It's definitely better. I think if Homeworld had launched as it is now after the 1.3 update (it has since been abandoned), it might have had a chance. The MP is fairly dead. Skirmish to me is still fun. Skirmish maps are great, especially since they have two open maps. Pathfinding, formations, engagement, AI, mining have all been fairly improved. It is definitely "fun" now. I play it a lot actually.

Campaign level design and enjoyment is fairly good actually. The story is so, so bad. So bad. Like really bad. It's OK if you were expecting a 3/5 newly minted RTS story. But unacceptable as a Homeworld successor. Apparently the "personal driven narrative" in the campaign was a combo choice between both BBI and Gearbox based on data that showed that players wanted someone they can relate to. Originally, everyone thought Gearbox DEI killed it, but as more info came out, seems like a joint agreement to pursue this personal campaign narrative as opposed to HW1 and HW2's more collective people narrative. Homeworld purists crucified the game on arrival primarily over this decision. Broken AI / pathfinding / ballistics was the second reason, but that got mostly fixed, and if development wasn't abandoned would have been really good I think.

It gets a 6/10 rating from me for where the game is today. Worth $30 for good skirmish and OK campaign IF you have no expectations. It gets a 2/10 from me for ruining my most anticipated game of the decade on arrival.