Duke Nukem Forever 2001 is Fascinating

[@ryguy9876]

My concern isn't that modders will do their damnedest to finish this; It's Duke, they will absolutely try, even if it takes years. My concern is Gearbox or Embracer group sending out a C&D and killing all hope of that ever happening.

[@cyberninjazero5659]

I can see Randy Pitchford personally doing that, not out of the usual corporate reasons but pure spite since he said he likes being able to sit on the license and keeping the franchise dead

[@TFSned]

@@cyberninjazero5659 Randy said he wanted to do something with the 2001 DNF build... for a price. Like as a bonus with some other Gearbox product. He said that years ago and did nothing since then, so it's his own fault we get to enjoy this for free and he doesn't get a penny.

[@Otakumanu]

@@TFSned TBF he still has the 2002 build, the one that was described as 90% finished.

[@TarlZaralka]

@@Otakumanu Allegedly, I wouldn't put it past Randy Shithead Pitchford saying that just to get fans hopes up for no reason.

[@alexsilva28]

@@cyberninjazero5659 Yep. They will never let any fan project come out :(

[@fearlesswee5036]

Apparently there is a build of this "iteration" of DN:F that's 90% complete (only one level is left incomplete and there's a good lot of placeholder assets/sounds throughout), which is from around 2002; it's basically this build but with an additional year of development done to it. Not even a month ago we had basically come to terms that we'd never see any of the scrapped DN:F builds. Now here we are playing and dissecting one from 2001. So I suddenly have hope that maybe, just *maybe*, that 90% complete 2002 build will surface and the community will do it's thing and finish up that last 10%!

[@alexsilva28]

Maybe Embracer Group released this like saying "Ya'll want us to finish this?" Not holding any hope but that'd be cool

[@raptorshinryu]

@@alexsilva28 At this point, they might as well. With this build out in the wild, they should know the community's gonna finish this game for them no matter what, so just release the most complete build, or get a small team to finish the rest and sell it. Either way we win.

[@varvarvarvarvarvar]

Once I learned that the build actually exists I knew that it's only a matter of time when it's going to leak but leak it will.

[@HonkeyKong54]

This early game looks like it would be awesome

[@activlinkab9077]

Sort of how Warcraft Lord Of The Clans was 90% done and released on youtube.

[@equidistanthoneyjoy7600]

When you shot that glass, and the damage spread through the glass like a wave, I was honestly pretty blown away. You're absolutely right, that is more impressive than even modern glass.

[@Devilot91]

at time it was a kind of obession lol just like Red Faction, same year

[@michaelkitchin9665]

Reminds me of the glass in Metal Gear Solid 2. 2001 was a banner year for broken windows.

[@Kacpa2]

Max Payne 3 has very advanced glass physics too, another of immensely ambitious game, finished at high cost too

[@Zalazaar]

I think I saw glass breaking like that in F.E.A.R. the earliest

[@INFILTR8US]

@@Devilot91 yup Red Faction was me first encounter with astonishing glass physics. It even damaged you if you walked on the broken pieces.

[@jyeell]

This demo has Half Life 2 interactions level, 5 years prior to HL2 release, that's honeslty very very very impressive, especially the glass physics

[@dennis5504]

Duke shoots up a human enemy: "Remember kids, I'm a professional. Don't try this at school" Jesus christ that's tasteless. 2 years after Columbine, they add this sort of line? I love it.

[@Shrek_es_mi_pastor]

3 years

[@__goat__]

@@dennis5504 It aged very well though. 20 years later the US still celebrates their monthly school shooting.

[@IsmailofeRegime]

@@dennis5504 I like how it's probably superior to *any* "edgy" joke in the DNF game we ended up getting.

[@Web720]

@@dennis5504 It's a generic one-liner... You're thinking too deep into it.

[@garrywulf537]

Seeing this version of DNF and knowing about all the stuff 3D Realms had gone through and how it ended for them makes this whole story even more depressing

[@rabbitrun777]

this got cancelled over doom 3 lmfao

[@gerv55]

@@rabbitrun777 what’s doom 3 got to do with this? 2 entirely different companies and publishers.

[@dazmaz1269]

It was over taken by grease

[@Jesion-kv9tu]

@@gerv55 This version of DNF got scrapped after Broussard saw Doom 3 in 2002 and decided he must have its real time lighting and shadows in DNF (I'm not even exaggerating). This completely fucked up their lighting, so every single map had to be re-lit manually, and every asset had to be given normal, specular and diffuse maps for them to work properly

[@LieutenantStandby]

@@Jesion-kv9tu how sad is that? I freaking love what I see in this style of lighting.

[@GravityTrash]

"Remember kids, I'm a professional. Don't try this at school" Holy shit I didn't expect a Duke Nukem joke to age so well.

[@ridanann]

This was 2 years after Columbine it was an inappropriate joke back then now it's just I don't know something to throw at Americans for being stupid

[@TheCrashBomb1]

Pretty ballsy joke as well, considering this was only 2 years after Columbine.

[@good_death_for_the_lonely]

tbf shootings have been happening since *at least* the 90s

[@obeseperson]

@@good_death_for_the_lonely since before that, actually. I mean really ever since people gathered in large groups, there’s been crazies ready to take out as many as possible.

[@LinksBetweenDrinks]

School shootings are as American as apple pie. Depressing as that may be.

