Duke Nukem Forever expanded inventory update 'unlikely' for consoles

It appears that changes to Duke's arsenal in Duke Nukem Forever will only come to the PC version, as Gearbox has noted that a change on console seems "unlikely."

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Yesterday, Shacknews reported that Duke Nukem Forever would soon be updated to increase Duke's weapon inventory slots from two to four in the single-player portion of the game; however, only the PC version of the game was named as a recipient of the increase.

Today, Gearbox Community Manager Chris Faylor pointed Shacknews to a new thread that outlines the possibility of the console versions of the game getting a similar update. Sorry console Duke fans, but it seems that a change to Duke's weapon slots is "unlikely."

According to the post on the official Gearbox forum, expanding Duke's inventory to allow more weapons to be carried at once "involves overcoming several significant technical challenges and assumptions within the software that cannot be quickly overcome on consoles without risk to the performance, stability or integrity of the software. As such, it's unlikely that the expanded inventory can be enabled on consoles at this time."

It seems pretty clear why this decision has been made. The nature of installed files existing on a computer with the ability to be tweaked at any point makes the change on PC less of a technical hurdle, versus a printed disc that feeds a console information. It's certainly not out of the realm of possibility with a substantial upgrade, but for an addition that is noted in the post as an "unsupported option," I don't think console players should hold their collective breath.

Faylor reiterated that the change is specific to the single-player portion of the game and that the team at Gearbox is working "very hard to further optimize the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions in the forthcoming updates."

Xav de Matos was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    July 29, 2011 1:15 PM

    Xav de Matos posted a new article, Duke Nukem Forever expanded inventory update 'unlikely' for consoles.

    It appears that changes to Duke's arsenal in Duke Nukem Forever will only come to the PC version, as Gearbox has noted that a change on console seems "unlikely."

    • reply
      July 29, 2011 1:24 PM

      FAYLOR!

      • reply
        July 29, 2011 1:41 PM

        I was wondering where he'd gone. I figured he was dead since I hadn't seem him around.

    • reply
      July 29, 2011 1:29 PM

      [deleted]

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      July 29, 2011 1:31 PM

      It seems odd to me that a platform with standardized hardware would be more prone to "technical challenges" that might risk the "performance, stability or integrity of the software". But Chris would never lie to us about that, right? I mean it wouldn't be anything like "It's not fiscally viable to retool the control scheme to support more weapons and get a title update certified" or something of that nature.

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        July 29, 2011 2:26 PM

        it's not actually that. standardized hardware works differently for each game, and this code is challenging.

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          July 29, 2011 2:43 PM

          plus, you know, the team is working on updates for playstation 3 and xbox 360

    • reply
      July 29, 2011 1:36 PM

      Estimated number of people this will affect: 0

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      July 29, 2011 1:44 PM

      Hahaha! They are backpeddling on that? And so late in the game? I bet George hates this decision! Obviously it was a huge mistake, and counter to the tone of all that Duke is. George was so stubborn on this point, I wonder what he thinks now.

      He's probably fucking hookers and doesn't care anymore.

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        July 29, 2011 2:11 PM

        there's no backpeddling - the 4 weapon increase is for the PC and always was for that.

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          July 29, 2011 2:12 PM

          and for single player only.

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          July 29, 2011 2:16 PM

          I think he means backpeddling on the decision to only allow 2 weapons period. Not in reference to any specific platform.

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            July 29, 2011 2:18 PM

            [deleted]

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            July 29, 2011 2:25 PM

            it's much more of a "the team listened and did was what realistically possible" situation because that's actually the case. i don't see it as a negative which "backpeddling" kind of seems like, but maybe i'm reading the connotation of the word incorrectly!

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              July 29, 2011 2:31 PM

              Oh I'm with you on that. It doesn't really make sense to complain about devs "backpeddling" when they're giving people what they asked for. Although some might wonder, with the amount of brouhaha about this issue prior to release, why it wasn't addressed then.

