*********************** *****HOMEWORLD FAQ***** *********************** *Written By Giovanni *Version Updates V-1.4 3-31-01 IMPORTANT! You can no longer contact me at Giovanni@pokeschool.com! I can no longer retrieve messages sent there! If you emailed me any later than 3-26-01, I have not looked over your email! Currently, I have no current email address, and I will get another one as soon as possible. As for good news, I've finally got the Cathedral of Kadesh level up, although you've probably already beaten it. Need to start working on the walkthrough... V-1.3 3-10-01 Added specific research files, and did a little more work on the research tree. The Research section is definitely better. Also reworked the Table of Contents to make it easier to navigate. Lastly, http//DLH.Net has been given permission to host my FAQ. They're a German/American site, and it's worth checking out. V-1.25 3-8-01 Fourth version. Just added Unit Build Times and gave thanks to MetroidMoo for them. Also reworded a couple things. Not much of an update, is it? V-1.2 3-8-01 Third version. Gave everything an update, reworded many things, added sections. Take a look at my Research Trees. And a Story section is now up, with my own version of the story. Longer, but better, than the in-game intro, IMO. V-1.1 3-5-01 Second version. I gave permission to Neoseekers to use my FAQ, so it's OK if they have it. Updated the Walkthrough, added a section, revised how to get the bug in Mission 2. Updated other parts in small amounts, spellchecked the thing, and basically did what I should do. V-1.0 3-3-01 The first version. The FAQ's in it's beginnings... Not much else to say. *Disclaimer This FAQ is not to be used as a motivation for _ ANY _ crime, act, or whatever. The creator of this FAQ, Giovanni, assumes no responsibility whatsoever for anything some person(*cough*) may do because of reading this FAQ. They would have done it anyway sometime, my FAQ or not. ****************** Table of Contents ****************** I~Version Updates II~Disclaimer *Section 1 Miscellaneous Area 1-1 What you can and can't do with this FAQ Area 1-2 Contacting Me *Section 2 The Story of Homeworld *Section 3 The Fleet Area 3-1 The Instruction Book's and My look at Ship Categories Area 3-2 Fighters Area 3-3 Corvettes *Section 4 Battle Tactics/Tips Area 4-1 VS. Computers Area 4-2 VS. Human Players Area 4-3 Tactics Area 4-4 Formations *Section 5 Technologies Area 5-1 Research Trees Area 5-2 Technologies *Section 6 Battle Strategy *Section 7 Frequently Asked Questions *Section 8 Special Thanks/Legal Info ************************ Section 1 Miscellaneous ************************ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Area 1-1 What you CAN and CANNOT to with this FAQ** What you CAN do with this FAQ Print it out, in FULL. Print everything. And try to get the latest version. Show it to friends, as long as it's the complete copy and you don't take credit for it. What you CAN'T do with this FAQ Charge a fee for showing it to people. Take credit for it. Post it on a website without my permission! As of this update, the only places where this can appear on the net are GameFAQs http//www.gamefaqs.com Neoseekers http//www.neoseeker.com DLH http//DLH.Net And, if you have this FAQ on your website, you may not modify it in any way, convert it from a text file to something else, wrap it with banners, etc. Basically, just post it, not modified at all, and nothing else on the page it's on. If you find this FAQ anywhere else, email me immediately! And if you want my permission, email me at Giovanni@pokeschool.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Area 1-2 Contacting Me** You may contact me, the author, IF You find it on another website other than one I have given permission to, there's a list above and in the Special Thanks/Legal Info section. You want to point out a mistake. You want to add something I forgot or didn't already have. You want to try to contribute something. All submissions welcome, but please, no stage strategies until something on that stage is already up. No, that doesn't include the previews I may occasionally have at the end. You want to offer me items of monetary value (or pizza). You want to praise me for the great job I've done. You want to... uh... flame me? But why would you want to flame me? You may NOT contact me, the author, IF You want to send me computer viruses. You have threats of any kind. Your email is blocked... You have love letters or type in something 'loving' >_< in your mail... Or anything like that... ********************************* Section 2 The Story of Homeworld ********************************* There are people living on the desert world of Kharak. They all think one of two things Their home planet is Kharak, or their home planet is not Kharak, that they were exiled there by the gods. After some time, a paper is presented to the rulers of this world. It states that "Our helix proteins bear little similarity to most of the life on Kharak." So, the faction that thought they were exiled grew. Over time, space flight was developed. Pilots or those flights reported encounters with strange debris. They brought some back to Kharak, and found they were containing isotope combinations unknown to Kharak - or the whole stellar system. No fragments larger then a hand were found. Then a powerful radar satellite was launched in hopes of locating more debris rings, possibly bearing larger pieces. But a malfunction in a rocket caused it to do an about-face and scan the surface. About 75 feet below the surface of the harshest desert on the planet, a strong return showed where there was supposed to be none. After repeated radar scans, enough high-ranking people were convinced that they pooled resources to take a team out to investigate. Through the harshest conditions on the planet, they excavated it. It turned out to be the first city on Kharak. It was named Khar-Toba. While people were tracing power lines, they burrowed farther underneath and found a power plant - much more advanced then their own at the time. And attached to it was a complete hyperdrive module - which catapulted their technology a thousand years ahead. With the hyperdrive and power plant, the so-called treasures of Khar-Toba, carted away, only a few archaeologists were left to excavate the rest. When they opened up the doors to what was an observatory, they found a stone. It depicted the galaxy, with a line crossing from what was Kharak's position to the central hub. And on it was a single word, ancient and common to all dialects Hiigara, home. The archaeologists brought the stone back, and a project was started to get them back home. First the Scaffold was constructed. It would be the construction yard needed to build the Mothership. Then the Mothership was built. The 600,000 occupants that would travel to Hiigara would be cryogenically frozen inside it's hull. Then, they encountered a problem. There would be so many functions to perform, the staff grew into hundreds. With command added, it became clear that in any sort of crisis, the Mothership would suffer from communication paralysis. Then a neurologist stepped forward with a plan. She was working on biological circuits. When she heard about the program, she demanded that her system be used on her - to transform her into Fleet Command, capable of doing hundreds of responses per second. Now, the testing begins. And you head to the walkthrough from now on. ******************** Section 3 The Fleet ******************** [NOTE There's no ship data besides what there is because I could not find reliable information in either the game stats or the instruction book. The only reason what's there now is there is because that's the truth, at least in my experience.] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Area 3-1The Instruction Book's and My look at Ship Categories** *Strike Craft Excerpt This small ship class includes both Fighters and Corvette hulls. While highly maneuverable (Fighters are the only vessel class capable of performing special combat flight maneuvers), Strike Craft are unable to carry enough reactor mass to generate a self-sustaining drive torch, and so they must be refueled. This limits their range from the Mothership, unless a Support Frigate is provided to carry fuel for them. Strike Craft also are too small to carry to carry the hyper drive module and cannot enter hyperspace by themselves. My Analysis They are good at avoiding getting hit, unless they are against other fighters, and vice versa. However, they use fuel, which is their major downpoint. They're good, overall, but the only one that can do serious damage against corvettes is the Plasma Bomber, and it falls to other strike craft in a matter of seconds. *Capital Ships Excerpt This class represents the first generation of large crew vessels and includes the Frigate and Destroyer(book's typo, I know) classes of warships along with the larger support vessels like the Cloak Generator, Resource Collector, and Gravity Well Generator Capital Ships are the hard backbone of any attack fleet, and what they lack in speed and maneuverability is made up for in firepower and armor. Capital Ships have a limited self-repair capability. My Analysis Since it includes the Support Frigate and Multi-Beam Frigate(you capture it in the Cathedral of Kadesh stage), the class has to be good(at least somewhat). You have the Multi-Beam for firepower, and the Assault and Support Frigates for backup. I like it. *Super Capital Ship Excerpt These huge warships represent vast investments of resources, time, and technology, and are as valuable as they are powerful. Second only to the massive Mothership in size and capability, these vessels are dreadnoughts of cutting edge technology. They carry their own hyper drive modules and some even have onboard manufacturing arrays in order to replace ordinance or construct smaller vessels. While extremely powerful and able to absorb large amounts of damage, they are still vulnerable to masses of small ships and should never be deployed without a flotilla of smaller warships. My Analysis "...and should never be deployed without a flotilla of smaller warships." So true. While the Destroyers and Heavy Cruisers kill Capitals and other Super Capitals, never leave without something that can take care of Strike Craft, or your chances of losing your fleet more than double. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Area 3-2 Fighters** *Scout Cost 35 RUs Build Time 12 seconds Special Function Speed Burst Required Technology None Excerpt True to it's name, the Scout is a fast, cheap ship that is useful for scouting out enemy locations. Because of it's high maneuverability, the Scout is excellent for My Analysis Besides the 7 you get at the beginning of the game, don't get any more. 7 is sufficient for the first two stages-then they're useless after that. *Interceptor Cost 55 RUs Build Time 18 seconds Special Function None Required Technology Fighter Drive, Heavy Fighter Chassis Excerpt While less maneuverability than the Scout, the Interceptor easily compensates with it's with it's much heavier weaponry. The Interceptor is a good Fighter killer and stacks up favorably against Capital Ships when used in greater numbers. My Analysis Vastly improved version of the Scout. Keep 20-30 on hand in the beginning of the game to get rid of enemy fighters. Near the end of the game, they grow obsolete, as the main use is to kill other enemy fighters, which the Missile Destroyer does better. *Attack Bomber Cost 85 RUs Build Time 20 seconds Special Function None Required Technology Fighter Drive, Heavy Fighter Chassis, Plasma Bomb Launcher Excerpt A technological advance created plasma bomb technology small enough to fir in a Fighter-sized craft. The Attack Bomber was born. While it's slow-moving plasma bombs can be outrun by Fighters, they make short work of Frigates and other Capital ships. My Analysis For some reason, these things have a tendency to die. Is it that they just get hit more, I don't know. Anyway, that combined with a high cost for a fighter and slow build time for a fighter make it bad. Avoid these if you can, but don't be that afraid to use these if you have to, they're not that bad. *Defender Cost 65 RUs Build Time 9 seconds Special Function None Required Technology Fighter Drive, Heavy Fighter Chassis, Defender Sub-Systems Excerpt Although it's slow speed keeps the Defender from being a primary attack force, it's gimbaled guns and high power rotational thrusters allow it the greatest coverage of all Fighters. My Analysis There are 3 rules to using these things 1-Don't attack with them. 2-Only defend with them(preferably defend Mothership). 3-Always use in large numbers if you use them. If you follow those 3 rules, they end up being pretty decent. Break the rules(especially 3), and they end up being worthless. *Cloaked Fighter Cost 85 RUs Build Time 45 seconds Special Function Cloaking Required Technology Fighter Drive, Heavy Fighter Chassis, Cloaked Fighter Excerpt With cloaking sails active, the Cloaked Fighter is the stealthiest ship around. Highly useful for simple surveillance, the Cloaked Fighter is also a good attack craft. It must, however, de-cloak to fire, making it vulnerable for a short period of time. My Analysis It beats the Scouts beautifully at their own game. While, unlike the Cloak Generator, it doesn't need to recharge, it does use fuel, so it's balanced. The major downfalls are that it takes a while to build and costs a lot. *Defense Fighter Cost 85 RUs Build Time 20 seconds Special Function None Required Technology Fighter Drive, Heavy Fighter Chassis, Defense Fighter Excerpt The Defense Fighter has no attack weaponry to speak of; instead it fires beams from it's emitter dome to shoot down oncoming enemy fire. This makes the Defense Fighter an excellent mobile protective force, especially when used with other Fighter craft. My Analysis If only they shot down all enemy weaponry... Oh well. Since they build rather fast for an 85 RU fighter, it can actually be put to use. However, use the Defender's 3 rules. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Area 3-3 Corvettes** *Light Corvette Cost 135 RUs Build Time 22 seconds Special Function None Required Technology Corvette Drive, Corvette Chassis Excerpt It's heavy-duty engine, chassis, and armor make the Light Corvette significantly slower than any of the Fighter-class ships(besides the Defender). It's salvation comes in a powerful turreted gun which is fast enough to hit Fighters flying at full speed. My Analysis Bad. By the time you can use this, one more research topic and you get the much better Heavy Corvette, and you can do the research for the Heavy Corvette on the same stage. Never use these. *Heavy Corvette Cost 250 RUs Build Time 25 seconds Special Function Charged Burst Attack Required Technology Corvette Drive, Corvette Chassis, Heavy Corvette Upgrade Excerpt More armored than it's light cousin, the Heavy Corvette adds a second high powered turret to an already powerful craft. It's turrets allow the Heavy Corvette to track two fighters at once and also make it a moderate threat to Capital Ships. My Analysis First, the Charged Burst Attack is worthless. Second, it's a decided improvement over the Light Corvette. Better firepower, better armor, and better coverage make it one of the best corvettes. *Repair Corvette Cost 150 RUs Build Time 20 seconds Special Function Can Repair and refuel Strike Craft Required Technology Corvette Drive Excerpt The Repair Corvette is capable of repairing and refueling Fighters "in the field." While equipped with only a small gun, the Repair Corvette has heavy armor to protect itself and the craft it's repairing. Timely support from a Repair Corvette can be quite useful in a long battle. My Analysis Never use. NEVER. By the time you'll need to repair stuff, the Support Frigate will be in your arsenal. And it's 10 times better. *Salvage Corvette Cost 220 RUs Build Time 30 seconds Special Function Capture of enemy ships Required Technology None in Single Player, Corvette Drive and Corvette Chassis in Multiplayer Excerpt This beefy Corvette was once used exclusively for towing junk and salvaging derelicts. After being adapted for combat, the Salvage Corvette gained the ability to capture enemy ships that are heavily damaged. Once captured, these ships are towed back to a Carrier or the Mothership for refitting. My Analysis Don't be thinking you need to damage a ship for the Salvage Corvette to capture it, you don't. Also, you need a certain amount of ships to capture certain things. Right from the Readme file, here's the list Frigate = 2 Salvage Corvettes Destroyer = 3 Salvage Corvettes Heavy Cruiser = 5 Salvage Corvettes Carrier = 5 Salvage Corvettes And, since they can capture any Capital/Super Capital Ship, they are insanely useful. Build 12 before stage 7 and never let their number run below that. *Multi-Gun Corvette Cost 225 RUs Build Time 28 seconds Special Function None Required Technology Corvette Drive, Corvette Chassis, Fast-Tracking Turrets Excerpt Following advances in turrets and auto-targeting, the Multi-Gun Corvette was conceived. It sports a full six articulating turrets. This allows it to track numerous fast-moving targets at once, making it especially deadly against large groups of Fighters. My Analysis The second-best Corvette, next to the Salvage Corvette. Sure, it does less damage to Capital Ships, but since you'll be avoiding most of their fire, it doesn't really matter(unless up against a Multi-Beam Frigate or Missile Destroyer). And, since it's much deadlier against Fighters than the Heavy Corvette, it's better than the Heavy Corvette. *Minelayer Corvette Cost 295 RUs Build Time 40 seconds Special Function Creation of Minefields Required Technology Corvette Drive, Corvette Chassis, Minelaying Tech Excerpt While the Minelayer has normal attack capability(dropping mines that float slowly towards the target), it can also perform a force mine drop, where a wall of mines are laid at the current location. Running into a minefield with a fleet of Capital Ships is sure to ruin anyone's day. My Analysis There is no place where these things can really be put to use. Except maybe the Hiigara level, these things, if built, are probably going to stay docked the entire game. Sure, they're not that bad, but save your money and don't build any. Great idea, but it's just not worth it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Area 3-4 Frigates** *Assault Frigate Cost 575 RUs Build Time 1 minute Special Function None Required Technology Capital Ship Drive, Capital Ship Chassis Excerpt The Assault Frigate is the most general purpose combat ship of the capital ships. It has four large turrets, which afford it excellent coverage, as well as two fixed plasma bomb launchers. While it's turrets are too slow to track fast-moving fighters, they can take out the slower Corvettes with ease. My Analysis No, they can't 'take out Corvettes with ease'. They keep missing when the Corvettes are on Evasive tactics. These things are bad against all Strike Craft, as almost all Capital and Super Capital Ships are. Overall, pretty decent, and the only thing you have to do with these is have some sort of Strike Craft neutralizers. *Ion Cannon Frigate Cost 650 RUs Build Time 1 minute Special Function None Required Technology Capital Ship Drive, Capital Ship