More Homeworld 3 news to follow at Gamescom 2022.
In a fig blog post and on social media, Gearbox Publishing has shared a statement explaining that the long-awaited sequel Homeworld 3 is being pushed back to the first half of 2023. In their statement, both Gearbox Publishing and Blackbird Interactive recognise that the Homeworld series is a treasured series to many players. Due to this passion, Homeworld 3 is now receiving extra spit and polish before its release next year. The additional time will allow the developer to "make good on their commitment to quality in a healthy and sustainable way for all those involved."
An update on the launch of Homeworld 3: pic.twitter.com/uKc5jPOcto
— Homeworld (@HomeworldGame) June 10, 2022
While it is a shame that the game is delayed, there are a lot of new gameplay mechanics to change the way Homeworld plays compared to previous titles.
New gameplay mechanics
Having any game situated in space, it's obvious that there will be little to nothing to hide behind.
"The 3D gameplay in the original games remains an incredible fantasy, but when it comes down to the tactics of winning a battle, there’s not a ton of substance. Outside of some armor differences on the tops, bottoms, and sides of ships in Homeworld 1, the gameplay difference of attacking or defending from any particular angle is lacking. That’s what Homeworld 3 (and more modern hardware) can deliver, a more realized battlespace for 3D gameplay. Key to that are large structures littering the battlespace, forming a landscape for your genius to play out."
The detailing of damaged ships gives a grander scale of the conflict within the universe. Being able to gauge the distance between your craft and the enemy will help with tactics in a way never before seen. Having ships now being able to "pop-out" of cover to shoot an enemy before quickly returning can aid in the tactics of a more fragile fleet than a fleet of capital ships.
Cover is now a major element in the tactics of Homeworld 3, being able to the environment to your advantage, similar to the terrain in traditional strategy games.
"In most games, there’s a complex behind-the-scenes series of dice rolls that determines your ship’s accuracy or the damage they take in combat. In Homeworld 3, our ballistics operate on physics. If the bullet or beam hits your ship, the ship takes damage. If the bullet or beam slams into a piece of terrain you're tucked behind instead, no damage is taken at all."
Blackbird Interactive has provided a video of how the terrain cover system works with smaller assault craft.
As you can see, when the ballistics, from the frigate, hits the terrain, it bounces off and doesn't affect the strike craft. Interestingly, the assault craft can be moved directly onto the terrain. Whether this can be done automatically with waypoints or patrol zones is unknown, but it does add a lot of depth to the combat - along with keeping the strength and weakness points on each ship. Trenches are also a part of the terrain system allowing for strike craft to escape danger or create an ambush spot.
"Trenches shape the battlefield too. On an ice shelf surface dotted with dangerous gun emplacements, a canyon carved into the land offers a safe path for your strike craft to navigate. If you can stealthily guide them past your enemy’s gun emplacements, their resourcing operations will be at the mercy of your wing of bombers and their escorts."
Gamescom 2022
While the delay of the game might not be the news people were wanting to hear, Blackbird Interactive will have more to show in detail of Homeworld 3 at Gamescom 2022 at the end of August. More information will be shared soon regarding opportunities you'll have to learn about Homeworld 3 before Gamescom 2022.