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F A Q
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S T R A T E G Y G U I D E
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Revision 2.0
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C O N T E N T S
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
(1) Introduction.
(2) FAQ.
(3) Strategy
(a) Defence
(b) Offence
(c) General
(d) Specific Mission Strategy
(4) House Strategy
(a) Atreides
(b) Ordos
(c) Harkonnen
(5) Known Bugs (and solutions)
(6) Manual Cheats
(7) Related file locations
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(1) INTRODUCTION :
*******************
This document was compiled originally due to the fairly large number of
requests for the same information going through the
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic newsgroup. Later, the newsgroup
alt.games.dune-ii-virgin-games newsgroup was created. Simon Pollit
started the FAQ, but finally ran out of bandwidth to keep it alive.
I resurrected it in May 1996 to keep information flowing and to
update it for the inclusion of SuperDune II.
As an avid player of this game myself, it took me a while to work out
various aspects of the game. I have found that the manual, in general,
doesn't explain a large proportion of the game, and obviously there are
others whose experience is the same.
This document is available by E-mail from : gromaine@radisys.com
/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\
All the information contained herein is collated from my personal
experience, and those of others on the net. I don't vouch for the
correctness of any of it, but all error reports would be appreciated.
Thanx to all who contributed, if I haven't thanked you already. If anyone
has any suggestions for the inclusion of any other information, please
send E-mail.
All comments/corrections/suggestions for this document should be posted
directly to me rather than to the net, where I might miss them. Could
people also refrain from posting this document in it's entirety to the
net, as this could result in different versions floating around, as well
as a great waste of bandwidth.
Special thanx go to :
Charles Cruden : for extensive info / hints / error correction!
Morten Fimland : for the collection of 3 months postings to NN.
Wolverine : for a pre-posting copy of his new editor (See Section 7).
but most especially to Simon Pollit, who started the FAQ.
/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\
What's new:
some questions were added concerning some of my pet peeves, and stuff
tinkered with here and there. There is still no real good FTP site to
pull in Super Dune II from, but maybe by next month I'll have a better
place to point to. Some of the old Web links to editors, trainers,
and such are probably dated. I'll test it out later.
/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\
(2) FAQ :
**********
~~~~
Q1. When I try to create a vehicle I get the message "Unable to create more".
~~~~
A1. This is due to the fact that, using production facilities, you can't
create more than 25 vehicles. There are a few solutions to this one :
(i) Cheat :-) {See Section (6)}
(ii) Build a Starport. This lets you buy many more vehicles (until
they sell out!), but only of certain types. E.g. you can't buy
your special house weapons from there.
(iii) Send your lower class vehicles (e.g. if you have tanks, get rid of
quads & trikes etc.) to map out the enemies structures, and in the
process, get destroyed. Then use the freed up vehicle slots to
create stronger units.
~~~~
Q2. When I try to create a structure I get the message "Unable to create more".
~~~~
A2. This is due to the fact that there can only be a total of 75 structures
on the whole map. This message generally only occurs in the last missions,
as there will be three opposing forces all building against you. When you
get this message you can either :
(a) Destroy one of your old buildings, and create the new one. This is
not advised, as with the Death Hand opposing you, you will have enough
trouble keeping your structures standing. It can, however, be good to
destroy your rocket turrets and move them forward to let your defenses "roll"
forward as you expand.
(b) The better method is to send a series of vehicles to destroy a few
outlying ememy structures. Don't worry about defending the vehicles, just
destroy one structure, and pull back. As soon as the structure falls,
start to build. If you wait too long, the computer will rebuild and you
will have lost your opportunity. How big a building you can build
afterwards depends on the size of the building you destroyed. E.g. If you
destroyed one Rocket Turret, don't expect to be able to build a Palace.
~~~~
Q3. How do I stop the computer from rebuilding the rocket turrets that I
just destroyed ?
~~~~
A3. First destroy enough space on the same rock section as the enemy to
build a Construction Yard. Then use that yard to place concrete up to
the enemy turret, and use your vehicles to destroy the turret. As soon as
it is destroyed, build a turret of your own and place it in the exact same
square as the enemy one was. The computer never seems to have any
originality to build the turret elsewhere. This is also useful as the
turret immediately targets enemy units as they are produced. The problem
with this method is the fact that sometimes the turret will change sides
and become the computer's. Beware of this :-(
~~~~
Q4. How do I give orders to my Carryalls and Ornithopters ?
~~~~
A4. You can't. Ornithopters automatically attack the enemy base, and
Carryalls do whatever is judged most appropriate by the computer (pick up
harvesters, pickup damaged vehicles etc.) Carryalls can be influenced by
putting damaged vehicles on Guard, instead of Move or Attack, as Carryalls
seem to give preference to Guarding vehicles.
~~~~
Q5. What can I get a Carryall to do ?
~~~~
A5. A Carryall can be used to transport Harvesters to and from the spice
fields, and can be used to carry damaged vehicles to and from the repair
facility.
~~~~
Q6. Why does my Carryall not return the harvester to the field, after
picking it up & dropping it in the refinery ?
