Dune: Spice Wars News

The Dune: Spice Wars 1.0 update has finally landed on Arrakis, and with it has come an absolute plethora of new content, reworks, fixes and more!

The last year and a half has seen multiple updates release, adding tons of content, improvements and more, largely built on the suggestions and feedback of our players. So thank you to everyone who has supported us and helped us build Dune: Spice Wars into what it is today over the course of the Early Access period. We literally couldn't have done it without you!

But with all the sentimental stuff out of the way, let's take a look at what's new in Dune: Spice Wars' 1.0 update...

(Please Note: This is a slightly abridged version of the patch notes, for the full list of changes check out the document HERE)





[h3]Main Mechanics:[/h3]

• Surrounded neutral villages become Sanctuaries
  
• +1 Authority production per Sanctuary on the map
  
• Villages around Sanctuaries gain +1 instance of their traits
  
• Masterpieces can be built in villages, they are not removed if the village is liberated and destroying them bring huge penalties
  
• A single village can become a Garden Resort, which produces knowledge and influence
  
• A single military unit can become a Champion. They have increased stats and gain hegemony by killing units of enemy factions (hegemony is lost when the Champion dies)
  

• House Ecaz is playable in conquest
  
• 4 new missions
  
• Huge balancing and rework of all existing missions
  
• Rework of conquest flow and resources
  
• 5 new common conquest bonuses
  
• Heroes are now way stronger and more unique
  

• Full rework of the development tree content and shape (almost no development have been kept as it was)
  
• Rework of development cost scaling: Development cost is no longer dependent on the order in which they are researched (bye bye T4 rush)
  

• Units no longer have Manpower upkeeps
  
• Basic non-mechanical units no longer cost Solari
  
• Healing non-mechanical units cost Manpower
  
• Healing mechanical units cost Solari
  

Added a minimum font size accessibility option to scale small texts

[h3]Scale option 1:[/h3]

[h3]Scale option 2:[/h3]

[h3]Scale option 3[/h3]

• Units and Villages no longer have Water requirements
  
• Almost all buildings have Water Requirements
  
• Wind Trap is in a T3 development (available from the start for Fremen)
  
• New building : Dew collector (+3 Water) available from the start
  
• All non-mechanical units max supply and supply regen is dependent on available Water
  
• All mechanical units have no supply
  

• Removing an infiltration cell now requires launching a spying operation, ‘Cell Search” on the village, followed by investigating the village with a unit
  
• A tech unlocks the possibility to put up to 3 infiltration cells in an enemy territory
  
• The defender no longer receives a quest to increase assassination upkeep or time
  
• Assassination upkeep increases on its own over time
  
• Once the assassination has started, agents on counter-intel on the defender’s side slow down the assassination over time
  
• Sending an Assassin to your infiltration cell reset the speed of the assassination.
  

• Each Sietch can only be pillaged once, ever
  
• Pillaged Sietch no longer send raid
  
• Pillaged Sietch can no longer trade or be allied with the faction that pillaged them (they can still ally anyone else, with the usual condition)
  

Concord Chambers, Drone and Kraken reworked

Office of Order, Cerberus, Stealth probe and Executioner reworked

Reworked Machine Scraps. The resource is now called Spaceship Parts, and is more in line with Guild Favor, while still keeping some of its specificity.

• UHQ are almost instant to install
  
• UHQ extension construction is instant
  
• New UHQ Extensions
  
• New base bonus: +10% speed outside of combat+
  
• Reworks: Scavenger, Wrecker, Banshee, Wraith
  

Gurney Halleck, Duncan Idaho, Iakin Nefud, Piter De Vries, Bannerjee and Lingar Bewt reworked.

• The 3 base units are unlocked from the start
  
• The Elite unit is unlocked at 10k hegemony
  
• New Atreides and Smugglers gear
  
• Atreides Drone gear have been entirely reworked
  

• Fixed brown screen on new games
  
• Fixed some memory leaks
  
• Fixed wormsign that didn’t show up sometimes when a worm was detected
  

We really hope you enjoy the 1.0 version of Dune: Spice Wars, it's been an amazing year and a half for us working alongside you all in Early Access and we are incredibly proud of what we've accomplished with the game and excited to continue the journey well beyond the 1.0 update.

Heroes of Dune is currently in the works, alongside a ton of other ideas and plans floating around, so stay tuned for news and updates on what the future holds for Dune: Spice Wars!

