4.0
- What will the DNF multiplayer capabilities be?
First and foremost will be the return of Dukematching... take
standard deathmatch play, mix in a touch of Duke Nukem and
you have this high-action fragfest to the extreme. Regular
team play Dukematches like those in Quake and Unreal will
most likely also be seen. You can also expect to see CTF as
well.
* 4.1
- Will DNF include TCP/IP play over the Internet?
Yes, if you're interested in estimating DNF's multiplayer
performance on your current Internet connection, the most
reliable benchmark will be the performance of Unreal Tournament
multiplayer with the latest patches installed. Visit http://www.planetunreal.com
in order to download a demo.
4.3
- Will Unreal's network problems be fixed in DNF? Yes, Epic Games has done major revisions on
Unreal's multiplayer code in late 1998/early 1999, making
multiplayer games playable for most fans. The 220 build of
Unreal, which has been incorporated into DNF, virtually eliminated
any multiplayer sluggishness. Same goes for the new Unreal
Tournament code. Rest assured that the DNF programmers have
taken care of any other networking issues remaining.
4.4
- Will DNF include LAN play?
Yes, via TCP/IP play, DNF multiplayer games can also be set
up on your LAN, although the settings may need to be tweaked
for ultimate performance.
4.5
- Will DNF include modem-to-modem play?
Unfortunately not directly, bandwidth restrictions mean that
we won't see the return of head-to-head modem Duke-matches
in DNF. However, two players will be able to attempt to play
head-to-head via Windows' Dial-Up Networking server and if
they have Internet access, they will be able to search for
DNF Duke-match servers to play head-to-head on. Keep in mind that if you use dial-up it'll probably slower and laggy, as with all other games these days.
4.7
- Will DNF multiplayer include Duke 3D style respawn markers?
After a number of people had requested that the respawn markers
(the spinning sprites that show when and where items will
respawn in Dukematch) seen in Duke Nukem 3D be brought back
for DNF, George Broussard posted on the matter on the 3D Realms
Bulletin Board. Much to the delight of gamers in favor of
them, he said that 3D Realms has, "always intended on bringing
them back, as they provide valuable feedback to you while
playing," and that he thinks they're cool. He goes on to say
that if included, it will most likely be an option that server
admins will be able to set.
". . . the fact is that in most FPS games today the level
designs are not conducive to co-op. To pull it off, you need
"simple" maps where players cannot get cut off from other
players etc."
And again on 12/17/00:
"Games are more complex than in the Doom/Duke 3D days. Today
the single player focus is more interactive. You have areas
that collapse and cut the player off, or things that alter
a maps flow.
"This kills co-op as the guy that triggers the event will
cut off his buddies behind. Sure, maybe you could not trigger
those events, but that starts getting really complex deciding
what to do/not do in single play vs co-op.
"We didn't want to compromise the single player one bit, so
we decided against co-op for this game."
And just for the sake of being thorough, the folks at 3D Realms still have not changed their minds as of June 2003. Stop asking them about it please!
4.9
- Will DNF include Capture the Flag mode or any similar multiplayer
variations?
It's safe to assume you can at least expect CTF play. In a
November 1999 George Broussard has this to say: "I'd think
you can expect some sort of CTF based play now. Since it's
all in the current UT code base, it'd be silly to throw it
out." Other than that, nothing else is known on this issue
at this time.
Though, knowing Duke it will probably be "Capture the Babe"
rather than the flag. :)
4.12
- Will DNF have taunting via RTS (Remote Ridicule) files?
Yes, our favorite taunt format from Duke Nukem 3D will be
back once again. 3D Realms is trying to make it the same format
as those from Duke Nukem 3D and Shadow Warrior. More information
on this should be available further down the road.
"The bots are in and working now. Very well in fact. This was essentially one of the last major hurdles/features in our multiplayer plans.
"The bots understand and use our skeletal animation system. . .
"You can start a match, select how many bots you want to play against, tweak their settings and have a blast. We've setup games with nothing but bots and watched them fight it out and watched the score distributions.
"Bots were also a major concern of ours because a lot of fps games have been shipping without them (even Unreal engine based games), and we see bots as significant for the future of multiplayer gaming. We are firmly committed to delivering both a strong multi player experience, as well as single player. Full bot support is a step in that direction."
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