~~~~
A6. The Carryalls must "learn" where the harvester was harvesting, and
then it will be returned there after unloading harvested spice. Two
things will disrupt this :
(a) If you have less Carryalls than harvesters, and two need to be
taken back at once, one will be returned and the other will be deployed
next to the Refinery. You must send the deployed one back to the spice
fields manually.
(b) If the place where it was harvesting has no spice left, it
will be deployed next to the Refinery, and you must set it harvesting manually.
~~~~
Q7. How do I defend against Death Hand Missiles ?
~~~~
A7. Anyway, there are a few ways of getting around the problem of a
destroyed base.
(i) Cheat :-) - Save frequently (about every 2-3 minutes). If your
base gets hit, reload the game. Make sure you save before the message
"Missile Approaching!" comes up, as by this time the missiles target point
has already been calculated.
(ii) The _REAL_ way - (a) Spread your base out. That way, if a missile
hits, it won't destroy too many buildings at once.
(b) Build / Buy an MCV to replace your Construction
Yard if it gets destroyed.
(c) If you don't let Harkonnen units get within
sight of your base, the missiles' hit chance is much lower. To achieve this,
build rocket turrets well away from your base, in the direction of the
Harkonnen, and defend them with Tanks.
(d) Build another Construction Yard as far away as
possible from your first one. That way, if the main one gets destroyed,
the missiles will start to be targeted on the newly built one, and this
will get you some breathing room to rebuild.
(e) Send a large contingent of vehicles to take
out the palace as quickly as possible.
(f) Build a palace as far away from your main base
as possible. This will then become the target for Death Hand Missiles.
~~~~
Q8. What use is the IX ?
~~~~
A8. The IX is only useful when you have built a Heavy Vehicle Factory. It
allows you to build the House weapons (Devestator, Sonic Tank, Deviator.)
It also allows you to build Ornithopters in the High Tech Factory
(Atreidedes or Ordos only)
~~~~
Q9. How can I defend against Ornithopters ?
~~~~
A9. Build Rocket Turrets as soon as you can. Firstly because they provide
an excellent defense against enemy vehicles, and secondly because they are
the only unit with any chance of destryoing an Ornithopter. Don't worry
if it seems to take a long time to destroy the Ornithopter - remember it
is moving very fast and so it takes quite a few shots to get a hit. All
it takes is one hit to destroy it however, so be patient and repair whatever
it is attacking. Also don't worry if some of your missiles miss, and hit
your own buildings - just repair the damage quickly. Before you can build
Rocket Turrets, you must build a Radar Outpost and upgrade your
Construction Yard twice.
~~~~
Q10. Is it worth trying to steal spice ?
~~~~
A10. In general, it is fairly pointless. Once the Silo is damaged "into
the red" so that you can send a set of soldiers in to capture it, it will
generally be attacked immediately by the surrounding enemies, and
destroyed in a short space of time.
Also, you are not likely to get much spice from the structure, as you have
sent it "into the red" to capture it. However, if you have 0 units of spice,
and need some, go for it.
~~~~
Q11. How many Refineries should I generally create ?
~~~~
A11. Don't over do it. In most games it is best to build 2 (maybe 3)
refineries, buy an extra harvester or two, and build Silos instead.
There are a few good reasons for this : they take up less space, they
cost less, they hold only 100 units less of spice, and they use less power.
Having said that, there are times when you will take forever to mop up all
the spice on the screen without four or five facilities, lots of harvesters,
and lots of carryalls. It depends on your motives; if trying to maximize the
score, build away.
~~~~
Q12. How many Heavy Vehicle Factories should I build ?
~~~~
A12. Generally, one is enough, but occasionally 2 may be useful. The
thing to remember is that you can only _CREATE_ 25 units, so once that
limit is reached, you must buy units from the Spaceport. This means if
you want a large number of vehicles in a hurry at the start, then two HVFs
are good, but in the long term your money and building space is better
used for other things. If you are being punished by an enemy offensive
and need to pump out tanks, you can use two factories to build up your
forces quickly.
~~~~
Q13. How can I get repaired units to be transported back to where they
were picked up from ?
~~~~
A13. Build your repair centre in a position that ensures that buildings can
be placed all around it. i.e.
...........
...OOOOO... O = other building
...ORRRO... R = Repair Center
...ORRRO... . = any other stuff
...OOOOO...
...........
The "O" positions can also be taken up by vehicles, but this is pretty
pointless, as a wall is cheaper even than a trike.
Watch out for this trick: a carryall will never pick up a damaged
harvester for repairs. So if you use a Trooper or a trike or some other
vehicle to "guard" an entrance to the Center, you can move the unit out
of the way in order to run a harvester in for fixup, then after you
deploy the harvester into a spice field, you can "reset" the guard.
Using the encirclement, the only way a vehicle can get to the Repair Center
is by using a Carryall, so make sure you have some already made.
When the Repair Center is completely surrounded, and a damaged vehicle is
brought in, it is repaired, and then, instead of just being deployed next
to the Centre, a Carryall comes and takes it back to the spot where it was
origionally picked up from.
