Duke Nukem: NextGen Project Renamed, Details

The project going on over at the Gearbox forums that I posted about a while ago is getting stronger. Fresch, the man in charge, has assembled a team to work on this game which was called Duke Nukem: NextGen for a little while.

People were worried that he wouldn’t get permission to make the game, which will use Unreal Engine 3, and will be built from scratch, basically. But the guys at GBX have granted them a non-commercial licence to go ahead and do it. Big surprise to most of us, surely, considering the stink that Activision made regarding The Silver Lining.

But now the project has a new name. It’s called Duke Nukem 3D: Reloaded, or DNR for short. And the team working on it has a name too – Interceptor Entertainment. Add to this that there’s now a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and a website for the game with forums, as well as future plans for a ModDB account as well. Any self-respecting project has one.

And they reportedly even have the producer behind Killzone 3 backing this game! This is becoming huge all ready.

But, not everybody is that impressed. There are critics obviously that fall into different camps.

There are those who feel it would be better to wait for Duke Nukem Forever to come out, whenever that is (they say 2011.. sometime before Christmas), and just make a mod which would recreate the levels from DN3D, with most of the content, like guns and textures and so on, all ready created. The name for this was suggested to be a resurrection of the name Duke Nukem 3D Forever.

There was even a poll on the GBX forums which asked for people to vote for what they’d prefer: a game created from scratch (like DNR), or a mod for DNF. Some even want both, the greedy hogs.

Then the boys heading up or supporting the High Resolution Pack project for EDuke32 – a source port for DN3D – say that they don’t like the look of the game, and think it’s ugly, and it doesn’t look like DN3D. Jealousy, anyone?

I’ve been a fan of the Duke Nukem franchise for nigh on 20 years, and I have no ill feelings towards this project. It’s just a matter of whether the team can stick with it and produce the goods. Yeah, it’ll be harder to generate all the content themselves, but the effort will pay off in the long run. This could well be a step towards a career in game development for some on the team – others who are working on the game all ready are professional game developers, apparently.

As for a release date on the game – you know what I’m going to say here, but I’ll say it anyway: “When it’s Done.”

Source: Gearbox Forums

Duke Nukem: NextGen Project Renamed, Details

Ex-3DR Employee: Gearbox Taking all the Credit

Tramell Isaac, formerly the Art Director for the DNF team at 3D Realms, and now at Sony Online, has been posting again on his blog, Talkin’ Real at Ya’. He does every once and a while and after PAX recently, he has something he wants to get off his chest.

At PAX, even though Randy Pitchford performed like a fan boy with his T-shirt of Duke that he’s had since 1996 and all, Tramell feels that Gearbox is claiming too much credit for Duke Nukem Forever.

Tramell reveals that DNF was further along in development than most people gave 3DR credit for, and not only this, they pretty much did most of the stuff you saw at PAX. After the DNF team was let go by 3DR last year, ex 3DR employees formed Triptych Games and pretty much went back and finished off the PC version of the game. So he argues that Gearbox has swept in and claimed the credit for finally finishing the game and getting it out, when it isn’t exactly true. All Gearbox has really done besides “polishing” the title, is the job of porting it to consoles (Xbox 360 and PS3).

In fact he is quite pissed off about the whole ordeal it seems.

Randy Pitchford said the following about DNF at PAX to WSJ:

"Clearly the game hadn’t been finished at 3D Realms but a lot of content had been created.”

"The approach and investment and process at 3D Realms didn’t quite make it and it cracked at the end. With Gearbox Software we brought all those pieces together. It’s the game it was meant to be."

Tramell:

“Ok, so before I start this, I'd like to say this. Duke Nukem Forever is alive and well BECAUSE of what the EX-3dr Soldiers of "Triptych Games" did. Ok, just in case you didn't hear me. ...HEAR THIS,.... a hand ful of guys that were on the team when internal development shut down at 3dr, took the game and finish it (PC version). These are the guys that truly made DNF happen.”

