[MusicallyInspired]

I'm not sure. I think it's possibly dependent on hardware performance? I'm not sure what governs it. I think it's also only true for lights that are visible at any one time.

[F!re-Fly]

I myself tested LameDuke with Dosbox and that is really fascinating.

[Altered Reality]

 MusicallyInspired, on 22 July 2019 - 08:50 AM, said:

I'm not sure. I think it's possibly dependent on hardware performance? I'm not sure what governs it. I think it's also only true for lights that are visible at any one time.

My PC is not exactly underperforming (i7 2600 @ 3.4 GHz, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, 10 GB of RAM) so I'll write it down to Polymer's lack of optimization.

Meanwhile, with Darkplaces...

Spoiler

https://i.imgur.com/LGQ83zz.jpg

[MusicallyInspired]

I do know I didn't even have 14 lights in my map and they were disappearing.

[Echelon5]

Dunno how mad people get about old threads getting resurrected, so apologies in advance, but there's so many dead links in this thread. Has there ever been an archive of this stuff outside of this page https://dukenukem.fa...m_3D_prototypes ? I feel like I missed out on a treasure trove of cool stuff.

[The Watchtower]

Echelon5, on 02 August 2021 - 05:26 PM, said:

Dunno how mad people get about old threads getting resurrected, so apologies in advance, but there's so many dead links in this thread. Has there ever been an archive of this stuff outside of this page https://dukenukem.fa...m_3D_prototypes ? I feel like I missed out on a treasure trove of cool stuff.

This is a wonderful compilation. That original Warp Factor, that's the most interesting thing probably in the entire set as most it's stuff were removed and not repurposed.
I really like "El Segundo" layout when Levelord left it. It looked much better than the final version.
And original Hotel Hell looked much better than the final, well at least the areas published here.
And so on.

[Echelon5]

The Watchtower, on 02 August 2021 - 11:49 PM, said:

This is a wonderful compilation. That original Warp Factor, that's the most interesting thing probably in the entire set as most it's stuff were removed and not repurposed.
I really like "El Segundo" layout when Levelord left it. It looked much better than the final version.
And original Hotel Hell looked much better than the final, well at least the areas published here.
And so on.

Yeah there's def some cool stuff here but I'm pretty bummed out about missing all the stuff that got posted in this thread that's just gone now. I'm honestly surprised seemingly no one thought to download all of it and archive it.

[The Watchtower]

Echelon5, on 03 August 2021 - 09:09 AM, said:

Yeah there's def some cool stuff here but I'm pretty bummed out about missing all the stuff that got posted in this thread that's just gone now. I'm honestly surprised seemingly no one thought to download all of it and archive it.

I think most stuff researched in this forum had been compiled pretty well in that site, but it's probably extendable with more infos you have like most wiki sites.

Btw. the other interesting thing here is "AHB-Space", which ended up split in Tiberius Station and Lunar Reactor. I always felt the two maps were close thematically, so it's no surprise it came from a single synoptic source. IMHO the final version of Tiberius Station felt a bit incomplete, it doesn't have a real narrative, other than being just there, as most of the adventure elements went to Lunar Reactor. The same can be said about Incubator. I don't know much about its history, but it feels like "more Warp Factor before Warp Factor". The space episode was really just 5 levels (Spaceport, Warp Factor, Fusion Station, Lunar Reactor/AHB Space and Dark Side), the other levels just came as afterthoughts to fill the gaps. Occupied Territory was a map planned for a Battlelord boss section, Overlord was just a boss arena and some reused Lameduke areas, and the two secret levels were "funstuff" additions.

[Aleks]

The Watchtower, on 04 August 2021 - 04:26 AM, said:

I think most stuff researched in this forum had been compiled pretty well in that site, but it's probably extendable with more infos you have like most wiki sites.