A thing to be aware of is that if you only have one Carryall, and it gets
destroyed or is doing something else when you have a vehicle ready to be
returned to the field, the vehicle will eventually smash it's way out of
the Repair Center, destroying a building if necessary. This can be a
very annoying occurrence, especially if you can't figure out where the
attack is coming from and are busy taking out a palace or something.
~~~~
Q14. Is the amount of spice on each mission limited ?
~~~~
A14. Yes. Once it is gone, it can't be replaced. The only thing you can
do then is to steal it from the enemy, which is pretty hard. This is a
great incentive not to go overboard building unnecessary buildings (e.g. 5
Heavy Factories !)
~~~~
Q15. What buildings are worth trying to steal ?
~~~~
A15. Heavy Vehicle Factories : produce House Weapons (Sonic Tank, Devestator,
Deviator).
Construction Yards : produce Rocket Turrets in the middle of enemy
buildings to take out vehicles without losing your own vehicles.
Windtraps : easier than building your own.
The negative points of capturing buildings are :
(a) The soldiers take forever to get there.
(b) The soldiers often get killed before getting to the building.
(c) It's very hard to keep a building in the red without destroying it.
(d) You don't get any points for captured buildings.
~~~~
Q16. How do you bypass the opening intro ?
~~~~
A16. After you have watched it once, a file called "ONETIME.CFG" is
created in the directory, with 0 bytes in it. After this the intro may be
skipped by pressing the space bar.
~~~~
Q17. How do I aim the Death Hand Missile correctly ?
~~~~
A17. Either SAVE/RELOAD until you get a correct hit, or put up with the
inaccuracy. If it always hit where you aimed it, Harkonnen would have no
trouble winning every time on level 8 & 9!
It seems as though the more land you have explored around the enemy base,
the more accurate the missiles are. It is not uncommon to have a Death
Hand missile wipe out the last structure at the end of the level, when
all is revealed.
~~~~
Q18. Which has a longer range, Sonic Tanks or Missile Launchers ?
~~~~
A18. With the bug relating Sonic Tank range to Game speed:
at Slow/Slowest - Sonic Tanks have a much shorter range
at Normal - About equal range. Effectiveness depends on the target
size - Launchers are better against larger targets, Sonic
Tanks are better against smaller ones (e.g. Rocket Turrets!)
at Fast/Fastest - Sonic Tanks have a greater range and quickly dispose
of Rocket Turrets without themselves suffering damage.
They are obviously most effective at this speed
~~~~
Q19. What new technologies do I get on each mission ?
~~~~
A19. This varies between the houses, but a basic list is :
Level 1, 2, 3 - Light Factory, Barracks
Level 4 - Heavy Vehicle Factory, WOR
Level 5 - Gun Turrets, Rocket Tanks (not Ordos)
Level 6 - Rocket Turrets, Starport, High Tech, Siege Tanks
Level 7 - House of IX
Level 8 - Palace
Level 9 -
~~~~
Q20. When can the Ordos get Missile Launchers ?
~~~~
A20. The Ordos can never build Missile Launchers, but they may buy them
from the Starport, when available. If they capture an enemy Heavy Vehicle
Factory, they will be able to use that to produce them also.
~~~~
Q21. How can I capture a building ?
~~~~
A21. Damage the building until it is in the "red" damage sector, then move
an infantry unit in to take it over. If the damage is not in the red,
then the unit is destroyed, and the building is damaged further.
~~~~
Q22. Why can't I build Ground Vehicles, but I can build Carryalls ?
~~~~
A22. This is due to the fact that there is a separate count for the total
number of Carryalls & Ornithopters owned by everyone, just like the building
quota. If the computer has too many, shoot them down as they are picking up
a damaged vehicle.
~~~~
Q23. How do I tell a Harvester which Refinery to return to ?
~~~~
A23. Harvesters generally return to the last Refinery they unloaded at. If
you want it to go to a different one, you have to instruct it to Move there,
and after that it should return to that one, if possible.
~~~~
Q24. How is the score calculated ?
~~~~
A24. Original Answer: The score doesn't depend on time at all...
The only things that factor in to it are amount of spice harvested, number
of enemy units destroyed and number of enemy buildings destroyed.
Buildings that are taken over don't count as buildings destroyed. To
maximise your score, take time at the end, before destroying the last
building, to harvest all available spice. Even better, let the last
building left be a Refinery, and harvest spice while destroying the
continual supply of Harvesters the computer will get.
According to Joe Bostic, one of the creators of the game, the score is
calculated according to a complex algorithm. There *is* a bonus for
finishing a round quickly. You also get credit for the condition of, and
number of, your own buildings and vehicles. Mostly, you rack up points by
harvesting spice, destroying units, and destroying buildings. That's why
you usually get more points using the 1.07 patch, because the computer
keeps building structures and units.
A super game might be one where you rack up over 1,500 points. However,
if you leave refineries as the enemy's last building, they will continue
to push out harvesters and you can camp out and rack up points as a result.
I have left a game running for hours (six hours, to be exact) under the
patched version, and ran the score up to 3,000 points. Some call this a
"cheat" but I prefer to think of it as research.
