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Welcome Sleepers, to the year-end edition of the Communinet Signal!

2024 has been a pivotal year for us and the development of the game, as we have opened the development build of the game to the lucky players selected for our Closed Beta testing. We started with a very small core group of testers at the end of last year and have been slowly growing that group ever since. Sometime in the middle of this year, we expanded the scope of the test with the Persistent Beta test, where we keep the servers running 24/7 for our testers.

It has been an incredible source of important data and feedback that we have taken to heart and used to continually improve the game, doubling down on the parts of our vision that resonate with our players, and tweaking and adapting those that do not. It's a very rewarding process, and we're incredibly grateful to all of our testers for helping us complete this final leg of our journey to launch. There's not much we can share with you just yet, as these tests are still strictly under NDA. But as a year-end treat for you all, we will be sharing some fun and interesting stats from these Closed Beta tests!

The Early 2025 release is fast approaching. Until then, enjoy this last Communinet Signal of the year!

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In November and December we were working on all sorts of fun stuff we can’t wait to tell you about (in... dune time).

But on the public side of things, we attended Dreamhack Stockholm! Magnus (Senior PR and Events Manager), Ignasi (Community Manager) and Tomek (Senior Influencer Manager) roamed the halls of the event, meeting with fans, industry friends and content creators to network and discuss fun and interesting possibilities for the coming year!

Cosplayer Yuji[www.instagram.com] joined us once again (she was with us at the Nordic Party event at Gamescom 2024!), showing off her amazing stillsuit, taking pictures with fans, and giving out Dune: Awakening stickers!

Shortly after Dreamhack and to close out the year, our Creative Director Joel Bylos joined PirateSoftware for a live interview during his stream on December 13th. Thor asked a lot of insightful questions about the game and Joel was happy to answer them. If you are interested, you can watch the segment on PirateSoftware's Youtube channel!

On another note, and as a fun wrapper for the year, we'd like to share some statistics from the Closed Beta with you all. We hope you find these interesting and that they give you some hints at what’s to come next year!

• Deadly Arrakis: The NPC inhabitants of Arrakis are responsible for 58% of player deaths.
  
  • The second and third most common causes of death are Sandworms (27%) and dehydration (22%).
    
  • 2% of players who have played at least 10 hours have never died in the game…yet!
• Who’s your mentor? During character creation you can chose your mentor, which determines your starting abilities as well as some dialogue choices across the game. These have been the selections of mentors chosen by our beta testers so far:
  
  • Bene Gesserit: 31%
    
  • Swordmaster: 24%
    
  • Trooper: 23%
    
  • Mentat: 22%
    
  • PS: We gave an early look at an in-development version of the character creation process in our Dune: Awakening Direct Episode 2 and our Gamescom Gameplay Reveal!
• All water is precious on Arrakis: Closed Beta Players extracted approximately 1.5 million liters of blood from fallen enemies and living creatures.
  
  • Close to a hundred muad'dibs had their blood extracted (the kangaroo mouse not the Duke Leto's son who doesn't exist in our game). How could you?

If you found these stats interesting and want to contribute to them, remember that you can still sign up for a chance to be selected for our Closed Beta tests. Just head over to our website and fill out your Beta Profile survey[www.surveymonkey.com]!

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For today's highlight, we wanted to give the spotlight to our cosplayers. If you've traveled to any of the events we've been to this year, you've probably seen and interacted with them. And if you're an avid Communinet Signal reader, you've seen them in many of the pictures we've shared so far.

They are incredibly talented and passionate professionals who use their craft to enhance the event experience for everyone. They are also wonderful people. For these reasons, we thought they deserved a spot here so you could all get to know them a little better.

For this edition, we will be exchanging words with Alejandra (Anhyra[www.instagram.com]), who has been with us ever since PAX East, all the way through ComicCon Nordic, Gamescom and Brazil Game Show. She has kindly lent us some of her time to answer a few questions!

