Duke It's Zero Hour is a total conversion for Duke Nukem 3D. The project was developed by ZeroHour Software and released on November 1, 1997. It features new levels, weapons, enemies, music, sound effects, and even an original boss.
Not to be confused with Duke Nukem: Zero Hour.
New content[]
Weapons[]
Duke It's Zero Hour features four weapons from the original Duke Nukem 3D, but it introduces five new weapons with original artwork for each. The Microwave Expander was dropped from the game and does not have a corresponding sprite when selected using cheats.
The full list of weapons includes:
- Mighty Foot
- Pistol
- Shotgun
- Spike Cannon
- Shoulder Mounted Rail Gun
- Hand Bomb
- Mega-Tazer
- Laser Tripbomb
- X32-Flame Accelerator
Enemies[]
Duke It's Zero Hour features 12 all-new enemies:
- Servant
- Warrior
- Giant Spider
- Screamer
- Heat Sensing Mine
- The Sentinel
- RPG Borg
- Stalker Borg
- Assault Borg
- Stealth Buzzsaw Drone
- Mini-Mech Boss
- Mech Boss
Levels[]
Duke It's Zero Hour features a whole new episode titled "And So It Begins." Each level begins in a government base, and the player receives a mission briefing before being launched into the field of duty.
- The Granite Fortress
- The Rec Center
- Ancient Realms...Part 1
- Ancient Realms...Part 2
- The Laboratory
- Night Streets
- Into the City
- Oasis City...Part 1
- Oasis City...Part 2
- Oasis City...Part 3
- Balls of Steel
Disputed history[]
Duke It's Zero Hour was released for free as a non-commercial product. Misinformation has spread that the project was originally intended for retail sale, which would make it an authorized expansion like Duke Nukem's Penthouse Paradise. According to the claims, the project never materialized into a commercial product because a publishing deal with WizardWorks was never finalized, leaving the developers with an authorized product but no way to sell it.
However, no evidence for these claims has ever been presented. Additionally, the 2010 asset purchase agreement between 3D Realms and Gearbox Software, which includes a complete list of "all contracts and agreements involving Duke Nukem IP assets," does not include any mention of ZeroHour Software. One possible source of confusion is the commercial Nintendo 64 game by a similar name, Duke Nukem: Zero Hour.
Credits[]
Company Founder: Bill Tatton
PR: Bill Tatton
Level Designers: Bill Tatton (The Granite Fortress, The Rec Center, The Ancient Realms...Part 2, Night Streets, Into the City), Shane Campa (The Ancient Realms...Part 1, Oasis City...Part 1, Oasis City...Part 2, Oasis City...Part 3, Balls of Steel), Pierre-Olivier Clement (The Laboratory)
Programmer: Pierre-Olivier Clement
Enemy Designer: Pierre-Olivier Clement
Music Composers: Bill Tatton (Jeana.mid, darkness.mid), Shane Campa (midnight.mid), Pierre-Olivier Clement (cyber1.mid), Joe Lema (joe2.mid, joe3.mid, head.mid, nin.mid, new.mid, eyes.mid, dreams.mid)
Sound Effects: Joe Lema
Website: Joe Lema
Special Thanks: 3D Realms, Brad Wernicke (support), Charlie Raymond (tested five of the levels), Hyrum Tatton
Members of the development team have gone on to have professional careers in the games industry. For example, Pierre-Olivier Clement has since worked at Ubisoft as a lead designer on titles such as Rayman, Splinter Cell, Tomb Raider, and Far Cry.
External links[]
- Download via RTCM.com