Remember when we said another Duke Nukem Forever image prior to summer's end would indicate an "imminent apocalypse?" Time to prepare your shelters because 3D Realms threw in a new picture of DNF in the latest issue of Game Informer alongside the unveiling of Earth No More.

The picture itself is rather non-revealing -- even more so than the previous two pictures of Duke and a Pork Nemesis. Over at the DNF forums, 3DR staffer Joe Siegler said that he cannot post a higher-resolution image online but agreed to the suggestion that the screenshot's inclusion in the magazine might get more people to read about Earth No More. Sneaky tactic, indeed -- at least Duke is being used somehow.

Just a reminder, we are now in the year 10 A.D. ("After Duke"), a decade since the unveiling of DNF.

The latest issue of Game Informer has details on 3D Realms' Earth No More, likely one of their two "big announcements" expected within the next six months. The title is being developed for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 by Recoil Gamers, reportedly made up of former Max Payne developers.

Earth No More centers around a New Englander caught in the middle of an outbreak in a town surrounded by poison, terraforming vines -- it may sound a lot like War of the Worlds, but these vines are (gasp!) part of a man-made catastrophe!

The game will play out without cutscenes, à la Half-Life 2, and the article (via CVG) claims that human interaction will be the focus of the title, "with a conversation mechanic said to rival that of Mass Effect." Bit of a bold statement, given that BioWare's RPG is still not finalized (or dated, for that matter). There will also be online co-op.

Earth No More is tentatively set for a 2009, or 12 A.D. (i.e. After Duke Nukem Forever was announced), release.

3D Realms has some big announcements coming in the next six months, but nothing about Duke Nukem Forever, according to new creative director Raphael Van Lierop.

"I can say that we have a big announcement coming in the next four weeks, and I'm not sure, but I believe we have another major announcement coming in the next four to six months," he said in an interview with Gamasutra. "While I can't say exactly what these are, are they about Duke Nukem Forever? No."

Since beginning the DNF project just over a decade ago, the company has managed to release 12 titles, which can be summed up as Prey, two Max Paynes and nine Duke Nukem iterations. Van Lierop said that their business model benefits from a "very collaborative relationship" with other developers.

If DNF isn't one of the company's next two big announcements, then we'll likely see another partnership, perhaps the Prey sequel that 3DR's CEO Scott Miller told Firing Squad in February was already mapped out from a "high-level story standpoint." The first big announcement will coincide with this year's E3 Media and Business Summit.

Fun fact: In the span of two questions, or 521 words, in the interview, there are 9 mentions to Duke Nukem Forever, totaling 27 words (with only one of those references by the interviewer). That's over 5% of the words used in that section!

Get out your magnifying glass, Grandma, because we've got yet another nano-image of Duke Nukem Forever via a job posting on Gamasutra. This proof of existence leads us to only one extremely logical conclusion: that to cut back on development time, 3D Realms is going to use a native resolution 200 pixels wide. Oh, how clever they are!

Of course, we're not serious (hopefully), but those still holding on to the dream of Duke have another blip of hope. A previous DNF picture came from a Gamasutra job posting in January, just three months prior. Should we get another Duke sighting before the summer ends, we may be seeing the warning signs of an imminent apocalypse.

It sounds like brothers Jeremy and Julian Soule will bring music to 3D Realms' Duke Nukem Forever. 1UP believes so, and lays out its case with two intertwining pieces of evidence:

1. 3D Realms developer Raphael Van Lierop discussed in his blog about a recent visit from Julian Soule.
2. In an Insiders-only interview with IGN, Jeremy left one hint about his secretive upcoming project: "When it's done!!!" Okay, that alone would be enough of a confirmation since Duke Nukem Forever, still one of the most ironic titles in the history of entertainment, has kept to a release date of "when it's done."
   

Add to that previous relations when Jeremy Soule composed the soundtrack for 3D realms' Prey. Is Duke Nukem Forever really in full production? Minuscule screenshot notwithstanding, we'll have to see to believe it.

