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Duke Nukem Forever 2001 is the title commonly used to refer to the leaked 2001 prototype of Duke Nukem Forever (2011). Screenshots and video footage from the prototype were leaked by x0r_jmp on May 9, 2022, and the actual development files were leaked the following day.
The leak contains two similar yet discrete builds:
- Dated August 21, 2001
- Dated October 26, 2001
Current and former representatives from Gearbox Software and 3D Realms have provided commentary on the contents of the leak, but to date, no one has publicly objected — through legal action or other means — to online distribution of the files, which remain widely available to download.
Contents
Duke Nukem Forever 2001 is significantly more developed and closer to the final 2011 release than the 1996 Duke Nukem Forever side-scroller — which is not even a direct antecessor of this prototype — or the 1998 build shown in an E3 trailer from that year.
Notably, the 2001 prototype only mentions but does not actually feature Bombshell. Bombshell was a fan-favorite character from the 1998 E3 trailer who was originally planned to appear as Duke Nukem's sidekick, but she was later scrapped from the project, only to appear much later as the main protagonist in two games of her own: Bombshell (2016) and Ion Fury (2019).
Levels
Levels in the prototype can be selected from the main menu. When selecting a level, map names and accompanying screenshots are presented in a horizontally sliding carousel. Upon stopping the carousel on any particular map, a dropdown box allows the player to specify a segment of the map to spawn. Based on the titles of these segments, these were likely intended to function as "chapters" within a given level. In the file "DukeForever.ini", the names of these levels and segments are found under a section titled "Engine.MapLocations", where the map names correspond to a "Location" variable and the segments correspond to a "Name" variable.
The list of levels differs slightly between the two builds included in the prototype:
|
August 21 build1. The Lady Killer
2. Lost Wages
3. Leaving Las Vegas
4. The Slick Willy
5. Stratosfear
6. This is not a boating accident!
7. Power Struggle
8. Countdown to Destruction
9. Born to be Wild
10. Heat Wave
11. Ghost Town
12. Ground Zero
13. Unfriendly Skies
14. Deja Vu
15. Rescue Mission
16. Operation Shutdown
17. Moon Patrol
18. Mother Ship
|
October 26 build1. The Lady Killer
2. Lost Wages
3. Leaving Las Vegas
4. The Slick Willy
5. Stratosfear
6. This is not a boating accident!
7. Power Struggle
8. Countdown to Destruction
9. Born to be Wild
10. Heat Wave
11. Ghost Town
12. Ground Zero
13. Unfriendly Skies
14. Deja Vu
15. Rescue Mission
16. Operation Shutdown
17. Moon Patrol
18. Mother Ship
|
Notably, the level titled "Deja Vu" is a recreation of Hollywood Holocaust, the first level of Duke Nukem 3D.
There are also other maps included in the files with each build. For example, both builds contain a "Zoo" map showcasing most of the in-game assets, similar to the Zoo map from Duke Nukem 3D. However, most of these other maps appear to be test maps.
Enemies
The following enemies can be found in the 2001 builds. Wherever possible, this list uses official names provided either in the leaked files or in other materials historically shared by the developers:
- Alien Pig
- Alien Plasm
- Bellowsaur
- Drone Jet
- Torpedo variant
- Unarmed variant
- Earth Defense Forces
- EDFcopter
- EDF Sapper
- EDF Sniper
- Snatched EDF Soldier
- Desert variant
- Riot Shield variant
- SWAT variant
- Urban variant
- EDF-209
- Jetski Trooper
- K-9 Unit
- Motorcycle Trooper
- Headcreeper
- Lizard Trooper
- Octabrain
- Pigcop
- Pod Protector
- Proton Monitor, piloted by Dr. Proton
- Sandworm
- Snatched Human
- Snatcher
- Adult
- Eggpod
- Larva
- Tesla Raptor
- Turret
Weapons
- Mighty Foot
- Chainsaw
- Desert Eagle
- .50 Cal Rounds
- Hollow Rounds
- Piercing Rounds
- Shotgun
- 12-Gauge Shells
- Acid Shells
- M16
- 7.62 Assault Rifle
- 40mm Grenade Launcher
- Railgun
- Zoom Scope
- Pipe Bomb
- Pipe Bombs
- Sticky Bombs
- Trip Mine
- RPG
- Rockets
- Tactical Nukes
- Shrinker
- Flamethrower
- Flamethrower
- Fire Wall
- Gas
- Freeze Cannon
Items
- Atomic Health
- Holoduke
- Hypospray
- Health (blue)
- Steroids (red)
- Antidote (green)
- Jetpack
- Portable Medkit
- Rebreather
- Riot Shield
- S.O.S. Power Core
- Shades Operating System (S.O.S.)
