PC Homeworld 3 (13 May 2024) - update (05/10): reviews from OpenCritic posted

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

 

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Homeworld 3 Is Coming, Hell Yes (Kotaku)

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Gearbox announced the title today at PAX West, with development being handled by Blackbird Interactive, the studio behind not just the recent Homeworld Remastered games, but the Homeworld prequel Deserts of Kharak as well.

 

[Spork3245]

  

[Brian]

 

[Zaku3]

13 minutes ago, ManUtdRedDevils said:

 

All i hear is Ted Dibias' theme.

[finaljedi]

Epic has made me stop crowdfunding games,  I’ll just wait for this one when it hits Steam/gog.

[XxEvil AshxX]

Did people really donate $322,000 to a AAA publisher?

 

Please tell me this is fake. 

[RedSoxFan9]

only $500 per share

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

2 hours ago, XxEvil AshxX said:

Did people really donate $322,000 to a AAA publisher?

 

Please tell me this is fake. 

Oh no - it's very real indeed!

 

Right @AshsToAshs?!? 

[LazyPiranha]

If they had any sense of humor they'd have the contents of Randy's thumb drive as a stretch goal.

[AshsToAshs]

On 8/31/2019 at 1:20 PM, SFLUFAN said:

Oh no - it's very real indeed!

 

Right @AshsToAshs?!? 

 

Already past $500K!

Let's gooooooooooo!

 

Homeworld was the first 3D PC game I ever played. So I am incredibly excited for it's return (and very hyped to be a small part of getting it made)

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

 

[Pikachu]

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

New gameplay previews:

 

Homeworld 3 is all about the 'terrain' of space | PC Gamer

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An evolution the devs say has been 20 years in the making.

 

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It's the third mission of the game and, if this was Homeworld 2, I'd be screwed. Right now, I only have access to recon ships and interceptors—basic fighters that, per Homeworld's rock, paper, scissors design, are weak against the bigger, meaner frigates. And, I've been tasked with securing an area that, wouldn't you know, is being protected by two bigger, meaner frigates.

 

But I'm not playing Homeworld 2. I'm playing its successor, a game that developer Blackbird Interactive—a studio that's staffed by plenty of Relic luminaries who worked on the original games—describes as being 20 years in the making. A game that takes concepts once considered back then, but dismissed because the technology of the day just wasn't up to the task.

 

I'm playing Homeworld 3, a space RTS that's all about terrain.

 

 

 

The scale in Homeworld 3 is tremendous - it's a space RTS for the James Webb era

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Homeworld is back: that's Homeworld 3 in a nutshell. It's the real-time strategy series you remember and, probably, wha…

 

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Homeworld is back: that's Homeworld 3 in a nutshell. It's the real-time strategy series you remember and, probably, what you want it to be now. And actually, to hear Rob Cunningham tell it in our interview below - he who helped dream up Homeworld and co-founded Relic, and now leads Blackbird, the studio making Homeworld 3 - this game is actually what they always wanted Homeworld 2 to be. Computers just couldn't handle it at the time.

 

But now they can. They can handle this big idea of using space wreckage as cover to hide behind, fly through, sneak around - use it like a theatrical set you can play tricks on your opponents with. I'm over here - no not really, I'm over here! And I've played Homeworld 3 for about an hour and the idea really works. More importantly, it's simple to use. No fussy controls govern it; your cursor shows how ships will interact with a piece of scenery and then they do. They will make trench-runs on their own with only a simple instruction - trench-runs! They'll fly through huge engine shafts of colossal wrecks on their own - peekaboo! They'll even use nearby cover automatically while preparing for another attack run. They are not dumb: they won't fly into walls and scenery if you leave them unattended. And it's fun.

 

And those two words "it's fun" are crucial to what Homeworld 3 is about. It's as though the faff of the old games has been tidied away - but not sacrificed - to enable the exciting parts of the formula to come through. And what really comes through for me is space.

 

 

 

Homeworld 3 is a little fishy, but that’s only because of the coral reefs

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Schools of heavily armed fish do battle inside massive structures in a new hands-on demo

 

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A new trailer for Homeworld 3 arrived on Tuesday, showing spacecraft large and small duking it out over the wreckage of massive orbital structures. Polygon played the level shown in that video — remotely, mind you, and without the final bits of graphical flourish like ray tracing — but the experience was nonetheless stunning. This is Homeworld the way I remember it, with its signature three-dimensional space combat lighting up the darkness on my computer screen. But, to hear Blackbird Interactive’s chief creative officer Rory McGuire tell it, it’s actually more like Homeworld the way I imagined it.

