Ion Maiden, a new 3D Realms FPS has launched in Early Access with Linux support

The Windows installer includes the Linux version called IonMaiden_Linux.bin

I extracted the files and I also installed them via WINE. I read through the text file but the .bin file is not working in any way.

Is there an install method in these readme files?

I just opened IonMaiden_Preview-1.0.exe with File Roller and extracted all of the files inside to a directory. You need p7zip installed to make this work I believe though.

Anyone of You managed to find all the secret locations?

I have gotten it down to just five secrets left in the first level so far, including finding the Portal reference room posted here earlier.


Last edited by Hamish on 3 March 2018 at 7:15 pm UTC

The Windows installer includes the Linux version called IonMaiden_Linux.bin

I extracted the files and I also installed them via WINE. I read through the text file but the .bin file is not working in any way.

Is there an install method in these readme files?

Do you have libSDL2_mixer-2.0 installed? You need it If you want to run the native linux IonMaiden_Linux.bin

The Windows installer includes the Linux version called IonMaiden_Linux.bin

I extracted the files and I also installed them via WINE. I read through the text file but the .bin file is not working in any way.

Is there an install method in these readme files?

You do NOT need Wine or Windows.

These are the steps for Ubuntu:

$ sudo apt-get install p7zip-full libsdl2-mixer-2.0.0 # Install 7-zip and SDL2-mixer
$ 7z x IonMaiden_Preview-1.0.exe # Extract downloaded exe with 7-zip
$ chmod +x IonMaiden_Linux.bin # Make Linux binary executable
$ ./IonMaiden_Linux.bin # Execute the binary

@Mblackwell You received my money. I appreciate how you released a Linux version and how you have come here to read feedback.

Do you have libSDL2_mixer-2.0 installed? You need it If you want to run the native linux IonMaiden_Linux.bin

That all that I was missing. Thanks. Usually, I would get the terminal to report to me what is missing for the game to work but it did not report anything at all just ran and nothing opened. Installing what you stated worked like a charm!

I feel guilty to point this out here, especially with Duke in another camp, but what I really want is Duke Nukem 3D: Reloaded. Frederik Schreiber did a good job at promoting it and I feel like Gearbox only deserves redemption if they will allow that title to come out as originally planned.

Ion Maiden? Cool name, interesting gameplay, good old retro feeling, but buying it? Maybe later. I don't like Early Crapcess, nor can I understand how someone can advertise Linux support but fails to package the game accordingly. I wish them good luck, and I hope the game will be great.

I feel guilty to point this out here, especially with Duke in another camp, but what I really want is Duke Nukem 3D: Reloaded.

To be honest I have never really gotten the appeal of Duke Nukem 3D: Reloaded. Rebuilding an old game on a new engine sounds like much more of a "cash grab" to me than building a new game on an old one.

Rebuilding an old game on a new engine takes a lot more effort than the other way around. You need great textures and great visual effects to begin with, because that's the first thing people see. But then there's the need for accuracy in terms of maps and gameplay, which are essential for remakes and "reloaded" stuff. If it doesn't have the proper identity, it's a failure. So a new game on any engine seems a lot easier by comparison.

But I don't see any of these games as cash grabs. From what I've seen on both games that we're talking about here, it's easy to see there was a lot of work involved and I appreciate that. I just mentioned DN3D:R here because it's Frederik Schreiber's gang involved in both projects. Gearbox deserves the mighty foot for killing DN3D:R.


Last edited by kneekoo on 3 March 2018 at 8:30 pm UTC

I am now an hour into the game, and holy hell, this is freakin fun and awesome. But some of the secrets are really hard to find ;)

But I don't see any of these games as cash grabs.

Granted. That was more of an aside to some of the general negative feelings expressed about Ion Maiden, rather than what you wrote in particular.

Rebuilding an old game on a new engine takes a lot more effort than the other way around. You need great textures and great visual effects to begin with, because that's the first thing people see. But then there's the need for accuracy in terms of maps and gameplay, which are essential for remakes and "reloaded" stuff. If it doesn't have the proper identity, it's a failure. So a new game on any engine seems a lot easier by comparison.

Sure, it does takes effort, but so does creating an entire new concept from the ground up, and Ion Maiden by virtue of trading on nostalgia had to jump many of the same hurdles in terms of presenting itself as authentic with the added burden of having to create something new. The art burden is certainly no less, and may even be even more difficult as the Ion Maiden developers insisted on using old fashioned techniques for creating the artwork.

I am reminded of how in the newer series of Red Dwarf where they have switched back to physical models rather than just using CGI they have really struggled to find people still capable of shooting physical models effectively, as so much of the industry has switched over to CGI entirely. There are hundreds of developers that could create a new Duke Nukem game on a modern Unreal Engine today, but only a handful that could still create a Build engine game effectively in 2018.

I am not sure if anybody wins in an argument over which is more difficult, but I highly doubt the creation of Ion Maiden is as easy in comparison to a modern remake as you have made out.

