Discovering and Mapping Arrakis - Exploration in Dune: Awakening
Greetings Sleepers,
Dune: Awakening, inspired by Frank Herbert’s legendary sci-fi novel and Legendary Entertainment’s award-winning films, is a multiplayer survival game where the vast, open, and ever-changing world is designed to keep you engaged in exploration, making maps, and hunting for rare resources and valuable technology.
Arrakis is the most dangerous planet in the universe, but if you can master its numerous hazards, a world of great beauty and immeasurable wealth lies ready for you to explore.
Check out the new Exploring Arrakis - Secrets of the Desert video, showing exploration in Dune: Awakening.
Arrakis is by no means just a sea of sand. The landscape varies greatly, from the towering peaks of Jabal Eifrit, to the iron-rich and red-colored Vermillius Gap, the irradiated Sheol, the imposing Shield Wall, and the sheltered O’odham, where sparse vegetation clings to life. Along with large player hubs like Arrakeen and Harko Village, these are only some of the places you’ll explore. Beyond the Shield Wall lies the Deep Desert, a vast expanse full of priceless treasure and constant danger.
Learn to Survive
Your beginnings on Arrakis will be dominated by blistering heat, scarcity of water, treacherous quicksand, punishing sandstorms, and the constant tension when stepping on open sand, where the great sandworms roam. The shade and the night will be your closest friends as you harvest dew from sparse and gnarled shrubs, and try to avoid sunstroke.
To truly master Arrakis you must follow in the footsteps of the Fremen. Their teachings will help you make many of the tools needed for survival. Learning to craft your own stillsuit is the first major step towards staving off dehydration, and ultimately, thriving in the hostile environment.
Travel Across the Vast World
Build your own shelter from the sun and sandstorms, and use it as a base of operations from which to explore the massive world. To traverse Arrakis you can run, climb, use suspensor belts to levitate, use abilities like the shigawire claw as a grappling hook, and more.
But to truly open your horizons you need to craft your own vehicles, like the sandbike, buggy, and ornithopter. To attempt to outrun the mighty Shai-Hulud on foot is to welcome a quick death.
You can install various different modules on every vehicle to expand its capabilities. Equip your sandbike or ornithopter with a scanner to reveal valuable resources like minerals, harvestable rocks, and water you need for crafting and survival.
Do you want to hunt for buried treasure? Venturing out to the dunes after a sandstorm has passed can be very lucrative. Use your scanner to uncover buried debris and dig it out with a sand compactor. Valuable loot can be found this way, but you should never tarry too long on the open sand, as sandworms will always emerge from the deeps to silence any rhythmic vibrations you cause.
The Art of Map-Making
The best way to reveal the map is by finding a very high vantage point and launching a survey probe into the sky. The probe scans a section of the map and reveals important locations, as well as the terrain.
If you have trained with a Planetologist and have learned the Cartographer skill, you can even create maps, called Sinkcharts, of the regions you have uncovered. These maps can then be given to your friends or even sold to other players on the Exchange in Arrakeen or Harko Village.
The most valuable Sinkcharts are made in the Deep Desert. The world of Dune: Awakening consists of several regions that you can travel between on the Overland Map. You start your journey in Hagga Basin (which is made up of several seamless regions) and you can travel into the Deep Desert once you have an ornithopter.
The Ever-Changing World
A constant source of danger on Arrakis is the Coriolis storm. This massive sandstorm sweeps across the planet and changes the landscape, covering old resources and revealing new ones.
The most dramatic changes occur in the Deep Desert, a vast expanse of open sand nine times larger than Hagga Basin. Not only are new resources uncovered by the shifting sands, but important Imperial Testing Stations are also revealed. These contain the highest-value unique technology and loot.
Because the Coriolis storms change the Deep Desert map on a weekly basis, new Sinkcharts that pinpoint valuable locations will be useful for those who wish to search for unique schematics, hunt for spice, or battle for control of the Landsraad. The ever-changing nature of the Deep Desert ensures infinite exploration and discovery is tied to valuable rewards.
Forward operating bases can be built in the Deep Desert to establish a foothold from which to gather materials and explore further. The blueprint system is invaluable to quickly set up bases like this, as it allows you to save an entire build and place it anywhere, using Solido projections as a guide. But always remember to get your resources to safety ahead of the Coriolis storm hitting, as it will reduce any structure to dust.
The Deep Desert must always be explored with caution. Other players may lie in ambush or try to hunt you down should they spot you. It can be wise to equip a boost module to your ornithopter unless you want to fight your way out of a trap instead of fleeing from it.
