[Moggimus]

Hey Duke3D fans,

I decided to start doing youtube videos, and what better way than to begin with one of my favorite games ever? I just posted my first vid where I play through E1L1 and talk about the shareware model of games at the time of Duke3D's release, as well as the people behind the music of the game and ramble on in general as I play. Give it a watch!

http://youtu.be/9QlD-MMEzXQ

[Hendricks266]

Nice vid! Applause for the following:

1. Using EDuke32
2. Using EDuke32 in Widescreen 1080p
3. Using EDuke32 in Widescreen 1080p without the HRP, Duke Plus, or any other mods (besides the SC-55 music pack--that's a good thing)

All with the bonus of knowledgeable commentary.

At one point I wanted to show the game to a friend and was completely unable to find a video of E1L1 that met all of these criteria, and I ended up making my own.



If it's OK with you, we might like to link to a playlist of your videos as you make them on the EDuke32 site redesign. (Whenever that happens.)

At the end of the video, you mentioned that you'll be talking about the engine in your next vid. There are so many misconceptions that get repeated about the engine, especially how different games relate and where the technologies differ (such as ROR and voxels). I don't have a "handy BUILD misconception guide" but if you want to get any information vetted for technical accuracy, I would happy to.

Probably the biggest thing is the claim that Blood and Shadow Warrior use "more advanced" engines, but that is mostly not true. Ken's BUILD timeline and his engine documentation show that he continued bugfixes and incremental improvements throughout and after Duke 3D's development, so the engine versions used between games (and versions of games) likely isn't identical, but aside from voxels (which were added in February 1996 and never used in Duke), all the advanced effects such as ROR (room-over-room) in later games were done entirely by the game programmers without touching the engine itself. (All the source ports of Duke and SW use Ken's latest engine code.)

EDIT: It's worth mentioning that BUILD is not a raycaster. I also spent some time on the engine's Wikipedia page. https://en.wikipedia...ki/Build_engine

[Moggimus]

Hey, thanks a lot Hendricks!

Please feel free to link to my videos! I'll be adding them to a playlist as I go along, so I'll make sure to link it here. Thanks a lot for the feedback, it gives me a lot of encouragement for the next vid. I'll indeed be discussing BUILD in the next vid (I had planned on talking about Ken creating BUILD and how 3DR hired him) and I'll make sure that I have my facts straight. I also plan on talking about EDuke32 and how that got started with source code release, Ken coding the Polymost renderer, JonoF, TerminX and yourself, etc. If there's anything specific you think I could mention feel free to let me know!

Feels good to be a contributing member of the community!

[Micky C]

Yeah thanks moggimus, spreading the knowledge of Build is always a good thing.

Hendricks266, on 09 July 2014 - 01:48 PM, said:

Probably the biggest thing is the claim that Blood and Shadow Warrior use "more advanced" engines, but that is mostly not true. Ken's BUILD timeline and his engine documentation show that he continued bugfixes and incremental improvements throughout and after Duke 3D's development, so the engine versions used between games (and versions of games) likely isn't identical, but aside from voxels (which were added in February 1996 and never used in Duke), all the advanced sector effects such as ROR (room-over-room) in later games were done entirely by the game programmers without touching the engine itself. (All the source ports of Duke and SW use Ken's latest engine code.)

While we're on the topic of engine differences, where does coloured fog like in SW fit in?

[oasiz]

Doesn't the visibility (darkness) already cover that? Just slap in a different table for shading values and it would already look like it. At least that is how it has always looked to me.
About the video itself, seems good so far. Kind of like a more casual "live stream" approach.

[Mr.Torture]

Nice one, awesome job!
What software did you used for recording? FPS is perfect, even on 1080p!

[Moggimus]

Thanks for the feedback guys!

Mr.Torture, on 10 July 2014 - 09:30 AM, said:

Nice one, awesome job!
What software did you used for recording? FPS is perfect, even on 1080p!

I use a program called Dxtory and use the Lagarith Lossless Codec for the video capture. It works very well and the quality is excellent!

EDIT: I have a question, guys: How exactly would you describe the Apogee/3DR relationship? I just want to make sure I get the right terminology for the next video. Would you say that Apogee is 3DR's parent company, sister company? Or that 3DR is an offshoot?

[Hendricks266]

"3D Realms" is a d/b/a of Apogee Software, Ltd, which is the original company Scott founded in 1987. (In summary, it's simply another name. It's the same company.) This is the entity that was acquired by SDN Invest earlier this year, the Danish investment firm that also (partly?) owns Interceptor.

Not to be confused with Apogee Software, LLC, a company established in 2008 by Scott's friend (and one time Apogee employee) Terry Nagy. I'm not sure precisely what relationship this company has (whether IPs are licensed to it, or if they were sold to it in their entirety, and what IPs are affected), but it published Duke Nukem Trilogy and ROTT 2013.

