Total Meltdown/dukenukemtotalmeltdown.img/readme.txt

Text File | 1996-07-20 | 12KB | 233 lines

            T O T A L   M E L T D O W N    tm

         Tools and Software Arsenal for Duke Nukem TM 3D

Duke Nukem TM and 3D Realms TM are trademarks of Apogee, Ltd., which is not
affiliated with Sierra On-Line, Inc and does not support, endorse, or
sponsor this product. You will need a registered version of Duke Nukem 3D
available from 3D Realms in order to use the material included in this
package.

PROBLEMS?  Page down below the following list of contents for some ideas.


CONGRATULATIONS!  You are now the proud owner of a unique collection of
yadda, yadda, yadda.  Sorry, I could only stomach a single line of PR BS.
So, what have you got here and where do you find it?  Here goes:

1. This package contains a ton of texture art, animation art, sound files,
   midi music files, and documentation, all of which can be used to build
   or enhance game levels for Duke Nukem 3D. The music files are in both
   general midi format (GEN_MIDI directory) and in Soundblaster format
   (SBLASTER directory). The sound files are in Duke's preferred VOC format
   as well as in WAV form so that you can listen to them on other sound
   players.
2. There are also over 500 levels that have been produced by Duke's most
   avid fans. Some are experiments in how to get the Build utility to work,
   some are deathmatch levels and some are great single player levels.
   Overall, there are hundreds of hours worth of extra game play for Duke
   enthusiasts.
3. We have also included a nifty little browser (called MELTDOWN.EXE)
   that lets you quickly scan through the levels, look at screen shots and
   maps of each, read the text files that describe each, and launch any that
   you decide to try. The browser also lets you run any of the Sierra demos
   included on this CD. Finally, it's easily customized to other uses.
   If you like the way the browser helps organize a bunch of Duke levels,
   just edit the BROWSER.TDB file and use this tool to scan art collections,
   other collections of levels, all your other games, or any other huge
   mess of files that can be browsed by looking at PCX or TXT files.
4. All the levels have been rated and categorized to help you find what you
   are most interested in. They are divided as SINGLE (single player levels
   with lots of foes to fight), DEATH (deathmatch levels) and HYBRID (these
   can work either way).  They have been rated as A (the best of the best),
   B (next best) and C (average). You should know that all the levels take
   a lot of time, work, and creativity to build and they all offer something
   for both the game player and for the level builder. The efforts of all
   the level makers should be respected and appreciated.
5. As much as possible, we have included credits to the level builders.
   There are txt files that contain author name, level name, info about the
   level from the author, disclaimers, bug notices, restrictions on further
   usage, and any story-line that the author had in mind when he built the
   level. With the thousands of Duke sites on the internet, some maps may
   have been inadvertently separated from their author credit notices. I
   have tried hard to match up every map with what credits I could find, but
   if I have missed any, I apologize sincerely. If your credit was omitted, I
   ask that you send email to me personally (see end of file) and I will
   arrange for proper notice to be given in Sierra's web site or in their
   Interaction magazine. I really did try to find all these, but some maps
   either did not have them or they had become separated as they roamed the
   web.
6. The new textures and animation art are mainly from a new Sierra product
   coming out this fall called Birthright. Based on TSR's great product of
   the same name, Birthright is a role-playing game with a strong strategy
   component. And, the adventures are in some of the coolest looking castles,
   dungeons, mines, towns, and ruins that you've ever seen. Lots of cool
   art and sounds that you can add to your own Duke levels make for a look
   that is very different. So, take your levels in new directions and make
   something that looks like nothing else out there!
7. We have also collected many of the information files from the net that
   tell you how to get the most out of Duke and the Duke Build utility --
   how to load new textures and animations into Build, how to get some of
   those cool effects that you've seen in Duke or that you will see in the
   levels on this CD. Read 'em and take it all a step further.
8. The CON files are one of the best ways to really customize your Duke
   levels. Read up on these and take a look at the levels that use them.
   You can change all Duke's health, armor, and weapons. Change how much
   damage weapons do, how fast they shoot, what type of ammo and how much it
   can carry. You can change the text messages that appear on screen
   during the game, change sounds, change music, and change how the
   animations appear and sequence. You can change every foe in the game,
   altering their speed, strength, and what they do when they see Duke.
   It's a blast playing with this stuff. See Ben Cantrick's intro on this
   in D3DCN025.TXT in the DOCO directory.  Good stuff! Thanks, Ben.
9. Lots of utilities and info on how to use them are in the UTIL
   directory.
10.Lots of other good notes, ideas, and answers to questions are in the
   doco directory. It is certainly not complete, but there is a lot there
   to work with. Read it, run with it, and have fun!



              P R O B L E M S ? ? ?

