Wikipedia

Dune II

This article is about the secondDunevideo game. For Frank Herbert's sequel to his novelDune,seeDune Messiah.For the sequel to the 2021 film, seeDune: Part Two.For the MUSH, seeDune II(MUSH).For other uses, seeDune 2 (disambiguation).

Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty(titledDune II: Battle for Arrakisin Europe andDune: The Battle for Arrakisin North America for theMega Drive/Genesisport, respectively) is a 1992real-time strategy gamedeveloped byWestwood Studiosand published byVirgin Games.It serves as the sequel toDune(a more traditional adventure game), which came out earlier that same year.

Dune II
Developer(s)Westwood Studios
Publisher(s)Virgin Games
Director(s)Aaron E. Powell
Lyle J. Hall
Producer(s)Brett Sperry
Designer(s)Joe Bostic
Marc Cram
Aaron E. Powell
Programmer(s)Joseph Bostic
Scott K. Bowen
Writer(s)Rick Gush
Donna J. Bundy
Marc Cram
Composer(s)Frank Klepacki
Dwight Okahara
Platform(s)Amiga,MS-DOS,RISC OS,Genesis/Mega Drive
ReleaseMS-DOS
December 1992
Amiga
1993
Mega Drive/Genesis
RISC OS
1995
Genre(s)Real-time strategy
Mode(s)Single-player

While not the first real-time strategy (RTS) video game,Dune IIestablished the format that would be followed for years to come.[1][2]As such,Dune IIis the archetypal real-time strategy game. Striking a balance between complexity and innovation, it was a huge success and laid the foundation forAge of Empires,Warcraft,Westwood Studios' subsequent strategy gameCommand & Conquer,and many other RTS games that followed.

Plot

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Emperor Frederick IV ofHouse Corrinois desperate for the harvesting of the valuable drugmelange(also known as "the spice" ), found only on the planetArrakis,to pay off all of his debt incurred on internecine wars with family members. To achieve this, he offers the sole governorship of Arrakis to whichever of the three Houses (Atreides,Harkonnen,and the non-canon Ordos) delivers the most spice for him. 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 objectives are to successfully establish a base on an unoccupied territory of Arrakis, while harvesting spice and defending the base from enemy incursions. Later, as the three Houses begin moving against each other territories, missions will increasingly focus on destroying or capturing enemy bases. When the player dominates Arrakis on the world map, the two other enemy factions form a temporary alliance with the remnants of their armies. The final showdown is the battle between the player's House against both rival Houses, joined by the Emperor'sSardaukar(an unplayable elite force whose heavy infantry are particularly powerful). The introductory mission briefing and endgame cutscenes are different for each House, in keeping with their very disparate world views. The weaponry and units also vary from house to house.

Gameplay

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The player takes the role of the commander of one of the three interplanetary houses, the Atreides, the Harkonnen or the Ordos, with the objective of wresting control ofArrakisfrom the other two houses. House Ordos is not featured in theDunenovels and is mentioned only in the non-canonThe Dune Encyclopedia.The basic strategy in the game is to harvestspicefrom the treacherous sand dunes using a harvester 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 afog of warcovering all area which is not covered by the player's units range of view. As the units explore the map, the darkness is removed. Unlike later games such asWarcraft II: Tides of Darkness,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 such as the marauding, giganticsandworm,capable of swallowing vehicles and infantry whole but blocked by rocky terrain. The player can only build on rocky terrain and must build concrete foundations to avoid deterioration of the structures due to the harsh weather conditions. Structures will still gradually decay over time regardless of the presence of those concrete slabs, but they save repair costs in the long run. Spice fields are indicated by orange coloration on the sand, darker orange indicating high concentration. Some spice may be concealed as bumps on the terrain (a "spice bloom" ) that become spice fields when they are shot at, or when a unit runs over them (the unit is destroyed in the ensuing "spice blow" ).

A map of the planet Arrakis is shown before most missions, where the player 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 destruction of the enemy. Nine territories must be fought, irrespective of house, to reach the endgame.

