Homeworld: Vast Reaches

Last updated
Homeworld: Vast Reaches
HomeworldVastReaches.jpg
Developer(s) FarBridge
Publisher(s) Gearbox Software
Platform(s) Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3
ReleaseMay 2, 2024
Genre(s) Real-time strategy
Mode(s) Single-player

Homeworld: Vast Reaches is a virtual reality real-time strategy game developed by FarBridge and published by Gearbox Software. It was released on the Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest 3, with plans to release it as a PC VR title later in 2024. It is a part of the Homeworld series of games.

Contents

The game takes the mechanics used in the other Homeworld titles and adapts them for use in a VR game. The player controls units in "control groups," which allow for easier control in the VR setting. The plot takes place between the games Homeworld and Homeworld 2 .

Gameplay

Homeworld: Vast Reaches is a real-time strategy game set in space. Gameplay, as in most real-time strategy games, is focused on gathering resources, building military forces, and using them to destroy enemy forces and accomplish an objective. The game features only a single-player mode, as opposed to other Homeworld releases, which included multiplayer and skirmish modes. The campaign consists of a six to eight hour story-driven campaign broken up into 11 levels. [1] [2]

To adapt the Homeworld series to virtual reality, ships are managed by the player in "control groups," and the player builds units and manages each control group with virtual reality gestures and controls. [1] The central ship of the player's fleet is the mothership, a large base which in previous Homeworld games was where ships were constructed and upgraded. Resources can be spent by the player on building new ships; unlike in previous Homeworld games, ships are no longer constructed inside of the mothership, appearing instead directly inside of control groups. Buildable ships come in a variety of types, which are discovered over the course of the game as the story progresses. [1]

The Quest gives the option to play the game in mixed-reality mode – the Quest's outer cameras will place the game's ships inside of the player's room around them. [3] The Quest 3 uses its color cameras while the Quest 2 only supports a black-and-white mixed-reality mode. [1] [2] Camera controls use a combination of gestures, the player's vision, and the Quest controller triggers to allow the player a wide freedom of movement. [3]

Plot

The game's plot takes place between Homeworld and Homeworld 2, when the Fleet Command Karan S’jet has disconnected from the mothership. [4] Because of this, a new and more aggressive Fleet Command, Tyrra Soban, takes over as Karan teaches her how to manage the fleet. [1] The fleet fends off a new enemy, which IGN 's Dan Stapleton described as a faction of "techno-fetishist bureaucrats [...] that are easy to hate." [1]

Development

Developer FarBridge is based in Austin, Texas. [5] The development team built Vast Reaches for VR from the beginning, focusing on the challenges of creating the controls for a VR Homeworld game as one of their top priorities. [4] The release of Vast Reaches was announced on April 23, 2024, on social media, with its Meta Quest release date confirmed for May 2, 2024 and a PC VR release date later in the year. [6] [7]

Reception

IGN 's Dan Stapleton gave Vast Reaches a mixed review, calling it "an unsatisfying lite" version of Homeworld. [1] Stapleton noted that although the game captured the series's look and feel well, but that the simplified controls in VR were "underwhelming" and that it takes away some of the details that made Homeworld memorable. [1] In a more positive note, Tomas Franzese of Digital Trends pushed back on Stapleton's criticism of the game's easier difficulty, noting that it allowed Vast Reaches to be a good starting place for people new to the series. [8]

Related Research Articles

<i>Homeworld: Cataclysm</i> 2000 video game

Homeworld: Cataclysm is a 2000 real-time strategy video game developed by Barking Dog Studios and published by Sierra Studios for Windows. It is the second entry in the Homeworld series and was originally developed as an expansion for Relic Entertainment's Homeworld, but was ultimately released as a stand-alone sequel. Set fifteen years after the events of the first game, Cataclysm follows the Kuun-Lan, a Kushaan mining starship that attempts to counter "the Beast", a destructive nanobot virus, while combatting the imperialist remnants of the Taiidan Empire, who seek revenge on the Kushaan and control of Hiigara.

<i>Homeworld 2</i> 2003 video game

Homeworld 2 is a real-time strategy video game sequel to Homeworld, developed by Relic Entertainment and released in 2003 by now defunct publisher Sierra Entertainment. Its story concerns Hiigara's response to a new enemy called the Vaygr. Its gameplay takes a new direction with the enhancement of its graphics and audio. In contrast to the closely equivalent Kushan and Taiidan forces of the original game, Vaygr and Hiigaran spaceships differ significantly in design and application.

