Homeworld Cataclysm - The Kuun-Lan

In the Post-Hiigaran Landfall era, one mining ship goes from hauling rocks, to hauling the one chance of victory against an all-consuming enemy.
Twitter: / macslore
Patreon: www.patreon.com/user?u=98553222
Alternate Description:
Remember Graveheart from Shadow Raiders? OK, take him and make him a ship in the Homeworld universe.
You can get Homeworld Cataclysm/Emergence from GOG: www.gog.com/en/game/homeworld...
All 3d models originally from Homeworld Cataclysm.
Cool and Good Places I stole from:
www.models-resource.com/pc_co...
www.models-resource.com/pc_co...
sketchfab.com/ArcFlash
www.moddb.com/games/homeworld...
00:00 Intro
00:25 Historical Background
02:09 Technical Specs
07:05 Service History
12:25 Credits
#homeworld #homeworldcataclysm #homeworld3

[@MacsLore]

Grizzly. Grisly. Grotto.

[@LordTelperion]

😂

[@louistran016]

Thank you for telling these wonderful lores. Just wonder why the Homeworld videos being shortened from glorious 30 mins to under 15 mins while there is a lot more to cover in later episodes?

[@LogisDavoth]

Grunting

[@Irobert1115HD]

fun fact: the mothership from homeworld 1 is likely the second fastest ship in the galaxy during the events of homeworld 1 with only the great harbour ship of bentus being faster. reason is the massive range that the hyperspace cores give.

[@JonathanLundkvist]

"This is the Kiith Somtaaw Warship Kuun-Lan" is one of the most earned lines in gaming history.

[@GtdAquataine]

It's such a great moment after spending the entire journey listening to the Kuun-Lan's captain refer to her as a mining ship. I did not tear up a little bit with pride when I was a wee lad upon hearing it.

[@wojszach4443]

Or right before battle with the beast, when Hiigaran captain showed them respect as warriors. Still nothing beats shouting damn ancient monster called Bentusi like scolding a dog!

[@MacsLore]

Yes.

[@martincirulis6811]

@@wojszach4443 I got in a lot of trouble for that mission bentusi;)

[@michellegoodman8722]

agreed

[@mjd11452]

FUN FACT!: recon craft in Homeworld: Cataclysm are canonically piloted by shortstacks. As a result of the fact that most recon patrols require spending long periods of time in a small cockpit, many Seekers pilots are young, single women of smaller stature. This has led to deep recon missions being referred to as “Heartbreak Patrols”...but whether this is more to do with the stress they put on fledgling relationships or the disruptions caused by these pilots making up for lost time upon their return is not known.

[@MacsLore]

I was actually reading that bit a day or two before, and I'm just like "lol". What a detail to add for a Somtaaw unit.

[@mjd11452]

@@MacsLore I even got an art piece commisioned of well short stack waifu based off that from a good artist and getting a second... I may need help.

[@martincirulis6811]

@@MacsLore Arinn Dembo was both the voice of the recon pilot and the writer of that bit of background material;)

[@vlasov18]

@@mjd11452 can you share It please

[@iona2225]

@@mjd11452 Show us the short-stack! You know, respectfully 🤗

[@Phrv199217]

The Kuun-Lan is by far the coolest protagonist in any RTS, in my humble opinion. The VAs of Command and Tactical give the ship a personality, the Unlikely Hero. And while on campaign, you build a rag-tag fleet of ad-hoc warships. The horror setting makes you grow even closer to it, and losing ships to the Beast hurts a lot thanks to the haunting screams. It makes you extra vigilant and protective. And in the final mission, the Kuun-Lan is determined to end this threat and finally calling itself a warship... it feels earned. You went through thick and thin, high and low with this ship. And this is why the Kuun-Lan as a whole is the coolest RTS protagonist. Miner turning into badass.

[@protato911]

If you really think about it, Isaac Clark from Dead Space trilogies gone through the same character arc as the Kuun-Lan.

[@DoremiFasolatido1979]

Melodrama counts as personality now? Do you think Tom Cruise is a good actor, too?

