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VikingBoyBilly
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Post by VikingBoyBilly »

I thought zero punctuation was just a fast talking douche.
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Post by Levellass »

VikingBoyBilly wrote:I thought zero punctuation was just a fast talking douche.
A fast talking douche who puts surprising effort into his work. Lord knows I couldn't do that week after week.
What you really need, not what you think you ought to want.
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VikingBoyBilly
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Post by VikingBoyBilly »

You wouldn't do that because you put TLC into your work.
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Post by Levellass »

VikingBoyBilly wrote:You wouldn't do that because you put TLC into your work.
Oh I'm currently in waaay to foul a mood to do that. I could spit acid.
What you really need, not what you think you ought to want.
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Post by Gridlock »

Still doing that tile-life item thing or have your plans for that changed?
It's kind of hard to say anymore. I just need to use as little memory as possible, and I think this would be the best method. I haven't got a clue as to go about implementing all this though.

It's getting hard to find motivation to work on this, especially with so few people around these days. Apart from a little sprite work I haven't really accomplished anything yet. Jumping back into work after delays of several months isn't easy, and at the moment I feel like I'm on my own. Not exactly sure what this means going forward. I do wish that Keen source would release...
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Post by Levellass »

Everyone does, but look at me, Dreams source but nothing I can do with it.
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Post by Fleexy »

IMHO, we should just continue as we were with patching and whatnot until somebody figures out how to actually do something with this source stuff. I mean, so far, we don't even have a demonstration that it's possible to build the source with modified resources and code. (There must be a way, but right now the source has done about as much for us as a bag of rocks.)
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Post by Levellass »

Indeed, indeed. It's the DNF of Keen; a long time in coming and likely a letdown when it gets here.
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Post by gerstrong »

Gridlock wrote:
Still doing that tile-life item thing or have your plans for that changed?
It's kind of hard to say anymore. I just need to use as little memory as possible, and I think this would be the best method. I haven't got a clue as to go about implementing all this though.

It's getting hard to find motivation to work on this, especially with so few people around these days. Apart from a little sprite work I haven't really accomplished anything yet. Jumping back into work after delays of several months isn't easy, and at the moment I feel like I'm on my own. Not exactly sure what this means going forward. I do wish that Keen source would release...
Hi Gridlock, we still have Commander Genius and you asked in the past for support of richer colors. It is done. I will continue on that project and get out even more...

You must finish your project, Those graphics look amazing. If you want of gameplay something very own I can help to make is possible on CG without relying on any executables or DOS data if that is what bugs you.
Having fun developing stuff...
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Post by T-Squared »

Levellass wrote:Indeed, indeed. It's the DNF of Keen; a long time in coming and likely a letdown when it gets here.
Yeah, "HUMANIZED!!!" is probably going to be the same way...

CCAF.
Cosmo II: HUMANIZED!!! Progress:
Graphics: 15% Complete
Story: 100% Complete
Music: 5% Complete
Programming Modifications: 5% Complete (FINALLY! SOME PROGRESS!)

http://www.tsqproductions.com
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Post by Gridlock »

Hi Gridlock, we still have Commander Genius and you asked in the past for support of richer colors. It is done. I will continue on that project and get out even more...

You must finish your project, Those graphics look amazing. If you want of gameplay something very own I can help to make is possible on CG without relying on any executables or DOS data if that is what bugs you.
I would be interested to see what could be done with the mod in Commander Genius. However, (and please don't take this the wrong way) I still think that Commander Genius has a long way to go before it can really replace the original games. I don't want to release AR exclusively for Commander Genius unless it plays almost exactly like the original (with any enhancements).

One question: If you ported this mod to CG, would you have to rewrite all the code and patches for the engine? It seems like that would be a very time-consuming thing to do.

Anyway, thanks for the encouragement. I'll admit I've gotten distracted the last few days making Keen 5 levels for a levelpack that's been in the works for two years (about 1/3 is done), but I'll try to get back on track for the last two weeks or so before my semester begins. The remaining work on AR is just so daunting.
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Post by gerstrong »

Gridlock wrote: I would be interested to see what could be done with the mod in Commander Genius. However, (and please don't take this the wrong way) I still think that Commander Genius has a long way to go before it can really replace the original games. I don't want to release AR exclusively for Commander Genius unless it plays almost exactly like the original (with any enhancements).
Commander Genius will never replace the original Keen games. That's not what it is about. And if you maintain a project it will go on and on. For the gameplay experience I think Commander Genius is pretty complete. So I don't understand what is missing from your point of view really. The AIs are there, and Keen 1-6 (not Dreams) are supported.

I understand that you want something identical to base on, but the Keen games due hardware limitations had a lot of problems as well, problems that are avoided with CG.

Hacking is fun, I understand that, also original stuff has something of its own legacy whenever based on, but I think more can be done in less time if those patches weren't necessary.

