Coherent Sandworm Ideas

Firstly, I want to make it absolutely clear that I do not expect Uber to implement this at all (however if you do I will love you forever and send you a card). This thread might be better placed in the Mods section but I'm not sure if you're supposed to post plain old ideas there. Feel free to move it.

Now with all that out of the way, let's talk about giant sandworms.

My idea is that desert planets have vast sandy...well, deserts instead of water. Standard rocky terrain acts as "continents". Now here's the fun part: Land units can move over the Dune Sea sand but in doing so, it will create vibrations which attract the sandworms. More units = more vibrations = more chance of sandworms.

I also propose a structure that in some way or another deters sandworms within its effective radius. The radius shouldn't be too large but enough to allow the construction of safe corridors. Also I propose metal extractors are ignored by sandworms for balance.

Sandworms should be mortal, but have large amounts of health. Reclaiming the corpse gives you a ton of spice metal.

Someone needs to make a Dune mod when the game is finished, indeed.

Where do I have to put my sign?

+20 internetz to whoever agrees to make this a thing. That includes you, Uber.

That's insane.
I LIKE IT.

Also if air units crash into the sand that can attract sandworms too. And You could even have sandstorms.

It sounds really awesome. Basically very similar to what Dune II was. I will always advocate for such a mod.

But that would require a more proper sandy planet. Right now the Desert Biome is far from what we would need. And I'm not sure it will be possible to mod a new type of planet.

Also, what the Spice/Metal from a Sand Worm is gonna be used for? What about omniscient Intel for a little while?

should there be a way to invoke the worms, like when you see the army coming or to set a trap?

maybe a good ole Uber Cannon shot will bring out a worm? or a shot from a SXX laser? maybe hoskins... but naaaah, now it's getting too easy...

Vibrations attract worms so if the army hasn't attracted the worm by itself you can just get your bots to do a dance on the sand. We could also have something like the thumper in Dune:

Hate to double post but your post didn't come up when I last checked so it doesn't count.

Now, I'm no modding expert, my coding skills are limited to simple BAT files and anything I try to texture that isn't a minecraft skin will be an artistic abomination. But, as far as I can see, we just need to retexture certain parts of map to be sandy (I'd love sand dune physics but that's probably asking for too much) and then apply special behaviours so the sandworms get angry at you for being on their lawn.

Obviously we need to model/texture sandworms too.

My original thoughts were for sandworms to just be like highly aggressive Czar wrecks from SupCom, giving you a small country's worth of metal. But now that you mention it, maybe we could have a little "scientist" unit whose sole purpose is to shoot tracking darts into sandworms which gives temporary intel. I'm not sure I like that idea but hey, it's an idea.

Chance based destruction through the environment is a bad idea.

If it isn't chance based, and certain unit numbers mean sandworms and less than that unit number means no sandworms, then it adds nothing to the game except micro.

I don't like the idea.

Mod territory.

Literally the first thing I said....

Of course it adds something to the game. It's called nostalgia and is very powerful. Such a mod is inevitable, and so is me trying it when it comes out.

I was thinking it adds the idea of attack corridors and more careful planning but ok. Sure, nostalgia works too. In all honesty I've never played the Dune games.

I support this.
Even if I don't own the game.
Yet.

We heard you, Cato. He was specifically talking about modding and all is fair in love and mods or something along those lines.

If you've read the original book, or perhaps the whole saga (which is splendid), in the novel the Spice grants supernatural powers to who assumes it, with special regards to the gift to foreseeing the future, and knowing things, otherwise mysterious.

That's why I suggested that acquiring Spice in the Dune Mod could grants the player a superior Intel. A bit of a simplification of the original concept

Perhaps a bit complicate to mod. But frankly it seems to me quite a fascinating possibility.

think someone already suggested to make a Dune Total Conversion mod for PA.

all that came to mind when reading this thread was giant orbital fishing pole dangling over an ocean planet. I do like dune, would make a great mod, maybe have a map where you have to survive against an onslaught of dessert creatures and sandworms attacking your base.

Haven't read the books in a while, but I know all about melange and such.