• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Dune: Awakening Direct Reveals What Makes it an MMO in New Major Showcase

TheLostSwede

News Editor
Joined
Nov 11, 2004
Messages
16,583 (2.31/day)
Location
Sweden
System Name Overlord Mk MLI
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master
Cooling Noctua NH-D15 SE with offsets
Memory 32GB Team T-Create Expert DDR5 6000 MHz @ CL30-34-34-68
Video Card(s) Gainward GeForce RTX 4080 Phantom GS
Storage 1TB Solidigm P44 Pro, 2 TB Corsair MP600 Pro, 2TB Kingston KC3000
Display(s) Acer XV272K LVbmiipruzx 4K@160Hz
Case Fractal Design Torrent Compact
Audio Device(s) Corsair Virtuoso SE
Power Supply be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850 W
Mouse Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard Corsair K70 Max
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores https://valid.x86.fr/yfsd9w
Dune: Awakening, the Open World Survival MMO set on Arrakis from developer Funcom, today unveiled the second Dune: Awakening Direct. The showcase offers 30 minutes of in-depth interviews and game footage showing character creation, the MMO-like server structure, the narrative ramifications of a world where Paul Atreides was never born, and the spiritual journey the player will undergo in the game, following in the footsteps of the Fremen.

Dune: Awakening, which recently shot past 1 million wishlists on Steam, draws on the visual and aural identity created by Denis Villeneuve and Legendary's recent blockbuster movies and is deeply rooted in the original masterpiece by Frank Herbert. The game unleashes you on a vast and open Arrakis torn by war, where you must survive and strive for control of the spice alongside hundreds of other players.




Premiered at Summer Game Fest, the Story Cinematic - The Vision of Paul Atreides, revealed the alternate timeline that Jessica Atreides creates by choosing to give birth to a daughter instead of Paul, beginning a cascading chain of events. Paul's absence leads to a huge power vacuum into which players will venture, creating their own story.

"Expression and customization" is one of the core pillars of Dune: Awakening. To showcase a part of that, the Direct shows off the robust in-game character creation tool. Choose every detail of your appearance, then your home planet, and even your mentor's specialization, such as Mentat, Swordmaster, or Bene Gesserit, which determines your starting abilities.

Creative Director Joel Bylos also dived into the server structure and the Overland Map, which connects various massive sandbox maps, allowing for a larger number of players in each, both of which set Dune: Awakening apart from many other survival games.

"Making the world feel seamless and connected has always been one of our goals on Dune: Awakening," said Joel Bylos. "We built this structure with the idea of making the game expandable, which is difficult with a single map. The idea with the overland map is that it allows us to just keep building the world and giving players new spaces to explore. Who knows what it will look like 5 years from now?"

Dune: Awakening has recently entered its persistent closed Beta, giving access to the full breadth of the game, from the Hagga Basin starting area to the Deep Desert endgame. Sign up for a chance to join on the official website, and wishlist the game on Steam.

With Gamescom coming up in August, Funcom now prepares for an epic Dune: Awakening gameplay reveal.


View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source
 

Solaris17

Super Dainty Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Aug 16, 2005
Messages
26,179 (3.80/day)
Location
Alabama
System Name Rocinante
Processor I9 14900KS
Motherboard MSI MPG Z790I Edge WiFi Gaming
Cooling be quiet! Pure Loop 240mm
Memory 64GB Gskill Trident Z5 DDR5 6000 @6400
Video Card(s) MSI SUPRIM Liquid X 4090
Storage 1x 500GB 980 Pro | 1x 1TB 980 Pro | 1x 8TB Corsair MP400
Display(s) Odyssey OLED G9 (G95SC)
Case LANCOOL 205M MESH Snow
Audio Device(s) Moondrop S8's on schitt Modi+ & Valhalla 2
Power Supply ASUS ROG Loki SFX-L 1000W
Mouse Lamzu Atlantis mini (White)
Keyboard Monsgeek M3 Lavender, Akko Crystal Blues
VR HMD Quest 3
Software openSUSE Tumbleweed
Benchmark Scores I dont have time for that.
Don’t get me wrong I like the dune universe in general; but for some reason I can’t quite put my finger on; the idea that the dune universe is an mmo is super weird.
 
