Duke Nukem Forever 2001 is Fascinating

The game that could have been.

The mythical 2001 Build of Duke Nukem Forever is in the hands of the world, and now we can all lament at the game that never-will-be.

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction
01:55 - The Studio
04:10 - Duke's Penthouse
06:44 - Rooftop
09:04 - Study
12:03 - Hotel
15:30 - Casino
16:16 - Outside and Sewers
17:58 - Buffet
18:30 - Motorbike Musings
20:35 - Conclusions
23:33 - One More Thing...
25:13 - The Current State of Duke Nukem Fans

LEGAL

duke may have balls of steel but they still need some serious polishing

#DukeNukem #DukeNukemForever #PowerPak

[ryguy]

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.

[santalim]

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.

[equidistanthoneyjoy]

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.

[fearlesswee]

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%!

[garrywulf]

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

[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

[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

[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.

[WMan]

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.

[Saztog]

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.

[hurykles]

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

[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.

[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.

[warhawk]

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

[lionocyborg]

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.

[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?

[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.

[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!

[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.

[sullivan]

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