- Electromagnetic Pulse
- Heat Vision
- Night Vision
- Zoom Vision
Vehicles
- Area 51 Tram, a tram connecting Morningwood to Area 51
- Duke's Bike, a motorcycle repeatedly found throughout the game, including in the Lost Wages, Hoover Dam, and Born To Be Wild chapters
- Gus's Mule, a mule that Gus lends to Duke Nukem; the mule is reprised as an Easter egg on The Burning Bush in The Doctor Who Cloned Me
- Speed Boat, a vehicle piloted by General Graves and manned by Duke Nukem
Characters
Apart from Duke Nukem himself, the following characters also appear in the 2001 prototype:
- Dr. Proton, Duke's arch nemesis from Duke Nukem I
- General Graves, a general in the Earth Defense Forces who provides Duke with a mission briefing
- Gus, an old miner and "comical relief"-type character
- Janet, who is responsible for mixing the music and sound effects during the talk show
- Jay, an early version of talk show host "Johnny O'Lennoman" in the final game
- Kitty Pousoix, a French maid who works at Duke's penthouse but is not yet named in this prototype
- Page, who retrieves Duke from his dressing room
- Tim, a travel guide who works at the Hoover Dam
The names shown above are the characters' official names. However, it is important to note that, when the player's crosshairs hover over the corpse of a dead character, the game displays a randomly selected name, rather than the official name that appears in the subtitles and in the dialogue history accessible through the pause menu.
Multiplayer
The 2001 prototype contains a fully functional multiplayer deathmatch mode known as "Duke Deathmatch," as well as a fully coded "Player Setup" feature that allows players to customize their in-game screen name, sex, voice pack, body shape ("mesh"), face, torso, arms, legs, icon, and hit sound.
Game modes
When starting a multiplayer server, the host is able to select a game mode, which defines the rules and gameplay mechanics during multiplayer matches on the server. The first two of the following game modes can be selected when starting a server, and the remaining three are only known from fragments of code in the game's files:
- "Duke Deathmatch"
- Fully coded and fully playable deathmatch game mode
- "Team Deathmatch"
- Incomplete but partly playable deathmatch game mode that divides players into two rival teams: Humans and Bugs. In this game mode, players can earn credits by killing other players, and these credits can then be used to swap classes. (See Classes below)
- "Bug Hunt - Plant/Disarm the Bomb"
- Incomplete and unplayable game mode that appears mostly coded in the Unreal Engine class file "dnTeamGame_Bomb.uc" and is separately referenced in the UnrealScript file "dnGame.u". This game mode is largely based on the "Bomb Defusal" game mode from the Counter-Strike series. Teams compete to plant or to defuse bombs, and the team with the most successful detonations wins. This game mode uses the same class system as Team Deathmatch. (See Classes below)
- "Bug Hunt - Last Man Standing"
- Incomplete and unplayable game mode that only consists of placeholders in the Unreal Engine class file "dnTeamGame_LMS.uc" and is separately referenced in the UnrealScript file "dnGame.u". This game mode can be initialized through the Unreal Engine's commandline client, but nothing happens.
- "Capture The Flag" and "Domination"
- Totally nonexistent game modes that are merely mentioned in the UnrealScript files, suggesting these were either planned or scrapped at some point in development. In the files "dnGame.u" and "MalePlayerSounds.uc", there is code for a menu of pre-recorded messages that can be quickly selected by the player without manually typing or voicing them during multiplayer. The contents of this menu will change depending on the multiplayer game mode, but the contents are only programmed to change for "Capture The Flag" and "Domination" game modes, neither of which are present in the leaked prototype. On-screen text messages are programmed to accompany the voice recordings. A few relevant examples include the following: "Assault the base.", "Base is uncovered!", "Take their flag.", "Enemy flag carrier is here.", "Control point is secure."
