Sands v0.1.40 - The Capital Awakens

“The Harkonnens hold Arrakeen in an iron grip, but even iron rusts in the desert wind…”

This major update brings the ancient capital of Arrakis to life, expanding the world of Sands with three brand new explorable areas, diverging quest paths based on your beliefs, and daily activities that deepen your connection to the sietch. Whether you walk the path of the radical fedaykin, the skeptical pragmatist, or the faithful believer, your choices will shape the destiny of Arrakis.

🏜️ New Locations: The Streets of Arrakeen

Arrakeen Streets

The heart of Harkonnen occupation now beats in Sands. Walk the sun-bleached stone corridors where black market dealers whisper in shadowed alcoves, water sellers cry their wares at astronomical prices, and Harkonnen patrols prowl with cruel vigilance. Once the proud seat of House Atreides, these streets now echo with the desperate pulse of Fremen resistance.

Arrakeen Spaceport

The Guild’s massive landing pads sprawl across the desert, where ornithopters ferry the wealthy and spice harvesters sit waiting for their next desert run. Smugglers and traders haggle in the shadows while Harkonnen soldiers watch for signs of insurgency. The air reeks of spice dust, engine fuel, and Imperial control.

Arrakeen Palace

Dare to infiltrate the grand hall where the Baron’s elite guards stand beneath crimson spider-emblems. What was once Duke Leto’s seat of justice now serves as a fortress of fear and brutality. The very stones weep at this betrayal of Atreides honor.

⚔️ New Quest Chains: Choose Your Path

The Radical Path - Faith Through Fire

For those who believe the Mahdi has come and that liberation requires action, not patience:

Mark of the Maker - Paint crysknife symbols on Harkonnen buildings across Arrakeen. Let the occupiers know the fedaykin walk among them unafraid. Public defiance demands public displays of faith.

Blood of the Oppressor - Hunt Harkonnen Elite officers in the streets of Arrakeen. Face them in honorable combat (tahaddi) and claim their water as righteous spoils (ghanima). Each death proclaims that judgment has come for the oppressors.

The Skeptical Path - Survival Through Knowledge

For pragmatists who know the sietch survives on water and intelligence, not prophecy:

Shadows of the Capital - Infiltrate Arrakeen and gather intelligence on Harkonnen patrol patterns, shipment routes, and defensive positions. Move like a shadow, observe without being seen. Knowledge is water; prophecy is wind.

Theft of the Water Tribute - Steal sealed water containers from the Harkonnen stockpile at the spaceport. They’ve extorted this water from your people as tribute (fai) - now reclaim what was stolen. Strike quietly and return with the sietch’s survival.

New Main Quests

Strike the Harvesters - Lead a Fremen raiding party against smuggler harvesting operations. Fight alongside your ichwan (brothers) to destroy their machinery and claim the melange that belongs to Shai-Hulud alone.

🗓️ Daily Quests System

Your sietch now offers daily tasks that reflect your chosen path and deepen your role in the community:

Neutral Daily Quests (Available to All)

• Daily Water Ration - Distribute sacred water to sietch members in an ancient ritual exchange
• Tend the Seedlings - Check on newly planted areas in the ecology project
• Gather Spice for the Sietch - Collect spice for Guild payments and trade
• Practice the Weirding Way - Maintain your combat skills through training with practice weapons

Radical Path Dailies (Believers)

• Purge Unbelievers - Strike down those who doubt the Mahdi’s coming
• Seize Spice for Jihad - Claim melange to fund the holy war
• Speak of Mahdi - Spread the prophecy among the people
• Strike Oppressors - Kill Harkonnen soldiers in the desert
• Command the Maker - Summon Shai-Hulud using the ancient rituals

Skeptical Path Dailies (Pragmatists)

• Advance Green Dream - Progress Kynes’ terraforming vision through practical ecology
• Preserve Tribe Water - Ensure the sietch’s water reserves remain secure
• Negotiate, Don’t Destroy - Use diplomacy to resolve conflicts peacefully
• Teach Old Ways - Pass on traditional Fremen survival knowledge
• Cautious Expedition - Plan measured expeditions into dangerous territory

Daily quests reset regularly and offer experience and water rings, providing consistent progression paths that align with your character’s beliefs.

💥 New Weapons & Combat Systems

Heavy Explosive Weapons

Three devastating new weapon types that fundamentally change combat tactics:

Rocket Launcher

• Fires explosive rockets with area-of-effect damage (80-pixel blast radius)
• Instant impact for direct tactical strikes
• Single-shot magazine with 4-turn reload
• Can stun or ignite targets caught in the explosion
• Effective against clustered enemies but requires careful timing

Mortar

• Artillery piece for extreme-range indirect fire (350 pixel range)
• Massive 120-pixel explosion radius - the largest in the game
• 2-turn impact delay requires predicting enemy movement
• Two-shell magazine with very slow 5-turn reload
• Lower accuracy due to indirect fire mechanics
• Devastating against groups but vulnerable during the long reload

Explosive Rounds

• New ammunition type required for heavy weapons
• Each round packs enough punch to devastate an area
• Limited availability makes every shot count

All weapons feature the dynamic rarity system with randomized special effects based on quality tier.

