[ck3D]

Finally there you go ladies and gents I did it, I did the thing. Enjoy if you can!

'Four years in the making (2019 2023), Blast Radius is a fan add-on for the Apogee/3D Realms classic 1996 FPS Duke Nukem 3D by ck3d. Features a brand new episode of 14 maps (estimated blind playthrough length: 20+ hours) as well as 40+ new types of alien scum. Requires eDuke32 (included) and Duke Nukem 3D: Plutonium Pak/Atomic Edition or superior. Single player, co-op, Dukematch supported; simultaneously speedrunner and completionist friendly. Download includes printable manual and artwork. Come get some!'

Direct download: https://www.moddb.co...3d-blast-radius

Project ModDB page: https://www.moddb.co...3d-blast-radius

I also set-up a Ko-fi page in case players would like to support the effort, not expecting anything but it's there: https://ko-fi.com/blastradius

Tons of surprises in there. Hope you can dig them!

Thanks for the interest and encouagement throughout the years.

Special thanks: Aleks, The Watchtower, Merlijn, Ninety-Six, Quacken for playtesting, sometimes to insane extents; Danukem for crucially helping out with the Organtic code. Detailed credits and info in the manual (included, .pdf).

Always bet on Duke.

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[William Gee]

Passed the first level took me 42 minutes found 7 secrets.
Congrats on the release btw!

[Ninety-Six]

Still can't believe it's been four years already.

[NNC]

Congrats to the release, Aymeric. It's a huge episode, and not a walk in the park. I guess it can be done in

Spoiler

a 14 hour flight between Peru and Croatia.

[DNSkill]

Looking forward to playing this later this week! Congratulations on the release.

[Aleks]

Awesome news, congratulations on the release, man! I'm looking forward to playing it one more time, but at last the final version - probably won't be able to do so for about one more month due to real-life stuff, as I wanna be able to completely digest it. Nevertheless, I doubt the hype will be over before that, considering how huge this episode is!

Also, I'm super curious about people's impressions on it, especially when the "things" really unveil!

[Polunka]

Damn, super glad I can finally play this long-awaited piece! Already played the first level and I can definitively tell it's gonna be one hell of a ride.

[Reaper_Man]

Congrats on the release!

[ck3D]

@Will: awesome, Duke really does mean his first one-liner in level 2 though - you're just getting warmed up! You'll soon realize. I was getting ready to watch your stream just earlier but then noticed the technical issue yeah. Feel free to post in here if/when you ever plan on doing that again, would love to join in. Hope you enjoy!

@Ninety-Six: yeah, it's wild. One of these days when I can find the time I plan on digging into my archive of map back-ups (literal thousands and thousands of them) to track down the exact dates they were started on and (essentially, structure-wise) finished. But I guess that's already public for most of them anyway since I started the WIP thread.

Thank you everyone. Have fun!

[Merlijn]

Congrats with the release! It was an epic journey and I was honored to be one of the testers.

For anyone playing it for the first time: you're in for one hell of a ride..
I'll respond in detail once I've played the final version.

From the beta version, my favorites were map 3, 4, 6 and 9. But really all of them have a lot to offer.

[Aleks]

 ck3D, on 13 February 2023 - 04:47 AM, said:

@Ninety-Six: yeah, it's wild. One of these days when I can find the time I plan on digging into my archive of map back-ups (literal thousands and thousands of them) to track down the exact dates they were started on and (essentially, structure-wise) finished. But I guess that's already public for most of them anyway since I started the WIP thread.

Thank you everyone. Have fun!

I just checked and found the first betas of the few first maps you created dating back to 2020-11-26, so about 2 years ago! This includes Sunset Suicide as well.

[NightFright]

While this release in general is excellent news ofc, it is sad that once again, a quite outdated EDuke32 build from 2017 is required to run this properly.

I'll never understand how the port keeps making two steps forward regarding features and capabilites, but then always (at least) one step backwards regarding compatibility.

[NNC]

Those, who reached Map7. I called the new enemy weapon there "ball of awesome" aka BOA. But maybe "ball of asshole" might be a more fitting name.

[Dr.Panico]

It's finally here!!!

This, so far, is being a real blast to play. The second level is pretty damn amazing.

I'm currently at the third level, and I'm stuck. I can't find the (first?) yellow key. I blew up the building, checked the sewers, but I just can't find it. What am I missing here?

[ck3D]

 Dr.Panico, on 13 February 2023 - 05:12 PM, said:

It's finally here!!!

