Author: Nick Farrow
Released: 13th July 2006
Rating: 94
Review by Nancsi on 26th June 2009
FactoryX was released in 2006 as Nick Farrow's (Vector's) first completely new level (his first was one of the better E1L1 remakes titled "Hollywood Holocaust 2"). The map is most famous for its great, unlinear puzzles, and different gameplay methods.
The design is basically hi-tech, like many other maps for Duke 3D. Somehow the style reminded me another great oldschool level, Atmospheric Processing Facility. It has standard texturing (particulary one "bathroom" texture is very frequent in the inside locations), and dark-grayish layout. While the map details are not kitschy (like many modern maps), it still looks very realistic, due to the great use of shading and colouring.
However, it's the unique gameplay, where this map really shines. It's not just your average "kill the monster, grab the key" style adventure, you actually have to follow orders and do a mission in a very atmospheric way. The 3 keys actually are not part of the walkthrough, they are there to get your vital armory and supplies. Just like in Red3, you have to restore the power of the base, which makes the whole thing alive. I really like how the columns and the platforms are moving just like in a real factory. I also loved the map's secret places.
The main job (altough the viewscreen message is a bit misleading) is to fill reservoirs with water, slime and lava using levers scattered in the map. This makes FactoryX a very unlinear level. Sometimes you have to think where to go, and what to do next, which cause being lost at times. But don't worry, neither of the puzzles are unfair or frustrating. Just don't forget to watch out everything carefully.
The monster/enemy balance is good, at the first part of the game, you have to encounter some sentry drones, and have to kill enemies with pipebombs. Later the monster hunt becomes more standard, altough the map is quite skimpy with tougher enemies. There was one Battlelord, but I haven't seen Commanders or Newbeasts. One huge disappointment of the map is the lacklustre ending. After mixing up the goods, the base got instable, and you have to escape out before it collapses (just like in Ale's Hydro Station). However, while there are many good scripted sequences, I felt this part is lacking. There are not much action at the end, and more earthquakes, explosions, alarm sounds should have been better. One bug of the level is you can cause one of the post-meltdown explosions BEFORE the meltdown by entering a particular place. Well, nothing can be perfect...
Conclusion: I strongly recommend FactoryX for those who prefer simpler (but good looking) design and strong, unlinear puzzles. The map's replay value comes from the player's intention to perfect it. You may feel you didn't do everything right at the first time, so it worth another play.
Gameplay Type: SP,COOP
Requires:
Duke Nukem 3D v1.4+
Filesize: 698.08 KB
Level includes: new music
Download:
FactoryX (574)
Other releases by Nick Farrow:
Hollywood Holocaust II
Know of any other maps from this author? Let us know
Mapping template:
====================================================================== THIS LEVEL IS NEITHER MADE BY OR SUPPORTED BY 3D REALMS. Title : FactoryX (release date: June 22, 2006) (updated date: July 13, 2006) Filename : factoryx.map Author : Vector (Nick Farrow) E-mail : rxnickd[at]YAH00.com Web Page : Misc. Author Info : 23 year old-old school duker Other Levels : Hollywood Holocaust II (e1l1mod.map) 1998 Vectors Sector Effectors (various tutorials) Description : A chemical factory that needs to be destroyed See * Story * below !!! THIS IS A CO-OP RACE MAP !!! See * CO-OP RACE * below Additional Credits To : *Numan-for inspiration and advice, for hosting the map on his site *Merlijn van Oostrum-for the Beta Test and excelent BUILD advice *Mikko Sandt-for hosting the map on his site *The whole DNR community, it was you who inspired this map *The whole AMC community for your continued support: Daedolon, Sang, Steambull, Stef, Nancsi, Puritania, Ding Bat, Davox, FreeFrag, and everyone else who keeps Duke alive! *Bob Averill-for inspiration, it is your special effects that inspired the effects in this map *Tim Conneen-for the SE0 tricks, without which, the ending sequence would not have been posible *Janoz-for the water airlock effect *MetHunter-for play testing in DAMN IM GOOD mode *Tony Gaeta-my good freind, and Duke Co-Op partner ====================================================================== * Play Information * This map is 100% compliant with V1.5 specifications eDuke32 or the JonoF port will work, but are not needed episode and Level # : user map Single Player : Yes DukeMatch 2-8 Player : No Cooperative 2-8 Player : Yes ** CO-OP RACE !! ** Difficulty Settings : Not implemented Plutonium Pak Required : Yes New Art : No New Music : Gravity Kills - Enough (midi) New Sound Effects : No New .CON Files : No Demos Replaced : No ===================================================================== * Construction * Base : New level from scratch Level Editor(s) Used : BUILD V1.4 Art Editor(s) Used : None Construction Time : 14 months off and on with a heavy college schedule Known Bugs/Problems : *Some mild SOS/HOM effects, you probably