 

“One of the things we were heavily inspired by,” McGuire said in an interview with Polygon, “was one of the ideas that they had originally for Homeworld 2 back in — this would have been like 2001.”

 

That 21-year-old demo reel, still available on YouTube in various places, shows an assault on a large orbital structure much like the one seen in this week’s trailer. The camera swings in close alongside fighters and bombers, detailing an almost Star Wars-style trench run on the final objective, turrets blazing away in defiance of the attacking waves of enemy ships.

 

“They showed this feature and they ended up cutting it later,” McGuire said. “This idea of space terrain and this idea of these massive large-scale megaliths that a player could interact with. They weren’t able to make it work technically, and when we started talking about Homeworld 3, we were inspired by that idea, but were also inspired by what we were doing on Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak.”

 

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

More preview articles:

 

Homeworld 3’s Space Terrain Makes the Death Star Trench Run an RTS Tactic - IGN

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Homeworld 3's impressive terrain and cover systems feels like a huge advancement for the classic RTS series.

 

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Space is not known for its interesting terrain. The word itself pretty much implies a complete absence of terrain, and so it’s logical that the original Homeworld series - RTS games set in the airless vacuum of outer space - did not have terrain. But that was the early 2000s. Now, the long-awaited sequel Homeworld 3, releasing in 2023, is reinventing one of the fundamentals of strategy combat in space. It’s got terrain, which means it has cover mechanics, and that completely changes the game.

 

During an hour-long hands-on session at Gamescom 2022 I played two early missions from Homeworld 3; the tutorial-focused Facility 315, and the more danger-packed Kesura Oasis. Both were populated by dozens of pieces of terrain; asteroids, derelict space freighters, and colossal mega-structures are just some of the items floating in Homeworld 3’s maps.

 

The map design of Kesura Oasis is the star of this particular show. A huge, fractured Star Destroyer-like ship acts as its foundation. It’s an astonishing sight to behold, up-close you can see that it is painstakingly detailed with dead machinery, blinking lights, and mechanical ‘guts’ that leak out of its twisted and torn hull. But zoom out and you can see the mechanical logic at play in its construction. At distance it’s clear to see the routes your units can take around this massive terrain piece. Naturally for an RTS played in 3D space your fleet can travel above or below it, but the chunks the colossal ship has split to provide ‘lanes’ that fighter ships can fly through. Better yet, you can even send groups into the wreck’s engine exhausts, which act as direct tunnels to the map’s mid-point, where your ships can then re-emerge from a fracture in the hull. It’s almost like re-creating the Death Star trench run.

 

 

 

Homeworld 3 preview: A sequel looking to redefine space strategy games | Windows Central

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Blackbird Interactive's upcoming space strategy game looks to explore uncharted territory.

 

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Space battles between ships aren't restricted in the same manner as naval vessels here on Earth once circled each other in the seas. From Ender's Game to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, this idea has been explored in media, but far rarer are games that tackle the additional layer of complexity that comes with fighting with spaceships in three dimensions. With Homeworld 3, developer Blackbird Interactive and publisher Gearbox Software are stepping up to that challenge.

 

Homeworld 3 is trying to push boundaries for strategy games, bringing together everything that made the original games special and marrying it to modern game design and hardware capabilities. 

 

I recently got the chance to play through two missions in Homeworld 3, experiencing the improved space combat and features in this sequel. Both missions were set early on, and while it's only a small taste of what's in store, I'm already impressed with what could be one of the best PC games of 2023.

 

 

 

Homeworld 3 maintains the series' beloved aspects while evolving them

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Blackbird Interactive gave us a taste of what Homeworld 3 has in store, and it has us excited to continue the galactic RTS journey of the Hiigaran race.

 

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Homeworld is a certain kind of royalty when it comes to the real-time strategy gaming genre. It’s built up a very passionate community over the years of players that have followed along fervently with the story of the S’Jets as they led the Hiigaran people to salvation through a deadly galaxy with no love for them. After decades of good games, Blackbird Interactive and Gearbox Publishing are closing in on the launch of the next big journey, Homeworld 3. While there’s still much to do, I was recently invited to take part in a limited demo of the game. Between missions in the demo and conversation with Blackbird devs, I came away feeling like the utmost care is being given to making Homeworld 3 the best that longtime fans have ever seen while bringing something innovative that all strategy fans can enjoy.

 

 

Homeworld 3's Cover System is Not Just for Show

GAMERANT.COM

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Game Rant's preview session playing Homeworld 3 and interview with senior developers highlight the importance of the game's innovative cover system.

