[Mikko]

Here's our (MetHunter, MRCK, me & Merlijn van Oostrum) Metropolitan Mayhem, a 15-map (including one secret map and four boss maps) epic episode in the style of the original 3DR city maps.

Screenshots:







Enjoy!

Attached File(s)

•  metropolitan.zip (613.83K)
  Number of downloads: 1454

[zykov eddy]

I guess what was a bad time to release my map.

Oh well, downloading!

[MetHy]

Finally it's done !

To be played in classic mode like it's 1996!

[LeoD]

 zykov eddy, on 02 March 2012 - 08:12 AM, said:

I guess what was a bad time to release my map.

I'll play yours first.

[Geoffrey]

Wow, I came here because I was in the mood to play some usermaps and you guys just happened to release this episode at the exact same moment

[MetHy]

 Geoffrey, on 02 March 2012 - 08:47 AM, said:

Wow, I came here because I was in the mood to play some usermaps and you guys just happened to release this episode at the exact same moment

Those sand bags at the back of the first screenshot come directly from your FBSP003!

[rasmus thorup]

This is a great episode. Small maps, but i actually like that. The mapping lacks a bit, but gameplay makes up for that.

[Micky C]

 rasmus thorup, on 02 March 2012 - 12:42 PM, said:

The mapping lacks a bit

I think the mapping is perfect for the classic style. I've played either 3 or 4 levels and I'm really digging it so far. Although I am playing it with the Hypercore mod just to give it that extra bit of freshness. I like the gameplay and love the layouts, and the shading and detail have that nice classic feel to them.

[Danukem]

Downloading now, can't wait to play it!

Is it my imagination, or were those screenshots that Mikko posted taken using Polymost? It's kind of funny to be told by one of the developers to play it in software mode when another one is using Polymost.

@Micky: You will annoy people by telling them that you are playing their classic episode while using a gameplay mod without having played it as intended first. It could also be seen as using their thread to advertise for a different project. I'm only pointing this out because I used to do exactly the same thing myself when I was a young lad like you, and I have learned the error of my ways. EDIT: Yeah I see that Gambini had downvoted you. Don't feel too bad, he has downvoted me for much smaller offenses.

[Gambini]

 DeeperThought, on 02 March 2012 - 03:15 PM, said:

@Micky: You will annoy people by telling them that you are playing their classic episode while using a gameplay mod without having played it as intended first. It could also be seen as using their thread to advertise for a different project. I'm only pointing this out because I used to do exactly the same thing myself when I was a young lad like you, and I have learned the error of my ways. EDIT: Yeah I see that Gambini had downvoted you. Don't feel too bad, he has downvoted me for much smaller offenses.

Mmmh pretty biased comment coming from a moderator that wants to derail a thread in its first page.

[rasmus thorup]

Gambini is a meanie. But really, play the episode without mods, it's great.

[Micky C]

 DeeperThought, on 02 March 2012 - 03:15 PM, said:

@Micky: You will annoy people by telling them that you are playing their classic episode while using a gameplay mod without having played it as intended first. It could also be seen as using their thread to advertise for a different project. I'm only pointing this out because I used to do exactly the same thing myself when I was a young lad like you, and I have learned the error of my ways. EDIT: Yeah I see that Gambini had downvoted you. Don't feel too bad, he has downvoted me for much smaller offenses.

Well as much as mappers hate it, there are always going to be people who don't play maps the way the authors intended it. With vanilla maps meant for the classic renderer there are always people who will use polymost/polymer/HRP/Dukeplus, some combination of those or maybe other options I haven't mentioned. I'm having a lot of fun with these maps and I can tell the maps will still be fun without the mod, but 15 maps is quite a lot, and I wanted a twist to help me get through them all. I don't apologize for being honest about how I play the maps.

I can see why you in particular might think I'm advertising the mod, but I assure you that wasn't my intention (at least not on a concious level anyway). And if Gambini can downvote my award winning Duke story, I know for sure he'll downvote these posts about playing maps in ways other than originally intended

Edit: my god why do I take so long to write posts...

[Gambini]

Oh well this is why i came to here:

I´ve had the luck of betatesting this episode. Although, to my fortune, there was barely something to report since it was very well polished already.

