Duke Nukem Forever

Warnings

The macOS (OS X) version of this game does not work on macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later due to the removal of support for 32-bit-only apps.

Duke Nukem
Duke Nukem	1991
Duke Nukem II	1993
Duke Nukem 3D	1996
Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project	2002
Duke Nukem Forever	2011
Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition	2013
Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour	2016
Duke Nukem Forever (2001)	2022
Duke Nukem Forever: Restoration Project (unofficial)	Early access

General information

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail
GamersGate

Green Man Gaming
Humble Store
Steam
Mac App Store (unavailable)		Online multiplayer is not compatible with the Steam version.

All Windows versions require Steam DRM.

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Hail to the Icons Parody Pack
The Doctor Who Cloned Me

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Delete/rename video files^{[citation needed]}
Go to `<path-to-game>\Movies\` Delete or rename `Attract.bik`, `Dice_Intro.bik` and `Legal.bik`.

Fix low mouse sensitivity

Configure user.ini

This game has extremely low mouse sensitivity on the highest setting, especially if pointer precision is disabled on Windows, and your mouse is not of high DPI.

Open <Steam-folder>\userdata\<user-id>\57900\remote\user.ini
Set MouseSensitivity to your desired value above 10.000000

You can also decrease MouseAccelDampening, as mouse smoothing makes overall sensitivity slower. Changing settings in-game reverts these changes and setting the file as read-only breaks the game. Make this .ini edit after you have configured your key bindings etc.

Game data

In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<Steam-folder>\userdata\<user-id>\57900\remote\system.ini <Steam-folder>\userdata\<user-id>\57900\remote\user.ini
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/57900/pfx/^{[Note 1]}

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<Steam-folder>\userdata\<user-id>\57900\remote\
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/57900/pfx/^{[Note 1]}

last.sav is checkpoint save game

progress.ini keeps track of your finished chapters

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Steam Cloud		Syncs save games.

Video

In-game general video settings.

In-game advanced video settings.

Graphics feature	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor		Proper Hor+ scaling natively supported. Select "unbound" for aspect ratio to use non-standard resolutions.
Ultra-widescreen		Proper Hor+ scaling natively supported. Select "unbound" for aspect ratio to use non-standard resolutions. Cutscenes and menus are pillarboxed 16:9.^[5]
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)	55° to 90°. Default is 75°. For higher values see Field of view (FOV).
Windowed	Windowed resolution limited to 1200x900 (4:3), 1280x1024 (5:4), 1600x900 (16:9), 1680x1050 (16:10).^[6]^[7] It is possible to change the window size using external tools.^[8]
Borderless fullscreen windowed	See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)	See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)	FSAA and FXAA
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS and 120+ FPS	FPS Cap only in multiplayer, which is capped at 60 FPS. The singleplayer is uncapped. Vehicle speed is slower than intended at higher frame rates; at very high frame rates (well over ~150 fps or so), certain vehicle segments cannot be completed as jumps cannot be done properly. Vsync can be used to cap frame rate to the monitor's refresh rate for these sections.
High dynamic range display (HDR)	See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Field of view (FOV)

Instructions^{[citation needed]}
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open `user.ini`. Change all three instances of `DefaultFOV=90` to your desired value

Input

In-game general control settings.

In-game key map settings.

In-game gamepad settings.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support
Controller remapping		Predefined layouts
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers

PlayStation controllers

Generic/other controllers

Additional information
Button prompts
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Audio

In-game audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Music, Sound FX, Dialog and VOIP
Surround sound		Up to 5.1 output;^[9] May require DirectSound 3D restoration software.
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
French
German
Italian
Polish				Fan translation, download.
Russian				Official localization by 1C-Softclub.
Russian				Fan translation by «ENPY Studio».
Spanish
Turkish				Fan translation. Details missing—please edit this page and add it.

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
LAN play		Requires an internet connection for authentication.^[10]
Online play		8	Versus

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting		For dedicated, install Dedicated Server under Tools in the Steam client.
Direct IP

VR support

3D modes	State	GG3D	Notes
Nvidia 3D Vision
TriDef 3D
vorpX		G3D, DirectVR Officially supported game, see official vorpx game list.

