Etikett: wolf2duke

Lite historia

Texten nedan är drygt 10 år gammal och skrevs för Wolf2Dukes websida men är lite uppdaterad innan den hamnade här. Jag valde att ha kvar den på engelska då det känns mer ’riktigt’ för denna typ av text.


The dawn of PC shooters…….

Once upon a time there was a PC-game called Wolfenstein 3D from iD Software. This was one of the earliest first-person games to use a technology that made it possible to have a fully animated gameplay. This meant that there was no limiting number of views available to be seen by the player. The player had a freedom to move all around in a three dimensional world. The technology also made it possible to create animated enemies that followed the player around in the game.
Since Wolfenstein 3D was the first of it’s kind released as shareware it made a huge inpact the the gaming comunity. An other reason for the success was probably the fact that the game made it possible to fight (and kill) the real bad asses, the Nazis.

But…..

Despite all the advancements for its time, Wolfenstein 3D had a lot of limitations. Walls were restricted to only one lenght and had to be at a 90 degree angel to one another. Floor and ceilings were allways the same hight. All rooms also used the same light level.

However….

The Wolfenstein 3D is still played around the globe by a lot of people and will not be forgotten.


New technology…

After the sucess with Wolfenstein 3D, iD software continued the development with the DOOM game. This game was powered by a new technology game engine.

Then Duke entered the scene…

Well, Duke had been around for a while but this time he came in a 3D version. Duke was delivered from a competitor of iD, 3DRealms and built with the ’Build’-engine, designed by Ken Silverman. Duke3D was released in a shareware version and this is where the story of the Wolf2Duke TC begins.


The start of Wolf2Duke…

After playing the shareware version of Duke for a while I noticed that it was possible to build new levels with the retail version. So, I bought the full game. In fact, the ONLY reason for buying the game was to get my hands on the Build editor. It was a great game but I thought it was enough to play the shareware episode but with the Build editor in the retail package I couldn’t resist buying it.

I started by doing some lame attempts of new levels with the original art and enemies but was never really satisfied with the results. When I first played Duke3d I had compared it with my first gaming experience in this genre, namly Wolfenstein 3D. A thought struck me…. Holy Cow, What if I did a Duke level with all the stuff from Wolfenstein 3D but without all the limitations from that game. The more I thought it over the more I was convinced that this was a really great idea. Around that time an upgrade was made for Duke3d, The PlutoniumPAK, wich made it easier to add new enemies and also contained some new special effects. Again I run to the store …

OK, now we are talking……

I first created a Castle level (Escape) from an old DOOM level. I then changed allmost everything, including the main layout, wich means that you will probably not recognise the DOOM level …
OK, now I had to populate the level with the Wolfenstein enemies. I found a program that extracted the original graphics from the Wolfenstein game data files and added the Nazi, the Dog and the blue dressed SS to the Duke tiles. I also added a lot of other stuff from Wolfenstein to be used in my castle level.
I also had to make the new guys moving around in an intelligent manner and shoting at the player. For this I made a lot of new CON code (maybe 3000 lines).
The guys must of course also be pissed of and shouting there ’Die, allied sweinhund’ and all the other inteligent phrases. For this purpose I added 20+ new sounds that were imported from Wolfenstein.

Finally….

I now got my level finished (this was w2d_103) and released it on the internet. Someone saw it, downloaded it and enjoyed it. I got the offer from Dukeworld to be hosted by them and the TC was official and started to grow slowly.

The Team….

I got in contact with some other guys that shared the same interests for the game Wolfenstein 3D and Duke-Building and I became the coordinator of a TC team.


The TC Wolf2Duke (TotalConversion of Duke)

Intro (game plot)….

The alien bastards have been present a lot longer then the inteligence has known before. Actually they were working with the Nazis on a new devastating weapon during World War II. After their loss in World War II some of the Nazi researchers went under cover and hide in the mountains of Schwartswald. Here they continued there work on the weapons together with the aliens. Now they are finished with the development and the world stays in front of a new total disaster in case nobody can stop the process……. It’s time for a real hero.

-Duke where are you, when we need you? ? ?

Duke:
– I am relaxing, God damit, is it imposible to have a vaccation these days?!
– (10 second pause)
– Where are the bastards?! I am ready! What are you waiting for, Christmas?

There is a huge problem though…. The Nazi Schwartswald location is heavily sheltered and built with a new technology that is imposible to break or infiltrate even for Duke. What to do now? We can’t just wait for the disaster, can we?

At the same time some Swedish scientists has found a secret that makes it possible to travel in time, backwards only…. the trick is to send Duke back in time to defeat the Nazis one time for all before they invent the sheltering technology and before they start on the weapon system.

Duke:
– Take me there! I will find a way to get back. I have heard that the Nazis made some time-traveling device during the war. I just have to find that after finishing off the bastards and I’ll be fine. Then maybe I will FINALLY have that vaccation.
– Don’t just STAND there! Where are the Swedes and their machine!

…..here we go again….
time for the Wolf2Duke TC

Where eagles dare…… (episode 1)

Mission objects:

  • Go back in time as an allied agent.
  • Fly in over Schwartswald with a bomber and parachute for landing outside a the small town of Wolfenwald.
  • Find your way to the development site of the weapon system. There is said that the system is built below the castle of Wolfenstein… You will have to find this castle, search it for clues and continue for the site of the development….

Return to Wolfenstein…. (episode 2)

Mission objects:

  • Why not make the Nazis as much damage as possible when you got the chance?
  • Duke strolls around the environment and do what he is good at….
  • Search for the entrance to the site where the nazis are supposed to develop the time travelling device.

Return home…. (episode 3)

Mission objects:

  • Find the time travelling device
  • Destroy all evidence of this device
  • Return home! (Duke will be needed for more assignments)

Wolfmatching….. (episode 4)

  • A compilation of Wolf2Duke-match levels

Wolf2Duke

I mitten/slutet av 90-talet började jag min programmeringsbana med att göra tillägg till ett spel som hette ’Duke Nukem 3D’.  Jag lade nog ner en massa tid på detta och det var mycket roligare än att spela själva spelet.  Ännu längre tillbaka i tiden, i början av 90-talet spelade jag det allra första ’shoot-em-up’ spelet, Wolfenstein 3D vilket var helt banbrytande och en riktigt häftig upplevelse med den tidens datorteknik och grafik. Det föll sig naturligt att göra ett tillägg till Duke med persongalleriet från Wolf och så föddes Wolf2Duke. Till att börja med gjorde jag allt själv men fick sedan hjälp av några andra hobbyhackare runt om i världen.
Original releasenotes och credits för Wolf2Duke ver_4.05

w2dshot1

Skärmbild från Wolf2Duke

Vill du spela Duke3d med eller utan tillägget Wolf2Duke kommer här lite tips:

Det behövs en ’portad’ spelmotor som fungerar med WinXP->  (Duke3d var ju ett spel som kördes under DOS). Använd den som Jonathon Fowler har gjort och som funkar mycket bra!

Du behöver också en fil med speldata från originalspelet (sharewareversionen funkar bra).

Information och  shareware versioner av Duke3d och Wolfenstein3D finns hos 3DRealms

För att köra wolf2duke behövs däremot version 1.5 av det riktiga speldatat från fullversionen (Duke3d Atomic Edition). Hela spelet  kan köpas från 3DRealms online-store för bara knappt 4.5 Euro. Du behöver såklart också själva wolf2duke: w2dgame men det är alldeles gratis.

Packa upp zipfilen w2dgame i samma katalog som spelet installerades i och använd genvägen ’wolf2duke’ så startas det.

Happy duking….