Homeworld | Quickstart guide for new players

[@twiglets2]

Have you recently purchase Homeworld? Are you a veteran who has some tips to share with new players? Either way, I hope you find the video useful!

[@DasHeino2010]

Yes! Yesterday. I played a bit Starwars Empire at war, a lot of Supreme commander, command & conquer, AoE etc. I find it rather complex at first glance... So i am here now. XD

[@rivenoak]

as a veteran from HW classic an important tidbit : the remastered game uses a different engine, not just for the pretty graphics but gameplay. the remastered game is more challenging because the game now calculates your fleet against enemies and will punish you for success in a prior mission by mopping you in the next mission. it happens for example in mission 3, when you emerge in Kharak orbit with a lot of ships: suddenly there are more enemy frigates pummeling the cryo trays than in the same classic mission.

[@twiglets2]

@@rivenoak That explains a heck of a lot that I didn't realise!

[@robbob1866]

I just started the revamped version and this will be the third time I'm playing the game. One of my all time favourites! Story, sound design, music and visuals are just amazing, even now. My tactic on the second playthrough was to capture everything! Cloaked groups of tugs would sneak up to whatever my target was and I found that so much fun, plus amassing a gigantic fleet that was far beyond what the game would normally allow was icing on the cake! I'm getting reacquainted with the game again so that's why I'm here. Thanks for the refresher

[@twiglets2]

@@robbob1866 No problem my friend, I'm glad you're enjoying it! Are you looking forward to Homeworld 3? It looks pretty cool so far, but I've been duped by good marketing before!

[@davidmalm147]

One thing I discovered is .. if you are having a hard time giving out orders in time of battle .. you can still give a command while in pause. they will not do anything till you unpause. you can only give one command at a time like this. but it can give a time to breath and think of what to do next

[@twiglets2]

Thanks for the advice, that's so useful!

[@dan7291able]

Thanks dude

[@patholas]

I played the original Homeworld years ago, and the box came with a handy key shortcut card... in the remastered one, you can press F10 to bring up the game menu and peruse the keys in Options... Learned so much from that! Like Alt-left-clicking on any object centres the camera on it, or double pressing a number for an assigned group centres the camera on it, too...

[@Krolmark]

I might be late to the party, but I wanted to add to point 15. If you want to deselect specific squadrons from your selection, you can shift+left-click the ships portrait in the bottom left, which will make the ship you clicked get deselected. Also, if you double-right-click a unit, you will select all ships of the same name (name specifically, it won't select the Elite versions) that are on the screen.

[@twiglets2]

Thank you for the additional tips, I'll certainly find those useful! Did you see the Homeworld 3 gameplay trailer that released yesterday?

[@Krolmark]

No I only learned about Homeworld 2 days ago because of Homeworld 3 on the steam news window and I fell in love instantly! BRB, gotta go watch more videos about Homeworld!

[@zitrowill8530]

this is one of the main things I was looking for! thanks a lot! Great Vid Twig!

[@bobskibob8870]

If you played the single player campaign, remember the hyperspace gate with the 250 ion cannon frigates guarding it? I used my salvage corvettes to steal all of them ALL OF THEM. Took forever but it was worth it. When they were all lined up next to the mothership, they went off the screen in the sensor manager.

[@mattcargill8655]

I started with that plan too but gave up after 2hrs

[@Cracktune]

yoooo. ive watched this twice now. and will and third . good content here. the controls are a learning curve of sorts .

[@twiglets2]

Thank you I hope find it useful! I definitely struggled with the controls, so much so I gave up at one point. Then I tried again and it clicked eventually, and rewarding. Are you going to get Homeworld 3?

[@frankycaliberz]

I just started this game and honestly I need to adjust my tactics let alone learn how to play the actual game 😅😅😅😅😅 Thank you for the tips!

[@twiglets2]

@franklycaliberz I hope you found the video useful, it's a tricky but rewarding game!

