SPAWN by Charles Lawrence e-mail chanzg@sonic.net You may use these files to run Duke Nukem 3D, but if you use them or any of the ideas in them in your own work please give me credit in a byline that is included with the finished product. To use these CON files first make backup copies and/or change the names of the original GAME.CON, USER.CON, and DEFS.CON files in the Duke Nukem 3D game directory. Then copy the "Spawn" CON files into that directory. If you have the "Duke does D.C." addon from Wizard Works, I've included the USER.CON file for that too. "Duke does D.C." uses the same GAME.CON and DEFS.CON from the Spawn series, only the USER.CON gets changed. Just copy it into the Duke Nukem 3D directory after you activate the "Duke does D.C." add-on. Happy blasting! These CON files are for the Duke Nukem 3D Atomic Edition SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION SECTION 2 DISCRIPTIONS OF THE ENHANCEMENTS SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION Like many other people out there I was swept away by Duke Nukem 3D when it appeared on the scene in 1996. I had just built my first computer, a 133Mhz Pentium. I discovered that the GAME.CON, USER.CON, and the DEFS.CON files could be altered to add new effects, enhance existing effects, and correct some anomolies that existed in the game. I decided to develope a set of CON files that would improve the game play. I added more effects, cleaned up some bugs, made the enemies faster and deadlier, and streamlined the program with subroutines in order to save memory space and increase program efficiency. I have rewritten most of the GAME.CON file. If you compare it side by side with the original you'll see what I mean. I have also altered the USER.CON and DEFS.CON files. These files must all be used together because they will not work with the original CON files. I have tested the changes I have made and I believe there are no serious bugs ( but the best laid plans of mice, men, and hackers... ). I recommend a 133 Mhz Pentium or faster to play these files. I tested them on a friend's 50 MHz 486 and got a frame rate of only 5 fps at a resolution of 320 x 200. Another friend had a 100 Mhz 586 ( not Intel ) that delivered 11 fps at a resolution of 320 x 200. My aging but venerable 133 Mhz Pentium consistently delivers frame rates over 20 fps at a resolution of 640 x 480, and often pushes closer to 30 fps. I would appreciate comments and suggestions. Please alert me if you find any bugs. My e-mail address is chanzg@sonic.net Thanks to 3DRealms for this great game and thanks to Matt Tagliaferri and Sybex Publications for producing "The Duke Nukem 3d Level Design Handbook" where I learned the basics for hacking the CON file code. It became my most trusted reference. SECTION 2 DISCRIPTIONS OF THE ENHANCEMENTS Miscellaneous Changes More explosions and fires. More guts, blood, and gore, but not rediculous or excessive. The enemies move faster and are more aggressive. Enemy weapons fire faster and many are deadlier. When a fire is spawned the burning sound lasts longer. There are a some booby traps. You'll see. Some of the sound effects have been changed, but the changes use sound effects indigenous to Duke Nukem 3D, not add ons. Enemies open doors more quickly. Some are more apt to jump or fly through windows and other openings in pursuit of DUKE. When a BOSSPAL or a COMMANDER dies they may drop some ROCKETS, some DEVASTATORAMMO, a DEVASTATOR, or an RPG. Conservation of Power ups You must hit the space bar to pick up several of the power ups ( jetpacks, boots, armor, scuba tanks, portable first aid, atomic health etc. ). This prevents the waste of a large amount of a power up's potential benefit when you are only slightly depleated in it's resource. This does not apply to weapons and ammunition, steroids, holoduke, keys, and other less frequently encountered items. They are still picked up when DUKE runs over them. The +30 and +10 health packs can be picked up just by running DUKE over them provided DUKE's health has been drained by an amount greater than or equal to the value of the health pack. Otherwise they can be picked up by hitting the space bar provided DUKE's health is less than 100 %. Making dead bodies interactive Dead bodies can be made solid to weapons fire. Just walk up close to a dead body and hit the space bar. This will change the character status ( cstat ) making it "solid" to weapons fire. You can now freeze, shoot, kick, etc. the dead bodies. When a dead body is hit, it's cstat reverts back to "not solid" ( except when hit by the FREEZER ) so if you wish to make it solid to weapons fire again you must walk up close to the dead body and hit the space bar again. Why would you even want to do this you might ask. Well, its a great way to finish off an enemy who might be pretending to be dead ( aka the LIZTROOP in the original CON files; more on this next ), and it's also the first step toward invoking the "Spawn" effect using dead corpses. For fun try shooting a "solid" dead body with the EXPANDER, but stand back! Actors pretending to be dead All of the major actors with the exception of the end of episode bosses will now occasionally go into PLAYDEAD mode when killed ( ie. they pretend to be dead ), so watch your back. If you aren't hard pressed by other enemies you can change the cstat of a dead enemy as described in the previous paragraph and then kick or shoot him. If the enemy was pretending to be dead he will sound his death scream and die. The FREEZER will freeze a pretender, but not kill it. The SHRINKER will incinerate the pretending fiend who will scream as he burns up. The "Spawn" effect If you freeze an enemy, dead or alive, and then shoot the frozen body with the SHRINKER you will spawn one of the three BOSSPALS ( weaker versions of the end of episode bosses, but just as deadly in the fire power department ) on the spot. This is a fun thing to do if you're in a co-op game, death match with monsters game, or just plain hacking around in one of your favorite