Btw. the other interesting thing here is "AHB-Space", which ended up split in Tiberius Station and Lunar Reactor. I always felt the two maps were close thematically, so it's no surprise it came from a single synoptic source. IMHO the final version of Tiberius Station felt a bit incomplete, it doesn't have a real narrative, other than being just there, as most of the adventure elements went to Lunar Reactor. The same can be said about Incubator. I don't know much about its history, but it feels like "more Warp Factor before Warp Factor". The space episode was really just 5 levels (Spaceport, Warp Factor, Fusion Station, Lunar Reactor/AHB Space and Dark Side), the other levels just came as afterthoughts to fill the gaps. Occupied Territory was a map planned for a Battlelord boss section, Overlord was just a boss arena and some reused Lameduke areas, and the two secret levels were "funstuff" additions.

I've looked at a video of old Warp Factor which comes from Hendricks' compilation of beta material and also at the top-down screenshot, and must say while there's a lot of interesting things in there, I much prefer the final, released version of Warp Factor, which has a layout more closely based on USS Enterprise with accessible "warp gondolas" and the warp core. Stuff like the rotating stairs is cool level-design wise, but doesn't really make much sense thematically.

As for Incubator, I strongly disagree here - to me it always was one of the strongest levels in terms of plot of the whole game, where we actually see the alien infestation and what they do with woman. It's not my favourite level due to the amount of drones combined with slimers, but that final part is definitely one of the more memorable moments of Duke 3D campaign. Agree on Tiberius Station though, the level always felt quite washed out to me, like a filler - and also it has this very "Doomish" geometry compared to other E2 levels. Not sure about Overlord though, after Dark Side, the area before we actually reach the boss always felt so ominous, bleak and atmospheric (especially the waterfalls). I like how it builds up the tension before the boss fight. Occupied Territory indeed feels like it should have been a boss level and never was really that memorable to me, but then it's definitely a good level all in all with some of the more challenging fights.

[The Watchtower]

Aleks, on 04 August 2021 - 04:36 AM, said:

I've looked at a video of old Warp Factor which comes from Hendricks' compilation of beta material and also at the top-down screenshot, and must say while there's a lot of interesting things in there, I much prefer the final, released version of Warp Factor, which has a layout more closely based on USS Enterprise with accessible "warp gondolas" and the warp core. Stuff like the rotating stairs is cool level-design wise, but doesn't really make much sense thematically.

As for Incubator, I strongly disagree here - to me it always was one of the strongest levels in terms of plot of the whole game, where we actually see the alien infestation and what they do with woman. It's not my favourite level due to the amount of drones combined with slimers, but that final part is definitely one of the more memorable moments of Duke 3D campaign. Agree on Tiberius Station though, the level always felt quite washed out to me, like a filler - and also it has this very "Doomish" geometry compared to other E2 levels. Not sure about Overlord though, after Dark Side, the area before we actually reach the boss always felt so ominous, bleak and atmospheric (especially the waterfalls). I like how it builds up the tension before the boss fight. Occupied Territory indeed feels like it should have been a boss level and never was really that memorable to me, but then it's definitely a good level all in all with some of the more challenging fights.

I like the final version of Warp Factor as well, it's a very well-thought out and cohesive map, but I'm still interested what went down in the original AHB version. Maybe those barrack segments were the ones that were reimagined for It's Impossible? Who knows...

I don't know about Incubator, the alien infestation segment is quite similar to the ones in other maps, particularly the ones by Levelord. I thought Raw Meat and Dark Side did this the best way, that's why Duke freak speech in both levels.

I love Occupied Territory. It's placement in the episode is highly questionable, but its giant corridors and meaty enemies were really memorable to me.

[MrFlibble]

Some of the material shown on the early pages of this thread is no longer online. Have the findings been stored and / or documented elsewhere since?

[Echelon5]

MrFlibble, on 12 August 2021 - 02:02 AM, said:

Some of the material shown on the early pages of this thread is no longer online. Have the findings been stored and / or documented elsewhere since?

I posted the same thing not long ago but unfortunately it seems not. :\

[OpenMaw]

A lot of it may still be on the Discord server. You'd just have to go back to those years and look for it.

