Cathern Westbrook

Pretty much every resource in Dune: Awakening is useful, from salvaged metal to Micro-Sandwich Fabric. You will be building your base multiple times across the starting zones, which means you'll always need a stockp Some people might think stopping to gather every last piece of plant fibre or metal scrap along your way might slow you down, but eventually you'll begin reaching massive progress spikes if you stockpile materials and loot . You'll find resources and loot everywhere you look, and there are a couple of reasons why it's very worthwhile to spend extra time gather That existing lore, and the attention to detail of die-hard fans, was something the developers at Funcom constantly had at the front of their minds while developing Dune: Awakening . I spoke to Gavin Whelan, the studio's Senior Art Director, about working with an existing IP and what the future holds for the upcoming g The game will force you to transfer your base to the next zone, which means you'll need to dismantle it anyway. Don't expend a lot of resources on this initial base. Just build a nice, tidy 4x4 cube and call it a Then, as you progress, things start to "elevate more into a story and become connected to the wider story and the wider story arcs. Players will develop their own storylines that will integrate and form larger clans, larger groupings, and drive things in the deep desert gameplay, where you want them to sort of create their own storylines, but there still is that big overlap in story that players will interact wi Q: You mentioned working with Frank Herbert's estate, Legendary. Has there been any sort of major feedback they've given that you can think of that really sort of shifted how you were approaching the g These wild animals make menial survival busywork a lot more exciting, and spotting a sandworm diving above the surface in the distance is an incredible sight to behold. You’re torn between a desire to see what it’s found and also avoiding near-certain death. Get killed by a bandit and you can head back to the location of your demise to retrieve your stuff. Get eaten by a sandworm, though, and your gear is gone forever. It’s a constant treat that’s much more literal than the hunger and thirst meters survival games normally rely Being a multiplayer survival game set on a vast desert planet, Dune Awakening has to work hard to avoid being repetitive. There’s only so much sand you can run across before it grows boring. While starting the player with nothing at all - no gear, no personality, and no backstory - what has Funcom done to ensure the politics, lore, and epic storytelling of Frank Herbert’s Dune isn’t lost amidst all the busy w Dune: Awakening drops you in the middle of Arrakis, the most iconic planet from the Dune Awakening Weapons book series, and also the most unforgiving. The desert landscape is tough to navigate, and full of scavengers, other players to contend with, and most importantly sandworms. With all of these challenges coming your way, you might be wondering what to do fi Some people, when they're playing survival games, like the Zen loop of just going out, gathering resources, and bringing them back. Some like to be very creative with building. Others like PVP . We have each of those activities, which we also had in Exiles, and we have another layer with political and group systems on top of that The easiest method to avoid getting eaten by a giant worm is to stick to the rocks. Plan your route to your objective by following the patterns of the rock, only crossing small patches of desert each t Discovering these locations is important for two reasons. One, you'll get access to various contracts which can get you extra money. Two, you'll also meet NPCs who can give you varoius quests, which can unlock important resources, abilities, and gameplay mechan Expanding on that, he said, "I know lots of people who love vehicles and vehicle sim games. Okay, it’s a lot easier and more straightforward, but it's still fun. The base level, just getting on a sand bike and driving around, is fun. Flying Ornithopters is fun. Yeah, combat will come…It will be fun and engaging. These are the things which people will gravitate to and this is something we picked up on with Conan Exiles. People make it their o Even in the starting zone, the sandworms can be deadly. The best way to avoid them is to stay off of the large dunes as much as possible - there's a vibration meter at the bottom of your screen which informs you if the worms are close or Dune: Awakening is an open-world multiplayer survival crafting game where you are left to fend for yourself on the hostile desert world of Arrakis. Stick to the shade, collect water where you can, and whatever you do, avoid the sandworms. Progress might seem slow as you first start out, but as you collect more resources you can start processing blood to get more water, collect important vehicle parts to build a sandbike, and upgrade your arsenal of weap

