By will alone I set my mod in motion (Dune mod ideas)

[PDF]

IMHO there is ONE game that would allow easily a Dune mod ... not SEIV, but "Emperor of Fading Suns" !!
This is an old (97) game from HDI, it is quite good and has already a Dune feeling, focuses on noble houses doing planetary development and ground combat, AND is very moddable !
It's available for free at www.the-underdogs.com , and there are still some activity around it, try this link : http://www.kborek.cz/official/efslinks.html

However it doesn't provide Guild Transport feature ...

[Fyron]

For the Guild Ship Systems, you could give them Sector Obscuration at level 50 in each Category. Then, give the Guild a component that can scan level 50 cloaking. That way, nobody would know who else is being given transport.

[jimbob]

RE: how to make an Arrakis type planet, that is incredibly valuable and central to the game.

Like SJ said, start with the map. I'd suggest making the organics rating for ALL planets very low, near or at zero. Except of course Aarrakis! It should be 200% or more for organics (read: spice). Make the warp point manipulation devices organics expensive, and give the technology tree for warp point manipulation only to the Trade Guild.

However don't give the Guild the ability to mine the organics/spice!! In this way, all the organics/spice mining must be done by one of the other players, and only by one at a time (because there is only one organics rich planet, Arrakis) The Guild, and so all space faring races could then be hostage to that one house/empire for their supply of organics/spice... at least until someone else takes control of Arrakis. Let the politics begin!

(if you try these ideas, you'll need to use the racial traits "Is Normal", "Is a Guild Member" in the same way SJ did in Pirates and Nomads. "Is a Guild Member" would block the player from ever getting Farming/Organic extraction technologies. If you don't use this exclusion method, Guild members could potentially trade for this tech, which would imbalance the game)

[ June 12, 2002, 08:57: Message edited by: jimbob ]

[Batman]

Jimbob, I like that idea. Especially if you make warppoint manip a racial tech, and make repair a tech that the guild cannot get. That way the guild has to have a constant influx of resources to a) maintain warp point openers, and b) build new ones. It also puts a nice lower bound on the cost of a warp jump (i.e. you have to at least supply value equal to the organics cost of the component)

It would make for some interesting economic factors in the game. People would stockpile spice, could flood the market with it (i.e. give lots to the guild, guilds need goes down, cost goes down too) to devalue other stockpiles, etc. You would also need to eliminate resource conVersion technology for this to work.

And as far as the guild scanning the ships it transports: equip the guild with long range scanners, and have a special price list for allowing ships with scanner jammers on board. I.e. you can 'buy' a form of diplomatic immunity for an invasion fleet, otherwise, the guild remains all-knowing (and perhaps can sell that information?)

[Andrés]

Most technology (especially but not only computers) was forbidden after the Bhutlerian (sp?) Jihad.
Ix is the only planet where some technology remanins, and Ixians sell their construction to everybody else, including all Hoses, the Empire and the Guild.

[jimbob]

Batman said:

That way the guild has to have a constant influx of resources to a) maintain warp point openers, and b) build new ones.

I'd also suggest making the guild dependent upon the other houses by making the warp openners use a lot of supplies. This way, they must resupply before each jump... but they wouldn't necessarily have a base at which they can resupply... thus the need to dock at a resupply station of one of the houses.

I think it would be good for the warp closing devices to be cheap and not be 'destroyed upon use', but to need some spice to build.

It also puts a nice lower bound on the cost of a warp jump (i.e. you have to at least supply value equal to the organics cost of the component)

I'm not sure I understand.

Andres: For this I'd suggest the game maker produce a handful of neutral planets with highly efficient (non-researchable) research buildings on them. Maybe downgrade the normal research facilities by a notch or two. Then, in addition to fighting over the one spice world, everyone can fight over the two or three tech worlds too!