Chassis, Ion Cannons Excerpt When ion power was harnessed, the scale necessary to produce a severely damaging beam meant that an entire Frigate could only hold one cannon. The acceleration ladder alone runs the entire length of the ship. What results is a devastatingly powerful, focused ion beam. My Analysis Certain death FROM Strike Craft, not to. The Assault Frigate has better chances against them, and it can barely kill one or two when a squadron attacks. I'm sorry, but it's impossible NOT to die to fighters if your whole fleet is filled up with these things. However, it's also the best against other capitals, so it should merit some positions in you fleet. But, don't give it more than half of those positions. *Support Frigate Cost 425 RUs Build Time 1 minute 5 seconds Special Function Can repair and refuel Strike Craft, repair Capital Ships Required Technology Excerpt Giving support to Strike Craft in combat is the Support Frigate's main role. It has ten Fighter docking pads and four Corvette docking arms for repairing and refueling. Although it is well armored, the Support Frigate has only one large turret for defense and is best left alone. My Analysis No, it's main role is repairing Capital Ships. The Strike Craft repairing and refueling is just a bonus. Best left alone, this thing is the only thing that saves you in the Hiigara level. Set them to heal the mothership in the Hiigara level, not your attack craft. No exceptions. And, on a finishing note, it's the best Frigate in the game. *Drone Frigate Cost 800 RUs Build Time 1 minute 15 seconds Special Function Drone Launching/Retraction Required Technology Capital Ship Drive, Capital Ship Chassis, Drone Technology Excerpt The Drone Frigate is essentially a holding and control system for the 24 drones it houses. These highly maneuverable drones each contain a powerful gun and, when launched, form a protective sphere around the Drone Frigate, giving it superb protection against Fighters. My Analysis Never used these, so I can't say anything, but I hear that the drones can be used to destroy mines, as they project far enough ahead to attract them. Once the mines are destroyed, scrap the Frigate itself. *Defense Field Frigate Cost 800 RUs Build Time 1 minute 15 seconds Special Function Defense Field(always active) Required Technology Capital Ship Drive, Capital Ship Chassis, Defense Field Excerpt Like the Defense Fighter, the Defense Field Frigate has no attack capability. It can, however, deflect almost 100% of all oncoming enemy fire, with the exception of ion beams, mines, and missiles. My Analysis First, it costs too much for something with that small of an effect area. Second, it can't deflect ion beams, the most devastating weapon in the game. Yes, I know, I said the Defense Fighter was OK, but that was because it'll take more time to kill a whole flotilla centered around the Mothership than a slow, obnoxious, easy bait Capital Ship that can easily be taken down with ion cannons. You can't exactly hit something that moves with an ion beam that easily. *Ion Array Frigate No data available Build Time N/A My Analysis You capture these from the Turanic Raiders with two Salvage Corvettes in the Great Wastelands Part 1 stage. They are just Ion Cannon Frigates with a new appearance, and I think they're a bit slower, too. But, since you get them for free, what did you expect? *Multi-Beam Corvette No data available Build Time N/A My Analysis This awesome Frigate is a small, cramped ship with four ion cannons. You capture it in the Cathedral of Kadesh stage from the Kadesh. And, the best thing about it is that it's inaccurate. What? You heard me right. Since it's inaccurate, it can sort of 'sweep' the battlefield and destroy Fighters and Corvettes. And, since Frigates and Super Capital Ships are big, the inaccuracy doesn't really matter that much. So, I say in conclusion Capture as many as you can! *Fuel Pod No data available Build Time N/A My Analysis Another ship you capture from the Kadesh, only this time you can capture it in both of the Kadesh stages. It does have a small gun, but it's like all other support vehicles-small and only there because it needs one. No use for it really, except to sell for a couple hundred RUs and be that much richer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Area 3-5 Super Capital Ships** *Destroyer Cost 1,350 RUs Build Time 2 minutes 30 seconds Special Function None Required Technology Super Capital Ship Drive, Ion Cannons Excerpt When it comes to taking down other Capital Ships, the Destroyer is a first choice. It has twin ion cannons and two modified large turrets. With maneuverability almost equal to a Frigate, the Destroyer is able to move around well in combat and react quickly to changes in battle. My Analysis Pretty good. You should build these over Heavy Cruisers, as you can capture the latter and they dish out more if you build 2 than 1 Heavy Cruiser. They're also faster than one. *Missile Destroyers Cost 1,500 RUs Build Time 2 minutes Special Function Missile Volley Attack Required Technology Super Capital Ship Drive, Guided Missiles Excerpt Although it's total firepower is significantly less than that of a regular Destroyer, the guided missiles it launches make the Missile Destroyer a formidable foe to Strike Craft and Capital Ship alike. For supply, the Missile Destroyer has a full missile manufacturing center in it's belly. My Analysis Only take one or two of these along to destroy Fighters, otherwise, the Destroyer is a better choice. Not bad for it's purpose, however, which is to destroy Fighters. *Heavy Cruiser Cost 3,700 RUs Build Time 7 minutes Special Function None Required Technology Super Capital Ship Drive, Super Heavy Chassis, Heavy Guns, Ion Cannons Excerpt The goliath of Capital Ships, this bruiser carries four twin-mounted ion cannons and six heavy turrets, each almost half the size of an entire Frigate. When a Heavy Cruiser shows up on the scene, things get really quiet really fast. My Analysis Two Destroyers more equal this thing in combined firepower, and they cost less. Sure, they can be useful, but you can capture them in later levels of the game, so why not? *Carrier Cost 2,000 Build Time 4 minutes 41 seconds Special Function Can repair and refuel Strike Craft Required Technology Super Capital Ship Drive, Super Heavy Chassis Excerpt A veritable feat of engineering, the Carrier incorporates an entire construction center, capable of building up to Frigate-class ships. In addition, a huge docking array provides space for up to 50 Fighters and 25 Corvettes. It's rapid-fire deck guns give it adequate defense. My Analysis Mothership 2. These are extremely helpful for organizing your Strike Craft fleet. You only need like one through the whole game, though, so capture the one in Great Wastelands Part 2 and keep it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Area 3-6 Motherships** *Mothership Cost N/A Build Time 25 years Special Function None Required Technology N/A Excerpt The massive mothership contains three main sections navigation, the fleet foundry, and cryogenics. Navigation analyzes local sensor data, the foundry provides complete construction capability, and cryogenics maintains the 600,000 colonists aboard. My Analysis Don't rely on it's guns to do anything except explode a couple fighters or Corvettes. They are the worst guns in the game, believe it or not. Well, maybe they're a little better than a Scout's, but not by that much. Just keep this thing alive, you lose the game if it's destroyed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Area 3-7 Non-Combat Ships** *Research Ship Cost 700 RUs Build Time 1 minute Special Function None Required Technology None Excerpt Each Research Ship is a fully-functioning science facility that develops new technologies for the fleet. Newly-built research ships will link up with existing ones, increasing the aggregate armor of the facility. My Analysis Really, one of the objectives you have to complete on the first mission is building one. Building another later on is useful, but not necessary. *Resource Collector Cost 650 RUs Build Time 1 minute Special Function Can refuel Strike Craft Required Technology None Excerpt Using a modified Phased Disassembler Array, the Resource Collector extracts at a molecular level the base elements in any resource. It then converts these elements into Resource Units, the generic term for base levels of material necessary for construction. My Analysis You MUST have more than two by the end of the fifth level. These are necessary for you to make it through the game, like the Harvesters in C&C. Resource Units(RUs) give you every other ship, so... Also, it gets 650 RUs per load, so it pays for itself in one load. *Resource Controller Cost 680 RUs Build Time 1 minute 5 seconds Special Function Can refuel Strike Craft Required Technology Capital Ship Drive Excerpt The Resource Controller provides remote drop-off capability to the Resource Collector, minimizing the time spent in transit. Additionally, it supports refueling of six Fighters and two Corvettes at once via it's docking pads. My Analysis Also VERY helpful. You can get by without these, but it's not easy at all. Try to have one guarding each Resource Collector you have for maximum usage. *Probe Cost 30 RUs Build Time 6 seconds Special Function None Required Technology None Excerpt The Probe is outfitted with a one-time use engine which provides a huge power output for a short period of time. This results in very fast travel, but once in place the Probe can't be moved again. My Analysis Not wholly useful in the single player game at all, but I do have some tactics for use against computer skirmishes in the Battle Tactics