Cheats & Hints:
Cheat:
Here is how to get out of the difficult level 9 if you're playing the Atreides family. Use a Hex editor to edit the SCENARIO.PAK file in the DUNE2 directory and do the following:
Save the level 9 game.
Go to scenario 22 of the Atreides.
Go to [ATREIDES] and change credit to 30000 and Maxunit to 50
Go to [UNITS] and change all Atreides Siege tanks to Atreides Sonic tanks.
Go to [STRUCTURES] search for palaces of the Harkonnen and Sarduakars and change them all to Ordod palaces.
Go to [REINFORCEMENTS] and change the Atreides tanks to Sonics.
Save the new SCENARIO.PAK file. Start the game and load the saved level 9 position.
Go to OPTIONS and RESTART SCENARIO.
You now have loads of credits at your disposal and all of your tanks have changed into the more powerful Sonic variety. What's more the missile barrages should have stopped making the chances of you surviving the level far higher.
Tips:
1. Place concrete slabs before placing structures. It's worth upgrading the construction yard so you can build the larger slabs. Upgrade the light vehicle and heavy vehicle factories as soon as you can so you can produce siege tanks. It's worth upgrading the heavy factory several times on later levels so you can produce a mobile construction vehicle. Watch the state of all your structures and repair them when necessary - it costs spice but it's usually cheaper than building replacements.
2. Don't bother building walls (they cost too much and don't last very long) build rocket turrets instead. You need to upgrade the construction yard to be able to build them but you're going to do that anyway aren't you? Spot where the enemy are attacking from - they always attack from the same direction - and place concrete slabs on the rock in that direction. Put half a dozen turrets on the extremities of the slabs and with a bit of luck they should see off most of the attackers before they get too close. Keep an eye on the state of the turrets and repair them when necessary.
3. See whether there's a line of rock that stretches from your base towards the enemy base. If there is create a pathway of concrete slabs along the rock and position rocket turreys close to the enemy base. When you attack the turrets are able to give your units covering fire and you find yourself with a significant advantage. If there isn't an unbroken line of rock consider using a mobile construction vehicle to establish a construction yard on a piece of rock close to the enemy which you can then use as a base for extending the range of your turrets.
4. On the later levels it's extremely important to restrict the amount of spice the enemy mines because spice runs out extremely quickly. You need to use a fast trike or quad to explore the map and find spice fields and enemy harvesters and then you simply do everything possible to destroy the harvesters.
Programming:
If you want to use/build more than 25 units use a Hex editor to edit the scenario.pak file. Find a line containing:
Brain=Human
Maxunit=25
Credit=1500
and change the number after the Maxunit to 99
Hack:
This cheat involves editing one of the Dune2 files, so remember to back up before you start fiddling around. Edit the file scenario.pak with a text editor such as write for Windows(DO NOT USE EDIT IN DOS! This damages the file when you save it so don't try it). This file contains all sorts of useful information about each of the scenarios for the different houses. There are 21 scenarios for the different houses and I believe they work as follows.
1 = First level - don't edit this as the game will probably crash.
2,3 = Second Level.
4,5,6 = Third level.
7,8,9 = Fourth Level.
10, 11, 12 = Fifth Level.
13, 14, 15 = Sixth Level.
16, 17, 18 = Seventh Level.
19, 20 = Eigth Level.
21 = Ninth Level.
Under each level there is a map seed (do not change this unless you want to start in the middle of some sand) and some info about the players. Find the scenario (or scenarios) that is/are applicable to the level you are on and change the credits for the human player to -1. Save the file and reload Dune2. Load your game, then restart the level. This will give you 65535 credits, although it looks like you have -1 at the start (the credits will go down to -32767 then flip to positive 32767). Play on and enjoy your cash. Remember that the file scenario.pak contains all the info about structures and units at the start of the level, so have a fiddle and give yourself some better units. I haven't worked out how to place units accurately on the map but from what I can tell, if you add one to the last number of the unit or structure it moves one square to the right (for structures the number represents the top left corner). I have discovered that overdoing this hack can cause the game to crash when you try to restart the scenario, and editing Level 1 just doesn't work at all, however you can still have some fun, and give house-specific units (e.g. Devastator, Sonic Tank) to other houses (just remember that no matter what affiliation a Deviator Tank may be, it still turns units to Ordos, which is not very good for the game if there is no Ordos player. I don't know if it will crash or not, as I have avoided doing this).