In the Deep Desert, your ornithopter is your only lifeline. Should it become damaged out among the dunes, you must either repair it or call for rescue by another ‘thopter, for Shai-Hulud roams in the deeps and will emerge should he sense footsteps or vibrations from other vehicles.
This has been a short guide to some of what you can explore in Dune: Awakening, but there is much more for you to experience yourself at launch, on May 20. Until then, breathe in the majesty and diversity of Dune in the Beauty of Arrakis video.
Until next time, Sleepers.
Communinet Signal #6
This has been an extremely exciting month, to say the least! No more speculation or wonder, we have a release date! That’s right, Dune: Awakening is coming to a PC near you on May 20th, 2025. We are so excited to finally show off what we’ve been working on! You have until then to check out the character creator on Steam, test your hardware in the Benchmark Mode, and of course practice your water discipline.
The release date isn’t the only thing to be excited about though; we have all sorts of other announcements and reveals that we’ll go over in our roundup to make sure you didn’t miss a thing. In this issue we are also highlighting the carrier ornithopter, showing off beautiful art from the community, and answering some of your burning questions.
Get a head start in your journey to Arrakis by figuring out one of life’s most important questions: Who are you? Were you born in the tundras of Ix? Or the valleys of Chusuk? What about your mentor, who taught you the ways of being a Swordmaster or Bene Gesserit?
You can decide these for yourself now by downloading the character creator on Steam! Besides your background, you can also adjust the physical appearance of your ideal character. If you need some inspiration, here’s a couple Sleepers shared in our official Discord!
And if you need even MORE inspiration, you’ll get a redeemable code for the exclusive Frameblade knife skin by completing your character. You can use this code when the game launches on May 20th. By downloading the Character Creator, you’ll also have access to the Benchmark Mode; this will analyze your PC hardware and test performance.
We’ve also announced that the base game is priced at $49.99/€49.99, with pre-orders starting soon. If you pre-order, you’ll also receive an adorable Terrarium of Muad’Dib. Now you can keep it in your home and give it the love it deserves instead of drinking its blood, you heartless monster.
You can find more details as well as pictures of the knife and terrarium on our blog here!
Digital Postcards Arrakis may not be the most relaxing vacation location, but you can still make your family and friends jealous of your adventures with these digital postcards. At very least, they’ll know you haven’t made yourself worm food just yet.
As you progress into the deserts of Arrakis, you’ll unlock a variety of vehicles to help with your survival and control over spice. You may even find yourself building a garage to house your rides for both the land and sky. One of these will be the strong and bulky carrier ornithopter.
While the light ornithopters are built for speed and scouting, these are made for transporting you and your allies to places of interest. Once you hear the boom and see the sky turn purple from a spice blow, it’s all hands on deck. Use the carrier ornithopter to quickly transport a sandcrawler to the spice. This makes harvesting easier, as one of your allies can pilot the sandcrawler even as you drop it onto the sand.
It’s not just limited to sandcrawlers though! Carrier ornithopters can move groundcars and even other ornithopters, so moving as a group is much more convenient.
The following images are concept art created when brainstorming the physical appearance of the carrier ornithopter as well as understanding the functions. Final version (and names!) in the game may change.
Concept art was created by Sheng Lam and Kemp Remillard. Find more of their work in their ArtStations!
The fanart continues to roll in and we’re as happy as a Kulon in a stillsuit! Check out the latest batch of art, and remember, you too can be included in a future issue. Just share your creation by using #CommuninetSignal on social media, or the #fanart channel of the official Discord.
The Sleepers featured here will also be invited to take part in the Dune: Awakening Closed Beta!
Sandwalking: A Community Podcast Episode 2 Deadwoman Walking and FlamingMojo are at it again but with a special guest this time! Community Manager Iggy takes the mic and joins in on the action. It’s a great way to pass the time and maybe learn something new while doing dishes, hiking, or even while creating your character.
A Swordmaster freshly arrived on Arrakis by @LoneLionArt on X (Twitter)
Original characters of MewsikOn and Anna-Maria Manners characters celebrating Valentine’s Day
Surviving in a stillsuit by MooCow
Different types of weapons require different ammo. Some dart-based guns will require light darts or heavier darts based on the type of weapon. For example, a Heavy Pistol type weapon uses heavy darts while a Scattergun uses light darts. On top of that you also have flamethrowers, lasguns, and rocket launchers which will all require different ammo.
Each will require you to manage your ammo levels but you're not locked out of using any type of gun. There are no level or "class" requirements to use the different types of guns.
At launch you'll be able to pledge your support to the Atreides or the Harkonnen houses which will each have their own path and rewards. As this is the Dune universe, you will have interactions with those in other factions. For example, CHOAM oversees all (official) commerce on Arrakis, so you'll interact with them at the exchange; the emperor levies a spice tax on Arrakis which you'll have to pay when your base meets certain requirements and so on. We have a lot of plans for future updates but for now this is what we can confirm.
