[Kerr Avon]

What are the best and most enjoyable mods for Duke Nukem 3D, plaase? Either native DN3D, or a source port (such as eDuke32), of course. I know there are probably a thousand web pages or posts with such a list, but I thought if I asked now then any really good newish mods would be included in the answers, too.

I've not really played many mods for the game, not that I remember, though I did try some a few years back. I really liked the official expansion pack Duke it Out in D.C., though, and I've heard that Duke Nukem Forever 2013 (http://www.moddb.com...e-nukem-forever) is really good, and also Starship Troopers (My linkhttp://www.moddb.com/mods/starship-troopers-tc) is another mod I seem to remember was highly thought of.

Also, is eDuke32 (http://www.eduke32.com) still the best DN3D Windows port available?

[Dzierzan]

I haven't played a lot of mods or custom addons for Duke but I would surely recommend following mods/addons:

- Dark Forces mod is quite fun and enjoyable http://www.moddb.com/mods/duke-forces

- Duke Hard addon a nice pack of new levels which are nicely done. It's meant to be played with vanilla settings.

[Fantinaikos]

All it's inside the Addon Compilation worth in theory. v3.13 has arrived to 109 addons, all of them have been redefined and corrected to work without errors.

The EXE is a ZIP actually so don't click on it or your pc may freeze, drag the pack on an archive opener tool instead.

Direct Download
http://www.duke4.org...2_addons313.exe

From Dropbox
https://www.dropbox....ons313.exe?dl=0

From Mega.nz
https://mega.nz/#!sI...vvk7LOhcMh7OxV0

Outside of it check for Dukeplus, War Of Attrition or AMC TC. If you are interested in crossovers mechanics look at Duke Forces, WGrealms 1 and WGrealms 2 (both already inside addon compilation) and Naferia's Reing: Invasion Of The Dark Mistress.

[Mark]

I wouldn't say these are among the best but they are still good fun to play.

Hollywood Holocaust Re-thinked ( HHR ) https://forums.duke4...aust-rethinked/

Quest Town https://forums.duke4...easequest-town/

Graveyard https://forums.duke4...ease-graveyard/

Decay https://forums.duke4...__1#entry232700

[Phredreeke]

You better have a fast computer for the first one though

[Mark]

Quest Town might be even more power hungry than HHR.

[Ninety-Six]

I've always been partial to Metropolitan Mayhem as a level pack. Short but sweet levels with a strong 3DR-esque theme. Duke Hard is also really good, and a bit more varied than MM if that's of any interest to you.

DNF2013 is a really good mod as well, but be sure to play it with the "Community DLC" attached. In my opinion, the "DLC" contains two of the best levels I've seen in either a fan or official capacity.

WGRealms 2 is basically a brand new game as opposed to a mod. If I remember right, I think it's even standalone. Its predecessor, the original WGRealms, is also worth playing. The music won't work right out of the box though, at least not with eDuke32 (unless it's in that massive addon compilation. I don't have it myself so I don't know).

You should also look up the "Knee-Deep" mod for WGR2. It's...kind of hard to explain. It's a "level pack" that is based on Doom's Knee-Deep in the Dead. But don't let that fool you; it's anything but easy. It remixes the levels more than enough to keep them fresh, and throws you straight into the fray against some of WGR2's tougher monsters. Though I never found it to have any significant balance problems. It's just a pack that expects you to have played the original WGR2 already.

"The Gate" is a good vintage mod. It's from 1997, I think? But the levels are still decent. Not all of them have aged well, but I would at least recommend this for the soundtrack alone. A lot of the music was composed by the same person who did Carribbean's soundtrack.

Zykov eddy's "The Dream" trilogy is a good ride if you like horror. Speaking of Eddy, I also enjoyed his Moonbase Accident episode. He's also done a lot of indie projects with the engine that are worth looking up.

Another one I enjoy is "Haunted Nukem." It's basically "What if Blood except Duke" but you can't really go wrong with Blood.


It's never really talked about much, and I'll admit it might not be anything ultra special, but for some reason I've always really loved the oft-forgotten Lost Highway level pack.



If something more official is your cup of tea, check out Fox's Duke 64 and Total Meltdown mods, which are faithful recreations of their respective ports of Duke 3D, including the PSX exclusive episode Plug N Pray.


For gameplay mods, my personal favorite remains Nuclear Showdown. It adds some new weapons, features a few balance tweaks, and a long custom episode of some modified user maps. It's also compatible with a lot of vanilla user maps.

On the topic of user maps, one can't talk about good Duke maps without bringing up the legendary Roch and Red series. Roch Island and Clear the Coast are also worthy spiritual successors. The ADG series is also really good, and even got a new entry recently.

If you want something more recent, you can't go wrong with Gambini's "It Lives." It's pure black magic for what it accomplishes without any external files or coding. You should also check out the "Shaky Grounds" series, comprised of two entries so far: Apocollapse, and Tragedy.

"Operation Get Bike Back" is a pretty good map, as well. There's also the ABBA trilogy, comprised of Toxicity, Alien Planet X64-2, and Another Big Base Attacked.


I should point out I'm running a dinosaur of a machine, and these all run fine on mine (using the 8-bit classic renderer, except in cases like Duke 64.)

[Danukem]

Those are some good recommendations, Ninety-Six. I have played all of those except for Eddy's dream series.

I think you would also like Duke Forces and War of Attrition, if you haven't tried those. And yes, that is a shameless plug, but what the hell.

[Ninety-Six]

 Trooper Dan, on 04 May 2018 - 05:51 PM, said:

Those are some good recommendations, Ninety-Six. I have played all of those except for Eddy's dream series.

I think you would also like Duke Forces and War of Attrition, if you haven't tried those. And yes, that is a shameless plug, but what the hell.

I haven't yet, so I can't vouch for either of these.

Spoiler

Duke Forces has been on my radar for a long time, as a fan of its namesake. But I haven't risked trying it yet because I'm not sure if it requires Polymer or not. On a dinosaur, polymer does not like me. I mean it's clearly not 8-bit compatible, but I'm just not sure if it means it's Polymost-safe or polymer-required.

War of Attrition I stayed away from, so I never actually checked out the ModDB page. Seeing it now, I think perhaps my initial exposure to it wasn't the best representation of it. Case in point: I was unaware of the enemies scaling with the weapons, improved AI, the custom levels, and the other little tidbits mentioned. Now I'm actually more interested, and maybe I'll give it a shot...

Spoiler

Also you can just call me 96 and spare your fingers the trouble. I won't mind.

Since I'm making a new post, let's make it worth it:

I will confirm that Starship Troopers is pretty damn good. It's an older one and I still think it holds up for the most part. And the kicker is I've never seen the film or read the books. I know pretty much nothing about the franchise and I had no issues playing it. Pretty sure I missed out on the greater story, but the smaller story of "crash on planet get rescued go to more places and shoot things" is pretty easy to grasp.

AvP is a pretty good TC. Though heed that warning about playing this game in the dark. That's not just for atmosphere. This game is dark. It's also really hard. Not for everyone, but I enjoyed it. It also has a sequel but I haven't played it yet.

DukeVR is a really short mod, but if you like puzzles you'll probably enjoy this one.


I'm surprised that the AMC TC hasn't been mentioned yet in this thread. I personally haven't played it for myself as of now, but it's one of those mods that gets the attention of other gaming communities. Take that as you will.

And yes, eDuke32 is the best Duke source port. It's also kind of the only one, anymore.

[Danukem]

 Ninety-Six, on 04 May 2018 - 06:22 PM, said:

Duke Forces has been on my radar for a long time, as a fan of its namesake. But I haven't risked trying it yet because I'm not sure if it requires Polymer or not.

It does not. Use polymost. You can use Polymer for the light effects, but it's not necessary.

[Ninety-Six]

 Trooper Dan, on 04 May 2018 - 06:24 PM, said:

It does not. Use polymost. You can use Polymer for the light effects, but it's not necessary.

Excellent. Then I will definitely give it a try in the near future.

[Danukem]

 Ninety-Six, on 04 May 2018 - 06:22 PM, said:

I'm surprised that the AMC TC hasn't been mentioned yet in this thread. I personally haven't played it for myself as of now, but it's one of those mods that gets the attention of other gaming communities. Take that as you will.

AMC TC certainly belongs on a short list of the greatest games or TCs ever made for the BUILD engine. I can't think of another that has more high-quality content. It might be a bit overwhelming for some people, though, since there is so much to do and so much to learn.

[Micky C]

 Ninety-Six, on 04 May 2018 - 06:22 PM, said:

I'm surprised that the AMC TC hasn't been mentioned yet in this thread. I personally haven't played it for myself as of now, but it's one of those mods that gets the attention of other gaming communities. Take that as you will.

The AMC TC was mentioned in the third post, although it was kind of buried along with a lot of other suggestions.

The AMC TC is arguably the most ambitious Duke TC, as it's been under development more or less continuously for 10 years now, has by far the largest amount of new assets, a lot of world building, and a large variety of detailed levels. Episode 3 is going to mix things up further. The light RPG elements add a lot of depth IMO, but they can be ignored for those who want a super-casual experience. Still, the elements are quite straightforward to use, and mostly happen between levels.

Of course, I may be biased since I'm one of the developers, but I only joined the team for Episode 2 onward.

[Phredreeke]

Since it hasn't been mentioned yet, Duke Nukem Total Meltdown TC for its exclusive episode, as well as Duke Nukem 64 TC.

[Green]

Considered by many as one of the finest modifications ever created for Duke Nukem 3D. I cannot give a high enough recommendation for this extraordinary work of art!

[Ninety-Six]

 Green, on 05 May 2018 - 01:26 AM, said:

Considered by many as one of the finest modifications ever created for Duke Nukem 3D. I cannot give a high enough recommendation for this extraordinary work of art!

i have never been more terrified yet enthralled in my entire life

[Perro Seco]

People here are always talking about the same three or four TCs/mods.

What about some variety; I enjoyed Borg Nukem and Redrum: The Shining II a lot, and I still replay them sometimes.

Also I want to name the recently released Mr The Killer. Not everyone will like the cartoonish style, but originality is strong there.

[Kerr Avon]

Thanks for all the great replies, everyone. I'll give them all a try.

[NNC]

Last Reaction and Water Bases is easily the best, well the second episode at least. Last Reaction episode starts with some questionable levels with oversizing/too much darkness/mazey layout/lack of ammo stuff, but it picks up massively in the second half, while the second episode (Water Bases) is still the most commercial quality thing I've ever played for Duke.

Duke Nukem Forever 2013 would be my second pick, but you've heard that one.

[NNC]

I'm wondering what the OP's prime interest:

1. Gameplay mods with no new episodes/levels but advanced weapon/enemy settings, more effects etc

or

2. Vintage classic style episodes with some new content (or without, there were episodes that used only the vanilla content only)

or

3. Total Conversions, which means new episodes with brand new enemies, weapons, art, sounds etc.

[Ninety-Six]

 Nancsi, on 06 May 2018 - 12:16 PM, said:

I'm wondering what the OP's prime interest:

1. Gameplay mods with no new episodes/levels but advanced weapon/enemy settings, more effects etc

or

2. Vintage classic style episodes with some new content (or without, there were episodes that used only the vanilla content only)

or

3. Total Conversions, which means new episodes with brand new enemies, weapons, art, sounds etc.

Given the OP itself, 2 and 3 definitely seem to be what they had in mind, but hey, OP has options if they want 1 too.

[Jimmy]

Here's some good classic maps and mods. Most of these are late 90s and early 2000s, so while they're a bit dated I think they deserve a chance. There's plenty of great modern stuff too, but I feel like these guys get left out a lot more than they should just for being old or maybe people don't remember them or never played them in the first place. These are in no real order and some are better than others. So just search and feel them out and see which you might like most.