To my surprise this was a blast from start to finish. I enjoyed every single minute of it. Everything is so nicely simple and at the same time, good looking. Finally there´s something to play that will make you enjoy the spirit of Duke Nukem, without being tiresome sticking in your head heaps of stuff to be learn and stressful gameplay. At some point, I felt like i was 14 again and was playing Duke Nukem 3d for first time. This is nowhere an offence to more complex stuff, basically i´m one of those that overdo things. But definetely this classic episode is more like a lateral door these guys just opened and are inviting all of us to come in.

I´m not exagerating, after finishing this episode (which i will play again, now that it´s released) my standpoint towards Duke3d has changed drastically. I realized how much stuff the episode lacks and how good it feels that way. Congrats to all the guys involved, It was hard to tell what did each mapper since everything is so well blended and even.

[Danukem]

 Gambini, on 02 March 2012 - 04:02 PM, said:

I realized how much stuff the episode lacks and how good it feels that way.

I'm about halfway through the episode, and I'm feeling the same way. I have been playing it as intended, on Come Get Some, with normal unmodified gameplay and graphics, and it is a blast. It's making me rethink certain things.

I did have one glitch in LAPD, in the first section. An enforcer was walking towards me on the sewer water when he suddenly disappeared. A few moments later, there was a SQUISH! So I think he glitched somewhere and got crushed. Other than that, I have had no problems. I will leave it to the nitpickers to point out tiny things.

I have to leave for a few hours but I hope to finish the episode later tonight.

[MetHy]

 Gambini, on 02 March 2012 - 04:02 PM, said:

At some point, I felt like i was 14 again and was playing Duke Nukem 3d for first time.

This is the best compliment I couldn't even hope for, it means we have reached our goal.

Thank you.

 Gambini, on 02 March 2012 - 04:02 PM, said:

It was hard to tell what did each mapper since everything is so well blended and even.

I'm glad you feel this way too. Blending things together was one of the key point for me. Except for 3 of the boss maps and the link between Meatball and Derailing, all the maps are directly connected to each others. It is one of those effect that I love about the original game, and which was original for FPS games at the time, that I really wanted for us to recreate. I still remember the first time I walked towards the Bank in E3L2 after seeing it through the crack at the end of E3L1, I was so impressed after playing barely connected stuff in Wolfeinstein 3D or Doom.

This is also why it was important to make the maps one after the other. When I saw that building as an unreachable at the end of Merljin's map (the 4th map, City Lights), I KNEW that I had to start my next map there; even better, Merljin put an helicopter at the end of this map! I just had to make the crash happen there which at the same time made it reminiscent of E1L1, linked both maps directly (you can still see his streets from my rooftop) which ALSO gave me the opportunity to add some Duke Humour ("Damn, those alien bastards shot up my ride again!"), which to me is funny in a classic Duke style because of its double irony : Duke rides a helicopter to end up making a travel he could have made by foot AND it's a call to the car crash at the start of the first map of the episode ("Damn those alien bastards shot up my ride!).
To me, this was as much important in order to give a classic feel as texturing and architecture, and in the case of City Lights --> Sex City, it couldn't be more perfect.

However, even though I'm afraid to break the magic a little, I think you can find every mapper's style a little bit if you look deeper into it :
-My maps have a more "squarish" architecture.
-Mikko's maps are more straightforward, no bullshit allowed, not a single moment of backtracking
-MRCK's maps have a bigger monster count and even though he did a great job recreating a classic visual design, he couldn't help but add some of his style in it as well (see the 2nd map for example, near the bar the chairs are using different palettes and the fences have shadows, which both are typical of his more "modern" style city maps, and never done in the original maps).
-Finding Merljin's style in his map is the hardest but for some reason that bar he made makes me think of stuff like RED2 but I can't really spot why (maybe it's just my imagination on this one though).

[Gambini]

Yeah I liked those details too, it´s "this is the second time those alien bastards shot up my ride" BTW.

About recognizing each mapper´s map: It was hard but I still could do it: I realized level 3 was by Mikko almost immediately, but even if I would have not, those rusty pipes gave it away. MRCK´s maps are of course very easy to recognize just like you said. But instead, I´m not used to your maps (hell your previous/first release dates from a week) and Merljin´s map shares nothing with his usual style so i had to be told about those. Funny that Mikko did "The Bitch", i guessed nothing but if i had to do so, i would have said Merljin did it (you know, those alien textures).

