[ck3D]

Hi, version 2.0.0 of Blast Radius introduces a six level demo for episode 2: Zero Zone, made over the past two, three weeks.

Download here: https://www.moddb.co...3d-blast-radius install with the latest EDuke and select episode 2.

It's got smaller, more streamlined levels and 20+ new enemies (builds off the Blast Radius roster). Ideally I'd want about 30 maps except I'm running out of time to keep actively working on this this actively these days and so instead of sitting on everything I'll just release everything throughout different drops as they happen until the picture is complete.

You can play Zero Zone even if you've never completed or played Blast Radius, but if not used to the Blast Radius enemy variants and general fast pace, you may find some of the combat exceptionally difficult.

The story so far: after all the progressive deconstruction and then seemingly final events of Blast Radius (potential spoiler alert), Duke Nukem has not just realized, but accepted his merely symbolic status as a video game character which in return grants him the power to warp spacetime within his dedicated universe at will, so long as he exists. By design, he naturally uses this newly understood power to reach into forgotten dimensions as he can now imagine and thus materialize them, like a first-person lucid dreamer, and only fulfills fate via his constant pursuit of more asses to kick.

SP, DM, Coop, difficulty settings, it's all in. Also, only Slayer MIDIs.

More info later (maybe), enjoy!

[William Gee]

Have you tested the download out? I get error compiling con files.

[ck3D]

Uh oh, thanks heaps for letting me know, something must have gone wrong when I packaged the files (?), I'm on it right now to double check what's up and update the archive, sorry about that.

[ck3D]

Download should be fixed now, a depracated .con line of mine was causing a conflict on fresh installs (I assume, since the same .cons always ran fine in my old folder), now seems to work, please let me know!

[ck3D]

Here's a quick rundown of the maps:

zzl1.map / Crimson Cataclysm (the level literally is two C's):





zzl2.map / Celsius 137 (firestation level inspired in tone by Fahrenheit and Going Postal):









zzl3.map / Shrapnel Snorkel (100% underwater map unless you can find the secret):









zzl4.map / Clogged Bog (sewer level, sector over sector oriented):







zzl5.map / Vicious Venom (alien level, bullet hell moments, introduces new items):











zzl6.map / Octastrophe (introduces the Ghostabrains after Duke eradicated the Octadeity in Blast Radius, they shoot flashbacks):







I just realized the Ghostabrains caused the other Octas to bug out when frozen in Blast Radius, I'm going to be looking into that but the bug doesn't interfere with anything in Zero Zone, so the six maps are fully playable. The flashbacks will start causing lag if you let them stack up but their entire point is you probably should not. I just traversed all the levels again as a quality check and spotted a few funny cosmetic oddities I'll address but apart from those microscopic concerns, all should be good.

[ck3D]

Octabrain compatibility should be fixed in downloads from now on.

Here's a quick recap of the new enemies and features (serves as a rough draft for a ModDB post too):

___

// MONSTERS

- TROOPERS

Assault Firefighter (pal 10): Assault Captain health but does not teleport, drops armor, shoots fajins (a.k.a. 'balls of awesome');
Assault Asshole (pal 15): Assault General health, drops armor, shoots rockets.
Assault Electrician (pal 17): Octabrain strength, drops Monster, shoots electric zaps.
Assault Assault Assaulter (pal 19): Assault Assaulter with Octabrain strength, drops Redbull.

- DRONES

P.T.S.D. (Portative Turret Sentry Drone): pal 17 shoots RPG, pal 19 shoots mortars.

- PIGCOPS

Firefighter Pigcop / Lobster Tank / Firefighter Recon: pal 10, shoot fajin and gamma ray blast based attacks.
Pigachu / Pigachu Tank / Pigachu Recon: pal 17, shoot electric zaps, can live underwater.
Bog Hog / Bog Hog Tank / Bog Hog Recon: pal 14, shoot slimers, are consumed by a slimer when killed.
S.W.A.T. Pigcop / S.W.A.T. Tank / S.W.A.T. Recon: pal 13, Commander Health, have access to most strongest attacks in the game depending on situation, essentially small pig minibosses.

