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DNF #1
Duke 3D #1
Looks like you are playing an outdated version of the addon then, mate. I can tell you that v1.1 doesn't have that needless red keycard any more.
Update to v1.1 now (downtown.grp, 0.4 MB) from the EDuke32 Addon Compilation repository.
By Preto Murara: "Downtown Journey" episode on Mod DB
- The Truth is in here
-
#31 Posted 29 January 2021 - 02:30 AM
This post has been edited by NightFright: 29 January 2021 - 02:31 AM
#32 Posted 01 February 2021 - 07:20 PM
NightFright, on 29 January 2021 - 02:30 AM, said:
Looks like you are playing an outdated version of the addon then, mate. I can tell you that v1.1 doesn't have that needless red keycard any more.
Update to v1.1 now (downtown.grp, 0.4 MB) from the EDuke32 Addon Compilation repository.
Update to v1.1 now (downtown.grp, 0.4 MB) from the EDuke32 Addon Compilation repository.
Finished the episode before I saw this. Anyway, cool episode, enjoyed it.
Spoiler
This post has been edited by duke3d.exe: 01 February 2021 - 07:20 PM
#33 Posted 02 February 2021 - 05:11 AM
NightFright, on 29 January 2021 - 02:30 AM, said:
Update to v1.1 now (downtown.grp, 0.4 MB) from the EDuke32 Addon Compilation repository.
I've copied "downtown.grp" to the "addons" directory and added an entry to the "addons.grpinfo" file, but get the message "CON file downtown.con missing".
Without the scriptname entry the addon doesn't get loaded and when I try to open "downtown.grp" in GRP Viewer the result is "format not supported".
Can't figure out what I'm doing wrong at the moment
Loading the ModDB version as a user map works, though.
[Edit]
I've downloaded the complete "addons" directory off MEGA and none of the grp files I've tried can be opened in GRP Viewer.
Their file sizes are also completely different from the ones in v3.14.
[/Edit]
This post has been edited by X-Vector: 02 February 2021 - 06:18 AM
- The Truth is in here
-
#34 Posted 03 February 2021 - 12:59 PM
Plot twist: They are not really groupfiles, but zipfiles with .grp ending. Just like Ion Fury. That's how you save 50% filesize, which is over 1GB in case you download the entire compilation.
Please get the v4.0 base download. You will save yourself a lot of needless effort:
https://mega.nz/file...N6uTNYKwCkcynD4
Then you get downtown.grp and place it into your "addons" folder and launch addons.bat after that.
Please get the v4.0 base download. You will save yourself a lot of needless effort:
https://mega.nz/file...N6uTNYKwCkcynD4
Then you get downtown.grp and place it into your "addons" folder and launch addons.bat after that.
This post has been edited by NightFright: 03 February 2021 - 01:06 PM
#35 Posted 15 February 2021 - 11:50 AM
Hello, all.
Props to Preto for a kick-ass set of maps. Bus Depot and Office Rush are my favorites, but Mess Mall is up there too.
I am the "Youtube guy" making videos (thanks for the promotion, ck3D). Yes, I am going to do a playthrough of the full episode. I had to delete the two videos previously posted here because the audio was badly out of sync. I have reuploaded fixed versions, and I have set up a playlist on Youtube which covers the levels through E5L5.
Props to Preto for a kick-ass set of maps. Bus Depot and Office Rush are my favorites, but Mess Mall is up there too.
I am the "Youtube guy" making videos (thanks for the promotion, ck3D). Yes, I am going to do a playthrough of the full episode. I had to delete the two videos previously posted here because the audio was badly out of sync. I have reuploaded fixed versions, and I have set up a playlist on Youtube which covers the levels through E5L5.
This post has been edited by Sir Swaggage: 15 February 2021 - 11:50 AM
#36 Posted 16 February 2021 - 04:56 PM
NightFright, on 18 November 2020 - 01:39 PM, said:
Just pointing out here that Preto made an updated version of this addon which is right now exclusively part of the Addon Compilation 4.0 pre-release:
https://forums.duke4.../page__st__1050
Especially the keycards in levels 3, 6 and 7 are easier to find now, improving gameflow considerably.
https://forums.duke4.../page__st__1050
Especially the keycards in levels 3, 6 and 7 are easier to find now, improving gameflow considerably.
