Now what do we have here...a beta!
Great find! So that's a small piece of original Keen 1 code?
This is something I just talked about with someone -- that maybe there could be some source code in there as well. And so it seems. Are you sure there isn't any more? Imagine it if we had found the complete source of the beta from that disk...
This is something I just talked about with someone -- that maybe there could be some source code in there as well. And so it seems. Are you sure there isn't any more? Imagine it if we had found the complete source of the beta from that disk...
My newest mod - Commander Keen: Sunset: viewtopic.php?t=8568 | codename H.Y.E.N.A.
Another difference between this version and version 1.0/1.31:
When you run the game on a computer without an EGA or VGA card you get a different message:
New beta version:
That "Buy one!" message reminds me of another message that you get when you try to run an id Software program on a computer that doesn't meet the system requirements: When you try to run TED5 level editor when you don't have a mouse installed, it says "Only REAL developers have a mouse!".
Also the ending message when you are back in DOS is a bit different.
When you run the game on a computer without an EGA or VGA card you get a different message:
New beta version:
Version 1.0 and version 1.31:Sorry, you need an EGA or VGA graphic card to play Commander Keen.
Buy one!
Is it just me or does it hang the computer in version 1.31 when you see this message? I tried it in DOSBox with the machine=cga setting.Hey, I don't see an EGA or VGA card here! Do you want to run the program
anyway (Y = go ahead, N = quit to dos) ?
That "Buy one!" message reminds me of another message that you get when you try to run an id Software program on a computer that doesn't meet the system requirements: When you try to run TED5 level editor when you don't have a mouse installed, it says "Only REAL developers have a mouse!".
Also the ending message when you are back in DOS is a bit different.
Until we get the whole source code, I can't be sure.KeenRush wrote:Great find! So that's a small piece of original Keen 1 code?
I'm pretty sure there isn't any more. You could investigate it on your own by downloading the disk image, opening it with a hex editor and looking for readable text.KeenRush wrote:This is something I just talked about with someone -- that maybe there could be some source code in there as well. And so it seems. Are you sure there isn't any more? Imagine it if we had found the complete source of the beta from that disk...
Those are the names found in the SOUNDS.CK1 file, this may be something to do with building that, as KEEN1.EXE doesn't have the sound names in it.Great find! So that's a small piece of original Keen 1 code?
Note just the keeniversity, but the entire KEENIVERSE!Wow! All this is so cool and exciting! Great find Litude! It feels like we're doing science here Wink. Like we've just made a major discovery. An important DNA code Wink. Small, but important step for the keeneversity
Every other one I've seen was. An uncompressed one takes me completely aback. Good gracious! I guess they compressed the EXE for the release, is any Keen release NOT compressed like this one is?The EXE doesn't seem to be compressed at all? What makes you think it is?
As an aside, the EXE actually contains LESS $00 than the decompressed 1.31 EXE. (The game stores stuff in that space you know.)
Possibly if the EGA's weren't LZW compressed. Since they are, they are likely to be almost impossible to reconstruct.On the subject of that beta... I don't really know how that works, but might it be possible in any way, to figure out which parts are uncorrupted of a file, for example egahead.ck1 and then try to replace those bytes in a egahead file of 1.0 or so, thus enabling us to see at least some graphics?
Wait WHAT?Not if you pm me the custom title you want.
What you really need, not what you think you ought to want.
I think those are constants they used in the code (these definitions don't end up in the compiled product, just like other variable names don't) -- instead of doing something like 'playsound(37);' they did 'playsound(SHOTHITSND);'.Levellass wrote:Those are the names found in the SOUNDS.CK1 file, this may be something to do with building that, as KEEN1.EXE doesn't have the sound names in it.
If you have 314 posts and you've been a member for six months you can get a custom title if you ask for it (and it has to be Keenish, just to note).Levellass wrote:Wait WHAT?
Anyway, as for graphics, I think they probably were quite complete and as they are in latter versions. Just a hunch of course.
My newest mod - Commander Keen: Sunset: viewtopic.php?t=8568 | codename H.Y.E.N.A.
Don't bother mirroring on public sites like MegaUpload, I've added keenbeta_restored.zip to the Keen 1 page on Classic DOS Games. I normally only publish betas if they were publicly available, and this beta was (accidentally) publicly available. It wasn't leaked, but was released on one of Softdisk's own shareware disks, which they encouraged people to share in its entirety.