If it is about game physics, well, tell me, what bugs you? I haven't heard any complains lately. Some people lately told me it's not like the original in term of gameplay but they never explain what exactly is wrong. That does not help me that much. CG runs like I experienced it in the childhood. I could give Keen more inertia in Keen 4-6. I registered that, but I like it the way how it moves I have to say and a lot of people confirmed that.

And don't worry, I don't take it the wrong way. I have been here for some time and Commander Genius exists since 2005 when it was called CloneKeen, so there already is some experience.
Gridlock wrote: One question: If you ported this mod to CG, would you have to rewrite all the code and patches for the engine? It seems like that would be a very time-consuming thing to do.
If you create a mod with a lot of patches like I have seen some from others lately, then yes, it would mean a lot of work for me. And really, I don't want to support mods that way, there must be a better way. I thought about supporting Lua scripting, which would make it much easier. We discussed that in the past, but if no one would use it, I'd rather prefer not to take that risk and put a lot of time and effort into it. There are other features people pressure me to put on and will be be used.

There are a lot of cool ideas, but they must be programmed which is usually the harder part.

I really don't want to support those patches anymore and it might happen that I won't support them in the project. It is very tedious, it makes the CG sources much uglier and I think for the other side it also is not easier to create mods relying on that.
Gridlock wrote: Anyway, thanks for the encouragement. I'll admit I've gotten distracted the last few days making Keen 5 levels for a levelpack that's been in the works for two years (about 1/3 is done), but I'll try to get back on track for the last two weeks or so before my semester begins. The remaining work on AR is just so daunting.
I don't like to give up projects and CG had hard times and we still survived those. For now I can say it runs very well. Especially the mobile users love it as you can read here:
http://play.google.com/store/apps/detai ... plus&hl=de

And since the Dreams source code was released, strangely enough more people are downloading Commander Genius which is a bit unrelated.

So, closing this, I would like to promote some mods, like you see we did with Keen 7 and 8. Keen 7 gets for everyone downloaded and installed to the mobile devices when installing CG.

There are a lot of very cool ideas, but really the patches make it hard to get them worked with that engine.

It's up to you, what you prefer. Dosbox forever? I think we should move on...

And yes, you worked hard on it. Whatever route you want to go, go it! As I told, the graphics look amazing, the screenshots really show some talent, you must continue on this :-)
Having fun developing stuff...
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Post by Fleexy »

If you do choose to go with CG and the extended palette, Abiathar has full support for 24-bit color (use tile sheet bitmaps).

I personally would much rather play the game in DOSBox as a modification of the real Keen game. Don't get me wrong, CG is an amazing thing, but nothing can quite capture the magic of the Keen games.
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Post by Gridlock »

My spring semester is just about to start, so I won't have much time to work again until the summer. :dead2

However, I did make some good progress this month. Once again, here's a progress update on the levels:

Code: Select all

_____________________
#####################
####AR TO DO List####
#####################

##########
  LEVELS
##########

* indicates that a level is done and ready for beta testing; may require only minor changes

0 (World Map): Some significant graphical revisions + additional graphics
1 DS: *
2 MM: *
3 LL: *
4 CC: *
5 EC: *
6 AM: *
7 AB: *
8 SL: *
9 PA: *
10 HH: Major level and graphical revisions
11 BB: *
12 KG: *
13 AF: *
14 TC: *
15 GZ: minor graphical additions
16 SS: *
17 BOSS: Finish boss behavior/graphics
18 CS: minor graphical additions
19 Scores *
20 PR1: *
21 PR2: minor graphical additions
22 CTB *
23 CTA *
24 CC *
As you can, the levels are getting very close to completion. Apart from one major level revision, the rest of the work is just small stuff. Most of the music is now done. Sprites, patching, and story images remain the primary challenge looking forward.

I can't believe this project is already going to be nearing five years in development this spring. Unfortunately, college will keep me from working on this much until the summer, but I really want to finish it this summer. So, my goal is a release date of August 2015. I think the project is close enough to completion that that is feasible, if I get the support I need.

Let me say again that I'm super excited about the progress I've made and can't wait to show everyone here. Not included the world map, high scores, and final boss, the game features 22 levels. Every level slot has a unique music track, and several more music tracks will be featured. I expect this to be the longest Keen game yet. I just played through the whole game (on god mode and skipping non-essential levels), and it took me about 2.5 hours to complete. Keep in mind it will take most players much longer to complete and even longer to play completely.

Thanks for your patience and support. You all are awesome!

By the way, Keen day is only two months away. If you are interested in things like new screenshots or more music previews, I could definitely make it happen.
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Post by Roobar »

Apart from one major level revision, the rest of the work is just small stuff.
PLEASE! Put all your power into completing this! You're at the final line! Don't leave it for the summer! Just do it!
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