Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak Gets New Sand-tastic Story Trailer

[StewShearerOld]

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak Gets New Sand-tastic Story Trailer

Deserts of Kharak will chronicle the story leading up to the events of the original Homeworld.

I was somewhat <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/goodoldreviews/13565-Good-Old-Reviews-Homeworld-Remastered#&gid=gallery_3876&pid=1>less than impressed with some of <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/goodoldreviews/13595-Good-Old-Review-Homeworld-2#&gid=gallery_3896&pid=1>the decisions Gearbox made with the Homeworld Remastered Collection. That said, the franchise still remains one of my favorites and Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is a title that's been high on my must-have list ever since it was announced that it would transition from a spiritual successor into <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/124422-Hardware-Shipbreakers-Teases-Glorious-Gameplay>a full-blown prequel. That being the case, you perhaps understand my excitement over a newly released story trailer put out by Gearbox earlier today.

Opening on an image of the planet Kharak from space, a narrator starts off by explaining that life on the planet is being slowly consumed by the unstoppable expansion of its uninhabitable deserts. With resources running out, the planet's various factions "are at war" for control. "But there is hope," the narrator says. A mysterious object has been located in the desert and the player's faction, believing it could be "the key to [their] salvation", sends an expedition to retrieve it.

The remainder of the trailer spends it time playing haunting music over footage of aircraft, hovercraft, space craft and ground vehicles duking it out in cutscenes and gameplay that all looks appropriately <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/homeworld>Homeworld-esque. All in all, it's looking like a really worthy continuation of the Homeworld series. If nothing else, it will be interesting to spend some time on Kharak before the unfortunate events of the original Homeworld games. Check out the trailer and let us know what you think!
[gallery=5364]
Source: <a href=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7ior9JoUE0>Gearbox Software


Permalink

 

[Pyrian]

Hmm. My first reaction to this game was "why are you making a 2D Homeworld game". But I have to admit, I really like the trailer. They've nailed the feel of the story, which is huge.

 

[Hawki]

Huh. So the Khushan apparently don't believe in infantry. 0_0

Never played the Homeworld games, but from what I recall, there was never any talk of Kharak being in environmental collapse in the original game or its manual. Nitpick, but I don't think it needs to exist to provide impetus in HW1 - it makes Kharak's destruction all the more tragic by it being a viable world, and that the Kushan were venturing out for the sake of exploration rather than survival, IMO. But please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Albino Boo]

If I was a nasty cynical person, I would say they just remade Dune II.

 

[meiam]

Huh. So the Khushan apparently don't believe in infantry. 0_0

Never played the Homeworld games, but from what I recall, there was never any talk of Kharak being in environmental collapse in the original game or its manual. Nitpick, but I don't think it needs to exist to provide impetus in HW1 - it makes Kharak's destruction all the more tragic by it being a viable world, and that the Kushan were venturing out for the sake of exploration rather than survival, IMO. But please correct me if I'm wrong.

Well it was a desert planet and desert don't make for great place to live on, it could then be possible that it wasn't always a desert but it became like this because of environmental damage. But yeah I agree that the original interpretation was cooler.

 

[WNxSajuukCor]

Kharak was a barren, desert planet. There's only so much a planet like that can give for a (relatively) small amount of the Hiigaran civilization over the centuries, not to mention there were only a few spots on the planet that could support life.

I could see the Heresy Wars spawned a bit from the expanding desert. The people believed they were born to suffer. The weapons created and used against each other probably exacerbated the desert climate.

As for no infantry, it's probably cheaper to use the wrecked ships than to provide environmental suits to everyone. You don't see any people outside of vehicles in the Homeworld 1 and 2 movie clips, even if they were short clips.

 

[Hawki]

If I was a nasty cynical person, I would say they just remade DuneII.

Remade Dune? Nah. In Dune, Houses Harkonnen and Atreides fight across a desert planet for control of a substance that provides the means for interstellar travel. In Deserts of Kharah, kiths fight on a desert planet to retrieve a device that will grant them the means for interstellar travel.

Wait a minute...

 

[Zipa]

Huh. So the Khushan apparently don't believe in infantry. 0_0

Never played the Homeworld games, but from what I recall, there was never any talk of Kharak being in environmental collapse in the original game or its manual. Nitpick, but I don't think it needs to exist to provide impetus in HW1 - it makes Kharak's destruction all the more tragic by it being a viable world, and that the Kushan were venturing out for the sake of exploration rather than survival, IMO. But please correct me if I'm wrong.

Well it was a desert planet and desert don't make for great place to live on, it could then be possible that it wasn't always a desert but it became like this because of environmental damage. But yeah I agree that the original interpretation was cooler.

It has been a barren desert prior to the Kushan being exiled there, the Taiidani picked it for that reason.

 

[sonicneedslovetoo]

WHAT Jan 20th? that's like a week and a half from now! You'd think they would give slightly more warning about the release date I mean seriously they just announced the name of the game in December.

 

[WNxSajuukCor]

WHAT Jan 20th? that's like a week and a half from now! You'd think they would give slightly more warning about the release date I mean seriously they just announced the name of the game in December.

Game has been in dev since 2010 as Hardware: Shipbreakers. First mention of the game was in 2013, then switched over to Homeworld: Shipbreakers in 2014 when Gearbox bought the Homeworld licence. Then it became Homeworld: Deserks of Kharak in December 2015 with the release date.

Better than announcing a date and having it pushed back, right?

 

[Fdzzaigl]

This game really hasn't been on my radar. It does however look quite intriguing.

 

[Anton Pavlov]

Huh. So the Khushan apparently don't believe in infantry. 0_0

Never played the Homeworld games, but from what I recall, there was never any talk of Kharak being in environmental collapse in the original game or its manual...

You are incorrect.
Here are quotes from Historical Briefing [http://www.homeworldaccess.net/downloads/hw1docs/HistoricalandTechnicalBriefing.pdf]:

1. Page 1, A1 "Kharakid Environment" - "...vast deserts cover most of the world except for the polar regions. These are shielded from the encroaching sands..."

2. Page 2, A4 "Mission Silumiin riots" - "...Large factions from some of the poorer clans felt that technology and industrial output was being wasted on this effort. They felt that it would be put to better use trying to alter Kharak or at least discover ways to support more population and hold back the encroaching deserts."

3. Page 16, Mission priorities - "Our mission is now irrevocable. It has become clear through the past 120 years of driven industrial and technological expansion that Kharak can no longer sustain us. While always harsh and unforgiving, our technological development has stripped the planet of what few vital resources it contained, and the narrow bands of temperate climate at the poles have been slowly shrinking. In order to survive as a people we must leave Kharak."

Speaking about infantry, you should keep in mind that Deserts of Kharak will take place deep into, well, Great Deserts. It means wide open spaces with lack of obstacles - conditions that naturally favor vehicles while simultaneously put infantry in disadvantage. It also was specifically stated, that humans cannot survive it`s weather conditions witohut using environment suits, which would require functions similar to modern space suits (termal isolation and regulation, breathing gas). Plus Kharak population is quite low, so infantry warfare should be disfavored due to high casualty factor. With all these factors in consideration, using only vehicles is quite obvious choice.