OVERVIEW
UnDUNE II is a demake of the classic (and original) RTS game DUNE II, re-created from scratch in PICO-8.
This project started as a fun idea, that I expected to get done within a month or two.
Well… almost 3 years later (working on & off, in my free time) – I’m happy to say that it is finally finished! 😅
FEATURES
👥 All 3 Factions
👨🏫 All 3 Mentats
️🗺️ All 9 Mission Levels (inc. anim map w/ intros)
🔊 Music + SFX remade for PICO-8
🏭 All 19 Building Types
🚛 All 21 Unit Types
🏯 All Palace Weapons
🏨 Capture Buildings
🐛 Sandworms
️⛰️ Multiple Terrain Types
️️⛏️ Spice Blooms
🌁 Fog of War
📡 Low/High-res Radar
🤖 Multiple AI Opponents
💾 Auto-saving after each Level
📊 Level End Stats
💾 ️Spanning 12 PICO-8 Carts
️🖱️ Mouse/KB/Gamepad/Mobile-Friendly
⏳ HOURS of gameplay!
CONTROLS
Mouse
Left-Mouse-Mutton: Select Unit/Building, Choose destination/target
Right-Mouse-Button: Deselect/Cancel
Gamepad/Keyboard
GAMEPLAY
If you’ve never played the original (or an old-school RTS) before, the basic principle of UnDUNE II is as follows.
Build up your base by …building! (just remember to put down concrete slab foundations before placing your buildings, to avoid damage).
But watch out, as you are not alone. There are two other foreign factions that will fight you for control of Dune. Not to mention the native lifeforms – such as Sandworms, which can swallow units whole!
Units can be instructed to attack enemy units and may automatically retreat when outnumbered. Harvesters will automatically try to find the closest spice, but can also be told where to mine – they’ll also automatically return to base for unloading when full.
Grow your base, expand your building options as you go (more will unlock at later levels). Preserve your Construction Yard at all costs – you can’t build another one!
Good luck! 😀🎖️
…feel free to share any cool pics/vids using #UnDUNE2 hashtag
DOWNLOADS
Pre-built Win, Mac, Linux, RPi executables can be downloaded from the UnDUNE II itch.io page.
TIPS
Improve radar quality by building a Radar Outpost
(ensure sufficient power levels are maintained to keep operational)
Certain buildings require other buildings to be built before they will be available.
Other buildings and units will unlock at the later levels.
Some units are only available to certain factions –
such as Harkonnen Devastator, Ordos Deviator, Atreides Sonic Tank.
Build a Repair Centre and units will try to go directly to them get fixed without you having to tell them.
Build base foundations quickly by placing 4×4 Concrete Slabs (when unlocked)
Build a Carryall as soon as you can (via Hi-Tech Factory) –
as they will pick-up/drop-off units (such as Harvesters and retreating units) MUCH faster.
Trikes are fast and inexpensive – use them to scout enemy bases
(just make sure you’re prepared for a fight once they know where you are!)
Sandworms cannot “eat” units if they are on land.
Spice Blooms (mounds) can be shot to release payloads of spice.
Build an MVC and send it into corner of map
so you have a “backup” Construction Yard, should your only one be destroyed.
then go for their Repair Facility and then Unit Factories.
👨💻 Code, PixelArt:
• Paul Nicholas – (Liquidream) – https://www.liquidream.co.uk
🎶 Music & SFX:
• Chris Donnelly – (Gruber_Music) – https://www.grubermusic.com
Additionally:
️️🖼️ “Dune Nights” Cover Art by Ahmad Alromeadheen (@AAlromeadheen)
🕹️ Playtesting by Tim Hicks, Krystian Majewski, Chris Donnelly, Dylan Bennett, Maxwel
Acknowledgements:
• Rotate Sprite and Raycast 3D Title snippets by @freds72
• TLINE Sprite Rotation snippet by @TheRoboZ
• PX9 Data Compression by @zep
• Good Enough Minifier for Pico-8 by Paul Hammond
• picotool by Dan Sanderson
• Retrospecs by John Parker
• A* Pathfinder and Particle System by @morgan3d
• Bitmasking example by @MrBigaston
• Dialog Text Flow w/ Coroutines by @MBoffin
• Palette-Maker by @2darray
• “UnDUNE II: The Demaking of a Dynasty” name suggestion by @thattomhall
• Westwood Studios for creating such an inspiring classic game.
