[GoD-FinSTAR]

Hi there fellow dukers. Some of you know me as Ladittaja, some as FinSTAR.
Anyways, im here to talk about the best way to play duke nukem 3D online (yet, as edukes netcode isnt finished!), which is Meltdown, http://www.duke3donline.com
There is currently two duke ports for online, hDuke and xDuke, hDuke is an anticheat port, which is getting updated regularly. (http://www.hduke.dukenukem.com.br/)
Lots of cool people, competitive gaming, less competitive gaming (coop). You can also play Blood, Shadow warrior and Redneck rampage there online.

Why not hop in & try it out?
Anyways, that was pretty much all I wanted to say.
Heres some cool youtube vids ive gathered:

[Hendricks266]

The second video looks like it's from the XBLA port.

From a developer's perspective, hDuke and Meltdown are a bit of a mess. The most glaring problem is that they took YANG's modern list-on-the-left-side GUI format and regressed it to a "tabbed interface" then list that as an improvement. The platform is closely tied to piracy of all four games. I am very curious to know what method allows hDuke to send current score information back to Meltdown. I could go through all of hDuke's changelog and point out questionable things.

These things aside, there is nothing unusable about them. I have used Meltdown and YANG, xDuke and hDuke.

[Juras]

From player's perspective hduke, xduke, Meltdown and Yang are best options to play Duke Nukem 3D Online and having fun with other dukers. Eduke has countless fancy things but its just worst port for duking with other people.(so far)

[Hendricks266]

I don't deny EDuke32 is in no state to compete with xDuke and hDuke in multiplayer. We egg TX on about it all the time in IRC.

[Radar]

Ah Finstar, welcome to Duke4.net . Finstar here is quite an active player on Meltdown and a beast at original maps. Don't challenge him to a game unless you want a nice 10 - 0 slapped right in your face.

Anyway, me and Finstar were talking in Meltdown chat about this thread; that is, before he got down to making it. A number of threads concerning Yang are made around here, but it seems Meltdown is not brought up as much. Yang and Duke Matcher (yet another netplayer guide [no pun intended] based on Yang) are clients based more on Free For All (FFA) and big and chaotic user maps filled with weapons and inventory. Meltdown, on the other hand, is where the challenge is at. Here is where they play 1 vs 1, original maps to 10. Memorizing the complex paths, limited items, spawn points, and warps are necessary to win. Much more skill is required to play here, and I can only merely try to keep up with these guys. I've always sucked at Holly and other original maps. That will change though as I practice on Meltdown more...

 Hendricks266, on 07 July 2012 - 10:54 AM, said:

I am very curious to know what method allows hDuke to send current score information back to Meltdown. I could go through all of hDuke's changelog and point out questionable things.

Do you mean "questionable" as in some sort of security breach? I've also found it interesting how Poda's demo recorder uploads demos to his site right after every game you play...

[Hendricks266]

 Radar, on 07 July 2012 - 01:19 PM, said:

Yang and Duke Matcher (yet another netplayer guide [no pun intended] based on Yang) are clients based more on Free For All (FFA) and big and chaotic user maps filled with weapons and inventory. Meltdown, on the other hand, is where the challenge is at. Here is where they play 1 vs 1, original maps to 10.

The clients themselves are not based on those different playstyles, it's simply the people who use each.

 Radar, on 07 July 2012 - 01:19 PM, said:

Do you mean "questionable" as in some sort of security breach? I've also found it interesting how Poda's demo recorder uploads demos to his site right after every game you play...

I mean questionable as in bad design, bad implementation and on occasion just bad ideas.

[OpenMaw]

Yang and the older version of Eduke will always be my most played and honestly the most stable i've found. Vinny and I never had any trouble with that 2008 version and YANG. It runs like a dream.

I wish the latest versions of Eduke were the same, unfortunately it is simply not the case right now. The community could really use a first rate multiplayer experience without any of the P2P/Oh God I have to unlock my firewall/oh my god there's a million things I can fawk up business.