[@ZunamiRevert]

Just picked this game up. Gotta say, compared to other RTS games this one seems like it’ll actually have you clenching. My first campaign after the tutorial ended within 10 minutes, and I stomp games like HOI4 and Stellaris but those seem like kid games at this point with this kinda movement system, flexibility when creating your fleet, and the actual RTS of having to formulate a plan with no slow downs.

[@twiglets2]

@KingZane Homeworld has a great formula. Many think the second game messed with it too much, but the first game is legendary. Both the mechanics and the story are something worth experiencing at least once!

[@ZunamiRevert]

@@twiglets2 For sure! The prologue by itself had me invested enough not to skip anything. I watch cutscenes through because the camera work is so nice! Combat is pretty simple for now but I'm sure I'll gain experience with choosing the best formations and aggressiveness. On my second go round I decided I'm taking my time. It seems the game doesn't rush you into hyper space so I explore and see what resources I can get. Already building a pretty nice fleet that I'm gonna overhaul as soon as I get a Capital ship and a Carrier. I'm addicted already

[@twiglets2]

@@ZunamiRevert sounds awesome! I think Homeworld 3 has been delayed until next year but at least this way you get some time with the originals before the new one comes out!

[@precido]

Excellent video both in content AND brevity!!! ✌

[@twiglets2]

@precido Thank you! I hope you found it useful my friend

[@ovaldreamx4397]

Why couldn't you do this concise and usefull tutorial say... 10 years ago when I started playing homeworld? Hahah

[@twiglets2]

Haha I'm sorry my friend, I'm annoyed I didn't discover the game myself that long ago, I'm jealous you've had that much time with it!

[@kevinmiddleton946]

Also, if you dock damaged fighters they will heal up before they auto-launch

[@twiglets2]

@kevinmiddleton946 Nice tip, thanks!

[@PromethorYT]

I just wish this game had a left panel showing groups and ships to select them/view their status easily. A bit like Sins of a Solar Empire. I can't believe I actually got both Homeworld 1 & 2 remastered and original for less than 5 Canadian riel (joke on worthless currency). Just *GET IT NOW* its on huge discount right now like 4.50$ USD for both games.

[@twiglets2]

I like that idea, maybe they'll do that for Homeworld 3! These two games are SUCH a bargain thanks for highlighting the discount - I hope you're still enjoying them!

[@Krolmark]

You can actually see the control groups at the bottom of the screen, but if you mean that the individual ships should be visible in each group, yea that would be amazing!

[@patholas]

Salvage corvettes: if I know I'm going to be trying to grab lots of enemy ships in a hurry, I'll assign pairs of them to hotkey groups (I use 9, 8, 7..) then focus on the enemy and give each pair a different ship to snaffle while the cutscene's still going on...

[@twiglets2]

Haha excellent tactic, thanks for sharing I'm going to give that a try!

[@Taranis68]

Some good tips here. I only wish I had seen this video before I rage quit at "Mission 10: Supernova Research Station". I didn't know to to move up or down properly on the vertical axis.

[@twiglets2]

@Taranis68 That mission gave me a real headache, in fact I think it's the original reason I decided to make this video!

[@mrhenrik7472]

Ended up buying the game after your first video, and was hoping for a video like this since the controlls turned out to be quite frustrating sometimes. Especially the mission where there are radiation and your ships have to follow radiationfree "lanes" that goes up and down. Sent my fleet to attack and suddenly half my fleet was gone because they went just under the lane... Great game though, cant wait for homeworld 3 :)

[@twiglets2]

I share your frustration with that level, it took me a while to get through that one! I hope the video was useful, bring on Homeworld 3

[@fonesrphunny7242]

These lanes used to be marked with tiny objects, so you could use the 'pole' extending downwards to give precise move commands easily. Small but clever design choice. In the remaster these poles don't show up for some reason, making navigating much harder than it used to be.

[@twiglets2]

@@fonesrphunny7242 Thanks for the heads up on that, I keep hearing of various bits that were included in the originally but didn't make it into the remaster. I wonder why they made those choices...

[@patholas]

@@fonesrphunny7242 you could always build then park a series of probes, then you only have to find the right places once...

