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This is the article on the ship in Homeworld and Homeworld: Cataclysm. For other similar ships, see Carrier.

The Carrier was a non-combat Super Capital Ship designed to provide mobile construction facilities used by the Kushan and Taiidan Empire in Homeworld.

Background[]

Carriers were designed primarily to provide fleets the ability to expand their production capabilities, but more mobile and flexible than those of the main Mothership. While not being designed as a Mothership vessel, they are able to field their own modest fleet of strike craft, capital ships and utility non-combat vessels, making it an efficient way for fleets to be sent anywhere in the galaxy. As they cannot produce super capital ships, they would be unable to replace any that are lost without requisitioning them from the Mothership.

In addition to constructing vessels, it could repair any strike craft, accept captured vessels for retrofitting to the fleet, act as a docking point for remote resourcing operations and also deconstruct any retired vessel. Its size limited how many strike craft could dock with it for a hyperspace jump though, being only able to hold 50 fighters and 25 corvettes, necessitating that ships be retired if more existed in the fleet. Its importance was underlined by having very heavy armor, but its key role of being a mobile construction vessel meant that it lacked meaningful weapons and always required a fleet to defend it. Since it could make its own fleet, defense was not a problem as it could field the required vessels on its own, as required.

During the Beast War, The Beast used an infected version of the Taiidan Carrier in its fleets. Upgraded with Energy Cannons and a Beast Infection Weapon, this carrier was a significant threat even to capital ships and was far more effective than Kiith Somtaaw's Carrier (Cataclysm) in virtually every known way; it had deadlier weapons, faster speed and all of its SU was available immediately instead of having to build support modules.

A Taiidan Carrier had the dubious honor of having been the first Taiidan vessel seen by the Kushan since the Exile, when a ship named Taiidan deployed an Ion Cannon satellite in Kharak's orbit, but suffered a malfunction in its hyperdrive and sublight engines due to the interference of the Second Hyperspace Core. This interference caused it to crash into the Great Banded Desert, creating the Torin Crater. The remains were later found by Jacob S'jet, who armed the orbital weapon and used it to decimate the K'Had Sajuuk's fleet. His sister, Rachel S'jet, traced the carrier's transponder and found its wreckage, finding out her brother had died from exposure to the harsh elements of the desert. The crater was also the site of the final fight between Kiith S'jet and Kiith Siidim, where the Sakala and its fleet were destroyed for their betrayal of the Coalition of the Northern Kiithid.

Overview[]

Carriers are a must for any fleet, because it permits the expansion of fleet construction capabilities by providing more queues to build vessels, as well as improving the efficiency of the Motherships' operations in resourcing, capturing and retiring. Their stronger armor makes them the ideal candidate to field remote resourcing operations than the weaker Resource Controller, as the armor can keep it safe from any deadly threat such as that posed by a supernova.

Although it is classified as a Super Capital Ship, its function is not to be involved in combat and should be defended by a reasonable force. The armor also reduces its movement speed considerably, but makes them highly durable in any situation. Although they can be destroyed with sufficient firepower, capturing them is a lot more useful for any fleet, even if it is just to get a large payout of Resource Units.

The versatility and usefulness of Carriers meant that every fleet would field them in some form after the Homeworld War, with Kiith Naabal, Kiith Manaan and even Kiith Somtaaw having Carriers in their fleets. During the Beast War, some notable carriers included the Veer-Rak which was tasked to defend Hiigara from raiding Taiidan Imperialist Faction forces, and the Caal-Shto which responded to the distress calls of a Bentusi Exchange. However, the Caal-Shto meet a grisly end to The Beast and its fate was never determined. By the time of the Vaygr War, Carriers had a continued importance to both sides in the war, but they were designed only to support construction of a single type of ship, instead of all strike craft and corvettes, as had been seen in previous iterations.

Size Discrepancy[]

In the original Homeworld game, the Taiidan Carriers were around 590 metres long, which was slightly longer than a Coalition Carrier. But in Deserts of Kharak, the wreckage of the ships was easily five times the length of the Coalition Carrier.