I'm using the full beta disk instead of the Keen 1-only disk even though Keen 2 can't be legally distributed because, a) I think the whole thing is worth preserving, and b) Keen2.exe doesn't work anyway, and c) to whatever extent the corrupted files might allow someone to build a copy of Keen 2, it was nevertheless on a disk that Softdisk distributed to the public.
Awesome initiative running an undelete program on Calvero's disk image! If anything else gets recovered, I'll update the file on my site.
I'm using the full beta disk instead of the Keen 1-only disk even though Keen 2 can't be legally distributed because, a) I think the whole thing is worth preserving, and b) Keen2.exe doesn't work anyway, and c) to whatever extent the corrupted files might allow someone to build a copy of Keen 2, it was nevertheless on a disk that Softdisk distributed to the public.
Awesome initiative running an undelete program on Calvero's disk image! If anything else gets recovered, I'll update the file on my site.
"Today entirely the maniac there is no excuse with the article." Get free DOS games at http://www.classicdosgames.com
Help build the user-editable DOS Games Compatibility Wiki.
Help build the user-editable DOS Games Compatibility Wiki.
Off topic, I tried to play some games online on www.classicdosgames.com, but they're too fast. Also, it may have info, but it doesn't have videos or enough images. But anyway, this is other topic.
- VikingBoyBilly
- Vorticon Elite
- Posts: 4158
- Joined: Sat Jan 05, 2008 2:06
- Location: The spaghetti island of the faces of dinosaur world for a vacation
My playing of this has been very belated. I'm loving the subtle differences that didn't make it into the final cut (different yorp monologue, vorticon BwB cutscene). Is it just me, or does the story text scroll TOO FAST when pushing the arrow keys? I have to fritter around pushing up and down a million times to get past to huge chunks of text it skipped over.
Also, I'm not very far into it, and I noticed I've racked up A LOT of lives. Where did they all come from? I would've only expected to have 4 or 5 by that point, but they it already overflows the amount of keens it will show you and I only died twice.
Were the die signs near the pat pats always there? I haven't played in a long while, so maybe they might have been, but I'm just noticing them now as if they weren't there in the final version.
Also, I'm not very far into it, and I noticed I've racked up A LOT of lives. Where did they all come from? I would've only expected to have 4 or 5 by that point, but they it already overflows the amount of keens it will show you and I only died twice.
Were the die signs near the pat pats always there? I haven't played in a long while, so maybe they might have been, but I'm just noticing them now as if they weren't there in the final version.
"I don't trust players. Not one bit." - Levellass
- thehackercat
- Yorp Doctor
- Posts: 669
- Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2009 0:05
- Location: Slug Village
This is way too awesome to be true!
To think that now we can reverse-engineer things like that.. Wow. I feel like I'm dating myself, and I wasn't even born when this happened.
Anyway, I'm playing it now. HOLY GARG! That cutscene is neat! Why oh why did they get rid of it?
I vote for somebody more technically apt than me to FIND that code, dissect it, and place it inside another Keen EXE. Then we can mod it! The possibilities are ENDLESS...
EDIT: We could also do a mod similar to DDICI, where we import that beta title screen and such.
To think that now we can reverse-engineer things like that.. Wow. I feel like I'm dating myself, and I wasn't even born when this happened.
Anyway, I'm playing it now. HOLY GARG! That cutscene is neat! Why oh why did they get rid of it?
I vote for somebody more technically apt than me to FIND that code, dissect it, and place it inside another Keen EXE. Then we can mod it! The possibilities are ENDLESS...
EDIT: We could also do a mod similar to DDICI, where we import that beta title screen and such.
I have a few guesses.thehackercat wrote: Anyway, I'm playing it now. HOLY GARG! That cutscene is neat! Why oh why did they get rid of it?
1. They didn't have enough time to make cut scenes for Keen 2 and 3 and decided to remove it completely.
2. They did have time, but they run out of ideas for cutscenes for Keen 2 and 3 and removed the one in keen 1.
3. For some reason, they didn't like much the one in keen 1 or were not satisfied with it and decided to remove it from the game.
4. Back in the days, file size was crucial. You have to put games in 5.25 disketes etc. If the cutscenes were taking a lot of space, they removed them to save some.
5. Tom was in a bad mood?
- Commander Spleen
- Lord of the Foobs
- Posts: 2384
- Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2007 22:54
- Location: Border Village
- Contact: