Homeworld: Cataclysm

aka: Homeworld: Emergence
Moby ID: 2321
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Description official descriptions

Homeworld: Cataclysm is a stand-alone expansion for the Real-Time Strategy Homeworld.

It includes a new race called "The Beast", an alien sort of biomechanical parasite that "converts" any other units that come in close proximity to such "infected" Beast units.

There are also new units available, such as the Mimic, a fighter that nearly perfectly imitates other units and objects (even such as asteroids); a Ramming Frigate, which rams itself into hostile ships, and many more new units also.

Home-base management has become more complex: If one wants to research new ship classes, one must build a Research Laboratory to do this. If one wants to research a new weapon technology, one must construct yet another Lab. If the player wants to expand his fleet, he must build rooms for his pilots, to support them. All of these add-ons are attached to the "Mothership" (which in this game is actually a large Mining vessel). The Missions' design and scenarios are also new and quite different from as in Homeworld. The controlling user-interface is also improved.

Multiplayer games are available via local network (or virtual LAN), as general Internet games were hosted on the now-defunct WON.net network.

Spellings

  • 家园:惊世浩劫 - Simplified Chinese spelling

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Credits (Windows version)

160 People (111 developers, 49 thanks) · View all

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Reviews

Critics

Average score: 88% (based on 30 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 35 ratings with 4 reviews)

Great game with some annoying, niggly quirks.

The Good
There is a lot to like in Homeworld: Cataclysm. The graphics are better, the interface is cooler, the units are more interesting, and the music is slightly better.

There are many cool things about your the race you control this time--namely the fact that some of the ships are generally more tactically useful and just plain cooler than the last. The mimic ships are great--build a bunch in single player, mimic then, then have them suicide themselves into the enemy fleet, and the computer doesn't know WTF just happened.

The graphics are slightly more detailed, and the interface, while I think was streamlined in the sense that it was supposed to appeal to more people, is generally more functional and easier to work with. Essential information is now available on screen or off (not necessarily a taskbar), and the elements you see are more customizable.

The story line, if a little cookie-cutter, is good. Player battles an enemy that assimilates you--interesting, and requires a distinctively different tactical style.

Waypoints are a good feature, but I find them a little overhyped--I don't use them much. Time compression, on the other hand, is incredibly handy. As with the ability to give orders while paused (and have them carried out, unlike the original).

Another good feature is that the asteroids seem to last longer now (either that or the workers gather RUs more slowly).

I like the idea of workers, as well. These ships are basically the Harvester, Repair Corvette, and Salvage Corvette wrapped into one. Tactically, they are nicer because when functioning as repair or salvage corvette, they are considerably stronger. Unfortunately, this bonus is offset by the fact that they cost considerably more to build than a repair or salvage corvette, but about 100 less than a harvester.

The Bad
However, Catalclysm has it share of annoyances, many which I find almost distracting, and other are just plain disappointing.

-There is no guard command! This command was incredibly useful in Homeworld, and now it is gone.

-Similarly, the functionality of the Special Abilities command ("Z") has now been changed significantly. Most notable is the Processor, the Cataclysm equivalent of a Resource Controller. In Homeworld, bandbox (select) all my harvesters with the Z command, and the Controller would follow the Harvesters around, staying nearby even if the harvesters had to move to a different asteroid field. Now you can't do that. You have to place the Processor in the middle of the field manually, then move it to wherever the Workers are every time they move to a different field. Grrrrr.

-The interface. Functionally, it works slightly better than Homeworld's. However, it makes sacrifices in style. The coolness factor is targeted in a completely different area this time, and as a result, the game has a completely different feel to it.

-Speaking of interfaces, the checkboxes in the game are harder to tell whether they're on or off, especially in the systems menu, where there are two disabled boxes and a checkbox that defaults in off. This is because both on and off checkboxes look kind of like this: (X) , with the X being red when off, and green when on.

-When paused, you still cant work with the research, build, or systems menu. That would have been a nice feature to help offset some of the other quirks.

-The build limit flat out sucks, especially during the early single player missions. It gets better when you can add more people to it later on, but I found it impeding on my performance during some of the earlier campaigns. Divide the number in 2 to get how many different fighters you can have. Corvettes take up two. Workers take a few more. Frigates take like five. The nice thing about it is that it prevents tank rushing, and forces a more tactical approach--something good for those who don't like tank rushing, or building a large fleet quickly--unlike me.

