Hardware: A Teaser From the Creators of Homeworld

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
45,698
1
0
Hardware: A Teaser From the Creators of Homeworld

From the makers of Homeworld comes the debut trailer for Hardware that's stunning, exciting and just a little bit familiar.

I somehow managed to overlook Hardware, the sci-fi strategy game announced earlier this year that's in the works at Blackbird Interactive, an indie studio founded in 2007 by, among others, Homeworld art director Rob Cunningham, Homeworld lead artist Aaron Kambeitz and former Relic art director and visual development supervisor Cody Kenworthy. That's a whole lotta Homeworld going on, which is why it's a bit odd that with all the furor over the possible resurrection [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/121689-Indie-Developer-Tries-to-Salvage-Homeworld-From-THQ] of Homeworld in the wake of the THQ collapse, Hardware has stayed largely under the (or at least my) radar.

So it's clearly time to do something about that, especially since this very sweet debut trailer hit the tubes yesterday. Homeworld vets will no doubt get a very serious "vibe" from it: the narrator's weathered voice, slow, percussive music and of course the great, rotting hulks half-buried in desert sand all but scream "Higaara." Which is perfectly fine by me, yet Cunningham told Rock, Paper, Shotgun [http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/01/17/interview-homeworld-dev-tells-all-about-new-rts-hardware/] in January that while the two games "share DNA," they're actually quite different.

"There is an art style that connects them, but the gameplay is very different, the experience is very different, but what will be the same is that sense of epic, immersive story. That connection with what's happening in the game world," he said. "We'll have [Homeworld composer] Paul Ruskay doing audio and music so we'll have that DNA in there as well, so from a creative point of view, a vibe, there are quite a lot of similarities, but in terms of the game itself, it's quite a departure from Homeworld."

Hardware is set on a mysterious, hostile desert planet littered with the wrecks of ancient starships, that's controlled by the "ruthless interstellar megacorporation" with the ominous name of Long March Industries. "LMI oversees a galactic gold-rush as prospectors and fortune seekers converge on LM-27 in search of the untold riches buried in its burning sands," the Blackbird Interactive website says. "In this persistent multiplayer game, players command a fleet of massive vehicles as they explore, salvage and fight for fortune and survival in the world's first planetary-scale social strategy game."

It's probably too soon to start yelling "Take my money!" but I think I'll keep my wallet handy anyway. In the meantime, you can find out more about Hardware and sign up for the closed beta at blackbirdinteractive.com [http://blackbirdinteractive.com/].


Permalink
 

Abomination

New member
Dec 17, 2012
2,939
0
0
Aw man, that voice-over.

Brings back such good memories. It's like "war never changes" compressed into just a sound frequency.
 

Smooth Operator

New member
Oct 5, 2010
8,162
0
0
How am I suppose to believe anything on this very day, especially when creators of motherflipping Homeworld tell us they are making a "social strategy"... I wouldn't expect anyone outside Zynga to come up with a combination of words more disgusting then that.
 

TheBelgianGuy

New member
Aug 29, 2010
365
0
0
I was excited, until I read "persistent multi-player". Seriously, aren't there enough mmo's out there already?
 

monev44

New member
Nov 9, 2010
18
0
0
Shut up and take my money! I know there's the saying, " how can i miss you if you won't go away." well its been away long enough. An you wouldn't use the same voice-over, and same font if you didn't intend to push my Homeworld loving buttons.
 

asro94

New member
Nov 23, 2012
4
0
0
For some reason, the words "social strategy" make me not want to get very excited.
 

Dogstile

New member
Jan 17, 2009
5,093
0
0
Social strategy is a combination of words to turn off any Homeworld fan. All social games get the defense of "Its not as bad as you think" but they're always mediocre.
 

LordMonty

Badgerlord
Jul 2, 2008
570
0
0
Sounds pretty a solid idea lets see how it turns out before any final judgement. But here's hoping for something amazing. I love stratagy games I really do :)
 

bificommander

New member
Apr 19, 2010
434
0
0
Well, that trailer said absolutely nothing about the game. I mean, I love being reminded of the Homeworld opening sequences as much as the next Homeworld fan (though this is borderline ripping off), but I have no idea what this game will be like now. Calling it a 'social strategy game' doesn't help. What, it'll be like farmville? End of Nations?

Guys, just putting this out there: How about making a 3D space-RTS, with a strong single player story. Just a suggestion.
 

Apollo45

New member
Jan 30, 2011
534
0
0
Hmm... there's a fair bit of old Homeworld concept art in there, and some new stuff in the same style.

Either way, these guys have made some of my favorite games ever, so I'm looking forward to this immensely. Let's see how it goes.
 

RicoADF

Welcome back Commander
Jun 2, 2009
3,147
0
0
I will be watching this with interest to say the least.
God I can't wait to see another homeworld type game.