You’re a seasoned veteran in the cosplay community Anhyra! Can you tell our readers a bit about your career as a cosplayer and previous projects you have cosplayed for?
It has been a wonderful and long journey! I've been doing cosplay for more than 10 years now! It started as a hobby, I am a huge fan of Mass Effect and I wanted to make Commander Shepard's armor, so I decided to make it for Carnival, which is a big thing where I live. Then I took it to a local convention, it was super fun and everyone loved the cosplay, so that encouraged me to keep making armors.

Since then, I started entering cosplay contests and was lucky enough to win the best armor award at Blizzcon 21. This put me in the spotlight and helped me a lot to start a career as a professional costume maker. In the past few years I've worked on costumes, props and cosplay content for games like Destiny 2, World of Warcraft, The Elder Scrolls, Diablo IV, Blasphemous, Bloodhunt... and Dune: Awakening! <3 I'm so grateful for all these opportunities because I really love making costumes.

I've also worked as a cosplay judge in many events in Spain and Europe! Many conventions have asked me to do panels on costume making and to judge their competitions! It was an honor to judge the Gamescom and Dreamhack Cosplay Contests in Germany or the international finals of the Tournament of Champions in Vienna.

Speaking of Dune: Awakening, tell us a bit more about your experience designing the stillsuit cosplay! What were the biggest challenges and considerations you had to face when crafting it?
Making the Stillsuit was a really big and fun challenge! I had about a month to create this design and at first it was a little intimidating because the suit is really intricate and tight to the body.

I considered several different construction options and finally decided to build it like a suit of armor, making different pieces that would attach to the inner clothing and allow me to move properly at conventions, but also make it look like a whole suit. Building it was like a giant puzzle with tons of layers with different textures, tubes... But in the end I was super happy with the result!

Now that you mention wearing it… how was the actual experience donning the Stillsuit? Did everything work as intended?
I was super lucky and everything worked out great! I almost cried the first time I tried to put everything together! I used EVA foam for most of the pieces, so it's very light! But wearing a cosplay is never comfortable, so I had to make some small adjustments in the design to be able to sit down, walk properly or even go to the toilet... Unfortunately, I don't have the skills yet to make a proper stillsuit that recycles liquids. ːsteamhappyː

How was the reception by event-goers? Do you have any fun reactions to share? (hopefully not related to water discipline)

I'm super happy because everyone loved the costume online and also at conventions! People usually approach me to ask me about how I made the costume and they always get surprised when I say that almost everything is foam! Even the parts that look like leather!

My favorite reaction happened during the Brasil Game Show, a bunch of really little girls ran to me to hug me and they asked me if I was a desert princess... I usually cosplay as monsters or intimidating armors, so I'm not used to that and it definitely made my day! 

That’s incredible! Alright, we don’t want to hog all your time. So as a final note, do you have any advice or recommendations for aspiring cosplayers?
Follow your passion! We all start small, and the more cosplay you do, the more you learn! So don't get frustrated if you can't make a super crazy build right now, just keep practicing and one day you will! ♥️ The cosplay community is really big and there are tons of amazing makers sharing their methods, tutorials and tips, so it's easy to start learning nowadays! And if you want to buy a costume instead of making it...that's great too! Everyone can enjoy it! My favorite thing about cosplay is how welcoming the community is! I've met hundreds of incredible friends all over the world thanks to cosplay, and that's priceless!

Thank you so much Anhyra for your time… and see you at the next event! 👀


You can follow Anhyra on all of her social media accounts (Instagram[www.instagram.com], X[x.com], Bluesky[bsky.app]) and be sure to say hi. She is not only a talented cosplayer, but also a wonderful person!

Stay tuned for future Communinet Signals where we will feature more cosplayers who have brought Dune: Awakening to life with us!

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We have an amazing collection of fanart in this issue that includes all kinds of mediums. Please peruse our museum of artworks at your leisure.