[@despeckt]

definetely dont understimate the community, they have a road map already, plus I know inside there are so many talented coders and modders that they stated to pump patches already

[@Shaun_Jones]

I mean, there’s a guy out there rebuilding Sonic 06 from the ground up; finishing DNF 2001 is certainly on the table.

[@fojisan2398]

@@Shaun_Jones We already have the final game as a semi-reference to follow, so shouldn't be too difficult to fill in the gaps.

[@gerv55]

@@fojisan2398 It's arguable if the final game even really represented what dnf was originally meant to be. It honestly just felt like they took maps that were mostly done stitched them together and kicked it out the door calling it complete.

[@fojisan2398]

@@gerv55 While trying and failing to be "funny"

[@jonnysac77]

​@@gerv55 It's barely even arguable at all, they just slapped on some pieces of iconography from earlier builds so they could still call it DNF

[@santalim3181]

For a build that was made 20 years ago, it has some of the most impressive glass physics on all time. The fact the shards actually make crunchy noise as you step on it made it somewhat immersive.

[@nonymouswisp8176]

I swear we need more glass physics in games, I always try to break every piece of glass in Hl2 because it's so satisfying

[@MrDoomquake777]

Red Faction 2001 had the same glass effects and crunches.

[@BierBart12]

I remember when gaming magazines praised Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for its innovative glass physics. Turns out Duke did it 8 years earlier

[@dunar1005]

Well, dont forget the splinter cell aquarium physics

[@WMan37]

As someone who doesn't really have a deep attachment to duke (I've always been more of a doom guy, no pun intended) I still find this release to be fascinating, I always like seeing in development builds of beloved franchises because even through all of the unfinished jankiness it can't stop the fact that talent or at the very least visible effort shines through, like with the Half Life 2 beta stuff.

[@kvdrr]

where's the pun?

[@WMan37]

@@kvdrr "doomguy"

[@kvdrr]

@@WMan37 i may be stupid

[@WMan37]

@@kvdrr Ah, don't beat yourself up about it too much I've had moments of obliviousness like that myself.

[@Xegethra]

@@kvdrr It's like, I'm a Doom Guy who likes Doom, and a reference to Doom Guy himself. Using the character's name in a common phrase.

[@Laxhoop]

If the fact that this was trending on twitter for almost two days doesn’t clue Randy in to the fact that people do still in fact love Duke, then nothing will.

[@dud5606]

Randy is a stupid goober, dont let him touch Duke, ever.

[@Hellsong89]

Duke has its place, but sadly it will take least few years for overtons window slide back to normal, otherwise far left loonies will cancel it before its even released.

[@zgSH4DOW]

Duke Nukem is fun in context. Duke Nukem Forever 2011 stinks partially because he isn't cute or novel anymore. Deadpool barely worked at his peak

[@alfalldoot6715]

​@@zgSH4DOW Wrong

[@Bacxaber]

Randy hears ya, Randy don't care.

[@hurykles99]

Tbh i really like the ego system in this version In DNF 2011 it was regenerating like in Halo or CoD But in 2001 you only get health only when you kill the enemy. I kinda like this idea more. I feel like i'm being rewarded for offensive playstyle instead of having to hide like a pussy

[@dard2240]

This build predicted Doom 2016.

[@Typanoid]

Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project had an ego system akin to this and I found it pretty solid. You had to work to get your ego back up. not just wait behind cover for it to magically refill. I'm rather fond of this DNF build's version, where you lose Ego for shooting civilians. It makes sense and helps make Duke come across as much more likeable.

[@F0nkyNinja]

@@Typanoid Yeah, Duke is a badass, not a cold-blooded murderer. He saved the world for a reason.

[@MrBelaska]

this ego system comes from duke nukem land of babes (ps1)

[@Gman_2009_]

Reminds me of ultrakill, where you get health by absorbing enemy blood, which requires you to be close to the enemy.

[@Lugbzurg]

5:37 Isn't it amazing how the Pinball game in this unfinished build has better physics than the one in the final game?

[@bosscomplex]

1 year later: hello! lol the OG apogee staff had all worked on a pinball games at some point in their career. so this is not surprising.

[@Lugbzurg]

@@bosscomplex That didn't happen with 2011?

[@bosscomplex]

@@Lugbzurg I'm not sure what experience the team at gearbox had, but DNF (2011 the actual release) was rushed like crazy. the game we got, was basically made in a year after scraping almost everything, once gearbox got it. btw i spent hours getting that pinball achievement in DNF and then the one in the DLC. it was pretty bad compared to other pinball games.

[@lionocyborg6030]

9:46 Actual rope swinging in first person was a Half Life Opposing Force thing first. I guess Randy did have some influence in the best version of Duke Nukem Forever after all.

[@shuboy05]

I was looking around the comments to see if anyone else remembered rope swinging in Opposing Force. It is quite a rare feature in first person games.

[@Lucios1995]

Night vision was also in OpFor

[@lionocyborg6030]

@@Lucios1995 Indeed, but it was in Duke 3D before Opposing Force and before then it was also in Marathon and Doom. Marathon's night vision worked like a powerup based version of the VISR in Halo 3: ODST and Doom's merely turned every sector's lighting temporarily to fullbright. In fact, it was even in System Shock 1 as one of the augs you could find, Metroid style. It made navigating the dark maintenance level a lot easier.

