Updated- 'The Ruin of Roib' - beta v3

Here is where to post about the latest Commander Keen fangame or modification you've finished, a new website you've made, or another Keen-related creation.
NY00123
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Post by NY00123 »

Bernie wrote:
NY00123 wrote:I'm afraid I've encountered a new bug - in Glass Gardens itself (not reproduced in the earlier release). I think some path on the very bottom-right corner/area of the map is blocked?
uh theres a secret area in the bottom right of the map. is that where you mean?
Oh, silly me. Looks like I've confused the red gem holder with that door, thinking that the path to the door has been blocked in v2 by some blueish tiles...
Bernie wrote:
NY00123 wrote:Thanks for the level pack!
hey its okay man (i made it especially for you *blush*)
Hmm... releases for single individuals. That's an idea...

Anyway, after completing "Last Outpost" using the first beta, I think that I can move on to the second beta now!
Bernie
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Post by Bernie »

NY00123 wrote: Anyway, after completing "Last Outpost" using the first beta, I think that I can move on to the second beta now!
i should probly change the name of that level, doesnt make much sense :/
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Eros
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Post by Eros »

I think there's one section of Slime River has another one of those invisible 1-tile high pole instances at the top of the map. kind of weird, but also really funny.
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kuliwil wrote:I wish that oa;fdjgnae;ogubneaogiearh;igbnerfgoajfsgoefnh
Granted. You have just had a severe stroke.
Bernie
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Post by Bernie »

Eros wrote:I think there's one section of Slime River has another one of those invisible 1-tile high pole instances at the top of the map. kind of weird, but also really funny.
uh, im not sure what you mean :/ do you mean you can grab onto an invisible pole near the top of the level Poison River?
Plasma Captain
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Post by Plasma Captain »

I've finally made it to the last level, but the game keeps crashing so I haven't finished it yet. I've really enjoyed it so far!

But I figured that I might as well chip in and let you know about a particular clipping error in PLOH:

Image

I noticed this pretty much as soon as I got to the stairs, and spend a little too long wondering where this secret passage would open up (I thought that it led to the extra lives... ">_>). Kind of a creepy level by the way, hahah. Though I don't think that I really get it.
Bernie
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Post by Bernie »

Plasma Captain wrote:I've finally made it to the last level, but the game keeps crashing so I haven't finished it yet.
whatwhatwhat?? when does it crash exactly? I need details!
I think in beta v1 it would crash when you touched the consol at the end, but I fixed that :/ it isn't that, is it?
thanks for the tip, plasma capt.

But I figured that I might as well chip in and let you know about a particular clipping error in PLOH:
oh man, what an obvious error :/ thanks a lot for that.
*fixes*
Kind of a creepy level by the way, hahah. Though I don't think that I really get it.
theres a kinda weird connection to something in the story section, but yeah I wasn't too sure either. just wanted it to be a creepy level (i was originally gonna call that level 'Creepy Level')
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Post by Keening_Product »

Keep the creepy. Creepy is good.
Keening_Product was defeated before the game.

"Wise words. One day I may even understand what they mean." - Levellass
Bernie
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Post by Bernie »

Keening_Product wrote:Keep the creepy. Creepy is good.
well it was like that for a while, but i felt it was a bit... forced?
actually giving it a creepy title (well, to me) i think is more interesting and actually slightly creepy.
Plasma Captain
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Post by Plasma Captain »

Bernie wrote:
Plasma Captain wrote:I've finally made it to the last level, but the game keeps crashing so I haven't finished it yet.
whatwhatwhat?? when does it crash exactly? I need details!
I think in beta v1 it would crash when you touched the consol at the end, but I fixed that :/ it isn't that, is it?
Hahah, turns out that I wasn't on the last level, I just stupidly thought that I was (It was the Last Outpost). The actual last level didn't crash or anything.

I'm not sure what triggers the crashes, but they seem to happen in a few bigger levels. I would guess that it happens when entities enter or exit the field of play, but that's just a theory on my part. One time it seemed to crash when I shot an enemy that was off-screen, but if I let the enemy enter before shooting, I could proceed. Other times, if I simply stood still and looked up or down, so that nearby enemies would enter the field of play, then I could move on without a problem. I made a habit of doing that a lot in the Last Outpost. In any case, it's probably just a memory issue?

And I agree that the title of PLOH is creepier as it is.

So anyway, I finished the game, and I really, really liked it. The visuals and atmosphere are fantastic, the enemies aren't easily likened to their Keen 4 counterparts, the stages are laid out well, the music is pretty good, the story is fresh... The only real complaint that I have is in how often the game crashes, though it does seem to crash in less stages in this new version. All in all, you've done a fabulous job!
Bernie
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Post by Bernie »

Plasma Captain wrote: I made a habit of doing that a lot in the Last Outpost. In any case, it's probably just a memory issue?
intersting- kinda recently i had my game crash on that same level also. but it crashed when i was flipping some switches (though it could've been cause of something else). do you rememeber what kind of crash it was? did it crash to dos or did the game freeze? cause i cant remember what my crash was like :s i think it froze.
i must investigate. thanks again plasma.

EDIT: i had a play around with the level and although I couldn't get it to crash, I did notice that sprites (such as the stars that spin around stunned enemies, and stunned enemies themselves) started disappearing after a while, and I suspect it is cause of the Kreeg's shots (I once had issues with them in the past). so ill try to 'fix' them.
and maybe, just maybe, if the stars are aligned just right, that might fix the crashes! :(

So anyway, I finished the game, and I really, really liked it.
thank you so much ;) theres been less people in the past few weeks saying how great this is. I require more people saying how good this is.
come on people!
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Roobar
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Post by Roobar »

Well congratulations! You've won the cup!

Image

Now go make Keen 59! :P
Bernie
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Post by Bernie »

wiivn wrote:Well congratulations! You've won the cup!

Image

Now go make Keen 59! :P
haha, thats really cool.
that vertical roach is... weird :/ thats not mine. why did you change it? :p
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Eros
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Post by Eros »

i went through it again, and the only thing i can really complain about is that every level, no matter the size, appears to make the player go through it like 3-4 times to complete it.

while that's not a huge issue, getting lost (guilty) and not knowing about certain things in the game can be catastrophic.

*doorways that don't look like doorways
*doorways that appear too small
*doorways that appear too large
*blind jumps
*random hazards
*keygems trees

for the first 3, i was completely thrown off by the Sick Forest's random woods.
i don't mind the secret area in the Vault (oops!), but for players to progress levels, more hints are needed. perhaps the first time around, a hallway ends in one of those tree-groups, forcing the player to go through?

for the 4th one, there are a lot of blind / excruciating jumps in a bunch of the levels, some unnecessary, but the ones that do are problematic. yes, candy trails are an option, but players either miss, or don't fare as well the next time around.

random hazards. i had NO IDEA that the spark wires were deadly, nor did i know that the floor-tile eyes were harmful. only by hitting them can you actually know that they kill you, and this is annoying when you randomly die because you didn't know something was deadly.

same thing for the keygem trees. never are they mentioned to infinitely spawn gems, and due to previous bad experiences (like with the eyes), players are sometimes turned off from jumping around to try and find hidden things. it could be mentioned in the hints or something that they grow gems or whatnot.

on a last note, i assumed that the slime blobs' drips were harmful, so i went and dodged most of them. are these deadly on Hard, or is it just a visual thing?


the boss at the end is still insane, i can rarely shake him before he goes up and destroys my keen. you might need to make the level work more in one direction in order to stop the slicerbot thing from chasing you around the last bend in the level, i suppose.
StupidBunny wrote:
kuliwil wrote:I wish that oa;fdjgnae;ogubneaogiearh;igbnerfgoajfsgoefnh
Granted. You have just had a severe stroke.
Bernie
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Post by Bernie »

Eros wrote:i went through it again, and the only thing i can really complain about is that every level, no matter the size, appears to make the player go through it like 3-4 times to complete it.
guilty. to be honest, i did that on purpose on some levels cause I felt the levels would be too short if I made it too linear (though I overdid it sometimes). theres nothing much I can do about it now though. :/

random hazards. i had NO IDEA that the spark wires were deadly, nor did i know that the floor-tile eyes were harmful. only by hitting them can you actually know that they kill you, and this is annoying when you randomly die because you didn't know something was deadly.
I actually agree. I've been wondering at times about putting a 'hazards' section in the computerwrist, and buddy, you may have just convinced me. ;) thanks.
same thing for the keygem trees. never are they mentioned to infinitely spawn gems, and due to previous bad experiences (like with the eyes), players are sometimes turned off from jumping around to try and find hidden things. it could be mentioned in the hints or something that they grow gems or whatnot.
hmmm, I don't know if I want to put them in the help section. I like the idea that there are some thngs that you have to figure out for yourself (small puzzles, i guess) and I'm hoping the gem tree thing isn't too hard to figure out. anyone else think they're hard to figure out at first?

on a last note, i assumed that the slime blobs' drips were harmful, so i went and dodged most of them. are these deadly on Hard, or is it just a visual thing?
uh, do you mean the smaller bits of green blob that showers out after you kill the main slime blob? well no they're not.

the boss at the end is still insane, i can rarely shake him before he goes up and destroys my keen. you might need to make the level work more in one direction in order to stop the slicerbot thing from chasing you around the last bend in the level, i suppose.
I had some technical problem with the boss that I'm fixing up *right now* so maybe I can indeed make him a bit easier (or slower).

thanks for your opinions eros ;)
NY00123
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Post by NY00123 »

Just adding that it seems like the Gleam City level (or at least the bottom (right?) of it) is a bit glitchy in v2. Sprites may disappear (scorebox included), the game may hang, an attempt to load a saved game may result in a crash with a random error message, etc. The usual stuff. Probably an old thing now?

Nevertheless, I have completed the level. Still progressing...
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