I just finished the game about an hour ago and got recommended this video… interesting to note. However, I thoroughly recommend the single player. It's a great game and I feel its worth the money I paid for it. I'll be going back to Homeworld and Homeworld II after. All of this stemmed from my interest in Nebulous Fleet Command. But yes, if you're looking for a solid RTS campaign attached to the Homeworld franchise then it will scratch that itch perfectly. Is it the greatest RTS? No. But it is well executed for what it is and the storytelling is superbly crafted.
The story was definitely well-considered; I 100% about the antagonists having a point. It was a constant itch in the back of my mind the entire time: "This all…isn't such a great idea…"
Sidenote: No, you're not missing anything. They leveraged our nostalgia on the pricing and the fact that anyone old enough to have that nostalgia and a computer to play this is also (likely) gonna have the money to pay that price and think "meh, whatever". Since, ya know, we're not kids anymore and have jobs. Anyway, spoilers, the whole thing is just a tragedy:
Kharak is dying. By the time you get to the first game, the planet is just about dead and totally unable to support life whatsoever, soon to lose its remaining bodies of water entirely.
Either way, they're screwed. In the end the Gaalsien were wrong, since finding Khar Toba turned-out to be the only chance for salvation for any of them, but there's zero way anyone in this part of the story would be able to predict that.
imho this game's biggest problem is that it's too short. i loved the game mechanics, but there just wasn't enough content to fully enjoy it. more varied maps would have also helped, the yellow dunes do get boring after a while.
Played DoK and HW1/HW2 last weekend when I saw the HW3 announcement. Fantastic series, really made me itch for more RTS honestly and made me found your channel, great vids!
The existence of RUs in this game still pisses me off. JUST LET ME SPEND MY MONEY, we didn't need 2 resources in Homeworld. It's a good game though otherwise.
Oh man. You're making me want to play again. I really liked this game, but I mostly fell in love with its beautiful art style. I played this after I played BattleTech and I just loved the style.
simple answer. No unless you can get it for $5 or less. 8 missions that dont have much replayability no pve and a dead multiplayer makes this game a 1 and done. hell just watch a playthrough.
A lot of fans really wanted story expansions, as you mentioned. We wanted to learn more about what life was like on the planet, the conflict, and what it was like for the original survivors. So just having Skirmish armies were pretty meh compared to expectations.
Still, I've watched some pretty high-level 3v3 games and tournaments that really show off the differences between each faction. Like a losing a whole resourcing patch to a sneaky blast drone or losing an army to a well-timed cruise missile. Shoutout to the channel Dreamlands. But it's also true that multiplayer in general did dry up pretty quickly.
I get what you're saying comparing its multiplayer to the variety of later C&C games (I'd also mention the late Dawn of War expansions too), but DoK's style is less "crazy superweapons and giant mechs" and more "grounded future-tech". Like, there's no base-building because most places get overwhelmed by sand before long, so you can really only put down temporary turrets.
In fact, my favorite thing about the visuals is that they did manage to include so many kinds of desert and the variety of dust & smoke effects. Like, I get it… it's just more desert, but if you look closely, there's a lot of detail there. The dust & smoke effects remind me of watching footage of the various conflicts in the Middle-East; black smoke and dusty mushroom explosions, tracks kicking up plumes of dust and sand.
TL:DR Homeworld DOK is a single player game with a multiplayer as an afterthought, instead of most which are multiplayer games with the single player as an afterthought..
I think this game would have been more successful in the RTS community had the multiplayer been better. Most of us love a great campaign in an RTS; however, its longevity will inherently be based on its multiplayer attraction. Thankfully, this game comes on sale quite often. I'll pick it up for the campaigns then.
I do agree with your criticisms. Only that I could describe the last mission as… underwealming like seriously underwealming. The mission overall was lacking in difficulty and the boss brought nothing new.
When it comes to the skirmish or just online side of the game. I think all of homeworld as a whole needs more work for online gameplay. Homeworld mobile offers an idea. That it being an open world. Imagine kharak (for example) being open world you have your carrier and a couple other units and you Rome the planet collecting resources, visiting bases and cities(imagine them as maps like tiir or epsilon) and of course fighting enemies? That to me could keep people playing for years to come especially if they add mod support, private servers and just adding. The space homeworlds should have no excuse for the last one. They are galaxy sized maps there is plenty to add.
I haven't played this game but the story being such a draw sounds wild, given that it's a prequel and what happens in the opener of Homeworld 1. It's technically a spoiler but come on, it's the first mission of a '90s game – Kharak gets Kharekt, sterilized of all life, as punishment for your people going into space. With that guaranteed down the timeline story-wise soon after that they must have pulled off a miracle to make whatever you do on the surface before that point not feel basically pointless.