[@KiithSomtaaw_]

Two things about us and our former ally from Kharak: You dont know how freaking was difficult to purchase, develop and acquire all those technologies to built both sister ships. We were forced to use every tricks in the sleeve and keep it for themselves behind back of Great Daiamid, even during building at Hiigaran Mothership Shipyard. That was one reason why Nabaal were little bit upset that we apparently gained some kind of technological advantage. Second: Many lesser in power and in numbers little Kiiths joined us to just survive in post Homeworld War times. So, big clans werent happy that others than them grown.

[@MacsLore]

This is some good additional lore to the history of Kiith Somtaaw that I left out of this video since in the end I thought it was more suited for the inevitable Kiith Somtaaw Overview/Cataclysm video. But since it's here, have a pin.

[@aresaurelian]

Hehe.

[@FizzleFX]

Outstanding work ♥ Great to see so much passion still around. Homeworld was my first ever PC game and still is my all time favorite. It really is a journey the likes you rarely see (in gaming)...

[@BurningEarthProductions]

Can I just say that I'm in love with the visual style of those cinematics?

[@MacsLore]

It took three weeks of work, but damn I can't argue with the results.

[@cropathfinder]

Love the Kuun-lan its basically the scappy underdog anime protagonist of ships. I'm shit at HW games but i hope catalysm gets remastered just so i have an excuse to play trough all of em again

[@thorveim1174]

It sadly will likely never be remastered. The source code is lost.

[@cropathfinder]

@@thorveim1174 same thing happened to games like strife and they still got a remaster via reverse engineering the code

[@stoirmslw7195]

@@cropathfinder The Legend of Pirates of the Caribbean Online is a similar story after the original shut down part of the community rebuilt the game using the info from any game clients they could get assess to should be even easier on a single player game

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Moral of the story: don't deem source codes of anything as simple disposable items that don't deserve preservation.

[@cropathfinder]

@@michaelandreipalon359 definitely and keep backups so it doesn't get corrupted like that one mass effect DLC. Tho i don't think anyone really gave a shit about "pinnacle station"

[@leereiyuu]

I absolutely adored the game and its story. It is rare that a spinoff of a game even from another studio is of the same high quality as the original. A true gem of a game and a shame that it couldn't be added to the remaster edition.

[@RobotsEverywhereVideos]

Yeah this was the Fallout New Vegas of Homeworld

[@thcdenton]

Dude, you're getting really good at this. Those smooth pans, post processing, and ship breakdown animations look amazing.

[@DickbuttDirk]

I never beat Cataclysm because I played the demo when I was a kid and it scared me. I should probably play it now that I'm a BIG STRONG BOY

[@PraetorPaktu]

I wish you the best of luck.

[@leereiyuu]

Unfortunately it did not age well, but by all means: Try it and have an open mind. Behind that ancient graphics with low resolution and low frames is an absolutely stunning story with great people just doing their best in a war despite being mere miners.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

@@leereiyuu What do you mean it had not aged well?

[@leereiyuu]

@@michaelandreipalon359 I mean you can barely play it nowadays. But it is still an old 4:3 aspect ratio game, you cannot raise the resolution to anywhere near where we are now etc. This would have been a perfect candidate for a remaster.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

@@leereiyuu Thankfully, there are mods that can remedy that.

[@Sorain1]

I love the Kuun-Lan. It's my favorite ship in fiction. Not just for what it did, what it was and became, but because of the detailed history we have of how/why it was made and why it has the name it does. I consider the Kuun-Lan to truly be a flying monument, a temple in the stars to the bravery, resourcefulness and adaptability of the people of Hiigara.

[@captainandros]

Absolutely fantastic, I'm so happy to see the Somtaaw getting the recognition they deserved and doing the impossible. They truly deserved the title of Beast Slayers and brought into the innermost circle of Higaaran power. Too bad they didn't appear in Homeworld 2 cause they would have been a great help. Makes me wonder if they will ever play a role in Homeworld 3 cause these guys have earned their place as warriors and i know myself i would be honored to work alongside them

[@madkoala2130]

Maybe if gearbox finally makes that every ship class represent one of K'ith of Higarian society, they will be represented in interceptors or even better, destroyer or battlecruisers (but problem is, Cataclysm is officially non cannon, which is shame because they would be most likely put into mining vessels)

[@captainandros]