[The Commander]

 Micky C, on 02 March 2012 - 03:48 PM, said:

Well as much as mappers hate it, there are always going to be people who don't play maps the way the authors intended it. With vanilla maps meant for the classic renderer there are always people who will use polymost/polymer/HRP/Dukeplus,

There are ways to combat this, have you tired playing "The Stairwell" map that was just released in Polymost/Polymer and seen what happens?
Although, mappers shouldn't have to go to this extent to stop people using said renders.

[Gambini]

lol i have not tested it yet but i can foresee what he did. I have thought too about placing things to make a map unusable if the requeriments weren´t met. But that´s a very radical determination that will only frighten players away. I go all the other way around, and do my best to give the best experience even if the requeriments are completely ignored.

[Blue Lightning]

Umm hey guys...this is going to sound pretty dumb but...

How do I install this? I have always played just single maps, not an entire episode with several single maps in it. Should I make a "metropoliton" folder and just drop it in my Duke folder?

[Hank]

 Blue Lightning, on 02 March 2012 - 09:47 PM, said:

Umm hey guys...this is going to sound pretty dumb but...

How do I install this? I have always played just single maps, not an entire episode with several single maps in it. Should I make a "metropoliton" folder and just drop it in my Duke folder?

nah, just put all the files in your EDuke directory, and 'open' (not double click) the metropolitan.bat file

[Danukem]

Finished! Great episode, not much to criticize. I do have a few minor qualms about the second half, though.

MEATBALL SUB MAKIN' had too much equipment, even by classic standards. Perhaps this is because it was released as a single map while the episode was still in development. The amount of equipment should have been reduced due to the fact that the map is now part of the episode and the player already has a lot when the level starts.

Then the next map, DERAILING, was WAY harder than any of the other levels. There were like 5 battlelords out in the open all shooting hitscan at me at one point. It could do with a few less battlelords imo.

I see that there are 4 more maps after the bitch. I'm guessing they are secret levels. I did notice some colored nuke buttons at the end of TRAIN IN VEINS, but I sort of accidentally used the regular one instead. So I'll be playing those next.

Spoiler

By the way, that was the best use of the train effect I have seen. The boat in Red4 comes close, but this was better because you could get on top of the train as well and then go back inside.

[Micky C]

 Blue Lightning, on 02 March 2012 - 09:47 PM, said:

Umm hey guys...this is going to sound pretty dumb but...

How do I install this? I have always played just single maps, not an entire episode with several single maps in it. Should I make a "metropoliton" folder and just drop it in my Duke folder?

You've probably got this working by now but I'll say this for future reference; when in doubt, read the .txt file, it almost always has some useful information such as this.

Edit: And I'll probably play the rest of the episode in vanilla mode because of the quality and praise it has.

[Danukem]

And...the secret levels. I played all of these as user maps.

Spoiler

HIGH-ALTITUDE FACE-OFF was a creative boss fight, and pretty challenging

I didn't bother trying to finish YELLDOWN HELLRIDE, it was too frustrating. I appreciated the crazy visual style, though. I guess someone used an invalid tile number to make textures not show.

DUKENPARK was cool, although the design and gameplay didn't really fit with the main levels, so I can see why it was made a secret level. It was good and long enough to hold up as an individual map release.

Finally, there is STADIUM DESPAIR. This one has me stumped. I found some pipebombs and ran everywhere I could, but could find nothing to do. I was looking for a switch or a button to shoot or a crack to blow up, but I gave up.

[ck3D]

so happy to see people enjoying this release after all the work we put into it. For everyone complaining about the mapping 'lacking in quality' despite how we were deliberately going for the simple, original 3DR look - remember that every single map of the episode was made in just one day (except for Meatball Sub Making which took three days, and Derailing which took two days). Which didn't stop us from working on this for over two years though, go figure.

DeeperThought - while Dukenpark is a secret level, all the other maps you played are alternative boss maps that can be accessed from the train level too (which I am glad you enjoyed). It was my idea to give the player four different opportunities to complete the episode, to add to the replay value and also to give a little nod to all the original boss fights at once. About Yelldown Hellride, the first room is a bitch but the rest is actually fairly easy, in my opinion. And Stadium Despair - is it the fight that gets you stuck, or do you just find yourself lost after reaching the battle field ? There are switches to operate to call in the 'teams', then the main boss, in one of the corners of the stadium, on a roof.

