History VideoGame / DuneSpiceWars

* ComicBookFantasyCasting: Leto Atreides, Liet Kynes, and Vladimir Harkonnen's portraits are based on their actors from the 2021 film. This is not the case for the other faction leaders[[note]]Esmar Tuek is in the original novel but is AdaptedOut in Villeneuve's films. Armanda Ecaz and Rhombur Vernius are nor in the movies neither in the original novel. The free patch adding House Corrino predates the second movie -- Shaddam Corrino IV's actual appearance onscreen -- by one year and a half, although Christopher Walken's casting in the role had already been announced.[[/note]], the councillors, or the hero units (for instance, Thufir Hawat is portrayed as a clean-shaved white man with long white hair instead of a black bald man with a neckbeard and short gray hair).

* AdaptationalWimp: In the novel, Paul Atreides is skilled in various fields, including personal combat. In the game, he's not a hero unit but a mere advisor and his field of expertise is diplomacy.

* GenderFlip: The books' counterpart of House Ecaz's ruler Armanda Ecaz is a man named "Armand Ecaz".

* GenderFlip: In the books, House Ecaz's ruler Armanda Ecaz is a man named "Armand Ecaz".

* AlternateContinuity: While it's much closer to the ''Dune'' franchise than the previous RTS games, ''Dune: Spice Wars'' setting still has notable deviations from the canon setting. In the novel, House Atreides are the new official ruler of Arrakis, House Harkonnen has left after losing that title, and the Atreides allied with the Fremen and Smugglers. In the game, the Harkonnens are still here, Houses Corrino, Ecaz and Vernius take a direct part in the war for Arrakis[[note]]House Harkonnen then House Atreides ruled Arrakis because House Corrino granted the planet to them, then House Harkonnen destroyed House Atreides with House Corrino's approval and support, and House Corrino's return on Arrakis at the end of the first novel is the direct result of chaos caused by the Fremen's guerilla. Houses Ecaz and Vernius were invented by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson for their ''Dune'' prequels, and thus obviously had no prominent involvement in the events, and while the Ixians are a faction in the original novels they are ruled by a confederacy of oligarchs that stay neutral to the great houses, rather than a noble house[[/note]], the goal is to compete for becoming Arrakis' ruler, and Atreides-Fremen-Smugglers are hostile to each other.[[note]] While the book does have battles taking place on Arrakis, the whole point is that, as the single most important planet in the universe because it is home to the single most important commodity in the universe, any ruler with a lick of sense will ''absolutely not'' permit it to become a battleground.[[/note]] The original book's plot about House Harkonnen wiping out House Atreides, then the surviving Atreides' heir joining the Fremen to get his revenge, hasn't been adaptated in the game (if playing as House Atreides, Leto remains the player's avatar for the whole game, and Paul is just an advisor[[note]]Paul wasn't even in the game until the 2024 free patch released along the ''House Vernius of Ix'' DLC[[/note]]).

** Due to the AlternateContinuity not featuring the Harkonnen/Corrino plot to eradicate House Atreides, Leto, Duncan, Yue, Tuek, and Kynes' early canon death don't happen. Relatedly, Paul won't join the Fremen, which results in him not killing Jamis in duel, and Umman Kudu and Pieter de Vries are not killed by Leto's poison gas tooth.

* CorruptedCharacterCopy: A faction-wide example with House Vernius, which is a {{deconstruction}} of House Ordos from the [[VideoGame/DuneII Westwood]] [[VideoGame/EmperorBattleForDune games]]. The Ordos's use of technology deemed forbidden by most other Houses wasn't touched on beyond characterizing them as opportunists, while House Vernius is distrusted and persecuted against for using forbidden technology.

* TheBerserker: A trait of Harkonnen troopers which gives them increased attack power when their health starts dropping below 50%.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: House Ecaz is described as this in the game's lore snippets. On the surface, they are a peaceful house that is into patronage of the arts, resort-building and preserving local flora, fauna and culture in sanctuaries for tourism. They present themselves as noble in thought and deed, their warriors taking on the trappings of a KnightInShiningArmour. Underneath their refined surface however, they are every bit as vicious as the Harkonnens and Corrinos when defending their interests, and can play the assassination game almost as well as the Harkonnen and Smugglers can.

