TLDR: Long post. My long-term aspiration is to make a full single player campaign based on the Dune prequels. This goes into the premise and some of the features and factions of the campaign. Maybe this will inspire other cool ideas for modders.
Plot Premise:
In the Dune prequels, humanity has managed to spread itself to distance planets. Stability is undermined by the rise of the cymeks. Cymeks are former humans whose brains have been implanted in preservation canisters, which in turn can be installed into a variety of fearsome mechanical bodies, to extend their lives indefinitely and make them nearly unstoppable. The original twenty cymeks (calling themselves the Titans) had conquered the complacent universe by exploiting humanity's reliance and dependency on machines, yet the Titans were later overthrown themselves by Omnius, a “Thinking Machine” of their own creation. Seeking to replace human chaos with machine order, Omnius ignited the war between machine and humanity. The death of Serena Butler’s child at the hands of the AI known as Erasmus incited the humans to rise against the machines, thus sparking the Butlerian Jihad.
Humans’ victory depends on wiping out ALL of Omnius’ planetary centers—he has redundant backups so all must be purged. This feat can only be accomplished through the use of ATOMICS—nuclear devastation of Omnius’ command worlds. All remaining “thinking machines” shut down and are harmless.
Humans lose for standard reasons—certain events that transpire will make victory all but impossible (e.g. the loss of Dune)
Features
Map:
? A custom-made map that does not change for different playthroughs.
? Planets offer specific benefits/penalties on the basis of “planet-type”
o “Dune” (Arrakis) is a desert planet. The only resource it produces is the spice “melange” and this makes instantaneous planetary travel possible. Dune is the ONLY planet that produces melange. This planet is controlled by humans.
o Other planet types will impact things like science, hacking, metal, energy, etc.
o Special planets that offer bonuses or must be owned for certain units/technologies
? Travel between planets is no longer instantaneous—the longer the distance between planets (i.e. longer line segment) the longer the duration of travel
o So, for AI sending units to a planet, they units will get there after X seconds (to simulate FTL travel)
o Humans have access to Dune and can create “Heighliners”—special carriers that can instantaneously travel to ANY planet (skipping links). However, there is a small % chance that the heighliner and all inside do not make it (simulating pilot error as in the novels)
? Humans start out on roughly equal footing with Omnius in terms of control of the galaxy
Humans:
? Control Dune. Thus, they alone can produce Heighliners—special carriers capable of instantaneous interplanetary travel. In effect, this allows humans to fast-travel by skipping intermediate worm holes.
o The use of spice and thus heighliners is not available at start; need to own planet for X minutes to use science for this breakthrough
? Personal Shields/Bubble shields. Only humans have shields (following Lore). These shields are EXTREMELY tanky but are destroyed utterly by lasers (a very rare weapon type).
o This technology is acquired if Poritrin is held for X minutes (humans start with this planet)
? Human ships will typically be much stronger than AI, but less numerous
? Hero units: Vorian Atreides and Xavier Harkonnen (irreplaceable but very powerful commanders—two unique Arks)
? Hacking: Special hacks available to exploit Omnius (e.g. Swordmaster of Ginaz)
? Special Units:
o Sorceress of Rossak: Matriarchal psychic warriors trained to kill Cymeks.
? Elite ship designed to get close to Cymeks and engage special assault. If attack is successful, both Cymek and Sorceress are destroyed
? Must own planet “Rossak” to produce
o Swordmasters of Ginaz: Elite super-soldiers trained to fight AI.
? Swordsman, not pilots. These will be implemented by simulating (i.e. hacking) launching swordsman on the planet. If they succeed, the planet and all remaining defenses are converted to human control
? Must own planet “Ginaz” to produce
o ATOMICS: The only weapons capable of destroying Omnius. Will annihilate everything on the planet it is triggered.
Omnius (“Thinking Machines”):
? Multiple “backups” on key worlds—must kill all to destroy Omnius. Can only kill Omnius copies by use of ATOMICS (as with lore)—nuke the planet.
o Enable multiple A.I.’s (this should have at least 3, maybe more)
? Produces massive quantities of weaker ships and prefers drone-deployers.
o AI ships will typically be weaker than the humans, but far more numerous
? AIP works differently since the AI produces all ships in the same galaxy. Will be tied to “manufacturing capacity (MC).”
o MC increases over time based on planets owned, objectives completed,
? Biological warfare: Omnius, once sufficiently empowered, will unleash a plague on human planets—the AI version of hacking.
Special Factions:
(AI) Cymeks:
? 20 Ark-like enemy hero units. These work somewhat independently, working for Ominus while scheming to get their dominance back. Cymeks will aid Ominus by participating in waves, joining Threat-fleet, launching hit-and-run tactics, and just generally being a nuisance. (This behavior may be anticipating the “Nemesis” faction)
? Since cymeks use interchangeable bodies, cymeks can “upgrade” to stronger marks or different ship types altogether. If a cymek isn’t killed outright, it will transfer into a new body type after reaching critical damage.
o Some cymeks are naturally stronger than others (e.g. the main Titans)
? Limited amount of cymeks can be on the same planet at once (they don’t like to “share”)
? Destroying all Cymeks dramatically lowers AIP (or some other awesome benefit)
o Possible mechanic of “converting” certain Cymeks to help the player (not all Cymeks, Agamemnon in particular is always a bad guy)
? Can recruit the “Cogitors”—a special faction based on the “Risk Analyzers” below.
(AI) Erasmus:
? An AI with an independent personality working with Ominus. He has a morbid fascination with humans.
? Modeled after the “AI Instigators” faction. Erasmus will create mini-quests throughout the campaign (e.g. free humans from science experiments for reward or be punished accordingly)
o If Erasmus goes unchecked entirely, Omnius discovers how to weaponize a plague to unleash on human planets. Plagued planets will have devastating penalties until they are “cured.”
(AI) Synchronized Couriers:
? Omnius keeps its backup copies up to date through an interstellar courier system (i.e. astro trains)
o Killing couriers (i.e. trains)/backup centers (i.e. depot) will cripple Omnius’ capacity to synchronize waves (will make waves far less effective).
o Failing to kill these will greatly contribute to increasing AIP over the course of the game
(Neutral) Cogitors:
? Ancient humans that have underwent the procedures that make cymeks but do not have a mechanical body—they are purely thinkers. They are scattered on isolated planets (they are hermits lore-wise).
? Modeled after the Risk Analyzers. They do not inherently help Omnius. Only Cymeks can convert Cogitors to help Omninus (by raising AIP over time). Humans can free them to receive the AIP reducer.
(Friendly) Human Militia:
? This is basically the “Human Resistance Fighters.” These only trigger on planets that are hospitable to humans—they originate from the planet in question.
Disclaimer:
I have no experience modding but I'm prepared to learn how to make this a reality. Regardless, this is something presupposes the complete base game is completed. My ideas are certainly subject to change and improvement but at its core I want this to campaign to reflect the spirit of the Dune prequels.