TheDune IIinterface was the template for subsequent RTS designs.

Some key elements that first appeared inDune IIand later appear in many other RTS games include:

  • 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)
  • Mobile units that can be deployed as buildings
  • Different sides/factions (the Houses), each with unique unit-types and super weapons
  • A context-sensitive mouse cursor to issue commands (introduced in the Mega Drive/Genesis version)

Completing higher missions gives authorization to use improved technology and higher-order weaponry unique to each House, ensuring varied game play. 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 eschews trikes completely, building only the heavier, more expensive "Quad" light attack vehicle.

A player can gain access to other Houses' special units by capturing an enemy Factory and manufacturing the desired units at the captured Factory.

Buildings may only be built in rocky zones and connected to another existing building. To protect them from constant wear, the player must first place 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.

The final prize for the commander is the building of the House Palace from wheresuperweaponsmay be unleashed on opponents in the final closing chapters of the game. The House Harkonnen superweapon is a long-range powerful but inaccurate finger of missiles called the Death Hand, whereas House Atreides may call upon the localFremeninfantry 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.

TheAIofDune IIwas one of the first used in RTS games, and while better than that ofHerzog Zwei,it has various drawbacks. Examples include only attacking the side of the player's base facing its own, and general inability to perform flanking maneuvers.[3]Research into the game's engine revealed that the AI is in fact capable of more advanced strategy, but that a large part of these capabilities is unused due to consistently repeated errors in all of the game's mission scripts.[4]

Development

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According to Virgin Interactive vice presidentStephen Clarke-Willsonin 1998, the development ofDune IIbegan when Virgin Interactive planned to cancel the production ofCryo Interactive'sadventure gameDune,after which he was given the task of figuring out what to do with theDunelicense.[5]After reading the originalDunenovel, he decided that "from a gaming point-of-view the real stress was the battle to control the spice", so a resource-basedstrategy video gamewould be a good idea. It was around this time that employeeGraeme Devine(who later foundedTrilobyte) introduced to everyone at the Virgin office a real-time strategy game on theSega Genesis / Mega DriveconsolecalledHerzog Zwei(1989). Clarke-Willson described it as a game where the player "kept clicking on stuff and then zooming off to another part of the screen. It was very hard to keep track of what was going on as an observer. Still, everyone liked it, it had fast action, and it was a strategy game". Virgin staff, including Clarke-Willson and Seth Mendelsohn (who later worked on theUltimaseries), then went to Westwood Studios to talk about making aDunegame. According to Clarke-Willson, "Westwood agreed to make a resource strategy game based onDune,and agreed to look atHerzog Zweifor design ideas ". It later turned out that Cryo's game of the same name was not cancelled, and Westwood's real-time strategy game was calledDune IIas a result.[6]

Westwood Studios co-founder andDune IIproducer Brett Sperry said in 2008 that conceptualization for the game began when Virgin presidentMartin Alperapproached him with the offer of using theirDunelicense to produce a game, with the understanding that Cryo'sDunehad been cancelled. In terms ofvideo game design,Sperry said: "The inspiration forDune IIwas partly fromPopulous,partly from my work onEye Of The Beholderand the final and perhaps most crucial part came from an argument I once had withChuck Kroegel,then vice president ofStrategic Simulations Inc... The crux of my argument with Chuck was thatwargamessucked because of a lack of innovation and poor design. Chuck felt the category was in a long, slow decline, because the players were moving to more exciting genres... I felt that the genre had a lot of potential – the surface was barely scratched as far as I was concerned, especially from a design standpoint. So I took it as a personal challenge and figured how to harness realtime dynamics with great game controls into a fast-paced wargame ". He also stated that, while"Herzog Zweiwas a lot of fun ", the" other inspiration forDune IIwas theMacsoftwareinterface",referring to the" design/interface dynamics of mouse clicking and selecting desktop items "which got him thinking:" Why not allow the same inside the game environment? Why not a context-sensitive playfield? To hell with all these hot keys, to hell with keyboard as the primary means of manipulating the game! "During production, he found out that Cryo rushed to finish their game first, leading to Virgin publishing their game asDuneand Westwood's game asDune II,despite Sperry protesting against this decision.[7] Louis Castle said in 1998 that the game's influence on thereal-time strategygenre was unplanned, and that the team's goal was simply "to include all of the excitement and intensity of a war game, but with action-packed gameplay".[8]