 

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Game Rant had the pleasure of interviewing Rory McGuire, Chief Creative Officer of Blackbird Interactive, and Kathryn (Kat) Neale, the Associate Game Director, about the gameplay and design of Homeworld 3. The defining characteristic of Homeworld's iconic gameplay throughout the series has always been the true 3D nature of the battlefield. Players have full freedom to command ships on the horizontal and vertical planes, allowing for previously unheard-of strategic depth. A strong emphasis is also placed on the management of reconnaissance operations, as players attempt to discretely send probes to watch one another while thwarting their opponent's information gathering. Simply beelining one's fleet in a given direction could prove disastrous as, at any time, a well-hidden ambush may strike from above or below with devastating results. Blackbird Interactive has not only preserved this verticality for Homeworld 3 but has expanded on it with a brilliant new cover system.

 

 

Homeworld 3's Roguelike Mode Is Inspired by Risk of Rain 2

GAMERANT.COM

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During an interview with Game Rant, Homeworld 3 developers cite Risk of Rain 2 as an inspiration for the new co-op roguelike mode.

 

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Rory McGuire, Blackbird Interactive's Chief Creative Officer, expressed his fondness for the roguelike genre while talking with Game Rant. Rory McGuire told us that he tends to play just about every roguelike that comes out, an interest that other team members at Blackbird Interactive share. In particular, he referenced Risk of Rain 2 as an inspiration for Homeworld 3's roguelike mode. Homeworld 3's take on the roguelike approach will feature session-based co-op gameplay similar to Risk of Rain 2, in which players will face off against progressively difficult waves of randomly generated enemy fleets.

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Homeworld 3 Preview – Hands on the megalithic space strategy sequel

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Hands on with Homeworld 3, the anticipated 3D space strategy game, bringing new innovations such as megalith structures and cover systems.

 

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Homeworld 3 is the kind of game that feels exactly like you remember the originals being like, but is in truth having to go miles and miles beyond what those 20-year-old games were like in order to match the rose-tinted memories you have of them. By modern standard, Homeworld and Homeworld 2 are bound to look fairly rudimentary, the ships made of a limited number of polygons and low-resolution textures, the lighting systems rather basic, but admittedly with an engaging and evocative style despite this.

 

While Homeworld 3 isn’t pioneering in 3D graphics in the same way and is built on the reliable foundations of Unreal Engine, it can use modern gaming PC hardware to really push the graphical fidelity through the roof. Play on a high-end PC, turn on ray-tracing and zoom in and out for a closer view of the action, and you can just bask in the glorious amount of detail and small touches that Blackbird Interactive is able to lavish on the game. There’s tiny details, like the Mothership’s defensive gun batteries being on rails and moving up and down its hull while tracking and firing at fast-moving fighters.

 

The game’s story kicks off with a familiar sense of crisis, just as the first two numbered games did. It’s been 100 years since the end of Homeworld 2 saw Karan S’Jet unlock a hyperspace gate network that has led to a golden age of prosperity, but now an anomaly is spreading, taking gates and planets off the grid. Karan led a fleet through to search for answers, but never returned, so now it’s up to Imogen S’Jet to take up the mantle and lead a new fleet to find her and stave off this threat. Of course, that means bringing core fleet functions out of cold storage, building up your strength on the go and jumping from one conflict flashpoint to another. It’s a familiar opening.

 

“There’s a certain tone with Homeworld in general and we want to stay within that,” explained Game Director Lance Mueller. “Especially coming up with the story, we’re trying to think of how to be fresh, but it’s also a video game and you can’t have everything at the beginning. So we have to think of inventive ways of getting to that power escalation that RTS’ always have.”

 

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

[Spork3245]

2 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

“we’ve been seeing the reactions to every non-Nintendo AAA game in 2023 and thought we should probably bug test it for 8 months before releasing”

[Remarkableriots]

Homeworld 3 brazenly flouts RTS tradition with units that talk to each other instead of you, their esteemed invisible commander | PC Gamer

WWW.PCGAMER.COM

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Homeworld 3's ships "are not responding to the player" when they respond to orders.

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

 

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

"War Games" mode preview articles:

 

Homeworld 3's roguelike-inspired War Games mode is perfect for strategists in a hurry | PC Gamer

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Time for a change of pace.

 

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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.

 

 

 

Homeworld 3 preview: War Games brings roguelike co-op to space strategy | Windows Central

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Divide and conquer.

 

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One carrier is already an imposing sight in the Homeworld franchise, the beating heart and nerve cluster of an entire fleet. Three of them together can feel unstoppable. 