[RichardStorm]

I tried YANG some months ago but i didn't found any Duke match till now (rarely only 1)... is that only a problem of mine ? Or there is no server for real ??? I'm in italy, maybe i need to set something in my net config or something i don't know ?

[GoD-FinSTAR]

 RichardStorm, on 08 July 2012 - 04:05 AM, said:

I tried YANG some months ago but i didn't found any Duke match till now (rarely only 1)... is that only a problem of mine ? Or there is no server for real ??? I'm in italy, maybe i need to set something in my net config or something i don't know ?

Uh, It's because nobody plays on YANG, Meltdown (http://www.duke3donline.com) has actually some life in it.

[Radar]

 GoD-FinSTAR, on 08 July 2012 - 04:13 AM, said:

Uh, It's because nobody plays on YANG, Meltdown (http://www.duke3donline.com) has actually some life in it.

Here we go again... Nobody plays on Yang? No, nobody plays on Meltdown. Meltdown minimizes to the icon tray once you close it, providing the illusion that people are online. Best way to play Duke online? Even when games are hosted on Meltdown, no one will join a room because they are afraid of their ego and will not lose to Memphis, Juras, etc. I'm in Meltdown chat constantly, and there are like 2 matches a day there, and most time is spent with players just spewing retorts at each other being too afraid to actually verse each other.

Whereas, people actually play on Yang. No one is afraid to lose. Not that we don't care about score, but we also just want to have fun shooting away. Not to mention, we distribute maps that we make, since we don't just play original. Duke Matcher is another client with similar people as well. Sure, there are the camping noobs that populate them, many of our user maps are horrible, and we don't stand a chance against the good Meltdowners in a 1 vs 1 game, but what's important is that we actually play, not just one match to 10, but several matches usually up to fifty. Actually playing, what a concept. We'll play as much as we can until the host has to leave.

[OpenMaw]

Nobody "plays" any of them in the modern gaming sense. There aren't hundreds of people coming and going constantly. That's not really the point of a thread like this anyway.

You want a good, solid Duke Nukem Multiplayer experience? Get YANG, get the old copy of EDUKE32 that Vinny and I have been using, and play away.

It doesn't matter which place has the most people or not. If you have friends who want to play, you organize a time and place, and you play. Duke Nukem Online isn't really meant for wide consumption at this point, because the multiplayer experience, new - or old, is kinda shitty. Whenever TX gets around to getting the MP stable, is when we'll have a genuinely good multiplayer experience to enjoy.

[GoD-FinSTAR]

 Radar, on 09 July 2012 - 12:04 PM, said:

Here we go again... Nobody plays on Yang? No, nobody plays on Meltdown. Meltdown minimizes to the icon tray once you close it, providing the illusion that people are online. Best way to play Duke online? Even when games are hosted on Meltdown, no one will join a room because they are afraid of their ego and will not lose to Memphis, Juras, etc. I'm in Meltdown chat constantly, and there are like 2 matches a day there, and most time is spent with players just spewing retorts at each other being too afraid to actually verse each other.

Whereas, people actually play on Yang. No one is afraid to lose. Not that we don't care about score, but we also just want to have fun shooting away. Not to mention, we distribute maps that we make, since we don't just play original. Duke Matcher is another client with similar people as well. Sure, there are the camping noobs that populate them, many of our user maps are horrible, and we don't stand a chance against the good Meltdowners in a 1 vs 1 game, but what's important is that we actually play, not just one match to 10, but several matches usually up to fifty. Actually playing, what a concept. We'll play as much as we can until the host has to leave.

Wow, lets not start arguing about this. There can be over 50 games a day on meltdown, easily. On a good day more. I did a test and hosted for like two weeks 30minutes a day on yang, but no one joined.
Who is scared of losing? Lol. That's just so misleading.. Some people just like to bitch about losses / wins, but that doesnt mean theyre afraid to lose. (Me!).
So that ego shit is just BS. If I happen to find a game on yang, and someone kills me on their ownmade / some stealthmap, they start to spam some automacros like hell, "YOU SUCK AT DUKE!!" "WOW I KILLED YOU.. AGAIN!" wtf? Lol. I hope you wont say anything again about this, coz you know im right..

