Dune II
| Dune II | |
|---|---|
| File:DuneII.jpgFile:Duneiib.jpg | |
| Developer(s) | Westwood Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Virgin Interactive |
| Designer(s) | Joseph Bostic & Aaron E. Powell |
| Engine | Custom |
| Platform(s) | Amiga, DOS, RISC OS, Sega Genesis |
| Release | 1992 (DOS) 1993 (Amiga) 1993 (Genesis) |
| Genre(s) | Real-time strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Template:Current-GCOTW Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty (also known as Dune II: Battle for Arrakis in Europe and in the Sega Genesis port) is a Dune computer game, released by Westwood Studios in 1992. It is based on David Lynch's 1984 movie Dune, which was in turn taken from Frank Herbert's science fiction novel of the same name.
While not the first real-time strategy game, per se (the first being Stonkers), Dune II established a format that would be followed for years to come. As such, Dune II is the founder of the RTS genre in its modern form. Striking a balance between complexity and innovation, it was a huge success and laid the foundation for the coming Command and Conquer (which was nicknamed "Dune III" by some fans and detractors), the Warcraft series, and the RTS craze that endures to this day.
Some key elements that first appeared in this game, but would later appear in many other RTS games, are:
- A world map from which the next mission is chosen
- Resource-gathering to fund unit construction
- Simple base and unit construction
- Building construction dependencies (technology tree)
- Different sides/factions (the Houses), each with unique unit-types
Plot
Emperor Frederick IV of House Corrino is desperate for the harvesting the valuable spice melange, only found on the planet Arrakis, to pay off all of his debt incurred on internecine wars with family memebers. To achieve this, he now offers the sole governorship of Arrakis to the House (huge nobleman family/cartel) which delivers the most spice for him out of House Atreides, Harkonnen and Ordos. War begins as deputations from all three Houses arrive on Arrakis.
The player is a military commander from a House of their choice. In the first few missions the objective is to successfully establish a base on an unoccupied territory of Arrakis, to harvest spice and defend against intruders. Later, when the three Houses divide Arrakis among them, the player has to assault and capture enemy territories. When the player dominates Arrakis on the world map, the two other enemy factions ally against their common enemy. The ultimate final showdown is the battle among the player's House up against three enemy sides, among them Frederick's forces the Sardaukar (an unplayable elite force whose heavy infantry are particularly powerful). The final cutscene is different for each House, in consonance with their very disparate worldviews. Template:Endspoiler
Gameplay
The player takes the role of a commander of one of three interplanetary houses, the Atreides, the Harkonnen or the Ordos, with the objective of wresting control of Arrakis from the two other houses. The basic strategy in the game is to harvest spice from the treacherous sand dunes using a havester vehicle, convert the spice into credits via a refinery and to build military units with these acquired credits in order to fend off and destroy the enemy. The game map initially starts with a fog of war covering all area which is not covered by the player's units. As the units explore the map, the darkness is removed. Unlike later games such as Warcraft II, the fog of war is lifted forever with initial exploration, it does not become dark once more when units leave the area.
In addition to enemy incursions, there are other dangers, like the marauding and gigantic sandworm, capable of swallowing vehicles and infantry whole, but only capable of moving through sand. The player can only build on rocky terrain, but must build concrete foundations before to avoid deterioration of the structures due to the harsh weather conditions. Spice fields are indicated by orange patches on the sand, dark orange indicating high concentration. Some spice is concealed as bumps on the terrain that become spice fields when they're shot upon, or when an unit passes above them (the unit is destroyed in the process).
The player is presented a map of the planet Arrakis before most missions, where he can choose the next territory to play in among two or three. This affects primarily the enemy house fought in the next mission, as all missions except the first two require the complete destruction of the enemy. Nine territories must be fought, irrespective of house, to reach the endgame.
Units
House Harkonnen relies on heavy and powerful, but expensive units, while House Atreides is a more "middle of the road" side with access to good specialised units such as the Sonic Tank. House Ordos tends to prioritise speed over strength, with quite specialised units and a lack of heavy firepower, and thus require a degree of cunning gameplay to win.
