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I remember I greatly enjoyed the Homeworld series back in the early 2000s, and would like to play the games again.

Homeworld
Homeworld: Cataclysm
Homeworld 2

However, I'm concerned that they may not be compatible with my newer computer. Do these games work well under Windows 7 64-bit, or are there significant compatibility issues? Are there any workarounds to enable compatibility, which I should be generally aware of?

I'm looking to have some assurance to compatibility prior to re-purchasing the games.

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If you set compatibility to NT or XP and it should work. – Krazer Dec 20 '12 at 23:23
from the wiki for Homeworld, Compatibility: Homeworld remains fully compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows XP, Vista, and 7. Graphical glitches may occur when not using the software renderer. OpenGL may be enabled by running the game in compatibility mode of Windows NT 4.0 (Service Pack 5). – Sean Cheshire Dec 21 '12 at 15:31
@SeanCheshire While I'd prefer a more personal answer drawing from individual experience, feel free to post your comment (and add links) as an answer. – Iszi Dec 21 '12 at 15:43

3 Answers

up vote 1 down vote

I figured out an easy work around. I actually copied the entire "homeworld" folder, in it's entirety, from the "program files" directory of an older computer that was running Homeworld successfully. I then simply placed in on the hard drive (program files folder, but you can put it anywhere) of my Windows 7 computer, put the disk in the cd drive (or I get the "no cd" warning), and then click the "homeworld.exe" file in the homeworld folder on the Windows 7 machine. Voila. It runs. It doesn't need to be "installed" in the traditional sense to work.

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I tried Cataclysm too, and it installed ok, but as soon as you run it, it pulls the "program stopped" warning. I tried it in every compatibility mode on the list. It actually gets past the Sierra and Relic splash screens, but then ceases to function. Literally just dropping the entire working folder, from CD that I had saved it on, to my Win7 computer was the only thing that worked.

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You can always edit your previous answers to add more information instead of adding a second answer. – Private Pansy May 2 at 14:41
up vote 2 down vote

Homeworld 2 works perfectly on Windows 7 64-bit, as does Cataclysm. I seem to remember having some trouble with Homworld 1, and the fact that I don't have it installed currently correlates with that. I'm checking with a friend, though, to see if that is indeed the case. Great choice in games, by the way!

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I thought Cataclysm was an expansion to Homeworld 1. Wouldn't compatibility of the former require compatibility of the latter? – Iszi Dec 20 '12 at 23:33
It's actually a standalone game released some years later. Quite fun, really. Different from HW1. There's an annoying unit cap in it, but if you're up for some hex editing, you can increase it. – SaintWacko Dec 20 '12 at 23:52

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