[themaniacboy]

 Commando Nukem, on 09 July 2012 - 02:16 PM, said:

Nobody "plays" any of them in the modern gaming sense. There aren't hundreds of people coming and going constantly. That's not really the point of a thread like this anyway.

You want a good, solid Duke Nukem Multiplayer experience? Get YANG, get the old copy of EDUKE32 that Vinny and I have been using, and play away.

It doesn't matter which place has the most people or not. If you have friends who want to play, you organize a time and place, and you play. Duke Nukem Online isn't really meant for wide consumption at this point, because the multiplayer experience, new - or old, is kinda shitty. Whenever TX gets around to getting the MP stable, is when we'll have a genuinely good multiplayer experience to enjoy.

What old version of Eduke32 exactly ?
I've been trying to play Dukematch but never had the chance to get into any match simply because there were no rooms.

[LeoD]

 themaniacboy, on 10 July 2012 - 03:21 PM, said:

What old version of Eduke32 exactly ?
I've been trying to play Dukematch but never had the chance to get into any match simply because there were no rooms.

eduke32_snapshot_20081230.zip

[Radar]

 GoD-FinSTAR, on 10 July 2012 - 11:31 AM, said:

I hope you wont say anything again about this, coz you know im right..

Just because I know you aren't, I will.

 GoD-FinSTAR, on 10 July 2012 - 11:31 AM, said:

There can be over 50 games a day on meltdown, easily.

Of course there can be, but there aren't.

 GoD-FinSTAR, on 10 July 2012 - 11:31 AM, said:

I did a test and hosted for like two weeks 30minutes a day on yang, but no one joined.

And Memphis hosts all day and no one touches his room. I also see JRock hosting a lot and no one bothers with him. Similarly, many rooms are ignored. Seriously, 50 games a day? You can say anything you want in front of members on this forum who don't check up regularly on the netplayer clients. You know very well 50 games is a load of crap.

 GoD-FinSTAR, on 10 July 2012 - 11:31 AM, said:

Who is scared of losing? Lol. That's just so misleading.. Some people just like to bitch about losses / wins, but that doesnt mean theyre afraid to lose. (Me!).
So that ego shit is just BS.

Well then, I guess I just see the bitching part a lot.

 GoD-FinSTAR, on 10 July 2012 - 11:31 AM, said:

If I happen to find a game on yang, and someone kills me on their ownmade / some stealthmap, they start to spam some automacros like hell, "YOU SUCK AT DUKE!!" "WOW I KILLED YOU.. AGAIN!" wtf?

Ok? Macros... you can actually configure those within Meltdown, as opposed to having to do them manually in duke3d.cfg in Yang and Duke Matcher. Really, those are just for fun. Take them as a joke, not everyone gets as pissed as you think if they lose. And trust me, I know who the members are who spend time making their macros.


And quit making me stand up for Yang. The players on Yang are horrible compared to those on Meltdown, and this is known, but the claims you repeatedly make are ridiculous. No wonder this arrogant attitude is what results in DDOS attacks against Yang, in-game cheats, purposely spreading hacked XDuke executables to increase HDuke popularity, piracy of all four games, constant complaining, and obviously represented in this thread, blatant lies about how the online Build community actually runs. We argue about this too much as it is.

[Hendricks266]

 GoD-FinSTAR, on 10 July 2012 - 11:31 AM, said:

I did a test and hosted for like two weeks 30minutes a day on yang, but no one joined.

That's not an accurate sample. In fact, it's a terrible sample. 30 minutes is a tiny window, especially given the global nature of time zones and people's personal schedules. If you want a real test, host a room on YANG for two weeks straight, never starting a game, and record how many people come and go. Better yet, just ask the server maintainers for some simple statistics.

