The Prehistoric DOS Method
Boot up a DOS prompt and type CD C:\DUKE3D
to get into the game directory. Type SETUP
. This menu will be displayed. Choose "User Level Selection".
Choose "Select User Level" and then press Enter
on your selected level:
Press Escape
to back up to the main menu. Choose "Save and Launch Duke Nukem 3D". The game will start and your level will run.
You can also play your level by entering DUKE3D -MAP mapname
at the C:\DUKE3D
prompt. Replace mapname
with the name of the map you wish to play (typing the file extension [.MAP
] is unnecessary).
The Modern EDuke32 Method
This is extremely simple. At the Main Menu, select "New Game".
Now select "User Map".
Select the map you wish to play, and enjoy!
Extracting the original levels
There is a pair of programs that come with the game called KGROUP
and KEXTRACT
. These can be used to handle the .GRP
file format. Make sure the programs and the DUKE3D.GRP
file are in the game directory. Run the command prompt, switch to the C:\DUKE3D
directory, and type KEXTRACT DUKE3D.GRP *.MAP
. This will extract all of the original maps into the game directory. The map name format is: E#L#
, where E#
is the episode number and L#
is the level number. For example, Episode 1 Level 1 would have a filename of E1L1.MAP
.
This concludes the basic knowledge you need to build maps. Have some fun with it. Create and test all sorts of maps. Check out the Advanced FX section when you're ready to learn how to construct the game effects, and the References section for loads of useful information. Both can be accessed from the Main page.