Gameplay
Homeworld is a real-time strategy game set in space. Gameplay, as in most real-time strategy titles, is focused on gathering resources, building military forces, and using them to destroy enemy forces and accomplish an objective. The game includes both single-player and multiplayer modes; the single-player mode consists of one story-driven campaign, broken up into levels. In each level, the player has an objective to accomplish before they can end the level, though the ultimate objective of the mission can change as the level's story unfolds. Between each of the 16 levels is a hand-drawn, black-and-white cutscene with narrative voiceovers.
The central ship of the player's fleet is the mothership, a large base which can construct other ships; unlike other spacecraft, in the single-player campaign the mothership is unable to move. Present in each level are stationary rocks or dust clouds, which can be mined by specialized harvesting ships which then empty their loads at the mothership in the form of "resources", the game's only currency. Resources can be spent by the player on building new ships, which are constructed by the mothership. Buildable ships come in a variety of types, which are discovered over the course of the game. They include resource harvester ships, small fighter ships, frigates, destroyers, and heavy cruisers, as well as specialized ships such as research vessels and repair corvettes. Fighter ships need to return to the mothership periodically to refuel, while salvage corvettes can capture enemy ships and tow them to the mothership to become part of the player's fleet. In some levels, new ship types can be unlocked by capturing an enemy ship of that type, through research performed at the research vessel, or through plot elements. At the beginning of the campaign, the player may select between controlling the "Kushan" or "Taiidan" fleet; this affects the designs of the ships and changes some of the specialized ship options, but has no effect on the plot or gameplay.
Each level's playable area is a sphere, bisected by a circular plane. Ships can be directed to move anywhere in that sphere, either singularly or in groups. The game's camera can be set to follow any ship and view them from any angle, as well as display the ship's point of view. The player may also view the "Sensors Manager", wherein they can view the entire game map along with all visible ships. Ships can be grouped into formations, such as wedges or spheres, in order to provide tactical advantages during combat with enemy ships. Non-specialized ships are equipped with weapons to fire upon enemy ships, which include ballistic guns, beam weapons, and missiles. As a ship is damaged by weapons its health bar depletes, visual effects such as fire and smoke are added, and it can eventually explode.
When all mission objectives are completed, the player is given the option to make a hyperspace jump to end the level. This may be postponed in order to gather more resources or build more ships. When the hyperspace jump is initiated, all fighters return to the mothership while larger ships line up next to it, and blue rectangles pass over the ships and teleport them to the next level. The player retains their fleet between levels, and the difficulty of each mission is adjusted to a small extent based on how many ships are in the player's fleet at the beginning of each level. In multiplayer games, the objective is typically to destroy the enemy motherships, though other battle-oriented victory conditions are available. The mothership is capable of movement, and as there are no levels, the research done at the research vessel follows a technology tree with each upgrade or ship design taking a set amount of time, rather than also being dependent on a plot point. Multiple maps are available, as are options to turn off the need to research technologies or fuel consumption for smaller ships.
Plot
A century prior to the start of the game, the Kushan, humanoid inhabitants of the desert planet Kharak, discovered a spaceship buried in the sands, which holds a stone map marking Kharak and another planet across the galaxy labelled "Hiigara", meaning "home". The discovery united the clans of Kharak, who knew they were not indigenous to Kharak and craved to solve the mystery of how they came to this hostile planet. Together, they spent the next century developing and building a giant mothership that would carry 600,000 people to Hiigara, with neuroscientist Karan S'jet neurally wired into the ship as Fleet Command to replace an unsustainably large crew. The game opens with the maiden voyage of the mothership, testing the hyperspace drive which teleports the fleet to a new destination. Instead of the support ship that was expected to be there, the mothership finds a hostile alien fleet. After defeating them, the mothership returns to Kharak, to discover that the planet has been razed by another alien fleet, and that only the 600,000 migrants in suspended animation have survived. A captured enemy captain claims that the Kharak genocide was the consequence of their violation of a 4,000-year-old treaty between the interstellar Taiidan Empire and the Kushan, which forbids the latter from developing hyperspace technology.
After destroying the remnants of both alien fleets, the nascent Kushan fleet sets out for Hiigara, intent on reclaiming their ancient homeworld. Their multi-stage journey across the galaxy takes them through asteroid fields, a giant nebula, a ship graveyard and several Taiidan outposts. Along the way, they fight other descendants of their Hiigaran ancestors who have turned to piracy. They also meet the Bentusi, a race of traders, who sell them advanced technology. After discovering that the Bentusi have given aid to the exiles, the Taiidan attempt to destroy them, but are stopped by the Kushan fleet. The Bentusi then reveal that the Kushan had once ruled their own empire, before being destroyed by the Taiidan and exiled from Hiigara. In gratitude for the Kushan's intervention, they promise to summon the Galactic Council to consider the Kushan's claim to Hiigara.
As their journey continues, the Kushan fleet gives sanctuary to the Taiidan rebel Captain Elson. With his help, they rally a rebellion to distract the Taiidan fleets. He aids them in penetrating the Hiigaran system blockade, and in engaging the central Taiidan fleet led by the Taiidan emperor. The emperor manages to knock Karan into a coma for the duration of the battle, but the combined Kushan and rebel fleets defeat the Taiidan regardless. The Galactic Council arrives shortly thereafter and confirms the Kushan's claim to Hiigara, a lush world in contrast to the desert planet of Kharak. When the Kushan make landfall, Karan insists to be the last one to set foot on the planet.
