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F A Q
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&
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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
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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.
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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.
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(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 <- radius of the turret (T)
X X
X X
X X
XXX XXX
XX XX
LXL <- best position for the launcher (you don't get hit!)
After the turrets are down, use the tanks to destroy the buildings.
Remember that, if you are using the patched version, the computer will
rebuild his Turrets (in the same place), so don't hang around - move in
and destroy quickly. It is often useful to leave a couple of strong
vehicles in the squares directly around the turret, so if it is rebuilt,
they will immediately attack it again while the turret can't use it's
missiles due to their closeness. Hence the turret can only fire back with
normal guns which do much less damage.
~~~~
T5. Before attacking the enemy in force, use some kamikaze units to scout
the base and locate the Construction Yard.
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(3)(c) STRATEGY - GENERAL :
****************************
~~~~
T1. Create a Repair facility as soon as you can. It is a lot cheaper and
faster to repair, rather than build. Wall it in so that the carryalls are
able to land freshly repaired vehicles right back where they were fighting.
~~~~
T2. Build one Carryall for each harvester you have, as well as 1-3 to use
for transporting damaged units.
~~~~
T3. Don't bother building 4 Refineries. It is much more efficient to
build about two, along with an extra harvester (total of 3), and to use
Carryalls for transportation.
~~~~
T4. Build a Starport early on, as that is the only way you can get more
than 25 vehicles. Watch the prices carefully, as there is a lot of
fluctuation. It is often better not to build a High-Tech factory, as
Carryalls can be bought from there, often for cheaper than the 800 they
cost to make (plus the 800 for the Factory). The cheapest prices I have
seen are :
Rocket launchers: 180
Siege tanks: 240
Combat tanks: 150
Harvesters: 150
MCVs: 360
Carryalls: 320
~~~~
T5. After Level 4, build two refineries and a few Silos to increase your
cash for the more expensive units.
~~~~
T6. Sand Worms remain dormant until a unit (yours or the computers) comes
within a couple of squares of it, or it is fired on. If all the vehicles
on the map (computer's & your's) are over rock, then the Sand Worm will
just stay still until it is reduced to half damage, or until a vehicle
goes on to the sand.
~~~~
T7. Sand Worms will disappear when they have been reduced to half damage,
or have eaten 3 units. If you are in a hurry to get rid of one, send a
Trike towards it, and lead it towards the enemy base. When you are just
about to be fired on, let the enemy vehicles get drawn onto the sand, then let
the Sand Worm eat the Trike and then watch it eat the fleeing enemy :-).
~~~~
T8. Deviated units that are sent to attack another house's units (other
than their own) will continue to do so, even after their allegiance has
reverted.
~~~~
T9. When you choose the region to attack in Mission 8, remember that the
house controlling the region will have a palace, where as the other house
doesn't. Hence attack, in order of preference : Ordos, Atreides, Harkonnen.
~~~~
T10. Deviated Harvesters set to return should continue to return, even after
they have reverted. This lets you get a nice amount of spice from the
remains after it has run into your Rocket Turrets! Some people have said
this doesn't work, but reports vary.
~~~~
T11. You can't order more than 10 of any one vehicle, at one time, from the
Spaceport. The Spaceport does replenish 'Sold Out' stock over time though.
~~~~
T12. Damaged building produce slower than undamaged ones. There is not
much difference while in the green, but below that the production rate is
noticeably lower. Rocket Turrets also fire less often when damaged.
~~~~
T13. Damaged units fire less frequently. If a unit is down to below
green, they fire at half the rate.
~~~~
T14. Palaces don't cost anything to repair, so keep them in top condition
all the time. This is only true with the 1.07 patch.
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(3)(d) STRATEGY - Specific Mission Strategy:
*********************************************
~~~~
Level 3.
~~~~
After building a windtrap and refinery, build a radar outpost as soon as
you have the cash - this will help you keep track of what vehicles are around.
Once you have these basic buildings, build more Windtraps and a Light Factory.
Then build your heaviest units and place them at the front of your base,
facing in the direction of the enemy, to defend the buildings.
It is now time to build another Refinery to build up some credits. Make
sure you leave a couple of units at the rear/sides of your base to defend
against units brought in by the computer's Carryalls.
After you have set up this defense, build as many offensive units as
possible, until the "Unable to create" message comes up. Then send a
series of raiding groups of 3-4 units out to scout the enemy base, and
locate the Construction Yard. Don't worry if these units are destroyed -
just build some more as quickly as possible.
