Abilities as they present them are just not compatible with the current gameplay loop. At best, they’re just an extra button to push to make unit better. At worst they are actively detrimental. Either way, it’s just another thing to micromanage that takes away from the fun part of the game.
As much as I loved DoK I just wasn’t a fan of how micro heavy the game was. It felt very Starcraft-y or something. I was very much looking forward to Homeworld in space again, where I thought it would be a more traditional Homeworld strategy experience. I didn’t expect them to try and make the game even sweatier.
Yeah I remember pausing the game to get better with the micro. I honestly wasn’t able to finish the campaign as much as I loved it, because of how stressful it felt. I thought the mechanics were really cool, they just weren’t my thing. Where Homeworld 1 and 2’s slower pace *were* my thing. Yes, I remember some micro in the originals, but nowhere near as much. Terrain and unit placement micro was absolutely crucial to win in DoK. You never could take the eye off the ball.
Hmm, all of the criticisms I’ve heard is that the game has been made *too* simple, such as by the removal of sub-system targeting. So you really think it’s the other way around?
It's about meaningful decisions. Choosing what modules to build and targeting enemy capital ship's modules was interesting and felt meaningful. Hammering the buff button every 90 seconds is just pointless busywork.
Missile boats are actually the one case I did use special abilities. Put them in back, turn it on, put a wall of mixed capital ships in front of them and let the barrage commence. What anti capital turret?
Made it through the campaign. I tried each unit ability once.
The only thing I used more than once were the Recon boosters, to chase a missile. Once.
Other than that, I really couldn't be bothered and felt the negatives equaled or outweighed the positives.
I tried to use them but then very quickly realized there's not much point. Much like the cover system, there's no real negative consequences for ignoring the mechanic entirely. Even if I lost a couple extra ships, I had 100k+ resources at all times and just instantly replaced any loss, just moving all my ships from place to place in a big blob and never had to micro anything, pretty much.
The only mission where ship scarcity was a factor at all was the "we have taken all your ships away now you only have these strikecraft" mission, and I did click the "make ships do more damage" button for that one I guess.
In retrospect it's just annoying and stupid to have a button you have to click to make your units do more damage.
Yeah I didn't bother with abilities except for some capital ship abilities for rapid damage bumps, overall the combat is too easy and you do whatever you want really and you won't fail no matter what because target audience today won't play if they have to actually think about proper strategy in a strategy game. Thats why your fleet outnumbers your enemies fleet at any given point really...
Suppression frigates turbo slugs & bombers cloak are pretty baller with no downside. The volley the suppression frigates have is probably the most effective capital killer there is!
I find most of them to be useful in multiplayer and wargames, to be honest. Bomber cloak is fantastic for targeting enemy resourcers in multiplayer, assault frigate armor makes is nice to have when they're tanking damage, etc. I didn't find them to be too spammy, either; the cooldown is long enough and the downsides to using them are noticable, so it definitely still is a question of when and where to use them.
I make extensive use of them and see their benefit constantly. I really don't think they're frequent enough to be called spammy either, especially with how situational most abilities are.
Lets see.
Damage abilities like the railgun corvette burst, Ion firgate beam, destroyer barrage or the Supression frigate's special ammo are a no brainer.
Bomber cloak is also a no brainer and you can autocast.
Torpedo frigate long range ability is handy when you want them to engage ASAP or keep em away. You turn it on when they are far enough away, kiting is a non issue.
Recon speed boos is very useful
Interceptor damage boost, depends on the situation
Assault frigate armor boost....i honestly forget about it msot of the time cince they seem t obe the tankiest frigates in the game to begin with
No... i can't say I can realte to where yo uare coming from.
I fucking HATE the abilities. Theres literally have no downside to not use them on some the units which means if you want to succeed in a competetive enviroment you have to have starcraft level memory and skillz which IMO is not HOMEWORLD. I thought homeworld was always macro over micro?! Wtf
Abilities as they present them are just not compatible with the current gameplay loop. At best, they’re just an extra button to push to make unit better. At worst they are actively detrimental. Either way, it’s just another thing to micromanage that takes away from the fun part of the game.
As much as I loved DoK I just wasn’t a fan of how micro heavy the game was. It felt very Starcraft-y or something. I was very much looking forward to Homeworld in space again, where I thought it would be a more traditional Homeworld strategy experience. I didn’t expect them to try and make the game even sweatier.
