Let's Play Homeworld - Mission 8

Welcome back, sorry I didn't make a blog yesterday, the game was frustrating me to no end, and so was my screenshot program. Anyhow, on with the next level.

Charlie (who I've learned is Fleet Intelligence, by the way... but I'm still calling him Charlie) tells us that the hyperspace inhibitor did some technobabble and kept us from warping out. Also, the mothership core is identical to our own :O Which is strange cause ours was reverse-engineered from the wreck of the Khar-Toba! :O

But, we're not out of the nebula! We should have hyperspaced out. Charlie lets us know a triangle of motherships is keeping us from warping out, only one can keep us here, and we need to get out now. An ambassador from the Garden-Keepers comes and tells us we must join.

Karan, in her sweet, kind voice tells them that we can live in peace, and we both likely come from the same planet. The ambassador, clearly torn, tells us that we will fail, and the evil that forced them into the nebula will destroy us, and then come after them. They don't want that to happen, so they attack!

The Garden-Keepers attack with a new, pretty ship - Multi-Beam Frigates. I looove these units. They can blow the heck out of anything with 4 rotating beams of glorious goodness. They are a bit on the paper-thin side... but I'll let that slide cause they're so sexy. There are 17 in this level (2 waves of 3, 2 waves of 2, and 1 of 7 (!)) and I will try to capture everything I can. After blowing up two of their motherships...

... they retreat across the entire map from my current location... sigh. Charlie lets us know that there is a friendly signature in the same vicinity of the last mothership. So, I lumber over there with my 9 Multi-Beams I captured (1 got destroyed) and my battle group. A few groups of swarmers and fuel pods later, and I come up against this row of 7 multi-beam frigates. Naturally, I capture every one of them.

The last mothership is surrounded by the wreckage of a ship identical to the Khar-Toba on Kharak. They have the same origin as we do :O Which is a shame, cause we've all but destroyed them, heh... oh well. The last mothership goes down in record time because of 36 beams of death spiraling from my multi-beam frigates.

After waiting for my Salvage Corvettes to bring back the Multi-Beams, I clear the last Fuel Pods in the level and go back to regroup my fleet while waiting for my harvesters to get every last bit of space dust in this entire level.

No research in this level, but a ton of resources. I have to build 6 Defenders and 22 Multi-Gun Corvettes to replace the ones that got killed this mission. I also retire my Interceptors and build 10 Scouts (you'll see why soon) and 25 Attack Bombers. My beautiful fleet has lost some big guns, but with the addition of 16 Multi-Beam Frigates, anything that comes my way will feel my wrath!!

See you next time.

Let's Play Homeworld - Mission 7

Welcome back to Homeworld!! Let's show those Bentusi why we don't fear a stinking nebula. The size of these pictures is going to be a bit on the big side, sorry. New screenshot program... and it's bugging the crap out of me.

Well, those red dots on this screen are not, in fact, enemies. They're the sensors screwing up. Charlie lets us know this fact, and I just shrug it off and decide to go ahead and harvest some of the nebula. About a minute into harvesting, and Charlie detects a power signature approaching.

It's a weird looking ship - and they send out an ambassador to meet us. They say we defile the nebula with our presence, and they will overlook this transgression if we join them. We explain we had no idea the nebula was a holy place and if they give us the chance, we'll leave as soon as we can... but they aren't biting - "If you will not join, you will die."

Shoot... those are some annoying ships there. The big guys are easily taken out by my battle group (or captured by my Salvage Corvettes), and the little guys can be eaten by my strike craft more easily than that. There's no real danger as they pop out. About ten minutes later and we are ready to hyperspace...

... out? Damn... looks like something is inhibiting our hyperspace.

Hmm... I wonder...

Aha! I knew it. I chase the needle with my battle group, and start to pound her, soon she hyperspaces out and we find we can do the same! But not yet. I finish harvesting the crap out of this nebula. I also research Fast-Tracking Turrets, which gives me Multi-Gun Corvettes.

I retire all my Heavy Corvettes and build 24 Multi-Guns. The last thing I build is enough Defenders to get me to 45 of them (although you can't see them on this screen, along with the Interceptors which are mysteriously missing.) At this point, I have enough resources to build a fleet of Destroyers... but not yet. The next level is even worse than this one.

See you soon.

Let's Play Homeworld - Mission 5 (end) and Mission 6

Welcome back to the end of a mission that tests my patience more than any man should have to be tested, and a mission that's a very happy vacation from swarms of ships blowing me up.

