Duke Nukem Forever was ahead of its time, but nerfed before launch
Duke Nukem Forever, the infamous FPS from 3D Realms, at one time rivalled GTA 6, Half-Life 3, and a new Silent Hill on the list of upcoming games players were most curious to see released. Its 2011 arrival wasn’t exactly met with fanfare, but that might be to do with several key visual features being cut, features that modders are starting to piece back together.
Vinícius Medeiros is a computer science student who has just started exploring the innards of Duke Nukem Forever, using a range of modding tools put together by the game’s surprisingly active fan community. Apparently, the retail code for Duke Nukem Forever contains all the files required to use the game’s level editor – it’s only the frontend executable that has been removed, in order to hide the editor from players.
By restoring this, modders like Medeiros have been able to explore the various tools and effects used to build Duke’s missions. As it turns out, Duke Nukem Forever originally contained an advanced, dynamic lighting and shadows system, but this was apparently taken out or simply not used in the game’s final level designs.
“The key change to the game’s graphics is its advanced lighting system,” Medeiros tells PCGamesN. “The lighting system is very reactive. It’s in the game. It’s just that the devs set most of the objects to not cast a shadow. There are some scenes that still have shadows present, but it’s not used to its full potential.”
Medeiros shares a series of comparison images, showing how in the released version of Duke Nukem Forever, many objects do not cast shadows, and light appears in each level at consistent, singular brightness and tone. Enabling the tools hidden in the game’s code, however, reveals shadows that move around the player
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