@@madkoala2130 The main reason is that the source code was lost due to Barking Dog being absorbed into Rockstar games and didn't want to make the game from scratch so it's easier to make it non Canon instead of giving the fans what they want. Personally I would say Cataclysm is still more canon to me than HW2 was. Sometimes the same studio doesn't have to make an expansion just to be Canon, heck even Hellfire for Diablo is the only official expansion for it and many still love Fallout 3 so yeah

[@alduintheanti-dragonborn]

I think both the Beastslayer's emblem and the regular Kiith Somtaaw emblem can be used for multiplayer ship design. Hopefully, we'll see an explorer-class vessel, or maybe even the Kuun-Lan herself during the campaign. I mean, why else would they show Kiith Somtaaw's emblem at the end of Deserts of Kharak if they didn't want people to get excited over more of one of the community's favorite Kiiths in the future?

[@captainandros]

​@@alduintheanti-dragonbornWell ido hope that we get to see some Easter eggs from previous games, maybe even some remnants of the beast or even meet up with some Somtaaw vessels. I'm sure that whatever we get from HW3 it's going to be epic beyond reason. For me the music from the legendary Paul Ruskay is going to make it just perfect

[@debbiebernhardt5406]

Here what I learned. These miners from the Karachi planet followed the science and military leaders into space. Once they got their homeworld, they decided to switch to modular mobile bases like Explorer class due to being useful in the ability to switch modules easily but to take advantage of newer tech whenever needed or replace lost modules whenever they were compromised. The hiigarian didn't know until they came back after they had fought with bentusi in order to get them thinking right again. They saw changing type of module might be better in long term ships like the mothership in homewolrd 2. Give them credit for requesting a custom ship that proved to be useful when despite times call for changes through your journey. I believe they reference this in homewolrd 3 by the protocol enacted in the campaign.

[@StefanBlagojevic]

Dear Mac, thank you for this trip down the memory lane. I played Homeworld: Cataclysm back in 2001 and only now did I learn that Kuun-Lan means "Purifying flame". 12:05 OH, MY GOD! You even reconstructed the scene, where all Kiith (Nabaal, S'jet and Sobanni) bow before Kuun-Lan after proving victorious against The Beast. Thank you for this great documentary, it brought a tear to my eye, great moments and memories. Keep up the great work! Subbed 🙂

[@ShrekMeBe]

Same here, about the Purifying Flame bit, though it might have been mistranslated from Discharged Rusty Pickaxe, I suspect. As for commitment, I rebuilt the ship in Space Engineers, was quite a thing to behold... did not find the Beast, but one similar called KLAANG, half the ship blew up, the rest drifts powerless through the void somewhere. On calm nights, when quasars sleep, you can hear the faint biiip biip biiip of my KuunLaan...

[@StefanBlagojevic]

@@ShrekMeBe Such is fate of most Hiigaran motherships .

[@PredatorHun87]

High quality as always. The new created animations were also greatly enjoyable.

[@exposingproxystalkingorgan4164]

The Homeworld Cataclysm game has a lot of replay value and never gets boring.

[@CMDR_Saber84]

Every time I still hear "We Live!" Or "The Beast" send chills down my spine

[@PeteOfDarkness]

One thing that is worth stating about Somtaaw is that majority of their Kiith was killed by Taiidani during burning of Kharak, leaving them withe less power, even amongst "equals". They also pooled population from other smaller Kiiths post Hiigara landfall for more power. That is stated as one of reason why they are so detached from other Kiith and also why they use some unconventional tactics... like Mimics and Martyr MCVs ("one use" scout ships, btw their voice acting is one of most chilling things in RTS).

[@ThunderBirb]

TAKE US BACK TO KHARAK- *boom* I retire those guys when ever I used them, always felt bad for them

[@krzosu]

The voice acting in that game was simply superb - and it made that game so immersive as hell.

[@PraetorPaktu]

Every frame of this video can easily be turned into a amazing wallpaper. Amazingly done.

[@herpderp9774]

Awesome video, I do love me some Homeworld Cataclysm and hold up all new sci fi games I play at least a little bit to this gem. The music score and delivery of dialogue in this game heightened the terror you would feel as things just spiraled further and further out of control. Having caused the release of the Beast in the first place only made you feel all the more guilty and responsible so getting stuck in no matter what really felt like the right thing to do. Beautifully written and executed and I still like to use the names of the Somtaaw ships to name my own in other games.