Other influences cited by Joseph Bostic (also known as Joe Bostic), the co-designer and lead programmer, and Mike Legg, one of the game's programmers, include theturn-based strategygamesMilitary Madness(1989) andCivilization(1991), along withHerzog Zwei.According to Bostic, a "benefit overHerzog Zweiis that we had the advantage of a mouse and keyboard. This greatly facilitated precise player control, which enabled the player to give orders to individual units. The mouse, and the direct control it allowed, was critical in making the RTS genre possible ".[9]

Release

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Originally released for MS-DOS in 1992,Dune IIwas one of the first games to support the recently introducedGeneral MIDIstandard. The game audio was programmed with the middlewareMiles audio librarywhich handled the dynamic conversion of the game's MIDI musical score, originally composed on theRoland MT-32,to the selected soundcard. At initial release, the game's setup utility lacked the means to support separate output devices for the musical score and speech/sound-effects. This limitation was frustrating to owners of high-quality MIDI synthesisers (such as theRoland Sound Canvas), because users could not play the game with both digital sound effects (which MIDI synthesisers lacked) and high-quality MIDI score. Westwood later published a revised setup utility to enable users select a different soundcard for each type of game audio: digital speech, music, and sound effects.[10]

Ports to theAmigaandMega Drive/Genesiswere released in 1993[11]and 1994[12]respectively. The Amiga floppy disk version has less detailed graphics and requires frequent disk swapping. Save games are stored on a specially formatted disk.

Two years later, it was also brought to theArchimedesandRisc PCrange ofRISC OScomputers.

The Mega Drive/Genesis port has fairly different building and unit graphics, a full-screen menu-less user interface suited for gamepad control, and no save game support, relying on access codes for accessing each level. Other additions include a music test option and a tutorial that replaces thementatscreen. Several ideas from this version, including the music track listing and the replacement of sidebar command buttons by a context-sensitive cursor, were used in Westwood's next strategy game,Command & Conquer.

The game was ported toAndroidin 2013; also afan-madeport forPandorabecame available based on thereverse engineered game engine.[13][14]

Reception

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According to Westwood Studios,Dune IIwas a commercial success, with global sales in excess of 250,000 units by November 1996.[18]

Computer Gaming Worldin 1993 stated that the PC version ofDune II"easily outshines its predecessor in terms of game play... a real gem", with "arguably the most outstanding sound and graphics ever to appear in a strategy game of its kind".[19]A February 1994 survey of space war games gave it a grade of B+, stating that without online play, there was little replayability once each House conquered the planet,[20]but a May 1994 survey of strategic space games set in the year 2000 and later gave the game five stars out of five, describing it as "a wargamepar excellance;superb graphics and sound make an enjoyable gaming experience ". The magazine hoped thatCommand & Conquerwould be its sequel.[21]Electronic Gamesgave the game a 92% score.[22]

When the Amiga version ofDune IIwas released in 1993, it was met with positive reviews.CU Amigamagazine rated the game highly with 85%, praising the smooth gameplay and controls.[23]Dune IIreceivedAmiga User International'sGame of the Month award when it was reviewed in September 1993.[24]

GameProrated the Genesis version 17 out of 20, dubbing it "one of the best war strategy carts for the Genesis" while praising the controls,digitizedspeech, music, and fun gameplay.[25]Electronic Gaming Monthlyscored the Genesis version 32 out of 40, commenting that the gameplay is not only addictive, but easy to learn, which they stated is highly unusual for a strategy game.[26]Game Informerrated it 8.25 out of 10.[27]