~~~~
Q25. What is Super Dune II ?
~~~~
A25. Super Dune II is a hacked version of the original game that takes
advantage of some of the features to rework the scenarios and the Houses.
Instead of playing Harkonnen, Atreides or Ordos, you play either Mercenary,
Fremen, or Sardaukar.
Scenarios were edited so that sometimes you start out with nearly impossible
conditions: such as taking out Devestators with trikes. Ornithopters come
in waves that are frustrating. There are many tweaks and notes; for
example, you may have access to all House weapons, and Sand Worms can be
directed to some degree.
There are many versions floating around. The most difficult to get going
is the smallest size; it is built to unload directly on your game. This
gets around copyright issues, but doesn't seem to work right. The full
4.7 MB version lets you play either Dune or SuperDune from the same
files, and works better. As yet, no permanent FTP site has been
identified that can be relied upon to have the game; if someone could
step up, that would be great.
~~~~
Q26. Can Sand Worms be killed ?
~~~~
A26. Nobody seems to know for sure. If by killed, you mean driven off,
of course the answer is yes. Once a worm is into the yellow damage zone,
it goes away. It also goes off to digest after eating three vehicles.
But very few people count that as a killed worm. One report is that
someone dropped a Death Hand on a damaged worm and the result was a
huge explosion and a new spice patch. Very rare.
~~~~
Q27. Can I get rid of all the enemies' carryalls at the end of the game?
~~~~
A27. YES! If you notice, the left over carryalls seem to circle in a
predictable orbit as they lazily look for work. When you spot the
location where they reappear onto the field of battle from off-screen,
line up about seven seige tanks, in a straight line, all shooting about
four square straight ahead. If you have a killing zone set up just right,
you will eventually hear that sound, "Ordos Unit Destroyed."
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(3)(a) STRATEGY - DEFENCE :
****************************
~~~~
T1. Use your harvesters to run over approaching enemy troops before you
get hit by them. There are some scenarios where it is better to just
sacrifice a harvester to run over 24 infantry men than to try to take
them out with guns.
~~~~
T2. Once you can get tanks, use them to run over troops; it is much
quicker than shooting them.
~~~~
T3. As soon as you start a new level, use the vehicles that you are given to
explore in all directions to find :
(a) Spice, and those little "bumps" in the sand that have
spice under them (spice blooms).
(b) The approximate location of the enemy's base.
Once you have done this, RESTART THE LEVEL, and start building!
Of course, that's a cheat, but it does help.
~~~~
T4. Don't explore too far until you have built a good defense up. The
computer at the start works on a strategy of "If you can't see him, he
can't see you!"
~~~~
T5. As soon as you can build Rocket Turrets, build about 3 and put them
in a line, facing in the direction of his base, about 3 squares apart.
Make sure that you have "explored" at least 2 squares greater than the radius
of the Turret. This allows the turret to get a lock on
approaching vehicles/soldiers, and attack them before they can hit the
base.
~~~~
T6. Build about 5-7 of your heaviest direct combat vehicle (i.e. Tank),
and set them up in a flat U, with Missile Launchers (if you have them) on
the sides i.e.
LX XL
X X X
{L : Launcher; X : Tank}
The most important point is that the left and right "horns" should be far
enough away from the centre to not be attacked.
Then, when the enemy vehicles (Y) arrive :
Y
Y
LX Y XL
X X X
Wait for the enemy to get past the "horns" and start being attacked by the
front tanks. Then move the horns inward to attack from the side/rear,
using the launchers from a distance.
Above all, do not let your front line break. keep a few vehicles as
backups, and move them up if part of the line is taking a beating.
~~~~
T7. Defend Missile Launchers well, as they are devastating from a distance,
but easily destroyed from close up.
~~~~
T8. Make sure you leave a few units at the rear of your buildings, to
defend against the enemy units that will be dropped by Carryalls.
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(3)(b) STRATEGY - OFFENSE :
****************************
~~~~
T1. Destroy his harvester when it gets too far from his base. It will
explode, releasing most of the spice it had harvested. Make sure you
destroy it while it is on sand, as if it is destroyed over rock then the spice
is lost.
~~~~
T2. Don't use soldiers or troopers to attack harvesters - the harvester
turns and runs over the attackers. The only time you should do this is if
the Foot unit is standing on a mountain range - the only units that can go
over mountains are the foot units. They still can be attacked while on the
mountain, just not run over.
At the 1.0 level, whenever a harvester runs over a trooper, it apparently
feels remorse for the cruel act and stops harvesting. This doesn't seem to
happen at the 1.07 version.
~~~~
T3. Concentrate your attack on one structure at a time. If the computer is
pumping money into repairing while you are attacking, you won't be able to
keep pace unless you have a concentrated attack.
~~~~
T4. When attacking buildings, use the Missile Launchers to attack the Rocket
Turrets first (moving the tanks behind the launchers to defend them from
vehicle attacks). Remember that the radius of detection of a launcher is one
greater than that of a turret. That is :
X T X
X X
^~^~^
&
^
S T R A T E G Y G U I D E
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~~~^~^~^~^~^
Revision 2.0
/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\
C O N T E N T S
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
(1) Introduction.