Pretty much every resource in Dune: Awakening is useful, from salvaged metal to Micro-Sandwich Fabric. You will be building your base multiple times across the starting zones, which means you'll always need a stockp Some people might think stopping to gather every last piece of plant fibre or metal scrap along your way might slow you down, but eventually you'll begin reaching massive progress spikes if you stockpile materials and loot . You'll find resources and loot everywhere you look, and there are a couple of reasons why it's very worthwhile to spend extra time gather That existing lore, and the attention to detail of die-hard fans, was something the developers at Funcom constantly had at the front of their minds while developing Dune: Awakening . I spoke to Gavin Whelan, the studio's Senior Art Director, about working with an existing IP and what the future holds for the upcoming g The game will force you to transfer your base to the next zone, which means you'll need to dismantle it anyway. Don't expend a lot of resources on this initial base. Just build a nice, tidy 4x4 cube and call it a Then, as you progress, things start to "elevate more into a story and become connected to the wider story and the wider story arcs. Players will develop their own storylines that will integrate and form larger clans, larger groupings, and drive things in the deep desert gameplay, where you want them to sort of create their own storylines, but there still is that big overlap in story that players will interact wi Q: You mentioned working with Frank Herbert's estate, Legendary. Has there been any sort of major feedback they've given that you can think of that really sort of shifted how you were approaching the g These wild animals make menial survival busywork a lot more exciting, and spotting a sandworm diving above the surface in the distance is an incredible sight to behold. You’re torn between a desire to see what it’s found and also avoiding near-certain death. Get killed by a bandit and you can head back to the location of your demise to retrieve your stuff. Get eaten by a sandworm, though, and your gear is gone forever. It’s a constant treat that’s much more literal than the hunger and thirst meters survival games normally rely Being a multiplayer survival game set on a vast desert planet, Dune Awakening Weapons Awakening has to work hard to avoid being repetitive. There’s only so much sand you can run across before it grows boring. While starting the player with nothing at all - no gear, no personality, and no backstory - what has Funcom done to ensure the politics, lore, and epic storytelling of Frank Herbert’s Dune isn’t lost amidst all the busy w Dune: Awakening drops you in the middle of Arrakis, the most iconic planet from the Dune book series, and also the most unforgiving. The desert landscape is tough to navigate, and full of scavengers, other players to contend with, and most importantly sandworms. With all of these challenges coming your way, you might be wondering what to do fi Some people, when they're playing survival games, like the Zen loop of just going out, gathering resources, and bringing them back. Some like to be very creative with building. Others like PVP . We have each of those activities, which we also had in Exiles, and we have another layer with political and group systems on top of that The easiest method to avoid getting eaten by a giant worm is to stick to the rocks. Plan your route to your objective by following the patterns of the rock, only crossing small patches of desert each t Discovering these locations is important for two reasons. One, you'll get access to various contracts which can get you extra money. Two, you'll also meet NPCs who can give you varoius quests, which can unlock important resources, abilities, and gameplay mechan Expanding on that, he said, "I know lots of people who love vehicles and vehicle sim games. Okay, it’s a lot easier and more straightforward, but it's still fun. The base level, just getting on a sand bike and driving around, is fun. Flying Ornithopters is fun. Yeah, combat will come…It will be fun and engaging. These are the things which people will gravitate to and this is something we picked up on with Conan Exiles. People make it their o Even in the starting zone, the sandworms can be deadly. The best way to avoid them is to stay off of the large dunes as much as possible - there's a vibration meter at the bottom of your screen which informs you if the worms are close or Dune: Awakening is an open-world multiplayer survival crafting game where you are left to fend for yourself on the hostile desert world of Arrakis. Stick to the shade, collect water where you can, and whatever you do, avoid the sandworms. Progress might seem slow as you first start out, but as you collect more resources you can start processing blood to get more water, collect important vehicle parts to build a sandbike, and upgrade your arsenal of weap