And a little Hex-Cheat:
Cheat procedure:
1. When the game starts, build two tiles right away. This will make sure that there is only one place that is needed to be changed.
2. Save the game and abort the mission.
3. On the main menu, press Alt+tab, so that you don't have to quit the game to cheat.
4. Using scientific calculator find the corresponding hex number for the cash you had in the game. i.e. 4960 will give 1360.
5. Using hex editor, open the saved game.
6. Search for the hex value. Remember that low two bit comes first. So, for example, with 4960 cash, hex value is 1360. But you should look for 6013, instead. Change that to 'ffffaa'. It will give maximum amount of cash. Don't try to "ffffff", because it'll cause the game to crash. "ffffee" was the maximum value I was able to use without crashing, but "ffffaa" gave me the same thing anyway.
7. Save the change and close the file.
8. Back to Dune 2000 and load the game.
9. Enjoy the game and crush other two houses!!
Dune 2000 - HeXCheat:
When you start a mission (at least with the Atreides), if you save it as soon as you start, your spice credits will be stored in byte 24354 (hex). If you've already made something in the game, the proper position will not be exactly that, but it won't change much. So far, I only noticed a change up to byte 24344 (hex). I took the offset values with xe, an hex editor for dos, which I use to edit all my savegames.
Hint: Unnecessary concrete slabs:
You do not need to put concrete underneath an entire building. If the building has a dirt patch, just cover the actual building portion and leave the dirt patch on regular sand. This will save on spice and the number of concrete slabs to be built.
///////////////////////////////////
DUNE 2000
Walkthrough / FAQ
///////////////////////////////////
*** I N T R O D U C T I O N ***
Hello, y'all. Strategy games and RPGs are my type of game, but Dune
2000 is one I haven't played in a long while. I did see, however, that
the Gamefaqs site needed one, so, I am going to go back into the game
to write the FAQ.
This game is a lot like Command and Conquer series, as that you do all
commands the same way. In a way, it is like a 'duned' C&C, in that
there is a little difference in units, and some improvements in
gameplay options.
This FAQ is more unique than the other FAQ I have written. I only see a
need for a FAQ in RPGs, and I really don't know how to write one for
strategy games yet. But, I will experiment, and, write the best FAQ
that I damn well can.
First of all, I haven't played the game much, and I beat the Atreides
missions. I am (or was) very far in both of the other houses, but I
haven't beaten them yet. This is where I need your help. If you have
any information on beating the _ORDOS_ missions, then please tell me! I
am pretty good at these games, and are revered by other players, but, I
am not a master. I will beat the ORDOS missions eventually, but I want
to get the FAQ finished A.S.A.P. Well, enjoy the FAQ!
Also, these strategies are for the EASY category!! They will probably
work for medium (just requires more speed and slightly different
strategy) but hard players will probably never find a FAQwriter that
has that much skill.
*** R E V I S I O N H I S T O R Y ***
11/30/99 V .3 First release. No walkthrough yet, but It'll
be up soon! Please be patient.
*** C O N T E N T S ***
I. Game Introduction
II. Gameplay Concepts
III. Structures / Units
IV. Walkthrough
- Atreides
- Harkonnen
- Ordos
V. EXTRAS
- Miscellaneous tips
- Modem/Net/Etc. play tips
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
/////// I. G A M E I N T R O D U C T I O N ////////
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dune, a barren, desert world, is a planet that is valuable in one way,
despite its very harsh conditions. It is the only place in the entire
known universe that houses the very powerful substance known as the
Spice Melange. The Spice can lengthen life, power ships, accomplish
many common tasks.
Currently, the Padishah Emperor, Federick IV, is the ruler of the
entire known universe. He is the leader of House Corrino, who trains
his extremely powerful Sardaukar troops.
The emperor recently made a challenge...to three of the most powerful
houses, all of which are hostile to each other. The victor not only
gains mining rights, but the Governor ship of Dune. Sounds intriguing,
that such a selfish Emperor would make such an offer...
