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Hello everyone, I hope this message finds you well. I apologize for my absence from the community, around 2014-2015 I had a HD crash where I lost a few weeks of work of updating Delta Station map. I had changed a few things based on feedback and made a bunch of camera screens for storyline stuff, with all the hundreds of sprites/resizing that goes with that, and when I lost the updated map I got very discouraged and stepped away from mapping completely for awhile. 

Recently though, I downloaded the map again because I remember that without HD pack, some of the switches are not properly made relative to the wall, some details are broken etc. Sometime soon I would like to at least make the map look/function properly with a basic updated version for the site. After that maybe I can think about working on a sequel, we'll see.

Again I just wanted to take a moment to log in and say hi to the forum, and all the best in the new year.

EDIT: I would have edited my earlier posts in this thread to remove the broken pictures, it appears the chance to modify is expired however. Please feel free to remove the broken links if you like.

@reflex17: You really don't need much of an comp to run Mapster32.
Should be possible to throw something together from the after marked / second hand stuff.

A few days ago I got ahold of a laptop, so at least I can start on map #3... I'll wait til I fix my comp to see about updates though, I made viewscreens for the old maps and those are soooo time consuming... Ideally I'd like to work on the next level quickly and release updates and the new map simultaneously.

I haven't updated in a few months because my computer died, it's likely a motherboard/processor issue, I'm currently typing from a friend's machine... It's a pain in the ass cuz the updates to the levels were almost done when the crash happened. I'm just glad I got DSD uploaded so if need be I can find the map still. I don't think the HD was damaged but once I fix my machine I may have to update the maps again, a week or 2 of work lost, so we'll see. It might be a little while until I can gather up the $$$ to fix my comp. so apologies for the lack of communication and updates, I'll get to it ASAP because I want very much to continue the series.

SPOILOERZ: Once you pass the WELCOME TO MARS sign, the next part of the level takes place in train tunnels. To the right and in the corner is a hive area with a door labelled 'Reactor Core'. Once you go through there you eventually come to the core, the blue keycard is on the central platform. You need to go along the bridges around the reactor. When you get to the reactor's central platform the wall should explode and enemies come pouring in.

I'm almost done with the updates so I'll see what I can do about making the blue key more visable.

'F worked and it has sky shade and height, and it can replace invalid tiles amongst other things.

Alt+C worked to replace all the skies, so I tried switching the sky to another one and back again to see if that would fix it. No luck, Alt+C doesn't seem to carry over shade value, so if the torn sky is an alignment thing I doubt that's copied either.

It's easy enough to provide multiple d/l links for 8-bit and HRP versions of the map, though the only difference will be the sky. I think that's the best solution for now, we'll see about the next maps.

Well, if replacing does work, you can always try replacing all sky textures at once by pressing ctrl+p on a parallaxed sky after having selected your texture; then replace it all back with the current one?

AH yes! I knew there was a sky replacement hotkey. I had searched Eduke wiki and threads about mapster secrets, I knew someone mentioned it before... I couldn't find it though, so thanks for the tip!

EDIT: ctrl+p changes the parallax type, it doesn't seem to replace all the skies.

Things are coming together well now, between the two levels there should be 5 or 6 viewscreens, with more story in the text file for LTTM. In the first map I've increased lighting globally a few clicks. The viewscreens and gameplay on the first map, which requires review, will take longest. I want the first map to have a fresh experience for those who've played it while keeping a similar progression/challenge level.

Wow great work LeoD, I really appreciate the info and updated .def file, thanks for your help.

Those lights around the vent aren't so crucial so in an effort to give everyone a decent gameplay experience, I'll just remove them.

Also to speed things along I've given up on fixing the broken sky in LTTM and DSD. The only option that would work at this point seems to be replacing the skies entirely with another one. It's a weird glitch because I can't find any misalignments, and the weirdest part is that some of the sky animates while other strips of it don't. I've checked all the used tiles to make sure I haven't put in more than one sky, but that doesn't seem to be the issue either.

If I have time I'll try to replace them, I would rather have a sky that doesn't look as good than a sky that's broken.

There are more potential/future ART conflicts you might want to check. Please give me a day or two to prepare some hopefully useful information on that matter for you before uploading your maps.
Btw., in the MARSBASE package I recommend replacing the 2007 duke3d_hrp.def with the attached duke3d.def.

