Shop From Dust [Download]

Description

From Dust is the latest original game concept by Eric Chahi, creator of the cult classic, Another World.Immerse yourself in a world as exotically beautiful as it is dangerous! You control the destiny of a primitive tribe against the backdrop of a world in constant evolution - a universe where mighty Nature reclaims what is hers; and your mastery of the elements is your people's only chance of survival... Groundbreaking Technology - Play in the sandbox of one of the most advanced real-time nature simulations, where everything you see and interact with evolves dynamically, offering a constantly renewed experience. Unique Art Direction - Discover a large variety of environments: Tropical islands, volcanic landscapes, deserts and so much more… Rich Story Mode - Explore 13 breathtaking territories of emergent gameplay. Master the natural forces at play on a mysterious archipelago and help a primitive tribe to recover the lost powers of their ancestors. Confront Mighty Nature - Protect your tribe against Nature’s most devastating attacks. You’ll be face with tsunamis, wildfires, earthquakes, volcanoes, torrential rains… Master Godlike Powers - Control the forces of nature to sculpt the world in your image. Hold back lava, stop raging waters, empty lakes, grow forests, and raise mountains!
System Requirements  Minimum Specifications:Recommended Specifications: OS:Windows XP Service Pack 3 / Windows Vista Service Pack 2 / Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Processor:1.8 GHz Intel Core2 Duo or 2.3 GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2Intel Core i7 920 2.66 Ghz or AMD Phenom II X4 3.00 Ghz RAM:1.5 GB  Windows XP / 2 GB Windows Vista - Windows 73 GB DDR3 Hard Drive:4 GB  Video Card:256 MB DirectX 9.0-compliant card with Shader Model 3.0 or higher512 MB / GeForce 9 or ATI Radeon HD 4000 series Additional Info:DirectX 9.0 c Supported Video Cards at Time of Release:ATI RADEON HD 3000 / 4000 / 5000 / 6000 series. NVIDIA GeForce 8800 / 9 / 100 / 200 / 300 / 400 / 500 series. Laptop versions of these cards may work but are NOT supported. These chipsets are the only ones that will run this game. Crossfire or SLI-equipped systems may run the game but are not supported. It is recommended to use a single card while playing From Dust.
High speed internet access and creation of a Ubisoft account are required to access this video game and online features and to play online. You must be at least 13 to create a Ubisoft account without parental consent. Ubisoft may cancel access to one or more specific online features upon a 30-day prior notice published at fromdustgame.com.

Features

Customer Reviews

Fun concept but clunky controls
M. Crist

I used to LOVE playing the Populous games back in the day so when I saw this I picked it up right away. However beyond the ability to move earth and water around that is where the comparison to Populous ends. But even that shouldn't be enough to prevent you from buying this game. However, and I think others have said this, the controls on the PC version compared to the console version are a bit clunky. The main thing I noticed is that as you approach the edge of the screen it scrolls rather quickly away from the area you were pointing at which can be frustrating or make some levels almost impossible to complete. For example, lets say you have a limited amount of time in order to clear a path for the tribe, this can become tricky or nearly impossible because of the controls because of the scrolling problem.PROs:Graphics are niceMusic and Sound effects bring you into the game (the sound of waves crashing against your villages or volcanoes erupting)CONs:Near linear path to success with little or no way to "think outside the box" in some mapsControls on the PC version are clunkyObscene DRM (required internet connection to play)No true "sandbox" feel to the game, more of a puzzle game than a "God Sim"All in all I give this game a 3 Star because I like the concept and it was enjoyable up to a point but to give it more they would have to add a lot more features into the game. Such as the ability to edit maps or give you a literal sandbox map where you could manipulate the landscape to your hearts content.

Inexcusable DRM scheme attached to a lousy port
M. Henry

EDIT: For what it's worth, UbiSoft has recently disclosed that they plan to patch the DRM out of the game within the next two weeks. However, it's worth noting that this is also a terrible port, riddled with graphical problems and user-interface issues; when playing with a mouse, the cursor has a prohibitively small deadzone. This, I believe, is because they simply mapped the mouse onto a virtual analog stick, making it difficult to "center" and keep the camera still. This is just one problem of many that I believe could have been fixed if they simply put the effort into it.I have requested a refund from Steam. Everyone who's bought the game should strongly consider doing the same from their respective download services, and only buy PC games that conform to the accepted user-interface standards that come with porting to the PC platform. I certainly know I will from now on.ORIGINAL REVIEW: This game has a draconian and unnecessary DRM scheme, which requires a login every time you play. This means I can't play if my internet connection cuts out, or if I'm traveling anywhere without a WiFi connection. For a singleplayer game, this is unacceptable.This implementation is ostensibly to deter pirates, but this game is already being pirated (if you know where to look). This DRM isn't the case for all UbiSoft games, but I encourage all customers to pay attention to the DRM in the games you're interested in, and to not buy any of them if they require a login for singleplayer like this one.

