It's been a long year and a half for Dune: Spice Wars, with Early Access seeing the arrival of numerous updates bringing new factions, multiplayer battles, system overhauls, new biomes, systems, features and so much more to the game before leading us here: just 2 days away from our launch out of Early Access and into 1.0!

So in this article we're going to take a look back at all of the major updates that have come to the game over the course of the Early Access campaign and remind you of anything you might have missed!

Dune: Spice Wars first update after launching into Early Access "Community Update #1" was led mostly by community feedback and suggestions, bringing new faction-specific bonuses, an improved queue system, and immersive combat views. Players were given the opportunity to explore new regions, expand their Underworld Headquarters, and enjoyed a more balanced and polished gaming experience, allowing us to get to work on our first major content update…




In the highly anticipated Multiplayer Update, we invited players to join forces in 2v2 matches or engage in intense free-for-alls with up to four players, commanding the Atreides, Harkonnen, Fremen, or Smugglers.

But that's not all. We completely revamped every development tree, emphasising synergy between factions, and added an array of new political resolutions, events, regions, and a slew of other improvements. Our aim was to fully realise the universe and themes of Dune, delivering an experience of grand machinations, subtle political plotting, and epic reversals. With multiplayer, the potential for these grand narratives soared as players vied for dominance in every stage of war.



In our second community update, the Spice tax system was reworked, balancing the game dynamics across factions, while Fremen received a starting supply boost. Unit movement and military supply consumption were optimized, and stealth units became day-night cycle-sensitive.

Balancing efforts mixed up numerous unit stats, Command Points, and more. Development trees underwent a massive overhaul, along with revisions to spying missions, resolutions, and agent traits.

Multiplayer introduced 'Kanly' mode, bringing a faster experience in a 1v1 setting, while quality-of-life improvements, visual enhancements, and bug fixes refined the gameplay.



The introduction of the House Corrino Update to Dune: Spice Wars was a game-changer, bringing the illustrious Imperial House Corrino into the fray. Led by Shaddam IV, House Corrino's arrival marked a significant milestone in the game's development.

With this update, players could now unleash the imperial powers of House Corrino. Their faction bonuses, including the ability to gain Hegemony through Guild Fees and manipulate Landsraad resolutions with the Imperial Edict, introduced numerous new ways to approach the game and vy for domination over your opponents. House Corrino also boasted a distinct roster of Councillors and units, each with their own special abilities and advantages.

The "House Corrino Update" expanded the diplomatic landscape by revamping diplomacy mechanics, introducing binary relations, and enhancing treaty systems. The AI was upgraded to better adapt to these changes, making for a more engaging and challenging experience.

And alongside all of that, the update brought significant improvements to the overall gameplay experience. It featured reworks of existing systems, the addition of new developments, and various quality-of-life enhancements. The CHOAM Market, Hegemony changes, and economic adjustments were among the notable additions, creating a richer and more immersive world on Arrakis.



The Accessibility Update brought in a variety of accessibility options, including colorblind modes tailored for different types of colorblindness, and the ability to adjust the intensity of colorblind corrections. A magnifier feature was also introduced, allowing players to zoom in on specific areas of the game with customizable zoom multipliers. For those sensitive to certain visual stimuli, a photosensitive mode was included to remove flashes and reduce visual intensity in various game elements.

The Accessibility Update also addressed issues related to readability and user interface clarity. Players could now adjust chat text size and opacity, enhancing the overall readability of in-game communications. Additionally, an overlay system was introduced to help distinguish between ally, enemy, and personal units, providing greater clarity on the battlefield.



The Air and Sand update introduced a variety of exciting additions. Aerial combat was introduced and each faction acquired two new spaceship units, allowing even more strategic options.

New resources, Guild Favors and Machine Scrap, added depth to gameplay. A revamped projectiles system improved the overall battle visuals, while The Renegades, a new neutral enemy faction, introduced a new challenge to be faced on the sands in order to earn valuable Guild Favors.

