Dune: Awakening - Gamescom Gameplay Presentation

[@Vincetagrammm]

PLEASE JUST TAKE AS LONG AS YOU NEED FOR THIS. Dont rush this. It clearly needs a lot of work and Dune is absolutely on fire. We all want this game and want it to be dope and we’ll wait.

[@DarKcS2]

Don't forget to add COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF MICROTRANSACTIONS, BATTLE PASSES AND PREORDER BONUSES!!!

[@salamandarin8626]

YOU OBVIOUSLY NEVER PLAYED CONAN EXILES!! ITS GONNA BE TRASH

[@rodigodigo7530]

@@DarKcS2 a whale guild win , lit p2w

[@handlemonium]

I bet you there's some former Anthem devs working on this game trying not to make the same mistakes

[@Zeoran]

I'm still sad. This was the ONLY game I was looking forward to this year. (now it's not even this year) And I was planning on getting it for my Xbox Series X and consoles are simply listed as "later". This is killing me.

[@ganjasensei37]

Melee needs to be the focus here... this should be a dune game first not a generic third person shooter with a dune paint

[@malolc7068]

i totally agree !! there is no ranged weapon in dune

[@Porean]

100% agree

[@mattaech44]

Good luck with that in the End Game

[@bluemoondm8629]

@@malolc7068 There absolutely are, and many varieties of such.

[@RoninX33]

@@malolc7068 There are ranged weapons, it's just weapons such as lasguns are used only in certain instances because of the reactions with shields as in nuclear explosion. Others ranged weapons like handguns are normally used by face dancers where other guns like maula pistols are used more widely. Hand to hand is the preferred method between combat troops.

[@TristanNicoll]

Everything looks pretty cool but they def need to work on melee. With sword/knife combat being so important in dune i think they gotta really perfect that. Hoping they do by launch

[@Scroolewse]

I would bet they tried to make the game more melee focused but it didn't work out well in testing. It would be awesome if it were more lore accurate but I don't know if it would really be more fun.

[@rickroberts95]

The balance is going to come from the shields. If you have a shield on you'll be difficult to take down with a gun, but a sword will make it easier

[@SwiftZer0]

Idk if it was the player or the melee system itself but the melee looked SUPER clunky & not smooth at all. When you hear “sword master” you think someone who wields it like a master, not a toddler with their first knife.

[@zackeryauzbournebrinkley6945]

@@SwiftZer0yeah it seemed clunky

_Narrator from the future:_ they did not.

[@drag0ngam31ng6]

Making a Dune game a “third person shooter at heart” is like making Chivalry game but it’s an fps.

[@janmajer4662]

Right? I wanted to scream and kick his as$ when I heard that!

[@rahuldeb8134]

It’s is fps

[@willdoelol]

Making a Dune game a "third person shooter at heart" is like saying an oyster is the fastest land running mammal.

[@Paccyd33]

did you not listen to the video, early enemy's don't have shields so you can use guns but later enemy's do so you can't

[@janmajer4662]

@@Paccyd33 Why didn't they show any decent melee combat then? They only showed shooting and called it a FPS. Looks like we should be expecting the worst. Making a Dune game a FPS is a despicable crime against humanity.

[@Kerath]

Voice chat will be hilarious every time your mate does something slightly epic. "LISAN AL GAIB!" "AS WRITTEN!"

[@WilliamFord972]

"Qithlas-ha!"

[@frostyomnic9995]

2 things Melee needs significant investment considering the context of it being a dune game After the movies released people know about the importance of swords in the story, so they will expect the majority of there combat to be with melee I’m worried about using sand worms to grief If someone wanted to they could go to a world event and drop a thumper immediately cutting the experience in half before it even starts Alternatively someone with just bad intentions could use that tactic to make it so nobody on the server can benefit from world events which could be frustrating

[@RazorO2Productions]

Now you have given people ideas

[@Xilivian]

@@RazorO2Productions They're just using their common sense. There have been millions of players across all MMO's and multiplayer games over the years who love nothing more than to make other players' experience a living hell for nothing more than the sake of getting their own sick enjoyment out of it. As it is now, this is 100% going to be exploited to hell and back.

[@isiahguerrero1044]

@@Xilivianthere will probably be melee servers

[@Xilivian]

@@isiahguerrero1044 Eh, probably so. But I also assume that the devs will at least SEE all the negative feedback they're getting on melee and how its being handled. Considering this, they have a very good opportunity to correct it in time for release next year......or so one can hope.

[@isiahguerrero1044]

@@Xilivian yes I hope so too

[@maximumbrexit4503]

Very excited for this game! The criticisms are harsh but I agree with one: More weight to combat. Spend the big bucks on voice acting and sound design, the enemies have to sound badass like the harkonnen soliders from the movie, and speak in different languages. Do not have boring ahh assasins creed death shouts plz. Less enemies, more weight. For example, fighting a single sardaukar should be a group miniboss requiring strategy, not a dart spam. These guys are like individual darth vaders compared to scavengers. Focus efforts on combat fluidity now, then add more survival content later. Thanks to the devs for all the effort put in thus far!

[@FenharelTheDreadWolf]

it will never happen

[@Lanessar8008]

I mean, they had all of the lifespan of Conan Exiles to get fluid, exciting melee combat put into the game (I've played since the EA launched in Jan 2017), and by 2024 they've revised melee combat six or eight times there and still haven't achieved anything remarkable or fluid. I don't know what you're expecting, but it just isn't Funcom's ability - I just don't think that will be present here based on the past products they've shown. It's not like they are working with a radically different engine, either, UE4 to UE5 is pretty similar. Joel Bylos was the same creative director, they are using many of the same team, and it's the same tech stack. They've added "ability animations", but I don't think this will get notably better - it's nearly identical stuff to what they did in Conan Exiles.

[@Nudebioz]

sardaukar(fanatical elite warriors) are not the same that the harkonnen shocktroppers(scared disposable soldiers)...

