[Merlijn]

Hi there,

here's Shaky Grounds part 3: Epicenter! (and here are links to part 1 and part 2, in case you haven't played them yet).
It continues right where the last part left off. Skill settings, as always, are present.

You finally know why Froyd Eenakee is after you and the human race, and you know there's a very big ticking clock looming above your head.
Luckily, in his arrogance he was stupid enough to let you go. You made your way out of the alien hive back on the streets, so there's no time to loose.

Try to reach 'The Kompleks', descent into the epicenter of the quake and find the doomsday device before it strikes again!




Additional credits to Maarten for mixing/producing the soundtrack and Jblade35 for providing bookem03.voc
Have fun!

Attached File(s)

•  sg3epicenter.zip (10.83MB)
  Number of downloads: 551

[Radar]

Epic.

[Ninety-Six]

Oh hell yes. I've been waiting for this!

I will definitely be playing this (alongside replaying the first two entries again) later tonight.

Congrats on the release! Another Oostrum map is always a good time.

[Aleks]

That's great news! I've just finished playing the first part for the first time, planning to complete part 2 tomorrow and part 3 on Saturday - it's just too much awesomeness for a single day... I will try to write a massive review of the whole thing when I finish - for now I'm too busy collecting my jaw from the floor after the epic first part.

[Dr.Panico]

So i've just finished it. I gotta be frank with you...

Spoiler

...this is the best Duke3D map i've played in a long time. I dare to say it's better than Red 5. The second half was just one heart-stopping surprise after another. If anyone reading this haven't played this yet, DO IT!

Should you ever consider a career as a profesisonal level designer, you're more than qualified. The atmosphere, the design, the events - all top quality. Can't wait for Part 4!!!

[gibfrag]

I have just downloaded all three parts, and will edit this post with my thoughts once I've finished playing!

[ck3D]

Dr.Panico, on 27 August 2020 - 11:13 AM, said:

I dare to say it's better than Red 5.

What's crazy to keep in mind though is how Red 5 conformed to the OG limits of the Build engine - so everything it achieved, it did it with a quarter of the resources this new map (and most new maps) use. I can't believe it's been 15 years since Red 5 came out, and actually until now I had completely forgotten that I also beta-tested it back then, which blows my mind.

Now Merlijn already knows what I think of this new offering and it's too early for spoilers still, but what I can say is it's an excellent Duke map. I also want to play all three maps in a row now, and probably will when I can find the time - sounds like one healthy marathon.

[Merlijn]

Man, keeping Red5 under the OG limits was a pain in the ass haha. I still remember the struggle. XD

Thanks for your comments Dr.Panico! Glad you liked it so much.
As for becoming a professional, I don't know.. My only credentials are build engine related.

@Aleks (and the others): that's ok, take your time haha. Playing all 3 maps in one go might be a bit overwhelming.

[William Gee]

Played it again, nice track!
Seemed a bit more challenging this time than the beta test. (y) Love it specially the ending! Amazing architecture and landscapes!

[Aleks]

First I'd like to point out how criminally too little attention this thread is getting – these are one of the best user maps series I have ever played, up on the top at the same level as Roch and… well… Red series. I highly recommend it to everyone. Each level took me a good 50 minutes to finish, but I never intended to speed run – no point for that when there's so much eye-candy and neat stuff to see!

So, here's the review of the whole series from me – while they're still fresh for me. I have put the review of each level into spoiler in case too much plot is explained within these reviews – this is especially important with the newest level of course, as it's still fresh of the Mapster.

Part 1:

Spoiler

I was really impressed by the size of this map alone. One of the biggest and most positive surprises for me was when I actually reached the Cool Arts & Culture at the end, while at the beginning I was pretty sure it's just a landscaping, unreachable location (perhaps linking to the 2nd part). The map was making great use of both horizontal and vertical dimensions (loved the jumping part near the end, after reaching the mall's glass roof). It's also great how there's the usual van Oostrum super-creative use of textures, with many different palettes, yet the map visually feels very consistent with great atmosphere.

Gameplay wise, it was pretty smooth – my favorite parts battle-wise was in the underground parking lot and the final battle with "timed" respawns. Secrets were nicely scattered around the map, with a very classic feel – nothing too complex, most of them were reasonable to find without too much hassle. I admired the most how the whole structure of the map got connected and looked really good together despite its complexity, the scale alone was astonishing!

