Dune
Released: 1992
Published by: Virgin Games
Developed by: Virgin Games
Author(s): Rémi Herbulot, Patrick Dublanchet, Jean‑Jacques Chaubin, Didier Bouchon, Sohor Ty, Stéphane Picq, Philippe Ulrich
System Requirements
| System Requirements | Floppy Disk version: 80286 CPU (80386 recommended), 640 KB RAM, VGA graphics (256-colour VGA and monochrome VGA are both options). Audio support for Ad Lib, Ad Lib Gold, Sound Blaster/Pro, and Roland MT-32/LAPC-I. CD-ROM version: 80386-20 MHz CPU (33 MHz recommended), 500 KB conventional memory (1 MB extended memory recommended), 1x CD-ROM drive (150 KB/sec), VGA graphics. Same audio support as above. |
|---|---|
| Original Media | Three 3.5" DS/DD floppy disks, or two 5.25" DS/HD floppy disks. |
| Installed Size | 1.73 MB |
Introduction
Dune is a 1992 adventure strategy video game, based upon Frank Herbert's science fiction novel of the same name. Developed by Cryo and published by Virgin Games, Dune blends adventure with economic and military strategy. Loosely following the story of the novel, the game casts the player as Paul Atreides, with the ultimate goal of driving the Harkonnen from Planet Dune, while managing spice extraction, military, and later, ecology through the native Fremen tribes.
From where can it be run?
The game must be installed to your hard disk. See further down for details.
Game Audio/Video
Sync Play     Audio loading, please wait...
|
Game Introduction (SGPro 16-II) (video) |
For a complete review and comparison of some of these cards, visit my Sound Blaster 16 (CT2770) review page.
ESS1868 recordings are from a Compaq ES1868 Audio Feature Board. Game configuration set to Sound Blaster Pro for Music, and Sound Blaster for Speech/sound effects.
Aztech SG Pro 16-II 3D recordings are from a Sound Galaxy Pro16 II-3D PnP. Game set to Sound Blaster Pro for Music, and Sound Blaster for Speech/sound effects.
AWE64 recordings are from a Creative Sound Blaster AWE64 Value (CT6500). Game set to Sound Blaster Pro for Music, and Sound Blaster for Speech/sound effects. Not sure why, but the audio cuts out periodically at least twice during the intro - I tried recording 3 times and it happened at precisely the same times.
OPL3SAx are from a Yamaha Audician 32 Plus.
Copy Protection
Dune has manual copy protection where it asks you to enter the page number in the manual where the image shown exists. A copy of the original manual (floppy disk version) can be found here.
You are given one attempt - if you get it wrong, you will be returned to the DOS prompt with the message "Program aborted at the request of the protection committee."
How to Setup
Dune comes with a basic INSTALL.EXE utility which can be used to install the game to your hard disk and/or configure your audio setup. These screenshots are from the floppy disk version of the game (see further down for the CD-ROM ones):
Hard disk installation (seems to work ok using a hard disk as the source, but may need files to be in the root directory, as if they were on a floppy disk or CD-ROM):
Choosing 'Automatic configuration' will attempt to set up the game for your video and sound card. In cases where it cannot identify everything correctly, you may see this:
Main configuration screen:
Sound options (sound card detection works well):
Memory options (both EMS and XMS are supported):
Processor options:
Exiting the INSTALL utility:
The 1993 CD-ROM release came with a slightly updated INSTALL.EXE file to cater for the extended functionality provided by the CD-ROM version. At startup it looks for the DUNE.BAT file in C:\DUNECD (the default installation directory). If found it will begin with those configuration settings:
The main menu:
The Automatic configuration option will attempt to detect your language, graphics card, music card, sound card, and available memory:
Some new options include more languages, Sound Blaster Pro is now specifically mentioned as a sound option, there are separate options for Music and Sound, and you can opt for smoother animations.
Problems
None listed.
To Quit the Game
Press Ctrl-C at any time to return to the DOS prompt.
Supporting Documents
Here are some original documents that came with the game in addition to others:
- Game Manual (Floppy disk release)
- Game Manual (CD-ROM release)
- Advertisement (Feb 1992)
- FAQ and Walkthrough
Save Games
The game automatically saves when you enter a location, but you can save/load at any time by looking in the mirror in your bedroom while in your palace. Alternatively, go into the Control Panel and click on the globe, then choose 'SAVE GAME'.
Save games ('game situations' as the game refers to them!) are stored in the game's directory with a .SAV file extension. These files are not text-readable/editable.
