duke3d-faqs-build    9-17-2023    109F / 37.8M   (c) RTCM Corvin

Duke3D BUILD FAQs - This page provides Editors and Builders Help with FAQ's, documents and demonstrations from the past and present.


Build | Build-Minis | Build-Advanced | Build-Other

 

 

Filename and Author Size Date Description
BUILD
The Duke Nukem 3D Informational Suite V 4.7
Ryan Lennox
20.6 MB 02/16/09 Very detailed, rich illustrated HTML guide to build.

Look under eduke32-faqs for an updated version that now covers Mapster32 and BUILD Editor.

 

 

The Duke Nukem 3D BUILD Tutorial V 1.0
Ryan *Nukey* Lennox
5.85 MB 05/19/03 A much older version of The Duke Nukem 3D Informational Suite.

 

 

Building Lesson 1: Interrogation Room!
Mad Martin
272 ?  

 

 

Special Sprite Reference Guide
Allen H. Blum III
HTML / jAsOn
5 1996  

 

 

The Build Book
?Matt Tagliaferri?
32 ? ?The Official Duke Nukem 3D Level Design Handbook??

See: further down in BUILD-Other section for Level Design Handbook addendum for corrections.

 


MAP EDITING FAQ v2.1
Jonah Bishop
154 4-29-2000 Includes: Various Mini-Faqs/Maps 
 

 

 

MAP EDITING FAQ v2.0(PDF)
Jonah Bishop
287   PDF format of v2.0 (doesn't include maps)

 

 

Map Editing Faq v1.8
Jonah Bishop
160 3-13-98 Includes: Maps and FAQs
This FAQ is the one started By Brett Gmoser

 

 

MAP EDITING FAQ v0.3
BRETT GMOSER
156 6-20-96 Includes: Maps and v0.2 of the FAQ.

 

 

Complete Duke Nukem Build FAQ v1.0
galapogo
37 7-7-98  

 

 

Un-Official Duke Nukem 3D Editing FAQ v1.5
Klaus Breuer
467 2-8-97 This archive is a huge editing FAQ for BUILD users, for beginners and experts. There is also very little CON information included.

Updated: 9-28-2003
This archive now includes version 1.3(in text 1.2) of his faq. This version of the faq includes Klaus's last version of his encoded Museum which he later removed. Look in the rtcm download tools for a util that will uncode the Museum. (uucoddos.zip)

Updated: 11-21-2003
I have also joined the museum.zip (7-5-1996) into this archive since the encoded version lacks the faq "Guide to The Museum v0.2" which this archive has.

Updated: 1-19-2020
I included v1.1 of Klaus's FAQ with museum v0.2. Also added thought to be v1.2 of the faq.

Includes: Map

 

 

OFFICIAL BUILD FAQ v0.91
Steffen "Duke Addict" Itterheim
247 7-22-96 An very early BUILD FAQ who has it all in one and is supported by Apogee, 3D Realms and Q Studios members. Includes Sprite FAQ...

Includes: Map

Updated: 3-02-2022
I included bldfaq09.zip, a slightly older version.

 

Unofficial Level Guru's Build FAQ v1.1
Primary Anomaly
17 11-3-99  

 

 

Ultimate Build Tutorial v1.4
Tyler Matthews
2.23M 4-6-97 Very good, Its in a windows.hlp file and HTML version with images.

 

 

Genesis Build
Patrick Steele
1.6M 11-6-98 Music & Sound Effects
Glass
Subways
Teleporters
Mirrors
Walls Blow Open
Security Cameras
Water
Force Field
Linked To A Switch Force Field
Windows
Star Trek Doors
Door Linked To A Switch
Swinging Door
Basic Door

 

 

Abridge BUILD DOCs
Allen H Blum III & Richard "Levelord" Gray.
Additional documentation by Kenneth Silverman.
Edited by ?
 
17 96 One of the Docs that came with the Duke3D CD, Edited to help remove the foo-foo stuff.

 

 

 

 
BUILD - MINIS AND HOW TOS
Build-Tag
Zoe
117 2002 FAQ translated from Japanese.

Various Mapping Examples with sample maps.

 

 

Build Help
Asbestos
6.98 1999 FAQ for Beginners, Special Sprite Reference, Sector Effector Tag Reference, Sector Tag Reference, General Design Tips.

 

 

JS BUILD v1
JSB
1.02M 1998 Many examples. Html Format.
  • Getting Started
  • Light and Shade effects
  • Sector Work
  • Special Constructions
  • Sprite Work
  • Texture Work
  • plus more...

 

 

EZ Build
Ken Farley
4.26 6-9-97 help the beginner get a grip on the basics of build. I had a hard time making heads or tails out of some of the information I came across. (because it is difficult to explain some of the aspects of build) I will try to make this as basic as possible.

