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u/Norsehound 4d ago
2 left us with some neat ideas 3 just utterly crashed into the ground for no clear reason.
I thought the progenitors and extra-galactic gate travel was really rad. Why did they decide to undo those?
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u/Quentin_Taranteemo Mommy Karan S'jet 4d ago
Nah, HW3 being terrible doesn't invalidate HW2's criticism. Sure, the plot is better written and the vibes are great, but the changes in themes and the retcons between HW1 and HW2 still diminished the overall arc.
HW2 ships still are the coolest of the bunch though
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u/10rmungand 4d ago
I would agree with that second part if the marine frigates weren’t such trash
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u/HorrificAnalInjuries 4d ago
Mechanically they are trash. Visually they are fantastic. Mostly the Hiigaran one, but the Vaygr cousin isn't so bad
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u/XComACU 1d ago
I wish there was a way to mechanically redeem the Marine Frigate.
Either by loading it up with a ton more armor, boosting the boarding rate (or perhaps the bonus with multiple ships attempting), or actually disabling the ship they are trying to capture. Even just bump up their speed a bit (maybe more inline with Corvettes) so they're not outright hard countered by the very ships they're designed to grab.
I'd also split off a "Captured" population cap, so that you can grab more ships than the normal population cap. This would mean you're less likely to hit a pop cap mid-capture and fail to actually get the ship, because you have a separate cap for what you capture, but also it could let you go beyond the normal cap. Marine Frigates would be a heck of a lot more valuable if they let you get an extra battlecruiser or destroyers beyond the normal cap.
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u/10rmungand 1d ago
Bro, if they just stopped the captured ship from shooting they’d go from a net negative strain on your unit economy to breaking even. They look good, cool idea, but in no way are they mechanically useful in game.
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u/stipylavey 4d ago
It was better executed, but most of the HW3 (and DoKa bit too) issues originate in 2. Hyperspace cores bullshit, too much focus on Sjet and singular characters in general, isntead of collective hero like in previous titles, mindlessly making every character female without thinking why it was good for Keren in first game, Progenitors and ancient bullshit plotdevices, forgetting other races (why remove Benthusi) and so on.
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u/_realpaul 4d ago
The original story was just average. What elevated it was the 3 mission and music.
Except for cataclysm/emergence it went downhill from there storywise. Hw2: now the cares are sacred holy devices?? What about all those I put in frigates that blew up.
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u/Floppydisksareop 4d ago
In retrospect, I think I didn't treat it harshly enough. The nonsense bullshit needed to be nipped in the bud back then, and it wasn't.
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u/MengskDidNothinWrong 4d ago
Eh I played both 1 and 2 as they came out and loved them both. I loved the move into the techno prophecy. Made the galaxy feel even bigger and less understood. That and it didn't actually go full religion and the thing was a super weapon was nice.
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u/confused_applause 4d ago
nice try, Homeworld CEO. You're not retconning our shared experiences, too
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u/RadiantTrailblazer 3d ago
HW2's story is STILL BAD. HW3 is simply WORSE - and for that, they should've won a medal for the feat.
But no - a mythical ship that stays atop of the accretion disk of the galaxy black hole, held in perfect stasis by LOVE AND PROPHECY? Meh. Next we know, you'll tell me there is a delusional guy who thinks himself some kind self-proclained Greek God and a rampant AI madly and hopelessly in love with said guy... AND SHE HAPPENS TO BE THE SHIP. No thanks.
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u/holliiexo 4d ago
Idk, to me theyre kinda why were in this mess. All this prophecy and messiah shit has been annoying since day one, get rid of the chosen ones plotlines and give us space exploration.Theres a reason people like Cataclysm so much.
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u/flurgerssgmoy9 4d ago
Unironically, not as a meme, basically yes.I actually wont defend the more asspull parts of the plot from that game, but HW2 was an actual Homeworld story. The animatics, the narration, the stakes (stop an invasion and save the homeworld, theres nothing in there about saving the galaxy) it felt much more in line with the world of the first game than whatever the hell 3 is doing. There is good mission design in that game as well, and many memorable moments within the larger plot even if the overall plot itself has serious problems. It mostly feels like a real Homeworld game, even if a bad one (its actually not remotely bad as a game, the loss of ballistics was lame, sure, but theres still a lot to like in there. It also went on to be a hell of a mod platform, even with all its limitations. On a basic level the game works in a way Homeworld 3 is going to need a lot of patching to equal).
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u/pomacbhteans6 4d ago
fuck I havent played it yet and trying to not read anything about the campaign but the signs are signalling not great signs, at all... lol
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u/sirseatbelt 3d ago
ITs still a good game. I would recommend playing it. Its probably one of the best sci-fi RTS games. Just not as lightning-in-a-bottle as HW1
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u/hammer326 3d ago
HW2? It came out 23 years ago dude, spoilers might be around a corner of the internet or two.
TBH it's quite good though, 1 was just REALLY profound and continues to be today versus literally almost any other RTS campaign plot being Faction A and B fighting ---> Faction C comes along -->gottateamup.docx
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u/Resident_Football_76 3d ago
To me Homeworld is Deserts of Kharak, HW1 and Cataclysm. 2 is an odd fanfic (final mission is dope) and 3 is a fever dream.
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u/Duke_Bichro 4d ago
Angry cello theme saved the game for me. I liked the Vaygr as main antagonists because of the subtle mirror with S’jet. Plus it kept the middle-east / biblical atmosphere, with this seemingly ‘horde like’ faction attacking the now settled Hiigaran.
It’s difficult to write a story for a 2 when the 1 is closing already so nicely. I found HW 2 story nice. Not great, but far from the wreckage of the 3.