[@KingPBJames]

Thank you. Opposing Force's rope swinging needs to be top comment. You know the sushi limb chopping in Soldier of Fortune but not the boot camp of Opposing Force?! C'mon man!

[@1ochotnik]

@@lionocyborg6030 The night vision was also included in Dark Forces

[@Saztog1425]

This honestly just makes me hate the eventual 2011 release much more than I ever thought I would. Even in this state, they had such an awesome and promising foundation to work from.

[@robredz]

The 2011 game was just an absolute abortion, totally wreckerd what Duke was about, I mean remember the Console considerations and compromised, 2 weapon limit only initially.

[@Xegethra]

I like how games from the late 90's/early 2000's look. It would have been nice if they finished it back then.

[@NGRevenant]

same, there's something about those sharp edges and flat textures that feels comfy and seeing real world locations and items rendered like that still fascinates me. modern games have so much detail, lighting effects and filters that it just gets overwhelming at times.

[@MALICEM12]

@Deondre Nelson true, Berserk has some beautiful pictures in it, but some have so much detail (combined with it being only in black and white) and it's honestly hard to make out some of it.

[@treyjetson5320]

Yea when Half life 1 came out, as well as Team Fortress 1, that was it for young me, I had no chance at a social life after that.

[@knightofjustice5475]

Leaps were being made yearly in the graphics department. It was an interesting time to be a gamer.

[@snarkylive]

@@knightofjustice5475 That's why they could never finish DNF. They could never get something out to take advantage of the latest technology in a timely manner that could be competitive in a manner than wasn't left wanting.

[@HillcrestGames]

I LOVE the Half-Life esque level design. And I love the flow of leaving the penthouse and going down to the casino. Honestly I wish they would have finished this, I love it!

[@Catonator]

12:23 The entire sequence is actually scripted and working! Well, kind of... You're supposed to follow the NPC that knocks at your door, but the game bugs out like 75% of the time, and the NPC that's supposed to guide you to the studio stops in his tracks. However, occasionally the game doesn't brainfart at that point, and you can play through the entire introductory level as intended. It's pretty rad.

[@petercampi2840]

Mindblowing how that sequence was also done in the later Doom 3.

[@crnkmnky]

@@petercampi2840 Makes me wonder if any former 3DR employees ended up at rival studios just in time to port DNF ideas into these other games. Then again, it may just be synchronicity since I’m sure people were signing NDAs left and right…

[@carso1500]

@@crnkmnky NDAs don't stop ideas, just sensitive information (well it does depend on the NDA but for a game studio i don't expect goverment levels of NDAs) i can see some developers that left for other studios during the catastrophe that was the development of this game and bring with them some of their inspiration

[@TheAtlasReview]

Embracer Group to-do list: - Deport Randy Pitchford - Resurrect Duke Nukem, Red Faction, Timesplitters, Deus Ex, Kingdoms of Amalur, Legacy of Kain and Thief - Continue the resurrection of Homeworld, Destroy All Humans, Gothic, Space Marine and Star Wars KOTOR - Have a moment in the Evil Dead game where Ash Williams calls out Duke for stealing his lines - Have Randy Pitchford arrested if he tries to re-enter the country

[@NonsenseFabricator]

10:39 All the italian item descriptions followed by "BASKETBALL (NOT ITALIAN)" is a genuinely good joke.

[@arandomidiot1593]

Agreed.

[@sullivan4507]

I like the idea of Duke being placed in a military operation he doesn't belong in, as well as being able to recall the price of all his gaudy furniture

[@noncomplier5385]

THIS game version still looks more fun and better than the version we got in 2011. My favorite kind of level design are highrise like levels exactly at: 6:37. Just something about fighting in these kind of enviroments in a first person gets my blood rushing.

[@CacElect]

I liked the underwater stage, in the original - that blew me away

[@warhawk638]

The whole look of the game is such an early 2000's time capsule.

[@nickm5419]

graphics were at their Apex

[@drifter402]

"old game is old" wow fascinating

[@maccamachine]

@@drifter402 virgin🤣💩

[@DrSpaceman42]

@@drifter402 you shut up, debbie

[@giwake]

I was looking through the game's files (they're renamed regular Unreal 1 files, so you can open them with Dragon Unpacker) and the reason why the textures look so good is because they're mostly actual photographs! I think some of them might even be photos of props that were made for the game! The first level (the studio) actually requires you to follow that guy who's at the door at the start of the level. Essentially, you walk onto the stage, the host of the show makes some VERY 2001 jokes, you walk out and have a conversation with the host, then I think there's nothing else.

[@las10plagas]

isn't taking pictures and make them into textures normal? HL1 did it and maaany other games, too. or am I missing something?

[@fonesrphunny7242]

​@brap god 💨I think it's actually the opposite, IF the game is supposed to look 'real'. Turning a flat photo into a seamless texture with displacement and normals takes some time, but it's not insanely difficult. 3D scans can provide even more details, but turning those into a seamless texture is a different workflow. Some programs can generate very realistic looking surfaces, if used properly. And then there is always the option of mixing photos/textures together, like adding grime to a pristine concrete wall. You could draw a wooden floor or a brick wall from scratch, but you'd need a very talented artist to pull that off. Editing a photo to fit your needs seems much simpler. There are some UE artist on YT who showcase the workflow. It's insane what Photoshop can do for you these days.