section. *Proximity Sensor Cost 50 RUs Build Time 6 seconds Special Function None Required Technology Proximity Detector Excerpt A remote sensor pack with an engine strapped onto it pretty much sums up the Proximity Sensor. Beyond normal watch-dogging, it's ability to detect cloaked vessels can make the lowly Proximity Sensor a handy ship to have around. My Analysis It's handy for detecting cloaked enemy vessels, yes. And for scouting. You should build a few, and have a couple guard the Mothership while you do something else with the rest. Have the leftover ships guard the Mothership if they don't have something better to do. *Sensors Array Cost 800 RUs Build Time 1 minute 20 seconds Special Function None Required Technology Proximity Detector, Sensor Array Excerpt Expanding the sensor ability of the Mothership with it's larger-scale design, the Sensors Array provides full data on the local environment, letting you see the position and number of all enemy ships, as well as resource pockets. My Analysis Actually, you don't need this ship to see resource pockets. To me, it's quite handy to see what enemies are flinging at you, but to other people, it's trash. I don't think it can detect cloaked vessels, so it's not a total replacement for the Proximity Sensor. I guess you decide how good it is to you. *Cloak Generator Cost 500 RUs Build Time 1 minute Special Function Cloaking Required Technology Capital Ship Drive, Cloak Generator Excerpt The Cloak Generator creates a cloaking field large enough to contain up to two Frigates. Any ship inside the field is completely invisible except when firing. The generator can operate only for a fixed amount of time before recharging must occur. My Analysis Cool, but pretty useless. However, since I've never tried it in Multiplayer or single player, I may be wrong (Note feedback wanted). *Grav Well Generator Cost 800 RUs Build Time 1 minute Special Function Captures Strike Craft in it's field Required Technology Capital Ship Drive, Gravity Generator Excerpt The Grav Well Generator creates a strong field around it which stops all Strike Craft in place. Gravity Well technology is less understood than cloaking and, as a result, the Grav Well's unstable field must be shut down after a certain time and never restarted. My Analysis Not that good. Why not bring a Missile Destroyer instead - it's actually reusable! Really, it'd be much better if it could actually recharged so it could be used again. Also, give Special Thanks to MetroidMoo for letting me use the Unit Build Times from his Homeworld Units FAQ! He supplied the build times for Fighters through Super Capital Ships. I suggest you go check it out! (Note I supplied the Mothership's Build Time.) ****************************** Section 4 Battle Tactics/Tips ****************************** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Area 4-1 VS. Computer** One of the reasons I like this game so much is because of the Skirmish mode. Here are some tips for beating the computer. *Enemy Resource Collectors If anybody who reads this has played Command And Conquer, you have good practice with managing harvesters. And, it's a LOT easier do destroy the enemy's Resource Collectors here, since the AI doesn't do anything about it. At least on Easy... But, instead of destroying them, capture them instead. Still, make sure you can fend off an attack if you go after them, because the computer does sometimes attack when you do that. *Scouting the Enemy The Computer AI attacks anything besides itself within a set distance of it, I believe. And there is a flaw, or the set distance should at least be bigger. You see, you can position a ship far enough above the enemy mothership so that you can Alt focus in on the mothership and see all the ships they're building, etc., and have the enemy not attack you. Also, this could work in real-life multiplayer if the human opponent is stupid, but don't count on it. I only tested it on the Easy setting, so the radius may vary from difficulty to difficulty. It's worth a shot, though. *Easy Computer Kills There's a really easy way to kill the enemies Capital Ships, and in theory, Strike Craft, also. Send a Probe or something and take a look at the computer's forces. Do they have a lot of capital ships just sitting there, say over 10? You can take out some without getting a shot fired back in return. OK, Hyperspace a small fleet of capital ships (say, 5 Assault Frigates and 3-5 Ion Cannons) to the end of that line of capitals, away from the Mothership. Now, attack the last one. Sure, it'll be knocked backward, but you should still be able to kill it. Now, keep doing this until they start firing at you. It's OK if the computer builds more ships, it's just wasted resources on their part and more bounty on yours if you have that option on. Even after they start firing back, you can kill a few. Hyperspace back away when your fleet ends up in bad condition. Also, I've only done this once, and on the Easy difficulty, too. It may not work on hard. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Area 4-2 VS. Human Players** As almost everybody who has the game and a brain knows, Homeworld has an multiplayer Internet battle option which is hosted by WON (World Opponent Network). Here are some tips for it, and the computer may never use these themselves, but you can use these for all they're worth. Look above for VS. Computer specifically tips. *The Probe Screen I saw one player (FinalKnight on WON, I believe) do this when I was playing him. He/She sent out several dozen probes all around his Mothership. The point is to gather information on what is coming at you so you have a better chance of dealing with it. Proximity Sensors should also work well, as you could detect a cloak attack, although they're untested and more expensive. VS. Probe Screen You have two options Either Hyperspace past them or so close to your target it won't matter if you're detected, or take a few ships and blast them for money if you have Bounties on. Now that I think about it, I should have done that >_<. *Sit and Wait Actually, the computer does this, too. If you're playing more than one opponent, instead of deciding which to attack, you should sit and wait until you A Have enough strength to take all out at the same time, or B One gets killed by the other. If there's still multiple players left after one gets killed, continue to wait if you can't take both out. Also, you'll be able to defend if you are caught by an attack from them, too. VS. Sit and Wait Actually, there isn't much you can do about it. Maybe do the same thing and take all your opponents out at the same time. *Minelayer Corvettes Just since I saw some other player (I think it was ILoveWar on WON) circle her Mothership/Carrier with Mines, I decided to try it too, since people never do stupid things on purpose... Most of the time. OK, the results 7 Minelayer Corvettes annihilated a dozen frigates with their minefield in mere moments. The best places to station mines are a little ways away (NOT right beside) the thing/place you're trying to mine, and from all sides and the top/bottom. VS. Minelayer Corvettes Not really much you can do besides Hyperspace past them, and if they're close enough to your target, it won't matter if you Hyperspace or not. Try to send squadrons of Fighters to blast the Minelayers before anything serious gets put up, since Fighters are too fast to get hit by many mines, then have some armored decoy with several Support Frigates set to heal it. Decoy the mines to the scapegoat ship, which eliminates them. Your ship won't be eliminated because of the Support Frigates. Then Hyperspace out so you don't get a immediate retaliation unless that's part of an attack in the first place and you needed to get through. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Area 4-3 Tactics** *Evasive Excerpt Evasive Tactics are best used when resources are tight and each ship is vital. Your ships won't hit as hard, but they are more likely to come home. Ships set to Evasive will boost power to engines in order to increase speed and maneuverability. This will come at the cost of lowered power to weapons and a slight increase in fuel consumption for Strike Craft (Fighters and Corvettes). When attacking, Fighter groups also will break up into flight pairs, where one ship will take point and the other will serve as wingman and take measures to remove threats that lock onto the lead vessel. My Analysis Never useful for Capital Ships unless they're in Diamond Shoals and Chapel Perilous, so they can avoid the asteroids and other ships. Wait a minute, if you're capturing a ship and don't want anything to fire on it, set them to evasive so they won't. *Neutral Excerpt This is the neutral stance for ships. Strike Craft set to neutral will perform evasive removals while attacking enemy ships. If no orders are issued and enemies are nearby, ships in neutral will fire from their current position, but will not engage in full combat. My Analysis The most worthless stance you can take. And what's worse, all ships come in this tactic. Evasive or Aggressive will do the job better, pick one of them depending on what the job is. *Aggressive Excerpt Ships in Aggressive mode are out for blood and will attempt to destroy the enemy even at the cost of their own lives. Use this tactical stance if resources are not a factor or if you need to hurt the your opponent as hard and as quickly as possible. Strike Craft in this mode shunt power from the engines into the weapons grid, so speed and agility are reduced but firepower is increased. Ships in Aggressive tactics will not perform any kind of evasive maneuvers and also will attack nearby enemies without being issued orders. Resource Collectors in Aggressive tactics will continue to harvest even if under attack. My Analysis Most useful for Capital Ships, as Strike Craft get hit much faster, which doesn't make up for the increased firepower. Just be sure not to have anything on Aggressive when you're capturing a ship, or they might try to destroy it even if your Salvage Corvettes are bringing it in. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Area 4-4 Formations** *Delta Excerpt The standard flat triangle formation is an excellent way of organizing groups of Strike Craft into effective squadrons, but it lacks the flexibility and firepower concentration available to the more three-dimensional formations. My Analysis Worthless, worthless, and even more worthless. You NEVER use this, got that? *Broad Excerpt This flattened line is not effective for Strike Craft as it disperses their firepower. It is more useful for squadrons of Capital Ships, where unit quick identification and selection are as important as firepower. It is a useful formation to approach in if you are planning to break ships off to strike at specific targets once the battle is joined. My Analysis Same as Delta. Never use it. *X Excerpt The flying X formation is an excellent Strike Craft formation, concentrating a large number of vessels into a relatively small three-dimensional space. It's only drawback is that the dense formation makes individual ships vulnerable to slow turret fire they might otherwise have avoided if they were dispersed. My Analysis Not a bad formation in and of itself, but the Claw is better, IMO. Still, some people like this better, so if you do, you can use it and survive. *Claw Excerpt Like it's natural namesake, this formation is deadly when striking out at an individual target. The Claw is a superb formation for Strike Craft when they are targeting a Capital Ship. The four curving lines of Fighters make concentrating firepower and envelopment deadly efficient. The only drawback is identifying and selecting single ships inside this complex formation My Analysis The best formation for Strike Craft, IMO. Unlike the X, you can concentrate your firepower better. Personally, I just set all of my Strike Craft into this formation and go rampaging. *Wall Excerpt Most effective for Capital Ships, the Wall formation allows larger vessels to concentrate firepower without dangerously crowding each other. The Wall is not a subtle formation but does give large groups of big ships an effective attack mode. My Analysis The best formation for Capital Ships, IMO. It's too compact and inflexible for Strike Craft, so don't use them in this formation. *Sphere Excerpt This is the deadliest of all formations in terms of continuous firepower. Ships in this formation lose their ability to perform complex flight maneuvers but gain the ability to constantly fire at targets from every angle. This is also an effective guarding formation as it puts the vessel to be protected in the center of the sphere. My Analysis Great for guarding, but don't use it for much else. It's too inflexible. *********************** Section 5 Technologies *********************** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Area 5-1 Kushan/Taiidan Research Trees** *Kushan Research Trees ^=Ship Produced Plasma Bomb Launcher / ^Attack Bomber^ Defender Sub-Systems / / ^Defender^ / / / Cloaked Fighter Fighter Drive - / - Fighter Chassis - - - - - - / ^Cloaked Fighter ^Interceptor^ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fast Tracking Turrets / ^Multi-Gun Corvette^ / / - Heavy Corvette Upgrade / ^Heavy Corvette Corvette Drive - - - - - Corvette Chassis - / - \ ^Light Corvette^ ^*Salvage Corvette^ - Minelaying Tech ^Minelayer Corvette^ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ / - Gravity Generator - Ion Cannons / ^Grav Well Generator^ /^Ion Cannon Frigate^ / / / - Cloak Generator / - Drone Tech / ^Cloak Generator^ / ^Drone Frigate^ Capital Ship Drive / - \ / ^Support Frigate^ Capital Ship Chassis -/ ^Resource Controller^ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Super Capital Ship Drive - Guided Missiles / ^**Destroyer^ ^Missile Destroyer^ / Capital Ship Chassis / - \ - Super Capital Ship Chassis - Heavy Guns ^****Carrier^ ^***Heavy Cruiser^ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Proximity Detector - Sensors Array ^Proximity Sensor^ ^Sensors Array^ *=In single player, you can build it right off the bat. In Multiplayer, you need to research to build it. **=Also needs Ion Cannons. ***=Also needs Ion Cannons and Super Capital Ship Drive. ****=Also needs Super Capital Ship Drive. ======================================================================== ======================================================================== ======================================================================== *Taiidan Research Trees ^=Ship Produced Plasma Bomb Launcher / ^Attack Bomber^ Defender Sub-Systems / / ^Defender^ / / / - Defense Fighter Fighter Drive - / - Fighter Chassis - - - - - - / ^Defense Fighter^ ^Interceptor^ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fast Tracking Turrets / ^Multi-Gun Corvette^ / / - Heavy Corvette Upgrade / ^Heavy Corvette Corvette Drive - - - - - Corvette Chassis - / - \ ^Light Corvette^ ^*Salvage Corvette^ - Minelaying Tech ^Minelayer Corvette^ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ / - Gravity Generator - Ion Cannons / ^Grav Well Generator^ /^Ion Cannon Frigate^ / / / - Cloak Generator / - Drone Tech / ^Cloak Generator^ / ^Drone Frigate^ Capital Ship Drive / - \ / ^Support Frigate^ Capital Ship Chassis -/ ^Resource Controller^ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Super Capital Ship Drive - Guided Missiles / ^**Destroyer^ ^Missile Destroyer^ / Capital Ship Chassis / - \ - Super Capital Ship Chassis - Heavy Guns ^****Carrier^ ^***Heavy Cruiser^ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Proximity Detector - Sensors Array ^Proximity Sensor^ ^Sensors Array^ *=In single player, you can build it right off the bat. In Multiplayer, you need to research to build it. **=Also needs Ion Cannons. ***=Also needs Ion Cannons and Super Capital Ship Drive. ****=Also needs Super Capital Ship Drive. ======================================================================== **Area 5-2 Technologies** *Fighter Drive Required Tech Nothing Leads to Fighter Chassis Needed for Interceptor, Defender, Cloaked Fighter, Defense Fighter, Attack Bomber The first requirement for more powerful Strike Craft is a better engine. Fighter Drive Technology allows us to modify the plasma ducting and reaction efficiency of our smallest reactors and create a whole new generation of high-performance Strike Craft that can carry heavier armor and payloads. *Fighter Chassis Required Tech Fighter Drive Leads to Defender Sub-Systems, Plasma Bomb Launcher, Cloaked Fighter, Defense Fighter Needed for Interceptor, *Defender, Cloaked Fighter, Defense Fighter, Attack Bomber Once the full capabilities of the new Fighter drives are documented, scientists quickly will begin designing new frames that translate this power into better armor, longer range and heavier payloads. The Fighter Chassis is the blueprint for a new generation of heavy Fighters and Interceptors. *=In single-player, yes. In Multi-player, you can build it right after researching the Fighter Drives, no Fighter Chassis is needed. *Plasma Bomb Launcher Required Tech Fighter Chassis Leads to Nothing Needed for Attack Bomber One of the benefits of a larger Fighter frame is the ability to modify a Strike Craft to carry powerful directed energy payloads. The plasma bomb system draws high-energy plasma from the Fighter's fusion torch drive and vents it into a small magnetic containment sphere mounted aboard a direct fire missile. The plasma venting occurs in the split second between the pilot firing the bomb and the bomb actually leaving it's cradle. Upon impact with the target, the bomb's containment sphere ruptures and releases the neat-fusion plasma in a single massive burst. While the missile is unable to accurately target fast-moving Strike Craft, it can be devastating to slower-moving Capital Ships. This ornate and powerful weapon system leaves a Strike Craft without any room to mount other weapons. *Defender Sub-Systems Required Tech Fighter Chassis (single-player only) Leads to Nothing Needed for Defender With the need for better space superiority systems, engineers have developed a whole new generation of targeting computer and sensor suites and combined them into specialized Fire Control systems. These new control systems can be adhered to gimbals mounted weapons to enable them to track and fire upon small, fast Strike Craft. *Cloaked Fighter(Kushan Only) Required Tech Fighter Chassis Leads to Nothing Needed for Cloaked Fighter(Kushan Only) While researching electromagnetic ram-scoops, a Kushan scientist stumbled across a process by which intense fields could wrap photons around an object and render it invisible. Because the ration between the size of the field and the mass of the generator kept the effect minimal, it was considered nothing more than a scientific curiosity. This was until a research team discovered that a generator large enough to emit electromagnetic fields just strong enough to render a Fighter invisible could be mounted on a Fighter chassis. *Defense Fighter(Taiidan Only) Required Tech Fighter Chassis Leads to Nothing Needed for Defense Fighter Exploiting the Fighter frame even further, Taiidan scientists were able to produce a design capable of supporting the large dome Array mounting which makes the Defense Laser possible. *Corvette Drive Required Tech Nothing Leads to Corvette Chassis Needed for Light