 

At least, they felt unstoppable before I hit the final mission of War Games, a co-op roguelike mode being introduced in Homeworld 3. I recently had the chance to play through a preview of War Games, both in co-op and by myself. Overall, it seems like a solid addition to the game that'll take up even more of my time when it arrives, though there are definitely some wrinkles that need to be ironed out before then. 

 

While the main draw of Homeworld 3 is undoubtedly the campaign, War Games isn't something that was just recently cooked up. According to Andrew Oatway, senior designer at Blackbird Interactive, War Games was part of the initial pitch that the studio made to Gearbox Publishing.

 

A self-described "mad scientist," Oatway was hired specifically to work on War Games, and pulled in elements from the campaign to find the right kind of objectives. This had a kind of synergy where the War Games team and campaign team have pulled designs from each other. 

"There's actually been one mechanic that was from the campaign, that War Games took and tweaked and made weird because I do mad science stuff, then handed back to the campaign and used to solve some of their problems," Oatway says.

 

War Games allows one, two, or three players — the designers experimented with four, but decided on a limit of three due to design complexities — to complete a series of missions together. True to roguelike fashion, these mission objectives are randomized until the grand finale. These objectives range from capturing specific strategic points to escorting civilian ships under attack by the mysterious Incarnate.

 

 

 

Homeworld 3 War Games takes the much-anticipated RTS and turns it into a roguelite

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We go hands on with Homeworld 3's War Games mode, a co-op roguelite that blends excellently with the natural progression of the Homeworld series.

 

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Alongside that there will naturally be online multiplayer and a regular skirmish mode, but the video game landscape has changed an awful lot in the last two decades, and Blackbird Interactive has cooked up an additional mode to lift some ideas from more modern trends. Yup, there’s a whole co-op roguelite mode known as War Games.

 

Funnily enough, the roguelite structure of starting out with basically nothing and building up until you’re a Whirling Dervish of doom for whatever enemies and bosses you encounter is actually a pretty good thematic fit for Homeworld. Just as in the original games, you’ll be building a fleet that you take from one mission to the next in the Homeworld 3 campaign, and War Games brings this together with the roguelite in a rather natural fashion.

 

Each run of War Games will throw you into a string of three relatively short missions, the first two allowing you to build up your forces, unlock a few upgrades and improve your burgeoning fleet, before the third and final mission acts as something of a boss fight.

 

There’s an engaging level of risk and reward here, as you jump into the map, quickly start gathering resources and fend off the initial waves of enemy ships, the Incarnate, that regularly spawn in. At some point, you’ll have to send your ships to an objective marker, triggering a mission goal that could range from escorting civilian ships to a jump point, destroying a particular Incarnate ship, or attacking an enemy convoy.

 

They’re relatively standard fare, but your attentions will be drawn in many different directions by those growing waves of attackers, as well as pockets of ships guarding artifacts. Send a ship through an artifact and you unlock a buff or perk to your fleet, boosting damage output, speed, and more of a particular class and ship type. They’re worth sniffing out, and you can stick around as long as you like after completing the main objective of a stage, but at the risk of losing more and more of your ships as you do so.

 

 

 

Is ‘War Games’ Homeworld 3’s secret weapon? | Engadget

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Homeworld 3's coming out early next year, but here's a preview of its new roguelike co-op..

 

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If one thing kept me coming back (and back) to Homeworld, it was skirmish mode. Setting up a quick (“quick”) battle against the CPU would often rob me of a whole weekend while at college. Homeworld 3 sees a new mode arrive on the second sequel, a roguelike-inspired multiplayer co-op called War Games. It pits one, two or three players against the enemy in a series of randomized challenges where you only progress if you can survive. I’ve spent the last few days playing an early build of the mode, and it’s impressive enough, especially given the fact I find the phrases “roguelike” and “multiplayer co-op” to be a massive turn-off.

 

Each campaign starts with a predetermined fleet – you get the choice of one early on, and more options are unlocked the more XP you accrue. You then have to run through a trio of missions, each one in a new environment, until you defeat the opponent’s carrier. These missions include escorting friendly transports from one side of the map to the other, rescuing captured civilians or attacking enemy positions. You need to balance your attacking and defending needs against the drive to research ship upgrades while managing resources – which are more scarce here than in previous Homeworld titles.

 

During each campaign, players will collect artifacts, which are randomized bonuses for your ships. These include a boost, like faster ships or more effective weapons, but at the cost of defensive stats or each vehicle’s responsiveness. Once you’ve completed your mission, you’ll get the option to hang around to repair your fleet and load up on resources. But doing so risks you becoming quickly overwhelmed by the enemy, which constantly increases their attacking intensity the longer you’re around. As soon as the objectives are done, a big hyperspace jump button will hover over your screen, encouraging you to get the heck out of dodge.