Having a base in Dune: Awakening is extremely important, to say the least. Yes crafting and converting collected blood into water is a large chunk of why it is, but your entire production and resource processing is at your base. From water collection, to creating ingots for weapons and armor, to repairing and recycling.
Additionally, you can share access to your base with others, making it a common place for your friends and guildmates to hang out. And of course, as it’s something you’ll be operating out of, making a garage for vehicle storage is a must-have. Leaving your groundcars or ornithopters outside is risky, as you’re exposing them to the harsh elements of Arrakis. The last thing you want is losing an ornithopter you worked so hard on to a sandstorm.
Ornithopters have several optional modules you can craft and place onto them, one of them being rockets. This will help when you’re dealing with other ornithopters in the sky or sandcrawlers trying to steal spice in the Deep Desert. As with other weapons, ammo levels must be managed, so make sure your ornithopter is fully loaded and armed before heading into combat.
Yes, modules and other “completed” items can be sold at the exchange. Whether you're looking to make some extra Solari by selling the parts, or you're in the market for a new set of ornithopter parts, the exchange is where you want to go. It's also a good place to go to buy and sell unique modules and schematics.
When building a base, the first step will be placing a subfief. This is essentially the core of your home, as it sets your base boundaries of where you can build as well as protects it from outside elements. If it’s removed, you will lose control over the entire base. As you progress in the game you will be able to build up to three subfiefs; this will make moving much easier! Just place another subfief in the new area you want to build in, and start moving your items.
Tearing down your old base is made easier, as building refunds are 100%! So all resources used to create your walls, ceilings, refineries, and so on are given back to you to build your new home. The only exception to this rule is the subfief, where you will receive 50% of resources back when deconstructing it.
This was a really exciting Signal for us with so much to share and we hope you’re as hyped about full launch as we are! Remember to wishlist the game on Steam so you are ready for it on May 20th, and to create the Sleeper of your spice dreams. We want to see those faces whether they’re as pale as a Harkonnen, as suave as an Atreides, or something even a sandworm is too afraid to come close to. You can do that by using #DuneAwakening on social media, or share in the #character-creator-showoff on the official Discord server.
With the release date set in granite, we are looking forward to sharing and showing off even more of what you can expect with launch. It’s only two months away, and we’ll be counting every second. See you on Arrakis soon!
Dune: Awakening - Character Creator and Benchmark Patch Notes
FIXES
General stuff
Fixed the default window mode not to be empty on first start.
Fixed the video settings so that the ultra/high/medium/low defaults are no longer "locked".
Fixed a problem that could inadvertently allow access to keybinds on the benchmark results screen.
Added 'Dune: Awakening' social media links to the main menu screen.
Character Creator
Fixed flickering shadows on the default character in the main menu.
Fixed eye material so that the iris no longer appears to glow.
Fixed face normal maps that caused some irregularities around the mouth.
Fixed the 'Mouth Height' slider so that it is no longer inverted.
Fixed hair simulation for 'Bob', 'Textured Quiff', 'Braided Bob', and '20s Bob Cut' hair that intersected with the face.
Fixed the ‘Wavy Chic Bob’ hairstyle to correctly apply color to all hair.
Fixed several face tattoos that appeared slightly skewed.
Updated the 'Vortex Stripe' face tattoo style.
Updated all preset characters that incorrectly had makeup opacity set to '1' by default.
The day has come. Today, we’re excited to announce that Dune: Awakening launches on May 20!
Take a look at our brand-new Release Date Reveal Trailer.
Game Price & Pre-Orders
The base game is priced at $49.99/€49.99, with pre-orders starting soon. Players who pre-order Dune: Awakening will also receive the Terrarium of Muad’Dib, a detailed in-base decoration which houses our favorite desert mouse as he goes about his life. Muad’Dib may be wise in the ways of the desert, but also of the terrarium.
Character Creator & Benchmark Mode
Begin your journey now by downloading the full Character Creator & Benchmark Mode here. Hit the sand running at launch by fully crafting your character now and receiving a redeemable code for the exclusive Frameblade knife skin.
Put your hand in the box.
Endure the Reverend Mother’s test of the Gom Jabbar. Determine every aspect of your appearance, then select your home planet, caste, and finally, your mentor. Share and compare your finished character with other players using #DuneAwakening.
Create your character today and then import your character into the full game when Dune: Awakening launches on May 20.
