3D Realms’ infamous FPS Duke Nukem Forever once rivaled GTA 6, Half-Life 3 and the new Silent Hill on the list of upcoming games gamers most wanted to see. Its arrival in 2011 wasn’t met with much fanfare, but that could be down to the removal of some key visual elements that modders are starting to rebuild.
Vinicius Medeiros is a computer science student who has just started exploring the underbelly of Duke Nukem Forever using a variety of modding tools created by the game’s remarkably active fan community. As discovered by modder Justin Marshall Apparently, the commercial code from Duke Nukem Forever contains all the files needed to use the game’s level editor – only the front-end executable has been removed to hide the editor from players.
With this restoration, modders like Medeiros, his colleague known as Josh, and the rest of the Duke Nukem community on the Duke4.net fan site were able to explore the various tools and effects used to create DNF quests. It turns out that Duke Nukem Forever originally contained an advanced dynamic lighting and shadow system, but it was apparently removed or simply not used in the game’s final level design.
“The main change to the game’s graphics was the improved lighting system,” Medeiros told PCGamesN. “The lighting system responds very well. It’s in the game. It’s just that the developers have set most objects to not cast shadows. There are still shadows in some scenes, but they’re not used to their full potential.”
Medeiros Values a series of comparison images showing how, in the released version of Duke Nukem Forever, many objects do not cast shadows, but light appears in each level with a unique and consistent brightness and hue. However, activating hidden tools in the game code reveals moving shadows around the player and various light sources, as well as more varied and vibrant hues that create a much stronger atmosphere. Particularly curious is the open-ended horizon of Las Vegas’ Duke Nukem Forever, which forgoes all advanced gameplay systems in favor of a simple and much less visually impressive pre-built texture with built-in lighting effects.
“Some of the objects in the outer spaces of DNF actually use pre-cooked lighting instead of the actual lighting system in the game,” explains Medeiros. “When you place objects on levels, they are set to cast shadows by default, but the developers have manually turned off shadows for most of them. The Las Vegas skyline is actually completely simulated, but the sunset lighting doesn’t use the actual lighting system in the game.”
Medeiros also suggests a reason why these features were hidden and not used in the final version of Duke Nukem Forever, suggesting that the developers may have trimmed them down to fit different platforms and versions of the game.
“I suspect it was downgraded due to game optimizations for 360 and PS3,” he says. “Most of the features were disabled due to console optimizations, so the PC version suffered.”
There may be other reasons why Duke Nukem Forever’s light functions have been turned off, but what’s pretty clear is that the troubled shooter looks much better when they’re all lit up, as you can see in some Medeiros footage. As for the modder himself, he says that he plans to create a unique mod that will completely change the aesthetic of Duke Nukem Forever.
“I’ve played with the build engine before,” says Medeiros, referencing the technology behind the original Duke Nukem 3D and other classic shooters like Blood, Redneck Rampage and Shadow Warrior, “but this is the first time I’ve invested in the”. . in modifying the game I plan to do a cosmetic modification as a long-term plan. The modding scene for this game has just begun.”
If you can’t wait to try the updated version of Duke Nukem Forever, you can always kill time with something from our list of the best FPS games. When it comes to highly anticipated games, there’s a lot of news brewing about the next Grand Theft Auto right now, so be sure to check out our GTA 6 release date, rumours, news and speculation for all the info on the upcoming game. by Rockstar. sandbox.
Source : PC Gamesn