Joined
Sep 17, 2014
Messages
21,448 (6.00/day)
Location
The Washing Machine
Processor i7 8700k 4.6Ghz @ 1.24V
Motherboard AsRock Fatal1ty K6 Z370
Cooling beQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 3
Memory 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200/C16
Video Card(s) ASRock RX7900XT Phantom Gaming
Storage Samsung 850 EVO 1TB + Samsung 830 256GB + Crucial BX100 250GB + Toshiba 1TB HDD
Display(s) Gigabyte G34QWC (3440x1440)
Case Fractal Design Define R5
Audio Device(s) Harman Kardon AVR137 + 2.1
Power Supply EVGA Supernova G2 750W
Mouse XTRFY M42
Keyboard Lenovo Thinkpad Trackpoint II
Software W10 x64
Don’t get me wrong I like the dune universe in general; but for some reason I can’t quite put my finger on; the idea that the dune universe is an mmo is super weird.
I'm kinda feeling it, I mean it really is a soap between these different factions more than anything else, which is what Dune is too. The immersion could be pretty good if they work with that concept. Limited faction vs faction diplomacy / matchmaking functionality for example, while within faction you have more options.
 

Solaris17

Super Dainty Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Aug 16, 2005
Messages
26,179 (3.80/day)
Location
Alabama
System Name Rocinante
Processor I9 14900KS
Motherboard MSI MPG Z790I Edge WiFi Gaming
Cooling be quiet! Pure Loop 240mm
Memory 64GB Gskill Trident Z5 DDR5 6000 @6400
Video Card(s) MSI SUPRIM Liquid X 4090
Storage 1x 500GB 980 Pro | 1x 1TB 980 Pro | 1x 8TB Corsair MP400
Display(s) Odyssey OLED G9 (G95SC)
Case LANCOOL 205M MESH Snow
Audio Device(s) Moondrop S8's on schitt Modi+ & Valhalla 2
Power Supply ASUS ROG Loki SFX-L 1000W
Mouse Lamzu Atlantis mini (White)
Keyboard Monsgeek M3 Lavender, Akko Crystal Blues
VR HMD Quest 3
Software openSUSE Tumbleweed
Benchmark Scores I dont have time for that.
I'm kinda feeling it, I mean it really is a soap between these different factions more than anything else, which is what Dune is too. The immersion could be pretty good if they work with that concept. Limited faction vs faction diplomacy / matchmaking functionality for example, while within faction you have more options.

Thats fair! Going to give it a whirl, but I'll wait for you to lmk if I should or not.
 
Joined
Sep 17, 2014
Messages
21,448 (6.00/day)
Location
The Washing Machine
Processor i7 8700k 4.6Ghz @ 1.24V
Motherboard AsRock Fatal1ty K6 Z370
Cooling beQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 3
Memory 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200/C16
Video Card(s) ASRock RX7900XT Phantom Gaming
Storage Samsung 850 EVO 1TB + Samsung 830 256GB + Crucial BX100 250GB + Toshiba 1TB HDD
Display(s) Gigabyte G34QWC (3440x1440)
Case Fractal Design Define R5
Audio Device(s) Harman Kardon AVR137 + 2.1
Power Supply EVGA Supernova G2 750W
Mouse XTRFY M42
Keyboard Lenovo Thinkpad Trackpoint II
Software W10 x64
Joined
Feb 20, 2019
Messages
7,603 (3.89/day)
System Name Bragging Rights
Processor Atom Z3735F 1.33GHz
Motherboard It has no markings but it's green
Cooling No, it's a 2.2W processor
Memory 2GB DDR3L-1333
Video Card(s) Gen7 Intel HD (4EU @ 311MHz)
Storage 32GB eMMC and 128GB Sandisk Extreme U3
Display(s) 10" IPS 1280x800 60Hz
Case Veddha T2
Audio Device(s) Apparently, yes
Power Supply Samsung 18W 5V fast-charger
Mouse MX Anywhere 2
Keyboard Logitech MX Keys (not Cherry MX at all)
VR HMD Samsung Oddyssey, not that I'd plug it into this though....
Software W10 21H1, barely
Benchmark Scores I once clocked a Celeron-300A to 564MHz on an Abit BE6 and it scored over 9000.
Funcom.

