Relicnews: the definitive source for all things Relic

Just spotted a post on the forums about an interview Alex did in New Zealand. It’s a great read for those of you looking to study up on Relic history.

Thanks to Vijil for posting about it.

I missed this in my rounds this morning… There’s a HW2 article up at Computer and Videogames dot com. It’s a short blurb, has nothing really new (same screens from the Vivendi Press pack), but does mention that they’ll have more HW2 info soon.

Check it out here.

The Homeworld2 concept art that Arioch pulled out of Actiontrip’s preview the other day is now up at Gamespot.

Check it out. Thanks to Mad_Scientist for the heads up.

[update 2/27/2003] Mad_Scientist now informs us that they have uploaded the Actiontrip screens as well. The actiontrip screens, as I understand it, are not from the same newer ‘version’ of HW2 as the gamespot ones from earlier this week (as evidenced by the quality).[/update]

The community old-timers or long time Penny-Arcade fans may remember the Home Sweet Homeworld cartoon that was done way back when.

Well, now there’s a strikingly similar one for Homeworld2 at Ctrl+Alt+Del.

Check It Out!.

Thanks to The Other Chris for the heads up.

If you’ve got a soundblaster Audigy/Extigy, you might want to check out this fix for IC. It fixes the speaker mode resetting that was happening.

See the MS Knowledgebase Article that covers it for more details.

IC Review up at Ferrago.co.uk. Scores a 74%.

Now other games have been simplified to take the RTS genre into the paying homes of those who would not normally consider the prospect. But this ain’t no Lego Rock Raiders, this is a seriously designed game, well coded, with great art and competent sounds. It’s also fun to play. For a few days.

Check it out here.

Eurogamer rates IC a 7 out of 10.

These impressions continued when we first started up the game, and were greeted not with stirring martial music or a dramatic orchestral score, but instead with a rather catchy honky-tonk jazz style piece over the top of a slick menu system. In fact, the team at Relic seems to have been perfectly happy to throw out all of the stylistic conventions of the strategy genre, and we’re glad they did; the presentation of Impossible Creatures is a joy to behold, and a hugely refreshing change from what we’re used to in modern videogames.

Check it out here.

A VU press release confirms the target date for HW2 to ship is somewhere in Q32003 (July 1st to September 30th). Expect later, hope for sooner, and demand it be polished to a glossy sheen :-)

YET ANOTHER ONE!

Check it out!

This full-blown sequel has once again summoned the talent of renowned artist Rob Cunningham, one of the co-founders of Relic Entertainment and the Art Director in the original Homeworld. Some of the game’s preliminary ship designs and sketches demonstrated Rob’s exceptional flair for sci-fi art, almost worthy of the legendary Jean Giraud (a.k.a. Moebius - whose drawings and comic books inspired many sci-fi authors). The designing team at Relic worked with Rob by building fully rendered 3D models based on his designs. The models have clearly improved from the original game (just check out the new ship models in our screenshot gallery). Another experienced member of the development team is Lead Designer Josh Mosquieara, who previously collaborated with Activision and Microsoft on Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro and Impossible Creatures. Relic was also strengthened with Lead Programmer Stephan Morichere-Matte, who specialized in artificial intelligence and robotics (no doubt, a perfect addition to the AI programming crew).

Action Trip dun good boss!

Looks like there’s a Homeworld2 Q&A up at Gamespot! It’s got lots, as in 4 pages, of great questions and answers.

Eight new shots, and a few new ships. Great shots of the Hiigaran Battlecruiser taking stuff on.

GS: One of the challenges in designing maps for an RTS set in space is simply how wide open the maps tend to be. Is there anything new in the way you approached the design of the sequel’s maps?

DI: One of the major improvements Homeworld 2 makes on Homeworld is the use of nebulas, dust clouds, megaliths (hulks in space), asteroids, and debris. While these provide visual reference, they also add strategic importance and are integral to story progression and the suspension of disbelief. The use of these types of elements in Homeworld was very limited compared with what we’ve done in Homeworld 2. I can’t wait for everyone to see them in the game!

JM: We wanted to create a “living battlefield” for Homeworld 2. This is decidedly difficult in space, but what we have certainly goes a long way toward adding environmental gameplay to our maps. Dust clouds obscure sensors, nebulae can cause ships to malfunction, and megaliths can support subsystems. In short, space is not empty in Homeworld 2, but, rather, is filled with possibilities.

Megaliths!

Check it out!