DUKE NUKEM 3D: ATOMIC EDITION ADVANCED DUKEMATCHING GUIDE - REVISION 31/12/1996 - Written by Phantom-uk. Contributions by Iain Girdwood a.k.a. Phoenix, and James Mills a.k.a. Kirk. Also Firestorm, who used to be the UK's finest, and all the guys I've played over the last couple of months. And Tristan Webb a.k.a ACID, the first couple of weeks duke was out we ran up rather large phonebills doing the whole game in co-op.... . Oh, and Joni Kane a.k.a. Kage, who has called me for dukematches more times than I can remember. A BIT ABOUT THE AUTHOR Umm,,, not much to it really. I like Duke. Thats about it. Complete and utter Duke addict as you can probably tell by the sheer detail of this guide. Duking God. Got nothing better to do, sitting at home bored in school holidays, so thought I would kill a day or two. CONTENTS (a) Controls. (b) Weapon Use. (c) General Tactics. (d) Ambience. (e) Level layouts, secrets etc. Right, I'll get on with it :-). =============================================== =================== CONTROLS ================== =============================================== BASIC RULES 1) Autorun should ALWAYS BE ON. 2) Crosshairs should ALWAYS BE ON. 3) The mouse should always be used. USE OF THE MOUSE The mouse should be used for turning, and aiming up and down. It should not be used to move forwards and backwards. A relatively high sensitivity seems to give good results; But this is down to personal preference. A good mouse is essential for duke. I recommend the microsoft mouse v2.0 or microsoft home mouse as a 2 button mouse, or a logitech mouseman as a 3 button mouse. MOUSE BUTTON ASSIGNMENTS Left mouse should always be fire. It is then a case of whether or not you use momentary mouse aiming. I have found from personal experience that the best players tend to use momentary mouse aiming unless they have a very steady hand. If you dont use it then your right mouse should be assigned to jump, and if you have a middle mouse button it could be used for duck. However if you DO use it then you have a choice to make; If you have a 3 button mouse you can have jump AND mouse aiming on your mouse, but if you only have 2 buttons, like me, you can have either jump or mouse aiming on your mouse, and the function that is left out assigned to a convenient key on the keyboard. Also double clicking of mouse buttons is useful; I find that having double click of one mouse button as open / use helps. I find it better if you are a frequent user of the RPG to have mouse aiming as a mouse button. It is all down to your personal choice and preference. NB: a nice tip is to configure advanced mouse setup so that left and right on mouse is also medikit, so use of the medikit is virtually automatic. KEYBOARD ASSIGNMENTS It is a good idea to have a general control " base " with your strafe left, strafe right and forward and backward keys together. EG: S - strafe left F - strafe right D - backward E - forward Any such key combination or the cursor keys ( or even numeric keypad ) could be used. Hot item keys can be assigned around your 4 base keys; It is a good idea to have them on the left hand side of the keyboard because then you can reach the weapons easily and also use space etc as function keys. SAMPLE CONTROL CONFIGURATIONS STANDARD MOUSE CONTROLS Left mouse - Fire Middle mouse - Mouse aiming ( momentary ) Double click - Open Right mouse - jump Double Click - night vision S - strafe left F - strafe right D - backward E - forward Space - Duck W - jetpack R - steroids G - holoduke MY PERSONAL CFG FILE I know this completely contradicts everything I have just said but my controls are very different. They also WORK, as most of my victims, I mean, opponents sorry, will tell you . Left mouse - Fire Right mouse - Mouse aiming momentary Double Click - open Left shift - Forward Left control - backward A - strafe left S - strafe right D - duck F - jump Q - night vision W - jetpack E - open AND quick kick both on the same key R - steroids G - holoduke Note that in both cfg files the mouse-medikit trick ( see earlier ) is being used. Also note that the first cfg is VERY similar to the one that Phoenix and Duvalmagic use.... They are the best players in the UK and USA respectively. I guess a 3 button mouse is the way to go... I suppose I should get one really... PLEASE NOTE! At time of writing I am now better than Phoenix . NB: Please note that I used to use a 180 turn for something many people overlook. If you are being chased in an enclosed area, eg; A corridor, and you have an rpg, then if you spin around with the mouse to fire theres a good chance you will hit a wall, whereas with a 180 turn you know you won't! Also I had a spare key on my cfg, so I thought I might as well put it in. But that was in the first revision, and since then my skills have improved - I no longer hit walls :). =============================================== ================== WEAPON USE ================= =============================================== Basically, use the shotgun outdoors and for the most part the RPG indoors. Note that weapons marked Instant mean that those weapons hit instantly, because they are bullet / shrapnel weapons, if you get what I mean; You fire a shotgun, chaingun of pistol it hits instantly, whereas if you fire an rpg or shrinker it is a projectile which takes time to reach the target. Thats why the shotgun and chaingun are the best weapons to use when your opponent would have room to avoid projectile weapons. Also with projectile weapons, rather than firing towards where your opponent IS, you should fire towards where they are going so that by the time your projectile gets there they are there too! this takes practice but gives good results. It should also be noted that if you are hit with an RPG or Devastator while on steroids, it seems to do more damage for some perculiar reason. Auto tracking is also worth considering. With instant hit weapons you only have to get the horizontal aiming right; The vertical aiming is automatic. With projectile weapons the vertical aiming is also inaccurate, but the chances are by the time it gets there they will have moved :). If the other guy is up high in an indoor area and I am using an RPG, I will usually go for the ceiling. 