Latest News
http://www.bayserve.net/~mike/duke/news.html

12/17/96 - Straight from the 3D Realms Web Site:
Plutonium PAK v1.4 to v1.5 Patch
Please note that if you do not already have the Plutonium PAK v1.4 CD-ROM, you cannot use this patch.
On December 12th, 3D Realms released the Plutonium PAK v1.5 patch. This small update to v1.4 fixes some bugs in the game, as well as corrects an install program problem for people with computers that have 64Mb of memory or more.

This file is available right now!. You can download it here! Please note that this will only update a game that has already been updated with the Plutonium PAK. If you do not already have the Plutonium PAK CD-ROM, this patch is not for you.

WHO THIS PATCH IS FOR:

People who have already bought the Plutonium PAK and have upgraded.
People who have already bought the Plutonium PAK and are having the 64Mb Install program problem.
WHO THIS PATCH IS NOT FOR
People who only have registered v1.3d, but have not gotten the Plutonium PAK yet.
People who only have shareware.
Here is a quick list of the changes from v1.4 to v1.5.
The major bug was fixing a memory corruption error that definitely caused the 'slowdown' bug. This bug probably fixed various other things like some random crashes, and save/load problems. While it might not fix everything, memory corruption is the worst possible bug, and this one was fixed and the slowdown/massive caching seemed to go away. If you still experience lots of disk caching when playing the game, load SmartDrv at DOS before you play the game. Typing "smartdrv 4000" works well. NOTE: You will need more than 8 megs to do this.
Fixed a bug where the game would pop up the "Mighty Foot" weapon, when other weapons were available. Really annoying.
Fixed the bug where if you save a game, exit to DOS and reload from the main menu, you got E1L1 music, no matter what level it was.
If you had the problem with the Plutonium PAK v1.4 where your computer had 64Mb of memory or more, and couldn't install the game, you can use this patch to upgrade from v1.3d to v1.5. Run this patch, and when you are presented with the list of things to install, make sure that your CD-ROM is in the drive, and that you select the v1.3d to v1.4 patch as well as the v1.4 to v1.5 patch.
Please note that if you do not already have the Plutonium PAK v1.4 CD-ROM, you cannot use this patch.
Thanks to many people online that tested special versions for us, or helped provide more information very quickly. It enabled us to get this patch done as fast as we did.

11/5/96 - Exciting new news straight from the Official Duke site:

ITS A DUKE NUKEM NOEL!
ALL-NEW DUKE NUKEM 3D: PLUTONIUM PAK INVADES RETAIL THIS MONTH
Atomic Edition Readies for December Debut
NEW YORK, NY, November 4, 1996 -- Hes tan, hes rested and hes looking forward to kicking some new ass as GT Interactive Software Corp. (NASDAQ: GTIS) lets loose the ultimate cyber-hero, Duke Nukem, in Duke Nukem 3D: Plutonium Pak, a distinctly new expansion pack for seasoned Nukem warriors who already own Duke Nukem 3D. In December, GT Interactive is also introducing Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition which includes Plutonium Pak and the original Duke Nukem 3D, the best-selling PC game on the market.

"Duke Nukem is fast becoming a part of American pop culture and the phenomenon continues to grow as we approach the holiday season," said Holly Newman vice president of Marketing for GT Interactive. "Our new expansion pack offers a whole new level of challenges, allowing fans to experience more of the exciting game play that raised the bar for 3D gaming and made Duke Nukem 3D a number one game."

Programmed and approved by 3D Realms, the expansion pack features 11 new levels designed to challenge even the most skilled gamer as advanced artificial intelligence allows a single player on a single computer to Deathmatch up to seven Dukes simultaneously. In true Duke Nukem style, the new episode parodies popular current films and includes formidable features such as an explosive new weapon, two new enemies, a new end-level boss and two new hilarious and controversial cut-scenes.

In addition, Duke is equipped with 30-40 new one-liners, such as "Time to go postal," "Go ahead, make my day," and "Nobody messes with my meat," and nearly 100 new gags.

