You play Dune! for two reasons: to collect balls and to speed across and above the dunes at a fevered pace. One ball, the star, requires that you reach outer space to obtain it.
So what exactly does the game count as outer space? And how are you expected to get all the way up there? By practicing, my friend.
Dune! counts “outer space” as being above the moon in the sky, which may sound impossible, but any player can reach past the skies with practice and a little elbow grease. Good luck helps, too.
How high is outer space?
To get the star ball to unlock, you not only must get well past the moon, but also have to be up there for at least a couple seconds to get the star to unlock.
Below is an image showing how high up you must get for the game to count it as outer space, so you can use it for reference.
If you can stay up in outer space where the circle is for about two seconds, you’ll unlock the star ball.
That’s pretty high up! No one said getting the star ball was easy.
That’s part one of the mystery. What’s part two? Actually getting up there.
How to get to outer space
I can’t tell you exactly how to get it, but I can certainly give you some advice on improving your air!
Tip 1 – Don’t tap and hold while in the air.
This sounds pretty self-explanatory if you’ve been playing a while, but if you haven’t figured it out yet: You get much more air (and don’t come crashing back down) if you don’t touch the screen while in the air unless you’re primed and ready to hit a good slope.
Tip 2 – Don’t let the game determine where you fall for you.
You don’t have so much control over your ball. You control how fast it goes on land, how much air it gets based off when you release at the top of a slope, and where you land.
If you’re in the air and see a prime dune coming up below you, get ready to tap to fall onto it and continue your momentum. But what’s a prime dune? Let’s take a look at some.
Tip 3 – Identify prime dunes.
Some dunes are just so hard to land on without crashing that I wouldn’t recommend using them unless you have no other choice or you’ve mastered them.
On the flip side, there are a number of dunes that are easier to land on for players of all skill levels. These will be your keys to success when trying to get to outer space since you need to pay attention to upcoming dunes and their slopes to dive accordingly.
Here we’re going to take a look at some dunes you should aim for and those you should usually try to avoid. Both will have arrows to show the area you want to aim for.
Prime dunes
This one is easy to land on and a good angle for a high launch.
Not as easy as the one above to land on, but it’s still an overall good dive target.
Harder than both of the above but worth it in momentum and air. Still easier than the less-than-ideals I show below.
Less-than-ideal dunes
This one looks like it might be okay until you actually try to land on it. This one’s risky, as its middle is so flat compared to most others.
This one often shows up either like this or with a few of these in a row. In any case, these are often a death trap because of how small they are.
These are so small that you probably skip them anyway, which you should. These dunes are risky.
There are a couple more dunes, but you get the gist: Aim for the downward slopes on dunes with adequate safe space to land.
With all this in mind and a lot of patience, you can eventually reach outer space in Dune!, unlock the star ball, and feel like a boss. Don’t get discouraged if it takes you a while. Remember that practice makes perfect!
