[hismasterplan]

I hadn't thought of this until now but in Duke 3D, what exactly were the auto-destruct buttons that Duke would smash with his fist at the end of each level? Were they there to imply that the area would blow up after hitting them? Did they just exist to be awesome like the rest of the game? They were very rewarding to finally see after navigating a level. If they existed in Forever, what purpose would they serve? I'm living in the past, but I hope they come back with more emphasis on what they do.

[TerminX]

That's a pretty good question. If they did just what they say, Duke is pretty much a huge asshole for blowing up all of LA and everything humanity had ever built in space.

[Kathy]

Isn't Duke standing on top of ruins in boxart?

[Inspector Lagomorf]

TerminX, on 13 July 2012 - 07:55 AM, said:

That's a pretty good question. If they did just what they say, Duke is pretty much a huge asshole for blowing up all of LA and everything humanity had ever built in space.

On first thought, I believed it was likely that they just made the "Auto Destruct" button simply because it was cooler than pulling a generic switch to exit a level, but the idea of Duke blowing things to smithereens everywhere he goes isn't out of the question either. He blew up a nuclear plant in the fourth episode anyway.

[Jblade]

Does anybody else aim up and down so that Duke's fist lands exactly on the button itself? cus I can't be the only one who does that.

[Hendricks266]

When Duke hits the auto-destruct button on the sub in E1L3, it didn't blow up the sub, but the alien maggots did booby-trap the sub...

I don't think Duke would blow up the IMF in E4L1.

[NY00123]

I have wondered about the same thing a few times. Considering the way you move between levels on a few occasions (like "Toxic Dump" (E1L4) -> "The Abyss" (E1L5), and "Dark Side" (E2L8) -> "Overlord" (E2L9)), chances are it is no more than a way of moving between levels, chosen during the development of the game.

<POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING (to the few(?) who haven't found out all secret levels)>
Two nukebuttons to think of are the ordinary (non-secret) ones found in "Fahrenheit" (E3L7) and "Hotel Hell" (E3L8). They actually reside in the same area, (supposedly) below the "Stadium" (E3L9). The nukebuttons' locations (the walls on which they reside) are different, though.

This also gives a bit different thought: Is there enough area on the top of the building for the Stadium?!
Oh right, I don't see any Nuke-shaped thing on the floor at the end of E3L7/E3L8.
</POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING>

Well, maybe it's just that a few transitions make more sense, while others make less.

James, on 13 July 2012 - 09:50 AM, said:

Does anybody else aim up and down so that Duke's fist lands exactly on the button itself? cus I can't be the only one who does that.

Actually, it often happens that I do the opposite: Move while pressing "use" button on the right moment, then let Duke's fist land on a wall... or fresh air

[Come On And Slam]

James, on 13 July 2012 - 09:50 AM, said:

Does anybody else aim up and down so that Duke's fist lands exactly on the button itself? cus I can't be the only one who does that.

Mememememe! I've done this since I first played Duke 64 ages ago.

[Jimmy]

Don't they make mention of Duke leveling LA in DNF?

[OpenMaw]

Captain Awesome, on 13 July 2012 - 05:43 PM, said:

Don't they make mention of Duke leveling LA in DNF?

Not quite.

"The national budget is still recovering after the week long binge of horror and holocaust you wreaked upon Los Angeles!" - President.



I very much doubt Duke was destroying the sections of Los Angeles. Especially if we are to take Time to Kill into the equation where we see Los Angeles standing just fine not long after the events of Duke3D.

[Inspector Lagomorf]

Commando Nukem, on 14 July 2012 - 04:58 PM, said:

I very much doubt Duke was destroying the sections of Los Angeles. Especially if we are to take Time to Kill into the equation where we see Los Angeles standing just fine not long after the events of Duke3D.

Sadly, I don't think Gearbox would consider Time To Kill part of the official canon.