But we have more exciting news: Those featured here will ALSO get access to the Dune: Awakening Closed Beta! Thank you for sharing your beautiful pieces. We look forward to seeing more in the future.

Make sure to share them on the official Discord server[discord.com] under the #fanart channel, or use the #CommuninetSignal tag on social media.

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And with that, we're one step closer to saying goodbye to 2024 and hello to 2025!

We're incredibly excited about the upcoming months. We're working hard to have the game ready for you all on PC early next year, and we're preparing to make 2025 an unforgettable year for all of you Sleepers who are eager to get your boots on the sands of Arrakis. We can’t wait to tell you more about this labor of lo[x.com]ve we have created for you.

In the meantime, thank you for your unwavering support this year, and here's to 2025, the year of Dune: Awakening! May Shai-Hulud bless the path ahead!

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We’re back again with our third edition of the Communinet Signal! As with previous issues, we’re going to round up all the going-on and happenings surrounding Dune: Awakening in the past weeks for your reading pleasure. Complete with plenty of pictures!

In the last issue we shared everything there was to see at Gamescom in Germany. This time, we’re going to take you to conventions in California, Japan, and Brazil. So even if you didn’t get an opportunity to check out our booths in person, we can share a little bit of Arrakis with you here.

We also have some fantastic artwork created by our community, new assets right from our own artists, and answers to some of your burning questions. If you missed our previous Communinet Signals, you can find them here:

• Communinet Signal #1 [duneawakening.com]
  
• Communinet Signal #2 [duneawakening.com]

September and October was full of travel with the goal of bringing more new faces to Arrakis in Dune: Awakening. Besides the dangers of dehydration, bandit gangs, roaming Sardaukar ships, sandworms, and many other threats it can be a very inviting place! Our first stop on this journey was:

While we didn’t have a booth this year, we still had a fantastic time talking to many of you Sleepers attending the convention. We had the opportunity to meet many excited streamers who are eager to get their hands on Dune: Awakening and sharing it with their community.

We also teamed up with LurkIt [x.com] and The Fun Pimps [x.com] (creators behind ‘7 Days to Die’) to bring an epic afterparty where we hosted crysknife giveaways, chatted with familiar faces in the community, showed off game trailers, connected streamers with developers, and danced the night away.

One of our lucky crysknife winners, @HowToBeQuiet1 [x.com]

Our stage where we showed the Dune: Awakening trailers with a beautiful skyline backdrop!

Cozy fireside chat with a Dune Balloon Moon

日本へようこそ! We flew over to the other side of the world for this convention. Between September 26th through the 29th, our team arrived and was ready to rock the show floor. As with Gamescom, we were a part of the Level Infinite area. Take a look at our booth!

Dune: Awakening producers Farah Nasri and Nils Ryborg took the stage to talk about themselves, the work they do on the game, and development (with the help of a translator of course).

Within our booth, we showed a gameplay presentation complete with a Japanese voiceover as well as a Q&A session at the end. And of course, no one left empty handed; swag bags were given out as new Sleepers exited the presentation.

The booth wouldn’t be complete without our Dune cosplayer star, みひまる! Check her out X (Twitter) [x.com] for more of her amazing work.
Our last stop was in South America, where the rainforests are as wet as Arrakis’s sand is hot. Like Gamescom and Tokyo Game Show, we had our booth on the main hall ready to be visited by new Sleepers. We even had a popcorn machine! No, unfortunately we didn’t have THOSE popcorn buckets. :)

Inside the booth, we had a cozy theater with pillows for the presentation. And as always, they left with a handful of Dune: Awakening swag. We also had hands on gameplay for press, VIPs, and other visitors.
The highlight of this Signal is of the gorgeous yet formidable Harkonnen Light Ornithopter. The light ornithopter specializes in speed, ensuring a quick getaway from enemies or sandstorms (if you’re skilled enough, that is). These vehicles are paramount in your mission to survive. When parked, the wings will fold neatly behind and along the body of the ornithopter. But when taking to the skies, they will unfurl and flutter like a dragonfly’s.

