Homeworld 3 – Update 1.1

Hello Commanders,

Today’s Update 1.1 brings new Multiplayer content (including a powerful new ship variant for War Games) and over 100 bug fixes and gameplay improvements. At the end of this post you’ll find the full, itemized patch notes, but if you want the high-level overview, the next section outlines the most notable additions and changes.

First, we want to reiterate our appreciation for those of you who have taken the time to respectfully share your feedback. While this patch does address a few widespread topics, we’re still investigating a variety of feedback and requests not included here. We are grateful for your understanding and patience. 

Homeworld 3 wouldn’t exist without this community and we’re determined to keep incorporating your feedback and suggestions as we are able.

New Free Content for War Games and Skirmish!

Meet the Heavy Suppression Frigate, a powerful upgrade over the standard Suppression Frigate and is available immediately (assuming you’re lucky enough to receive the requisite Artifact during a run).
What sets the Heavy Suppression Frigate apart from its base version is the addition of a pair of Dual Heavy Mag Cannons mounted on top and Pad Mk. 2 Light Rapid Fire Railguns along the bottom hull. That’s a lot of extra firepower, but the Heavy Suppression Frigate has a nasty trick up its sleeve: Enemies hit by the dual cannon will take extra damage from ALL sources. We’re excited to see how this further empowers your War Games fleets!

Of the 12 other new Artifacts coming in 1.1, several offer new specialization routes for upgrading the Suppression Frigate and the Heavy Suppression Frigate. The CQB Pattern (and unlocked Upgrades), transforms your Suppression Frigates into absolute devils in close-range brawls. Meanwhile, the Area Denial upgrade path does almost the opposite — trading survivability for increased range.
There’s more to discover in War Games’ 1.1 Update, with 9 new challenges that each unlock new Artifacts including welcome upgrades to Hiigaran and Incarnate Frigates.

A New Skirmish Map: Karos Graveyard

Karos Graveyard is a new map added to Skirmish mode. This map is reminiscent of earlier 

Homeworld games where there was less terrain, and more open space for combat, and greater distances between starting positions for combat.
We’re really excited to see how players adapt to this new map and look forward to your feedback.

Update 1.1 – Bugfix and Improvement Highlights

While you can find the complete patch notes below, we wanted to take a minute to call out some fixes that address some feedback we’ve received since launch. So let’s dive in.

Tactical Pause & Time Dilation in Solo Skirmish & War Games

First mentioned in our last Dev Update, you can now pause or slow time while playing War Games or Skirmish solo.

General Gameplay Fixes & Improvements

There’s a lot of fixes in Update 1.1, but there’s a few we think deserve special attention:

• After using an ability on a target, ships could occasionally start attacking other enemies instead of the initial target.
• Ships would occasionally fail to resume the Guard command after engaging in combat.
• Frigates sometimes moved to match their target’s height when given an Attack order.
• Giving deployment orders to multiple turrets at once while in Tactical Pause could cause an issue where only one turret was deployed.
• The In-Game HDR option in Video settings could sometimes be turned on despite the Windows’ HDR option being set to Off in the Monitor’s settings.
• VO for all units was missing when selecting ships while playing as the Incarnate fleet.
• Added a “More Info” button to mod detail modal that links to the mod URL.
• Kala Terminus 2-6 player Skirmish map has been updated. There are new player starting positions and more resources to support larger and longer PVP and PVE matches.

A Look Ahead: Mod Tools Incoming

Our team has been hard at work on the mod tools and we’re excited to announce that we’re finally ready to release them to the community. Though there are a few loose ends to tie off, we’re currently looking to release Homeworld 3’s official mod tools later this month! We’ll share more information soon.

As a refresher, the mod tools will support the creation and distribution of custom Skirmish Maps. However, those of you who aren’t afraid of swimming in uncharted waters will find the mod tools are quite capable of doing much more.

Before we get to the patch notes, we have one last thing to say: As we continue to incorporate community feedback into Homeworld 3, it would be invaluable to us if you took the time to leave a Steam review or, if applicable, revisit your existing review. Thank you!

Homeworld 3 Update 1.1 Notes

New Content for Multiplayer

• Added new content to War Games!
  • 9 NEW challenges
  • 13 NEW Artifacts
  • NEW Heavy Suppression Frigate
  • Unlock the Heavy Suppression Frigate with artifacts
• Added a new map to Skirmish!
  • “Karos Graveyard” Skirmish map has been added. Long-time fans should recognize this map’s open, spacious inspiration from previous Homeworld games.
• Added support for Time Dilation & Tactical Pause in Solo War Games & Skirmish matches.