Their MMO track record is abysmal. Conan could have been good, if it weren't Funcom at the helm. The rest of their MMOs have been company-ending disasters. How, exactly, are they still in business?!
 
Joined
Sep 17, 2014
Messages
21,448 (6.00/day)
Location
The Washing Machine
Processor i7 8700k 4.6Ghz @ 1.24V
Motherboard AsRock Fatal1ty K6 Z370
Cooling beQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 3
Memory 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200/C16
Video Card(s) ASRock RX7900XT Phantom Gaming
Storage Samsung 850 EVO 1TB + Samsung 830 256GB + Crucial BX100 250GB + Toshiba 1TB HDD
Display(s) Gigabyte G34QWC (3440x1440)
Case Fractal Design Define R5
Audio Device(s) Harman Kardon AVR137 + 2.1
Power Supply EVGA Supernova G2 750W
Mouse XTRFY M42
Keyboard Lenovo Thinkpad Trackpoint II
Software W10 x64
Funcom.

Their MMO track record is abysmal. Conan could have been good, if it weren't Funcom at the helm. The rest of their MMOs have been company-ending disasters. How, exactly, are they still in business?!
Yeah, who knows, MMO's are hit or miss in concept anyway. Its either a hit within the first couple of hours on the basic stuff, or it will be a miss forever. The basic gameplay needs to be fun because its all you do forever. The rest, that can change and it always does. You know, mission quality, boss fights, etc. Lots of MMO's reinvented themselves and did well for it.

Though I gotta say if 'Expression and customization' is the first 'pillar' they mention, I'm not directly happy lol. That just reads as 'we'll drown you in skins'.
 
Joined
Jun 19, 2010
Messages
408 (0.08/day)
Location
Germany
Processor Ryzen 5600X
Video Card(s) RTX 3050
Software Win11
Yeah, would be nice if it feels nice from the get go.
For me Dune has a bit of space-opera and diplomacy in a dystopic cultural crash between maneaters, industrials and a messiah-tale.
btw. Am i the only one who is always thinking: "Again a missed opportunity to go full-pathtracing and abandon the rest?"
I mean just go up from 1600x900 with upscaling, forget raster ... was ther any raster? My brain avoids remembering it.
 
Joined
Feb 23, 2019
Messages
5,801 (2.97/day)
Location
Poland
Processor Ryzen 7 5800X3D
Motherboard Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite
Cooling Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE
Memory 2x16 GB Crucial Ballistix 3600 CL16 Rev E @ 3800 CL16
Video Card(s) RTX3080 Ti FE
Storage SX8200 Pro 1 TB, Plextor M6Pro 256 GB, WD Blue 2TB
Display(s) LG 34GN850P-B
Case SilverStone Primera PM01 RGB
Audio Device(s) SoundBlaster G6 | Fidelio X2 | Sennheiser 6XX
Power Supply SeaSonic Focus Plus Gold 750W
Mouse Endgame Gear XM1R
Keyboard Wooting Two HE
The big question is - does it come with a subscription?
 

Frick

Fishfaced Nincompoop
Joined
Feb 27, 2006
Messages
19,006 (2.84/day)
Location
Piteå
System Name White DJ in Detroit
Processor Ryzen 5 5600
Motherboard Asrock B450M-HDV
Cooling Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2
Memory 2 x 16GB Kingston Fury 3400mhz
Video Card(s) XFX 6950XT Speedster MERC 319
Storage Kingston A400 240GB | WD Black SN750 2TB |WD Blue 1TB x 2 | Toshiba P300 2TB | Seagate Expansion 8TB
Display(s) Samsung U32J590U 4K + BenQ GL2450HT 1080p
Case Fractal Design Define R4
Audio Device(s) Line6 UX1 + some headphones, Nektar SE61 keyboard
Power Supply Corsair RM850x v3
Mouse Logitech G602
Keyboard Cherry MX Board 1.0 TKL Brown
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores Rimworld 4K ready!
Don’t get me wrong I like the dune universe in general; but for some reason I can’t quite put my finger on; the idea that the dune universe is an mmo is super weird.

