DUKE NUKEM II LEVEL EDITOR (and other stuff)

Discuss classic and favorite computer or console games here.
User avatar
Levellass
S-Triazine
Posts: 5265
Joined: Tue Sep 23, 2008 6:40

Post by Levellass »

What IS the VOC format anyway? I don't think I've seen it anywhere?

VOC <> WAV is welcome indeed.
What you really need, not what you think you ought to want.
User avatar
_mr_m_
Vortimaestro
Posts: 431
Joined: Mon May 11, 2009 23:14
Location: Quetzalacatenango

Post by _mr_m_ »

Levellass wrote:What IS the VOC format anyway? I don't think I've seen it anywhere?

VOC <> WAV is welcome indeed.
I always thought .VOC was a Creative SoundBlaster wave format. I think it had enough similarities to the .WAV format that they could easily be converted between one another.

There existed a program -- I think it was called Voice Blaster -- which would play .VOC and .WAV and convert between the two. It would also play .CMF files.

Numerous DOS games used .VOC. Best example I can think of would be Duke Nukem 3D. Epic MegaGames' DrumBlaster also used .VOC samples extensively, as did Traffic Department 2192.
"I just drew this stupid little fish." -- Tom Hall
User avatar
K1n9_Duk3
Vorticon Elite
Posts: 779
Joined: Mon Aug 25, 2008 9:30
Location: Germany
Contact:

Post by K1n9_Duk3 »

_mr_m_ wrote:
Levellass wrote:What IS the VOC format anyway? I don't think I've seen it anywhere?

VOC <> WAV is welcome indeed.
I always thought .VOC was a Creative SoundBlaster wave format. I think it had enough similarities to the .WAV format that they could easily be converted between one another.
Unfortunately, that is not the whole story. VOC files were parsed and decoded by the SoundBlaster card (in hardware). The fact that there is no official software implementation of the decoder makes it very difficult to convert VOC files into WAV files and vice versa.

Some VOC files in Duke Nukem II use Creative's Adaptive Depth Pulse Code Modulation (ADPCM), wich cannot be converted into plain PCM data (wave data) without emulating the hardware decoder. The DOSBox emulator does this, but I don't think the result is 100% accurate.

Later games such as Duke Nukem 3D use a later version of the VOC format that fully supports plain 8-bit PCM data. In fact, Duke Nukem 3D is unable to play ADPCM data at all, since the sound samples are mixed in software before they are sent to the audio hardware. On the other hand, the newer version VOC files from Duke 3D cannot be played by the playback routines in Duke II.

The VOC converter can read and decode about any WAV or VOC file. The VOC files it creates are all 8-bit PCM, but in the old VOC format supported by Duke Nukem II. Encoding the data into ADPCM format requires futher knowledge about the hardware decoder. Hence, it is not implemented.
Hail to the K1n9, baby!
http://k1n9duk3.shikadi.net
User avatar
Levellass
S-Triazine
Posts: 5265
Joined: Tue Sep 23, 2008 6:40

Post by Levellass »

All I got from that was 'VOC is complicated and nobody cares'
What you really need, not what you think you ought to want.
User avatar
K1n9_Duk3
Vorticon Elite
Posts: 779
Joined: Mon Aug 25, 2008 9:30
Location: Germany
Contact:

Post by K1n9_Duk3 »

There's a new version of the Editor: Version 0.9d BETA

Some of the new features are:
- improved Level Editor (can now display tile attributes)
- new AudioT Editor (edits PC Speaker and AdLib sound effects)
- new IMF Converter (converts MIDI and IMF songs into the IMF format used by Duke 2)

The new option to display tile attributes in the level editor is probably the most important update for the level editor in the last two years. It should make it a lot easier to understand the tilesets (CZones) and to create new levels.

Hell, it's been two years and no-one has released a mod or levelpack for Duke Nukem II!