1) KICK No no, never, noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, absolutely not, etc. Then again... if you've got nothing in a no spawn game... some steroids... its worth a try.... I guess.. ( steroids make kicks more powerful remember ). 2) PISTOL. INSTANT. Right. Pistols are actually quite good. If you just spawn after a fight near an opponent and you think you took off a fair bit of their health, rather than running to get a gun, its a good idea to chase them; But only if you think you can kill them. If they're likely to have over 100 energy left, definitely not a good choice. Pistols can be quite harmful to the target, mainly due to a rapid fire rate. Also if youre in a fight in a large open area, and the only other gun you have is a non instant hit one ( eg: rpg, shrinker ) then it is sometimes a good idea to switch to a pistol, depending on the dodging abilities of your opponent, and the accuracy of your rpg shot ( and of course, the size of the area ). 3) SHOTGUN. INSTANT. Ok, this is the best gun in the game. Shotgun hits have been known to do up to 100% damage on a player with no armour... it is VERY powerful at close range, and also powerful at longer distances. If you're ever in a fight outdoors this is the weapon to use. Even indoors sometimes. When you combine shotgunning with strafing and circling ( as discussed later in the guide ), it is at its most effective. Note that in order to have a good shotgun shot, you need to have a reliable mouse, and a quite high sensitivity. 4) CHAINGUN. INSTANT. Another excellent weapon, the chaingun is at its best outdoors. It is, as is the case with the shotgun, most effective when combined with strafing and circling. The shotgun is more effective, in my opinion. 5) RPG. Right. The RPG is a VERY good gun. IF MASTERED. If can be used indoors to great effect, especially when you take into account ambience ( discussed later ). It is most effective when used with mouse aiming, obviously. Note that if you're playing a keyboarder and they start firing RPGS, just activate your jetpack and go up a bit. Then they will all go under you, so long as you keep moving, heh heh heh..... It's also a good idea, if using mouse aiming, to aim RPG shots towards the feet of your opponents, or the ground in front of them. The chances of a direct hit are pretty unlikely, so its better to do this and get an area effect shot - alternatively, go for walls . On occasions, if my opponent has a definite advantage over me in respect of their items etc.. I have been known to kill both of us.. if they are doing better than you it's worth it! :) 6) PIPEBOMBS. Sometimes good for traps of if you are being chased. Or as a last resort. Thats about it. If you see one lying around it could be a trap, so blow it up with another pipebomb or an RPG. Also if you've got your opponent cornered, eg: in an enclosed room with only 1 way out, then rather than running in guns eblazing, its better to throw in some pipebombs and explode them. EG: on E1L1, that room with the shotgun and rpg ammo in behind the till - you can roll pipebombs under that door if you duck. If I'm in an outdoor pipebomb fight I tend to throw them up in the air, then let them off just before they land on the other person's head. I don't know why, I just do :). 7) SHRINKER. Can be useful in enclosed areas. Note that if you're shrunk and have steroids you can use the steroids to become big again. If someones coming towards you with a shrinker and you have steroids, use the steroids but stand perfectly still so they cant see the blur. Then you can probably get in a couple of hits on them while they try to figure out what the hells going on. If you suspect an opponent may be in an area, and you've got shrinker ammo to waste, then you might as well let off a couple of shots as you go in. 8) DEVASTATOR. Can be useful in enclosed areas, eg: corridors, etc. Not much use out in the open. However it has its moments.... if you want to get a camper out of an enclosed area, 10 seconds of devastator fire normally does the trick. The devastator is not as good as the RPG, but is still pretty good. 9) TRIPBOMBS. There are some places that tripbombs just have to be layed. If you're playing an unskilful opponent then its best to lay tripbombs in all the hiding places they may use, and also if you're winning a game and you have the ability to dominate the level, then its best to lay tripbombs in places where the other guy might run to to get health. Also if there's noone around, then roll a pipebomb under the tripbomb and when the tripbomb goes off the pipebomb will too - double damage! . Some examples of where to lay tripbombs. Its best to lay them in pairs, maybe with a pipebomb, for more damage. You should only be laying them do dominate the