Graphics and Sound

3D accelerated goodness

The artists and model designers of Homeworld pulled all the stops for this game. There are around 30 different ship types in the game, each of which is modeled and decorated exquisitely. Huge carriers carry smaller fighter ships in cavernous fighter bays. Rockets spit out rhythmically from bays on the bow of missile destroyers. Turreted gun frigates actually have their turrets rotate and recoil as they fire projectiles at the enemy. This game is detailed to a T, as you'll see resource ships, research ships, and fighters docking into larger ships. Although we're not quite as blown away with Homeworld today as we were back in April 1998, the technology is by no means dated - there's some serious eye candy here with ships and missiles twisting in colored afterburner wakes.

Docking with the resource controller

Turrets turn to face enemies

Everyone is going to be able to join in the fun here - all the major 3D APIs are supported (Direct 3D, OpenGL and Glide), and there's even a software mode, but you're probably not going to want to use that if you can avoid it. Action can get wild and woolly, particularly if more than one person is fond of small fighters. Without a beefy processor, things can really slow to a crawl with dozens of fighters on screen, so you're going to want to help things out as much as possible by getting a good 3D accelerator.

Now that's a fighter bay

Missile destroyer in center

Ear candy?

With so much to feast your eyes on, Homeworld seems to avoid sensory overload by going easy on the sound effects. Since most of your gameplay will have you pulled farther out from the action to manage large fleets, explosions and shots sound mainly muffled and distant. Zooming in closer will bring the action in closer and clearer to your ears. As it stands now in the beta test, the sound effects are ok or maybe a bit above average. There's definitely some room for improvement though, if the developers look for it. On the bright side, there is some cool radio chatter that makes up the bulk of "order acknowledged" sounds in the game. When you send your fighters into a battle they're sure to win they'll reply "I almost feel bad about this," and other nifty context related messages.