Homeworld Cataclysm

''Homeworld: Cataclysm'' is a 2000 real-time strategy video game developed by Barking Dog Studios and published by Sierra Studios for Windows. It is the second entry in the ''Homeworld'' series and was originally developed as an expansion for Relic Entertainment's ''Homeworld'', but was ultimately released as a stand-alone sequel. Set fifteen years after the events of the first game, ''Cataclysm'' follows the ''Kuun-Lan'', a Kushaan mining starship that attempts to counter "the Beast", a destructive nanobot virus, while combatting the imperialist remnants of the Taiidan Empire, who seek revenge on the Kushaan and control of Hiigara.

The game was released on September 1, 2000 in North America and September 29, 2000 in Europe to positive critical reception, and was nominated for numerous strategy game of the year awards. In June 2017, the game was rereleased on GOG.com as ''Homeworld: Emergence'', as the name "Cataclysm" was trademarked by Blizzard Entertainment for its third expansion of ''World of Warcraft''. Talks of a remake by Gearbox Software were reportedly conducted around the mid-2010s, but as of 2025 little news has surfaced since.

Gameplay

Though it uses the same engine and similar gameplay as its predecessor, several changes were made, such the ability to toggle time compression between normal speed and eight times faster; ship upgrades (improving armor and adding new abilities); Command Ships and Carriers receiving the ability to add external modules for ship research and fleet support; Command Ships having attack capabilities; fuel being removed from gameplay; and the sensor display could be used to issue attack orders to units. The player's Command Ship is now capable of dealing powerful attacks. The game also introduced new 3D features such as moving parts and transforming ships.

Notable unit changes include the Processor, ''Cataclysms adaptation of the Resource Controller, which has medium-strength weapons to defend itself, automated repair beams to heal nearby ships and four pads to dock with Workers harvesting resources. The game's resource collectors perform the same functions that they did in the original ''Homeworld'', however, when upgraded they can be used to capture enemy vessels, harvest crystals and repair friendly vessels; functions that were carried out by separate, single-function ships in the first game.

In general, the main difference is the scale of fleets. Where ''Homeworld'' was biased towards large fleets (as the player's main ship was a full-fledged mothership and the opposition was an empire of galactic scale), ''Cataclysm'' down-scales the fleets (as the player's main ship is a simple mining vessel and the adversaries are all limited in resources).

Plot

Fifteen years after the events of ''Homeworld'', the Kushaan people have established themselves on Hiigara and are now governed by a council formed from the leaders of their clans, or "kiith." The Taiidan Empire has collapsed, though Imperialist remnants and their allies, the Turanic Raiders, still threaten the Hiigarans and the new Taiidani Republic.

The story begins with ''Kuun-Lan'', a mining vessel belonging to the minor kiith Somtaaw, joining ships from several other kiith to repel an Imperialist attack on Hiigara, but being ignored when the other kiith are thanked for their help. While helping another fighter defend itself against a Turanic Raider assault, the ''Kuun-Lan'' finds a derelict beacon pod that does not resemble any known technology. Their kiith-Sa (clan leader) insists that the find be kept secret due to the political advantage it might provide and sends the science ship ''Clee-San'' to help study it. However, as research begins, a strange virus begins to overtake the ship, and the ''Kuun-Lan'' is forced to jettison the affected section to avoid being completely overrun. When the ''Clee-San'' attempts to investigate further, it is infected by the virus, which soon spreads to a nearby group of Turanic Raider ships. The infected ships attack and attempt to assimilate the ''Kuun-Lan'', forcing it to flee.

''Kuun-Lan'' discovers that the pod they picked up was contaminated with techno-organic nanobots that can subvert both machinery and organic tissue, which they code-name "the Beast." As the Beast continues to spread and infect more ships, it grows more intelligent and strategic in its tactics, speeding its growth further and threatening to overwhelm Hiigaran and Taiidani Republic forces trying to hold it at bay. ''Kuun-Lan'' traces the source of the Beast to the ''Naggarok'', an alien vessel from another galaxy whose crew disabled their own ship in order to contain the Beast after encountering it in hyperspace. However, the ship fired off an infected distress beacon which was eventually discovered by the ''Kuun-Lan'', unleashing the Beast on the galaxy.

While searching for a way to combat the Beast, the ''Kuun-Lan'' discovers that the Imperialist Taiidani have allied themselves with the Beast and are attempting to use it as a weapon. Using stolen data from the Taiidani experiments and a massive derelict siege cannon, the ''Kuun-Lan'' builds a weapon they hope will be effective against the Beast. Their first attempt to use it is a failure, and they are again forced to flee before the Beast can assimilate them.