Mods:
Starship Troopers
Grins of Divinity
AMC TC
Last Reaction & Waterbases/Chimera
DNF 2013
God of War
Imagination World
Alien Vs Predator TC
Age of Evil


Maps:
Fruit Loops and Leaving L.A. by C3PO
Needle Time (St. Duke Hospital) and _balley by Alias Conrad Coldwood
Streets of Gotham City by Daniel Aashage
Damned Dam by Jawon Lee
Escape From An Unknown Street by Filip
FbSp00* series by Geoffrey van Dijk/Fakir/FakirBaba
Russian Missile Base by Jason Bredhauer
Freedom by Kevin Cools
The Restless Resort, MpPower, Waterworld, Suspicious Storage, and Crucial Conflict Episode by Maarten Pinxten
Factory and New York Plaza by Michael and Robert Caraballo
City of Screams by Nut Wrench
The System: Opposing Facility by Ryan Rouse
Anything by Salacius Crumb
Jungle Factory by Semicharm
Jungle Tour 3 by Stephano Lessa
The Starlite Project by Stranger
Dark Alley, Canyon City and City at Night by Vedran Jelenic
Bobafett by Mike Beaulieu
Condemned and Overkill by James Duncan
ADG Episode and Blackened by Alejandro Glavic
BobSP Series by Bob Averill
Roch Series by Pascal Rouaud
Anything by Billy Boy
Docking Doom by Girl_Online
Traffic Jam and Slums of L.A. by Olivier Boucher
The Aztec Ruins by Peter Williams
Nitefall by Gabriel Sheets
Decay by Radon
Daikarin episode by Gabriele R. Giaminardi
Red series by Merlijn Oostrum
2121 A.D. by Bob Masters
Extermination by Juha "Turpuli" Laaksonen
Overtime and Anarchy City series by Aymeric Nocus/MRCK
Tropical Alien Massacre by Rob Wijkstra/Highwire
Sewers and Strippers by Rob Wijkstra/Highwire and Geoffrey Van Dijk/Fakir/FakirBaba

[NNC]

Traffic Jam is my favourite user map ever. It had a flow and design that - with some polish - could fit into the 3rd or 4th episode of Duke. Actually the second half is strongly based on a LameDuke level.

Other favourites:

Daikarin episode (though it gets worse when you go into the medieval parts)

ADG episode

Red 3

V5 - Moonland

Suburbia, Doomcity

A Dream (first level only, and with the fixed sound effects)

Russian Missile Base, Underwater Sub Base and Snow Base by Bredhauer (there is an episodic format in NightFright's collection)

The Lost Highway episode (with map3 underwater bug being fixed again in NF's collection)

Reichskanzlei

Cosik

[Ninety-Six]

 Nancsi, on 07 May 2018 - 12:10 AM, said:

The Lost Highway episode (with map3 underwater bug being fixed again in NF's collection)

Is it really? I might have to get that, then...

Spoiler

Also more Lost Highway love yay

[NNC]

 Ninety-Six, on 07 May 2018 - 06:27 AM, said:

Is it really? I might have to get that, then...

Spoiler

Also more Lost Highway love yay

I think the SE was changed to 23 from 7, and you can't enter the area below anymore.

[NightFright]

Which was the only solution that worked. Without that, you would be stuck in an infinite loop underwater inevitably. There's no need to dive back down in that area, anyway.

[Jblade]

I fixed that bug just by connecting the two via a TROR layer, that fixes the bug and lets you move up and down that bit freely.

[NightFright]

If you have this fixed third "Lost Highway" map, can you maybe send it to me (or post it here) so it can be included in a future release of the addon compilation? (If possible, please also explain in detail what you did to fix the issue since I like to include detailed info about fixes in the readme.)

[Jblade]

If I get time I'll do it but I'm a bit stretched at the minute.