[mono20]

THE MONASTERY OF DARKNESS - 20th anniversary edition

Happy birthday - today it's twenty years since 3D Realms released the shareware version of Duke Nukem 3D. A few months later I bought the full version and thought it would be nice to build something with the editor, say a monastery with church and all... Soon I realized the restrictions of 2.5D and started to concentrate on gameplay. I never actually finished the "Monastery of Darkness" back then. Yet it worked as a complete map and I finally released it as it was in 1999. A few months ago I stumbled over it and checked it with Mapster32. I couldn't get my hands off and ended with a polish that hardly left a single linedef untouched. I tried to preserve the original atmosphere and gameplay though. Now the map has a building history over a span of nearly twenty years. Some people seemed to like the old version so I decided to release this update as well. Hope you have fun with it.

(!) Please read the compatibility notes in the accompanying text file.
(!) The gameplay is non-linear and there is a lot to discover in the map outside of what is necessary to finish it. There are three secrets, all of them are moody places with more aliens and items you won't find anywhere else. The probably most hard to find secret's got a brandnew huge extension which leads to a hidden flying saucer you can enter. There are several hints to where it can be found so watch out for signs and sounds. If you still can't find it check YouTube for a walkthrough filmed with the old version.


Download


Oh, and today is The Mechanic's birthday as well. Happy birthday Jon, thanks for testing and excellent suggestions!

mono20 aka Schronzki

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[Jblade]

Awesome news, I really enjoyed the original map! I'll play this asap and let you know what I think of the updated version

[The Mechanic]

mono20, on 29 January 2016 - 02:22 AM, said:

Oh, and today is The Mechanic's birthday as well. Happy birthday Jon, thanks for testing and excellent suggestions!

Thanks. And it was no problem testing as I enjoyed the map, and payback was you adding a little something for me plus learning something new about one of the actors that I'm now utilising in a map.

TTFN,
Jon

[Jolteon]

I've played this map on come get some, it was pretty fun. I died three times, once by a mine, another from an exploding trash can, and got killed by a lizard captain (The guys with red armor). I really like it. I also enjoyed the original as well.

I was actually playing this with customized art, and I noticed something.



I see you actually added the unused ammolots which would normally be invisible.

Fun map to play, keep up the good work.

[mono20]

Thank you guys for the nice comments so far.
Yes, I used ammolots once to increase the number of bullets in high skill. Never expected someone would use a patch making it visible.
I apologize for the exploding can... I got this idea when someone said putting ammo in every trash can would be a "newbie mistake".

[Jolteon]

mono20, on 30 January 2016 - 01:54 PM, said:

I apologize for the exploding can... I got this idea when someone said putting ammo in every trash can would be a "newbie mistake".

No worries. I see what you were going for there. (And also I failed to notice the explosive sign above it )

[mono20]

I'm sorry I have to bump this myself but I can't resist to point you to the great review of my map on Mikko Sandt's MSDN site. I think it's a big honour for an oldie (now talking about the map not me ) to join the ranking of the Hot Maps list with such a great rating. Thanks Mikko!

Cheers
mono20

[Mr.Torture]

That's a really neat map, I enjoyed it a lot, especially the polishing you did.
I just got a bit lost to get back to the red key access, but that's me playing lol

[Merlijn]

Really cool adventure map, I especially liked that big cathedral-like room.
Like Mikko said, the contrast between the bright outdoor section and those dark underground passages really stands out.

Gameplay is quite challenging, I died a couple of times (also fell for the explosive trash can trap haha).
But nothing unfair.

I missed the new alien section during my first playthrough though, is it just an optional section or did I break the progression somehow?

[mono20]

Merlijn, on 17 February 2016 - 08:19 AM, said:

I missed the new alien section during my first playthrough though, is it just an optional section or did I break the progression somehow?

I'm glad you liked it even without the new section but of course I want you to find it. I actually got a note from my helpful tester that this big area might be too hard to find but I didn't want to make it non-secret. At least you get a reward for searching, quite more than just a bottle of health or something.

The way to the spaceship is one of the three secrets and there are hints in the exit room given by the two view screens. The one left hand shows you a part of the secret area and you should hear monk chanting. Maybe you heard that somewhere else? The second screen on the right somewhere says "the cloister wall". Well, maybe it's not obvious what is meant by "cloister", so...

Spoiler

the cloister is the dark hallway that surrounds the exit room. In one corner you can hear the monk chanting and that's where you should check the walls closely.

Hope you want to visit that part again and have fun there!

[Merlijn]

Found it - it wasn't that hard to find, I guess I didn't pay enough attention the first time.

Great section though, people are missing out if they don't find it.

[mono20]

Merlijn, on 18 February 2016 - 11:41 AM, said:

Great section though, people are missing out if they don't find it.

Thanks, I was hoping it would justify the rerelease. You could think of it as of a secret level coming with the original episodes. I also placed two or three easter eggs, nothing really spectacular though.

BTW, I'm glad no one seems to be offended by the exploding can so far...