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Considering how The Gate's story is literally about these portals that teleport you from place to place, I think it makes a lot of sense really and is quite well explained in the text file (again - it seems that 3 episodes were planned at first, at least as per the narrative in the text file, with the first one set on different locations around the Earth (I would assume levels E1L1-E2L3 or perhaps E2L4), second one on Mars (E2L4 or E2L5 to E3L6) and the final one on the alien planet of Antirra (E4L1-E4L6)).
Interesting. I keep forgetting about the story included in the text file and instead think at the usual pace per episode. I think it would have been more interesting if there were four different places, one different per each episode, to keep things a bit more consistent. Either way, I don't mind how The Gate deals with the story, as it makes it more interesting and unpredictable and I have to appreciate the ambition behind all of this.
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Curious thing, but after finishing the 3rd episode, Rednukem started playing demo from Duke-Burger (at least I would assume so), but with E4L2 from The Gate (Into the City). Of course it was just the player running around the initial area and shooting walls, but still pretty funny
That's funny. Did you install the demos properly? Are you using the addon compilation version?
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This worked perfectly. So what's the difference between this and how it used to perform in DOS?
I'm guessing it works the same, I just need to get there first to confirm how it works. I read a while ago that the Addon Compilation version made a workaround with making the inventory behavior modify the Scuba Gear instead of the Boots, so stepping on acid won't break the boss anymore. I guess there aren't any parts you can swim in the last part of the boss, otherwise it might break again.
Either way, thanks everyone for the comments and especially thanks for TheDragonLiner for the hints offered! I will certainly keep this in mind when reaching the final level. I'm currently on E4L3 and I'm hoping to finish the episode and get the E4 review by the end of the month!
Anyway, here is the long awaited review of the third episode!
RED PLANET BLUES
Hospitality
by Demian "Wolfgang" Holmberg & Preston "Sluggboy" Packard
Yes I know the map is written as
HOSPITALity in the readme file but I prefer to write as
Hospitality.
This is certainly an unique starting map. Design wise, it's pretty good. Gameplay wise, it's a bit miserable, as Quacken put it, I feel like this level does not give you enough health to compensate for the damage you are going to take. But whereas E1L1 was a painful starting map with LOTS of health available, Hospitality feels like E1L4 in that it has limited health in comparison to how much damage you are going to take from the enemies/hazards. Sure, there's two Portable Medkits inside secrets and the two Atomic Healths you are given in some spots but most of the time you are spending with like 30 hp or less.
It's not fun dying over and over again because damage is nearly impossible to avoid from a few enemies. As such, I had to save scum a lot in the last couple areas because all I had was 8 health left and I keep getting one shot by turrets, sentry drones and the fucking Predator at the very end. Then I found the Portable Medkit secrets and the other secret I missed also had a Large Medkit in it. Seriously, couldn't the mapper put more regular health pickups (small/large medkits) throughout the whole level? Why be stingy and have many rooms without a single health pickup? It's complete bullshit because it ruins an otherwise good map. Sure, the boots are also found inside secrets for the most part but I can forgive that because you can avoid the lava, usually. I also had deaths caused by getting squished (either trying to jump into tiny lava holes or out of sector glitch when submerging into lava in a certain area) or by lava or from killing myself by RPG but still, it really wouldn't have hurt to put more health in this map.
The map itself is not very confusing to navigate, even if I had to run in circles at some point when not finding a door. So why ruin it with the lack of health? It's impossible to avoid the damage completely. Also fuck that Shotgun predator at the very end. As soon as I manage to hit him with a perfectly aimed RPG shot (after giving up on the Shotgun/Chaingun usage), he immediately shoots and kills me. Took me about 5 or more tries to get rid of him, though there were a few times he was firing lasers at me? Are there variants with multiple attacks or what? It's not the first time I've noticed same predators sometimes using different weapons.
There are EIGHT secrets to find and I'm not going to make a guide for this one. Just look up cracks to blow up or whatever to find the secrets. It's difficult to describe the exact locations. Sorry about that.
