[maps]

I have to admit, I'm rather disappointed that Relic took the illogical step of releasing an RTS game without an actual editor, (the only RTS game that I can think of). But rather than let that stop me, I'll marvel at how easy it is to make maps for HW2, (just like HW1) using only a text editor.

Of course, you can only go so far plotting X,Y,Z coordinates in your head if you want to create more detailed landscapes, or if you want to lower symmetry.
Doing Scavenge ("hand" plotting 1000's of pieces trying to make it look random) I realised I'll never "finish" these maps beyond the basic gameplay, so I'm releasing all these maps now in Beta stage, awaiting a decent GUI editor so I can add pebbles and sex them all up a little later, rather than let vanity get in the way of a good game. So all those empty spaces will get filled eventually.

Hope you enjoy the maps, as bland as they are. If anyone has any comments or criticisms, you can reach me here.

Just unzip into your Homeworld2 directory with paths on, each map will create a .level file in Homeworld2\Data\LevelData\multiplayer\deathmatch\, and a .tga file of the same name in Homeworld2\Data\ui\mapthumbnails\multiplayer\deathmatch\.

All maps are in the one, pretty small .zip file. Click a map image below or get it here.

 

 

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[NDM01 close quarters]

Straight up I loved the idea of Nebulae. Here we have a way to create "walls" and choke points that didn't exist in HW1. An added bonus is the way Gravwells will stop you in your tracks and if you're really unlucky straight into the middle of a radioactive cloud.

So here we have a small, tight map where Hyperspacing becomes very risky, and Fighters become nullified by the cramped conditions.

Don't even bother playing vs the CPU, they just charge straight into the gas and die.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[NDM02 far quarters]

Using the same pattern as Close Quarters I just reversed the idea and made the centre an expansion while leaving you the ability to turtle up and face your enemy from one direction only. I also made a pretty pattern :)

Again, don't even bother playing Vs the CPU, they just charge straight into the gas and die.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[NDM03 rainbow warriors]

Simple, small and fairly vertical. Playing around with colour, I decided to name it in memorial of the poor All Blacks, beaten so comprehensively by our Wallabies in the 2003 World Cup (glad they whipped the French though). Due to the number of Dust Clouds, I've set the rainbow to No Charge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[NDM04 scatter]

Players start so close together you can see the whites of their eyes, luckily there is cover nearby. Or do you stake your claim on the riches so close at hand?

Lot's of options here, do you stay or do you go? Run to safety and a poor living, or take a risk and reap the rewards? Lots of Dust to hide in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[NDM05 the wall]

Small map, cut down the middle by a wall of nebulae. The choice is simple, left or right, but those white clouds may just complicate things.

Again, don't even bother playing Vs the CPU, they just charge straight into the gas and die.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[NDM06 scavenge]

Now for something completely different. There are almost no Asteroids for you to plunder, only the wreckage of battles past. This once rich system is strewn with debris and abandoned ships, just waiting for new owners. Although there isn't a huge amount of resources, the fleets of ships waiting to be captured more than make up for it.

Those without grunty machines would be wise to turn down lighting and shadows as there are thousands of pieces floating around.

Use Map Default Starting Resources to get started quicker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[NDM07 dash]

A different type of gameplay again. Looks plain enough, just a three layered ring with resources and clouds, nothing special. Rather boring really, only two specks in the middle of this rather large map. What's that you say? Each speck is worth 25,000RU?

Really good fun trying to stop your enemy from retrieving those two pieces, you can always see them on the Sensors Screen, even when they are moving, so it makes it easy to cut them off or chase them down. You could use the distraction to grab other valuable pieces of real estate while no one is looking.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[NDM08 key]

Three teams battle it out at either end of the map. The winners try to squeeze their armadas through the small gap in the middle.