Once you have found the main enemy buildings, try doing a flank attack with
a large group of units to destroy the Construction Yard first, as this
will stop the enemy from creating more structures as you destroy them.
Once the Construction Yard is destroyed, go for the offensive buildings
i.e. Light Vehicle Factory, WOR, Barracks.
If you start losing vehicles, call off the building attack and use the
remaining vehicles to take out as many enemy vehicles as possible before
they die. Then re-build your forces as quickly as possible, as the
computer will often counter attack when you have just retreated - don't
leave your base undefended.
~~~~
Level 7.
~~~~
At the start of this level, no matter what house you are, you must build a
couple of Rocket Turrets as soon as possible. On this level, the computer
will always send a series of Ornithopters against you, and unless you have
the Turrets, your buildings will soon be destroyed.
~~~~
Level 9. Charles Cruden's Level 9 Establishing plan (Thanx Charles!)
~~~~
In case you haven't noticed, the layout for this level never changes.
Only the colour of the various bases do. You will be facing two Death Hand
missiles (unless you are the Harkonnen) and an attack wave which lasts
around 15 to 20 minutes. Once you've overcome these obstacles, it's a matter
of destroying the enemy bases, much as before.
Overcoming the DHM is mostly luck. Either you get hit or you don't.
It is possible (not even especially difficult) to get through this battle
_WITHOUT_ using the 'save/restore' game cheat. It mostly depends on
whether or not the first two missiles hit your construction yard or not. Most
of the time, they won't. To ensure you don't need to worry about them again,
you need to build a starport. Basically, this is what I have found is the
best method.
Start exploring, to find the spice reserves. There are lots of them
around, so you won't run out of money if you harvest quickly. You start out
with 1000 credits (or 1500 if you're the Ordos). This is just enough money
to build concrete over to the left, as far as you can go (in a straight line),
then a power center and a spice facility. When your harverster returns, keep
building to the left and build a spice facility and a radar station. When
these harvesters return, build more windtraps, and build your starport. By
this time, the enemy should have found your base. Note that the DHMs will
not be launched until units from the respective houses (Sardaukar and
Harkonnen) have actually found your base. By this time though, you should
have enough money to buy an MCV. If your yard gets hit, deploy it (on another
rock usually... they won't always find it the second time) and rebuild, if it
doesn't, move it to the rock to the right of your base and wait. You now have
a construction yard in reserve.
The DHMs will mostly fire at the construction yard. So long as you
build buildings a reasonable distance away, they won't get hit. This is one
obstacle down. The other obstacle is an attack wave from all three opposing
houses that lasts about 15 to 20 minutes. The best defense here is six or
seven rocket turrets on the rock just above your construction yard (they tend
to get hit by DHMs, but are easy to rebuild), and two or three on the northern
most part of the rock you're on (towards the top left). This will defend
against all three houses.
~~~~
Level 9. Charles Cruden's Level 9 Winning plan (Thanx Charles!)
~~~~
Your first target should be the house on the far right. Despite what you
think, once you are well established, and have two or three harvesters out and
about, DHMs are not that serious. Thus, getting the palaces that make them
isn't that important.
The house on the far right (generally the Atreides, in one game, the Ordos)
has only one construction yard, and a poorly defended one. This is how you
can make good your attacks. Approach from the bottom of the screen straight
up. You should be about 7 or 8 squares from the right edge of the screen.
If your aim is good, you will find a rocket turret out from the base, and
behind it either a refinery or a light vehicle factory. Destroy this turret
and advance quicly to destroy the structure behind it. Behind that is the
construction yard for this house. Be careful... you can usually expect to
be attacked by a number of siege tanks and rocket launchers, both from this
house and from the emperor's. Once the construction yard here has been
destroyed, you can take apart the rest of the base at your leisure, but it
should be destroyed as much as possible before moving on to the next.
Your next target will always be the emperor's base. He has two construction
yards, one far in the top right hand corner of the screen (which can be
quickly destroyed after taking out the first base), and another heavily guarded
behind his palace. Use one or two rocket launchers defended by siege tanks
to advance through his base via the top, making sure to take out any offending
rocket turrets below with other rocket launchers. The units below should be
larger in number as they will be facing the brunt of the emperor's forces.
