Well, it's not released yet but it seems 3D Realms finally got its act together. Fingers crossed.

Aftershock is now available on Steam:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1588720/Io … ury_Aftershock/

Unfortunately, it's not yet available on GOG (GOG's web page for the game is https://www.gog.com/en/game/ion_fury_aftershock)

And there is a downloadable demo of Phantom Fury available from:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1733240/Phantom_Fury/

Yeah it's supposed to be released "later in the week" on GOG.
Dunno if the Steam ver has DRM or not or if the latest eduke32 is compatible so waiting for the GOG release.

Phantom Fury demo https://store.steampowered.com/app/1733240/Phantom_Fury/

On my laptop (i5 CPU with an Intel HD 4000) Ion Fury can't run at full screen/full speed natively, but using eduke runs the game at full speed in the laptop's wide-screen mode (1366 x 768), so I imagine (when GOG finally starts selling Aftershock) that I will need to use eduke32 there too.

eduke, like so many other fan-made game engine projects, is great.

Kerr Avon wrote on 2023-10-05, 15:57:

On my laptop (i5 CPU with an Intel HD 4000) Ion Fury can't run at full screen/full speed natively, but using eduke runs the game at full speed in the laptop's wide-screen mode (1366 x 768), so I imagine (when GOG finally starts selling Aftershock) that I will need to use eduke32 there too.

eduke, like so many other fan-made game engine projects, is great.

Ion Fury uses Eduke32
Ion Maiden (now Ion Fury)
Copyright (c) 2018 Voidpoint, LLC.
All Rights Reserved.

Build Engine used under commercial license.

Ion Maiden uses open source EDuke32 technology. The following terms apply only to the Ion Maiden game executable:
Engine code available under the Build License. See buildlic.txt.
Game code and supporting libraries available under the GNU GPL v2 with a linking exception for the Build Engine. See gpl-2.0.txt.

https://www.gog.com/forum/ion_fury/arriving_2 … _october/post39

For those wondering what is going on this is via 3DRealm's Discord from one of the IF devs. […]
Show full quote

For those wondering what is going on this is via 3DRealm's Discord from one of the IF devs.

"it's not GOG's fault, I haven't even tried to do a build for GOG yet
we can't really be patching things every day with GOG and I wanted to make sure some extra stuff that needed to be finished in the game was actually right before sending it over"

"I know there's Galaxy and whatnot so frequent patches there are a possibility now but most of the people who actually prefer to buy stuff on GOG seem to prefer it so they can get away from stuff like Steam, not use an alternative to it
tl;dr we're making extra sure we fix all the softlocks etc that people have found"

"the last thing we want is for the people who like to download the standalone installers to have to go and download it again every couple days because we missed stuff in testing
it's about to where I want it to be though"

No update on a release just "When it's done"

🤣. If the above is true then nice to see a developer stating the obvious that they say a game is done and allow it to be bought stating as such.....when it's not. Thanks guinea pig steam users.
There is GOG Galaxy and then there is the standalone installer. One is not dependent upon the other unless there is a contractual requirement that both have to be released at the same time but hey at least GOG (and I guess EPIC) didn't get the so called done version so can get the so called done GOG ver when it's released which will be more done than the steam version on its release.

Release dates sure are hard to communicate, especially since we are only able to chisel words into stone tablets and don't have the magical ability to transmit bits throughout the world. "Oct 2nd Steam exclusive. Everyone else TBD". How hard is that?

I have a few hours in, and didn't get any problem at all.

Games getting patches is old as gaming itself...

A bug can occur for any number of reasons, not necessarily the game's fault... Especially a soft lock.

DosFreak wrote:

Thanks guinea pig steam users.

😮 Thanks for the crass comment.

DosFreak wrote on 2023-10-06, 19:21:

https://www.gog.com/forum/ion_fury/arriving_2 … _october/post39 […]
Show full quote

https://www.gog.com/forum/ion_fury/arriving_2 … _october/post39

For those wondering what is going on this is via 3DRealm's Discord from one of the IF devs. […]
Show full quote

For those wondering what is going on this is via 3DRealm's Discord from one of the IF devs.