(2) FAQ.
(3) Strategy
(a) Defence
(b) Offence
(c) General
(d) Specific Mission Strategy
(4) House Strategy
(a) Atreides
(b) Ordos
(c) Harkonnen
(5) Known Bugs (and solutions)
(6) Manual Cheats
(7) Related file locations
/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\
(1) INTRODUCTION :
*******************
This document was compiled originally due to the fairly large number of
requests for the same information going through the
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic newsgroup. Later, the newsgroup
alt.games.dune-ii-virgin-games newsgroup was created. Simon Pollit
started the FAQ, but finally ran out of bandwidth to keep it alive.
I resurrected it in May 1996 to keep information flowing and to
update it for the inclusion of SuperDune II.
As an avid player of this game myself, it took me a while to work out
various aspects of the game. I have found that the manual, in general,
doesn't explain a large proportion of the game, and obviously there are
others whose experience is the same.
This document is available by E-mail from : gromaine@radisys.com
/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\
All the information contained herein is collated from my personal
experience, and those of others on the net. I don't vouch for the
correctness of any of it, but all error reports would be appreciated.
Thanx to all who contributed, if I haven't thanked you already. If anyone
has any suggestions for the inclusion of any other information, please
send E-mail.
All comments/corrections/suggestions for this document should be posted
directly to me rather than to the net, where I might miss them. Could
people also refrain from posting this document in it's entirety to the
net, as this could result in different versions floating around, as well
as a great waste of bandwidth.
Special thanx go to :
Charles Cruden : for extensive info / hints / error correction!
Morten Fimland : for the collection of 3 months postings to NN.
Wolverine : for a pre-posting copy of his new editor (See Section 7).
but most especially to Simon Pollit, who started the FAQ.
/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\
What's new:
some questions were added concerning some of my pet peeves, and stuff
tinkered with here and there. There is still no real good FTP site to
pull in Super Dune II from, but maybe by next month I'll have a better
place to point to. Some of the old Web links to editors, trainers,
and such are probably dated. I'll test it out later.
/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\
(2) FAQ :
**********
~~~~
Q1. When I try to create a vehicle I get the message "Unable to create more".
~~~~
A1. This is due to the fact that, using production facilities, you can't
create more than 25 vehicles. There are a few solutions to this one :
(i) Cheat :-) {See Section (6)}
(ii) Build a Starport. This lets you buy many more vehicles (until
they sell out!), but only of certain types. E.g. you can't buy
your special house weapons from there.
(iii) Send your lower class vehicles (e.g. if you have tanks, get rid of
quads & trikes etc.) to map out the enemies structures, and in the
process, get destroyed. Then use the freed up vehicle slots to
create stronger units.
~~~~
Q2. When I try to create a structure I get the message "Unable to create more".
~~~~
A2. This is due to the fact that there can only be a total of 75 structures
on the whole map. This message generally only occurs in the last missions,
as there will be three opposing forces all building against you. When you
get this message you can either :
(a) Destroy one of your old buildings, and create the new one. This is
not advised, as with the Death Hand opposing you, you will have enough
trouble keeping your structures standing. It can, however, be good to
destroy your rocket turrets and move them forward to let your defenses "roll"
forward as you expand.
(b) The better method is to send a series of vehicles to destroy a few
outlying ememy structures. Don't worry about defending the vehicles, just
destroy one structure, and pull back. As soon as the structure falls,
start to build. If you wait too long, the computer will rebuild and you
will have lost your opportunity. How big a building you can build
afterwards depends on the size of the building you destroyed. E.g. If you
destroyed one Rocket Turret, don't expect to be able to build a Palace.
~~~~
Q3. How do I stop the computer from rebuilding the rocket turrets that I
just destroyed ?
~~~~
A3. First destroy enough space on the same rock section as the enemy to
build a Construction Yard. Then use that yard to place concrete up to
the enemy turret, and use your vehicles to destroy the turret. As soon as
it is destroyed, build a turret of your own and place it in the exact same
square as the enemy one was. The computer never seems to have any
originality to build the turret elsewhere. This is also useful as the
turret immediately targets enemy units as they are produced. The problem
with this method is the fact that sometimes the turret will change sides
and become the computer's. Beware of this :-(
~~~~
Q4. How do I give orders to my Carryalls and Ornithopters ?
~~~~
A4. You can't. Ornithopters automatically attack the enemy base, and
Carryalls do whatever is judged most appropriate by the computer (pick up
harvesters, pickup damaged vehicles etc.) Carryalls can be influenced by
putting damaged vehicles on Guard, instead of Move or Attack, as Carryalls
seem to give preference to Guarding vehicles.
~~~~
Q5. What can I get a Carryall to do ?
~~~~
A5. A Carryall can be used to transport Harvesters to and from the spice
fields, and can be used to carry damaged vehicles to and from the repair
facility.
~~~~
Q6. Why does my Carryall not return the harvester to the field, after
picking it up & dropping it in the refinery ?
