Homeworld 2

[Lord Pounder]

Ok i've read the thread, kinda, where you all picked holes in the plot. However Homeworld is one of my favourite games ever. How does HW2 play. Is it comparable to HW1 in the areas of playability, and lastability? Most importantly has the controls system been reworked? I need to know this before i part with a nights drinking money.

[Shogoki]

It looks better, i think it plays better, some people are complaining about the story, though.

You should try the demo.

[Coaan]

Ok i've read the thread, kinda, where you all picked holes in the plot. However Homeworld is one of my favourite games ever. How does HW2 play. Is it comparable to HW1 in the areas of playability, and lastability? Most importantly has the controls system been reworked? I need to know this before i part with a nights drinking money.

From what I've heard, they've completely reworked the ai to make the game challenging (as if it wasn't before) If nothing else....there's lastability in it'll take you forever to batter down the ai...

I'd guess they've done at least something with the controls...or added more. Overall though...it looks well worth the cash

[Hotfoot]

The User Interface and HUD are much better, no more bringing up a whole new screen (and thus cutting you off from the action) any time you want to build, research, or launch something. Takes a little practice to control huge fleets now, but in many ways its easier than in HW1.

Singleplayer can be brutally difficult at times, forcing to you face overwhelming odds. This does help show just how desperate your situation is, but you'll be needing to replay some of the missions several times until you can figure out the tactics required to beat the enemy.

Multiplayer holds great promise, and is already very good. You won't be playing any 3v3 games until they optimize the netcode (maybe on a LAN, but I've yet to try that), but otherwise it's quite good. The differences between the Vaygr and the Hiigarans is pronounced, but as of yet has not lent superiority to either side.

My only real complaint is with the story, but that's a flaw of the main campaign, and easily forgivable for the most part, as it does answer some burning questions left from the first game of the series.

However, you ask an impossible question when you ask about its staying power. The game has been out for just a few weeks, for god's sake. At the very least, do as Shogokie suggested and download the demo.

[Stark]

The story is l4m0r; singleplayer is stupid easy, apart from 4 and 11 or 12. The plot has you doing obviously dumb things, for no reason. Homeworld? Hiigara? Who cares; we'll fart around some fascinating broken stuff we could have investigated years ago for ages. Every mission has a stupid gimmicky puzzle thing, like the dust clouds, deadly radiation, bad guys with infinite money, bad guys building fighters, corvettes and frigates even tho they've only got one build module and its a fighter one, etc etc. You scrounge for 400RU at the start, and after mission 5 you'll never drop below 80,000RU. Yes, you read that right. The enemy never concentrates their heavies on the mothership. You can't use hyperspace in singleplayer (GRRRR! Missions designed by fanboy twellve year olds! Makaan, your nemesis, not mentioned for 8 missions! Gnash!).

However, multiplayer is excellent. Only building things one at a time is a huge, enormous, blasphemous step backwards, however. And the bots are so incredibly crap. Reworked AI?? Even now, two hard HW AI can beat me, and i can take 5 normal in HW2 easy peasy. I wish they played like Hotfoot

[Hotfoot]

You can't use hyperspace in singleplayer (GRRRR! Missions designed by fanboy twellve year olds! Makaan, your nemesis, not mentioned for 8 missions! Gnash!).

HW1 never let you use Hyperspace in singleplayer either. Heck, throughout the entire campaign you couldn't even move your mothership...the engines never ignited!

However, multiplayer is excellent. Only building things one at a time is a huge, enormous, blasphemous step backwards, however.

It makes the game interesting, at least. I kind of like it, and once you get used to how it handles some things in the Build Queue, you might even grow to like it yourself.

And the bots are so incredibly crap. Reworked AI?? Even now, two hard HW AI can beat me, and i can take 5 normal in HW2 easy peasy.

Why compare hard to normal AI? Compare the two hardest difficulty settings. Try playing against two expert AI and see what happens

I wish they played like Hotfoot

Considering I > Expert?

It would certainly give you something to strive towards, at least.

[Stark]

You can't use hyperspace in singleplayer (GRRRR! Missions designed by fanboy twellve year olds! Makaan, your nemesis, not mentioned for 8 missions! Gnash!).

HW1 never let you use Hyperspace in singleplayer either. Heck, throughout the entire campaign you couldn't even move your mothership...the engines never ignited!

At least the MS wasn't finished in HW, and it was still annoying. Its just a nitpick

However, multiplayer is excellent. Only building things one at a time is a huge, enormous, blasphemous step backwards, however.

It makes the game interesting, at least. I kind of like it, and once you get used to how it handles some things in the Build Queue, you might even grow to like it yourself.

Again, its just stupid because they went so far as to put different factory modules on ships, but they don't let you use them simultaneously. It doesn't slow the game down, or anything.

I wish they played like Hotfoot

Considering I > Expert?

It would certainly give you something to strive towards, at least.

LOL The HW2 AI gives me way too long at the start to build a shipyard and get a BC out before they attack in any strength. Never jump, not too agressive, no probing... I'm playing four people tonight, and I expect to get murdered before I can build anything decent.

[Hotfoot]

At least the MS wasn't finished in HW, and it was still annoying. Its just a nitpick

Besides, they do let you use short-jumps in the singleplayer, they're just scripted...

Well...for a while, anyway.

Again, its just stupid because they went so far as to put different factory modules on ships, but they don't let you use them simultaneously. It doesn't slow the game down, or anything.

Well, that depends. While I did like the simul-build in HW1, HW2 is not greatly hurt by a lack of it. Look at it this way, if you know you'll be using a carrier/shipyard/MS for nothing but building one type of unit (be it fighters, corvs, frigs, or caps), you can actually save money by not having it build the other modules. Cha-ching!

LOL The HW2 AI gives me way too long at the start to build a shipyard and get a BC out before they attack in any strength. Never jump, not too agressive, no probing... I'm playing four people tonight, and I expect to get murdered before I can build anything decent.

Really? The Expert AI is pretty unforgiving, really. If you don't rush it right off the bat and keep the pressure on, it'll come back with a vengeance. Against two, well, that can get nasty, unless you've got another target to offer them.

Also, the AI does probe, send scouts, etc. They just work on more defensive things first I've noticed.

Oh, and if you're BC rushing, yes, chances are you will get stomped.