Introduction
Duke is roused awake after a tremendous thundering as a huge superstorm passes over L.A. while a second, much larger storm begins to form! Wild theories erupt from TV broadcasts, but Duke knows the aliens must be involved. Time to scout out the city and find out what’s going down.
Review
Debut releases are kinda hard to come by these days in the DUKE3D mapping community, I’d gather in large part due to the archaic nature of working with BUILD. Despite some extensions and quality of life improvements made in MAPSTER32, other communities benefit from modernised toolsets that are much easier to handle like DOOMBUILDER or TRENCHBROOM. So for anyone coming onto the scene would require a particular patience for memorising several key commands and nuances while wrangling special effects before it all becomes second nature. Pepsodent coming onboard to tackle the challenge of BUILD was a fascinating journey to watch on its own. They asked questions on the DUKE4 Discord, considered possible solutions when problems arise, went through all the motions of near enough hating the editor, to eventually acquiring a love-hate relationship. It was genuine nostalgia to witness as we’ve all been in those shoes at one point. Some move on, while others are forever caught in jaws of BUILD. First releases can often be a quaint stepping stone, showcasing the sporadic nature whilst different aspects of mapping are learnt. But WEATHER REPORT is anything but quaint or sporadic, as there’s a surprising amount of coherent intent behind every jigsaw piece as nothing feels out of place, all while offering a ton of depth and variation. I honestly found it difficult to believe they hadn’t made a level previously, especially having taken great advantage of newer mapping features most veterans have only began utilising in recent years, maybe being too stuck in our old ways to make the shift, which makes newcomers a breath of fresh air for making most of what’s already available.
Pepsodent’s visuals here are oozing with style, claiming having taken influence from both ION FURY and Shaky Grounds, pulling off its chosen setting with gluttonous attention to detail as each interior is well realised concerning their chosen purposes. Streets are adorned with varied buildings and storefronts, large animated screens pushing advertisments and distant skyscrapers looming with rich glows. I’m also reminded of aspects during the earliest levels from DEUS EX, especially in regard to the included music track taken from RED ALERT, a smooth and mellow vibe that’s perfect for the setting. WEATHER REPORT primarily takes place around a dirty slum district, you start inside Duke’s sleazy motel room as he lazes around in bed with drink bottles strewn about. These sights don’t get any more pleasant upon leaving the confines of his room into dank littered hallways where trash is piling up and a lack of care being maintained. The motel is a shithole, purposely so, an excellent representation built from default assets. Decorations and furnishings are heavy on sprite usage to fill out many of these scenes with suitable objects of interest leaving no corner left too barren. Sometimes these can hamper Duke’s movement causing him to hop all over the place which could have been avoided either by unblocking certain details or manipulating clip distances for smoother indoor traversal. Decay has also fallen upon the district itself, collapsed buildings and rubble block road ways, flooding waters gushing down streets and more destruction will soon follow in your wake. Military vehicles have been left abandoned after charging into a losing battle, now their turrets are commandeered to serve the aliens own purposes.
TROR and sloped sprites have many tasteful applications, a favourite of mine being the parking lot to show off its ruined state, a collapsed hole between floors with rebar bent out of shape. Another structure is primed for destruction, sloped sprites seamlessly blended alongside the architecture disguising that this event would ever occur. Two other components of design also really stood out to me helped emphasise a dystopic cyberpunk aesthetic. The distant buildings to simulate a busy skybox, opting for more than a simple parallax sky, also contrasts against all the dirt and grime. Out of reach sights like stars along the horizon, a better state of affairs than crawling around in debris, later being rewarded with a clearer vantage point when stepping onto the peak of a highrise. Lighting is another gorgeous element using high contrast beams diminishing a bleak urban macabre, going all out with colour choices like greens and blues and reds without shame, while deep shadows are cast from objects conveniently placed for dramatic effect. Darkness doesn’t call for much concern during the moment to moment action, but some occasions can deprive sight of an enemy. There was one room that spooked me, housing a single burning barrel as my only light source, flooding the area with a red glow as black shadows obscure my attackers. A pair of nightvision goggles came in clutch as the situation called for it.
I had the most fun after a long time from a DUKE3D map during my initial run because of how well rounded the experience turned out to be and couldn’t pause even for a moment until completion. That can be tricky to pull off consistently, but helps that the level doesn’t overwhelm you with massive real estate, opting instead for a close knit layout and ensuring most encounters are manageable in short bursts. Combat therefore kept me engaged despite being a constant problem around every corner, waltzing into well guarded areas that could turn tides at a moments notice. The battle for a blue access card serves as a good introduction to these kinetic sequences, with additional waves being called in as per usual but not all at once, allowing for some breathing room by staggering oncoming threats without downplaying enemy counts. Similar scenarios to these are dotted all across the experience, there’s always a good amount of space to duck and weave into cover, but a few indoor instances do suffer from getting caught up in the complex decorations such as the nightclub ambush while on the upper floor. Troopers are common foes often used as distractions while other priority targets then make their move, but can also be a major source for dishing out pain. Pig Tanks, Commanders or Protector Drones like to play the wildcard role to throw off your rhythm, usually being forced to dispatch them before others.
Progression has you making wide loops around the city, a seemingly bigger environment than it really is thanks to packing so many twists and turns into a small volume, also complimented by bombastic pacing. You’ll be rummaging through dirty motels, scrapping out in back alleys, climbing nearby rooftops, taking an underwater detour before eventually winding up on a skyscraper rooftop for the finale. Verticality is a contributing factor for optimising more out of the given space, being able to climb some rooftops took me by surprise how seamless these buildings were repurposed beyond just visuals. The central building too is complete with several levels built using spritework floors, while housing an entire underground nightclub just beneath. Checking the automap reveals the spaghetti mess considering how much was layered here. Later on there is a significant underwater section to break up the ground combat, applying a slight bit of pressure as you watch that scuba counter tick down while seeking a way forward. During a second session it turned out a decent chunk of the level is optional. Your main objective is hunting down a red key for lowering a barrier, which means as long as you gain access to the flooded parking lot, everything else is extra flavour. Not without consequence mind you, since the majority of exotic weapons demand exploration which will limit versatility during many encounters. While this does make for a good speedrunning route while having less tools on hand, there is still an ample ammunition supply provided for beating the Cycloid waiting at the end.
Conclusion
I had immense fun exploring and romping through WEATHER REPORT’s streets, a debut release that feels anything but a typical newbies work, surprising me in more ways than one, Pepsodent is a promising newcomer to the scene offering an excellent first release. Design is rich and varied, taking advantage of EDUKE32 features and modern mapping techniques as if they’ve always known them and utilised in tasteful ways. Gameplay offers an action packed journey, engaging from start to finish by always sprucing up how you flow from one scenario into the other. Even as we hone closer to the finale everything ramps up without feeling as if any steam had been lost during the mapping process, being treated to some amazing rooftop views and a spinning energy beam piercing the sky very reminiscent of HALF LIFE 2. Sure, the final boss encounter was a push over as he gets caught on the terrain, but everything leading up to here more than makes up for the experience to end on a good note. In this particular case I can forgive a simplistic boss fight. I look forward to what else Pepsodent has in store for future releases, maybe they could be tempted to whip up something for ION FURY perhaps? Their style would be more than suited for it.