[ck3D]

Direct continuation of DNVL4.map.

Level 5 missing for now since just an interlude (and a technical haystack of SE's that will be a bit demented to go back to and fix), it will be exclusive to the final episode, but doesn't break story continuity at all to jump from 4 to 6. If anything might leave a few players wondering what happened during the timelapse (but perhaps don't wonder too much).

Temporarily hosting here while I keep testing it during the next couple of hours, but unless my very last pass messed something up should be good to go.

Kick gum, etc.

edit - replayed the map again, can confirm nothing breaks except one little detail only I should care about I will fix in the ModDB release later today but doesn't affect gameplay one bit. CGS all secrets takes 30/35 mins.

[ck3D]

Links to new version:

- single/standalone map download: https://www.moddb.co...taearly-release

- 5-level 0.94 demo: https://www.moddb.co...v-094-earlybeta

[Dr.Panico]

Great map! This one took me 34 minutes, and I've found almost every secret.

Certainly a much smoother run than the previous level, though this wasn't quite a picnic either. It could get a little confusing with all those holes and stuff. There's that section in the caves with the volcano supposed to act like an elevator, but it moves so slowly that I didn't think I could get down there at first. Same thing with the 8-button puzzle; I wasn't sure if I was supposed to go up there or if it was just the sky and I would get crushed. On the other hand, ammo was never a big issue, and combat went mostly smooth.

I liked all the TROR trickery here, giving this map an extra sense of verticality much like DNVL2. It really feels like a true-3D environment compare to earlier Build engine efforts. It can make your head spin at times. Some clever details thrown here and there as well.

And finally, great choice of music. Joy Division rules!

[ck3D]

Thanks again, also for all of the past reports. Yeah funnily enough I actually think I thought of you for a split second when finally deciding on the soundtrack, although I had it in mind when/before making the map (it isn't uncommon that I make a level indirectly based around a song, not necessarily thematically or so explicitly but just the equivalent to how everyone occasionally gets a song stuck on repeat in their head, in my case somehow I use the opportunity to make a level. Hint: a quicker way to make that stop is to play/sing/hum/imagine the end of the earworm song. Brain is playing on repeat because in some manner is failing/has failed to get recent closure on it.)

It is true the volcano/lava pillars are slow, I noticed that too but didn't realize it could get genuinely confusing. Well expected the player might miss it once or twice but quickly figure it out (which I reckon may be what happened to you). Might refine that a little in the final version. Red cave one easily can be sped up in whichever way (but I like how it wears out the boots a little on the way back up), last pillar too but I would rather not as it is (in most case scenarios) in sync with how quickly Octas can rise/catch up. All the while being just too fast enough for a potential Commander which would be too dangerous (yes those rocket shitters are that slow). And also mellow enough for a player who misses it completely to defeat the Pigcops that spawn in and then notice it, but still just barely make it on. Ah well even camera or change of palette, etc... could help a little.

Makes my day you liked the verticality, it's only going to get more pronounced even though there are only so many levels left and so might not get insane either. But perhaps it is starting to show what I've been meaning for a while now talking about using TROR in practical ways. IMO started being apparent as soon as level 3 (1 and 2 are my least favs) but with this one becomes half a notch more daring.

List of secrets (off top of head, not counting unmarked):

Spoiler

- top of submarine accessible from a crack inside of the upper section of dark water tunnel with radioactive/phosphorescent sharks, down below is a hint (easier to find than crack itself), can be accessed as soon as map start if jetpack left over when playing in continuity;

- red cave blast away the vines on one of the walls and jump through hole;

- two secrets: cliff on either side of last volcano you exit out of;

- last secret Lara Croft secret on top of the trees.

[stillTodd]

Have not finished but just popping in to say awesome, great on slow DP system, only significant lag was where I should have chosen Mastercard.

[ck3D]

Haha! Thanks, happy you dig it so far (Duke does kind of dig quite a bit in this map). Maps made on slow systems will run on slow systems... Hopefully. Lo-fi fellowship. Glad to hear the compatibility effort is working out.

I get the lag too when turning up the Heat. It is similar to the Saturn V explosion in DNVL2 but on a 1/600th scale and so hits a lot softer, I actually think (from my observations working also using different mods with beta testers, i.e.. AA etc.) that isn't so much a hardware thing but lag that seems consistent with a mapping method I've developed (and is too convenient to completely give up on, but that's a good incentive to try from now on) that is making columns of differently timed C9's/explosions. For some reason that it has to calculate a shit ton of sprite action within the same X and Y coordinates drives the game crazier than it normally would if everything was scattered around or so it seems. Perhaps it is the method itself that is a lot more resource consuming than I realize, impacting performance, but anyway I've seen the technique (applied to various extents) cause the same effect on different machines/to different players in different contexts, looks like a legit hard stutter, maybe a EDuke thing that might or might not get spotted/fixed in the future, but most likely a game thing (?).