[@Drave_Jr.]

Does Auto Launch then also disable the repairing feature of Motherships/Carriers?

[@69HardKoreaN69]

I found the lack of tutorials for this game quite difficult... so thank you, I was looking how moving ships up and down as i am actually playing mission 10

[@twiglets2]

@69HardKoreaN69 You're welcome. I found it difficult so when I eventually figured it out thought I'd share with others so they can just enjoy the game!

[@supaplextor]

There are hotkeys to switch between your assigned groups for defense or attack.

[@PhazonSouffle]

Does anyone know the optimal number of collectors and refineries for each resource patch?

[@robbob1866]

This is late but I would say be conservative so if you have plenty of resources and think that an extra one will help, do that. I'm just restarting but I would guess that 5 or so should be plenty for the collectors

[@owennorcross4407]

Thank you for making this video

[@twiglets2]

It's my pleasure, I hope it was useful!

[@liQUiDGleipneir]

Thanks!

[@toddgattfry5405]

Would this work with an XBOX controller?

[@sturdyalpaca]

In what order should I play the games? DoK, Cata, 1, 2? I’m skipping 3 because it’s apparently terrible

[@twiglets2]

@@sturdyalpaca personal opinion will vary, but in my opinion 1 is by far the best (as in it's a great story) and 2 is pretty good, but not as good as 1. So I'd say give 1 a try and see what you think :)

[@sturdyalpaca]

@@twiglets2 thanks for the reply! I heard DoK is a prequel for one but kinda like a Star Wars prequel situation so I’ll play 1 first, then DoK, then 2, then maybe Cata

[@twiglets2]

@@sturdyalpaca sounds like a plan, let us know how you get on!

[@AngelusFromHell]

Thanks for the tips! In the second or third mission, the operator suggests that the enemy vessels hulls are thinner in some parts and he says it's better to attack those parts. How can I decide what parts of the vessels attack? Plus, how can I exclude one unit from a group? I started playing rts again after more than 15 years of not doing it and my ADHD makes things hell! 😰

[@twiglets2]

@AngelusFromHell from memory I don't believe you can target different areas (like you can in Empire at War) but I might be wrong on that!

[@cairnarunir]

​@twiglets2 old message, but just in case, the larger ships have subsystems that can be targeted. For instance the production modules on the mothership or the missile rack on the vaygr destroyer

[@nanocompa2411]

great vid thanks

[@twiglets2]

@nanocompa2411 Glad you enjoyed it

[@SteelbeastsCavalry]

I stopped playing after wasteland mission number one. There's no way I can defend myself from all of the attacks simultaneously.

[@local-Pilot-45]

this game as me going to Elden Ring to calm down. this game is hard

[@twiglets2]

@@local-Pilot-45 hard but a good story!

[@mehmetakcan141]

You forgot the most important part ! CTRL 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 ! Which other game has so many ''group voice acting'' ?...

[@twiglets2]

I find it interesting that the characters are always so calm, even when they're blowing up!

[@razorwireclouds5708]

Truly annoying that we don't have middle mouse button for panning.

[@twiglets2]

Maybe they will include that in Homeworld 3!

[@razorwireclouds5708]

@@twiglets2 One can hope. I've loved these games since their original releases and I've already pre-ordered the collector's edition for Homeworld 3. So I'm all in regardless 😂

[@twiglets2]

@@razorwireclouds5708 Wow that's commitment, I hope you enjoy the game! Could you come back and let us know what you think when the time comes?

[@brandonbrown1328]

this is the 7th video I've watched that doesn't cover the formations in-depth. do yall just not use the formations?

[@twiglets2]

@brandonbrown1328 I'd be the first to admit I'm no expert but I believe formations became fundamentally useless, looking cool but not serving a purpose, in HW2 that is. Maybe that's why many videos stay away from it?

