Dune: Spice Wars 4X

[Daehawk]

[dbt1949]

I really hate it when they go for cinematics and not gameplay.

[Daehawk]

I really hate it when they go for cinematics and not gameplay.

Yep.

Last good Dune game for me was Emperor Battle for Dune. Im hoping with the new graphics they can add sand storms and such.

[Pyperkub]

I really hate it when they go for cinematics and not gameplay.

Yep.

Last good Dune game for me was Emperor Battle for Dune. Im hoping with the new graphics they can add sand storms and such.

The Civ 4 Dune mod was pretty cool.

[Daehawk]

Dune: Spice Wars Early Access Review

[Lordnine]

The preview makes me think of Kohan. Am I the only one who remembers that game?

[Daehawk]

I know the name. It worries me it looks more Civ than C&C.

[Daehawk]

Handful of reviews are out. Seems to be well received.

[Jeff V]

The preview makes me think of Kohan. Am I the only one who remembers that game?

I was the first media person to get a look at that game. It was at E3, sitting along a wall of one of the major halls in search of somewhat peaceful environment. I had an article subsequently published in Computer Games Magazine (they commissioned this article) and when I visited Time Gate Studios in Houston, they had a copy of the article framed in their lobby.

It's one of the cooler stories I have to tell from that point in my life. Later that year, their Canadian publisher, Strategy First, invited me to a GenCon gathering. The PR manager for Strategy First hit it off with the developer from Time Gate...I recall telling her if she (from Montreal) could stand a summer in Houston, then it's destiny. It worked out, they married and had at least one kid before I lost track of them.

[YellowKing]

The preview makes me think of Kohan. Am I the only one who remembers that game?

Wow, that's a blast from the past. I had forgotten all about that one! I don't remember a whole lot about it other than I enjoyed it quite a bit.

[Jag]

The preview makes me think of Kohan. Am I the only one who remembers that game?

Loved Kohan. Great story and gameplay. Brought some new features to the genre too.

[hepcat]

Ditto, I loved Kohan.

Purchased Dune this morning as soon as I got the "it's released" email. I can't resist.

[baelthazar]

After playing for several hours last night, I can confirm that the Kohan vibes carry through to the actual game. It reminds me of a mix between Kohan and Seven Kingdoms actually (that reference will test your age). Despite looking like a RTS, it is far more a 4X - you take over villages using either a skill (for example, the Atredies Peaceful Annexation power) which is typically slower or through conquest, which is faster but more resource intensive. Villages are hubs for buildings to increase resource generation. Unlike Kohan, you don't have heroes (sort of a pity, a hero/leader system for the RTS portion would be fun - with Duncan Idaho leading bands of forces, for example) - military units are free standing and on their own. You also only have a handful of military units and are limited in their creation (think Northgard, from the same studio).

Several things set the game apart. This is not a twitch/reflex/rush build game. It is slow and steady. Conquest is HARD, particularly in the late game. You also have all sorts of infiltration and agent actions, which are like special powers to hamper enemies. I did not use them properly, but they act sort of like special powers to prepare and deploy when you need them.

There is also an interesting political game where you assign votes and influence to make certain things happen (usually to the opposing faction). This comes complete with late-game political charters as well, which offer the holding faction a global bonus. Spice is also used in two ways - one to offer a passive increase to your Solari economy (money) and the other as a requirement to pay the Imperial tax (which continues to increase the entire game). Fall behind on your taxes and your Landsraad rating falls, which hurts you in many ways (not the least in your ability to become Governor of Dune and win).

I only got to play one faction and I think they all have pretty distinct play styles. The Atredies and Harkonnen are likely more similar, but the Smugglers have some interesting distinctions and I believe the Fremen play very differently.

[baelthazar]

I might also draw similarities to Sins of a Solar Empire. If you played Northgard, you will see the pedigree here too.

[hepcat]

Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I went in expecting a slightly deeper remake of the old Dune RTS, but what I got was a full fledged 4x . I'm really digging it so far....even if I have no clue as to what I'm doing.

[Hrothgar]

This comes out of early access and launches on September 14th. The retail price will go up $5 at launch, but there might be a launch sale.

[Carpet_pissr]

Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I went in expecting a slightly deeper remake of the old Dune RTS, but what I got was a full fledged 4x . I'm really digging it so far....even if I have no clue as to what I'm doing.

Is there a singleplayer campaign? Numerous reviews complaining about the lack of one, but one of the tags on the game's Steam page is SINGLEPLAYER, so...??

[Hrothgar]

From the FAQ:

Is there a campaign?

The game features Conquest Mode, which acts as a campaign for Dune: Spice Wars. In Conquest, players take up the control of one of the major houses (Atreides, Harkonnen, Ecaz or Corrino) and fight through a number of unique scenarios and situations that will encourage them to utilize every system at their disposal in order to progress. With procedural maps and scenarios, random perks and challenges, famous characters and houses and a different experience every time you play, Conquest offers unprecedented levels of replayability and immersion into the Dune universe.

How many houses are available to play?

Upon release, there will be 6 factions available to play, with House Atreides, House Harkonnen, House Corrino, The Fremen, The Smugglers and the new addition for 1.0; House Ecaz rounding out the roster. Each faction has their own playstyles, traits, strengths and weaknesses, lending a unique flavour to each match based on which faction you choose.

Does the game support multiplayer?

Yes, the game supports up to 4 player multiplayer in 1v1, 2v2 and FFA.

Is it an RTS or a 4X?

It is both. The game is real time, but the pace is slower than in a typical RTS (and you can pause and fast forward). The game also features exploration, territory control, economic growth, combat, politics and spying, features that make it a true 4X game but do not detract from the RTS experience.

So you can play Conquest as a single player vs. AI, but there is no separate 'hand crafted' single player campaign.

[GreenGoo]

Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I went in expecting a slightly deeper remake of the old Dune RTS, but what I got was a full fledged 4x . I'm really digging it so far....even if I have no clue as to what I'm doing.

Is there a singleplayer campaign? Numerous reviews complaining about the lack of one, but one of the tags on the game's Steam page is SINGLEPLAYER, so...??

Civilization and Moo didn't have campaigns either. I realize there is some confusion because RTS's mostly do, but 4X's often don't.

[Carpet_pissr]

Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I went in expecting a slightly deeper remake of the old Dune RTS, but what I got was a full fledged 4x . I'm really digging it so far....even if I have no clue as to what I'm doing.

Is there a singleplayer campaign? Numerous reviews complaining about the lack of one, but one of the tags on the game's Steam page is SINGLEPLAYER, so...??

Civilization and Moo didn't have campaigns either. I realize there is some confusion because RTS's mostly do, but 4X's often don't.

Makes sense. I guess I was thinking this was going to be in line with the original Dune for PC, which was very much an RTS (the original maybe?!)

[Jaymann]

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