This, so far, is being a real blast to play. The second level is pretty damn amazing.

I'm currently at the third level, and I'm stuck. I can't find the (first?) yellow key. I blew up the building, checked the sewers, but I just can't find it. What am I missing here?

The yellow key is a bit hidden on purpose, you don't need it to complete the level but it unlocks what's essentially a bonus lower half of the level which you can then use to get around the whole map (or approach the second part of the city in two extra different ways). Here's where it is, you probably found the Theories of Atlantis office with the forcefield and shrinker, but perhaps not the switch to turn the forcefield off which is on the facade of the building (gotta use the awnings). Behind that forcefield is one vent that leads to the second city block (actually the most obvious way), but the yellow key also is in that room, directly opposite to the vent and behind a shelf you can move around. There are some decorative slide marks on the ground that help suggest that the shelf can be moved around if one is careful, but since you don't need that key to progress at all I kept its location a relative secret on purpose, so that it would be the mystery bonus key. In total there's one rather straightforward way out of the first block if you don't find it, two alternative extra paths out that open up if you do, and then a couple of more ways to get around that only open up later if you can find them. Happy to hear you're having fun and about your progress, enjoy!

Re: map file dates, they were built out of order anyway, but I think I started the first level just around the time I released Poison Heart or maybe that was a few months later. The first three maps I made (which eventually became levels 3, 7 then 9) took quite a bit longer to build than all the rest since I was still working on establishing a direction with them, throwing shit around seeing what would stick and also personally keeping getting better at the editor. Sunset Suicide actually came later in development despite being level 1 here, was the fourth map I designed so 2020 (gosh!) makes sense.

Ah and yes the code defines that projectile as FAJIN, and the manual as qi energy but I agree 'balls of awesome' counts as official canon. Those have been nerfed quite a bit in the final product compared to the beta by giving them a timed disappearance instead of relying solely on bounces (greatly limits their reach but also solves possible issues) and also making them possible to survive, although just barely.

And my own current favorite is level 12, but that seems to change all the time.

[Dr.Panico]

Thanks! I did eventually find the switch, so I could progress in the map just fine.

I've now beaten level 4, and all I got to say is:

https://www.meme-ars...6a0bfdde900.jpg

It is now one of my favourite Duke3D maps of all time. It's epic, ass-kicking and awesome; in EVERY meaning of each word.
Will continue tomorrow, but I'm already excited to see what's awaiting in the next levels.

[ck3D]

Haha I was expecting level stats and not prepared for that meme.

Amazing to hear it, I'm glad you liked that level (and you're the first player besides the testers to report completing it, too), it's quite the bold one in many aspects and so I suspect will be a make or break point to some; the main moment where it gets decided whether or not the player really is in (even though level 2 sort of announces some colors already with the large-scaled action). I think it only took like two weeks to build but then adding gameplay later to that one alone took over a month, maybe two. Some adjustments had to be made until the very end in order to nerf a few zones, maybe some are still a bit rough around the edges by inherent design but otherwise I'm pretty OK with it and am happy it exists.

Good luck with the rest; end of level 4 and level 5 sort of start the turn of a new chapter in the story progression, you'll see. For a bit I actually considered splitting the project into three smaller episodes; first one would have been levels 1-4, then second one levels 5-9, then last one levels 10-13 (14 is secret). But then I realized it would feel more like a proper journey if I didn't.

[Aleks]

Level 4 might be the first ever Duke map that takes more time to complete playing than it took ck3D to complete making It's one of my favourites in the mod as well, feels very adventurous.

And yeah "Balls of Asshole" sounds way more appropriate for this projectile (in particular if it's a commander shooting them...). Glad they got nerfed too, because it felt weird having random octabrains in tight spaces one hit me from out of the blue.

[NNC]

 ck3D, on 13 February 2023 - 08:08 PM, said:

Haha I was expecting level stats and not prepared for that meme.

Amazing to hear it, I'm glad you liked that level (and you're the first player besides the testers to report completing it, too), it's quite the bold one in many aspects and so I suspect will be a make or break point to some; the main moment where it gets decided whether or not the player really is in (even though level 2 sort of announces some colors already with the large-scaled action). I think it only took like two weeks to build but then adding gameplay later to that one alone took over a month, maybe two. Some adjustments had to be made until the very end in order to nerf a few zones, maybe some are still a bit rough around the edges by inherent design but otherwise I'm pretty OK with it and am happy it exists.

