Dune 2000



Dune 2000 is a Dune computer game, released by Westwood Studios in 1998. A PlayStation version was later released in 1999 with 3D graphics. It is based in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. The story of the game is similar to Dune II, and is continued in Emperor: Battle for Dune. Using a game engine which resembles Westwood's Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Dune 2000 is a remake of Dune II. The story, told with animations and subtitles in the original Dune II, is now told with full motion video starring actors such as John Rhys-Davies.

Storyline


Emperor Frederick IV Corrino has issued a challenge that the House which can produce the most spice will control its source, the desert planet Dune, with no rules as to how the Houses can achieve the goal.

Meanwhile, Lady Elara of the Bene Gesserit, bound concubine and truthsayer to the Emperor, secretly takes the commander - the player - into one of the Imperial Heighliners, a person whom the Sisterhood had studied their bloodline and future, including visions of the commander dying many times, then rise to control massive armies and bring peace to Arrakis... ''once. ''The only question is: whose side will they lead in the First Spice War?

There are also four non-playable subfactions: House Corrino, the Fremen, the Mercenaries and the Smugglers.

Hailing from the water-planet of Caladan, the Atreides have a strict loyalty to their Duke and follow him with zeal. The Duke's famous Mentat, Noree Moneo, advises and resides over the Duke's forces on Arrakis. The House's fleets of ornithopters ensure their superior air power. The Duke also wishes to develop an alliance with the Fremen, the native warriors of Dune.
 * House Atreides

The Harkonnens are ruled by the wicked Baron, and come from the volcanic waste-planet of Giedi Prime. According to Lady Elara, the only thing human about the Harkonnen is their genetic makeup, as all humanity was abandoned long ago in favor of brutality and maliciousness. The Baron's Mentat, Hayt De Vries, was born from the flesh of a dead man in the Tleilaxu Flesh Vats.
 * House Harkonnen

The Ordos originate from a frigid, ice covered planet called Sigma Draconis IV in Emperor: Battle for Dune. As they import their goods from nearby star systems, House Ordos relies on their skills as merchants to make their profits; however, their wealth has made them increasingly paranoid.
 * House Ordos

House Ordos buys all of its units instead of constructing them themselves.

Infantry

 * Light Infantry- The basic infantry unit which is lightly armed and armored. Strong versus other infantry but weak against heavily armored vehicles.
 * Trooper Infantry- Anti-tank infantry unit. His rockets are good versus vehicles and buildings but not very effective against other infantry.
 * Thumper Infantry- Only found in multiplayer games. It can be deployed strategically near enemy harvesters to draw the attention of sandworms to the area to disrupt the enemy's economy.
 * Engineer- An unarmed infantry used to capture enemy structures as their own.

Vehicles

 * Trike- House Harkonnen and Atreides construct trikes in the early part of the technology tree (Ordos may still purchase them though Starports). It is commonly used as a scout unit due to its high speed (and rather poor weaponry strong versus infantry) as well as a secondary role as guardian to the player's harvesting operations to fend off enemy troopers.
 * Quad- The player must now research the upgrade in the 'upgrade' tab to be able to construct these units. It basically fires rockets like its infantry counterpart and is weak against infantry but is rather useful against other vehicles.
 * Siege Tank- Another major deviation from Dune II. This unit is moderately armored and armed with a heavy siege cannon which is strong against buildings and infantry but does far less damage to other vehicles unlike its Dune II counterpart.
 * Combat Tank- Depending on the House which this unit is built from; the Harkonnen version of this tank is slightly better armored than its other 2 counterparts but sacrifices movement speed and reload speed for it; House Ordos' tank is faster, both in movement and reload, with considerably less armor whereas House Atreides' tank enjoys the balance of both these extremes in terms of reload-time, speed and armor values. Its ordnance is good against structures and vehicles but less so against infantry units.
 * Missile Tank- Available to House Harkonnen and House Atreides (Ordos may still purchase them though Starports). It has the longest firing range of all units and structures in the game, outdistancing even the rocket turret defence, and is effective against all non-infantry targets, including aircraft. Its drawback is its frequently inaccurate payloads (missiles) and weak armor but can be useful when backed-up with other armored units.
 * MCV (Mobile Construction Vehicle) - Allows the player to find a strategic spot to deploy and to build a base with. It is heavily-armored and very slow. This origins from the Command &amp; Conquer franchise and Dune II as well.
 * Spice harvester- Harvests spice and converts them to spendable credits in the refinery. A full load of spice is worth 700 credits. Can be used against enemy infantry by running over them.

House Harkonnen

 * Devastator- Armed with dual plasma cannons effective against all ground targets and is the most heavily-armored unit in the game. It can be instructed to self-destruct to inflict considerable damage within its radius.
 * Death Hand missile- The Harkonnen superweapon released from the Harkonnen Palace. It can cause severe destruction to a wide area, but like its Dune II predecessor, it is highly inaccurate.
 * Sardaukar- Heavy infantry which fights with machine guns against infantry units and rocket launcher against vehicle units. Moves very slowly, and explodes when run over by vehicles. Available only to Harkonnen in multiplayer when the 1.06 patch is installed, although it also appears in final mission of the campaign, when capturing the Emperor's Palace. The Harkonnen's Sardaukar are much better than the Emperor's version.

House Atreides

 * Ornithopter- Heavy bombers unit with moderate armor. The High-tech factory must be upgraded first before the player may use them. When the player has designated the target for its bombing run, a group of 3 ornithopters will immediately fly there and commence the destruction. It is vulnerable to enemy anti-air attacks.
 * Sonic Tank- In comparison with the same unit from Dune II, its range has been curtailed and its damage has been lessened somewhat. It fires a sonic wave at its intended target, harming units (friend and foe alike) caught within the wave.
 * Fremen- Available in selected missions of the House Atreides campaign as well as in the multiplayer modes, the Fremen are the same as the Sardaukar, but they have slightly less health. They are stealthed even when moving about but would give their position(s) away when opening fire on a target or come within a very close proximity with other enemy infantry units or defense structures.
 * Grenadier- Grenade throwing infantry unit that does area damage. Good against infantry specifically, and explodes when killed. Available only in multiplayer games after the 1.06 patch has been installed.

House Ordos

 * Raider- superior to similar Trike units of its class, with improved armor, firepower and speed. Replaces Trikes in the Ordos tech tree.
 * Deviator- Fires a nerve gas at enemy vehicles that can temporarily transfer control of the affected vehicle to the player. Its gas does not have any effects on infantry other than minor damage. Works in a similar manner as its Dune II counterpart.
 * Saboteur- Deployed from the Ordos Palace. The player now has total control over the actions of the saboteur. The unit can now be cloaked temporarily and can enter any enemy structure and demolish it at the cost of the saboteur's life.
 * Stealth Raider- A cloaked version of the raider, good for stealth attacks and sometimes used to initiate an attack from inside the opponent's base (or forces) after enough numbers of them have been smuggled. Will uncloak when firing its machine guns. Available only in multiplayer after the 1.06 patch has been installed.

Buildings

 * Concrete Slab- Foundation for all buildings and should be built under every building. If buildings are not constructed on concrete slabs, they will be damaged after placing, and if repaired, they will continuously take damage until building's health is in initial state. Concrete cannot be repaired if damaged.
 * Construction Yard- Needed to build any other buildings; built by MCV (Mobile Construction Vehicle). Heavily armored, but vulnerable to all types of weapons.
 * Wind Trap- Provides power to all other buildings. If there isn't enough power, production speed is decreased and some buildings stop functioning. Lightly armored, vulnerable to most types of weapons.
 * Concrete Wall- Usually used to defend the base. Blocks most direct weapons fire and prevents units moving through. Medium armored and can only be damaged by explosive weapons. Cannot be repaired if damaged. Does not need to be built on concrete.
 * Refinery- Used to store spice collected by harvesters. Can store spice up to worth of 2000 credits. Medium armored and vulnerable to most types of weapons.
 * Silo- Additional spice storage. Can store spice up to worth of 1500 credits. Lightly armored and vulnerable to most types of weapons.
 * Barracks- Trains all types of infantry units. Needs to be upgraded for the production of more advanced infantry production. Medium armored and vulnerable to most types of weapons.
 * Light Factory- Produces light vehicles (trikes/raiders and quads). Needs to be upgraded to produce quads. Medium armored and vulnerable to most types of weapons.
 * Heavy Factory- Produces heavy vehicles (harvesters, tanks, etc.). Needs to be upgraded for the production of more advanced vehicle and building production. Heavily armored and vulnerable to most types of weapons.
 * Outpost- If the player has sufficient power, the Outpost will generate a radar map of the level. Medium armored and vulnerable to most types of weapons.
 * Gun Turret- Defense building. It has a medium range-gun, which is effective against vehicles, especially heavily armored ones. Medium armored and resistant to bullet and explosive weapons, but vulnerable to missiles and high-calibre guns.
 * Rocket Turret- Improved version of Gun Turret. It has longer range and higher rate of fire than Gun Turret. Requires power to operate. Medium armored and resistant to bullet and explosive weapons, but vulnerable to missiles and high-calibre guns.
 * Repair Pad- Repairs any vehicle with varying prices. Without this vehicles cannot be repaired. Medium armored and vulnerable to most types of weapons.
 * Starport- Allows trading with CHOAM merchants' guild. With this you can buy a limited number of vehicles and carryalls for a cheaper price. Heavily armored and vulnerable to most types of weapons.
 * High Tech Factory- Required to Produce carryalls. House Atreides can upgrade this to build Ornithopters for an air strike. Lightly armored and vulnerable to most types of weapons.
 * IX Research Centre- Required to build some Houses own units depending on the House chosen. Lightly armored and vulnerable to most types of weapons.
 * Palace- Needed to produce special units, depending on the house chosen (Death Hand Missile for Harkonnen, Fremen for Artreides and Saboteur for Ordos). Heavily armored and vulnerable to most types of weapons.

Online Play
The online world of Dune 2000 is now virtually non-existent, though only in the last year have the games played per day approached the zero mark. Perhaps, Dune 2000 was at its most interesting in the years 2000-2003 at which time a number of clans existed, each with their own unique reputation and ideals. Recently it has surged back to the 100 mark, but is nowhere near where it once was. You can still play it online using Hamachi.

Reimplementations


Just like its predecessor Dune II the remake Dune 2000 attracted Game engine recreation attempts. A modern Open Source reimplementation of the Command & Conquer: Red Alert engine in C# and MiniYAML using the Simple DirectMedia Layer called OpenRA allows high screen resolutions and multiplayer matches via the internet. Since 2012 the Dune 2000 file formats for graphics and sound are supported. A mod called d2k bringing the game back to life has been added to the main distribution. Its interface is also updated featuring an Emperor: Battle for Dune style tabbed interface.