level if you're fully tooled up, ie: got all the items etc, and your opponent is'nt, quite frankly :-). Remember that you can blow up tripbombs! E3L4 - la rumble - lay some by the jetpack and nightvision indoors. - lay some in the bit you blow up where the freezer is. E3L5 - movie set - in the air vents :) Especially behind the picture of the world, where you can find the jetpack and shrinker. - on the other side of the teleporter ( cruel ). - Behind the 3d realms logo and duke's head on the poster. - on the other side of any of the doors, so that when your opponent opens the door if being chased, they will have to slow down to negotiate the tripbombs. E3L6 - rabid - on the railway track . Worked once anyway. - on the other side of the teleporter. E3L9 - Fahrenheit There are so many locations on fahrenheit, it's a classic example. - Lay two behind the curtain in the radio room, as close to the curtain as possible, lay one while ducking and one standing. You can jump over these / jetpack over these, but your opponent will probably not have the hindsight too. - Lay one behind the doors to the radio room, then get out and close the door very quickly before the lazer bit appears. Then, when they open the door, they get hurt by the tripbomb. Good eh? :) - Lay one on the crates you have to jump up to the jetpack on. - If you hear them starting by the start of the level, then going into the water, shut the first door and lay a tripbomb on the other side, then a holoduke so they think it's you. Then, fly up to the wall above the water and sit and wait. Watch him go up to the door. Fly behind him. He opens the door, he sees the tripbomb and holoduke, fires at the holo, you shoot him with an rpg, it hits tripbomb, he gets damage of direct RPG and tripbomb, he dies :). - If you've got 4 or 5 lay them all just beneath the water surface. - Lay one in behind the first aid sign where the medikit is :). E3L11 - Freeway - Lay two or three tripbombs in the sewer pipe from the sewers to the street. When they jetpack up it they will die. :). - Lay one behind the secret panel in the crusher room. - Lay a couple by the main entrance to the street, just around the corner. USE YOUR IMAGINATION! :). 10) FREEZER. Comes a close second to the foot in the battle for the title of worst weapon in the game . It really is completely useless. Well, if you've got full ammo and your opponent in an enclosed area, you *MIGHT* get a frag. =============================================== =============== GENERAL TACTICS =============== =============================================== Circling. Right - this really is simple. If you strafe in one direction WITH THE STRAFE LEFT / RIGHT KEYS ( not just alt ) you are going in a line right? If you turn in the opposite direction to which you are strafing, then you're no longer going in a line right? You're going in a circle, as long as you turn the mouse by the right amount in the opposite direction to which you are strafing. So, if in the middle of this circle there is a helpless victim, turning to try and face you, while you, carefully manipulating the mouse and keeping your crosshair locked on his helpless body, pumping shot after shot into it, you are kind of shortening his life expectancy. Understand? This whole business of circling quite a difficult one to grasp. After practice it should come naturally. At first, when practicing it one should find a stationary object, or just imagine one, eg: In the middle of stadium ( episode 3 level 9 ), and try to circle that central point while keeping the crosshair locked on it and moving in a circle. Sorry if this is a bit complicated, but I can't be bothered to explain it any more :). You'll get the idea :). Strafe Running. This technique can increase speed. Basically you're running and strafing at the same time at a certain angle. It works to best effect when you want to get somewhere quickly, eg: away from a gun toting maniac ;-). You should basically strafe in the direction you're going and run forwards as well, at a fairly sharp angle. This is a tactic that is used a lot in doom2, and I presume many ex doomers are already aware of it. As well as increasing speed, this tactic also gives you a wide angle veiw of the environment around you, making it useful for turning corners, etc. Door closing. With practice, if being chased, then it is possible to Run through a door backwards and close it as running through, so that by the time your opponent has opened it again you can be long gone. Takes practice, yeilds good results. Has saved my life on many an occasion. Note that this does'nt really work with " swinging " doors but it does work with those of the " vertical " variety, ie: Close from bottom to top ( eg: Fahrenheit, movie set ). Item hogging. If you see a freshly spawned item that you already have, or you have full gun ammo, etc. then fire off a shot / use said item and recollect it, hence denying your opponent the opportunity of collection. Jetpacking If you're outdoors, and about to die, you could just jetpack really high and wait for your opponent to go away. You never know, he might. Looking through cracks On some swinging doors, you can look through the crack between the two doors. This is quite effective on HH. You can't see much, but you can look for movement. Eg: On HH, I sometimes go to the bottom of the spiral staircase and look out of that door towards the atom behind the till, waiting for movement, with my rpg ready. When I see movement towards there I open the