Try to advance as quickly as possible: the computer rebuilds buildings roughly
in the order in which they were destroyed, though it rarely rebuilds a
construction yard if it has another. Don't let it have the time to rebuild
enough to build the other construction yard. Eventually, your units on the
top will reach the edge of the emperor's palace. Just above it will be the
second construction yard. Be careful though... the construction yard is
close enough to the palace to be well within range of the excellent defense
the emperor's palace has. (Six rocket turrets, 3 launchers and a lot of
concrete wall can really ruin your day.) The palace is easy enough to destroy
before or after taking out the construction yard. Let the first target be
based on how badly DHMs are taking out your base.
Once the emperor's palace is done, only the base on the left remains.
(Ususally the Harkonen, occasionally the Ordos.) This base, like the
emperor's, has two construction yards, but here they are placed close together.
To get to them, you must go through most of the base, but given enough
rocket launchers, this is not a big problem. Advance as before, taking out
the rocket turrets first, then the palace and heavy vehicle factory you will
find just behind the first turret you meet. (Attack from the right.) It
should not be hard then to destroy the rest of his base from the top inwards.
Move right and you will find two construction yards next to each other behind
a few windtraps. Take these out and the game is basically over. The only
thing you should watch for is in sending more troops for support - this base
has a number of small 'arms' which jut out from it and have four rocket
turrets for fingers. Nasty things for unsuspecting vehicles to wander by
on their way to the slaughter at the top of the screen.
Alternative Plan:
Other generals have found success by directing their forces to the far left,
taking out the single rocket turret and setting up a penetrating flanking
maneuver. Once you get the rocket turret out of the way, you can worm your
way into the belly of the base, and take out the construction yards, then
move on through. The advantage of this, especially playing at 1.07, is that
you get to those constructions yards and palaces early. Since Death Hand
missiles cause such havoc, it is best to take them out first.
/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\
(4)(a) HOUSE STRATEGY - ATREIDES :
***********************************
~~~~
Q1. How are the Fremen best used ?
~~~~
A1. Build as many palaces as you can afford, generate Fremen as often as
possible, and overwhelm the enemy with sheer numbers of them. They are
very useful for mapping out the enemy base, but as you can't control their
movement, it makes the mapping somewhat erratic. In the unpatched
version, Rocket Turrets don't fire on them, only vehicles that are being
attacked. In the patched version they are fired upon
~~~~
Q2. How are Sonic Tanks best used ?
~~~~
A2. They are most effective against foot units, which they can destroy in two
hits. They are also very useful against Rocket Turrets, provided you put
the Game Speed to Fast/Fastest, as this is a bug which increases their range.
/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\
(4)(b) HOUSE STRATEGY - ORDOS :
********************************
~~~~
Q1. How are the Deviators best used ?
~~~~
A1. The Deviator is the best weapon you can use for indirect offensive
purposes, and the best time is close to the opposing forces' buildings. Aim
the Deviator at the strongest vehicle you can find, and get it to attack it's
own structures. The defences of the enemy won't recognize that it is an
enemy, and let it destroy the structure. Once it has destroyed a
structure, it's allegiance will revert, but it can easily be re-Deviated!
The problem comes if you use it to attack vehicles, as they will return fire,
and the vehicle will revert to it's origional allegiance. They are also very
effective against defending Devestators - deviate them and destruct them!
If you have deviated unit selected when it reverts, you will be able to
give it one last order (with it's allegiance set to the enemy). This
allows it to attack it's own buildings without being attacked. Beware of the
fact that Deviators have a significantly shorter range than Missile Launchers.
~~~~
Q2. How are the Raider Trikes best used ?
~~~~
A2. The most important thing is to keep them moving. Due to their speed,
they can outrun anything, and a missile launcher is pretty useless against
them if you get up close. They should be used to map out the enemy base,
as their speed should keep them out of most trouble. As an offensive
weapon they aren't much good unless you are continually moving them.
~~~~
Q3. Are the Saboteurs any good ?
~~~~
A3. The simple answer is no, as they are highly unlikely to break through
a solid defence. In general, save your money, don't build a palace, and
buy other units instead. However...
Be sure that you always leave a direct path from your palace straight
to the target - they will destruct on the first building they come to,
yours or the enemy's.
Saboteurs are very useful to end the game. If you have wiped out all the
enemy rocket turrets and are harvesting spice to rack up a score, you
can send out saboteurs at your leisure and count on them destroying a
building each time.
~~~~
T1. More than any other house, it is of paramount importance for the Ordos
to build a Starport and to buy Missile Launchers.
~~~~
T2. Early in the game, when the other houses have Siege tanks and you
don't, you must split up attacking Siege tanks, and attack them with 3-4
combat tanks each.