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                July 29, 2011 3:02 PM

                I don't buy it because so many people complained about it before the game even released. (See numerous shack threads)

                Square Enix - Deus Ex Revolution
                -That's how you handle complaints and getting the community what they want.

                Duke
                -Back peddling like a mother fucker

            • reply
              July 29, 2011 2:31 PM

              Haters gonna bait

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              July 29, 2011 2:35 PM

              Did you see how staunchly George defended the two weapon limit? And now it's getting changed because it was obviously an awful idea?

              When you insist that something is the right call, but then later change it, that is backpeddling.

              The negative connotation (minor as it is) comes up as a result of George being SO insistent, and being kind of a dick about it.

              Yes, listening to the community and begrudgingly making a change too late to make any difference, that is pretty nice of them, but it's something George really stuck to his guns on even though he was obviously wrong. Halo was a fun game, I agree, but why he thought that would work for Duke is beyond me.

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                July 29, 2011 2:40 PM

                this was a dev team decision. i'm not really sure what else you are looking for here. this is a good thing (unless you don't want it, in which case you shouldn't opt to use the new feature!)

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                  July 29, 2011 2:46 PM

                  No you did what we wanted you JEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERKS. God. Why did you do that??? >:(

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                  July 29, 2011 3:03 PM

                  this isnt usually how balance and design is supposed to happen. the original decision was retarded and i'm not sure if 3drealms and george did even understand why the games they tried to imitate worked the way they did (read his posts regarding this), now the new dev team is releasing this patch on maps that were not designed around 4 weapons and ammo restrictions.
                  this is not the win-win situation you are trying to make it out to be. either way, its polishing a turd so i'll give them at least some good will for trying after they supposed cut down half the game to ship it.

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                    July 29, 2011 3:11 PM

                    if that's how you feel, that's a-okay by me. i know there are a bunch of people happy with the fact they now get to use this and that makes me feel good. doing something people want is always better than not doing it.

                    i'm not sure what is going on with your last sentence because it's not true, but i'm not really in this to get in a debate on whether you like the game or anything of the sort. that's for you to decide.

                    i will never think that a dev team listening to fan feedback and updating a game because of it is a bad thing. it's not!

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                      July 29, 2011 6:24 PM

                      i don't think the concern here was you feeling good or tolerating my post but rather that in most games that are decently crafted, weapon choice and balance are important aspects of map and game design.

                      the original creator of the game made it clear on the shack that the 2 weapon limitation was a choice they made and stood by while most of us disagreed with it because it was against what we expected in a duke nukem game. patching it in retroactive seem like a hack job.

                      my last sentence refers to data that was leaked after 3drealms tanked and lots of info about existing/half finished levels leaked and an radio interview with a former employee who decided that he needed health insurance instead of working for free on a game that might not be released.

                      as for a dev team listening to feedback i'm just going to point in the direction of the guys making deus ex 3 and its pc port.
                      they listened to the fans BEFORE the game was released. regarding the fov of duke that might not have been a bad idea as well...

                      furthermore i even said that i applaud them for it but for the reasons i stated i still believe its an addition that certainly can be criticised for the lack of balance. a simple "give all cheat" does practically the same. unless they still haven't fixed the console access...

              • reply
                July 29, 2011 2:47 PM

                But is he even involved in, let alone pivotal to this decision?

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                  July 29, 2011 2:51 PM

                  I get the sense that having a two weapon limit is something that originated with George, and has probably been part of the game for a while (I would guess since Halo came out).

                  Obviously the subsequent dev team left it in, so they either must have agreed, or wanted to adhere to the original vision.

                  I don't get why people think I am complaining about this, that is a failure of reading. I am not calling the devs or publisher "jerks".

                  I said "haha they changed that". I thought it was funny that they decided to change it all these months later after how vehemently George defended it when it originally came up.

                  You guys are clearly really sensitive about this still! Calm down, I just made an offhanded remark, jesus fucking christ.