 

 

 

Homeworld 3 preview: War Games let me live a Battlestar Galactica fantasy | GamesRadar+

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Gamescom 2023 | Homeworld 3 War Games is a new roguelike-inspired co-op mode that challenges your fleet strength and communication

 

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I'm an amateur fleet commander with admirable intentions: I want to dominate the stars in Homeworld 3 with a massive squadron of Interceptors, the nimble fighters that look a lot like the Vipers from Battlestar Galactica. Hitting the population cap, I'm able to arrange my Interceptors into differing formation and behavior patterns, concealing each group behind twirling asteroids. My Capital Ship is bait, luring enemies into open-space before sending my strikecrafts into action, pincering ships in a flash and dazzle of effects. You can call me Commander Adama if you want to, I don't mind. 

 

But I'll tell you who does mind, and that's the two other fleet commanders desperately requesting my assistance. Their Frigates and Fighters are under assault, their Capital Ships deteriorating under a heavy barrage of Ion Cannons – frak, I've really done it this time. But that's War Games for you, the new cooperative game mode in Homeworld 3 that asks three players to team up and take on an increasingly difficult series of objective-based missions across the galaxy. Work together, you might survive; if one goes rogue, it's back to the beginning with whatever XP progression you've earned.

 

 

 

Homeworld 3's War Games mode offers a co-op rogue-lite fight for survival

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Blackbird Interactive's latest addition to Homeworld 3 has players work together to survive a gauntlet of missions or die trying.

 

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In Homeworld 3’s War Games mode, up to three players join up to take on various scenarios. Each player has control of their own Carrier and can harvest resources, build their units, and traverse the sector of space as they see fit. Eventually, players are given an objective. It could be fighting off waves of enemy forces, destroying a transport cargo before it reaches its destination, securing a part of the sector, or protecting civilian vessels, just to name a few. Most importantly, the enemy forces are usually a bit much for one commander to handle, so players will have to combine their forces to effectively complete their objectives, after which they can jump to another sector to take on an even harder challenge.

 

The really fun part of Homeworld 3’s War Games mode is getting Artifacts to augment your fleet. These are the randomized upgrades you’d find in games like Hades and Binding of Isaac. While each Artifact gives a choice of a few upgrades, you can only pick one, so choosing what compliments your fleet composition at any given time is key to success.

 

 

 

Homeworld 3: War Games is a tense and strategic multiplayer | Hands-on preview | GodisaGeek.com

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The Homeworld 3 multiplayer mode War Games is tense and strategic, offering teams of three the chance to enjoy the game together.

 

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The main premise of Homeworld 3: War Games allows you to play solo or in teams of three to complete a series of three randomised challenges. By harvesting materials to spend on new ships and upgrades, you’ll need to complete each phase before jumping into hyperspace to take on the next challenge. Throughout each game, you can earn Artefacts that help to improve your fleet in a number of ways, balancing the difficulty of progression with the reward of success. Before I jumped into the mode, I refreshed my knowledge of the controls as there’s a lot to take in, but once I grasped how everything worked I was ready to jump straight in.

 

In one of the first challenges, we were tasked with capturing three separate positions on the map to be able to rescue the CIVs. The environments are massive, and having three players managing three squads made for some epic space battles, but preparation is everything and you do have some time before the enemy comes knocking. In this time, you need to gather currency from specific locations via your resource controllers who fly towards the mining locations. In my first playthrough, mine got destroyed unexpectedly, leaving me to scrape through the next two challenges with a small band of recon and interceptor crafts.

 

Once I’d gauged the attack patterns and ways in which you can be flanked and blindsided by the enemy, I made good use of the resources I’d gathered. I also send a squad of ships to protect the resource controllers so that I didn’t have a repeat of the first mistake I made. You’ll gather a fair amount of resources, which can be used to buy more basic attacking ships, or, if the option is available to you, research some of the larger frigates that fire torpedoes or ion canons, ones that provide support, or more. Managing your supplies is key, as everything carries over into the next mission, so spending too much early can have repercussions later on.

 

Amassing a large fleet becomes one of your main goals, especially as some missions require you to fight countless enemies. You can direct individual ships to attack, send in larger parts of your squad, and launch a tactical barrage of firepower with relative ease. It’s hard to be two steps ahead of the enemy, but there’re plenty of options available to how you attack and complete objectives. Even after you’ve finished the objective, you can continue to collect resources and fight off the enemy. It’s just one of many things you need to think about when participating in Homeworld 3: War Games.