~~~~
A6. The Carryalls must "learn" where the harvester was harvesting, and
then it will be returned there after unloading harvested spice. Two
things will disrupt this :
(a) If you have less Carryalls than harvesters, and two need to be
taken back at once, one will be returned and the other will be deployed
next to the Refinery. You must send the deployed one back to the spice
fields manually.
(b) If the place where it was harvesting has no spice left, it
will be deployed next to the Refinery, and you must set it harvesting manually.
~~~~
Q7. How do I defend against Death Hand Missiles ?
~~~~
A7. Anyway, there are a few ways of getting around the problem of a
destroyed base.
(i) Cheat :-) - Save frequently (about every 2-3 minutes). If your
base gets hit, reload the game. Make sure you save before the message
"Missile Approaching!" comes up, as by this time the missiles target point
has already been calculated.
(ii) The _REAL_ way - (a) Spread your base out. That way, if a missile
hits, it won't destroy too many buildings at once.
(b) Build / Buy an MCV to replace your Construction
Yard if it gets destroyed.
(c) If you don't let Harkonnen units get within
sight of your base, the missiles' hit chance is much lower. To achieve this,
build rocket turrets well away from your base, in the direction of the
Harkonnen, and defend them with Tanks.
(d) Build another Construction Yard as far away as
possible from your first one. That way, if the main one gets destroyed,
the missiles will start to be targeted on the newly built one, and this
will get you some breathing room to rebuild.
(e) Send a large contingent of vehicles to take
out the palace as quickly as possible.
(f) Build a palace as far away from your main base
as possible. This will then become the target for Death Hand Missiles.
~~~~
Q8. What use is the IX ?
~~~~
A8. The IX is only useful when you have built a Heavy Vehicle Factory. It
allows you to build the House weapons (Devestator, Sonic Tank, Deviator.)
It also allows you to build Ornithopters in the High Tech Factory
(Atreidedes or Ordos only)
~~~~
Q9. How can I defend against Ornithopters ?
~~~~
A9. Build Rocket Turrets as soon as you can. Firstly because they provide
an excellent defense against enemy vehicles, and secondly because they are
the only unit with any chance of destryoing an Ornithopter. Don't worry
if it seems to take a long time to destroy the Ornithopter - remember it
is moving very fast and so it takes quite a few shots to get a hit. All
it takes is one hit to destroy it however, so be patient and repair whatever
it is attacking. Also don't worry if some of your missiles miss, and hit
your own buildings - just repair the damage quickly. Before you can build
Rocket Turrets, you must build a Radar Outpost and upgrade your
Construction Yard twice.
~~~~
Q10. Is it worth trying to steal spice ?
~~~~
A10. In general, it is fairly pointless. Once the Silo is damaged "into
the red" so that you can send a set of soldiers in to capture it, it will
generally be attacked immediately by the surrounding enemies, and
destroyed in a short space of time.
Also, you are not likely to get much spice from the structure, as you have
sent it "into the red" to capture it. However, if you have 0 units of spice,
and need some, go for it.
~~~~
Q11. How many Refineries should I generally create ?
~~~~
A11. Don't over do it. In most games it is best to build 2 (maybe 3)
refineries, buy an extra harvester or two, and build Silos instead.
There are a few good reasons for this : they take up less space, they
cost less, they hold only 100 units less of spice, and they use less power.
Having said that, there are times when you will take forever to mop up all
the spice on the screen without four or five facilities, lots of harvesters,
and lots of carryalls. It depends on your motives; if trying to maximize the
score, build away.
~~~~
Q12. How many Heavy Vehicle Factories should I build ?
~~~~
A12. Generally, one is enough, but occasionally 2 may be useful. The
thing to remember is that you can only _CREATE_ 25 units, so once that
limit is reached, you must buy units from the Spaceport. This means if
you want a large number of vehicles in a hurry at the start, then two HVFs
are good, but in the long term your money and building space is better
used for other things. If you are being punished by an enemy offensive
and need to pump out tanks, you can use two factories to build up your
forces quickly.
~~~~
Q13. How can I get repaired units to be transported back to where they
were picked up from ?
~~~~
A13. Build your repair centre in a position that ensures that buildings can
be placed all around it. i.e.
...........
...OOOOO... O = other building
...ORRRO... R = Repair Center
...ORRRO... . = any other stuff
...OOOOO...
...........
The "O" positions can also be taken up by vehicles, but this is pretty
pointless, as a wall is cheaper even than a trike.
Watch out for this trick: a carryall will never pick up a damaged
harvester for repairs. So if you use a Trooper or a trike or some other
vehicle to "guard" an entrance to the Center, you can move the unit out
of the way in order to run a harvester in for fixup, then after you
deploy the harvester into a spice field, you can "reset" the guard.
Using the encirclement, the only way a vehicle can get to the Repair Center
is by using a Carryall, so make sure you have some already made.
When the Repair Center is completely surrounded, and a damaged vehicle is
brought in, it is repaired, and then, instead of just being deployed next
to the Centre, a Carryall comes and takes it back to the spot where it was
origionally picked up from.