Overall, this was a level that could have been really good, as the atmosphere is great and design is interesting. But the health starvation dragged it down a lot in gameplay department and turned it into a frustrating mess of a level that I just wanted to be over and find the secrets that hide the health in them when I reached the end, to start the next level with full health and armor. And no, there weren't any water fountains to compensate for all that either, though it's understandable you wouldn't find any water fountains on Mars but my point still stands about the annoyingly scarce health pickups. Maybe the next level will be a better experience?
Martian Red Light District
by Jon "Lizard King" Cacy
Well, that was a surprise. Definitely one of the best maps from the entire TC. This map felt very good all around and nailed the classic Duke3D feeling and it actually reminded me a bit of that Mars Donalds map by Jolteon released back in 2016. Yes, I know it was released nearly two decades later but just like how Lower Planes (E2L3) reminded me of the third level of Last Reaction (despite releasing later), I can only say the comparison seems fitting.
I died about 3-5 times in total but the deaths felt a lot more justified this time, like when initially fighting those Scorpion Tanks, it was a bit painful, due to how much damage their machineguns can do. I also like how once again you can consume popcorn to refill health like in E1L2 but also the Beer cans around that you can find, it seems you can infinitely use them, as long as you don't break them, although there's also toilets in this map if you want to recover your health for "free". But on the bright side, the health pickups are common enough to keep you alive, since this is quite a challenging level and it will take a while to complete. It falls into the "tough but fair" category, not into the "frustrating" category like some earlier maps did.
I won't spoil the surprises that await in this map, as you need to see for yourself. However, I will mention that there are THREE secrets to find:
1) On the train tracks, go at the other end (where there is a window with a nice view) and look for a darkened portion of the wall. Press on it to access a secret room filled with many goodies: RPG + 2x ammo, 2x Atomic Health, Armor and a Portable Medkit!
2) Inside the bedroom marked with the number "2", jump through the TV showing the dancing lady to collect a Chaingun.
3) Inside the book store, jump through the bookshelf to collect an Expander + ammo and an Atomic Health.
Overall, this was a fantastic map. I'm hoping the rest of the episode continues to be good.
Ancients: Halls of Man
by Matt "MattCake" Harris
Honestly, this was a really epic map. Design wise, it's pretty interesting and certainly one of the highlights so far. It's very challenging, as it's got plenty of ambushes and insta kill traps but it's also giving you lots of health to compensate. It does have a few confusing parts that can take a bit to figure out, like blowing up the plank to access the sewers (had to look into Mapster for this one). Also died plenty of times and was getting a bit frustrated at some points halfway in the level (like the Blue Card trap that spawned a nearby Mini Battlelord that killed me almost instantly, though got it the second try, the spawned troopers didn't do much) but there were some funny bits, like when me and the Predator both shrunk each other at the same time. (LOL). Technically, the first time he shrunk me but then I ran to hide until the effect wore off. Then afterwards, we both did at same time, as mentioned previously. Then after returning to normal, I managed to shrink him in time and get rid of him. Then I loaded save to do it perfectly.
Unfortunately, there are a couple points of no return. You can still backtrack from the exit to the very beginning but only if you bring your own Jetpack from E3L1 with about 65% fuel remaining! I used as little as I could and still had about 30% fuel at the end of the level, hoping the rest will be useful for the later levels. Seeing as the Jetpack is rare in both E2 & E3 so far. This means if playing continuously, then take care of it, as it will be useful in the later levels, like the case here (and maybe for the upcoming levels too). Pistol starters have no choice but to find the secrets before the points of no return. And you will most likely miss at least 2-3 secrets on your first run. This is why I care about backtracking because going through the same map twice in same session because of a missed secret somewhere isn't much fun. But I appreciate that it is still possible to backtrack WITH the Jetpack, at least. It would have been worse if there was absolutely no way to go back.
