Homeworld

Homeworld is a real-time strategy game developed by Relic Entertainment and published by Sierra On-Line in 1999. Set entirely in space, it follows the Kushan people, who uncover a relic buried on their arid homeworld of Kharak that reveals their true origins lie on the distant planet Hiigara. To undertake the journey, they construct a colossal mothership and embark on an epic voyage across the galaxy, encountering hostile forces, ancient mysteries, and the remnants of their own forgotten history.

The game was groundbreaking for its fully three-dimensional engine, allowing the camera to seamlessly zoom from a strategic overview of the entire battlefield down to individual turrets on a single corvette. Persistent fleets carry over from mission to mission, forcing the player to carefully manage resources and losses. The rock-paper-scissors unit balance, corvettes destroy fighters, fighters destroy capital ships, capital ships destroy corvettes, anchors the tactical depth. A distinctive orchestral score, built around Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, supports the cinematic storytelling.

Multiplayer was handled through the WON.net service and supports up to four players in skirmish and team battles. Homeworld received universal acclaim for its art direction, audio design, and innovative interface, and it is widely regarded as one of the finest strategy games of its era. It spawned a sequel, Homeworld 2, and an expansion, Homeworld: Cataclysm, and was re-released as part of the Homeworld Remastered Collection in 2015.