Launch the benchmark sequence to test your PC performance and adjust your graphics settings to find the optimal balance for you. The fly-through sequence takes you from a player-built base in the desert to Harko Village, the brooding, bustling Harkonnen player hub, finally concluding with a close encounter with a colossal sandworm.
The journey to Arrakis has been long, but we are almost there. Today, you can choose who you will be on Arrakis, and on May 20, you will marvel at the sandworms that emerge from the deeps like mountains, the storms that blot out the sky, and the spice that untethers the mind.
Until next time, Sleepers.
Communinet Signal #5
Welcome to 2025, the year of release for PC! It’s coming closer and closer and the entire Funcom team is beyond excited to show everyone what we’ve been working on. It’s been an amazing journey working on Dune: Awakening and we've poured our hearts and souls (and a whole lot of sand) into it. Hope you’re ready to take Arrakis head-on! We have our “death by sandworms” counter on standby.
Seeing reactions to what we’ve shown so far, as well as what our beta players are telling us, has been extremely encouraging. Keep your eyes open, as we have some very interesting things you won’t want to miss.
In this first Signal of the new year we’re showing off new screenshots, a look into the hands-on experience with press and content creators, concept art of the one-man groundcar, answers to some of your burning questions, and more.
We are seeing more and more Sleepers popping up from the sand with each passing month. If this is your first visit to our Communinet Signal, welcome! If you missed the previous Communinet Signals you can find them here:
The year has only just begun and we have a lot of exciting events, announcements, and spotlights to share already.
Starting 2025 with a bang, we revealed that Dune: Awakening will be one of the first games to feature NVIDIA’s DLSS 4 technology with Multi Frame Generation. This will enhance Arrakis' most majestic views and exciting moments!
You can read more about it in our article here. Check out the video to see it in action!
We also unveiled fancy new screenshots! These feature some of the scenarios you’ll find yourself in once on Arrakis (did we mention it's going to release this year?).
The slow blade penetrates the shield. Keep that in mind when engaging in hand to hand combat against shielded enemies. With a well timed slow blade attack, you can inflict a devastating blow against your opponent. But don't forget this applies to your defense as well!
Building a base is essential to your survival on Arrakis. Protect yourself from the brutal sandstorms, store your resources, craft weapons and vehicles, purify the blood of your enemies into water, and plan your next move. And do it all in your own style by decorating it to your liking.
Once you hear a loud boom, scout the horizon for a column of purple smoke rising to the sky. This is how you will spot a spice blow, which will be crucial to your spice production and control over Arrakis. Gather your allies, ornithopters, and harvesters to be the first to the blow and seize its control before your enemies arrive. The race is on.
Meet up with your friends, check out the latest on the Exchange, or dance your worries away at a bar before returning to the fray when visiting Harko Village or Arrakeen, the social hubs the game will offer at launch. Access them via the overland map with your ornithopter.
Sandworms, sandstorms, and sunstroke are as determined to stand in your way as you are of conquering them. Crossing the desert needs to be calculated: stay on rock islands as much as you can, stick to the shades and take shelter when needed. Master these basics of survival, or become wormbait.
Witness the beauty of Arrakis! Venture into the sands with us to see the harsh beauty and spellbinding majesty of Arrakis in our latest video. You’ll want to turn the volume on your speakers all the way up too!
It’s a cold and snowy January here in Oslo, Norway. But that didn’t stop the gaming press and a select group of content creators we invited to try Dune: Awakening out for themselves! They quickly warmed themselves up with Arrakis’s blistering heat and dove into the game.
Check out their reactions in our new and extended behind-the-scenes video, which also features interviews with some of our developers.
A few articles from the excited press:
PC Gamer: After 7 hours, Dune: Awakening might be the mix of survival and RPG that finally wins me over to the genre
GamesRadar: Dune: Awakening is so much more than a survival game or an MMO - it's a unique sci-fi experience shaped by Frank Herbert's 60-year-old lore and all that came after it
GameRant: How Dune: Awakening Tackles the Challenge of Arrakis as a Singular Setting
EuroGamer: Dune: Awakening proves MMOs can still be interesting and try new things
TheGamer: There's "Nothing Really Stopping" Funcom Adding More Planets To Dune: Awakening
And a handful of videos from the lovely content creators:
Crossing the desert on foot probably isn’t the best idea unless you’re looking to be wormbait. One of the first vehicles you’ll craft will be a trusty one-man groundcar. Using this, you can cross larger gaps of desert between the safety of rocks to get to areas with resources of a higher grade.
Modules can also be crafted and attached to the groundcar to give you storage, scanners, and even a second seat for another passenger. They can act as a quick getaway when surrounded by enemies, but remember that it will never be faster than the worm.