After promising my computer cookies if it behaved, I finished up the other half of the Vee - careful not to go past the probe - and then collected my battle group into wall formation. My strike group followed along happily.

Into the battle - it pretty much looked like this the entire time. My strike craft zoomed around, my Ion Frigates blew up approaching enemies (just left and down of center are two enemy Ion Frigates - hard to tell without beams of happiness shooting from my own), and my Attack Bombers did a great job. Charlie sees new ships and tells me we can learn the tech to build them (Defender Sub Systems - builds Defenders, these guys tore me up last time.)

Coming out of the glare of the galactic core, I see the Carrier, a Support Frigate (not sure why they have that) and two Destroyers. I turn my guns on the top left Destroyer and then their Carrier. However, one of the two Destroyers got past me...

... and I captured that sucker! Woo! I have a Destroyer now! Too bad it's relatively useless in the next two missions >_< I finish mining the rest of the dust clouds and asteroids with my two Resource Collectors (I have 2 now.) I also get prepared for the next level...

... boring screen, I know. But that little red X will save me in two missions. It keeps my Strike Craft from being able to be auto-launched.

So I build up the fleet a bit for the next level. 15 Defenders, 8 Attack Bombers (for a total of 15) and I collect all my slow frigates and my Research Ship and Resource Controller into one group.

It only took him a few missions, but Charlie has the transmission from the Frigate we captured... apparently there are tons of Outposts... with large amounts of ships... so, to avoid them we have to go through an asteroid field and a nebula.

Crap! Could have warned us about the asteroids! I send all my big ships away and use the manual launch to only get my Attack Bombers and Defenders out... and they... do what they do...

... blow up asteroids. Yay. This is a rather boring level, my Resource Collectors however, are quite useful as they suck up loads of asteroids and convert them into RUs that I shall take advantage of in the future. Once that's clear, the Bentusi arrive and give me Defense Field Research for 500 RUs.

We ask for their advice on the nebula ahead and they say that even the Taiidan fear the great nebula. Awesome. I retire my Attack Bombers, finish researching Super Capital Ship Drive (Destroyers can now be built), and built a butt-load of Defenders and Heavy Corvettes, as well as replace the 3 Salvage Corvettes I lost in the previous mission.

Tune in tomorrow for... a heckuva lot of fighters.

Let's (Sort of) Play Homeworld - Mission 5

Welcome back to an aborted mission, I'll finish it tomorrow, just too much annoyance to bother continuing now.

Charlie gets repairs under way, and everything on the Mothership is tiptop. Karan, reasonably bitter, locates the enemies in a nearby asteroid field and knows they're the Taiidan who destroyed Kharak. Our mission now, given by Charlie, is to eliminate the opponent.

We come into a strange Vee-shaped patch of dust. There's a power signature at the other edge of the map. Charlie tells us to go send a probe, instead - I send my entire battle group and strike group there in wall formation.

This proves ultimately futile, though. My wall is devastating on their Assault Frigates and Ion Frigates, but my Strike group is eliminated, and...

... after destroying their Carrier, they send their Destroyers (along with a healthy accompaniment of Defenders) right at my Mothership, eliminate my resourcers, kill my Salvagers, and blow up the Mothership.

Soo, I restart! This time I send my wall up a little bit, to cut off the Destroyers' path. I'm so smart, aren't I?

Well, no... My ion cannons can't fire through dust clouds, but heavy projectile weapons (like those used by the Assault Frigates and Destroyers) can pass through easily. My Ion Frigates are all wiped out, and I restart again.

This time, I'm gonna be smart. I send my probe to a... oops... too far. I trigger the event, and the enemy starts to mill around waiting for me. Ahem... the PROPER thing to do (restart number 3, by the way) is to send the probe to a spot about 45 KM from the Mothership, Harvest up one side of the Vee, and then...

Harvest up the... oh for the love of GOD! After starting my Resourcer on the other half of the Vee, my stinking computer decides it'll be funny to make the game crash... I saved, though, and that's about as much of this level as I can handle.

I did, however, build 2 more Ion Frigates (for a total of 12), 10 more Interceptors (2 groups of 15), and I researched Plasma Bomb Launcher and built 10 Attack Bombers. Hopefully tomorrow, I should be able to actually win.

Let's Play Homeworld - Mission 4

Welcome back! Kind of a long mission this time... but only because I mess up halfway through... ahem, anyway.

