[Striker]

NetDuke32 - Enhanced Duke3D Netplay!

NetDuke32 is the successor to EDuke32-OldMP. The "OldMP" moniker was incredibly unfitting, and even misleading considering the years of work put into it, and how drastically the netcode has evolved from the old code from 1996.

While the netcode is still lockstep*, it has been overhauled with brand new prediction code, and all kinds of under-the-hood fixes/cleanup, resulting in what I hope to be the smoothest Duke3D Multiplayer experience so far.

* (C/S will be prototyped in a future NetDuke32 release before being merged with mainline EDuke32, unless plans change.)

Most tests since OldMP r33 have shown that most, if not all game-breaking bugs from that release are dead and buried. This took me over a year and a ton of work to get to this point, so I'm praying this release candidate works as well for others!

Here are some defining features of NetDuke32:

• New prediction code - Probably NetDuke32's most defining feature. The aim is to provide a LAN-like experience, even under heavy latency. Nearly all player actions, such as firing and inventory use, will immediately display their visuals and play their sounds without delay- thus making it easier to tell where your shots will end up when the network catches up. This also means a lot of things like stomping shrunken enemies, is much smoother and easier to do. This may require some getting used to for veteran Duke players, but it will feel more familiar for people coming from games like Quake 3 Arena and Unreal Tournament, and hopefully will be a much more enjoyable experience for everyone overall.
  
  
• 16 player support - While not exactly new, as OldMP technically supported this for a long time, only now can I say it's stable enough to be playable, and it's a feature no other ports have.
  
  
• CO-OP scoreboard - (Shows kills/deaths, health/armor, inventory, ping, etc).
  
  
• CO-OP intermission screens. - See stats between levels, like in singleplayer.
  
  
• SP-only maps playable in CO-OP - No CO-OP player starts? No problem! All players will start from the default level start if their spawn point is missing, opening up many maps to be playable online.
  
  
• New DukeBot AI - DukeBots are far more intelligent than Duke3D Atomic. They can pathfind better, they remember where items are, can swim, use jetpacks, elevators, and steroids! They even retreat when they are out of ammo or low on health. You can also add them to online matches!
  
  
• Screenpeek name display - See the name of the person you're spectating in CO-OP spy mode.
  
  
• FOV adjustment - Game making you dizzy? Adjust the FOV! (Currently only via console command at the moment. The range is slightly more limited than mainline, capping at 120 to reduce potential advantage in MP. May be reduced further if considered too advantageous.)
  
  
• Many, many bugfixes for legacy CO-OP and DM bugs - Fixes for things such as not being able to pick up more than one Tripmine or Pipebomb. Or, the incorrect player being credited for kills in CO-OP.

Future plans involve a lobby system akin to Megaton Edition, further house-cleaning and polishing to Duke3D's mess of a codebase, among a plethora of other things I'm not quite ready to share yet.

Links:

• NetDuke32 Releases & Source Code
  
• Striker's Projects Trello (To-do list for NetDuke32, StrikerDM, TerminalFury, etc.)
  
• NetDuke32 / StrikerDM Channels @ Shotspark Studios Discord
  
  Don't have Duke Nukem 3D - Atomic Edition, and still want to get it legally? You can grab it on Zoom Platform

[Striker]

FAQ:

How do I install this?
Grab a release build from the links above. There's a readme.txt included with each build with complete installation instructions.

How do I use this with YANG?
Point YANG's entry for EDuke32 to your installation of NetDuke32.exe. When hosting lobbies, select "Master/Slave" as the connection type.

[Kylie]

I've been looking forward to this! I really appreciate all your hard work.

[jkas789]

Congratulations on the release Striker!

[Forge]

glad you're part of the community

[MusicallyInspired]

Right on.

[Striker]

Forge, on 30 September 2021 - 07:17 AM, said:

glad you're part of the community

Thanks. Means a lot. I know it takes me a stupidly long time to get shit done, but I keep my word.

Duke Nukem 3D is probably one of my favorite games to play online, so I'm very highly motivated to get this thing working the best it can. I still have a long way to go before things are exactly how I want it to be (the end goal is still getting an Async C/S implementation... but, alas, shit's bloody hard. Especially when I'm trying to balance this work with my personal life), but I hope this will end up being the next best thing until I reach that point.

[jkas789]

Remember to take care of yourself Striker.

[Striker]

Updated NetLauncher to play sounds and show connection/disconnection messages to clients when people join a lobby. It can be found on the releases page. (See links in the first post)

[PhilSwitch]

You da man, Striker! I'll have to get some more Dukematching done! Big thanks!

[Striker]

In the upcoming release of NetDuke32 v1.1, I've fixed some clipping issues that caused you to instantly gib in the RPG ammo secret in E2L1.

I've also gone and added a notification in the main menu when a usermap ends, so that way others know that the session is still alive, and just waiting for a map change or vote to begin.

Lastly, I've fixed the map vote buttons not working in the main menu.

[Harlock]

Hey Striker, I'm so glad you are still workin on this project, thanks! My friends and I used to play Duke when it came out, so it's great to be able to get back to one of the best shooters ever. Just one question though. Do we need to use the bundled NetLauncher for best performance or can we also use another matchmaking tool like yang (which we are used to)?

