Homeworld 3 was announced a few months ago via a trailer that takes the franchise back to the stars. In that announcement, publisher Gearbox Software and developer Blackbird Interactive also revealed that the game would crowdsource its funding over on Fig. After 8,414 backers donated $1,505,840, the Homeworld 3 development team has returned with an update on the game’s progress.
Crowdfunding and crowdsourcing
The Homeworld 3 team is determined to incorporate fans into the development process. As part of the Fig crowdfunding, backers could share their opinions and expectations for the game with the team. They could request features, set priorities, and even decide what the collector’s edition would include. As such, a lot of the Homeworld 3 developer update revolves around reporting back on those things.
In terms of characters and the game’s narrative, Karan S’Jet was unsurprisingly the most important. It’s safe to say everyone who plays the game wants to find out what’s next in her story. More of a surprise to the development team was how important ships were to the backers. In terms of importance in the narrative, the Mothership came a close second to Karan. With this love for ships in mind, the development team has been creating a fleet of new ship designs that they hope will build a strong sense of character and identity.
The most important factions for the backers were the good guys. The Hiigarans, Bentusi, and Progenitors came far head of the pirates and even the Taiidan. The developer’s takeout from this is that emotional connection is incredibly important to players. So, they’re determined to re-create that same unique connection in Homeworld 3 by focusing on the single-player experience (another thing the backers placed a high priority on).
The narrative will use the three most important themes for backers – exploration, redemption, and exodus – to bring the next chapter to life. That does sound very grand, doesn’t it?
Playing Homeworld 3
The gameplay in the Homeworld series is unlike any other with its non-traditional 3D RTS combat. As such, the developers asked fans what exactly about the gameplay excites them and drives their desire to keep playing.
The most important gameplay features to the backers were ones that encouraged strategic and thoughtful playstyles. These include items such as salvaging and cloaking. The developers seem happy about this, as they have a bunch of new features (which we assume lie in that same vein) currently in the works. Unfortunately, there are no details about these features yet.
What they do mention is the new ballistics system they are building and new ways to navigate the 3D environment with object-relative movement. These two features mean that Homeworld 3‘s gameplay will be more strategic than ever. Players will be able to use the environment for advantageous positioning and to take cover from enemies.
The last gameplay element mentioned by the developers is multiplayer. While they are focused on developing an impactful single-player experience, the team is exploring how best to incorporate new game modes.
The Homeworld 3 development update wraps up by promising to deliver updates every quarter from now until the game’s planned release in 2022. So, see you in three months.