Devices
3RD Space Gaming Vest

Issues fixed

DukeForever.exe caused an EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION

Can be caused by faulty .ini files^{[citation needed]}
Turn off Steam Cloud for the game. Go to the configuration file(s) location. Delete both `system.ini` and `user.ini`. Launch the game If everything goes well you can turn on Steam Cloud again

Broken vehicle physics

At high fps, certain vehicle jumps are impossible to successfully complete, even with correct timing and boost usage.

Enable Vsync and set refresh rate on 60hz^[11]

Blurry graphics

Disable Post Special Effects^{[citation needed]}
The game's depth of field effect results in unusually heavy blurring of the graphics. Disabling Post Special Effects will disable the depth of field and make the graphics much crisper, but will also disable tone mapping, bloom, and ambient occlusion.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9
Shader Model support	3

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)			32-bit only.^[12]

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Audio	Miles Sound System
Cutscenes	Bink Video
Multiplayer	Steamworks

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	XP	Vista, 7
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 2.0 GHz	Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 2.6 GHz
System memory (RAM)	1 GB	2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	10 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 7600 ATI Radeon HD 2600 256 MB of VRAM	Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS ATI Radeon HD 3850 512 MB of VRAM
Sound (audio device)	DirectX compatible

The x64 version of Windows XP is not supported.

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	10.6.8	10.8.5
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz	Intel Core 2 Quad 2.6 GHz
System memory (RAM)	2 GB	4 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	10 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 8600 ATI Radeon HD 2600 256 MB of VRAM	512 MB of VRAM

The Nvidia GeForce 9400M and Intel integrated video chipsets (including GMA 950) not supported.

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/57900/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (57900) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References

↑ http://www.shacknews.com/chatty?id=23904881#item_23904881
↑ Duke Nukem Forever Interview with Gearbox Software - AusGamers.com
↑ Released Projects - Unreal Engine 1 - Beyond Unreal
↑ Verified by User:Suicide_machine on 2018-06-11
They state Duke Nukem Forever as engine in game files and in interviews they use the term "Duke Engine", but it's closer in file structure to Unreal Engine 1 games with many issues either absorbed from later iterations of the engine or entirely unique.
↑ Some Duke Nukem Forever @ 21:9 : ultrawidemasterrace
↑ Is it possible to run the game windowed at 1920x1080?
↑ 1080p in windowed mode? Is it possible? - Steam Users' Forums (retrieved)
↑ Play all your games in Windowed borderless mode.
↑ PC Gaming Surround Sound Round-up
↑ pc - Will Duke Nukem Forever support LAN games? - Arqade
↑ Steam Community Discussions - Monster truck will not make jump! - last accessed on September 29, 2016
↑ MacOS Catalina, 64-bit, 32-bit, and related Questions – Aspyr Support

[Proton_path_note-5] 1.0 ^1.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/57900/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (57900) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

[1] ttp://www.shacknews.com/chatty?id=23904881#item_23904881

[2] Duke Nukem Forever Interview with Gearbox Software - AusGamers.com

[3] Released Projects - Unreal Engine 1 - Beyond Unreal

[4] Verified by User:Suicide_machine on 2018-06-11
They state Duke Nukem Forever as engine in game files and in interviews they use the term "Duke Engine", but it's closer in file structure to Unreal Engine 1 games with many issues either absorbed from later iterations of the engine or entirely unique.

[6] Some Duke Nukem Forever @ 21:9 : ultrawidemasterrace

[7] Is it possible to run the game windowed at 1920x1080?

[8] 1080p in windowed mode? Is it possible? - Steam Users' Forums (retrieved)

[9] Play all your games in Windowed borderless mode.

[10] PC Gaming Surround Sound Round-up

[11] - Will Duke Nukem Forever support LAN games? - Arqade

[12] Steam Community Discussions - Monster truck will not make jump! - last accessed on September 29, 2016

[13] MacOS Catalina, 64-bit, 32-bit, and related Questions – Aspyr Support

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[Note 1]

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Developers

	3D Realms
	Triptych Games^[1]
	Gearbox Software
Multiplayer	Piranha Games^[2]
macOS (OS X)	Aspyr Media
Publishers
	2K Games
	1C-SoftClub
OS X	Aspyr Media
Engines
	Duke Engine\|Unreal Engine 1\|Duke Engine^[3]^[4]
Release dates
Windows	June 13, 2011
macOS (OS X)	August 18, 2011
Reception
Metacritic	54
IGDB	55