Gearbox has Homeworld

[Stormwaltz]

Link only. I'll leave commentary to the capable hands of Haemish.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123447-Gearbox-Gets-Homeworld

[luckton]

...a GOG-style update of the existing games for modern systems...

This.  That's all I want, and it amazes me that no one has tried to duplicate the system 13+ years.  Even after all that time, the series looks and plays like something that very well could hold it's own today.  Maybe a fresh coat a paint, at least.

[Trippy]

I just want to play two missions again from the original. The one where there's a giant sphere of enemy ships, all of which you can capture. And the mission after where you deploy your newly captured armada of said ships

[Furiously]

So is it going to be Aliens: colonial marines good? I'm not sure Gearbox would know what fun looked like even if it punched them in the testicles, which seems to be what most of their games do.

[Ragnoros]

So is it going to be Aliens: colonial marines good? I'm not sure Gearbox would know what fun looked like even if it punched them in the testicles, which seems to be what most of their games do.

Right... Gearboxes strange record of attempting to rescue random that should have had the plug pulled from life support ages ago non withstanding, I think they will do fine. The first Homeword was an amazing experience that still holds up rather well today, minus the horrid textures. Problematically, it does not run very well on modern systems though, so an updated release would be great. If they went full on like the AoK HD update or Baulders Gate enhanced that would be awesome. Sadly, I really liked Homeworld Cataclysm a lot. More so than HW2 actually. So having it not mentioned in the press release is :sadpanda: But it was developed by another studio IIRC so not surprising. 

[HaemishM]

Well... I'm sure there'll be tits. 

[luckton]

Sadly, I really liked Homeworld Cataclysm a lot. More so than HW2 actually. So having it not mentioned in the press release is :sadpanda:

It's like you're reading my mind, man!   

[Rendakor]

I used to think I played a lot of games as a kid. However, this is at least the 10th thread lately where someone is remaking a game that I'd never even heard of.

[koro]

What's worse is that Paradox and Stardock were both right behind Gearbox in the bidding:

http://www.pcgamesn.com/update-paradox-and-stardock-lost-bid-homeworld-ip

Now admittedly I'd have written the franchise off entirely if Stardock had gotten it, but even they would be a better and more fitting home than goddamn Gearbox.

[Setanta]

I have all 3 of the original games running on my Win 7 64 system, admittedly it took a lot of fiddling to get them running and there is no widescreen, but I still run through missions for the fun of it. They need to GoG this series ASAP - give it widescreen and that's it. While they are at it, they should also bring back Impossible Creatures :)

[Phred]

So is it going to be Aliens: colonial marines good? I'm not sure Gearbox would know what fun looked like even if it punched them in the testicles, which seems to be what most of their games do.

Probably a dog in the manger thing when they saw these guys wanted the rights they became valuable to them. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123390-Save-Homeworld-Fails-to-Save-Homeworld-Makes-New-Game-Instead

[Phred]

Well... I'm sure there'll be tits. 

And a cute, wisecracking robot?

[Fabricated]

Oh boy, I can't wait for all the DLC.

[Ragnoros]

I'm sorry. When did Gearbox join the list of devs we like to shit on? Did I miss a memo?

Oh wait, this is f13. 

[kildorn]

I'm sorry. When did Gearbox join the list of devs we like to shit on? Did I miss a memo?

Oh wait, this is f13. 

Depending on your opinion of Borderlands (personally, I really liked 2), their track record is spotty at best.

[Megrim]

I'm sorry. When did Gearbox join the list of devs we like to shit on? Did I miss a memo?

Oh wait, this is f13. 

To be fair, while I really liked Borderlands 1 & 2, Colon Marines was fair arse.

[Ragnoros]

In my mind Forever and Aliens are both games that Gearbox were not in full control of, but perhaps I am cognitively distancing myself from reality.

In either case, I don't think re-texturing Homeworld will prove particularly challenging.

Edit: Can't resist.

Depending on your opinion of Borderlands (personally, I really liked 2), their track record is spotty at best.

