[Rodrigo Belacruz III]

Hello, AMC fans and authors! Before anything else, I'd like to express my amazement at the quality of the work the authors of the TC have produced. I had more fun playing and found myself more in awe with the level design, content, and gameplay incorporated in this mod then I did with most triple A shooters. This mod has given me months of gameplay, and I'm just as excited revisiting these levels today than when I first played them in April. Fantastic work; I can hardly contain my excitement for Episode 3!

Continuing on: I've noticed that the AMC TC hasn't received the attention it deserves on the web. In the forums, I've read James and a few other authors mention how they've received relatively little feedback on Episode 2. Additionally, the mod doesn't have a dedicated playthrough of both episodes on YouTube. There was an announcement on the forums for an Episode 1 playthrough a few years back (which was never fully completed IIRC), and Zaxtor did a complete Ep. 1 playthrough, but as of yet, I haven't seen Episode 2 footage outside of a few single level clips.
Nor have I seen coverage of the TC's hub worlds, research system, EDF missions, artifacts and buyable weapons, factory building, etc.

So I decided to launch my own playthrough! I plan to complete the main story, finish most of the EDF missions, and research / purchase most of the custom weapons and facilities. I'll be playing on Expert; if there are any sections where I die repeatedly, I'll edit them out.

You can check out the series here: https://www.youtube....6Oi4Q/playlists I've already released 4 episodes; in my most recent episode, I explored New LA and finished Wet Dream and Snow Base. I'll try to release episodes daily; the next one should up tomorrow morning. Swing by if you want to check it out!

And finally, once I reach episode 2, I'll try to post my feedback in Interepisode discussion. It won't be as quality as thedrawliner's feedback, but I'll try to provide my complete and thorough opinion on each time.

[PsychoGoatee]

Rockin'! It's always cool to have a walkthrough, especially since I get lost from time to time. I dig it.

[Jblade]

Awesome, looking forward to watching you go through this Let me know if you have any questions on stuff (like secret level access or gameplay tips)

[Rodrigo Belacruz III]

Jblade, on 18 August 2015 - 01:56 PM, said:

Awesome, looking forward to watching you go through this Let me know if you have any questions on stuff (like secret level access or gameplay tips)

Thank you very much! I believe that I know how to find all the secret levels, but I do have a few missing artifacts / research projects from my first run that I missed, so that would be fantastic. And of course, if I miss anything glaring in a level, feel free to point it out.

[Radar]

This is really cool. Thanks for these. I'm hoping these will help me access the secret levels without cheating.

[Micky C]

I see that you finished your walkthrough of Episode 1, great work! It's nice to have the most up-to-date versions of the levels up there for people to see.

Looking forward to Episode 2

[Rodrigo Belacruz III]

Thank you for your support, everybody! I hope that you've been enjoying the videos. I had to edit and reupload part 1 of episode 2 due to some copyright issues, but it's up now; Episode 2 will finally get complete video coverage on YouTube. As I've already told James, if you all ever want me to change how I approach the videos (I've been trying to alternate between EDF and main missions), which characters / weapons I should give more attention to, etc., let me know. Next time, I'll tackle an EDF mission , and the first Hong Kong level

[Micky C]

If anything, perhaps make it more obvious in the video title what levels are contained in the videos? If anyone gets stuck in a specific map it would be easier to jump straight to the right video to figure out how to progress. For the same reason, would you be able to upload all the official episode maps together in one clump and have the EDF maps separate somehow, such as at the end of the playlist?

Otherwise you're doing a pretty thorough job with the videos, exploring the maps very well etc. It's also nice that you're bothering to do the EDF missions as well. I know I haven't been able to finish some of them because of getting stuck, but now I can give them another go

[Rodrigo Belacruz III]

Micky C, on 30 August 2015 - 12:39 AM, said:

If anything, perhaps make it more obvious in the video title what levels are contained in the videos? If anyone gets stuck in a specific map it would be easier to jump straight to the right video to figure out how to progress. For the same reason, would you be able to upload all the official episode maps together in one clump and have the EDF maps separate somehow, such as at the end of the playlist?