Offering more Duke for the dollar are Duke Nukem 3D screen savers, wallpaper and slide show; Windows 95 desktop themes and six Duke Nukem 3D jigsaw puzzles, all of which are included in both the Plutonium Pak and Atomic Edition. Duke Nukem 3D: Plutonium Pak is shipping this month for an expected retail price of $29.95, while Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition will be available in December for $49.95.

Dallas-based 3D Realms, established in 1994, specializes in developing real-time 3D action games and 3D technology. 3D Realms games are also designed to be played over the Internet and in multiplayer environments. 3D Realms previous hit release, Terminal Velocity, was voted "Best Action Game of 1995" by PC Magazine.

Headquartered in NY, with offices in London, San Francisco, Seattle, Phoenix and Minneapolis, GT Interactive Software Corp. is a leading global publisher of interactive entertainment, edutainment and value-priced software marketed under the GT Interactive, Humongous Entertainment and WizardWorks brands, for IBM-compatible and Macintosh computers as well as 32- and 64-bit gaming systems. Among GT Interactives best-selling titles are Duke Nukem 3D and Doom II. GT Interactive is publicly traded on the NASDAQ National Market System under the symbol GTIS.

10/7/96 - Exciting new news straight from the Official Duke site:


Announcing
[--------------]
Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition
and The Duke Nukem 3D[Plutonium] PAK....
[--------------]

Duke Nukem Plutonium Screen Shot
Info last updated October 7, 1996

There will be a formal press release coming soon, but this is just to get the ball rolling. We will be completing work on a new version of Duke Nukem 3D called "Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition" in the next couple of weeks. Here are some of the facts (that might change before we actually release it).

Q: Who is publishing it?
A: GT Interactive. This will be a retail only product. There will be no shareware release, as it's only one mission anyway.

Q: When will it be out?
A: We aren't 100% sure, but we should be done with all the code and testing by the end of September, then we hand it off to GT for publishing. I'd expect a late October release or so. Officially, though it will be out "when it's done". :)Duke Nukem Plutonium Screen Shot
Q: What will be in it/what's new?
A: Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition is a new version of Duke that includes an all new Episode 4. It will contain:

11 new levels (with TONS of new art for the specific level themes). Look for cool places to visit and DukeMatch in like "Duke Burger" and "Area-51".
New Weapon. You can add a new ammo type and hardware upgrade to the good old Shrink Ray and turn it into the "Microwave Gun". When activated, this wepaon will superheat a player or bad guy until they expand and pop like an over-cooked egg in a microwave. Don't be too close to them when they go, or you'll take some damage too. The addition of a little radar dish to the Shrink Ray looks cool. You can alternate between the Shrink Ray and Microwave Gun by pressing the "7" key.
New intro and ending animations that are WAY cooler in content than what we did before in the first game.
New music for each of the 11 levels and cinematics.
New Boss alien. "The Queen".
Two new creatures: (A Pig Cop battle tank, and a very bad ass Queen Alien Drone).
Lot's of new Duke-talk for certain situations. We can't shut the guy up now.
More babes.
The Atomic Edition should also include some items like the following (subject to change at GT's, or our whims): 2 Duke Windows 95 desktop themes complete with lots of new Duke-Talk (specific to the themes); Duke screen saver/Entertainment Pack).
Q: How do I get this new episode?
A: The new Atomic version of Duke will be available in stores, or via direct sales from us. There will be no shareware version of this new episode. If you are an existing customer, and already have the registered version 1.3d, you can use the Duke Nukem 3D: Plutonium PAK to get this new stuff. See the next question.

Q: How will the Plutonium PAK work?
A: I will be a large patch on CD for version 1.3d of Duke Nukem 3D. It will patch everything and create Plutonium PAK for you. You will then have a version of the game with 4 missions, instead of 3. This new resulting version will be the Atomic Edition (aka v1.4) of the game. Unfortunately, due to the excessive changes, a patch to v1.4 non-Plutonium is not possible (in other words, the patch will not be available online). We're sorry, but there have been far too many changes.