- OCTABRAINS

Ghostabrain (+ Flashbacks): pal 20, they are the species' lost souls after Duke crushed their deity and request payback from the trauma. Shoot Flashbacks: giant spinning Duke heads that will chase and haunt him, being too close to the reach of one will drain Duke's health and direct collision will hurt both, but they can just be shot. They will fire any weapon back however, and spawn the Octabrain's signature, traditional psychic projectile when defeated so be wise. The source Octabrain needs to be prioritized or Duke might quickly find himself overwhelmed.

Octadeity (soul): big brain that's gotta be defeated like a big brain.

- ALIENS

Newerbeast: blue, shoots electric zaps.
Newest Queen: dark blue, full-sized, shoots electric zaps.

___

// ITEMS

Monster: green atom (pal 17), swaps 19 health for a shrinker ammo refill.
Redbull: red atom (pal 21), swaps 19 health for a microwave expander ammo refill.
Atomic Rush: brown atom (pal 15), restores full (100) health + gives instant steroids boost.
Diet Pepsi: light grey atom (pal 20), substracts 49 of health + is a Wesley Willis reference.

[ck3D]

Final self bump, ModDB post now that issues are fixed: https://www.moddb.co...-six-level-demo

[zykov eddy]

Started playing and it's an immediate improvement on the beginning of the first episode. The atmosphere, enemy variety, level design, everything is a huge step up. I don't know if the new enemies were introduced in the first episode or here, because I never finished the later levels in Blast Radius, but they are very welcome here nonetheless. It's a very fresh start to an episode. Also, the tank that spams rockets nonstop seems bugged to me, but avoiding the rockets is actually a good challenge, even though they make the game a little bit laggy. I'd say, maybe replace the rockets with projectiles that don't spawn smoke particles to avoid the lag? Anyway, a very exciting start to an episode that makes me wanna continue playing.

[ck3D]

Thanks for the feedback, happy to hear you're having a good time. Some of the enemies already were in Blast Radius (such as the Bomb Squad pigs or the N.U.K.U.M.s revealed towards the end game) but otherwise most of the ones in the new maps past the first are new and were either made specifically for the map, or the map was built around them (for instance for Octastrophe the enemy came first). The loose Renegade Recons I introduced last month to the first episode via the addition of the second secret level, was the best playing grounds I could think of for it.

Thanks for bringing up the lag issue, that's important and maybe a Polymost thing, from what I always saw the base Scorpion Tanks always ran smoothly in the first episode regardless of user settings but there's one specific variation Zero Zone introduces that I know has a bug: for now the Lobster Tank (red tank from the fire station level) shoots both rockets and fajins instead of just fajins like it should, I probably broke something late in dev when writing the S.W.A.T. pigs. Doesn't affect gameplay, just looks ridiculously over the top (projectile itself remains an absolute beam of death whether or not it features rockets), I was planning on calling it a feature keeping it since it didn't affect my performance in classic but now I can imagine the sprite spawns being more problematic in more advanced renderers, so I reckon I'll fix that.

Other enemy bugs I'll fix when I get the chance are the Renegade Recons' sometimes poor detection of slopes, and there also is the fact the Ghostabrain/Flashback mechanic practically doesn't have any good cap and so will cause lag if left unchecked, but I actually kind of like that for now, they'll directly involve the player by haunting their memory.

[Dr.Panico]

Finally finished the demo.

Pretty sweet follow-up to Blast Radius. The levels are much shorter here (with the longest one taking 37 minutes for me), which was surprising but not really in a bad way. I've noticed that BR's length can be a bit overwhelming to some people (atleast judging by some YTbers who only played the first few levels and then stopped), which is sad there's a lot of jaw-dropping, breath-taking stuff there.
In here, the levels don't quite have the WOW factor the first episode has; but they're still really impressive levels with its fair share of surprises.

I guess my personal favourite level would be Vicious Venom with its ingenious design and gameplay, not to mention the last battle .
I had some issues on the second level, with the poles and stuff blocking my shots (though to be fair, they block enemy fire too); but I still liked for the most part. The main building looks very amazing.

The third level is just plain mean; an underwater level mostly populated by Sentry Drones?! I mean, it's not bad - it is very competently made, but still, dude...

Not much to say about the last level, except that I'll have to lie down for a while. I don't know what your plans are for the rest of the episode, but let me tell ya: I AM SCARED.