These art pieces were created by our Senior Concept Artist, Daniele Solimene. Note that this is concept art and is subject to change
Here’s this issue’s collection of gorgeous fanart we’ve received. Remember, if you want yours featured, post it in the #fanart section of the official Discord, or use #CommuninetSignal on social media.
Like in the last Signal, those featured here will be invited to join the Dune: Awakening Closed Beta!
Sandwalking: A Community Podcast
Hosted by your fellow Sleepers, DeadWoman Walking and FlamingMojo, this podcast touches on everything Dune: Awakening related released so far! There’s a lot to talk about, and it’s a great chance to get to know more about the game and get involved in the community.
A Spice Blow exploding in the distance. Digital art created by L_Wizzle.
Beautiful art of an OC named Hamania Corrino by Shamanbrush.
Desert Burial by MewsikOn.
An exciting fanmade trailer using various previously released clips by Scotty .
This is a feature we want to add post-launch. At launch, you won’t be able to alter the physical choices for your character. You can, however, customize your character’s outfits and vehicles with various color swatches.
Yes, as you progress through the game, you will have to learn where to find some of the rarer materials, both in Hagga Basin and in the Deep Desert. Some of the high-end mats will require you to even prepare thoroughly against heavy environmental dangers, or scout specific regions. In addition to that, the Coriolis storm will sweep across the Deep Desert and alter it every week; this changes the location and availability of certain materials and loot.
PvE will be a big focus, especially at the beginning of the game. Hagga Basin is largely a PvE zone with a wide variety of content that you can spend many hours with without having to engage in PvP, though there are specific regions that you can enter for PvP. Direct PvP will always be optional, and the story can be completed without engaging in PvP.
As you progress through the game, we will be directing you more towards PvP activities, but an important key element of PvP in Dune: Awakening is that it is not designed solely for direct confrontation. You can choose to focus only on PvE activities, such as crafting and harvesting materials, and still be part of the conflict by supporting your faction and guild in the Landsraad, providing materials critical to a new vote, or selling rare items on the Exchange for others to use in direct conflict. So if you prefer to focus on PvE activities, you can still be a part of the intrigue of the Deep Desert and late game.
You will be able to express yourself with the wide selection of emotes at launch, and we will keep adding more as post-launch content as well!
Keep in mind that sandworms are their own entities in the game, with their own behaviors, patrolling routes, and routines. Sandworms will target any presence that attracts their attention, such as rhythmic vibrations caused by displacement, Holtzman tech, thumpers, etc.
They will control the sands, and as such are a valuable tactical resource for those who know the ways of the desert and how to use them to their advantage. You can use thumpers to distract or lure them, but you won't be able to summon them at will.
January has flown by, bringing us one month closer to the release of Dune: Awakening. We hope you’re enjoying reading these updates as much as we like making them. Don’t forget that it comes out THIS YEAR on PC! It’s incredibly exciting for us as we ramp up to launch and can reveal more and more with time. And maybe, just maybe, there might be something extra spicy we might share next month…
May Shai-Hulud bless your path to launch!
Witness the Beauty of Arrakis
Greetings Sleepers,
Check your literjon, strap on your stillsuit, and venture into the sands with us to witness the harsh beauty and spellbinding majesty of Arrakis in our latest video: Beauty of Arrakis.
While Arrakis is principally a desert planet, its vast surface is home to many unique locations and diverse environments full of secrets to uncover. In this video, we show off a few of these locations. Soar through the shadows of the Hagga Rift, and wander across the red sands of the Vermillius Gap to the gnarled vegetation of the O’odham.
This video shows only a glimpse of what you will explore on Arrakis, by foot, in groundcars, and from the cockpit of ornithopters.
Multiplayer survival on the most dangerous planet in the universe awaits, Sleepers. Early this year, you will taste the spice.
Our Impressions Roundup Is Here!
Greetings Sleeper,
Following our big hands-on event for Dune: Awakening in Oslo, impressions from journalists and content creators have been appearing everywhere!