[@rickroberts95]

Talk about harsh criticism

[@NinjaSonar]

​@@Lanessar8008ue4 to ue5 is WORLDS different

[@guim9802]

I sincerely hope they shift focus from gunplay to melee. Melee is by far the most important aspect of Dune and it is unfortunate that it seems to be the weakest link here. Then again, this is only an early build, I hope they've added more weight and risk to combat

[@rickroberts95]

The balance is going to come from the shields. If you have a shield on you'll be difficult to take down with a gun, but a sword will make it easier

[@GamekNightPlays]

@@rickroberts95 Didn't really seem like it though, and the flamethrower just made shields look like a joke :P

[@aguspuig6615]

that and just an upgrade in quality in general, both melee and gunplay looked so bad

[@Razz302]

"dune awakening is at heart a third person shooter, with melee, and abilities" Pleas re-evaluate this design philosophy. It threatens to lose so much of the unique dune DNA. I understand the need for ranged weaponry from a multiplayer balance perspective, and it helps follow common design trends. But we all stayed with dune for the beautiful swordplay and unique brand of sci-fi it represented. Seeing 4 sardukkar decend from the sky only to become 4 standard video game grunts with guns and high health bars really made my heart sink. Same with opening showing off combat with gunplay and grenades. The films nailed this with massive cumbersome lasers being one of the few commonly used ranged weapons, and making them terrifying to face as a result. Even the smaller fremen pistols served second fiddle to their renowned swordfighting. After seeing this reveal. I don't see a "Dune MMO" I see an MMO about dune.

[@alejandrocr9293]

the game was made in that way, it is done :c

[@jasonthacker2912]

It's DoA anyway. Everything looks so bad. Like something from 2005.

[@liquidsnake.7008]

Literally only complaint is the animations, make em look more physical, weighty and real and im sold. Everything else looks solid just more polish on the character animations and combat.

[@mariusgate3030]

Yeah this was also my first impression, character animations need more work. But alas it is a beta

[@jackadams1368]

I like how the movie had lots of melee combat and close quarters combat the sword fighting was beautiful and amazing but this game sword combat looks horrible I hope they can fix it please work on the combat

[@Torrent4001]

Not even in the films. The books described it really clearly, ranged combat is rare and used by ground troops. Its more a vehicle thing or with orbital bombarding from spacecrafts. Laser weapons are more common than explosives, nobody uses them anymore besides Harkonnen.

[@neemahbethea9328]

IK! I have been waiting to see how they'd adapt the melee because it plays a big part in the films and novels. This game, however, focuses more on ranged weapons, leaving the melee attacks to look horrible. They've gotta fix this. You know it's bad when COD got the melee attacks for Paul better.

[@NZMPlays]

@@Torrent4001 tbf its a split timeline and things can change in the 8 years since the OG story.

[@janmajer4662]

​@@NZMPlays Doesn't matter. We know and love the Dune combat like it is and we don't give a single phuck what their "timeline" is like. WE WANT FOCUS ON MELEE COMBAT.

[@matheussl1000able]

I was a little upset, because it seems like they're putting a lot of emphasis on firearms, whereas in the books and films swords, spears, knives, etc. are the "focus" of dune combat. Of course there are firearms, lasers, bombs and so on... in the story too. The gameplay with them seems to be a lot of fun, but I hope combat with edged weapons is just as cool.

[@Jasepo]

precisely. These guys are focusing too much on guns.. Like, wtf?

[@arriusboss5637]

Yes, they said at its heart, it’s a 3rd person shooter with melee and combat abilities. I sorry but that is not Dune, and these guys are going to just ruin lore to what could have been something amazing.

[@deadhelix]

So odd too considering conan exiles is mainly a melee game, I would think they wouldve built upon that instead of toss the melee gameplay to the side

[@randomname2914]

combat looks like a rough mobile game, what are u on about :D

[@the_steamtrain1642]

Reading the books chronologically, don't know a lot about Dune yet but it does strike me as odd, idk if they misspoke about the gun piercing shields, but the shields block projectiles based on their velocity not on the firerate of the weapon, (according on what I've read so far, at battle of corrin so far so I have a long way to go), an increased firerate would actually be preferred to try and overheat the shields I hope it's a good game, the lore does not matter to me as much as the gameplay but it does feel like to me they are sort of ignoring it and just using the IP because of it's audience I also have so many questions about the PvP side of it, PvE looks decent, I wish there was more to gathering resources than just the basic draw a line we have now, AI looks a bit smoothbrained but can be improved before launch, but with all these abilities and an incredible amount of mobility with things like the suspensor belt and that grappling hook I feel like PvP combat would just be some shitfest

[@RedGreekWolf]

I am eager but cautious about this game

[@ericksonderblohm8625]

this tells you everything, just please don't preorder and waste your money up-front.

[@newdivide9882]

In case you didn’t know, the devs said in the past that they want to step away from all the religious stuff in regards to this game. They wanted to step away from religion… in a Dune game. Do with that information what you will

[@ni06no]

Bruh, what??? Religion plays a big part in dune. ​@newdivide9882

[@RedGreekWolf]

@@ni06no yeah I was as shocked as you when I read that

[@Quoxozist]

@@ni06no So does melee combat, and that looks like garbage in this preview, so, yeah - don't believe the devs when they tell you how much they love the universe and all the research they've done, etc. it's all BS

[@aaronkornet]

Uuuuhhhh, this feels like a survival game with a Dune skin…it should feel like a Dune game with survival elements.

[@jeremymcarthur1930]

I mean Dune is all about survival. If you're talking about all the crafting stuff, sure that's just preference but the actual suruvial elements that part of the game should be robust. Its Dune!

[@drizzitdude]

it's made by the conan exile devs, I think them using the word "mmo" is a bit of stretch here.