Which reminds me, there are the SEVEN secrets you can find:
1) At the very beginning, go to the left side and look for a crack. Blow it up, kill a bunch of slimer eggs and eventually you will reach a container that contains 2x Large Medkit, Shotgun shells + Boots.
2) In the next room filled with lightning strikes, after teleporting and fighting against a Commander and a few predators, find a switch on the pillars, which opens a nearby pillar that contains Devastator + 3x ammo.
3) In the same room as the second secret, look up near the throne, to find a crack. Blow it up to access a Chaingun.
4) In the area filled with toxic lava, before going through the beast's mouth, go to the right side and look for a crack. Destroy it and then quickly run through lava to get the secret room that contains a bunch of inventory items (medkit, boots, steroids, NVGs), atomic health, armor.
5) In the area filled with toxic lava, before going through the beast's mouth, go to the left side to enter a teleporter. You will arrive in a secret room that contains a Shrinker + 3x ammo and Portable Medkit at the end of the room. But be CAREFUL when approaching, as there is a nasty explosion trap that will mostly kill you instantly. Step in the room, quickly retreat and wait for the explosions to finish. THEN you can collect the goodies!
6) In the same area as secrets 4 & 5, when you fight with an annoying commander in a circular room and press a switch behind the generator, look for a darkened wall you can open. Inside, you can find a Portable Medkit.
7) In the room with the Shrinker Predator (before the part where you must insert the yellow card), jump behind the fire and press the switch behind the mini cycloid statue. This will register the secret but also lower a nearby pillar containing a box of Pipebombs and an Atomic Health.
Overall, this map was quite epic and incredibly well designed. But it was also really annoying at times, with plenty of points with no return and plenty of enemies and/or traps ready to kill Duke instantly or at least make him lose large amounts of health. I don't regret saving often at all. But that doesn't take too many points away from the map, it's still an epic adventure at the end of the day.
DNA Strand
by Cho-Yan Wong
I don't really have a lot of things to say about this map. Design wise, it's alright, reminding me a lot of some of the levels from Secrets of the Acropolis, although the Doom textures looked a bit out of place. There were a few annoying parts, like the part where you fight the Rocket Predator and Mortar Predator in the same corridor. Got killed a couple times, mostly because I had about 60 hp left and keep taking missiles directly to the face, even when trying to dodge the missiles, they seem to predict where I'm going and inevitably eat the rocket and die, while they seem to survive 2 direct RPG hits, if I can hit them. Eventually, I managed to clear the room.
Honestly, the map isn't too difficult since you mostly fight standard Duke3D aliens most of the time and they won't cause much trouble (the predators are still bullshit sometimes) but thankfully, the map's health supplies are given in decent amounts, especially if you find the two Portable Medkits (one in an official secret, the other in an unofficial secret) which I didn't actually get to use. Plus there are some epic fights, like the five or so protectors you fight at once. Then I started to use the Shrinker on some predators later in the map and felt so satisfying to give them the boot!
Though take into account they have a habit to easily dodge the projectiles, so if the RPG didn't work and sometimes I blew myself up instead, then getting near them and shrinking them while stopping to fight you, will get rid of them immediately.
Oh yeah, speaking of which, there's a few unofficial secrets where you blow up a crack and find some hidden goodies, so be sure to explore.
The TWO official secrets can be found here:
1) In the room with many pillars, press on one of them to reveal a Portable Medkit.
2) In the control room near the end of the level, press on a panel to reveal a Large Medkit and a box of Pipebombs.
The map had a few parts I was confused, like when I started to find the access cards but didn't know where to place them. Then later, after getting all three cards and going through a small water tunnel, I eventually found a room I didn't explore earlier, as well as a surprise Mini Battlelord that was easy to take with the Shrinker for once. Considering how difficult is to get the exact angle around the corners on the DOS version. No need to further explain but people playing in source ports have the advantage of better controls and ability to turn off autoaim. Afterwards, once I put the cards, I just needed to clear about two rooms and the map was pretty much done.