 

 

 

Homeworld 3's War Games Mode Has Me Finally Excited For Roguelikes | MMORPG.com

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Homeworld 3's upcoming War Games mode brings a roguelike element to the space-faring strategy game. Bradford put the mode to the test in a new multiplayer preview.

 

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The new War Games mode brings a repeatable, co-op mode to the upcoming space-faring RTS. Inspired by Rougelikes, Homeworld 3's new multiplayer mode pits players (up to three total each run) against waves of enemies in contained arenas, complete with randomized challenges to overcome. It sounds rather straightforward, and in practice, it is to a degree. 

 

Players are dropped into a pocket of space, complete with space debris to make the dungeon more visually and tactically interesting, and are tasked with building a fleet, gathering resources, and then completing the randomized objectives thrown at them.

 

What kind of fleet to use is decided before the War Game is launched. Players can specialize in a recon fleet for example, which gives you more scout craft to begin with, and as you progress by completing runs, you unlock more varied fleets. This initial fleet choice helps to define how each player in thr group is going to contribute to the overall goal, such as the Support Fleet specializing in helping repair ships and keep them in the fight. 

 

Completing (or even failing, as was the case in one my runs) sees the group hit hyperspace to the next area, reaching the end of the run after a few jumps. The challenges themselves, and the difficulty, ramped up throughout each run, and the actual challenges themselves were rather varied, throwing many different scenarios to flex our Homeworld 3 strategy muscles.

 

 

 

Homeworld 3: War Games Roguelike Mode Hands-on Preview

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Homeworld 3's War Games mode is a welcome addition to a real-time strategy franchise that has a long history of pushing the genre forward.

 

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Upon entering the War Games lobby, players will begin by making one of the most important decisions in a Homeworld game: choosing their fleet's color scheme and emblem. Customization isn't incredibly deep, but it does get the job done and each player in our lobby had a wholly distinct Hiigaran fleet, which was the only faction available for this preview. There's a full-range color picker along with a saturation slider, and players can choose both their primary color and trim color along with the color of their emblem, of which there is a wide array to choose from.

 

Here, players also decide on their starting fleet. This decision has serious implications for how the roughly 45-minute run will play out, as each fleet begins with its own build list and starting bonuses. Initially, the only starting fleet available is the Strike Craft Fleet, and unlocking the others is a core component of the roguelike mode's meta-progression. Successful and unsuccessful runs each yield experience for the player's profile, and leveling up will open up those additional starting fleet options. On one hand, locking starting fleets behind progression gives players goals to look forward to, but it wouldn't hurt to have some more options from the start, as a lobby of fresh players will all be running the same build initially. Thankfully, leveling up is pretty quick: our profile leveled up several times in just a few hours and gave us access to more fleet options.

 

 

 

Homeworld 3 Lets Players Live Out Their Star Wars Trench Run Fantasies

GAMERANT.COM

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Game Rant speaks with Homeworld 3's Andrew Oatway about the game's space terrain and how it enables scenes like the famous Star Wars trench run.

 

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Homeworld 3 is shaping up to be a worthy successor to the classic real-time space strategy series that redefined the genre back in 1999 with a number of new innovations. This time around, Homeworld 3 is building on the series' iconic six-degrees-of-freedom strategy by introducing a variety of functional terrain. With surprising ease, players can order ships to hide behind asteroids, cut through trenches within hulking space wrecks, or even take cover behind the broken husks of recently destroyed enemy craft.

 

In an interview with Game Rant, Homeworld 3 Lead Designer Andrew Oatway talked about how he approached the game's level design with this unique cover system in mind, particularly when it comes to the endlessly replayable multiplayer and singleplayer roguelike War Games mode. He felt that it was critical to design levels that had believable terrain features that could emphasize strategic gameplay by allowing for multiple approaches to the mode's randomly generated mission objectives.

 

 

 

Interview: Homeworld 3 Developer Talks War Games Roguelike Mode

GAMERANT.COM

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Game Rant chats with Homeworld 3 Senior Designer Andrew Oatway about the game's new single-player and multiplayer roguelike mode, War Games.

 

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The series' third mainline entry seeks to continue the tradition of breaking new ground in the genre, this time with several innovations that should shake up gameplay even for longtime fans. Fully functioning terrain has introduced a new cover element that greatly enhances tactical play, and a new War Games roguelike mode will challenge players to work their way through a series of increasingly difficult missions with a persistent fleet while unlocking various powerful and synergistic upgrades. Game Rant sat down with Homeworld 3 Senior Designer Andrew Oatway along with Andrew McCrea from Gearbox Publishing to discuss the new War Games mode and what it brings to the table for players. The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

 

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Oh dear

 

 

Homeworld 3 dev Blackbird Interactive lays off over 40 employees, including game director Quinn Duffy | Game World Observer

GAMEWORLDOBSERVER.COM

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Blackbird Interactive is another game studio that has been recently hit with job cuts. It appears that the Homeworld 3 developer has laid off dozens of people, including some senior staff.

