[re-release] Vermin Clearance

[ck3D]

Just fyi, I just checked and the respawn sprite corresponding to the mini-Queen that gets spawned at the end of Rural Nightmare has a palette value of 24. I think I can recall toying around with different palette values for respawning mini bosses in general, too. My guess is that in order to work, the palette value has to be one that isn't usually associated with a specific function in the game, so it doesn't recognize it as such in priority. Palettes 1 / 2 / 8... usually have meanings associated to them in general (multiplayer items, colored lights, night vision...), unlike other palettes like all the ones ranging from 10 and above which only seem to have a 'cosmetic' role for the most part, and in this particular situation these seem to work probably because the game recognizes them differently. I might be wrong but that's my observation as a strict mapper.

[Forge]

Here's the cons:

edit: removed

[Dan G]

Here's the cons:

I did a quick check and... in those CONs, only BOSS1 can end the game.  The other bosses cannot end the game no matter what pal they are.  So if BOSS2, BOSS3 or BOSS4 was ending the game for you, then most likely you were using vanilla CONs by mistake.  This could have happened if, for example, a vanilla GAME.CON was lying around loose in your Duke folder.

[Puritan]

^That's what I told Forge too...

But Forge said he used only the two files I've uploaded with this episode:

1 bat
1 zip ( the Cons are inside here)

The Zip works as a GRP file, right.
Now, if there is a Game.con laying around elsewhere in the Duke folder I thought that it wouldn't matter??

**

DP: Thank you anyway for offering help about  Con modification.
But as you already know by looking into them; The Game.con is coded so that killing boss 2,3 and 4 doesn't end the game.

[Forge]

game.con lying loose in my duke folder along with all my other cons. 

I installed Duke atomic, eduke32 over the top of that, and Duke plus. Also have an autoload folder for hrp. That's all that's in my parent directory.

When I install an invasive tc or anything that requires me to rename/overwrite or remove my cons, i usually just drop the grp and exe in it's own folder and install it separate from my parent directory. I played WGR2 this way and Duke Nukem Eternity also.

In this case the episode was non-invasive, so I dropped the bat and the zip into my parent directory. So why do my native cons over ride the cons in the zip?

[Dan G]

In this case the episode was non-invasive, so I dropped the bat and the zip into my parent directory. So why do my native cons over ride the cons in the zip?

Because they have the same names.  It wouldn't be  problem if Puritan's CON was named VCGAME.CON or anything other than GAME.CON

[Puritan]

^ I'll rename them asap. 

[Puritan]

Well then, new version uploaded. 

Note: I had a hard time re-upload this file through the DNR Admin page.
Please let me know if there something missing or broken.

[Forge]

Level 1 Uranus complete

Good layout and detailing. Also nice lighting and shading effects. There were a few visual errors that didn't effect game play such as the odd mirror glitches, a couple of doors clipping into the wall, and a forgotten texture that was left parallaxed. Weapon selection was limited, but there was tons of ammunition and health in proper ratio to the aliens. Game play was decent, but got a bit mundane in a few places as it became predictable that there was a pig cop around every corner.

Texturing/Lighting-Shading: 8/10
Sprite Work/Detailing:8/10
Ambiance: 8/10
Architecture/Design: 17/20
Layout: 18/20
Gameplay/Difficulty: 26/30
Overall: 85/100

[Forge]

I wish you had this beta tested. The second level is killing me. Having to start the level, losing everything from the first level is fine, but having to fight three or four pigcops and a couple troopers with only a pistol and limited ammo is do-able, but sucks. (it took me a couple of tries, but I survived)

The curb is a blocking wall, but you can still get around it by walking to the end of it and going around. It just sucked to find out it was blocking while have a gun fight with a pig cop and I'm only holding a pistol.

The sectors not rising evenly doesn't effect game play, but it doesn't look very good.

I got trapped in this shadow sector and had to clip out of it.


I had a screen shot of an invisible door, but it wasn't much to look at. There are some sector issues where an opened door will turn invisible until it closes.