[Moggimus]

I decided to describe Apogee as "the predecessor of 3D Realms" but let me know if you guys think this is incorrect. Also, in describing the process of acquiring the Build engine, would you say that Apogee "bought the rights" to the engine when they hired Ken?

[Mr.Torture]

moggimus, on 10 July 2014 - 11:09 AM, said:

I use a program called Dxtory and use the Lagarith Lossless Codec for the video capture. It works very well and the quality is excellent!

Thanks man! I've tried many capture tools and results were horrible. In fact i'm trying to capture a multiplayer gameplay which i'm using an old Duke3D_W32 conversion (xDuke I believe, from http://vision.gel.ul.../~klein/duke3d/) and it's the 'nearest to original' version of DN3D that i've ever tried. Let's see how this capture tool will run

[Hendricks266]

moggimus, on 10 July 2014 - 12:30 PM, said:

I decided to describe Apogee as "the predecessor of 3D Realms" but let me know if you guys think this is incorrect.

3D Realms is merely a rebranding--nothing changed on the inside. Somewhat clunky, but Apogee is "3D Realms's original (and legal) name". Emphasis that it's just a name change.

moggimus, on 10 July 2014 - 12:30 PM, said:

Also, in describing the process of acquiring the Build engine, would you say that Apogee "bought the rights" to the engine when they hired Ken?

I would say they "licensed" it. That has the more precise implication that it's non-exclusive.

[Moggimus]

Ok guys, since I feel it important to make sure you're going to be satisfied with the next video (that's not a bad thing), I'm going to show you some of the text I plan to put in it. I should point out that when I decided to start doing this that I was planning on just playing through the game and commenting on whatever occured to me while I was playing. Since I have a long history with the game and know all too much about it, this naturally includes technical and developmental facts about it. So, while there definitely are facts about the game and its development I want to touch on, my aim is not to do a comprehensive history of it.

Therefore, what I talk about and put on screen will be a summary of the details (this is NOT an excuse to put up misinformation! I want to get it right). I want the videos to be accessible to anyone, especially people who are unfamiliar with Duke3D or games of the era. Indeed, I'm sure some people would think I've already gone wrong by putting text and images on screen, since I'm trying to do a "Let's Play" style of videos, not a history or review. I'm going to do what I want though. =P Like I said, I have too much history and knowledge of the game to not talk about it.

Hendricks266, on 10 July 2014 - 01:23 PM, said:

3D Realms is merely a rebranding--nothing changed on the inside. Somewhat clunky, but Apogee is "3D Realms's original (and legal) name". Emphasis that it's just a name change.


I would say they "licensed" it. That has the more precise implication that it's non-exclusive.

Awesome, thanks for this. So, here's what I plan to put on screen while I ramble about Build(not all at once):

Quote

The Build engine was created by Ken Silverman. It began in the summer of 1992
after watching his brother play Wolfenstein 3D, which had just been released.
He decided to start programming his own 3D game.

Ken succeeded in creating a 3D engine, and while it was fairly simple at first he ended up
getting his own game titled "Ken's Labyrinth" published by Epic Megagames(later "Epic Games" of Unreal
Engine and Unreal Tournament/Gears of War fame) in March of 1993.

After Ken's Labyrinth he started working on a new version of the engine with more features like
angled walls, as well as ceilings and floors with variable height much like the Doom engine had (Doom
had not been released yet).

Ken named this new style engine "Build". It soon caught the interest of Apogee Software(the former name
of 3D Realms). Apogee licensed Build and hired Ken in August of 1993 to continue working on it.

Duke Nukem II was released several months later (Dec.3rd) and development on Duke Nukem 3D began soon after.
During this time, Apogee/3D Realms began licensing out Build to other companies (at the time, the engine
had less features than what would be in Duke3D).

Two commercial games were released during Duke3D's development using this early version:
"William Shatner's TekWar" and "Witchaven", both by Capstone Software/Intracorp Entertainment.

Ken continued work on the engine and in time Build became truly superior to the Doom engine,
with features like the ability to look up and down, high resolution video modes, sloped floors,
translucent sprites and sprites applied directly to walls, ceilings and floors.

I plan to mention the excellent "The History of Ken Silverman's Build Engine" video (http://youtu.be/VSVzn0F3pyQ) and link to the wiki page and Ken's history timeline if people want to get the more detailed information. Let me know what you think guys, thanks!

[Hendricks266]

That looks good!

[Mr.Torture]

I think it's nice to mention about Build engine and Ken Silverman's history, as the fact of be far superior than Doom's engine and developed earlier (suck it, Carmack!) and of course it is the heart of all the mess and fun we found (and still) playing it.

[MetHy]

Mr.Torture, on 10 July 2014 - 02:34 PM, said:

as the fact of be far superior than Doom's engine and developed earlier

This only says that it started development before Doom's release; not that development of the Build engine started before development of the Doom's engine.