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                July 29, 2011 2:48 PM

                it may be notable that george doesn't work for the dev team that made this change. from all indications, the game was already 2-weapons-only when gearbox picked it up. i wouldn't be surprised if the dev team was lukewarm on the 2-weapons issue, but since it was already implemented and they were looking to get the thing out the door, they left it as-is rather than spending pre-release time to rip it out of the game.

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                  July 29, 2011 2:50 PM

                  [deleted]

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                  July 29, 2011 2:56 PM

                  If it's just PC, and they didn't care to mess with it for those reasons, why not do Duke right in the end and let him carry all the weapons he comes across?

                  If they would only put out some sort of SDK the fans would do all their work for them and make the best possible version of DNF.

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        July 29, 2011 4:28 PM

        This is why you don't get nice things.

        Seriously, you ASK for them to add something, and when they do, you complain? WTF is wrong with you?

        They're listening to you. If you act like a dick, they'll stop.

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          July 29, 2011 4:30 PM

          [deleted]

        • reply
          July 29, 2011 6:10 PM

          people were asking for it when the game was new / not out yet :( Obviously it is nice to have now, and given that the game is out, nicely unexpected. It's just.. a little late

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          July 29, 2011 6:43 PM

          isnt it wilfully ignorant or plain disingenuous to pull the indignant "oh noes you ungrateful" bitches card?

          -george made it abundantly clear he thought weapon limit was the way to go. (we all disagreed)
          -this addition on top of already existing levels fucks with the game balance (yes npc and weapon placement, number of monsters/ammo etc are kinda important for the pacing/flow of a game)
          -it's kinda late
          -as for the "If you act like a dick, they'll stop." it's the other way round, if you produce shit don't expect to get money in the future. its not like customers have to kiss the developers feet for shit that was neglected in the first place. it may be a good thing for some folks and they might enjoy it but it doesn't make people dicks for pointing out the problem with doing that retroactively.

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            July 29, 2011 9:40 PM

            I would actually have more respect if they stuck to what they said.
            2 guns, levels are designed around it, fuck off.

            Now I think something else is wrong since they are back peddling.
            Is DLC getting shit canned? Is more inventory is a quick hack last update?

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          July 29, 2011 9:38 PM

          haha such a cop out.
          The people that asked for this asked for it months ago before it went gold and before the game was even done.
          Now you are trying to act like you care?
          Did Steve Gibson hack your account?

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            July 30, 2011 4:49 AM

            Okay, but people asked for it, and now you're getting it. Would you be happier if they ignored you? What you're saying is that you don't want to be listened to.

            If they didn't put this in, people would complain. By putting it in, people are complaining. Can't you just be grateful that they listened to you?

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              July 30, 2011 6:00 AM

              could you please stop misrepresenting the argument people are making. "What you're saying is that you don't want to be listened to. " no, what he is saying is that he would rather have developers listen to them before the game is released or at least shortly afterwards.
              what i criticised was that the addition is not really what people originally wanted because its after the game has been designed around the 2 weapon limit.

              also people cut developers lots of slack if they have a track-record of giving a fuck, see valve or cd project with witcher (what a HUGE fucking update it was from witcher to the enhanced edition and look at the content updates or general updates). look at the patches for witcher 2 or the constant additions to practically any valve game.

              we love those guys, we praise them constantly and sing their songs dancing in circles while farting rainbows and candy.

              furthermore, some developers wouldn't exist if people wouldn't cut them some slack for the state they release their games in.

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            July 30, 2011 11:43 AM

            FYI, Jason used to be the publisher-side producer for Duke Nukem Forever (until around 2008 or 2009, IIRC).

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              July 30, 2011 1:01 PM

              FYI I know exactly who he is and what he's done.
              He's an awesome dude, but right now he's just talking shit.
              To invested in his game to see it from another persons point of view.

              How it's done.
              See Square Enix and Deus Ex Human Revolution.

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                July 30, 2011 5:48 PM

                You apparently don't know him well, because talking shit is pretty common for him. He once called Shacknews "the Al-Jazeera of gaming journalism". After hinting that he might talk a little on the development of DNF, he replied a month or so later with "Well now I don't want to." He can dish it out, but can he take it?