[ck3D]

Woah congrats, the levels are shorter as you noticed but still that was pretty quick. I reckon the one you spent 37 minutes in was the second level, the fire station one? That one can take a bit longer than the others if you're going out of your way to do everything, it's a bit larger scale and more open, figured that would be welcome given the frenzy of some of the battles (Come Get Some at least has quite a few tanks and there generally are projectiles flying everywhere). I'm not too sure of how much I like it, in a way it reminds me of some of my really, really old maps like Overtime but that's not exactly too bad of a thing, I still kind of like some of that stuff. I think I know exactly which poles you mean too, I normally use explosives there but just noticed that the other day about the sprites blocking too much space were one to use bullets, I'll adjust that in an update.

Underwater map upset you, damn I know the drones have this stigma of being annoying but I thought underwater actually switched up the challenge, I think they're pretty fun there since you have equal access to the vertical axis, that map I actually think is my current favorite in the set (did you find the only secret and/or maybe get the Crystal Caves reference?). You get the best weapons against them early on too but it's possible you missed the chaingun, it's in plain sight but in relatively vast settings, I keep retouching its exact placement. I'm also pretty happy with Clogged Bog (sewer level) and Vicious Venom but the latter I actually find to be, and thought would be refered to as the meanest, it can go in pretty hard at times, so it's interesting for me hearing the underwater level irritated you more.

If you didn't notice (it's subtle), the room in Sharpnel Snorkel where all the drones sequentially come out, the red ones are introduced and you get the red key (there's a screenshot above) is basically one giant sentry drone itself, so you're basically fighting those in some conceptual factory or whichever domain of theirs.

Thanks for playing!

[ck3D]

I only just noticed some of the Diet Pepsis in Octastrophe don't work (which actually makes that level a tad easier), I'm sure due to something as stupid as the atoms being set to the wrong but similar-looking palette or something. I'll fix those soon but then also recalibrate that whole map a bit to match, since in its current state it's already pretty hard (and I've spotted some minor touches I could fix or update around it).

[ck3D]

^ This is now fixed:

Version 2.0.2 (07/10/2023). Changelog from version 2.0.1 (07/10/2023): changes to zzl6.map ("Octastrophe"): fixed some bugged items, refined some frustrating aspects of the difficulty, rebalanced the Flashback enemy code to make its haunting attack just a little less deadly, added explosions at the start.

Can allow yourself to DNSCOTTY206 any time there if worried about your saves since that map has a weaponless start.

Had forgotten to include zzl6.mid this whole time too oops. That is also going up right now.

[Merlijn]

Still need to finish the main game, but this looks like a really cool expansion! Congrats on the release!

[ck3D]

Thank you! And no rush on playing, project is here to stay and designed to be played whenever it should be. I'm curious about what you'll think of the direction for the new levels.

FWTW, I just updated the last map again to a state that should remove a lot of the artificial difficulty and fix various issues. Now there are Holodukes, more items and platforms, the secret jetpack is easier to see for a split second, some cosmetics have been fixed and last but not least the switches can now be shot. Should alleviate quite a bit of the unnecessary roughness all the while introducing new possibilities.

[ck3D]

Just pushed another update which should fix the Flashback concerns (its movement but I also nerfed its HP, plays a bit better), as well as the Lobster Tank double attack bug, I also addressed the formerly rough look of some of the boundaries of zzl2.map while I was at it. Experience should be a lot smoother from now on (especially Octastrophe which used to be really rough), current version should stick around for a bit unless I've broken things.

EDIT: one hour later, fixed switches around zzl6.map I indeed had just broken.

Can grab the update: https://www.moddb.co...3d-blast-radius

[ck3D]

Level 1 Crimson Cataclysm playthrough by Radar:

[ck3D]

Level 2 by Radar:

[ck3D]

Level 3 playthrough by Radar, that one was super fun to make:

[NNC]

Boy, my deficit to BR is growing bigger day by day. I'm still waiting to play the secret level of the main game, which is a grand shame already, but holidays and other stuff are still blocking the mission a bit. Congrats anyway.