/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\
(4)(c) HOUSE STRATEGY - HARKONNEN :
************************************
~~~~
Q1. How are Devestators best used ?
~~~~
A1. A group of them is a formidable offensive / defensive force, but make
sure you have a Repair Center surrounded with walls, as well as a couple
of Carryalls. This way, they can attack, do what damage they can, get
repaired, and start attacking again. If one is about to be destroyed, it
is better to destruct it than to let it explode as it does more damage on
Self-Destruct.
~~~~
Q2. How are Death Hand missiles best used ?
~~~~
A2. Launch them and target them in a group of buildings - if you're lucky
they might hit the target! What you aim for and what you hit are
generally two very different things, but their power is undeniable!
As time goes by and more area is uncovered to your radar, you get better
results. It is not uncommon to end the game with a Death Hand Missile
landing directly where it has to.
/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\
(5) KNOWN BUGS (AND SOLUTIONS) :
********************************
~~~~
B1. The Starport bug : Starport gets stuck... no units arrive.
Displays 'Frigate arrival in t-0 seconds
~~~~
S1. Get the upgrade patch to v1.07 {See section (7)}
OR
Build another starport. This solution only works some of the time,
and even then the second starport may freeze. Generally, any units on
order from the 1st starport will be delivered to the new one.
I strongly advise getting the upgrade patch, as many things are fixed, and
the game is quite a bit harder.
~~~~
B2. The computer has unlimited money. You can destroy all Refineries and
Silos, but the computer can always rebuild them.
~~~~
S2. This keeps the game interesting. Remember, the computer player has
access to the Emporer and all his resources!
~~~~
B3. At the start of a scenario, there will be a set of units guarding each
ememy construction centre. When they are destroyed, they aren't replaced.
~~~~
S3. Exploit this to the fullest :-) Take these units out early, then
attack the construction centre.
~~~~
B4. The computer attacks only on one front, and doesn't look for
weaknesses in your defensive belt.
~~~~
S4. Exploit this to the fullest :-) Don't bother building defensive
structures on the other fronts as it is just a waste of money and space.
Watch out, however. The computer may send in a carryall with a tank and
wipe out a few buildings before you can recover.
~~~~
B5. You should be able to buy Ornithopters from the Starport.
~~~~
S5. Look in the file SCENARIO.PAK and you will find the word "Thopters" in
the [CHAOM] definition blocks. This is a typo, and as such is a _VERY_ bad
error to have left in. All you should do is change the word to "'Thopters"
i.e. add a single quote, and you can buy them from the Starport like you
should be able to. You will have to restart the current mission for it to
take effect.
~~~~
B6. Depending on how fast the game is running (i.e. the "SPEED" setting in
the Game Controls menu), sonics tanks have a different range.
~~~~
S6. If you are Atreides, use this by putting up the speed to "Fast" and
setting the Sonic tanks against the enemy structures. If you aren't
Atreides, as soon as you see a Sonic tank put the speed to slow, and use
Missile Lanuchers to take them out.
~~~~
B7. Rocket Turrets start to blink, and won't fire on anything.
~~~~
S7. The Turrets just blink like they do when first created, before they
start to attack. The solution seems to be to either reload the game, or
quit and restart the game. This only occurs in the upgraded version and
is very rare.
~~~~
B8. (REPORTED) The Deviator Tank can't deviate the Emperor's forces.
~~~~
S8. This may be deliberate (The Emperors forces are impervious to Nerve Gas),
but it is more likely a bug. It may have been fixed in the upgrade.
***** THIS BUG DOESN'T EXIST *****
~~~~
B9. (REPORTED) A square that contained a building that was destroyed by a
Saboteur can't be rebuilt on for quite some time.
~~~~
S9. I'm not sure if this is a bug, or if it is what's supposed to happen.
If it is correct, this make the Saboteur much more useful, provided you
knock out the rocket turrets before you send in the Saboteurs.
~~~~
B10. A harvester, when full and showing the "Awaiting pickup" message,
will sometimes take a very long time before it is picked up.
~~~~
S10. The answer isn't, as might be expected, to build more Carryalls. The
problem here is that your system is too close to the minimum required
memory. Try exiting and running from a boot disk with no TSRs loaded.
Also: check the condition of your refinery. Make sure it is as healthy
as possible. You are much slower at just about everything connected
with harvesting if the refinery is in bad shape.
~~~~
B11. Fremen will sometimes get "stuck" off screen, but will still be able
to attack your base, and you can't target them.
