We’re back again with our third edition of the Communinet Signal! As with previous issues, we’re going to round up all the going-on and happenings surrounding Dune: Awakening in the past weeks for your reading pleasure. Complete with plenty of pictures!
In the last issue we shared everything there was to see at Gamescom in Germany. This time, we’re going to take you to conventions in California, Japan, and Brazil. So even if you didn’t get an opportunity to check out our booths in person, we can share a little bit of Arrakis with you here.
We also have some fantastic artwork created by our community, new assets right from our own artists, and answers to some of your burning questions. If you missed our previous Communinet Signals, you can find them here:
September and October was full of travel with the goal of bringing more new faces to Arrakis in Dune: Awakening. Besides the dangers of dehydration, bandit gangs, roaming Sardaukar ships, sandworms, and many other threats it can be a very inviting place! Our first stop on this journey was:
TwitchCon: San Diego, California
While we didn’t have a booth this year, we still had a fantastic time talking to many of you Sleepers attending the convention. We had the opportunity to meet many excited streamers who are eager to get their hands on Dune: Awakening and sharing it with their community.
We also teamed up with LurkIt and The Fun Pimps (creators behind ‘7 Days to Die’) to bring an epic afterparty where we hosted crysknife giveaways, chatted with familiar faces in the community, showed off game trailers, connected streamers with developers, and danced the night away.
One of our lucky crysknife winners, @HowToBeQuiet1
Our stage where we showed the Dune: Awakening trailers with a beautiful skyline backdrop!
Cozy fireside chat with a Dune Balloon Moon
Tokyo Game Show: Tokyo, Japan
日本へようこそ! We flew over to the other side of the world for this convention. Between September 26th through the 29th, our team arrived and was ready to rock the show floor. As with Gamescom, we were a part of the Level Infinite area. Take a look at our booth!
Dune: Awakening producers Farah Nasri and Nils Ryborg took the stage to talk about themselves, the work they do on the game, and development (with the help of a translator of course).
Within our booth, we showed a gameplay presentation complete with a Japanese voiceover as well as a Q&A session at the end. And of course, no one left empty handed; swag bags were given out as new Sleepers exited the presentation.
The booth wouldn’t be complete without our Dune cosplayer star, みひまる! Check her out X (Twitter) for more of her amazing work.
Brasil Game Show: São Paulo, Brasil
Our last stop was in South America, where the rainforests are as wet as Arrakis’s sand is hot. Like Gamescom and Tokyo Game Show, we had our booth on the main hall ready to be visited by new Sleepers. We even had a popcorn machine! No, unfortunately we didn’t have THOSE popcorn buckets. :)
Inside the booth, we had a cozy theater with pillows for the presentation. And as always, they left with a handful of Dune: Awakening swag. We also had hands on gameplay for press, VIPs, and other visitors.
The highlight of this Signal is of the gorgeous yet formidable Harkonnen Light Ornithopter. The light ornithopter specializes in speed, ensuring a quick getaway from enemies or sandstorms (if you’re skilled enough, that is). These vehicles are paramount in your mission to survive. When parked, the wings will fold neatly behind and along the body of the ornithopter. But when taking to the skies, they will unfurl and flutter like a dragonfly’s.
This concept image was created by one of our expert concept artists, Brian Wells. You can check out more of his amazing art on ArtStation here !
The final ornithopter at launch may differ from this screenshot as it is still a work in progress.
We have some fabulous art collected from the official Dune: Awakening Discord server as well as those who used the #CommuninetSignal hashtag on X and Facebook. For a chance to have your art featured, make sure to share yours as well!
Created by Anna-Maria Manners, this drawing features a Fremen-Bene Gesserit girl named Nasira. She is blind, but very sensitive to vibrations.
Meanwhile, Maxpain_ has 3D printed a mini sword along with a stand to rest it out.
A bottle of spice created by Arrakis Pilgrim on Discord.
An adorable Muad'dib, also created by Arrakis Pilgrim.
The beautiful landscape of Arrakis captured by Sinister Fate.
This piece called, “Moving up the ranks” by Sinister Fate was created on Procreate using Photoshop and a Cintiq.
Gorgeous fanart of a Bene Gesserit by Conkin.
Shields and Holtzman tech are great for protecting your character well against both melee and projectiles. They won’t protect you forever, though, as too much damage to them will cause the shields to deactivate. Not to mention, using them your shields while on the open sand is not recommended. Remember that the vibrations will attract the worms and make enemy fire look trivial next to the attention of Shai-Hulud.
Some items needed for crafting shields can be found only in certain locations, such as Imperial Testing Stations. Explore these areas to find those unique parts and give yourself an edge over opponents.
You can turn these shields off and on, but whatever your playstyle, using shields is recommended if you plan on going toe to toe with an enemy.
There are currently no plans to play the game fully in first person. We’ve designed Dune: Awakening with a third-person setting in mind for the best experience. However, there are certain items that will allow you to go into first person to help with your survival. This includes binoculars and sniper scopes!
You can set permissions to decide who can use your vehicles. By default, they only allow access to the person who’s built them. There are, however, vehicles that can be found in the world and are accessible to everyone, so they can be stolen from NPCs.
To keep your vehicle safe from others and the harsh environment, you can craft and use a vehicle backup tool. This allows you to store it in your inventory until you need it again!
While we won't have sandworm riding at launch, it's a highly anticipated feature that we're eager to implement but we also want to do it justice!
As you’ve probably seen from the Dune films, sandworm riding is one of the most dangerous yet thrilling feats to pull off. We want to make sure it’s as impactful as the cinematic moment it's inspired by in the Dune movies. To achieve this, we're taking a deliberate approach and won't rush its development.
As you explore Arrakis, visit points of interest, complete contracts, and so on, you will gain experience points. These points will level your character up and give you skill points and tech points. Skill points can be used to unlock new abilities, increased health and stamina, better heat resistance, and more.
You’ll also discover intel around certain points of interest which will help unlock recipes in the Technology Tree. This is where you’ll get more weapons, armor, and other items to craft to help in your survival. If you need help along the way, and are unable to craft them yourself just yet, these items can found around the world for you to pick up and use. Or if you have a particularly helpful friend with you, they can lend you their armor or weapons.
You will also find Wandering Masters in your journey who will teach you more abilities from different schools, such as the Bene Gesserit.
And that about wraps it up for our third Communinet Signal! We hope you enjoyed reading through it and maybe learned something new.
Remember that if you'd like your art featured, make sure to share in the Discord channel as well as use #CommuninetSignal on Facebook or X (Twitter). Or just drop into the Discord to say hi and chat about all things Dune (and share pictures of your muad'dibs in our pet channel). While we prepare for the 4th signal, make sure to wishlist Dune: Awakening on Steam and we will see you next time!