[OpenMaw]

Heck, last year I was running a server on YANG for about seven hours and I got a couple guys every hour. Some would actually speak up and say things like "Hey" and "Wanna play (insert name) mod?"

[GoD-FinSTAR]

This dude is illiterate. (Radar). Not going to argue with some guy who twists my words, spends max 30minutes a day observing Meltdown and thinks he knows everything..

[t800]

 LeoD, on 10 July 2012 - 03:43 PM, said:

eduke32_snapshot_20081230.zip

Strange... Meltdown recommends EDuke32 1.5.0devel 20090313 as last version with stable net code.

I have to say one thing in defense of Meltdown that both of you forgot to take in consideration:
it is the only duke multiplayer connector that can easily bypass protection of ports by firewall integrated in my wifi router.
Maybe now you are laughing at me... *mocking*amateur, you can open ports permanently in control panel of your router*mocking*
well, I would but I cant for 2 reasons:
-my router has ludicrously difficult settings to change, so I think I would rip hair of my head sooner then learning how to set it up
-I share router with somebody and that other person certainly wouldnt be happy if I permanently opened any ports so I would
have to manually open and close them after every time I played duke online... no way!

[Hendricks266]

UPnP support is a valid advantage that Meltdown has. I recall TX saying that the new EDuke32 multiplayer will not even need ports to be forwarded (at least for the client?).

On the other hand, it is also as simple as using this utility: BYsoft UPnP Tool

[Inspector Lagomorf]

 GoD-FinSTAR, on 10 July 2012 - 08:51 PM, said:

This dude is illiterate. (Radar). Not going to argue with some guy who twists my words, spends max 30minutes a day observing Meltdown and thinks he knows everything..

You represent everything that is wrong with online multiplayer gaming. You come onto this message forum, clearly with a reputation of being incredibly skilled at the game, and then you go around throwing insults and personal attacks at people who dare to suggest that there are other available mediums for Duke Nukem 3D multiplayer. I don't care whether or not you're correct; I personally do not welcome that level of arrogance. People like you are killing the fun for everyone else.

[Radar]

 t800, on 10 July 2012 - 11:02 PM, said:

Strange... Meltdown recommends EDuke32 1.5.0devel 20090313 as last version with stable net code.

And every Meltdowner complains that EDuke32 doesn't work online. I haven't tried that build, but it must be bologna if people complain.

Last night I actually introduced that EDuke32 20081230 build to some Meltdowners, including Finstar (it might not look like it, but we are friends, just the "hey you fag idiot" then "hey wanna play a few games?" type friends ) . It was weird and cool at the same time. These guys were all surprised there even was an online working EDuke32 build. They were all like "We gotta show this to Memphis", 'I wonder what Juras will think about this". "You think [insert player name] will like this?"

The aiming was horrible until we turned off smooth aim. Not that it bothered me initially after years playing EDuke32, but these guys were hating it for that. I turned it off eventually too as I was more used to rough online.


I wouldn't be surprised if Poda purposely advertises an invalid EDuke32 build to weaken it's popularity. If anyone is interested in what those late builds actually do online, here is a video, uploaded by Finstar himself:

[Juras]

Woohoo lots of interesting things has been written here...
Topic is "Best way to play Duke 3D Online. " so first of all we have 2 online launchers Meltdown and Yang.
Which one is better?! .... all depends what do you expect from Duke.
Meltdown is definitely best place for XBL players which are used to episode maps or oldschool players from kali, teen and heat which are searching for competetive dukematch 1on1.
There will be always time of a day when some of you will not be able to find one single server currently running.
Meltdown features - MAIN CHAT and PM (private message) lets people ask for a help at any time, simply because there is always someone idling, like some kind of IRC channel.
I think it's always better to see some people even when not playing than just empty place without signs of life.