Exclusive major buildings like the Spacing Guild Branch and Recycling Plant gave players new advantages. AI and multiplayer received improvements, while quality-of-life enhancements were introduced to improve the overall experience.



In the Line in the Sand update for 'Dune: Spice Wars,' we introduced significant game-wide improvements to enhance the experience and answer the requests of our community once again, with the addition of end-game statistics for evaluating your performance and the history of the game, more visible military alerts, and the ability for military units to hold their positions being some major additions.

Economic adjustments were made, such as increased Plascrete production with Solari upkeep, reduced manpower cost for Harvesters Crew, and balanced starting resources. Hegemony gains were shifted away from votes on resolutions, focusing more on spice contracts and gradual gains from the Emperor Monument.

The military side saw some significant changes in unit command points, expanded aura ranges, and reworked Fremen units specializing in debuffs. The supply system was simplified, dividing units into mechanical and non-mechanical categories, leading to various ability adjustments.

Spaceships, gear, village traits, and buildings all underwent balancing and changes. Spying operations were reworked, and developments saw modifications in knowledge generation. New regions, events, and Landsraad improvements added depth to the gameplay, rounding out the update.



The Conquest Update finally saw the introduction of the much requested campaign mode to Dune: Spice Wars!

As they took charge of one of Dunes major houses (Atreides, Harkonnen, or Corrino) players would have to fight through a number of unique scenarios and situations in order to stand victorious as the ruler of Arrakis! With Conquest, each map is randomly generated, customizable perks create unique play styles and each playthrough offers a different experience and challenges to overcome in every run.

In addition, Tutorials were introduced to teach the game's basics, and factions, characters, and economics were heavily rebalanced. The political landscape shifted with changes to Landsraad Standing and treaties, and the CHOAM Market received new bonuses and a Nuclear Silo was added for the more warmonger-y among us.

Spying missions and operations were rebalanced, units were improved, and map generation was enhanced. The user interface received updates, including a new developments window and victory progression cards.

The update also delivered nine new music tracks and introduced numerous bug fixes.

And with all that now behind us, there's only one update left to go before we launch out of Early Access! Introducing House Ecaz, new tutorials, major system overhauls, improvements, and a ton more, we can assure you that the 1.0 update is going to have been worth the wait!

Thank you all for joining us on this journey. Developing the game alongside you all has been an incredible experience and we can't wait to hear your thoughts when the game launches into 1.0 this Thursday.

See you then...

- Shiro Games

* Event Period: 13th September 2023 (after maintenance) – 20th September 2023 (8:59 AM)

* Main Event:

Update Event to Celebrate Noah’s 4th Path (13th September 2023 after maintenance –20th September 2023 8:59 AM)

* Event Details

Update Event to Celebrate Noah’s 4th Path
l  Will be removed from the Letter Box on 20th September 2023 at 8:59 AM.

* Note
 

○Added features
-In Velina's room, after Velina showers, her clothes dry slowly.
- Added lantern usage tutorial
-Jewel texture modifications

○Bug fixes
-Fixed a bug where you could pass through doors when sitting and moving
-Fixed a bug where Velina's vision would pass through closed doors in some doors.

FIX: Crash when a crewman with an extended character in their name was shot at by a sniper

The Super Etendard is a fast and maneuverable aircraft that can be configured for all types of combat: ground strikes as well as air combat. This interesting aircraft will appear in the French research tree in the upcoming “Sons of Atilla” major update!


Features:

• High-thrust, but non afterburning engine.
  
• Good maneuverability.
  
• Targeting system.
  
• Great arsenal.

The Super Etendard is an excellent new attack aircraft for France, featuring guided weapons which are an immensely useful addition! This aircraft is a modified version of the popular Etendard IVM, which you may be familiar with, and will appear in the upcoming “Sons of Attila” major update. Let’s see what else it has to offer!




