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Map Designer: Taker [taker@lords.com]
Reviewed by: Tarrant[9th]
Stuff From the Text File of Genesis-240D:
"Imagine you are low on resources, you have lost your entire
military fleet enabling you to escape with only your Mother
Ship, one resource collector and your last carrier. Your
final jump of desperation takes you to the newly forming
star system desribed only by the number "240D".
Worst of all, you do not have the technology to construct
Resource Controllers, meaning that you have to risk sending
your carrier into the fury of the forming star system to
protect your lonely collector...
And the bad news gets even worse. Your lab scientists inform
you that the radiation from the forming star is so intense
that Sensor Arrays will be completely useless.
Luckily for you there are small pockets of forming gas where
planets will some day emerge that you can collect a very
limited amount of usable resources from.
Now for the worst news of all... You are not alone! Your
enemy has seemingly set up mining opperations in this
inhospitable place and you have to fight for every last
scrap that the huge system has to offer!
Countless red dots all over the near useless sensors manager,
is that lonely dot an enemy collector or an entire Battle Group
coming to destroy you? Did you remember to have a back-up
probe?? "Proximity alert!" screams the computer... your
carrier is under attack!"
And From the Text File of Genesis-240C:
"Genesis-240C is a variation on the Genesis-240D mega-map.
This is is still VERY LARGE. It has been optimzed for play
on slower systems and over the internet. The original Genesis
map was designed for 2-8 players, this one is for 2-6 players
and the resources have been tuned down so as to force players
to confront each other sooner. In addition, each player starts
with several more ships, including a Carrier. As with
Genesis-240D, this map has NO Resource Controllers, and NO
Sensor Arrays."
Number of Players on Genesis-240D: 2-8
Number of Players on Genesis-240C: 2-6
Starting Units for Genesis-240D:
Resourcers - 1
Carriers - 1
Starting Units for Genesis-240C:
Resourcers - 2
Research Ships - 1
Carriers - 1
Before We Begin:
There's a couple of things I just have to throw in here before I get too into it. If you've read some of my earlier reviews, then you already know that I tend to lean more towards larger maps. The reason for this is that winning on these isn't simply a matter of who can build the most ships the quickest and then overwhelm their opponent. You have to formulate an in-depth strategy and then implement it. Things like crippling your enemy's supply lines, hit and run missions, and strike group allocation all *have* to be given consideration. This is why I think that the Genesis-240 maps are two of the most original out there. If you read the info. from the text files above then you probably already know some of the specifics but allow me to give you a rundown anyway.
There are two maps. Genesis-240D and Genesis-240C (Lite). Both are identical except that the C version is a little bit smaller and starts you out with a few more ships than the D. It also only has a maximum of 6 players instead of 8. On both boards you aren't allowed to build Resource Controllers or a Sensor Array. Because of this you are going to 1) need to build Carriers to act as Controllers and 2) get used to not really knowing where enemy ships are at or how many there are. The latter can get nerve racking at times since a red dot on your sensor map can either be a lonely scout or an entire armada of capital ships. However, this one detail is what makes these maps a true joy to play. But, enough of my ranting. Keep reading to find out the rest of the story.
What I Thought:
Layout -
The Genesis maps are both designed to resemble a newly forming solar system complete with comets, pre-planets, the whole smack. The solar system is shaped like a disk and is tilted at a 45-degree angle on the board with a thin ring of dust and resources intersecting the main disk at a 90-degree angle. The primary body is comprised of smaller rings of pebbles and dust that range from the outside edges to the inner circumference. This adds the effect of orbital patterns and comes off looking really slick. All in all the scene resembles a small galaxy. Take a look at screenshot #2 and screenshot #3 to see what I mean. Planets are represented by dense concentrations of dust, pebbles, and asteroids. Comets are the same way except that they have dust and pebbles arranged to give the illusion of a comet tail. Oh...this is too cool. With the main disk offset at an angle, 3-D movement is something you really have to be comfortable with in order move around effectively.
Combat -
Ahem...where do I begin? Well, first off, you can't build a sensor array. And, as I said before, this means that you will only have a very vague idea where the enemy is at via the red dots on your sensor map. This combined with the sheer size of the Genesis maps adds much more realism to the combat sequences. Not unlike the battles in the Pacific during World War II, you will not always have a clear idea of what lies ahead unless you do some serious reconnaissance. It also pays to make sure your capital ship groups are "self-contained" by having strike craft assigned to them as well as support units. They will more than likely be traversing well away from your Mothership and therefore need to be self-sufficient. My experiences playing on these maps haven't really led to any conclusions as to where battles take place the most. With resources scattered to the four winds, there isn't a central area for players to congregate and slug it out. But, rather than hinder gameplay, I believe that this enhances it. You have to PLAN things out and set up a network of backup and defensive units. You'll end up organizing a handful of heavy strike groups as well as make extensive use of strike craft for hit and run missions and the like. Remember, though, that both of these maps are really really big and hyperspacing in backup units to help is going to cost you big time if they are well away from your staging area. This is one reason why you want/need to setup strike groups that can perform a variety of roles. What the hell am I talking about you ask? Well, it's not a good idea to send out 5 Destroyers without some fighter protection against other strike craft and the ever dreaded salvage corvette. If you have strike craft you're going to need support frigates handy to refuel them and repair your other big ships. And, for that matter, it's a good idea to take along some salvage corvettes of your own...just in case. See what I mean? It can get pretty extensive and believe me, I'm just touching the tip of the iceberg here. Extended combat missions will be the order of the day on these maps.
Resourcing -
Looking at the screenshots it would appear that there is a metric ton of resources for the taking. While there are quite a few, you have to realize that most of the map is uncollectible pebbles and smaller rocks. Even the huge sphere in the middle that represents the forming star is uncollectible. Most resources are found in the "pre-planets", comets, and dust scattered in the orbital rings. Since you can't build Controllers, you'll be delegating that duty to your Carriers as seen here. As a result, you'll be wanting to build several Carriers and send them out along with your Resource Collectors. There is a downside to this though and I'll throw that in with my final thoughts below. Getting back to $$$, what you need to do on this map is build collectors like a madman because you WILL lose some to enemy action. With maps this size, you won't be able to really defend them effectively and I doubt it would do much good trying. The best plan is to just have so many that losing a few won't hurt your collection efforts.
Overall -
I could easily write a few pages of text trying to describe these two maps at length but I'll try and cut it a little shorter than that. I mentioned earlier that there was a downside to building several Carriers to act as Controllers and there is. I found myself building, on average, about five to six Carriers. Now think about it, if you're enemy has the same number of Carriers and you can't build a Sensor Array...dramatic drumroll...it will be damned near impossible for someone to actually win a game. Especially given the sheer size of both maps. The longest game I've played was on 240C (the smaller of the two) with three other guys and we played for 4 1/2 hours without really getting anywhere near the end of the game. Of course, there were a lot of battles both big and small but none that really threatened to wipe another player out. You couldn't really do it anyway. Five carriers roaming around the largest Homeworld map yet designed makes for a very very very long game. And the strange thing is I loved every minute of it. It sure beat these 30 minute shoot 'em up brawls where the map is the size of four motherships side-by-side. So, do you feel like setting aside a few hours to experience one of the most in-depth Homeworld games you've played to date? Then I highly suggest you click on the download links below and fire up a game on one of these bad boys. They truly represent the pinnacle of Homeworld strategy play maps. Good luck and good hunting...
Overall Rating: 95
Download Genesis-240D
Download Genesis-240C
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