Design wise, it's hard to really say any part stands out, because everything was pretty much at the same, great level – thought I really liked the ambience made by the bus/truck in the flooded tunnel at the beginning with its lights pointing the way. The beginning took me by surprise at first – I got squished before realizing what's going on, because I stared like a duck at the collapsing buildings… I also spent a while just wandering around the town after clearing the first batch of enemies and before finding the blue key, because of how nice it looked. The town map was cool too, I see you've been planning that cheese market for years!

And great job with the music, it fit the map really well and actually I liked it more than the original Sneaky Snake. All in all, a really great experience, perfectly balanced both gameplay-wise and design-wise.

Part 2:

Spoiler

Awesome continuation, the continuity and consequence in the look of both maps was so great that I kept poking around the corners of the visible landscape, hoping to see some familiar buildings (or rather their remains) from part 1. Here the obvious highlight of the map was collapsed corpo building laying sideways. Design-wise it was one of the very best and most impressive things I've seen in a Duke map, amazing job! I imagine how precise the planning had to be alone to pull something like that, considering the complexity of the whole thing along with the underwater parts!

Gameplay was awesome as usually too, with a couple of trickier parts (on the roof after escaping Cool and of course the final long battle with hordes of aliens which was great fun). The Battlelords on the main square were fun too, but they were quite easy as there was a lot of room for cover (especially in the Happy Hipster). Besides the general gameplay, I really liked the "mission feeling" in this one applied through the use of messages. Going through the map was quite smooth without any difficult puzzles at all and some nice gimmicks once again (like jumping on the walls in collapsed building). Still took me quite a while to finish because of how "inviting" the level was for exploration out of the main route.

Nice "BobSP" effect with printed Cycloid head. Secrets were once again very nicely scattered, some of them quite intuitive. Found the "secret shortcut" too, although that was quite an evil one I also really liked the props room with the small doors in set elements that could be opened. Design of the main square was also very good, boosting the overall "openness" feeling of the level. Funny posters and references as usual (same goes for the first map) – with so many Hamlet references, in a few years people will be getting their literature degrees based on analysis of your maps!

Liked the tune as well this time, but after playing the map for a while it got a little distracting because of being more complex than usually I think.

Side note: Could Tea Rex be somehow linked to aliens? That's the second time (after – or chronologically maybe before – Woudrichem War) they play their gig in the place attacked by aliens. Is it a coincidence? I don't think so…

Part 3:

Spoiler

It's hard to find more words for compliments after 2 previous level – but you're really seem to be outdoing yourself each time with these (OK not really – I loved all 3 levels and it would be impossible for me to pick my favorite out of them actually ). It was really cool how that diagonal collapsed building at the beginning was just somewhere there far in the background, not distracting or being the main attraction, but just an integral part of the landscape. A lot of nice architecture and details in the first part, then…

Boom! That collapse was really intense and surprising, and a really cool fight right after that – I tried to stay behind the building not to wake the Battlelords, but still one of them managed to attack and actually almost caught me on the flank. It was all pretty straightforward from then, but that's good due to lots of scripted sequences – I could almost feel the tension of all these ongoing earthquakes and time running out for my escape! Also I can't remember the last time I used pistol so much in Duke – there was a lot of sniping those damn troopers over long distances. And a nice touch making steroids an actual plot device here – I and probably most people don't use them too often outside multiplayer and I don't really see them that often in user maps these days, so no bumping into one immediately lit a light in my head – "ah, gotta run!".

The design of the final part was great, with the map "folded" in half (although I admire the constructors of that tall building in the "top right corner", their structure managed to withstand getting tipped without collapsing/breaking! ). That's definitely something you don't see often in Duke and after clearing the streets, I took a while to again just observe all that goodness. Reminded me a bit of old map "Bizarre" by Bob Masters which had an Escher-esque building with gravity changing, but this here was done on a much larger scale and without any gravity tricks.

Once again, great track – very dark and it had a lot more depressive feeling than the previous 2 ones, but I think it fitted the theme and plot of the level best. It gave me chills in one moment, when the most "ominous" part played right when I entered that greenish alien hall at the first alien structure.

