Homeworld: Cataclysm was originally developed in 2000 as an expansion of Homeworld, but was released as a stand-alone game. It was published by Sierra Studios, as was the original, but it was developed by Barking Dog Studios. The game reappeared on the gaming website GOG.com in June 2017 as Homeworld: Emergence, as the name "Cataclysm" was trademarked by Blizzard Entertainment for its third expansion to World of Warcraft.
Gameplay
Though it uses the same engine as its predecessor, several changes were made such as: the ability to toggle time compression between normal speed and eight times faster; ship upgrades (improving armor and adding new abilities), Command Ships and Carriers are given the ability to add external modules for ship research and fleet support; fuel was eliminated from the game and finally the sensor display could be used to issue attack orders to units. The player's Command Ship is now capable of attack; though slow, the Command Ship is capable of delivering a high amount of firepower, most notably the Siege Cannon capable of crippling an enemy Command Ship with a single well aimed shot.
Notable unit changes include the Processor, Cataclysm'''s adaptation of the Resource Controller, which has medium-strength weapons to defend itself, automated repair beams to heal nearby ships and four pads to dock with Workers harvesting resources. The game's resource collectors perform the same functions that they did in the original Homeworld, however, when upgraded they can be used to capture enemy vessels, harvest crystals and repair friendly vessels; functions that were carried out by separate, single-function ships in the first game.
The game also introduced new 3D features such as moving parts and transforming ships.
In general, the main difference is the scale of fleets. Where Homeworld was biased towards large fleets (as the player's main ship was a full-fledged mothership and the opposition was an empire of galactic scale), Cataclysm down-scales the fleets (as the player's main ship is a simple mining vessel and the adversaries are all limited in resources)
Plot
The game takes place fifteen years after the original game. After destroying the Taiidan Emperor and reclaiming their ancient homeworld of Hiigara, the Kushan re-establish their clans, or "kiith", in a great council, though some clans have precedence over others. The Mothership, with Fleet Command and the hyperspace core removed from it, remains in orbit over Hiigara as a shipyard. Meanwhile, the Taiidan Empire has collapsed after years of civil war, and the new Taiidani Republic has arisen as an ally of the newly minted Hiigarans, while the Imperialists and their Turanic Raider allies continue to raid both Hiigaran and Republic space.
The campaign begins with the Kuun-Lan, a mining vessel belonging to Kiith Somtaaw (one of the minor clans), diverting from a mining mission to assist Kiith Nabaal carrier Veer-Rak and its fleet to defend Hiigara against the Imperialists' assault. While aiding the Hiigaran destroyer Bushan-Re against a force of Turanic Raiders, they soon find a derelict beacon pod, which the crew decides to capture and research with the aid of the research vessel Clee-San, sent by their clan leaders back on Hiigara, who want the beacon and its technology to be kept within Kiith Somtaaw in order to gain an advantage over the other clans. As they study it aboard the Kuun-Lan, a strange virus begins to take over the ship. The part of the ship containing the derelict is jettisoned; the Clee-San then scans the jettisoned part of the ship to determine what happened. As it scans, the jettisoned portion of the ship fires a beam at the Clee-San that subverts control of the ship and its escorts. To make matters worse, Turanic Raiders arrive and are also subverted, forcing the Kuun-Lan to flee.