Emperor: Battle for Dune

MosesPresley · July 29, 2002, 00:08

I vote for this game as the best fantasy RTS. I think it may even be better than Starcraft. Third runner-up, for me, might be Sacrifice. Sacrifice was probably the most unique RTS I have ever played. Very humorous too.

In EBD

*You have an excellent waypoint system.
*There is a little political intrigue: you can ally with the Tleilaxu, Sardaukar, Ix, Guild, or Fremen.
*Unlimited sized groupings, which is good since you are limited to 9.
*Formations.
*Build Q's.
*Unusual and some surreal units.
*The units are very well balanced.

You have all that and you get the great Dune universe too for a rich backdrop to fight against. As Dune was the original RTS wargame, it's good to see that Westwood learned from their previous mistakes and delivered a near perfect game.

Anyone else have this game? Do you agree? I have been having a blast playing this. I just finished House Ordos and now I'm playing the Atreides. I'm saving the best for last, the Harkonnen scum. Their anti-infantry unit, a giant buzzsaw tank, is freakish and frightening to contemplate.

Skanky Burns · July 29, 2002, 07:26

I never did get into that game - I guess I was just expecting an updated version of Dune 2. Speaking of which, my dad still plays Dune 2.

Eli · July 29, 2002, 07:52

I hated that game. The graphics were too unrealistic.

DinoDoc · July 29, 2002, 13:49

Quote:

Originally posted by Eli
I hated that game. The graphics were too unrealistic.

How exactly do you realistically render sandworms, etc.?

Eli · July 29, 2002, 14:42

No... It was just too toyish. It all looked like a huge lego game.

MosesPresley · July 29, 2002, 19:38

Eli, are you talking about Dune 2000 or Battle for Dune?

The graphics in battle for dune are very good. They take full advantage of 3d accelerated graphics. The whole game is fully 3d too. And this time the worms are impressive. The first time I saw one take out an army, my jaw literally dropped open.

MosesPresley · July 30, 2002, 16:06

Here's some screens:

MosesPresley · July 30, 2002, 16:12

This is a medium-zoom-view of an infantry battle, HUD off, between House Atreides and the Tleiaxu.

Main_Brain · July 31, 2002, 01:57

I dont know how the Units are 'well-balanced'
Fremen and Sadaukar seemed too Powerful to me

Skanky Burns · July 31, 2002, 04:11

They're supposed to be (based upon the story).

Main_Brain · July 31, 2002, 08:49

Well granted :=)
But ingame it seemed quite ridiculous to me. Those two Factions just cancel out each others Disadvateges ( The Sadaukar vulnerability to Vehicles and the Fremen vulnerability to Flying Stuff...) and arent too expensive..

Skanky Burns · July 31, 2002, 10:37

Actually, I must confess I was thinking about Dune 2000 before rather than the newer Emperor: BFD. So is the newer one similar to Dune 2 in gameplay and structure/unit builds? The graphics look superb (and sandworms are actually something to be feared).

MosesPresley · July 31, 2002, 13:17

Main_Brain, you're right about them cancelling each other out. That's part of the balance. They are balanced like a rock, paper, scissors game. Each unit has another unit that can kill it quite easily.

A nice touch this time, is that the Fremen Fedaykin can ride the worms. I haven't tried this yet myself, as I keep forgetting about it in the heat of battle.

Skanky, I didn't play Dune 2, I did play Dune 2000 and I didn't like that one too much. The game play, minus the advances in technology and the new unit capabilities and additions, is very much the same as the original Dune. The big difference this time is the automation of spice harvesting. You no longer have to micromanage your harvesters. Just make sure you build enough carryalls and defend your spice fields and you'll have plenty of credits to trounce your enemy. You no longer need to build concrete, any solid rock will do. Infantry is also better this time around due to a new terrain feature know as infantry rock. Infantry in infantry rock, gain armor bonuses and cannot be overrun by vehicles.

I've posted a couple more screens.

MosesPresley · July 31, 2002, 13:22

This an Ordos mortar group, Tleilaxu leeches and light tanks rebuffing a small Atreides rush. If you look close you can see the goldish looking shields on the Ordos light tanks.

Q Classic · July 31, 2002, 13:55

i played it for a while, but haven't beaten it. i like house ordos's kamikazes, but that's just me.

my main problem with it is that it story, gamewise, is rather weak... there's a good way to be non-linear, and then there's a bad way, and emperor just kinda leans too close to the bad way.

Main_Brain · July 31, 2002, 17:43

The counterattacks start to get nerving at some Point

In my First attempt I thought I could cut of Provinces which would then automatically become mine (related to Dune2) but noooooo.
I wished that you could've automated these nonimportant battles

Later in teh Game I simply chose not to defend most stuff.. you only need to head straight for one HQ anyway...

Dune2000 well I didnt like it but I cant fix it on a single Fault.. it well just overall didnt bring the Kick that Dune2 brought.

Ahh for teh Sandworm-Ride :=)
I once took 15 Of those FremenElite let them summon some Worms and hell it was fun

The Only Problem is you have to summon them right as you want to use them.. 'cause if you dont give them Orders the Worms go after a while

MosesPresley · July 31, 2002, 23:21

I know what you mean about those counter-attacks Main_Brain, but I found out something. If you take the initial force you are given and immediately seek out the intruder's base, you can usually run them off without a long drawn out battle. I usually can bust up a counter-attack within about 15 mins.

