Homeworld 2 Multiplayer

[Helen Francke]

HomeworldRemastered is a complete remaster of Homeworld and Homeworld 2, released on 25 February 2015 by Gearbox Software. The Homeworld games have been re-mastered with key members of the original development team using the newest sophisticated graphics rendering technology, plus a fully remastered score and new, high fidelity voice recordings by the original actors.

The Homeworld Remastered game engine is a heavily modified and improved version of the Homeworld 2 classic game engine. So both remastered campaigns and the multiplayer mode all have very similar gameplay to Homeworld 2 classic. In addition to improving graphics and sounds, Gearbox also added many Homeworld 1 classic features such as formations, realistic ballistics, and tactics/stances. However these features were often implemented differently than they appeared in Homeworld 1 classic, to the disappointment of many fans.

As well as a digital release via Steam, Homeworld Remastered was also released as a physical boxed set. This set includes a Revised Historical Briefings And Artwork book, which expands on the backstory of the setting and features concept art developed for the game by Rob Cunningham and Jon Aaron Kambeitz. The set also includes a die-cast Angel Moon keychain and a 13"-tall replica of the Pride of Hiigara, complete with USB-powered lights.

Despite the hype around the Remastered edition, on release day, the game was launched with a slew of bugs and balance issues, most notably within the remaster of the first Homeworld game. In the first two years Homeworld Remastered received twelve completed patches, the last of which was the version 2.1 patch released on June 10, 2016. Details can be found in the Patch Changes. However Gearbox decided to halt development and shift its focus to other games. Seven years later, Gearbox released the 2.3 patch on July 26, 2023. Ultimately, many large bugs and balance issues still remain as documented in the Bugs and Solutions Thread.

Players are encouraged to install mods, notably the community created Players Patch, in order to fix the lingering issues from 2.1/2.3. Community created patches have appeared to resolve a significant portion of the bugs from the last official patch, rebalanced the game and attempted to restore original gameplay mechanics, and development of these patches are continuing.

Best of all, the dev team have eschewed the mock eSports approach to a multiplayer trailer, calmly explaining how it all works rather than trying to get me pumped with faux-excitement. They even reference that the commentary is being recorded after the match was played. Small mercies are what I live for.

Skirmish and multiplayer are much different from what you learn during the campaign. First of all, there often are different prices and abilities of upgrades and units. Also, the scale of warfare is not as big: the initial amount of resources is low and you do not harvest them from the map as fast. You have to bear with a limited number of units that you can produce - the cap is 125, where each unit consumer 1 crew point (these are the ones by the unit production icon).

One game can be participated by up to 6 players (depending on the map). There are two basic modes available: "free-for-all" (everybody against everybody) and "team". In the former there is only one condition under which you win - defeat all opponents. In the latter mode, you can specify one or several conditions:

In multiplayer, you fight against other players. You can either create a game or find an already existing room, where you either invite your friends or wait for others to join in. For completing a multiplayer game, you can be decorated, for which you unlock new achievements.

While fighting other players, you can never predict the opponent's tactic. With time, you will define your own strategies using your favorite units. Below, there are several hints that you can use while constructing your own strategy:

With Homeworld 3, Relic's classic space RTS looks set to join the pantheon of returning PC gaming gods. Blackbird Interactive (the new studio, helmed by many of the original Homeworld devs) invited me to test-drive War Games mode, one of its big new features: a roguelike-inspired PvE mode for strategists in a hurry.

As someone historically bad at real-time strategy games, I still wholeheartedly recommend the Homeworld series to anyone with even a passing interest in grand space operas. While no slouch as serious competitive games, the Homeworld series was always carried by its grandiose vibes, surprisingly powerful storytelling and spectacular, messy space battles. If that sounds even slightly intriguing, I recommend picking up the recent Remastered bundle of Homeworld 1 & 2, plus the GOG release of Homeworld: Emergence, the excellent but un-remastered middle game in the series.

