily looking for happiness in interstellar asteroid mining the earlier predominant religious aspects of the clan have receded into the background with the return to Hiigara and the destruction of Kharak. Fifteen years after arriving on Hiigara, the player takes command of a fleet around the mother ship KUUN LAN, an interstellar mining baseship. On his journey he comes across an ancient biomechanical virus that is transmitted to other ships in the form of beams of infection and guided missiles in order to assimilate them. “The beast”, the alias for the virus, can think and act independently and collects new information and technologies with every infected ship and develops new strategies against the Kushan, Bentusi and the Taiidan republic.

Cataclysm mainly made detail and comfort improvements to the base game. It took over the graphics engine from the main game, adding some new light and explosion effects, 18 new ship types and 25 new technologies. A time-lapse function accelerates reconnaissance flights and repair work, a waypoint system enables patrol routes to be defined and greater distances can be covered via hyperspace jump gates. Cataclysm was released for Windows in September 2000.

Homeworld 2

→ Main article : Homeworld 2

The third part of the saga takes place 100 years after the events of Homeworld . Hiigara and the rest of the galaxy are threatened by the invasion of a nomadic galactic people, the Vaygr, who hail from the unknown regions of the Eastern Spiral Arm. Their leader Makaan seeks to get the three hyperspace cores into his possession, which according to legend are supposed to awaken the great creator Sajuuk. Again Karan S'jet, the leader of the Exodus, takes command of the fleet. Sajuuk must be found before the Vaygr beat the Hiigarans, so a race against time begins. The Bentusi people play an important role, and an aggressive new race is emerging that is apparently much older than all the others.

The player again takes command of the Hiigaran fleet, which has been equipped with completely new types of ships. Similar to the first part, the skills of the fleet increase as the game progresses, starting with simple hunters, ever larger ships can be built up to battle cruisers and shipyards. Technically and graphically, Homeworld 2 has been improved compared to the debut and the gameplay and operation have been simplified in parts. The opponent's fleet strength is now always adjusted to the player's fleet strength at the start of a mission.

Homeworld Remastered Collection

Gearbox Software announced in July 2013 that it was working on a Homeworld Remastered Collection , high resolution and multiplayer expanded versions of Homeworld and Homeworld 2 . The Remastered Collection was published exclusively in English with multilingual (including German) subtitles and menu texts. The beta version of the Remastered Collection was presented for the first time at a press conference by Gearbox at PAX South 2015 (January 23-25, 2015) in San Antonio .

On February 25, 2015, the Remastered Collection appeared exclusively on the Internet sales platform Steam , despite the announcement that it would be released on several online gaming platforms . The Collector's Edition, which also includes a model of the Hiigaraner mother ship from Homeworld 2, has no physical data carriers with the Remastered Collection, but only a redeemable voucher code for Steam. Part of the Remastered Collection are game versions called HW1 Classic and HW2 Classic, mostly in their original state and with only minimal compatibility adjustments for modern operating systems, new compilations of the respective source texts . The actual remastered versions of HW1 and HW2, on the other hand, were created on the basis of a greatly expanded HW2 engine . In the remastered versions, higher-resolution graphic models and effects, support for HD , UHD , 4K resolutions, and revised audio and video sequences of the original material were added. The multiplayer mode has been standardized, it is possible to play all four factions or races from part 1 and 2 in all combinations. In addition to the graphical updates, there were other changes to the games: For example, in HW1 Remastered and HW1 Classic, the final soundtrack of the band Yes is missing due to licensing problems, and the LAN multiplayer mode has been removed from the Classic versions . HW1 Remastered changed the game mechanics significantly, as some of the HW1 game engine capabilities fell victim to the transfer to the HW2 game engine: u. a. Fuel, ballistic projectile simulation, and tactical formations were missing or dysfunctional. Some of these adjustments were later patched to bring them closer to the original behavior.

In contrast to the original Homeworld and Homeworld 2 games, the Homeworld Remastered Collection box with 2 DVD-ROMs can neither be installed nor played without internet access and prior registration on the steampowered.com website, nor is there any other content on the two DVDs accessible. A reference to this restriction can be found on the back of the pack at the bottom - however, a DRM- free version can also be obtained from GOG.com .

On May 18, 2015, Steam Spy estimated, based on freely available Steam Web API data, that around 220,000 copies of the Remastered Edition had been distributed through Steam.

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak

→ Main article : Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak

The plot of Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak takes place 114 years before the events of Homeworld on the desert planet Kharak, the forced exile of the extraterrestrial people of the Kushan (actually Hiigarians). The Kushan are a people who are socially divided into family clans, the so-called Kiithid (singular: Kiith), in a kind of tribal caste system of dozens or even thousands of members. Kharak is a doomed planet because its hostile deserts are inexorably spreading. In addition, the Kushan clans, the Kiithid, are constantly at war with one another.