This concept image was created by one of our expert concept artists, Brian Wells. You can check out more of his amazing art on ArtStation here [www.artstation.com]!

The final ornithopter at launch may differ from this screenshot as it is still a work in progress.

We have some fabulous art collected from the official Dune: Awakening Discord server as well as those who used the #CommuninetSignal hashtag on X and Facebook. For a chance to have your art featured, make sure to share yours as well!

Created by Anna-Maria Manners, this drawing features a Fremen-Bene Gesserit girl named Nasira. She is blind, but very sensitive to vibrations.

Meanwhile, Maxpain_ has 3D printed a mini sword along with a stand to rest it out.

A bottle of spice created by Arrakis Pilgrim on Discord.

An adorable Muad'dib, also created by Arrakis Pilgrim.

The beautiful landscape of Arrakis captured by Sinister Fate.

This piece called, “Moving up the ranks” by Sinister Fate was created on Procreate using Photoshop and a Cintiq.

Gorgeous fanart of a Bene Gesserit by Conkin and Merlin.

Shields use Holtzman tech to protect against fast moving projectiles. The slow blade will penetrate in melee, and shields do not protect against all forms of damage (for example poison and fire can pass the barrier). Not to mention, using your shields while on the open sand is not recommended. Remember that the vibrations will attract the worms and make enemy fire look trivial next to the attention of Shai-Hulud.

Some items needed for crafting shields can be found only in certain locations, such as Imperial Testing Stations. Explore these areas to find those unique parts and give yourself an edge over opponents.

You can turn these shields off and on, but whatever your playstyle, using shields is recommended if you plan on going toe to toe with an enemy.

There are currently no plans to play the game fully in first person. We’ve designed Dune: Awakening with a third-person setting in mind for the best experience. However, there are certain items that will allow you to go into first person to help with your survival. This includes binoculars and sniper scopes!

You can set permissions to decide who can use your vehicles. By default, they only allow access to the person who’s built them. There are, however, vehicles that can be found in the world and are accessible to everyone, so they can be stolen from NPCs.

To keep your vehicle safe from others and the harsh environment, you can craft and use a vehicle backup tool. This allows you to store it in your inventory until you need it again!

While we won't have sandworm riding at launch, it's a highly anticipated feature that we're eager to implement but we also want to do it justice!

As you’ve probably seen from the Dune films, sandworm riding is one of the most dangerous yet thrilling feats to pull off. We want to make sure it’s as impactful as the cinematic moment it's inspired by in the Dune movies. To achieve this, we're taking a deliberate approach and won't rush its development.

As you explore Arrakis, visit points of interest, complete contracts, and so on, you will gain experience points. These points will level your character up and give you skill points and tech points. Skill points can be used to unlock new abilities, increased health and stamina, better heat resistance, and more.

You’ll also discover intel around certain points of interest which will help unlock recipes in the Technology Tree. This is where you’ll get more weapons, armor, and other items to craft to help in your survival. If you need help along the way, and are unable to craft them yourself just yet, these items can found around the world for you to pick up and use. Or if you have a particularly helpful friend with you, they can lend you their armor or weapons.

You will also find Wandering Masters in your journey who will teach you more abilities from different schools, such as the Bene Gesserit.

And that about wraps it up for our third Communinet Signal! We hope you enjoyed reading through it and maybe learned something new.

Remember that if you'd like your art featured, make sure to share in the Discord channel [discord.com] as well as use #CommuninetSignal on Facebook or X (Twitter). Or just drop into the Discord to say hi and chat about all things Dune (and share pictures of your muad'dibs in our pet channel). While we prepare for the 4th signal, make sure to wishlist Dune: Awakening on Steam and we will see you next time!