* CulturedWarrior: Ecaz's theme. Combat units are named after heroic story archetypes, voice lines lean into this archetype heavily.

* StormingTheCastle: Defeating a faction by military force requires you to blow up their headquarters through direct assault, a process that can take minutes and usually requires you to clean up most of their territory beforehand as well.

* TruerToTheText: The previous ''Dune'' RTS games (''[[VideoGame/DuneII Dune II]]''/''[[VideoGameRemake Dune 2000]]'' and the ''VideoGame/EmperorBattleForDune'' sequel) were mostly a very loose adaptation of the ''Dune'' franchise set in an AlternateContinuity, every named character (the Emperor, faction rulers, mentats...) is either original or an expy of an actual ''Dune'' character, and their plot was about a large scale war between three major players (two canon factions and a CanonForeigner[[note]]House Ordos shares its name with a minor house mentioned in a third party source (which canonicity has later been revoked), but that's literally the only thing its has in common with its namesake[[/note]]). ''Dune: Spice Wars'' is much truer to the novels: the additional playable factions beside Atreides (who now bear their canon color[[note]]While green is a color associated with the house, in-universe, they are most commonly referred to as the ''red'' hawks, and their house emblem is a red hawk on a green-black shield. [[/note]]) and Harkonnens are canon (and there are no House Ordos), characters from the novels can be interacted with, and the gameplay is much truer to the setting (small skirmishes, sabotage, espionnage, political intrigues, and water management).

* AnimalMotifs: Atreides have a hawk motif while Corrino have a lion motif, both motifs that have stuck with the houses across continuities (including the Westwood games).

** The Atreides, Harkonnen, and Ecaz field fighter-bombers that can be used to attack ground units from the air (the Corrino 'Hammer' can only attack ground units, while the Fremen and Smuggler air units can only attack other air units). Finally, the frigate, the 'ultimate unit' for each faction (which costs 100 guild favour or spare parts) is always airborne and usually capable of attacking both air and ground units with missiles or drones. Building one of the latter nets you the Achievement "[[TheresNoKillLikeOverkill Bringing A Spaceship To A Knife Fight]]."

** Due to the AlternateContinuity not featuring the Harkonnen's plot to eradicate House Atreides, Leto, Duncan, Yue, Tuek, and Kynes' early canon death don't happen. Relatedly, Paul won't join the Fremen, which results in him not killing Jamis in duel.

* SwordAndGun: Once you have built a barracks it is possible to equip some of your melee units with handguns in addition to swords.

* AlternateContinuity: While it's much closer to the ''Dune'' franchise than the previous RTS games, ''Dune: Spice Wars'' setting still has notable deviations from the canon setting. In the novel, House Atreides are the new official ruler of Arrakis, House Harkonnen has left after losing that title, and the Atreides allied with the Fremen and Smugglers. In the game, the Harkonnens are still here, Houses Corrino, Ecaz and Vernius take a direct part in the war for Arrakis[[note]]House Harkonnen then House Atreides ruled Arrakis because House Corrino granted the planet to them, then House Harkonnen destroyed House Atreides with House Corrino's approval and support, and House Corrino's return on Arrakis at the end of the first novel is the direct result of chaos caused by the Fremen's guerilla. House Ecaz was invented by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson for their ''Dune'' prequels, and thus obviously had no prominent involvement in the events, and the Ixians were a side faction who sold technologies to all sides without getting directly involved either[[/note]], the goal is to compete for becoming Arrakis' ruler, and Atreides-Fremen-Smugglers are hostile to each other.[[note]] While the book does have battles taking place on Arrakis, the whole point is that, as the single most important planet in the universe because it is home to the single most important commodity in the universe, any ruler with a lick of sense will ''absolutely not'' permit it to become a battleground.[[/note]] The original book's plot about House Harkonnen wiping out House Atreides, then the surviving Atreides' heir joining the Fremen to get his revenge, hasn't been adaptated in the game (if playing as House Atreides, Leto remains the player's avatar for the whole game, and Paul is just an advisor[[note]]Paul wasn't even in the game until the 2024 free patch released along the ''House Vernius of Ix'' DLC[[/note]]).
* AnimalMotifs: Atriedes have a hawk motif while Corrino have a lion motif.

