The system Specifications have been announced for the upcoming Sci-Fi RTS Homeworld 3
As Homeworld 3’s launch on May 13 approaches, Blackbird Interactive has bucked the trend by updating a detailed system requirements chart, offering promising prospects for those with modest PCs while recommending top-tier hardware for 4K and maximum graphics settings. The chart, refined last week to align with performance and optimization enhancements, suggests a Core i5 9600K or Ryzen 5 3600X CPU for enjoyable gameplay at 1080p on medium-quality presets.
Here are the Minimum, Recommended, and ultra system requirements:
Both processors are six-core, but AMD’s Ryzen boasts multithreading support for a total of 12 threads. While the Intel chip is from 2018 and the Ryzen a year newer, Homeworld 3 doesn’t appear to demand much from the CPU. However, given its nature as a real-time strategy game set in space, the 9600K might face challenges in large-scale battles, particularly in online matches.
For graphics cards, Blackbird Interactive recommends an Arc A580, GeForce ‘RTX 1080 Ti’, or a Radeon RX 5700. The Nvidia suggestion seems to be a typo; it likely meant GTX 1080 Ti, a GPU from seven years ago that was once top-tier but is now outclassed by current mainstream options. It’s refreshing to see Intel’s graphics cards mentioned in the system requirements.
The RAM requirement stands at 16GB, which is standard for modern PC gaming. However, the storage demand is surprisingly low at just 40GB, a stark contrast to the 100GB+ games we often encounter. Then again, space is mostly empty.
On the flip side, 4K gaming at the Epic preset demands more robust hardware. A Core i7 12700K or Ryzen 7 7700X CPU, paired with an RTX 3080 or RX 6900 XT, is recommended. While these GPUs aren’t the newest, they’re far from lightweight. Blackbird Interactive also notes that these settings require a card with 12GB of VRAM.
The creators of Homeworld 3 shed light on this: “…due to the extensive physics and calculations during gameplay, Homeworld 3 is CPU-bound rather than GPU-bound. In terms of the way Homeworld 3 interacts with players’ CPUs, we’ve found during development that core speed matters more than core count. Six cores are the expected minimum, as the game routinely uses four fully. Essentially, more cores won’t necessarily translate to better performance.”
Moving on to ray tracing requirements, highly accurate global illumination isn’t crucial for open-space games, so it’s primarily used for shadows in Homeworld 3. Ray tracing can be enabled at 1080p with Low RT but cranks up the demands considerably for 4K at Ultra RT.
At maximum settings, you’ll need an RTX 4070 Ti Super or RX 7900 XTX for the GPU, placing it squarely in the high-end category. However, there are upscaling options available, including AMD’s FSR 2, Intel’s XeSS, and Nvidia’s DLSS 3, which might help improve performance. While DLSS 3 is hinted at, its presence isn’t explicitly confirmed in the system requirements.
Intel upscaling enthusiasts will be glad to see it included as an option, although it’s the version compatible with any GPU, not specifically designed for Arc.
One area where Blackbird Interactive’s system requirements could improve is the lack of information on expected performance. The chart doesn’t indicate what frame rates users can expect with various hardware and settings. While this omission might suggest the game won’t achieve high fps, the definition of “high” in RTS games can be subjective.