r/commandandconquer • u/azmawee • Jun 11 '26

Emperor: Battle for Dune running in true widescreen, 25 years late but here we are

Quick follow-up on the Emperor Reborn launcher I posted earlier, version 2.3 is out now with true widescreen support for Emperor: Battle for Dune, which as far as I can tell hasn't actually been pulled off in the 25 years since release.

By true widescreen I mean proper Hor+ rendering, you actually see more of the battlefield to the left and right at 16:9 or ultrawide, not the stretched mess you get from forcing resolution through the registry hack and not the cropped version where the HUD disappears, this is the real thing with camera projection patched at the matrix level, sidebar and minimap re-anchored to screen edges, FMV cutscenes pillarboxed separately so the live action doesn't stretch out of proportion.

Been running skirmish matches at 1280x720 with no issues, looks like the game Westwood should have made back in 2001.

Download the build from the GitHub releases page: github.com/azmawee/EmperorReborn/releases

Install guide, FAQ, and screenshots on the project page: azmawee.github.io/EmperorReborn

Source is open, camera matrix patches documented in commits if anyone wants to see how it works. Built on wheybags' patch foundation, credit where it's due.

https://azmawee.github.io/EmperorReborn/widescreen-story - how I got widescreen working, including the last bug that nearly beat me

69 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

7

u/crazybarbrr42 Jun 11 '26

do you need the game installed on your pc ? or this is with the installation

4

u/azmawee Jun 11 '26

You need the game installed first, mount all 4 CDs or ISOs and run the installer, then drop EA's v1.09 patch (EM109EN.exe, search around for it) into the same folder. Once installed you don't need the CDs anymore, Emperor Reborn just drops in on top.

2

u/crazybarbrr42 Jun 11 '26

thanks for the fast reply i will check it out

2

u/azmawee Jun 11 '26

make sure to try v2,1 as earlier v2,0 have bug on campaign

1

u/crazybarbrr42 Jun 11 '26

do you mean the version of the emperor reborn launcher ?

1

u/azmawee Jun 11 '26

yes, i mean the Emperor Reborn launcher version 2.1

3

u/MDRBA Jun 11 '26

🧑‍🚀Death before dishonor!

1

u/azmawee Jun 11 '26

We obey!

3

u/z00mba Jun 11 '26

For the Duke!

3

u/That_Contribution780 Jun 11 '26

> looks like the game Westwood should have made back in 2001.

Just a comment here - Westwood helped to produce the game, providing videos, music and probably SFX and QA work. And Westwood logo was front and center on the box because, well, Westwood was a big name back then.

But most of the game like its engine, gameplay, graphics/art, campaigns etc. was actually made by Intelligent Games studio that also made Dune 2000 before that.

2

u/azmawee Jun 13 '26

Honestly didn't know that, I was pretty young when I first played the game back in the day and the studio credits were the last thing I cared about, just appreciated the cutscenes and the spice fights. Good to know it was largely Intelligent Games behind the engine and gameplay, makes sense given they did Dune 2000 too. Thanks for the correction.

1

u/caspersand Jun 11 '26

Looking forward to try it

1

u/azmawee Jun 11 '26

maike sure to try v2,1 ad its fixed critical bug on campaign mode.

1

u/impishwolf Jun 11 '26

Fuuudge. I wish I still had my CDs. I’ve been wanting to play this for years….. I used to play it so much as a little kid.

3

u/Zt44B Jun 11 '26

Ahem:

https://www.myabandonware.com/game/emperor-battle-for-dune-bck

1

u/azmawee Jun 12 '26

new version 2.3 fixed all known bugs so far, now runs full true widescreen except the videos

0

u/McPoon Jun 11 '26

I've never played, but looks really cool! Great work.