* ArmorPiercingAttack: Demolition Teams can strip armor off of enemy units and buildings.

* BackAlleyDoctor: One of the Smugglers' Underworld upgrades that allows their forces to regenerate health in enemy territory.

* {{Cyborg}}: House Vernius of Ix's ruler Earl Rhombur Vernius was turned into a cyborg after surviving an assassination attempt.

* DualWielding: The Harkonnen Cerberus can be outfitted in the barracks with dual swords for increased damage.

* GatlingGood: Gunners can be outfitted with Gatling guns in the barracks.

* InvisibilityCloak: Fremen and the Smugglers are fond of stealth units, having unit upgrades, operations and developments that cloak their units under specific conditions. The Harkonnen mechanised unit is also stealthed by default.

** Due to the AlternateContinuity not featuring the Harkonnen's plot to eradicate House Atreides, Leto, Duncan, and Kynes' early canon death don't happen. Relatedly, Paul won't join the Fremen, which results in him not killing Jamis in duel.

* AlternateContinuity: While it's much closer to the ''Dune'' franchise than the previous RTS games, ''Dune: Spice Wars'' setting still has notable deviations from the canon setting. In the novel, House Atreides are the new official ruler of Arrakis, House Harkonnen has left after losing that title, and the Atreides allied with the Fremen and Smugglers. In the game, the Harkonnens are still here, Houses Corrino, Ecaz and Vernius take a direct part in the war for Arrakis[[note]]House Harkonnen then House Atreides ruled Arrakis because House Corrino granted the planet to them, then House Harkonnen destroyed House Atreides with House Corrino's approval and support, and House Corrino's return on Arrakis at the end of the first novel is the direct result of chaos caused by the Fremen's guerilla. House Ecaz was invented by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson for their ''Dune'' prequels, and thus obviously had no prominent involvement in the events, and the Ixians were a side faction who sold technologies to all sides without getting directly involved either[[/note]], the goal is to compete for becoming Arrakis' ruler, and Atreides-Fremen-Smugglers are hostile to each other.[[note]] While the book does have battles taking place on Arrakis, the whole point is that, as the single most important planet in the universe because it is home to the single most important commodity in the universe, any ruler with a lick of sense will ''absolutely not'' permit it to become a battleground.[[/note]] The original book's plot about House Harkonnen wiping out House Atreides, then the surviving Atreides' heir joining the Fremen to get his revenge, hasn't been adaptated in the game (if playing as House Atreides, Leto remains the player's avatar for the whole game, and Paul is just an advisor[[note]]Paul wasn't even in the game until the 2024 free patch released along the ''House Vernius of Ix'' DLC)[[/note]]).

* AscendedExtra: Lots of them, as most of the councillors and Hero Units represent actual named characters from the ''Dune'' franchise. Drisq, the leader of the Smugglers, is a very minor character from the novel.

* AdaptationalHeroism: Owing to the AlternateContinuity of the game Doctor Yueh is a loyal Atreides retainer in the game, not a, reluctant, AntiVillain.

** Due to the AlternateContinuity not featuring the Harkonnen's plot to eradicate House Atreides, Leto and Kynes' early canon death don't happen. Relatedly, Paul won't join the Fremen, which results in him not killing Jamis in duel.

** Due to the AlternateContinuity, Leto and Kynes' early canon death don't happen.

* SparedByAdaptation: Ilesa Ecaz died in the prequels before the events of the first novel. Here she is still alive, albeit having lost an [[AnArmAndALeg arm]] and an [[EyeScream eye]] to the assassination attempt that killed her in the original timeline.

