davo

pc.ign.com has a new interview of Emperor producer Chris Longpre. I think there is two new cutscene screenshots of the Harkonnens. For those who do not like games where you can't save in-mission you will be pleased with the info below:

Dune3k.com has a interesting news post on a strange lifeform appearing in one of the Caladan game shots. With a blue stripe on its back, I would guess it is a unit with the Atreides. My guess is it could be a giant slig via a Tleilaxu alliance. Sligs were mentioned in the latter Dune books and House Atreides. They were made by the Tleilaxu to eat any rubbish, and can themselves be eaten by humans. But then again it could be anything, remembering that WW is making this game ;)

Each Sunday FED2k is now posting a weekly newsletter, to recap the week's news for those of you who don't visit the site everyday or just want a weekly summation of the news. To subscribe to the mailing list, click here.

Pc.ign.com has posted a preview in addition to yesterday's preview. Today's includes some cutscenes pics, and a little plot detail: As well, there is a couple of 3D screenshots of the game.

A few posts by Delphi on the offical Emperor board, answering some questions on headlights, queuing, and software mode: For a more detailed list of Delphi's posts, check out Dune Emperor Xtreme.

Another Emperor preview has popped up. This time it is at pc.ign.com, which can be found here. Some more interesting info can be found in the preview, such as the tidbits below:

I think Adam, you are jumping the gun about the so-called story of Arrakis2k. I have not written a story for the game, neither has Gob nor any other of the Arrakis2k team. What was posted is A BACKGROUND to the game, in which provides the BASIS for the so-called (using your definitions) "plot", "story", units etc. All which was explained in my earlier response to your previous reply. Why the background was written as such was that Sefan asked Gob in writing a "plot" for Arrakis2k, to make it set after Dune and as close to the books as possible. If u think it is "CRAP", that is ok, but remember it isn't the "plot" or "story" of Arrakis2k. Therefore, the "plot" and "story" can have as much detail or as little detail as the team wants the game to portray. In affect the whole background in which Gob and myself wrote, might not be mentioned in the intro or the game (or even in any txt file that comes with the game).

Gamespot has made their game guides downloadable, free of charge, including their game guide for Dune 2000. If you need some help with Dune 2000, you can download the Gamespot game guide (among others) here.

According to Last Unicorn Games, a "special preview edition" of the Dune RPG, will be available at the Gen Con game fair in mid August. This hopefully means that RPG might be released soon. Amazon has the publishing date on the 1st of September, but I don't know the accuracy of this date.

PC.IGN has an interesting "retroview" of Dune II. The reviewer recommends going back to play the game, giving it 9.5 out of 10:

Dune Novels reports that the final revisions of the second Dune prequel novel, House Harkonnen have been completed, and is scheduled to be released in October. The report can been seen here, along with pictures of both the US and British book covers.

The compiler of the Dune Encyclopedia, Dr. Willis E. McNelly, posted on the alt.fan.dune newsgroup. In the post, Dr. McNelly explains why there are differences in the encyclopedia and the last two Frank Herbert's Dune books:

Last Unicorn Games has posted a preview (introduction) of their upcoming Dune: Chronicles of the Imperium role playing game, in pdf format.

Gamespot's current Question of the week is "What game have your spend the most time playing?". One of the answers given by the editors is (of course) Dune II, which apparently nearly caused one of the editors to fail a final:

Dune Novels now has a FAQ which answer questions ranging from future Dune works, to issues raised in House Atreides. Below is the question and answer regarding the possible setting for the next series of Dune novels.

For those who want to play some Dune based games in Civilization 2, the Apolyton Civilization Site has a Dune 2 scenario. Or, there is a Dune map if you want to play a normal type of Civ 2 game.

The January 2000 issue of the Australian Personal Computer magazine has a feature on their Top 10 Computer Games Ever (all computer platforms such as the Amiga, Commodore 64 etc.). The list contains (what I guess is in many FED2K readers' top 10 list ;) ), Dune 2, the only RTS game in the top 10: Update -> In a somewhat lower rank, Dune 2 is number 82 in Gamespot UK's 100 Best Computer Games.

Last Unicorn Games has put up new cover pictures of their Dune: Chronicles of the Imperium Core Game Book, and Narrator's Guide for the RPG. For those wondering when the RPG will be out, the main page of the Last Unicorn Games site has a counter, which I assume indicates the release of the Core Game Book ("only ... days until the Sleeper Awakens"); a little bit over a month away.

Dune Novels has posted a statement regarding the discrepancies between House Atreides and The Dune Encyclopedia: The statement also adds that there are no current plans to republish The Dune Encyclopedia. Dune Novels also has a approximately 2 Meg QuickTime file of a "Dune" (House Atreides) TV commmercial.

Computer Games Online has a feature article on 10 Essential Real-time Strategy Games. Dune 2 is number 3 on the list, citing this is the game that really shaped the genre. The article also includes the 10 games that almost made the list, and the 10 Inessential Real-time Strategy Games list, which unfortunately includes Dune 2000. The article can be found here.

The offical "Dune" webpage, Dune Novels has been revamped, including now a Flash intro. The site has more info on the upcomming Dune mini-series as well as info relating to the prequels.

Gamespot has put it's review of Tiberian Sun, commenting on the similar features in T-Sun that are in Dune 2. "Tiberian Sun's units include a number of throwbacks to Westwood's classic Dune 2 ... Dune 2 fans will enjoy such references; Command & Conquer fans may find them disconcerting." Check out the review here.

Gamespot has an article on the final hours of development of Tiberian Sun. The article also has a little bit on Dune 2, and a poll to vote on your first Westwood RTS game. The article can be found here.

Dunenovels has posted a link to Space.com, which has an excerpt of the upcomming Dune prequel, House Atreides. The excerpt and interviews with the authors, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, can be found here.

Today I got Westwood Online's newsletter, announcing that Dune 2000 Playstation will be out shortly. Coming in just a few short weeks, Westwood Studios is proud to unleash Dune 2000 for the PlayStation® game console...