 

 

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The job cuts at Blackbird Interactive were reported by several current and former employees on LinkedIn. According to technical artist James Marshall, the company “dismissed over 40 people.”

 

“It’s an interesting time in the games industry right now, and it’s proving tough to navigate for even well-seasoned studios,” game director Quinn Duffy, who was among those dismissed, said in a post.

 

It is worth noting that Duffy joined Blackbird in January 2022 after 24 years at Relic Entertainment. He was one of the designers of the first Homeworld, game director of Company of Heroes 2, and also served as design director of Age of Empires IV.

 

The list of Blackbird employees affected by the layoffs includes lead game designer Sean Storey, senior software engineer Joseph Hurst, design director Matthew Freedman, and concept artist Chloé G.

 

[Spork3245]

 

Lololololololololol at the CPU recommendations. I swear, devs pull this out of their ass  

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

 

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

[Massdriver]

Hype! 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

On 8/30/2023 at 1:44 PM, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

Oh dear

 

 

Homeworld 3 dev Blackbird Interactive lays off over 40 employees, including game director Quinn Duffy | Game World Observer

GAMEWORLDOBSERVER.COM

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Blackbird Interactive is another game studio that has been recently hit with job cuts. It appears that the Homeworld 3 developer has laid off dozens of people, including some senior staff.

 

Oh dear (again)

 

 

Homeworld 3 studio Blackbird Interactive confirms layoffs 'due to economic pressures outside of our control' | PC Gamer

WWW.PCGAMER.COM

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The cuts come just three months ahead of the recently delayed launch of Homeworld 3.

 

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One week after delaying Homeworld 3 until May, Blackbird Interactive has confirmed that an unspecified number of employees have been laid off from the studio.

 

The layoffs were initially reported by multiple former Blackbird Interactive employees on LinkedIn (via Game Developer). Jacob Van Rooyen, who was working as lead producer on a new project at Blackbird Interactive, said that layoffs had been made "across the company, and, unfortunately, I was one of those impacted."

 

"Despite the situation, I appreciate all the experiences and wonderful people I've met and known at BBI," Van Rooyen wrote. "I've been amazed and humbled by everyone’s support today, and I wish everyone impacted the best in landing on their feet."

 

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

 

 

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Game Information
Game Title: Homeworld 3

 

Platforms:

• PC (May 13, 2024)

 

Developer: Blackbird Interactive
Publisher: Gearbox Publishing

 

Review Aggregator:
OpenCritic - 80 average - 75% recommended

 

Critic Reviews
GamingTrend - Ron Burke - 100 / 100

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Homeworld 3 is everything I hoped it could be.  It improves on its predecessors in every conceivable way, and adds meaningful new features including a cooperative War Games mode.  I never thought it would happen again, but I'm happy to report…the mothership has cleared the scaffold...we are away once again.

COGconnected - Lou Sytsma - 95 / 100

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Homeworld fans can take heart the latest game in the series sets new benchmarks for the franchise. The new line-of-sight gameplay mechanics make for even more challenging space combat strategies. The gameplay depth is greater, the customization is deeper, and the replayability is longer. Homeworld 3 oozes quality across all aspects.

Shacknews - TJ Denzer - 9 / 10

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When the dust settles, there are several multiplayer options to explore and War Games is a solid gold winner that looks like it will continue to grow over time. I had only a few gripes, but Homeworld 3 plays incredible from top to bottom, and I think whether you’re a fan of the series that’s been waiting for this or a newcomer that just likes good strategy, everyone who takes control of the Khar Kushan is in for an absolute feast of stellar strategy gameplay.

Wccftech - Chris Wray - 8.5 / 10

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Homeworld 3 marks a successful return to a long-revered series. Bringing back the successful space strategy series, but improving the combat by a large amount with a more tactical approach, Blackbird Interactive has successfully made their mark. With exceptional tactical combat, made all the more important by the fact that everything carries over, and one bad mistake could cripple you much further down the line. The additional War Games mode only enhances this, making for a very engaging title.

But Why Tho? - Arron Kluz - 8 / 10

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Overall, Homeworld 3 takes an admirable approach to keeping what worked previously in the series and adding to it in smart and meaningful ways. The modernization of the series has yielded amazing benefits that make it feel like the definitive Homeworld experience unless you are looking to go back and experience the whole story for yourself.

