Homeworld 3 director says he's been waiting 20 years to make his "dream" strategy game

Homeworld 3 is a dream two decades in the making, according to director and Blackbird Interactive founder Rob Cunningham.

Speaking to PC Gamer, Cunningham shares his excitement at finally being able to implement ideas that he's had since the legendary RTS series first took flight. "It was profoundly satisfying to finally be making the game that you had in your mind, finished, for a long time before," he says. "In essence, Homeworld 3 was our original dream for Homeworld 2."

Homeworld 1 launched in 1999, while its sequel followed four years later, and according to Cunningham, the vision for Homeworld 3 was "utterly impossible" then due to the technological constraints of the time. "We couldn't do massive environments with these megaliths," he explains, "so we had to wait 20 years."

Recalling the limitations of the first game, Cunningham says, "The problem was the space: there was just so much space. We had some asteroids, but that was it. We did our best to make it strategically interesting, but there was really no other decision-making happening in the game space. Immediately, we started thinking, 'What can we do about putting terrain in space?'"

The answer lay in those aforementioned megaliths, giant space structures which add an extra tactical layer to proceedings by offering new ways to flank the enemy as well as defensive options to keep your spaceship safe from incoming fire. 

Despite being heavier on features, according to its creators, players will have an easier time getting to grips with the latest entry in the Homeworld series. "With Homeworld 3, the terrain actually helps the player move around because you can select your units and click on the terrain, and they immediately go to that spot," Cunningham explains. It's way easier to play Homeworld 3 than it was to play Homeworld 1."

To really drive the point that Homeworld 3 is less punishing than its predecessors, game director Lance Meuller adds, "Homeworld 1 and 2 were known for very hard counters for units. You'd need an assault frigate or flak frigate to take out fighter units. For Homeworld 3, we're trying to soften that as much as possible, and terrain's a very big factor for softening counters."

You'll find the full interview in issue 380 of PC Gamer, grab a single issue or set up a subscription now via Magazines Direct.