 

 

Build Help Area Faqs
Ben Safranski
216 10-96  

 

 

Delayed Spawning Effect
Llyr Wyn Jones
2 1-12-08 A how to for creating a delayed spawning effect in Build.

 

 

The Shading Techniques
Ryan Rouse
6 6-21-03 This Shading guide will help anyone to make good shadows

 

 

How to make Water in Duke 3d
Kevin Cools
4 12-20-01  

 

 

How to Shade
Kevin Cools
6 12-16-01 A small map showing how to do some nice and easy shading.
- Sloped sectors
- Sectors and walls with different types of shades.

Includes: Map

 

 

How to make a swinging door
Kevin Cools
2 1-15-02 Includes: Map

 

 

BUILD Docs
Shawn McCool
11 8-29-96 This is the first version of my docs.

ACESCARD.ZIP
BRIDGE.ZIP
CANWITH.ZIP
CONVAIR.ZIP
DOORLITE.ZIP
NDOOR.ZIP
QUAKE.ZIP
ROTATE.ZIP
SLIDE.ZIP
SPLITDOR.ZIP
STARDOOR.ZIP
WATER.ZIP

 

 

Remote control doom style doors
Jason gardiner
33 1-26-98 TUTOR 4:
Doors that are controlled by a switch and
raise up into the ceiling when opened
door1.map demonstrates the doom door

 

 

Teleporters
Jason gardiner
32 1-26-98 TUTOR 5:
teleportation pads as seen in E2l1
teleport.map features a 2 way transporter

 

 

Shadows and swinging doors v1.1
The Fly
8 12-25-2001 How to realistically construct the "door opens,
rooms lights up" effect with swinging doors

Includes: Map

 

 

Requiter's Build Tips v1.0
Matt Gallacher
16 99 I wrote this as a follow up to Jonah Bishop's FAQ entitled mpfqdn19. He did an outstanding job and made it easier to understand, but there is always room for improvement. That's why I wrote this. It mainly goes over mistakes and effects left out of Jonah Bishop's FAQ. I mean, one guy can't do everything, so I thought I'd lend a hand. This FAQ follow up does not explain in detail how to do every effect in Duke Nukem 3D; only what was left out or misprinted.

 

 

On and Off Forcefields
Curtis Eng
5 4-24-98 Includes: Map

 

 

Exits
Curtis Eng
3 5-25-98 Includes: Map

 

 

UN - Offical Guide to Apogee's
BUILD Editor Release 2

Matt Bollier
7 5-31-96  

 

 

2nd Level
Steffen Itterheim
8 12-11-96 A quick 'n dirty map showing what you can and can not do with
sectors over sectors. Includes: Map

 

 

Build Editor Notebook
tomwhore
39 4-6-97 Compiled Faqs(Contains parts of Tempest's BUILD Tutorial and Build Notes from Loach.)

 

 

COPY & PASTE how-to
John Carto
2 ?

-

 

 

BUILD Tutorials
Tempest
15 5-96 8 Mini Faqs. Includes Maps

 

 

Making glass windows
Tempest
2 5-14-96 Includes: Maps

 

 

Making water
Tempest
2 5-18-96 Includes: Map

 

 

Making teleporters
Tempest
2 5-18-96 Includes: Map

 

 

Making sky windows
Tempest
3 6-1-96 Includes: Map

 

 

Making mirrors
Tempest
2 5-16-96 Includes: Map

 

 

Making light switches
Tempest
2 6-2-96 Includes: Map

 

 

Star Trek doors
Tempest
2 5-15-96 Includes: Map

 

 

Split Star Trek doors
Tempest
2 5-15-96 Includes: Map

 

 

Making swinging doors
Tempest
3 5-15-96 Includes: Map

 

 

Making doors that move up
Tempest
3 5-16-96 Includes: Map

 

 

Making bridges
Tempest
2 5-15-96 Includes: Map

 

 

Build notes
Loach
6 5-96 Three HOW TOs along with example maps. One of which can be found in the Build Editor Notebook.

 

 

How to make breakable GLASS
Loach
2 5-15-96 Includes: Map

 

 

How to make DOORS
Loach
1 5-17-96  

 

 

How to make a SUBWAY
Loach
3 5-11-96 Includes: Map

 

 

How to make UNDERWATER
Loach
2 5-13-96 Includes: Map

 

 

Mutiple floors in the same space
JumPy
6 5-7-96 Includes: Map

 

 

How to Create Sliding Doors
Aphelion
4 6-20-96 Includes: Map

 

 

Swinging Door v1.0
Rexxx21
3 7-1-96 Includes: Map
I think this one was updated from 1995.