IGN - Dan Stapleton - 8 / 10

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Homeworld 3's single-player campaign brings the series' epic space battles in for intense, close-quarters combat on visually diverse maps full of enormous obstacles to plan around. At the same time, it delivers an unexpectedly personal story that leans a little too heavily on the cliche of a new-generation protagonist seeking out the old.

IGN - Dan Stapleton - 8 / 10

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Homeworld 3's multiplayer skirmish mode may be barebones, but it gives us all we need to wage visually impressive war with fleets of starships. The co-op War Games mode, on the other hand, gets an extra boost from its novel roguelite-style progression.

PC Gamer - Fraser Brown - 77 / 100

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Homeworld 3 takes some big swings, but while it's a very good RTS, it never quite comes together in the same way as its predecessors.

SECTOR.sk - Branislav Kohút - Slovak - 7.5 / 10

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Although Homeworld 3 certainly doesn't put the cult strategy series to shame, and space flight has its own charm, it can't be said that it's a leap or a big step forward.

GamesRadar+ - Rick Lane - 3.5 / 5

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Homeworld's operatic space combat is as engrossing as ever in its third outing, although a weaker story and a slightly odd cover system dim the shine of its star.

TheSixthAxis - Stefan L - 7 / 10

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After decades of waiting, Homeworld 3 pushes the beloved space RTS series in new directions with megalithic terrain putting a fresh spin on combat, and a bitesized roguelite War Games mode, but still retains so much of the original tone and style. It doesn't quite stick the landing in some areas, and there's rough edges to improve, but I simply love being back in this setting and series.

Digital Trends - Jason Rodriguez - 3 / 5

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Homeworld 3's vast galaxy clashed with the limits of a poorly paced campaign and buggy missions.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun - Nic Reuben - Unscored

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A lavishly presented, detailed, often gripping RTS with most of the atmosphere and tone you'd expect from the series, held back from greatness by playing it too safe, some control issues, and favouring reaction speed over tactical depth.

 

 

Homeworld 3 is for spaceship strategy sickos

WWW.POLYGON.COM

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And if you’re one of those people, welcome

 

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It is difficult to be an advocate for or a hater of Homeworld 3. It is a unique game, with a long-running story, and there are people who are really anticipating it. I experienced it as a really engaging strategy game for the seven or so hours that it took me to play the campaign and another few that I spent tinkering around with the other game modes. If you do not have prior investments in these games, or you are not purely electrified by the wargame pace of space ship combat, Homeworld 3 might be a hard sell. The idea that games are “for their fans” is a silly one, and that phrase is used too often, but I really felt that way while playing it — for some people out there, this is apex gaming. For me, it is a solid experience.

 

This is not a ringing endorsement, and that’s only because I think Homeworld 3 is an acquired taste. I am not sure that the random strategy game player, not to mention just a random human who enjoys games, would be willing to get over some of the rougher points of the game. It is as polished and friendly as a game like this can be, but I think that it can only meet you so far. At the end of the day, Homeworld 3 sells a fantasy of being a genius fused into the machinery of a spaceship who has constant vision and perspective on a vast, 3D battlefield. The game depicts this as perfectly as any game can, and turns it into nail-biting, if plodding, gameplay opportunities.

 

You’ll have to take that however you want. If you are reading this and thinking Wow, how have I never heard of this franchise? It sounds awesome! you are in luck. You have found your new calling. I am personally now interested in going back to the Homeworld Remastered Collection to get some more of this gameplay attached to a pretty good plot. And if you’re with me, congrats. We’re Homeworlders now. 

 

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

On 11/29/2023 at 3:24 AM, Spork3245 said:

 

Lololololololololol at the CPU recommendations. I swear, devs pull this out of their ass  

 

The system requirements were updated a few weeks ago:

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Performance analysis:

 

Homeworld 3 performance analysis: Surprisingly scalable but no ultra-high frame rates | PC Gamer

WWW.PCGAMER.COM

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Even old CPUs will run it well enough, provided they can handle six or more threads.

 

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Homeworld 3 has been in development for many years, initially starting in 2017 before going through a Kickstarter fund-raising campaign, and then a multitude of delays. This is why Unreal Engine 4 powers the game, rather than the latest version, and perhaps goes some way to explain the inconsistent performance.

 

Credit where credit is due, though, as Blackbird Interactive has created a game that can be enjoyed on a range of gaming PCs, rather than demanding the very best and most expensive hardware. Just don't expect ultra-high frame rates and you'll be fine.