EDuke32 – Duke Nukem 3D (Open-Source)
Source: Hacker News
Per‑pixel dynamic lighting and realtime shadows… groovy! The Polymer renderer requires a powerful video card.
Boom.
What is EDuke32?
EDuke32 is a free, open‑source homebrew game engine and source port of the classic PC first‑person shooter Duke Nukem 3D (often shortened to Duke3D). It runs on Windows, Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, several handhelds, and—if you’re feeling adventurous—your family toaster or your girlfriend’s vibrator.
The project adds thousands of features and upgrades for players, plus extensive editing capabilities and scripting extensions for mod creators. EDuke32 is completely free for all non‑commercial use.
Development Team
- Richard “TerminX” Gobeille – community leader, Duke4.net
- Evan “Hendricks266” Ramos
- Pierre‑Loup “Plagman” Griffais
- Philipp “Helixhorned” Kutin
Based on the work of
Todd Replogle,
Ken Silverman,
Jonathon Fowler, and
Matt Saettler.
License
EDuke32 is released under the GNU GPL (v2) and the BUILD license.
- GNU GPL
- BUILD license: see the “BUILD License” section of the documentation.
Download
Join Our Community
Connect with us:
- Discord: Join our Discord
- Forums: Visit our forums
Questions?
Once you’ve downloaded EDuke32, you’ll probably want to read our wiki page on
Installation and Configuration and the FAQ if you encounter any problems.
Packed with Features – “Shake It, Baby!”
Core Advantages
- Native, no‑emulation – EDuke32 runs directly on Windows 11/10/8/7 (and older) as well as Linux (native SDL build or via Wine).
- Ultra‑high resolutions – Supports crazy screen sizes up to 10240 × 4320.
- Two hardware‑accelerated OpenGL renderers plus the classic warped software mode you grew up with.
- Stability improvements – Hundreds of DOS‑era bugs have been fixed, so EDuke32 crashes far less.
- VoidSW port – A full‑featured port of Shadow Warrior with all the same benefits.
- Long‑term development – The only Duke 3D port actively maintained for more than 20 years.
Polymer Renderer (Plagman)
EDuke32 ships with Plagman’s “Polymer” renderer, a powerful hardware‑accelerated OpenGL pipeline.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Dynamic colored lighting & shadow mapping | Real‑time lighting that reacts to the environment. |
| Specular & normal‑map support | Adds realistic surface detail. |
| Texture format support | MD3, JPG, PNG, TGA. |
| Fog density (sector visibility) | Fixes the dull look and low contrast of early OpenGL ports. |
| Fullbrights & glow maps | E.g., glowing red pig‑cop eyes. |
| Detail textures | Adds extra surface detail at close range. |
| Blended model animations | Smooth transitions between animation frames. |
| Colored fog | Custom fog colors per sector. |
| Brightness/contrast/gamma controls | Per‑player visual tuning. |
| Widescreen & FOV adjustments | Full widescreen support with manual aspect‑ratio control. |
| VSync | Prevents screen tearing. |
| …and more! | Additional tweaks and optimizations. |
Scripting & Modding
- Extensive script extensions – New language features let mods rival modern games.
- HRP compatibility – Runs the HRP with all its features; no other port can enable the full HRP set.
- Console upgrades – Full‑featured console with Quake‑style key bindings, command aliases, advanced tab‑completion, command history, colored output, and more.
Quality‑of‑Life Improvements
- Modern HUD & status display – Clean, customizable on‑screen information.
- Mod loading from startup window – Drag‑and‑drop or browse for mods before launching.
- WSAD‑based controls – Reworked mouse aiming and keyboard layout for contemporary playstyles.
- Audio support – Native Ogg Vorbis and FLAC playback for sound effects and music.
Development & History
EDuke32 is maintained by veterans of the Duke 3D community who have been involved since the very beginning.
“I first saw Duke 3D on a Wal‑Mart computer in December 1995. I was 11, and it was an illegally distributed beta of what became Duke Nukem 3D 1.0. After that first glimpse I was hooked… The rest is history!” – Richard “TerminX” Gobeille
Fun Extras
- Play the classic NAM game you remember from the 1990s dollar store.
- EDuke32 makes sandwiches! (Just kidding – but it does make playing Duke 3D a lot easier.)
BUILD engine technology was originally created by Ken Silverman. The non‑GPL rendering and engine code used in EDuke32 is available under the BUILDLIC license.