- Shiro Games

It's been a long year and a half for Dune: Spice Wars, with Early Access seeing the arrival of numerous updates bringing new factions, multiplayer battles, system overhauls, new biomes, systems, features and so much more to the game before leading us here: just 2 days away from our launch out of Early Access and into 1.0!

So in this article we're going to take a look back at all of the major updates that have come to the game over the course of the Early Access campaign and remind you of anything you might have missed!

Dune: Spice Wars first update after launching into Early Access "Community Update #1" was led mostly by community feedback and suggestions, bringing new faction-specific bonuses, an improved queue system, and immersive combat views. Players were given the opportunity to explore new regions, expand their Underworld Headquarters, and enjoyed a more balanced and polished gaming experience, allowing us to get to work on our first major content update…




In the highly anticipated Multiplayer Update, we invited players to join forces in 2v2 matches or engage in intense free-for-alls with up to four players, commanding the Atreides, Harkonnen, Fremen, or Smugglers.

But that's not all. We completely revamped every development tree, emphasising synergy between factions, and added an array of new political resolutions, events, regions, and a slew of other improvements. Our aim was to fully realise the universe and themes of Dune, delivering an experience of grand machinations, subtle political plotting, and epic reversals. With multiplayer, the potential for these grand narratives soared as players vied for dominance in every stage of war.



In our second community update, the Spice tax system was reworked, balancing the game dynamics across factions, while Fremen received a starting supply boost. Unit movement and military supply consumption were optimized, and stealth units became day-night cycle-sensitive.

Balancing efforts mixed up numerous unit stats, Command Points, and more. Development trees underwent a massive overhaul, along with revisions to spying missions, resolutions, and agent traits.

Multiplayer introduced 'Kanly' mode, bringing a faster experience in a 1v1 setting, while quality-of-life improvements, visual enhancements, and bug fixes refined the gameplay.



The introduction of the House Corrino Update to Dune: Spice Wars was a game-changer, bringing the illustrious Imperial House Corrino into the fray. Led by Shaddam IV, House Corrino's arrival marked a significant milestone in the game's development.

With this update, players could now unleash the imperial powers of House Corrino. Their faction bonuses, including the ability to gain Hegemony through Guild Fees and manipulate Landsraad resolutions with the Imperial Edict, introduced numerous new ways to approach the game and vy for domination over your opponents. House Corrino also boasted a distinct roster of Councillors and units, each with their own special abilities and advantages.

The "House Corrino Update" expanded the diplomatic landscape by revamping diplomacy mechanics, introducing binary relations, and enhancing treaty systems. The AI was upgraded to better adapt to these changes, making for a more engaging and challenging experience.

And alongside all of that, the update brought significant improvements to the overall gameplay experience. It featured reworks of existing systems, the addition of new developments, and various quality-of-life enhancements. The CHOAM Market, Hegemony changes, and economic adjustments were among the notable additions, creating a richer and more immersive world on Arrakis.



The Accessibility Update brought in a variety of accessibility options, including colorblind modes tailored for different types of colorblindness, and the ability to adjust the intensity of colorblind corrections. A magnifier feature was also introduced, allowing players to zoom in on specific areas of the game with customizable zoom multipliers. For those sensitive to certain visual stimuli, a photosensitive mode was included to remove flashes and reduce visual intensity in various game elements.

The Accessibility Update also addressed issues related to readability and user interface clarity. Players could now adjust chat text size and opacity, enhancing the overall readability of in-game communications. Additionally, an overlay system was introduced to help distinguish between ally, enemy, and personal units, providing greater clarity on the battlefield.



The Air and Sand update introduced a variety of exciting additions. Aerial combat was introduced and each faction acquired two new spaceship units, allowing even more strategic options.

New resources, Guild Favors and Machine Scrap, added depth to gameplay. A revamped projectiles system improved the overall battle visuals, while The Renegades, a new neutral enemy faction, introduced a new challenge to be faced on the sands in order to earn valuable Guild Favors.

Exclusive major buildings like the Spacing Guild Branch and Recycling Plant gave players new advantages. AI and multiplayer received improvements, while quality-of-life enhancements were introduced to improve the overall experience.



In the Line in the Sand update for 'Dune: Spice Wars,' we introduced significant game-wide improvements to enhance the experience and answer the requests of our community once again, with the addition of end-game statistics for evaluating your performance and the history of the game, more visible military alerts, and the ability for military units to hold their positions being some major additions.

Economic adjustments were made, such as increased Plascrete production with Solari upkeep, reduced manpower cost for Harvesters Crew, and balanced starting resources. Hegemony gains were shifted away from votes on resolutions, focusing more on spice contracts and gradual gains from the Emperor Monument.