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the game's release and you could become part of the Duke Nukem II History by creating the first levelpack ever.
Hail to the K1n9, baby!
http://k1n9duk3.shikadi.net
User avatar
Levellass
S-Triazine
Posts: 5265
Joined: Tue Sep 23, 2008 6:40

Post by Levellass »

You may want to focus some of your knowledge on Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure, two levelpacks exist and a keener is working on a mod. (I had to code a graphics editor from scratch I did!)
What you really need, not what you think you ought to want.
User avatar
K1n9_Duk3
Vorticon Elite
Posts: 779
Joined: Mon Aug 25, 2008 9:30
Location: Germany
Contact:

Post by K1n9_Duk3 »

There's a new version of the Editor: Version 0.9e BETA

The level editor can now detect a lot more errors that may cause the game to crash or even freeze. It also has a new "preview level" function that allows you to view the level with the in-game viewport and HUD.

See the included readme.txt for the full list of changes.
Hail to the K1n9, baby!
http://k1n9duk3.shikadi.net
User avatar
Levellass
S-Triazine
Posts: 5265
Joined: Tue Sep 23, 2008 6:40

Post by Levellass »

Error detection is always good.
What you really need, not what you think you ought to want.
User avatar
morris_fudley
Grunt
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Mar 04, 2013 5:00

Post by morris_fudley »

I can't download the files from your first and later posts. As you may have noticed in the message, I finished one level in version 0.9c and now I am starting another level. I wanted to see if I could do any better with the newer versions. Here are the links I came up with:

http://k1n9duk3.k1.ohost.de/files/duke2edit_09d.zip http://k1n9duk3.k1.ohost.de/files/duke2edit_09e.zip

I know this has not been posted for a few months but I really needed help here. So I understand that I may be breaking a rule ( Rule 8 ). Thank you anyway.
Morris Fudley has worn out this shower!

Saaaay, fool! Back out of here just a shade? You gettin' close enough to dance with and lord only knows I did enough dancin' last night!
User avatar
Roobar
Vorticon Elite
Posts: 3263
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 16:12
Contact:

Post by Roobar »

Yeah, unfortunately, K1n9_Duk3 disappeared for almost a year without a word...
User avatar
VikingBoyBilly
Vorticon Elite
Posts: 4158
Joined: Sat Jan 05, 2008 2:06
Location: The spaghetti island of the faces of dinosaur world for a vacation

Post by VikingBoyBilly »

Your link is also a 404 error.
Image
"I don't trust players. Not one bit." - Levellass
User avatar
K1n9_Duk3
Vorticon Elite
Posts: 779
Joined: Mon Aug 25, 2008 9:30
Location: Germany
Contact:

Post by K1n9_Duk3 »

duke2edit_09f.zip

Sorry for the inconvenience. Yes, I've been offline for about a year.

Looks like my web host ceased to exist, so all links are broken. I don't know if there will be a new site any time soon, so I uploaded this new version of the editor (I've been carrying this around for amost a year now, check the readme) to a plain file host for the german Keen community. I don't even know for sure if this is the most recent version or not, but it should be a nice update enyway.
Hail to the K1n9, baby!
http://k1n9duk3.shikadi.net
User avatar
Lunick
Vortininja
Posts: 283
Joined: Tue Jun 01, 2010 10:37
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Contact:

Post by Lunick »

We missed you K1n9_Duk3 :begging
Lunick is Here
Nickssoft
Vortininja
Posts: 98
Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2007 3:47

Post by Nickssoft »

..
Last edited by Nickssoft on Sat Sep 19, 2020 18:57, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Roobar
Vorticon Elite
Posts: 3263
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 16:12
Contact:

Post by Roobar »

The return of the King? Yeah, welcome back! That actually reminds me that I've made a small level quite a while to test it. It's nothing too special. Here it is:

Image
The above image is not true representative of the level. I haven't changed any graphics.

The plot: A huge, never before seen asteroid is approaching Earth. The Government is sending Duke Nukem to investigate what's going on there.

The level starts right after Duke lands with his spaceship on the top of the asteroid to find out that... more alien scum is threatening the Earth :).

Download

Simply extract it to your Duke 2 folder and run the game. Also, anyone can use this level in levelpacks (if someone is still making one).
Last edited by Roobar on Sun Jan 26, 2020 8:42, edited 1 time in total.
Post Reply