BUILD Games Timeline "When did it happened?"
#1 Posted 17 October 2016 - 05:01 AM
So, here's the list.
DATE-TITLE-EXPLONATION:
1910s - Blood - although trains (E1L3) pretty much existed since the early days of 19th century, the airplanes in E3L1 tells us that this is probably somewhere around World War One. If not even 1920s or 1930s - we have more wars before WWII than you might think.
1940s - WWII GI -
1960s - Redneck Rampage - rockabilly, drive-in theathers, color TV
1964-1975 - NAM - Vietnam war
1980s - Shadow Warrior - since there are so much in this game that was based on "Big Troube in Little China" movie, I think that 1980s would be the most fitting time. Well, I guess Robman will have his explonation later.
1990s - Liquidator - Boris Yeltsin on TV
and finally
2007 - Duke Nukem 3D - the calendar in E1L1
2045 - William Shatner's TekWar - according to game manual
I know that there are much more BUILD games, such as Witchaven or William Shatner's TekWar, but I don't remember these games very well. If somedoby will read this theard, I guess I can add these games to the list later.
This post has been edited by Sanek: 18 October 2016 - 03:04 AM
#2 Posted 17 October 2016 - 05:17 AM
Powerslave/Exhumed : There aren't many clues for a precise date, though the intro of the game specifies it's modern time. There is a helicopter, but more importantly there is a laptop computer which is able to recieve data (mission briefing of last level in the PC version) but also to send data (console version), probably through a satellite connexion. In other words I think it's safe to say it takes place in the 90's, or after.
However, it's safer to say most of them take place in their own alternate universe anyway, in which case IRL's notion of date make no sense. For instance, Shadow Warrior directly references Duke Nukem 3D "he he he, just like Duke Nukem!" (but also Tomb Raider), which obviously doesn't make any sense if, like you say, it takes place in the 80's.
This post has been edited by MetHy: 17 October 2016 - 05:19 AM
#3 Posted 17 October 2016 - 05:28 AM
It's difficult placing the dates of the games. Duke 3D has advanced technology such as force fields and teleporters, not to mention moon bases and space stations.
Even games like SW and Blood are a bit tricky due to the exotic weapons like the rail and tesla guns respectively, which are more advanced than the setting would imply.
I love the way Blood Dragon handled this issue in the trailer: "welcome to the future! The year is 2007". Implying of course that society usually looks more advanced in movies that predict a given future period as opposed to reality.
#4 Posted 17 October 2016 - 05:31 AM
MetHy, on 17 October 2016 - 05:17 AM, said:
Yes, this is my mistake. I changed the date.
MetHy, on 17 October 2016 - 05:17 AM, said:
Well, we all know that there's no aliens or zombies walking around the world, but we can beelive in it while we play these games, right?
Also, this is of course the alternative universe...
MetHy, on 17 October 2016 - 05:17 AM, said:
What if Duke Nukem existed before the DN1,2 and 3D? He was a grown man by alt. 90s.
Micky C, on 17 October 2016 - 05:28 AM, said:
No, I don't think so. If we will think about it this way, then Doom was a part of that universe too, since there are a Doom marine corpse in E1L3..
This post has been edited by Sanek: 17 October 2016 - 05:35 AM
#6 Posted 17 October 2016 - 06:02 AM
Perro Seco, on 17 October 2016 - 06:00 AM, said:
I will add it. Do you have any explonation of it? I mean why this is 2045?
#7 Posted 17 October 2016 - 07:44 AM
Sanek, on 17 October 2016 - 05:01 AM, said:
If you want to take its sequel into account, Blood 2 takes place in 2028, and its story states that nearly 100 years have passed since the events of the original occurred. That would place Blood at roughly 1928. There are still plenty of anachronisms, nonetheless, like the Remote Detonator using a modern electronic remote.
#8 Posted 17 October 2016 - 10:16 AM
Sanek, on 17 October 2016 - 05:01 AM, said:
The newspaper/manual from the GOG version (which comes with a replacementdocs.com sticker) is dated Tuesday, April 1, 1997.
And what about Witchaven I and II? They're just as fictional as Duke 3D or TekWar, so why not include them, too?