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                  July 30, 2011 6:42 PM

                  I've followed him from Blue's to Loony's to Shacknews.
                  Doesn't make what he's saying right now less stupid.

                  It's the same shit with most developers.
                  If he was still reporting for Blue's or Shacknews and someone else
                  said what he just said. I'm 100% sure he would blast them. Now the jaded
                  developer shoe is on the other foot, so it's all good?

                  Same with Steve Gibson. If he was reporting for Shacknews still and
                  someone from Gearbox strolled in and said the bullshit he said about the PC version
                  of the game. He would have fucked them up.

                  Adding +two weapons pre-release. Cool they listened to the community.
                  Adding +two weapons now? I don't think it's because we wanted it. I think there is some other reason and you're just trying to put a happy PR spin on it while using the few people complaining about the "timing" as a scapegoat.

                  -Game didn't sell well so you want at least one update and what better way to go out then giving everyone something they wanted from day one?

                  -Working on DLC you discover how bad the two weapon limitation really is so you add two more in a patch by itself to put on a happy PR face. Now you can make maps that aren't limited to two weapon.

                  Gearbox / 2K couldn't fix the FOV in Borderlands PC and now all the sudden you care?

                  • reply
                    July 30, 2011 9:59 PM

                    The same change of attitude you're talking about also happened to Chris Remo, Chris Faylor, and pretty soon, Abbie Heppe. Welcome to the game industry, where journalists get poached off and join the other side.

                    I'm thankful that they're adding this stuff to Duke Nukem Forever, because usually, studios don't give a damn for the PC gamers anymore.

        • reply
          July 30, 2011 6:09 AM

          Shack has been overrun by a bunch of whiny bitches lately :/

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            July 30, 2011 6:15 AM

            its more a problem of fanboys and industry people alienating reviewers and regular shackers witch claims of bias or ungratefulness.

            i like you man don't make me enter a pissing match i don't want

          • reply
            July 30, 2011 6:26 AM

            [deleted]

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            July 30, 2011 7:16 AM

            dognose, i agree!

            Ever since the redesign people have a bunch of Sensitive Sallys and Negative Nancys.

        • reply
          July 30, 2011 9:28 PM

          What the goddamn fuck is this post and subthread? Please link me to where I fucking complained. I am amused they backpeddled on this issue after making such a fuck off huge deal about it.

          I don't even own the game!

          What an asshole post.

    • reply
      July 29, 2011 2:11 PM

      PC4LYFE

    • reply
      July 29, 2011 3:11 PM

      Wait a minute, someone's mature enough to have a PC and immature enough to have DNF?

      No, there's too big a variable...they don't balance out at all.

    • reply
      July 29, 2011 3:34 PM

      Fail0r.

      Game needed another year or so of development imo.

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      July 29, 2011 3:47 PM

      Hopefully this will eventually lead to a mod where Duke's back to carrying every weapon possible.

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      July 29, 2011 6:53 PM

      Silly idea: Hold down Y to reveal a D-pad submenu to access weapon slots 3 and 4. Otherwise, momentarily pressing Y switches between slots 1 and 2. That's the control aspect of it, not going into the technical backend stuff that would have to be replaced and retested.

      I'll check to see how big the PC patch is on Steam for a comparison of replaced code.

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      July 30, 2011 2:36 AM

      I really admire them for actually responding to their customer base and making the changes that they probably wanted to make all along, but were bound by marketing decisions to ship by a certain date and that meant submitting the game for certification for consoles. With that behind them they are doing their best to make this into the game we all knew it could be. Bravo. Between this and the FOV and other enhancements that Eidos just made to Deus Ex HR it looks like developers are going to be less beholden to console makers and shift that focus back to their customers.

    • reply
      July 30, 2011 3:15 PM

      Duke who?

    • reply
      July 31, 2011 5:29 PM

      http://www.ifancyshop.com

      I tide fashion Good-looking, not expensive Free transport

      • reply
        July 31, 2011 8:47 PM

        ^^ This is way better news than 2 extra weapons.

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