MAPs. If you shoot a live frozen BOSS ( remember, shoot low and off to one side ) the BOSS will die and go into PLAYDEAD mode. Wait about eight to ten seconds and the BOSS will get up and come after DUKE. If you shoot a frozen dead BOSS sometimes there is no effect, and other times a full strength BOSS is spawned. There is one strange bug in this last case that I couldn't fix: If a Cycloid Emperor ( BOSS2 ) is spawned from a frozen dead BOSS he runs in place and will not move from the spot where he was spawned. Creating a mini - BOSS 1) Shrink a BOSS. Shoot the SHRINKER low at his feet and a little off to one side. 2) Wait for him to start growing up again. When he gets to be about two thirds of DUKE's size shoot him with the PISTOL, SHOTGUN, or CHAINGUN. The BOSS will stop growing, crumple, and die. 3) Walk up close to the mini dead BOSS and hit the space bar ( this will make him solid to weapons fire ). 4) Shoot the dead BOSS with the freezer, then walk up close ( but not too close or DUKE will kick it ) to the frozen corpse and press the space bar. This will put the dead BOSS in PLAYDEAD mode. In about eight to ten seconds a pint sized BOSS with one tenth the hit points of an end of episode BOSS will RISE and start chasing DUKE. Flight Algorithm The flight mode has been changed. With the original flight algorithm a LIZTROOP in jetpack mode would slowly spiral upward until he reached the ceiling of the sector ( check this out in the first two levels of the LA episode ) where he would remain until you shot him down. I have changed the flight algorithm to make it more interactive. With this new algorithm the enemy will fly up or down following DUKE when DUKE is flying in jetpack mode. If DUKE is not flying and DUKE is higher up than the enemy and the enemy can see DUKE, the enemy will fly up to get DUKE. If DUKE is on the ground and the enemy is higher than DUKE and the enemy is in flight mode, the enemy will fly around for awhile taking potshots at DUKE, but eventually he will descend, land, and re-enter the ground war. ACTOR ENHANCEMENTS Freezing a Water fountain Water fountains can be frozen ( they're hard to hit though ). Bust a toilet, fire hydrant, drinking fountain etc. and shoot the water fountain that erupts from the broken item with the FREEZER. You may have to try shooting it from different angles or target different parts of the water column to get it to work. Frozen States There are more frozen states for DUKE and the Enemies. They can now be frozen while crouching, shooting, etc. Shrunken enemies can now be frozen ( though they're very hard to hit when they're at their smallest size ). Shrunken women can also be frozen. Pistol shooting LIZTROOP The LIZTROOP now shoots a pistol instead of those little round laser pellets. I felt that this is a little more realistic seeing as he occasionally drops a clip of pistol ammunition. He also shoots faster and more often. This enemy is no longer a doorstop waiting for a place to fall. LIZTROOP on toilet If you shoot a LIZTROOP while it is sitting on the toilet there is no longer a half second or so delay accompanied by the toilet flushing sound before the fiend reacts to being shot. His reaction is immediate. Exploding Actors The LIZTROOP, the ENFORCER, the COMMANDER, and DUKE may explode at random ( a rare occurance for DUKE and the COMMANDER ) when hit with some weapons. If they are killed while in flight and fall a significant distance they may explode on impact. Crash and burn. I love it. Actors who can fly The ENFORCER ( chaingun lizard ) and the BOSS2PAL ( Cycloid Emperor clone produced by the spawn effect ) now have the ability to fly like the LIZTROOP. They use the same flight algorithm described in the Flight Algorithm paragraph. When a LIZTROOP or an ENFORCER dies there is a slight chance that they may drop an undamaged JETPACK. Actors who can turn invisible The ENFORCER and the BOSS2PAL can both become invisible like the red vested LIZTROOP Captain does, but with some interesting changes. These two can shoot at DUKE while they are invisible and DUKE can shoot and hit them ( spray the area with the chaingun, you'll find them ). These two enemies move much more quickly in this mode than the LIZTROOP does. The ENFORCER moves twice as fast when invisible and in this mode he is the only enemy that DUKE can't out run. WEAPON ENHANCEMENTS The SHRINKER can be used as an incinerator on dead bodies ( as long as they're not frozen ), and some of the other objects and actors you encounter. Also, shrunken enemies can be killed with other weapons ( ie explosions and guns ) in addition to stepping on them. To shrink a BOSSPAL I have found that you have to shoot the ground by his feet slightly off to one side. The FREEZER can freeze objects and actors that are not enemies. Most of the weapons ( both DUKE's and the enemies' ) have increased in strength, but not rediculously so. The PISTOL got the biggest boost proportionally; it now takes three shots or so to kill a LIZTROOP instead of five. The MOON ASSAULT LEADER ( BOSS3; Lunar Apocalyspe Episode finale BOSS ) and the BOSS3PAL that bears his form have machine gun weapon capability like the BATTLELORD from Episode 1. Both the SENTRY DRONE and the LASER TURRET can be destroyed by the SHRINKER and frozen by the FREEZER. The TANK can be shrunk by the SHRINKER, frozen by the FREEZER, and destroyed by the EXPANDER ( the alternate identity of the SHRINKER in the Atomic Edition of Duke Nukem 3D ). The TANK now has twice the hit point value but the RPG has been given an advantage to help defeat it. The NUKE BARREL and other objects in the Duke Nukem 3D environment react a little differently to weapons now. Go to Episode 4 ( The Birth ), Level 7 ( XXX Stacy ). There are a bunch of NUKE BARRELs at the beginning. Try kicking them ( three states of demise ). Then shoot some with the SHRINKER and the EXPANDER. Try the other weapons too. Check out the behavior of some of the other non-enemy objects when they are shot with the FREEZER, SHRINKER, or EXPANDER.