Infantry and trooper units
| Picture | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| File:Duneii-infantry.jpg | Light Infantry | Soldiers with minimal protection and attack capabilities. |
| File:Duneii-troopers.jpg | Heavy Troopers | Troopers have expecial power suits and heavy weapons and equipment. |
Light Vehicles
| Picture | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| File:Duneii-trike.jpg | Trike | A very fast and maneuverable three-wheeled vehicle with very limited protection. Useful for scouting. |
| File:Duneii-quad.jpg | Quad | A four wheeled vehicle, slower than the trike, but with much more armor and firepower. |
Heavy Vehicles
| Picture | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| File:Duneii-combat--tank.jpg | Combat Tank | A medium-size tank, slower than light units but much better armored. |
| File:Duneii-siege-tank.jpg | Siege Tank | A slower heavy tank, with double the armor and firepower. |
| File:Duneii-rocket-launcher.jpg | Rocket Launcher | A fast-moving tank that can support the battle from a range firing dual rockets. |
Support Vehicles
| Picture | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| File:Duneii-harvester.jpg | Harvester | Harvests melange from the spice fields. |
| File:Duneii-carryall.jpg | Carryall | A transport aircraft, it can carry harvesters to the refinery and units to the repair center. |
| File:Duneii-mcv.jpg | MCV (Mobile construction vehicle) | A mobile construction yard, allows construction and repositioning of bases. |
| File:Duneii-ornithopter.jpg | Ornithopter | A very fast and uncontrollable aircraft. Launches attrition attacks against the enemy base. |
House specific units
Atreides
| Picture | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| File:Duneii-sonic-tank.jpg | Sonic Tank | A tank that fires sonic waves, has the whole screen as effective range. |
| File:Duneii-fremen.jpg | Fremen | Native elite guerrillas, uncontrollable by the player, invoked from the Palace. |
Harkonnen
| Picture | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| File:DuneII-devastator.jpg | Devastator | A inmmensely powerful nuclear-powered tank that self-destructs when in critical state or when ordered to. |
| File:DuneII-death-hand.jpg | Death Hand | A multiple head missile fired from the palace that can damage a vast area, but is very imprecise. |
Ordos
| Picture | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| File:Duneii-ordos-raider.jpg | Ordos Raider | A modified version of the trike; faster but with decreased protection. |
| File:Duneii-deviator.jpg | Deviator | A missile tank that fires special nerve gas ammunition which can confuse units and change them to the player's side. |
| File:Duneii-saboteur.jpg | Saboteur | A lone agent trained in the palace that can destroy any enemy building or vehicle. |
Completing higher missions gives authorization to use improved technology and higher-order weaponry unique to each House. ensuring varied gameplay. For example, House Harkonnen may be able to construct their Devastator tanks with heavy armor and ordnance but cannot build the similarly impressive Atreides Sonic Tank. The Ordos have access to the Deviator - a specialized tank firing a nerve gas that switches the allegiance of targeted units to Ordos for a limited period of time. The three Houses also are restricted in their production capabilities - House Ordos cannot build Atreides-style trikes, instead making the faster "Raider" trikes, while House Harkonnen constructs heavier but more expensive quad bikes.
A player can gain access to other Houses' special units by capturing an enemy Factory and manufacturing the required units at the captured Factory (House Atreides' Heavy Vehicle Factory for Sonic Tank, House Ordos' Light Vehicle Factory for Raider trikes, House Ordos' Heavy Vehicle Factory for Deviator tanks, or House Harkonnen's Heavy Vehicle Factory for Devastator tanks).
Buildings
Buildings may only be built in rocky zones, and are the same for all houses. To protect them from constant wear, the player must place first concrete slabs in the construction areas. Production buildings can be upgraded at a cost several times, allowing the production of more advanced units or buildings.