[@zacharywilson4314]

Not the mobile game false

[@robbob1866]

Sneak up on what you want to capture under cloak. Park your group on top of your target then tell the salvage corvettes to grab the ship. Make sure that any excess corvettes stay with the cloaking ship and retreat to a safe position. If done properly you'll gain ships not lose them

[@dan7291able]

Thank you for this, HUGE help, dont know how i never heard of this game for 20 years but damn glad i stumbled onto it, albeit way late lol, so the tips are a huge help considering i cant tap into my experience that doesnt exist 20 years ago lol

[@twiglets2]

@dan7291able I'm glad it's useful! Let's hope they do a good job with Homeworld 3, there's a lot of excitement for it

[@CrazyFarseer]

Hmm, wasn’t all of this in the tutorial? A couple things I’ve learned in my recent play time: * I’m pretty sure that at the start of each mission, your entire fleet is set to passive stance. Your stance is not remembered. * When you have an opportunity to trade, you must left click on the trade partner to do so. * Formations have no hidden modifiers to ship stats. However, they are valuable for getting your ships to move in groups. That said, interceptors may not want to fly in formation when dogfighting.

[@cosmicduo6885]

I can't event launch it how do I fix it

[@fonesrphunny7242]

"Mass Attack" works with loads of other commands as well. G - guard, Y - Repair, H - harvest / collect salvage ... even abilities like the HC's Flak Burst. Many in game cutscenes allow you to move the camera and give commands, so memorize these Production ships can have a rally object, allowing you to send new ships to the front automatically. A forward carrier makes an excellent rally point. Kadesh is pretty easy. In Garden, spend your RU before mining, to avoid the trigger. Heavy and Multigun Corvettes are your best friends. A few frigates hunt down fuel pods ('Tab' and look for the icons), rest of the fleet goes directly for the "needle ship". The mission will be over, before fleet command even figures out what's up. Quick mission, 'minimal' losses, lot's of RU to spend. In Cathedral, same deal. Be aggressive, just be aware of an attack wave of frigates. In my last playthrough I came out with about 30k RU, and never had to bother with harvesting again. Especially now that large ships leave valuable debris behind, which also get auto-collected after each mission. It's ridiculously out of balance.

[@twiglets2]

Thanks for the tips, very helpful!

[@greenmarin3]

All good advice. Watched it to refresh my memory. Purchased it on steam as I lost the original years ago. In prep for homeworld 3 useful information.

[@twiglets2]

@greenmarin3 glad it was useful, fingers crossed they do HW3 justice

[@TatsuyaWow]

thank you i did not know mass attack i was targeting each unit to counter not to mention know every one of them so much easier. yeah homeworld 3 looking good. btw did you watch the legend of the galatic hero !

[@twiglets2]

@TatsuyaWow I can't say I did watch that, is it an old series?

[@Jamie-666]

Bookmarks/hotkeys are a must for navigating the battlefield.

[@twiglets2]

I didn't quite get that far in my time with the game but given the 3d nature of the game I can imagine! Hopefully they get HW3 right and do it justice

[@DJBV]

Im still wrapping my head around tactics and formations

[@twiglets2]

@DJBV are you playing 1 or 2? They changed them quite a lot for Homeworld 2!

[@twiglets2]

@DJBV are you playing 1 or 2? They changed them quite a lot for Homeworld 2!

[@leobezard5998]

this is really handy, thank you, I'm getting my ass kicked in these early missions

[@twiglets2]

@leobezard5998 You're welcome my friend! I recall getting my ass whooped early on and getting frustrated as I wanted to progress the awesome story!

[@leobezard5998]

@@twiglets2 could you do a video on tactics and maneuvering, that's another thing I'm having a hard time on, thanks for the video btw

[@twiglets2]

@@leobezard5998 No problem my friend and I will have a look into that for you! Not long now until Homeworld 3 (unless they delay it again) so it's a great time to get into the game!

[@mac3770]

Why not on iPad? The thing that makes it more crazy or retarded is that the iPad Magic Keyboard trackpad is awesome and works better than a MacBook trackpad imo. No reason at all not to port these games.

[@twiglets2]

@mac3770 I'd never considered pc games on an iPad before, maybe they will for homeworld 3!