door and fire off a lot of rpg shots :). A sad tactic, but sometimes when you're playing a very good player and you're low on health etc, sad tactics are the only way to win :). Are YOU afraid of the dark? This tactic comes from my own warped mind. On some levels there are lots of lights. As a frequent user of night vision I dont need lights, so I turn em all off! This REALLY annoys some people to whom night vision is alien. For example. On HH, turn all the lights off in the main hall and smash the lights in the shotgun room and toilets. Keep stocked up on night vision supplies. Then, simply hang aroud that area and when they enter just run around them firing! < EVIL GRIN >. Muffling ambient sounds Whenever possible try to muffle ambient sounds. Fire guns at the same time; Use jetpacks in air vents; Let rip with an RTS insult. Just donŐt let em know where you are. Remember; Shotgun outdoors, RPG indoors. Thats how it should be. At least, until you've truly mastered the shotgun. Then you can use shotgun indoors as well. But the RPG definitely has its uses. Use steroids tactically, ie: in a shotgun fight or to run away. Also if you're in a shotgun fight and you think you're losing then use the last few seconds of your speed burst to run like hell. Remember, they can also be used to counteract the effects of a shrinker shot. Don't fall into patterns. Good players pick up on patterns and in longer games will punish you for repeating them... If you're running away indoors then once you've turned a corner its a good idea to switch to RPG, turn around and wait for a couple of seconds... then let off a shot. This deters people from chasing you. Or, throw a pipebomb behind you and let it off a couple of seconds later. This will make them stop for a second, so you can make your getaway. Tripbombs can make newly spawned player's lives hell by limiting them to outdoor areas, where, with no guns, they stand no chance (as discussed earlier). I know this may sound a bit weird, but know where you're going BEFORE you get there. Run around like a headless chicken and you will die. Try to avoid lurking in enclosed areas. It's a sad, unskilful tactic. Having said that, it's legal, and it gets frags. How to avoid respawn frags If you die on a level, there is a chance you may be killed pretty much straight away. This is cheap, but a good player will hear where you spawn, figure out where you're going and wait there. How to avoid this; - move aroud the level slowly. Be catious. Avoid the other guy at all costs. - get 200 health, preferably armour, medikit and steroids before going into battle again. Jetpack helps too. - be careful not to get any out in the open items or guns you don't really need, as your opponent will use the colour of the respawn marker to help find you. - if being chased, there are ways to get away. See below. How to survive being chased:- The simple way to avoid being killed when being chased is to run away. However, you have to do this cleverly. If you run around a corner, then stay right around the corner and run back around the corner after seeing them take the corner, and repeat this about 10 times in an enclosed area, it will warp their mind. Or, use the scenery to your advantage. EG: On HH many a time I have got into the lobby, ran into the toilets, jumped behind the couch and ducked, and run away behind their backs to hear 15 rpg shots being fired, both the doors to the toilets being opened, by which time I would be on the other side of the level :). How to make a respawn kill: You should be able to hear the area in which your opponent spawned. Go there, and use a combination of the ambient noises they are making and the colour of the markers to decipher in what directon they went from their spawn point. Kill them :). Other weird things: If you continually turn a light switch on and off very quickly, it will "break" and the lighting will be a combination of on and off. Weird, but true. If you close a door on yourself and try to run through it you could end up 5 metres on the other side of the door. Or, you could get squished and die :). =============================================== =================== AMBIENCE ================== =============================================== RIGHT. This is a major subject. You can know the layout, you can control duke wonderfully.... now you need to know how to find the other guy. Ambient sounds are basically atmosphere, sounds the other guy makes when he interacts with the scenery. This is where you need to use your head. I will give examples of ambient sounds on a few popular dukematch levels, to give you an idea of how to use ambience to your advantage. Hollywood Holocaust. 1) BIG THUD / URGH NOISE - suggests someone has spawned on the roof and just fallen down the air vent if they have just died, if not then suggests they have jumped down into the cinema from the camera room above. 2) SOUND OF CURTAIN OPENING OR CLOSING - they are in the camera room. 3) SOUND OF AIR VENT - in the air vent. If you hear a kind of door sound, like a mechanised door after it, they are on their way up. If you hear the same noise BEFORE it they are on their way down. Either way you should make moves to get to the end where they're coming out, and be waiting there with the RPG. 4) DOORS TWICE - means they are entering the cinema 5) DOORS ONCE - means they are using the doors in the lobby before the spiral staircase. 6) SOUND OF MECHANISED DOOR OUTSIDE - means they are getting the steroids. 