A satellite in orbit accidentally discovers a hidden object in the desert sand in the Great Banded Desert, which is known as the “Jaraci Object” or “Primary Anomaly”. It concerns the spaceship wreck of the Khar-Toba from the planet Hiigara from the prehistory of Homeworld , which brought the displaced ancestors of the Kushan into exile on Kharak on the orders of the Taiidan Empire. By the coalition of northern Kiithid ( English , Coalition of the Northern Kiithid ' ) several expeditions are sent into enemy territory to investigate it and to secure, including an expedition under the leadership of the senior science officer Rachel S'jet. It is hoped that this object will provide a key to the survival of the planet's population, as it does not have its own manned space flight.

Homeworld 3

Gearbox Software announced a third part of the saga in August 2019. The story should continue after the second part. The release is currently not expected before the 4th quarter of 2022.

Web links

• Relic Entertainment: Homeworld ( Memento from July 17, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) - manufacturer website for Homeworld (English)
• Homeworld series at MobyGames (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ TDA: The History of Real Time Strategy, Part 3.2: Polygons and Pixels, continued. gamereplays.org, June 6, 2008, accessed on March 23, 2011 (English): “ Homeworld was the first fully three-dimensional RTS game to be released. " 
2. ↑ Gaming Globes 2000 results. eurogamer.net, April 5, 2000, accessed on January 11, 2011 (English): " Best Original Score: Paul Ruskay and Roger Savoie for Homeworld " 
3. ^ Andy Largent: Homeworld Source Code Released. insidemacgames.com, October 8, 2003, accessed January 10, 2011 . 
4. ↑ Macintosh Homeworld ( Memento of the original from October 17, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
5. ↑ may88: Game of the Week # 3 - Homeworld SDL. pandorapress.net, June 23, 2011, archived from the original on August 30, 2011 ; accessed on May 8, 2012 (English): “ […] released port of HomeworldSDL. Forum member Edglex enables your Pandora to experience the excellent work done by the guys at HomeworldSDL. " 
6. ↑ (Announce) Homeworld (updated 2012/12/03) (English)
7. ↑ Homeworld (from 1999) on Android. on youtube (June 8, 2014)
8. ↑ Homeworld to Android on beloko.com (2014)
9. ↑ Homeworld SDL ( Memento of the original from July 17, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. or homeworldsdl.org ( Memento of the original from May 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. as a newer page with a forum ( memento of the original from May 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - (last accessed on January 21, 2011)   
10. ↑ Homeworld source code license ( Memento of the original dated August 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on homesource.nekomimicon.net (English, 2012) 
11. ↑ BugsMenot: Congratulations on the purchase of Homeworld IP! Re-licensing of code requested. (No longer available online.) Oldforums.gearboxsoftware.com, April 1, 2013, archived from the original on February 17, 2015 ; Retrieved on August 11, 2014 (English): “ It was deemed pretty much impossible to continue to do anything with the released source code that was made available. […] We just ask that the already released source code be made available under a GPL V2.0 or higher license and hosted on Github. “ Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
12. ↑ BurlesonGBX: Re: HW source now? (No longer available online.) Gearboxsoftware.com, September 5, 2013, archived from the original on March 8, 2015 ; Retrieved on August 11, 2014 (English): " The license agreement for the original release of the source still stands. […] If someone is interested in doing something under a different license using the old opensource code, there is always room to talk . “ Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
13. ^ John Bedford: Retrospective: Homeworld. Eurogamer.net, September 12, 2010, accessed January 21, 2011 . 
14. ^ Luke Plunkett: total recall: The End of the World Never Looked (Or Sounded) So Beautiful. (No longer available online.) Kotaku.com, June 23, 2011, archived from the original on January 7, 2012 ; accessed on December 15, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
15. ↑ Vincent Lopez: Homeworld - Welcome to the best game of the year. ign.com, October 1, 1999, accessed January 6, 2011 . 
16. ^ Jason Dietz: Ranked: Best and Worst Computer Strategy Games. metacritics.com, July 26, 2010, archived from the original on July 28, 2010 ; accessed on April 24, 2013 (English): " Top 10, Position 3: Homeworld (1999) " 
