Mentatal: Dune 2 Fan Remake Gets Multiplayer
When in company I want to impress, I'll always reach for X-COM as the definitive game that made me. When I'm feeling a little less self-conscious, I'll admit that really it's the less celebral but no less landmark proto-C&C Dune II: The Battle For Arrakis. (I'm told it was called Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty in the US. I just can't tell you how outlandishly wrong that sounds. Dynasty? Who cares about my legacy and offspring - I just want the Spice). I played each of its three campaigns multiple times, I drew ornithopters everywhere, I told my confused parents wild stories about sandworms and Fremen over dinner. No-one cared. I was alone in it. If only Dune Legacy had been around then - a fan remake/makeover of the seminal RTS, which has just added LAN and online multiplayer. Ooh, fancy a bit of that.
I'll definitely have to experiment, though the game does require some files from the original Dune II so I'll have to think up some kind of way to get them. Some kind of way. And no, it is not legally classified as abandonware and free from copyright, so don't you dare link to a download in comments. Should be worth the effort required to find it yourself, of course - Dune Legacy also features a redone UI and higher-res graphics, while remaining faithful to the original look. Here's a video of a slightly older build:
Ah, memories. Much lower-resolution memories. I'd probably have gone mad if the game had shown me so much of the level at once back in the day.
The latest version, v0.96.2, is available here. You chaps should definitely arrange some face-offs. I'll try and take a fuller look next week.