Thoughts on a Homeworld Remake

The Homeworld series is quite simply my favourite game series of all time. While all three games (Homeworld, Homeworld: Cataclysm and Homeworld2) had their flaws, they still had stella plots and were well ahead of their time in terms of gameplay and graphics. Homeworld after all was the first fully-3D RTS game ever made, meaning its place has already been cemented as one of the most landmark games of all time.

After years in limbo following the release of Homeworld2 in 2003, Gearbox software finally purchased the rights to Homeworld last year, and remakes of Homeworld and Homeworld2 are apparently in the works. Another game - Homeworld: Shipbreakers, is also in development by Blackbird Interactive.

These games are apparently due to be released by the end of the year, and while I understand the odds that I can in any way affect the development of these remakes is slim, a man can still dream can't he? And surely the future will bring yet more mods and remakes as well?

There are the usual changes we want to see in any remake - graphics improvements, bug fixes and so on. I also wonder why Gearbox doesn't seem to be making any mention of Homeworld: Cataclysm. Do they not have the rights to it or something? If anything it was a game that made more sense than Homeworld2, and introduced some notable improvements on the Homeworld game engine while also introducing some pretty cool new weapons systems (Swarmer drones? Ramming frigates? Repulsor fields anyone?)

I'd also like to see the physics system of the game revamped, hopefully to make it a touch more realistic. Ships could have slower accelerations and yet higher speeds, making it feel more like a true space-based RTS and not just a naval combat game set in space. Weapons ranges could also be increased. Perhaps a barrage of nuclear missiles will follow your ships halfway across the map? (Though to prevent this becoming a game-breaker, maybe you could then upgrade your ships with laser point-defenses to intercept such missiles?)

The single biggest change I'd like to see however, and which I think would be welcomed by fans everywhere, is to expand the mission layout in the single player campaign of Homeworld.

The original game had only one storyline which the player had to stick to. More recent games like Mass Effect however, give the player the option of making decisions which can affect the outcome of the game not just on a tactical, but on a strategic level as well.

I feel homeworld could be improved in a number of ways by this. Firstly, it would give an added sense of realism to the exile's epic journey home, with multiple ways to achieve this goal. Secondly, it would be a great compromise between pleasing new players and old ones - not only will the former be experiencing the game for the first time, but the latter will be experiencing new content as well.

The original Homeworld had 16 missions. Any new layout would, of course, have to include all of these. It should also be arranged that things tend to work out best if the player follows the original route - i.e. the alternate missions should generally be much harder.

An expanded mission layout could thus look something like this -

The original sixteen missions are the more-or-less straight path on the left, while the new alternatives branch out on the right. Included here are nine extra missions, many based on locations not seen in actual Homeworld levels, but mentioned in supporting material.

The first deviation from the original route already is somewhat cannon. The mission 'Deep Space - Turanic Raider Planetoid' was meant to be in the original game, but became an outtake as it was deemed too hard and somewhat tangent to the game's plot. It fits between missions 4 and 5, when after defeating the first Turanic Raider Carrier Rancor, fleet intelligence decides to attack a remote Turanic Raider outpost on the way to destroying the Taiidan fleet which destroyed Kharak. The mission was later released in a demo - 'Raider Retreat' and can be seen in its entirely here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odtsYaiY5xI

Basically, after informing you of the options, fleet intelligence would ask which path you wish to take. This would add a whole new layer of depth to the game.

Decisions like this would come at several throughout the campaign. In the mission-tree I've outlined above, the biggest choice occurs at the end of mission 5. You could indeed go through the 'Diamond Shoals' asteroid field and then the Great Nebula as in the original game, or you could decide to take a route more worn, but also more vulnerable to the Taiidan.

In the missions I've named above, if you follow this path, you've first got 'Solaris Sector' and then 'Taiidan Outpost'. The first mission could simply be a deep space asteroid belt where you try and hide to prepare your fleet, but after a while (maybe 10 minutes or so in-game) a large Taiidan fleet turns up and attacks you.

After defeating this fleet, Fleet Intelligence then decides that, because the Taiidan appear to have sent most of their forces in this sector out hunting for you, the best course of action is to attack one of the outposts themselves. By outpost, I mean out of the ominous looking ones you see in the cutscene between levels 5 and 6 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6_poWWr2Ok

Now wouldn't that be cool to attack in-game? Get on it Gearbox!

Anyway, after you destroy that outpost, lets say that a vessel present nearby (presumably some trade occurs at the outpost) happens to be from a race that opposes the Taiidan. We could make up any name for this race, though to aid us, a (speculative) map of the Homeworld galaxy can be found here - http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs30/f/2008/052/4/c/Map_of_the_Homeworld_Universe_by_Norsehound.png

A race quite close to that part of the galaxy is labelled the 'Nubians' - fine, we'll use that. Lets say the captain of this ship recognises you to be the Hiigaran exiles, and offers to aid you in your quest against the Taiidan.

You can choose to accept this offer or not. If you do, you go to the 'Nalthor Station' mission. If not, you go to 'Caesera System'.

Nalthor Station is a location not seen in any homeworld game so far, but it can be found in some Homeworld2 concept art -

At Nalthor Station however, disaster strikes. It turns out the Nubians do not actually want to help you, but instead want to hand you over to the Taiidan. A massive Taiidan fleet hyperspaces in just as the Nubians raise a huge Hyperspace Inhibitor field around you (Cathedral of Kadesh anyone?)

You would then have to disable the hyperspace inhibitors (probably taking the form of several modules spread throughout the massive station) before the bulk of the Taiidan fleet can arrive.

Sounds pretty exciting yes?

The rest of the game would follow a similar pattern. In the levels I've outlined above (and there could easily be many more, perhaps dozens in total) 'Caesera System' contains a deep space Taiidan mining base you can destroy, a lot like the 'Super Nova Research Station' in the original campaign. In this case however, a bunch of Taiidan ships show up just as you destroy the station and announce that they are in fact rebels and offer to take you to their rallying point. Once more, you can accept or reject this offer.

If you accept, then shortly afterwards the combined Rebel-Exile fleet hyperspaces to 'Vorshan's Rift'. Keen players of the original games may remember this as the site of the battle where the assembled Rebels were almost wiped by the Imperial fleet, and from which Captain Elson fled before he found you (this is explained in the Homeworld: Cataclysm manual, it also has an article on the Homeworld wiki - http://homeworld.wikia.com/wiki/Battle_of_Vorshan's_Rift).

There, you could either try and turn the tide of the battle, or retreat into hyperspace if the situation becomes too dire. If you win you could then proceed straight to the Bridge of Sighs and Hiigara, or else other routes and possibilities might be calling.

In doing all this, new content is thus created to be explored by new and old players alike, the game is further updated to rival modern series like Mass Effect and Halo and at the same time the original Homeworld storyline is kept intact.

While ambitious, I feel Homeworld could greatly benefit from such an overhaul. Gearbox, or any potential modders out there, please take note.