Had your comment about the DukePlus dual pistols in mind a little when adding gameplay to this map in particular, I wonder if they will come in handy. Normal pistol otherwise is rather weak around this level (somewhat uncommon for me) but dual pistols might be a boost seeing as chaingun is good (well, decent).

[unedukecated]

This time I played slow and explored a lot, also not in Polymer but polymost. Found 1 secret so far, all weapons I think and maximum ammo for each, lot of health too but I'm stuck after 20 minutes, I have no idea how to get the blue keycard and what this is all about but I enjoyed this map much more than any other DNV map so far even though I hate diving in Duke it's was made really good here. I found the screens but they show me either nothing or the blue keypad which doesn't help since I already know where it is. Halp! xD

[ck3D]

Glad you're enjoying it. Key part is a bit tricky because calls for observation and a bit of deduction,

Spoiler

if ice hasn't exploded yet. Use the VCR. There is a very subtle sprite arrow pointing to it on one of the boxes I want to highlight better, the (invisible) switches are hittable from all angles/super large and the set-up generally should be tempting to interact with. That will break the ice.

Next step if stuck after that: after the ice exploded/melted the key fell into the lava inside of the volcano below. Basically had two choices there, either keep the lava floor solid ground like I made some of the other ones at the expense of realism to make jumping physics easier, which would leave the key visible after it falls; but I very much prefer the puzzle aspect/having to guess it has sunk and then blind dive a little in the end. Maybe it could be hinted at a little better though. Right now the two cameras that do not point at the door point at 1/ the original place you (most plausibly) have seen the key trapped inside of, and 2/ the volcano where it lands (so no camera is really showing 'nothing'; if you mean the static screens - just remembered them - then yeah makes sense, watch again after using VCR for a gag/Easter egg). Originally had both cameras overlapping positions/angles in the SOS/TROR to really make the comparison between both POV's obvious but eventually ended up moving one to a better spot. Perhaps should restore at least that in the final to make the puzzle logic a bit more complete again. Could also swap out sector pals but that may be too dead a giveaway. Ah I'll think about it. Thanks for the comment.

Don't know how Polymer would behave in this one; I suspect it might not like the multilayered TROR (under/)water section so much, will play fine the rest of the time, then might piñata into (relative) oblivion around the very end or not, there are not so many sectors/portals but there is some slightly over average draw distance.

[stillTodd]

Completed less one secret. This is one of the most creative and fun maps.

In particular, your method of blocking off access to the Jurassic Park area (eg the rising lava column) and the TROR work associated with the blue key was especially ingenuous.

Will revisit the only possible thing I didn't see working and PM you later. It could simply be a switch I missed.

Edit: akimbo pistols very much appreciated They and the BFG really help with the amount of blocking spritework in play. Oh and the Battlelord cannon, which becomes available early on (yay!).

[unedukecated]

ck3D, on 11 May 2026 - 11:00 AM, said:

Glad you're enjoying it. Key part is a bit tricky because calls for observation and a bit of deduction,

Spoiler

if ice hasn't exploded yet. Use the VCR. There is a very subtle sprite arrow pointing to it on one of the boxes I want to highlight better, the (invisible) switches are hittable from all angles/super large and the set-up generally should be tempting to interact with. That will break the ice.

Next step if stuck after that: after the ice exploded/melted the key fell into the lava inside of the volcano below. Basically had two choices there, either keep the lava floor solid ground like I made some of the other ones at the expense of realism to make jumping physics easier, which would leave the key visible after it falls; but I very much prefer the puzzle aspect/having to guess it has sunk and then blind dive a little in the end. Maybe it could be hinted at a little better though. Right now the two cameras that do not point at the door point at 1/ the original place you (most plausibly) have seen the key trapped inside of, and 2/ the volcano where it lands (so no camera is really showing 'nothing'; if you mean the static screens - just remembered them - then yeah makes sense, watch again after using VCR for a gag/Easter egg). Originally had both cameras overlapping positions/angles in the SOS/TROR to really make the comparison between both POV's obvious but eventually ended up moving one to a better spot. Perhaps should restore at least that in the final to make the puzzle logic a bit more complete again. Could also swap out sector pals but that may be too dead a giveaway. Ah I'll think about it. Thanks for the comment.