[Juras]

@Radar
FinSTAR is not a voice of all "Meltdowners" so not sure why you say we don't like Eduke, we just don't play it because hduke, xduke are better for us.
I'm playing Duke online since december 2007, eduke was last choice of players since then (DukesterX) until nowdays (Yang and Meltdown).
Edit: Almost forgot, im checking eduke synthesis daily with crossed fingers and hoping to see it finally finished

[t800]

 Radar, on 11 July 2012 - 08:58 AM, said:

I wouldn't be surprised if Poda purposely advertises an invalid EDuke32 build to weaken it's popularity.

But why would he do it? Does he cooperate with hDuke developers?

Sometimes, I wish that duke had some sort of mutators where you could easily modify weapon loadout or prohibit items or weapons.
(I hate steroids! grr)

[Juras]

No idea what Poda was thinking, best would be asking him personally.
But let's be serious you cant weaken popularity of something that has no popularity.

[Radar]

 t800, on 11 July 2012 - 10:11 AM, said:

But why would he do it? Does he cooperate with hDuke developers?

Yes, he does. They make a good team, though some players think they do fishy things. I am friends with Hunter though and have shared maps and many game with him. It is known he spreads xitduke (cheat-enabled XDuke) under different aliases to make people use HDuke. Stuff like that sometimes persuades me not to use HDuke; I would honestly use it anyway because of team DM and frag limits. That's such a dirty way to make people use a product. Though he may also spread it to level cheaters, which I could understand.

Though there are a few players online who stick to their guns about Hunter using his own personal cheat enabled HDuke, Finstar being one of those. There are also those who believe Poda and Hunter have the ability to hack any computer that uses their combo of programs, which is laughable. It's also been said you can cheat with HDuke as easy as XDuke; I have yet to see that, but I wouldn't be surprised.

 Juras, on 11 July 2012 - 10:29 AM, said:

No idea what Poda was thinking, best would be asking him personally.
But let's be serious you cant weaken popularity of something that has no popularity.

Yes, it had no popularity, because working snapshots of it were never brought to light and given a chance. You started playing in 2007. You guys could have been playing EDuke32 back when its netcode was in all of its glory.

[Hendricks266]

 t800, on 11 July 2012 - 10:11 AM, said:

Sometimes, I wish that duke had some sort of mutators where you could easily modify weapon loadout or prohibit items or weapons.
(I hate steroids! grr)

In theory EDuke32 can support this with a simple CON module on the server side once it's all done.

[Kathy]

 Hendricks266, on 11 July 2012 - 08:20 AM, said:

UPnP support is a valid advantage that Meltdown has. I recall TX saying that the new EDuke32 multiplayer will not even need ports to be forwarded (at least for the client?).

Who keeps UPnP enabled?

[t800]

 Burnett, on 11 July 2012 - 08:07 PM, said:

Who keeps UPnP enabled?

I use Meltdown mainly for it because I have problems with protected ports by firewall integrated in my wifi router as I mentioned before in my previous posts.


I investigated a bit and I found out that various sources recommends later version 20091203-1551 as the last one with stable net code.
Check EdukeWiki Multiplayer page if you dont believe me:

EDukeWiki Multiplayer said:

Old-Style Master/Slave or Peer-to-Peer Multiplayer

Since new multiplayer code is broken, you can use the last version of EDuke32 to contain the old code in the meantime.
Required version: http://dukeworld.duk.../20091203-1551/
Documentation for the command-line parameters is available here: http://static.jonof....leasenotes.html

And Plagman in topic THE EDUKE32 VERSION THAT WORKS IN MP! posted this:

Plagman said:

Use 20091203 if you really want to use the old netcode:

http://dukeworld.duk.../20091203-1551/

And I browsed trough old revisions of Eduke32 on DukeWorld and I found that next version 20091206-1556 has this written in its changelog:

ChangeLog.txt said:

r1552 | terminx | 2009-12-05 01:22:43 -0800 (Sat, 05 Dec 2009) | 2 lines

Ball-busting true client-server multiplayer prototype/alpha/whatever

I think that means that 20091203-1551 really is the last version with old net code.