We reported just a couple weeks ago that Dune: Awakening's director Joel Bylos didn't really consider the survival sandbox to be an MMO. And to double down on that, today we learned that Funcom is adding a new singleplayer mode in September.

Don't want to play with strangers, or even friends? Starting on September 22 you won't have to, and there are some pretty intriguing features thrown in that make it sound extra appealing. I haven't played Dune: Awakening much since it first launched, but this could finally bring me back again.

"Singleplayer is one of the most-requested features since launch," Funcom said today. "We’re also adding the final chapter of Dune: Awakening’s Book One story, so whether you want to play entirely by yourself, with friends on a private server, or with strangers on a larger multiplayer server, you will now be able to play the story from the start to its dramatic conclusion."

You can already play Dune: Awakening pretty much on your lonesome: from the start of the story to much of the Deep Desert, you'll regularly see other players without having to interact or team up with them if you don't want to. There are also private servers available if you only want to play with people you know.

But since players have found ways to grief each other even in non-PvP zones, I guess I'm not surprised people still regularly request an official way to play solo. This new mode sounds pretty appealing for a number of reasons:

"Singleplayer offers three preset difficulty levels for the survival experience, or full manual customization of individual settings," Funcom said. "Want faster experience gain, easier enemies, or quicker harvesting? All of that is adjustable."

Another huge change in singleplayer mode: you can build bases in the deep desert and they won't be completely wiped each week. The huge Coriolis storm will still hit the deep desert, but will be "less destructive," so while you may need to repair your DD base, you won't be at risk of losing it.

Um... yes, please! Speaking as someone who doesn't really love building, and especially hates rebuilding over and over again on a weekly damn basis, I'm psyched. I don't mind spending resources to fix busted bases, but starting from scratch every week is a bummer, so this alone has me intrigued.

As for the Landsraad, the weekly endgame competition found in multiplayer, there's still a version of that because singleplayer mode "simulates other players engaging with the faction conflict." Interesting.

Below is the list of what you can expect from singleplayer mode, and Funcom says it'll have more details as we get closer to the September 22 release date.

  • All the NPCs are there, but no other players 
  • The Deep Desert is fully available with all its content and challenges, but the map never resets and your buildings are never wiped. The Coriolis Storm remains as a weather event but is less destructive. 
  • The Landsraad endgame simulates other players engaging with the faction conflict, keeping it competitive and engaging
  • Singleplayer characters remain exclusive to the single-player mode 
  • Private and self-hosted server characters can be played on any of these and can even go between private and self-hosted servers 
  • Official server characters can be played on any official server and can even be moved to a private or self-hosted server (but not back again, to ensure the integrity of official servers) 
  • Bases and vehicles you back up will come with you 

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