7) SOUND OF SWITCH, THEN A SLOW MOVING NOISE - means the curtain has been closed. 8) SOUND OF SWITCH - means someone's turned on ( or off ) the lights :). There are many more sounds than these on this level; I will leave you to figure out the rest for yourselves!!! Red Light District. 1) DOORS SLIDING OPEN / CLOSING - could mean that they are entering / leaving the 2nd building / the disco in the 2nd building. You will have to use common sense to determine which. 2) RUMBLING NOISE - means the door to the Forbidden Videos and magazines shop is being opened or closed. 3) TELEPORTER SOUND - means the teleporter is being used. 4) YOU WANNA DANCE / SHAKE IT BABY / SCREAM - suggests your opponent is doing immoral things to the dancers in the disco, or the woman at the bar.. ... 5) SOUND MADE BY DUKE IN MINOR PAIN - KIND OF "UGH" BUT QUITER THAN WHEN SHOT ( I know, its complicated ) suggests opponent is in the sewer, and not using a jetpack or walking along the sides. 6) SOUND OF KEYCARD, THEN TWO SWITCHES, THEN HUGE EXPLOSION - suggests opponent is blowing up that big building :-). Again, there are many more sounds. I don't have the time or patience to type 'em ALL out!!! :-). Fahrenheit 1) BREATHING / SOUND OF WATER - implies opponent is in the water. Go hide by the water with a big gun :-). 2) SOUND OF MECHANISED DOOR - probably your opponent is grabbing the medikit by the fire engine. 3) SOUND OF JUMPING ( a kind of jumping repeatedly sound ) - your opponent is probably jumping on the crates to get the jetpack and atomic health. 4) THIS IS KTIT, BRING YOU THE BEST.... etc.. - means your opponents in the radio station. 4) SOUND OF KEYCARD - means they are opening the radio station. 5) SOUND OF FOOTSTEPS FOR ABOUT 5 SECONDS - means they are going down the stairs of either the radio station or fire station. You should be able to tell which by the direction and volume of the sound. Once more there are more subtle sounds. These are just to get you started. What do you want, a paperback???? . Movie set 1) SOUND LIKE A SECRET SWITCH - means the cash register has been hit and that they are getting the health atoms, OR that they are opening the one in the air vent. You will be able to tell whether or not it's in the air vent due to the air vent noise. 2) RUMBLING NOISE - then a teleport noise - means they have opened the teleporter and gone through it. 3) DOOR MOVING, YET NEITHER OF THE LARGE OUTDOOR DOORS HAVE OPENED - means they have gone into the tripbomb / rpg ammo / night vision room. 4) BIG THUD AFTER SPAWNING - they have spawned outside and fell from the sky. Go punish 'em :). 5) SOUND OF MINOR PAIN - LIKE WHEN HURT BY FIRE - they have got caught in the fire when grabbing fire health atom from where the fire extinguisher used to be ( before you blew it up, of course ). 6) SOUND OF AIR VENT, GUN BEING PICKED UP, JETPACK - they have just picked up the shrinker and jetpack from the air vent. Again.. there are more... just use your head.. :). Ambient sounds are so varied its hard to produce a complete list of all of them. Basically you just need to use your head, and once you've predicted where your opponent is, you should be able to figure out where they are headed, and get there first, then proceed to lurk in a corner with a big gun . Examples scenarios of how to use ambience to your advantage: Hollywood Holocaust: You are in the main room. You hear a mechanised door type sound, then an air vent. You switch to rpg, aim towards the toilet door and wait about 5 seconds after the air vent noise has stopped.... ( you imagine you as the other player, and how long it would take to turn the corner ) then you fire off about 5 shots before you even see em turn the corner. They will no doubt try and run, get the medikit and go back up the air vent,... so jetpack up to the camera room and aim towards the secret door where they will appear from the air vent. And have your crosshair trained on that door, with an rpg, ready to fire the second it opens. And there's no way they will escape twice < evil grin >. Movie set: You hear the sound of a button being pushed after a player spawned; Figurably they are pushing the cash register to get the 3 health atoms. Then you hear the sound of a teleporter; No doubt they are trying to get the medikit and chaingun. So, the second youve heard the first button you should get outside, then once theyve been through the teleporter let rip with about 5 rpg shots through the teleporter. Death is the only outcome . Or, lay 4 tripbombs on your side of the teleporter, but close the teleporter first to give yourself time. Then, once they re-open it, they will walk into a LOTTA tripbombs and go boom ( in theory ). AMBIENCE WITH SPAWN POINTS; When someone spawns you hear a pistol being loaded. The relative closeness of this noise, and whether it is left or right, can help you determine where your opponent spawned, and you might be able to pull of a kill straight away, particularly if you KNOW where the spawn points are. This also works the other way around. If you've just spawned you should be able to use ambience to tell what direction your opponent's coming from, AND RUN LIKE HELL! . LEARNING THE LEVELS I will discuss tactics on the best dukematch levels. A basic knowledge of the level's layout is presumed. Alternatively run duke with the following parameters to veiw all the extra items etc... that are around in dukematch conditions. Duke3d /v? /l? /tx /q8 /m Where in /v? - ? should be the episode number. Where in /l? - ? should be the