[Mr.Torture]

MetHy, on 10 July 2014 - 02:38 PM, said:

This only says that it started development before Doom's release; not that development of the Build engine started before development of the Doom's engine.

Well, I may have said it wrong, but in fact he developed it during the same time, 92 and 93, then joined 3D Realms on Aug 93. Doom was released in Dec 93.
As far as I know, both creators never met each other during Doom development, which was very closed, and the concept used in both engines wasn't totally new (as it says, he was inspired by Wolfenstein). But of course if Carmack had more development time he would have made these new things.
Carmack got really impressed saying that Ken is one of the most talented guys in those days for doing all the coding on Build.
Imagine if they have known each other in those days...

[Moggimus]

E1L2 is up! http://youtu.be/SxCnOCa-zLU

[Hendricks266]

This is excellent. Keep it up.

Best part is your "Bitchin'" at 10:52, followed by your remark at the security camera at 10:58. Then the nonchalant tip to the hooker at 11:19 (the first time in your series you tipped a babe) in the middle of explaining the car chase.

You should make a moggimus voice pack of all the remarks in the game.

BTW, "Senior Developer" is an honorific TerminX gave me, but I'm still 4th in command below TerminX, Plagman, and Helixhorned.

[Moggimus]

E1L3 is up: http://youtu.be/0vxrIknJhfY

At one point I spent way too much time talking about some minor differences/nitpicks with the renderers while nothing really happens so I added a skip button for anyone who isn't an EDuke32 supernerd

[Hendricks266]

Matt Saettler's focus on EDuke was bringing over CON scripting improvements from NAM and WWII GI, and extending them. Duke 3D --> NAM --> WWII GI --> EDuke

Texture filtering does not work with 8-bit art by default in Polymer because of a recent feature that applies the original 8-bit shading tables to the art so it looks more faithful to Classic. You can get filtering by turning it off with r_pr_artmapping 0, but you'll probably want it on.

[Moggimus]

Ah, thanks for the info! I hope the video was somewhat enjoyable despite me yammering on for so long.

[Moggimus]

Hey guys,

E1L4 (http://youtu.be/N-Vwocnnv7I), E1 secret level (http://youtu.be/KWXDX1XD3yk) and E1L5 (http://youtu.be/Ron3XAqPaDI) are all up. Also, here's a link to a playlist where you'll find all current and future videos: http://www.youtube.c...sKUIVhH0YMP9oag

Thanks for watching!

[Hendricks266]

If you still have your corrupted map around, Mapster32 has corruption fixing.

I'm surprised to see how in-demand an EDuke32 SW port is. I'm currently getting Ken Silverman's test game and editor working against our codebase in an organized fashion, and most of the hard work on those is done. A lot of the stuff is prerequisite for SW anyway. When It's Done.

[Moggimus]

I do still have the map, hmm... Thanks for letting me know that. Is it acceptable to release a map with corruption as long as it loads and there's nothing effecting gameplay?

I don't really understand why SW is so unpopular, or at least perceived to be. It's certainly not received the love and attention Duke3D has, but I love it just as much. I think there's some great potential in it, so I'm really looking forward to EDuke32-SW =)

[Hendricks266]

It depends. The original game maps have minor corruptions here and there. The level Wavemistress from Duke Caribbean has some moderate corruption (which is understandable, because that map is packed).

It would probably be alright, but there may be issues you don't foresee or don't experience yourself. Since we have the tools, you might as well try fixing it. http://wiki.eduke32....32_Map_Checking

[Moggimus]

E2L1: http://youtu.be/MUhECNYEbhc

Thanks for the info Hendricks, I might try to fix it. The problem after that would be finishing it, lol.

[XThX2]

Man, I want to know how your music sounds so different and unique! The score screen music in particular, sounds so lively and clear. Good videos by the way, been watching all of them so far despite knowing the game well. Quite entertaining.

[Hendricks266]

XThX2, on 30 July 2014 - 07:08 PM, said:

Man, I want to know how your music sounds so different and unique! The score screen music in particular, sounds so lively and clear.

http://www.duke4.org..._music-sc55.zip

SC-55 recordings of the MIDIs by MusicallyInspired.
BONUS.VOC, BARMUSIC.VOC, and 2BWILD.VOC from the PS1 port by Mark Knight.

[Moggimus]

E2L2: http://youtu.be/q5ewgjqn9Gk

XThX2, on 30 July 2014 - 07:08 PM, said:

Man, I want to know how your music sounds so different and unique! The score screen music in particular, sounds so lively and clear. Good videos by the way, been watching all of them so far despite knowing the game well. Quite entertaining.

Thanks for the feedback! Yeah, I keep forgetting to mention that I'm using MusicallyInspired's SC-55 music pack, as Hendricks posted. Highly recommend it if you want to hear the music as it was intended to be. Thanks for watching!

[Moggimus]

E2L3: http://youtu.be/Fj85YR1uEuY