"Mrr Caliber" (sic) is the first episode in LameDuke. The title of the episode is spelled "Mrr Caliber" in the sprite shown on the in-game menu, but if the EXE file is opened like a TXT file, the text "Mr. Caliber" is actually found inside the game's internal code, making it clear that the in-game menu option is misspelled.
The episode begins on a space station, but on the fifth level, it shifts to a city theme.
E1L1[]
E1L1 begins in a docking bay in outer space, where Duke has apparently arrived on a small fighter ship.
E1L2[]
E1L2 is notable for featuring trains that work similar to those in the final game.
E1L3[]
E1L3 is another space station with butchering tables, some with blood pouring off of them, and a hook texture not seen in the final game.
E1L4[]
E1L4 is one of only a few levels to feature the Jellyfish. It takes place on a space station.
E1L5[]
E1L5 marks a sudden change to a city theme. Similar to E1L2, this level takes place in a subway system. The subway is connected to what could be either a sanitation plant or an undeveloped mall with a fountain in the center. The geometry of the train cars and of one of the subway platforms appears to have been either copied-and-pasted or further iterated into Rabid Transit. Rabid Transit also features a room with a similar fountain in the middle.
Footage exists from a later build of this level, dated May 9, 1995.
E1L6[]
E1L6 is a massive city that the player can freely explore. It contains a few bars, a hotel, and several towers, including the landmark US Bank Tower from Los Angeles.
Images from the 1995 prototypes reveal that E1L6 later underwent heavy development across numerous iterations, and it may have been a developer favorite for playtesting new features.
Although E1L6 did not make it into Duke Nukem 3D, Allen Blum states in the 20th Anniversary Edition developer commentary that he extracted sections of this map as a basis for creating several newer maps that appeared in the final release. While he does not specifically mention any levels by name, E1L6 features a nearly identical marquee that would later appear on the front of the movie theater in Hollywood Holocaust. It also features buildings, a red neon signpost, and a dance club that all resemble elements of Red Light District. The relationship to Red Light District is further supported by images of what appears to be a brothel in the 1995 builds of E1L6, but the brothel did not make it into the final game. Lastly, images from the 1995 prototypes clearly show that the area containing the crashed police car at the end of Freeway originally appeared on a subsequent iteration of this level, suggesting other elements of Freeway may have been borrowed from this level as well.
Footage exists from a later build of this level, dated May 9, 1995.
E1L7[]
E1L7 has the player climb a tower seen in E1L6, which has suddenly grown taller between E1l6 and E1L7. The map is filled with Drones and elevators.
E1L8[]
E1L8 is the last level in episode 1. After reaching the top of the skyscraper from E1L7, the player confronts a Spaceship boss, along with several Mandroid cohorts. The developers apparently had not yet completed the Spaceship because it only patrols back-and-forth, never attacking the player. However, this is the only level where the Mandroid will move and attack the player.
E1L9[]
Normally, this level cannot be accessed because it uses an old version of the Build level format (v4, while the rest of LameDuke uses v5). However, thanks to a map converter built by Ken Silverman, it can still be accessed. It appears to be a re-textured and smaller version of the first test level included with Ken Silverman’s test game for Build, as shown in the April 1994 Build Demo.
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