Hello everyone! It's now been a year since we released into Early Access and a while since we drew back the curtains on how Spice Wars' development is coming along, so in this article we're gonna do exactly that! Read on for some insights into what's been going on behind the scenes here at Shiro Games, and what you can expect over the coming months in Dune: Spice Wars...
It's been a while since the last update, what's going on?
Well, with all of the support, feedback and help our community has afforded us since launch, we needed to make sure that what we were developing and planning to bring to the game was decided with their expectations, hopes and suggestions firmly in mind.
With that, we have made some adjustments to the development plan, which meant that the next update would be the most significant and substantial one yet (more specific details on that further down the article) and pushed back some of the more "good to have, but not urgent" developments that we originally had in mind.
Obviously, such a change in course can have a bit of a domino effect, as we've seen with the recent lack of updates but we're confident that our community will be thrilled with the result!
So what are we working on at the moment?
Well, quite frankly, a ton of stuff! But for the cliff notes:
Conquest: A brand new campaign!
Development is well underway and it's looking fantastic, we'll have a bunch of stuff to share on this mode very soon, but for now, the small write up in the next section will have to suffice.
Tutorials: Time to learn the ropes!
Players have been requesting a more straightforward introduction to the game and a better explanation of the many systems and mechanics at play since it dropped last year and we're very happy to announce that the game will soon see the introduction of a full set of tutorials that will accomplish exactly this and see new players well on their way to conquering Arrakis in no time!
Here's an early look at the Tutorial menu and a couple of the tutorials you can expect to see upon it's release (there are only 4 at this stage, with more in the works to be ready for the mode's launch)
A new faction: No Spoilers, stay tuned...
Let's round this dry, sandy party out with a brand new sixth faction. But who might it be...?
Game customisation: Play your way!
We're implementing a number of new game customisation options so that players will be able to adjust various different settings before each game, including world hostility, overall difficulty, the amount of taxes they pay, and more...
Heroes of Dune: Hero characters are coming to Dune: Spice Wars!
We're still relatively early in the development process here after the release of conquest was brought forward, but we've got some great ideas and some even more fantastic concepts already fully formed!
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(Keep in mind that not everything above will be releasing in one update however, this is just a look at what we're either currently working on actively or have in the pipeline right now)
What is Conquest Mode?
Designed to be highly replayable, challenging and progression driven, Conquest will act as Dune: Spice Wars' "campaign".
In Conquest, players will take up the control of one of the major houses and fight through number of unique scenarios and situations that will encourage the player to utilise every system at their disposal in order to progress. As players progress through the mode, they will be able to modify their starting house with a variety of perks and upgrades that will result in more interesting ways to tackle the many challenging objectives Conquest throws at them and ensure a unique experience every time they play.
The goal of this mode is to encourage and reward players for experimenting with different playstyles, allow the player to develop interesting, diverse and unique builds over the course of each of their runs and make full use of the various systems available in Dune: Spice Wars to channel the core themes of the series and immerse the player even further into this rich and iconic universe.
Each Conquest run will provide around 10 hours of playtime, with no two runs being alike and we're happy to share that this update, is coming up next!
How much longer will the game be in Early Access?
Right now, we're at about 70% of what's planned for the game, with the above additions probably rounding that out to about 95% with balancing, map generation improvements and system overhauls also in the works that should bring us to 100% and ultimately, release!
So while there's still a lot of work to do, we're targetting a release out of Early Access towards the latter half of the year and we'll keep you all in the loop on this front as we move through the roadmap!
Don’t hesitate to drop any questions you might have in the discussions and as always, thank you all for your support! Shiro Games