OpenD2k - cross platform reimplementation of Dune 2000

[Matthias M.]

This is now officially part of OpenRA since playtest-20120715-2. Please report broken things at http://bugs.openra.net and see https://github.com/OpenRA/OpenRA/labels/Dune%202000 for known issues. Fork us at https://github.com/O...enRA/tree/bleed to contribute patches.

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http://www.openra.net is a modern open source cross-platform reimplementation of the early westwood RTS games. It supports Command & Conquer: Red Alert and Tiberian Dawn as mods adding new units and rebalancing the game. There is an active community of developers and players for online matches via a nice Lobby.

I've been working the last weeks on a Dune 2000 mod for OpenRA. As the game engine is similiar, but not identical (different game files, tile sizes, frameorders ...) so progress is not so fast. I already wrote a converter for the sprites and scripted some units/buildings.

As the ratings of the original Dune 2000 are overall quite bad and this is quite some work I wonder if people will actually play the game once it is in a more polished state. Is there any interest at all?



The text in the splash screen will change over time. If you have nice ideas, I will add them :)



Well you can see, it's more like Command & Conquer: Yellow Alert right now. Some misplaced Dune 2000 units invading the UdSSR in winter. The code is in C#, but mostly it consists of simple YAML textfiles. It requires the DATA.R8 to be ripped off using a shell script at the moment. Not very user friendly, I know and you guys probably all use Windows so you need to write a batch file instead. I plan to later add an in-game GUI auto-import of the game files as exists for the other official OpenRA mods.

[NodFan]

thanks man, I have been suggesting the openra team to include D2K but as usual they say that D2K is not possible to mod, other than that we now need D2K maps and a script to have them buildable on rock type terrain only. :)

[djbaskan60]

nice idea. I think so. I hope that would be really nice

[mvi]

Have you had any luck with parsing Data.r8/16 yet? Parsing the tile sets was very straight forward, but the Data file seems to use a dozen different variations, although I've worked out most of them. (That may just be Data.R16 though)

If you need access to any of the D2K+ source code let me know. It's written in C# so should integrate easily.

[mvi]

Screenshot of my resource editor handling Data.R8 although I seem to recall according to Sib Grem's editor there were a few hundred more.

[Matthias M.]

OpenRA tried to mod Dune 2000, but the gamefiles format is really so lame and in contrast to the CnC game Dune 2000 is not officially Freeware, so they abandoned it. The DATA.R8 reader was hidden in the source code history (and broken). I just had to fix it (well took quite long and it's not really production quality).

They actually have support for the 32x32 tileset, there is even a tileset editor to slice the (custom made) Arrakis bitmap and the map editor already works. However I am currently stuck with in-game crashes whenever I load an Arrakis map combined with strange and not very helpful error messages. Defining on which tiles you are allowed to build is easy once this is fixed.

Many people already complained about the annoying concrete plates. Maybe I will just leave them out. What do you think?

[Matthias M.]

Screenshot of my resource editor handling Data.R8 although I seem to recall according to Sib Grem's editor there were a few hundred more.

I already got inspired by portions of http://code.google.com/p/dune2000plusone/source/browse/trunk/Dune2k1/ResourceEditor/ResourceEditor/Form1.cs to fix the DATA.R8 reader (please tell me how to credit you appropiately) and got help to understand the offset variables at http://www.sleipnirstuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=83&p=282006#282006

The http://d2kplus.com/tileset.php looks interesting. Can I use portions from that one to enhance the OpenRA.Utility.exe to rip the BLOX*.R8 files via commandline options? Are you interested in helping me?

[mvi]

Easier to respond on here since IRC is dying.

The tile set editor is on the trunk as tile set converter. I'm fine with you using any of the source code on there as long as I get a credit somewhere (as mvi) although a plug for d2kplus.com would also be welcome if you can work it in ;-)

If I recall correctly I worked out the entry count should be something like 5600, sib gremlin's editor is interesting to compare to, but I've found that his editors do have a few mistaken assumptions in a few places, I think his R8 editor while awesome has a couple of mistakes too, would need to look into it properly but realistically I'm so busy at work that isn't going to happen in the foreseeable future.

I would love to actively develop for OpenRA but as I said on IRC with the amount of work I have on at the moment I don't have time for my main hobby projects let alone D2K (which is probably about 5th on my coding priority list these days).

The mission files are now very well documented, so it could be cool to include support for the original missions conditions and events. I don't know if you're planning a mission system, but the D2K one seems to work reasonably well and is quite simple. Could be an idea to add a few more conditions and events of your own to make things more interesting? For example an event for giving the player money, so that a mission could be created on another planet (a bit like in EBFD) where harvesting spice isn't a requirement. Just a thought.

Seems like you're making great progress, if you have any queries please ask on here or shoot me an email at barnabysmith@gmail.com :-)

[Matthias M.]

