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DNF #1
Duke 3D #1
We play through a set of maps/mods during the month, and use this thread to discuss it as we're still all fresh with our comments/opinions/feelings about the maps.
What's the purpose?
Basically, there are 4 purposes:
- Showcasing some of the older mods/maps to wider public - they definitely deserve the attention!
- Getting more people to actually enjoy and appreciate the user content - because let's be honest, over the past 28 years this was really what kept Duke alive after all.
- ...and while we're at it - keeping Duke alive by still enjoying it, as there's no new games in the franchise on the horizon (and let's be honest, they wouldn't be as good as some of this stuff!).
- Having a more structured discussion on maps than what's going in "Last map you played" thread - which is great, but it's basically a monologue most of the time.
Can I join?
Sure, as long as you find some spare time during the month to play the stuff that's on the table!
Why a month?
Because people have lives, jobs or other stuff to do (like mapping). For smaller maps, this could be shorter time - it's all up to debate in the future!
What port should I use? Are mods allowed? Where to get the maps?
It's entirely up to you how you play the game, so you can use whatever port or mod allowed - it would be cool to state in your posts what you're using too, as there might be some slight differences between the ports! As for the maps, they should be always linked within the first post.
How should I play the maps or post about them?
Again, it's up to you. You can finish them all in one go or play them one by one whenever you feel like. On Doom forums, there's a rule that you should keep the pace by not posting about a map that has a higher number than the day of the month, so e.g. on 6th you shouldn't post about map 7 etc. I think that might be a good practice if there's a large interest in this, but first let's see how active the thread is for a start - so if there's nothing going on, feel free to post about whatever map you want to.
Previous 2024 Editions
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Previous 2023 Editions
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Previous 2022 Editions
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Previous 2021 Editions
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For this month, two classic TCs from late 90s/early 2000s have been chosen: PRAY YOUR PRAYERS and THE REALMS OF GRUNE!
Pray Your Prayers was originally released in late 1999 and featured three levels. It required version 1.3D of the game to play. PYP was later re-released as Pray Your Prayers 2000 on August 2000 and contained an episode with 11 levels (5 briefing, 5 normal and one secret). The mod was still designed for version 1.3D but an Atomic patch was released separately. Many years later in 2008, PYP TC was re-released for EDuke32 by James Stanfield. The new version not only makes the TC Atomic compatible and fixes various stuff but it also includes an user map named Repent. However, it runs on an ancient version of EDuke32, so you might want to use a newer eduke32 build from 2015 or so to play the mod.
The Realms of Grune was originally released in mid 1998 and featured six levels, one of which is a secret level and another seems to be a multiplayer level. It requires version 1.5 of the game to play. The TC contains a few new weapons, new enemies, new items, new textures, new music and more! However, the levels are also filled with plenty of puzzles and the two new enemies are deadly, so don't expect this to be an easy journey!
Downloads
Pray Your Prayers (Demo Version)
Pray Your Prayers (Full Version)
Pray Your Prayers (EDuke32 Version)
The Realms of Grune (Installer Version)
The Realms of Grune (Extracted Version)
The Realms of Grune (Strategy Guide)
The Realms of Grune (Secrets Guide)
Installation Instructions
Pray Your Prayers (Demo Version)
Copy your DUKE3D folder (version 1.3D) and rename it to PRAYERS. Extract the contents of prayers.zip into the PRAYERS directory and accept to overwrite the files. Afterwards, run DUKE3D.EXE and select the first episode in game.
Pray Your Prayers (Full Version)
Copy your DUKE3D folder (version 1.3D) and rename it to PYP2000. Paste the file pyp2000.exe into the directory and run the self-extracting archive after specifying the correct directory (PYP2000 instead of the default C:\DUKE3D). Afterwards, run install.bat on your computer to rename the files (don't run inside DOSBox as the batch file will fail for some reason), then run DUKE3D.EXE and when in-game, select the second episode in game.
The Realms of Grune (Installer)
Copy your DUKE3D folder (version 1.5) and rename it to GRUNE. Run the file grune.exe and select your GRUNE directory instead of the default C:\DUKE3D. Afterwards, run the installer. If it asks you to overwrite files in the Windows directory (probably a leftover from when installing other Duke3D TCs), press the NO button. The installation should be eventually finished and the mod should work fine. Afterwards, run GRUNE.BAT to start the mod.
The Realms of Grune (Extracted)
Copy your DUKE3D folder (version 1.5) and rename it to GRUNE. Extract the contents of grune.zip into the GRUNE directory and run grune.bat file to start the mod. In-game, select the second episode and then your preferred difficulty to start the game.
Notes:
1) Be sure to check the readme files for more information about the TCs regarding the story, new weapons and monsters, etc.
2) Difficulty settings are not well implemented for Pray Your Prayers TC. One level has only one Mini Battlelord affected by difficulty settings (appears on Let's Rock and higher), while another level attempts to implement difficulty settings but many of those enemies are tagged "1", which means that they would only appear on Piece of Cake and above but not on the unused "Skill 0", which makes it pointless because you cannot select an easier difficulty than Piece of Cake in game, unless you use command line parameters. Rest levels have no differences between the skill levels. Therefore, don't bother with any of the easier difficulty settings when playing PYP and just pick Come Get Some difficulty for the intended experience. At the same time, The Realms of Grune has full support for ALL FOUR difficulty settings! So when playing that mod, feel free to pick an easier skill if you find it too much.
3) New gameplay demos are included for both TCs. One for GRUNE and two for PYP2000.
4) Pray Your Prayers is made for version 1.3D, while The Realms of Grune is made for version 1.5. Therefore, Atomic Edition is required to play the latter TC.
5) Save often and use multiple save slots!
6) The Realms of Grune has a nice green themed installer, which seems to work fine even on newer OSes.
7) The TCs can also be found as part of the EDuke32 Addon Compilation with further bug-fixes and improvements, though only in the newer 4.00 pre-release version of the compilation.
8) A Walkthrough Guide and Secret Guide are included in the downloads to help when playing The Realms of Grune.
Have fun!