Two small issues I noticed:
RPV's at the beginning seem to get stuck at one point – not sure how often this happen, but I had 3-4 of them just stacked on the spritework at the edge of the canal, so taking them out was like fishing in a barrel.
The new sound didn't play for me at first, I had to manually change its file type from .ogg to .voc, but then it worked fine.

Side note update: Of course they must be linked to aliens – those were Enforcers in dinosaur costumes! And I was wondering about that dino dude when looking up your video on Youtube…

BTW, hello, William Gee! Didn't know you're still around Duke community, what a nice surprise!

[ck3D]

Aleks, on 29 August 2020 - 11:18 AM, said:

BTW, hello, William Gee! Didn't know you're still around Duke community, what a nice surprise!

https://forums.duke4...throne-trailer/

[Aleks]

ck3D, on 29 August 2020 - 12:05 PM, said:

https://forums.duke4...throne-trailer/

Hahaha, yeah, just downloaded the mod earlier today, that trailer looks incredible (especially the flying ship part)! Few weeks ago I actually found some old beta of first WG Realms from around 2005 on my old computer Now that's quite some progress since then...

[gibfrag]

I really enjoyed this trilogy. I really hope you plan to add maybe 1-3 more maps to this series. I like the use of earthquake effects and the level design is amazing. Many have said it reminds them of some of the Roch levels, and I can see where that is coming from. Very expansive maps that seem to get more hectic as you progress through the series. The continuation between maps definitely gives this a feeling that it is an episode of its own, and if you decided to combine them as an episode once you’ve completed this series, I think it would be very effective. I would say my ranking would be 3, 1, and 2. That doesn’t mean I don’t like the second map, I just preferred this one and the very first one the most. I’ll definitely replay through these quite often, because I think I could get a better score the second time around and find some of the secrets I missed.

[Merlijn]

Quote

The new sound didn't play for me at first, I had to manually change its file type from .ogg to .voc, but then it worked fine.

Thanks for flagging this, I screwed up by adding the wrong file to the zip
I've attached a ZIP with the correct voc.file in it, could a mod update the original post with it?

Attached File(s)

•  sg3epicenter.zip (11.4MB)
  Number of downloads: 262

[Maarten]

Just played the final product (have seen this from the start haha) - it's probably my favorite of the 3 maps yet. Love the balance of action/adventure and the fact you can still surprise everyone with just the original build engine (save for the fact we've better systems + engine limits now).
I think this your best design work as well, every building looks great!

Recroding & mixing the music was fun and really fits the map.

Go play this map peeps!!

[Radar]

Remember that Red 5 even runs on DOS. It is a user map for Duke Nukem 3D in the "purest" sense. Most maps nowadays are bound to EDuke32's extended limits. Kind of like how a McLaren F1 is one of the fastest cars in the world with only 600 horsepower and a naturally aspirated engine. But turboed or supercharged muscle cars with 700+ hp don't get anywhere close. Kind of like that.

[Sanek]

Congrats on the release, Merlijn!
I'll play this when I'll have time, which is not the case right now.

I would play this map a lot sooner if I'd be a beta-tester like the previous times but I didn't ask to be one so ummmmm

[NightFright]

Just played all three maps and must say: Boy, what a ride. These are hands down some of the best user maps released during the last few years. Visually spectacular, with pleasing gameplay and custom music that gives you goosebumps. Not gonna lie, the finale of "Epicenter" left me with my jaw dropping to the floor. At first I couldn't even realize what I was looking at until I took a few steps back and looked at the scene in its entirety. I was just like: "No way he pulled this off, no f'ing way!" It's as close as we may ever get having an "Inception" moment in Build, ladies and gentlemen!

No idea how you want to top this off in the last map, but man... if that's not a job well done, I dunno. Hats off!

[Paul B]

Hi Merlijn,

I'll try to make this short. I'm not too sure how I feel about this last map... you left very little room for improvement. Good job!

[Ninety-Six]

I'm going to put most of this in spoilers since most of my opinions relate to....stuff.

Spoiler

First off, I want to apologize for taking so long; stuff got in the way and as such I struggled to find time to play the first two again like I wanted.

In the end though, I found the time and I'm glad I did. It really made the whole adventure feel like a journey, and made the ultimate payoff feel that much more impactful.

And what hell of a payoff it was! I remember while playing through this map thinking to myself "for the epicenter this doesn't seem all that destroyed, especially compared to the last two". Now I see why. You saved it all for the end. That was one of the best sequences of large-scale destruction I've seen in the Build engine for a while. Since the opening bit of the first map in this series actually, now that I think on it.

