Dune II
Developer(s)	Westwood Studios
Publisher(s)	Virgin Interactive
Designer(s)	Joseph Bostic, Aaron E. A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual that creates Video games A developer may specialize in a certain video Westwood Studios ( 1985 - 2003) was a computer and Video game developer, founded in 1985 as Westwood Associates by Brett Sperry Virgin Interactive was a successful and influential British Video game publisher. A "game designer" is a person who designs Video games or one who designs traditional games such as Board games Video Games Designer A video game designer Powell, Brett Sperry
Engine	Custom
Platform(s)	Amiga, DOS, RISC OS, Genesis/Mega Drive
Release date	1992 (DOS) 1993 (Amiga) 1993 (Mega Drive/Genesis)
Genre(s)	Real-time strategy
Mode(s)	Single player
Media	Floppy disk, CD-ROM or Cartridge
Input methods	Keyboard, Mouse

Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty (retitled Dune II: Battle for Arrakis in Europe and for the Mega Drive/Genesis port) is a Dune computer game, released in 1992 by Westwood Studios. Brett Sperry is a video game designer and a founder of Westwood Studios. A game engine is a software system designed for the creation and development of computer and video games In Computing, a platform describes some sort of Hardware architecture or Software framework (including Application frameworks, that allows The Amiga is a family of Personal computers originally developed by Amiga Corporation. DOS, short for "Disk Operating System" is a shorthand term for several closely related Operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market RISC OS is an Operating system originally created by British manufacturer Acorn Computers for their ARM based Computers ranging The is a 16-bit Video game console released by Sega in Japan in 1988 North America in 1989 and the PAL region in 1990 Events Notable releases Namco releases Suzuka 8 Hours, Bakuretsu Quiz Ma-Q Dai Bouken, Events March &mdash In Sweden, the Swedish Video game Magazine Super PLAY (SP starts The Amiga is a family of Personal computers originally developed by Amiga Corporation. Events March &mdash In Sweden, the Swedish Video game Magazine Super PLAY (SP starts See also [[Game classification]] Video games are categorized into Genres based on their Gameplay interaction A real-time strategy ( RTS) Video game is a strategic game that is distinctly not turn-based. In video gaming, single-player refers to the variant of a particular game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session Digital media (as opposed to analog media) usually refers to Electronic media that work on digital Codes. A floppy disk is an increasingly Obsolete data storage medium that is composed of a disk of thin flexible ("floppy" Magnetic storage medium encased CD-ROM (an initialism of "Compact Disc Read-Only Memory " is a pre-pressed Compact Disc that contains data accessible to but not writable In various types of electronic equipment a cartridge can refer one method of adding different functionality or content (e In Computing, a keyboard is an Input device partially modelled after the typewriter keyboard which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys In Computing, a mouse (plural mice, mouse devices, or mouses) The is a 16-bit Video game console released by Sega in Japan in 1988 North America in 1989 and the PAL region in 1990 A number of computer games based on Frank Herbert 's Science fiction novel Dune and its two adaptations for film Events Notable releases Namco releases Suzuka 8 Hours, Bakuretsu Quiz Ma-Q Dai Bouken, Westwood Studios ( 1985 - 2003) was a computer and Video game developer, founded in 1985 as Westwood Associates by Brett Sperry It is a loose sequel to the computer strategy game Dune (although it shares no storyline or gameplay). Dune, by Cryo Interactive, is one of the Dune computer games Dune blended adventure with economic and military strategy and is considered Both games were based upon David Lynch's 1984 movie Dune, which was in turn taken from Frank Herbert's science fiction novel of the same name. David Keith Lynch (born January 20 1946 is an American director, Screenwriter, producer, painter, Cartoonist, Composer This article is about the 1984 film See Frank Herbert's Dune for the 2000 television adaptation Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr ( October 8 1920 &ndash February 11 1986) was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American Dune is a Science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert and published in 1965.

While not the first real-time strategy (RTS) game (The Ancient Art of War, Stonkers, and Herzog Zwei all preceded it), Dune II established a format that would be followed for years to come, and was the first to use the mouse to move units, allowing players to fluidly interact with their troops. A real-time strategy ( RTS) Video game is a strategic game that is distinctly not turn-based. The Ancient Art of War is a Computer game developed by Evryware and published by Broderbund in 1984. Stonkers is one of the earliest Real-time strategy games It was written for the ZX Spectrum and published by Imagine Software in 1983 Herzog Zwei is a Mega Drive/Genesis game by Technosoft, published in 1989 (released in the United States in early 1990 ^[1] As such, Dune II was the first modern real-time strategy game. Striking a balance between complexity and innovation, it was a huge success and laid the foundation for the coming Command & Conquer, the Warcraft series, and many other RTS games. Command & Conquer (aka Command & Conquer Tiberian Dawn) is a 1995 Real-time strategy Video game produced by Westwood Studios The Warcraft universe is a Fictional universe in which a series of games and books published by Blizzard Entertainment are set

Contents 1 Plot 2 Gameplay 3 Interface 4 Reception 5 Versions 6 Legacy 7 Remakes 8 References 9 External links