[@0__marley]

Conan exiles was one of the best fantasy survival games ever made - if not THE best. I have faith they will make a good survival game, but we will have to wait and see how impactful the setting is and how well they represent the Dune universe.

[@lewishammond1]

Great potential. Take your time, we the players will wait. Melee combat primary, ranged and gunfire secondary. Looks like finally an epic Dune game on the horizon.

[@uvicjames]

Great atmosphere, but too much gunplay. It's not consistent with the Dune universe to have guns as the dominant weapon.

[@RooDemartini]

ye too much weapons... If they add a sniper rifle i feel like nobody gonna play melee...

[@Assassino275]

Combat doesn't look weighty at all. No idea why MMOs struggle with that so much

[@lbeales842]

I feel like the gun play looks solid but the melee looks poor

[@pug_knight7756]

I feel like sword combat needs to feel a lot better and the gunplay doesn’t have much weight at all but I think for gunplay that’s more of a dune thing

[@lbeales842]

@@pug_knight7756 I feel like sword and gun combat are pretty equal in importance in dune tbf. Especially melee for the Fremen

[@Pastrahmy]

Yeah I'm a bit disappointed at how the combat looks tbh. Had high hopes. I'm having a ton of fun with Once Human and was hoping this would be similar, but without the weird af setting.

[@Assassino275]

@@lbeales842 ESPECIALLY melee

[@SphinxIsland]

Melee currently looking weak af. I don’t think anyone really wanted gun focus in a Dune game…

[@Nocturne-G21]

I did lol

[@jackadams1368]

Dude I agree so much who wanted a dune game with guns as the focus

[@jake-r9z]

couldn't agree more. looks like just another 3rd person shooter survival mmo. that melee combat needs so much work. was hoping for more melee focused combat.

[@khalid00541]

ong as a book fan seeing little melee combat was a bit disappointing

[@rremnar]

It does look weak; especially when it isn't smooth. The fps looks like it's runnin at 45-50, and the animations 15-20. It seems the kind of smoothness you get from a older game.

[@Tohak]

Looking at how character runs fast through soft sand around 8:27 made me think that shouldn't it be slower and really tiresome to run in soft sand? The character is running over sand dunes like it's solid ground - shouldn't the steps dive into soft sand more and slow down the character? There's less friction in sand so it should be difficult to even walk on soft sand. Walking in soft sand uses about 2.1 to 2.7 times more energy than on solid ground and even more if you're running on sand. So this character should be sweating like crazy and get tired really fast. Also I can understand that a person first time on Arrakis doesn't know how to move on sand without attracting sand worms but I got a question: can player learn and master the sandwalking style (walk without rythm) that doesn't attract sand worms?

[@jeremymcarthur1930]

I personally think the whole game should be slowed down. Give it some more realism and be able to take in the environment. I hate spaztic arena shooter games.

[@king124kine]

@@jeremymcarthur1930 Yea its pretty bad looking

[@alexisbugnolo7538]

As one who read the Trilogy in my youth I get the impression that the management of the design of this Dune game has never read a single page and even worse barely paid attention to any of the movie versions.

[@ermwhatdaheck]

To say that at it's heart it's a third person shooter when you're talking about a DUNE game is pretty crazy not gonna lie. Regardless of the implementation of "combined arms" this trailer makes it clear that the focus is on firearms which is sorely disappointing. At the very least I hope you at least rework the current melee system a bit to feel more satisfying, but either way it's annoying to see a Dune game have such a strong emphasis on firearm based combat.

[@rynn_crdm]

If only they had some melee system as satisfying and actually powerful as Destiny 2 for example.

[@wessredd7237]

I know it's early stuff but I say respectfully...combat and animations need reworking. I know you guys will make a great game. But I definitely saw some stuff that made me nervous. Bullet sponge combat is one. Animations as a whole(walking, flying, bandaging)...not just combat. Both gunplay and melee didn't look great. The environment is excellent. Cool crafting and whatnot. Excited for the vehicles. There's a lot of good things I saw. But not getting combat right will cause a lot of ppl to quit or never play. I will play regardless. I'm an old Conan exiles mega fan. Played your game a long while back and sank so many hours. Fond memories. It was my all time fav survival game back then

[@jbld7392]

Pretty sure it is still under development and polishing. Lets hope for the best

[@JenovaHale]

The combat needs alot of work but this is a super early build so i wouldn't be suprised if that gets alot of polish, co-op building for the base and vehicles is a really nice touch and some of the events look pretty neat, really interested to see where this goes

[@p.looshh]

I do hope to see some improvement on it. I am looking forward to this, but that combat looks so easy and boring

[@FenharelTheDreadWolf]

lol it NOT) like all their games in past

[@nilsscholze9651]

Well .. game releases early next year... Knowing the past of almost every other gaming studio they will not change a thing

[@artharionsanchez1793]

Combat can be improved, but it looks good enough for me.

[@SolusBatty]

Beta is not super early. They are releasing this in less than a year.

[@Finnegan20]

I was so pumped for this game but after seeing this im debating even buying it now... please make it more like dune and not just some random shooter. Like guns should be rare and not the main focus! Wth were the devs thinking?? I hope they rethink this..

[@FullBeardSk8]

Looks like shit

[@theorangewarrior03]

Having a dune game be another 3rd person shooter totally kills it for me, so while I won't be joining the player base unless it moves to melee focused with ranged, the rest has potential and hope it turns out to he a good game for any players that are on board

[@cryptidcrow_]

One thing im wondering about is why isnt it mainly melee combat? With the focus less on guns

[@RustyCannons]

Weren’t the movie mostly swords?

[@GoldenFinch3704]

​​@@RustyCannonsyeah, if you discount: - the hunter seeker, - the frigates bombarding with shield piercing missiles, - the radar guided missiles on the ornithopters, - the dartgun used by Yueh (this was just part one btw) - the mobile forward operating base that Feyd used to bombard Sietch Tabr, - the lasguns taking out the harvesters, - the portable rocket launcher used by Chani to take out the shielded Orni that guarded the harvester, - the atomics used to breach the shield wall, - maula pistols... Yeah, the movies used mostly swords...