Here's why I think DN3D:R was considerably more work than creating a new game on an old engine:

1. The graphics and effects must be modern, but the players need to feel like it's the old stuff brought up in higher definition. While this is easier for static art, it becomes difficult with in-game characters, which have to resemble their old counterparts. For instance, I dislike almost all the 3D models (monsters) in the Duke 3D High Resolution Pack. They just don't feel right to me. I might be a lot more picky than most people, but I'm sure there are others who would've liked better models.

2. DN3D:R didn't aim strictly at pumping up the graphics on the original game, but also bring something new to the table. With Duke Nukem Forever out of the picture for so long and high expectations from the gamers, it's a tough job already to make the game believable with completely revamped art. And then you have to please the masses with everything new you bring to the table, so they don't get upset for ruining their beloved game. Sure it was a fan-made remake, but some gamers can be quite brutal if they don't like what they get.

3. DN3D:R is also about movement - as a 3D shooter. That engine must've been carefully configured to reflect the way Duke moved in the Build environment. I suspect it's not easy to make Duke move exactly the same, but I think they tried to replicate the physics as much as possible, because that's part of the experience that the fans expect to feel right.

Now about Ion Mainden, I won't say it's easy to make - just easier than. It requires time, patience, talent, skill, just like other games. But the good thing is:

1. It's new, so there's no need to conform to hard expectations (textures, models, effects, movement) other than to make it fun.

2. With a retro engine, the textures and models don't need to be pixel-perfect and the gamers are also less demanding by comparing this game with a modern one.

Now what requires a lot of work and it's quite hard as well, is the creative part - designing levels, textures, sprites and a good difficulty balance. But again, the good thing is none of this has to be like any other game. And the number of developers and designers knowing Build doesn't matter considering 3D Realms has enough of them in the know. :D

I don't have first hand experience with any of their work, so it's a lot of speculation here. But it's still educated speculation. And I miss DN3D:R and I will Forever (pun intended) hold a grudge on Gearbox if they don't grow a pair and work together with 3D Realms on Duke Nukem 3D: Reloaded.

I am enjoying the game. I wish that the game had a Linux icon in the My Games section so that it would be less confusing for people interested. Seeing the Windows icon made me stay away from it until everyone chipped in with the support on this thread.


Last edited by Mezron on 4 March 2018 at 2:32 am UTC

Still not sure what's going on there. I'll have to poke them again on Monday.

Interesting, I didn't expect fresh news about the Duke Nukem For(n)ever issues. :P So maybe some time in the future we'll see a proper Duke Nukem 3D successor.

Ah, that info comes from last year actually. Was part of a conversation on Duke4's Discord server. Btw, the dev team for Ion Maiden all hangs out both there and the official 3DR Discord so feel free to post there as well.

They really couldn't finish the game first, and have to release into Early Access, huh?
No money left to add Steam Cloud support (or Achievements)?
I'm willing to bet Voidpoint just reused a (mildly tweaked) old 3D Realms engine.
Other than the nostalgia factor, nothing about this looks appealing.
Thanks for supporting Linux, I guess. Now, can we get more real games?

It's Eduke32 based. There's a Linux binary that runs in the GOG preview. https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/80wxiw/ion_maiden_a_new_3d_realms_fps_has_launched_in/dv89dcs/

The GOG version of the preview campaign of Ion maiden has been updated...
You must download the file ion_maiden_preview_campaign_update1.zip and install the game again.
The older saves will not longer work.. You will have to play it again.
New save games are stored in /home/your_username/.config/maiden

It includes some balance tweaks, bug fixes, and the first of some performance improvements we'll be rolling out.

Almost 3 weeks have passed since this news popped out. I wonder what's the lowest spec PC used to play Ion Maiden in a decent manner. And considering the developers keep shooting for performance improvements, I wonder if there's any structured way and place to go to report the findings of running Ion Maiden on gradually slower PCs.

Not that there should be a point in trying to run the game on an old Pentium II, but it would be seriously cool if you could do that, at lower resolution, with a Voodoo graphics accelerator or something pushed as far as the technology can offer for that period of hardware possibilities. Or maybe a Pentium III with 256MB of RAM? It's still insanely far below the 2GB of RAM minimum requirement, but it would be cool to know exactly what's the lowest hardware and software requirement possible, because many people still have some old PCs catching dust, and reviving them for a new retro game would add more greatness to the feeling.

Now with Build being so CPU-intensive and Ion Maiden having much larger sprites and other we're probably better off running Ion Maiden on a reasonably good Pentium 4 with a decent graphics card, but I still wonder why DirectX 11 is a requirement. For instance, both the GeForce 8600 GT and Radeon HD 4670 are DirectX 10 cards. But wouldn't DirectX 9 be enough? That goes way back to the Windows 98 era, up to Windows XP, and I bet there still are some old and crusty PCs that sit around doing nothing with Windows XP on them. :P Firing up those oldies with a modern game would be awesome.

So what kind of PCs have you people tried Ion Maiden on so far?

Oh, and the 64-bit requirement seems a bit funny for a game based on EDuke32. :D We do have 32-bit builds, so why not a 32-bit Ion Maiden? At least at some point in the future. Is 64-bit really required for a 256-color palette retro game?


Last edited by kneekoo on 18 March 2018 at 9:23 pm UTC