I like how the President blames Duke Nukem for the holocaust, when it's infinitely probable that everyone on Earth would have been dead anyway if Duke Nukem didn't stop the aliens.

(Though I suppose if all the humans were dead, there would be no need for money, and thus no national budget needing to recover.)

But as far as what you are saying about Duke destroying sections of Los Angeles... He does detonate a condemned building, crash a helicopter into a water tower, blow up a rocket at a launchpad, cause severe structural damage to the interior of a bank... I think the only reason why he didn't blow up more stuff is because of the limitations of the Build engine at the time. Lo Wang caused far more property damage in Shadow Warrior.

[Jimmy]

The President blames Duke because he uses that as a wedge to block Duke from taking action. Remember, the President was in cahoots with the Cycloid Emperor.

[hismasterplan]

Captain Awesome, on 16 July 2012 - 11:10 AM, said:

The President blames Duke because he uses that as a wedge to block Duke from taking action. Remember, the President was in cahoots with the Cycloid Emperor.

Was he? I don't remember an indication of that in the final version. I remember in the 2001 trailer the General saying "They have the president. EDF has been compromised... you can't trust anyone."

[TerminX]

So, you didn't play DNF?

[hismasterplan]

TerminX, on 16 July 2012 - 01:58 PM, said:

So, you didn't play DNF?

Actually, you shouldn't be surprised. I did, but is it really unbelievable that I still haven't comprehended what exactly that game was?

[TerminX]

Yes, it's unbelievable that you somehow missed a major plot point in what little storyline there was, especially with the final battle even having the President there talking about how you're going to die.

[hismasterplan]

TerminX, on 16 July 2012 - 04:15 PM, said:

Yes, it's unbelievable that you somehow missed a major plot point in what little storyline there was, especially with the final battle even having the President there talking about how you're going to die.

I'm aware of the negotiations, but working 'in cahoots' as in trying to help the Emperor destroy humanity? If that was a major plot point, it was delivered poorly and vague. I interpreted the president as a spineless push over, not willing to do what needs to be done, which conflicts with the simplicity of Duke's way. I do remember the General being suspicious of the Emperor controlling the President's mind, but it was brushed off in the next sentence and never brought up again. So maybe, I don't know. Who really cares anymore.

[TerminX]

As I recall, he was working with the Cycloids to kill Duke in exchange for being made the ruler of Earth when it was all over with. It doesn't really matter, but you might have had better luck grasping that if you were paying attention.

[MusicallyInspired]

When I was younger I thought that Duke was blowing stuff up because there were always ruins behind Duke in the bonus points tally screen at the end of every level. Maybe the Nuke button in the subway destroyed the prison facility and not the actual sub.

James, on 13 July 2012 - 09:50 AM, said:

Does anybody else aim up and down so that Duke's fist lands exactly on the button itself? cus I can't be the only one who does that.

Totally! Word!

[Jimmy]

The President was dumb enough to think they weren't there to fuck shit up, the Emperor was lying to him and he was a big dummy.

[Inspector Lagomorf]

Duke Nukem Forever sure has a complex and intriguing plot.

[X-Vector]

Highly original too, nothing like the hawkish storylines in Cold War era American films and TV series such as, say, Battlestar Galactica (the one where Starbuck is a bloke).

[Jblade]

It's truly a complex, multi-layered piece with deep characters who's motivations vastly change your opinion of the game each subsequent playthrough. I love how the females are actually anologies for the Afghanistan war.

[hismasterplan]

TerminX, on 16 July 2012 - 04:33 PM, said:

As I recall, he was working with the Cycloids to kill Duke in exchange for being made the ruler of Earth when it was all over with. It doesn't really matter, but you might have had better luck grasping that if you were paying attention.

Fair enough. I guess I just don't want to pay attention to the story when it comes to Duke. I just want to shoot things!

[The Commander]

http://www.youtube.c...CHmMfSs&t=2m37s

He destroys all the cities in all the games, shit.