 

 

Build Editor Help File v.0.01
DuvalMagic
4 5-14-96  

 

 

How to make Sliding Mirror Doors 5 12-9-98 Includes: Map

 

 

How to Parallax Ceilings and Walls
Joe Giddings
3 5-30-96 Includes: Two Maps

 

 

DN3D Design Tips
Jason D'Aprile
569 1996 -Build Part  I: Basic Sector and door stuff
-Build Part II: Build Tutorial

 

 

The Art of Shading
?
12 7-15-98  

 

 

The Bigfall
MOS
4 9-27-99 Nice long 1 and a half minute fall :-). The highest height possible with the BUILD engine.

 

 

Sounds in levels
Joost Palenstijn
3 -  

 

 

BUILD - ADVANCED
BUILD Flags
Bruce A. Benko
1.88 96-97 understanding what the Flags are in the BUILD map editor.
The Flags values used are in Hexadecimal, but first I will have to
discuss the binary form. I will kept the number of bits down to
8 bits, cause that is all we will need to work with for the Flags...

 

 

FAKE SOS WINDOWS
JAMES STANFIELD
167 1-1-05 we can't create structures where we can access the roof and go inside and peer out of a window of - well at least until Billy Boy came along. We could do both of those in his maps with some limitations (we can't see in) but it opened up a whole new era of possibilities

 

 

Fake Windows
Zaxtor
1.6M - Now this page will show you how to make impossible windows and doors tricks, since you cannot make diagonal sprites like '\' for roof or something like sectors, you can make an alternate that will allow you to make complex base insides (these pic are simple to show how to make it).

 

 

Team Colors
Chris Traber
23 ? not 96
maybe 2002
How to us Team Colors

- GAME.CON (with this enhancement already installed)- TEAMPLAY.MAP (sample map utilizing team play method - use to copy method)

 

 

Build Tricks: Fun With Elevators
Semicharm
62 10-19-03 This is a guide to using and controlling Build's elevator sector effects. It will take you step-by-step from the basic principles for controlling elevator effects to the creation of a fully functional elevator that works like a real elevator.

Each section outlines solutions to solving problems from previous sections and adding new features to them as well, so please do not skip ahead. Also, each section includes examples, tips, and notes on how and why these tricks work.
This guide also includes sample maps to demonstrate the effects detailed in each section.

 

 

smmdox10.zip
Shawn McCool
? 96 or 97 looking for.

A build tutorial, put together with demo maps on how to do the most useful things in BUILD.

 

 

Rotating up/down moving doors
Jason gardiner
29 1-25-98 TUTOR 1:
rotating doors as seen in E2l4
Examine these maps to see how to make them
door1.map is a door that starts lowered and
door2.map is a door that starts raised/locked

 

 

Blastable walls
Jason gardiner
26 1-26-98 TUTOR 2:
walls that can be blown up with a
pipebomb, RPG or devastator
blast1.map is a demo a blastable wall

 

 

archdoor
Usurper
3 5-6-99 Example of a sliding gate door within an arch that is switch-operated, a demonstration of a switch-operated sliding gate door within an arch.

 

 

sector over sector example
James Ferry
4 12-24-99 Includes: One Map

 

 

Controllable slopes
C3PO
4 4-21-00 This effect is similar to the one in Shadow Warrior. You press a switch, and the floor rises at one end(sloped0 so that it matched the next sectors height. (ramp)  Includes:  Map

 

 

Slope on Slopes
JS Build
7 5-26-99 (updated 6/19/2002)
This tutorial map shows you how to Build sloped sectors, split them and correct their incline. It also shows you how to add sloped lighting effects.

 

 

Sloped Lighting Effects
JS Build
4 5-25-99 (updated 6/19/2002)
This tutorial map shows you how to add sloped lighting effects.

 

 

"clipdist" v1.1
Joe Barta
2 2-5-99 Demonstrates the use of "clipdist" Includes: Map

 

 

Translucent Water Demonstration
Bob Averill
20 8-5-99 Includes: Two maps and FAQ

 

 

TRANSLUSCENT WATER F.A.Q
Bob Averill
66 8-15-99 Includes: Map and Art File

 

 

TRUE 3D translucent water effect
DEVASTATOR
7 3-20-04 Includes: Map

 

 

Transparent Water Effect
James Tan
502 12-18-99 This is the transparent water effect hacked down to it's most basic form. Includes: Map, ART and CONs
Files: Water1 and water2

 

 

Build Tricks v0.1
Patola
69 3-7-96 A database not only of macro effects, but also build engine glitches and sprite tricks to simulate/produce things probably not thought of even by the makers of the game. Includes: Maps

 

 

