Gearbox to release Homeworld 1 & 2 HD

I can't wait for Homeworld Shipbreakers, i get a free copy cause i backed it. :D
 
The hype is real for me guys. Didn't own a computer back when this was out so long ago and am glad to finally get to experience it like this. Does steam have a pre-load of it? I didn't see one yet as of this morning.
 
I'm still on the fence about this. Have you guys watched the Steam Video on the game page? I doesn't look like they updated a single thing. The interface is the same, the ending video when the mothership launches is the same ancient textures.... I dunno
 
aeonrevolution said:
I'm still on the fence about this. Have you guys watched the Steam Video on the game page? I doesn't look like they updated a single thing. The interface is the same, the ending video when the mothership launches is the same ancient textures.... I dunno
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I admit that the launch in the Steam video doesn't look great, but the overall quality of that video isn't great either. Also, I think that's the HW2 mothership launch - if you think that's how the HW1 mothership looked with the same textures, I think you're wearing some nostalgia glasses. Here's some HW1 direct comparisons:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGY4a1BOtEY#t=68

Here's a HW2-specific trailer. Looks better than I ever remember HW2 looking:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH8ETGPXBO4
 
aeonrevolution said:
I'm still on the fence about this. Have you guys watched the Steam Video on the game page? I doesn't look like they updated a single thing. The interface is the same, the ending video when the mothership launches is the same ancient textures.... I dunno
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But I thought that was the whole point of a remaster. Update the graphics and give everyone a trip down memory lane. Well not me as I never played the original, but you get what I am saying. Was this suppose to be changed significantly from the original?
 
aeonrevolution said:
I'm still on the fence about this. Have you guys watched the Steam Video on the game page? I doesn't look like they updated a single thing. The interface is the same, the ending video when the mothership launches is the same ancient textures.... I dunno
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haha that's the entire point sir. The game is great as it was, they just made the audio/visuals better and re released it so we can enjoy the mesmerizing story/maps in 4K glory.

They did improve upon HW1's UI and added a few things to multiplayer.
 
Stev3FrencH said:
But I thought that was the whole point of a remaster. Update the graphics and give everyone a trip down memory lane. Well not me as I never played the original, but you get what I am saying. Was this suppose to be changed significantly from the original?
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The graphics and audio have been completely remastered but they've worked really hard to keep the single-player gameplay true to the original. There's a great video from an IGN panel with several members of both the Gearbox team and the original creators talking about the remaster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRtqy0CGur4
 
I wasn't expecting any gameplay to change, but I just thought the textures would've been better. For $30 this doesn't feel like it is worth buying, to me at least. Given enough free time I could've redone these textures - any backend upgrades they did I have no idea about though :D :D

I'm still going to get it. I just feel like I got a little too excited for it.
 
aeonrevolution said:
I wasn't expecting any gameplay to change, but I just thought the textures would've been better. For $30 this doesn't feel like it is worth buying, to me at least. Given enough free time I could've redone these textures - any backend upgrades they did I have no idea about though :D :D

I'm still going to get it. I just feel like I got a little too excited for it.
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To be clear, you're getting the following:

- Homeworld Classic.
- Homeworld 2 Classic.
- Homeworld 1/2 Remastered.

Homeworld 1/2 Remastered includes:

- New 3D models, which are a big improvement over HW2 and massive improvement over HW1.

- New textures.

- Takes advantage of modern hardware, so it will not slow down with lots of units.

- More stable online connection. It was a big problem with HW2. No more "only he can host when he plays" issues hopefully.

- Better effects.

- Better skyboxes/backgrounds.

- Adds HW1 and HW2 races/units into one game.

- Most likely some minor balancing/gameplay changes.

- 4v4 online (which I don't care for).

- Improved unit path finding I believe.

- Entirely redone cutscenes.


And some more. It isn't just a texture pack. I assume HW1/HW2 were also reworked to support modern resolutions out of the box, but aside from possible easy mod conversions those are more or less for nostalgia. I assume most people will play Homeworld Remastered online. Keep in mind, online won't be fully released on launch day.

I really wish I could get it now so I can get into the MP beta. But I don't really have $30 lying around at the moment. :( Used to help with some mods some years back with HW2.
 
