My old, very first maps

Since I have released a lot of my old Duke maps on DN-R but don't really find that they are worth that much attention anymore, I thought I would combine them all in one bigger article, rather than making an individual post for each that would distract from the other quality maps I have on here. So yeah, basically this post is for anyone interested in or even just curious about my earliest work - don't expect anything too great from the map themselves, they can be a fun gaming experience, but can in no way be compared to the quality of the maps that have been released over the past years - mine included. Have fun learning about them.
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Clérey

Released : 08/07/2002
Gameplay type : Single Player
Requires : Duke Nukem 3D 1.3d+
Includes : new music
Reviews for this map :
- Duke Nukem Repository (88%)

My very, very first 'decent' level. As you can probably guess it's not that good at all - texturing and shading are for the most part awful, design is very basic and square, and even though some of the features could have been interesting (like the moving boat at the end) they weren't done well enough to actually contribute to the map. The setting is the one of a suburban / rural-ish town that's been taken over by the aliens as usual, for some reason, and you need to find your way out. The gameplay is pretty harsh as well, considering the lack of health and shotgun ammo in the beginning, it's still completely possible to make it, but will probably be a good challenge even to the most talented Dukers. Also some of the indoor areas are way too cramped - a bad habit I only managed to get rid of a few years and several releases later - and the level involves some backtracking as well. So the map itself isn't too brillant, but it can still be a good challenge for all you die-hard Dukers out there. Also don't bother launching the included .bat file or installing the included .con files, since they are modified 1/3d .cons and don't even contribute to anything in game - it was just my old-school way to play levels before I got the Internet and all those modern ports were released. Just play the map the way you are used to play your user maps.

Click to download (67,05 KB)
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Notre-Dame des Aydes

Released : 08/17/2002
Gameplay type : Single Player
Requires : Duke Nukem 3D 1.3d+
Includes : new music
Reviews for this map :
- Duke Nukem Repository (91%)

My second 'decent' level ever. Funnily enough this one is pretty long and only took me 10 days to build, even though it's a fairly long one to play through. Once again the design is basic and square, but at least it's somewhat clean. Gameplay is much better in this one than it was in Clérey, however it's still hard - you won't find much ammo or health in the beginning, while you will have to fight hordes of monsters right away, including tough ones like Commanders (in tight rooms and hallways) and Octabrains. But it's far from impossible to make it through - let's just call it a good challenge. This level takes place in a school, even though it probably won't look like it much. You will have to explore several buildings in order to find keys and be granted access to the further parts of the level. Some secret places to be found, and some earthquakes to be expected as well. Not the most technical map out there in terms of design, but it's still a fun one. I guess. Once again, don't mind the included .con files and .bat file, please load the map as normal.

Click to download (76,91 KB)

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Tours - Rives Du Cher

Released : 12/25/2002
Gameplay type : Single Player
Requires : Duke Nukem 1.3d+
Includes : new music
Reviews for this map :
- Duke Nukem Repository (91%)
- MSDN (82%)

Another very old map of mine. Once again a city-themed level, still with the same design flaws as pretty much every 'beginner' map out there : poor / repetitive texture choices, cramped areas, and square design. My style was already starting to become more detailed though (see the indoor locations). This one is your basic level set around a city block, you will visit a few apartment blocks and that's pretty much it - the first two thirds of the map take place in one big multistory building (stories linked to each other with teleporters), but there's some pretty open space outside (which makes for some nice firefights), as well as a few more locations and features. The gameplay is pretty straightforward, just try not to get lost in that first building and you should make it through the level pretty easily. It's a long one, and it really has a lot of rooms to explore, most of them are optional yet still contain some extra ammo / health as well as a few bad guys here and there. If you like city-themed key runs and exploring buildings then you might like this one, sort of, even though the design isn't always up to par, it's still a solid play. Oh and once again : forget about the included .bat and .con files (don't even install them).

Click to download (106,31 KB)
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Dark Side of the Moon

Released : 02/23/2003
Gameplay type : Single Player
Requires : Duke Nukem 3D 1.3d+
Includes : new music
Reviews for this map :
- Duke Nukem Repository (87%)

My first (and only ever) attempt at a space map. I had little to no solid Build experience back then and space maps usually take a lot of it if you want the results to stand out - I guess this tells a lot about the quality of this one. Well, it's not that bad - the design is clean and even though it's far from being heavily detailed (in terms of architecture, texture picks and spritework), as a whole it looks alright. But some of the locations don't even really make sense at all (several space stations linked together with teleporting elevators ?) and as a whole it's just too simplistic. Some of the rooms feel a bit too empty and most of the walls are flat, while they shouldn't have been, it's a common thing in space / high-tech maps (and even city maps nowadays) to add a few sloped sectors here and there and some lightning tricks to make it all look better - there's none of this in Dark Side of the Moon. Another regrettable flaw is the length of the map - it's a very easy one (for a change) and any experienced Duker will make it through in a couple of minutes with a killcount of 100%. And there's not even one secret place. Fortunately the gameplay itself is alright, so just look at it as a short, first romp through a simplistic yet clean-looking space station, and take the fun where it's at, I guess. What I stated about the included .con and .bat files for the other maps also apply to this one - don't install them.

Click to download (56,69 KB)
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Mega-CGR

Released : 02/28/2003
Gameplay type : Single Player
Requires : Duke Nukem 3D 1.3d+
Includes : new music
Reviews for this map :
- Duke Nukem Repository (90%)

Much in the same vein as the previous maps in this article, this one is fun to play yet has quite a lot of design flaws - the first street could have used tons of extra work, and simplistic texture picks and pieces of architecture are all over the place, resulting in an overall nasty look that definitely takes some of the playing pleasure away, but not all of it - despite the lack of aesthetical appeal the level itself is still enjoyable, the gameplay is neither too easy or too hard, you get to explore a McDonald's (remember - no Atomic Edition textures : no Duke Burgers) and a quite large cinema complex with several rooms full of alien heads to rip off and necks to shit down. So it's still a pretty fun one, just don't expect any kind of eye-candy whatsoever and quite a lot of plain textures and you should be fine. One of my maps I dislike the most though (along with Dark Side of the Moon), solely because of how poor it looks. But maybe you will have fun with it, regardless. Once again - don't install the .con and .bat files included in the .zip file.

Click to download (75,76 KB)
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That's all for my old maps. I guess Anarchy City 1 and Downtown Ride could be regarded as some of my older work too - but I don't mind much if those get stand-alone articles, really, since they are less of a waste of your precious time. Hopefully you will still have fun with all that old stuff regardless of how ancient it is. And remember, always be... 'ready for action' !