[@oracle_8947]

As a general rule, hand-drawn textures are often used for more stylized creations, whereas scanned textures are used when stuff needs to look really realistic.

[@fonesrphunny7242]

@brap god 💨 Older games had to deal with limited texture sizes and color pallets, so some of that was kind of pixel art. The hedge maze in Blood comes to mind, which just looks awesome. On the other hand, some mechanical textures in Doom were based on photos of a toy gun. There is certainly an overlap of hand-drawn and composited textures in earlier 3D games.

[@drifter402]

It was the norm to use photos. Even Sonic Adventure does it

[@onlywithbuts1781]

This is like opening a box you forgotten about and it is full of wonderful memories u thought you lost. I really hope modders can turn this into a full fledge thing in future and bring it its justice. Or perhaps as you mentioned, possibly be a motivation to bring a new Duke game on a surface by the company that owns it now.

[@zufieusagi7509]

As someone who has watched the development of various large modding projects for Bethesda games I can say for certain that it CAN happen, it's just a matter of the right team of people taking interest. Grant it with the largest of those projects they have taken years to do and have a better starting point.

[@xMobilemux]

16:41 Her dialog is actually a place holder. It's dialog from the Duke Nukem spin off game Land of the Babes.

[@placeholdername3206]

Seeing this is actually cool as shit. If you aren't at least 35 years old you just wont ever truly understand how anticipated this game was. I remember being in computer class in 2001 and all of us gawking over this trailer in between deathmatch sessions of Quake 2. This looks crazy good for 2001, quite ambitious, heavily scripted setpieces like Half-Life, but a lot bigger. If that game had come out around 2000 it would have blown everyone, and everything away, but game development was taking huge leaps every year back then. Half-Life 2 came out only 3 years after that trailer which is crazy to think about. Not like the last 10 years where game development have stagnated and plateued massively.

[@gitfindasettahpanzy9892]

Duke forever is the game that had no right to fail, but alas here we be, it's almost like a prediction of AAA games to come.

[@reddeath707]

I feel like if this version was the one to come out, it would be hailed as a classic in line with something like Deus Ex. Also, absolutely play Dark Messiah. Story's not super remarkable, but the gameplay and environmental interaction is top tier, especially if you're a Duke fan.

[@triledink]

The glass breaking reminds me of how the glass break on the first Ressistance game. And that game came out in like 2007. That just proves how impressive the early build of Duke nukem forever was.

[@supermarx]

Pretty sure red faction (2001) had similar glass physics.

[@adrianosiciliano]

Half life 2 also had similar glass physics

[@JohnDoe-rj8nd]

I was watching a playthrough of the DL C The Doctor Who Cloned Me and I swear the glass breaking is the exact same. They even had the EXACT same touch screens and monitors.

[@REDFOGSX]

The ropes at 9:45 makes sense, Gearbox used those ropes in HL Opposing Force long before DNF. Btw in level 1 you can trigger that guy to walk the entire hallway to open the door to Jay studio.

[@dranyth]

How does that make sense? Gearbox had nothing to do with this.

[@REDFOGSX]

Well HL Opposing Force released in 1999 and already had those ropes which was very impressive. Randy Pitchford is connected to the original 3D Realms USA and so Jon St. John voiced the Drill Sergeant and some other characters as example Dr. Rosenberg in Blueshift. So I´m sure they know eachother and are aware of the technologies of it´s time. It would not surprise me, if it would be even the same coder in DNF who coded the ropes for Opposing Force. 😁

[@vladcucu9186]

Honestly, that motorbike is pretty great for the time. It has better turning than the one from SiN, and better physics than the one from No One Lives Forever. (And it's especially better than the final game's damn truck). Also, I've checked, and that lady's dialogue might actually be placeholder audio from Duke Nukem: Land of the Babes.

[@wtfaiwpodcast]

If they ever make a Duke Nukem movie, it needs to be based on this version. Blank-eyed Mutant Nukem peeing out his face and clipping through the scenery.

[@charlieross4674]

02:40- it's interesting to note that the 'reflection' in the mirror kicks with it's own left foot- on our right- when the player kicks out with the left foot from the First-Person perspective. That implies to me, who has so little knowledge regarding the inner workings of video games, that the reflection is actually a clone of the player model, which uses the player inputs so that the player is actually controlling it as well. So really it's an illusion of being a reflection. I haven't described this very well, so I hope people understand what I'm trying to say here!

[@sirrockemsockem5465]

You pretty much hit the nail on the head. AFAIK a lot of older games use that kind of trick to emulate a reflection. Even duke nukem 3d used it

[@WednesdayMan]

yeah that makes sense, it's basically building a mirror world, and a mirror world version of Duke for the sake faking a reflection, since realistic reflections would be too intensive at the time. a lot of games did this to fake reflections, even Super Mario 64 uses this trick with the room with the mirror (although they actually let you go into the mirror, which is a smart use of the technique)

[@skraminc]

Flushing a toilet in duke nukem was MIND BOGGLING. Games dont even really allow you to interact with inanimate objects anymore. Its a lost "gag". Seeing the shower turn on in this makes you feel like something is missing from modern games. Why not be able to interact with common domestic items?