Corvette, Salvage Corvette, Multi-Gun Corvette, Heavy Corvette, Minelayer Corvette This improvement to the Fighter Drive trades mass for power. While far to big to wrap a Fighter around, this new drive is perfect for the Corvette class of ships. The higher power output allows for heavier weapon systems and powered turrets. Unfortunately, despite a higher degree of fusion efficiency, these drives still require reaction mass to be injected into the fusion torch and must be refueled regularly. *Corvette Chassis Required Tech Corvette Drive Leads to Heavy Corvette Upgrade, Fast Tracking Turrets, Minelaying Tech Needed for Light Corvette, Salvage Corvette, Heavy Corvette, Multi-Gun Corvette, Minelayer Corvette With an improved engine, engineers were quickly able to expand their initial large utility hulls into a full-fledged combat chassis. This new generation of Strike Craft had large crew areas with multiple control stations which would open the door for heavy, multi-role Strike Craft with full turret capabilities and superior composite armor plating. *Heavy Corvette Upgrade Required Tech Corvette Chassis Leads to Nothing Needed for Heavy Corvette This breakthrough represents the pinnacle of corvette class design and technology. The achievement here is beefing up the structural strength of the Corvette hull with advanced components and EM field couplers so it can handle the stress of carrying a second heavy turret. Advancements in ablative armor techniques are the final part of an upgrade package that creates the most powerful Strike Craft in existence. *Fast-Tracking Turrets Required Tech Corvette Chassis Leads to Nothing Needed for Multi-Gun Corvette IN an attempt to further increase fleet defense against high speed Fighter attacks, breakthroughs were made in both computerized and high-speed magnetic couplings. Engineers combined these into a new series of fast-tracking turrets that can be mounted in multiple configurations on hulls as small as Corvettes. This ability to track multiple targets and engage them with separate turrets has allowed the creation of small gunships that can serve effectively in the anti-Fighter role. *Minelaying Tech Required Tech Corvette Chassis Leads to Nothing Needed for Minelayer Corvette When scientists tried applying plasma bomb launcher technology to the larger Corvette hulls, they accessed a more powerful fusion drive that allowed them to experiment with the size of the plasma bomb containment field and new deployment methods. The development of super-dense plasma injectors made it possible to create a mine dispenser that would fir inside a Corvette hull and still be able to produce dozens of small plasma warheads designed to detonate on or near contact with enemy hulls. With this technology, it's possible to create minefields around the Mothership at a moment's notice. ************************** Section 6 Battle Strategy ************************** [Some of the data contained here contradicts what I said above. This data takes precedence, but only for where it's mentioned.] ********** 01-Kharak ********** =Mission Objectives -Construct Research Ship -Harvest Asteroids -Destroy Target Drones using a formation -Destroy Target Drones using tactics -Capture the Target Drone using a Salvage Corvette =Secondary Objectives -Research Fighter Chassis This stage is basically training mode in the single player. First, it gives you a cut scene showing basically what's talked about in the first few pages of the manual. Then it goes through the Mothership disembarking from the Scaffold. After that, you finally get control of the game. Start by commanding the Resource Collector to Harvest the asteroids. While it's doing that, build a Research Ship, and get your Scouts in a formation. When Fleet Intelligence pops up again and tells you to destroy the Target Drones using a formation, go out there and get them. By now, your Research Ship should be done building. Research the Fighter Chassis, then when it's finished, research the Corvette Drive. Sometime in there, Fleet Intelligence will order you to use tactics to destroy Target Drones using tactics. Give them Evasive so they don't run into the Drones (it's happened to me before) and destroy the Drones. While the Scouts are out making scrap metal, build a Salvage Corvette. Now, hopefully you've at least finished researching the Fighter Chassis. Research the Corvette Drive now to save time later, then use the Salvage Corvette you built to capture the last Target Drone. After that, you'll be allowed to Hyperspace to the next level. Make sure the Corvette Drive Research is complete, then click the button. ****************************** 02-Outskirts of Kharak System ****************************** =Mission Objectives -Send probe to the Khar-Selim -Protect the Mothership -Salvage the Khar-Selim -Defend salvage team -Defend the Mothership -Destroy the attacking force =Secondary Objectives -Investigate large power signature Your first real fight. Tell your Resource Collector to Harvest. Retire all but one Scout, and build 15 Interceptors. Group the Interceptors, put them in Sphere formation, and give them the Aggressive tactics. Tell them to guard the last remaining Scout. Research the Corvette Chassis. Now, wait for the Resource Collector to get to the Khar-Selim as your probe. It'll trigger a cut scene, which leaves you with an alien force attacking the Mothership. Get your Scout, and tell it to attack the enemy ships. The Interceptors will follow suit and crush them easily. When the enemies retreat, dock all your fighters and wait for the Resource Collector to return(Note there is an unharvestable asteroid near the Khar-Selim. Don't worry about not getting it (the attackers totally forgot about it, so it shouldn't be damaged)). By now, the Corvette Chassis research should be complete or close to it, so research the Heavy Corvette Upgrade when it's done. Launch your Fighters and your Salvage Corvette. Make sure the Interceptors are still on Aggressive tactics, and tell them to guard the Salvage Corvette. Don't do anything with your Scout yet. Fly the Salvage Corvette over to the Khar-Selim, and have it Salvage the biggest piece of wreckage. Now, some more enemy Fighters and Corvettes will attack your Salvage Corvette. When it's done Salvaging the Khar-Selim, tell the Salvage Corvette to dock with the Mothership. While it's going there, the Interceptors will fire on the enemy attackers, destroying them before they can attack the Salvage Corvette. When you see the Scout you left behind, have your Interceptors abandon the Salvage Corvette and tell them to guard the Scout. Take the Scout and whack them the same way you did before. When the Salvage Corvette docks, another cut scene will play, showing the sound of the destruction of the Khar-Selim. The video will just be the wreckage you've already seen. Continue whacking the Fighters around close to the Mothership. After a while, Fleet Intelligence will enter the scene with his obnoxious attitude, informing you that he has detected a large power signature nearby. You don't need to do much to investigate it. Just whack the enemies as fast as you can the second you see them, and you'll end up fighting further away from the Mothership... And further... You'll see a Carrier, the source of the large power signature, if you've been whacking enemies fast enough and headed straight for them the second you saw them. Don't even try to attack it, it'll cut you to pieces. It's got two ion cannons and a few accurate turrets. Stay a fair distance away, and keep destroying Fighters. Sometimes, the Interceptors will stop firing even though they're on Aggressive. If that happens, try telling them to guard the Scout again, and make sure they're on Aggressive. If that doesn't work, just keep trying something. Anyway, after a while, they'll get tired of being killed and they'll retreat. Dock your Fighters to repair and refuel, and build Salvage Corvettes until you have 8 total. You'll use them. Make sure all the research is completed, and make sure your launch bays AREN'T set to 'Stay Docked'. You need the Fighters to scramble as soon as they can. When you're ready, click the Hyperspace button to Return to Kharak. Bug Yes, there is a bug on this level, but it's rather useless. You can finish off the Investigate Large Power Signature objective without it ever appearing. To do it, when your Salvage Corvette docks with the Mothership with the mission data recorder and returns it, hit the space bar to go into the Sensors Manager in the middle of the scene which follows. Hit it again to return the view to the Khar-Selim, but now you can use all your usual functions of camera zooms. Anyway, look up, and try to Alt focus on a enemy ship. Look around, and you'll see the carrier. Fleet Intelligence will blurt out the obvious, and you'll never have a Secondary Objectives list for the rest of the mission. I doubt that's even a bug, now that I think of it. ******************** 03-Return to Kharak ******************** =Mission Objectives -Defend cyro trays -Capture enemy ship using 2 Salvage Corvettes -Salvage cryo trays Hopefully, your Fighters will exit the Mothership as soon as it's finished exiting Hyperspace. You'll immediately notice Kharak is a cinder. Only this time, Fleet Command blurts out the obvious. As soon as the cut scene starts, exit it by pressing the space bar, then get back out of the sensors manager and Alt focus on a cryo tray. Now, some enemy ships will start firing on a cryo tray. Move your 8 Salvage Corvettes halfway between the enemies and the Mothership. Order your Interceptors to attack all the enemy Assault Frigates as a group, and let the fun begin (Note The number of ships you