These are classic games, and a hard act to follow. And while I can't speak to the quality of the writing and campaign design in Homeworld 3 (the demo only included a short tutorial and a slice of the content from the new War Games multiplayer mode), I'm very happy to say that this is unquestionably Homeworld. The ships look immediately familiar, but are sharply textured and the hulls smooth and rounded when zoomed in on. The sound effects are punchy and sometimes overwhelming, just as I recall. It may have been nearly 20 years since Homeworld 2, but this feels exactly how I recall, but better.

While the meat and potatoes of any Homeworld is the story campaign (and the skirmish/PvP mode once that's over), Homeworld 3 is adding a new, third option to the mix: War Games. A PvE mode playable solo or in three-player co-op, it puts a light roguelite spin on the traditional cooperative 'comp stomp' (multiple players against a usually numerically superior AI) format, and plays out quickly enough for a session to be done in under an hour, culminating in a 'boss' encounter against a heavy capital ship. After a few sessions, I can definitely see the appeal, even if I think it still needs a little longer in the oven to properly tune.

A War Games run has players picking from one of several starting fleets, and then completing a trio of small missions, each on their own map. Each map has a limited pool of resources to harvest, a random set of objectives to complete and artefacts to collect, plus continually escalating enemy spawns that will eventually overwhelm players unless they hustle. As such, it's a bit of a scramble (each map taking only 10-15 minutes) to grab the loot you can, build what forces you want and complete objectives as efficiently as possible, then hyperspace-jump into the next encounter. Win or lose, you'll gain experience going towards unlocking new starting fleets, artefacts to find and other rewards.

While the missions aren't especially deep (go here, hold this point, defend this NPC vessel, etc) what I found added the most variety to a War Games run was artefacts, the strongest nod towards modern roguelike design. Each one collected gives you a randomised list of three perks to pick from. Some unlock a new unit type, others giving a bonus to a class of units, or increasing the limit of units you can command of a particular type. They're quite significant upgrades as well, defining the strategies and unit compositions I'd use each run. In co-op, each artefact collected gives each player their own pick of three options, meaning that everyone can specialise in their own preferred ways.

While just a small slice of the final product, my impression from playing War Games mode is that Blackbird have taken an 'if it's not broke, don't fix it' approach with Homeworld 3. Which seems wise, given how well the original games hold up, especially in their semi-recent Remastered incarnations. There have been a few tweaks and changes made here, but the fundamentals are immediately familiar and accessible to a returning fan. But after twenty years, there's been a few changes made under the hood as well.

The other notable change is the battlefields. Homeworld has historically featured spectacular starscape backdrops worthy of the best pulp sci-fi novels, often with titanic superstructures visible off in the distance, but the actual battlefields were mostly empty. While allowing for free manoeuvre, the only thing differentiating one map from another was the placement of its resource fields, the occasional gas cloud, and player start positions. Homeworld 3 is bringing all those big backdrop elements into the foreground, and asking you to factor them into your strategies.

Homeworld 3 now officially has terrain to navigate, and I got to poke around several densely decorated maps playing the War Games demo, which had me fighting in and around the floating wrecks of impossibly huge spacecraft and stations. While many engagements played out as per Homeworld standard, objectives tended to be placed in interesting nooks and crannies, forcing different approaches. A target at the bottom of a deep 'valley' in the map is no problem for a wave of fighters to get to, but larger ships (which remain stubbornly aligned against the horizon) need to slowly lower themselves downwards, and might have trouble shooting at targets below unless their weapons are belly-mounted.

These tunnels and gaps also make long-ranged weaponry like railguns and torpedoes more situational in their usage. Sniping at the edge of radar range is all well and good when you've got a clean line of sight, but if there's a town-sized slab of metal in the way, you'll have to take a very long way around to get a nice sniper shot. While it didn't fundamentally change the experience for me (at least so far), it did add a new strategic wrinkle to a familiar formula, and I'm curious to see how Blackbird expands on it in the campaign and PvP maps.

If there's one concern that I've got about Homeworld 3 after playing the War Games mode, it's that it might not be difficult enough in this early state. As noted, I am historically bad at RTS games, despite enjoying them. Company Of Heroes often has me floundering to keep track of what's going on, and put me into a competitive Starcraft match and I will probably cry. And yet even thoroughly half-assing things (including one run where I lost all my resource collectors without the means to replace any of them), I've breezed through most of my attempts at War Games so far.

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