    INSTALL TIME

1. If your CD cannot be read when you insert it into your CD-ROM drive, you
   probably have a defective or damaged CD diskette. Check with the retail
   store where you purchased this product and see if they can exchange it for
   you. If you can't get the help you need there, then contact Sierra
   Customer Support by phone, fax, modem, or mail at:

                Sierra On-Line
        Technical Support
        P.O. Box 85006
        Bellevue, WA 98015-8506
        Phone: [phone] M-F, 8:15 am - 4:45 PM
        Fax:   [phone]
        Modem:
        Sierra BBS:     [phone]
        CompuServe:  GO SIERRA (Sierra Forum)
        AOL:                       Keyword:        SIERRA
        Internet:  HTTP://WWW.SIERRA.COM

2. If you are running under Windows '95, the MELTDOWN browser utility should
   be placed in a different directory from DUKE3D. Let the Install program
   create a folder for you other than DUKE3D. The MELTDOWN browser will look
   for DUKE3D on your c: drive in a directory called DUKE3D. If you have DUKE
   located elsewhere, please edit BROWSER.TDB. You will see the C:\DUKE3D
   line at the top of that file. Change it to any pathname that you may be
   using for DUKE. Sorry for the inconvenience.



    RUN TIME

1. Total Meltdown requires a registered copy of Duke Nukem 3D. It cannot work
   with the shareware version of this product. If you do not have the full
   Duke Nukem 3D product installed on your computer, then you cannot launch
   these custom levels. Sorry. This is the policy of 3D Realms, and we fully
   support their preference that you buy their game if you want to get the
   most fun from playing with it.
2. You must have your Total Meltdown CD in the drive when you run the
   Meltdown browser. There are just too many files on the CD to load them
   all onto your hard drive. If you get tired of messing with the CD, then
   feel free to load any amount of your favorite levels onto your hard drive
   and edit BROWSER.TDB accordingly. I won't go into the details. Take a
   look at BROWSER.TDB and change the path and/or file names. A little
   experimentation should make it all clear.
3. From the Meltdown browser, if you try to run a level (by pressing the
   ENTER key while a map level name is highlighted), Meltdown will try to
   launch Duke Nukem 3D and run that level. If it cannot find Duke Nukem 3D,
   you will see an error message such as:

        "Running file 'duke3d -map . . . '

        Bad command or file name.
            or
        Invalid directory or drive.

   This means that the Meltdown browser could not find your copy of DUKE3D.
   The browser looks for Duke3D on your c: drive in a directory called
   DUKE3D. If you have placed Duke somewhere else, you should edit the file
   BROWSER.TDB. At the top of that file, you will see the pathname:

        C:\DUKE3D.

   Change this line to whatever pathname is appropriate for your copy of
   Duke3D. You can edit this file with any text editor. This is the file that
   you play with to use the Meltdown browser for other browse functions as
   well.




This package is copyrighted c 1996 by Sierra On-Line, Inc. All rights reserved.


Please note: All of the Duke Nukem levels contained in this compilation
are available without charge over the Internet as well as other online
services.  Sierra On-Line has no affiliation with the authors of Duke
Nukem, their licensees, or the authors of these freely available levels.
You may obtain more information about many of the authors of the levels
in the text (*.txt) files accompanying each level.  The low price for
this package represents only our costs of downloading these levels on
your behalf, evaluating and preparing the compilation of the levels,
providing a critique of them, simplifying their installation on your
computer, our costs for media, costs of distribution, and a small
profit.  Sierra is not charging you for the individual levels, and
accepts no responsibility for their accuracy.

Reproduction of this compilation is prohibited under international law.
Sierra On-Line specifically disclaims any liability should a program
malfunction or cause damage, incidental or otherwise.  Total Meltdown
is in no way related to 3D Realms Entertainment, publisher of Duke
Nukem 3D; 3D Realms Entertainment will not provide support for the
material on this disk.  These add-ons may only be used with the
registered version of Duke Nukem 3D.  Duke Nukem and 3D Realms are
registered trademarks of Apogee.  All other trademarks are the property
of their respective owners.



        MISCELLANEOUS CREDITS FOR TOTAL MELTDOWN

   Materials collected by                       Evan Dean
   Browser tool by                              Donald Tsang
   Textures and animation art prepared by       Jason Jones
   Additional art by                            Jeremy Jones
   Sounds collected and prepared by             Craig Utterback
   Music by                                     Chris Barker
   Level pics prepared by                       Derek Clardy
                        Alex Bennion
   Levels rated by                              Derek Clardy
                        Wes Cumberland
                        Michael Ormsby
                        Mike McMillen
   Custom levels developed for this package     Chris Williams
                        Mike McMillen
                        Derek Clardy
   Product / Brand Manager                      Brad Bethune
   Corporate QA Manager                         Gary Brown
   Creative Service Manager                     Heather Lavin
   Copy Writer                                  David Edgerton
   Box design                                   Greg Simonson /
                           ShadowLight Design

   Direction                                    Robert Clardy
   Coordination and organization                Ann Dickens Clardy

   Levels provided courtesy of many hard-working volunteers. See the
   text file credits for each level as you browse it.




   If credit was inadvertently left out, please email the appropriate
   info (level name and author at least, but whatever else you want to
   share with the world about your level) to Robert Clardy at
   [e-mail].  I'll do my best to insure your credit gets
   posted or displayed in an appropriate fashion.