Overall, this was an interesting map that didn't give me as strong feelings as the rest E3 maps did. However, at the end of the day, I think this is a fine map. It just didn't feel different/unique enough, at least compared to some of the previous maps in the TC. Maybe I would appreciate it more on future replays.
Star Chamber
by Cho-Yan Wong
Same as the previous map, it's made by the same author and it's fine, I don't have strong feelings about this map either. It will be over before you know it. Though there's a couple things to admire, like the mini spaceship at the end.
Despite what Quacken suggests with aiming rockets at Predators' feet, I don't think this strategy works at all when playing the original DOS version, especially since the autoaim is enabled all the time. For a game that lacks rocket jumping and allows blowing yourself up easily, then you are better off just aiming directly at the Predator when they stop (Shotgun, Chaingun, RPG and Shrinker seem to be the best choices to me). If you are lucky, you lose little to no health and get the ammo you used back (or end up with a surplus of ammo). Otherwise, you may need to rely on luck to get a good outcome.
However, I can say the first Predator didn't do much, as he was down there lobbing mines that couldn't reach me, so he could be easily killed by just standing still. I just needed to adjust my aim. There are four predators in total but while one with the RPG did cause quite a bit of pain, what ALMOST killed me was some sudden explosion trap. A wall exploded near me and left me with 28 hp left. I proceed to use the Medkit without noticing there is a health pickup nearby, though at least.
Unfortunately, there seemed to be five enemies missed somewhere, despite the fact I killed everyone, I got 75/80 kills. My guess are the ORGANIC turrets that don't count as kills and watching Radar's video didn't confirm initially, seeing as he doesn't get 100% completion and skipped killing the turrets. I rewatched the part from his E1 video where he kills them in E1L5 and I can confirm they don't add to kills. But the problem is that there were FOUR of them, so theoretically I should have gotten 76 kills. That means one enemy disappeared into walls or whatever. Too bad about that.
At least I beat this level without dying, which is something at least. And also finished with 150 health, since both the previous and this map only contain ONE atomic health, which is better than nothing, obviously. Too bad about the missing/non-existent enemies. I was wondering when is coming the map that's impossible to 100% complete.
Speaking of completion, here are the THREE secrets you can find:
1) After passing through a blue gate, you should find yourself in a room with a few enforcers, an octabrain and a few canisters. Look up to find a vent you can break and then jump to reach the secret, which contains a pair of Boots, a box of Pipebombs and an RPG.
2) In the sewers, where you encountered the organic turrets, press on the wall in the middle to reveal a tripmine (weapon), CD ammo, Portable Medkit and Armor.
3) In the corridor leading up to the last areas, where you are fighting with troopers, there is a wall you can jump through. The secret contains a Shotgun and a Jetpack!
Fine map overall. Let's see how the E3 finale holds up.
Tanheuser Gate
by Aaron Barber
An epic finale that mostly takes place on a space station. There are plenty of interesting things in this map. Besides the engaging gameplay, there are a couple inventive puzzles, like the one where you had to shoot the tile to reach a switch up there and there is even a shrinking puzzle that awaits later in the map. Then there are some enemies that are transforming into other enemies (e.g. a blue trooper into enforcer and into an octabrain or some weird shit like that). Brilliant ideas. I admit I had to look up at Radar's video to see one or two parts I was stuck, like shooting a switch through those doors early on. And maybe that part with the teleporter surrounded by forcefield, you can just step in the front of it, as that side isn't covered in forcefield, which made me think initially I missed a switch to disable the forcefield.
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Ironically enough, the Queens are your key to beating this fight. The Protector Drones they spawn can shoot Shrinker rays to shrink both their mothers as well as the Cycloid, allowing you to easily kill them. I hope that Mini Cycloids and Mini Queens come back, because this would be a pretty funny way for their one day in the sun if this it it.
WTF? Shrinking the Mini Queens didn't work for me and getting near them resulted in an instant death!