New Projectile System

Heavy weapons now use a pending projectile system - when you fire, the projectile is marked on the battlefield and impacts after a delay. Enemies can see incoming projectiles and attempt to escape the blast zone, creating dynamic tactical situations.

🎬 Cinematic Story Scenes

Arrakeen Intelligence Scene

Experience a tense stealth mission where you must observe Harkonnen patrol conversations without being detected. Stay beyond detection range (200 pixels) to overhear intelligence about palace security rotations, spice shipment schedules, and the Baron’s paranoia. Get too close and face the consequences of discovery.

Harvester Attack Scene

Lead a coordinated assault on a smuggler harvesting operation. Fight alongside Fremen allies against the smuggler captain, guards, and their massive harvester. Navigate a spice field while managing tactical combat against multiple enemies. The battle unfolds around the harvester, not the player, creating a dynamic battlefield.

🎨 Visual & Interface Improvements

Redesigned Character Screen

The equipment screen received a complete visual overhaul:

• Clean, resolution-scaled layout with proper padding and spacing
• Visual connecting lines between equipment slots for aesthetic appeal
• Comprehensive stat bonus summary showing all active equipment effects
• Thematic color coding using amber warnings and desert-inspired palette
• Optimized for both standalone view and unified menu integration

Enhanced World Map

The world map now features:

• New biome-specific color tints for Arrakeen locations (streets, spaceport, palace)
• Dynamic tile sizing that adapts to map size (26-72 pixel range)
• Improved visual hierarchy with better borders and color contrasts
• Quest objective highlighting using pulsing visual indicators
• Better readability on all screen resolutions

Resolution & Display Fixes

• Fixed resolution handling and scaling across different monitor sizes
• Improved background rendering (proper non-black backgrounds)
• Better color separators throughout the UI
• Enhanced visual consistency across all game screens

🎮 Gameplay Enhancements

Enhanced NPC Behaviors

• NPCs now properly spawn within designated zones on new Arrakeen maps
• Improved collision detection with background elements and building zones
• Better pathfinding around complex urban environments
• More sophisticated AI awareness in stealth-focused missions

Quest System Refinements

• Streamlined quest dialog handling with reduced boilerplate
• Better quest completion tracking and validation
• Improved turn-in mechanics with confirmation dialogs
• Quest conditions now properly check scene completion states

Combat & Turn System

• Area-of-effect damage calculations for explosive weapons
• Delayed projectile impact mechanics
• Reload system for magazine-based weapons (rocket launcher: 4 turns, mortar: 5 turns)
• Ammunition management for heavy weapons
• Status effects from explosions (stun, burn, dust cloud)

Discord Rich Presence

• Enhanced integration showing current location and activity
• Better status updates during gameplay
• Improved connection handling and error recovery

🔧 Technical Improvements

Architecture & Code Quality

• Refactored quest system for better maintainability and extensibility
• Improved level architecture with block zone systems for complex maps
• Better separation of concerns in scene management
• Enhanced entity interaction tracking system
• Streamlined NPC spawning and management

Save System

• Daily quest progress properly persisted
• New locations saved to map exploration data
• Equipment and inventory correctly serialized
• Scene completion states tracked across sessions

Performance

• Optimized rendering for complex urban environments
• Better memory management for large NPC populations
• Improved fog-of-war calculations on dense maps

🐛 Bug Fixes

• Fixed Water Debt Challenge scene logic and progression
• Corrected Arrakeen Intelligence scene completion tracking
• Fixed graffiti marker interaction and quest validation
• Resolved issues with multiple resolution configurations
• Fixed NPC spawning on maps with complex collision zones
• Corrected ecology stage tracking and persistence
• Fixed alignment dialog edge cases
• Resolved scene transition issues between locations

📊 Statistics

Between versions 0.1.38 and 0.1.40:

• 103 files changed with 4,482 additions and 773 deletions
• 3 major new locations added to the game world
• 14 daily quest types providing ongoing gameplay
• 5+ new main quests with branching narrative paths
• 3 new weapon types with unique combat mechanics
• 2 cinematic story scenes with scripted encounters
• Multiple new NPCs and entities populating Arrakeen

🙏 Closing Notes

This update represents a significant expansion of the Sands world, bringing political intrigue, moral complexity, and tactical depth to your journey across Arrakis. Whether you infiltrate the capital as a silent shadow or march through its streets as the Mahdi’s blade, your path is yours to choose.

The old ways teach us: “The mystery of life isn’t a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.”

- The Development Team