erm, half worth it.
Cash H

Well I pre-purchased the game quite a while back on steam. At first I was iffy, but then at the beginning of August ubisoft said it wouldn't need internet after you activate the game ( was a lie D: ) I'm about 5/10 on this game simply because of a few issues. The game needs an initial internet connection which sometimes I do not have. ( although most of the times I do.... ) I have not had any graphical or gameplay issues like some others have stated. Aparently Ubisoft has a patch in the works to fix the internet issue, but I mean ... why even launch a game when it's like that. Ended up getting my money back for the game due to a couple of local Canadian laws ( act 17 of the sales act here in b.c. ). It was decent, but I mean... not really worth it.Pros:- Good graphics- gameplay is good.- Fairly fun if you can get over initial downsides.cons:- Internet thing.- Control Scheme ( I ended up using a x-box controller for this one. Otherwise it's unbearable )- lack of control in graphic options, sound etc.- Essentially a console port.

Really Fun with Loads of Game Play. Not Really a Simulation or God Game Though
Kristin

I have always been a fan of games like Simcity, Populous and other games that let you build and manage things. I really like this game, but its a little different so if you're expecting a simulation or a "God" game, then this isn't really it. I would say this is more like a puzzle game. It's a matter of figuring out the best way to accomplish the goal. This isn't to say that there's neccessarily one way, but I did notice that doing things in a certain order made finishing a given level or challenge a lot smoother.The Game has a "story mode" which you should think of as an extended tutorial. The levels are fun, engaging and often challenging and it teaches you what the things do and gives you practice. Once you're done with that, there's 30 challenges you can do that are unlocked progressively as you've worked through the story mode. The challenges range from pretty easy to really frustrating. To be honest, I sort of got bored with the challenges. Not only did they often feel repetative but they just weren't as fun as the story mode. I thought the challenges would be like the story but not as linear but that wasn't the case at all. You learn all these powers in story mode and then you are very limited in terms of what you are allowed to use in any given challenge. Anyway, here were my thoughts.Pros:1. Nice graphics. The gravity is the thing here. Everything settles to its natural state. Water and lava flow, earth settles and that's where the challenge lies. Figuring out how to make things flow in a way that works for you. Sometimes making things flow a certain way seems advantageous but then it opens up unintended consequences and if you're not careful you could end up over your head.2. Cool music. Seems very aboriginal.3. Innovative and creative concept. In this one you don't directly control your villagers. You can't just pick them up and move them, its more about controlling the natural elements around them in order to facilitate their success.4. I paid $3.75 for a download from another site and there's no question that at that price this game is very well worth it and provides a good value and far more gameplay and entertainment than many games in the $50-$60 range. I think much beyond $10 or so I would say pass, but if you can get it for under that, you'll find it worth the money.Cons:1. This business of having to be connected to play a single player game is stupid. It means that if you're on an airplane, in the middle of no where or on a FOB in Afganistan, you don't get to play. I get that they have piracy paranoia and all but I think this is taking it too far. Unfortunately, this is the way things are going. Sadly its not just Ubisoft that's doing this but a lot more publishers. So I'm at a point in which there's some games that I can play at home with the connection and some I know I can play anywhere. This game is one of those obviously that I play at home and given that context, its perfectly enjoyable and fine.2. The controls are clunky, no question. Usually its not much of a problem but sometimes you're trying to grab one element and you get another or you're trying to move a plant and you can't quite grab it just right. It's not a deal breaker problem, you can still manage to play the game perfectly fine, it just creates a slight irritation from time to time.3. For whatever reason, this thing takes a serious graphics processor and it really heats up my computer. Its odd because I've played other games that I thought were far more graphics intensive (from GTA 4 and Saints Row 3 to Spec Ops: The Line, etc) and none of them required what this one does. Luckily my computer (Intel i7 Quad Core with dual graphics cards) can handle it. But it just seems odd to me that a game with seemingly simple graphics compared to others would be like that. Maybe its the gravity. Anyway, when I had the game set to my Intel processor, the game kept crashing on me right at the beginning. It would not work at all. Then I read some forums and switched for it to run on my high performance graphics card and it worked perfectly. For the people who tried the game and couldn't get it to work, I bet for many this was a problem. Make sure you aren't using an Intel graphics card or other low performance card because the game simply won't work for you. If you have a good card though like a Radeon or Nvidia or whatever that meets the specs, you should be fine.Overall I really like this game a lot, very entertaining. I think the big thing is to realize that its not a god game, its not really a simulation, its more a puzzle game and if you can approach it from that mindset, then you won't be confused or dissapointed and you'll probably have a very good time. Read more ›