[@ReaVen443]

The "Kuun-Lan" may have started as nothing more than a miningbarge, but by the End of her story she has become a Legend of her own, the humbel mining ship that became a warship, even eclipsing the glory of both the "Pride of Hiigara" and the "Kushan Mothership"

[@silveredbullet802]

With the context of mandalores video, learning lore is a deep rabbit hole

[@robincray116]

If I recall the lore the Somtaaw Kith was originally a religious Kith that transformed into a mining Kith to to survive. Hence why their ships have religious names like acolyte class fighters and archbishop class dreadnoughts.

[@larslaufer301]

Oh please to a full "BeastWar" video. I never got to play that game and want ot know what happend.

[@MacsLore]

The Beast War will be covered sometime after I finish doing Homeworld 1. Then I can go ham on all the detail in Homeworld Cataclysm.

[@jamieolberding7731]

Mac's Lore 9.52K subscribers Wow....The Kuun-Lan sounds like a really cool, tough, tragic, heroic, and valiant little mining ship armed to the teeth.

[@FizzleFX]

10:15 ha literally. They always announced themselves "We are the mining ship KuunLan" until the final mission "We are the warship KuunLan" which was so epic

[@Dostoron]

i honestly loved the mission where you meet up with the faal corum, after already having upgraded the kuun lan. you get to watch as the "little sister" casts off the ore storage and begins building up to pull even both by itself and with its' escorts, before finally looking nearly identical and hyperspacing out to make sure this time you DO get your reinforcements.

[@Synthonym]

"Remember Graveheart from Shadow Raiders?" Yeah I fuckin do, that show ruled

[@JayHawke84]

Seeing the video of enhanced Cataclysm models makes me want a HW:C remaster more than ever

[@ThunderBirb]

Two neat things I learned ages ago First was the Ramming frigate was initially just a Heavy tug but during an operation of mining in a resource belt, the Kuun-lan came under attack by pirates and their attack carrier, instead of retreating from the area, 2 Heavy tugs rammed the attack carrier in the way of a passing asteroid destroying it. Second, in multiplayer you can change the name of your command ship, from Kuun-lan to Faal-corum as well as 6 others (forgot them). I'm not sure if its said anywhere else but its possible the Somtaaw were given access to build 6 more Explorer class ships given the events of the Beast war.

[@silent0089]

Even if this game claimed as non-canon, they're still the most badass clan, just as badass as Isaac Clarke if he's taken a role of a fleet commander of Ishimura

[@MacsLore]

Fortunately for us, Mandalore in his review of Homeworld Cataclysm said that when he checked with the studio, HWC was considered to be fully canon. While that does mean some lore consistency issues, it also means our beloved mining Kiith is truly a part of the universe.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Hope they do more heroics come HW3.

[@thegasmaskwarrior341]

Hey it's the coolest Commander that underwent the greatest story arc. What a fantastic expansion

[@Eclispestar]

As a huge fan of Honeworld. This game was great. I loved the story and lore made you want to play the game and beat it. Unlike many long games these days one gets lost in doing side quests.

[@aresaurelian]

These are pearls in the void that will not be forgotten, thanks to lore videos like these. Thank you for your hard work and dedication.

[@peepsbates]

First video I've seen on this channel and the production quality is fantastic. I LOVE the recreation of shots from the drawn cutscenes such as at 8:07.

[@smokeydooo9492]

Anyone keen on (re)playing this terrific game can find it remastered as Homeworld: Emergence. Mac, that is some really excellent work on this summary. The production level is Top Shelf!

[@julien5053]

One of the best if not the best of Homeworld saga. I've LOVED that game so much...

[@kodiak_qp614]

I love this game. Love all HW games but love this one the most. You should do a full video on the war.

[@MacsLore]

Eventually, yes. After HW1

[@Inignot12]

Whoa those new animations are strikingly gorgeous, love your stuff!

[@martincirulis6811]

Thank you very much for making this vid. This sort of thing really makes the day of the old team members on Cataclysm 👍

[@MacsLore]

I've said this on twitter, but it's worth saying again: Thank you for the work you and your team put towards making Homeworld Cataclysm.

