Duke Nukem 3D (PC)

This page details development materials of Duke Nukem 3D (PC).

To do: The following: Look into the source code. RGAME.H in the /extras directory is an earlier version of DUKE3D.H. Some things of note mentioned here. Assets from currently unreleased prerelease builds (might be better to hold off adding these if the builds ever get released). A compilation of all the development material released by community members Hendricks266 and Terminx (both to the Duke4 thread and in the Duke4 Discord server) can be found here. This Duke4 thread contains lots of loose assets from various prerelease builds, slap them into here. (Lossless versions can be found here) There are at least two sets of .LBMs from Duke3D's development contained in the leaked 1999 Duke Nukem Forever Asset CD (an explosion of sparks from Rise of the Triad, and a fan texture). Dopefish.com (created and run by 3D Realms employee Joe Siegler) has downloads for two .FLI animations which it claims were meant for an easter egg where a shark would have a small chance to be replaced with a Dopefish. Downloads here and here. Early version of DUKEDC07: Brown Water from Duke It Out in D.C. (called Dc-sewer.MAP) by Shawn Swift released on November 12th, 2020. Personal notes that George Broussard had released on his Twitter account in 2016 (under the hastag #Duke3Dis20).

Over the years, all sorts of random pieces from the development of Duke Nukem 3D have surfaced over the years including the game's source code being officially released by 3D Realms back in 2003.

Source Code#

On April 1st, 2003, 3D Realms would release the source code of Duke Nukem 3D under the GPL-2.0-or-later license. It was done in part to compensate for the lack of release of Duke Nukem Forever.^{Citation Needed}

The code, as it was originally released by 3D Realms can be downloaded from here.

Capture Videos#

Released on November 23rd, 1998, by Joe Siegler were a series of videos showcasing digitization footage of some items for the game, namely the shotgun and the dollar bill, in a zip called duke3dvc.zip. The videos were originally .AVIs but were converted to .RMs when they were released.

The videos appear to be dated to sometime in 1995, as evident from the presence of the shotgun (which George Broussard had acquired that year).

The arms seen in the videos are none other than those of the late Stephen Hornback, who had worked as an artist on the game.

They can be downloaded from here.

bill1.rm - Depicts the dollar bill used to tip Strippers.

bill2.rm - Another bill capture, seems to have gone unused?

shotgun.rm - Depicts the shotgun.

Cut Levels#

To do: Add some YouTube videos showing playthroughs of these recorded in the DOS original. The videos currently here seem to be captured with a source port. Also add some proper descriptions of these.

In 1998, some levels from the game's development were shared by Richard "Levelord" Gray, who in fact had created them. These levels were previously hosted on the now defunct fansite DukeWorld but were later hosted on a personal website of Gray's and of course were mirrored on various other sites.

They can be downloaded from here.

Sewer#

Watch on YouTubeReleased on May 12th, 1998. An unused single-player level.

A news post about the map was made on 3D Realms' website the following day.¹

Sweeney#

Watch on YouTubeReleased on May 15th, 1998. Another unused single-player level.

This level makes use of a normally unused tile from the game.

Like before, a news post about the map was made on 3D Realms' website, this time on the same day.²

Chuckles#

Released on December 18th, 1998. An unused dukematch level.

Cigam#

Released on December 24th, 1998. Another unused dukematch level.

Early/Cut Music#

Early tunes, typically from Lee Jackson. Quotes are descriptions from Jackson.

To do: Get OGGs on here. Add downloads to the original MIDIs here too (if possible).

Dark Matter#

Released as a MIDI (DARKMATT.MID) on a now defunct website of Jackson's that was hosted by Gamespy.

This is an example of what I call "fish wrappings" (i.e., if it were written on paper, you'd probably use the paper to wrap fish with). In other words, it’s a reject. This song, titled "Dark Matter," was written for Duke Nukem 3D, but never made it into the game. It never made it past the "George filter," a name I've given to George Broussard's particular taste in level music styles. Presented here as an idea of something that works as a song, but doesn't work as a game track.

Early Whomp#

Released as a MIDI (WHOMP.MID) on a now defunct website of Jackson's that was hosted by Gamespy.

"Whomp" is another case of the "George filter" in action. This song actually made it into Duke Nukem 3D, but not it in its original form. Here, for your examination, is the original version of the song - the one that didn’t make it. If you have the Duke Nukem 3D registered CD, check out the "GOODIES" subdirectory and play the version that made it after you listen to this one.

Early Gotham#

Published on YouTube on March 30th, 2019.

The original version of Gotham - the one that didn't make it into the final cut of Duke Nukem 3D. Dates back to June of 1995.

Early Plasma#

Published on YouTube on April 28th, 2019.

Original Plasma - the original version of Plasma that didn't make it into the 3D Realms game Duke Nukem 3D.

Early 233.778 Celsius#

Published on YouTube on July 15th, 2019.

233.778C - Unused Beta from April 4th, 1996. Originally intended for use with the Fahrenheit level of Duke Nukem 3D, this was never released to the public.

Early Stalker#

Published on YouTube on January 26th, 2020.

This is an unused 1995 beta version of Stalker, the song used for Episode 1, Level 1 of Duke Nukem 3D. If you listen closely, you'll notice differences between it and the final version, mainly at the 1:52 and 2:00 marks.

Early Baked Goods#

Dated to August 26th, 1996. Published to YouTube on January 13th, 2022.

Original "Baked Goods" - the original version of the MIDI file that was distributed with Duke Nukem 3D. This version is from August of 1996, according to my records. It is much more sparse than the final version of "Baked Goods" that went out with the game

Miscellaneous#

Random stuff not numerous enough to be in their own sections

Developer Deathmatch Demo#

Watch on YouTubeA v1.3d demo recording from the last night of the game's development released in a zip called cooldemo.zip. Mainly features the developers fragging and fooling around.

It can be downloaded from here.

Pig Cop Tank Model#

300px|right Found in a CD containing assets for 3D Realms' Shadow Warrior webpage around April 1997, is RIOTTANK.3DS, which appears to be the original 3D Studio Max binary used for the Pig Cop Tank enemy's vehicle in the game. Why it was present in this CD is completely unknown.

The CD was intended for Douglas "Doug" Wood and would later end up in the possession of the late Stephen Hornback. Both had worked on Duke Nukem 3D and Shadow Warrior as artists, with Wood having been credited with "Additional 3D Modelling" in the Atomic Edition of the former title.

References#