But ironically, I think it's the final area that had the most distinctive destruction scene. The one that was nothing but very simple geometry with some long shadows. But in the context of the plot, in the context of the complete destruction of the city immediately prior, with the red lightning illuminating the area and sky for brief flashes... and the Komplecks being the one and only thing still standing intact amongst the ruins. it really sold the idea that everything within 50 miles was indeed obliterated.

Honestly it kind of reminded me of the aftermath of the big destruction scene from Independence Day, and I mean that in a good way.

Since I brought up the plot, I may as well comment on it. That was actually a really well executed twist. I like how it took the villain's typical dumb behavior and gave it a purpose. You could still argue it was dumb, but it at least served a distinct purpose in this case. Yeah I know, Duke plots don't matter much but between this and the Red series, it's about as good as it gets without taking away from the Duke Nukem part.


All in all this was a superb map and another exemplary entry into the Oostrum legacy. I eagerly await the final part. There were a few comments comparing this map to Red5, and I can see why. I myself find it hard to pick a favorite between the two maps, though I think as a series I prefer Red, but that's just because I prefer the atmosphere. Not to say that Shaky Grounds or even this map doesn't have atmosphere. Quite the contrary, it has a lot of atmosphere (just a different kind that I think comes down solely to personal preference over which someone likes more, since in terms of execution there is no criticism to be had). Even the less-destroyed nature of the map at first sort of adds to the atmosphere and the upcoming twist, since it does look a bit out of place for being the epicenter. It creates a sense of "wrong" that is only enhanced by the soundtrack, being a blend of sinister and melancholic that perfectly encapsulates the events within.

On the topic of music, the song, or at least a part of it, sounded really familiar and I admit it sorta drove me nuts the whole time trying to figure it out.

[Merlijn]

Thanks all, for your comments! I really appreciate the fact that some of you guys decided to play the whole series again. As I've said before, it's 1 story/mission split into different chapters.

@Gerolf:

Quote

The continuation between maps definitely gives this a feeling that it is an episode of its own, and if you decided to combine them as an episode once you’ve completed this series, I think it would be very effective.

That's essentially the plan. The next release will not be just SG4, but the whole series as an episode (which will include the 3 released maps, SG4 and a boss map).

@Aleks: thanks for your detailed review of each part! You may be on to something with Tea Rex, it's suspicious to say the least.
As for the RPV's in map 3, they sometimes get stuck when there's an enemy below them. It's not the design or the spritework, as far as I can tell.

Spoiler

Also I'm glad people pick up on the steroids part. That was the part I was unsure of the most

@Sanek: I switch between beta testers from time to time, please don't take it personally.

@Ninety-six

Quote

On the topic of music, the song, or at least a part of it, sounded really familiar and I admit it sorta drove me nuts the whole time trying to figure it out.

The piano part may remind you of Tubular bells (the creepy piano motif that's also used in The exorcist).

Spoiler

Quote

And what hell of a payoff it was! I remember while playing through this map thinking to myself "for the epicenter this doesn't seem all that destroyed, especially compared to the last two". Now I see why. You saved it all for the end. That was one of the best sequences of large-scale destruction I've seen in the Build engine for a while. Since the opening bit of the first map in this series actually, now that I think on it.

This was exactly my intention Giving you a false sense of security in the first half and then let all hell break loose in the second half. Ending with the complete destruction of everything.

[Sanek]

Merlijn, on 31 August 2020 - 12:22 PM, said:

@Sanek: I switch between beta testers from time to time, please don't take it personally.

Ahh don't worry. Who do you think I am, Sanek circa 2008?

Just checked out - it's been 3 years since the release of the previous map already, gddamn.

[Radar]

This map really blew me away. Especially some of these shots with perspective correct rendering:

Spoiler

[ck3D]

mrline got Mikko'd: https://msdn.duke4.n...otepicenter.php

[max_nukem]

Merlijn,
amazing map with unique architecture, thanks!

[comorbidity]

I just played through the three maps and was pleasantly surprised; real quality work!

Just a heads-up for anyone playing on GNU/Linux or any other unix-like OS - the filename for the music track needs to match the same case as the map filename. I didn't bother changing the filename to match on my playthrough and didn't have the music track for Part 3 playing; the other releasese were just fine.

bookem03.ogg played, though.