#9 Posted 17 October 2016 - 11:17 AM
Sanek, on 17 October 2016 - 06:02 AM, said:
#10 Posted 17 October 2016 - 05:53 PM
Sanek, on 17 October 2016 - 05:01 AM, said:
Haha, sounds good.
The rail gun and Zilla's mech suit could have been invented by the 80's.
The cars look 80's/90's ish.
The computer towers/screens appear to be CRTs and AT/ATX, the computer in Zilla Construction is running at 260Mhz. So... 1997?
The game was released in.. 1997.
Lo Wang is aware of Duke's existence, if going by this thread and Duke took place in 2007, then Lo Wang would have to be taking place closely thereafter.
That funny little mock up of Lo Wang's details has him born 08/19/1951, I'm not entirely sure where it came from to be honest but that would make him 29 in 1980 and 39 in 1990, 46 in 1997. Lo wang seems older so age 46 fits(1997)
I'm gonna go with it taking place at the time of the creation of the game - 1997.
#11 Posted 17 October 2016 - 06:48 PM
Perro Seco, on 17 October 2016 - 11:17 AM, said:
This sounds familiar to me. Tekwar lore is big and the game is just a spinoff from the tv show / movies.
Story still mentions sonny and other teklords so its kinda parallel to the show as it has the same names popping up too, although the similarities are about as big as a typical nes movie game.
7 paladins also had some years in the intro from what i remember.
Paintbrawl is 97 likely too.
Fate was a bit cyberpunk, no recollection of years.
That bombshell prequel thing? Might need more footage to really make anything out of it. Cant remember if bombshell itself was present day.
#12 Posted 17 October 2016 - 07:42 PM
Robman, on 17 October 2016 - 05:53 PM, said:
Like I said, I feel it makes much more sense if they don't take place in the same universe, rather that Lo Wang is simply breaking the 4th wall and acknowledging that 3DR made another similar game starring Duke. I.e he is NOT aware of Duke based on your argument that D3D took place before SW. Based on the overall technology level SW clearly takes place before D3D. Further more, there are no elements, or even references to elements, of magic in D3D.
It wouldn't be the first time they've done something like this. Wait around long enough in Duke Nukem 3D and Duke says "What are you waiting for, christmas?" talking to the player directly.
This post has been edited by Micky C: 17 October 2016 - 07:43 PM
#13 Posted 17 October 2016 - 07:50 PM
SW has Duke Burger stuff too.
No more "feelz" ... the .art hath spoken.
If the calender in Duke says 2007 .. well then clearly a time traveler brought a calender with him to 1996.
Duke and SW happen on opposite sides of the globe(sort of), crisis averted.
This post has been edited by Robman: 17 October 2016 - 07:57 PM
#14 Posted 17 October 2016 - 08:15 PM
#15 Posted 17 October 2016 - 08:22 PM
Hendricks266, on 17 October 2016 - 08:15 PM, said:
Caring about a game released more than 20 years ago
#16 Posted 17 October 2016 - 09:40 PM
Hendricks266, on 17 October 2016 - 08:15 PM, said:
But they do have stories.. which they follow.
#17 Posted 18 October 2016 - 05:17 AM
oasiz, on 17 October 2016 - 06:48 PM, said:
7 paladins also had some years in the intro from what i remember.
Well, actually...it's not...the shitty intro level was based from the TRS of early 90s, but since there is no real references about the actual day so I guess you can safely used the game's starting develop date/release date...1993/1994 for sure.
But seriously, since Lot7P's background story/levels were in the other ancient times of China at 11th century so I guess it's just pointless to finding actual date or something for Lot7P.
(Unlike MARS 3D has a level actually point to 1999, Lot7P is more shitty on its whole thing so I won't try to make any sense about it... )
This post has been edited by Player Lin: 18 October 2016 - 05:22 AM
#18 Posted 18 October 2016 - 09:02 PM
Redneck Rampage takes place during the 90's - the whole "point" of the game is that it's set in the backwards countryside, it doesn't mean it takes place during the 60's.
