Duke Map/Mod of the Month Club - April 2025

Duke Map/Mod of the Month Club - April 2025 "Bob Averill & the BOBSP Series"

quakis

#1 Posted Yesterday, 08:06 AM

As discussed in this thread, Fistmarine has stepped down from hosting further DMOTM threads, so thank you Fistmarine for keeping this event active for as long as you have!

Seeing as I didn't want DMOTM to wither away as it not only helped me break out of my writing lull, it's also one of the few opportunities these days for the community to discuss (and later read) about past works, I'll be attempting to keep this running for the foreseeable future. Going forward I may stick to keeping our playlists more bitsized and might even consider revisiting a couple of works during previous sessions that didn't get much time under the spotlight, but I'll look into those later. For now I'll be keeping things simple as I ease into this role as host.

What's this thing?
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 29 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

Spoiler

Previous 2023 Editions

Spoiler

Previous 2022 Editions

Spoiler

Previous 2021 Editions

Spoiler

We're starting a bit late this month, so to keep things simple while I settle into starting these events, I wanted to focus on Bob Averill's work which should be manageable with the time we have left during April considering most of them are short experiences. Surprisingly these levels haven't been covered during prior DMOTM sessions yet and recently they've been on my mind.

The original BOBSP trilogy released between 1999 - 2002 was influential for showcasing that BUILD and DUKE3D could be pushed much further than perceived at the time, using a familiar mechanics twisted in different ways and combining many of them for a particular style of play. Averill would later pop in to the community to release BOBSPX (2007), designed with the HRP in mind and BOBSP4 (2013), a conceptual level focused around scuba gear and the ocean depths. Of special note are the words left at the bottom of BOBSP1 and BOBSP4's txt files left to inspire mappers who take the time to read them.

Downloads:

BOBSP SERIES

BOBSP1: Foreboding
MSDN https://msdn.duke4.net/hotbobsp1.php
Dukeworld https://dukeworld.co.../a-e/bobsp1.zip

BOBSP2: Paranoia
MSDN https://msdn.duke4.net/hotbobsp2.php
Dukeworld https://dukeworld.co.../a-e/bobsp2.zip

BOBSP3: Full For Vengeance
MSDN https://msdn.duke4.net/hotbobsp3.php
Dukeworld https://dukeworld.co.../a-e/bobsp3.zip

BOBSPX: Xenocide
MSDN https://msdn.duke4.net/hotbobspx.php
Dukeworld https://dukeworld.co.../a-e/bobspx.zip

BOBSP4: Sub Species
MSDN https://msdn.duke4.net/hotbobsp4.php

DUKEMATCH LEVELS

BOBDM1
MSDN https://msdn.duke4.net/dmbobdm1.php
Dukeworld https://dukeworld.co.../a-e/bobdm1.zip

BOBDM2
MSDN https://msdn.duke4.net/dmbobdm2.php
Dukeworld https://dukeworld.co.../a-e/bobdm2.zip

Morpheus
MSDN https://msdn.duke4.net/dmmorpheus.php
Dukeworld https://dukeworld.co...-o/morpheus.zip

Halflife Frenzy
Dukeword https://dukeworld.co...-j/halflife.zip

NNC

#2 Posted Yesterday, 09:18 AM

I remember this BobSP was a big thing, basically created lots of neat effects and superb details. They were tech demos though, the levels themselves weren't that great.

Then Averill returned much later with a map full underwater with constant oppression of losing my scuba gear and the map was filled with underwater drones and such. I rarely played usermaps from the last 1.5 decade, but I certainly played that one.

This post has been edited by NNC: Yesterday, 09:18 AM

Quacken

#3 Posted Today, 01:29 AM

We are meteoric levels of back right now.

Foreboding

Foreboding is a short tech demo map with not much to do except what Averill tells you to do. They were right in that text file - This is some seriously impressive tech for 1999, and way better than whatever the hell Last Reaction and Water Bases were doing the same year. And while we're at it, it's better than most releases in the early 2000s. You've got custom keys, security cameras that double as message screens and update in response to your progress, great use of bridge textures and doors that move in funky patterns. There's no monsters here though and it's pretty short. I ended up finishing by accident and looking a little confused. Foreboding was ahead of the rest of the Duke 3D mappers by about 19 years, but it would be nice if there was an actual map attached to it.

7/10.

Paranoia

Paranoia still keeps most of the same vibes, but now it has 35 monsters and a fancy custom MIDI. I don't know if Averill was having an off day, but combat isn't their best card in this deck. The LARD train crashing into the wall looks great, but it has some collision that makes it oddly hard to shoot into the train from outside it. I wasted about four shots trying to nail the Enforcers inside and when I was done I had zero shells left. The Battlelord sets a trap behind the 3D Blue Key. Not only will you pretty much always get hurt by the blast, but you can't run out of the hole the explosion creates or even throw Pipe Bombs into it unless you stand right in front of the hole. This is also another map that ends with a walkable exit, so I went towards the carriage at the back of the final fight and got my confused face on again. Paranoia definitely took a lot of time to make, but could have benefitted by being a little longer.

7/10.

ck3D

#4 Posted Today, 01:33 AM

Thank you for picking MotM duties back up.

Least we forget this also recently was revealed to be a Bob map released under a different alias: https://msdn.duke4.n...otduketroid.php

This post has been edited by ck3D: Today, 01:36 AM

quakis

#5 Posted Today, 10:36 AM

ck3D, on 15 April 2025 - 01:33 AM, said:

Least we forget this also recently was revealed to be a Bob map released under a different alias: https://msdn.duke4.n...otduketroid.php

Honestly one of the biggest curiosities I've been told about as of late, although was hesitant about including it without having the necessary details while still wrapping my head around it. We should definitely include this as part of April's playlist. Duketroid's txt file also includes large sections similar to the BOBSP4 txt file talking about untapped gameplay concepts possible within Duke3D. The level itself also has a similar pacing as BOBSP 1 & 2 with how it feels more like a showcase of ideas, taking each item and doing something brief with it before moving onto the next, each chamber like it's own museum exhibit and feels less like a map-wide metroidvania world to explore using these items; I guess that job was for others to pick up on. Now I wonder if this map had some influence on Yellow: Mirror's gameplay perhaps?

Although already mentioned in my TAW Thread, it's also relevant here, I've written an article about BOBSP1 that reads less like a typical review per se, talking more about my personal history with the level, its influences on others and breaking down some of the effects at play. You can read it here: https://taw.duke4.ne.../duke3d/bobsp1/