Developed as a modern carrier-based attack aircraft, the Super Etendard received some major improvements: these include a new radar as well as precision weapons. Thanks to the addition of the SNECMA ATAR 8K50 Power Plant, as well as having a low take-off weight, the Super Etendard is rather powerful, and therefore will become one of the fastest and most dynamic aircraft with a non-afterburning engine when it arrives in the game! Better yet, with its well-designed airframe, the Super Etendard is capable of withstanding very high speeds.




Diving into the main differences between the standard Etendard and the new Super Etendard, which is its expanded armament capability. Thanks to the addition of a targeting pod, the Super Etendard can use up to 4 x GBU-12 Paveway II bombs. In light of that, dropping these bombs from long distances is easy, thanks to the targeting pod’s excellent zoom and laser guidance. Moving onto air-to-air combat capability: instead of AIM-9B missiles, the Super Etendard features the Matra R550 Magic 1 missile, which you may be familiar with from the Mirage series: they are maneuverable and are excellent at short-range air combat encounters! In addition to that, the arsenal of unguided weapons — rockets and bombs — are controlled by a ballistic computer. Unlike the previous Etendard version, the Super Etendard can also carry countermeasures, having more than 200 in total. Besides that, the same guns remain in the form of 2 x 30 mm DEFA 552A cannons, which have no problem destroying lightly armored vehicles, but on the other hand, only have 125 rounds per gun.



The dynamic and easy to handle Super Etendard will be waiting for you in the French research tree in the upcoming “Sons of Attila major update. The update is coming soon, so keep an eye on the news!

Major fix:
We think we have found out the reason why saving the game in the first level would prevent the game from starting for a small number of players. This issue should be fixed in this patch, but please don't hesitate to contact us either through Steam discussions or our official Discord if you still encounter crashes relating to this. As it only happened on some machines, it was difficult to test reliably.

Thank you for your patience.

Other fixes:
- Maze guard should spawn correctly after player dies in the room it's in
- Maze guard music should not start if the guard is not present
- Fixed a couple of places players could get stuck (between meshes etc.)
- Added a small light to guide players out of the maze better
- Modified the textures of a certain letter to better indicate there might be something more to it
- Fixed an issue where Get to the Church objective could reactivate
- Added a few blocking volumes to prevent OOB
- Tweaked the frequency of some hints
- Glowing crystal screen effect now a bit more visible

Also I'd like to take this chance to THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. It has been so great watching all of your streams and videos and reading all the messages.

Link to Discord: https://discord.gg/aKJhx5Zty2

Below is the full details of the weapons:


Introducing the Hades AR-15, a cutting-edge firearm born from the fiery depths of innovation. Designed for precision and versatility, this weapon seamlessly combines the iconic AR-15 platform with state-of-the-art enhancements, making it the ultimate choice for both seasoned marksmen and tactical enthusiasts.



Presenting the Hades MSR, a long-range precision rifle that pushes the boundaries of accuracy and performance. Crafted with precision engineering and inspired by the unforgiving depths of the ocean, this weapon boasts unparalleled range, pinpoint accuracy, and a sleek, hydrodynamic design that ensures you dominate the battlefield from afar.



Introducing the Hades P90TR, a cutting-edge submachine gun. With its advanced ergonomics, lightning-fast rate of fire, and sleek, stealth-inspired design, this weapon is your ticket to supreme close-quarters dominance on the battlefield, offering unrivaled maneuverability and firepower in the most intense engagements.

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📣📣📣
Rangers!

We appreciate your patience with this Maintenance. We are glad to inform you that the server is up! Sorry for the inconvenience.

Rewards for this maintenance are the following:

Compensation Content:

🔸MYST - Hades Relic Box x1
🔸5-shot Case x1
🔸Gold Coin x5
🔸 Boss Battle Ticket IV (Sands Of Annihilation) x3

Thank you!
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Greetings Exiles,

As the Stygian Empire slithers ever deeper into the Exiled Lands, blades quiver in anticipation of spilled blood.