[@rinzler8272]

Lol most of those examples included vehicles of some sort. People are talking about how the infantry combat​ needs more melee focus or its just a generic Sci-Fi game with a Dune skin on top@GoldenFinch3704

[@Jasepo]

@@GoldenFinch3704 you're right, but you as a "nobody" in this harsh world you were expected to use your trusty dagger.

[@RustyCannons]

😂 I get that you need both, I think it just needs good melee

[@SimonStrange]

3:25 There was a reason for Paul to put his hand in the box. There is no reason here. This is literally just, "I 'MEMBER DAT FROM DA MOOVIE!!"

[@AdamantineCat]

FYI, The test of the Gom Jabbar was used by the Bene Gesserit on more people than just Paul. (albeit rarely on males) This game takes place in a timeline without Paul, so it's possible that this test of the Gom Jabbar is one of the more necessary branching "storm nexus" moments in this timeline that might prevent humanity from going extinct if Leto II isn't born, preventing golden path.

[@republicofserbia]

​@@AdamantineCatnah

[@grantwithers]

they use it to test for "humanness" across many people.

[@Rauruatreides]

Looks promising. However, they really shouldve made it melee with range, rather than shooter with melee. That's like one of Dune's bigger hooks.

[@itzTOASTY361]

they are trying to appeal to larger demographic of players which is by far fps/tps players, while still giving dune lovers most of what they want..hence also the reason they wont be implementing the exploding shield reaction with lasgunz and shields are just gonna act like regular shields

[@YUNGSLEEVES]

looks horrible

[@pho3nix-]

If spice is a very important part of the game, I need to be able to trip on it and utilize it for my own good

[@nicksillver]

Too much gun combat, obviously needed but Dune at it;s heart is about daggers/swords and hand to hand combat.

[@welcome2mytruth]

Please have a crafting and trade system like Star wars Galaxies. It allowed talented crafters to thrive, hunters to hunt and sell their yields, Slicers to improve the output of a weapon, making them unique(and worth a ton of coin) and the rest of us to buy and sell as they saw fit. I don't want a generic trading post, where everyone sells more or less the same crappy weapons -

[@slothcatgaming5936]

Games going to focus on the spice wars

[@sweetcorn1936]

Star wars galaxies was mine and my brothers hearts , 17 years old I was now I'm 38 ,times fly, good times

[@SuperKavash]

My thoughts too, it was easy to think about the masterpiece of SWG, desert and crafting, but with a bit of luck if they bring the same kind of system, we could see a real gem.

[@Dragoninja833]

With the way the "dungeons" work, you will get crafting recipes for guns that are unique. Once a sandstorm kicks up, that dungeon will be gone and the recipe with it. That means you won't be able to find too many of the same unique items, depending on how many people find it before it resets. This says nothing about how truly unique these items are going to be, but that will at least make it a little more interesting.

[@LegosDeus]

I beta tested SWG, it had so much promise and creativity features, sadly tho, old time MMOs focusing on community are almost non existant now a days. Having a sense of cimmunity while still having PvP is a hard thing to balance, longevity of games is not a priority for most DEVS now a days it seems. Am hoping input from the BETA testers will influence the game makers into building long term server communities that will roleplay and give life to a virtual Arrakis.

[@AlphaMachina]

I hope this gets quite a bit of polish before release. It's looking pretty rough. I'm cautiously optimistic.

[@eternal_napalm6442]

They said it needs polished

[@prahladaz7296]

First impressions count, especially as regards combat and general character feel. Fall short and the gaming community can get toxic. But I'm rooting for this title also!

[@AlphaMachina]

Exactly, the first impression is the most important one, and unfortunately, publishers don't care about that anymore, so we almost always end up with bad first impressions even on AAA game releases these days, and never a truly finished, RTG product.

[@WilliamFord972]

It's not even in open beta yet. Relax.

[@Dr.Bebrow]

I hope they polish animations and the way how weapons feel

[@ruinvixi]

potential looks insane but please dont be afraid to delay to refine things.

[@hughjanus9489]

I gotta say. I’m INCREDIBLY disappointed. It’s funny when I was a kid in the 2010s when there were breathtaking games coming out left and right I always thought “ wow just imagine how good games will be in the future”. Who knew games in this era would be total trash. With only at least 2 good games a year to come out.

[@JbugPremium-ze6rx]

UMMMMM, What is disappointing about this game?

[@hughjanus9489]

@@JbugPremium-ze6rx it’s dune, the main focus of combat should be sword fighting and melee. It shouldn’t be a 3rd person survival shooter. Have you seen dune????

[@JbugPremium]

@@hughjanus9489 the game isn’t out do u know how to develop? The hand to hand combat takes a lot and will need a lot of work to perfect the rest of the game looks great minus a few details how are u judging a game in BETA where all testers are under NDAs? We have no idea what the finished product will be but combat like that is always last in games like these

[@hughjanus9489]

@@JbugPremium really dude??? 😂😂🤣 you are too naive. Just like everyone who was excited for that garbage recent Star Wars game.

[@JbugPremium]

@@hughjanus9489 the star wars game never looked good and again the open beta isn’t even out yet lol

[@Nickdvorak1993]

It seems like the systems, environment, and locations are really fleshed out but the movement and combat need some work. Animations, recoil, and collision to be precise.

[@Sapphire707]

I hope they add more houses to the game. House Ecaz represent! Edit: Relax guys, goodness. I enjoy the house cause of Dune: Spice Wars and have hope cause it's also made by Funcom. No need to be rude.

[@sdsdfdu4437]

Fuck ecaz, mentioned like once in the books lol

[@rremnar]

I was thinking the same thing; but for house Corino or Richess. Though I bet it'll come as DLC lol.

