(Article updated on 04/17/2023: Updated to remove the obsolete recommendation of a specific EDuke32 build. As of the latest EDuke32 updates, Blast Radius is fully compatible again; you can use the newest EDuke32 build from eduke32.com. Please remember to use the classic/software renderer for a stable experience.)
Thank you for your enthusiasm about Duke Nukem 3D: Blast Radius (available for download here).
Duke Nukem 3D: Blast Radius is now out! Hours of gameplay ahead.
The resulting player feedback so far has been helping the emergence of a pattern in technical questions, mostly compatibility-related; all only natural concerns close to thirty years after the release of the base, classic game.
This article autoaims at answering, hopefully, everything you might need to know for optimal installation, complementarily to the existing information in the manual.
Q: Is Blast Radius an EDuke32-only add-on?
A: Yes, Blast Radius is as deeply rooted in base Duke 3D behavior as possible in many ways and only a few, but crucial, mechanics do anchor it into EDuke32 (for now). Those are as follows:
- the Organtic enemy (appears in level 4 onwards) uses EDuke32 scripting (courtesy of Dan 'DeeperThought' Gaskill) to correct the base game sprite's broken offset and essentially fix its collision and hitbox. There is no guarantee as to how well that enemy will function in anything else than EDuke32;
- more importantly, the new enemy projectiles that appear on level 7 onwards and then retain strong presence throughout all the way until the end game rely on EDuke32 scripting. Using anything else than EDuke to play level 7 onwards might break most of the gameplay from that stage on, so halfway through the game, albeit the levels should remain technically traversable, just with completely broken action.
14-map explosive action-packed campaign in mysterious locations.
Besides those behaviors and some possible cosmetic problems pertaining to the menu screen or enemy actor size check upon map load, the content itself should be compatible with most modern ports. In order to get the legitimate experience, though, for now at least the real deal should be EDuke32.
Putting Duke Nukem in your Duke Nukem so you can Duke Nukem while you Duke Nukem.
Blast Radius is incompatible with Duke Nukem 3D 1.3d due to involving Plutonium Pak/Atomic Edition features, incompatible with DOS Duke Nukem 3D due to relying on modern .map formats and resource limits, and untested with Duke Nukem 3D: World Tour. It also is untested in any other modern port than EDuke32 and most likely will fundamentally run in those but to broken degrees.
40+ new alien drooling sandbags just awaiting demolition.
Page from the manual.
Q: What is the correct way of installing this?
A: The installation hopefully is very rudimentary. All you need is a copy of the Apogee/3D Realms classic 'Duke Nukem 3D' - Plutonium Pak/Atomic Edition or superior (untested).
- Download DUKE3DBR.rar and unpack its content into a fresh folder;
- Copy DUKE3D.grp (from your 'Duke Nukem 3D' game files) to the same folder;
- Download the Duke Nukem 3D community port: EDuke32, from www.eduke32.com, to the same folder.
Because Build engine.
- Unpack the contents of the EDuke32 archive into the folder (if you're a perfectionist, when it asks whether you want to override the existing 'names.h', decline; that is just to make sure some of the new elements are easier to find when poking around the levels in the editor);
- Launch EDuke32.exe, then make sure the classic/software renderer is selected in Display Setup/Video Mode;
- Chew bubble gum.
Q: Why is Duke Nukem 3D: Blast Radius classic/software renderer-only?
A: A few levels in Blast Radius toy with the limits of the Build engine in funny ways that the Polymost and Polymer renderers do not like. This results in the following bugs:
- Skies completely breaking (green tints, hall of mirrors effects) in levels 8 and 14/secret respectively, possibly resulting in game crashes and altering general sprite display in exotic ways. To a much less important degree and in very specific conditions, might also happen in level 4;
- Sky 'curtains' occluding not just important decorative sprite constructions but also gameplay elements; in addition to broken visuals, that also means some distant, active enemies becoming practically invisible;
- In level 10, one particularly crucial scripted sequence can look ruined in anything else than the classic/software renderer;
- On a general cosmetic level, most of the sprite and texture alignment work throughout the entire map set may be impacted by random offsets; this might result in some constructions looking broken apart, and decorative doors or windows appearing to struggle to render.
Blast Radius will take Duke places!
Page from the manual.
For an optimal experience, please make sure the classic/software renderer is enabled; not just from the EDuke32 launcher but also confirmed in game via the Display Setup -> Video Mode menu.
Other renderers should otherwise function decently, in spite of being unsupported and mostly untested. But those few aforementioned breakages may be important enough not to qualify as a mere preference matter.
Classic/software also is recommended on older/slower hardware in order to get smooth frame rate in some of the larger levels.
Please feel free to use the comments section for questions, or just keep me updated on your progress!
Cheers and have fun,
- ck3d
(In A Duke voice)'This s*** Rocks!'
So do you have to extract the contents of the eDuke32 build into the same custom folder you make for the Blast Radius campaign as well? I can't seem to get the campaign to load.
Hi! Yes you do, the contents of DN3DBR.rar are all the new content + two archives for 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the same EDuke32 build (to select from depending on the user's hardware), EDuke32 being a port to run Duke 3D on modern systems that allows for some of the new content to function in game.
You need a copy of the Duke 3D 1.4+ main file (DUKE3D.GRP) to be in the same folder as well. Once all of that is set up, you can run EDuke32.exe. Make sure you select Classic Mode/Software Renderer in the Display Setup -> Video Mode menu to prevent various conflicts/crashes/bugs in some levels.
You can also have the contents + EDuke32 in separate folders and then select the contents folder as the 'launch directory' once you run EDuke32.exe I'm pretty sure; that's just not the way I personally do it so I never even tried, but if it works then some people might prefer that.
And you can also use a different or newer version of EDuke instead, only consequence is you will get some minor visual glitches at times when some maps draw too many sprites on screen. This discrepancy and need to include a specific build on my end should be addressed soon as EDuke devs just announced they would remove that cap they had introduced on the sprite limit a while back (which means Blast Radius soon will be 100% compatible with newer EDuke updates).
Hope this helps!
This article is pending an update: courtesy of EDuke32 developer TerminX, the sprite drawing cap which had been introduced in 2017 and so far was forcing me to include a specific build of the port with Blast Radius has been lifted back to its former value of 4096, which means albeit that is still untested for now, Blast Radius should from this point in time on be 100% compatible with the latest EDuke32 builds, updates and quality of life improvements.
The classic/software renderer remains a must over Polymost, which still introduces issues throughout the levels (mostly related to sprite and texture alignment and also sky rendering sometimes turning props and enemies invisible) and causes crashes and/or severe jank in levels 8 and 14/secret.