Your work for the community is very much appreciated

[Striker]

Harlock, on 18 October 2021 - 11:25 PM, said:

Hey Striker, I'm so glad you are still workin on this project, thanks! My friends and I used to play Duke when it came out, so it's great to be able to get back to one of the best shooters ever. Just one question though. Do we need to use the bundled NetLauncher for best performance or can we also use another matchmaking tool like yang (which we are used to)?

Your work for the community is very much appreciated

You can use YANG, but it might be a little tricky. Make sure to use Master/Slave mode if you do.

[Harlock]

Striker, on 21 October 2021 - 07:29 PM, said:

You can use YANG, but it might be a little tricky. Make sure to use Master/Slave mode if you do.

Ok, I guess we'll use NetLauncher then ; ) Thanks a lot.

[Striker]

Work is ongoing. I've natively implemented a compact fragbar, akin to the one that has been in StrikerDM for a few years. Can be controlled via the CVar "hud_fragbarstyle". Styles are "Off", "Classic", and "Compact".

Some work is still needed, like a display for team scores in Team Dukematch.


EDIT: Done. This is the largest it can get, at 16 players. Still better than the positively massive classic fragbar:

[Striker]

In order to keep myself from burning out doing the more menial shit with NetDuke32 that still needs to be done, I've gone and worked on improving the DukeBots and their ability to navigate maps. Here's a small demo:

[Elvisish]

Striker, on 19 February 2022 - 06:32 AM, said:

In order to keep myself from burning out doing the more menial shit with NetDuke32 that still needs to be done, I've gone and worked on improving the DukeBots and their ability to navigate maps. Here's a small demo:

Really great to see backspace for crouch saves in the settings, I'm not sure if it's netduke or eduke but x-axis and y-axis scale don't save in settings for some reason and have to be manually set each time. Also, mouse-lock isn't released for the window if you alt+tab away, so there's not real way of bringing it out of fullscreen to do something else.

[Striker]

Elvisish, on 26 March 2022 - 03:12 AM, said:

Really great to see backspace for crouch saves in the settings, I'm not sure if it's netduke or eduke but x-axis and y-axis scale don't save in settings for some reason and have to be manually set each time. Also, mouse-lock isn't released for the window if you alt+tab away, so there's not real way of bringing it out of fullscreen to do something else.

If you're going to alt-tab, bring the console down. It will release the mouse.

Also X/Y axis scales are saved properly in the upcoming NetDuke32 v1.1.

[Elvisish]

Striker, on 27 March 2022 - 11:36 AM, said:

If you're going to alt-tab, bring the console down. It will release the mouse.

Also X/Y axis scales are saved properly in the upcoming NetDuke32 v1.1.

Ahh thanks, I'll try alt+tab. Also, does World Tour work with ND32?

[Mav3r1ck]

I heard this supports 16 players. Can you play against 16 dukebots?

[Striker]

Mav3r1ck, on 04 April 2022 - 01:18 PM, said:

I heard this supports 16 players. Can you play against 16 dukebots?

Yes, you can.

[Mav3r1ck]

How exactly do I do that?

EDIT: Also, does this support Eduke's latest variables/features you would use in the game con files and linear filtering?

[Striker]

Mav3r1ck, on 05 April 2022 - 02:37 PM, said:

How exactly do I do that?

EDIT: Also, does this support Eduke's latest variables/features you would use in the game con files and linear filtering?

Same way you add bots in the DOS version.

-q16 -a

in the command line.

And no, doesn't support all the latest CON features, just some of them (that were backported as needed for my own projects). And yeah, you can enable linear filtering, but I have no idea why you'd want to (it's very ugly, and causes the ripper to have a giant gap where the barrels connect).

[Mav3r1ck]

I'm not used to using CMD. How would I set the game up?

EDIT: Nvm, I figured it out.

[Elvisish]

Is World Tour supported with the stopgap?

[Striker]

Elvisish, on 10 April 2022 - 12:16 AM, said:

Is World Tour supported with the stopgap?

I don't think so, but it's supported with StrikerDM.

[Nash]

!Hello, just tried this port, seems to run well in a quick coop test.

Will there be an option to prevent deathmatch weapons from spawning in coop?

[Striker]

Nash, on 15 May 2022 - 04:59 AM, said:

!Hello, just tried this port, seems to run well in a quick coop test.

Will there be an option to prevent deathmatch weapons from spawning in coop?

Good idea, I'll look into that in the future.

[Radar]

Is that unique from co-op exclusive weapons? (not sure if that even exists) Weapons in co-op mode are scarce as it is. It's worth noting that in co-op mode, that the players can't pick up weapon sprites if they already have that weapon in their arsenal. They can only pick up ammo. That itself already screws up the balance in so many maps.

[Striker]

Radar, on 15 May 2022 - 06:40 PM, said:

Is that unique from co-op exclusive weapons? (not sure if that even exists) Weapons in co-op mode are scarce as it is. It's worth noting that in co-op mode, that the players can't pick up weapon sprites if they already have that weapon in their arsenal. They can only pick up ammo. That itself already screws up the balance in so many maps.

It'll just be an option, nice for those who might want a challenge. NetDuke32 has a system of assorted toggle-able gameplay flags in v1.1, making it easy to implement. Also, the Weapon Stay setting isn't forced in NetDuke COOP, and hasn't been for a long while.