#19 Posted 19 October 2016 - 01:38 AM
#20 Posted 21 October 2016 - 11:23 PM
K1n9_Duk3, on 17 October 2016 - 10:16 AM, said:
Yeah, Redneck Rampage is undoubtedly 1990's Southern America, but if you've never experienced it you might think it was the 50s or 60s. lol
#21 Posted 22 October 2016 - 04:02 PM
Jimmy Gnosis, on 21 October 2016 - 11:23 PM, said:
It seems more like countryside USA to me, it shows a lot of american hillbilly stereotypes.
#22 Posted 22 October 2016 - 11:46 PM
#24 Posted 23 October 2016 - 02:02 PM
Kathy, on 22 October 2016 - 11:46 PM, said:
Tell me how that changes anything.
This post has been edited by Robman: 23 October 2016 - 02:16 PM
#25 Posted 24 October 2016 - 08:01 AM
#26 Posted 24 October 2016 - 08:06 PM
LkMax, on 22 October 2016 - 04:02 PM, said:
Same thing, the game takes place in Arkansas, a state in the South.
#28 Posted 29 October 2016 - 07:43 AM
MrFlibble, on 27 October 2016 - 06:48 AM, said:
In the end of Level 04(E1M4), monsters has sent to into the time machine and Ji Yuan has to go into it with himself without backup, then in Level 05(E1M5), Ji Yuan has been sent back to July 25th, 1999 to prevent the parents of Mars(who is leader of the Resistances) get killed by those monsters to changes the history after Ji Yuan used the time machine in the end of Level 04.
Since I can't start the game again for some reasons(the game keep give me NO CD-ROM error whatever I do), so I cannot do record footages anymore......sadly.
But, I wrote a txt files about translation of Chinese in Mars 3D(textures/cutscene screens etc) sometimes ago, and like I said above, according to the cutscenes after Level 04(E1M4) and start of Level 05(E1M5), it seems that part of game take place on 1999's Taipei City, Taiwan. But since I forgot about that level looks like so I can't give information about if the level itself has other references about this.
(At least based the textures used and then I checked the map layout of level 05 with SLADE 3 on the converted WAD file, it's based on Taipei main station around late 1990s for sure, maybe smaller/in-accurate but whatever, it's just a damn game)
Yes, since the plot is full of holes and my bad grammar seems made it may a little hard to understood...well, I don't know...
This post has been edited by Player Lin: 29 October 2016 - 07:45 AM
#29 Posted 01 November 2016 - 01:23 AM
#30 Posted 01 November 2016 - 05:53 AM
Instead of relying on Ken's stuff, Blood sort of re-invented the wheel by doing all sorts of stuff from their own resource caching to an unique and advanced effect system & channel communication. I would consider blood more of an early fork of the "apogee build" just because of that. Split was likely done around earlier sector based stuff, mid/late 1994 I'd estimate.
Lot7p seems to be an early licensing of the engine so probably this is the version that was sent to third parties.
Just looking at the leaked alpha blood source changelog you can see tons of sweet stuff as they kept adding more and more advanced features in it.
Also they really tried to go around Ken's stuff with their own injections as they only got the ENGINE.OBJ to go with.
No other game really tried to go beneath GAME.C, any requests (mostly Duke related stuff) got added in by Ken and third parties got things done after contacting apogee (And Ken did the additions).
Blood's devteam usually tried to fix any issues on their own, often getting frustrated when Ken broke something due to a new feature.
Anyway.. the end result was very advanced and not really comparable to duke or any other build game. While the tech was still being updated between build versions, it still had key differences internally and hence why properly porting it can be a challenge on it's own.
SW on the other hand handles things somewhat similarly to Duke with it's own version effector sprites and modifiers. SW still relies more on Ken's routines and tagging system available & used in other build games. In other words, GAME.C side modifications mostly.
SW could be considered an evolution from Duke's stuff without the CON language to drive it.
On a higher level, they are on par with each other but SW has a bit superior ROR while Blood has stuff like native sector movement easing that SW doesn't have. In more detail, Blood has redone a bunch of things to take better advantage of the engine but then again, SW has it's own set of features that can exceed blood's.
SW and Blood do still use the same feature set as the final build engine due to having slopes and voxels, with slopes being added in pretty late, barely in time for duke.
This post has been edited by oasiz: 01 November 2016 - 05:53 AM