The ''Kuun-Lan'' tracks down the ''Naggarok'' in the hope that a sample from the original source of the Beast will help improve their weapon and discover that the Imperialists are repairing the ''Naggarok'', having allied with the Beast in exchange for half of the galaxy and revenge against the Hiigarans for toppling their empire. The ''Kuun-Lan'' succeeds in analyzing the Beast, but fails to stop the Imperalists. The fully repaired ''Naggarok'' escapes, and the ''Kuun-Lan'' races to find the Bentusi, the original creators of the siege cannon, in order to improve it further. With their anti-Beast weapon complete, they lure the infected ''Clee-San'' and former section of their ship into a trap and successfully destroy both.

''Kuun-Lan'' follows the ''Naggarok'' to a Taiidani Republic battle station, which the Beast has infected and is using to shield the ''Naggarok''. The ''Kuun-Lan'' refuses the Beast's offer of an alliance and destroys the station, rendering the ''Naggarok'' vulnerable. The Imperialists renege on their bargain with the Beast, prompting it to reveal that it always intended to assimilate them once they were no longer useful to it. The Imperialists flee, and the ''Kuun-Lan'' destroys the ''Naggarok''.

With the ''Naggarok'' destroyed, the Beast fleet's capabilities are greatly reduced, and the remainder of the Beast-infected ships are destroyed. A vaccine against the Beast is also discovered, ensuring it will never return again. Thanks to the ''Kuun-Lans role in defeating the Beast, kiith Somtaaw gains great prestige in Hiigaran society and its members are honored with the title of "Beastslayers".

Ships

Since ''Homeworld: Cataclysm'' takes place only 15 years after, and uses essentially the same game engine as ''Homeworld'', several ships make a return, notably in the 'new' Hiigarans/Kushan, and the Taiidan forces (both Imperialist and Republic). Some new features in this game not previously seen are ship upgrades and Support Units- the latter of which put a lower cap on the player's fleet size as opposed to the maximum fleet size of 300 in ''Homeworld''.

While the Kushan and Taiidan fleets remain almost identical to their ''Homeworld'' counterparts, the player's clan, Kiith Somtaaw, is forced to scratch its own fleet specs based on salvaged technologies. The player's own ships are all new and superior to both Taiidan and Kushan counterparts and are only matched by the main adversary, the Beast and its own fleet (which is composed of assimilated Taiidan, Kushan, Somtaaw and Turanic Raider ships).

Reception

The game received "generally favorable reviews", just one point shy of "universal acclaim", according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Samuel Bass of '' NextGen'' called it "one of those rare sequels in which more of the same is definitely a good thing." Brian Wright of ''GamePro''s website-only review said that the game "shows what can happen when developers listen to the fans and make changes according to their suggestions and complaints. While the gameplay remains the same, the new features and improvements make ''Homeworld: Cataclysm'' even more enjoyable the original."

The staff of ''Computer Gaming World'' nominated it as the best strategy game of 2000, although it lost to ''Sacrifice''. The game was also nominated for the "Strategy Game of the Year" award at ''GameSpot''s Best and Worst of 2000 Awards, which went to '' Shogun: Total War''. It was also nominated for the "Best Graphics in a PC Game" and "Best Strategy Game for PC" awards at ''The Electric Playground''s Blister Awards 2000, both of which also went to ''Sacrifice''.

Legacy

''Homeworld: Cataclysm'' works on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows XP, Vista, and 7 after being patched to version 1.01. However, as with its predecessor, graphical glitches frequently occur when not using the software renderer. OpenGL may be enabled by running the game in compatibility mode of Windows NT 4.0 (Service Pack 5). The game is locked at a 4:3 aspect ratio, however, Widescreen resolutions may be applied by editing the registry.

The ''Remastered Edition'' from Gearbox Software, the new owners of the ''Homeworld'' IP, has been updated to be fully compatible with all versions of Windows and includes both updated and original copies of both games. This collection does not include ''Homeworld: Cataclysm'' as it has been reported that the source code for this game has been lost, while others report that potentially former developers have a backup and that the audio assets are available. In February 2015, Gearbox announced that they are still interested in remaking ''Cataclysm'', if the source code would be found. In a February 18, 2015 Twitch interview, former ''Cataclysm'' developers stated that a remake should be possible even without the ''Cataclysm'' source code but with the ''Homeworld Remastered'' engine.

Notes

References

External links

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{{Relic Entertainment

2000 video games
Cataclysm
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Real-time strategy video games
Space opera video games
Video game expansion packs
Video games developed in Canada
Video games scored by Paul Ruskay
Windows games
Windows-only games