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Cataclysm in the Office

Sierra and Barking Dog show off the Homeworld sequel, Cataclysm.

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The designers at Barking Dog have a vision for their game; that vision is to add a deeper level of strategy to Relic's 3D strategy game, Homeworld. This follow-up, which is more than an expansion but less than a sequel, is called Cataclysm, and it offers an entirely new race for you to play and a frighteningly familiar enemy to battle against.

In Cataclysm, you are the leader of a Somtaaw fleet. The Somtaaw are a Kiith, or clan of the homeworld, but they a poor and nomadic people, mining the asteroids of the void for a living. However, when you and your Somtaaw mining ship answer a distress call for help on the fringes of the solar system, you are thrust into a great struggle that features the remnants of the Kushan and Taiidan conflict, and a looming nemesis called the Beast.

The Beast has been assimilating all ships into its massive, techno-organic web: Kushan, Taiidan, and even Turanic Raider. And the sum of these parts is a great infested fleet of terrible destructive power. As you progress through the game, you will have the opportunity to shed the commercial modules of your ship and don military modules that give you a greater capacity to wage war. Armed with these military modules and an array of entirely new ships, you'll battle the Beast through a dozen new levels.

The biggest draw of Cataclysm is its plethora of gameplay changes. There will now be a time-compression feature for speeding up gameplay; an easy way to mop up resources at the end of missions; a supply limit for imposing more strategic thinking into your fleet building; upgrades for all your ships; and a better interface that provides much more information for the gamer, including specific hit points and damage for ships. All these features were missing in Homeworld, and they will probably add greater depth to the strategic gameplay of Cataclysm.

GameSpot will be receiving a build of the game in the near future and will be bringing you a more in-depth preview in a few weeks. In the meantime, view these exclusive screenshots.

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