Homeworld Remastered

[Setanta]

Yep - I'm pumped for this as I couldn't get it running on my new system

http://store.steampowered.com/app/244160/?snr=1_4_4__100_2

Includes 1 and 2 but no Cataclysm which makes me a tiny bit sad.

First game I ever Alpha tested was Homeworld... they sent me a CD and I played it religiously, more so than many other games I own.

[Trippy]

I've had the Collector's Edition pre-ordered since September.

[Setanta]

99 pounds? Ouch. I'm not too sure that I want to translate that into Aussie dollars. :)

[jakonovski]

While I loved Homeworld, I'm sick of remasters. Going past Hollywood with the creative bankruptcy.

[Malakili]

I always sucked at controlling armies in 3d.

[SurfD]

I would only consider this if they fixed  some of the horrible bugs along with the update.  And tweaked the interface / controlls to bring them up to modern standard.

[Merusk]

I've always heard nothing but love for this game but I hated it.  I suppose it's because I dislike RTS as it is and adding the 3d element just made it that much bigger a pain in the ass.

[koro]

I loved Homeworld's premise and the early going was fun, but it was too easy to fuck yourself over later on by making mistakes early in the campaign.

It was like a Sierra adventure game in RTS form, which I guess makes sense Sierra published it.

[Trippy]

The original captivated me from the start. The intro drawing-based movie, voice over work, mothership design, in-game cinematic chase cam -- all were really cool. But the controls -- god the controls -- I couldn't handle them. I'd play the first mission or two and then stop in frustration. But I kept retrying cause the game concept was just so good. Eventually I got good enough with the controls to progress. And shortly thereafter I was microing like a boss and became a ship capturing maniac. You know that mission with that giant sphere of enemy ships? I captured every one of those fuckers. That was the last mission that presented any challenge if I remember correctly but I still kept capturing as many ships as I could just because*. One of my favorite games of all time.

* Fuck the later games that restricted the number of ships you could own

[SurfD]

I loved Homeworld's premise and the early going was fun, but it was too easy to fuck yourself over later on by making mistakes early in the campaign.

It was like a Sierra adventure game in RTS form, which I guess makes sense Sierra published it.

I think  the biggest change they could have made would be not automatically ending the llevels the instant the last baddie died.  In a game where resources are king, auto warping you out of the level the instant the last enemy dies instead of letting you kick around for a bit to suck up resources really hits you hard the farther you go, and the more resources you are forced to leave behind.

[Khaldun]

I really hated the original, actually, though it was not a badly made game or anything. Just really the opposite of what I like for a strategy game.

[eldaec]

This was the game that convinced me that 3d probably isn't worth the bother in an RTS.

Also, wasn't a huge fan of the way building was relatively trivial but support limits were incredibly tight. Anything that results in you suiciding supposedly precious spaceships in order to try a different combination doesn't seem to fit the theme.

[Teleku]

I absolutely loved Homeworld.  One of the best RTS experiences I've ever had, and one of the first PC games that I remember being truly awestruck by.  Looking forward to this.

[eldaec]

OTOH I do remember using Homeworld to take cool screenshots for desktop wallpaper. So there's that.

[Miguel]

Wasted many hours in this - would consider re-buying it again.

I'm wondering if there are any details as to exactly what "re-mastered" means?  Gearboxes site seems to imply that they took the original code project, and re-compiled it to support new frame formats and resolutions - possibly had new textures drawn too.  No details about any game play differences other than possibly a new multiplayer mode?

[disKret]

Mostly graphics and voiceovers - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyXvpQEQJyc

[Ragnoros]

Sad. Judging by that clip the original voice work is superior. At least we get the original as part of the deal. Maybe someone can mod the old voices into the new graphics, if it is indeed a scene for scene update.

[Kitsune]

No Cataclysm is no sale.  I loved that game so hard for being a RTS that made me actually give a damn about my little digital minions.  All those cutscenes in Warcraft?  Could not get me to give a fuck about any of those idiots.  But watching the Beast infest everything in sight made me feel bad for my little underdog fleet.