“Let me break this down for you. 85% of the work you see coming out of PAX is from our group at 3dr. 10% Triptych (the last 10% is the hardest ask any game developer) Which leaves 5% for the guys at Gearbox (with help from Triptych). To be perfectly honest, that Gearbox percentage could be plus or minus a few points. Bottomline, DNF was damn near completion if not completed when Gearbox got it (PC version).”

So that’s the truth according to someone who used to work at 3D Realms. Tyrell basically says don’t believe everything Randy Pitchford says. We all ready know that he has a habit of shooting his mouth off in public – particularly when he made some remarks about Valve last year which many found disrespectful. He claims however they were taken out of context.

I think most of Tramell’s anger is aimed at Randy for the comments he made, and not Gearbox.

Okay so I will say it. I’m quite sure Tramell will read this somewhere down the line, or I might just be paranoid. I read his blog every time he posts something.

I’m impressed with Triptych for actually doing what they did and going back to a project and finishing it. It shows commitment, and at least now they can put on their resumes that yes, they FINISHED DNF. That should be enough for any potential employer to sit up and take note.

I didn’t doubt that 3DR, despite all the delays over the years, had put in a lot of work in to DNF. Like I said before, looking at the screenshots and videos, you can tell.

Right now, prejudices aside, I would like to focus on getting in some more DNF screenshots and videos, and then hopefully get to play the game next year.

I was still in Primary School when DNF was first announced. In fact I didn’t even know it existed until a few years after that. Hard to believe.

Source: The Ride Continues!! - DNF WTF! (wake the freak) [Talkin’ Real at Ya’]

Ex-3DR Employee: Gearbox Taking all the Credit

Duke Nukem Forever Shown at PAX, Coming out Next Year

I said at one point a few months ago that I would stop doing news posts on this blog. But I can’t help it. I’m forced to make an exception here. Everyone’s talking about it now.

We all knew the saga behind Duke Nukem Forever, and quite frankly if you want to know the history behind it, you can just look it up on this blog where I’ve gone over it time and time again, or visit the page on wikipedia. I’m sick of having to read the long “drawn out drama” that most websites post every time there’s news on DNF. Right from it’s creation until now. And most of them get it wrong anyway, with some “journos” saying that it originally used the build engine, and that 3D Realms is defunct.

The main story here is that for some time now, it’s been rumoured that Gearbox Software, developer of Borderlands, has been working on Duke Nukem Forever. People just dismissed it as a myth though.

The thing is, these rumours continued and the other day, George Broussard tweeted something that alluded to a past interview he had concerning DNF. It was a picture of pigs flying. The significance? Years ago in that interview, George himself said that DNF would be out “when pigs fly”.

And just yesterday at Penny Arcade Expo, or PAX 2010 for short, after much speculation, it was confirmed at the event that Duke Nukem Forever, a game in development hell for just about 13 years or so, is actually coming out.

In fact some claimed it was finished and it’s just in the polishing stage right now. There was even a playable demo of it at the PAX booth. There’s all ready some photos over at Kotaku that show the typical humour and interactivity we’d expect from a Duke Nukem title. There’s pics of Duke with steroids and taking a piss in the loo, as well as drawing something on a whiteboard.

Places few games venture.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the game’s development was so far, that it would be coming out this year! This was said to be false though, and a more realistic release date of 2011 sometime was given by Randy Pitchford of Gearbox Software.

WSJ did get it right however that DNF has been in development at the company since late last year – which confirms the rumours. If you think it’s odd that Gearbox would work on a DN title, just take a moment to read this.

Randy Pitchford worked on Duke Nukem 3D, and was employed at 3D Realms years before he went and founded the company we know as Gearbox and worked on Opposing Force and other titles since then. Gearbox was also revealed to be working on Duke Begins, another title in the series.