Trivia[]

  • In the Homeworld: Cataclysm manual, the Kushan ship is codenamed Imperator and the Taiidan ship is codenamed Saarkin-Cho.[1]
  • In the single-player campaign of Homeworld, a Carrier can be captured as early as mission 5, providing significant support before entering the Great Nebula. Due to an oversight by the developers, in Homeworld Remastered captured Carriers cannot be used by the fleet in any way and can only be retired for resources.
  • In multiplayer matches, Carriers become Fleet Command in the case of the Mothership being destroyed. However, if this occurs for any reason, the fleet is unable to construct any more Super Capital Ships in the match, leaving it only able to field strike craft or capital ships as the Mothership cannot be rebuilt.

Appearances[]

References[]

Notes[]

  1. These replace both previous armanents and is only seen in Homeworld: Cataclysm.
  2. Only found on Beast-infected versions of the ship in Homeworld: Cataclysm.
Main Factions Minor Factions
Kushan and Hiigaran Ships
Fighters
Microships Sentinel-class Defense Pod (HWC) • Leech-class Breaching Pod (HWC)
Scouts Arrow-class Scout‎ (HW) • Seeker-class Reconnaissance Fighter (HWC) • Hiigaran Scout (HW2)
Interceptors Blade-class Interceptor‎‎ (HW) • Spectre-class Cloaked Fighter (HW) • Acolyte-class Heavy Fighter (HWC) Hiigaran Interceptor (HW2)
Bombers Thunderbolt-class Attack Bomber‎‎ (HW) • Hiigaran Bomber (HW2)
Defenders Shield-class Defender‎ (HW)
Weapons Platforms Hiigaran Gun Platform (HW2) • Hiigaran Ion Platform (HW2)
Fireships Mimic-class Infiltration Craft (HWC) • Martyr-class Mimic Composite Vehicle (HWC)
Corvettes
Light Corvettes Cavalier-class Light Corvette (HW)
Corvettes Avenger-class Acolyte Composite Vehicle (HWC)
Heavy Corvettes Hammer-class Heavy Corvette (HW) • Ambassador Corvette (HW)
Gunships Hiigaran Gunship (HW2) • Pulsar Gunship (HW2)
Logistical Support Corvettes Porter-class Salvage Corvette (HW) • Mercy-class Repair Corvette (HW)
Multi-Weapon Corvettes Tempest-class Multi-Gun Corvette (HW)
Minelayer Corvettes Resolute-class Minelayer Corvette (HW) • Hiigaran Minelayer Corvette (HW2)
Frigates
Assault Frigates Vengeance-class Assault Frigate (HW) • Minion-class Heavy Tug (HWC) • Flak Frigate (HW2) • Torpedo Frigate (HW2)
Logistical Support Frigates Matriarch-class Support Frigate (HW) • Marine Frigate (HW2) • Hiigaran Defense Field Frigate (HW2)
Ion Cannon Frigates Firelance-class Ion Cannon Frigate (HW) • Hiigaran Ion Cannon Frigate (HW2)
Multi-Weapon Frigates Dervish-class Multi-Beam Frigate (HWC)
Drone Frigates Puppeteer-class Drone Frigate (HW) • Hive-class Advanced Drone Frigate (HWC)
Super Capital Ships
Destroyers Revelation-class Destroyer (HW) • Perdition-class Missile Destroyer (HW) • Deacon-class Destroyer (HWC) • Hiigaran Destroyer (HW2)
Carriers Imperator-class Carrier (HW) • Shaman-class Carrier (HWC) • Hiigaran Carrier (HW2)
Heavy Cruisers Avatar-class Heavy Cruiser (HW)
Battlecruisers Hiigaran Battlecruiser (HW2)
Dreadnoughts Archangel-class Dreadnought (HWC) • Kalash (DoK)
Motherships
Motherships Kushan Mothership (HW) • Hiigaran Shipyard (HW2) • Pride of Hiigara (HW2)