level number. The rest of the options set spawn on, create stationary dukes at the spawn points so that the spawn points can be observed, and also /m means no monsters. This technique of looking at levels enables you to see where the extra dm only weapons appear, as well as checking out the spawn points, and having a look at the secrets etc.. with no monsters present. Ok, here's my thoughts on the most popular dukematch levels :-). The initial spawn positions will always be the same. I've gone into some detail as to what you should do at the start of a match, as if you're playing someone good and you don't get the best items in the least time possible, you're likely to be dogmeat. Please note that I have covered here EXACTLY what I do in these scenarios. And bear in mind that at time of writing I am considered one of the top 5 players on Compuserve.. :). HOLLYWOOD HOLOCAUST: What to do at first: If you're calling: You will start in the toilets. Run out into the main lobby, get the shotgun from behind the cash register bit, get the health atom, run back into the toilet, get the medikit, go up the air vent, open the door at the top, get the other atom and rpg, open the cinema, smash the window and jump, get the jetpack, fly outside, get the nightvision from off the ledge, fly back in through the window, fly up to the camera room, CLOSE THE CURTAIN to deny your opponent the opportunity to get the jetpack. Then, hunt down your opponent. Alternatively, run straight to the window outside. Your opponent may well be jumping on the crate to get to the RPG. You can pick him off with your pistol, or if you stop off to get it, shotgun. If you're being called: You will start on the roof. Get the pipebombs, go down. You have 2 options. Either jump up the crate to the rpg, get steroids, chaingun and health atom, and go in through the double doors. OR; Throw a pipebomb through the window by the main entrance that is boarded up. Let it off, you're in through an entrance they won't suspect. You should then get the extra shotgun ammo by picking up the shotgun, getting the health atom ( assuming they have'nt gone for it themselves ), and waiting under the cinema. Most opponents will open the cinema and jump down. If you're waiting under the camera room with a shotgun, you can get off 2 hits on them before they know what's going on. You should be able to kill them. Then, get the jetpack and close the curtain, as previously. General tactics:- Jump on all ambient sounds. Don't allow your opponent the opportunity to collect items. Stay alert; Try to dominate inside, but check outside too. If being chased, bear in mind there are nearly always a minimum of 2 escape routes. Keep your head about you, and don't panic. If in a steroid + shotgun fight outside, just before yours run out, fly up to the room with more in behind the poster, and reactivate them. Then charge your opponent. They will panic ;))). They will be low on health. Hell, so will you, but you will be the one running at 50 miles an hour, heh heh..... RED LIGHT DISTRICT: If you're calling: You will start in a room above one of the main entrances. Jump down, being careful to collect the armour on the way. Go to the disco, and collect the steroids. Open the door, and go into the airvent in the disco, getting the health ( they will go through this about 15 seconds later, so you are getting it first ). Then activate your steroids and run back into the building. Collect the RPG and then go into the sewers; Run down to the health atom, then on the way back up replenish your steroid supply. By this time you will have 200 health, armour and guns. The only thing you won't have is a medikit. Your opponent will also be in the main building, but won't have as much stuff as you. Go get 'em!!! If you've been called: You will start in the red lift. Get the door opening, while its opening go up to behind the tree and get the jetpack. On your way into the Forbidden shop, close the door behind you in case they go for a quick kill. Collect the atom and shotgun, push the bookshelf on your right in the store to get the armour and pipebombs. Use a pipebomb to blow up the crack by the toilets, then go into the 3nd inlet thing along to get steroids out the steroids out of the garbage can, then the last one along to get the rpg. Activate the steroids, and go through the teleporter. Get the medikit, flick the curtain, go through the air vent to get the health atom, unlock the door and get the steroids to your far left on the other side. You now have full everything INCLUDING a medikit, and your opponent will probably be collecting the RPG in the bar. Time to kill them! General tactics If you hear someone in the sewer, then close the door to the sewer in the main building. Then when the re-open it on their way up, be waiting on the other side with an RPG. If you are in the " Forbidden " porn shop and you're in a fight, use the jetpack to fly above the bookshelves and use RPG and mouse aiming to get your opponent. If you are being chased outside, and the building has been blown up, go down the sewer, with steroids on, go up into the building, activate your steroids that you've got on the way up with night vision + holoduke, switch to RPG, face the main door - they will go in through it - fire off a couple of shots to hit them - then go and get the steroids up by the disco, to the right of the door. Then, you could either counterattack or run. Works every time! If you're chasing someone and they go through the