[TheMuseumCurator]

Everyone who grew up playing Duke 3D young, but not having much money?! You probably saw those two up-sell screens a million times too! I never wanted to die a coward & not see the other missions / weapons /enemies, but my parents were never going to mail away for PC game with adult content. Strangely the Shareware version promises a "Laser Gun" in the Registered version's arsenal that never came to be. Any thoughts on this? I would imagine it comes from the "Laser Chainsaw" / "Incinerator" / "Freeze Thrower" line of concepts / sprites instead of the Devastator which apparently was a last minute addition. But was it ever a functional weapon? How was it supposed to work? Why did they describe so confidently a weapon concept if it was scrapped in mid-revision before being even remotely completed? (I know we're talking about a George Broussard production here. Everything gets iterated on infinitely until we hit a publishing deadline or we run out of money)

[Ninety-Six]

 TheMuseumCurator, on 17 June 2021 - 08:46 PM, said:

Why did they describe so confidently a weapon concept if it was scrapped in mid-revision before being even remotely completed? (I know we're talking about a George Broussard production here. Everything gets iterated on infinitely until we hit a publishing deadline or we run out of money)

I think you just answered your own question. Of all the game prototypes I've seen, I don't think I've seen one so radically different compared to itself across its various versions than Duke 3D.

[Aleks]

 Ninety-Six, on 17 June 2021 - 09:34 PM, said:

I think you just answered your own question. Of all the game prototypes I've seen, I don't think I've seen one so radically different compared to itself across its various versions than Duke 3D.

...Duke Nukem Forever

[Ninety-Six]

 Aleks, on 17 June 2021 - 11:46 PM, said:

...Duke Nukem Forever

Honestly, even then. Comparing the shocking gap between Lameduke and DN3D vs. even the earliest trailers for DNF vs. the final product, I still say DN3D went through more changes.

EDIT: Though in fairness, despite what we know I don't think we have as complete a knowledge of DNF's development vs. DN3D's. A bit ironic but I guess that's what happens when prototypes actually get released and/or shown off. hi randy

[ck3D]

May or may not be related to the scrapped gun, but I always thought it was a bit funny in the final game the difference between the lasers that the Troopers shoot and the regular pistol clips that they drop - the inconsistency always seemed like some last minute readjustment in direction to me, as if they had nerfed Troopers at one point to make them the most basic universal enemy, one that wouldn't be restricted to a futuristic/space theme. In the final game, that laser projectile is essentially synonymous with that enemy because otherwise it doesn't really appear on the same universal level as, say, chain gun fire or rockets, both of which can be not just endured but also utilized by the player, whereas the player never really gets to shoot those lasers out of a gun (and the same goes for the Battlelord's mortars, actually). But on the other hand, it is possible to design projectile shooters firing those lasers in user maps, it's actually quite manipulable (with some underrated properties too, such as its behavior of being reflected by mirrors - and coincidentally, episode 2 has some interestingly-placed mirrors) and so perhaps it wasn't always intended for such confinement as 'enemy fire'. Just on that basis it is tempting to imagine discarded plans for a gun firing that stuff, and maybe the Troopers instead dropping ammo for that originally, and then the devs possibly ending up actually organizing those wild ideas and normalizing everything gameplay and progression into something more structured. Also guessing the Troopers' lasers might have eventually stayed because pistol hitscan (corresponding to the ammo that they do drop upon death) would be too hardcore to deal with by first-time players from enemies now meant to be fodder.

All pure speculation so most definitely don't take my word for anything here, but that's how things always felt to me. Also if the confusion in the code in between BOSS2 (the Cycloid) and BOSS3 (the Overlord) mean anything then I feel like there's a possibility that the space maps might have been thought to come last originally (before someone realized second was better pacing) and in that hypothetical context it would make sense that the laser 'gun' would only appear relatively late in the game (probably feeling satisfying to use after the two thirds of the game spent only enduring those projectiles).

[NNC]

Yeah, when I saw that laser gun ad, I was already thinking about the liztroop's laser guns. It would suck as a playable weapon, but with better rate of fire it might have worked in some situations. I never missed the mortar though, it was just another version of the pipebomb, except without manual control.

Originally episode 2 was planned with the "space station" theme, and episode 3 planned with the "moonbase" theme. As the final episode 2 is a bit overstayed its welcome, I guess they thought creating more cities would make more sense. Episode 3's and 4's city levels are far less detailed though compared to E1L1 and E1L2, most of them were simple multiplayer arenas formed into single player maps in a very short period of time. I think very few of them existed when the v1.0 demo was released in January, 1996.

[Fox]

The question is which laser gun

[Aleks]

 The Watchtower, on 18 June 2021 - 06:23 AM, said:

Yeah, when I saw that laser gun ad, I was already thinking about the liztroop's laser guns. It would suck as a playable weapon, but with better rate of fire it might have worked in some situations.

Well, they did that in DNF (even leaving 2 laser guns, AT Laser and AT Captain Laser which worked like a laser minigun) and the enforcer gun. In multiplayer, only Captain Laser isn't available though, but AT Laser is one of the most powerful weapons in the hands of a skilled player.

Quote

I never missed the mortar though, it was just another version of the pipebomb, except without manual control.

The range is quite drastically different though, with Battlelords being able to lob mortars through whole maps

[TerminX]

 Fox, on 18 June 2021 - 06:58 AM, said:

The question is which laser gun

Oh c'mon Fox, one of those is clearly a laser chainsaw and another is clearly a laser sword.

[jet_nick]

 Fox, on 18 June 2021 - 06:58 AM, said:

The question is which laser gun

where do the third and last photos come from?

[Malgon]

Damn, I've only ever seen the first one of those weapons before!