[Forge]

This puzzle pissed me off to the point of where I almost quit. I spent over five minutes trying to figure out what the hell that opened because I was stuck. Finally used map view to try to detect the moving sector. Got lucky and found it. If I had to resort to a cheat to find it, I would have just quit. Then come to find out the secret area not only holds additional ammo and health, it holds the switch to the door that needs to be opened in order to progress. I'll paraphrase Mikko, Secret areas should NOT be mandatory to find in order to advance in the map.

The next two screen shots are more mysterious sector jedi mind tricks. "This is not the floor you are looking for."


This whole map is nothing but a series of hidden puzzles and tricks. At certain areas player is just supposed to get lucky and step on the right sector of the floor in order to trip something off in order to get anywhere. It messes up the flow of the game when you're depending on touch plates. I got into one room pretty early on that had a touch plate. Every time I moved it said, "locked". I move a little bit, "unlocked". I had a hell of a time getting out of that room and timing my movement so it said, "unlocked" when I got close enough to leap out the door.

If any more of these levels are full of frustrating and hidden puzzles, I don't think I'll be finishing it any time soon. Searching for over-cleverly hidden buttons, guessing where to walk, and trying to figure out which window is masked along a wall is only fun for so long.

[Forge]

Level 2 complete

Very frustrating level as far as game play goes. There's several touch plates, with no way of knowing where they're at and even if they're tripped. An even bigger problem is they're not tagged for a one time activation, so the player can run back and forth across them with no indication that anything has happened and something is opening and closing. The level is full of "guess where you have to step next to open something" puzzles, hidden buttons, and hidden doors. The layout is very good for the most part and the map would flow very well if the player wasn't constantly halted.There is some pretty decent architecture and the shading/lighting was well done for the majority of the map, but there were several basic construction errors that caused visual anomalies all through the map. Again weapon selection was pretty limited, but tons of ammo was supplied. Health was pretty rare until the end, then it was supplied in over abundance. Overall the negatives outweigh the positives unless you're really into spending extended amounts of time running around exploring every nook and cranny at least twice.

Texturing/Lighting-Shading: 7/10
Sprite Work/Detailing:8/10
Ambiance: 8/10
Architecture/Design: 16/20
Layout: 18/20
Gameplay/Difficulty: 24/30
Overall: 81/100

[Forge]

Not as bad as level two in pretty much all aspects with a couple of exceptions. The hidden switches. Again with the switches hidden behind blocking masked walls or other sprites, making them virtually impossible to find except by accident. The three switches hidden behind the safe faces is almost tolerable because the safes that are holding the switches are a couple ticks darker shade than the others, but the invisible red lock was just ridiculous. Okay, a few spawned aliens led the player back that direction, but once you reach that general area there's absolutely no way the player is going to know which of the dozen or so locked doors that are spread from one end of the map to the other that the key unlocks. I got lucky after a few laps around the map and randomly clicked at a wall near a door, that's all. This was another situation where I almost got frustrated enough to quit. If it wasn't for that, this map would have been real good. I remember playing the original and not having this much trouble. As far as layout and architecture, this is by far the most superior map up to this point. Same goes for the combat aspect of the game play. More weapons, more health, aliens change up and take their turns in the rotation of gun battles, and the map isn't 98% pig cops.

Texturing/Lighting-Shading: 8/10
Sprite Work/Detailing:9/10
Ambiance: 8/10
Architecture/Design: 18/20
Layout: 19/20
Gameplay/Difficulty: 26/30
Overall: 88/100

[Mikko_Sandt]

Maybe you can help me with the second level. I'm in this hangar where there's this ship, a lot of boxes and a reactor. There's a red key behind a window but the door there is locked.

[Forge]

There's a camouflaged green "alien hand" button in amongst the crates. (see the screen shot from the last set). It opens a crate at the top and to the right of where the player would be standing if directly in front of the button. You have to jump up on the crates and get in before the door closes. It's tagged as a secret area, but the switch to open the control room is in there.