face is based on your fleet size. If you have a small fleet, you face 3. If you have a large fleet for that point in the game, you face 4. If you only have 1 Scout, 15 Interceptors, and 8 Salvage Corvettes, you should only face 3). If your Interceptors are attacking all of the Assault Frigates, they should spread out trying to hit your Fighters. When they are all trying to get your Fighters, group select all of your Salvage Corvettes and tell them to Salvage all of the enemy Assault Frigates. A couple may get destroyed, but you should capture all of the enemy Assault Frigates. Then you have all the time in the world. Harvest, research the Capital Ship Chassis, get the cryo trays loaded. Repair your fleet. Hyperspace. *************************** 04-Great Wastelands Part 1 *************************** =Mission Objectives -Begin Collection of resources -Protect the fleet -Destroy retreating Turanic Raider Carrier During the intermission cut scene, Fleet Intelligence actually tells you something you don't already know. "However, we have determined that, in our current state, they can still easily defeat us." Or something like that. He's talking about the fleet that burned Kharak to a cinder. He proposes to hide out in an asteroid field and build a bigger and better fleet-and of course, you have to go there. And, then the mission starts. First, build a Resource Controller if you haven't already. Assign it to guard your Resource Collector. Now, go harvest the asteroids in the middle of the map. After one or so loads of RUs, the Bentusi Mothership comes and decides to take control of the ambassador's ship that was sent out to meet it. Alas, all the control freaks in the game... Anyway, using some sort of technology I know next to nothing about besides the fact that it's there and works, they guide you into their ship. Now, they start talking. "We are the Bentusi. We welcome you to the space-faring cultures. The Unbound. The Outer Limb Trade Routes were established in the First Time by our ancestors. The resources you collect are of value to the Bentusi Exchange. They will serve as an acceptable medium for trade. It has been our custom to equip trading partners with an exchange unit. It has therefore been provided to your ambassador as a gesture of good will." I think that's how it goes. Anyway, you get taken to the exchange screen next. If you click ACCEPT OFFER, you have traded. If you click done, you exit the screen. WITHOUT clicking Accept Offer, click done. Now, you have a lot of time to harvest before they leave and the Turanic Raiders appear. When they start talking again, THEN you click the ship to get back to the Exchange screen, and quickly trade. You should be able to harvest most of the asteroids before they leave if you have a Resource Controller guarding the Collector you're using. Right after you trade, retreat your Resource Collector back to the Mothership, and the Controller will follow. Unload your Fighters. You see, a Turanic Raider patrol will go through the area you were just harvesting and your Resource ships would have gotten caught, and more will attack the Mothership, where your Fighters are needed most. Splitting them up and sending half to the Collector while leaving half at the Mothership is a bad idea. When the attack comes, set your Fighters to Evasive and your Mothership to Aggressive. The attack comes in what seem like downgraded Interceptors (or Scouts without the speed) and Corvettes which have a capability I want-to carry missiles. Anyway, go after the missile Corvettes first, then quash the Fighters. After a few squadrons attack, a few Ion Array Frigates will Hyperspace in and start attacking the Mothership. First, kill all Strike Craft in the area, then unload your Salvage Corvettes and capture all of them. They don't even try to resist, so there's no excuse. Now, quickly dock your Salvage Corvettes and Interceptors. After you capture or destroy all the enemy forces, something new hyperspaces in. Remember that Carrier from Mission 2 (Outskirts of Kharak System)? It's back, and now you can deal with it. First, let the two Ion Array Frigates escorting it start firing on the Mothership so they ignore the Salvage Corvettes when you unload them. Unload them once they start firing, then capture the 2 escorts. In the meanwhile, set everything besides the Mothership to Evasive so the Carrier has less of a chance of ramming them and killing them. Now, bring in your captured Ion Array Frigates, and the Assault Frigates you captured one mission earlier, and start firing on the Carrier. When you decrease it to about half health, it'll realize the futility of killing your Mothership. It'll start to retreat. You have to kill it. If you have 6-7 Ion Array Frigates and a couple of Assault Frigates, you should be able to take care of it. We're not done yet. Remember when I said a Turanic Raider patrol was patrolling the area where you harvested? It's time to take them out. There's two squadrons of those inferior Fighters, so 15 Interceptors set on Evasive should be able to take them out with minimal losses. Now, go in and finish harvesting whatever's left. Repair your fleet, then go on through Hyperspace. *************************** 05-Great Wastelands Part 2 *************************** =Mission Objectives -Investigate the asteroid belt -Eradicate all enemy ships =Secondary Objectives -Destroy enemy Resource Collectors -Research Defender Sub-Systems You will take a long time with this mission. First, take your Resource Collector and Controller and Harvest at the resources to the Mothership's left and up. Get about 3 loads there, then head them back to the Mothership. Set the Launch Controls back to 'Stay Docked.' Build your squadron of Interceptors up to 20 if it isn't there already, and set them to Evasive. Move 5-6 Salvage Corvettes to the end of the other resource trail-to the Mothership's right and a little down. Move your 20 Interceptors there also, but put them about a screen ahead of the Salvage Corvettes. Research Plasma Bomb Technology, wait until it becomes available if you can't yet. Shouldn't be that long if you did everything above first. Now, build a Probe and send it like Fleet Intelligence wants you to. 6 or 7 patrols will start patrolling. Let the Interceptors engage the first patrols they see. They should go after the Fighters first if there are any. Hopefully, the Salvage Corvettes are far enough back they are out of sight. Enemy Resource Collectors will come through that area. Let them pass. When they're almost out of your view while battling the squadrons of Fighters and the Frigates that will have by now entered the scene. Trigger the Salvage Corvettes when the Collectors are far enough away (out of sight). Two free Resource Collectors, and if you did it right, no enemy will notice until they realize the Collectors haven't come back. Now, it's time to get rid of the Assault Frigates. Let your Interceptor squadron keep fighting until they die. Have them concentrate on one Assault Frigate. It should at least be smoking from the engines by the time the squadron goes down. Build another 15 to take over for the originals. They'll serve mainly as bait. OK, the Assault Frigates on this level are very headstrong... Or they're set on Aggressive. They can and will follow a squadron of Interceptors one-third of the way across the map. Go to where the original squadron of Interceptors died. Wait there for the Assault Frigates to come back. Now fire on them so that they all at least turn towards the squadron. That means they're locked onto them. Once all of the Frigates there are locked onto the Interceptors, have the Interceptors dock with the Mothership. The Frigates will follow... Right into a trap. Before the Frigates get to your Mothership, set the warships you have (Ion Array Frigates, Assault Frigates) into a wall formation, and on Aggressive. Also, position them a little ways in front of it. Now wait for the Frigates to show up. Fire on the damaged Frigate first (the one you damaged with the original squadron), so it's killed faster and there's less shooting at you. Now, annihilate all the Frigates except one... Set your Frigates to Evasive, and have them run from it. At the same time, unload your Salvage Corvettes. Immediately move the first two over so you can capture it without having some Salvage Corvettes destroyed. Now, deal with the other Assault Frigates that are left over. Be warned, the technique above may not work if it's too far from the Mothership. Just don't go to where the Carrier is, there are none there, and Destroyers are dangerous. Oh, and spare the Ion Frigates at the bottom of the map. You can capture those later. Now, try to build 16 (!) Salvage Corvettes. After a while, even with no Resource Collectors (cheaters!), the Carrier seems to crank out Defenders. Fight enough, and you can research for a similar ship. Anyway, after you've destroyed or captured all of the Assault Frigates, take your Interceptor squadron and knock out all the Defenders surrounding the Ion Frigates. Now, just distract them, and capture the Ion Frigates. At this point, if there are no patrols left on the map, the Carrier, two Destroyers, and Support Frigate will go kamikaze-like and attack your Mothership. Dock all Strike Craft, then move anything left over besides the Mothership herself about 30 kilometers behind the Mothership so the Carrier doesn't ram it and destroy it. Also, this faq is copyright Giovanni 2000. No stealing my faqs. More often than not, someone who steals and alters this faq so it looks like it's his will miss this. Faq continued When the attack force arrives, launch all your Interceptors to combat their Fighters, and try to kill the Fighters