If your ships can't get to where they're most effective, you might as well just pack it in. Ships need to move and be positioned to fight when the moment arrives. This can be tricky.

Learning to navigate in the true three-dimensional space is one of the most challenging parts of the game but isn't nearly as difficult as it appears. Once you've mastered this skill, the rest is easy.

Three-Dimensional Space
One of the coolest things about the Homeworld games is their use of space. Unlike so many other games, Homeworld: Cataclysm actually takes place in three dimensions.

The consequences of this concept and the unfamiliarity of many players with actually playing in a 3-D world on a two-dimensional monitor can make getting started in the game a bit daunting. Fortunately, it really is easier than it looks.

Navigating in three dimensions means taking into account not only horizontal movement (forward, back, left, right, etc.) but vertical movement as well. Since space is infinite and lacks any genuine concept of "up" and "down," conventional thinking about how to move goes out the window.

The easy way to get your head around this fundamental technique is to realize that there are two "cheats" in the Homeworld view of traveling in 3-D space.

The game areas in Homeworld: Cataclysm don't go on forever. They're bound by confines, outside of which you cannot travel. Moving in a defined space, or at least knowing that you're moving in a defined space, mutes the feeling of disorientation that comes from thinking of the game space as infinite.

Ships in Homeworld: Cataclysm never get turned over. All of your ships, when at rest, are always oriented in the same way. In practical terms, this means that you can think of traveling "up" and "down." You can say things like "near the top." This wouldn't be so in real 3-D space.

Most importantly, you can think in terms of altitude. Purists will say that altitude requires elevation above something. Well, in this case, that something is the floor of the game area--it's an imaginary limitation but one with a real effect on gameplay.

Strategically, 3-D space permits you to situate your ships and make attack approaches from, for example, below your enemy's position.

Often, attacking effectively is a matter of which direction you come from. Forcing a ship (especially a slow-turning Capital-class ship) to turn to face an attack from behind gets you a fantastic advantage.

Approaching from behind is a two-dimensional concept. Which direction would force a ship to take the longest to turn? From behind and from above or below. The extra seconds required to make this alignment would be quite valuable indeed.

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