Hey, NightFright and/or Preto!
I am having a couple issues with v1.1. Are these just me?
Spoiler
The metro line is definitely fixed, though. Movement is much freer and progression is clearer now. I also dug the changes to New Stadium.
#37 Posted 16 February 2021 - 05:24 PM
Yo !
I am having a couple issues with v1.1. Are these just me?
E5L1: yes, you're missing something
haha
E5L6: Sometimes it happens with duke3d buttons but it works fine for me (at least in MS-DOS version it works,
but you can try another way to get there, maybe you can find a dollar bill in a book or something like this haha.
I am having a couple issues with v1.1. Are these just me?
E5L1: yes, you're missing something
hahaE5L6: Sometimes it happens with duke3d buttons but it works fine for me (at least in MS-DOS version it works,
but you can try another way to get there, maybe you can find a dollar bill in a book or something like this
haha.
#38 Posted 16 February 2021 - 07:47 PM
Preto Murara, on 16 February 2021 - 05:24 PM, said:
Yo !
I am having a couple issues with v1.1. Are these just me?
E5L1: yes, you're missing something haha
E5L6: Sometimes it happens with duke3d buttons but it works fine for me (at least in MS-DOS version it works,
but you can try another way to get there, maybe you can find a dollar bill in a book or something like this haha.
I am having a couple issues with v1.1. Are these just me?
E5L1: yes, you're missing something
hahaE5L6: Sometimes it happens with duke3d buttons but it works fine for me (at least in MS-DOS version it works,
but you can try another way to get there, maybe you can find a dollar bill in a book or something like this
haha.Hey thanks!
Spoiler
#39 Posted 01 June 2021 - 06:00 PM
Finally went through and beat this today.
It was an enjoyable experience, overall. The texture work and application was very clever, and was able to create really good vanilla-esque locations that were unexplored in the base game, without going into the uberdetail of the Roch style (not that there's anything wrong with that approach. It's just all the more impressive here because of taking the simpler route but having the same idea come across).
Gameplay I'd say was above-average for the most part. I actually won't echo the complaints of the levels being too "cramped," as I found that to not be an issue so much myself. That said I can see how it might. It feels like these levels were built with a player that doesn't have autorun on all the time in mind, such as myself. I've always found it hard to manuever Duke around if he is set to always run, since he spends a not-insignificant portion of his time indoors where the space usually doesn't support going at max speed 100% of the time. The only time I had issue with the allotted space was a single T-junction in Bus Depot.
To those who do use always run, I suggest turning that off for this episode and seeing if that makes things a bit more enjoyable.
The combat was well balanced, but I would say definitely on the easy side. It was extremely rare to see even an enforcer, let alone higher-tier enemies. In fact there is literally only one battlelord in the entire thing. There was also just an abundance of rockets, and I never ran out of them. In fact I was at 50 rockets for most of the playthrough.
I would like to note I tackled this saveless, meaning if I died I would be pistol starting the level. ...which never happened because I didn't die. Got close a few times, admittedly. Moreso in the starting levels than anything, for whatever reason.
I also went for 100% completion, so I went looking for all secrets and getting all kills. Funnily enough, while there was a surplus of rockets, there was a dearth of chaingun ammo. It existed but it ran out fast. I wouldn't say it was ever a gamebreaker as shotgun ammo was common enough, but it was still something I noticed.
I did restart the game once, as I got stuck looking for the blue key in Metro Line. I learned about the new 1.1 version and found a link to the repository directly and so played on that version. The first two levels weren't that long so I didn't mind the total reset. I was disappointed to learn it still used the original episode 2 music. I love the soundtrack to that episode, but it seemed to really clash with whatever levels were being played at the moment. Most egregious was haunted asylum playing pizzed.mid, aka the brightest song in episode 2.
For those interested, I would suggest this music ordering instead:
for the single release version, and:
for the compilation version.