<i>Homeworld</i> 1999 real-time strategy computer game

Homeworld is a real-time strategy video game developed by Relic Entertainment and published by Sierra Studios on September 28, 1999, for Windows. Set in space, the science fiction game follows the Kushan exiles of the planet Kharak after their home planet is destroyed by the Taiidan Empire in retaliation for developing hyperspace jump technology. The survivors journey with their spacecraft-constructing mothership to reclaim their ancient homeworld of Hiigara from the Taiidan, encountering a variety of pirates, mercenaries, traders, and rebels along the way. In each of the game's levels, the player gathers resources, builds a fleet, and uses it to destroy enemy ships and accomplish mission objectives. The player's fleet carries over between levels and can travel in a fully three-dimensional space within each level rather than being limited to a two-dimensional plane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reality Labs</span> Virtual and augmented reality products company

Reality Labs, formerly Oculus VR, is a business and research unit of Meta Platforms that produces virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) hardware and software, including virtual reality headsets such as Quest, and online platforms such as Horizon Worlds. In June 2022, several artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives that were previously a part of Meta AI were transitioned to Reality Labs. This also includes Meta's fundamental AI Research laboratory FAIR which is now part of the Reality Labs - Research (RLR) division.

<i>CastleStorm</i> 2013 video game

CastleStorm is a 2013 game developed by Zen Studios for Xbox 360, Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, and Wii U. A remastered version titled CastleStorm: Definitive Edition was released in 2014 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. A free-to-play mobile version titled CastleStorm: Free to Siege was released in 2014 for Amazon, Android, and iOS. The game also received a virtual reality adaptation for Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, and PlayStation VR. A sequel titled CastleStorm 2 was released on July 31, 2020.

<i>Job Simulator</i> 2016 video game

Job Simulator: The 2050 Archives, commonly referred to as simply Job Simulator, is a virtual reality simulation video game developed and published by Owlchemy Labs for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Oculus Quest, Oculus Quest 2 and Meta Quest 3, in which players participate in comical approximations of real-world jobs. A sequel, Vacation Simulator, was released in 2019 and has a completely different premise.

<i>Star Trek: Bridge Crew</i> 2017 video game

Star Trek: Bridge Crew is a virtual-reality action-adventure video game developed by Red Storm Entertainment and published by Ubisoft for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Oculus Quest.

<i>Robo Recall</i> 2017 video game

Robo Recall is a virtual reality first-person shooter game developed and published by Epic Games for Oculus Rift and Oculus Quest platforms. The game was released for the Oculus Rift on March 1, 2017, and an Oculus Quest version titled Robo Recall: Unplugged was released on May 21, 2019. Players that activate their Oculus Touch virtual reality controllers with its software are able to download the game for free.

<i>Lone Echo</i> Virtual reality adventure game

Lone Echo is a 2017 virtual reality adventure game developed by Ready At Dawn, and published by Oculus Studios. Set aboard a space station orbiting Saturn, it allows players to move in zero-gravity by grabbing and pushing off of the environment. In addition to the narrative single-player game, the title includes a team-based multiplayer sports mode called Echo Arena, which was also released as a stand-alone game. A sequel, Lone Echo II, was announced in 2018 and released on October 12, 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virtual reality game</span> Video game played in virtual reality

A virtual reality game or VR games is a video game played on virtual reality (VR) hardware. Most VR games are based on player immersion, typically through head-mounted display unit or headset with stereoscopic displays and one or more controllers.

<i>VRChat</i> Virtual reality social platform

VRChat is an online virtual world platform created by Graham Gaylor and Jesse Joudrey and operated by VRChat, Inc. The platform allows users to interact with others with user-created 3D avatars and worlds. VRChat is designed primarily for use with virtual reality headsets, being available for Microsoft Windows PCs and as a native app for Android-based headsets such as Meta Quest, Pico 4, and HTC Vive XR Elite. It is also usable without VR in a "desktop" mode designed for either a mouse and keyboard or gamepad, and in an Android app for touchscreen devices.