The houses have accepted the challenge, and all of them are arriving at
Dune to compete for their precious prize. What could the emperor have
in store for them? The destiny of Dune is in your hands...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
////// I I . G A M E P L A Y C O N C E P T S ///////
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dune is your battle field. A wise commander always knows his
battlefield. Dune has different types of terrain, that of which can be
used to your advantage, or even disadvantage.
|||||||||||||| Spice is a reddish color, and is your main
|Spice Fields| source of dinero. It can be harvested to
|||||||||||||| obtain credits to purchase units.
||||||||||||| What do ya think?! It's the most easily
|Normal Sand| passable terrain, and also the most
||||||||||||| abundant.
||||||| Found in the sand. Obviously, it is hard
|Dunes| pass with vehicles.
|||||||
||||||||||||||||| Terrain features that are stable enough to
|Rock Formations| build structures on. Still, concrete slabs
||||||||||||||||| must be built for maximum stability.
||||||||||| Ridges that are the only elevated areas in
|Mountains| all of Dune. Only infantry may cross,
||||||||||| only in certain spots though.
There are two types of species which are indigenous(native) to the
planet.
++ Sand Worms ++ These are an extremely dangerous type of worm.
Huge, unseen, and well, huge worms which lurk
the sands of Dune. These worms are NOT
invisible, though, and can be killed. The process
is very slow, so avoiding it would probably
easier.
++ Fremen ++ These are warriors which live in caves around the
planet called Sietches. Very dangerous and
masters of stealth, they have no allies...yet.
There are three houses that are in a warring state for control of Dune.
Being some of the most powerful houses in the universe, the Emperor
sees them as a potent threat, and unleashes a plan that could destroy
them all, or destroy him, depending on you. The three houses are:
>>>ATREIDES<<<
A noble house. Their planet is the watery world of Caladan. They are
a prosperous people. Their leader is Duke Leto Atreides. He is an
intelligent nobleman, who leads his people well. He has a mentat
named Noree Moneo. Their strengths lie in air force, and slightly
higher quality units and structures. Their absolute enemy and threat
is Baron Harkonnen and his house of wretched 'creations'. Of course,
this house, being the most intelligent, is most suspicious of the
Emperor's offer, and is ready at any moment for surprises.
>>>HARKKONEN<<<
Detestable beings. Their planet is the wasteland of Geidi Prime. You
could say that their leader, Baron Harkonnen, is the epitome of evil.
He rules cruelly under grieving conditions; punishment is normally
torturous and perverted. His mentat is named Hayt DeVries (a Ghola;
reanimated corpses. Didn't I say this guy was perverted and
demented?). Their strength lies in pure brute force, and perhaps the
fear which the Baron strikes in the hearts of his forces and his
enemies. It is also rumored that he utilizes the use of atomic
weapons, though most would not be surprised. Prisoners and all
Harkonnen are required to wear heart plugs; plugs in the heart area
which, when pulled, allow the Baron to drink the blood of failures
and prisoners with ease (!).
>>>ORDOS<<<
A very 'shy' house. Not much is known about it, nor their home
planet. Planet is a world of ice, thus, their resources are smuggled
from other planets. Their leader is currently not known. Rumor is,
though, a group of wealthy men manage the finances of the house, and
thus it seems they also manage the house itself. Their mentat is
rumored to be a supercomputer in the form of a man, but it would most
likely be the first ever created, so the idea is normally
disapproved. Masters of sabotage, they're strength lies in large
wealth. Mercenaries are their main source of troops, though, leaving
an unreliable source for recruiting troops.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
/////// I I . G A M E P L A Y C O N C E P T S ///////-----------------------------------------------------------------------
When you start up your program, you will be given a choice to:
----------------------
| [Start New Game] |
| [ Load Mission ] |
| [ Multiplayer ] |
| [Intro/Sneak P.] |
| [ Game Options ] |
| [ Exit Game ] |
----------------------
If this is your first time, an animation should've already run and you
should be able to pick your house. I recommend that you pick easy as a
difficulty if your picking the Ordos, pick easy / medium for Atreides
and Harkonnen. Although the walkthrough varies from difficulty to
difficulty, you should be able to follow it easy if you pick the
difficulties stated above.