[@PowerPakGames]

My video covering the Duke Nukem 2001 Restoration Project - kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZyleamhhKZ9jdU I was really not expecting to make a new video soon, but Duke Nukem coming back into our lives was a sudden plot twist that needed unpacking, even if for personal therapeutic reasons. So, as long as nothing else randomly breaks down my wall, I will be reviewing a cute indie game next. Cute, but... crafty, like some smart woodland animal or something.

[@hollowjack7152]

conker?

[@The_Blue_Otaku]

I hope a modder pulls a Resident Evil 1.5 and uses this build and other sources to finish Duke Nukem Forever 2001

[@BlazingOwnager]

You say this will never be finished, but I'd eat my hate if there's not at least six mod teams discussing finishing the game.

[@exothermicraven]

squirrels maybe?

[@gringottssteakhouse5893]

Rain World?

[@ShallowVA]

No way. It’s so sad that DNF kept getting delayed because they were always chasing the moving goalposts of tech advancements, but if this had actually released, it really would have been impressive for 2001.

[@raptorshinryu]

I think the part where the general calls you in the Max Headroom room was supposed to be the original place you'd get night vision upgrade, but they decided to first give you that horror esque level with the flashlight guy first. If you walk slowly enough to keep him near you, he'll actually point the flashlight roughly where you're aiming. I thought that was pretty cool. Once you find the fuse for the elevator, the flashlight guy dies and the general calls again to give you nightvision, for real this time, for the trip back to the fuse panel room.

[@void7837]

its actually sad to think how this could've been one of the best games ever but it turned out to be a prime example of development hell

[@therhatguhmuhthug9417]

Lol no, far from it. This thing was crap even back then. All of the features were eventually worked into the game we got. This was far worse than the finished game.

[@void7837]

@@therhatguhmuhthug9417 you couldn't be more wrong could you? Lmao

[@IsmailofeRegime]

​@@void7837 Yeah I can't imagine a finished version of 2001-2002 DNF being worse than the one we actually ended up with. At worst it would be really impressive from a technical standpoint but inferior to DN3D in gameplay, as opposed to the DNF we got which was just a big ol' disappointment in every respect.

[@therhatguhmuhthug9417]

@@void7837 Ah ok, you're just a troll. Not a very good one at that.

[@therhatguhmuhthug9417]

@@IsmailofeRegime Sure you can, you just saw how it can be worse. There's nothing in that pre-alpha build to indicate that it was better. In fact everything about it was objectively worse.

[@HiCZoK]

All e3 scenes are in this build. You can load maps with map command. and all e3 scenes have a separate map. The general talking and the soldier saying "are you going to save the world all by yourself" also !!! And some of these scenes also are placed in levels.

[@cheezdoodle96]

It's funny how much more appealing this looks compared to the 2011 version - graphically and gameplay-wise. There's just something about shooters released around the turn of the millennium. Man, if someone got their hands on, and finished, the 2002 build... I'd probably sit down to play it and still not believe it actually happened. There just something _so_ appealing about this! I need this version of the game in my life and I need it bad!

[@sonicSnap]

people have been working on this build! they have multiplayer 100% done which is so insane to me

[@gerv55]

The gunship shooting through the window is straight out of the 2001 trailer.

[@SgtSlapmaster]

6:30 WHAT WERE THEY THINKING changing Las Vegas from this gorgeous colourful night scene to the barren grey-brown mess we got in the final game?! Of all decisions it feels like one of the most bizarre to me. The dark city scenes of Duke 3D were iconic. And it doesn’t get any better - the whole game is oppressively dull in colour, and what colour remains is dulled further by the smudgy post-processing filter (which you should totally turn off on PC by the way).

[@robertcioveie8113]

Fun fact about the second level, if you push that juke box in the corner and open the ventilation shaft you can go into it and drop into the next level.

[@aspie-anarchist9854]

"But i later found him trying to find gasoline for his monster truck. " hahahaha

[@user-dc9zo7ek5j]

I wonder now why they did not release this, looks like a pretty cool game for 2001, it's sad that as the years went on, the games had to be much more graphically impressive, which in turn, reduces the time spent on making the game mechanically satisfying, that is, movement, and have interesting things added to it, like the casino games, vending machines. This looks like a game that you will play more than once only to discover everything that you did not in your previous playthroughs.

[@FamilyTeamGaming]

I think, if anything, that's exactly why it wasn't released. This sadly seems like the textbook definition of scope creep. This was already several years on in development by this build (back when games didn't usually take several upon several years to make) and it's extremely incomplete and unfocused. If the supposed 2002 build is indeed 90% complete, that'll be genuinely impressive given the state of this one. ...But given the track record of this game's development, even if this game were to be believe, I bet that last 10% would've still taken a year +.

[@seasons1745]

Unless you wrote this during the video later on he explains the game had no solid direction or concrete plan it also didn’t help one of the co producers broussard Kept wanting to implement and use the most advanced software etc that was available at the time ( also why they kept switching engines)

[@axecept]

Great video mate! The thing that I took away from this video. especially as someone who tried the build for themselves, is this constant feeling of "man, thats pretty funny" or "man, that's so cool that this was in here". Especially looking at the discourse regarding this build, to see so many people talk about it and how interesting it would've been if THIS was the game that got released, shows that there is still an interest in the Duke. One could only hope that Embracer Group can do it right, and considering they also bought franchises like Tomb Raider and Deus Ex, and promised future titles for each...one can only hope. Great video mate, you got a sub.