It's very small, you see. Spotted in a Gamasutra job listing and then discussed in a Shacknews forum, a puny proof of life for 3D Realms' perpetually unreleased Duke Nukem Forever has now been placed under the internet's collective microscope. "That's an in game, real-time shot of Duke standing in a random hallway," says George Broussard, posting on the official 3D Realms forums. "I'm glad some of you enjoyed it, and we'll show more later as we start to wake from our slumber and decide how best to show the game off."

For a start, bigger screenshots would be nice.

[Via Game|Life]

Although the title should be Duke Nukem Forever (in the Making), is it finally coming out? It was announced way back in 1997, meaning that there are tons of young gamers out there who have never even seen a Duke Nukem title, so they have no idea what all this about anyhow. Best Buy is listing it for sale now on January 2nd, 2007 for $59.99. They also claim that, "Duke Nukem is an action hero for the ages, with his big muscles, big guns and an even bigger sense of humor." For the ages. Yep, they sure would have appreciated this guy back in 1300 AD. He could've teamed up with Ash, ftw.

The listing is probably pure crap, especially since both the Take 2 and 3D Realms sites say nothing about a final release date. But, it sure makes us wonder. Is this thing ever going to see the light of day? Several key members of the Duke development team left 3D Realms in August, which surely hurt the work on this title. Your guess is as good as any if this listing is real or not. But for the adventurous readers out there, pre-order and cross your fingers.

Of course, if it doesn't come out, we're pretty much used to waiting at this point, as evidenced by a similar situation last year. However, if a miracle happens and it hits the shelves, where will we point to as the longest game in development from now on? Does anyone still care about Duke at this point?

[Thanks, Kurt & Tim]

Gamasutra interviews Scott Miller, the head of 3D Realms, about PC game download services, episodic content, and other current industry issues.

Miller wants Valve to spin Steam off into its own company, because he wants to work with a download-only service instead of a competitor. He thinks that an independent service will take Steam's place because he -- and we assume other developers -- don't like giving Valve a cut of the profits and a glimpse into private sales numbers.

Miller also thinks episodic games could work, but they're not yet succeeding because of delays between releases. He prefers spending the time to ship a single game with an ending instead of three short cliffhanger episodes staggered over a year or two.

We think he's spot-on in these assessments. Steam seems to be succeeding because Valve's great games have carried the service. Sure, other developers have signed on -- especially recently -- but Miller makes a simple argument why Valve's company can't dominate the whole download industry.

We're also excited about the potential of episodic games, but few have been released on a regular schedule. And even then, how long can gamers wait between episodes? Sam and Max episodes will be released each month -- is that the right length, or still spaced too far apart?

With Prey finally finished and moving units*, 3D Realms CEO Scott Miller wants the company to get backs to its roots. "3D Realms will become a studio polygamist" again, Miller declares on Game Matters.

Miller intends to steer 3D Realms into a series of partnerships with indie studios, looking to support -- and gain share in -- promising IPs. The direction is reminiscent of the days when 3D Realms helped propel developers like Id Software, Terminal Reality, Remedy and Parallax Software (Descent). Miller believes 3D Realms will be able to juggle up to 6 external projects, so if you're with a budding studio with a bright idea be sure to holla.

*Note: Prey has surpassed one million units sold; prompting 3D Realms to confirm a sequel is in the works.

With digital distributor Triton now six feet under, those who purchased Prey are now unable to use their copies. Fortunately, 3D Realms has already set into motion a solution: by sending the disenfranchised boxed copies of Prey to their credit card addresses. Furthermore, Triton staff member OBWANDO promised that they're trying to get a patch through that removes the downloaded copy's dependency on Triton.

Tipster James raises an interesting question: what would happen if Steam shut down? Presumably, Valve would give enough of a warning to distribute patches that allow the games to work without Steam, but the Triton incident reveals some unintended ramifications of digital distribution.

[Thanks, James]

Thanks to the generosity of the fine folks at 3D Realms, Xbox 360 gamers can save their precious Microsoft Points for some more Gamertag pics, or maybe buy some video manuals and missing soccer teams from EA while PC gamers can ... well, they're in a constant state of saving for new video cards, so they can just keep saving.

The downloadable content for Prey has arrived and, as promised, it's free (as in beer). The Xbox 360 version has five new multiplayer characters and four new multiplayer maps, while the PC download has the same as well as some tasty bug fixes.

