Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak

[Gusington]

Damn you.

[mirth]

I haven't bought it...yet.

[Gusington]

Don't lie to us.

[mirth]

I do like the idea that I might be able to actually finish it. If JH finished it in 10 hours, I could probably get through it in 20 or 30 :P

[Gusington]

I was thinking 50 for myself.

[mirth]

I was thinking 50 for myself.

That's probably more realistic for me too.

[Jarhead0331]

I really took my time in trying to collect most of the resources available when possible, so I think it is actually more likely that you would finish in less time. Taking the time to set up resource collecting operations would frequently delay my efforts to press on to completing mission objectives. Thankfully, I don't believe any of the missions were timed, so although there was sometimes pressure to secure a position, or prepare defensive positions prior to an attack, I almost never felt the stress of time, and this is one thing that made the missions so enjoyable.

[mirth]

I'm a little OCD when it comes to things like resource collecting, completing all possible objectives, etc. I imagine it would take me at least as long as you to complete the game. I have a feeling I spend more time repeating missions. I'm not great at RTS.

[Jarhead0331]

I'm a little OCD when it comes to things like resource collecting, completing all possible objectives, etc. I imagine it would take me at least as long as you to complete the game. I have a feeling I spend more time repeating missions. I'm not great at RTS.

There are three difficulty levels. I played all 14 missions on Normal (the middle) difficulty. I do not believe I failed any mission, or had to repeat any. Some of them I managed to scrape out a win literally by the skin on my nutsack. The missions found a great balance between challenge and fun. I found the missions in the original Homeworlds to be too difficult to be truly enjoyable, for the most part.

Obviously, if you lose the Kapisi (your land carrier) its game over. I never really felt like my carrier was truly in danger, except for maybe in one or two missions. However, you also have to protect Rachel S'jet, who appears in each mission in a modified Base Runner. If you lose her, its also mission over. She came really close to buying the farm on a few occasions.

[mirth]

Stop shooting down my reasons to not get the game! :P

[Jarhead0331]

Seriously, I understand holding off on buying some games, but in my opinion, if you are fan of the Homeworld universe and generally enjoy RTS type games, this is not a title that should generate too much debate on whether to purchase, or not. Its really an A+ game and so few titles these days offer up a stellar, fully featured single player component.

[spelk]

With the paucity of resources and units available, I'm finding that I can't create two or more fireteams, concocted with a mix of units, in most situations I really need everything I have in the current line of fire. The only flexibility I seem to gain is with the carrier itself, using it as a long range arty style unit supplementing the Railguns. My nippy LAV's are the ones that are most useful, but which I lose a lot of constantly. Plus I am addicted to the air units. Even the bombers (now I have them).

Without giving any of the plot away (ignore the mission objectives...), this was my last stand in one of the missions, with incoming enemy air, and an enemy carrier pumping out legions of attack patrols (mainly fast LAV's, Armoured Assaults and Rail bastards).



And the scanner tac view of what I was up against...



As you can see we took a pasting trying to use that Dune crater as a base of defense... it's the Rorke's Drift fetish I struggle with... my Carrier out to the side, to prevent/interject in any attacks from the flanks and rear.

After surviving most of the waves, we threw off our trousers and made a bee-line for the enemy carrier.. just pipping the post by saturation bombing inter-mixed with staggered air strikes to soak up some of the anti-air the carrier had.. it was a costly day in the lives of my men...

[Jarhead0331]

With the paucity of resources and units available, I'm finding that I can't create two or more fireteams, concocted with a mix of units, in most situations I really need everything I have in the current line of fire. The only flexibility I seem to gain is with the carrier itself, using it as a long range arty style unit supplementing the Railguns. My nippy LAV's are the ones that are most useful, but which I lose a lot of constantly. Plus I am addicted to the air units. Even the bombers (now I have them).

I never really felt that there was a shortage of resource collection points. This was a real concern of mine going into it because the original Homeworld games gave me PTSD in that regard. I found resources to be pretty ample in DoK.

I also relied heavily on aviation from the carrier. I had all 5 wings of strike fighters, all 3 tactical bombers and all 2 gunships. The strike wings pretty much took care of everything and really made my force powerful. Anytime ground units came under heavy fire or were in trouble, CAS from the carrier always turned things around. It was only when the opfor possessed AAA defenses that things got dangerous.

I think the strike fighters are maybe a bit too powerful, while the tac bombers should be a little more capable and the gunships payload should pack a little more punch.

[Gusington]

Good to hear there are no timed missions...I hate that. Sorry to hear JH's nut sac was put in jeopardy.

[Jarhead0331]

Boy! Did I call it or what? Strike Fighter damage reduced from 175 to 120...

A new update for Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak will be rolling out the afternoon of February 1, 2016.

Version 1.0.1 - Releasing February 1, 2016

New Content

•Added new map "The Boneyard" for 1v1 Automatch, 2v2 Automatch and Public Games. The Boneyard is inspired by the second mission from our campaign and has fleets clashing for map control during a beautiful sunrise.
Bug Fixes
•Fixed an issue that was causing crashes when players were allied with AI players in 2v2

•Lowered starting resources on the Torin Crater Map to match the starting resources on all other MP maps
Balance Updates

Gaalsien Carrier

In order create more early game options for the Gaalsien, the Carrier's combat capabilities have been increased. Enabling it to deal with hordes of early game enemy units.

Gaalsien Carrier Side Turrets:
•Default Rate of Fire from 2 to 10.

•Burst Time from 1.4 seconds to 1.1 seconds

•Negative accuracy modifiers versus small units removed

•Accuracy against all units set to 100% at short range, 90% at medium range and 80% at long range.
Gaalsien Carrier Weapon Systems:
•Power level 1 - Rate of Fire increased from 5 to 17.

•Power level 2 - Rate of Fire increased from 10 to 24.

•Power level 3 - Rate of Fire increased from 20 to 31.

•Power level 4 - Rate of Fire decreased from 40 to 38.
Coalition Missile Battery

When compared to the Gaalsien Missile Ship, the Coalition Missile Battery was much more cost-effective. Price change will now better reflect its power.

Missile Battery:
•Price from 100CU/70RU to 350CU/80RU
Assault Cruiser

The upgraded Assault Cruiser turned out to be a very specialized anti-air counter. The damage has been lowered so it is more in line with other anti-air units.

Assault Cruiser:
•It now requires the Assault Cruiser Anti-Air research in order to attack air.

•Anti-air weapon will now deal 175 damage instead of 250.
Coalition Strike Fighters

The early game advantage provided by Coalition Strike Fighters is interesting but too strong. The damage has been lowered to retain air as an option but allow opponents enough time to react to it. For example, you needed 2 Strike Fighters to snipe an enemy Railgun, but now you will need 3.

Strike Fighter:
•Damage from 175 to 120
For support with Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak or SHiFT, please visit http://support.gearboxsoftware.com.