A thing to be aware of is that if you only have one Carryall, and it gets
destroyed or is doing something else when you have a vehicle ready to be
returned to the field, the vehicle will eventually smash it's way out of
the Repair Center, destroying a building if necessary. This can be a
very annoying occurrence, especially if you can't figure out where the
attack is coming from and are busy taking out a palace or something.
~~~~
Q14. Is the amount of spice on each mission limited ?
~~~~
A14. Yes. Once it is gone, it can't be replaced. The only thing you can
do then is to steal it from the enemy, which is pretty hard. This is a
great incentive not to go overboard building unnecessary buildings (e.g. 5
Heavy Factories !)
~~~~
Q15. What buildings are worth trying to steal ?
~~~~
A15. Heavy Vehicle Factories : produce House Weapons (Sonic Tank, Devestator,
Deviator).
Construction Yards : produce Rocket Turrets in the middle of enemy
buildings to take out vehicles without losing your own vehicles.
Windtraps : easier than building your own.
The negative points of capturing buildings are :
(a) The soldiers take forever to get there.
(b) The soldiers often get killed before getting to the building.
(c) It's very hard to keep a building in the red without destroying it.
(d) You don't get any points for captured buildings.
~~~~
Q16. How do you bypass the opening intro ?
~~~~
A16. After you have watched it once, a file called "ONETIME.CFG" is
created in the directory, with 0 bytes in it. After this the intro may be
skipped by pressing the space bar.
~~~~
Q17. How do I aim the Death Hand Missile correctly ?
~~~~
A17. Either SAVE/RELOAD until you get a correct hit, or put up with the
inaccuracy. If it always hit where you aimed it, Harkonnen would have no
trouble winning every time on level 8 & 9!
It seems as though the more land you have explored around the enemy base,
the more accurate the missiles are. It is not uncommon to have a Death
Hand missile wipe out the last structure at the end of the level, when
all is revealed.
~~~~
Q18. Which has a longer range, Sonic Tanks or Missile Launchers ?
~~~~
A18. With the bug relating Sonic Tank range to Game speed:
at Slow/Slowest - Sonic Tanks have a much shorter range
at Normal - About equal range. Effectiveness depends on the target
size - Launchers are better against larger targets, Sonic
Tanks are better against smaller ones (e.g. Rocket Turrets!)
at Fast/Fastest - Sonic Tanks have a greater range and quickly dispose
of Rocket Turrets without themselves suffering damage.
They are obviously most effective at this speed
~~~~
Q19. What new technologies do I get on each mission ?
~~~~
A19. This varies between the houses, but a basic list is :
Level 1, 2, 3 - Light Factory, Barracks
Level 4 - Heavy Vehicle Factory, WOR
Level 5 - Gun Turrets, Rocket Tanks (not Ordos)
Level 6 - Rocket Turrets, Starport, High Tech, Siege Tanks
Level 7 - House of IX
Level 8 - Palace
Level 9 -
~~~~
Q20. When can the Ordos get Missile Launchers ?
~~~~
A20. The Ordos can never build Missile Launchers, but they may buy them
from the Starport, when available. If they capture an enemy Heavy Vehicle
Factory, they will be able to use that to produce them also.
~~~~
Q21. How can I capture a building ?
~~~~
A21. Damage the building until it is in the "red" damage sector, then move
an infantry unit in to take it over. If the damage is not in the red,
then the unit is destroyed, and the building is damaged further.
~~~~
Q22. Why can't I build Ground Vehicles, but I can build Carryalls ?
~~~~
A22. This is due to the fact that there is a separate count for the total
number of Carryalls & Ornithopters owned by everyone, just like the building
quota. If the computer has too many, shoot them down as they are picking up
a damaged vehicle.
~~~~
Q23. How do I tell a Harvester which Refinery to return to ?
~~~~
A23. Harvesters generally return to the last Refinery they unloaded at. If
you want it to go to a different one, you have to instruct it to Move there,
and after that it should return to that one, if possible.
~~~~
Q24. How is the score calculated ?
~~~~
A24. Original Answer: The score doesn't depend on time at all...
The only things that factor in to it are amount of spice harvested, number
of enemy units destroyed and number of enemy buildings destroyed.
Buildings that are taken over don't count as buildings destroyed. To
maximise your score, take time at the end, before destroying the last
building, to harvest all available spice. Even better, let the last
building left be a Refinery, and harvest spice while destroying the
continual supply of Harvesters the computer will get.
According to Joe Bostic, one of the creators of the game, the score is
calculated according to a complex algorithm. There *is* a bonus for
finishing a round quickly. You also get credit for the condition of, and
number of, your own buildings and vehicles. Mostly, you rack up points by
harvesting spice, destroying units, and destroying buildings. That's why
you usually get more points using the 1.07 patch, because the computer
keeps building structures and units.
A super game might be one where you rack up over 1,500 points. However,
if you leave refineries as the enemy's last building, they will continue
to push out harvesters and you can camp out and rack up points as a result.
I have left a game running for hours (six hours, to be exact) under the
patched version, and ran the score up to 3,000 points. Some call this a
"cheat" but I prefer to think of it as research.