[Thanks to all the cheapskates that sent this in!]

Read - Prey 360 Additional Content Now Available
Read - Prey v1.2 PC Patch Release

"Mr. Broussard, do you have a minute?"
"Make it quick, I'm in the middle of a WoW raid."
"I'm sorry ... quick?"
"You know, the opposite of slow?"
"Right! Well, Doom was released on Xbox Live Arcade just recently."
"Oh, I know, I was playing it all day yesterday. Good stuff."
"That's the general consensus, yes. Which is probably why every gamer ever now wants a port of Duke Nukem 3D as well."
"Hmm, I like that idea. Provided Microsoft wants it too, I'm sure we could make that happen ... right after I level up some more."

At least, that's how we imagine such a discussion to go down within the finely decorated offices of 3D Realms. Following Doom's successful outing on Xbox Live Arcade, fans have already begun a clamorfest (not an actual word) for an Xbox 360 port of that other FPS classic, Duke Nukem 3D. Commenting on the official 3D Realms forums, staff member Joe Siegler assured visitors that the idea had been favorably considered, but that getting a game onto Microsoft's service wasn't as easy as e-mailing them the original code.

"I talked about this yesterday with George, he's all up for the idea, but we don't have the time to do the port ourselves, plus there's the issue of whetther [sic] Microsoft would really want it. Don't just assume they would, there's a big submissions procedure to go through. Plus their release schedule is booked solid for quite awhile now, even if we delivered it to them today, I would imagine it wouldnt' [sic] come out for awhile anyway."

Imagine that. Still, if Microsoft were to eventually give the game their stamp of approval and a developer like Nerve were tasked with porting the game, it would probably be well worth the wait.

[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace is like the wild west; a new frontier where bold pioneers make the rules as they go. First, a swarthy, mustachioed gent named Beth Esda (hey, it's a dude's name!) starting charging folks for what he called "horse armor." This armor was little more than a fancy horse blanket, but Esda ran a tough gang, and folks were curious, so he did all right by himself.

Plenty of other shopkeepers came into town, hawking their wares with little regard for the "horse armor" precedent and finding some success ... and then a stranger came to town. D.D.D. Realms thought folks should get new multiplayer maps and skins for nuttin' so, before even opening up shop, he announced that all Native American-themed Prey content, both in his XBLA store and the PC store down the street, would be free of charge.

Of course, folks know all about D.D.D. Realms, who's been promising 'em some Duke Nukem flimflam since as far back as the '90s and, just like that product, this new Prey content will be available "when it's done." It remains to be seen if other shopkeepers follow his low-priced lead or if it's still every publisher for himself.

Is this the answer to our summer woes? Well, let's put it this way: it's either Prey or Chromehounds -- if you're an Xbox 360 owner. We're goin' with the Cherokee alien abductee, even if Prey is a short-lived romp. This one's got 'summer blockbuster' written all over it...

• Detroit Free Press (100/100) is not noted for its gaming insight, but chimes in with praise: "This is one game any Half-Life or Doom fan can buy without reservations."
• 1up (80/100) wants more of the gimmicks: "If only the Native American mysticism had figured in more. If only the spirit "death walk" had developed into something more than a shooting gallery. If only the voice acting and storytelling were a little better."
• GameSpot (75/100) deals a low score -- by its standards -- summing it up: "[Much] of the game's potential for unique thrills feels wasted by its straightforward level design, and the multiplayer doesn't add much to the package."

Major Nelson kindly informed us that the Xbox Live servers are hosting a brand new chunk of code. At last, Xbox 360 owners get the opportunity to explore Human Head's topsy-turvy alien abductee sim, Prey. Contained within the 1.17GB demo (well over the 449MB PC version), you'll find a first-person shooter tinged with insanity and laced with opportunities to shoot yourself in the back. It's not often we get to play a corridor-crawler where the walls vomit body parts, your grenades attempt to bite you and the gravity behaves like it's trapped within some sort of interstellar tumble dryer. It's also not often that we get a Live demo on a Friday -- must be more alien meddling.

Grab the demo and be sure to let us know what you think. Please note that the demo is not available in the regions of Germany or Japan, so folks living there won't get to prey it right away (sorry).