It was an amazing experience to see everyone enjoying the game in person, and we’d like to share that feeling with you all in our new and extended behind-the-scenes video, which also features interviews with some of our developers:
If you missed what people have been saying, here are some highlights:
Press Highlights:
“You can live out your Dune fantasy in the most faithful recreation of Arrakis we've yet seen in a game.” - Eurogamer
“Yes, I'm basically peeing in my Stillsuit with excitement, even after all the sandworm trauma.” - IGN
“Even this early on, it's apparent that Funcom is more interested in making something that captures Dune's vibe rather than following the survival game herd, and that's why it successfully grabbed me.” - PC Gamer
“Dune: Awakening feels like a natural evolution ... of the [survival] genre.” - MMORPG
“Funcom is in the midst of crafting a worthy follow-up to Frank Herbert’s legacy...” - Wccftech
“Arrakis is looking like a bold new horizon...” - Shacknews
“One of the things that impressed me the most was the scale of the project.” - IGN Brasil
“Funcom offers a universe with infinite possibilities.” - Meristation
“The atmosphere and ambience make you feel completely absorbed.” - Julien Chièze
Creator Highlights
“Funcom has in my opinion absolutely nailed it.” - Onepeg
“The gunplay in this game feels so crisp.” - The AxeMan
“The longer I stayed in the sun, the faster I dehydrated. I found this system to be really interesting and unique.” - Arean
“From a lore perspective I would say one of the things I’m enjoying ... is how much attention that has been given to the details.” - Renfail
Every day we get closer to launch. We can’t wait for you all to experience the rise from survival to greatness on Arrakis.
May you always find shade.
New Gameplay Impressions Dropping Today
Greetings Sleepers,
Last week, we welcomed journalists and content creators from all over the world to visit our offices in Oslo, Norway, and play Dune: Awakening. Arrakis welcomed them with blistering heat, deadly sandstorms, and a taste of power.
Now, the time has come to see their impressions after spending several hours in the game! They begin dropping today, so keep your eyes open.
In the meantime, we’d also like to give you a glimpse behind the scenes at the event:
As the impressions arrive, we’ll be adding them here.
Get ready to rise from survival to greatness in a multiplayer survival experience on a massive scale. Wishlist now and land on Arrakis early 2025.
Fully Immerse Yourself on Arrakis with NVIDIA DLSS 4 and Razer!
Greetings Sleepers,
One of our goals in Dune: Awakening is to immerse you on Arrakis unlike ever before. To let you feel the sandworms shift beneath you; the Coriolis Storms tear at your skin; and the spice sing in your veins.
We’re delighted to announce that Dune: Awakening will be one of the first games to feature NVIDIA’s DLSS 4 technology with Multi Frame Generation, enhancing Dune: Awakening’s most majestic views and exciting moments. Witness colossal sandworms break the surface of the dunes, dynamically pushing sand aside and spewing it into the air. Experience every frame of your last moments before it consumes you whole, or you barely escape. Take a look at the comparison video:
To blur the lines between Arrakis and reality further, Dune: Awakening will also feature Razer’s next-gen Chroma and Haptics integration, providing synced lighting and intelligent haptic feedback for the most immersive experience possible. Plunge your entire room into the Arrakis sunset as you soar across golden dunes in your ornithopter, thanks to Razer’s recently announced next-gen Chroma integration.
Additionally, with Razer’s Freyja Gaming Cushion’s full dynamic range, you will feel the shudder of your shield as it repels an enemy dart from behind, or your ornithopter cockpit hum to life around you.
We are thrilled to say that NVIDIA and Razer’s state-of-the-art technology elevates the first open-world experience of Arrakis to new heights, and we can’t wait for you to experience it.
In Early 2025, rise from a nameless survivor to a hero of House Harkonnen or House Atreides.
Communinet Signal #4
Welcome Sleepers, to the year-end edition of the Communinet Signal!
2024 has been a pivotal year for us and the development of the game, as we have opened the development build of the game to the lucky players selected for our Closed Beta testing. We started with a very small core group of testers at the end of last year and have been slowly growing that group ever since. Sometime in the middle of this year, we expanded the scope of the test with the Persistent Beta test, where we keep the servers running 24/7 for our testers.
It has been an incredible source of important data and feedback that we have taken to heart and used to continually improve the game, doubling down on the parts of our vision that resonate with our players, and tweaking and adapting those that do not. It's a very rewarding process, and we're incredibly grateful to all of our testers for helping us complete this final leg of our journey to launch. There's not much we can share with you just yet, as these tests are still strictly under NDA. But as a year-end treat for you all, we will be sharing some fun and interesting stats from these Closed Beta tests!
The Early 2025 release is fast approaching. Until then, enjoy this last Communinet Signal of the year!
In November and December we were working on all sorts of fun stuff we can’t wait to tell you about (in... dune time).
But on the public side of things, we attended Dreamhack Stockholm! Magnus (Senior PR and Events Manager), Ignasi (Community Manager) and Tomek (Senior Influencer Manager) roamed the halls of the event, meeting with fans, industry friends and content creators to network and discuss fun and interesting possibilities for the coming year!
[table noborder=1] [tr] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]From left to right: Magnus, Ignasi and Tomek at Dreamhack Stockholm’24.[/td] [/tr] [/table]
Cosplayer Yuji joined us once again (she was with us at the Nordic Party event at Gamescom 2024!), showing off her amazing stillsuit, taking pictures with fans, and giving out Dune: Awakening stickers!