[@JJaamess]

Really wish they took combat like from Last Oasis, which had a pretty fleshed out and satisfying high skill ceiling directional melee combat.

[@Dragoninja833]

Noobs HATE that style of combat. I love it. The devs of Last Oasis made another game, Bellwright. Bellwright gets a ton of flack for having directional melee combat. So far, this games melee looks really bad. I would like to see it fleshed out, but I don't think we will be seeing directional combat, unfortunately.

[@the_steamtrain1642]

I don't think the directional combat would fit the game, as @Dragoninja833 said the skill ceiling is way too high and difficult to understand for new players, but also combat in Dune is different, instead of long swords and axes it's knives, I expect there would be different attacks and counters you can do when you're engaged with another player similar to a fighting game

[@MutsuKazuma]

@@Dragoninja833 the combat here is absoluate ass, you run around fighting sardaukar and win like what? how is a nobody beating an elite soldier, not even with a gun, the first time he shot and it took 3 or 4 headshots for the npc to drop, what is this game

[@UnpleasantAlex]

It's sad that they designed shields completely wrong based on a bad movie take. There's so many missing mechanics to them due to the design not matching the books.

[@CaioOliveira-ts6pz]

Being a games enthusiast for the last 15 years taugh me that games launch exactly as they show on previews, or worse (more likely). This "alpha, beta versions" argument is irrelevant. That being said, the game looks like a generic Conan Exiles reskin, at best. Nothing unique, apart for the setting. Everything is generic and bland, a product of reused assets. Gameplay feels clunky and boring. There is no soul, no art. It's just a cash grab for Dune fans. I expected more. Frank Herbert's Dune is a work of dedication, effort and rich detail. Qualities this game clearly lacks. Studios such as Naughty Dog, Rockstar or Santa Monica should be in charge of a project this big, or a Independet studio with a lot of dedication to detail. Games, just like movies and other creations of mankind, are a Work of Art, above all else. There is no Art here, for it feels like a squashed Big mac, and I expected a Top Chef Gourmet Hamburger. It's just disappointing. I would give it a 6/10.

[@supi6425]

All aspects look very promising, especially with co-op. Just the movement animations and the gun v. shields gameplay could look a bit smoother. looking forward to open beta

[@BionicFreakOfficial]

More than a bit 😆 The combat and movement animations are absolute donkey balls. Given how much time they've spent making this game, one would assume they really cooked... but this meat is raw.

[@blackcraft3465]

@@supi6425 a bit? Bro this is some mickey mouse mobile game dogshit lmao just accept the fact ANOTHER game people were hyped for is dogshit. This build of the game was from 2 weeks ago and the game is supposed to be out early 2025... This game doesn't have a shot in hell and I bet they charge $80 for this crap

[@AlphaMachina]

@@BionicFreakOfficial Yeah, they look terrible.. This better get a lot of polish before release. The animations have next to zero, if not zero inverse kinematics. So, the character's movement and animation does nothing to mold to the surrounding environment. With the proper programming (inverse kinematics) the character's body and feet will properly absorb the variations in height of the ground below them, without looking like a robot bouncing around above all the bumps and dips. Most modern games worth a damn have this, even a lot of indie games. I hope Funcom is capable, but from what I've seen from a lot of their past games, they don't bother much with polish. It's just jank through and through.

[@LiliumOrientalis]

​@@AlphaMachinalooks like no IK at all, it's pretty clear in the starting cave section when the character goes down a slope. Hopefully they implement it, huge immersion breaker imo

[@ArrozMisto]

- You should take a page out of your own book and emulate Conan's melee combat, much more visceral and weighty. - Dune is a scifi/fantasy with a strong emphasis on the feudalistic/medieval feel of it's society, not just the cultural mores but also the combat: combat should be personal, using shields (not on open desert to avoid attracting worms of course) and bladed weapon; in opposition, flechette-based weapons are the counterpart to shielding and seem to have a decent representation. - factions are just Harkonnen and Atreides? What about the Imperium/House Corrino? What about Ix? What about all the other houses? CHOAM? The Navigator Guild? Fremen? - with such a strong emphasis on sound design you should have different character backgrounds changing their language; Chakobsa, Galach, Saudaukar and Harkonnen specific languages, etc. - where are the Fremen? At least let the players have a Fremen origin...

[@tgillies101]

I feel any item that is mechanical/electrical should need a crafting table/printer to make. This cobble a gun and iPad in the desert with your hands business is really immersion breaking.

[@craigmode]

i forgot that you can just take your dirt bike out with no fear of a sandworm hearing you

[@hersh511]

Please update the melee to be more viable option than even guns. That should be the focus for a Dune game. If you could get it like For Honor, that would be a dream, but even so, I think the animations and mechanics could use some work.

[@LegosDeus]

Having tubes medically inserted inside me now for over 14 months, waiting for an operation that was suppose to happen in January 2024, my liquids collecting in bags, I truly feel the FREMEN vibe on a daily basis... Am medically confined at home, constantly managing my fluid levels, failing to do so might send me to the ER, am home hoping for the sandworms to approve my application for the BETA... The Dune series, movies books have provided a great escape for me in the last few months, Dune: Spice Wars got me hooked for a while, I look forward to more content from this great franchise to keep my mind busy. Being 56, I read the books as a teen and always liked the unique feel of the universe created in them. The lore is fascinating and seems so far to be coming thru in footage we saw today.

[@nootmcscairy]

I'm sorry to hear about what you're going thru man 😢 that sounds rough as Arrakis! Glad you're keeping your spirits up, hope you enjoy the game! Spice is life ❤

[@TechnoShogun1]

Hope to see you in Arrakis, Sietch sibling

[@djkidtich]

Blessings of shai'hulud to you, brother

[@LegosDeus]

@@nootmcscairy I appreciate your kind words. I tested many BETAs thru the 90s and early 2000s, am hoping to get swept in the Arrakis lore and forget about the real world for a while. Focusing on games allows me to stop thinking about all the people involved in my debacle, a simple operation done 1000s of times a day in the US is being withheld from me in Canada... The virtual world appeals to me more and more everyday...