Age of War – Chapter 2 arrives on September 21, with a ground-up revamp of the purge system, improved loot across the entire game, a new Battle Pass, and a bunch of other improvements and bug fixes.

In today’s deep dive into the new purge revamp, we’ll walk you through a purge from start to finish and show you everything you need to know to head into the new update with your weapon swinging.


For those new to the feature, a purge, currently, is when a group of NPCs attack your base when you reach certain thresholds of activity in the game. In Chapter 2, we’ve completely redesigned and significantly expanded purges.

We’ve had our eyes on this feature for a long time, knowing it didn’t live up to its full potential. But to truly do it justice, we needed more than a single update. To improve purges, we needed to introduce additional new supporting features.


With the Age of War, we saw our chance. In Chapter 1, we introduced clan hoards, an integral part to the purge system. For a primer on clan hoards, you can take a look at the blog we released on the subject.


Your personal trove serves as the centerpiece to the purge. It’s entirely up to you when you want a purge to begin. By speaking to your treasurer and proclaiming your wealth to the world, you attract the attention of the invading Stygians. The bigger your hoard is when you make your proclamation, the more challenging the purge will be, which will in turn improve the potential rewards.

Threat level currently ranges from 1 to 10, but we might expand this in the future. Other factors, such as how many players are defending and how many followers you have, also have an effect on difficulty, but won’t be reflected in the threat level. In harder difficulties, you would do well to bring allies into the fight.

Before you go proclaiming your wealth, you may want to consider your base defenses. Build strong walls, funnel attackers into a kill zone, shoot at them from parapets, lay traps... it’s all up to you, and we’ve added some new tools into the mix. For the truly wicked among you, use the new burning siege cauldrons near gates and doors to give attackers as a neat skin-sizzling surprise.


We’ve also added a new type of thrall placement, making them guard a gate or door. The benefit of this is that they will no longer run off and leave the area unprotected. In Chapter 3, we plan to expand this to allow you to station archers on top of walls, effectively turning them into turrets.

Once you’re satisfied with your defenses, it’s time to spill some blood.


As soon as you’ve proclaimed your wealth, a Stygian war camp will form in the vicinity of your base. Since this camp is rather large, keep in mind that certain base placements may prevent purges from working, such as configurations which don’t have the necessary space for a nearby camp to form.

Waves of attackers will immediately charge from the camp. Thanks to the Stygian invasion of the Exiled Lands, purges now have a narrative foundation. In the lower difficulties, you’ll see more troops which have been forced into battle by the Stygians, such as Khitan Headhunters or even pirates. It’s only once you reach the higher difficulties that you’ll see more elite Stygian troops get involved.

With clan hoards introduced, purge attackers now have a meaningful purpose: your hoard. Should any of them reach it, they will pick it up and try to carry it to their camp. An armful of treasure means they aren’t prepared for an axe to the head however, so cut them down quickly and bring your treasure back before you are overwhelmed. Should they steal enough to be satisfied, the purge will be lost.

Although their goal is to plunder your hoard, they will still destroy anything and anyone that stands between them and their prize. Stay on the lookout for those that carry battering rams as they will make short work of even the stoutest of walls.

The waves won't stop until they steal enough, or you cut off the head of the snake. After defeating enough waves, the Hand of War emerges from the camp and challenges you. He’s not one for honor, so the waves will keep coming as you try to deal with him.

If you can defeat the Hand of War, victory is yours.



During the purge there is no loot, letting you focus on the battle instead. Looting comes only with victory. Make sure to get the key from the Hand of War and unlock the chests in their war camp. Overall, the rewards for defeating a purge are significant, and with higher difficulties, they only get better.

