Author: Community
Released: 1st August 2009
Rating: 98
Review by MRCK on 2nd August 2009
Duke Plus Community Build Project By : Gambini, Mikko Sandt, Crux Borealis & Rigelblast, Merlijn van Oostrum, Maarten van Oostrum, and DeeperThought (DukePlus)
!!DUKEPLUS V2.03 (OR HIGHER) REQUIRED!!
A brand new community project resulting from months of hard work and meticulous polishing by several legendary mappers is always bound to be interesting - this release, specifically intended to demonstrate, and enhanced by the new effects DeeperThought's (required) Duke Plus brings to the table makes no exception.
The plot is pretty classic : an EDF base on some forgotten island has been taken over by the aliens and you find yourself dropped into the action with the mission to take it back. The map itself, though, is far from generic : you will obviously have to explore the surface of the island itself but also abandoned high-tech bases, atmospheric caverns, underground mines (that contain a very nice reference to a legendary movie series that has to be one of the best easter eggs ever implemented in a Duke map, seeing as it fell into place perfectly considering the settings), even a pirate ship, as well as my favorite section of the map both in terms of looks and atmosphere : a whole other alien-infested dimension (to which the player is introduced in a fairly original way).
As we could expect from such a roster, the design is just top-notch : Gambini's part could easily be compared with his best release to date 'Blown Fuses' in terms of quality, Mikko's bits felt slightly more detailed and polished than his usual design style but still feel like classic Mikko (so all in all it's all good), Crux Borealis and Rigelblast's section is AMAZINGLY atmospheric and pretty unique architecture-wise (you will see), Merlijn's stuff is classic Merlijn, just on a bigger scale this time with huge, realistic-looking underground and high-tech sections that will keep many of you on the tip of their toes - and last but not least, Maarten's part is divided into two sections : a very nice-looking, very immersive, and very blue cave section, then the last outdoor location which, while being the least detailed of the bunch, still manages to look phenomenal due to the humongous size of the playable area (that only make the action even more immersive) and the conceptual grandness - the firefights you will get into there are pretty awesome as well. Surprisingly enough, despite how the mappers have all had their very unique style set for a while, the sections still blend into each other perfectly, to the point where you wouldn't think this map has been designed by several people if you didn't know beforehand - so no sudden variations should break the mood or the atmosphere whatsoever, unlike how it unfortunately happens in many joined projects. I had to be told who had designed what to be able to tell myself.
This map is also very interesting as far as the gameplay is concerned - your basic ammo / monster / health ratio is not only perfectly balanced, you will also get to use (and that's the most brillant part) Duke's skycar (yes !) regularly to navigate from one location to another, with the need to get off and continue by foot for a while every now and then to clean up entire areas and maybe activate the odd switch to unlock a couple of gates, just to get back in and continue your ride. The skycar can shoot explosives which makes for some great fights and destruction scenes, but don't count on me to spoil it for you. The last fight in Maarten's part is pretty epic as well, even though I wish my last opponent had been a real big boss instead of another miniboss you're not even forced to kill to reach a dumb nukebutton, which was a bit of a letdown in my opinion.
All in all this is a wonderful release from some of the best elements in the community that deserves to be played by any avid Duker out there and brings many interesting ideas and fresh effects to the table thanks to the new Duke Plus features.
Please note that playing with Polymost enabled is heavily recommended (it's still perfectly playable with Polymost off if it doesn't work for you for some odd reason but you will experience a few visual glitches).
Gameplay Type: SP
Requires:
Duke Nukem 3D v1.4+
Filesize: 182.32 KB
Download:
Duke Plus Community Build Project - DPCBP (1426)
Other releases by Community:
2-Hour CBP,
BJ Shrine (CBP1),
Community Build Project 2,
Community Build Project 3,
Community Build Project 4,
Community Build Project 5,
Community Build Project 6,
Community Build Project 7,
Duke is ten,
JFCBP1,
JFCBP2,
Russian Community Build Project,
Russian Community Build Project 2,
Suburban Hive
Know of any other maps from this author? Let us know
Mapping template:
This level is neither made nor supported by 3DRealms
Date started: 22nd of October 2008
Date finished: 27th of July 2009
File updated July 28th 2009
!!DUKEPLUS V2.03 (OR HIGHER) REQUIRED!!