[ck3D]

The Watchtower, on 26 July 2023 - 12:48 PM, said:

Boy, my deficit to BR is growing bigger day by day. I'm still waiting to play the secret level of the main game, which is a grand shame already, but holidays and other stuff are still blocking the mission a bit. Congrats anyway.

Aye it's summer, I would expect no less. In fact I'm the sucker who should be Building less and enjoying the sun a bit more! I've also been trying to take a break, but this engine and all the work on the updates both are so addicting. I'm generally humbled by the reception of Blast Radius thus far but that only feeds my motivation to keep going, I really need to chill though before I deevaluate the entire market (alongside William, except he shouldn't stop).

Second secret level I'd be curious to hear your thoughts about but somehow I predict you may receive it as 'more of the same', it's another two-hour ride with atmosphere and was great testing grounds for the new Renegade Recons, I'm quite attached to it but on raw gameplay terms it probably repeats quite a bit of what the San Francisco and Norilsk maps already did, so maybe it's more of a curiosity. Unless the new Recons work well enough as a novelty to save its freshness but that is hard for me to tell right now, I've been implementing so many variants of them in Zero Zone already I'm a bit desensitized. Layout is a bit too basic with no resources left for sector over sector stuff which I lament a wee bit. But maybe you'll have a completely different take and surprise me.

Zero Zone maps are a clear departure in format however, relying on the same tones as Blast Radius but in a different style, especially levels 3 and onwards when the layouts start turning into their own thing. Maybe that makes the levels feel more classic and yet at the same time every new level introduces new stuff (enemies, projectiles) that clearly wasn't part of the scope of the base game, so the contrast hits harder in a goofy way that strangely works. I'm still thinking about your shadow enemy idea quite a bit, in fact it directly inspired my approach to the Ghostabrains in level 6 (they are transparent blue and not black silhouettes, but still). Your appreciation of the underwater areas in Blast Radius also fueled the idea for the entirely underwater level (third one, that is in the video by Radar I just posted).

Game being out shouldn't mean anyone is expected to, or should rush to consume it. Just means it'll be ready whenever the player is! Thanks for the congrats.

[Aleks]

ck3D, on 26 July 2023 - 04:40 PM, said:

Second secret level I'd be curious to hear your thoughts about but somehow I predict you may receive it as 'more of the same', it's another two-hour ride with atmosphere and was great testing grounds for the new Renegade Recons, I'm quite attached to it but on raw gameplay terms it probably repeats quite a bit of what the San Francisco and Norilsk maps already did, so maybe it's more of a curiosity. Unless the new Recons work well enough as a novelty to save its freshness but that is hard for me to tell right now, I've been implementing so many variants of them in Zero Zone already I'm a bit desensitized. Layout is a bit too basic with no resources left for sector over sector stuff which I lament a wee bit. But maybe you'll have a completely different take and surprise me.

I read "Renegade Raccoons" instead at a first glance and now I'm expecting you to introduce them in the next update. I'd settle with them using the mouse sprites.

[ck3D]

MSDN review by Mikko: https://msdn.duke4.net/revzerozone.php

[Aleks]

ck3D, on 30 July 2023 - 03:39 AM, said:

MSDN review by Mikko: https://msdn.duke4.net/revzerozone.php

Congrats, but at this point, I totally don't believe Mikko's per-map times

[ck3D]

Haha, hmm, nah I believe him. His gameplay style is Let's Rock and full-on all-guns-blazing, straight-to-the-point soldier style, doesn't explore around, doesn't go out of his way for secrets, just progresses onwards to shoot shoot shoot, kill kill kill, just scans the way ahead like that, lights it up with constant muzzle flash. I figure that may be why non-linear maps are a pet peeve of his, a recurring pattern in his original Blast Radius review was he kept looking for 'the right way' in the most open levels all the while missing the point that the right way is the one the player picks, he couldn't really compute (or didn't have time for) the extra dimension. Here the times are even more credible than the ones from the BR review to me, the levels really are that much more focused and compact, with the first two probably being the most open ones. In fact Mikko's times are rather comparable to Radar's.

[Radar]

The levels in Zero Zone are definitely much shorter than Blast Radius. I finished Octastrophe in 2 minutes. The map spawns you with no weapons so I didn't feel like I could do much except zip through and hit all the buttons.