What would you do, as a player? I didn't even know this was in the works until just now, but seriously, what would I, The Player, do? Dune is not a universe where random people (meaning YOU, THE PLAYER) can rise to significance. It's a universe where the powerful dictates the lives of the weak and the powerful even dictates your birth. Dune doesn't care for your frail weak humanity or emotions or any of that shit. You Do Not Matter. This phrasing:

"the narrative ramifications of a world where Paul Atreides was never born, and the spiritual journey the player will undergo in the game, following in the footsteps of the Fremen."

implies that ... You, The Player is the one to become the Kwisatz Haderach, but that doesn't make sense because the last part of the sentence implies that you're following a character through the pogroms and stuff the Zensunni went through before they eventually landed on Arrakis.

I mean i'll probably play it, but I also on a very conceptual level hate it, like I right now hate everything related to Dune*, but yeah I'll play it.

*because The Milking Has Begun.
 
Joined
May 9, 2012
Messages
8,452 (1.91/day)
Location
Ovronnaz, Wallis, Switzerland
System Name main/SFFHTPCARGH!(tm)/Xiaomi Mi TV Stick/Samsung Galaxy S23/Ally
Processor Ryzen 7 5800X3D/i7-3770/S905X/Snapdragon 8 Gen 2/Ryzen Z1 Extreme
Motherboard MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk/HP SFF Q77 Express/uh?/uh?/Asus
Cooling Enermax ETS-T50 Axe aRGB /basic HP HSF /errr.../oh! liqui..wait, no:sizable vapor chamber/a nice one
Memory 64gb Corsair Vengeance Pro 3600mhz DDR4/8gb DDR3 1600/2gb LPDDR3/8gb LPDDR5x 4200/16gb LPDDR5
Video Card(s) Hellhound Spectral White RX 7900 XTX 24gb/GT 730/Mali 450MP5/Adreno 740/RDNA3 768 core
Storage 250gb870EVO/500gb860EVO/2tbSandisk/NVMe2tb+1tb/4tbextreme V2/1TB Arion/500gb/8gb/256gb/2tb SN770M
Display(s) X58222 32" 2880x1620/32"FHDTV/273E3LHSB 27" 1920x1080/6.67"/AMOLED 2X panel FHD+120hz/FHD 120hz
Case Cougar Panzer Max/Elite 8300 SFF/None/back/back-front Gorilla Glass Victus 2+ UAG Monarch Carbon
Audio Device(s) Logi Z333/SB Audigy RX/HDMI/HDMI/Dolby Atmos/KZ x HBB PR2/Edifier STAX Spirit S3 & SamsungxAKG beans
Power Supply Chieftec Proton BDF-1000C /HP 240w/12v 1.5A/4Smart Voltplug PD 30W/Asus USB-C 65W
Mouse Speedlink Sovos Vertical-Asus ROG Spatha-Logi Ergo M575/Xiaomi XMRM-006/touch/touch
Keyboard Endorfy Thock 75% <3/none/touch/virtual
VR HMD Medion Erazer
Software Win10 64/Win8.1 64/Android TV 8.1/Android 13/Win11 64
Benchmark Scores bench...mark? i do leave mark on bench sometime, to remember which one is the most comfortable. :o
Don’t get me wrong I like the dune universe in general; but for some reason I can’t quite put my finger on; the idea that the dune universe is an mmo is super weird.
^that 500% ... adapting Dune into an MMO well ... i loved reading it (and watching it, although the movies old and recent, were a bit meh ... personal feeling, always felt book were superior to movies )
but playing it as an mmo? becoming the Kwisatz Haderach? that's too unrealistic in an mmo, unless the first player to attain it will be the only one, and they will not do it like that.
 