Flogger23m said:
I assume HW1/HW2 were also reworked to support modern resolutions out of the box, but aside from possible easy mod conversions those are more or less for nostalgia.
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It'll support at least 4K.

Mod support will be much better, they had one of the Homeworld Complex mod developers on the team so he was able to provide input on what the modding community wanted.
 
aeonrevolution said:
I'm still on the fence about this. Have you guys watched the Steam Video on the game page? I doesn't look like they updated a single thing. The interface is the same, the ending video when the mothership launches is the same ancient textures.... I dunno
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Don't know what video you are watching, but comparison screenshots show that they completely retextured all the models.

destroyer1.jpg


carriercomp.jpg


hqdefault.jpg


May not be Crysis level graphics, but still a vast improvement.
 
1999 and 2003. I actually participated in the closed MP beta test for Homeworld 1, the client was distributed to testers on physical CD's given that downloading several hundred megs on dial up could take a week to complete (my head would have imploded if you had told me that downloading 50gb games would become standard practice). Wish I had kept the beta CD as a memento rather than turfing it several years later.
 
I'll be taking off work to enjoy this beautiful space opera. It amazes me that in 16 years no one has come out with a halfway decent 3D space RTS.... at least not to my knowledge. I recall ORB trying to ride the HW band wagon but failed miserably.

I'm excited! but my CE mothership doesn't come in until March 11th :(
 
Don't forget they changed the HW1 interface to be like 2, so it makes 1 soooo much more enjoyable to play.

Can't wait to get some time with this over the weekend. Loved the game when it came out in '99.....was a huge hit back in the day and still is the best 3D space RTS made!
 
Reviews are stellar so far.... so I bought it on preorder. Downloaded, now waiting for game unlock.
 
Having textures problem with hangar on mothership (and carrier) - looks like, the hangar isn't properly displaying its big glowing box, but it's kinda weird moving, when ship moves.Tested everything off and on, changing different things in AMD control panel. It looks like, when moving camera around ships, their hangars are always fully visible and they get conflict with ship textures. Don't know if it's a feature, or bug or just AMD drivers.
 
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I want this game. Hopefully porting HW2 mods over will be relatively easy to Homeworld 2 Classic.

Homeworld Classic will require a whole lot more work.
 
My feelings are mixed on this. Gearbox seems like a well funded but insecure steward of the property. I think what most people really wanted was not a remastered retread, we wanted a new entry into the franchise with updated visuals and story.

That is not what we got. The textures look better, but those models, while updated... still look dated.

I am assuming this game does not support dx12 or mantle, two technologies that are tailor made for a game with lots of units on display and lighting effects. You might forgive that since it came out before dx12 launched, but mantle has still been around and I have to wonder if future installments will even get the gearbox devs to bother with updated apis. Does it even run dx11 or is it designed to run on directx 9 or an older version of open gl?


I want a space game that is designed to look closer to this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwkYaxkDO3c


And you know what does look a lot closer to that? Not homeworld remastered. This:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rQDDc7Pxlc


Granted, that is not designed to have scores of ships in a fleet being controlled at a time by a single player, but it at least shows the ambition to try and reach for the stars in terms of visuals.


Everyone seems universally positive about the remaster though, so I may be alone in these thoughts. Am I alone? Is the remaster what you really wanted? I wanted to take the spirit of the series and move forward, not rahash what was already done. But if this does not do well, then more games will not be made. And so I am torn. I want it to do well, even though I don't think it deserves to in the same way compared to an alternate universe where they went all out and came out with a new installment of the series with updated everything.
 
It is an update of an old game, what did you expect? Obviously a full sequel would have been better. Then again, maybe not. But I doubt you can improve such an old engine that much. Seeing that it is over a decade since it was last updated, I think more significant upgrades would have required an entirely new engine.

I suppose if this sells good enough, Gearbox may look into making a proper Homeworld 3.
 
God I forgot how beautiful both games are. What a pleasure they are to play again. I really want a full screen windowed option though and refresh rate options.

However the remasters are fantastic. I really hope this sells well so we can get a Homeworld 3.
 
