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from the you-mean-there-really-was-a-game-in-development? dept.
Two submitted stories talk about new developments in the DNF saga. Both stories are much longer than can be summarized here, but are worth the read (and pictures):
Duke Nukem Forever's 2001 build appears online, may fully leak in June
The game's latest leak, posted to 4chan on Sunday and widely shared by Duke Nukem fansite duke4.net, appears to be made of original 2001 code and assets. It includes a one-minute video of first-person carnage in a very Duke-appropriate environment of a strip club called "Slick Willy." The sequence was apparently played and captured by the build's leaker.
In addition, the leaker suggested that the build's playable files, source code, and official map editor could be released in June—which would coincide with the E3 trailer's 21st anniversary—and responded to various 4chan doubters by posting additional images based on their requests. These included screengrabs of the build's file and folder lists, along with images from other sections of the game and a higher-res peek at "the redneck from the E3 trailer."
Shortly after the video and its related screencaps made the rounds, former Duke Nukem Forever project lead George Broussard confirmed its apparent authenticity on Twitter, telling fans that "the leak looks real." He said that while it may be playable, it shouldn't be looked at as a game, "just a smattering of barely populated test levels."
We have played the lost Duke Nukem Forever build from 2001
Earlier this week, a retro game leaker teased '90s shooter fans with something they'd never seen before [...] Was this an elaborate fan-made fake of Duke-like content in a dated 3D engine, or would this turn out to be the real deal?
We thought we'd have to wait until June for an answer, as this week's leaker suggested that the build and its source code would be released to coincide with the 21st anniversary of the game's tantalizing E3 2001 trailer. But after this week's tease, the leakers decided to jump the gun. On Tuesday, 1.9GB of Duke Nukem Forever files landed on various file-sharing sites (which we will not link here), and Ars Technica has confirmed that those files are legitimate.
As it turns out, this is a surprisingly playable version of Duke Nukem Forever from October 2001, though with so many bugs and incomplete sections, that's not saying much. Most of this content, which includes moments from the aforementioned E3 trailer, was shelved by the time the game reached a cobbled-together retail state in 2011. So we're finally getting a closer look at how the game could have turned out differently if it had launched closer to 2001.
Now that the code is out, do you think the community can finish the game in a state that will live up to its original promises?
(Score: 3, Informative) by Freeman on Friday May 13 2022, @03:07PM (4 children)
What were people expecting? Looking at the likes of Duke Nukem 3D, Duke Nukem Forever as was launched, was about what I was expecting. Did people actually think this was going to be a Half-Life type of experience? Slap enough hype on a game and you will reach a level that is called "expect to be disappointed". Half-Life Alyx is likely the closest people will get to a Half-Life 3 for a very long time. Then, when they get Half-Life 3, it will probably be a cash grab, because Steam is circling the toilet. I mean, eventually that's going to happen, because they will eventually be overrun by the MBAs.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 13 2022, @03:13PM (1 child)
DNF might have been a revolutionary game had they stuck to an engine and finished it in a reasonable period of time. As if always the case, the longer it takes to release, the more time everybody else has to improve their games.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday May 16 2022, @01:33PM
Somehow I don't really believe Duke Nukem was ever going to head into the "Revolutionary Game" status. Maybe new heights of nudity as far as games are concerned, but "Revolutionary" yeah, I really, really don't believe that.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 5, Funny) by maxwell demon on Friday May 13 2022, @03:28PM
That development would take forever. :-)
I'm sure the fan community can live up to that promise.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by loonycyborg on Saturday May 14 2022, @12:47PM
They shouldn't have aimed for a "revolutionary" game, instead only for consistent implementation of Duke Nukem idea, though it's rather hard given lack of consistency between DN 1-2 and 3D. I for one prefer snarkiness of DN 1-2 to childish vulgar humor of 3D.