FAQ for Mike Miller's Duke Nukem 3D Site 
http://www.bayserve.net/~mike/duke/


QUESTIONS:
---------
1)  When are you going to rate my map?
2)  Can I help you rate levels?
3)  My map isn't THAT bad!  I don't agree with your rating, etc...
4)  My copy of BUILD is screwed!  The 3D view is all back with mouse trails...
5)  I'm having problems with BUILDing my map, can you help me with ______?
6)  Can you send me a copy of BUILD?  I know it's copyrighted software, but I'm
    a pirate weenie.
7)  What is an RTS file? / How do I use an RTS file?
8)  How do you get so many hits on your site?  How can I get more hits on mine?
9)  I'm trying to play a modem game, but I keep getting "out of sync" / 
    "invalid game packet" / some other error ...what do I do?
10) How do I play Duke over the Internet?
11) What is a CON file?
12) Are there any cheat codes for DukeMatch?
99) Can I -PLEASE- send you money/expensive gifts/free beer/etc as a small
    token of my gratitude for your efforts in maintaining your Duke site?

ANSWERS:
-------

1)  When are you going to rate my map?

Well, ahem.  Typically, my DukeMatch partner, Marc, and I rate levels on 
our own time (outside of our full-time jobs), whenever we feel like it.  
Up until now (Aug 96) that's been about once a week, about 10-20 levels 
worth, on average.  Since I have a LOT of unrated maps, I usually put your 
map on my page immediately, and then it goes into my queue.  I pick levels 
in arbitrary order when rating them.

2)  Can I help you rate levels?

I've received a few offers for help in rating all these levels, and here
is how I've responded:
I'll gratefully accept any comments you have about any subset of
levels of your choice.  However, Marc and I would prefer that all
the rated levels on my page are rated ultimately by us for the
sake of consistency.  I believe consistency is the most important
aspect in any rating system.  If we have a lot of different people rating
levels, one person's view of a 3.0 rating might differ greatly from another
person's view of the same rating.  But at times we have trouble coming
up with descriptions of levels and could use assistance.  We cannot
guarantee that we will definitely incorporate all of your comments
into the final rating, but all you send will be taken into careful
consideration.          

So, I want all the levels to be rated by the SAME people, or else the
ratings don't mean anything.  So I am NOT soliciting help at this time,
and I WON'T be playing any Internet DukeMatch for this purpose (that's
too slow anyway).


3)  My map isn't THAT bad!  I don't agree with your rating, etc...

I don't want to hear it. 
Please read http://www.bayserve.net/~mike/duke/uploading.html
You have your choice not to upload your map to my page. If your map
isn't fully completed or you think it sucks, don't upload it, unless you
don't mind my rating stating so.


4)  My copy of BUILD is screwed!  The 3D view is all back with mouse trails...

Your copy of BUILD is just fine.  99% of beginner BUILDers experience this
problem.  But there's a VERY easy solution.  Just copy all your BUILD
files from the CD into your DUKE3D directory.  The program needs to read
the textures from the DUKE3D.GRP file, which is in that directory.


5)  I'm having problems with BUILDing my map, can you help me with ______?

Since I spend so much time maintaining my Duke page (and it takes a LOT
more time that I had originally anticipated), I haven't even had time
to learn how to build levels with BUILD myself.  So it would be fruitless
for you to send me your questions or error-laden maps for me to debug.
The best I can do is to point you to the numerous Docs and FAQs on 
my page at http://www.bayserve.net/~mike/duke/docs.html
There are step-by-step guides to building MANY different things in your
Duke levels in these documents.  If you STILL need help, I recommend you
post your question to alt.games.duke3d or alt.games.apogee, or to the
Duke MAP BUILDING message base on the Apogee BBS, which is at
http://www.apogee1.com/noframes.htm


6)  Can you send me a copy of BUILD?  I know it's copyrighted software, but I'm
    a software pirate weenie.

No.


7)  What is an RTS file? / How do I use an RTS file?

RTS files (aka Remote Ridicule Files) were first introduced when Apogee
released Rise of the Triad. I am not positive, but it seems logical that
RTS stood for Rise of the Triad Sound. Well, now it is just a name we use
and the standard format so that it can be used with, currently, Rise of the
Triad and Duke Nukem 3D by 3D Realms, a division of Apogee.

These files were designed so you could ridicule your opponent(s) in
Multiplayer gaming. They have evolved though, to include themes related to
music groups, movies, TV shows, and many other things. One person has
managed to make a couple that are made to distract or fool your opponent by
taking sounds from Duke Nukem 3D and putting them in RTS files.