Very vertical map, the CPU may have problems after awhile. For teamplay go odds vs evens.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mods]

Nirnaeth Arnoediad

Click on the link under the description and unace into your Homeworld2 directory with paths on, I've listed what should be changed below so you can see if it's done it correctly. Be warned that this will overwrite any other "loose" mods you may have installed. You also need to create a new shortcut for Homeworld2 using these directions:

  • In the folder "Homeworld2\Bin\Release", right-click on homeworld2.exe and choose "make shortcut"

  • With the shortcut made, right-click on it and choose properties.

  • Within the properties dialogue, choose the box marked "target", then scroll to the end of the line (note, past the quotation marks) and add the following line: -OverrideBigFile.

  • Then click the "apply" button and close the window.

  • Run Homeworld2 from this new shortcut, all mod effects should be apparent.

 

 

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[Nirnaeth Arnoediad]

 

Nirnaeth Arnoediad - a themed mod making many changes and adding new ships.

Description

This mod started as a way to give each Race a more distinctive feel in regards to their visual and strategic style. Along the way I've added a few new ships found on the net and polished it up a bit so that every ship has a proper icon, formation position and build/research paths.
I take no credit for any of the new models, although I am rather proud of the icons and some of the behaviours and specific roles I've managed to tweak out of the engine. I think of it as a mini expansion, with the new units and abilities really adding to the strategy already present in Homeworld 2.

Changes (what I can remember)

Visual
-  Changed all ship icons (click here to see).  (Grab ship icons alone here.)
-  Changed all Vaygr munitions to red lasers, and added more blue to Hiigaran.
-  Changed model for Hgn_Scout

New Ships
-  Both races now have the ability to summon a Dreadnaught.

 Hiigaran
-  Heavy Interceptor. Defensive Fighter. (new model)
-  Cloaking Frigate. Mobile invisibility.
-  Artillery Frigate. Long Range Anti Capital Frigate. (new model)
-  Pulsar Platform. Anti Corvette.
-  Support Cruiser. Anti Fighter Capital with buildable Weapon SubSystems. (newish model)
-  Decoy Drone. Deployed by BattleCruisers to divert enemy fire.

Vaygr
-  New ship class, Droids, which require a Droid Module.
-  Attack Droid, attacks SubSystems and can disable missiles. (newish model)
-  Rammer Droid, pushes enemy Capital Class ships away from battle. (newish model)
-  Marauder. Anti Frigate Fighter. (new model)
-  Turreted Laser Corvette. Multi-Role. (new model)
-  Stealth Corvette. Can Cloak and Disrupts Sensors.
-  Defence Frigate. Shoots down incoming missiles and disables ships.
-  Battle Carrier. Well rounded Capital.
-  Deep Space Probe. Who needs ping? ; )

New SubSystems
-  Replaced Hiigaran Cloaking Module with Defence Field, Vaygr Fire Control Tower with Black Hole Generator.

Hiigaran
-  Defence Field Module. Envelopes the ship with a shield.
-  Regeneration Module.  Enables Support Cruisers to heal nearby ships.

Vaygr
-  Black Hole Generator. Stops enemy Strike Craft cold, but slows your own ships by half.
-  Resource Guardian Module. Enables Battle Carriers to reroute power to Shield and Gathering systems.
-  Weapon Systems Module. Boosts offensive capabilities of Battle Carriers.

Game Play
Nearly every ship has had it's stats tweaked in some way or another.
-  Fighters have flight behaviours derived from the Dynamic Fighters mod.
-  Frigates are tougher, more specialized, can Dock, and behave more intelligently against different ships.
-  Vaygr get Assault Frigates for free, now have to research Heavy Missiles.
-  Vaygr strength lies with their Strike Craft and mobility, Hiigaran with their Frigates and defences.
-  All Capital Ship Anti-Fighter capabilities upgraded.
-  New attack class, Bombers, to allow certain ships priority targeting.
-  More liberal use of EMP weapons.
-  Different starting fleets.
-  Increased Fleet size for large Unit Cap games. Caps reflect racial differences.
-  Deeper strategy and tactics with more ships, more unique capabilities.
 

 

Download it here (3.6Mb).

(I use WinAce because it has better compression, get it at www.winace.com)

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