It's quite shocking to me that nobody in these parts was actually archiving all of it. I guess once we realized the betas weren't coming out people stopped caring.

[Hendricks266]

I fixed what I could. If anyone has DNES_Preview-1.jpg through DNES_Preview-6.jpg, terminX.JPG, or "2014-04-03 23.36.15-1.jpg", please post them.

[deus-ex]

You are the man! Many thanks for your efforts. :)

[Hendricks266]

It's the least I can do.

I uploaded the lossless originals of Stephen Hornback's logos that were posted too. I would hate for them to only be known in JPEGed form. https://hendricks266.duke4.net/stuff/3dr_beta_thread/lossless/

https://hendricks266.duke4.net/stuff/3dr_beta_thread/lossless/3DREALM.GIF
https://hendricks266.duke4.net/stuff/3dr_beta_thread/lossless/APOREAL2.GIF
https://hendricks266.duke4.net/stuff/3dr_beta_thread/lossless/DNLOGO3A.GIF
https://hendricks266.duke4.net/stuff/3dr_beta_thread/lossless/DNLOGO3F.GIF
https://hendricks266.duke4.net/stuff/3dr_beta_thread/lossless/DNLOGO4.GIF
https://hendricks266.duke4.net/stuff/3dr_beta_thread/lossless/DNLOGO4C.GIF
https://hendricks266.duke4.net/stuff/3dr_beta_thread/lossless/DNLOGO5A.GIF
https://hendricks266.duke4.net/stuff/3dr_beta_thread/lossless/DNLOGO5B.GIF

It's also worth mentioning that by now I have successfully opened every encrypted zip file that was included in the data I received. Thanks to Ken Silverman for providing the password to the last one.

[Echelon5]

TerminX, on 17 April 2014 - 12:01 PM, said:

What was this video? I'm assuming it got taken down due to NDA shit.

[Tekedon]

Echelon5, on 26 August 2021 - 11:22 PM, said:

What was this video? I'm assuming it got taken down due to NDA shit.

Seems to be listed as "private" on youtube.

[oasiz]

It's likely due to youtube's new policy on unlisted videos.
The video needs to be made "unlisted" again and you will get a new URL that has a longer video ID to avoid people guessing it.

[Marphy Black]

Echelon5, on 26 August 2021 - 11:22 PM, said:

What was this video? I'm assuming it got taken down due to NDA shit.

It was a screen recording (as in a phone aimed at the screen) of some of the demos playing in a 1995 beta of Duke 3D. You may as well watch Hendricks' direct DOSBox capture instead as it's of the same build:

Hendricks266, on 26 August 2021 - 10:22 AM, said:

DNES_Preview-1.jpg through DNES_Preview-6.jpg

I'm pretty sure the first six screenshots in this article's gallery were the ones Fred posted:
https://dukenukem.fa...ies#Screenshots

It looks like they were also needlessly converted to PNG, but at least there was no quality loss.

[Sanek]

Didn't Fox had a huge online collection of beta-releated stuff?
Maybe he saved smthn.

[LAW]

I like the mixed looks of that Beta version. Looks better than Lameduke, but still more crappy than the final build.

What is the best Beta-inspired mod? This: https://forums.duke4...ssets-released/ ?

[Gingis Khan]

Marphy Black, on 27 August 2021 - 05:29 AM, said:

I'm pretty sure the first six screenshots in this article's gallery were the ones Fred posted:
https://dukenukem.fa...ies#Screenshots

It looks like they were also needlessly converted to PNG, but at least there was no quality loss.

Am I only one who those screenshots from Duke Wikia never show up no matter web browser i use? Literally they are just blank screens.

[MrFlibble]

LAW, on 28 August 2021 - 06:00 AM, said:

I like the mixed looks of that Beta version. Looks better than Lameduke, but still more crappy than the final build.

I wouldn't actually call it "crappy". It is certainly more polished than the Lameduke version, but it's only part of the story. What you're witnessing here is the transition from the Doom era to literally the pinnacle of 2.5D firt-person games.