[@Gatorade69]

Did Embracer buy the Duke Nukem Rights ? I thought Greasy Randy still owned the rights ?

[@axecept]

@@Gatorade69 looking into it a bit more deeply, they bought whatever is 3D Realms. So I'm probably wrong on that...one could dream though.

[@samz8691]

The crazy part for me is that this unfinished build has better gameplay still than the final game, for what it's worth, I hear you can play until just after the Slick W section with working level transitions, even if the unfinished level design makes it sometimes probably a bit harder than intended to find the way forward.

[@SoilentGr33n]

8:50 Ya that Vegas skybox in 2001 is honestly fucking mind blowing. Looks really good and I'm pretty sure I've seen way worse many times in the last 5 years alone.

[@cas9564]

As a person who was not really into Duke until after he sorta got a revivial thanks to Gianni doing funny Duke Nukem videos, I really would've wanted to at least try this game out. The 2001 Demo is honestly insanely promising even today and I hurts that so many things went wrong so badly behind the scenes that it screwed over DNF being a proper good game.

[@PACKERMAN2077]

There's an Easter egg in the 2002 xbox version of Serious Sam, some graffiti on the wall That the proclaims "DUKE IS NOT DEAD!" Took me years to connect that dot. And I had it around launch.

[@CoolSs]

i will say it . Duke Nukem deserve to get it version of Doom 2016 .

[@viralchallengeselfie]

Man that would be awesome

[@fojisan2398]

Yes, he so desperately deserves it.

[@jord9261]

I would love a finished release of THIS game. Even the funny titles of items when you look at them is great. The devs had serious fun with this and the game itself has fantastic mechanics

[@iamgeorgesears]

Thank you for covering the build through and through.

[@KiraSlith]

I've played a lot of industry prototype leaks over the years thanks to lurking various boards, and this looks a lot more complete than people (or even it's own creators apparently) are giving it credit. A LOT of what's missing here (other than the lack of voice acting) is low hanging fruit the developers could've thrown together in a day per level, and the rest is content that was almost definitely still under Unit Test and wasn't yet merged into the main build repo yet, like the pig cops. If they'd stuck with this build for a couple years more, I'm certain they'd have had the game out. Instead they got hung up on internal bickering and ended up being forced to release a half baked, half broken, heavily up ressed version of the 2001 build almost exactly 10 years later anyways, just to pour salt on the gaping wound.

[@lionocyborg6030]

4:45 The hacking minigame looks like the one from System Shock 1, although that one was treated more as a Hotwire puzzle or lockpick minigame: basically it was the same as DNF except the wires were crosses or Xs that could be toggled. Most had a side effect that would change nearby wires too if you clicked on one which the strategy guide described using chess piece terms. The main hacking minigame was the Descent style cyberspace mode. The DNF hacking looks like it’d be much easier than System Shock’s.

[@WednesdayMan]

the glass physics in this game are truly impressive even by modern standards.

[@Pizzoots]

You actually missed the nightvision. In the room where graves is meant to give it to you you have to jump down in front of the screen and turn around and there’s a console underneath the where you get it

[@joppalowe3870]

So I noticed in the rooftop scenes, the location of the hotel/casino is the actual Paris Hotel on the Las Vegas strip. The Paris was built in 1999, so it would have been brand new when those photos were taken. Upon closer inspection, the interior corridors look very similar to the actual hotel (visited last summer). Kind of a neat bit of observational trivia.

[@synthnation9857]

I just know that this has been leaked, and holy moly this janky unfinished build looks absolutely more better than whatever gearbox released in 2011.... it's such a shame we never get this 😔

[@unnamed715]

Hey we still might. The modding community never fails to astonish us!

[@synthnation9857]

@@unnamed715 always bet on fans huh 😏

[@inendlesspain4724]

@@synthnation9857 They care more than the IP holders, at the very least.

[@W3Rn1ckz]

11:14 It’s interesting to see what the announcer speaker box thing was doing before starting BFDI.

[@ninjapants7688]

The girl in the outside part had temporary voice acting, the voice was from one of the PS1 Duke Nukem games.

[@BlazeHeartPanther]

5:58 Damn, no wonder we were buying up toilet paper like crazy. Makes good weaponry.

[@quintinthompson275]

When I saw the trailer for this I was blown away. This build's atmosphere is fantastic. I'm optimistic that the community might be able to do something with these assets.

[@Bluuuu222]

I'm really glad I found you through your doom house video. You are my new comfort KZbinr. The doom video is my favorite video on KZbin and I get eat edibles and watch it all the time, but this one's awesome too!

[@CoolSs]

i am 100% sure that we will get a community made project . that use this build of the game to finish it . hopefully before randy pitchford send private investigators to their house .

[@mioda3109]

Theres already fixes for some things within the first couple of days thanks to its source code bieng packaged with the leak. Its practically guaranteed if you ask me

[@kamilkilian7861]

@@mioda3109 There's a high change that somebody will port it from dx8 to dx11 to fix bugs and improve graphics because there's a source code available.

[@lionocyborg6030]

Found a fix on twitter for the debug assertion error! Disable DEP Protection on the Duke Forever executable and it works! I'd had issues with DEP on older games before, why didn't I think of that?