* AlternateContinuity: While it's much closer to the ''Dune'' franchise than the previous RTS games, ''Dune: Spice Wars'' setting still has notable deviations from the canon setting. In the novel, House Atreides are the new official ruler of Arrakis, House Harkonnen has left after losing that title, and the Atreides allied with the Fremen and Smugglers. In the game, the Harkonnens are still here, Houses Corrino, Ecaz and Vernius take a direct part in the war for Arrakis[[note]]House Harkonnen then House Atreides ruled Arrakis because House Corrino granted the planet to them, then House Harkonnen destroyed House Atreides with House Corrino's approval and support, and House Corrino's return on Arrakis at the end of the first novel is the direct result of chaos caused by the Fremen's guerilla. House Ecaz was invented by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson for their ''Dune'' prequels, and thus obviously had no prominent involvement in the events, and the Ixians were a side faction who sold technologies to all sides without getting directly involved either[[/note]], the goal is to compete for becoming Arrakis' ruler, and Atreides-Fremen-Smugglers are hostile to each other.[[note]] While the book does have battles taking place on Arrakis, the whole point is that, as the single most important planet in the universe because it is home to the single most important commodity in the universe, any ruler with a lick of sense will ''absolutely not'' permit it to become a battleground.[[/note]] The original book's plot about House Harkonnen wiping out House Atreides, then the surviving Atreides' heir joining the Fremen to get his revenge has been adaptated in the game (if playing as House Atreides, Leto remains the player's avatar for the whole game, and Paul is just an advisor[[note]]Paul wasn't even in the game until the 2024 free patch released along the ''House Vernius of Ix'' DLC)[[/note]]).

* AlternateContinuity: While it's much closer to the ''Dune'' franchise than the previous RTS games, ''Dune: Spice Wars'' setting still has notable deviations from the canon setting. In the novel, House Atreides are the new official ruler of Arrakis, House Harkonnen has left after losing that title, and the Atreides allied with the Fremen and Smugglers. In the game, the Harkonnens are still here, Houses Corrino, Ecaz and Vernius take a direct part in the war for Arrakis[[note]]House Harkonnen then House Atreides ruled Arrakis because House Corrino granted the planet to them, then House Harkonnen destroyed House Atreides with House Corrino's approval and support, and House Corrino's return on Arrakis at the end of the first novel is the direct result of chaos caused by the Fremen's guerilla. House Ecaz was invented by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson for their ''Dune'' prequels, and thus obviously had no prominent involvement in the events, and the Ixians were a side faction who sold technologies to all sides without getting directly involved either[[/note]], the goal is to compete for becoming Arrakis' ruler, and Atreides-Fremen-Smugglers are hostile to each other.[[note]] While the book does have battles taking place on Arrakis, the whole point is that, as the single most important planet in the universe because it is home to the single most important commodity in the universe, any ruler with a lick of sense will ''absolutely not'' permit it to become a battleground.[[/note]]

** ** The Atreides, Harkonnen, and Ecaz field fighter-bombers that can be used to attack ground units from the air (the Corrino 'Hammer' can only attack ground units, while the Fremen and Smuggler air units can only attack other air units). Finally, the frigate, the 'ultimate unit' for each faction (which costs 100 guild favour or spare parts) is always airborne and usually capable of attacking both air and ground units with missiles or drones. Building one of the latter nets you the Achievement "[[TheresNoKillLikeOverkill Bringing A Spaceship To A Knife Fight]]."

* KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter: In addition to melee, each faction has accessed to various ranged weaponry, from conventional firearms to missile batteries. Further justified by how, much as in the source material, Holtzman Shields don't hold up too well in Arrakis's harsh environment.

** All factions can not only deploy combat ornithopters that serve as fighter-bombers. If their connections with the Spacing Guild are strong enough, they could also requisition "frigates," which are massive spacecraft that can bombard enemies with powerful missiles. Building one of the latter nets you the Achievement "[[TheresNoKillLikeOverkill Bringing A Spaceship To A Knife Fight]]."

* NukeEm: One way to deal with the enemy's capital was to attack it with atomics via a special operation. This was later changed; nukes can be built in a nuclear silo. But, using even one nuke is guaranteed to turn the player into a pariah.