The military side saw some significant changes in unit command points, expanded aura ranges, and reworked Fremen units specializing in debuffs. The supply system was simplified, dividing units into mechanical and non-mechanical categories, leading to various ability adjustments.

Spaceships, gear, village traits, and buildings all underwent balancing and changes. Spying operations were reworked, and developments saw modifications in knowledge generation. New regions, events, and Landsraad improvements added depth to the gameplay, rounding out the update.



The Conquest Update finally saw the introduction of the much requested campaign mode to Dune: Spice Wars!

As they took charge of one of Dunes major houses (Atreides, Harkonnen, or Corrino) players would have to fight through a number of unique scenarios and situations in order to stand victorious as the ruler of Arrakis! With Conquest, each map is randomly generated, customizable perks create unique play styles and each playthrough offers a different experience and challenges to overcome in every run.

In addition, Tutorials were introduced to teach the game's basics, and factions, characters, and economics were heavily rebalanced. The political landscape shifted with changes to Landsraad Standing and treaties, and the CHOAM Market received new bonuses and a Nuclear Silo was added for the more warmonger-y among us.

Spying missions and operations were rebalanced, units were improved, and map generation was enhanced. The user interface received updates, including a new developments window and victory progression cards.

The update also delivered nine new music tracks and introduced numerous bug fixes.

And with all that now behind us, there's only one update left to go before we launch out of Early Access! Introducing House Ecaz, new tutorials, major system overhauls, improvements, and a ton more, we can assure you that the 1.0 update is going to have been worth the wait!

Thank you all for joining us on this journey. Developing the game alongside you all has been an incredible experience and we can't wait to hear your thoughts when the game launches into 1.0 this Thursday.

See you then...

- Shiro Games

The hybrid 4X and RTS set in Frank Herbert's universe of Dune will launch out of Early Access this week, on September 14th, as Shiro Games releases Dune: Spice Wars. First released last year, Spice Wars is a surprising hybrid of the two genres that you'd expect from modern RTS innovators Shiro Games, who previously made Northgard...
Read more.

Hello Everyone!

First up, thank you all for all the feedback following the announcement of House Ecaz. We're very happy with how the faction is coming together and we can't wait to hear your thoughts on Arrakis' newest arrival when the game launches out of Early Access later this month, which conveniently leads us to our next announcement...

We are very proud to share that Dune: Spice Wars launches out of Early Access and into 1.0 on the 14th of September!

With release now within spitting distance, we thought it would be a good time to address some of the burning questions we've been getting of late and give some details on what to expect from this major milestone in D:SW's development!

So read on for the official Dune: Spice Wars 1.0 F.A.Q...

[h3]What is Dune Spice Wars?
[/h3]
Dune Spice Wars is a 4X featuring real time strategy game elements based in Frank Herbert's iconic Dune universe

[h3]How much will it cost?[/h3]

The current price for the game is $/€29.99, but will rise to $/€34.99 upon the launch out of Early Access.

[h3]When does the game release into 1.0?[/h3]

The game releases on Steam on September 14th.

[h3]How big will the download be?[/h3]

The game client is likely to be around 4GB at release.

[h3]What are the system requirements for Dune: Spice Wars?[/h3]

The system requirements are as follows:



[h3]Is it an RTS or a 4X? [/h3]

It is both. The game is real time, but the pace is slower than in a typical RTS (and you can pause and fast forward). The game also features exploration, territory control, economic growth, combat, politics and spying, features that make it a true 4X game but do not detract from the RTS experience.

[h3]On average, how long will one game last? Does it depend on the faction you have chosen?[/h3]

Depending on your strategy and the chosen difficulty, for a newer player games can generally last up to 2 to 3 hours. That being said with much of our community now fully familiar with the game, we’ve seen this go as low as 30-45 minutes.

[h3]What victory conditions are there?[/h3]

There are currently 4 different ways in which you can win a game:

• Overwhelm your opponents and win via military Domination
  
• Stake your claim as the ruler of Araakis (somewhat) peacefully and democratically via the Landsraad for a Political victory
• Control as much territory and resources as possible for a Hegemony victory
• Control and manipulate Arrakis’ stock/spice market for a CHOAM victory
  

[h3]How many houses are available to play?[/h3]

Upon release, there will be 6 factions available to play, with House Atreides, House Harkonnen, House Corrino, The Fremen, The Smugglers and the new addition for 1.0; House Ecaz rounding out the roster. Each faction has their own playstyles, traits, strengths and weaknesses, lending a unique flavour to each match based on which faction you choose.

