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Duke It Out In D.C. is a Duke Nukem 3D expansion pack developed by Sunstorm Interactive and published by WizardWorks on March 17, 1997.

The add-on does not introduce any new enemies, weapons, or sprites, but it features an all-new episode comprised of ten original levels, each based on a famous location in Washington, D.C. The new levels were created by the winner of the Total Entertainment Network's contest to develop the best independently designed and produced levels for Duke Nukem 3D.

New levels

Duke It Out In D.C. features an all-new episode, Duke It Out In D.C., which replaces Shrapnel City with the following ten levels:

  1. Hell to the Chief
  2. Memorial Service
  3. Nuked Files
  4. Smithsonian Terror
  5. Capitol Punishment
  6. Metro Mayhem
  7. Top Secret (Secret Level)
  8. Brown Water
  9. Dread October
  10. Nuke Proof

Storyline

Aliens have crash-landed into the Capitol Building and have launched a massive invasion of Washington, D.C. Duke Nukem arrives to find that the alien invaders have captured several national monuments and critical government buildings, but in the end, Duke defeats the invading army and rescues the President from the Cycloid Emperor.

Reception

Duke It Out In D.C. has received mostly praise from fans of the original Duke Nukem 3D. Considered one of the most popular Duke Nukem add-ons of all time, it has been included in all major compilations, and it has been reimagined in multiple total conversions, including Duke Nukem: Alien Armageddon and Nuclear Showdown.

Negative feedback has largely centered on the puzzle elements and extensive backtracking involved in some of the add-on levels. The extensive backtracking is a consequence of the developers' hyperreal approach to level design, which has solicited similar criticisms as those levied against hyperrealism in film; hyperreal films are often criticized for including long scenes that simply depict characters walking from one point to another, without any plot development. The most hyperreal map of the add-on, Smithsonian Terror, has proven to be the most polarizing among fans. Smithsonian Terror is an impressive, full-scale replica of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and is the largest map of the game. However, it also features the most convoluted layout of any level in the game, which most players find confusing during their first playthrough.

Critics have sometimes compared Duke It Out In D.C. negatively to Duke Caribbean: Life's A Beach, a later add-on by the same developers.

Current status

Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition was removed from the Steam store in 2016, however , Duke It Out In D.C is available for commercial sale as part of Zoom-Platform's Duke Nukem 3D Atomic Edition.

Randy Pitchford, the CEO of Gearbox Software, revealed in a May 6, 2020 interview with LoveLaughLeslie that the company was in fact working to package Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour with several of the classic expansion packs, including those developed by Sunstorm Interactive. However, Pitchford explained that the project was stalling due to multiple publishing-related problems. Without providing too many details, Pitchford seemed to imply there was a separation of powers between the development studio under Pitchford at Gearbox Software and the publishing house under Steve Gibson at Gearbox Publishing. "I keep putting my thumb on that scale," Pitchford explained, but "this is a publishing project."

According to Pitchford, one problem facing the project, though possibly not the chief problem, was that the publishing team had identified content in the expansions that they considered borderline "sexist and racist." This was news to Pitchford, who said, "it's not exactly the Duke that I remember." For this reason, Gibson was not yet "ready" to move forward with publishing the expansions. Pitchford added, "I don't want to censor it," suggesting the team was considering this as a possible solution. Pitchford further clarified "we stand behind" everything in Duke Nukem 3D and Duke Nukem Forever.

Internet users in the online Duke Nukem community speculated on several possible sources of the borderline "sexist and racist" content in the expansions. These included the portrayal of Caribbean culture in Duke Caribbean: Life's A Beach, the Gorilla Captain in Duke Xtreme, and the Feminist Elven Militia in Duke: Nuclear Winter.

Trivia

  • The downloadable demo of Duke It Out In D.C. includes a number of screenshots; these screenshots are mock-ups in Build, not in-game screenshots, and don't represent real gameplay. This is evident by the presence of locator objects (only found in Build), over-large RPG explosions, the Overlord being in several locations and larger than usual (it is not in this expansion pack at all), and various sprites that are unaffected by sector palette.
  • The president in the game is distinctly based on Bill Clinton. His official photograph is seen in the game, along with that of attorney general Janet Reno.
  • Charlie Wiederhold created several levels for this add-on. Wiederhold was later hired by 3D Realms to work on the sequel Duke Nukem Forever. He would later join Gearbox Software but leave before they got Duke Nukem Forever.
  • One of the levels' names, Dread October, was a parody to the Red October, a fictional submarine which appeared in Tom Clancy's Hunt for Red October and its film adaptation.
  • With the DukeDC HRP, NightFright provided a custom soundtrack with music from various sources (e.g. The X-Files, Castlevania, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Robocop 3 or Jill of the Jungle) to fit the atmosphere of the expansion levels. Later on, many players erroneously assumed these tracks were authentic and official part of the addon. However, Duke It Out In D.C. is a replacement of episode 3 (Shrapnel City) and uses its music tracks in the exact same sequence as the original Duke3D episode.
  • On April 30, 2017, an all-new custom music pack (Duke DC Music Pack 2.0) was released, composed by James "Jimmy" Paddock in collaboration with NightFright to provide a completely original soundtrack for the addon which captures the atmosphere of the individual levels.
  • This add-on has numerous inacessible areas with NPCs hidden in them.

Screenshots

External links

Duke It Out In D.C.
Levels Hell to the Chief | Memorial Service | Nuked Files | Smithsonian Terror
Capitol Punishment | Metro Mayhem | Brown Water | Dread October | Nuke Proof
Secret level: Top Secret
Items Access Card | Holoduke | Jetpack | Night Vision Goggles | Portable Medkit
Protective Boots | Scuba Gear | Steroids
Health: Small Medkit | Large Medkit | Atomic Health | Armor
Weapons Mighty Foot | Pistol | Shotgun | Chaingun Cannon | RPG | Pipe Bomb | Shrinker
| Devastator | Laser Tripbomb | Freezethrower
Enemies Assault Captain | Assault Commander | Enforcer | Assault Trooper
Battlelord Sentry | Octabrain | Pig Cop | Pig Cop Tank | Protector Drone
Protozoid Slimer | Sentry Drone | Shark | Turret
Boss: Cycloid Emperor
Expansion packs
and add-ons
Duke Assault
Duke Caribbean: Life's A Beach | Duke: Nuclear Winter | Duke It Out In D.C.
Duke Xtreme | Duke!ZONE | Duke!ZONE II | Plutonium PAK | Unofficial expansion packs
Main game: Duke Nukem 3D
Fan community User maps | Mods & Total Conversions | Speedruns
Source ports | High Resolution Pack
Other Difficulty | Hazards | Multiplayer | Cheat codes
Quotes | Music | Sunstorm Interactive | Duke Nukem
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