Joined
Sep 17, 2014
Messages
21,448 (6.00/day)
Location
The Washing Machine
Processor i7 8700k 4.6Ghz @ 1.24V
Motherboard AsRock Fatal1ty K6 Z370
Cooling beQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 3
Memory 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200/C16
Video Card(s) ASRock RX7900XT Phantom Gaming
Storage Samsung 850 EVO 1TB + Samsung 830 256GB + Crucial BX100 250GB + Toshiba 1TB HDD
Display(s) Gigabyte G34QWC (3440x1440)
Case Fractal Design Define R5
Audio Device(s) Harman Kardon AVR137 + 2.1
Power Supply EVGA Supernova G2 750W
Mouse XTRFY M42
Keyboard Lenovo Thinkpad Trackpoint II
Software W10 x64
What would you do, as a player? I didn't even know this was in the works until just now, but seriously, what would I, The Player, do? Dune is not a universe where random people (meaning YOU, THE PLAYER) can rise to significance. It's a universe where the powerful dictates the lives of the weak and the powerful even dictates your birth. Dune doesn't care for your frail weak humanity or emotions or any of that shit. You Do Not Matter. This phrasing:

"the narrative ramifications of a world where Paul Atreides was never born, and the spiritual journey the player will undergo in the game, following in the footsteps of the Fremen."

implies that ... You, The Player is the one to become the Kwisatz Haderach, but that doesn't make sense because the last part of the sentence implies that you're following a character through the pogroms and stuff the Zensunni went through before they eventually landed on Arrakis.

I mean i'll probably play it, but I also on a very conceptual level hate it, like I right now hate everything related to Dune*, but yeah I'll play it.

*because The Milking Has Begun.
Yeah if they go that way and the houses are just NPCs... I'm close to a hard pass tbh, that doesn't fit.

Gief me WoW faction vs faction animosity carried by the game. That shit was awesome.

Yeah, would be nice if it feels nice from the get go.
For me Dune has a bit of space-opera and diplomacy in a dystopic cultural crash between maneaters, industrials and a messiah-tale.
btw. Am i the only one who is always thinking: "Again a missed opportunity to go full-pathtracing and abandon the rest?"
I mean just go up from 1600x900 with upscaling, forget raster ... was ther any raster? My brain avoids remembering it.
Honestly even after playing with PT in Cyberpunk I can't say I'm looking for the feature. Even if it did run at acceptable FPS; good lighting has been done countless times without it, and running a lot better. The best looking games don't look great because of graphics/effect quality, but rather because they are well designed. Art direction is everything, some ancient games still look the part because of art direction, not because of quality parameters.
 

Frick

Fishfaced Nincompoop
Joined
Feb 27, 2006
Messages
19,006 (2.84/day)
Location
Piteå
System Name White DJ in Detroit
Processor Ryzen 5 5600
Motherboard Asrock B450M-HDV
Cooling Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2
Memory 2 x 16GB Kingston Fury 3400mhz
Video Card(s) XFX 6950XT Speedster MERC 319
Storage Kingston A400 240GB | WD Black SN750 2TB |WD Blue 1TB x 2 | Toshiba P300 2TB | Seagate Expansion 8TB
Display(s) Samsung U32J590U 4K + BenQ GL2450HT 1080p
Case Fractal Design Define R4
Audio Device(s) Line6 UX1 + some headphones, Nektar SE61 keyboard
Power Supply Corsair RM850x v3
Mouse Logitech G602
Keyboard Cherry MX Board 1.0 TKL Brown
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores Rimworld 4K ready!
Yeah if they go that way and the houses are just NPCs... I'm close to a hard pass tbh, that doesn't fit.

Gief me WoW faction vs faction animosity carried by the game. That shit was awesome.

Yes. Being an Atreides grunt carrying Atreides propaganda doing Atredies assasinations, bowing to the whims of the ubermensch? Yes please.
 
Top