[@luichinplaystation610]

8:21 cool eye in the middle of the screen I foresee modders finishing this game "Stressful past of their life" = I signed a NDA This 21 year game is more finished than the games released these days

[@BierBart12]

I really love how this feels like an advanced Half-Life 1 mod. I wish they could have cleaned it up and finished it in this state It would've become a cult classic, despite the flaws. Just like similar games around the time. Perhaps this alternate timeline then got a Half-Life 2-esque DNF sequel in 2011, or a mix with mechanics from all kinds of popular shooters then

[@Dex99SS]

I dunno.... this looks really up there in completion. Most assets are there, most gameplay is there, most models are there, most of the physics are there, most of the everything is there. It merely needs, well... like... another ten percent. Even the keys and speedo on the motorcycle are working items. With his hands working the clutch, the lights, the buttons... this is impressive for 2000/01. Very VERY impressive. Far more so than the final product. And as far as the community finishing this, I feel you're selling them short... The community fixes everything, and fast. The WORST most INCOMPLETE of BROKEN games are fixed in mere moments, while the companies spend years trying to "officially" do the same thing. I mean, look at CP2077 for one.... Day two of release saw the same type of fixes from the community as was present on day 438 via CDPR themselves. And most of day 2 community fixes were better than the ones CDPR spent over a year working on... Also also.... Man, I had that Voodoo 5 5500 and a dual P3 750Mhz OC'd to over 1Ghz each on an Abit vp6 with dual TEC / copper water block cooling through a trans cooler running sub ambient. I think I could have run this back then, lol. And since I'm not exactly checking dates here, if it wasn't the dual P3 on a vp6 build, TEC/Water cooled and clocked to the stars, then it was the dual Celery 433's at 750-800 each, with the same cooling in a more primitive config. And if not the V5 5500, then a more powerful GF. . . Regardless, it was capable... dumb capable. I really wanted to play this game back then... seeing this screenshots in magazines or on GR's website, I never thought this game would turn into what it did. Heck, I preordered this title back when it was announced... first and one of the only games I'd EVER pre ordered.... wonder what even happened to the store entity I ordered through. I'm sure it's all long dead now.

[@cabbusses]

It's really unfortunate that DNF got rebooted in retrospect...

[@nodrognameerf]

"like... another ten percent", nononoono the 90% complete build was from 2002, in this video is 2001 build. So yeah, DN:F 2002 build must be far more better, polished and cooler.

[@autobotstarscream765]

Looking forward to the inevitable Super Cyberpunk 2064 from Kaze and Cyberpunk-Kazooie from Kurko!

[@KOTEBANAROT]

The 10% is that of a grueling hard work of trying to fit it all together. And the futher it goes the harder it will be. For example, Dinosaur Planet build that similarly was 90% complete is still in works, it was in the far more progressed state than this DNF build with first few hours being almost completely finished, and yet after that the water gets murkier and we don't even know how the ending sequence works or even seen anything of it.

[@discountfeces]

Yeah i was super amazed by the working clutch on the bike.

[@Mr.Mosquito89]

George Broussard trying to throw shade about the "unfinished state of DNF" is real funny considering he's Prime Suspect in the reasons it never went anywhere, considering his penchant for "Latest and shiniest tech." No wonder he didn't like talking about the "90% build" leaking; wonder how many other similar builds he himself helped strike down for what essentially amounted to ego.

[@travisisgood]

"my mom called me down for dinner so I turned off the game. When I turned it back on Duke became hyperrealistic and he was crying piss. Me screen went black but I could see a hand with paint on it reaching out for me in the screen reflection. When I turned around I heard an ominous voice in my head say 'come get some.' I put on my halo 2 masterchef replica helmet and ran to my mom, but when I got to her she just stared with blank eyes before eventually whispering 'power armor is for pussies.' I blacked out for 7 hours. When I woke up I was back in front on my computer but the cd was nowhere to be found, and the desktop icon turned into a picture of Randy Pitchford. I was covered in grease."

[@Dukefazon]

6:38 - I genuinely had a good laugh there :D It seems that many of the female voice lines were recorded by Lani Minella, a voice actress who appeared in a lot of games and she was the one who landed Jon St John the job to play Duke :)

[@KohlGoodison]

Spoiler Alert! DNF stands for "Did Not Finish"

[@paulstein8854]

OH MY GOD! The keychain on the motorcycle's keys not only has physics, it's the coat of arms of Amsterdam (a city I'm proud to say the Duke would absolutely love) edit: check at like 19:30 onwards! edit edit: I'm apparently a little stupid, the Duke does in fact go to Amsterdam in the first level of Duke Nukem 3D - and I gotta say, given the graphical limitations of the time, its actually pretty damn accurate for what the red light district looks like. Good shit yo

[@PlayerZeroStart]

Oh God, that ending. I really hope when it says "teen" it means like, 18-19, and not actual teenagers cause otherwise, fucking yikes.

[@MikeStu]

11:44 you killed it. That's 100% it, holy shit.

[@georgeoldsterd8994]

Man, if the community finishes this (please do it, ignore Randy!), it'll be the best thing ever! I'm literally hyperventilating with excitement from watching this, however broken it is. All these years!! 🤤🤤🤤 And it blows the official, final release out of the water and into another galaxy. 😭😭😭

[@Nacalal]

The best part about the leak is that we got the actual source code with it. Meaning, it's actually POSSIBLE to fix all these rendering errors and in game bugs without janky workarounds. Still a lot of work, but it's possible.