In 1993,Computer Gaming WorldnamedDune IIStrategy Game of the Year.[28]The game was ranked the 11th best game of all time byAmiga Powerin 1996.[29]In 1996,Computer Gaming WorlddeclaredDune 2the 70th-best computer game ever released.[30]In 2004, this "legendary" game entered theGameSpyHall of Fame.[31]In Poland, it was included in the retrospective lists of the best Amiga games byWirtualna Polska(ranked eight)[32]andCHIP(ranked fourth).[33]In 2012,Timenamed it one of the 100 greatest video games of all time.[34]In 1994,PC Gamer USnamedDune IIthe 49th best computer game ever.[35]That same year,PC Gamer UKnamed it the 21st best computer game of all time, calling it "a wargame for those who don't like wargames".[36]In 1996,GamesMasterlisted the Mega Drive version 8th in its "The Gamesmaster Mega Drive Top 10".[37]In the same issue, they also ranked the PC version 21st on their "Top 100 Games of All Time".[38]

Legacy

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Dune IIwas one of the most influential games in thereal-time strategygenre,particularly inWestwood's ownCommand & Conquerseries.[39]Though not every feature was unique, its specific combination of afog of war,mouse-based military micromanagement, and an economic model of resource-gathering and base-building became the hallmark of the RTS genre. It served as the template for subsequent real-time strategy games.[1]Chris Taylorhas stated thatDune IIandCommand & Conquerwere great inspirations, driving him to leaveElectronic Artsto createTotal Annihilation.[40]

Dune IIalso led to direct sequels: Westwood released a semi-remakeforWindowsin1998asDune 2000,along with aPlayStationport in the same year. Westwood subsequently releasedEmperor: Battle for Dunein2001.There are alsofan-madegame engine recreations,likeDune Legacy,which aims for improved usability and controls while not changing the gameplay.[41]