Support Buildings
| Picture | Name | Description | Version | Requires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Duneii-concrete-slab.jpg | Concrete slab | Foundation of other buildings, prevent wear. Later in the game, groups of four can be built at a time. | All | |
| File:Duneii-construction-yard.jpg | Construction Yard | Builds all other buildings. | All | |
| File:Duneii-spice-silos.jpg | Spice Silo | Adds spice storing capacity to the base. | All | |
| File:Duneii-starport.jpg | Starport | Allows the player to buy units delivered from orbit. | All | |
| File:Duneii-wind-trap.jpg | Windtrap | Wind energy stations that power all other buildings. | All | |
| File:Duneii-refinery.jpg | Refinery | Converts Spice from harvesters in credits and stores a limited quantity of spice. | All | |
| File:Duneii-outpost.jpg | Radar Outpost | Allows to view unit movements in the explired are of the minimap. | All | |
| File:Duneii-repair-facility.jpg | Repair Facility | Repairs damaged units. | All | |
| File:Duneii-ix.jpg | House of IX | Makes house specific tanks and ornithopters available. | PC | |
| File:Duneii-palace.jpg | Palace | Allows to use the house "superweapons" (Death Hand, Saboteur, Fremen). | All |
Production and Training Buildings
| Picture | Name | Description | Version | Requires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Duneii-barracks.jpg | Barracks | Trains light infantry. | All | |
| File:Duneii-WOR.jpg | WOR | Trains and arms heavy troopers. | All | |
| File:Duneii-light-factory.jpg | Light Vehicle Factory | Manufactures light vehicles, such as Trikes and Quads. | PC | |
| File:Duneii-heavy-factory.jpg | Heavy Vehicle Factory | Manufactures tanks, rocket launchers and specific house tanks (Devastator, Deviator, Sonic Tank). | All (in Genesis manufactures
light and heavy units) |
|
| File:Duneii-high-tech-factory.jpg | High-tech facility | Allows production of support non-controlable units, such as carryalls and ornithopters. | All |
Defensive
| Picture | Name | Description | Version | Requires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Duneii-walls.jpg | Wall | A 1x1 wall section that protects buildings-. | All | |
| File:Duneii-turret.jpg | Turret | An autonomous turret that tracks an fires bullets at incoming enemies. | All | |
| File:Duneii-rocket-turret.jpg | Rocket Turret | A more effective and long-range version of the turret. | All |
The final prize for the commander is the building of the House Palace from where superweapons may be unleashed on opponents in the final closing chapters of the game. The House Harkonnen superweapon is a long-range finger of missiles called the Death Hand, whereas House Atreides may call upon the local Fremen infantry warriors, over which the player has no control, to engage enemy targets. House Ordos may unleash a fast-moving Saboteur whose main purpose is the destruction of buildings.
Interface
The Dune II interface is the basis for subsequent real-time strategy games, but is inconvenient when compared, for example, to Command & Conquer. Dune II did not have unit grouping or context sensitive cursors, as they were not used in RTS games until C&C and Warcraft II [citation needed], and, unlike later games, clicking on a piece of land or enemy will not result in movement or attack actions. To do so requires clicking on the "Move" or "Attack" buttons, and then selecting the target. Mouse scrolling is also not available, but can be done using the minimap.
Trivia
- The original DOS version imposes a global limit on structures and units which curiously encompasses both the human player's and those of the CPU (the computer-controlled opponents). This severely limits the size of the human player's army when the CPU's army starts big on the later missions. To work around this the player has first to take "small bites" out of the CPUs base, destroying a few of the CPUs outwards constructions like missile turrets, before he can fully develop his base and launch the final attack.
Ports
This 1992 game was ported to various platforms. The original DOS version was converted to the Amiga and Sega Genesis in 1993. Two years later it was also brought to the Archimedes and Risc PC range of RISC OS computers.
The Sega Genesis port has fairly different building and unit graphics, a full-screen menu-less user interface suited for gamepad control, and no savegame support, relying in access codes for accesing each level. Other additions include a music test option and a tutorial that replaces the mentat screen.
The Amiga port is nearly identical in interface and gameplay to the PC version, with less detailed graphics and frequent disk swapping -- the game fits in 5 disks. Savegames are stored in a specially formatted disk.
Legacy
Dune II has become considered as the most influential game in the real-time strategy genre. While not all its characteristics were novel, such as fog of war, its model of resource-extraction, base creation, and military micromanagement became the type of RTS that the genre is known for. Obvious influences can be seen in numerous games, particularly in Westwood's own Command & Conquer series.
Chris Taylor stated that Dune II and Command & Conquer were a very strong inspiration, motivating him to leave Electronic Arts to create Total Annihilation.[1]
Dune II was given several direct sequels: a Windows remake of this game was published in 1998 as Dune 2000, along with a PlayStation port in the same year. In 2001 Emperor: Battle for Dune was published.
Remakes
References
External links
- Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty at MobyGames
- GameSpy Hall of Fame
- FED2k Discussion
- Dune Wiki @ FED2k