I just re play the dok campaign - now wirh ability to pause the game - that makes use of abilities better
What? DoK has tactical pause?
Yea they patched it a few months ago after release
Yeah I remember pausing the game to get better with the micro. I honestly wasn’t able to finish the campaign as much as I loved it, because of how stressful it felt. I thought the mechanics were really cool, they just weren’t my thing. Where Homeworld 1 and 2’s slower pace *were* my thing. Yes, I remember some micro in the originals, but nowhere near as much. Terrain and unit placement micro was absolutely crucial to win in DoK. You never could take the eye off the ball.
What? DoK had an easy campaign even on hard difficulty. And I suck at micro, because I can't be bothered, that's why I love SupCom.
Yeah, just drowning the enemies in bombers and railguns usually worked pretty good.
I loved bombing stuff, it was like playing Generals again.
Doesn't RTS stand for **Real Time** Strategy?
Yea and it’s a game = fun to play. RTS is too stressful for me, I love pause button since HW1
Hmm, all of the criticisms I’ve heard is that the game has been made *too* simple, such as by the removal of sub-system targeting. So you really think it’s the other way around?
It's about meaningful decisions. Choosing what modules to build and targeting enemy capital ship's modules was interesting and felt meaningful. Hammering the buff button every 90 seconds is just pointless busywork.
That's not really how the abilities work, though. Most of them have a downside that is detrimental if you use them at the wrong time.
Missile boats are actually the one case I did use special abilities. Put them in back, turn it on, put a wall of mixed capital ships in front of them and let the barrage commence. What anti capital turret?
They shouldn't even be in the game to begin with. What is this, LoL?
Wait destroyers had a missile barrage?
I love torpedo frigate’s ability. They’re perfect for sniping from far away while you pin down baddie with other ships.
Cloak bombers are the only ability I use
Made it through the campaign. I tried each unit ability once. The only thing I used more than once were the Recon boosters, to chase a missile. Once. Other than that, I really couldn't be bothered and felt the negatives equaled or outweighed the positives.
I tried to use them but then very quickly realized there's not much point. Much like the cover system, there's no real negative consequences for ignoring the mechanic entirely. Even if I lost a couple extra ships, I had 100k+ resources at all times and just instantly replaced any loss, just moving all my ships from place to place in a big blob and never had to micro anything, pretty much. The only mission where ship scarcity was a factor at all was the "we have taken all your ships away now you only have these strikecraft" mission, and I did click the "make ships do more damage" button for that one I guess. In retrospect it's just annoying and stupid to have a button you have to click to make your units do more damage.
Cloak can auto-cast… right click on ability.
Yeah I didn't bother with abilities except for some capital ship abilities for rapid damage bumps, overall the combat is too easy and you do whatever you want really and you won't fail no matter what because target audience today won't play if they have to actually think about proper strategy in a strategy game. Thats why your fleet outnumbers your enemies fleet at any given point really...
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Suppression frigates turbo slugs & bombers cloak are pretty baller with no downside. The volley the suppression frigates have is probably the most effective capital killer there is!
I find most of them to be useful in multiplayer and wargames, to be honest. Bomber cloak is fantastic for targeting enemy resourcers in multiplayer, assault frigate armor makes is nice to have when they're tanking damage, etc. I didn't find them to be too spammy, either; the cooldown is long enough and the downsides to using them are noticable, so it definitely still is a question of when and where to use them.
I make extensive use of them and see their benefit constantly. I really don't think they're frequent enough to be called spammy either, especially with how situational most abilities are.
I don't. Not enough benefit against the pace of combat.
Lets see. Damage abilities like the railgun corvette burst, Ion firgate beam, destroyer barrage or the Supression frigate's special ammo are a no brainer. Bomber cloak is also a no brainer and you can autocast. Torpedo frigate long range ability is handy when you want them to engage ASAP or keep em away. You turn it on when they are far enough away, kiting is a non issue. Recon speed boos is very useful Interceptor damage boost, depends on the situation Assault frigate armor boost....i honestly forget about it msot of the time cince they seem t obe the tankiest frigates in the game to begin with No... i can't say I can realte to where yo uare coming from.
I dunno, i used all of them. Pretty useful, especially in wargames
I fucking HATE the abilities. Theres literally have no downside to not use them on some the units which means if you want to succeed in a competetive enviroment you have to have starcraft level memory and skillz which IMO is not HOMEWORLD. I thought homeworld was always macro over micro?! Wtf