Indie developer Paul Nicholas has just released UnDUNE II, a demake of the classic RTS Dune II built from the ground up in PICO‑8. The project, initially slated for a couple of months, stretched to almost three years of intermittent work. It now ships with all three original houses, Sardaukar forces, and nine missions complete with custom music and sound effects.

Players manage spice extraction, power generation via wind traps, and base construction across multiple terrain types, including sandworms and fog of war. The engine supports mouse, keyboard, gamepad, and mobile input, and features auto‑saving after each level, radar overlays, and AI opponents that can capture buildings. Recent v1.4.1 patch adds end‑credits, auto‑return of repaired units, and refined AI attack behavior.

Beyond nostalgia, UnDUNE II demonstrates how a constrained platform like PICO‑8 can host a complex RTS with 19 building types, 21 unit varieties, and a full tech tree. The open‑source toolchain—ranging from sprite rotation snippets to data compression utilities—offers a template for hobbyists aiming to recreate legacy games within tight memory limits. The demo is freely downloadable and ready to play.