The current editor for RTS files is RTSMakr2. This is available in the
Utilities section of this site, along with a program that can convert .WAV
files to .VOC files and vice-versa. .VOC sounds are the format that RTS
files use when you create a new one. RTSMakr2 allows you to compile an RTS
file, or break up a file. It was written and designed by Apogee Software.
Soon I will have an FAQ written up that can answer many of the setup and
creation problems users encounter while trying to make RTS files.

If you are going to make an RTS file, here are a few tips. First of all,
try to keep the sounds fairly short. Long sounds tend to slow down the
game, or simply get annoying and distracting. Also, try to have a bit of a
theme. There are some good RTS files out there that are pretty random in
nature, but the best tend to be the ones that focus on a main theme. Make
sure that you test your sound bits before you try to send me an RTS file. I
personally test every one of them, and if they don't work, I won't post it.
Also, try to keep the volume within reason. Don't worry, for the most part
all the RTS files I get are good solid ones, but occasionally I get some
pretty wierd stuff. Most of all, have fun with them, and try to come up
with a product that you really want others to hear!


8)  How do you get so many hits on your site?  How can I get more hits on mine?

This is how to get more hits.
  1) Create a decent site.  Present quality info so that people will have a 
     reason to return.
  2) Submit your URL and info to as many Web search engines as you can find.
     There are dozens.  Find a partial list at: 
                                         http://savvy.cs.colostate.edu:2000/
  3) Create a small advertisement that fully describes the merits of your
     page and post it to an applicable newsgroup, like alt.games.duke3d.
     But only post this once a month at most.  Or else you'll annoy people.
  4) Exchange links with other people who run pages similar to yours.
  5) Create a banner and join the Internet Link Exchange.  This has only been
     marginally useful to me.  I've gotten only 607 extra hits in 2 months time.


9)  I'm trying to play a modem game, but I keep getting "out of sync" / 
    "invalid game packet" / some other error ...what do I do?

There are a few things that can cause problems.  Make sure:
   1) Both sides are using default, unmodified CON files.  Check all three
      of them:  USER.CON, DEFS.CON, and GAME.CON
   2) The port speed (baud rate) is set to 9600.  If you have a modem that
      will run faster than that, still set it to 9600.  Make sure your
      opponent does the same.
   3) Both sides have 16550 serial ports.  You will always have problems if you
      only have a 8250 or a 16450.
   4) You manually enter the port settings and IRQ into the duke setup program.
      Don't let it use "default".
   5) Both sides have the same version of the game. Registered cannot play
      versus shareware, and all must have same version number.
Also, if you have a Plug & Play modem, and it's giving you trouble, the problem
is this:  Plug & Play modems were designed for environments (like Win95) where
the OS does the initialization of the card.  The problem here is that if you
are playing in MS-DOS mode, and bypassing the Win95 GUI, your card is never 
initialized, and as such, there's nothing for Duke3D to find.  WHAT YOU NEED TO
DO IS find some way of initializing your PnP modem in DOS.  Check the manual
for your modem.  Quite often modems with the brand name of "Winmodem" fall into
this category as well.  Also, when you DO get the card configured in MS-DOS,
make note of the port address and IRQ number as well as the port number that
the card is initialized with.  This info will be important when you setup
the Duke3D game using the setup program.


10) How do I play Duke over the Internet?

Check out these sites:

   $20 one time fee - http://www.axxis.com/kali/
   Pay per usage    - http://www.ten.net
   FREE             - http://www.stargatenetworks.com/


11) What is a CON file?

Look in your DUKE3D directory.  There are three files called:

USER.CON
GAME.CON
DEFS.CON

These files define different things about the game, like the strength
of a weapon, maximum ammo, the strength of monsters, the way a monster
acts, etc.  If you know what you're doing, you can edit these files
to make the game work differently.  People have done this, and submitted
their version for people to try out.  That's what the CON file hacks
are on my DOWNLOADs page.  If you want to learn about how to hack the
CON files yourself, there is a FAQ about it on my DOCS & FAQs page.


12) Are there any cheat codes for DukeMatch?

No, there are no cheat coes, per se. In version 1.3, the only thing you 
could do was to launch setup with 'setup /r' (or if you're the master, 
use the menu to turn demo recording ON).  This gives BOTH of you the 
ability to press 'K' to see thru the other's eyes.  That's it.
But, in version 1.4 and later, this "bug" was removed.


99) Can I -PLEASE- send you money/expensive gifts/free beer/etc as a small
    token of my gratitude for your efforts in maintaining your Duke site?

    Please do!  Actually, a nice, cold Bass Ale sounds quite good about now. :)
