Homeworld

Homeworld

Homeworld is a real-time strategy video game developed by Relic Entertainment and published by Sierra Studios on September 28, 1999, for Microsoft Windows. The game follows the Kushan exiles of the planet Kharak after their home planet is destroyed by the Taiidan Empire in retaliation for developing hyperspace jump technology. The player gathers resources, builds a fleet, and uses it to destroy enemy ships and accomplish mission objectives. Homeworld is listed by review aggregator Metacritic as the highest rated computer game of 1999.

About Homeworld in brief

Summary HomeworldHomeworld is a real-time strategy video game developed by Relic Entertainment and published by Sierra Studios on September 28, 1999, for Microsoft Windows. The game follows the Kushan exiles of the planet Kharak after their home planet is destroyed by the Taiidan Empire in retaliation for developing hyperspace jump technology. The player gathers resources, builds a fleet, and uses it to destroy enemy ships and accomplish mission objectives. Homeworld is listed by review aggregator Metacritic as the highest rated computer game of 1999, and the fourth-highest on any platform for the year. A release of the game’s source code in 2003 sparked unofficial ports to macOS and Linux, and three more games in the Homeworld series have been produced. Gearbox Software purchased the rights to the series from then-owners THQ in 2013, and released a remastered collection of Homeworld and Homeworld 2 in 2015 for Windows and macOS which was also highly regarded. The fifth game in the series, Homeworld 3, is being crowdfunded through Fig, and is slated for a Q4 2022 release. In some levels, new ship types can be unlocked by capturing an enemy vessel, or through research performed through plot elements. Each level is a circular sphere, bisected by a plane that can be directed to move in any direction. The central ship of the player’s fleet is the mothership, a large base which can construct other ships; unlike other spacecraft, in the single-player campaign the mother ship is unable to move.

In each level, the player has an objective to accomplish before they can end the level, though the ultimate objective of the mission can change as the level’s story unfolds. Between each of the 16 levels is a hand-drawn, black-and-white cutscene with narrative voiceovers. Present in each level are stationary rocks or dust clouds, which can be mined by specialized harvesting ships which then empty their loads at the motherships in the form of resources. Resources can be spent by the player on building new ships, which are constructed by the motherhip. Fighter ships need to dock with ships to refuel, while non-non non-combat ships such as research vessels and repair corvettes can become part of the players’ fleet. New ships can also be unlocked through research, but has no effect on the plot or gameplay. At the beginning of the campaign the player may select between controlling the Kushan or Taiidan fleet; this affects the ship designs and some specialized designs of the ships and some changes of the ship types are possible. In the final level the player can select between the two fleets and choose the one they want to control, which affects the plot of the entire game. The final level is played in a fully three-dimensional space within each level rather than being limited to a two-dimensional plane, and can be played in either 2-D or 3-D. The single- player mode consists of one story-driven campaign, broken up into levels.