DoK is awesome. I got it on sale on GoG and one of the most fun RTS games I've played. It has a cool concept and atmosphere and it allows something I like in RTS games and that is the ability to actually fight long range via artillery.
Yea it's not perfect but it seems like an idea what wasn't fully realized and I would absolutely love to play DoK 2, or take that worth and have it be on a planet that has deserts but also other landscapes as well, to add some variety.
I am weirdly really excited for HW3 but also very scared that it would be ruined by business greed.
I do think I would have liked to see HW from another perspective again like we do with Cataclysm because Somtaaw is one of my favourite Kiith's and make Karen feel kind of hallow at time when you compare the plots.
HW2 wasn't bad but lacked memorable moments the first few missions up until you start dancing with the progenitor feels like you are replaying HW1.
The remastered looks awesome but I was disappointed, HW2 was fine but HW1's remaster felt like I was playing HW2 but HW1 it was awful and I liked the fact that my strikecraft and corvettes had fuel but luckily their are mods.
I love this game, to me it integrated the vertical dimension even more than the original games with how important height positioning was. However, it really shows that this game was made basically for the campaign with the other modes being afterthoughts which is honestly pretty similar to the original games as well. I believe giving the cursed game (CNC4) any credit is wrong as the subfaction idea (which is pretty much what the two DLC factions are) is done in the same style as Kane's Wrath with the factions being variations and reskins of a base faction specializing in their own specialty (I love Soban railgun spam and turret throwing). I just wish we could use the other factions in the main campaign after completing it the first time.
First, Homeworld's original release absolutely supported this prequel. Information about Kharak, its people, their factions, and the historical events that led up to the state of the Hiigara people at the start of Homeworld are all laid out, in surprising detail, in the original Homeworld's manual and made it basically unchanged into this game's story. In fact, the events of this game fall into a space in the larger Kharak history that is vague to the point that, looking back on it now, makes you wonder if this prequel was not always planned. Secondly, according to an interview(that I wish I could still find) with the story lead of Deserts of Kharak, it was always made as a Homeworld prequel. When they got the rights to make it officially in the Homeworld universe, he had to do little more than a find and replace on proper nouns.
This game is annoyingly 2 thread limited. Tested it on fx 8300, phenom ii 955, q 9550 all show two threads max. Any method to make it less cpu demanding or use more threads?
The game was very lovely but sadly even there is 2 sides to choose, unit variety was not enough and late/big units were not so good. I guess they could at least add some more cool units.
Sidiim betrayal is unwarranted, bugs are still active in the campaign but not multiplayer, and ngl for $50 today, the game isn’t worth it. Wait till it’s at most $20. Worth it if you and a lot of friends have the game.
Is a "Repolish"-Mod planned? It would be nice to have new maps like Cityruins, or Forge- and Inustrialcomplexes on mars. Some more caiiertypes and new tech changes can be seen on models. Better AI, bit more zoom out, better performance such stuff. The game has it all!
I still think it's a niche RTS for the Homeworld franchise/universe, not for general RTS fans. It's like C&C and Dune met to have an estranged baby adopted by SC2, in gameplay and storytelling. I actually liked, and really liked the original 3D space RTS Homeworld than this hybrid, because it's just more practical and one of its own genre. If technology allowed, most of battles if not all, will be conducted and finished at the space because missiles always fly faster than ships and tanks, then war's outcome can be clear faster and political ramification can be dealt with sooner. So I won't play this game in 2022, even it's a really good game by design.
Finally beat HW and HW2 (remastered versions) for the first time last year, and jumped straight into Deserts. Loving it so far. All three are so amazing.
I just started playing the campaign for the first time this week – after yrs of just AI skirmishes with this and the old HW2 games. Guess I just didn't care enough about the back story, but it's fairly entertaining so far.
short answer: yes
long answer: yeeeeeeees
C&C…4?! "Horrified rich woman faint"
I just finished the game about an hour ago and got recommended this video… interesting to note. However, I thoroughly recommend the single player. It's a great game and I feel its worth the money I paid for it. I'll be going back to Homeworld and Homeworld II after. All of this stemmed from my interest in Nebulous Fleet Command. But yes, if you're looking for a solid RTS campaign attached to the Homeworld franchise then it will scratch that itch perfectly. Is it the greatest RTS? No. But it is well executed for what it is and the storytelling is superbly crafted.
The developer took a single sentence in the original intro and make a game out of it: "An expedition was sent."
Just wanted to pop in and say your channel's super underrated, hope you keep on inclining!
Yes to homeworld 3 vid
"A bit more Dune and a bit Spicier"
I see what you did there…. and I approve.
I'll admit that I have yet to finish Deserts of Kharak, whereas I've clocked Homeworld and specifically Homeworld 2 multiple times.