References

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  1. ^abBob Bates. Game Developer's Market Guide, p. 141, Thomson Course Technology, 2003,ISBN1-59200-104-1.
  2. ^Geryk, Bruce (May 19, 2008)."A History of Real-Time Strategy Games: Dune II".GameSpot.Archived fromthe originalon January 31, 2009.RetrievedMay 22,2020.a game that is largely credited with revolutionizing the strategy genre
  3. ^Brian Schwab.AI Game Engine Programming,p. 107, Charles River Media.ISBN1-58450-344-0.
  4. ^"Dune II team bug",FED2k forums,May 28, 2009.
  5. ^Cobbett, Richard (21 June 2014)."Saturday Crapshoot: Dune".PC Gamer.Archivedfrom the original on 26 June 2014.Retrieved3 July2014.
  6. ^Clarke-Willson, Stephen(August 18, 1998)."The Origin of Realtime Strategy Games on the PC".The Rise and Fall of Virgin Interactive.Above the Garage Productions. Archived fromthe originalon 2003-05-04.Retrieved30 January2012.
  7. ^"The Making of... Dune II".Edge.December 9, 2008. Archived fromthe originalon February 12, 2013.RetrievedMay 2,2014.
  8. ^Saltzman, Marc (December 30, 1998)."Where Have All the Genres Gone?".CNET Gamecenter.Archived fromthe originalon December 6, 2000.RetrievedJuly 30,2019.
  9. ^"The History of Command & Conquer".NowGamer.Archivedfrom the original on 16 December 2020.Retrieved5 September2011.
  10. ^Frank Klepacki:FROM DUNE 2, TO DUNE 2000Archived2017-06-18 at theWayback Machine,26.3.2010
  11. ^"Dune II: The Battle for Arrakis".Lemon Amiga.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-12-25.Retrieved2023-12-25.
  12. ^"Dune II: Battle for Arrakis".Sega Retro.December 17, 2023.Archivedfrom the original on December 25, 2023.RetrievedDecember 25,2023.
  13. ^OpenDUNEArchived2016-03-29 at theWayback Machineongithub
  14. ^dunedynastyArchived2016-04-04 at theWayback Machineon repo.openpandora.org
  15. ^"Dune II: Battle for Arrakis".Mean Machines Sega.No. 15. January 1994. pp. 128–130.
  16. ^"Dune II: Battle for Arrakis".MegaTech.No. 25. January 1994. p. 68.
  17. ^"Dune 2".Mega Power.No. 6. January 1994. pp. 62–64.
  18. ^"Software Retailers on full alert as Westwood Studios'Red AlertShips "(Press release).Las Vegas:Westwood Studios.November 22, 1996. Archived fromthe originalon June 5, 1997.RetrievedJuly 30,2019.
  19. ^Greenberg, Allen L. (April 1993)."A Review of Virgin/Westwood's Dune II".Computer Gaming World.p. 84.Archivedfrom the original on 2 July 2014.Retrieved6 July2014.
  20. ^Cirulis, Martin E. (February 1994)."The Year The Stars Fell".Computer Gaming World.pp. 94–104.Archivedfrom the original on 2017-10-03.Retrieved2017-11-09.
  21. ^Brooks, M. Evan (May 1994)."Never Trust A Gazfluvian Flingschnogger!".Computer Gaming World.pp. 42–58.Archivedfrom the original on 2014-07-03.Retrieved2017-11-11.
  22. ^"Electronic Games 1993-06".June 1993.
  23. ^Gill, Tony (July 1993). "Review:Dune II".CU Amiga.EMAP.
  24. ^"Amiga User Internationalreview:Dune II".Amiga User International.AUI Limited. September 1993.
  25. ^"ProReview: Dune: The Battle for Arrakis".GamePro.No. 53.IDG.December 1993. p. 82.
  26. ^"Review Crew: Dune".Electronic Gaming Monthly.No. 54. EGM Media, LLC. January 1994. p. 44.
  27. ^"Legacy Review Archives".Game Informer.Archived fromthe originalon 15 April 2022.Retrieved3 October2021.
  28. ^"Computer Gaming World's Game of the Year Awards".Computer Gaming World.October 1993. pp. 70–74.Archivedfrom the original on 16 March 2016.Retrieved25 March2016.
  29. ^Amiga Powermagazine issue 64, Future Publishing, August 1996
  30. ^"150 Best (and 50 Worst) Games of All Time".Computer Gaming World.No. 148. November 1996. pp. 63–65, 68, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, 84, 88, 90, 94, 98.
  31. ^GameSpy Hall of Fame
  32. ^8. Dune 2: The Battle for Arrakis - 30 najlepszych gier na Amigę - Imperium gierArchived2011-12-30 at theWayback Machine,WP.PL(in Polish)
  33. ^(in Polish)Michał Wierzbicki,Dziesięć najlepszych gier na AmigęArchived2016-05-30 at theWayback Machine,Chip.pl, 23.02.2010
  34. ^"All-Time 100 Video Games".Time.November 15, 2012.Archivedfrom the original on November 16, 2012.RetrievedNovember 15,2022.
  35. ^"PC GamerTop 40: The Best Games of All Time; The Ten Best Games that Almost Made the Top 40 ".PC Gamer US(3): 42. August 1994.
  36. ^"ThePC GamerTop 50 PC Games of All Time ".PC Gamer UK.No. 5. April 1994. pp. 43–56.
  37. ^"The GamesMaster Mega Drive Top 10"(PDF).GamesMaster(44): 74. July 1996.Archived(PDF)from the original on 2021-12-11.Retrieved2022-07-03.
  38. ^"Top 100 Games of All Time"(PDF).GamesMaster(44): 77. July 1996.Archived(PDF)from the original on 2021-12-11.Retrieved2022-07-03.
  39. ^Porter, Will (2008-02-28)."Command & Conquer - Origins".ComputerAndVideoGames.Archived fromthe originalon 2008-03-29.Retrieved2008-04-02.
  40. ^Tracy Fullerton, Chris Swain, Steven Hoffman,Game Design Workshop,p. 377, CMP Books, 2004,ISBN1-57820-222-1
  41. ^Alec Meer (September 19, 2015)."Have You Played... Dune II Remake Dune Legacy?".Rock, Paper, Shotgun.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-11-08.Retrieved2023-11-06.
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