[Fernando Marquez]

Hello fellow dukers,

Fernando Márquez reporting on this channel, author of the FM4X series and offline player since as early as the game's 1996 release, but an online player since the NetDuke32 Branch sprang to life, thanks to Striker's huge effort and sweat and blood.

With this post I officially conclude my participation in the Duke community as a mapper, but not as a player, mind you. I present you: FM7X: The Complete Fernando Márquez 7-Episode Full-Steel-Balled Pack, with the real final chapter in my 20-year service to the Duke community (yes, it's been that long!).

I've read the post about the release of FM4X I made a few few years on Duke4 and other sites and what it went on my mind that day is that its release WAS meant to be the end of my series. But as years transpired, that turned out NOT to be case - fortunately, I had several additionals levels to give you before I could say I sign off my career as a mapper.

77 levels, spread across 7 episodes are included in the Plutonium/Atomic versions, but not Registered (I will explain that later...): The first 4 single-player episodes, comprising the base campaign are already known to the public, so I won't list them here. Episodes 5 (DukeMatch Bonus: original levels) and 6 (Flashback Bonus: reinterpretations of base campaign levels) are exclusive for DukeMatch and not meant for a single player session. The real highlight on this release is the seventh and final episode: Continental Odyssey, a full-fledged episode consisting of 7 single player levels, 2 of these are secret and 4 are multiplayer-only.

Originally I planned this episode as a DukeTag-only episode. Since the DukeTag mode is seriously underutilized, I wanted to provide a full set of levels which took advantage of this gameplay method, but after 4 levels ahead in progress, I've decided to scrap the episode completely, and jumped ahead and morphed the premise into creating my true final episode. But the four levels did not go to the waste bin, instead being tackled at the end of the episode as bonus levels outside the episode campaign. The main 7 levels of this episode are fully Single Player/DukeMatch/Cooperative/DukeTag enabled, and levels 8-11 are DukeMatch/DukeTag exclusives.

Like prior packs containing my levels, these went heavy testing and robust performance checks with friends and players and, up until now, I'm satisfied with the results. So that's the reason I now officially release my pack to you.

If the four-episode campaign mirrors the original Duke episodes, the seventh episode (but fifth story-wise) mirrors the Alien World Order episode, but unlike the aforementioned episode, Continental Odyssey (just like my complete pack and levels) is meant to be played on the original MS-DOS version of Duke3D, either on DOSBox or even on real hardware (my levels were heavily tested on real and varied hardware, ranging from a Pentium 75MHz to a 400MHZ, Win3.11 to Win98SE and so else).

You can get my complete FM7X release downloading it here on this link.
https://1drv.ms/f/s!...AKPao_?e=8LuwPW
https://mega.nz/fold...DZdsLnvQ_zeF6Gw

FM7X.ISO is a CD image of the expansion pack. Burn it onto a CD and load it into your DOSBox or real DOS/Win9x computer. Just like if it was released in early 2000s.
FM7X-DOS is the contents of the CD image above, saving you the hassle of burning the CD in first place.
FM7X-FULL contains all version of FM7X in three folders ready to copy and paste into your Duke folder. Choose the version you have and just copy to your root Duke folder. The GRP contains all assets from the expansion pack plus the original game.
FM7X-GRP is exactly the same as the above folder, save for the GRP files condensed. These just contain the new data.
FM7X-NetDuke32 is the easy way for NetDuke32 players. The GRP files used are from the condensed folder.
If you just want to shoot ahead and straight play the levels, just choose the NetDuke32 or Full version files. Just install it in your Duke folder and play.
I only provide full support for the original MS-DOS versions and (limited but substantial) NetDuke32. I think you can play my levels without issues on any other port, but no port was tested outside the original retail MS-DOS versions and NetDuke32.

Each and every level was corrected, reedited, made easier and fixed a few problems found after its original release. This is my final foray into Duke mapping, so therefore, unless there is a critical bug present or caught after this initial release, no more levels will come out from me (perhaps a few collaborations or maybe, mayyyyyyyyyyyyyyybe a tiny weeny bitty map). I consider it a goodbye, see you soon.

Thank you very much for taking your time in reading this and I really hope you enjoy my levels as much as I did mapping them. It was quite a rollercoaster!

Thank you very much. Enjoy!

Below a few pictures previewing "Continental Odyssey"...

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[ck3D]

What a fantastic surprise, you're such a beast. Downloading now and will play soon. Congrats on release and thanks for sharing.

[William Gee]

Awesome thanks Fernando! Downloading now, looking forward to it!

[NightFright]

Easily one of the most complete and polished episode packs of all time. Congrats for completing this magnum opus! I only wished some of the maps (especially in ep.3) weren't so buggy in EDuke32, mostly due to non-functional shrinker puzzles. That's not your fault, though.