Now that all the court case nonsense that carried on between 3D Realms (Apogee Software) and Take-Two is over (it ended in a settlement this year), work can resume on these projects without having to keep it sort of secret all the time. The publishing rights for DNF and the Duke Nukem IP are said to now belong to 2K.

Randy says that basically 3D Realms did the groundwork on DNF but it fell apart. Gearbox apparently came in and put the pieces back together. People at PAX were apparently shocked that DNF looked as good as it did. But I know from having watched all these leaked demo reels and video footage as well as screenshots that were mostly leaked within the last year, and the design documents too, that the game was actually more complete than people originally thought.

And with a possible demo for us on the horizon, and a release next year, we may actually get to play this game in our lifetime. For those of us, including me, who stuck with DNF through thick and thin – we’re the ones smiling now. The haters who always put the game down will be eating their words shortly, hopefully.

Gearbox has a good reputation as a developer and they tend to actually release their titles.

One thing’s for sure though. 3D Realms, as legendary as it is, should never develop their own games ever again – especially not if George is still in charge. And seeing as it’s a much smaller studio after the DNF team was let go last year, it looks like it will stay this way for some time.

By the way, everything DNF has now been moved over to DukeNukemForever.com, with the official forums now being moved to GearboxSoftware.com.

Sources:

http://twitter.com/georgeb3dr/status/22750844938 [George Broussard on Twitter]

Duke Nukem Forever Complete? [Bluesnews]

Duke Nukem Forever Arrives On PC, Xbox 360, PS3 in 2011 [3D Realms]

The Duke Nukem Forever PAX Demo: A Not-For-Kids Photo Gallery [Gallery] [Kotaku]

Duke Nukem Forever Shown at PAX, Coming out Next Year

Buy Borderlands, get two DLC Add-ons Free at Amazon

        

It was a bank holiday in the US and the UK yesterday, and Amazon started something by putting up a deal for Borderlands, the hit game of late last year by Gearbox Software.

You can grab the game, currently going for $27.99, saving you a whopping $2 - but with it you’ll get the first two DLC packs released this year, The Zombie Island of Doctor Ned and Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot, collectively known as the Borderlands Double Game Add-on Pack, for FREE. And that saves you about $20 right there.

By the way, this deal is only available for the PC version of the game.

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Sources: Amazon - Borderlands on sale at Amazon.com with two DLC expansions for free [Big Download]

Buy Borderlands, get two DLC Add-ons Free at Amazon

Gearbox Talks About Aliens: Colonial Marines

                                                           “I’m back!”

Now that the first Aliens title of the year, Aliens vs. Predator, has come out this month (and to a bit of a mixed reaction, too), it’s time to dig up that other Aliens title that was supposed to come out first in the first place: Aliens: Colonial Marines.

The title is still in development at Gearbox, the makers of the majorly successful Borderlands, which has seen its third DLC pack, The Secret Armory of General Knoxx, come out this week for all major consoles and the PC (and it’s done quite well too.).

Gearbox CEO, Randy Pitchford:

“We have an Aliens game with Sega and 20th Century Fox which we’re really excited about. It’s the thing I’ve been stealing from all my career. Now I’m really working on it, but we’ve been quiet about that so far.”

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Source: [1] MCVUK

Gearbox Talks About Aliens: Colonial Marines

Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford has a Problem Shutting his Mouth, it Seems

Randy Pitchford has brought up some arguments recently about Valve owning Steam being a bad idea, especially for small indie developers, not once, but twice. And Pitchford has also said that Gabe Newells’s refusal to develop on the PS3 is foolish.

Not to mention, earlier on in the year, he called out both Infinity Ward and Bungie, and told them to do something different, instead of Call of Duty and Halo, respectively, all the time.

All could be considered valid arguments, although I personally think that sticking up for the PC like Gabe does is admirable, but I still think to myself, damn, talk about biting the hand that feeds. Gearbox only got into the game industry, and is only where it is, because of Valve and Half-Life. If it hadn’t been for Opposing Force, and all the subsequent expansions it was involved in because Valve threw them a bone, Borderlands might not have even been released the other day.