Going by wikipedia's list of Gearbox games they started life in 2000 as a port studio, porting Half-Life, Halo, and other odds and ends. In 2005 they had apparently done well enough to get a chance to make their own game in Brother in Arms (Cause in 2005 you made WW2 shooters). It was a fairly generic shooter, but was competently made and I remember my bother enjoying it.  After a sequel on the current gen system they had the capital/pull to make borderlands. Obviously Borderlands and it's sequel were fun and made them bank. I can only assume they finished Forever for the lulz and out of some misplaced gamer respect/nostalgia. Somewhere along the way they bit off more then they could chew and went for Aliens . Personally I am glad they released one good game in Borderlands 2, rather then two half finished ones. However I can see how they might be due for a lawsuit from Sega for telling them they were really working super hard on Aliens, honest. While actually farming it out to other dev houses.

[Rendakor]

I'm a big Borderlands (1&2) fan so I don't get the Gearbox hate either. That they made a shitty game based on a movie isn't particularly surprising, since 90% of movie > game (and game > movie) adaptations blow, and thus I don't hold Aliens against them. There's nothing Gearbox (or anyone else) could have done to save DNF short of just cancelling the project and letting it die.

[UnSub]

There's nothing Gearbox (or anyone else) could have done to save DNF short of just cancelling the project and letting it die.

No-one held a gun to Pitchford's head and made him buy DNF.

Gearbox spent a bit of money polishing up DNF to a releasable product then charged full price for the title.

So the potential is there for Gearbox to do the same with Homeworld - do the bare minimum to get the title releasable and then profit. Which is a perfectly acceptable business move (even a very smart one), but I'm going to wait and see what the reviews say.

[luckton]

All I remember of Gearbox was the Half-Life expansions/ports.  I remember them fondly.  After that, I lost track of them in the WW1/2 game craze.  That may have been what you did in the mid-2000s, but good god not everyone was a fan of them

I agree with Ren and Rag regarding DNF and Aliens.  Had those been projects that Gearbox had originated from the get-go, the hate could stick better.  In these cases though, all I can fault them for was thinking they could pick up the pieces of some broken project, throw some plaster of Paris on them, and make enough bank to last them until they can put out their next "big thing".  

[Phred]

I'm sorry. When did Gearbox join the list of devs we like to shit on? Did I miss a memo?

Oh wait, this is f13. 

To be fair, while I really liked Borderlands 1 & 2, Colon Marines was fair arse.

FFA Loot killed borderlands for me.

[Venkman]

I used to think I played a lot of games as a kid. However, this is at least the 10th thread lately where someone is remaking a game that I'd never even heard of.

This is the kind of game I probably wouldn't have known about either. Except it launched the year I got my first Windows machine after 15 years on a Mac (plus 5 on an Apple //e), and I wanted to see what all this crazy "PC gaming" thing was about. Because Macs got Bungie and Blizzard games before the former went to launching Xbox (and losing what Oni coulda been in the process  ).

From there it was then on to UO to forums to F13.

All because of Homeworld.

Excited someone's gonna try and do something with it. Can't figure out why an FPS company would want it, except maybe the firesale (to them) price and the need for a brand from which to jumpstart a new business? Otherwise

[Megrim]

I'm sorry. When did Gearbox join the list of devs we like to shit on? Did I miss a memo?

Oh wait, this is f13. 

To be fair, while I really liked Borderlands 1 & 2, Colon Marines was fair arse.

FFA Loot killed borderlands for me.

Do you not have any friends to play with or something? 

[HaemishM]

I didn't care much for either Borderlands, though I liked the wise-cracking robot videos. I'm sure Homeworld will have a wise-cracking AI to accompany your commands, maybe even some dildo ship aliens who emit love beams. I'm almost positive they won't have to worry about pathing so bad, the opposing ships will appear to dance while flying directly past your own ships instead of attacking them. And there's a good chance there will be no urinals in sight.

Gearbox succeeded with Borderlands at making a profitable product but before 2 came out, there seemed to be a serious undercurrent of discontent with the first game and all the DLC. I don't think they are the right assholes to remake Homeworld.