[stillTodd]

Just for the DP folks: I'm part way through the 7th episode running individual maps using DukePlus, without issues (visual or otherwise). The only thing I've been doing is setting up advanced enemy AI and ensuring the Imperium Cannon is enabled upon map start. Way challenging and these maps are simply the best Big, complex and interesting.

[NY00123]

I'll first add some comments about using NetDuke32, in response to this:

NightFright, on 05 June 2024 - 01:20 PM, said:

I only wished some of the maps (especially in ep.3) weren't so buggy in EDuke32, mostly due to non-functional shrinker puzzles. That's not your fault, though.

Given that FM7X has been tested with NetDuke32 and original DOS versions only, the choice of NetDuke32 might appear to make sense. There's one important catch.

For multiplayer games, NetDuke32 is an obvious option. For single-player games, NetDuke32's game saving feature has been broken for quite a while. Hence, if anyone wants to play solo using NetDuke32, you'll have to do so without creating or loading saved games. Rednukem is probably the source port closest to EDuke32 and NetDuke32 while being compatible with the shrinker puzzles. Rednukem hasn't been tested with FM7X, though.

On FM7X in general, we can see it's finally out. Personally, I didn't seem to be familiar with Fernando's contents (albeit the same would apply to most other user-made contents made for Duke3D). After getting into more multiplayer Duke3D games back in 2022, including members of the Build Bros Discord server (Fernando is one of its admins), I got familiar with at least a few of Fernando's multiplayer maps. I could recognize 4 by name from FM1X and FM5X. Even then, I probably tried just the adapted versions for the StrikerDM and TeamDUKE mods, unless I also checked at least a subset as present in Build Bros' map pack.

[Aleks]

Wow, that's a nice surprise - just when I finished the original FMX4! Looking forward to playing it soon.

Not sure if you're still checking the forums that much besides just releasing your own stuff, Fernando, but this thread might interest you:
https://forums.duke4...lub-april-2024/

A few months ago, we played through the first 3 episodes of FMX during "Duke Map/Mod of the Month Club" thing, so there's plenty of reviews of your earlier levels. I suppose that now when there is a new episode, we should do E4 and E5 one of these months!

[Aleks]

And so, I've just finished this episode after few randomly picked nights of playing this over the past couple of weeks. Here are the thoughts/write-ups for each level.

Suffragette Rampage

Large city map with plenty of generic locations and a certain "Blast Radiusish" part, where after blowing up part of a building, you get to go through the remains to find a keycard. It starts pretty tough before you collect enough firepower, which I liked. The locations, however, are kinda "back to the primitive" - the police station is very much like the one in Pigsty, there's a Duke-Burger restaurant connected with Shop'N'Bag market and a cinema that surprisingly has a different layout then the one from HH. The design is pretty much up to Fernando's standard, though this level, as well as all others in the episode, is strongly built around a team Duke-Tag, luckily without the symmetric layout. The use of SOS all over the place is very "professional". The level is pretty long at around 40 minutes and full of secret places, towards the end we get a jetpack so finding them/going back is a bit easier.

Rating: 81/100

Amazonian Quarry

Mines in the jungle? That's an interesting idea which works for the first half of the level, unfortunately, the 2nd part is the mirror image of the first half, so it gets quite repetitive, as both of these parts are pretty considerable in size. The design is nice and it's good to see something more original, especially the trolley tracks leading to factory parts are nicely done, but the whole thing drags. Combat is interesting - although a couple of battlelords thrown around is very easy to tackle, there are some more challenging monster combinations and pretty open battles. Besides the Duke-Tag mode, the map apparently also contains an unreachable in single player area for regular 8-player "racing" Dukematch, a nice addition.

Rating: 85/100

Quick Dip Oasis

Mirage Barrage was one of my favourite levels in World Tour, but this level - its spiritual twin - topped it with the creative puzzles and neat design done only with the regular DN3D textures. This time, the symmetry/Duke-Tag availability isn't as blatant as in the previous map (in fact, I'm not sure it's there at all - but I'm quite sure there are some DM-only areas). The whole map is rather long (40+ minutes), but despite the puzzles and plenty of interconnections/seemingly multiple ways, quite straightforward. The puzzles aren't difficult and mostly require either some observational skills or fast movement. Going through the waving river that could squish you, moving the large "sliding door" blocks, rotating switches in a dark room that tries to squish you and "the question" to get the red keycard were particularly impressive/creative. On the other hand, the one with chaotic movement of pillars I think was already done in one of the previous FMX levels and could have been easily cheesed with the jetpack. The combat was fun and challenging all around, some of the battlelords in particular were nicely placed in a way where they really could be threatening. All the interconnections gradually opening up can be a bit confusing at first, but in the end are a nice way to move around the level without having to solve some of the puzzles/gauntlets once again. One of the best levels in the whole of FMX, great job!