17. ↑ Homeworld rating from PC Games
18. ↑ GameStar's Homeworld rating
19. ↑ Curt Feldman: THQ front Relic purchase price. GameSpot , August 11, 2004, accessed January 23, 2013 . 
20. ↑ David Valjalo: Interview: Homeworld Dev Tells About New RTS, Hardware. Rock, Paper, Shotgun , January 17, 2013, accessed April 27, 2013 : “ But when he says that Blackbird Interactive's bold step into the genre is being worked on not only by him, but a couple of other fellow ex-Relic folk and Homeworld composer Paul Ruskay, you can't help the feeling that an old, faithful dream team is reassembling to boldly go once again and reinvigorate, maybe even reinvent, real-time strategy in the stars… " 
21. ↑ Peter Steinlechner: Team Pixel fails with the purchase of Homeworld rights. golem.de, April 19, 2013, accessed April 25, 2013 . 
22. ↑ Jenna Pitcher: teamPixel outbid on Homeworld IP by mysterious buyer, refunding Kickstarter donations. polygon.com, April 19, 2013, accessed April 27, 2013 . 
23. ↑ Alexander Sliwinski: THQ auction results: Nordic Games takes Darksiders, Red Faction; 505 Games is Drawn to Life. In: Joystiq . AOL April 22, 2013; archived from the original on January 31, 2015 ; accessed on April 24, 2013 . 
24. ↑ Gearbox Announces Homeworld, Homeworld 2 HD Remakes on IGN.com
25. ^ Andrew Goldfarb: PAX: Homeworld: Shipbreakers Announced - Blackbird Interactive's spiritual successor will become part of the franchise instead. ign.com , September 2, 2013, accessed on September 7, 2013 : " Blackbird was previously developing the game as a spiritual successor to Homeworld with the title Hardware: Shipbreakers, but Gearbox confirmed today that it will now be released as part of the franchise instead, and Gearbox will provide financial support to make sure the game can be completed and achieve Blackbird's vision. " 
26. ↑ Mike Williams: Gearbox had "no clear path" for Homeworld IP. www.gamesindustry.biz, September 2, 2013, accessed on September 7, 2013 (English). 
27. ↑ Test: Homeworld Remastered Collection - 4Players.de , on February 25, 2015; u. a. with information on voice or written output
28. ↑ Jenna Pitcher: Gearbox releasing remakes of Homeworld and Homeworld 2 for Windows PC. polygon, July 20, 2013, accessed on March 4, 2015 (English): " The company said that preserving the Homeworld games is Martel's highest priority and intends on making" them accessible on today's leading digital platforms. " " 
29. ↑ Griffin McElroy: Homeworld Remastered Collection launching Feb. 25 with original games, multiplayer beta. In: polygon. January 26, 2015, accessed January 26, 2015 . 
30. ↑ How We Overhauled The Homeworld Soundtrack For A New Audience on kotaku.com (English)
31. ↑ Wesley Yin-Poole: Gearbox's Homeworld HD is now Homeworld Remastered. In: Eurogamer . Gamer Network, March 4, 2014, accessed March 4, 2014 . 
32. ↑ Will the end credits still feature YES?
33. ↑ Where is lan in the classic homeworld?
34. ↑ Michael Graf: FAQ on Homeworld Remastered - price, technology, playful changes - what changes playfully? GameStar .de, February 12, 2015, accessed on March 3, 2015 : "" More noticeable are the changes in the first Homeworld, which Gearbox ported into the Homeworld 2 engine for the Remastered Edition. It is immediately noticeable that the fuel not applicable "" 
35. ^ Formations, Tactics, Fuel, and Ballistics "Now onto the ballistics model. HW1 used an ahead-of-its-time physics-based model for weapons. [...] In HW2, and thus in HW: R as a whole , this model was replaced by an RNG (random number generation) model that you might expect to see in a cheaply made traditional RTS game. "
36. ↑ Stew Shearer: Homeworld Remastered - Beautiful. Majestic. Flawed. Escapist, February 28, 2015, accessed on March 5, 2015 (English): “ Most notably, the remastered Homeworld throws away the original game's tactics system in favor of the less nuanced one from Homeworld 2. [...] Formations, for instance, are now essentially useless. In the 1999 version, formations were huge. You could order your units to take an aggressive stance and they'd hold a formation come hell or high-water. In the remaster, they abandon their formation the second you give a movement order, regardless of their current tactic assignment. " 
37. ↑ Homeworld Remastered Collection Update Information. Retrieved May 6, 2020 (American English). 
38. ↑ Homeworld Remastered Collection (requires JavaScript in part ) - GOG.com ; accessed on August 23, 2016
39. ↑ Homeworld Remastered Collection (English) - SteamSpy ; Retrieved May 18, 2015
40. ↑ Gearbox announces Homeworld 3, but release is still a long way off. August 30, 2019, accessed March 8, 2020 .