Q: I'm confused. What's the difference between Atomic & Plutonium?
A: It's easy. The next version of Duke Nukem 3D will be called "Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition". "Duke Nukem 3D: Plutonium PAK" simply refers to the PATCH. Once you use the Plutonium PAK patch, your copy of the game will be updated to the "Atomic Edition".

Duke Nukem Plutonium Screen Shot

[George Broussard]




George Broussard
President, 3D Realms



9/21/96 - Official Duke3D Level Design Book Released!
[Duke3D Editing Book]

Official Duke3D Level Design Book Released!

Available now is the Official Duke Nukem 3D Level Design Handbook. Written by Matt Tagliaferri, this book is the bible for creating totally new Duke Nukem 3D levels.

Written in cooperation with 3D Realms and the maker of the Build engine, this official handbook includes an exclusive Doom WAD converstion program and valuable insider information - including tips and tricks from the actual level designers of the original Duke Nukem 3D game!

Graduate from Duke "fan" to Duke "creator". 3D realms has given you the tools; this book gives you the knowledge. The book also comes with other goodies, so make sure to check it out!

This book is available in stores NOW from Sybex. The ISBN number is 0-7821-1869-0.

8/15/96 - 100,000 hits!
After bringing my Duke site online on May 5th, my site finally have received 100,000 hits! A nite little landmark... :-)

7/9/96 - Here's a Duke3D Update From Joe Siegler:

Duke Nukem 3D v1.4 under production. 

There is a new version of Duke Nukem 3D under production. It will be v1.4, 
and when completed, it will be released as shareware, and a patch file will 
be released as a free download to upgrade the registered version to v1.4. 

THERE IS NO RELEASE DATE FOR THIS! It will be out when it's done. 
Please don't E-Mail us or call asking about it. The phone people have no 
information on this. 

It will contain bug fixes only. There are no new levels, characters, or 
graphics planned. v1.4's sole purpose will be to fix a few lingering 
problems, it will most likely be the final version of the game. (There are 
no plans to add a save game feature to Co-Op mode. I'm sorry). 
5/8/96 - Info tipbit from Joe Siegler:
>The Duke CD is put in a black box, and then in a white shipping box.  You're
>seeing pre-made black boxes (on the liveshot camera).
>
>We've got virtually everyone doing order processing.  We normally have
>only 2 or 3 people that do that.  It's insane.   We've actually had to rent
>a Ryder truck to get all the orders to the post office, there are so many
>of them.   The truck is making many runs per day!
>
5/6/96 - Registered Duke Nukem 3D finally ships!!!

Registered v1.3d SHIPPING!
Here is a Duke 3D v1.3d Release Update from Joe Siegler:

This is official shipping notice. :)

We will begin shipping orders on Monday the 6th of May. We have received the CD's back from our duplicator (got 'em on Friday), and have been working over the weekend packing orders. Here are some notes about the pre-orders:

Orders will be filled in a first come first serve basis. This means that people who ordered back in January will get their orders shipped first.
We expect it to take about 7-10 working days to get all the orders shipped out the door.
We have no way to tell if any specific order has shipped, so please don't ask us to check.
Orders inside the US are being sent conventional US Postal Mail. Outside the US it's being sent Air Mail.
No overnight or next day shipping is available on pre-orders.
If you want to see us working on packing Duke3D orders, take a look at the live shot camera. It will be pointed at the shipping table for the next week or so. :)
Joe Siegler
Apogee Software

5/5/96 - From the view on Apogee's Live shot camera, it looks like they've started boxing up the CDs for shipment. Rumor has it that they will begin shipping on Monday, May 6th.

4/25/96 - The levels in the registered game are as follows:

> The registered version has:
> 
> Episode 1: 5 Levels, 1 secret level, 1 Dukematch only level.
> Episode 2: 9 Levels, 2 Secret Levels.
> Episode 3: 9 Levels, 2 Secret Levels.
>  
> Joe Siegler
> Apogee Software

4/24/96 - Version 1.2 Update:
Here is a Duke 3D v1.3d Release Update from Joe Siegler:
The new version of Duke Nukem 3D has been released! The new version is v1.3d. What happened to v1.2? v1.2 was an internal version, and was never officially released, so to avoid confusion, the official version number for this version is v1.3d!