From what I remember the def files from the first map were just for fog pal, I don't think it was that important. It will at least take a few more days for the updates, so I appreciate any information you can give me, thanks!

The HRP is not meant to be unzipped.
Delete all that unpacked stuff, any highres, highpal, maphack folders and *.def files (except "mine").
Create a folder named autoload and put duke3d_hrp.zip (and duke3d_polymost_hrp_override-5.3.565.zip) into it.
Get the latest EDuke32/Mapster32 from http://dukeworld.duke4.net/eduke32/synthesis/.
Just to be cautious: save backups of your maps before opening them in the new Mapster32.
In the startup window check the Enable "autoload" folder option and set Custom game content directory to "none".
If you still have problems post your full eduke32.log/mapster32.log as attachment.

EDIT: Turns out the main problem was I forgot to overwrite the .GRP file like it says to do on the HRP site. Clearing stuff out will help in the future I'm sure. So it looks like I'm up-to-date on the HRP, I can now go in and fix the angled items etc.

Yes welcome to the board and thanks very much for all of your help. You will be credited fully in the txt for the .def as well as crucial assistance during development. Further help should be minimal I hope, this episode has been from the outset quite basic in technical terms, only needing new art. Down the line I'd like to chain them together and rename them in-game, but for now putting them out one-by-one is just fine.

I have reactivated my account at duke4.net and I'll post there as soon as these updates to the 2 maps are complete, shouldn't take too much time.

All the feedback from forums and reviews has been really beneficial and I'm honestly surprised at the reception of both maps being so overwhelmingly positive. I'm a bit of a hermit and I regret not taking part in the community more, but rest assured I play most maps at one time or other and very much enjoy them all. Seeing some threads about 3dr made me think about game development as a hobby/job and when it comes down to it, I commend every single member of this community for their work in bringing and sharing entertainment with one another.

I thought of this episode in 1998 and while it's bothersome that it's taken so long to get levels out, it's an important project to me and the best is intentionally yet to come. I can understand why one might like the gameplay of the first map over the 2nd, for this story the maze had to come before the straight path. They are deliberate opposites, and I plan for the next map to combine the nonlinear elements of LTTM with the scope of DSD, closing the first trilogy.

Again thanks to everyone for the feedback and assistance. I hope to post again soon with the updates.

Technical issue, any help is appreciated: So it turns out I had HRP 5.3 zipped on my HD, no idea why I didn't unpack it. I extracted the files thinking that anything that needed to be overwritten would be taken care of, but it appeared that a large amount of the textures are undefined. Mapster's startup log also has tons of errors, too many to post, most dealing with textures/models/maphacks. I deleted the 'highres' folder in Duke3d directory and extracted 5.3 again, and the problem is still there. Certain high res textures are present while others are not, it seems to be a conflict between versions but I can't explain it.

See attached screenshot, only stock textures are affected:

Perfect. Added to my signature.

AHAHA My knowledge is deep and wide, especially when it comes to chickens. Chinese zodiac sign is "Metal Rooster" *bows*

Progress goes well on the update, all sprites are now aligned properly and I've started adding viewscreens to LTTM which will have science files and personnel logs which should contribute to atmosphere/storyline across both levels. I'll check out the sky again soon and try to fix that once and for all.

Redneck Rampage has chickens. If you put a chicken in Duke3d then it's Duke3d with a chicken. If you make all new levels and art and the base code is built upon to make a new game, then you have a new game. When you make all new art and code but it still requires Duke3d, or even if it's a standalone, it can be considered a TC if it's unrecognizable, especially. Duke3d is Duke3d, and Duke3d with HRP is Duke3d with 'new graphics', and falls outside of what could be considered a mod or TC. Sure it's a mod in the strict sense but one that tries, I'm sure, to at least capture the feel of the original game. You could argue if it captures the original feeling or not, some people think so, others don't. I think we can all agree that Redneck Rampage is not Duke3d and that the HRP vs. classic argument is old and won't get solved anytime soon. I really want my map to look good to anyone who plays it, but I am extremely concerned with only wanting to make maps. I guess I'll try to fix any problems as they crop up.