The mission files are now very well documented, so it could be cool to include support for the original missions conditions and events. I don't know if you're planning a mission system, but the D2K one seems to work reasonably well and is quite simple. Could be an idea to add a few more conditions and events of your own to make things more interesting? For example an event for giving the player money, so that a mission could be created on another planet (a bit like in EBFD) where harvesting spice isn't a requirement. Just a thought.

OpenRA has preliminary support for missions with scripted AI, but I think it uses a different format and it is still in the making. Maybe you can write a converter into the map editor which already imports legacy maps. It also has capturable oil rigs that generate money over time so this gameplay element is possible, too.

[Matthias M.]

Scripting the units and buildings is not so hard. I am making good progress. Fixed some rendering bugs and added some units and structures. However notice that the OpenRA engine does not support the Dune 2000 overlays yet leaving some buildings without door and the Arrakis tileset still crashes. I could need a helping hand there.

[Feda]

Scripting the units and buildings is not so hard. I am making good progress. Fixed some rendering bugs and added some units and structures. However notice that the OpenRA engine does not support the Dune 2000 overlays yet leaving some buildings without door and the Arrakis tileset still crashes. I could need a helping hand there.

Would be nice to have more tilesets, like in EBFD, not only the Arrakis one.

[NodFan]

Scripting the units and buildings is not so hard. I am making good progress. Fixed some rendering bugs and added some units and structures. However notice that the OpenRA engine does not support the Dune 2000 overlays yet leaving some buildings without door and the Arrakis tileset still crashes. I could need a helping hand there.

lol you should test the D2K buildings on C&C95 Desert maps to use those as D2K Placeholder maps, no offense that D2K Buildings on Grass is a no no :P.

Other than that, good job so far with the mod that I hope one day you can get the real D2K maps in OpenRA (with campagins too of course).

[Matthias M.]

I fixed a lot in the last days: The 32x32 Arrakis tileset is working and all the buildings render properly (except the turret). The Atreides are already complete and I added the music and some sounds.

The shot looks kinda boring as I don't have very many tiles and the TilesetBuilder is currently broken. Animations (like windtraps, radar dish, infantry) are missing, but this is already playable as I fallback on Red Alert stuff whenever something is not yet implemented.

[NodFan]

awsome man, then I cant wait for the Harkonnen and Ordos to be done.

[Matthias M.]

I added the Harkonnen:

[Feda]

A question: is there a posibility to add more game types? Such as coop ? From what I've seen in text.uib it was kinda intended by Westwood, but was never released.

[Matthias M.]

A question: is there a posibility to add more game types? Such as coop ? From what I've seen in text.uib it was kinda intended by Westwood, but was never released.

Playing together against the AI is already possible. OpenRA has two AIs. One that is similar to the skirmish AI and a scripted AI for singleplayer campaigns. The skirmish AI works well. It can't handle island maps because it only builds ground vehicles, but that is already enough for Dune.

[mvi]

You're making fantastic progress, is this all on the Git repo?

[Matthias M.]

You're making fantastic progress, is this all on the Git repo?

Thanks. I created a new branch https://github.com/Mailaender/OpenRA/tree/dune which I update once I tested if everything works correctly. If you want to help here is my https://github.com/Mailaender/OpenRA/blob/dune/mods/d2k/TODO list.

[Matthias M.]

The source code for http://d2kplus.com/soundeffecttool.php would be helpful.

[Feda]

nice job man, keep up the good work! :) thumbs up for you!

[Matthias M.]

Now the Ordos arsenal is supported as well.

[vota dc]

Modding RA I didn't encounter difficulties to give units to subfaction but not to the main faction. With Dune 2000 I can't say the same: usually sharing the same construction yard they will end to build same things, reason why the Emperor Palace isn't buildable. Can this project fix this?

[Feda]

nice question.. also, new units should be added, because at the moment dune is pretty lame having almost same shit for all houses.. i know that its a remake for dune 2, but when u play online u realise that the game is quite unbalanced :)

[Matthias M.]

Modding RA I didn't encounter difficulties to give units to subfaction but not to the main faction. With Dune 2000 I can't say the same: usually sharing the same construction yard they will end to build same things, reason why the Emperor Palace isn't buildable. Can this project fix this?

The emperor palace does not have an icon yet as it was never supposed to be buildable in Dune 2000. To have it added to a faction you need to draw one. But it could be still placed in maps as a capturable building that allows you to train Sadaurkas (they have an icon).

nice question.. also, new units should be added, because at the moment dune is pretty lame having almost same shit for all houses.. i know that its a remake for dune 2, but when u play online u realise that the game is quite unbalanced :)

Someone is actually already working on this. Have a look at http://content.open-ra.org/?p=units I recently saw a model of a Harkonnen flame tank. Balancing will be improved just as the other OpenRA mods are optimized for multiplayer gaming.