Updates

In this update, we have addressed the following reported concerns from players:

• Chinese localization has received many fixes. We are continuing to investigate further improvements here.
• Gameplay
  • Achievement “Destruct Sequence Alpha-One” would not always be granted in campaign missions after using the Scuttle command on any ship.
  • Achievement “Untouchable” would occasionally be incorrectly awarded to players that were receiving damage.
  • After using an ability on a target, ships could occasionally start attacking other enemies instead of the initial target.
  • Ships would occasionally fail to resume the Guard command after engaging in combat.
  • Attack Move orders could unintentionally change to a Move order when multiple strike groups were created after changing formations.
  • When the first Move order of a unit still in Parade formation was queued, it was possible that the ship would reference their build location.
  • Changing formations to one that would “split” the current group into multiple smaller groups could result in some units stacking with other ships.
  • Units set to Sphere formation could fail to approach the enemy Incarnate Mothership when ordered to attack.
  • Changing the formation of Strikecraft or Corvette units from Parade formation with the Production ship would occasionally cause them to fly in circles.
  • Ships switched to a Passive stance while they were attacking targets would continue to engage and attack until all targets in sight were destroyed.
  • Frigates sometimes moved to match their target’s height when given an Attack order.
  • While a Torpedo Frigate’s range ability was active, missiles could explode before reaching their target after a certain distance.
  • Suppression Frigates would cancel their ability when ordered.
  • In some instances, Support Frigates would stop repairing the Mothership.
  • Battlecruisers would exhibit unintended behaviors with stationary targets and not consistently attack them.
  • Carriers would occasionally allow large salvage to be taken that should have been brought to the Mothership.
  • Starboard and Port cannons on Incarnate Battlecruisers did not always deploy before firing.
  • Capture Corvettes and Resource Controllers were observed to move towards enemy ships that could not be captured when players right-clicked on them.
  • Railgun Corvettes would charge their ability but wouldn’t fire on a Titanship. We’ve reassured them that it’s for the best to use it.
  • Strikecraft would occasionally get stuck inside and near the Titanship’s dock.
  • Some Incarnate ships wouldn’t flash to indicate when directional damage was received.
  • Units outside of the player’s field of view would sometimes be added in Box selection.
  • Guard Turrets were not always included in bandboxes.
  • Giving deployment orders to multiple turrets at once while in Tactical Pause could cause an issue where only one turret was deployed.
  • While the game is in Tactical Pause, it was possible that the queued unit limit (100) of the Build/Research Panel could be exceeded.
  • Some Asteroids could be missing Navigation data for ships.
  • Commands using special symbols (such as /, ], or [) were default bound to the symbol keys for a QWERTY keyboard layout, even if the player used a different keyboard language layout.
• Multiplayer
  • In some instances, players would encounter network errors that could prevent them from joining multiplayer games.
    • War Games
      • Players could occasionally receive “Connection Failed” or “Retrying Connection” notifications before fully loading into the next stage
      • Desync Errors could be displayed after hyperspacing to the second stage.
      • In the Deep Space map, one of the resource nodes could have its large resource pocket separated from the node.
      • Players could gain more experience points at the end of the playthrough if the last stage was New Galaxy map.
      • The “Intercept Enemy Transports” objective could mistakenly complete if a transport reached its exit point.
      • In the Under the Ice map, an objective blocker could occur due to the Lost Probe staying in place if ships passed through the capture area without staying.
      • The location of an incursion point in the Under the Ice map could cause some Incarnate ships to spawn and go through the terrain.
    • Artifacts
      • The incorrect ship tactical icon would be shown on these artifacts: Cluster Missile Turret Pattern Artifact, Railgun Transport Pattern Artifact, Tactical Bomber Pattern Artifact, and the 8 Smart Missile Frigate Artifacts.
      • Artifact “Hiigaran Strikecraft Boost” was unintentionally available as an upgrade for Incarnate Beam Fighters in the “Experimental Weapons Fleet”.
    • Skirmish
      • Kala Terminus 2-6 player Skirmish map has been updated. There are new player starting positions and more resources to support larger and longer PVP and PVE matches.
      • Trinity Gate and Naraka map’s starting positions were the opposite of those shown on the lobby preview.
      • When creating an offline Skirmish match, the host was sometimes placed into Team 2 by default.
      • In the Buran Ice Shelf map, slot 1’s resource nodes could have more resources than the other slots.
