How to download and use EDuke32 with the Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition

How to download EDuke32 and enjoy the game with FULL MOD SUPPORT!

Step 1

Copy the file DUKE3D.GRP to a directory of your choosing on your hard disk. Under Windows, the GRP file may show up as a "Microsoft Program Group".

If you have bought the Steam version Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition you can find this file in "Steam\steamapps\common\Duke Nukem 3D\gameroot\classic"

Step 2

Download EDuke32 and extract it to the folder you created in step 1.

http://dukeworld.duke4.net/eduke32/eduke32_current.zip (Download link to EDuke32)

Step 3

Run EDuke32!
EDuke32 (eduke32.exe) will allow you to play the game, and Mapster32 (mapster32.exe) lets you create custom maps.

NOTE:
If you run Windows 8, Windows SmartScreen (Not smart in this case) may pop up and give you a warning about running the application.
Click "More info" and then "Run anyway"

FAQ

EDuke32

Q: When launching EDuke32, I get an error about a missing file called 'GAME.CON' or 'EDUKE.CON'. Help!

A: It would appear that you haven't placed a copy of 'DUKE3D.GRP' from your Duke Nukem 3D or Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition CD into your EDuke32 directory. Once you place 'DUKE3D.GRP' into the same directory as 'eduke32.exe', the game should launch and run fine. You may also use the shareware version's 'DUKE3D.GRP' as well. If you're sure you've put 'DUKE3D.GRP' in the right place but you still get this error, your GRP file is likely corrupt and will need to be re-copied off of your CD.


Q: What is the 'Game' section of the startup screen used for?

A: The 'Game' section is a feature that allows you to select which GRP file you would like to play.
The GRP files must exactly match the versions found on their respective CDs, without any modifications. The following games are supported:

Duke Nukem 3D Shareware Version
Duke Nukem 3D Mac Shareware Version
Duke Nukem 3D
Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition
NAM (Note: you must rename GAME.CON from NAM to NAM.CON)
Napalm (Wal-Mart only version of NAM, some .GRP differences between the two releases)
WWII GI (Limited Support using NAM mode as a base)

You can also use the startup window to select a third party mod to play.


Q: When I am playing EDuke32 with 16-, 24-, or 32-bit color, everything has a blue tint! How can I fix this?

A: Unfortunately, most people who run into this error are out of luck, especially those with an Intel or SiS video chipset. There are a few things you can do to try and fix this problem:

Open the console and type "r_redbluemode 0"
Download the newest drivers for your graphics card
Delete the texture cache
Try the most recent build of EDuke32

The following driver vendors have been blacklisted in the newest versions of EDuke32. If you have a video card or driver from one of these companies, OpenGL modes will not be available:

Microsoft (default OpenGL ICD which comes with Windows)
SiS
3Dfx

OpenGL can still be enabled for these cards by setting the BUILD_FORCEGL environment variable before running EDuke32, or by using the command line eduke32 -forcegl. It should be noted, however, that the results will probably be less than satisfactory. If you have a blacklisted driver but EDuke32 seems to run fine using BUILD_FORCEGL, please enter the glinfo console command and send us your eduke32.log so that we can add an exception for your video card/driver combination.

Note: Intel video cards are no longer blacklisted.
Note2: Some recent (G33 for example) Intel graphics cards work with OpenGL mode if texture compression is disabled (r_texcompr "0", see settings.cfg configuration file).


Q: Where is my "eduke32.log" and what is it used for?

A: The "eduke32.log" file is generated each time you run eduke32.exe. (mapster32.exe has a separate one titled, "mapster32.log")
You can find both of these files in the same directory where your "eduke32.exe" and "mapster32.exe" is located. Having "Hide extensions for known file types" (Tools, Folder Options, View) unticked will help you locate it easier.


Q: If in system international properties system language is not English then symbol keys on keyboard is not work (Mac OS X). So I can't play the game. And I don't want to switch system language because I'm living in Russia.
[followup Q: is there an OSX API call to set the keyboard layout per-process? If you're knowledgeable in OS X, please let the developers know!]


Mapster32:

Q: I can't pan with Shift+KP5+KP<whatever> in 3D mode.

A: This is an issue with modern keyboards and happens because some key combinations are "dead" (See [1] for an overview and [2] for a technical explanation). There are various workarounds. One is to alias some key to the KP5 key with the goal of finding one for which all key combinations will be passed to the OS. To do that, you need to edit the remap line at the end of mapster32.cfg. A suggestion is to map the KP0 key to KP5. Another way to solve the issue is by finding a keyboard from circa 1996 (one with a big 5-pin connector). Newer revisions of Mapster32 also let you to use Alt instead of Shift in these situations.

Q: Why is aiming at objects so imprecise?

A: The issue occurs only with the Polymost renderer and has its cause in the way it determines the aimed-at object: based on the mouse position on the screen, it constructs a direction vector and calls hitscan. Both steps are a cause of imprecision. The classic BUILD and the Polymer renderers determine the aimed-at object (roughly) by querying what object was drawn at the mouse position, and thus are pixel-perfect. If you prefer to use Polymost, try avoiding aiming at objects at the border of the screen and looking up or down, since the aiming method is particularly ill-behaved in these cases. *update: actually it's a bug that need to be fixed some time.

[NoChance123]

Reply to seven year old post. In case info helps someone in future. NO. An AMD A6-4400 Should NOT be able to run the High Res Texture Pack on max settings perfectly smoothly. I used to have an A8-6810 and even it would stutter and drop below 60FPS in some places. Just because you can run Polymer maxed the HRP needs more gpu and more texture ram than older onboard graphics supply. Now I have laptop with RX 560 4 gig and get 300-500 FPS! I bet those lucky people with high end cards must get 1000fps!

[Ricardo Tărâță]

Anyone know how to get the Enhanced Resource Pack to work with Megaton Edition and with the Steam Overlay/achievements? I just want the AI upscaled crisp textures.

[DiaBomb]

There is no need to copy any grp files. Eduke can detect all necessary files if it's placed in the Duke Nukem 3D/gameroot folder. Doing so will also make the expansions fully playable. Placing it somewhere else (at least from my experience) will break the expansions.

[Eisen]

People are really missing the point. Nobody has an issue running eduke32. Nobody on the planet. People are asking because they want to run it WITH THE STEAM OVERLAY and STEAM INTEGRATION!

[Shinji]

Old post but I just wanted to mention that if you are pulling more recent zips and it won't open up (I use PowerArchiver -- it doesn't try to auto detect) the zip is actually a 7z. Try renaming the file replacing the .zip with .7z or telling the archive application somehow that it is a 7z.

I verified this by checking the "magic" value at the start of the file.

[The Commander]

I made this guide way back on the 21 March 2013, if this still works I would be surprised.

[.]

Thanks for this. I didn't notice any increase in graphical fidelity, however, the improved mouse aiming was much appreciated.

[hardhat]

TD so mad

[The Commander]

Oh I'm sorry, you must know more than me about Eduke32.
(leaves the pro expert on his own)

[orangeninja27]

Nah, my laptop is from 2012 and uses an AMD A6-4400M, which is indeed shit, but it should be able to run the HRP. I mean, it runs Eduke32 with the polymer renderer (and max graphics settings) perfectly fine, so the whole polymer not being optimised thing is kind of farfetched.