Duke Nukem Forever to use Doom III engine
Posted: 2004-09-10 12:22am
I know that the long delay of Duke Nukem Forever is already a massive joke in the games industry, but this just takes the cake. Aparently, 3DRelms is moving to a third engine for the long delayed game, a massive delay in itself. I mean seriously, does anyone really think that this game is every going to come out?
Gamespot wrote: Take-Two CEO Rich Roedel says the long-delayed shooter is now on its third engine.
Besides revealing a cornucopia of Grand Theft Auto details, today's Take-Two Interactive call also disclosed new information on 3D Realms' legendarily delayed shooter, Duke Nukem Forever. In the question-and-answer session that followed the company's earnings call, Take-Two CEO Rich Roedel fielded a question from UBS analyst Mike Wallace. The exchange went like this:
Wallace: "And then just one more [question] for fiscal '05. It is Duke Nukem [Forever] in the plan?"
Roedel: "No, it is not in any of the guidance that we've given."
Wallace: "OK. And should we just completely forget about this product by now or...?"
Roedel: "Absolutely not, although it has been frustrating in terms of committing to a ship date. But the 3D Realms guys continue to work. They are using the Doom 3 technology, which is finished. They are a premier developer, but they certainly believe in no line before it's time. So they want to deliver a great game, and we are anxiously waiting for updates from them."
If true, the Doom 3 engine would be at least the third engine used by Duke Nukem Forever. When the game was first announced in 1997 (no, that's not a typo), it was to use the Quake II graphics engine, also from id Software.
Then, in 1998, the Texas-based developer announced that the game would use Epic's Unreal engine instead. "The switch to the Unreal engine was simply a business decision," said project leader George Broussard. He added, "The game should not be significantly delayed." Over the next five and a half years, it was rumored that Duke Nukem Forever had adopted successive versions of the Unreal engine.
While Roedel's comments indicate that Duke Nukem Forever has switched engines yet again--a move that would presumably delay the game further--they could not be confirmed. Attempts to contact 3D Realms for comment were unsuccessful as of press time.