[luckton]

No Cataclysm is no sale.  I loved that game so hard for being a RTS that made me actually give a damn about my little digital minions.  All those cutscenes in Warcraft?  Could not get me to give a fuck about any of those idiots.  But watching the Beast infest everything in sight made me feel bad for my little underdog fleet.

Apparently 14 years post-release is long enough to have lost the source-code for Cataclysm. Without that, they couldn't do it, which is what apparently occurred, or at least that's the PR answer they're giving. I agree that Cata was perhaps the best of all three, but that's not going to stop me from picking up this new edition.

[apocrypha]

Loved Homeworld when I first  played it, despite its idiosyncrasies. I suspect it was the game  that taught a lot of people that  3D wasn't a great idea in RTS's!

 But it was never  a game that  made me long for better graphics,  in fact I thought it looked awesome at the time.  So an identical remake with more shiny holds no allure for me.

[Teleku]

You guys keep saying that, but at the time, the 3D gameplay was one of the major things that impressed me.  I had a ton of fun with it, and it changed the way I looked at (and the expecations I had for) RTS games significantly.

[eldaec]

Hmm.

Apart from great visuals, what did you feel the 3d enabled?

[lamaros]

I likes the atmosphere of the game, it drew me in more than any other RTS. It told the best story of any of them.

[apocrypha]

The 3D was impressive, it had wow factor for sure, but it didn't really *add* anything in terms of gameplay. It was still just an RTS - gather resources, protect your harvesters, defend your base, mass combat units, attack the enemy, rock-paper-scissors unit choices.

I don't see how 3D has a lot to offer the RTS genre other than mobility/visibility changes, e.g. flying units and underground units, both of which don't need the fully 3D playing arena that Homeworld offered.

[eldaec]

In homeworld I felt the 3d actually detracted from the mechanics, because it limited what the designers could do with terrain.

[Teleku]

Hmm.

Apart from great visuals, what did you feel the 3d enabled?

More strategic depth.  Being able to try and attack around at different vectors.  Splitting some of my forces away to draw a fleet towards them, while I then have the bigger part of my fleet zoom up from the bottom and hit them from below (which mattered because many ships needed to align their fronts towards what ever they were going to shoot.  My guys pre-aligned from the bottom gave them a time advantage).  Things like that.  I felt for the first time I was making stratigic choices that mattered in an RTS.  Every single other RTS until that point (at least for me) consisted of selecting my blob of units, clicking attack/move to a spot behind the enemy or in his base, and then winning.

At the very least, if you don't agree with that, I don't think it detracted in any way, and it certainly did add great visuals.  Which is a big plus, since as Lamaros mentioned it had better atmosphere and story telling than any other RTS up till that point.  Game was just fun to watch.

In homeworld I felt the 3d actually detracted from the mechanics, because it limited what the designers could do with terrain.

Err, how so?  And what do you mean by "terrain"?

[Setanta]

Relic also made "Impossible Creatures" - a RTS that had you splicing creatures together. It was fun but limited compared to Homeworld. I wish they'd re-make that, my son borrowed my CDs and then lost them :(

I found the 3D in Homeworld to add to the game - each to his own I guess.

[eldaec]

By terrain I meant the geographic features or limitations of a 2d map. Choke points, space limits, that sort of thing. Homeworld tried some stuff but I never felt it really worked out.

Though you could equally argue that this was why you were so free to maneuver the way you described.

[lamaros]

I think a lot of the things I liked were linked to it being 3D in space. You have greater identification with your army when you are also in the empty envireonment with a window on the action. The ground in other RTS really made you feel much more dispassionate about your forces.

Ground Control was an old RTS that I also like for its novelties. Pity it had the worse multi-player ever, at a time when it was such a big part of the RTS experience.

[Khaldun]

The only RTS I can remember pulling me in with atmosphere enough for me to overlook my dislike of the genre was actually Myth, though maybe that was because it was more tactical.