GameSpot's Preview of Homeworld: Cataclysm

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Developer:
Barking Dog Studios

Publisher:
Sierra Studios

Target Release Date:
Q2 2000

by Thierry Nguyen
04/18/00

Page 1 of 7

It's one thing to claim a home. It's a whole other thing to keep it. That's what gamers are going to learn come summer, when Sierra releases Homeworld: Cataclysm from fledgling developer Barking Dog Studios.

Blizzard's expansion for Starcraft, Brood War, set the bar for what an expansion should do, and thankfully, Barking Dog seems to be following such a standard. In fact, going a bit further, you need not even own the original Homeworld for this follow-up. Cataclysm is straddling the line between mere mission pack and full-fledged sequel. While it's not a complete overhaul of the original, it will boast a new story, new ships, interface tweaks, enhanced graphics, and many other things that should make it more than just another expansion.

Remember these fools? They're no longer the worst of your troubles.
The Cataclysm build we've been playing with contained the first few scenarios of the campaign (enough to make us want to play through the game to find out the ending) and one functional multiplayer scenario.

Quite a few interface tweaks have been added, both to streamline the game and address criticisms/complaints about the original. For example, there is time compression now (up to eight times faster and four times slower), which lets you both pass time quickly and fine-tune your moves. No more waiting 15 minutes just to get somewhere. And although there are some who argue that Homeworld couldn't get any slower, slowing down time is actually useful for letting you put more care into the orders you issue.

These cubes and other geometric shapes reflect how much of the current map is "known space" or at least explored.
Waypoints are another big addition; now you can lay a winding course down and have your ships automatically patrol them, so you don't have to play nursemaid to your vessels. When you're in the sensor manager screen, you can issue the exact same commands as in normal view, so you don't have to switch modes as much just to issue orders. The right-click menu has been streamlined and will carry all the possible orders for any unit, giving you one-click access to any command.

Another change is Cataclysm's fog of war. At the start of any scenario, giant cubes in the sensor mode define "known space." Your sensors only go so far, so to enlarge the cubes and see more, you have to send scouts to expand your vision. If you take a quick glance at the sensor mode, the blue spheres represent your visual range, and the cubes outlining the map define how much you've explored. This kind of fog of war makes sense, injecting more realism into gameplay.

With but a few clicks, you can set waypoints and send your Recon patrol off and concentrate on more pressing matters.
Finally, like in Starcraft, each unit has an individualized voice. Recon ships are piloted by cocky women, while worker ships are staffed by tired old men. Whenever you hear an audible status report (such as the Leech's telltale beeping/buzzing), you can immediately identify the source rather than clicking around to see who said what.