teleporter, fire off an RPG. If you're really close to them jam on the steroids and go for a telefrag. If you're being chased through a teleporter, go to one side of it once you're through the other side to avoid rpg's, and fire off a couple of your own. If you're being chased outside and you go towards the " Forbidden " shop, you can run through the spinning door backwards and close it. If they follow you it might squish them. However, most players veiw this as a bug in the game. BUT...it still works. A nice camping kill, if you're low on everything, and you're got an RPG, is to go into the toilets in the main building. Close the door leading down to the sewers, and crouch on the sinks etc.... next to the mirror, in the corner. Stay ducked there. If they come up through the sewers and open the door you can shoot them. If they go into that areas to go into the sewers, you can shoot them in the back while they open the door. It's low, but it works . Always use night vision in the disco, as otherwise it's very hard to see the other guy. LA RUMBLE: If you're calling: pick up the shotgun and run straight down to the jetpack and night vision. Get them, get the visible atom and steroids, push the draw below the knife to get a second atom, fly outside. Your opponent will have either followed you in which case you kill them, or will have blown up the crack and will be going for the jetpack etc...... on the ledge. Either way, they will be weak, and easy to take out. If you're being called: Grab the shotgun, and watch where your opponent's going from the safety of the darkness by the start. If he comes towards you, pick him off from the darkness. If he goes for the jetpack, go to the bit *just before* the entrance to the jetpack / nightvision room. Wait around the corner, and you will see your opponent come out. Carefully avoid him by staying crouched, and when he goes to get the medikit, run inside. Hide in the dark corner opposite the jetpack and nightvision until they spawn. Once you've got them, get the steroids and health atoms. Your opponent may figure out you're down there, so you'd better hurry. Get out quick, and start fighting. General Tactics Without a jetpack you're dead . Try to hog the items. Don't forget about that armour down below! Also night vision helps when in shotgun / jetpack fights. After fragging your opponent, lay the relevant tripbombs to prevent him from getting a jetpack, as discussed earlier. If you hear the mechanised sound of a " door " opening it means they are going for the steroids, so fly down to that area and RPG the **** out of it :))). The chainguns pretty useful on this level. If your shotgun ain't so hot, it might be better to use it. When indoors, use the nightvision. The level's pretty dark in most places. The devastator is quite effective indoors. If you see your opponent going for those 2 health atoms on the ledge... fire an rpg there if you think you can get it to hit the wall at the same time as they land on the ledge to pick up the atoms. Hard, but worth it. Also.. remember that there is another jetpack just to the left of the ledge with the 2 health atoms on it. If you can make it onto the roof through the lift, you can jump across to the atoms, jump down to the left and collect this second jetpack. MOVIE SET: If you're calling: You will start indoors. Collect the jetpack and chaingun from behind that big wall, and the chaingun ammo just aroun the edge of the wall, on the other side. Get the medikit that's on the floor, and the health atom on top of the wall. Go outside and get the steroids before they do, so that you can get the shotgun while they are waiting for the steroids to spawn again ( most get shotgun, then atoms, then steroids ). Get the RPG from in the space station room bit, then fly into the air vent to get the shrinker ( quite useful on this level ). Also get the nightvision by pushing the screen on the right hand side of the room with the world on the walls - the nightvision can be collected to the left of this " screen ". Once you're in the vent, open the barrier in the air vent and take the first left, then there's a little right turning. Take this, go down, and come out of the vent. Unlock the door in front of you, and run out to get the shotgun. You're ready to kill :). If you're being called: You will start by the shotgun. Get it. Push the back of the cash register to your left when you turn around. You will hear a " clicking " - go to the vending machines in the dark area and get the 2 health atoms. Then, go back outside and jump behind the cash registers to get a medikit. Go for the steroids next. Then go inside to get the jetpack from behind that wall ( take the large door closest to the steroids as an entrance ). You should get the RPG as well, but as you are at this point you're ready for battle. General Tactics Movie set has a lot of health atoms. Outside there are 4 ( 3 behind a vending machine, 1 behind the poster ) and inside there are 4 ( 1 in the air vent, 1 on crates in the room full of crates, 1 where the fire extinguisher was in the space room, and one on top of a big wooden barrier / wall ). Try to dominate them. When in a gunfight, be sure to get them before your opponent does, while keeping in the fight. Tripbomb the places discussed earlier ( under tripbombs, in the weapon descriptions ) to cut off your opponent. When being chased it is possible to push open when running under a door to close it behind your opponent, then escape into the air vents, or alternatively