Good luck with the rest; end of level 4 and level 5 sort of start the turn of a new chapter in the story progression, you'll see. For a bit I actually considered splitting the project into three smaller episodes; first one would have been levels 1-4, then second one levels 5-9, then last one levels 10-13 (14 is secret). But then I realized it would feel more like a proper journey if I didn't.

Map1-4 can be a separate one though, because it's a different place on earth, and Map4 is much bigger than most levels after it, so it makes sense for a conclusion. Map5 and Map6 in particular, look like dwarfs in both difficulty and size (not in quality) compared to Map4. Map9 and Map10 separation makes no sense imho.

[ck3D]

You're right on a lot of that, but I also think you currently have this opinion because you've only experienced the opening of the end game so far (that I know of). After where you last told me you stopped, it promptly and rather evidently degenerates into a chapter of its own. Or maybe you'll still disagree after you've played through it all, who knows. Come to think of it, no one including the testers (but Aleks who was kind enough to give the last level a quick test run) really has finished the episode in a legitimate way yet I don't think; everyone ran out of time and gas around level 11 or 12. I'll just pretend it's because no one wanted it to end. So I'm actually glad because this is going to be pretty great. Please absolutely do not spoil yourself with DNSCOTTY or Mapster; you'll thank me later for recommending that, trust.

[NNC]

 ck3D, on 14 February 2023 - 02:47 AM, said:

You're right on a lot of that, but I also think you currently have this opinion because you've only experienced the opening of the end game so far (that I know of). After where you last told me you stopped, it promptly and rather evidently degenerates into a chapter of its own. Or maybe you'll still disagree after you've played through it all, who knows. Come to think of it, no one including the testers (but Aleks who was kind enough to give the last level a quick test run) really has finished the episode in a legitimate way yet I don't think; everyone ran out of time and gas around level 11 or 12. I'll just pretend it's because no one wanted it to end. So I'm actually glad because this is going to be pretty great. Please absolutely do not spoil yourself with DNSCOTTY or Mapster; you'll thank me later for recommending that, trust.

Maybe 3 episodes would work as well, also 1 with all levels in pool, actually all make sense as long as the levels are great, and yea, the levels here are great. What I actually thought Map4 to Map5 and Map6 is pretty much like Fusion Station and Occupied Territory merged together was to Tiberius Station and Lunar Reactor.

Also, most people ended around Map10 or 11, trying to not spoiler in advance, because these felt like conclusive levels. Map11 in particular is having a total endgame feel. At least this is how I felt. Map12 is more like a bonus track, at least until the player doesn't play it. I'm still curious, just IRL stuff and others are always happening.

[Dynamo128]

Congratulations on finally getting this release out the door! Looking forward to play this as soon as I have the time

[jimbob]

awesome i'll give this a try ASAP

[Dr.Panico]

Okay, so I came across some technical difficulties on level 8. For whatever reason, the game keeps crashing on me everytime I approach the southwestern corner of the map (near the blue building)

This happened while using the Eduke build included with the TC (specifially the 64-bit version). Testing with my usual Eduke build (20211216) didn't cause any crashes. Only a little bit of HOM on the rooftop, but nothing that got in the way of the game. Too bad I can't load my save from the earlier build, so I guess I have to skip that part. Hopefully, nothing too important was there.

EDIT: It appears it crashes at other points too. Aauugh!!!

[ck3D]

 Dr.Panico, on 14 February 2023 - 05:52 PM, said:

Okay, so I came across some technical difficulties on level 8. For whatever reason, the game keeps crashing on me everytime I approach the southwestern corner of the map (near the blue building)

This happened while using the Eduke build included with the TC (specifially the 64-bit version). Testing with my usual Eduke build (20211216) didn't cause any crashes. Only a little bit of HOM on the rooftop, but nothing that got in the way of the game. Too bad I can't load my save from the earlier build, so I guess I have to skip that part. Hopefully, nothing too important was there.

Are you using Polymost or classic? Skies in levels 8 and 14 reportedly break from specific spots in Polymost, but should look fine in classic. Polymost may ruin an important scripted sequence in map 10, too. Make sure classic video mode in selected in the in-game menu (not just the launcher). Those issues are the sole reason for the whole classic mode recommendation by the way, it's not a preference thing; ideally every player should be able to play in whichever way they like. Doesn't matter for the rest of the levels, but for 8, 10 and 14 in particular, if one doesn't use it, things can get ugly.

Re: anything important being in the southwestern part of level 8, the rooftop of that building holds the blue key card (entire map is color coded). Also the chaingun.

