From: root@cobrat.austin.ibm.com ()
Subject: Dune II Review: Mediocre at best
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 16:33:00 GMT
Organization: IBM Austin

In article <1993Jan23.224641.2428@afterlife.ncsc.mil> acadams@afterlife.ncsc.mil (Arthur C. Adams) writes:
>The subject line pretty much says it all, but just in case:
>could someone send me a description of Dune II. 
>
>I've toyed with the idea of buying it (now that I finally
>upgraded from an 10 MHz 8088 to a 25 MHz 486), but 
>I'm hesitant, mainly since the first thing done with the
>license was to turn the greatest science fiction novel 
>of them all (no flames, please) into an action game.

There have been several reviews on this network for DuneII, most of which
have been very positive, but I thought I'd add a dissenting opinion here.

DuneII is an entertaining game, with very pleasing graphics and animation,
but it is crippled by cumbersome unit movement, lack of automation for
repetitive tasks, and a totally inept computer opponent.  In fact, the
strategy used by the computer (and believe me, I am really giving them the
benefit of even using the word "strategy") is so moronic that is takes all the
fun out of the game.

In DuneII, you harvest spice to optain resource credits, then you spend your
credits to obtain buildings/structures.  Some of these structures can build
weapon units.  Move your weapon units to attack the enemy and destroy his
units and structures.  The game is made up of multiple "acts" - in each
one the computer becomes more formidable and bigger weapons become available.
As with many of the "Empire-like" games, the world starts out as hidden and
only by exploring around with mobile units do you uncover the world.

Here is what I like about DuneII:
It is fun to build up your fortress, deciding what types of structures to buy,
and balancing the need for power generators, spice silos, and weapons
generators.  The game is not "turn-based" but is real time and all fighting
is performed automatically by the computer - when two opponent forces are
within range they fire until one is destroyed.  The animation is very well
done and enjoyable.  The music/digital voice capability is excellent.

Here's what ruins the game:
First and foremost, the computer's "strategy" is to always attack in a straight
line from his base directly at your base.  This means that if you build up a
defensive line of sufficient force in this path, you can stop worrying about
his attack.  Secondly, there are no group movement commands, so when you want
to move a large group of units you need to select a specific unit, then select
the "move" command, then select the destination, then repeat this process for
every unit you wish to move.  My six-year old Empire game allows me to select
a group of units and then issue one command to move them all to a specific
location.  The designers of DuneII should have played Empire to pick up many
of the excellent features of this classic.

Related to this, there is the cumbersome handling of the spice harvesters.  
Mining spice is the critical component of this game.  This is the only way to
build up resource credits so that you can obtain new structures and units.
But there is no way to automate this so that you can forget about your
harvester and concentrate on the battles you are fighting.  Once the harvester
is full and returns to the refinery, it just sits there and waits for your
orders.  Sometimes an airborne "carry-all" will come by and pick it up and
drop it back in the spot where it had been harvesting, but other times it drops
it at some random location on the map and if you are not paying attention you
find that your harvester is sitting idle somewhere.

There are other minor flaws that are related to these issues.  There are no
reports to show you the location of certain types of units (i.e. show me a map
that highlights my harvesters only).  There is no way to tell a structure to
produce a certain type of unit and keep doing it until told to halt.  There is
no way to remove a structure once it is in place.  I once build a production
facility inside a walled section of my fortress.  When this facility produced
some vehicles for me, they were placed INSIDE the walls and there was no way 
to get them out!  

Lastly, the documentation is very poor.  Certain structures/units are only
available after other structures/units have been produced, but there in
no discussion anywhere about this relationship.  There is no discussion of
the battle resolution algorithm either so you don't know what types of units
are effective against other units.  Many other aspects of the game do not
become known until you "stumble" upon them.  I am still trying to figure out
if I can command my airborne "carry-all" to pick up a unit and move it, or it
it only acts on its own. 

To summarize:
DuneII is a cute little game that is fun to look at, but it is a failure as
a complex strategy game.  I'd pass on it.

Marc Fairorth
marc@wizards.austin.ibm.com

Disclaimer:  These are my opinions only.  They do not represent the opinions
of my employer or anyone else. 
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games