jetpack above the door, then go back through it and close it again ( even more annoying ). The RPG can be quite effective, but overall this is another shotgun orientated level, as are the best DM levels. After spawning its best to survive by running around the air vents with an RPG or shrinker until you are fully tooled up ( ie: you've got all the necessary weapons / items ). As you have to go outside for the shotgun and steroids, get them last. FAHRENHEIT If you're calling: either go for a quick kill or a slow kill. Either way, the other guy should die. For a quick kill grab the shotgun, get right on the edge of the wall on the roof, and jump over the wall into the water. Get the shotgun there too, and shoot them when they come into the water. For a slow kill firstly jump of the roof, getting the shotgun in the process. Open the first vertical moving door, get the armour, and jump onto the crates to get the jetpack. Get a tripbomb from the room with the steroids and nightvision in. Fly down to the door they will have to open to gain access to the rest of the level. Lay the tripbomb there, then lay a holoduke ( found on top of the fire engine ) about 3 metres in front of the door, so that your opponent will see it when he opens it. Fly up to the wall above the water, and perch there waiting for your opponent to come out. Wait until you hear them unlocking that first door, then fly down behind them. Once its open, shoot them. They will be shooting the holoduke. They will probably be knocked forward into the tripbomb, or panic and run through it. Easy kill :). If you're being called: two options. Either go into the water and hope your opponent does'nt do either of the things described above OR go straight for the door, unlock it, and run into the radio station. Whoever receives the call on fahrenheit does not get a good start position. General Tactics Hog the area. Lay lots of tripbombs as described earlier in the guide. Do everything in your power to prevent them from getting on equal terms (in respect of items and health) with you. Use the shotgun primarily, and the RPG occasionally. Even the devastator has it's uses. Steroids are crazy on this level, as it's so confined. If you use them don't use an RPG as well, as you may end up going splat :). If you want to be cheap, get the shrinker ( from the water ) and wait behind the curtain in the radio room. Or, lock yourself in there, lay 2 tripbombs and about 10 pipebombs by the door, then give obvious hints like using the microphone. When they open the doors the tripbomb etc. will automatically go off. If you suspect someone is using this on you, don't open the doors from the centre, but open them from the side, ie: at an angle, so that you're not in the blast radius of the tripbombs and pipebombs. If being chased towards the fire station, go up the stairs then turn left at the top to by the shotgun ammo. Or turn right at the top, then go right again after going forward about 3 paces ( there's a sticking out bit to hide behind - you will see what I mean ). Either of these will lose your opponent. STADIUM Hog the steroids, use the shotgun, don't forget about the medikit and armour, but above all hog the steroids and use the shotgun. Oh, and hog the health on the way. That's it :). FREEWAY If you're calling: Run straight onto the freeway. Get the jetpack first from the skyscraper, then fly down to the medikit and armour. Get the steroids, and fly over the police car to get the shotgun ( don't walk, as it will explode ). Get the steroids on the ledge, and top up on shotgun ammo. Wait for your opponent to enter the freeway. If you're being called: grab the rpg in the sewers, blow up the crack at the other end, get the jetpack etc... fly up through the pipe in the sewer ventilation thing to the main freeway, and hope you make it to the ledge with the health atoms on first. PRAY you make it there first, because if you don't... you die.. :). General tactics Dominate the area. Lay tripbombs as discussed earlier ( under tripbombs in the weapon descriptons ) after getting a frag. Hog the health atoms and steroids. When in a gunfight on the freeway, be sure to get the atoms first. That's it; This is just a shotgun fight level :). Oh, if you hear water noises and you're on the freeway, chuck a couple of pipebombs down into the sewer :). You need to plan out what you're going to do on a level before you do it. Running around like a madman will get you somewhere, but running around with a plan in your head will get you everywhere. Use your intellegence to decide when to attack an opponent. Only attack when 100% sure you've got everything you need to kill them. Until then, avoid them. Hope you've found this guide useful, and that it has improved your skills somewhat. One boring Wednesday afternoon went into making it, in the end. Im a quick typist :-). NB: sorry, excuse any typing mistakes, I tried a spellcheck but theres too many unrecognised words and I aint going through all of them! :-). Copyrights / permissions: You MAY distribute this is any format as long as it remains unaltered. Wherever it ends up, great. You may NOT make any kind of money out of this file, by selling it, or whatever..... If you want to use this guide as a basis for your own dukematch guide.. you can't. Use your own imagination :). If anyone wants to put this on a magazine cover CD great. Just tell me first please! HAVE FUN!!!! -James McArthur A.K.A Phantom-uk -PROUD member of TEAM LSD, the BEST dukers in the U.K.