[@martincirulis6811]

@@MacsLore you are most welcome...about a quarter of the cat team are still making games together under the Kerberos banner, and watching something like your piece puts new air behind our sails after rough days. If there is anything about cat or hw1 that I can answer, within professional discretion;), feel free to ask or get in touch!

[@michaelandreipalon359]

You've all done enough, Cirulis and co.. Same for your work on Treasure Planet: Battle at Procyon.

[@martincirulis6811]

@@michaelandreipalon359 thank you again, it does our heart proud to know anyone got to play and enjoy our lil Treasure Planet game!

[@WildHorseProductions]

11:30: "Despite being vastly outnumbered....." Rocks up to the Mission with several captured Heavy Cruisers and Destroyers..

[@R.DeMora]

I can't believe I'm only now discovering these lore videos. Such great quality and narration! We need more Homeworld lore fleshed out

[@LG-ff5bn]

This video is seriously underrated. It's visuals, structure of lore and narration is top notch 👌

[@Imgrrrr]

Hands down one of the most brilliant games I played in the early years of owning my own PC. This game is so worthy of being remastered, if not remastered, given a sequel!

[@strykenine7902]

Cataclysm got a lot of flak for reasons that still escape me. The beast was really terrifying and I think that if anyone ever got the itch to do a Dead Space style 3rd person survival horror game with it, it'd be tons of fun and really add to the Homeworld lore.

[@timothystuedemann5390]

I really liked Scott Swanson voice acting for the Captain of the Kuun-Lan. The scene with the scared Bentusi reminded me of John Sheridan from Babylon.

[@Pathfinder118]

One of my favorite parts of the lore is that Kith Somtaw got to change their symbol this was basically unheard of in Kith society there were strong laws present to make each kiths symbol sort of like a national flag but with a much deeper meaning. After defeating the beast the diad council approved changing Somtaws symbol as both thanks and to honor their efforts during the war and transition to a warrior house among equals a honor that HAD never been granted before in higgaran history.

[@additiveartificer9365]

They call bentusi a Bitch and survive that alone they deserve every respect

[@ChristochatBTW]

Ah this game was so good, the captain of the kuun-lan should be remembered as captain iron balls

[@hisdudeness8328]

Fun fact: Kith Soomtaw built the Fal-Korunn, the Kun-Lann, and the Kleesan in just 60 days, which was deemed impossible by the greater Kiths, which was the only reason Soomtaw was granted access to the Mothership’s manufacturing facilities.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Apart from the Bushan-Re and the pronunciation of the word "grisly,' great work once more. Hope you'll also check out Treasure Planet: Battle at Procyon, from the same devs. For more context, mayhaps you'll then check out the underrated Disney animated film that is set before it (though the events of the game are slightly different from the film's, since some characters are still around).

[@cardiv5zuikaku944]

Ah yes the Kuun lan, my fav ship in Homeworld universe, that quote when they refer itself as Warships is just so good

[@fcode9310]

Amazing as always, great script, loved everything about the animations. Really feels like watching a documentary. Keep up the awesome work!

[@Anacronian]

Reporter: hey, aren't you the kiith Somtaaw - The Beast slayers? kiith Somtaaw: yeah, we are pretty cool! Reporter: Aren't you also the Kiith responsible for unleashing The Beast in the first place? kiith Somtaaw: jeez why do you have to mention that?

astonishing how you were able to create those visuals from such an old game!

[@A.m.a.r.u]

_I loved Homeworld Games and your animations!_

[@SuperButtermesser]

Well done, this game was my first experience in homeworld series. I will never forget the kuun-Lan

[@GRODON7]

Excellent video! I never knew all that about about the old mining vessel. Thank you for the wonderful homage

[@CanuckWolfman]

...Every time you say "Beast War," I keep expecting to see a robot wasp get comically blown to pieces.

[@MrOskiee]

This video is stellar dude. Really great work.

[@deltaomega2136]

The Kuun-Lan is one of my four favourite starships of all time. So you can imagine I approve of this.

[@Gpz0]

I love the freeze scenes you've done for this, very cinematic.

[@barrybend7189]

I am going to name one of my Styx class Dreadnoughts in Star Trek Online to the Kuun-Lan.

[@ArnieMcStranglehold]

The cinematic style and production quality of these videos is an absolute godlike service to the legacy of these games. Thank you.