Speaking of which, the only times I died in this map was at the very last battle because of touching the Alien Queens or killing myself with RPG/Devastator when Protectors got near me. But my issue is that the tricks you mentioned didn't work for me. I won't be surprised if something weird happened in EDuke32 and/or the compilation version or whatever. Although I found a way to "cheese" the mini Emperor by making him kill himself with his own rockets. That reminds me, the boss this time wasn't a full sized Cycloid as I expected but instead was a Mini Cycloid assisted by TWO Commanders and THREE Mini Alien Queens that could still spawn full sized Protectors and could still squish you. At least you are given shitloads of supplies to defeat them, especially Devastator ammo.
Unfortunately, I ended up with two enemies missed somewhere, despite killing everybody in the whole map, I got 113/115 kills in total. Two maps in a row that couldn't be 100%'ed. What a shame. And the lack of new E3 graphics was also slightly disappointing, it was just the original Duke Nukem 3D ending. At least the map itself was really nice, so it's not losing points over that. Instead, it loses a bit for those two enemies missed. Though I suspect maybe the new shapeshifting trooper variants may have been the culprit of messing up the kill count.
There is only ONE secret to find: In the large room with the green crates, jump on one of the crates to register the secret. Then find a way to get inside the crate, where there is a small maze where you can collect a Portable Medkit, an Armor and an Atomic Health.
There are also some unofficial secrets, like in the control room where you find the Red Card, there is a nearby panel where you can find an Armor and a Portable Medkit.
I don't want to spoil too much about the other parts of the map. This map is excellent and well worth your time!
Overall, Episode 3 was a massive improvement over the previous two episodes. Each map was at least good, although the first one was very annoying with its bullshit lack of health, just like E1L1 and E1L4 where I was usually low on health and getting killed many times. And there are plenty of signs of improvements in terms of design, making Episode 3 superior to both E1 & E2 combined. I'm optimistic that E4 gets even better, though I'm going to keep my expectations to moderate, so I don't end up being disappointed. Though from what I played so far from E4 at the moment of writing, things are pretty interesting.
I know today is the 23rd but as a small exception, I'm going to start the nominations/voting for the next month, giving you a FULL WEEK to vote!
2000 TC + Age of Evil
One Unit Whole Blood (Part 1)
The first choice is about two TCs that were released in early 2000s:
-2000 TC was made by Curtis Tuckfield and was released on July 2000. It was previously released in 1999 as a short one level demo (1999 TC Demo), then released with the entire first episode (1999 TC Full) and later re-released as 2000 TC (contains the entire first episode and one level demo in the second), with 7 levels in total. To this day, the second episode remains unfinished. While the TC is mostly inspired by Duke3D (though it also contains plenty of new art), it's also inspired by Redneck Rampage (and a bit of Blood, I guess), so keep that in mind when thinking at what the levels will be like.
-Age of Evil was made by the legendary Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, who needs no introduction (if I must, then a description will be added in the topic for those who don't know who he is, if this gets chosen). The TC was released on July 2003 and contains two episodes, with 15 levels in total. There are also a bunch of new ART, new con changes and other cool things (the main character is also no longer Duke anymore). There were plans to replace the third and fourth episode as well but unfortunately, it didn't happen. But what we got is still good enough.
The second choice is the legendary Blood (1997), the updated version that includes all 5 episodes (4 original + Plasma Pak), as well as the Cryptic Passage addon. And I guess a separate DM episode as well that people may choose to play/talk about if they want. However, the choice mentioned above only includes the FIRST THREE EPISODES! There is too much content for a single month, so it will be split into two parts. If this gets chosen, then next time I can nominate the second part which includes episode 4 and the expansion episodes.
I wasn't fully decided what to nominate for July but I eventually settled up with nominating Blood (One Unit Whole Blood v1.21, released on 15th July 1998) and two TCs, both released in July in early 2000s. I'm not voting yet, as I want to see the public voting first.
Have a nice weekend!
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ck3D, on 11 June 2023 - 05:21 AM, said:
Duke4.net
DNF #1
Duke 3D #1