[real]

No need to be discouraged at all. Your ART file set still runs fine with the current HRP. Once real problems should arise I'm sure you'll find someone willing to help you out either here or at Duke4.net. (Simply add my duke3d.def to your ZIP and the not-yet-existing mugshot issue would be solved for good.)
I assume you only use a rather small subset of the textures contained in your ART files. Remapping the conflicting ones to other tile numbers would be a solution that could take care of DukePlus incompatibilities, too. (I don't know enough about using Mapster and using Mapster-scripts to be helpful on this one.)
And remember that only a minority of Dukers play any CON-less maps with DukePlus. And among those I suppose the majority to be smart enough to know why these few bulldozer-issues happen and that they're willing to live with that.

I'm the kind of person that if even a few people end up with bulldozers where red lights should be, I can't stand that. I suppose it can't be helped, the HRP and DukePlus are cool addons and it's up to me to just try and make sure as many users as possible have a good end-result. If a few bulldozers have to happen for a few people, ah well, I guess that's the way it is.

Moving forward I guess the best thing for me to do is delete my HRP content and re-download it to make sure it'll be up-to-date, I noticed the link in your sig for the HRP polymost, so I'm sure that will help. Thanks a lot for the .def file, I'll include that in any future maps using this art content. It's true I've only used a few of the custom textures out of all that's there, but I do plan to use most of them as the project develops. I have names and concepts for a bunch of other levels using this theme.

Hi LeoD, thanks for playing and letting me know about this. My fault for not updating the HRP. I just remember getting the one that said 'the last update before polymer took over'

I've always wanted to include DukePlus in my maps but I just don't like the idea of learning how to implement new stuff when making maps takes me so long as it is. I'm sure it's all very simple and it's a really cool mod, of course.

If the .art tiles are going to be overridden I don't see how this project can continue the way I want it to. I'm a n00b when it comes to con and def files and even how to use them, and this is all getting complicated to the level where it's starting to get discouraging. I could just say 'classic only' if I want to be sure people will see it the right way.

When I made the first map 7 years ago, before I released it, I had the attitude of "This will be HRP ONLY" because I am very specific about how things are presented. Back then I was disappointed when I released it saying "HRP required" a lot of people came back saying "well I played it without HRP and it's fine". That's cool and all, but I compare it to saying "I didn't wear the 3d glasses but the movie still looked good". The director obviously took the time to craft the movie for 3d so by not wearing the glasses you are giving up on the intended experience. Of course a director wants the audience to see it the way he envisioned it, possibly down to every last detail. If you then turn to the director and say 'hey the screen was kinda messed up here', if you weren't wearing the glasses, what's he supposed to do? If you don't want to or can't play the HRP that's fine, I'm not here to argue over apples and oranges because they're both god-damn delicious.

I totally understand purists who say classic mode is the way to go. I hinted at the idea about the HRP being quirky, for example the battlelord seems to be much more cartoony looking in the HRP compared to the original sprites. All these little quirks are understandable when a graphical update is made by a large community of people and pieced together like a quilt. I'll repeat though that the HRP is one of the more cohesive updates I've seen for a game. Doom with 3d models makes me want to cry. Duke was always a little bit cartoony so I guess that's why I feel like these 'colorful' models fit with the game better than more serious titles.

If the sky problem is one that's going to take a long time to fix I will probably just give up, with big apologies to classic players. The sky was carried over from the first map for continuity and I realized too late that it's also torn up in the second map. I've looked at alignments and also tried batch replacements (which curiously sometimes lead to corruptions) but to change anything manually would take hours, time I'd much rather spend on viewscreens/updates/working on the next map.

The 32 bit renderer seems to handle certain things better, like sprite constructs, and I never even noticed the broken sky because when I build and test in the game I'm using the HRP. I always remind myself to go back and make it compatible with classic, but I usually forget lol. I tried to fix the sky again and it didn't work, but I'll try your f7 trick and see if that helps. I don't even really like how the sky is animated in classic, another thing I never noticed for lack of testing in that mode. I'll try my best to make everything look nice across all graphical styles, I just don't want to sink in too much time that could be better spent on other projects.

EDIT: This is only my second Duke map but again it's become a source of controversy for HRP vs. classic. I expected this to happen, and I debated if I should even say 'HRP intended' because I'd much rather the focus of attention be on the map itself. It's understandable I know because this is something fans tend to get worked up about when it comes to their favorite games. I wouldn't call the HRP a TC necessarily, and I'd argue that any new code is a much bigger impact on the original game than updated art, because now it WORKS differently not just LOOKS different. I pondered this episode as a mod but I realized I should post about it in 'classic Duke3d' because I think it's closer to the original game as opposed to a new game, no matter how you look at it.