Homeworld 2

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Homeworld 2
Homeworld2-logo.svg
Logo (manual version)
Studio Relic entertainment
Publisher Vivendi Universal , Sierra Entertainment
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 September 16, 2003
platform Windows , Mac OS
genre Real time strategy game
Subject Science fiction
Game mode Single player , multiplayer
control Mouse , keyboard
system advantages
preconditions		 CPU 750 MHz, 256 MB RAM, 500 MB hard disk space, 8-way CD-ROM drive, DirectX 9.0a, 32 MB graphics card with T&L support
medium 1 CD-ROM
language German
Current version 1.1 (+ Postfix)
Age rating
USK released from 12
PEGI recommended for ages 12+

Homeworld 2 (Engl. For home world ) is a book published in 2003, real-time strategy , developed by Relic Entertainment and distributed by Sierra Entertainment . After Homeworld and the stand-alone Homeworld Cataclysm, it was the third title in the Homeworld series. In 2015 a revised edition was published under the title Homeworld Remastered .

action

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. One of the three cores is already in Makaan's possession, the Bentusi have the second. The third core apparently brought the Kharakians to Hiigara at the time and is now part of their new mother ship “Pride of Hiigara”, which is about to be completed. “The end of time,” as it is heralded in prophecy, begins. Again Karan S'jet, the living legend of the Exodus, takes command of the fleet. During the first trials and test runs with the new mother ship, the Vaygr attacked the Tanis shipyard and only an emergency launch followed by an escape save the mother ship from destruction. On Hiigara, it can barely take its crew on board before the Vaygr siege ring closes around the planet. A race against time begins. Sajuuk must be found before the Vaygr beat the Hiigarans. The Bentusi play a fundamental role and a new breed emerges, apparently older and even more dangerous than anything seen before.

Gameplay

As before, the player takes command of the Hiigaran fleet, which has been equipped with a completely new fleet of ship types. 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. The Hiigarans will again face a variety of opponents, including the Vaygr people. The Bentusi give hidden clues during the search and guide the Hiigaran fleet to the key to Sajuuk. The climax is a huge space battle over Hiigara, in which the Vaygr besiegers are attacked. In contrast to its predecessors, the strength of the opposing fleets adapts to the size of your contingent at the start of the mission.

development

Technically and above all graphically, Homeworld 2 has been improved compared to the debut, the gameplay has been simplified in parts and the operation has been simplified. The soundtrack of Homeworld 2 , like that of the first Homeworld , was created by Paul Ruskay. A prominent component that was positively noted in many reviews was the scenery background graphics, generated via an innovative tessellation of a texture in vertices with a color that envelops the playing field in a spherical manner.

Homeworld 2 was designed to be mod-friendly. Examples of Mods are the award-winning Complex Mod , the subjects reactions Babylon 5 or BSG , graphic Aufbesserungen up to the edition of Home World 1 with the Home World-2 - Engine .

reception

Home World 2 received an average of positive reviews ( Gamerankings : 84.99% / Metacritic : 83%).

License history and remastered collection

The rights to the Homeworld series fell in 2004 to the American publisher THQ , Relic bought up than this. After the acquisition, some of Relic's founders and former Homeworld developers left Relic Entertainment and founded Blackbird Interactive in 2007 to develop their own space RTS, but without 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 acquisition 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 for $ 1.35 million went to Gearbox Software .

Gearbox Software announced an imminent 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 . This Homeworld Remastered Collection should include high definition and multiplayer expanded versions of Homeworld and Homeworld 2 . So-resolution graphics and effects models were later added, as well as a HD , UHD and 4K added support. The audio output and cutscenes have also been revised based on the original material. The multiplayer mode has been changed so that it is now possible to play all four factions or races from Part 1 and 2. In addition, two copies of the original versions have been added to the Remastered Collection, which have been made compatible with more recent operating systems. However, the Remastered Collection was limited to the English voice output with multilingual subtitles and menu texts. In addition, a collector's edition was offered, which also included a collector's model of the Hiigaraner mother ship from Homeworld 2 .

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 . The Remastered Collection was released on February 25, 2015 exclusively on the Internet distribution platform Steam .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Homeworld 2: Downloads ( English ) relicnews.com. October 22, 2005. Archived from the original on August 21, 2010. Retrieved on December 7, 2011: “ European Patch Updates (to fix a problem with the 1.1 patch) can be downloaded here. "
  2. ↑ NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra: The Next Step Forward on anandtech.com : As intricate as the gameplay is for this game, the beautiful backgrounds help immerse you in the complex gameplay. (April 2004, English)
  3. ↑ Homeworld2 - The Graphics on techarp.com : What impressed me most in Homeworld 2 was the background. (November 2003, English)
  4. ↑ Simon Trümpler: Homeworld 2 - Backgrounds - Game Art Trick # 26 ( English ) March 15, 2013. Accessed June 25, 2013: “ Could it really be, that this is vertex color? Luckily you can watch at .HOD file with CFHodEdit. And another tool can force a wireframe mode. And now look what this brought to light. [...] This is one of the most brave solutions for game art I ever saw. "
  5. ↑ Mod Hall of Fame ( English ) In: Mod Hall of Fame . moddb.com. Retrieved December 7, 2011: “ […] the best video game modifications ever made over the past 15 years. Every mod on this list has earned its spot be it via commercial or critical acclaim and has influenced gaming in some way. [...] 2004: Complex - Homeworld 2 "
  6. ↑ Turambar: Homeworld-2 Visual Overhaul ( English ) forums.relicnews.com. 2010. Archived from the original on October 29, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 28, 2011. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / forums.relicnews.com
  7. ↑ Homeworld 2 Game Rankings Reviews . CBS Corporation. January 7, 2006. Retrieved January 7, 2007.
  8. ↑ Homeworld 2 MetaCritic Reviews . CBS Corporation. January 7, 2006. Retrieved January 7, 2007.
  9. ↑ Curt Feldman: THQ disc loose Relic purchase price ( s ) GameSpot . August 11, 2004. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
  10. ↑ David Valjalo: Interview: Homeworld Dev Tells About New RTS, Hardware . Rock, paper, shotgun . January 17, 2013. Retrieved 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 ... "
  11. ↑ Peter Steinlechner: Team Pixel fails with the purchase of Homeworld rights . golem.de. April 19, 2013. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
  12. ↑ Jenna Pitcher: teamPixel outbid on Homeworld IP by mysterious buyer, refunding Kickstarter donations . polygon.com. April 19, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
  13. ↑ Alexander Sliwinski: THQ auction results: Nordic Games takes Darksiders, Red Faction; 505 Games is Drawn to Life ( English ) In: Joystiq . AOL . April 22, 2013. Archived from the original on January 31, 2015. Retrieved on April 24, 2013.
  14. ↑ Gearbox Announces Homeworld, Homeworld 2 HD Remakes on IGN.com
  15. ↑ homeworldremastered.com