Few games have aged as gracefully as Homeworld. Even without modern enhancements, Relic's 1999 space opera RTS is still a looker, carried by sharp ship designs, low-fi but evocative audio and some gorgeous nebula backdrops.
That's not to say there isn't room for improvement; between Gearbox's Homeworld Remastered Collection and a fresh wave of interest in the upcoming sequel, modders have been returning to their old stomping grounds. While the engines of space-war haven't yet hit fever pitch, let's take a peek at what modders have done so far with the remaster.
]]>After almost 16 years, oh me oh my Homeworld 3 is finally happening. Gearbox Publishing today announced the spacefleet RTS will blast off again a full-on sequel. Homeworld 3 is being made by Blackbird Interactive, a studio who were founded by some of the folks who made the original Homeworld at Relic Entertainment then brought the series back with the recent spin-off Homeworld: Deserts Of Kharak. And it's crowdfunding. Now. Already. The actual release is yet a long, long way away.
]]>Alec was jolly pleased with the Homeworld Remastered Collection [official site], revisiting Relic's spaceship real-time strategy classics after Gearbox spruced them up. Now they've even fancier, as the promised mega-patch has arrived with everything from improved fleet formations to proper ballistic weapons.
The Collection has also now arrived on GOG, for those who prefer their games DRM-free, with a hefty discount t'boot.
]]>Disclaimer: I played Relic's space strategy game Homeworld [official site] when it first released (because of course I did), but unlike many of its fans I didn’t continue to live and breathe it, so I am simply not your guy to get into the fine detail of how the new version does or doesn’t differ from the original. I’m sure other places and even our own comments section will provide that stuff, but this piece is essentially looking at whether the Homeworld games, newly remastered by Gearbox, still hold up today. I should also note that I’m discussing this as an overall package rather than comparing the two games within it to each other.
Two questions: 1) Is it pretty enough? 2) Is it still any good?
]]>Just before I got hold of some early code for Gearbox's upcoming remastering of unbelievably beloved space RTS Homeworld (which I made some stupidly oversized and stupidly pretty screenshots and video of yesterday), I had a chat with the studio's Chief Creative Officer Brian Martell, plus Community Manager Chris Faylor about the new version of Relic's game. Why do this rather than make their own space RTS? How was melding Homeworld 1 and Homeworld 2's multipalyer going to work? What about mod support, past and future? And did they feel having something as respected as Homeworld in their stable would help with Gearbox's... chequered reputation?
]]>February 25th. That's it. That's the day when Gearbox will release the Homeworld Remastered Collection with its two made-over, fancied-up re-releases of Relic's wonderful spaceborne real-time strategy games. After a long but comfortable silence, Gearbox this weekend announced a release date and, gosh oh golly, a trailer with a look at its new look. It is pretty. I'd say it looks as good as I remember Homeworld looking in the first place, which means the Remasters impressively can equal the sludgy haze of nostalgia, memory, and imagination.
]]>At the end of Mass Effect 3, thousands of ships from all across known space come together to liberate Earth and smash the Reapers. Then a pretty cutscene plays, and we passively watch the ensuing cool space battle. But oh, what if you gathered and commanded the fleet, and they were following your strategy? What if the slog across the Milky Way were a bit more Homeworld-ian? Turns out I didn't write those sentences as idle musings, that there is actually a purpose to this post.
See, that's basically the idea behind Mass Effect Reborn, a Homeworld 2 mod where you get to control that Alliance fleet. The first version is out now, if you fancy giving it a bash.
]]>Polygon are reporting that Gearbox have announced their intention to release HD versions of Homeworld 1 & 2 for PC. We already knew this was a possibility, of course, with their having acquired the license during the IP stripping of THQ earlier this year. No date on in yet, but my bet is early in 2014, to coincide with the next International Homeworld Day. That's on everyone else's calendar too, right?
]]>Seems unlikely, but it is apparently true. The rumour that the announcement would be today turned out to be actuality! The Borderlands developer said: "Brian Martel, Gearbox Software's Chief Creative Officer, has great love and respect for Relic's brilliant, fun and innovative game and personally spearheaded the acquisition. Brian intends as first priority to direct Gearbox's interest to preserve and assemble the purest form of the original acclaimed and beloved games, Homeworld and Homeworld 2, with the intent of making them accessible on today's leading digital platforms."
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