[OpenMaw]

TerminX, on 05 May 2014 - 12:47 PM, said:

That actually IS the final shotgun, just from a different angle. The source photo hasn't been touched up at all at that point (as a different video still ended up being used)... just some basic recoloring to differentiate between the hand and the weapon. A lot of the photo based stuff was made grayscale as a first step.

Are you sure about that TX? The shotgun itself looks like a completely different design. It looks like it has a top mounted ejection port or something, and it's lacking the pistol grip, which the shotgun they used to scan actually had on it.

[Nacho]

Besli, on 01 May 2014 - 12:12 AM, said:

I think it was a shame that Endangered Species was cancelled, the pictures looked so promising!
The weapon models that Max Aristov made looked very close to the Duke Nukem 3D sprites, that was so exellent!

Duke Nukem: Endangered Species Hunter (Have to put hunter in there or else!) fascinated me for years. I was a huge Carnivores fan and the idea of putting more story and missions to that type of gameplay was very appealing. Sadly to say while the concept on paper was great and the end product could have been as well but the progress on the project was too slow... when it came time to show it off it just didn't have enough in it to warrant continuation. I've attached some more images of the game below and I'll take some more if there is interest or I can provide more intel on the project if needed.

These are taken all from one mission or level... up until my death:

[OpenMaw]

Those are pretty cool. They did a good job on the assets. The Duke character model looks rather high detail for the time as well.
Any chance you could show off some footage, Nacho? Or is that a big negative at this point?

[Nacho]

Commando Nukem, on 05 May 2014 - 02:43 PM, said:

Those are pretty cool. They did a good job on the assets. The Duke character model looks rather high detail for the time as well.
Any chance you could show off some footage, Nacho? Or is that a big negative at this point?

Not a big negative. When I have time I'll run through one of the more complete levels and show off some stuff.

[The Albino Ape]

What engine is that running on? It looks like an Id Tech engine.

[Jimmy]

It runs on the AtmosFear engine.

[The Albino Ape]

I see, it looks similar to RTCW.

[Marphy Black]

Nacho, on 05 May 2014 - 02:46 PM, said:

When I have time I'll run through one of the more complete levels and show off some stuff.

About how much of the game was completed in that build, would you say? I've played Vivisector before (long before I ever realized its roots as a Duke title!), and despite some visual similarities, it doesn't seem like Action Forms could have salvaged much from Endangered Species. From those screenshots, I'm rather interested in the campaign's implied story. It seems the plot transformed from a hunting expedition of extinct and mythical creatures involving aliens to an Island of Doctor Moreau-esque tale of man-animal hybrids.

[TerminX]

Commando Nukem, on 05 May 2014 - 02:30 PM, said:

Are you sure about that TX? The shotgun itself looks like a completely different design. It looks like it has a top mounted ejection port or something, and it's lacking the pistol grip, which the shotgun they used to scan actually had on it.

It's from an earlier taping, before they put the forward grip on it.

[Kid]

It's interesting to see how almost nothing changed when Endangered Species was changed to Vivisector. The hand and shotgun is exactly the same as the end product.

[Jimmy]

Was the pistol based off a real gun? I've always been interested in that. A lot of people say it's a Glock, but it's obviously not. It kind of looks like a Hi-Point C9 9mm. But if we had the actual digitization footage, that would help a lot.

[OpenMaw]

I may be mistaken but it really does look like it's bits and pieces of various guns. The reloading frames especially look like they are cobbled together. That gun has a lot of really strange angles on it.

[Marphy Black]

Kid, on 05 May 2014 - 05:44 PM, said:

It's interesting to see how almost nothing changed when Endangered Species was changed to Vivisector. The hand and shotgun is exactly the same as the end product.

Actually, the arm and shotgun models and textures are very different in the final game. The knife, on the other hand, is quite similar to the finished version.

[Kid]

Marphy Black, on 05 May 2014 - 06:14 PM, said:

Actually, the arm and shotgun models and textures are very different in the final game. The knife, on the other hand, is quite similar to the finished version.

I am mistaken then, but that is not the model I had in the game when I played it long ago. So I must have gotten a hold of an earlier version unknowingly, maybe?

[Nacho]

Marphy Black, on 05 May 2014 - 04:52 PM, said:

About how much of the game was completed in that build, would you say? I've played Vivisector before (long before I ever realized its roots as a Duke title!), and despite some visual similarities, it doesn't seem like Action Forms could have salvaged much from Endangered Species. From those screenshots, I'm rather interested in the campaign's implied story. It seems the plot transformed from a hunting expedition of extinct and mythical creatures involving aliens to an Island of Doctor Moreau-esque tale of man-animal hybrids.

The idea that Endangered Species Hunter became Vivisector is a half truth. Some things are similar in concept but handled much differently.

Originally the concept was going to start off as a standard hunting sim where Duke would hunt various animals with each level ending with a super beast of some kind. For the most part these animals were bigger, more menacing variants of creatures you would find within the regular game except that if you got close enough you would notice some robotic elements hidden beneath the flesh. This idea of animal and machine was later taken much further in Vivisector but in this game it would later involve Dr. Proton being behind these creations. Cool thing was the boss creatures could not only be killed by conventional fire power but by other means such as environmental traps. As the game progressed the game maintained the hunting sim feel but would start to become more mission focused as you ventured to newer locales, places like the Arctic, Chernobyl, etc.