Non-Combat Ships
Resource Collectors Providence-class Resource Collector (HW) • Worker-class Resource Collector (HWC) • Hiigaran Resource Collector (HW2)
Resource Controllers Redemption-class Resource Controller (HW) • Chieftain Mk. 3-class Ore Processor (HWC) • Hiigaran Mobile Refinery (HW2)
Drones & Probes Target Drone (HW/HW2) • Seeker-class Probe (HW) • Proximity Sensor (HW) • Hub-class Research Ship (HW) • Trapper-class Gravity Generator (HW) • Veil-class Cloak Generator (HW) • Kushan Sensors Array (HW) • Hiigaran Probe (HW2) • Hiigaran Proximity Sensor Probe (HW2) • Hiigaran Sensor Distortion Probe (HW2)
Other Logistical Ships Khar-Selim (HW) • Scaffold (HW) • Explorer-class Deep Space Mining Vessel (HWC) • Clee-San (HWC) • Hiigaran Crew Transport (HW2) • Khar-Toba (HW/HW2/DoK)
Space Stations Chimera Station (HW2) • Tanis Station (HW2)
Taiidani Ships
Fighters
Scouts Fiirkan-class Scout‎ (HW)
Interceptors Triikor-class Interceptor‎‎ (HW) • Koshiir-Ra-class Defense Fighter (HW)
Bombers Kaark-class Attack Bomber‎‎ (HW)
Defenders Seejur-class Defender‎ (HW)
Weapons Platforms Orbital Ion Cannon Turret (DoK)
Fireships Cruise Missile (HWC)
Corvettes
Light Corvettes Raachok-class Light Corvette (HW)
Heavy Corvettes Taiidan Heavy Corvette (HW) • Ambassador Corvette (HW)
Logistical Support Corvettes Tiirshak-class Salvage Corvette (HW) • Taiidan Repair Corvette (HW)
Multi-Weapon Corvettes Diirvaas-class Multi-Gun Corvette (HW)
Minelayer Corvettes Wodaan-class Minelayer Corvette (HW)
Frigates
Assault Frigates Kudaark-class Assault Frigate (HW)
Logistical Support Frigates Heeshk-class Support Frigate (HW) • Tiifal-class Defense Field Frigate (HW)
Ion Cannon Frigates Sajuuk Cor-class Ion Cannon Frigate (HW)
Super Capital Ships
Destroyers Skaal-Tel-class Destroyer (HW) • Skaal-Fa-class Missile Destroyer (HW)
Carriers Saarkin-Cho-class Carrier (HW)
Heavy Cruisers Qwaar-Jet-class Heavy Cruiser (HW)
Motherships
Motherships Imperial Flagship (HW) • Headshot Asteroid (HW)
Superweapons
Superweapons Low Orbit Atmosphere Deprivation Weapon (HW/HW2)
Non-Combat Ships
Resource Collectors Taiidan Resource Collector (HW)
Resource Controllers Siim Salla-class Resource Controller (HW)
Drones & Probes Target Drone (HW/HW2) • Taiidan Probe (HW) • Proximity Sensor (HW) • Taiidan Research Ship (HW) • Koraal-class Gravity Generator (HW) • Fushai-class Cloak Generator (HW) • Raakel-class Sensors Array (HW)
Other Logistical Ships Field Generator (HW) • Colony Ship (HWC)
Space Stations Research Station (HW) • Nomad Moon (HWC)
Kadeshi Ships
Fighters
Interceptors Swarmer (HW)
Defenders Advanced Swarmer (HW)
Frigates
Frigates Kadeshi Multi-Beam Frigate (HW)
Motherships
Motherships Kadeshi Mothership (HW)
Non-Combat Ships
Fuelships Fuel Pod (HW)
Bentusi Ships
Fighters
Interceptors Super Acolyte (HW/HWC)
Motherships
Motherships Bentusi Exchange (HW) • Bentus (HW2)
Non-Combat Ships
Barges Cargo Barge (HW)
Unknown Ships
Corvettes
Salvage Corvette Junkyard Dog (HW)
Non-Combat Ships
Derelicts Junkyard Office (HW) • Ghost Ship (HW)
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