FeydRauttah

As about the elite units, they are cool, too. Especially Elite Kindjals who can even stand up to Flame Tanks. And Elite snipers, who are basically better than elite Fremen Warriors.

The biggest Atreides advantage is their Minotaurus. A few of them could defeat an entire attacking force if it passes through a narrow place, and there are lots of narrow places in the maps of E:BFD. When backed by Mongooses, which fire at air attackers and fast ground units, the Minos are fearsome.

From what I've read in Frank and Brian Herbert's books, the Atreides look like Greeks or Spaniards to me. They have a greek name. If you've read the Illiad you'll know that Agamemnon and Menelai, the famous Greek kings, were called the "Atreides brothers". Also, athe Atreides of Dune's universe have Spanish customs, like bullfighting... Anyway, they look like they have a Mediterranean origin.

Harkonnens look decidedly Russian to me in the books. Vladimir and Dmitri, for instance are Russian names.

Dune 2000 is dune 2 with an improved engine. And yes, it does rock. I'd like to get my hands on the soundtrack. Anyone know how?

The Harkonnens are pretty efficient the way they are, because no one wants to be spotted as inefficient or (help them Shai Hulud) rebellious. You remember the blue obsidian slave pits from HH? Or the Baron's torture chambers?

How about MAHDI - that's a Muslim word for Prophet. And Padishah is the title of a Turkish Emperor. Shaddam = Saddam???

Surely Russia does not look like Giedi Prime...No comment on your trivia I think Frank Herbert included some Jewish motives, like the prophet they are still expecting (the Messiah) There is also something, which looks to me like the Indian Kama Sutra - that Honored Matre stuff.

771. When somebody spits in the street, you lick off the precious moisture (Don't mind me, I'm a sick mind) 772. When it smells of cinnamon, you run away from an imminent spice blow 773. You plant thumpers in your backyard. 774. You catch bats, spit on them and tell them to send distrance messages. 775. You wear shiny blue contact lenses. 776. On oral exams, you think that the teacher is pointing a gom jabbar at you. 777. Everybody keeps asking about the plugs in your nose, but nobody knows you distilled the water from the body of your dead hamster and drank it.

Consider that you can make a mixed attack with subhouse and major house units...like Minotauruses and Holoprojectors <he he he> or Fremen Warriors&Fedaykins + Atreides APCs + Engineers + Infiltrators... Or Sardaukar Elites+Leeches...

Now look - the Deva costs 2500$. The Mino costs 1400$. You can get two Minotaurs and 1 Atreides light infantry for the price of a Deva. The Deva has only one way to win if the Minotauruses and the infantryman have the high ground - to fire at them until his health is red and then self - destruct - I've tried it. Westwood have balanced the game just right. Also, the Devastator is not the absolute king of the battlefield - there is one thing that beats it in a 1 on 1 combat - a Fedaykin on a Worm!!!!

Finally an idea which isn't the freaky Red Alert 2 animation style. Congratulations! I've got another idea for a unit: House Corrino Sand Scythe - A MLRS (Multiple Rocket Launch System), which fires a deadly volley of missiles in a neat firing arc. It has range like that of a Mongoose, but always fires all 8 missiles in a salvo. Good against massed attacks, especially infantry rushes. Slow - moving, medium armor. The salvo it fires is about the power of three Minotaurus salvos. Price: 2000$

The Heighliner rules, especially the Ordos mission - that's what I call a real cool atmosphere. Giedi Prime has also got an atmosphere, especially with those gallows and rusted bridges...It can be real creepy The best map on Dune is the one with the great lot of hungry sandworms in it (in the Atreides campaign, this terrain is just before the one that sends you to Giedi Prime).

I dunno where you got that from. I think, though that the axlotl tank works like a cloning facility (but then everybody knows that... I think the animal cells are used as possible source for the ghola tissues.

It could be called a desert skunk - after all, the people don't wash very often on Dune *hehe* - stupid humor is all this is about