I agree. It was a bit 'easier' in that there were features like automatically vacuuming up all resources on a map once a mission was complete. The graphics were more modern (not that Homeworld 1 had any problems in that department) and I seem to recall the tech tree being a bit more streamlined? Also a better UI - much more information could be on screen at the same time.

About the automatic resources vaccuming, I preferred the homeworld 1 way, where you could rebuild your fleet at the end of the mission (cataclysm added a much needed time warp). Still my favorite RTS.