Keep a lookout for Stygian prisoners, those who refused to fight for the empire. Among them is Isscar the Sellsword, a new NPC vendor that takes treasure as payment. Stock up on valuable traps, arrows, explosives, and more for future purges. Most notable is the new mercenary banner, a consumable item which lets you summon various mercenaries to temporarily fight for you wherever you place it.


Thanks to these changes, purges can now be triggered when and if you like. They are entirely optional and their difficulty is adjustable. Overall, they are now an entire reward loop, a source of valuable loot and thralls that you can repeat whenever you like.

The goal is for purges to be an activity you want to repeat, for two reasons: they’re consistently fun, and they have compelling rewards.


We haven’t even released Chapter 2 yet and we’re already excited about Chapter 3. We briefly mentioned stationary archer placements on walls, and we also plan on introducing more siege equipment, variety, and other features which weave into both clan hoards and purges.

Purges are only part of the Chapter 2 update coming September 21. We’ve also improved loot across the entire game, making it more immersive, logical, and rewarding. We’ve sprinkled in several additional improvements, such as a smoother combat experience with improved stagger consistency and fluidly adjusting the direction of your attacks.


We also have a brand-new pyramid building set and a boatload of other cosmetics coming in the Battle Pass and Bazaar.

We look forward to seeing all sorts of crazy base setups and desperate defenses when the update comes out on September 21.

Until next time, Exiles

Greetings warriors of Calradia!

Before we jump into another edition of the Community Tales, we wanted to address some of your questions regarding the 1.2.x version series. To begin with, we made the Beta v1.2.0 publicly available earlier and are keeping the series in beta longer than usual - in order to more effectively collect and respond to a broader range of community feedback. Thanks to your help, many important issues were addressed in the hotfixes v1.2.1, v1.2.2 and v1.2.3.

We are currently working towards v1.2.4, which will be followed by another testing round. Naturally, the preparations for the cross-platform live release are ongoing as well - our priority, however, is to ensure a stable release.

Without further ado, let’s jump right into the #CommunityTales.

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Sturgia's last bastion by BL4RT4CT


Khuzait Whirlwind by Asote

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Brutal bussines by ǝʞᴉdS ✪ Spike ツ


Walls by bassguitar2345

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Console Tips (2023) by The Critically Clueless


World Conquest in v1.2.3 by Flesson19


How to Fight Sturgia and win by Bim94

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The Bannerlord Native League is a community skirmish tournament where teams are split into divisions - with six teams in each division. One match is played per week against the other five teams. This leads to some epic competitive fights with teams on similar footing, with more skilled players in higher divisions!

This iteration of the tournament also comes with a heavy prize with more than 200.000 Loot up for grabs.

Thinking of signing up? You have until the 17th of September to sign-up as a team or you can alternatively sign up as a free agent here.

P.S. We’ll be joining in on the fun with our own TaleWorlds team so make sure to take part for some whack-a-dev!



Calradic Campaign is a community-driven multiplayer event that involves organized large-scale battles and lore-inspired campaigns, often with role-playing elements, shaping the outcome of a shared narrative in a continuous stream of events.

Bannerlord Calradic Campaign #19 is taking place on Saturday, September 16th, 4:00 PM EST.

You can check all the details, including how to join, on their Reddit page.


Our friends at Nowalls attended the Insomnia gaming festival in Birmingham, UK which took place last Saturday. Actors Arnas Fedaravicius, Harry McEntire, and Neil Newbon clashed their swords in two Captain matches with the Sturgian side ultimately taking the battlefield and vanquishing the Vlandian troops.

We had great fun watching the stream. Which team were you on - Sturgia or Vlandia?

You can watch the VOD of the stream here.

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If you would like to suggest content for the next #CommunityTales, make sure to tag @Mount_and_Blade on Twitter or @mountandblade on Facebook with the #CommunityTales. Alternatively, you can reach out on our forums to Piconi or Dejan.