Otherwise you're doing a pretty thorough job with the videos, exploring the maps very well etc. It's also nice that you're bothering to do the EDF missions as well. I know I haven't been able to finish some of them because of getting stuck, but now I can give them another go

At your suggestion, I changed the video titles to include the levels they feature, and will continue to do so in the future

I'm glad that you're enjoying the videos; I sometimes wonder if I'm not being thorough enough with the levels' secrets (since I don't know a lot of them admittedly) but I'll try to show off everything I can from each level.

[Rodrigo Belacruz III]

I forgot to respond to the second part of your first paragraph That seems like a good idea to me; I imagine some people will want the main missions and EDF missions separate. So I'll make a separate playlist for the EDF missions that I play through from now on.

[The Mechanic]

Rodrigo Belacruz III, on 18 August 2015 - 11:58 AM, said:

Continuing on: I've noticed that the AMC TC hasn't received the attention it deserves on the web.

Not suprised. I wonder how many people did like me, downloaded it, spent 15 minutes scratching their head wandering around an empty space, then deleted it ? Can you do a walkthrough of how to get from the start of the game to where you actually shoot things ? I totally don't get it I'm afraid .

TTFN,
Jon

[Rodrigo Belacruz III]

The Mechanic, on 30 August 2015 - 01:04 PM, said:

Not suprised. I wonder how many people did like me, downloaded it, spent 15 minutes scratching their head wandering around an empty space, then deleted it ? Can you do a walkthrough of how to get from the start of the game to where you actually shoot things ? I totally don't get it I'm afraid .

TTFN,
Jon

While the TC can be a bit overwhelming to get into, I don't think that's the reason why it hasn't achieved widespread popularity. It probably has more to do with the fact that Duke just doesn't have the worlds biggest fanbase as of now, and issues with raising awareness of the TC's existence (the devs can probably explain the situation a hell of a lot better than I can.) All I can say is that I only found the TC by complete accident, whilst scrolling through Duke 3d's moddb page, and not from online discussion or trailers or anything.

While the mod does incorporate a lot of shooting (much of it improved over Duke 3d's mechanics) even the non-shooting parts are well worth your time. I spent at least half an hour figuring out how to use the hub world's features, how to access levels, how to assign equipment to characters, etc., but between browsing the forums and my own experimentation, I got the hang of most of the mods features. And once you learn how to play the mod to its fullest, it's one hell of a ride - jumping from level to level, finding artifacts, researching projects, outfitting your characters, engaging in dialogue, and more. I highly recommend giving it another shot; the walkthrough I've been posting will show you how to get to the shooting sections, and hopefully, far beyond them.

[Micky C]

The Mechanic, on 30 August 2015 - 01:04 PM, said:

Not suprised. I wonder how many people did like me, downloaded it, spent 15 minutes scratching their head wandering around an empty space, then deleted it ? Can you do a walkthrough of how to get from the start of the game to where you actually shoot things ? I totally don't get it I'm afraid .

TTFN,
Jon

I was going to say; that's why Rodrigo's walkthrough is so good. It shows the bits between the levels as well. While most people might not even care about the upgrades, they're there for those who want them. At the very least. he shows how to start the levels by going up to the command console

IMO all the best games take a bit of time to get in to. If you've got all the gameplay figured out in the first 5 minutes then where do you go from there?

Btw Episode 2 doesn't actually have a release trailer It's been something I've occasionally nagged James about. He has very specific plans for it but doesn't seem to have the time to actually pull it off.
(Actually now that I think about it, episode 1 doesn't have a release trailer either).

This draft trailer I threw together is the closest we've got IMO, and it could use some polish.