[@KaraValmeyjar]

Excellent video, my dude. That ending gave me chills.

[@smolpp585]

I love the work you put into this man! the animations are so cool, always wanted someone to do homeworld lore videos and you're the perfect person for it from what i've seen so far. thank you so much!

[@SkepticalChris]

Subscribed! Your work is too underappreciated! You deserve WAY MORE subscribers!!!!

[@Shelorygod]

I was just awestrucked by the beautiful and memorizing video, thanks!

[@Shirozaki743]

Can't stop liking this game. You made a really good video, man!

[@ZeroSpeaks]

This is so well done! The editing, pacing and overall presentation is phenomenal. I hope you get more attention in the future.

[@jamesp31stTasker]

The music of this game was top notch….im 33 now…I remember playing this for hrs at 11yrs old until my eyes hurt…only to go to sleep wake up and repeat…good memories…

[@supershadow102007]

lmao i couldn't stop wheezing when i saw the labels you put under the modules names XD

[@Kthanid]

Still the best Homeworld game. I'd love a full remake of this.

[@mrow7598]

The best homeworld game if you ask me.

[@JAnx01]

I just discovered this, then clicked on your channel to see the other videos and I've never subscribed to another channel so fast before.

[@eubeyouer8919]

The ship breakdown animations remind me a lot of the mission briefings in freespace.

[@MacsLore]

Yeah, actually. The breakdowns were heavily influenced by the Freespace command briefing animations. I believe my actual thought process of the time was "wouldn't it be cool to try something like that here?"

[@michaelandreipalon359]

FreeSpace missions briefings are the best briefings. Same for Ace Combat's.

[@louisdejager8035]

I've always admired the Homeworld games from afar never making the full plunge to actually play it. I was always a sucker for good stories too. I am very pleased your videos exist! The story behind the stories usually are very expansive, deep and above all very interesting. And this does not disappoint. Thanks for the lore!

[@jamesm8250]

Incredible content as always :)

[@comentnine1574]

Care to do a frontlines video next?

[@Ethian315]

I think people kinda forget when it comes to cinematic, 60fps will make it look cheap. They always want to go all out but forgets about going all out doesn't mean nice. Homeworld 2 voices, phase, and cinamatic still be the best. I guess i can just treat homeworld 3 as a spectator.

[@anotherdamnguardsman6342]

This is absolutely fantastic. I hope the Algorithm blesses you, this requires more views for the obvious amount of effort and energy you put into this project.

[@N30-JLI]

Awesome hope you do more Homeworld lore 😁👍

[@probeulater]

I get goosebumps every time I hear homeworld music. Thanks for this great video.

[@artificialgravitas8954]

Great Video, glad you made this

[@MrBigCookieCrumble]

Absolutely brilliant!!

[@gnryushi]

Well done. Enjoyed this very much.

[@personalmail7484]

ohhh yes new video! Holy Sadjuk!

[@captainspire9094]

I look forward to your review of Homeworld 3 when it comes out. It had the feel of history repeating itself for the Higarans.

[@r.davidsen]

Really good presentation!

[@SpitphireFilms]

Bruh these visuals are on point! Love this.

[@karolbielecki2379]

Such nice art of work here!

[@oxtcn]

Still really good videos! Thanks for the great content!

[@Jsay18]

This was made with Love, and I appreciate it.

[@Tee-np1fc]

This was my introduction to Homeworld!

[@StippleAlpha]

Well now isn't this channel just the cutest little hidden gem 🤗

[@CaptainSentry]

Outstanding. I would love to see a look over of all the vehicles of the deserts of Kharak.

[@creatorsfreedom6734]

thanks for this video mic n MAC

[@Formulka]

What an amazing lore video, thank you!

[@gavwebber9307]

Excellent summery well done.👍

[@kraosdadafusfus8034]

I hope Homeworld Revelations (that tabletop game) reveals the Kuun-Lan commander's name. His kiith-name is ofc Somtaaw, but his given name is unknown.

[@MacsLore]

Unfortuantely not. The book covers pre-exile to the end of the Homeworld War. The Beast War and Vagyr War are just downplayed as "Yeah they happened, no were not going to talk about it". I highly suspect they're saving those topics for future companion books if Revelations does good sales numbers.