I think something I liked especially here was the level continuity. Sure, you could see the previous and next levels at the starts and ends respectively most of the time, but this went above and beyond. Not just seeing the starts and ends, but you could also see sometimes levels further behind or ahead, and in places where it would make sense. For example, in Bus Depot, you could see the apartment from the first level at the beginning, but then at the end you could also see the subway entrance from the first level as well (even repopulated with a couple of enemies, another thing I liked that this episode did).
That brings me to the real kicker of the continuity here. The levels sort of told a combined story. Level 1, Duke wants to get to the Metro but finds the entrance closed, so he goes to the Bus Depot in level 2 to try and open that Metro gate instead, after which he boards the train and heads off. In level 4 he finds a big fence blocking his path to what I'm guessing is the stadium, so he takes a very long roundabout route through the next several levels until he finally ends up at the mall that connects directly to the stadium. That's some really clever visual storytelling. It was really hammered home where even in the haunted asylum you could still see that same fenced street from a whopping two entire levels previous. It was actually a bit of a "wow" moment when I realized I had humped that very same front door multiple times while looking for secrets on that level. Realizing I was in that very building was a real highlight.
My favorite level is probably a tie between Office Rush for looking the most like an office I've seen in DN3D, alongside a fairly straightforward layout and more continuity porn, letting us explore the 12th floor that got us onto the roof in the first place just long enough to realize the elevator was broken, to the secret preview of the Haunted Asylum lobby.
Which, incidentally, is the other part of the tie. I like halloweeny levels a lot, especially in Duke. It even managed to pull off a jumpscare on me, and I'm not even sure if it was intentional. Walking down one of the dark hallways, when the transparent form of Snake Plissken's corpse just materializes out of the ether. Of course, it was there the whole time and didn't materialize out of anything, but the transparency made me not notice it until I was about kissing the thing.
I mean it in a good way, of course.
Least favorite level was probably Bus Depot, but only because the layout was a bit confusing and I kept having a hard time finding my way around, even with the map. Not sure why I had such a hard time with it, honestly. It seems pretty straightforward at first glance but I kept walking in circles trying to get to the post office or the stairs to the second floor or really anywhere that wasn't the actual bus loading stations.
I didn't hate the level by any stretch though, and I have to give it a lot of credit because probably of all the levels in the episode, it's probably the one that most closely resembles what it sets out to do (that being, of course, resemble a bus station). The buses themselves deserve a lot of praise for being utterly unmistakable for what they are, while using almost none of the textures we would normally see on DN3D cars. Most buses I remember seeing are built out of the Area 51 RV textures.
Very well done and I hope to see more in the future.
It was an enjoyable experience, overall. The texture work and application was very clever, and was able to create really good vanilla-esque locations that were unexplored in the base game, without going into the uberdetail of the Roch style (not that there's anything wrong with that approach. It's just all the more impressive here because of taking the simpler route but having the same idea come across).
Gameplay I'd say was above-average for the most part. I actually won't echo the complaints of the levels being too "cramped," as I found that to not be an issue so much myself. That said I can see how it might. It feels like these levels were built with a player that doesn't have autorun on all the time in mind, such as myself. I've always found it hard to manuever Duke around if he is set to always run, since he spends a not-insignificant portion of his time indoors where the space usually doesn't support going at max speed 100% of the time. The only time I had issue with the allotted space was a single T-junction in Bus Depot.
To those who do use always run, I suggest turning that off for this episode and seeing if that makes things a bit more enjoyable.
The combat was well balanced, but I would say definitely on the easy side. It was extremely rare to see even an enforcer, let alone higher-tier enemies. In fact there is literally only one battlelord in the entire thing. There was also just an abundance of rockets, and I never ran out of them. In fact I was at 50 rockets for most of the playthrough.
I would like to note I tackled this saveless, meaning if I died I would be pistol starting the level. ...which never happened because I didn't die. Got close a few times, admittedly. Moreso in the starting levels than anything, for whatever reason.
I also went for 100% completion, so I went looking for all secrets and getting all kills. Funnily enough, while there was a surplus of rockets, there was a dearth of chaingun ammo. It existed but it ran out fast. I wouldn't say it was ever a gamebreaker as shotgun ammo was common enough, but it was still something I noticed.