[@zilla9170]

wish you the best m8

[@MrVaNeFire]

Animations look really rusty if it possible look it over on the other hand the other aspects of the game looks nice, good luck!

[@Crberus]

bro commenting like he runs the company lmao. animations look fine. stop nitpicking

[@ruok-l5t]

@@Crberus No. Animations are below standards. They look cheap and low budget.

[@Crberus]

@@ruok-l5t your mom looks cheap and low budget

[@Billy-bc8pk]

@@Crberus They look fine if your only gaming experience are PSX games, but we have come a long way since then. Any other game made within the last 15 years look far superior.

[@Ryanthusar]

My main concern with the game is that it doesnt turn into a crap show like Eve Online and other MMOs where those who have the money to inject into the game are the ones that end up controlling the PVP areas and stopping people who are in small guilds, or dont have the money to be forced out of getting the full experience of the game. Otherwise this game is looking great.

[@Zpajro]

I'm currently reading the books, and you really need to give more of a focus on stealth and close coaters combat for when people have shields; which should be prevalent since you're having it set during a War of Assassins during the rule of the Old Empire. It was also Herbert's intention to have shields completely nullify projectile weapons. But you can add in the rampaging effect that shields have on the sandworms, to make it a trade-off for when people are in the open; and small lasers to overexcite anyone's shields, but that should only be a nuclear (literally) option for the player. Also, without being **really** well-trained, a single Sardukar should be a boss level encounters. I feel with the combat you have shown, this would have been better set during the rain of The Tyrants, when there still were some worms around; or after "Chapterhouse: Dune", you can have the game take place on the "new" Dune. I *do* know that at this point in your production, any of the changes are highly unlightly, so I do hope that you work on the combat to make it more in line with how the combat was during the Old Empire. Other than that combat related part, the game looks really nice! I do hope you will have other fealty options than joining one of the Great Houses; I would be interested in working closely with the Ixians or the Tleilaxu. I also do hope people that are not interested in MMOs can enjoy the game, like how you can in Conan with hosting a private server.

[@hotwirezzz]

ill be honest - the only questionable thing i've spotted in this whole presentation was the combat. if they can refine the combat, place more emphasis on swordplay and melee. this game will be fire. reminds me a lot of destiny 2 with more survival elements. tldr: touch up the movement and melee (and some animations) and this will be amazing.

[@KingSnake420]

“Dune is a 3rd person shooter at heart” literally the complete opposite of what dune is supposed to be.. I knew this would be garbage.

[@jeremymcarthur1930]

Except that you cant use shields in the open desert.... sooo they have a reason.

[@argosbrave6415]

@@jeremymcarthur1930 25:13 ya, no shields in the desert! Notice in the clip how they go melee first when they do have shields

[@LawFerryAC]

​@@jeremymcarthur1930Fake dude fans are getting annoying with this "hur dur pls no guns" bullshit

[@thedemonrealm6483]

Yes it being a shooter seems like a big rip and takes from the movie, since there were barely any guns in the movie. This game should be melee first and shooter second. This game seems like really made for trolls and makes me concerned. 😟

[@smithynoir9980]

Yeah, it's shaping up to look like a generic survival mmo with a dune skin, rather than a dune game at it's core.

[@lucasfonzaghi]

I feel the animations still need a lot of work. It looks choppy, unfinished. That also affects the look and feel of the combat. Otherwise, the game looks like it has potential.

[@jackstephenralston]

I have to say it's a bit disappointing you have clearly made this, a DUNE game, mostly a third person shooter with what looks a bit like bullet spongy mechanics rather than more melee focused and skill based. I am not saying I hate the whole thing but unless the combat changes it is a bit of a let down for me :(

[@randomname2914]

agreed, + the whole combat looks like a low effort mobile game.

[@jeremymcarthur1930]

They said melee would be much more important later on so who knows maybe its just early still.

[@jackstephenralston]

@@jeremymcarthur1930 yeah I hope so

[@JbugPremium-ze6rx]

bro its a 27 minute vid with less than 10 minutes of combat

[@pinocchiohero]

I hope they emphasize how dangerous the planet is and also that ammo is not so readily available all the time. It would be nice to use range weapons sparingly. MELEE BABY. Enemy AI looks pretty barebones atm, hopefully that's just because these are low level enemies. Animation still looks kinda goofy, when ya Harkonnen boy threw that nade up the stairs at 12:58, it looked kinda silly. I'm still very excited about the game and hope for improvements. Any animated executions? A gladiator pit would be nice.

[@HLegendJ]

This game has a ton of potential! I’m excited for it

[@DarkOneIllustrations]

gotta bump those hairstyle number way up. those are rookie numbers

[@blackcraft3465]

Hair is what you're worried about??? They need to bump those FPS numbers up more than anything holy shit it's bad

[@silent_march8130]

@@blackcraft3465 Why are you so concerned about what other people like?

[@DarkOneIllustrations]

@@blackcraft3465 i enjoy playing around with character creation, so ya....

[@blackcraft3465]

@@DarkOneIllustrations bc your not going to even play the game when it runs like shit?

[@blackcraft3465]

@@DarkOneIllustrations a game needs to run properly for any of that to even matter

[@cl0ckisg0d58]

How come none of them have breathing apparatus?

[@jeremymcarthur1930]

It negates character customization I presume? Personally I care little about that so I say bring on the helmets. Those Horkonnen suits were awesome in part 2

[@danielsimpson5994]

Movement in general is very stiff. Hopefully melee gets way more development love cuz boy oh boy is it rough right now. Plus I feel melee is such an iconic aspect of Dune combat since whole idea is the slow blade penetrates the shield.

[@lordMaroza]

To add to a lot of good feedback - TTK feels too high. It only leads to senseless shooting. Hopefully, it’ll go down with a more advanced aresenal. Looking forward to playing this.