[XThX2]

The Mechanic, on 30 August 2015 - 01:04 PM, said:

Not suprised. I wonder how many people did like me, downloaded it, spent 15 minutes scratching their head wandering around an empty space, then deleted it ? Can you do a walkthrough of how to get from the start of the game to where you actually shoot things ? I totally don't get it I'm afraid .

TTFN,
Jon

I can totally see this being a problem. I've shown this game to a few friends of mine who have played Duke 3D a very long time ago, and they said they couldn't even get past the inital area. IMO you should make it a bit more obvious or a walkthrough is definitely needed. I've had no problems myself as I'm used to those but can't say this for everyone, as I said

[TheDragonLiner]

Unfortunately for you guys James said he doesn't want to level down the level design and I surely hope it will remain this way because having much simpler maps would make it look like a COD and nobody wants that ...

Besides most people have problems getting stuck in places where they shouldn't be stuck, the problem is that people nowadays have lost their skills in navigating, personally I got stuck only once because I hadn't see the green access card of the Island Facility but that's all, I really wonder how the others get stuck that easily.

[Rodrigo Belacruz III]

Micky C, on 30 August 2015 - 03:42 PM, said:

I was going to say; that's why Rodrigo's walkthrough is so good. It shows the bits between the levels as well. While most people might not even care about the upgrades, they're there for those who want them. At the very least. he shows how to start the levels by going up to the command console

I appreciate that a great deal, Micky; having positive feedback from the devs makes it feel like I've contributed positively to the TC Personally, I prefer having the mod maintain its relative complexity. It can be a little tough to get into, but once you learn how to play it, it's generally smooth sailing, and an absolute blast.

Honestly, that trailer looks pretty solid to me; the music choice is somewhat cliche, but the footage show off some of the best scenes from Episode 2.

[XThX2]

thedrawliner, on 30 August 2015 - 10:44 PM, said:

Unfortunately for you guys James said he doesn't want to level down the level design and I surely hope it will remain this way because having much simpler maps would make it look like a COD and nobody wants that ...

Besides most people have problems getting stuck in places where they shouldn't be stuck, the problem is that people nowadays have lost their skills in navigating, personally I got stuck only once because I hadn't see the green access card of the Island Facility but that's all, I really wonder how the others get stuck that easily.

Notice I'm talking about a specific level, the initial jumping puzzle part that you never ever have to play again. That one. Even though I don't quite understand the point of that I have no problems with it. I can't say the same for my friends though...

[TheDragonLiner]

Sorry I didn't understand it that way, mea culpa ^^;

But it doesn't mean I revoke the rest of what I said.

[The Mechanic]

Micky C, on 30 August 2015 - 03:42 PM, said:

I was going to say; that's why Rodrigo's walkthrough is so good. It shows the bits between the levels as well. While most people might not even care about the upgrades, they're there for those who want them. At the very least. he shows how to start the levels by going up to the command console

Yes, I'd gone back to the videos a few times, but kept getting lost in all sorts of pictures of planets and lord knows what - until I noted I was clicking the obvious flashing square on the map and not that little bit on the left but once the pictures of planets I couldn't find my way back to the map without restarting.

Anyhow, a bit of progress. Now I need to work out this weapon pickup. I've no idea how I picked up that gun in the room with the yellow keyswitch - I gave up trying to pick it up, then suddenly I picked it up and I don't know what I did. And after that I've no idea how I auto-switched to using fists just as I was trying to kick a commander's butt with a proper gun. Still, onwards and upwards and I'd *really* like to pick up that snipers riffle. Somehow. If possible. I'm sure that little picture showing my current weapon with an arrow pointing to an icon of the weapon I want to pick up with a letter 'E' on it (my [use] key is defined as 'E') is trying to tell me something, but the 'E' key does nothing. Duke Nukem always had two design faults - no sniper's riffle and no chainsaw - so it's great to be tantilisingly close to getting one of them.