I did restart the game once, as I got stuck looking for the blue key in Metro Line. I learned about the new 1.1 version and found a link to the repository directly and so played on that version. The first two levels weren't that long so I didn't mind the total reset. I was disappointed to learn it still used the original episode 2 music. I love the soundtrack to that episode, but it seemed to really clash with whatever levels were being played at the moment. Most egregious was haunted asylum playing pizzed.mid, aka the brightest song in episode 2.
For those interested, I would suggest this music ordering instead:
music 2 lemchill.mid prepd.mid gotham.mid subway.mid warehaus.mid intents.mid layers.mid urban.mid
for the single release version, and:
music 6 lemchill.mid prepd.mid gotham.mid subway.mid warehaus.mid intents.mid layers.mid urban.mid
for the compilation version.
I think something I liked especially here was the level continuity. Sure, you could see the previous and next levels at the starts and ends respectively most of the time, but this went above and beyond. Not just seeing the starts and ends, but you could also see sometimes levels further behind or ahead, and in places where it would make sense. For example, in Bus Depot, you could see the apartment from the first level at the beginning, but then at the end you could also see the subway entrance from the first level as well (even repopulated with a couple of enemies, another thing I liked that this episode did).
That brings me to the real kicker of the continuity here. The levels sort of told a combined story. Level 1, Duke wants to get to the Metro but finds the entrance closed, so he goes to the Bus Depot in level 2 to try and open that Metro gate instead, after which he boards the train and heads off. In level 4 he finds a big fence blocking his path to what I'm guessing is the stadium, so he takes a very long roundabout route through the next several levels until he finally ends up at the mall that connects directly to the stadium. That's some really clever visual storytelling. It was really hammered home where even in the haunted asylum you could still see that same fenced street from a whopping two entire levels previous. It was actually a bit of a "wow" moment when I realized I had humped that very same front door multiple times while looking for secrets on that level. Realizing I was in that very building was a real highlight.
My favorite level is probably a tie between Office Rush for looking the most like an office I've seen in DN3D, alongside a fairly straightforward layout and more continuity porn, letting us explore the 12th floor that got us onto the roof in the first place just long enough to realize the elevator was broken, to the secret preview of the Haunted Asylum lobby.
Which, incidentally, is the other part of the tie. I like halloweeny levels a lot, especially in Duke. It even managed to pull off a jumpscare on me, and I'm not even sure if it was intentional. Walking down one of the dark hallways, when the transparent form of Snake Plissken's corpse just materializes out of the ether. Of course, it was there the whole time and didn't materialize out of anything, but the transparency made me not notice it until I was about kissing the thing.
I mean it in a good way, of course.
Least favorite level was probably Bus Depot, but only because the layout was a bit confusing and I kept having a hard time finding my way around, even with the map. Not sure why I had such a hard time with it, honestly. It seems pretty straightforward at first glance but I kept walking in circles trying to get to the post office or the stairs to the second floor or really anywhere that wasn't the actual bus loading stations.
I didn't hate the level by any stretch though, and I have to give it a lot of credit because probably of all the levels in the episode, it's probably the one that most closely resembles what it sets out to do (that being, of course, resemble a bus station). The buses themselves deserve a lot of praise for being utterly unmistakable for what they are, while using almost none of the textures we would normally see on DN3D cars. Most buses I remember seeing are built out of the Area 51 RV textures.
Very well done and I hope to see more in the future.
#40 Posted 01 June 2021 - 07:08 PM
Hey!
Thanks for your review. I had a very good time reading it.
I have something new in mind
Hope I can find time to build it!
Cheers!
Thanks for your review. I had a very good time reading it.
I have something new in mind
Hope I can find time to build it!Cheers!
- The Truth is in here
-
#41 Posted 02 June 2021 - 01:43 AM
@Ninety-Six
I had similar thoughts about the music. The EAC release has been adjusted according to your suggestion. Regarding atmosphere, the entire episode profits a lot from this change.
I had similar thoughts about the music. The EAC release has been adjusted according to your suggestion. Regarding atmosphere, the entire episode profits a lot from this change.
This post has been edited by NightFright: 02 June 2021 - 01:44 AM