I mean, I think that this is nothing new. Randy has had a big mouth, and an inflated ego since day one. Proof of this? In Opposing Force at the end of the game, when you fight that ugly beast, there’s a message played backwards, which says: “To win the game, you must kill me, Randy Pitchford”. Of course, this line was taken from Doom II, copying another attention seeker looking for the limelight, John Romero.

Speaking of Borderlands , I should go and get it sometime soon, to see if it's worth all of Randy's cockiness lately. It looks good, and I hear it plays well too. It definitely draws some inspiration f-Life. You can tell by the red damage indicators when the player is shot. I've seen that in trailers.

And by the way, Aliens: Colonial Marines had better be good.

And Duke Begins?...

Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford has a Problem Shutting his Mouth, it Seems

Borderlands Arriving in October

Gearbox's Borderlands is scheduled for an October release this year.

Pre-order Borderlands:

For PC
For Xbox 360
For PS3

Source:

Shacknews

Borderlands Arriving in October

Aliens vs. Predator vs. Aliens: Colonial Marines vs. Alien RPG

Okay, so we've known about Aliens: Colonial Marines and the Alien RPG for about the last two or three years.

Aliens: Colonial Marines is under development by Gearbox Software, and was set for a 2009 release but has now been pushed back. The Alien RPG still hasn't got a bloody name yet, and is gathering dust in Obsidian's studios somewhere while they are trying to balance other projects.

Now we have the latest Aliens vs Predator game from Rebellion. which is making a few headlines lately. If you don't remember, Rebellion developed the first AvP game which was released in 1999. This game is set for release next year. SEGA is the publisher. And yes, this is the game that pushed Aliens: Colonial Marines back to next year. That means that there will be no Alien games for this year. :( 

I think this rocks seeing as we haven't had an Aliens, Predator, or AvP game for years now, and I recently saw both Aliens and Alien 3 on the TV- the last good Alien films.

http://www.axelspringer.es/index.php?s=divisiones&id=5&p=6
http://www.avpgalaxy.net/index.php?subaction=showcomments&id=1240453302&archive=&start_from=&ucat=7&

Aliens vs. Predator vs. Aliens: Colonial Marines vs. Alien RPG

Randy Pitchford’s Birthday Today

Randy Pitchford, the CEO, president and co-founder of Gearbox Software, turns 38 today. He was born on April 21, 1971. 

He first became known on a global scale for his production and direction of Gearbox's debut title, Half-Life: Opposing Force, the first expansion for Half-Life. There's even an easter egg in the game that pronounces his name backwards.

Other games that Randy has had some hand in are:

Duke Nukem 3D, Duke Nukem Atomic Edition, Duke Nukem 64, Shadow Warrior, Half-Life: Blue Shift, Half-Life for PlayStation 2, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, James Bond 007: Nightfire, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, Halo: Combat Evolved for PC, and the Brothers In Arms series.

Randy Pitchford’s Birthday Today

Games I want (this year): Aliens: Colonial Marines

I watched the excellent 1979 classic, Aliens, last night.

It's funny how with all the raving about modern technology and CGI effects, along with promises to stay true to the series and the 'feel',  the latest films, like AvP and AvP 2, always seem to suck.

There are two new Aliens games due out this year. One is Aliens: Colonial Marines under development by Gearbox Software, and the other is an Aliens: RPG project by Obsidian. Aliens:CM was rumoured to be out in Q1 this year; we’re all ready in February and this quarter ends in March. Other sites’ scheduled release dates predict a Q2 release date for 2009.

I find it quite disgraceful that the Alien: RPG is still officially unnamed, and I first read about both games two years ago at the beginning of 2007.

I sincerely hope that both these games are good.

Games I want (this year): Aliens: Colonial Marines