This game is absolutely phenomenal. A definite must play in 2022.
The story was definitely well-considered; I 100% about the antagonists having a point. It was a constant itch in the back of my mind the entire time: "This all…isn't such a great idea…"
Sidenote: No, you're not missing anything. They leveraged our nostalgia on the pricing and the fact that anyone old enough to have that nostalgia and a computer to play this is also (likely) gonna have the money to pay that price and think "meh, whatever". Since, ya know, we're not kids anymore and have jobs. Anyway, spoilers, the whole thing is just a tragedy:
Kharak is dying. By the time you get to the first game, the planet is just about dead and totally unable to support life whatsoever, soon to lose its remaining bodies of water entirely.
Either way, they're screwed. In the end the Gaalsien were wrong, since finding Khar Toba turned-out to be the only chance for salvation for any of them, but there's zero way anyone in this part of the story would be able to predict that.
imho this game's biggest problem is that it's too short. i loved the game mechanics, but there just wasn't enough content to fully enjoy it. more varied maps would have also helped, the yellow dunes do get boring after a while.
Played DoK and HW1/HW2 last weekend when I saw the HW3 announcement. Fantastic series, really made me itch for more RTS honestly and made me found your channel, great vids!
i love in DOK aircrafts 🙂 look at them i look at HW3 trailer 😉
commenters and deep thinkers: "Gaalsien is right, genocide by planet is far better then genocide by taiidan empire."
The existence of RUs in this game still pisses me off. JUST LET ME SPEND MY MONEY, we didn't need 2 resources in Homeworld. It's a good game though otherwise.
Heck yeah, I adore this game! I wish there was more included in it by default, but I'm still quite happy with what's made available.
What pushed me away from Deserts
of Kharak is that it pushes you into this very specific playstyle of heavy micromanagement. That's just not my thing
Oh man. You're making me want to play again. I really liked this game, but I mostly fell in love with its beautiful art style. I played this after I played BattleTech and I just loved the style.
simple answer. No unless you can get it for $5 or less. 8 missions that dont have much replayability no pve and a dead multiplayer makes this game a 1 and done. hell just watch a playthrough.
Yes, Yes, Yes.
Homeworld and Deserts of Kharak in particular have such amazing vibes. The music alone makes me go nuts.
It's a sadly short but pleasant experience.
C&C 4 is awefull. please dont mention that game ever again its the worst.
YES!
A lot of fans really wanted story expansions, as you mentioned. We wanted to learn more about what life was like on the planet, the conflict, and what it was like for the original survivors. So just having Skirmish armies were pretty meh compared to expectations.
Still, I've watched some pretty high-level 3v3 games and tournaments that really show off the differences between each faction. Like a losing a whole resourcing patch to a sneaky blast drone or losing an army to a well-timed cruise missile. Shoutout to the channel Dreamlands. But it's also true that multiplayer in general did dry up pretty quickly.
I get what you're saying comparing its multiplayer to the variety of later C&C games (I'd also mention the late Dawn of War expansions too), but DoK's style is less "crazy superweapons and giant mechs" and more "grounded future-tech". Like, there's no base-building because most places get overwhelmed by sand before long, so you can really only put down temporary turrets.
In fact, my favorite thing about the visuals is that they did manage to include so many kinds of desert and the variety of dust & smoke effects. Like, I get it… it's just more desert, but if you look closely, there's a lot of detail there. The dust & smoke effects remind me of watching footage of the various conflicts in the Middle-East; black smoke and dusty mushroom explosions, tracks kicking up plumes of dust and sand.
I should replay the campaign…
any year is a good year to play a homeworld game
I love the atmosphere in the game. Not the best RTS but it is ok.
TL:DR Homeworld DOK is a single player game with a multiplayer as an afterthought, instead of most which are multiplayer games with the single player as an afterthought..
To be honest, I liked their ground take with this entry to the Homeworld Franchise and I won't mind to see more.
I think this game would have been more successful in the RTS community had the multiplayer been better. Most of us love a great campaign in an RTS; however, its longevity will inherently be based on its multiplayer attraction. Thankfully, this game comes on sale quite often. I'll pick it up for the campaigns then.
Absolutely loved this game. I feel sad that it didnt get more attention.
Loved the game but yeah, wish there was more. I bought it on sale.
I do agree with your criticisms. Only that I could describe the last mission as… underwealming like seriously underwealming. The mission overall was lacking in difficulty and the boss brought nothing new.
When it comes to the skirmish or just online side of the game. I think all of homeworld as a whole needs more work for online gameplay.
Homeworld mobile offers an idea. That it being an open world.