[@undersizetictac6314]

Looks promising and from past comments a little worried about the melee combat side to this game, please put some effort into something that will be a big part of the game and it will surely shine and bring players flocking, can't wait

[@Akira-hu7zr]

We really need better melee combat after seeing this and the abilities don't look to interesting at all honestly I'm really excited about the game but we really need improvements on the melee combat and movement and where's the sand walking

[@jinnturtle]

Lovely to see this being done, the audio and visual representation feels quite nice for the setting! Really like the "end game" spice harvesting rivalry idea. The combat looks a bit underwhelming at this stage, hope it takes a focus towards more intense and varied melee mechanics and raises the stakes/intensity as the lore in this era is heavily focused on melee, what I remember from the books (and movies) is that the melee fights were the most prominent and intense while ranged weapons are either very secondary and only conditionally effective (e.g. the maula) or terrifying but costly and nuanced to carry and operate (e.g. lasers, RPGs, atomics).

[@jotairpontes]

This is very interesting. You guys could have something special here, specially with the Dune IP. I get a lot of ppl wanting more melee, because of the books, but at the same time, I don't mind the guns being important, as long as melee are also being effective and cool, but it does seem that melee needs more work. One thing that caught my eye is that combat overall, melee or gun, doesn't seem to have a lot of weight to it, you know?

[@RaimoKangasniemi]

It looks promising, but the PvE part needs to be robust beyond testing stations.

[@Adar_Gorthaur]

I hope they add more houses to serve, like the Imperial house Carrino. Get some Sardakar drip. Or Ix or even join the fremen

[@tomasjari9412]

I do not like that charakter movement -> that jump for example, and combat needs a lot of work 😞

[@joshuarowe8410]

He said it's early footage, they're placeholder animations.

[@test-u2x5z]

This game is going to be DOA for PVP and melee combat it looks like. Lots of rework needs to happen and its not there yet.

[@deaconx]

I love Funcom, BUT their combat always leaves much to be desired, and this goes WAAAAY back. Age of Conan had insane potential, combat was a let down despite the incredible finishing moves. Conan Exiles combat feels like a college student's prototype to me. THE SECRET WORLD - I had never been so excited for an MMORPG, and the narrative team did such an INCREDIBLE job, but the game was such a let down because the combat was so awful. Once again, it's their combat designers who I am worried about. Honestly, if Funcom has had the same combat design director/team, it's really time to change them out. Or whatever leads to their awful combat experiences. This game has incredible potential, but I worry about the combat a lot and it's hard to stick to a game when the activity you spend so much time doing in it is just not fun.

[@galenkaa]

Really hope to see melee get a lot more attention before release. Looks really rough

[@eric42010]

Combat seriously needs to be redone.

[@brianmack3665]

Looks like a nice 2001 shooter!

[@jakemcquaid8570]

Combat has to be absolutely main priority here. Looks incredible though

[@Morcorco]

If someone told me this is Fortnite: Dune I wouldn't even question it.

[@FullBeardSk8]

Yup

[@king124kine]

Same engine

[@DragonAsh16]

As said in the video, it is in beta and evidently so. However it looks like a great first step to a very good game. Somethings that would need more attention is: 1. Melee Combat needs more love (as well as range but not as much) 2. Animation needs some improvement. 3. Sound design needs more work. The rest need a touch up but like I said great first step and this is in beta. I’d recommend staying in beta for now.

[@VonBrachsenbruegge]

I would bet money that not much will change untill release.. if they realy release it early 2025.. The word "beta" has lost its meaning..

[@Pescado_55]

Melee combat needs improvement.

[@Daturkey-w9b]

I’m really excited for the fact that it’s multiplayer. It will be awesome trying to fight it out for spice with other players in the game with your friends

[@jeremymcarthur1930]

I wish the movement speed and abilities were toned down a bit. The suspensors look cool but it negates so much of the terrain. Maybe just make them limited it all. Agreed with others saying the focus should be melee. But a mix for a game of course is good. The game looks pretty great overall.

[@jeremymcarthur1930]

Just would like to revise my statement a bit and offer a counter argument to all the people saying it has to be melee focused. Remember that shields cause worms to go into a killing frenzy and since most of this is in the open desert you would not be using shields. I like the idea of having to prepare ahead of time right? So areas of all rock maybe bring a shield and prepare for melee combat but in the open desert prepare for ranged weapons.

[@izzy9889]

Personally I would've added another faction (like mercenaries) for those who don't want to pledge but the price is like a 10% decrease in rewards for faction missions. Oh and a bounty system no idea how that could be implemented but it could be fun.

[@Akira-hu7zr]

Please tell me that there is actual stealth takedowns

[@eternal_napalm6442]

There are. I know from other videos you can use darts including non-lethal options.

[@LiLxF310N]

@@eternal_napalm6442pretty sure he means animations. As in stealth behind someone and take them out assassins creed style.

[@jonarrolovsson9580]

I wish we could have a game where we play as the fremen, being able to hide under the sand and do cool stealth attacks

[@Vonatar74]

I see the famous Funcom jank is still alive and well

[@3dCraddock]

Ok I was initially put off by the idea that the Fremen had been eradicated in this and thought that was a pretty bad direction, but it's looking more like finding them is the heart of the story which has immediately pulled me back in.

[@recon939]

The light source needs to be attached to your belt or in your left hand so you see and swing your weapon at the time.

[@rremnar]

It looks like it needs another year in the cooker. They really need some QA people to help them produce a good game. It can be done, if they are willing to invest in the quality of it. But I wouldn't hold my breath. They need to work on the fps, combat, animation fps, hair styles that would fit a dune universe (not the styles we have today). Their assassin looks like one of the engineers from Alien Covenant. Also assassins used a dart gun of sorts hidden on their wrists. There is also lasguns, and other types of weapons. Maybe the devs should check the Dune wiki.