MetHy - Meatball Sub and Derailing ARE connected to each other. DNCLIP through the wall that's in your back at the start of Derailing and you will figure it out.

Again, I am really glad to read some of the comments, especially those about the original 3DR feel. I am happy that it seems that for some of you, we have indeed reached our goal. this is probably the last duke project I will ever contribute to, too (although one should never say never), so I am happy to read mostly positive reviews on a whole episode like this for duke in 2012.

[Danukem]

 ck3D, on 03 March 2012 - 01:14 AM, said:

And Stadium Despair - is it the fight that gets you stuck, or do you just find yourself lost after reaching the battle field ? There are switches to operate to call in the 'teams', then the main boss, in one of the corners of the stadium, on a roof.

Apparently I am stuck before any of that. I am in the big field at the beginning of the level with the lightning. Couldn't find a path out or a switch or button to shoot or a crack to blow up, so I quit.

EDIT: Nevermind I found the shootable button!

[ck3D]

just go straight ahead to find the stadium, there is a switch (slightly upwards) to shoot somewhere near the entrance hall, on the right side, to open the stadium gates and get inside.

You will probably hate the fight though, be forewarned, it's a blood bath the way i like it (but it's doable)

[MetHy]

 ck3D, on 03 March 2012 - 01:14 AM, said:

MetHy - Meatball Sub and Derailing ARE connected to each other. DNCLIP through the wall that's in your back at the start of Derailing and you will figure it out.

Oh indeed! it's cool

Quote

this is probably the last duke project I will ever contribute to, too (although one should never say never), so I am happy to read mostly positive reviews on a whole episode like this for duke in 2012.

I've heard this several times before. You know you'll make a map someday when your gf is busy/away and it's raining outside.

 ck3D, on 03 March 2012 - 01:23 AM, said:

You will probably hate the fight though, be forewarned, it's a blood bath the way i like it (but it's doable)

What I like about it is that once you know how the map works, you can choose your own difficulty as you play: you're free to activate the next wave of enemies any time you want.
Last time I went overboard though and decided to activate both waves as well as the final boss BEFORE killing the monsters that were already there.
I lasted 15 seconds.

 DeeperThought, on 02 March 2012 - 11:47 PM, said:

DUKENPARK was cool, although the design and gameplay didn't really fit with the main levels, so I can see why it was made a secret level. It was good and long enough to hold up as an individual map release.

I think it fits rather well; it's a bit different which makes it consistent as a secret level; plus we made it rewarding as there you get the jetpack way before you're supposed to which radically changes gameplay in a couple of maps, for a different replay value to those who did find it when playing the episode. I recommend to everybody to try to find it the normal way before cheating to access it.

[Merlijn]

Glad too see this released! I was only involved many months ago, when I made city lights. Anyway, this is a great episode, it gave me a sense of nostalgia when I played it and I really like how well connected the maps were. The follow up on my map is brilliant: of course I expected a cool crash sequence (that's why I put that helicopter there in the first place!), but I wasn't expecting Duke to land on top of the XXX building. That was really cool!

My only "complaint" would be that the last maps of the episode kind of break away from the classic theme. Not entirely of course, but those last maps are a hybrid between MRCKs own style and the classic style and have a higher enemy count then any 3dr map. They reminded me a bit of the AMC pleaser. Is it a bad thing? Nah, not really.
'
Anyway, I did a quick beta test yesterday, now it's time to play the final version.


PS: the train map is awesome
PPS: 10 years and people still can't spell my name right!

[MetHy]

 Merlijn, on 03 March 2012 - 04:25 AM, said:

The follow up on my map is brilliant: of course I expected a cool crash sequence (that's why I put that helicopter there in the first place!), but I wasn't expecting Duke to land on top of the XXX building. That was really cool!

Without you putting the XXX sign there I would have never thought of making a remake of XXX-Stacy as the next map, and I like I said in the txt, I consider that map to be the best thing I've made in Duke so far, so I guess it's thanks to you as well.

Quote

PPS: 10 years and people still can't spell my name right!

Sorry man, I'll never get it right.

[Mikko]

 MetHy, on 03 March 2012 - 01:41 AM, said:

Last time I went overboard though and decided to activate both waves as well as the final boss BEFORE killing the monsters that were already there.
I lasted 15 seconds.

I did that the first time I played the map. Spawning the boss actually helps because he kills tons of monsters.