You should already know how to play the game if you've played previous
Command and Conquer games. But here's an explanation for newbies.
1. Use your mouse to:
- Scroll around screen
- Select units/groups
- Initiate commands
This could mean anything from commanding units to move to setting up
special Guard / Sell controls.
2. There are many different cursors:
- When there are brackets around your unit, it is selectable.
- When there is a circle with four arrows, that means that that the
selected unit can be commanded to move there.
- When there is a circle with four arrows with universal no sign,
then that means that the selected unit cannot move on that terrain.
- A big arrow indicates scrolling.
- A arrow with the universal no sign means that you scrolled to the
end of the map.
- The deploy cursor is 4 small arrows moving from the center.
- The can't deploy cursor is the arrows with the universal no.
3. Groups can be selecting by dragging the mouse cursor to make a box.
4. The sidebar is a useful tool; here you can initiate all building,
view maps, upgrade, and initiate auto guard to a group. During
multiplayer, you can also ally with the sidebar.
5. Building is easy:
- To initiate building, just click on the picture of the building on
the sidebar. The building will become shaded, and fractions of the
shading will be colored at certain speeds. When the shading
disappears, the building is ready.
- Click on the picture again, and you will see a building placement
cursor, which shows the space that the building needs to be built.
- Buildings can be built on rock only. Also, I would recommend that
you build concrete slabs before you place the buildings, as that
acts as a foundation that keeps buildings from 'falling apart'.
- Power: Power is needed for proper operations of buildings. When
low on power, buildings slow in training/building, some become
completely unoperational. Build Wind Traps to add power, and NEVER
let your power fall into red (check on your sidebar for power
reading)
- Training / Building units is just as easy. Click on the picture,
and it will start building. When finished, it will come out of the
proper training facility.
- Upgrading / Building requirements: Some buildings/units require
that certain buildings already be built to be built. Some also
require that buildings be upgraded. To find out all that stuff,
read the unit listings just ahead.
- Harvesting: When you build you a spice refinery, a harvester will
come via carryall. Harvesters are used to harvest the spice, and
the spice is what your money is in this game.
6. Sidebar extras
- Sell button: The $ on the sidebar is the button you click on to
activate the sell cursor. Any building you click thereafter will
be sold for half of its original price. NOTE: This cursor will
remain UNTIL you click the right mouse button.
- Radar Button: Cycles through each of the radar views. A outpost is
required for radar.
- Guard Button: When you select this button, selected units go into
guard mode. When enemies enter their area, the units will attack
and chase down (to a certain point) the enemy units.
- Retreat button: If your in a jam, select the units and click the
retreat button.
7. Advanced tactics
- Teams: You can make teams of units by selecting a group of units
and pressing ctrl + # to assign them to a group. Press the # key
to recall the group. (this is not #, when I say #, I mean a
number, as in 1-9). THIS IS AN EXTREMELY USEFUL AND IMPORTANT
tactic. With up to 9 teams selectable, you can do to separate
attacks easily. Press alt + # to center the screen on a certain
team.
- Bookmarks: Useful to quickly go back to a certain area on the map.
Go to the area you want to save and press ctrl + F9-F12. To recall
the area, just press the F9-F12.
- Force Fire: It could be a useful tactic to tell a unit to fire on
an area that is not necessarily a target. Press CTRL and click on
the area which you which to force fire.
- Force Move: Heh Heh...if you have infantry pissing you off because
your tanks can't kill them, use force move :) Just press alt and
click on the unit.
- Scatter: If tanks are smashing into your infantry, try scattering.
Units will move in random directions to try and avoid the enemy.
Scatter by pressing X.
- Stop: If you want your unit to stop immediately, select them and
press S.
- Center View: Pressing the Home Key will center your view on the
selected unit if you accidentally get lost.
- Construction Yard View: Pressing H centers your screen on your
Construction Yard.
- Select Everything: To select every selectable _unit_ on the map
that of course is yours, press E.
Well, after all that, you should have a pretty good idea on how to play
the game well. Good luck on your missions!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
//////////// I I I . U N I T S ////////////-----------------------------------------------------------------------
All buildings are available to any house. Units, though, are more
unique to the houses. Unique units will be marked with a )A(, ]H[,
or a }O{ to indicate which house can build/train the selected unit.