      • Assets on the Buran Ice Shelf map could load without collision.
      • Build caps for Railgun Corvette would not always match the Corvette Population Caps for Hiigaran players.
• Campaign
  • Tutorial: Torpedo Frigate could occasionally move outside of the playable area if they destroyed the allied ships before the player’s ships attacked them.
  • Kesura Minor: Barrage Frigates could occasionally be destroyed if captured after destroying the Carrier.
  • Trinity Gate: It was possible to use the gate without controlling all three data spires, which was not the intended behavior.
  • Trinity Gate: Attack Frigates could unintentionally be added to the fleet population when captured.
  • The Lighthouse: A progression blocker could sometimes occur from the possibility of the Carrier salvage setting stuck if the Resource Carriers delivered it on the same movement plane as the Mothership.
  • The Lighthouse: Passive units Guarding another ship could break off and chase moving asteroids.
  • Naraka Gate: The Mothership could sometimes not appear at the Repair Bay after watching the cutscenes when the NLIPS option was disabled.
  • Chamber of Storms: The hyperspace Incarnate Battlecruiser cutscene would not fit correctly in Ultrawide.
• Visual Updates
  • The In-Game HDR option in Video settings could sometimes be turned on despite the Windows’ HDR option being set to Off in the Monitor’s settings.
  • The Khar-Sajuuk Mega Beam VFX cut off prematurely in rare instances.
  • Durring the Hiigara mission, the explosion/smoke trails VFX of Combat Drones occasionally stuttered when destroyed.
  • The VFX that played when Power Regulators exploded were incorrectly implemented.
  • VFX attached to lights sometimes persisted after a ship was destroyed.
  • The smoke effect on damaged Mothership sometimes lacked depth fade in the material which could cause particles to visibly clip with geometry.
  • Ion Cannon Frigate had a mesh split
  • The Fleet Bomber would disappear a short distance away from the camera when cloaked.
  • Active gates sometimes shone excessively when the camera was positioned close to them.
  • Ship lights occasionally flickered while the camera was moving.
  • The lights on facility assets occasionally flickered and were overscaled.
  • Pausing the title while certain ships were maneuvering would occasionally cause their auxiliary engines to flicker.
  • The engine trail bloom of fighter-class ships sometimes popped in and out suddenly on medium and low settings.
  • Engine trail colors occasionally randomly changed for ships produced after 2 minutes of gameplay.
• Audio Updates
  • VO for all units was missing when selecting ships while playing as the Incarnate fleet.
  • There was occasionally no audio notification for new chat messages.
  • It was possible for no feedback to play when undocking a unit with the “Auto Launch” option set to OFF.
  • Skipping the first Cinematic could cause the in-game speech to break.
  • Friendly Carrier, Destroyer, and Battlecruiser lost voice lines would incorrectly play when an enemy of each type was destroyed after loading a saved game.
  • The lost Carrier’s voiceline would play when an enemy Carrier was destroyed.
  • Captured Raider Barrage Frigates occasionally lacked VO when selected or ordered to use abilities.
  • Raider Command Carrier weapons were quieter than intended over distance.
  • The notification speeches regarding the Resource Controller and Carrier being under attack were occasionally absent for the ‘Remastered Fleet’.
  • The Naraka Gate SFX would repeat three times when opened.
• UI
  • Added a “More Info” button to mod detail modal that links to the mod URL.
  • The research requirement for the Incarnate Missile, Smart Missile, Multi-Beam Frigates and Carrier all mentioned Assault Frigate instead of Attack Frigate.
  • The movement line occasionally became shorter than the initial movement range right after ordering a ship to move to a marker.
  • A debug string could present itself in the movement disc’s tooltip when specific languages were selected.
  • In the Lobby Browser, when a lobby was selected, a debug string was occasionally visible to the right.
  • When selecting units quickly, resulting in more than 12 unit icons in the Unit Selection Panel, icons for units at the bottom of the list occasionally appeared over the units at the top.
  • Not all Mothership upgrades were occasionally displayed in the ‘Ship Upgrades’ panel.
  • Backing out of the “Restart” pop-up occasionally limited the ‘ESC’ key functionality until the “Exit” tab was clicked.
  • Players occasionally did not notice that they could scroll down to select options when creating a multiplayer lobby.
  • In the Context Menu, abilities on cooldown occasionally appeared as available and did not offer negative feedback when selected.
  • The ship info panel occasionally lacked Unit Stats.
  • Save and Load cards created on the Chamber Of Storms mission weren’t formatted properly on some resolutions.
  • Camera Input Bindings were editable when Camera Movement options were disabled, which could be confusing.
• Fixed several crashes and many additional minor bugs