This past Christmas, we announced that the release of the AMC Total Conversion for Duke Nukem 3D.  Now, we've received word from  the upcoming mods.duke4.net programmer, Hank, that "the AMC TC team is quietly updating their game. James, head honcho of the AMC TC game, issued a preliminary list of improvements and bug fixes. Version 1.10 will see pin point accuracy for shooting enemies, enhanced weapon imagery and mission updates to name 3 out of 143 now known updates."

 

For all the details and excitement, enter our forums.

Recently there's been a release of not just one, but fifteen new high quality maps all packaged in an action-packed episode for your convenience and pleasure. The authors MetHy (aka MetHunter), Aymeric "MRCK" Nocus, Mikko Sandt, and Merlijn van Oostrum are all veteran mappers with numerous high quality releases and countless years of combined mapping experience behind them. Having joined forces, they focused their efforts into making classic maps in the same style as the original Duke 3D levels you played and loved all those years ago. Debuting to unanimous acclaim, many have commented that this episode has made them feel like teenagers again playing Duke Nukem 3D for the first time, and if you try out the maps, then you'll probably see why.

This is what the authors have to say about the episode:

Naturally, it's recommended that you play the maps in classic (vanilla) style--that is, 8-bit classic renderer, no mods (e.g DukePlus), and no HRP. If you disregard this advice you will either a) burn in the eternal fires of hell or b) nothing will happen. But if I were you I wouldn't take my chances with the first one.



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Submitted by Micky C.

In an interview with The Verge, Randy Pitchford has said that Duke Nukem Forever was the victim of high expectations that were built up over the 15 year development cycle of the game.

Randy also added that out of all the games that Gearbox Software has shipped, they get more positive fan mail from players of Duke Nukem Forever then any other title, adding that he believes this, above all else, is the indicator that Gearbox hit the mark in terms of quality.
 



Duke Nukem is an icon in video gaming history, and Forever, despite its long development time, left room for improvement in the areas of graphics, interactivity, and general gameplay.  So what are hardcore fans of classic Duke looking for in a future title? 

1) Creativity and Interaction

Games in 2012 are different beasts, and in order to keep up with games like Modern Warfare 3 which pass for "shooters" these days, the next installment in the Duke Nukem franchise is going to need to have more originality.  Duke Nukem 3D and the various Duke Nukem console games (Zero Hour, Duke Nukem 64, et al) all brought new weapon ideas and gameplay mechanics to the table, and DNF could have gone beyond relying on these same decade-old ideas.  In 1996, Duke Nukem 3D was hailed as a game changer because it let players do things like shrink monsters and play pool.  In 2011, Duke Nukem Forever was criticized because these features standing on their own were not viewed as being as innovative as they were 15 years earlier.

2) Challenge

Many of those who played Duke Nukem 3D have long since moved on to other games of all types, from other shooters to high-stakes PartyPoker.  The one thing that might tempt them back to the King is legitimate challenge, in terms of combat, level exploration, and game objectives.  Duke Nukem 3D was famous for its non-linear maps and weapon/health mechanics, and the next Duke game should follow in this line. 

3) Hidden Areas and Secret Levels

This was one the best features of any shooter back in the nineties.  Secret areas, often containing bonus power-ups, were hidden just well enough to evade discovery by the casual gamer, but also cleverly enough to reward players who would take their time to smell the roses.  Duke Nukem Forever sought to offer a return to this classic notion, and Gearbox President Randy Pitchford hinted about secret levels in a short video interview.  Unfortunately, the game contained little actual secrets to speak of.  Understandably, creating an entire secret level is a pretty daunting task in a day and age where content creation is so difficult and time consuming, but a few more secret rooms wouldn't hurt.

 

These were just minor suggestions, seeking to remind everyone that we've always got our hero's back.  Duke Nukem is a legend and Gearbox has a big legacy to live up to in continuing the franchise.  In the mean time, we'd like to start posting more Duke Nukem 3D map updates to keep the website updated more frequently.

 

2012 is looking like a promising year for Duke Nukem 3D as not one, but two new user maps have already emerged. With one having a city theme, and the other being a space station, there's plenty of variety to start off the new year.

For the city themed map, we have Parkade from Micky C and Paul B, a joint effort showing just what talented mappers can do with EDuke32's true room-over-room features. For those used to the traditional Duke Nukem 3D architecture: this map will blow you away! No effort has been spared here; the map is filled with all sorts of beautiful detail and players are encouraged to think vertically as well as horizontally due to the heavy use of new engine features in this Polymer-only map.  You'll see Duke fight through a multi-level parking garage, an apartment, an office building, and a secret EDF facility, all in the name of good old-fashioned alien ass kicking.
 

And for those of you craving some space action, Supertanker has been polishing Cherenkov Station, a twenty-minute romp through an abandoned russian space station. Duke must first travel into the bowels of the station to activate the slumbering nuclear reactor, then fight his way back out to the final showdown in the docking bay! Feeling more mechanical than high tech, Cherenkov Station isn't your typical space map, managing to strike a perfect balance between action and atmosphere, with great texturing, shading, and gameplay. Even if you're not a fan of space stations, give this one a chance to change your mind!
 

Both of these great maps can be found on our forums:
 

Cherenkov Station

Give them a try and be sure to leave feedback for our friendly neighborhood map-making fiends!

James writes,

This mammoth 8-character TC is finally ready for release, after several years of hard work. Featuring a huge range of features and effects (far too many to list here), the TC can be considered its own game in its right, taking story ideas from Duke Nukem as well as carrying on the storylines set in Imagination World (by myself), Oblivion (by Zaxtor) and Brave New World (by Mikko Sandt).
 

 
It features an episode of high-quality maps, built by myself, Rusty, Geoffrey, Highwire, Mikko and Sang. All the con coding, excluding a few parts by other coders such as DeeperThought, was by myself as well.

The AMC Squad is a paramilitary group formed by a man whose identity is unknown to all but a select few in the EDF and EAF. Using funds from both of those agencies as well as his own, he hired an old friend to track down 7 of the best and most skilled fighters on Earth. This squad was formed to tackle the most severe threats to Earth's safety, including fighting off the notorious Cycloid race of aliens. However, events soon unfold that dramatically increase the scale of conflict, and the AMC squad must soon deal with a new paranormal world that is new to even the most supernatural members of the team.



Can you fight as the AMC Squad, and take care of this threat? Will you scour the battlefield, find and aquire research and equipment and tackle the threat strategically, or just run in guns blazing? Will you choose to play as Sangluss, a warlock with great power who overcame a dark past? Or as Merlijn, the knight from Holland who wields ancient weaponry to deadly effect? Mikko, the Cybernetic leader of MS Corp industries, brings a range of deadly and hi-tech weaponry to the battlefield whereas Highwire relies only on good old fashioned guns (preferably russian made!).



To those of you who played Imagination World and beat episode 4, if you copy the iw_complete.amctc file into the data directory in your AMC TC folder you'll unlock the 1911 and Jackhammer from IW for use when you play as James in the AMC TC.

Please note that for the best experience, play this in Classic mode, as Polymost does have support with widescreen functionality but Classic is what the vast majority of the team designed it in. Polymer is not supported.


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