-The change in salvaging is akin to the change in Engineers between Command & Conquer and Command & Conquer: Red Alert: Ships have to be >50% health to be captured. Worse, it's compounded by the fact that your salvage corvettes are also repair corvettes AND your harvesters. Oh, and they cost 500 a piece.

-It might be my computer, but with a Athlon 1900+, Radeon 7000, and onboard sound, all the sounds and music sounded like they were being played back as 48kbit MP3s--they're muddy, especially in the higher frequencies. It's annoying, especially for audiophiles. This never occurred in Homeworld.

-The AI isn't as alert. I took out a carrier with a Ramming Frigate, accompanied by two workers in repair mode, and it was surrounded by missile corvettes at a medium to long range. The carrier died, then the corvettes attacked me.

-Cataclysm just seems to be harder.

The Bottom Line
In any case, I would say to get. Just prepare for a radical new paradigm shift in the way the game is played--in essence, it's a whole new ballgame. With the bargain bin price for the game nowadays, it's an excellent investment of $20.

Windows · by luciphercolors (67) · 2002

Great sequel to a classic game.

The Good
It isn’t an add-on pack, but a completely new title. The gameplay was the best feature from the first Homeworld, and Cataclysm adds to that with some great new features and improving on others from the original. Much effort has been put into the presentation, with a nicely put together manual, great visuals, and a captivating story.

The Bad
You really need to be a pro of the original to get the best out of this. Still, it’s easier then the original in some ways, but beginners will struggle (with the story as well as the gameplay, if you are yet to play the first game)

The Bottom Line
A great follow-up to Homeworld. This is the type of game that deserves a movie or TV series. The story is an event in itself.

Windows · by Kartanym (12418) · 2001

If only the original Homeworld had been this good...

The Good
Homeworld broke ground in terms of the graphical layout of RTS games, mainly for games based in space; a fully 3D engine that gives the player the ability to view the situation in a full 360 degrees. Definitely a enormous leap past the stale 2D world of StarCraft and the like. However, Homeworld in my opinion was severely crippled by a few things. The interface was atrocious, moving your ships around was a headache, your Mothership was completely static and unmovable, and resources were quite scarce no matter what the difficulty setting. In general, the learning curve was frustrating and much too steep for most players.

I was relieved, to put it mildly, when Homeworld: Cataclysm was released. All the anomalies that plagued the original Homeworld were fixed, while the core gameplay that made the prequel stand out amongst all other RTSs is still present. For starters, in the interface was fixed, so instead of having navigate a bunch of hidden menus, they were constantly present for easy access. Moving your ships this time around only involves pressing one or two keys, rather than once again having to navigate into other menus or command screens. Regarding resources, they appeared to me to be much more plentiful in Cataclysm, which gives the player a rest when it comes to micromanagement. What if resources are too far away? You simply move your little fleet to them, because you can move your Mothership! What if the resources are too close to the enemy? Simple yet again, since there is a new ship called an 'Ore Processor' which accompanies your Worker ships to far away locations to collect resource, and they don't have to return to the Mothership to drop cargo! This too also relieves the veritable migraine known as micromanagement. Also, there are many new types of ship in Cataclysm that make managing resources and fighting battles much more convenient, the details of which I won't go into here; you'll find out for yourself.

The Bad
I can say that I have no hard complaints about this game at all. The only thing I would've added to this game is the option for an isometric viewpoint while still being 3D, which for me might make fighting battles and reconnaissance a bit easier. But that's only because I've grown so accustomed to playing RTS games in isometric view. Also, alot of people have complained that the plot of Cataclysm is cliche. This may be true to an extent, but a good plot in a game these days is very rare to begin with. Besides, the first Homeworld borrowed heavily from Battlestar Gallactica...

The Bottom Line
As I said above, I really do wish that the original Homeworld had been this good. Everything that I disliked about the first game was repaired in Cataclysm. To be brutally honest, after playing Cataclysm, my Homeworld box has been collecting dust in the closet for the last 3 and a half years. Yes, it really is that much of an improvement. I may play it again some day, but I don't foresee that happening very soon. And now that Cataclysm is priced between $9-$15, it's a perfect time for those who missed out to take heed of the best space RTS ever made.

Did I mention that you can move your Mothership?

Windows · by BJ Hoskins (3) · 2003

[ View all 4 player reviews ]

Trivia

Online servers

The game's online servers (which were hosted on World Opponent Network, or WON) were shut down on 1 November 2008 in the wake of WON's total closure.

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by DaHero.

Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, Sciere, Patrick Bregger, Cavalary, Plok.

Game added September 16, 2000. Last modified March 24, 2024.