Pixel height trick
Quarryman
27 2-13-00 This is a little trick for making sectors with pixel-height in odd numbers, like 129, 130, 131, basically any height not divisible by 4.
Includes: Map

 

 

SPECIAL SPRITES TUTORIAL
Steffen Itterheim
33 7-23-96 This Tutorial will give you an understanding of all the special sprites involved in Duke3D Level editing, such as the ACTIVATORs or CYCLERs.
Includes: Map

 

 

SE 0 Tricks HOW-TO v1.02
Tim Conneen
141 5-14-97 Newly discovered special effects inherent to the engine and achieved without alterations to CON files! Build horizontal crushers, gaping pits, stretching doors, shifting passages, and whatever else you can come up with!
Includes: Faq Map/ and Playable Confession Map(w/ SE 0 Tricks)

 

 

Snowday V3.0
Jared Moore
134
 
Snowday has-Snow, Blizzards, Snow drifts, A MountainCaverns, Ice, A Lodge, A Snow Fort, Snow Trees, Frozen Ponds ,COOL SECRETS, Cody(v3.0 is for duke1.3d) This map has everything you need to add snow to your maps!

 

 

Snowday V3.1
Jared Moore
169
 
Same as above but for the Atomic Version of Duke(breakable snowballs, dogs)

 

 

BUILD - OTHER
Height Map
rmgates
17.3 7-16-00 Built and tested on Duke Nukem 1.3d.
Tutorial map for Builders. Demonstrates the minimum and maximum sector sizes that Duke can walk, duck, jump, fall, and shoot into.

 

 

Group Files FAQ
Usurper
6 12-4-00 This document applies to 3D Realms’ Duke Nukem 3D. Some information will be relevant to other Build Engine games as well.

1. What about duke3d.grp?
2. Why Won’t This Work For v1.3d?
3. How Do I Create the Group File With kgroup?
4. How Do I Extract From a Group File With kextract?
5. Are There Easier-to-Use Programs for Making Group Files?
6. How Do I Load duke3d.exe With a Custom Group File?
7. What Files Can I Use In a Group File?
8. How Can I Easily Package My Group and Con Files With a Startup Batch File?
9. Does My Group File Have to Use the .grp Extension?
10. What Is The File Format For A Group File?
11. Where can I get the source code for kgroup and kextract?

 

 

Level Design Handbook
addenum

Steffen "Duke Addict" Itterheim
372 ? While matt tagliaferri's "The Official Duke Nukem 3D Level Design Handbook" is a great piece of information for all you level BUILDers it does have some minor errors and in certain places I wish to add some more information, warnings, or whatever. So here I collected a list of errors and wrote additions to certain chapters.

Now includes: The first chapter preview of the book. Added 5-21-04

 

 

Most Forgettable list for Level Designers V2.0
Curtis Eng

5 9-20-99  

 

 

BUILD Troubleshoot
Michael Mittag
6
 
 

 

 

D3Export.Faq v1
Ben Smit
4
 
Some idea's or tips on how to "export" your new favorite map plus all it's extra files

 

 

BUILD "HOT SHEET"
ubfaq10bb.zip
BEARD BROS
10 7-7-96  

 

 

Keyboard Commands Reference Chart
Duke Addict, Levellord
5
 
 

 

 

Quick Keys Chart(Build)
Tibol
4 9-3-98  

 

 

BUILDCMD
Anders Korsvall
5 9-1-95 Duke Nukem 3D: Keys Helper File for the Build Editor +
a test level

 

 

Build Key Reference Guidev1.6
Jonah Bishop
18
 
 

 

 

Soundlist
Dave Atwater aka NippleNut
5
 
 

 

 

Sound Effects List
Sorted By Sound Tag Number v 2.0

Jonah Bishop
14 10-31-98  

 

 

COMPLETE LIST OF SOUNDS
Shane King
10
 
 

 

 

Sound Room
JS Build
6 11-13-98 for helping you to choose the door sound you like best. Includes Map

 

 

Tile Reference v0.2b
Scott Harvey
3
 
a handy-dandy reference sheet for the 3000+ graphic elements in the DUKE3D.GRP file.

 

 

ENEMIES
Steven Petrovics Griffiths
4 6-28-99 When building you will know all the numbers for the enemies items ammo and the guns....ENEMIES/ITEMS/GUNS/AMMO LIST.

 

 

Level Design Course FAQ 11/28 3
 
 

 

 

Map/Con Authoring Template v1.1 2
 
Note: see also the Template maker, in the util section of rtcm.

 

 

Map Design Tips v1.00
Vedran Jelenic
2
 
 

 

 

Level Design Tips 2
 
A list with 21 tips.

 

 

Playtest Checklist v1.05
Jack Gutzler
2