Please NOTE: The costs of the buildings are not available yet, but I
will have them soon enough! Come on, I did all this in 3 hours!
=-=-=-=-=-=
|Structures|
=-=-=-=-=-=
--------------------------- ---------------------------
|Construction Yard | |Concrete Slab |
--------------------------- ---------------------------
|Prerequisite: MCV | |Prerequisite: Con. Yard |
| | | |
|The main part of any base; | |Foundations of a building. |
|probably one of your most | |Highly recommended to be |
|important structures. It | |built under buildings to |
|allows you to build all | |prevent from unnecessary |
|structures. | |damage. |
--------------------------- ---------------------------
--------------------------- ---------------------------
|Wall | |Wind Trap |
--------------------------- ---------------------------
|Prerequisite: Wind Trap | |Prerequisite: Con. Yard |
| | | |
|Use this to defend your | |Yet another very important |
|base from attack. Hard to | |structure. It provides |
|destroy; only higher level | |power to your base. Power |
|explosive attacks can | |is needed for your base to |
|damage it. | |function correctly |
--------------------------- ---------------------------
--------------------------- ---------------------------
|Refinery | |Barracks |
--------------------------- ---------------------------
|Prerequisite: Wind Trap | |Prerequisite: Wind Trap |
| | | |
|The refinery is the | |Infantry are trained at the|
|facility that allows you to| |barracks. May need to be |
|collect spice on Dune. | |upgraded in order to create|
|Comes with a harvester and | |more advanced units. |
|is where the harvester | ---------------------------
|dumps its load to be |
|refined. | ---------------------------
--------------------------- |Outpost |
---------------------------
--------------------------- |Prerequisite: Barracks |
|Gun Turret | | |
--------------------------- |This is where your radar |
|Prerequisite: Barracks | |originates. If you have |
| | |sufficient power, then the |
|Primary defense for a base.| |radar will be available to |
|Low cost, power, and | |you. The outpost is easily |
|mediocre defense against | |destroyed though, and |
|enemies. Very useful. | |should be defended. |
--------------------------- ---------------------------
--------------------------- ---------------------------
|Rocket Turret | |High Tech Facility |
--------------------------- ---------------------------
|Prerequisite: Outpost and | |Prerequisite: Outpost |
|upgraded Con. Yard | | |
| | |This serves only one |
|Costly, and drains power, | |purpose to most houses; the|
|but well worth the defense.| |construction of the ever |
|Has much more power, and | |useful carryalls. The |
|ability to attack air units| |Atreides have used this |
|but it is inaccurate, to | |building to construct their|
|say the least. | |unique ornithopers, but it |
--------------------------- |must be upgraded first. |
---------------------------
---------------------------
|Starport | ---------------------------
--------------------------- |Light Factory |
|Prerequisite: Heavy Factory| ---------------------------
|and Outpost | |Prerequisite: Refinery |
| | | |
|A very useful building; | |Allows construction of more|
|allows trade w/ CHOAM, an | |'light' vehicles, such as |
|intergalactic merchant's | |trikes. Useful in the |
|guild. Many different types| |beginning missions, but |
|of units may be bought at | |later the units built by |
|high numbers at a lower or | |this facility become |
|higher price. | |obsolete. |
--------------------------- ---------------------------
--------------------------- ---------------------------
|Repair Pad | |Ix Research Center |
--------------------------- ---------------------------
|Prerequisite: Upgraded | |Prerequisite: Outpost and |
|Heavy Factory | |upgraded Heavy Factory |
| | | |
|Useful, in that you can | |Extremely advanced |
|repair more of your | |technology is examined here|
|expensive units, except | |to provide your house with |
|its pretty obsolete when | |their most powerful |
|comes to units that are | |weapons. Worth having to |
|cheap and expendable. | |produce these weapons. |
--------------------------- ---------------------------
---------------------------
|Palace |
---------------------------
|Prerequisite: Ix Res. Cen. |
| |
|Palaces are the prime |
|building of a house; it |
|contains 'forbidden' |
|technology, and is useful |
|in deploying powerful |
|tactics. |
---------------------------
