Second Look: Homeworld
Videogame conventions are well established, but periodically a game is released that adds a new mechanic that reinvigorates a genre, which is then refined for years to come. When Half-Life 2 added physics to the FPS genre, subsequent games ran with that idea. When Mario 64 made the jump to 3D platforming, the next-gen platforming floodgates opened up. But first is rarely best.
When Relic Entertainment revealed Homeworld would add full 3D space to the RTS genre, many expected a rough framework for an idea with potential. That they not only invented but perfected the mechanic is evidenced by the only competitor being their own sequel. Why play a game like Homeworld, when you can play Homeworld?
Homeworld added 3D space and so much more, and it deserves its position in the pantheon of RTS greats alongside the Warcrafts, Starcrafts and C&Cs of the world. Also, lasers. The game has lots of lasers.
Freedom
RTS games are complicated enough: resource management, troop positioning, stupid peons cutting down too many trees and opening new entrances into my base. So when Relic announced Homeworld would add the z-axis, all I could think was ‘this won’t go well.’
In space, there are no ‘choke points’ or other traditional RTS map characteristics. There are no traditional map fighting hotspots. Homeworld sounded like it had nothing in common with Age of Empires, Starcraft or C&C, the current RTS champions. Honestly, fighting in space sounded pretty boring. Turns out, it’s anything but.
LASERS!
Pincer movements could come not just from the sides, but from above and below. Resources weren’t just at specified gold mine or crystal locations, they took the form of space rocks, and they were everywhere. There was no way to guard your mothership from all sides, despite some interesting spherical unit formations, so tactical decisions had to be made on the fly. Clogging the only entrance to your base and turtling up just wasn’t viable.
The addition of the third dimension in Homeworld was one of those seemingly simple concepts that added exponential layers of sophistication. It threw out the RTS playbook and made players re-learn strategy from the ground up.
In space, nobody can hear you scream
Space is big. Homeworld’s strategy was reflective of this. Flying from one side of the map to the other was a significant commitment. In many RTS games, you can adjust your army’s position to respond to enemy actions on the fly. Guarding the wrong side of your base? Just make a quick shift.
In Homeworld, when your main army is halfway to your opponent’s mothership, and you suddenly realize he has snuck up on you from behind, there’s no ‘pulling back your forces to defend.’ They’re minutes away, and you’re on your own. Generals don’t think ‘my army’s in Paris, but we’re being attacked in Germany; let’s just make a quick shift.’ If you don’t plan ahead in Homeworld, you’re dead (via lasers).
In addition, teleporting cost incrementally more money the further you want to travel, so poor and desperate players would frequently teleport as far as they could as a ‘last ditch effort’ to escape, and would hilariously reappear essentially in the same spot, as that’s all they could afford.
Hmm, no lasers here. This is probably an early build
Give me a ping, Vasili. One ping only, please
While stealth aspects in games had been explored before, Homeworld brought deception to the genre. Previously, information control dealt primarily with the fog of war, an independent and consistent actor in the game. You know how the fog of war is going to react to every situation: if you’re not there, you can’t see it.
To be fair, past games had stealth units, but reconnaissance consisted generally of finding at which base locations your opponents were, and where the bulk of their army was, by sacrificing a unit or two to test choke points.
In Homeworld, radar proximity sensors were valuable information gatherers. Certain ships and events were easier to detect, and there was frequently a strategic tradeoff between being obvious and being stealthy. There were stealth ships with which you could hide a significant portion of your force from radar and try to sneak into attack position.
This was especially effective compared to other RTS games where it’s hard to sneak past enemies blocking all entrances into a base. In Homeworld, you could pass right by a defense force on the same XY coordinates but above or below them.
I don't know if this is technically a Homeworld screenshot. I thought it was thematically appropriate
Smaller. The UI must be smaller!
Homeworld was one of the first games to really push a minimalist aesthetic. The UI was hidden by default, and most of the actions were accomplished through right click menus and hotkeys. This foretold a trend in games towards giving way to viewable space, while simultaneously creating an interface that complimented the atmosphere.
As a result, battles become very cinematic. There are few quick maneuvers for capital ships in your fleet. Once you’ve positioned your forces prior to a battle, you have essentially made all strategic decisions. All that is left is to watch the lasers.
Fortunately, Homeworld’s minimalist UI meant there was little to get in the way of the lasers, of which there are many. The largest development for Homeworld 2 was to increase the laser count by 300%. This is primarily responsible for the 10 point Metacritic hit suffered by the sequel; some reviewers did not survive such a sharp increase in laser content, and their reviews were scored zero by default.
Homeworld is a groundbreaking game in more than one respect, and everybody should give it a go. As an extra bonus, the game holds up today better than most decade-old experiences. Also, lasers. Pew pew!