Don't know how Polymer would behave in this one; I suspect it might not like the multilayered TROR (under/)water section so much, will play fine the rest of the time, then might piñata into (relative) oblivion around the very end or not, there are not so many sectors/portals but there is some slightly over average draw distance.

It didn't and the screen was not working properly, also 1 wall tile was like missing. All this due to I started the map in Polymer I think, but once I saw a wall "missing" I switched to polymost. I guess this ruined the screen and the melt sequence. Now it all works fine when starting the map in polymost. I also didn't check the interactive VCR first. And no idea how this map will behave in Polymer only.

What I don't get is Todd. BFG? Battlelord cannon? Are we playing different maps/cons? Oo

[ck3D]

unedukecated, on 12 May 2026 - 09:48 AM, said:

It didn't and the screen was not working properly, also 1 wall tile was like missing. All this due to I started the map in Polymer I think, but once I saw a wall "missing" I switched to polymost. I guess this ruined the screen and the melt sequence. Now it all works fine when starting the map in polymost. I also didn't check the interactive VCR first. And no idea how this map will behave in Polymer only.

What I don't get is Todd. BFG? Battlelord cannon? Are we playing different maps/cons? Oo

Wall missing is interesting, was it in the green tunnel that is right before entering the large icy cavern by chance? If yes it is supposed to be a corner mirror there (with some decoration so it's not so explicitly a mirror):

Spoiler

Knowing Polymer handles drawing differently compared to classic/Polymost (to this day at least) I already knew it could mess up parallax skies, etc. but wasn't aware (or forgot) it could make the game/port struggle with those? Or maybe was a different wall/problem entirely.

stillTodd plays with DukePlus: https://www.moddb.com/mods/duke-plus

[stillTodd]

Yep, with the stock DP 5.01 install and enhanced AI turned on in the enemies section: BFG (also called the Imperium Cannon) replaces the Devastator, akimbo pistols are available if the mapper provides another or if a trooper drops a 2nd, Battlelord drops a super accurate high rate chaingun that shares ammo with the original (also maxes at 400 rounds), and some pigcops make use of (and drop) double barrel shotguns. There are other enhancements; for example, how the Medkit works.

Enhanced AI also provides more challenging gameplay. Enemies move more quickly when they can't see you, and all enemies in a sector (?) activate upon gunfire afaict for more challenging - and sometimes overwhelming - action.

I don't change any other options other than that, personally. There are a lot of other features that are in there & I'm guessing AA has them and more. https://www.moddb.co...lien-armageddon

To install: grab a copy of the latest/last released DP via ck3D's link above, extract to a fresh directory, copy duke3d.grp into that directory, run dukeplus.bat, adjust the conventional eduke32 settings to taste, start a game, and press PGDN to get to the DukePlus options. In the eduke32 settings menu, I use the reset to classic keyboard settings option. I rarely use the mouse, and I assign Console to the tilde ~ so that things like dnkroz work correctly. That's it from this end. Edit: not quite - I'll set brightness, visibility and FOV up two/three notches.

If wanting it, re-check the "BFG replaces Devastator" setting after starting a new game, because it sometimes silently changes back to No.

[unedukecated]

Oh I see, DukePlus. Well my mapping intention is vanilla only and so I also don't play any mods or stuff that requires other stuff.

Ck, no, not the mirror. The mirror is just fine and looks really cool, I meant a wall at the very start, it's also missing on the other side there (Polymer only!)

Attached thumbnail(s)

• 

[ck3D]

Thanks for the info/screenshot. That looks funny, besides the one you highlighted I think I can see it's also doing it to the parallel angled wall further in the back (edit - looking even closer, it's several of them). Looks like it's confusing the different TROR layers, those sectors being displayed correspond to the ones of the underwater cave part. If you look closely, top of sector shouldn't even have that shape (texture is not aligned with it), instead is showing the sloped ceiling of the grotto and so has to be a Polymer clipping/drawing bug of sorts. Maybe has to do with the ways the slopes in the respective areas are oriented or something (firstwall choice mattering in that renderer even when according to real world logic - and so not Build logic but the issue only becomes apparent in Polymer - the space itself isn't non-Euclidean?). I think something is bugging out with the underwater hatch out of the submarine on this screen too, looks strange; but would support the Polymer conflicting sectors theory, perhaps. To this day thing is wired so different I literally wouldn't bet on anything.