[slacker1]

comorbidity, on 02 September 2020 - 09:35 AM, said:

I just played through the three maps and was pleasantly surprised; real quality work!

Just a heads-up for anyone playing on GNU/Linux or any other unix-like OS - the filename for the music track needs to match the same case as the map filename. I didn't bother changing the filename to match on my playthrough and didn't have the music track for Part 3 playing; the other releasese were just fine.

bookem03.ogg played, though.

Yeah. Had to do the same here on Ubuntu. I started the level and heard the regular dethtoll.mid and figured something was up. I went back and changed the file name and it worked fine.

I really enjoyed the map! I ended up getting crushed at one point because I was too preoccupied watching the city through the window. I also thought how the map concludes was done really well. (Won't spoil anything).

[Merlijn]

Thanks again for your comments! I didn't know the Ogg was case sensitive on some systems, thanks guys for pointing that out. That will definitely be fixed in the final release.

I'm glad Mikko liked the map as well and gave it 98 points!
Perhaps it's a bit strange to say, but getting a stamp of approval from Mikko still feels like an accomplishment lol.

As for the lack of big shadows in the first outdoor section, I tried to compensate for that with some really dramatic lightning and shadows in the indoor sections.

Spoiler

and the ending of course, which may actually be my favorite part of the map

Quote

Just checked out - it's been 3 years since the release of the previous map already, gddamn.

Yes, I was also shocked when I realized that! Time sure does fly.
Although I've made several contributions to Alien Armageddon in the mean time, it's not like I was doing nothing.

[Aleks]

Merlijn, on 03 September 2020 - 09:02 AM, said:

I'm glad Mikko liked the map as well and gave it 98 points!
Perhaps it's a bit strange to say, but getting a stamp of approval from Mikko still feels like an accomplishment lol.

Well deserved score, and as for the 2nd part - it seems understandable as MSDN has been consistent in its reviews for like 20 years already and most of the rating are quite justified and reflect the quality of the maps. Personally I've been always using it as some sort of "benchmark" for Duke levels.

[ck3D]

Here's my review for CGS, should be up here http://www.scent-88....aky3/shaky3.php soon:

"Very rare are Duke 3D user maps so chockfull of surprises that the mere act of writing a simple review risks instantly slipping into spoiler category. And Shaky Grounds Pt. 3: Epicenter just so happens to be one of those (urban-themed) pieces that tells its own story - or its own chapter of the story more specifically here - as written by longtime Build engine narration legend from the Netherlands, Merlijn Van Oostrum.

The author not only lives up to his legacy here with more stellar design, clever texture applications and good taste as far as general visuals, but also pushes it even further in terms of gameplay flow - navigation is made clear from the beginning to the end of the level, ensuring you'll never get stuck despite the existence of a constructed plot, but also dotted with moments of build up then release. It's hard to think of any map since Red 4 and Red 5 (not coincidentally also by Merlijn) with such a progressive sense of immersion - here your whole ride will be punctuated by atmospheric moments of tension and bouts of all possible kinds of action, including some particularly ambitious explosive surprises (jack-in-the-box style - except your brain will be the box).

Just like the previous installments in the series, Shaky Grounds Pt. 3: Epicenter is a magnificently-crafted city map but also and most importantly, one of the evolutive kind that's only too rarely seen. Here you can literally expect the urban landscape to move around you as you go, and lots of thinking and technical effort has been put into the implementation of a ridiculous amount of effects to make sure your time in this map will feel so coherent and live, with some surreal props thrown in for good measure; for brief moments you won't be sure on which side of the screen you belong: 'here you go weird' as a certain saying goes, but only the best kind of.

If around the time of its release, Duke 3D was popularly regarded as a more interactive Doom, then the whole Shaky Grounds series so far can similarly be viewed as a more dynamic Roch. If ever needed, with that map set, Merlijn reminds us all that pseudo-realistic, complex (or Kompleks?) environments don't have to be static, and discourage authors from using terrain effects that originally made a lot of the strength of the Build engine - if anything, they may in fact make for just as many opportunities to push them, thereby inviting the exploration of new dimensions in Duke 3D mapping as opposed to repeating old tropes. Each and every installment is a piece of art and instant classic.

Score: 98"