Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty

Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty

Developers
	Westwood Studios
Publishers
	Virgin Interactive
Release dates
DOS	December 1, 1992
Taxonomy
Modes	Singleplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Top-down view
Controls	Point and select
Genres	RTS
Themes	Sci-fi
Series	Dune

Dune
Dune	1992
Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty	1992
Dune 2000	1998
Emperor: Battle for Dune	2001
Frank Herbert's Dune	2001

Contents  [h]  [e] [+]1Availability [-]2Essential improvements [+]2.1Patches    2.2Dune II Mouse Helper    2.3Source ports [+]3Game data    4Video    5Input [+]6Audio [+]7Network    8Issues unresolved [+]9Issues fixed [+]10Other information    11System requirements    12References

Key points

Released as Dune II: Battle for Arrakis in Europe.

General information

Dune Wiki - The Duniverse

Dune2K.com - A major Dune fansite with an active community

Availability • Link[edit]

Although a Dune II "demo" is available it is not actively playable; the executable more or less plays the missions out it's self without your intervention much like a pre-release demonstration video.

Version differences • Link[edit]

The European version has a different title screen subtitle with its EU name and lacks the into voice over. These are minor aesthetic changes and can be changed back with this unofficial patch. Another similar patch that preserves the European title screen can be found here. Yet another minor graphical difference is that the pause menu is not centered in the EU version; a hack to fix it can be found here. The European version also has additional languages. There are also some minor version specific bugs for each though these are ironed out by the 107 patch fix below.

Essential improvements • Link[edit]

Patches • Link[edit]

1.07 patch • Link[edit]

Download link

Official patch which corrects issues with the Starport building. The European versions come pre-updated, making this unnecessary for it.

Sound fix • Link[edit]

Download link

Official patch which enables the use of multiple sound devices simultaneously (i.e. MT-32 music with SoundBlaster digital and FM audio). A separate version for the European release can be found here.

1.07 patch fix • Link[edit]

Download link

Changelog

Unofficial patch which corrects issues introduced and unfixed by the 1.07 patch. Includes the sound fix above, though still requires patch 1.07 to be applied first.

Gravis Drivers • Link[edit]

Thread & download link

Unofficial patch that adds support for the Gravis Ultrasound to Dune II. Note that there are two versions of this driver available, one for real machines and another for DOSBox. Select the correct version for your setup.

Miscellaneous • Link[edit]

EMCPatch adds some game improvements: buildings no longer decay for no reason, carryalls always bring repaired units from the repair facility back where they picked them up (you no longer need to surround the repair facility with walls for this), and missile turrets get always out-ranged by rocket launchers (previously, they had to be positioned at certain angles to get out of turrets' range). It requires WWPak to install, a version for SuperDune (and derivatives) can be found here.

REP-HI-FIX adds missing animation frames to the repair facility and Hi-Tech factory. Like the fix above it requires WWPak to install. A separate version with a faster heavy factory "production ended" animation can be found here.

Dune2Retro is a mod of the unpatched version of the game that adds fixes for the glitches but keeps the original balancing and other gameplay features. Also includes SuperDune2 (See below in fangames for details).

Dune II Mouse Helper • Link[edit]

Enables more modern mouse controls: ordering units with the right mouse button, scrolling with the mouse wheel and building and placing structures with the middle mouse button.

Requires the original DOS game running in DOSBox under Windows.

Source ports • Link[edit]

Full-featured ports which enable playing the game on modern systems (Windows/Linux). Support high-resolutions and widescreen. Employ modern interface with zooming, contemporary RTS controls and build queueing.

Include numerous bug fixes and optional gameplay enhancements.

Require original game assets (*.pak)

Name	Notes	Renderer
Dune Legacy	In active development, supports 64-bit and Mac OS X. Includes an optional upscaler to smooth out graphics. Introduces multiple difficulty levels for campaign mode and bot AIs for MP. Supports LAN and internet multiplayer with record/replay. Includes a map and scenario editor.	Direct3D
Dune Dynasty	Offers borderless fullscreen and proper MIDI support with custom SoundFonts for music playback. Contains a jukebox and cutscene viewer. Includes a random map generator for local "skirmish" mode.	Direct3D, OpenGL

More detailed lists of unfinished ports, as well as fan-made campaigns, can be found at: Dune II fangames, Custom maps and Dune II clones and remakes

Game data • Link[edit]

Configuration file(s) location • Link[edit]

Stored in hex values, Not human readable.

Save game data location • Link[edit]

Video • Link[edit]

Input • Link[edit]

Audio • Link[edit]

Localizations • Link

Network • Link[edit]

Multiplayer types • Link

Issues unresolved • Link[edit]

There are numerous bugs that remain in the game that haven't been addressed by any patches, official or unofficial. A good source list is available in this PDF. An experimental compilation of hex fixes are available here (sign in required to download document).

Issues fixed • Link[edit]

Windows sound crash • Link[edit]

Although Dune can run on older versions of Windows (without restarting in MS-DOS mode), sound corruption usually occurs followed by an eventual crash. This is due to some of the sound files being damaged and causing memory leaks.

Replace the sound files[1]
Download this and replace the files.

Other information • Link[edit]

API • Link[edit]

System requirements • Link[edit]

References • Link