[h3]Does the game support multiplayer?[/h3]

Yes, the game supports up to 4 player multiplayer in 1v1, 2v2 and FFA.

[h3]Is there a campaign?[/h3]

The game features Conquest Mode, which acts as a campaign for Dune: Spice Wars. In Conquest, players take up the control of one of the major houses (Atreides, Harkonnen, Ecaz or Corrino) and fight through a number of unique scenarios and situations that will encourage them to utilize every system at their disposal in order to progress. With procedural maps and scenarios, random perks and challenges, famous characters and houses and a different experience every time you play, Conquest offers unprecedented levels of replayability and immersion into the Dune universe.

[h3]Are there tutorials?[/h3]

There are 5 tutorials designed to help new players better understand the mechanics and gameplay of Dune: Spice Wars, which can be found in the single player menu.

[h3]Is Dune: Spice Wars a Movie adaptation or a book adaptation?[/h3]

Dune: Spice Wars is not a direct adaptation of any one singular source, it is our envisioning of this universe and its characters, so certain aspects may differ from how they are portrayed in particular sources.

While we try to focus on the books, first and foremost, we have drawn inspiration from numerous sources such as the board games, movies, TV shows and extended Dune universe in the design for the game.

[h3]Have you taken any inspiration from previous Dune games for this title?[/h3]

We’ve played all the Dune video games (Dune and Dune 2 especially) and all board games as well so there will be some influence. That said, Dune Spice Wars is very much its own game with a unique take on the struggle for the control of Arrakis.

[h3]Ordos?[/h3]

Ordos as most players know them are a fictional house from the minds of and realised by Westwood Studios, who created a number of Dune RTS' in the 90's/00's. Those games have no relation to Dune: Spice Wars outside of drawing from the same IP, are owned by another company and as such, there are no plans to bring them to Dune: Spice Wars.

[h3]Does the game feature procedural map generation?[/h3]

Yes the maps are procedurally generated, with different options for size, wind strength, sandworm activity and many others. Deep deserts are used as a kind of blocking feature (like seas in other games), at least until you develop technologies to survive longer in the desert, or build a network or airfields. Maps will also feature unique places that readers of the book will recognize.

[h3]Why did you choose the somewhat cartoonish and bold art style?[/h3]

Creating a game on a desert planet has quite a few challenges, one of which is making sure what you look at for a few hours is not bland even if it’s just rock and sand. We spent a lot of time working on the environment and even worked with a geologist specialised in deserts to create things that could exist on such a planet. The stylized art direction comes into play by adding things that bring a variety of colours and shapes so that the environment can stay harsh while not getting boring.

[h3]Which languages does the game support?[/h3]

Currently the game supports the English, German, French, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese, Italian, Simplified Chinese and Russian languages.

[h3]Will you have mod support? [/h3]

There is no mod support at this time, but the possibility of it coming to the game further down the line is not entirely ruled out.

[h3]Will there be DLC?[/h3]

Right now, we are focused on ensuring a full and feature rich product for the release into 1.0. While we won't rule out the possibility of DLC coming to the game down the line if we see a successful launch and demand from our players, our attentions following release will be turned to finishing the free post launch updates we currently have planned.

[h3]What platforms are supported?[/h3]

Currently, the game is only accessible on Windows PCs but we are looking into the possibility of bringing it to other platforms and OS’.

[h3]Is the game playable on Steam deck?[/h3]

The game does not officially support the Steam Deck, however we are open to exploring the possibility of Steam Deck support down the line.

[h3]Does the game support crossplay with the Gamepass version?[/h3]

It does indeed!

[h3]Do you have any social media pages or a discord?[/h3]

We do indeed! You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, Discord and Reddit

Discord in particular is a great hub for discussing the game with the wider community, chatting with the devs directly and organising multiplayer matches, and we’d love to see you over there!

[h3]Is the game accessible on GeForce Now?[/h3]

We are actually working to have the game compatible with GeForce Now as we speak! We hope to have this finalised by the time of the Early Access launch, but if not, very shortly after launch.

[h3]What involvement does Funcom have with the development of the game?[/h3]

Things are simple: Shiro Games is in charge of the whole development process and marketing, while Funcom act as co-publishers alongside us.

[Quote] Don't hesitate to drop any questions you might have in the comments section, we'll do what we can to get back to you all!

Otherwise, we'll see you all on the 14th...

- Shiro Games