Rating: 93/100

K-TIT Aerodrome

This one was quite huge, probably bigger than was safe for its own good - it got a bit repetitive around 2/3 of the progression, as the design is very "standard" (but you wouldn't expect anything else from such a facility). The combat is what makes it a lot more interesting, some of the effects also are quite cool, even if re-used (the cannon towards the end, for example). I managed to find the secret exit and I'm quite pleased with its location and the build-up to this moment. On the other hand, some of the progression bits are a bit weird (yellow key lock inside a rather humble location), I was also a bit disappointed that I wouldn't get to access the airstrip even for a moment. Once again, I didn't notice any Duke-Tag extras, but due to its sheer size, the map might be a bit cumbersome in regular DM. It was still a very good level all around, even if the "review" might seem a bit too focused on the negatives.

Rating: 87/100

Platinum Spatial

A hi-techish space level, with slightly oversized proportions (or too little detail), which might also be the effect of mostly symmetrical layout. I like how the effect of "floating" pop-up ramp is used here again, for the 2nd or 3rd time in FMX I think, but much more showcased in this level. There's also a bit too much legwork required here, even with the interconnections that open up as your progress and very clear signposting of pretty much every relevant location - or maybe just the map in general feels a bit empty, even if the flights are a plenty (and so are the supplies) and all the corridors are a bit repetitive/generic. I liked the idea of "secret" yellow key which was nicely hidden (the lock took me longer to find). There are 2 possible endings and from what I understood, the secret one - inside the rocket, another nice effect BTW - should lead to the other secret level, but it didn't work, at least under Rednukem, and so both exits just sent me straight to Hellin' Beachin'.

Rating: 81/100

Hellin' Beachin'

I really appreciate the fairly original and smooth/natural looking design of the forest, with nice shadows and the beach areas evenly dispersed around the map - but the labrenthine layout of the whole forest with almost no "landmarks" and the overwhelming darkness of some of the areas take a lot out of the experience here. The combat is quite challenging though and there are some really fun areas, like the ship battle or the little cottage where you can attack the inhabitants through the breakable windows. The tents and beachbeds with dead people are also a nice little addition to the "visual storytelling" here. Use of verticality is spectacular - there are nice bits of platforming which I "solved" regularly despite having a jetpack and some good sniping points. Towards the end, the map ventures into more alien territory. The final area had a potential, but I think adding the podium with cocooned babes from which you can just cheese the battlelord like in The Abyss took a lot out of that. I do appreciate the accompanying monsters here being more than just cannon fodder. Nice map, but probably I was expecting a bit more from the final level of a 40+ levels journey.

Rating: 82/100

Zoned Out Moonlight

This is a secret level which seems unreachable (at least in Rednukem), so I played it like a user map and pistol started; it is too bad, as this is much better fit for the final map than Hellin' Beachin'. Pistol starting didn't seem too difficult despite the early-on pack of sentry drones (they could be easily cheesed with the door) and the shotgun and chaingun are fairly easily obtained, then it just goes down the hill from this point onwards. The map isn't too long (still about 30 minutes) and has a bit of Lunar Reactor/Dark Side vibe, although seems much simplified and the layout smoothly loops on itself, so in fact there are not too many ways to go and you can proceed to the moon finish without having to clear the whole lunar base before. I especially enjoyed that part - the first drones/troopers/turrets battle on the moon surface is fun, then come battlelords and commanders and finally we're off to the grand finale - I assume this map just serves as an alternate ending rather than a secret level that would take us to the regular final level. The secrets are quite difficult to find and they seemed to be chained together a bit. Finally, there's the boss battle(s) - this is probably the most refreshing part of the whole level, as finding a fairly easy secret in this last part, we get to pick (or more likely, draw) which of the 4 bosses we will fight, depending on the switch we end up pressing. I like how the whole effect is set up - for the regular 3 bosses, we get to fight them in a pretty tight room that's full of extras - commanders, enforcers and troopers - which makes the fights more challenging, while The Queen is fought underwater in heavy company of octabrains, slimers and protector drones, making her fights the longer and most difficult due to the amount of constantly spawning drones. This 4 ending turned out to be surprisingly fun and not as tedious as it might sound and this is one of the better maps of this episode.

Rating: 88/100

[ck3D]

https://msdn.duke4.net/revfm7x.php

Mikko's review. I've been too busy to play this yet, but still am very enthusiastic to do so when the time does come.

[William Gee]

ck3D, on 24 August 2024 - 06:06 AM, said:

https://msdn.duke4.net/revfm7x.php

Mikko's review. I've been too busy to play this yet, but still am very enthusiastic to do so when the time does come.

Quote

So, here's how to get this up & running in EDuke32: Download the zip. Unzip it. Navigate to FM7X-GRP\FM7XPLUT and copy everything there into your EDuke32 folder. After copying right click FM7Y-SP.bat and click Edit. (If you get a warning here, simply ignore it.) Now simply replace Duke3d.exe with eduke32.exe. Save as whatever.bat (select all formats rather than .txt from the dropdown menu) and now launch the episode via the newly-modified bat file.

Thanks to Mikko now I can play. Had no idea how to get this to work before.