[@CallardAndBowser]

It looks like it needs a lot more good looking graphics and details added to the finished product. The level of detail looks very low for Unreal Engine 5.0.

[@wargames43]

As long as i can be a carryall pilot saving peoples asses and their spice i will be a a happy merc

[@Taoscuro3003]

I hope that wearing shields on sand makes instant-trigger sandworks to come and become berserk as it happens on the books. Would feel really weird to be able to have a shield on walking on the sand...

[@roxas7418]

21:22 I was thinking the meter in the middle of the screen was like...how much noise you're making? Like depending on what kind of equipment you're using, but he says its showing how angry the sandworm is? I know this seems kinda minor but i feel like they missed a a huge opportunity to incorporate areas where you need to sandwalk, and use thumpers to distract it or something. Maybe its in the game who knows, cant wait to see more, a lot of it seems super cool and ambitious. Hope they pull it off

[@go_ofyy]

I am excited for the game, but a couple of things scare me, the PVP aspect, and we have yet to hear anything about bae raiding ( i am making and educated guess here based on previousnotes from devs but it seem you can raid bases). not sure how i feel about having pvp area and pvp area like the Division, that was the best part of conan exiles pvp and raiding bases.

[@MrTimothyCross]

The melee looks super rough

[@Mornheavenward]

How many people will fit on the server?

[@Slynell1]

desert will be hundreds. other part 40+

[@warchant59]

The crafting section made me think of having my base in SWG and crafting weapons and droids. Nice!

[@마소-o7l]

I think the hitting motion needs to be further refined. If the hitting motion is like this, it will definitely be criticized when the game is released.

[@ResistWithOlivia]

I just hope that we can freely fly everywhere and land freely at cities, etc. Not like some Starfield BS cut-screens of every little thing that goes on... I am super excited for this game, it's exactly a game I've wished for! 💖💖💖💖💖

[@derekisthematrix]

Nah. Looks instanced...

[@Ares42]

Whoever decided what those default ability binds are must surely be trolling.

[@jeremymcarthur1930]

Huh?

[@AdmiralLemon]

21:33 Thanks to the magic of video editing.

[@ALDMJANI]

Lmao I noticed that too

[@damienrobertson4356]

That's the same shot, tho, it just went from the perspective of the passenger to the driver. Besides, as much as they've emphasized how deadly the sandworms are, I think that if those guys got eaten right there, they would've kept it in the video lol

[@ALDMJANI]

​@damienrobertson4356 ohh yeah I didn't notice that damn thanks for pointing out

[@Mirakuruuu]

lol bro. Nothing was being cut out and reshot with another scene. It was just a camera switch. Chill

[@damienrobertson4356]

@@ALDMJANI If I'm being honest I am just a major nerd for cinematography lmao, I saw the original comment and clicked the time cause I needed to know if they actually did edit out those guys dying. Just a misunderstanding tho :p I can understand, at first glance it really does look like they edited together two completely different clips. The theory falls apart once you look at the location and the time of day/shadow placements. With games looking as good as they do nowadays, it's surprisingly difficult to fake those kinds of things with editing, cause people (even the uninitiated) will notice the discrepancies. Case in point, the fact that our commenter OP noticed the cut *at all* really lol. But yeah honestly, we've just been shown so many straight up fake gameplay trailers in the past several years that now we're always hypervigilant when footage drops, definitely a fault of the industry, you can't advertise for a game like you would a film, cause you don't play a movie, and most of the time, you don't watch a game. Unless Hideo Kojima has something to say about it 😂

[@sayphexgaming6861]

The game looks exciting and has many good features. I would prefer that the game be as polished as possible on launch. I would like to see more of before the game comes out: 1. PVP gameplay (maybe an intertwined end-game loop system) 2. How Quest might work (not the story, but guest types) 3. If PVE testing grounds (dungeon experience) will have any ''boss'' type fights.

[@martin_dougiamas]

As an Australian, it's a joy to hear a home accent from a director of a AAA game

[@jopera2087]

I know its still WIP but the janky animations, uninteresting combat & abilities just dont make me feel excited about this at all.

[@MortusVanDerHell]

I'm a little disappointed with the role of Gom Jabbar. Unless the player knows it's supposed to be a form of mind over body experience, then it's effectively just a ‘receive your orders while having a hand in a box’. No pain. No act of will - and why do male player characters survive that shit without making a face ?! The Avatar is obviously more afraid of the needle than what's in the box making him feel like a fire is slowly burning his fingers off.

[@_Digishade_]

Dude, they're obviously just throwing shit in there because it's things people recognize. If you're expecting them to be even remotely respectful to Herbert's lore, you're missing the point: They're making this game solely to make money and to milk a franchise in a game development environment where literally everyone has zero imagination. Instead of making something that belongs to them, they just steal more intelligent ideas from dead writers and rebrand it as another soulless cash grab. Just like Conan.

[@MortusVanDerHell]

@@_Digishade_ A man must still be able to dream that there are companies that treat his beloved franchises with some respect and depth, right? I haven't even begun to express my fears about forced multiplayer when I can see the infamous heroes ‘SSATAN666!!!’ and ‘PUSYslayer69’ sprinting through the pedestrian zone in cities. -.-

[@reginaldfoley8803]

@@_Digishade_ TBH, the Dune series is pulp sci-fi written by a racist and homophobic weirdo. It was written purely to make money and then created a franchise because it was successful. James Herbert isn't a great writer and wasn't trying to create great art. Read the later books. They get so fucking stupid and really Sixties/Seventies. If they can make a semi-decent multiplayer survival game taking cool stuff from Dune then fine, it will probably be okay. I love how you say the game is a soulless cash-grab when the books were pretty much just cheap thrills for simple minds in the first place, just some sex and violence in pulp-fiction formt.

[@TonyWilsonJr-o4c]

Can't customize your vehicle? only a few extra modules?