Main_Brain · August 1, 2002, 08:04

Aye thats right indeed

They have to build up a base too, but I wished that I had my Old Base I built there

MosesPresley · August 1, 2002, 18:58

Quote:

Originally posted by Q Cubed
i played it for a while, but haven't beaten it. i like house ordos's kamikazes, but that's just me.

my main problem with it is that it story, gamewise, is rather weak... there's a good way to be non-linear, and then there's a bad way, and emperor just kinda leans too close to the bad way.

The Ordos saboteurs do some impressive damage. They're cool too.

I thought the story was about on par for a video game. The loser end movie is pretty good, while the winner movies are typical.

I remembered one more reason why I think this is the top fantasy rts.

Your units can advance advance to veteran and elite status.

For House Atreides third level infantry veterans are considered elite units and may re-enter their barracks and train all like units in the future to the first level of veterancy. Atreides soldiers can continue upgading their barracks this way to eventually produce third level elite soldiers.

Here's a couple of more screens.

MosesPresley · August 1, 2002, 19:05

Harks attacking Atreides.

MosesPresley · August 1, 2002, 19:10

This is a sand tornado in a spice field.

Skanky Burns · August 2, 2002, 00:59

Quote:

Originally posted by MosesPresley
Skanky, I didn't play Dune 2, I did play Dune 2000 and I didn't like that one too much. The game play, minus the advances in technology and the new unit capabilities and additions, is very much the same as the original Dune. The big difference this time is the automation of spice harvesting. You no longer have to micromanage your harvesters. Just make sure you build enough carryalls and defend your spice fields and you'll have plenty of credits to trounce your enemy. You no longer need to build concrete, any solid rock will do. Infantry is also better this time around due to a new terrain feature know as infantry rock. Infantry in infantry rock, gain armor bonuses and cannot be overrun by vehicles.

Now you are mixing up games!

The original Dune was a game where you controlled Paul Atreides in person, and the only other enemy was House Harkonnen. Dune 2 is the one with concrete, building up bases, etc.

Could you post a pic of infantry rock if you get the chance? That sounds interesting.

EDIT: That would be infantry rock in the "Ordos Mortar group" picture?

MosesPresley · August 2, 2002, 02:42

Quote:

Originally posted by Skanky Burns
EDIT: That would be infantry rock in the "Ordos Mortar group" picture?

Exactly. The infantry rock finally makes infantry useful. It is usually strategically placed around the maps.

Well, I guess I never even seen the original Dune game then. Was it any good? It must have been Dune 2 that I was playing on my old Genesis. I rented it from Blockbuster. I kept it for an extra week, racking up late fees, so that I could finish all the levels.

EBD is very similar in style of gameplay to Dune 2. The structures and units are very similar to each other. The classic units are still there. The Ordos have their Deviator, the Atreides have their Sonic Tanks and the Harkonnen have the Devastators. I know there are some differences in the prices. The biggest thing is that harvesting is automatic now. They are accompanied at all times by their own personal carryall. The carryall will ferry the harvester between the refinery and the spice fields. If all of your harvesters are killed, you will get one free replacement to carry on harvesting.times by their own personal carryall. The carryall will ferry the harvester between the refinery and the spice fields. If all of your harvesters are killed, you will get one free replacement to carry on harvesting.

MosesPresley · August 3, 2002, 22:36

Harkonnens get an ornithopter too this time.

Skanky Burns · August 4, 2002, 02:02

Quote:

Well, I guess I never even seen the original Dune game then. Was it any good?

If you enjoy Dune EBD for the fact that its Dune, the original would be worth a look. Otherwise no, as its a completely different genre of game.

Adagio · August 4, 2002, 07:15

Here's my thoughts on Emperor - Battle for Dune:

I liked the orginal Dune series (Never playe Dune1), but in Emperor, they seem to have put in some annoyances during the games where AI fight AI (In campaign). Whenever it's the AI's turn, and the AI attacks the other aI, then you get an extra mission, like infiltrating enemy base, and such...I really hate that, it ruins the game...

Last time I had the game installed (a couple of months ago), I played as Ordos, finnished the "normal" levels, then I got to this extra mission, were you had to infiltrate enemy base, which (as I stated before) really hate...But it got even worse, I had brightness on full, but still it was hard to recognize your toops from the floor...I tried one game, but since it was impossible to actually see the enemies, I was supprise many times, and within no time, my soldiers was killed...

The next thing I did, was to try to find a file, were you can edit the strength of your soldiers (just so, I could win these extra boring missions, without trouble), but I couldn't find any, so I uninstalled the game again, after a couple of Skirmish battles...

Sarxis · August 4, 2002, 07:23

I bought this game recently, and if it weren't for my Morrowind addiction, I'd be playing through the campaigns right now.

If you liked Starcraft, you'll definately like EBD.

I think :\

Adagio · August 4, 2002, 07:41

Quote:

Originally posted by Anunikoba
If you liked Starcraft, you'll definately like EBD.

If I had the choice between Dune 2 and startcraft, it's no doubt I'll choose Dune 2...starcraft sux...