[@joet7136]

I remember posting on the 3DR community boards during the 2000s and talking about how excited I was to play DNF. It's an absolute shame that the leadership was so incompetent as to waste a once amazing franchise.

[@Tall_Order]

Heres a name for the blank soulless eyed zombie duke nukem model. Duke Spookum.

[@Penipo]

DNF multiplayer is still surprisingly fun. Shoutout to the one guy always on checking for games. great guy I'm steam friends with him. Had a full game going in 2021, shit was wild!

[@DoctorInk20]

I wrote notes for my own hypothetical Duke game with a version of the "Duke museum"; the Cycloid Emperor's eye in a jar was actually one of my first ideas for a display. Seeing it here, in a legit Duke "game" makes me happy that it was almost real. 😁

[@BrandonBlume]

16:48 These lines are taken from the PSX Land of the Babes game as a placeholder.

[@KeksimusMaximus]

9:51 The same was in Opposing Force, a Half-Life addon from Gearbox. Looked the same and you had to swing too

[@WannabeMarysue]

11:39 I'm so happy for Maxine Headroom's transition.

[@MinkMonk]

The first level can be completed in its entirety without using noclip. Walk to the man wearing the polo in the beginning, and don't move until he stops moving. Keep doing this until he opens the door at the end of the hall for you. There's a trigger in the level to have him move as soon as the player gets to the trigger, but if a player hits the trigger before he reaches it the game softlocks the level. It's an easy fix that has already been patches by some modders.

[@Born...]

The version of the game released was for the press. Randy bo bandy says he has a version of the game that is 90% complete, but there are legal reasons for it not being released yet. So there is a version that is more complete.

[@villager01x12]

Gonna post the comment for the 3rd time. About "90% complete" build of DNF 2001, it’s the 2002 build of DNF 2001. Pretty sure that 2002 build of DNF is either dated at the end of April 2002/beginning of May 2002 or between September to December 2002. If you look at the 2002 screenshots of the DNF 2001 version on Duke4ever site, it looks like it nearly complete game and minor changes such as removing fountain in beginning of Lost Wages to palm trees and Leaving Las Vegas section is long. Sadly, there are only 8 screenshots of DNF 2002 build. Hopefully, 2002 build of DNF 2001 would leak someday.

[@tiukaanderson6557]

Duke nukem and Serious sam will always be 2 of the best series of all time

[@sirsmoss7362]

The rope swinging mechanic was also in half life opposing force, also made by gearbox. Seems like they reused some of the code cause it looks extremely similar to it. But it also definitely seems to control better

[@SongOfStorms411]

This version of the game was not made by Gearbox...

[@Tall_Order]

I like the name Civvie gave to the max headroom girl. Maxine Moorhead.

[@adampagano5361]

After seeing all the commentary of former developers and employees, it's pretty clear George Broussard is sustaining himself on huge amount of copium. If this build was finished, it would have been the perfect successor to DN3D: thematic, flash, and a bit behind the tech curve. DN3D was never a technical powerhouse; it did ship with its own mod tools. DNF had the chance to follow suit.

[@raggedclawstarcraft6562]

9:44 - in opposing force there is an entire section of the tutorial dedicated to just ropes, and it's super hard to beat, and in the actual game ropes were used for two times or something like that. So yeah, ropes were used in op4, but the tutorial is harder than an actual game lmao.

[@vinnisvidya]

24:30 OH MY GOD THEY LEAKED RANDY'S USB TOO

[@sedrosken831]

Given that they've got the entire leaked source code to work with, as well, and several "holy grail" projects have happened with much less to start, I'm confident some group or other will come around to "finish" DNF 2001. Like you said though, I doubt a 2001 PC could run the final product -- it definitely doesn't run perfect even on my 2004 powerhouse P4 build. I shudder to think what a Pentium III with a GeForce2 would look like trying desperately to run a "finished" version even made to 2001 spec with 2001 developer tools.

[@markhirsch6301]

What are some of these "holy grail" projects?

[@sedrosken831]

@@markhirsch6301 The decompilation and modification efforts for OOT, Super Mario 64, the source port of Diablo 1, just to name a few. These were all things thought impossible at one point. Much like DNF's source leaking in the first place.

[@markhirsch6301]

@@sedrosken831 ah I see, thanks

[@gevelegian]

God I have images from that build imprinted in my brain, I remember just having my imagination run wild when I saw that you could interact with the world. I can't believe the nostalgia if I actually get to play a little of it, I always dreamt of what it would be like

[@thepolardesert]

the hair rendering looks like its supposed to be two-sided 3d plane, but probably didn't enable the two-sided rendering, and we are seeing the inside of the hair render but not the outside. This is called backface culling, and is typically used for more transparent objects, where it culls or disables showing materials on the inside surface normals. Thanks for coming to my Duke talk

[@goobon]

The lady killer map has a lot more to it and is mostly complete with transitions. After the pool table bit, you push the jukebox out of the way to reveal a vent.

[@Vindsvelle]

02:45 The level of uncanny valley in that face is almost hallucinatory

[@CallMeElwis94]

It's sad to see what DNF could've been, a real classic nowadays if finished and released all those years back. It may take a long time, but I have faith in modders to bring the Duke back into the light.