Imagine kharak (for example) being open world you have your carrier and a couple other units and you Rome the planet collecting resources, visiting bases and cities(imagine them as maps like tiir or epsilon) and of course fighting enemies? That to me could keep people playing for years to come especially if they add mod support, private servers and just adding. The space homeworlds should have no excuse for the last one. They are galaxy sized maps there is plenty to add.
Any thoughts?
I haven't played this game but the story being such a draw sounds wild, given that it's a prequel and what happens in the opener of Homeworld 1. It's technically a spoiler but come on, it's the first mission of a '90s game – Kharak gets Kharekt, sterilized of all life, as punishment for your people going into space. With that guaranteed down the timeline story-wise soon after that they must have pulled off a miracle to make whatever you do on the surface before that point not feel basically pointless.
game 9:43?
DoK is awesome. I got it on sale on GoG and one of the most fun RTS games I've played. It has a cool concept and atmosphere and it allows something I like in RTS games and that is the ability to actually fight long range via artillery.
Yea it's not perfect but it seems like an idea what wasn't fully realized and I would absolutely love to play DoK 2, or take that worth and have it be on a planet that has deserts but also other landscapes as well, to add some variety.
I am weirdly really excited for HW3 but also very scared that it would be ruined by business greed.
I do think I would have liked to see HW from another perspective again like we do with Cataclysm because Somtaaw is one of my favourite Kiith's and make Karen feel kind of hallow at time when you compare the plots.
HW2 wasn't bad but lacked memorable moments the first few missions up until you start dancing with the progenitor feels like you are replaying HW1.
The remastered looks awesome but I was disappointed, HW2 was fine but HW1's remaster felt like I was playing HW2 but HW1 it was awful and I liked the fact that my strikecraft and corvettes had fuel but luckily their are mods.
I love this game, to me it integrated the vertical dimension even more than the original games with how important height positioning was. However, it really shows that this game was made basically for the campaign with the other modes being afterthoughts which is honestly pretty similar to the original games as well. I believe giving the cursed game (CNC4) any credit is wrong as the subfaction idea (which is pretty much what the two DLC factions are) is done in the same style as Kane's Wrath with the factions being variations and reskins of a base faction specializing in their own specialty (I love Soban railgun spam and turret throwing). I just wish we could use the other factions in the main campaign after completing it the first time.
there is active multiplayer community with games daily! Always looking for new players of any skill level.
First, Homeworld's original release absolutely supported this prequel. Information about Kharak, its people, their factions, and the historical events that led up to the state of the Hiigara people at the start of Homeworld are all laid out, in surprising detail, in the original Homeworld's manual and made it basically unchanged into this game's story. In fact, the events of this game fall into a space in the larger Kharak history that is vague to the point that, looking back on it now, makes you wonder if this prequel was not always planned. Secondly, according to an interview(that I wish I could still find) with the story lead of Deserts of Kharak, it was always made as a Homeworld prequel. When they got the rights to make it officially in the Homeworld universe, he had to do little more than a find and replace on proper nouns.
This game is annoyingly 2 thread limited. Tested it on fx 8300, phenom ii 955, q 9550 all show two threads max. Any method to make it less cpu demanding or use more threads?
The game was very lovely but sadly even there is 2 sides to choose, unit variety was not enough and late/big units were not so good. I guess they could at least add some more cool units.
Sale to get every game for 7CAD, so yes, it certainly is
I loved my playtime with this game …REALLY needed strong modding support to have legs though.
Sidiim betrayal is unwarranted, bugs are still active in the campaign but not multiplayer, and ngl for $50 today, the game isn’t worth it. Wait till it’s at most $20. Worth it if you and a lot of friends have the game.
Is a "Repolish"-Mod planned? It would be nice to have new maps like Cityruins, or Forge- and Inustrialcomplexes on mars. Some more caiiertypes and new tech changes can be seen on models. Better AI, bit more zoom out, better performance such stuff. The game has it all!
I still think it's a niche RTS for the Homeworld franchise/universe, not for general RTS fans. It's like C&C and Dune met to have an estranged baby adopted by SC2, in gameplay and storytelling. I actually liked, and really liked the original 3D space RTS Homeworld than this hybrid, because it's just more practical and one of its own genre. If technology allowed, most of battles if not all, will be conducted and finished at the space because missiles always fly faster than ships and tanks, then war's outcome can be clear faster and political ramification can be dealt with sooner. So I won't play this game in 2022, even it's a really good game by design.
Finally beat HW and HW2 (remastered versions) for the first time last year, and jumped straight into Deserts. Loving it so far. All three are so amazing.
I like this game even tho the campaign is a bit short because sometimes a decent linear campaign is all I need or want.
I just started playing the campaign for the first time this week – after yrs of just AI skirmishes with this and the old HW2 games. Guess I just didn't care enough about the back story, but it's fairly entertaining so far.