Versions of the game known to exist
| Version | Date | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 2.03 | May 1992 | First commercial release? |
| 2.05 | June 1992 | Minor bug fixes. Slightly larger DUNECHAR.HSQ file, but slightly smaller main DUNEPRG.EXE file. Larger INSTALL.EXE file. |
| 3.6 | 1993 | CD-ROM release, featuring footage from the David Lynch movie, voice-acting for all speaking roles, and highly improved, 3D-rendered travelling and location screens. |
| ? | 1995 | Re-released under the "Sold Out" budget brand. |
Original Disk Contents
Installed Directory Contents
For the floppy disk release, once installed, the following directory structure exists in the game directory:
Directory of D:\GAMES\DUNE . <DIR> 11-09-21 4:54p .. <DIR> 11-09-21 4:54p ARRAKIS AGD 9,027 03-07-92 10:52p ARRAKIS HSQ 8,998 02-14-92 10:33p ARRAKIS M32 12,210 03-20-92 2:00p ATTACK HSQ 5,761 01-14-92 4:17p BACK HSQ 20,172 04-02-92 2:16p BAGDAD AGD 5,553 03-07-92 10:52p BAGDAD HSQ 5,523 05-29-91 4:29p BAGDAD M32 7,522 03-20-92 2:01p BALCON HSQ 16,809 01-14-92 3:41p BARO HSQ 14,103 12-22-91 2:48a BOOK HSQ 29,142 02-16-92 12:59a BOTA HSQ 18,618 11-02-91 8:08p BUNK HSQ 14,502 10-28-91 6:43p CHAN HSQ 8,670 04-02-92 2:54p CHANKISS HSQ 3,244 10-31-91 8:29p COMM HSQ 10,824 01-13-92 2:26a COMMAND1 HSQ 4,525 04-07-92 11:28p COMMAND2 HSQ 4,587 04-04-92 3:11a COMMAND3 HSQ 4,656 04-07-92 12:11a CONDIT HSQ 5,550 04-07-92 12:57a CORR HSQ 10,524 12-28-91 8:15p CREDITS HSQ 12,763 04-06-92 6:23p CRYO HSQ 7,829 04-06-92 1:41a DEATH1 HSQ 45,408 01-05-92 11:21p DEATH2 HSQ 44,024 01-05-92 11:21p DEATH3 HSQ 42,098 01-05-92 11:21p DIALOGUE HSQ 4,222 04-07-92 12:57a DUNE BAT 50 11-07-21 10:25a DUNE OLD 50 05-02-97 4:51p DUNE21S0 SAV 9,573 11-06-21 5:16p DUNE386 HSQ 9,479 03-27-92 1:30a DUNEADL HSQ 1,760 03-30-92 12:22a DUNEAGD HSQ 2,780 04-09-92 7:36p DUNECHAR HSQ 963 04-04-92 3:13a DUNEMID HSQ 941 03-30-92 12:21a DUNEPCS HSQ 704 02-25-92 2:13a DUNEPRG EXE 57,600 04-13-92 11:14a DUNES HSQ 21,874 11-12-91 7:21p DUNES2 HSQ 14,068 11-14-91 7:15p DUNES3 HSQ 18,866 01-14-92 6:35p DUNESDB HSQ 3,174 04-07-92 7:07p DUNEVGA HSQ 9,338 03-27-92 1:29a DUNEVRF EXE 6,514 04-13-92 11:45a EMPR HSQ 10,113 04-02-92 3:03p EQUI HSQ 7,007 12-07-91 7:04p FEYD HSQ 15,683 12-22-91 2:48a FINAL HSQ 16,274 01-18-92 5:04p FORT HSQ 24,607 10-28-91 5:30p FRESK HSQ 14,284 01-10-92 4:39p FRM1 HSQ 28,711 04-02-92 3:26p FRM2 HSQ 24,080 04-02-92 3:26p FRM3 HSQ 18,417 04-02-92 3:26p GENERIC HSQ 4,009 08-24-91 5:32p GLOBDATA HSQ 4,741 02-03-91 2:46p GURN HSQ 10,002 04-02-92 2:50p HARA HSQ 10,858 12-23-91 7:48p HARK HSQ 12,324 04-02-92 3:04p HARK SAL 447 04-02-92 3:59a HAWA HSQ 11,511 04-02-92 2:45p ICONES HSQ 14,995 04-02-92 3:39a IDAH HSQ 4,672 10-29-91 7:13p INSTALL EXE 10,552 04-13-92 11:14a INTDS HSQ 15,155 10-10-91 7:33p JESS HSQ 9,472 02-21-92 8:33p KYNE HSQ 21,411 11-15-91 12:15p LETO HSQ 6,991 04-02-92 2:39p MAP HSQ 15,984 09-21-91 12:46a MAP2 HSQ 5,146 09-19-91 3:44p |
MIRROR HSQ 12,246 01-28-92 8:45p MOIS HSQ 8,700 11-15-91 3:27p |
For the CD-ROM release, once installed, the following directory structure exists in the game directory:
Directory of C:\DUNECD |