Shortly after Dreamhack and to close out the year, our Creative Director Joel Bylos joined PirateSoftware for a live interview during his stream on December 13th. Thor asked a lot of insightful questions about the game and Joel was happy to answer them. If you are interested, you can watch the segment on PirateSoftware's Youtube channel!
On another note, and as a fun wrapper for the year, we'd like to share some statistics from the Closed Beta with you all. We hope you find these interesting and that they give you some hints at what’s to come next year!
Deadly Arrakis: The NPC inhabitants of Arrakis are responsible for 58% of player deaths.
The second and third most common causes of death are Sandworms (27%) and dehydration (22%).
2% of players who have played at least 10 hours have never died in the game…yet!
Who’s your mentor? During character creation you can chose your mentor, which determines your starting abilities as well as some dialogue choices across the game. These have been the selections of mentors chosen by our beta testers so far:
All water is precious on Arrakis: Closed Beta Players extracted approximately 1.5 million liters of blood from fallen enemies and living creatures.
Close to a hundred muad'dibs had their blood extracted (the kangaroo mouse not the Duke Leto's son who doesn't exist in our game). How could you?
If you found these stats interesting and want to contribute to them, remember that you can still sign up for a chance to be selected for our Closed Beta tests. Just head over to our website and fill out your Beta Profile survey!
For today's highlight, we wanted to give the spotlight to our cosplayers. If you've traveled to any of the events we've been to this year, you've probably seen and interacted with them. And if you're an avid Communinet Signal reader, you've seen them in many of the pictures we've shared so far.
They are incredibly talented and passionate professionals who use their craft to enhance the event experience for everyone. They are also wonderful people. For these reasons, we thought they deserved a spot here so you could all get to know them a little better.
For this edition, we will be exchanging words with Alejandra (Anhyra), who has been with us ever since PAX East, all the way through ComicCon Nordic, Gamescom and Brazil Game Show. She has kindly lent us some of her time to answer a few questions!
[table noborder=1] [tr] [td][/td] [/tr] [/table]
You’re a seasoned veteran in the cosplay community Anhyra! Can you tell our readers a bit about your career as a cosplayer and previous projects you have cosplayed for? It has been a wonderful and long journey! I've been doing cosplay for more than 10 years now! It started as a hobby, I am a huge fan of Mass Effect and I wanted to make Commander Shepard's armor, so I decided to make it for Carnival, which is a big thing where I live. Then I took it to a local convention, it was super fun and everyone loved the cosplay, so that encouraged me to keep making armors.
Since then, I started entering cosplay contests and was lucky enough to win the best armor award at Blizzcon 21. This put me in the spotlight and helped me a lot to start a career as a professional costume maker. In the past few years I've worked on costumes, props and cosplay content for games like Destiny 2, World of Warcraft, The Elder Scrolls, Diablo IV, Blasphemous, Bloodhunt... and Dune: Awakening! <3 I'm so grateful for all these opportunities because I really love making costumes.
I've also worked as a cosplay judge in many events in Spain and Europe! Many conventions have asked me to do panels on costume making and to judge their competitions! It was an honor to judge the Gamescom and Dreamhack Cosplay Contests in Germany or the international finals of the Tournament of Champions in Vienna.
Speaking of Dune: Awakening, tell us a bit more about your experience designing the stillsuit cosplay! What were the biggest challenges and considerations you had to face when crafting it? Making the Stillsuit was a really big and fun challenge! I had about a month to create this design and at first it was a little intimidating because the suit is really intricate and tight to the body.
I considered several different construction options and finally decided to build it like a suit of armor, making different pieces that would attach to the inner clothing and allow me to move properly at conventions, but also make it look like a whole suit. Building it was like a giant puzzle with tons of layers with different textures, tubes... But in the end I was super happy with the result!
[table noborder=1] [tr] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Anhyra during PAX East 2024.[/td] [/tr] [/table]
Now that you mention wearing it… how was the actual experience donning the Stillsuit? Did everything work as intended? I was super lucky and everything worked out great! I almost cried the first time I tried to put everything together! I used EVA foam for most of the pieces, so it's very light! But wearing a cosplay is never comfortable, so I had to make some small adjustments in the design to be able to sit down, walk properly or even go to the toilet... Unfortunately, I don't have the skills yet to make a proper stillsuit that recycles liquids. ːsteamhappyː
How was the reception by event-goers? Do you have any fun reactions to share? (hopefully not related to water discipline)
I'm super happy because everyone loved the costume online and also at conventions! People usually approach me to ask me about how I made the costume and they always get surprised when I say that almost everything is foam! Even the parts that look like leather!