======================================================================
Title : Duke Plus Community Build Project (dpcbp.map) *v1.01 polymer
ready
Authors : Gambini, Mikko Sandt, Crux Borealis & Rigelblast, Merlijn van
Oostrum, Maarten van Oostrum
and DeeperThought (Duke Plus)
Installation/running : This level requires Duke Plus
(http://deeperthought.dukertcm.com/dp/), a free add-on. To play,
run DukePlus and select this map from the usermap menu. Don't
mess with Duke Plus settings.
Note that the level is not compatible with the 8-bit (i.e., non-Polymost)
mode. Running
the map in 8-bit graphics causes some major visual problems.
Also, the High Resolution Pack
is supported but not recommended.
Make sure to put dukeplus.con (comes with the map) in
yourdukefolder\dukeplus\dpcons. If you
have problems, you're quite likely using a version of Duke
Plus that's too old.
Plot : Earth Defence Forces briefing, dated 07.27.12:
"The L.A. EDF headquarters detected a massive energy burst near our island base.
Soon after
the event, all radio contact with the island base was lost.
We're guessing the event
attracted the aliens to take over the base in order to study
what caused the burst. Our
small outpost right outside the base should still be intact
thanks to its security
system. We're dropping you on the island. Your mission is to
enter the outpost and
find out what's going on."
Level Info : This is the first Community Build Project (CBP) designed to
specifically utilize
all kinds of kick-ass Duke Plus features, especially the
Skycar. Notice several things:
when you get your hands on the Gravity Gun, use it - there
are some saw blades nearby which
are highly effective against enemies; night vision goggles
can detect otherwise invisible
enemies; you're obviously supposed to do a lot of travelling with the Skycar so
don't
leave it behind unless you're forced to. It may take some time to get used to the
way the
Car works but it's pretty smooth; the cannon is operable and Duke can climb.
Authors' Comments : Gambini: "I had the idea of restarting this project because a
lot of deleted scenes i had from older maps.
Finally, one thing brings another thing and i eventually made all my part from
scratch (except for the mine
and the pirates ship). My part, starts with the level
beginning (the chopper) and covers all the village
next to the coast, the coast itself, the pirates ship and the
mineshaft. It could look a bit rushed in
some spots but i tryed to not be so nickpiting and enjoy what i was doing. I´m
very happy with this
level, every participant did their best, everything looks and flows great. This
ended being a good team.
Thanks to James for teaching me how to make the barrels to not explode.
Thanks to VinsaneOne for the voice recording."
Mikko Sandt: I'm responsible for the small outpost where the
Skycar is stored. My part
is the least "conceptually grand" of the bunch, just a
generic hi-tech base serving only
the purpose of introducing the car. I'm also the one writing
this txt, except for the DT
joke below ;)
Crux Borealis & Rigelblast: "Our contribution to the map is
one part built by two people.
We made the remote location player will get the key to
Merlijn's part from. Contains some
new technology by Rigelblast as well as over 15 DP effects.
Also, if there's something to
complain about Gambini's part it might be because we didn't leave any walls for
him to finish
it :P "
Merlijn van Oostrum: "For this map I've added an underground
section (behind the red
keycard shield), especially designed for the skycar. Some parts can be pretty
challenging.
I'm actually most satisfied with the little hitech-room in the beginning - the
grey and
blue mix well."
Maarten van Oostrum: "My parts starts with the caves, right
after Merlijn's part. I'm
especially satisfied with the climax - also quite based on the skycar. it's
something
you don't see that much in a duke map I think. Have fun with the map."
DeeperThought: "I´m on holiday and these bastards waited for me being away
to release it."*
* Deeperthoght is unaware about this and probably will get mad at us for this :P
:P :P
======================================================================
* Play Information *
Episode and Level # : User map
Single Player : Yes
DukeMatch 2-8 Player : No
Cooperative 2-8 Player : No
Difficulty Settings : No
Plutonium Pak/Atomic : Yes
Port : EDuke32 (comes with Duke Plus)
=====================================================================
* Construction *
Base : From scratch
Level Editor(s) Used : Mapster32
Construction Time : Nine months, far more than anyone expected
Known Bugs/Problems : Some minor
=====================================================================
*Important Information*
Important Notes : Don't steal our work. Feel free to distribute the map and
make money with it but
make sure everyone knows this is our work and keep the zip
structure intact.
Visit:
http://msdn.duke4.net
http://www.amcwebforums.com
http://www.dukerepository.com
http://taw.duke4.net
http://www.duke4.net