Sands v0.1.38 – The Guild Demands Tribute

The desert deepens.
This update brings two new game modes, a living economy shaped by the Spacing Guild, and a world teeming with new encounters, culture, and consequences.

Get it free here: https://bararchy.itch.io/sands

🎮 New Game Modes

Choose your path:

• Permadeath Mode – Classic roguelike challenge where every step counts.
• Roleplay Mode – Story-focused progression; respawn at your Sietch with penalties, not erasure.

💰 The Guild Bribe System

The Spacing Guild is watching.
Pay regular bribes to conceal your terraforming from orbital scans. Miss payments, and expect raids, interest, and pressure from above.
Meet the Guild Liaison at your Sietch to manage your debt… or resist it.

🗺️ Expedition Map Selector

Select your next journey with a new visual map interface — review explored tiles, ecology overlays, and risk levels before you venture out.

🎲 11 New Random Encounters

Bring life (and danger) to Arrakis with new cultural, hostile, and natural events — from Spice Coffee Ceremonies to Harkonnen Patrols, Smuggler Ambushes, and Desert Mouse Discoveries.
Each encounter offers meaningful choices that affect reputation, resources, and story.

🌍 Fremen Language Integration

Authentic Chakobsa terminology throughout the game.
NPCs now speak like true Fremen — kaveh, ichwan, bled, and more. Over 25 quests enriched with desert culture and sayings.

✨ Visual & Scene Enhancements

• Overhauled combat VFX
• New scripted “Harkonnen Execution” scene
• Dynamic sand, explosions, and ability feedback
• Smarter interaction and improved UI

🛠️ Quality of Life & Fixes

Auto-discovery for placed items, cleaner popups, refactored effects, balanced bonuses, and improved save reliability.

This is a major content expansion — the desert now speaks, punishes, and remembers.

Bi-la kaifa.

I know that feeling! ahahah but you did something really cool, I’ll def check it out

Woha! looks really good! nice job :)

Sands v0.1.35 — Ecology, Water Reserves & Spice Expeditions

Get it for free at: https://bararchy.itch.io/sands

Arrakis now runs as one connected system: Prepare land → Grow water → Risk water on spice → Use spice to empower the sietch.

🌱 Ecology

• Sites progress: Bare → Prepped → Seeded → Sprouting
• Living clusters: anchors, pumps, sprout beds, dark soil
• Map shows global ecology % and stage counts

💧 Communal Water

• Sietch water stockpile grows with ecology stages
• HUD shows personal + communal reserves
• Soft cap keeps growth strategic, not runaway

🌀 Spice Expeditions

• Risk water for spice via Naib (Cautious / Standard / Bold)
• Variable yields, fail chances, tension over time

🛠 Tools & Assets

• New kits: Soil Anchor, Seed Pouch, Moisture Surge
• New NPC: Ecology Steward
• Updated intro art + infrastructure sprites

“The highest function of ecology is the understanding of consequences.” — Liet-Kynes

Oops! 😬 Will do the moment I’m home, sorry about that 🙏

🌵 Sands v0.1.32 – Immersion Update

Hey everyone! A new version of Sands is out — this release focuses on immersion, clarity, and smarter AI.

🎮 Major Features

• Discord Rich Presence
  • Shows your class, level, and current combat status right in Discord.
  • Works on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
• Enhanced NPC System
  • New Cornered state: enemies fight back desperately if trapped.
  • Floating status messages (Engaging!, Retreating!, Cornered!, etc.).
  • Visual combat feedback for reloading and special abilities.
  • Reworked Harkonnen Deserters with new abilities, loot, and dialogue.
• Dance of Death Upgrade
  • Player now moves across enemies during the chain strike for a more dynamic feel.

🖥️ UI Improvements

• Inventory overhaul with split layout, larger readable fonts, and smarter resource handling.
• Cleaner dialog spacing for easier reading.

🛠️ Tech & Fixes

• Full macOS release support.
• Extensive code cleanup and better error handling.
• Smarter faction checks and weather system stability improvements.

This update is all about immersion and clarity: richer Discord integration, smarter enemies, and a cleaner interface.

🕹️ Play free here:
👉 https://bararchy.itch.io/sands

Thanks for checking it out, and let me know what you think — especially if you’re testing on macOS!

Have fun! Let me know how it ends up running, I’m definitely looking for Mac testers as I don’t own one, I did my best with packaging and the built but honestly need someone to tell me it’s working ok 🙏

Hey everyone, I’ve been working on a free roguelike called Sands, inspired by the world of Dune.
It’s a solo project, non-commercial fan fiction, and I’m building it on Arch Linux with native builds for Linux, Mac, and Windows.

The idea is to make the desert itself feel like a weapon you can wield. In the latest version you can:

• 🌪️ Summon Coriolis Storms – sandstorms that damage enemies
• ☠️ Fire Spice Shots – projectiles that create expanding poison clouds
• ⚔️ Build Mastery stacks – unleash devastating melee strikes
• 💣 Lay minefields – Saboteur traps for ambush and area control

🎥 Here’s a short video of the Desert Scout in action:

🕹️ Play free here:
👉 https://bararchy.itch.io/sands

I’d love to hear feedback from anyone who tries it out — especially from Mac and Linux players since those builds are new.

Thanks for checking it out!

It's really cool! Thanks for this amazing game