wont even notice. It IS known that some versions of duke will make the problem worse, I use JonoF port with no problems. *DNKROZ may activate partial scripted sequences, which may make the map unbeatable, DONT CHEAT! *As of release date, if you play with Hi-Res mode on many of the sprite colors will not appear how they should. They are color coded for a reason. *This is the second version of the map, which addressed some of the bugs that were found in post-release testing, thank you to all who informed me of these problems. ===================================================================== Important Notes : The path of the map crosses itself many times, If you get stuck use the security monitors for a clue. If you are really stuck, return to the 'mix room', use this as your home base to see what you need to do next. There are two modes of play for single-player. 1. COME GET SOME 2. DAMN IM GOOD Even though difficulty settings may not have been set, this map is really supposed to be played with re-spawing enemies so that it gets progressivly harder. *Important Information* FOR DUKE 3D PORT USERS THE TEXTURING, PALLETING, AND LIGHTING EFFECTS USED IN THIS LEVEL REQUIRE THE LEVEL TO BE PLAYED IN "CLASSIC MODE" ONLY. IF YOU PLAY THIS LEVEL WITH POLYMOST ON, IT IS YOUR LOSS!!!!! ====================================================================== * Story * Ten years have elapsed since the first alien encounter. In the meanwhile, an agreement was established with the aliens which allowed them to construct a chemical factory on Earth. Now, however, it is believed that they are violating the peace agreement and making biological weapons. Two Impossible Mission Facility agents were sent into FactoryX 3 days ago to investigate. These two agents, Red Duke and Yellow Duke were sent in carrying access cards. IMF hasn't heard from them in 72 hours, we fear the worst. Duke, we need you to finish the job. If you encounter any hostility while in FactoryX, you are instructed to destroy the building. IMF was able to obtain access cards to the alien's storage depots. The Red Card is key to the alien's general storage, where you may find the RPG. The Yellow Card is key to the alien's primary armory where it is believed the Devestator is kept. These two cards were lost with the agents. The Blue Card, which you have been given, gains access to the alien's top secret Project Blue, where IMF reports the aliens have developed Atomic Water. Duke, the aliens will be expecting you, so we predict that they have already turned the main power off in anticipation of your arrival. All mechaincal doors depend on the power supply. Your first priority then is to establish a power supply to the building. Good Luck Duke! ====================================================================== * CO-OP Race * CO-OP RACE is a new method of dukematch gameplay. The game involves two or more online/network players, and is similar to dukematch. Start a Cooperative mode game with: Respawn : ON Freindly Fire : ON Difficulty : Damn I'm Good The rules: 1.The first player to hit the Nuke Button wins the match! 2.Kills don't matter and aren't counted. 3.After the level has been completed and the match is over, restart the level for a new match. 4.Anything goes, win by any means necessary Try this style of play with Hollywood Holocaust! - email me if you want a game of co-op race. ====================================================================== * Multi player game set up * THIS ONLY WORKS WITH THE HI-RES PACK (http://download.dukemaps.net/dn3d_hrp-2005-11-01.exe) HOST - The host needs to set themselves up as host. Right-click on the Duke Nukem 3D icon on the desktop. The TARGET info will say something like this: "C:\Program Files\Duke3D\duke3d.exe" /ghacks.zip /gduke3d_hrp.zip You will need to change it to say this: "C:\Program Files\Duke3D\duke3d.exe" /ghacks.zip /gduke3d_hrp.zip /net /n0:2 Basically just add to the end /net /n0:2 Change the number 2 to the total number of people playing. So if you are starting a 3 player game make it say 3 and so on. If the host is behind a firewall he will also have to open up port 23513 to forward to his computer. If a linux firewall is being used the iptables commands are: /sbin/iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -p udp -i eth0 --dport 23513 -j DNAT --to 255.255.255.255:23513 /sbin/iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -p udp -i eth0 --dport 23513 -j DNAT --to 255.255.255.255:23513 Of course instead of 255.255.255.255 the host will put his own internal ip address of the machine. Something similar to 192.168.1.99 OTHER PLAYERS - Eveyone else must also change their run command as follows: Right-click on the Duke Nukem 3D icon on the desktop. The TARGET info will say something like this: "C:\Program Files\Duke3D\duke3d.exe" /ghacks.zip /gduke3d_hrp.zip You will need to change it to say this: "C:\Program Files\Duke3D\duke3d.exe" /ghacks.zip /gduke3d_hrp.zip /net /n0 255.255.255.255 However, instead of 255.255.255.255 you will need to put the ip address of the host. Sometimes you will get a sync error while playing the game. If you have auto-aiming on it happens a lot, when it is off it is much less often. Usually when a sync error occurs it means everyone must quit and rejoin.