There's one crash that I know can happen around the blue building you are talking about in level 8 (I believe also in classic but seems Eduke version dependent), when the player stands on one specific ledge on the rooftops and then turns to face the center of the map and have basically the entire level in sight. Level 14 has one spot where something similar has happened to me before as well, and that's all the instances of it I can think of. Both those levels really push the engine's rendering with how much space and structure can be on display at once (to be frank to an extent I'm not sure I've seen done before in Build ever), so they're clearly playing with some hard limits. I kept messing with level geometry to try and reduce the possibility of those crashes as much as possible but I'm sure they're still in there waiting for the right trigger. I wish I could investigate those issues more as I suspect I know what's causing them, but then I'd need a serious hardware update in order to be able to check on results as I use a fifteen year old PC that won't compute anything but classic. Aleks and I did try sending each other altered versions of level 8 for retouches and checks over the Internet for a bit but that was going nowhere and obviously unpractical.

Thanks for the accurate report and super stoked you already are on level 8. Love hearing about player progress, I hope that keeps coming!

[ck3D]

Wrote this for those in need of technical help re: installation and compatibility: https://www.moddb.co...s-release-notes

Page contains spoilers regarding level 8 under the form of the manual page for it, so don't look if you'd rather have the surprise of its theme.

[Dr.Panico]

 ck3D, on 14 February 2023 - 06:17 PM, said:

Are you using Polymost or classic? Skies in levels 8 and 14 reportedly break from specific spots in Polymost, but should look fine in classic. Polymost may ruin an important scripted sequence in map 10, too. Make sure classic video mode in selected in the in-game menu (not just the launcher). Those issues are the sole reason for the whole classic mode recommendation by the way, it's not a preference thing; ideally every player should be able to play in whichever way they like. Doesn't matter for the rest of the levels, but for 8, 10 and 14 in particular, if one doesn't use it, things can get ugly.

Thanks! I've now changed to Classic to avoid further issues.

Made it to level 10 and I'm stuck again. After I shoot the, uuh, big laser, and I kill the Overlord, what happens next? Was there some button I've missed?
EDIT: Nevermind. I've found where I am supposed to go.

Also,

Spoiler

If the "kid with the weird ship" is who I think he is, does that mean the Doom Slayer will never be born now?

[ck3D]

 Dr.Panico, on 15 February 2023 - 11:35 AM, said:

Thanks! I've now changed to Classic to avoid further issues.

Made it to level 10 and I'm stuck again. After I shoot the, uuh, big laser, and I kill the Overlord, what happens next? Was there some button I've missed?
EDIT: Nevermind. I've found where I am supposed to go.

Also,

Spoiler

If the "kid with the weird ship" is who I think he is, does that mean the Doom Slayer will never be born now?

Re: your spoiler, he is who you think he is and the Doom Slayer actually is dead in that map too, in a secret place, but just recently (post release) I noticed his corpse's sprite could easily destroyed through the walls by some projectiles in the next room before the player could get to see him, potentially ruining the (tired) joke a wee bit. If I ever update, I'll think about moving it, so far there's only been a couple of visual issues like that I've been noticing upon further post release testing and never anything major, but I'm keeping a mental note for each.

You probably would have gotten your answer at the end of that map, anyway.

And cool to hear you got out of that room before I could even see your post to reply to it, it's a bit of a puzzle to figure out how to get out of that one room (and a lot about the layout in that map relies on player disorientation, which doesn't help) but I think also rather obvious and fair enough in retrospect once you've spotted what the switch does, all things considered. It does potentially take a moment of looking around the room however.

Also greatly reassured the renderer was the cause of the map 8 issues, as expected, and not something that could happen in classic.

[Dr.Panico]

It's over! I made it! I've finally beaten Blast Radius!
That was a breathtaking adventure! Even though the fourth level is still my personal favourite, I can argue that most of the levels are god-tier (and those who aren't are 'just' very good). The last few levels in particular consist in the most hardcore rollercoaster ride I've had playing a Duke3D episode. This is GOTY easily!

And, down below, the feeling of beating this episode:

[ck3D]

Congratulations! You're the first player other than myself to go through it in full I believe, again testers included. That's some dedication, I never expected (but was hoping) people would grind it so hard. Respect for enduring the last chapter like a champ, it's definitely meant to be an experienced Duker's challenge and you sound like you just breezed through it despite the hardcore action.

Oh and yeah, did you find the secret level?