Plot

Emperor Frederick IV of House Corrino is desperate for the harvesting of the valuable spice melange, only found on the planet Arrakis, to pay off all of his debt incurred on internecine wars with family members. For the novel of the same name see Dune House Corrino. Imperial House Corrino is a Great House and the ruling family of the Imperium in the Melange is the name of the Fictional drug (also known as spice) central to the Dune series of Science fiction Novels Arrakis is also an alternative name for the star Mu Draconis. 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. House Atreides is a fictional noble family from the ''Dune'' universe created by Frank Herbert. See Dune House Harkonnen for the 2000 novel and The House Harkonnen for the band House Harkonnen is a powerful noble family House Ordos is a mercantile House in the ''Dune'' universe as presented in the Westwood Studios ''Dune'' video games produced from 1992 to 2001 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. No man's land is a term for land that is not occupied or more specifically land that is under dispute between countries or areas that will not occupy it because of fear or uncertainty 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 Sardaukar are a Jingoistic, Fictional army from Frank Herbert 's ''Dune'' universe, primarily featured in the Science fiction novel The final cutscene is different for each House, in consonance with their very disparate world views.

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. House Atreides is a fictional noble family from the ''Dune'' universe created by Frank Herbert. See Dune House Harkonnen for the 2000 novel and The House Harkonnen for the band House Harkonnen is a powerful noble family House Ordos is a mercantile House in the ''Dune'' universe as presented in the Westwood Studios ''Dune'' video games produced from 1992 to 2001 Arrakis is also an alternative name for the star Mu Draconis. House Ordos is not featured in the Dune novels and is mentioned only in the non-canon Dune Encyclopedia. This article is not about Literary canons of influential works of fiction but about the concept of a canon which defines the world of a particular fictional series The Dune Encyclopedia is a 1984 collection of essays written by Dr The basic strategy in the game is to harvest spice from 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. Melange is the name of the Fictional drug (also known as spice) central to the Dune series of Science fiction Novels

The game map initially starts with a fog of war covering all area which is not covered by the player's units range of view. Arrakis is also an alternative name for the star Mu Draconis. The fog of war is a term used to describe the level of ambiguity in situational awareness experienced by participants in military operations As the units explore the map, the darkness is removed. Unlike later games such as Warcraft 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. Warcraft II Tides of Darkness is the sequel to the popular Real-time strategy game Warcraft Orcs & Humans, developed by Blizzard

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 sandworm is a fictional form of Desert -dwelling creature from the ''Dune'' universe created by Frank Herbert. 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 although in general, structures will gradually decay over time regardless of the presence of those concrete slabs due to the aforesaid weather conditions. 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 'pre-spice mass') 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').

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. A Mentat is a profession or discipline in Frank Herbert 's Fictional ''Dune'' universe. See Dune House Harkonnen for the 2000 novel and The House Harkonnen for the band House Harkonnen is a powerful noble family 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:

• Mouse operated units and buildings
• 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
• Destruction of the enemy as a goal

Completing higher missions gives authorization to use improved technology and higher-order weaponry unique to each House, ensuring varied game play. In Computing, a mouse (plural mice, mouse devices, or mouses) In Strategy computer games the technology tree or tech tree is an abstract hierarchical visual representation of the possible paths of Research 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 desired 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). Note that a Deviator not owned by house Ordos still switches control of targetted units to house Ordos, and not to the side that owns the Deviator. Apparently Westwood was aware of this bug, since capturing a Sardaukar Heavy Vehicle Factory allows the player to build both the Sonic Tank and Devastator, but not the Ordos Deviator.

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.

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. A superweapon is an extremely powerful Weapon by the standards of its time and its scale 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. The Fremen are a group of free people in the fictional ''Dune'' universe created by Frank Herbert, who based them on the Bedouin and the Kalahari Bushmen 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, being the first to use the mouse for unit control^[1], but is less sophisticated when compared to later generation RTS interfaces, such as Command & Conquer. Command & Conquer (often abbreviated as C&C or CNC) is a Video game franchise, mostly of the Dune II did not give the player the ability to select multiple units as in Command & Conquer and Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, and, unlike later games, clicking on a piece of land or enemy would not result in movement or attack actions. Warcraft Orcs & Humans is a Real-time strategy game, developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment in 1994 To do so requires clicking on the "Move" or "Attack" buttons (or pressing of a hotkey), and then selecting the target.