Flogger23m said:
It is an update of an old game, what did you expect? Obviously a full sequel would have been better. Then again, maybe not. But I doubt you can improve such an old engine that much. Seeing that it is over a decade since it was last updated, I think more significant upgrades would have required an entirely new engine.

I suppose if this sells good enough, Gearbox may look into making a proper Homeworld 3.
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I expected the people that spent over a million dollars just to get their hands on the ip

http://www.polygon.com/2013/4/22/4253408/gearbox-lands-homeworld-rights-pending-court-approval

to have something more planned than a visual update to the original games. Now they probably still do, but this is not the hope and promise of a homeworld renewal. And if you were going to just redo the visuals of the game, why not go all out and start anew with updated designs. You could keep the basic story and game mechanics, but the actual visual style could have been so much more enhanced. Is that me expecting too much?

How about another 10 year old game still having a ship model/design (the angelwing) that looks better than pretty much everything in the "remastered" homeworld ship database (aside from the bentusi harborship)?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibViWr9cAWw


That ship model and those laser effects were from over TEN YEARS ago. Look at that ship model, and compare it to the game models in homeworld 2 remastered. I was expecting more of a facelift. Yes I was.
 
tybert7 said:
My feelings are mixed on this. Gearbox seems like a well funded but insecure steward of the property. I think what most people really wanted was not a remastered retread, we wanted a new entry into the franchise with updated visuals and story.
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You are aware that Gearbox are also publishing Homeworld:Shipbreakers right?
 
Blade-Runner said:
You are aware that Gearbox are also publishing Homeworld:Shipbreakers right?
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I forgot all about that it's been so long since any news surfaced. I guess they are gaining practice with the remastered versions so they can use that experience helping shipbreakers be made. But I haven't seen any actual gameplay from that title so who knows how and what that will be.


Another video I found, homeworld mothership plus a couple of smaller ships done in cryengine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCffxO83UoE


Maybe it's the lighting used, but that looks better to me than some of the remastered shots.

What I really want to see is the bentusi entrance in homeworld 2 in the remastered version. Then we'll see if they've actually enhanced things. That scene still holds up today even though it was done so long ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjokNbmnNTE#t=1m14s

Now that was the original game (maybe the gog version) with some high res textures added. I wonder if this remastered version looks significantly better.
 
Anyone have any luck opening up the .big files? In HW, Cataclysm and HW2 you could open them with BigVeiwer or Winbig but when I try to use those programs with the RM version I get an invalid file error.

For me one of the best parts of the original games was modifying the ship files, pretty much could make them do what you wanted if you knew what you were doing including editing the stats for hit points, speed, firing timing, etc
 
tybert7 said:
I forgot all about that it's been so long since any news surfaced. I guess they are gaining practice with the remastered versions so they can use that experience helping shipbreakers be made. But I haven't seen any actual gameplay from that title so who knows how and what that will be.
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There was preview footage released by BBI before Gearbox acquired the Homeworld IP from THQ. At that point Shipbreakers had no connection with the Homeworld universe, so it has probably changed substantially.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kqNp1fZ9xQ

I am optimistic considering that BBI is staffed by the former relic devs who created Homeworld 1 & 2.
 
Figured out the glitches origin. It seems the game hates anything that displays OSD stuff. After I turned off the OSD info on the MSI Afterburner, every texture is now correct, and hangar doesn't have any clipping issues.

And this is the video with that glitch made by someone from Steam forums, that had same problems as I
http://youtu.be/tdbfRw5wZeg
 
tybert7 said:
...
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you're not alone,

for 30$ I was expecting more than what modder had already started for Homeworld 1 and 2..

infact reading through the moddb for homeworld both Homeworld 1 had been started to be imported into homeworld 2 and the models and textures were being updated..

IMO I am right with you, a rework I was hoping for was more engine related and for 30$ i definitely was hoping for more as far as the engine goes.

dont' get me wrong, I love homeworld - just going to wait for this one to go on sale - 15$ is more the price point I am hoping for
 
We got exactly what they told us we would be get since day 1: A digital re-release of the original HW1 and HW2 with updated graphics that will run on modern hardware. Honestly Im just glad it turned out as well as it did given their track record lately.

As long as this does well there will be more to come from the ip in the future.
 
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