Btw, just a heads up that I have a full playthrough of Blast Radius that will start going up once the Zero Zone videos are finished. I try to stick to no more than 2 videos a week for the same mod to give each video a fair chance at gaining analytics. I might switch to 3 vids a week if another mod or map gets released at the same time, but we'll see.

[ck3D]

Yeah, I already suspected that was your approach to the YT algorithm, and it's the best way of doing it for sure, you've been pretty remarkably on point with it too.

The news of the Blast Radius playthrough is excellent, that is going to make the end of my summer for sure, thank you. So far I was assuming it probably was too inconvenient to stream because of the overwhelming scope and format, and/or just that you didn't like the episode in particular; also it's one that takes a lot of time to absorb and so it's only natural if its appreciation and documentation need the long term to develop, by pure design, I'm well aware. Can't wait! I appreciate the enthusiasm, dedication and your work on your channel.

[Radar]

I thought it was a fantastic episode. The original release caught me at a time when I was taking a break from videos. A lot of maps from that period never got an upload as a result. Looking back, I wish I had recorded Blast Radius because the levels were super long and I would have liked to have had my playthrough documented. I was also thinking that surely someone else would have uploaded a full playthrough, but I can't seem to find one on YouTube. Anyway, I happened to like it quite a lot and found it worth revisiting for a recorded playthrough. Your maps over the past few years have become very deconstructive in nature. I feel like I'm playing a commentary on Duke maps itself. Poison Heart was the last (and also the best) map of yours that had the classic MRCK style, which I would describe as "Roch-style architecture with a neo-noir vibe". Nowadays your style has gone full meta, almost as if we're asking the basic question of "what does it mean to be a Duke map?" idk, just sharing my honest thoughts. I'll go back to recording vidya now.

[ck3D]

Really happy to read you enjoyed Blast Radius so much; you do sound like you could vibe its tone and undertones quite well, that's always reassuring for me since the experience can be so intense I actually only ever got so much feedback on the totality of it, people with no sincere curiosity are bound to drop off quickly (the Peru map in particular being a popular last stop for the tourists; it's fine if that's where they stay, I made lots of hotels). You're right about the direction my style took too, I also can feel it (and obviously I see it) but am not sure I could or even should explain it, from my perspective my mapping still is the same organic hobby it was before and just the levels that come out now look like this instead of looking like that. I reckon we're constantly growing and changing as individuals and so of course one's output will reflect exactly where they are on their path, but clear shifts are intriguing. Sometimes I'm probably just bored and feel like challenging myself with Build concepts that over time are bound to become more and more ridiculous as ideas keep renewing themselves, with the previous one feeding the next. My understanding of the game and of the engine also naturally got better and so perhaps when I play with concepts now is more accute or explicit. A sum of natural reasons really. It's true I remember something clicked after making Poison Heart in particular, to me was the sensation that finally, maybe I was decent enough at the editor now to finally be able to materialize most any level I would want or idea I could think of and the results wouldn't be a complete waste.

Radar's video of level 4, of course after the underwater it's the sewer level. This was especially helpful to watch as it made me aware of a possible softlock I'm going to go and fix ASAP, also I wasn't even aware one could leap over the second slime pit like that with just a strafe jump but I actually really like that skip and so will keep it in. The yellow door ledge is nowhere a player with the jetpack can't fly to anyway, and the possibility opens up speedrunning strats. (Extra props for wiping the Trash Compactor clean with all kills there, that isn't easy; and also how the RPG shot at 2:18 worked, I'm not even sure)

[ck3D]

Radar's traversal of level 5 Vicious Venom, I especially was looking forward to that one as it introduces a lot of new and rather extreme mechanics; it was interesting seeing how one would react to the new atoms in particular (green is trade 19 HP for Shrinker refill, red is trade 19 HP for Expander refill, grey is minus 49 HP, brown is full health if below 100 + instant Steroids rush). It's also one of my favorite levels in Zero Zone to traverse and sort of feels like my part for the 2020 Halloween CBP but on steroids (in more ways than one):



Also dodgeball game when fighting that Madlad Overlord straight on with the RPG is pretty crazy, in general it's been really cool seeing people progressively master the movement around the new enemies and projectiles.