"it's not GOG's fault, I haven't even tried to do a build for GOG yet
we can't really be patching things every day with GOG and I wanted to make sure some extra stuff that needed to be finished in the game was actually right before sending it over"

"I know there's Galaxy and whatnot so frequent patches there are a possibility now but most of the people who actually prefer to buy stuff on GOG seem to prefer it so they can get away from stuff like Steam, not use an alternative to it
tl;dr we're making extra sure we fix all the softlocks etc that people have found"

"the last thing we want is for the people who like to download the standalone installers to have to go and download it again every couple days because we missed stuff in testing
it's about to where I want it to be though"

No update on a release just "When it's done"

🤣. If the above is true then nice to see a developer stating the obvious that they say a game is done and allow it to be bought stating as such.....when it's not. Thanks guinea pig steam users.
There is GOG Galaxy and then there is the standalone installer. One is not dependent upon the other unless there is a contractual requirement that both have to be released at the same time but hey at least GOG (and I guess EPIC) didn't get the so called done version so can get the so called done GOG ver when it's released which will be more done than the steam version on its release.

Release dates sure are hard to communicate, especially since we are only able to chisel words into stone tablets and don't have the magical ability to transmit bits throughout the world. "Oct 2nd Steam exclusive. Everyone else TBD". How hard is that?

I wouldn't doubt it if they just simply cancelled the port and calling it a hiatus for like the next 15 years to make a meme of Duke Nukem Forever. Ion Fury really isn't anything groundbreaking, maybe using the Build Engine for the first time in decades since the last time was I think 1999/1998. I hoped they would have built on Build2 from Ken because its the successor but I think his work is obsolete once he released the build source out there sort of cut out him entirely and let the community hack and slash the engine which is eduke32/build.

xcomcmdr wrote on 2023-10-06, 20:33:

I have a few hours in, and didn't get any problem at all. […]
Show full quote

I have a few hours in, and didn't get any problem at all.

Games getting patches is old as gaming itself...

A bug can occur for any number of reasons, not necessarily the game's fault... Especially a soft lock.

DosFreak wrote:

Thanks guinea pig steam users.

😮 Thanks for the crass comment.

I was a steam experiment

I got an automated email from GOG a little while ago. Aftershock is available for purchase now.

I'm really enjoying it, the attention to detail in every level is insane. The level design is really enjoyable and varied, and the soundtrack is a banger.

I wanted a box copy but i missed out. I have both boxes for the original game though

Indeed, the level design is phenomenal, all the little details (and especially inside jokes like "build engine" section in the mall level) and interative elements that were the hallmark of a build engine game. But I feel like something is really amiss (both in original and expansion) and I think it is the enemies. The classic triad of build engine games all had very good cast of enemies, but in case of Ion Fury they're all "meh" in comparison. They also have a habit of blending into environment as their palette is pretty much the same and one area where environment detail plays a negative role, not to mention constantly getting stuck in level geometry as a result too. So yeah, it's a level designer festival first and foremost, a show of skill, not unlike a demo in demoscene, but unfortunately at times also crosses that threshold of tedium where it dives into "territory" of Redneck Rampage.

Tree Wyrm wrote on 2023-10-27, 18:07:

Indeed, the level design is phenomenal, all the little details (and especially inside jokes like "build engine" section in the mall level) and interative elements that were the hallmark of a build engine game. But I feel like something is really amiss (both in original and expansion) and I think it is the enemies. The classic triad of build engine games all had very good cast of enemies, but in case of Ion Fury they're all "meh" in comparison. They also have a habit of blending into environment as their palette is pretty much the same and one area where environment detail plays a negative role, not to mention constantly getting stuck in level geometry as a result too. So yeah, it's a level designer festival first and foremost, a show of skill, not unlike a demo in demoscene, but unfortunately at times also crosses that threshold of tedium where it dives into "territory" of Redneck Rampage.

i didnt think the build engine was used anymore, i figured it would have been phased out after the DOS era passed. Trying to play Duke3d in dos is as frustrating as ever until eduke32 came along. come to think of it maybe thats why 3d realms moved from build to unreal at some point then came back when they didnt want to pay epic games royalties in the newer versions

Speaking as a Duke Nukem 3D/Blood/Ion Fury fan, I really wish that 3D Realms had either stuck with the Build engine for Duke Nukem Forever, or stuck with another then current game engine, instead of changing the game's engine multiple times to chase ever better graphics. Imagine if DNF had come out when it was supposed to, and if the designers weren't so weary (after twelve years or so of working on the final release version) that they could still make an interesting innovative game.