Classes
The "Team Deathmatch" and "Bug Hunt - Plant/Disarm the Bomb" game modes share a class system. In each of these game modes, players earn credits based on their in-game performance, and these credits are then used to swap classes during multiplayer matches. In order to swap classes, a dedicated key must be pressed. However, this key lacks a default key binding, so it must first be assigned in the "Shades OS" section of the Controls menu. Classes and their corresponding loadouts are detailed below:
- Attack Dog
- Skin: K-9 Unit
- Equipment: Bite
- Captain
- Skin: EDF Soldier
- Equipment: Hypospray (4 Vials), Desert Eagle (150 Rounds), M16 (450 Rounds, 10 Grenades), Shotgun (40 Shells), S.O.S. (Zoom Vision, Night Vision, Heat Vision), Riot Shield
- EDF-209
- Skin: EDF-209
- Equipment: RPG (15 Rockets, 1 Tactical Nuke), S.O.S. (Zoom Vision, Night Vision)
- Flamer
- Skin: EDF Soldier
- Equipment: Desert Eagle (90 Rounds), Flamethrower (40 Fuel), Hypospray (2 Vials), S.O.S. (Heat Vision)
- Freezer
- Skin: EDF Soldier
- Equipment: Desert Eagle (90 Rounds), Flamethrower (40 Fuel), Hypospray (2 Vials), S.O.S. (Heat Vision)
- Grunt (default starting class)
- Skin: EDF Soldier
- Equipment: Desert Eagle (150 Rounds), M16 (90 Rounds), Hypospray (1 Vial)
- HeavyWeps
- Skin: EDF-209
- Equipment: RPG
- M16
- Skin: EDF Soldier
- Equipment: M16
- Octabrain
- Skin: Octabrain
- Equipment: Octablaster, Night Vision, Flying Ability
- Sapper
- Skin: EDF Sapper
- Equipment: Desert Eagle (90 Rounds), Pipe Bombs (30 Bombs), Trip Mines (30 Mines), Hypospray (2 Vials)
- Shotgun
- Skin: Pigcop
- Equipment: Shotgun
- Sniper
- Skin: EDF Sniper
- Equipment: Railgun (20 Rounds), Desert Eagle (90 Rounds), Hypospray (2 Vials), S.O.S. (Night Vision)
- Soldier
- Skin: EDF Soldier
- Equipment: Desert Eagle (150 Rounds), M16 (300 Rounds, 2 Grenades), Hypospray (2 Vials), S.O.S. (Night Vision)
Mutators
When creating a multiplayer match, the host can decide whether to enable a "mutator." Mutators can alter gameplay mechanics, player attributes, and initial loadouts. A full list of in-game mutators is outlined below:
- Big Head
- Scales each player character's head by 1.5 times
- Bigger Heads
- Scales each player character's head by 2 times
- EMP Upgrade
- Grants each player the Electromagnetic Pulse ability
- Heat Vision Upgrade
- Grants each player the Heat Vision ability
- Jetpacks
- Gives each player the Jetpack
- Low Gravity
- Alters in-game physics to simulate low gravity, similar to the Moon
- Night Vision Upgrade
- Grants each player the Night Vision ability
- Zoom Upgrade
- Grants each player the Zoom Vision ability
Miscellaneous
- The main menu screen emulates the "Shades Operating System (S.O.S.)" that is built into Duke's sunglasses.
- The Shades Operating System was first introduced in the authorized spin-off game Duke Nukem: Land of the Babes (2000) by n-Space.
- It is not known whether n-Space included the Shades Operating System in Duke Nukem: Land of the Babes because they were told by 3D Realms that it would appear in Duke Nukem Forever or whether 3D Realms actually got the idea from Duke Nukem: Land of the Babes.
- The main menu screen can be customized with different icons and wallpapers, as though the menu screen were a computer desktop.
- Like the final version, Ego appears in the HUD, but it corresponds to health rather than shields.
- The HUD also includes a "Power" bar that corresponds to the SOS Shade's energy (used for items in the 5th slot) and a "Shield" bar used by the Riot Shield, which functions similarly to Ego from the final game.
- At any point in the game, a dedicated key binding can be pressed to fire a continuous stream of urine.
- For a game developed in 2001, the prototype used an extremely advanced physics simulation for shattering glass from broken windows.
- Duke is able to climb ladders and swing across hanging ropes in this prototype.
- Money can be found in hidden areas and looted off corpses.
- The prototype includes several digital devices with interactive screens, including a digital keypad, personal computer, and fully functional vending machine.
- Similar to the final release, the prototype includes numerous interactive arcade mini-games, including:
- Slots
- Video Poker
- Pinball
- Pool
- Air Hockey
- "Alien Abortion" (whack-a-mole with aliens)
- "Dance Dance Duke" (modeled after Dance Dance Revolution)
Videos
Full walkthrough
Key features and highlights
Recreated E3 trailer
Following the leak, one fan who goes by the alias "Burning Fish Gaming" used the leaked assets to recreate the entire 2001 E3 trailer in 4K resolution.
Fan modifications
Although the files were leaked in a semi-playable state, numerous modifications have since been created and shared by fans in order to make the prototype more playable on modern computers. Other mods have attempted to alter in-game assets or game mechanics in order to make the game more enjoyable. Most of these can be downloaded from the 2001 prototype's dedicated Mod DB page.
DNF2001 Restoration Project
The highest-profile fan modification to date is the DNF2001 Restoration Project, which received extensive press coverage when the project's "first slice teaser trailer" was revealed on August 31, 2022. The restoration project, which has a dedicated Mod DB page, is a large collaborative project that aims to create a fully finished and playable version of the leaked 2001 prototype, without any of the technical obstacles associated with compiling and running the leaked files. The developers announced their intentions to finish and polish levels from the main campaign, and they said they plan to extrapolate a narrative story from available materials, while staying true to the original pre-2003 vision for the game.
External links
- Download the original leak via Archive.org, though it requires compiling in order to play
- Download a pre-compiled build via Archive.org, which is instantly playable
- Download mods for the 2001 prototype via Mod DB
- In-depth technical analysis of all files and code included in the leak, via The Cutting Room Floor