This new shareware version is available now! It's available for download on the FTP site listed below, and it's available on our Web BBS, if you care to log in and grab it.

The registered version has been completed, and was sent off for mass duplication on Monday the 22nd of April. We are not shipping the pre-orders yet, but we will be shipping very shortly, once we get the stock back from the duplicators, and everything checks out. Once we have a PRECISE DATE on shipment, I will post that, along with the news that we are actually shipping! Check back here often for updates to this situation.

Here's a listing of what's new/fixed in this version of Duke Nukem 3D:
The major addition to v1.3D is that the full version of the game is done as well.
X,Y axis sensitivity controls for mouse (in SETUP).
TEN (Total Entertainment Network) support from SETUP. NOTE: Go to http://www.ten.net for more details on when Duke Nukem 3D will be there.
New load screen art.
Ability to record demos from the OPTIONS menu (single or multiplay game) NOTE: In multiplay, the "master" has to select DEMO ON.
Some new voice sayings.
F5 - Change Music. Shift-F5 to select song.
Inventory items like Steroids and HoloDuke now deplete is you are looking into a monitor.
Should sound a little better. We changed the sound mixing and you should get less "crackle" and "pops" from your speakers.
Smoke trails for rockets.
Probably some more little things we forgot about.
Multiplay changes:
Respawning items markers. These markers default to ON and can be turned on or off. They mark where items will respawn once gotten. If the Nuke symbol marker is red, an item is 15-30 seconds away, Yellow means 7-15 seconds and Green means 0-7 seconds (Stick around!). Experienced players might want to play with or without these, but they do add a new element of gameplay and help out new players by showing them where the items are.
Inclusion of DukeMatch-NOSPAWN Mode. In this mode, nothing respawns except the inventory items. No more running for the next health atom as they will be gone once grabbed. Also, no more hoarding rocket ammo and the like. The resources are scarce and this mode is a more true test of skill, as once you get down to a pistol, things get hairy.
Co-Op works like NOSPAWN mode. The weapons stay around, so 8 players can all get the Rocket launcher and not have to wait for something. The Co-Op rules work just like NOSPAWN mode where only the inventory items respawn. Also, you get to keep what you have collected from level to level.
More DukeMatch screams and yells. The more severe the damage, the more extreme the sound.
Messages in modem mode work now. They do not overlap each other anymore.
You can type messages with the game paused. D'oh! We forgot about that!
Mouse turning speed made more like v1.0 where quick 180 flicks are easy to do. Another goof on our part.
Better start points on E1L1. No more unfair roof starts.
Joe Siegler
Online Support Manager
3D Realms Entertainment


4/23/96 - Version 1.2 Update:
Here is a Duke 3D v1.2 Release Update from Joe Siegler:

The registered version (v1.2) has been sent to our duplicators! We should start shipping pre-orders of the registered CD-ROM in about 2 to 3 weeks. I will be posting more registered updates, including the actual day we start shipping once I have a precise date. As the CD just went off for duplication on Monday the 22nd, I don't have a precise date as to when we will have stock to start shipping pre-orders.


4/18/96 - Version 1.2 Update:
Here is a Duke 3D v1.2 Release Update from Joe Siegler:
The next version of Duke Nukem 3D, v1.2, is due to be released NEXT WEEK. It will appear sometime between Monday evening April 22nd, and Friday April 26th. When it's released, you'll find out about it here first! Keep checking back here, we'll have a new fast T3 FTP site for you to get the file from when it's released.

The registered version (v1.2) is also being mastered Friday the 19th, and the CD-ROM will be going off for duplication early next week. We should start shipping pre-orders of the registered CD-ROM in about 2 to 3 weeks. I will be posting more registered updates, including the actual day we start shipping once I have a precise date. The wait is almost over!