Reception

When the Commodore Amiga version of Dune II was released in 1993, it was met with good reviews. The Amiga is a family of Personal computers originally developed by Amiga Corporation. CU Amiga rated the game highly with 85%, praising the smooth gameplay and controls. Commodore User, known to the readers as the abbreviated CU, was one of the oldest British Commodore magazines ^[2] Dune II received Amiga User International's Game of the Month award when it was reviewed in September 1993. Amiga User International (or AUI was a monthly Computer Magazine published in its later years by AUI Limited it was the first dedicated Amiga ^[3] 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. Game artificial intelligence refers to techniques used in computer and video games to produce the Illusion of intelligence in the behavior of Non-player A real-time strategy ( RTS) Video game is a strategic game that is distinctly not turn-based. Herzog Zwei is a Mega Drive/Genesis game by Technosoft, published in 1989 (released in the United States in early 1990 Examples include only attacking the side of the player's base facing its own, general inability to perform flanking maneuvers, and not rebuilding defenses. ^[4]

Versions

Dune II was originally released 1992 for DOS. Events Notable releases Namco releases Suzuka 8 Hours, Bakuretsu Quiz Ma-Q Dai Bouken, DOS, short for "Disk Operating System" is a shorthand term for several closely related Operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market It was one of the first games to support the Roland Sound Canvas (General MIDI), and one of the first to play digital samples using an AdLib or Sound Blaster card. Roland/Edirol Sound Canvas lineup is a series of PCM-based MIDI sound modules and PC sound cards primarily intended for computer music usage created by Roland Corporation. General MIDI or GM is a specification for Synthesizers which imposes several requirements beyond the more abstract MIDI standard In Signal processing, sampling is the reduction of a Continuous signal to a Discrete signal. This page is about the (now defunct sound card company named Ad Lib — not to be mistaken with the software company Adlib Software or Adlib Information systems. The Sound Blaster family of Sound cards was for many years the De facto standard for audio on the IBM PC compatible System platform, before PC Unfortunately, the game did not originally support more than one sound device, so players were forced to choose between digitized speech (which is helpful in game play, since approaching enemy units are announced) and higher quality music. Westwood later released a patch to fix this issue, allowing players to select different devices for sound effects, music and speech.

In 1993, it was ported to Amiga and Mega Drive/Genesis. Events March &mdash In Sweden, the Swedish Video game Magazine Super PLAY (SP starts The Amiga is a family of Personal computers originally developed by Amiga Corporation. The is a 16-bit Video game console released by Sega in Japan in 1988 North America in 1989 and the PAL region in 1990 Two years later it was also brought to the Archimedes and Risc PC range of RISC OS computers. The Acorn Archimedes was Acorn Computers Ltd 's first general purpose Home computer based on their own 32-bit ARM RISC The Risc PC (codenamed Medusa) was Acorn Computers 's next generation RISC OS / Acorn RISC Machine computer launched in 1994 RISC OS is an Operating system originally created by British manufacturer Acorn Computers for their ARM based Computers ranging

The Amiga floppy disk port is nearly identical in interface and game play to the PC version, albeit with less detailed graphics and frequent disk swapping — the game uses 5 disks. The Amiga is a family of Personal computers originally developed by Amiga Corporation. Save games are stored in a specially formatted disk. The game could also be installed to hard drive. Patches exist for the Amiga version of the game which allow the full 255 units to be created and managed. In the original Amiga version the player was limited to 32 units.

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. The is a 16-bit Video game console released by Sega in Japan in 1988 North America in 1989 and the PAL region in 1990 Other additions include a music test option and a tutorial that replaces the mentat screen. 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. Command & Conquer (often abbreviated as C&C or CNC) is a Video game franchise, mostly of the

Legacy

Dune II is one of the most influential games in the real-time strategy genre. A real-time strategy ( RTS) Video game is a strategic game that is distinctly not turn-based. See also [[Game classification]] Video games are categorized into Genres based on their Gameplay interaction Though not every characteristic was unique, attributes such as fog of war, and the game's model for resource-extraction, base creation, and military micromanagement became several standards upon which the RTS genre is based. The fog of war is a term used to describe the level of ambiguity in situational awareness experienced by participants in military operations Obvious influences of Dune II can be seen in numerous games, particularly in Westwood's own Command & Conquer series. Command & Conquer (often abbreviated as C&C or CNC) is a Video game franchise, mostly of the ^[5]

Chris Taylor stated that Dune II and Command & Conquer were a very strong inspiration, motivating him to leave Electronic Arts to create Total Annihilation. Chris Taylor is a Computer game designer and Entrepreneur most famous for developing Total Annihilation and the Total Annihilation (abbr TA) is a critically-acclaimed Real-time strategy game created by Cavedog Entertainment and released ^[6]

Dune II was given several direct sequels: a Windows partial remake of this game was published in 1998 as Dune 2000, along with a PlayStation port in the same year. Microsoft Windows is a series of Software Operating systems and Graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Events Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 1st Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo Dune 2000 is a Real-time strategy Video game, released by Westwood Studios in 1998 for Microsoft Windows, and later ported The PlayStation (abbreviated PS, PSone, PS1, or informally as PSX) is a 32-bit fifth generation Video game console In 2001, Emperor: Battle for Dune was published. Events Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts the 4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts John Carmack of Id Software Emperor Battle for Dune is a ''Dune'' computer game, released by Westwood Studios in 2001

Remakes

• Dune Legacy (SourceForge page)
• Dune 2: The Sleeper Has Awakened
• Dune II: The Maker

References

External links

• Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty at MobyGames
• GameSpy Hall of Fame
• FED2k Discussion
• Dune Wiki @ FED2k
• Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty guide at StrategyWiki

MobyGames is a Website devoted to cataloging computer and video games, both past and present StrategyWiki is a Wiki -based

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