I personally preferred Build to the Quake 1 and 2 engines, as Build allowed for so much more background detail, which to me made games so much more immersive. Playing Duke Nukem 3D back in the 1990s was amazing, the fact that it was (sort of) based in the real, everyday world, with real world type locations, stuff you could break, being able to swim, seeing cultural references, and so on, was amazing.

If, say, Duke Nukem Forever did come out around the year 2000, and had really great gameplay but was still the build engine, I wonder how well it would have sold? I would have bought it, and no doubt many others would, but how many people would have written it off based on it's Build engine looks and non-polygon non-true 3D graphics, as opposed to every other big0name first person shooter of the time?

Mind you, by 2000, DNF was already using either the Quake 2 or Unreal engine, and it was looking good (to judge from the screen shots and preview video), and if they'd have shipped that version of the game (and had it been finished and enjoyable, of course) then it would have sold massively, and also probably would have kept the Duke Nukem franchise alive and well, unlike the 2011 release that did what the aliens could never manage, and killed off Duke.

Kerr Avon wrote on 2023-10-29, 17:58:

Speaking as a Duke Nukem 3D/Blood/Ion Fury fan, I really wish that 3D Realms had either stuck with the Build engine for Duke Nuk […]
Show full quote

Speaking as a Duke Nukem 3D/Blood/Ion Fury fan, I really wish that 3D Realms had either stuck with the Build engine for Duke Nukem Forever, or stuck with another then current game engine, instead of changing the game's engine multiple times to chase ever better graphics. Imagine if DNF had come out when it was supposed to, and if the designers weren't so weary (after twelve years or so of working on the final release version) that they could still make an interesting innovative game.

I personally preferred Build to the Quake 1 and 2 engines, as Build allowed for so much more background detail, which to me made games so much more immersive. Playing Duke Nukem 3D back in the 1990s was amazing, the fact that it was (sort of) based in the real, everyday world, with real world type locations, stuff you could break, being able to swim, seeing cultural references, and so on, was amazing.

If, say, Duke Nukem Forever did come out around the year 2000, and had really great gameplay but was still the build engine, I wonder how well it would have sold? I would have bought it, and no doubt many others would, but how many people would have written it off based on it's Build engine looks and non-polygon non-true 3D graphics, as opposed to every other big0name first person shooter of the time?

Mind you, by 2000, DNF was already using either the Quake 2 or Unreal engine, and it was looking good (to judge from the screen shots and preview video), and if they'd have shipped that version of the game (and had it been finished and enjoyable, of course) then it would have sold massively, and also probably would have kept the Duke Nukem franchise alive and well, unlike the 2011 release that did what the aliens could never manage, and killed off Duke.

do we blame ourselves the customers for wanting what the devs cant give us.

Kerr Avon wrote on 2023-10-29, 17:58:

to judge from the screen shots and preview video

You can even play the old, unfinished DNF release now. It does look pretty good and I'd still play it if it was fully released in this day and age.

REMOVED

schmatzler wrote on 2023-10-30, 04:54:

Kerr Avon wrote on 2023-10-29, 17:58:

to judge from the screen shots and preview video

You can even play the old, unfinished DNF release now. It does look pretty good and I'd still play it if it was fully released in this day and age.

REMOVED

in 200 years if/when the copyright expires people will go back and remaster that version of DNF in stores

schmatzler wrote on 2023-10-30, 04:54:

Kerr Avon wrote on 2023-10-29, 17:58:

to judge from the screen shots and preview video

You can even play the old, unfinished DNF release now. It does look pretty good and I'd still play it if it was fully released in this day and age.

REMOVED

Yes, I am waiting until that project is finished and can be full played through before I play it, so I can really enjoy it. Unfortunately, that looks like the closest we will get to an 'official' Duke Nukem game in the future, since Randy Pitchford and Gearbox don't seem at all interested in making a new DN game.