Micky C, on 30 August 2015 - 03:42 PM, said:

IMO all the best games take a bit of time to get in to. If you've got all the gameplay figured out in the first 5 minutes then where do you go from there?

True, and I'm hoping all those other rooms at the start come into play as the game progresses ? Having said that, in the demo video number 1 somehow you go into the room before the firing range and it's full of guns. Empty for me, though one time I did make it to the firing range with a pistol I think it was.

Maybe it'd help if I were more familiar with modern games, but I don't play many games at all and the most modern one is probably Serious Sam II which is 10 years old!

TTFN,
Jon

[TheDragonLiner]

You have to hold the action button (E in your case) down until you swap the weapons, you can also hold the "reload" button in order to manually place a temporary weapon on the ground which gives you the occasion to stock up multiple weapons at the same place, for instance a sniper and a pigcop's shotgun but you'll have to go back to where you left them everytime you wanna switch.

[The Mechanic]

thedrawliner, on 31 August 2015 - 12:43 PM, said:

You have to hold the action button (E in your case) down until you swap the weapons,...

D'Oh!

This weapons business is confusing me a bit. I got the sniper rifle but later when I went to select it again a different weapon came up and I swear I don't recall picking up another weapon. Also, what does the "Ammo" display number mean ? It seems to change as I select a different weapon but seems to bear no relation to wether the flamin' weapon will fire or just go click-click-click ?

Think I'll take a break; just found the darn thing has been overwriting my manually saved game so now I have to start from the beginning again. Boy did that swear box get a hammering when I discovered that ! Fortunately I have found the AUTOSAVE_ENABLED setting in AMC_Settings.txt.

TTFN,
Jon

[TheDragonLiner]

You must not hold it for too long or too short because it sometimes bugs and changes your tempoary weapon (sniper in your case) more than once in too rapid successions to be noticed that's probably what happened to you, personally that's why I always hold the reload button to drop it manually instead, that way you're sure of what you'll pick. But you must also keep in mind that if you have no temporary weapon in store (AKA fists) you will automatically pick up any temporary weapon you stumble across.

As for the "ammo" display I think I see what you mean ... Basically since you have to reload certain weapons you have the first ammo count that indicates how many bullets/shells you have in store and the other ammo count (mag count for some characters) indicates how many bullets/shells that are loaded in the gun you're using and since not all guns have the same magazine capacity it varies from gun to gun, for instance with James the Glock has 18, the Striker can have 12 and the MP9 has 30. Also know that when you drop a temporary weapon all the shots you had left with it are kept in mind so maybe that's also why you say it keeps changing.

As for the overwriting saves you found it all but you know the auto-save affects only the very last slot, if you save on other slots they won't get overwritten but if you save after an autosave it will save on the last slot so you would have to reload your "normal" slot which is a pain :/

[Jblade]

thedrawliner, on 31 August 2015 - 11:14 PM, said:

As for the overwriting saves you found it all but you know the auto-save affects only the very last slot, if you save on other slots they won't get overwritten but if you save after an autosave it will save on the last slot so you would have to reload your "normal" slot which is a pain :/

That's a point, this annoys me as well since autosaving automatically changes the quick save slot as well. I'll ask if the devs can fix this in Eduke32.

[TheDragonLiner]

BTW Rodrigo since you're doing the EDF missions you should know that there is a secret level in "Lost Highway" ^_-

[Rodrigo Belacruz III]

I do know that there's a secret mission in The Lost Highway, although I only learned of its existence from the forums Don't worry, I know how to find it, and I'll show it off.

[Rodrigo Belacruz III]

Hello, anybody who's been watching this walkthrough! I apologize for the delay, I've been dealing with some technical issues with Movie Maker and haven't had a lot of free time to record. I've recorded The Final Confrontation, and am currently in the process of editing and exporting it. Thank you for your patience; I hope that the content has been entertaining.