~~~~
S11. The solution is to fire at the ground as close to the Fremen as you
can get. After a while, they will move forward and attack the vehicle
instead, which will bring them onto the screen for you to attack.
~~~~
B12. The "group movement" doesn't work as it says in the manual.
~~~~
S12. In the manual it says that to get one unit to follow another, click
on the second one and tell it to move to where the "leader" is. Then when
you move the leader, any followers will move with it, unless given other
instructions. This doesn't happen like this at all. The way it is
supposedly done is to click on the "Leader" and command him to move. After
it starts moving, click on the "Follower" and command him to move, with
the "Leader" as the destination.
However, note the way Command and Conquer works with groups. You can just
"collect" them all by dragging a square around them with a mouse. Very nice!
~~~~
B13. Rocket Turrets don't fire on Fremen.
~~~~
S12. Get the upgrade patch to v1.07 {See section (7)}
~~~~
B14. Various buildings start to flash. Turrets & Refineries don't work.
~~~~
S14. See Bug 7 - This is a simmilar bug, and the solution is the same.
i.e. saving and reloading should correct the problem.
~~~~
B15. When the computer rebuilds buildings, they can be placed over your
units, destroying them.
~~~~
S15. This only occurs in the upgraded version, and can't be fixed. The
simple solution is don't leave vehicles in a destroyed building's old space
if at all possible.
~~~~
B16. Spice Refineries hold 1100 spice unit, not 1000
~~~~
S16. There is no solution for this. Besides, I can't imagine anyone
complaining :-)
~~~~
B17. The maximum amount of spice allowed to be stored is 32000 credits.
After this spending is reversed (Harvesters decrease money, building increases
money)
~~~~
S17. Spend some of that stockpiled cash :-) You don't need that much anyway!
~~~~
B18. The computer can build buildings unconnected to it's base.
~~~~
S18. Don't begrudge the poor stupid computer it's small advantage - it
needs to cheat any way it can to win! Besides it's the computer, and is
running the game, so it can do whatever it pleases :-) There is no
solution to this problem
~~~~
B19. If there is a lot happening on the screen (by way of sounds), you can
hear the "Missile Warning" after the missile is hit.
~~~~
S19. This has not been fixed.
/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\
(6) MANUAL CHEATS :
*******************
~~~~
O1. I want more than 25 units!
~~~~
C1. Use a hex editor to edit the SCENARIO.PAK file, find a line containing :
"Brain=Human, Maxunit=25, Credit=1500".
Edit the number after the Maxunit to 99.
/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\
(7) RELATED FILE LOCATIONS :
****************************
~~~~
F1. Dune 2 Upgrade Patch to v1.07
~~~~
D1. This patch fixes many errors and makes the game a little harder by
allowing the computer to rebuild structures.
~~~~
L1. Location : ftp.uwp.edu
/pub/msdos/games/uml/Patches
: wuarchive.wustl.edu
/pub/msdos_uploads/games/upgrades
~~~~
N1. Name : dune2.zip
~~~~
F2. Wolverine's Dune 2 Save/Scenario Editor
~~~~
D2. This editor is wild! If you want to cheat, or just to re-design the
scenarios, this is the thing for you. You can modify existing buildings,
units and the map, as well as creating new units. Special units can also
be bought from the Starport, as well as large amounts of money and instant
building in the Construction Yard.
~~~~
A2. Author : wolvy@netcom.com
~~~~
L2. Location : wuarchive.wustl.edu
/pub/msdos_uploads/...(some sub-directory)
~~~~
N2. Name : Dune2ed2.zip
~~~~
F3. Dune 2 Unprotect - Origional and patched versions
~~~~
D3. This is a text file containing the instruction for removing the
look-up-in-the-manual protection. It requires a hex editor, and a small
amount of knowledge about hex editing.
~~~~
A3. Author : ?????
~~~~
L3. Location : ftp.uwp.edu
/pub/msdos/games/romulus/cracks
~~~~
N3. Name : dune2.unp
There is also a simple text file available that contains all the answers
that are asked. But really, you should be able to answer these questions
from memory anyway!
~~~~
F4. Dune 2 Trainer
~~~~
D4. This is a TSR that will give you unlimited money, army protection, and
army knockout
~~~~
A4. Author : Rescue Raider
~~~~
L4. Location : wuarchive.wustl.edu
/pub/msdos_uploads/game_solutions
~~~~
N4. Name : dune2trn.zip
