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| 1992 video games | |
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''Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty'' (also known as '''''Dune II: Battle for Arrakis''''' in Europe and in the Mega Drive/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 . A new house: House Ordos (not found in the novel or film) was created specially for this game. While not the first (which was nicknamed "Dune III" by some fans and detractors), the Warcraft series, and the RTS craze that endures to this day. PLOT arriving on Dune]] 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 members. 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. 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 may be concealed as bumps on the terrain (spice blooms) that become spice fields when they're shot at, or when an unit passes over them (the unit is destroyed in the process). of House Harkonnen , provides some sly advice to the player]] 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. Some key elements that first appeared in this game, but would later appear in many other RTS games, are:
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 Light Vehicles Heavy Vehicles Support Vehicles House specific units Atreides Harkonnen Ordos 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). Third party units Buildings Buildings may only be built in rocky zones and connected to another existing building, 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 Production and training buildings Defensive buildings The final prize for the commander is the building of the House Palace from where Superweapon s 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 games.]] The ''Dune II'' interface is the basis for subsequent real-time strategy games, being the first to use the mouse for unit control, but is inconvenient when compared, for example, to '''' and '' Warcraft II '' , 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. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE The AI of ''Dune II'' was one of the first used in RTS games, and while better than that of Herzog Zwei , it has various drawbacks Brian Schwab.''AI Game Engine Programming'', p. 107, Charles River Media. ISBN 1584503440. :
PORTS version ingame.]] This 1992 game was Ported to various platforms. The original DOS version was converted to the Amiga and Mega Drive/Genesis in 1993 . Two years later it was also brought to the Archimedes and Risc PC range of RISC OS computers. 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 savegame support, relying in access codes for accessing 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 things 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 ''. Tracy Fullerton, Chris Swain, Steven Hoffman,''Game Design Workshop'',p. 377, CMP Books, 2004, ISBN 1578202221 ''Dune II'' was given several direct sequels: a '' was published. TRIVIA
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