I send my Harvesting operation out (along with a healthy escort - 5 Heavy Corvettes and 8 Interceptors.) I also build 6 more Salvage Corvettes and another 2 Interceptors. My Salvage Corvettes are so incredibly important in this mission, and you'll see why.

Soon after harvesting a few grains, Charlie warns us of a "Mothership-class mass signature" with power level, probably over 9000, and it's coming in fast. Thankfully, it's the Bentusi! I love the Bentusi, they give us awesome stuff, such as...

Ion Cannon research for 500 RU! Score! The Bentusi tell us about the Turanic Raiders, who are servants of the Taiidan (I know, I'm the Taiidan, but for matter of story, I'm supposed to be the Kushan.) The Bentusi leave, telling us to be ready for their return. And I will be happy when that time comes.

So not too soon afterwards the Raiders show up and it's the 4th Quarter and they're... wrong Raiders. They start to attack my resourcer, I protect them pretty well, but soon enough, I'm losing ships left and right. When it can't get any worse, Charlie tells us about a group of ships hyperspacing around the mothership - they're Ion Frigates!

Well, I like Ion Frigates, so I capture them ^^ Although the first time I did this, I messed up with my positioning and I lost all my Salvagers and the Ion Frigates tore through my Research ship... so I restored my game and positioned the Salvage Corvettes in the proper location to capture all six Ion Array Frigates.

Remember that Carrier from the 2nd Mission? Well, it's back. Thankfully it waits around for me to get my Ion Array Frigates well and truly captured and my battle group set up into wall formation before it and its two frigate escorts come to blow me up.

However, with 8 Ion Frigates under my team, there's not much the Carrier can do. I salvage its escort, and then as it tries to flee into hyperspace, I blow it to smithereens. Yay, no more Carrier, not that it matters that much, it was kinda weak.

Charlie lets us know that the Taiidan group who blew up Kharak are close by. Well, why not take advantage of that situation! I finish up resourcing my fleet, build up a bit (5 more Heavy Corvettes and 15 Interceptors (11 of which are replacing Interceptors I lost during the swarms of raiders earlier.)

This is my amazing fleet now. 8 Salvaged Ion Array Frigates and 2 Ion Frigates means I saved a buttload of resources. And in the next level, I'm going to try as hard as I possibly can to salvage a destroyer, mwahaha! See you then.

Let's Play Homeworld - Mission 3

Welcome back, quick update this time, it's a pretty short level.

Our good ole friend Charlie tells us that the enemy was using fighters and corvettes when they destroyed the Khar-Selim (oh how wrong he is.) We have to now go back to Kharak to finish fitting the Mothership, protecting against future attacks, finishing up the important systems, that kinda thing.

Oh no! D:

What happened to our scaffold!! Oh, and the planet is on fire too. Karan tells us the everyone is gone, Kharak is burning, and SOMEONE IS ATTACKING MY CRYO-TRAYS! That won't stand!!

Oh... lawl... Assault Frigates XD It would stand to note that the enemy left behind the crappiest unit in the game to blow up the Cryo Trays. I think cause they never expected anyone to come back. I have my units swarm them. (Although strangely... there are only three. There's usually five of these guys. *shrug*)

Charlie tells us to capture one of frigates - already WAY ahead of you, Chuck. The first frigate we never actually capture, so I want the other two. With only three, it's so much easier, since they can't defend against it. (Also, they destroyed one of the Cryo trays ;_; It's almost impossible to get all six trays - since the top left is under attack and has so few hit points.)

Charlie gives us a playback of the events, and it's pretty bad. They blow up the scaffold, head to the planet...

... and nuke it. D:

Oh well. I go and collect the Cryo trays, harvest all the dust clouds, and finish up the only research topic (we reverse engineer Capital Ship Drive, which gives us Resource Controllers - which I build along with a Heavy Corvette) Capital Ship Chassis - which gives us Assault Frigates LAWL! God I hate that ship.

After fleshing out my fleet a little bit, I'm ready for the next level... which I accidentally hyperspaced into, OOPS!

The interrogation of the crew of the Assault Frigate reveals that they came from an empire in the stars... and we violated some 4000 year old treaty forbidding us to get hyperspace technology... yeah, honestly. The interrogation, apparently, is fatal, and the guy dies - too bad, you jerk.

So anyway, resources! Yay. The next few levels are GREAT for getting resources. I'll continue from this tomorrow.