Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak
| Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Original title | Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak | ||
| Studio | Blackbird Interactive | ||
| Publisher | Gearbox software | ||
| Senior Developer | Rob Cunningham, Rory McGuire, Gerald Orban | ||
| composer | Paul Ruskay | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
20th January 2016 | ||
| platform | Windows | ||
| Game engine | Unity | ||
| genre | Real time strategy game | ||
| Subject | Military science fiction | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer | ||
| control | Mouse , keyboard | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
Windows 7 , Intel Core i3-2100 (3.1 GHz) / AMD A10 5800k (3.8 GHz), 3 GB RAM, GeForce GT 440 (1024 MB) / Radeon HD 4890 (1024 MB), 8 GB hard disk space | ||
| medium | Download | ||
| language | English (sound, menu text, subtitles), German, French, Italian, Spanish and Russian subtitles and menu texts | ||
| Age rating |
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Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is a real-time strategy game from Blackbird Interactive and was released for Windows on January 20, 2016 . The game tells the story of Homeworld from 1999.
action
The action 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 Hiigarian). The Kushan are a people who are socially divided into Kiithid (singular: Kiith), i.e. family clans in a kind of tribal caste system, with dozens or even thousands of members. Kharak is a doomed planet, as its hostile deserts are spreading inexorably. 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" (the spaceship wreck of the Khar-Toba from the planet Hiigara from the prehistory of Homeworld , which the displaced ancestors who exiled Kushan on the orders of the Taiidan Empire on Kharak). The Coalition of the Northern Kiithid then sends expeditions to enemy territory to investigate and secure it. Including an expedition led by 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. Rachel S'jet also hopes to find her brother, who once moved to the desert and from whom no one heard anything more.
This expedition group of the Kiith S'jet sets off from the Epsilon base into the desert with the super-heavy desert carrier Kapisi, Rachel S'jet's command vehicle and some combat vehicles. Shortly after this happens, some surrounding coalition bases including Epsilon are attacked and destroyed by the Kiith Gaalsien, a tribe of religious fanatics. When the Kapisi makes final preparations and is equipped in a salvage depot east of the Epsilon base, the expedition itself is attacked by the Gaalsien.
Game mechanics
In contrast to the space battles of its predecessors, Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak plays on the planet surface of the desert planet Kharak and offers ground battles. Instead of extracting raw materials from asteroids and the rubble of capital ships, as before, these are now being extracted using so-called harvesting machines from the materials and high technology of crashed spaceship wrecks, which are scattered in the deserts. These resources are divided into construction units and resource units. The role of the mother ships is now taken over by the heavy land carrier ground vehicles, which take raw materials, build ground and aircraft vehicles and research upgrades and technologies. The combat vehicles were named similar to the spaceship classes of their predecessors, and were divided into light, medium, heavy and super-heavy categories using selection icons in order to provide a better overview in the tactical view.
The battles take place in the classic real-time strategy, so combat vehicles such as armored vehicles, tracked vehicles and anti-gravure vehicles, and air strikes and special attacks from the base vehicle such as cruise missiles can be requested using fighter bombers and strategic bombers. Units can fall victim to self- fire. Almost every unit has a special function, for example Rachel S'jet's command car can take over enemy vehicles, similar to the naval and infiltrator frigates from Homeworld 2 . In addition to the resources - the cannibalized wrecks - some special artifacts are also contested. What is new is that when crossing the desert you are subject to a heat mechanism, when you reach the open desert the ambient temperature rises, and you have to protect your base vehicle from overheating through energy management of the subsystems such as sensors, self-repair, weapons and reactive armor. There is also a day and night change, as well as storms such as sandstorms and tornadoes, which, in addition to the different terrain that can be driven on, affect the way you play. There is no building or base construction in the game, but turrets can be erected, mines laid, or reconnaissance drones can be launched.
The multiplayer mode is designed for a maximum of six players.
Development history
In September 2013 a cooperation between Gearbox Software and Blackbird Interactive was announced at the PAX Seattle , which allowed Blackbird Interactive to use the Homeworld franchise as well as financial support. The game was based on the Unity - Engine programmed. The original concept of the game - at that time still without an official franchise license - was a game that was inspired by Homeworld and the ship breaking in the shipyards near Alang in India . Hence the initial title Hardware: Shipbreakers . After receiving the license, the game was matched to the official background or prehistory of Homeworld and changed to Homeworld: Shipbreakers until the title was finally renamed to Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak . Some developers involved had previously worked on Homeworld and Company of Heroes . Those who pre-ordered the game received the Homeworld Remastered Collection for free with their purchase . Those who have already purchased them will get a discount on Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak .
reception
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Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak received mostly positive reviews ( Metacritic : 79%).
"Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak stages good real-time strategy with the mysterious flair and art design of the classic - but there are deficits in terms of AI, control and scope."
"If anything, Deserts of Kharak shows just how good Relic's original design for Homeworld was, that it can be lifted almost wholesale and dropped in a new setting and it still feels as good as it did over 15 years ago."
"If anything, Deserts of Kharak demonstrates how good Relic's original design was for Homeworld, that you can almost completely transfer it to a new scenario and it still feels as good as it did 15 years ago."
According to estimates from August 2017, the game had sold around 200,000 times by then.
Web links
- Official website (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Andrew Goldfarb: PAX: Homeworld: Shipbreakers Announced - Blackbird Interactive's spiritual successor will become part of the franchise instead. ( English ) ign.com . September 2, 2013. Retrieved 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. "
- ↑ PC Gamer
- ↑ a b Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak. In: Metacritic. Retrieved October 4, 2019 .
- ↑ a b https://www.4players.de/4players.php/dispbericht/PC-CDROM/Test/34617/81600/0/Homeworld_Deserts_of_Kharak.html
- ↑ Rating of the GameStar
- ↑ Rating of the PC Games
- ↑ Test report Kotaku
- ^ GB Burford: What Made Age Of Empires Great. In: Kotaku. August 29, 2017. Retrieved October 4, 2019 .