My favorite reaction happened during the Brasil Game Show, a bunch of really little girls ran to me to hug me and they asked me if I was a desert princess... I usually cosplay as monsters or intimidating armors, so I'm not used to that and it definitely made my day!
[table noborder=1] [tr] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Anhyra and Meankitteh (who will also be featured soon) during Gamescom.[/td] [/tr] [/table]
That’s incredible! Alright, we don’t want to hog all your time. So as a final note, do you have any advice or recommendations for aspiring cosplayers? Follow your passion! We all start small, and the more cosplay you do, the more you learn! So don't get frustrated if you can't make a super crazy build right now, just keep practicing and one day you will! ♥️ The cosplay community is really big and there are tons of amazing makers sharing their methods, tutorials and tips, so it's easy to start learning nowadays! And if you want to buy a costume instead of making it...that's great too! Everyone can enjoy it! My favorite thing about cosplay is how welcoming the community is! I've met hundreds of incredible friends all over the world thanks to cosplay, and that's priceless!
Thank you so much Anhyra for your time… and see you at the next event! 👀
You can follow Anhyra on all of her social media accounts (Instagram, X, Bluesky) and be sure to say hi. She is not only a talented cosplayer, but also a wonderful person!
Stay tuned for future Communinet Signals where we will feature more cosplayers who have brought Dune: Awakening to life with us!
We have an amazing collection of fanart in this issue that includes all kinds of mediums. Please peruse our museum of artworks at your leisure.
But we have more exciting news: Those featured here will ALSO get access to the Dune: Awakening Closed Beta! Thank you for sharing your beautiful pieces. We look forward to seeing more in the future.
Make sure to share them on the official Discord server under the #fanart channel, or use the #CommuninetSignal tag on social media.
[table] [tr] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Hand made Pain Box created from wood by THE Shai Meilud on Discord.[/td] [/tr] [/table] [table] [tr] [td] [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Work in progress![/td] [/tr] [/table] [table] [tr] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Art of MewsikOn’s character.[/td] [/tr] [/table] [table] [tr] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]A very dapper Atreides man by Chime Minister’s girlfriend.[/td] [/tr] [/table] [table] [tr] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]A “Feyd” inspired OC as a sphinx cat commissioned by S0lar5ail0r and drawn by Rott-Rott.[/td] [/tr] [/table] [table] [tr] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Character concept on a Harkonnen Traitor based off of our Senior Concept Artist, Filipe Augusto. Created by Ryan Ross (Goda on Discord), you can find more of the character here![/td] [/tr] [/table] [table] [tr] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Wormjak pointing by General Anubis.[/td] [/tr] [/table] [table] [tr] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Prescience by Arrakis Pilgrim.[/td] [/tr]
[table] [tr] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]The Deep Desert is meant to be the endgame area of the game, with high risk and high reward. But we also don't want to make the experience too brutal to play. We want you to be able to recover, learn from your mistakes, and come back stronger and wiser. By default, you will only lose whatever resources you may have in your inventory bag, not your equipped gear. If you play wisely, you'll be able to protect the resources you carry and limit your losses. If you do not, other players will have a big payday.[/td] [/tr]
[table] [tr] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]The Landsraad is one of our game mechanics where Guilds will compete for the votes of Major Houses in the Landsraad by doing work for them in a Faction vs Faction gameplay, in order to vote in action World-wide decrees (rules) for the next period. We are actively working on this feature and fine-tuning it in our Closed Beta test. With the help and feedback of our testers, we are narrowing down the benefits and requirements to see which are the most interesting and fun. We can't reveal much yet, but think of it as an example: what if you could raise tax prices and allow a temporary different ruleset in the Deep Desert? Or what if you could lower construction requirements for a week? How would you plan your next move with these tricks at your disposal?[/td] [/tr] [TAG-304] [table] [tr] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Yes! You will be able to invite players to a party and group together without having to be in a guild. Unlike a guild, a party is a temporary group that disbands when all players leave or log out.[/td] [/tr]
[table] [tr] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Dune: Awakening will feature proximity voice chat at launch, as well as text chat![/td] [/tr]
And with that, we're one step closer to saying goodbye to 2024 and hello to 2025!
We're incredibly excited about the upcoming months. We're working hard to have the game ready for you all on PC early next year, and we're preparing to make 2025 an unforgettable year for all of you Sleepers who are eager to get your boots on the sands of Arrakis. We can’t wait to tell you more about this labor of love we have created for you.
In the meantime, thank you for your unwavering support this year, and here's to 2025, the year of Dune: Awakening! May Shai-Hulud bless the path ahead!
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