~~~~
Q25. What is Super Dune II ?
~~~~
A25. Super Dune II is a hacked version of the original game that takes
advantage of some of the features to rework the scenarios and the Houses.
Instead of playing Harkonnen, Atreides or Ordos, you play either Mercenary,
Fremen, or Sardaukar.
Scenarios were edited so that sometimes you start out with nearly impossible
conditions: such as taking out Devestators with trikes. Ornithopters come
in waves that are frustrating. There are many tweaks and notes; for
example, you may have access to all House weapons, and Sand Worms can be
directed to some degree.
There are many versions floating around. The most difficult to get going
is the smallest size; it is built to unload directly on your game. This
gets around copyright issues, but doesn't seem to work right. The full
4.7 MB version lets you play either Dune or SuperDune from the same
files, and works better. As yet, no permanent FTP site has been
identified that can be relied upon to have the game; if someone could
step up, that would be great.
~~~~
Q26. Can Sand Worms be killed ?
~~~~
A26. Nobody seems to know for sure. If by killed, you mean driven off,
of course the answer is yes. Once a worm is into the yellow damage zone,
it goes away. It also goes off to digest after eating three vehicles.
But very few people count that as a killed worm. One report is that
someone dropped a Death Hand on a damaged worm and the result was a
huge explosion and a new spice patch. Very rare.
~~~~
Q27. Can I get rid of all the enemies' carryalls at the end of the game?
~~~~
A27. YES! If you notice, the left over carryalls seem to circle in a
predictable orbit as they lazily look for work. When you spot the
location where they reappear onto the field of battle from off-screen,
line up about seven seige tanks, in a straight line, all shooting about
four square straight ahead. If you have a killing zone set up just right,
you will eventually hear that sound, "Ordos Unit Destroyed."
/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\
(3)(a) STRATEGY - DEFENCE :
****************************
~~~~
T1. Use your harvesters to run over approaching enemy troops before you
get hit by them. There are some scenarios where it is better to just
sacrifice a harvester to run over 24 infantry men than to try to take
them out with guns.
~~~~
T2. Once you can get tanks, use them to run over troops; it is much
quicker than shooting them.
~~~~
T3. As soon as you start a new level, use the vehicles that you are given to
explore in all directions to find :
(a) Spice, and those little "bumps" in the sand that have
spice under them (spice blooms).
(b) The approximate location of the enemy's base.
Once you have done this, RESTART THE LEVEL, and start building!
Of course, that's a cheat, but it does help.
~~~~
T4. Don't explore too far until you have built a good defense up. The
computer at the start works on a strategy of "If you can't see him, he
can't see you!"
~~~~
T5. As soon as you can build Rocket Turrets, build about 3 and put them
in a line, facing in the direction of his base, about 3 squares apart.
Make sure that you have "explored" at least 2 squares greater than the radius
of the Turret. This allows the turret to get a lock on
approaching vehicles/soldiers, and attack them before they can hit the
base.
~~~~
T6. Build about 5-7 of your heaviest direct combat vehicle (i.e. Tank),
and set them up in a flat U, with Missile Launchers (if you have them) on
the sides i.e.
LX XL
X X X
{L : Launcher; X : Tank}
The most important point is that the left and right "horns" should be far
enough away from the centre to not be attacked.
Then, when the enemy vehicles (Y) arrive :
Y
Y
LX Y XL
X X X
Wait for the enemy to get past the "horns" and start being attacked by the
front tanks. Then move the horns inward to attack from the side/rear,
using the launchers from a distance.
Above all, do not let your front line break. keep a few vehicles as
backups, and move them up if part of the line is taking a beating.
~~~~
T7. Defend Missile Launchers well, as they are devastating from a distance,
but easily destroyed from close up.
~~~~
T8. Make sure you leave a few units at the rear of your buildings, to
defend against the enemy units that will be dropped by Carryalls.
/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\
(3)(b) STRATEGY - OFFENSE :
****************************
~~~~
T1. Destroy his harvester when it gets too far from his base. It will
explode, releasing most of the spice it had harvested. Make sure you
destroy it while it is on sand, as if it is destroyed over rock then the spice
is lost.
~~~~
T2. Don't use soldiers or troopers to attack harvesters - the harvester
turns and runs over the attackers. The only time you should do this is if
the Foot unit is standing on a mountain range - the only units that can go
over mountains are the foot units. They still can be attacked while on the
mountain, just not run over.
At the 1.0 level, whenever a harvester runs over a trooper, it apparently
feels remorse for the cruel act and stops harvesting. This doesn't seem to
happen at the 1.07 version.
~~~~
T3. Concentrate your attack on one structure at a time. If the computer is
pumping money into repairing while you are attacking, you won't be able to
keep pace unless you have a concentrated attack.
~~~~
T4. When attacking buildings, use the Missile Launchers to attack the Rocket
Turrets first (moving the tanks behind the launchers to defend them from
vehicle attacks). Remember that the radius of detection of a launcher is one
greater than that of a turret. That is :
X T X
X X