<i>Rec Room</i> (video game) 2016 virtual reality social game

Rec Room is a virtual reality massively multiplayer online game with an integrated game creation system, initially released in 2016. It is available on Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PSVR, Meta Quest, Pico 4, iOS, and Android.

<i>Beat Saber</i> 2019 virtual reality rhythm game

Beat Saber is a virtual reality rhythm game developed by Slovaks Ján Ilavský, Vladimír Hrinčár, and Peter Hrinčár. The game was published by Czech game developer Beat Games. It takes place in many different surrealistic neon environments and features the player slicing blocks representing musical beats with a pair of brightly-colored sabers. Following an early access release in May 2018, the game was officially released for PlayStation 4 and Windows on May 21, 2019, and for the Meta Quest in standalone mode.

<i>Five Nights at Freddys: Help Wanted</i> 2019 video game

Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted is a 2019 virtual reality (VR) survival horror video game developed by Steel Wool Studios and Scott Cawthon. It is an anthology of different minigames based on the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise, where the player must complete tasks without being jumpscared by homicidal animatronic characters. The minigames are composed of virtual reality adaptations of the main entries in the series in addition to several new experiences. Hidden inside the levels are coins that allow the player to unlock collectable objects and cassette tapes that provide insight into the game's metafictional plot.

<i>The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners</i> 2020 video game

The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is a virtual reality first-person shooter survival horror game for Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Oculus Quest, Oculus Quest 2, and Oculus Rift, developed by Skydance Interactive in partnership with Skybound Entertainment. It is based on the comic book series The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman. Initially released on Steam and Oculus platform on January 23, 2020, it was released on PlayStation VR in May 2020. Additionally, the title was ported to Oculus Quest in October 2020, alongside PICO 4 in January 2023.

<i>Homeworld 3</i> 2024 video game

Homeworld 3 is a real-time strategy video game developed by Blackbird Interactive and published by Gearbox Software. The game was released on May 13, 2024.

Homeworld is a series of real-time strategy video games created by Relic Entertainment. Relic Entertainment developed the first two Homeworld games. The series then spent over a decade in dormancy until Gearbox Software acquired the franchise in 2012 and tasked Blackbird Interactive to develop Homeworld 3, the third mainline installment of the franchise, and the spin-off game Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak.

<i>Assassins Creed Nexus VR</i> Virtual reality adventure game

Assassin's Creed Nexus VR is a virtual reality action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft and published by Ubisoft for virtual reality (VR) headsets Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest Pro, and Meta Quest 3. Played from a first-person perspective, the game stars Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Connor, and Kassandra as its protagonists. It is the first VR game in the Assassin's Creed series and was released on November 16, 2023.

<i>Asgards Wrath 2</i> 2023 video game

Asgard's Wrath 2 is an action role-playing game developed by Sanzaru Games and published by Oculus Studios for the Meta Quest series of virtual reality headsets. It is the sequel to Asgard's Wrath (2019). The game was released worldwide in December 2023 and was included for free as a launch game for the Meta Quest 3.

<i>Synth Riders</i> Virtual reality rhythm game

Synth Riders is a virtual reality rhythm game developed and published by Kluge Interactive. It involves players touching spheres ('notes'), tracing lines ('rails'), and avoiding obstacles that move towards them.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Stapleton, Dan (2024-05-02). "Homeworld: Vast Reaches Review". IGN. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  2. 1 2 Stapleton, Dan (2024-04-03). "Homeworld: Vast Reaches Has the Homeworld Vibe Down Pat". IGN. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  3. 1 2 Switzer, Eric (2024-04-04). "Homeworld: Vast Reaches Proves VR Is A Great Place For Real Time Strategy". TheGamer. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  4. 1 2 "Space Strategy: 'Homeworld: Vast Reaches' Brings the Classic Series to Meta Quest Today | Meta Quest Blog". Meta. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  5. ↑ "Virtual tourism is a thing! Austin's FarBridge builds on gaming chops for VR sightseeing and education". Austin American-Statesman . 2018-08-20. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  6. ↑ "Homeworld: Vast Reaches will bring the space RTS to VR headsets in May". Shacknews. 2024-04-23. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  7. ↑ Kaser, Rachel (2024-04-03). "Homeworld: Vast Reaches is series' first VR title, launches this year". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  8. ↑ Franzese, Tomas (2024-05-07). "Before you play Homeworld 3, try this game as a primer". Digital Trends. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.