[apocrypha]

Borderlands and (even more so) BL2 feel to me like interesting concepts badly implemented but made to look good. I love the cel shading style, the humour, the classes and the idea of a huge variety of wacky guns. The reality is a sub-par shooter, with grindy MMO loot mechanics, limited class variety because of the difficulty of TVHM/UVHM and over-reliance on legendary guns which leads to 99% of loot being useless.

DNF & A:CM are indications that not only are Gearbox lacking in enough talent internally to make the best of their good creative ideas but there's also terrible project management and an easy willingness to shit on much-loved IPs to fulfil contractual obligations when they're out of their depth.

I predict the Homeworld remakes will be massively over-budget and behind schedule, will look great when they finally ship, but will have lost all of the special sauce that made the originals so popular and have some completely broken game mechanics underneath that never, ever get fixed. Oh and as has already been pointed out, DLC. Lots of it.

[rk47]

That they made a shitty game based on a movie

......sorry. They didn't make it. And that's the whole goddamn problem.

[Rendakor]

If they didn't make it (wiki says they outsourced most of A:CM to TimeGate) then why does it's shitty quality reflect poorly on their future releases?

I really don't get the BL2 hate either; it was my GOTY last year, and easily the best AAA title released.

[rk47]

Perhaps I just don't see how their 'expertise in AAA' Diablo shooter (which I bought the first GOTY Ed. at $10 and didn't turn out to even come close to my Game of the Week) will translate into anything good about Homeworld franchise?

Company of Heroes going to Sega - yeah I can buy that, Sega actually published a bunch of Total War stuff - I heard it was a decent series.
But GearBox actually adding anything to Homeworld? Time for a reality check.

Hey, maybe they can outsource to a capable third party developers. 

[Rendakor]

Well like I said, I know fuckall about Homeworld (it's what, an RTS?); I just don't get the Gearbox hate.

[Modern Angel]

I'm sorry. When did Gearbox join the list of devs we like to shit on? Did I miss a memo?

Oh wait, this is f13. 

The second I was forced to lug my desktop around to my buddies' houses because Borderlands 1's PC multiplayer was completely non-functional out of the box. Then, when I found out they told outright untruths about the PC UI while simultaneously having a public spat with Valve over not customizing the Orange Box experience for PS3.

Never bought anything from them since, don't intend to. Companies have a real short leash with me anymore.

[Yegolev]

DNF & A:CM are ... much-loved IPs

[Fabricated]

Then there's the whole thing where Gearbox essentially robbed Peter to pay Paul in terms of the funding for Colonial Marines seemingly being used to further develop Borderlands 2.

[Lantyssa]

Sand!  Git yer sand here!

Maybe their management made some bad decisions, but I loved both Borderlands 1 & 2.  I can understand some concern about whether the studio works on the game or they farm it out, but yeesh...

Y'all make it sound like they shot your skag before running it over.  Twice.

[Yegolev]

Then there's the whole thing where Gearbox essentially robbed Peter to pay Paul in terms of the funding for Colonial Marines seemingly being used to further develop Borderlands 2.

This seems to have worked out.

[Modern Angel]

Sand!  Git yer sand here!

Maybe their management made some bad decisions, but I loved both Borderlands 1 & 2.  I can understand some concern about whether the studio works on the game or they farm it out, but yeesh...

Y'all make it sound like they shot your skag before running it over.  Twice.

I was with a group of guys who bought BL1 ONLY for marathon multiplayer sessions. That was it. It didn't work. Not that LAN parties are awful, but that's not what we signed up for.

Cool, whatever. I'm not frothing over it. But, no, expecting a minimum baseline functionality in a primary selling point of your game? That's not having a sandy vagina (hur hur). That's just asking for literally the least they can do.

And I'm just not supporting fuckups in this industry anymore. You get one chance. I'm okay with bugs and rough edges, but shit has to work now. I'm old. I have a kid. I'm back in school. What used to be days and nights of me playing games for hours have become me stealing what time I have for what hobbies I can muster, not always video games. I ain't got time to play apologist for ineptitude anymore and I certainly ain't got time for it if the head of the studio is being an asshole, too.