Dune: Spice Wars is a sci-fi RTS set within Frank Herbert's iconic Dune universe. The player takes control as the head of one of many great factions taken from the novels as they battle and compete with rival factions for control of the precious resources of Arrakis. Players will need to explore, construct, recruit, sustain, and strategize their way through a number of complex diplomacy and RTS mechanics if they wish to survive in this hostile environment. As well as enemy armies and agents, players will need to watch out for Giant Sandworms and deadly lightning storms, which can destroy equipment and eviscerate armies in a matter of seconds.
On the desert planet of Arrakis, the only commodity as important as Spice is Water. Players will need to generate Water among their controlled territories in order to expand and annex further regions. Some Military Units may also require Water as part of their recruitment costs. Unlike most other resources in Dune: Spice Wars, Water cannot be traded in the normal way, though there are still ways to acquire it both through trade and the construction of certain Economic buildings.
Generating Water
The simplest way to generate Water to sustain populations is by constructing the Windtrap structure from the Buildings menu on a chosen Village. Each region has its own varying Wind Strength, which can be seen in the lower left-hand side of the screen. Players can also press I (i) on the keyboard to display this information. Windtraps are relatively cheap buildings and should be among the first structures players choose to build within their territory. They will cost 150 Plascrete to construct, with an additional expense of 4 Solari in Upkeep per day.
Positioning Windtraps in areas with the most Wind Strength is crucial to the maintenance and expansion of controlled territories. Attempting to annex an enemy or neutral Village without adequate Water supply will render the attack pointless, and the Village will not be able to be annexed until this demand is met.
Trading Water
It is also possible to buy Water from Sietches in exchange for Solari. Sietches are small rebel outposts that sometimes send out raiding parties, but players can interact with Smugglers there in order to gain additional Water. When the Sietch has been discovered and is on friendly terms, a large button with a gold coin will appear along with a specified amount (usually 10 Solari in exchange for 10 Water). This will set up a trade agreement between the player's faction and the Sietch for a continuous supply of water.
Players can also assign Agents to Sietches in order to gain an alliance with them, which will provide further bonuses for the player's faction, such as Military assistance from some of the most powerful units in the game. In general, it is much better to have a good relationship with these settlements than to have them as local antagonists.
Dune: Spice Wars is currently available on PC.