Here's a partial list of what comes on the CD-ROM with the game. Registered versions of Duke Nukem I and Duke Nukem II in addition to Duke Nukem 3D. Shareware versions of five of our other games (Terminal Velocity, Realms of Chaos, Rise of the Triad, Raptor, & Wacky Wheels). You also get Build, which is the level editor that we used to make all the levels in Duke Nukem 3D. You get Editart, which is the program that lets you get at the game graphics. There is a comprehensive help file for Build, including specs on the MAP file format, so you can use it to write your own level editor if you wish. There are also screen shots of some of our other coming games like Blood, Shadow Warrior, & Prey. Plus lots lots more! All this for only $39.95! Have you ordered your copy yet? No? Here's info on how to do it.

Joe Siegler
Online Support Manager
3D Realms Entertainment


4/15/96 - Official Release Date Info:
This is "crunch" week for Duke.  We should have everything in the game by
Sunday (4/14).  The plan is then to test the game heavily for the next
few days, fixing any last bugs and tweaking game balance things like level
layouts and actor strengths, etc.  If all goes according to plan, we should
be done with the game mid-late week next week.  We then have to duplicate
the CD's and manuals and that will unfortunately take a couple of weeks for
the quantities we need.  Then we will ship the game.  Looks like early May
at this point.  Thanks to all of you for your patience.  We know the deadline
slipped a little, but we added lots of stuff to v1.2 of the game from user
suggestions online.  We also wanted the game quality and content to be as
high in the last two volumes as it was in volume 1.  You won't be disappointed.

George Broussard
President, 3D Realms Entertainment

4/11/96 - Release Date? For what it's worth, someone posted this to the duke3d newsgroup:
David J. Kunz wrote:
> On CompuServe there's a message from the president of 3D Realms dated
> 4/9/96 saying that they're within a week of being done, then have a
> little testing to do, then they'll ship.
> 

4/9/96 - Another hint as to what'll be in the registered version:
> Remember the green slime things from Duke Nukem II?  Well, they're in the 
> registered version, and when one gets on you, it tries to suck your face off. 
>
> -- Joe Siegler, Apogee Software
3/31/96 - Final list of new weapons in registered version:

Taken from FAQ section of Official Duke Page, the four new weapons will be: Shrinker Weapon (#7), Devastator Weapon (#8 - a double handed small rocket launcher type of weapon), Wall Mounted Trip Bomb (#9), and a Freezethrower (#10). "Sorry, but the flamethrower has been scrapped. We couldn't make it work where we liked it, so it was scrapped."

And when asked if the new Devastator Weapon is like the Drunk Missile in ROTT, Joe Siegler also said it's "nothing like the drunk missile. It's two launchers, one in each hand, it fires like the dual pistols in ROTT in that you don't control them independently. You fire once, and they both fire, but it's VERY powerful."

3/27/96 - a NEW weapon? Check out this message excerpt:
From: apogee  (Joseph M. Siegler)
Subj: Re: a weapon on live shot

>I just looked at the live shot camara and there was a big gun or something 
>on it. It looked like two plasma guns up side by side.  What weapon is this? 
>I this the shrinker or freeze thrower or some thing.  It looks cool!

That was probably the devastator weapon.  Shoots lots of very small missiles.
It's really REALLY cool.

Joe Siegler
Apogee Software

3/18/96 - Along with the level editor, a program called "editart" will be shipped on the registered CD-ROM to allow you to easily modify the artwork in the game. Joe Siegler says "it has the capability of dumping a PCX of the current tile/art/whatever you are looking at in the graphics file. That's where I get the graphics I use on the web site."

3/10/96 - Info on release date of registered version: Joe Siegler of Apogee said "The game is not done, and there is absolutely no way it will ship in March." As always, they say it will be released "when it's done" and not before.

3/16/96 - Info on weapons in Registered game:
> Actually, the flamethrower has been cancelled.  It just didn't
> work out to our satisfaction.  We called it the "Catekiller".
> The art will be used for the replacement weapon though, which
> is a freezethrower.
>
> ...it throws around bolts of freeze energy (name of the stuff
> hasn't been made up yet), and the enemies freeze in place for
> a short period of time.   If you shoot them during this time,
> they shatter like glass.
>
> Joe Siegler
> Apogee Software
>