There was once a game named Shipbreakers, developed by the same guys behind Homeworld 1 and 2 after they left Relic Entertainment; when Gearbox Software acquire Homeworld's publish rights, they offered the team behind Shipbreakers to reshape the game as aprequel to the original Homeworld, one that would tell the story of the Kushan people before uncovering the Guidestone that would guide them to their origins.
Deserts of Kharak retains some elements of Homeworld, most noticeably the Sensor Manager, moveable base, and resourcing operations; however, the game is set on land, so no tridimensional movement.
The emphasis is on unit positioning and line of sight, with terrain features blocking how far units can see and fire; it's much closer to Ground Control to Homeworld, though it lacks some of the former's finesse: unit positioning is incredibly important, but there's no way to tell a formation which direction to face while stationary, and pathfinding isn't particularly good.
Unit balance is a refined version of HW2, with all vehicles on the flimsy side, forcing players to create a mixed unit composition with ranged units, support units (artillery), and armour to counter the various threats this game offers.
Capital vehicles are more resilient than others, but they can be annihilated by railguns and are incredibly expensive, so efectively managing all your units is a must.
Your base, the giant mobile carrier Capisi can also launch fighters, bombers, gunships, and cruise missiles (given you have built them), allowing for some pretty complex tactics, though these can only be launched with the carrier selected, not the quickest thing in the world. The build queue is too only available with the Kapisi selected; selecting the Kapisi automatically opens the research menus, and every research is one the same menu. The interface is a bit cluttered, HW2's interface was better.
Deserts of Kharak is not a particularly hard game once you figure out how to assemble your force, and all missions are based on very evident triggers that give plenty of opportunities to prepare for whatever's coming. Artillery support is incredibly important, as these units can engage at extreme range, well outside the standar camera's minimum zoom: most of the times orders are issued through the sensor manager.
Homeworld Deserts of Kharak might not be as seminal as Homeworld was, but it's still a decent strategy game, that falls short on certain aspects because it tries to mimick too much its predecessors.
Deserts of Kharak retains some elements of Homeworld, most noticeably the Sensor Manager, moveable base, and resourcing operations; however, the game is set on land, so no tridimensional movement.
The emphasis is on unit positioning and line of sight, with terrain features blocking how far units can see and fire; it's much closer to Ground Control to Homeworld, though it lacks some of the former's finesse: unit positioning is incredibly important, but there's no way to tell a formation which direction to face while stationary, and pathfinding isn't particularly good.
Unit balance is a refined version of HW2, with all vehicles on the flimsy side, forcing players to create a mixed unit composition with ranged units, support units (artillery), and armour to counter the various threats this game offers.
Capital vehicles are more resilient than others, but they can be annihilated by railguns and are incredibly expensive, so efectively managing all your units is a must.
Your base, the giant mobile carrier Capisi can also launch fighters, bombers, gunships, and cruise missiles (given you have built them), allowing for some pretty complex tactics, though these can only be launched with the carrier selected, not the quickest thing in the world. The build queue is too only available with the Kapisi selected; selecting the Kapisi automatically opens the research menus, and every research is one the same menu. The interface is a bit cluttered, HW2's interface was better.
Deserts of Kharak is not a particularly hard game once you figure out how to assemble your force, and all missions are based on very evident triggers that give plenty of opportunities to prepare for whatever's coming. Artillery support is incredibly important, as these units can engage at extreme range, well outside the standar camera's minimum zoom: most of the times orders are issued through the sensor manager.
Homeworld Deserts of Kharak might not be as seminal as Homeworld was, but it's still a decent strategy game, that falls short on certain aspects because it tries to mimick too much its predecessors.