Somewhere down the line Dr. Proton was dropped and substituted for aliens which I believe was done so as not to conflict with his appearance in Duke Nukem Forever. The Alien portions of the game were purely action focused and far from how the game started out. You can see some of the beginnings of the gibing system they put into Vivisector here with the final boss changing based on where you damage it, even having different attacks based on what you destroyed.

The maps for the time were HUGE which is why vehicles would assist you in getting from one place to another. Add secrets and side missions into the mix and you have a globe trotting Duke adventure! So, what went wrong? Well, the official statement is 3D Realms didn't like the progress. As I said in my last post Action Forms took too long to get anything presentable ready. So far no level I can access is anywhere near the completed stage... what is here is not a game but a showcase of an idea that at that time in development should have been further along.

[DNSkill]

Jimmy, on 05 May 2014 - 05:46 PM, said:

Was the pistol based off a real gun? I've always been interested in that. A lot of people say it's a Glock, but it's obviously not. It kind of looks like a Hi-Point C9 9mm. But if we had the actual digitization footage, that would help a lot.

Everything points to a Glock 17 that has been converted to full auto (like the Glock 18).

But yeah it is pretty fat for a Glock, unless they edited the sprites on purpose to look that way.

[DNSkill]

TerminX, on 05 May 2014 - 05:11 PM, said:

It's from an earlier taping, before they put the forward grip on it.

Is it really silver like that? Or was that just the picture quality? It looks like it'd fit better with the Pig Cops shotguns.

The pick up sprite was silver with black stock IIRC.

[The Albino Ape]

gerolf, on 05 May 2014 - 07:02 PM, said:

Everything points to a Glock 17 that has been converted to full auto (like the Glock 18).

But yeah it is pretty fat for a Glock, unless they edited the sprites on purpose to look that way.

I recall hearing that they mirrored the handgun also. Which is why the bullet casings eject on the left side.

[Mr. Tibbs]

Here's the extended version of the ROTT video Joe Siegler posted the other day:

[Daedolon]

Nacho, on 05 May 2014 - 02:38 PM, said:

The jeep looks like it's from the Q2 DNF build.

[Frederik Schreiber]

Really cool stuff Nacho!

[Fox]

Jimmy, on 05 May 2014 - 05:46 PM, said:

Was the pistol based off a real gun? I've always been interested in that. A lot of people say it's a Glock, but it's obviously not. It kind of looks like a Hi-Point C9 9mm. But if we had the actual digitization footage, that would help a lot.

Based on this frame it's not hard to tell it's a 3D model.

Looking at older versions, the Ripper, RPG, Pipebomb and Freezethrower are all 3D models slightly redrawn. And there is no way they could have made the lighting of the Shrinker firing.

I dunno about the Devastator, but the Mighty Boot is likely a photography.

[icecoldduke]

Quote

Looking at older versions, the Ripper, RPG, Pipebomb and Freezethrower are all 3D models slightly redrawn

I wonder if interceptor would be willing to release those models, if they still exist.

[MetHy]

It would be incredible if those models were released indeed. That means we could use them in Duke3D. Now THAT'S an HRP I'd be willing to use

[OpenMaw]

That may not be true. It really depends on the level of detail put in to them. Like I suggested on the Duke player model, he has no individual fingers. Plus, given that they were designed literally to be posed and then screen grabbed, they could be ridiculously high poly, and not suitable for gameplay. People think Polymer chugs now, just wait!

[High Treason]

Or due to technological differences, they might look awful in a modern rendering engine - though that's not likely.

You can probably not expect any of the animation master stuff from cutscenes to work with anything else if that shows up, I'm inclined to think that software didn't use polygons.

Edit; Indeed, as stated on Wikipedia;

Quote

The software uses a proprietary spline mesh technology to perform modeling and animation, and it is different in this sense from polygon mesh or NURBS-based programs. The system used is called patch-based modeling. It uses multiple intersecting splines to create surfaces, called patches. Patches present an efficiency in that one patch can describe a complex curved surface that would require many facets to approximate in flat polygons.

[MetHy]

Oh well... I admit I don't know much about models and modelling. The only thing I ever did was some very basic models in milkshape about a decade ago. I had no idea patch-based modelling was even a thing.
Would it be possible somehow to convert them and make them use-able (as hard as it would be, if possible) ?

[Dr_Proton]

Kinda off-topic but ... does anyone of you know where to get some nice high-res box art from Blood 1/2 ?

[DNSkill]

Strife Trademark is abandoned, what does this mean in terms of its prototypes?

The boot and Duke's arms and stuff are all from a real person IIRC.

[Kristian Joensen]

gerolf, on 06 May 2014 - 01:24 PM, said:

Strife Trademark is abandoned, what does this mean in terms of its prototypes?

The boot and Duke's arms and stuff are all from a real person IIRC.

Nothing. Trademarks cover things like names and stuff you use for marketing products and services. They don't cover the actual content you produce. That would be copyrights. Even the trademark bit *may* be more complex than just the Strife trademark being abandoned since there is a difference between registered and unregistered trademark. IANAL of course.