before they Kamikaze into your Mothership. Once you've killed most of them that were launched, launch your Salvage Corvettes, and try to capture the Carrier and Destroyers and Support Frigate. Some will get destroyed, that's why I had you build 16. Have your Interceptors finish off the remaining Fighters, and capture all that you can. Especially the two Destroyers. When every enemy is either destroyed or captured, build the number of Resource Controllers equal to the number of Collectors you have, and then assign them to guard the Collectors. Now, harvest everything left. Research everything you can, rebuild your fleet, heal with the Support Frigate you hopefully captured (or just build one yourself), and Hyperspace. ***************** 06-Diamond Shoals ***************** =Mission Objectives -Protect the Mothership "Protect the Mothership..." OK, some enemy's going to attack, same as last level. Uhhh.. No, it isn't. You see, you've just jumped into an asteroid field, and you're heading through it, into asteroids... And they do much more than any enemy weapon in this game, you see (Besides the occasional ramming) So, you have to make sure you don't get hit by them. And you can't get hit by them if they don't exist anymore... Any questions? OK, blow up any asteroids that look like they're headed into the Mothership, which is tough to determine from the 3D pictures that you have. Any thing that has a weapon (Besides a Support Frigate or Carrier you may have captured), scramble it and have them attack the asteroids. It helps if you've captured a Destroyer. Park everything else behind the Mothership. Have the Support Frigate set to Heal the Mothership when it takes damage, and have your Collectors Harvest; when you blast an asteroid and it breaks apart, the Collectors can harvest those pieces that fly around. Also, MAKE SURE YOUR SHIPS ARE SET ON EVASIVE SO THEY DON'T LET THE ASTEROIDS MASH THEM INTO TINY PULP!!! Sorry about the caps, but that's the biggest mistake people make on this level, and they'd be wise to listen to that. I admit, it won't save every one of your ships, but it'll save a lot. OK, when you're finished with getting through the asteroid field, the Bentusi will decide to show up. Accept their offer for the Super Heavy Chassis. Fleet Command will then ask about the nebula they (you) plan to venture through, and you'll get a basic "You'll die if you enter," answer. They'll Hyperspace out. Now, harvest everything you can. And, make sure you have at least 20 Interceptors and 20 Attack Bombers by the end of this mission, with more Interceptors recommended. Now, make sure everything you can research has been researched, and click on the Hyperspace button. That's all I can give you on this level. ************************ 07-The Gardens of Kadesh ************************ =Mission Objectives -Harvest Nebula -Defend fleet -Destroy Hyperspace Inhibitor =Secondary Objectives -Protect Resourcers When you jump in, group your Cap Ships into the Wall formation and have them guard your Collectors. Make sure you have at least 20 Interceptors and 20 Attack Bombers, each in different Control Groups, make sure they're on Evasive, also guarding the Collectors. Have it harvest... On a side note, your Sensors Manager is gone for the mission. It keeps showing red dots where there aren't any due to 'Large amounts of radiation'... Fleet Intelligence said he'd try to recalibrate the sensors, but the guy never gets it done. Once you've started Harvesting, some weird radar-dish shaped alien Mothership-thingy will approach. The Ambassador's stripped-down ship flies out of your bay. They also dispatch one. The two come together in between the two Motherships. The small defender-like craft circles yours, giving you a choice. Join us or die. If only we actually got to decide on what to do here... Well, Fleet Command picks choice B, 'Don't join', and the craft speeds back to it's Mothership. One thing, why didn't they cream the Ambassador before they left? OK, small Fighters will exit their Mothership and head for yours. They'll also concentrate on your Collectors. Leave your Frigates guarding the Resourcers, have your Interceptors intercept Fighters, preferably those who are trying to blast your Resourcers, and have your Attack Bombers bomb the small Fuel Pod things that will appear. Those refuel their Fighters and they'll be slowed down if destroyed, although more will always come... OK, after 8 minutes of defending, you'll be able to Hyperspace. Try to, use Auto-Docking so you actually have ships left when you Hyperspace, and blast out... Guess what? They have some sort of Hyperspace Inhibitor technology, and they're stopping you from Hyperspacing so they can blast you to bits before leaving. Their Mothership is using it, so guess what you do? That's right. Leave your Interceptors guarding the Resourcers, and take all your battle-worthy Frigates and Attack Bombers and crunch the poor thing. Once they're _ finally _ gone, you are free from attack, so Harvest anything left, rebuild your fleet and launch out. On a side note, there's no way you can try to kill the Nebula's Mothership before you try to Hyperspace and bypass being stopped from Hyperspacing, a new one will just Hyperspace in and you've probably lost ships to it. Wonder how many they have... If there's a limit, it's probably so high you'd spend a couple days trying to blast them all. 08-The Cathedral of Kadesh =Mission Objectives -Destroy Hyperspace Inhibitors -Destroy attackers I hope you've rebuilt your fleet... You'll need to. Basically the same thing as last mission. Defend. Only this time they've got 3 Hyperspace Inhibitors. Don't go after them, just keep using your Attack Bombers to blast the Fuel Pods and Interceptors to blast the Swarmers themselves. Eventually, they'll start sending Multi-Beam Frigates, small frigates with 4 ion cannons. Do NOT destroy these, grab them yourself by capturing them. They'll send about 9 against you, grab as many as you can. Once you have at least 6 Multi-Beam Frigates, you can go take out a Hyperspace Inhibitor. Send them in Evasive tactics and have them fire on it. Evasive makes it so it's a lot harder for them to be rammed. Three-four volleys should kill one. But keep supervising your Mothership. You don't want to miss any frigates for capture. Repeat the procedure on another. Once you've destroyed 2 Hyperspace Inhibitors, the last one will retreat to a set point. Fleet Intelligence will inform you of a thing in space which has a 'friendly signature but it's not one of ours.' By now, you should have 9 Multi-Beam Frigates, but don't worry if you don't. Finish off the last of the attackers. Put your Multi-Beams in wall, set on Evasive and guarding your Carrier. Load your Salvage Corvettes into your Carrier, and set that to Evasive, also. Move the Carrier about halfway there. If you don't encounter Multi-Beam Frigates (theirs) when you get halfway there, move closer by about half of the remaining distance. You should find them by now. They've got about 7 Multi-Beam Frigates in Broad formation. And make sure they find the Carrier first. When they start circling the Carrier, launch your Salvage Corvettes and tell them to capture the frigates. While they try, the Multi-Beam Frigates will probably get off a volley against your Carrier, sending it down into low yellow-high red. Your Salvagers should capture them before they get another one off, if you set them on the frigates early enough. If they do get off another volley... watch the fireworks, I guess. Once all those are captured, group all of your Multi-Beam Frigates into a Wall formation, and Evasive. Set them to take out the last Hyperspace Inhibitor. Wait, there's Fleet Intel... "Look! It's the exact same ships as the wreckage from Khar-Toba! Our origins are the same." (or something to that extent) Don't let that stop you from blasting them. Wipe out the Inhibitor and the two groups of two Fuel Pods nearby, and start harvesting. Now go do something else for a few hours. When you're done Harvesting, build two Destroyers while you have the chance. Up your Interceptors to 40. Save your remaining Attack Bombers for Kamikaze tactics. Hyperspace. ************************************* Section 7 Frequently Asked Questions ************************************* Q When will you next update? A Whenever I feel like it. Q Is there any way I can help? A Depends on what you want to help with. Basically, everything that I've put in. Levels (NOT ones I haven't covered yet), Multiplayer strategies, etc. I'll cut and paste the thing directly from the email. But make it legible, as I do cut and paste it and I want this to be legible. And no curse words. ************************************ Section 8 Special Thanks/Legal Info ************************************ *Copyright Info This FAQ is Copyright 2001 Giovanni. I am in no way affiliated with Sierra or Relic Entertainment. HOMEWORLD Copyright 1997-1999 Sierra ON-LINE Inc. Copyright 1997-1999 Relic Entertainment Inc. MMCXVII *This FAQ may appear only on the following websites GameFAQs http//www.gamefaqs.com Neoseekers http//www.neoseeker.com DLH http//DLH.Net If you want my permission to post it on my site, email me with your site address and I will check out your site and consider it. *Special Thanks to *GameFAQs, for posting this on their website. *Neoseekers, for posting this on their website. *DLH, for posting this on their website. *MetroidMoo, for letting me use his Unit Build Times from his Homeworld Units FAQ. I suggest you go check it out! *Sierra, for making this game. *Relic Entertainment, for making this game. *And finally, me, for writing this up in the first place. -------------------- *~~* [End of Text]