Buried in Oblivion

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.
User avatar
Nisaba
Janitress
Posts: 1594
Joined: Fri Jan 01, 2016 23:34
Location: The Outpost
Contact:

Buried in Oblivion

Post by Nisaba »

Commander Keen: Buried in Oblivion (v1.4)

A PCKF Community Keen 4 Levelpack
Download Link
Image

Instructions:
You will need DosBox to play this mod. Run via play.bat. No further files or setup are needed.


About
A new year, an updated board, an old initial post and some even older level designs.
A perfect time to celebrate some good old, but nearly forgotten, Keen 4 modifications.

The idea of this levelpack came way back in the day (2011). This compilation is a revision of numerous different level designs, which were originally created and published by several people of the PCKF. Some as single levels, others within a package of a couple of levels. Quite a number of them were unfinished or even abandoned.

The motivation of this all-in-one levelpack is to celebrate such ideas and bring them back to life. Therefore some polishing has been done and an embedding little plot has been written.

So here they are: The Lost Tapes, Buried in Oblivion.

---------------------
Level Designs by
--------------------- -------------
Download
------------- -----------------
Playthroughs
----------------- --------
Notes
--------
First and foremost I sure would like to thank every one involved with either development, testing or simply donating one thing or another.

At long last (started this effort in 2012 but unfortunately lost all data along the way), I can finally make this post. :pogo and I hope you enjoy.

This community pack is the product of the work from many people since 2003 till today.
Everything is kept as close to the originals as possible. Revisions have only been made when needed, eg. some candies have been added, tile misplacements got fixed and a few minor things were done, to make things more playable.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and feedback. In particular, let me know if you find anything in the level design that you think might benefit from something like a difficulty reduction, more ammo, etc. I'll take all suggestions into consideration.

Depending on your feedback, I may be doing some similar effort on Keen 5 or even Keen 6 materials in the future.
I also want to share an extras folder containing various development files.

----------
Credits
----------
Creator: Nisaba
Level designs: Charging Moose, GARGapplz, Gridlock, Hagel, Mark the Candyjunk, Nisaba , NY00123, Szemigi, The Shifted One, Quirky Moron
Patching & bugfixing: Levellass, Nisaba, K1n9_Duk3
Main testing: Fleexy
Additional testing: Gilgamesh, Levellass, X-Rack
Story contributions: nanomekia
Graphic contributions: Zilem, Mobiethian
Tools support: Fleexy, Levellass, Ceilick

For credits, special thanks and information consult the help section titled "About" (press F1 to access this menu).
Last edited by Nisaba on Sat Oct 10, 2020 16:17, edited 13 times in total.
out now (link) : Image
gerstrong
Vorticon Elite
Posts: 1244
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 14:44
Location: Frankfurt - Germany
Contact:

Re: Buried in Oblivion

Post by gerstrong »

Challenging, but I love it!
Having fun developing stuff...
User avatar
nanomekia
Vorticon Elite
Posts: 559
Joined: Sat Sep 24, 2016 19:11
Location: FARM COUNTRY!
Contact:

Re: Buried in Oblivion

Post by nanomekia »

I am very glad to have worked with you on this project! I hope my contributions were, uh, at least mildly acceptable, and I wasn't the meanest editor in the world. :P
Writer. Translator. Player of games. Only bites when asked nicely.

"That's ten pounds of yikes in a five-pound bag."
Gridlock
Vorticon Elite
Posts: 617
Joined: Thu Aug 12, 2010 2:20

Re: Buried in Oblivion

Post by Gridlock »

Neat! I remember you asking about using some of my old levels, but this is far more intricate than what I expected. Had a chance to play through this, and there are some very clever and unique levels, especially the new ones you've provided. I like some of the other subtle changes too, such as the real rocks and mimrocks now being indistinguishable based on their elevation off the ground.

I'm glad you were able to salvage the least awful levels from my old levelpack. I don't think they fit with the rest of the levels in terms of quality, but maybe someone will find some fun in their absurdly confusing design.

Also, appreciate the shout out at the end ;)
Image
Armageddon Begins Again. The Alphamatic has arrived.

Atroxian Realm: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3536
The Alphamatic: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4086
User avatar
Levellass
S-Triazine
Posts: 5265
Joined: Tue Sep 23, 2008 6:40

Re: Buried in Oblivion

Post by Levellass »

One minor immediate foob is the Game Over each time you die; at least when you initially start playing. This forces the player to restart the entire mod over, which is tedious, especially on harder difficulties.
What you really need, not what you think you ought to want.
gerstrong
Vorticon Elite
Posts: 1244
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 14:44
Location: Frankfurt - Germany
Contact:

Re: Buried in Oblivion

Post by gerstrong »

Testing with the power of Python:

https://youtu.be/v5J03nt-S-8
Having fun developing stuff...
gerstrong
Vorticon Elite
Posts: 1244
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 14:44
Location: Frankfurt - Germany
Contact:

Re: Buried in Oblivion

Post by gerstrong »

Here we go! Python powered Oblivion mod:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/clonek ... p/download

You can play this with Commander Genius 1.9.8.1 or later. Enjoy!
Having fun developing stuff...
User avatar
Nisaba
Janitress
Posts: 1594
Joined: Fri Jan 01, 2016 23:34
Location: The Outpost
Contact:

Re: Buried in Oblivion

Post by Nisaba »

hey there, everybody.
and thanx for the feedback.
Gridlock wrote:I'm glad you were able to salvage the least awful levels from my old levelpack. I don't think they fit with the rest of the levels in terms of quality, but maybe someone will find some fun in their absurdly confusing design.
Well, in my opinion they are balanced in reference to some more linear levels near by (macro-progression) (Hillville vs Pyramid of the forbidden).
Plus I found those little puzzles of yours very entertaining. the backtracking can get a bit confusing, but not too much to loose the fun. and btw: I learned a lot by analyzing your level designs. when it comes to keys and doors placements plus the usage of space, there is whole lot to study and adopt from your way of organizing things.

in some sense this was and is for me the purpose of this levelpack: to get an understanding of...
  • ... how to design levels in a unique but amusing way.
    ... what to do to in order to keep the players interest high.
    ... how to lead the player's attention.
    ... follow a theme in a limiting way.
    ... avoiding being repetitive.
that being said, I'm really looking forward for some constructive criticism. I'd love to evolve my skills furthermore. so feel free to name highlights as well as downsides. talking of which:
Levellass wrote:One minor immediate foob is the Game Over each time you die; at least when you initially start playing. This forces the player to restart the entire mod over, which is tedious, especially on harder difficulties.
It's like real life, isn't it?! after dying you need to do everything all over again...
I might re-patch this.
btw, learned a whole lot about patching while doing this levelpack. thanx again for your support.
gerstong wrote:Here we go! Python powered Oblivion mod:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/clonek ... p/download
You can play this with Commander Genius 1.9.8.1 or later. Enjoy!
oh that is beautiful, thanx very much for the effort!
I love to see this little levelpack to work on different platforms too. nice!
out now (link) : Image
User avatar
Levellass
S-Triazine
Posts: 5265
Joined: Tue Sep 23, 2008 6:40

Re: Buried in Oblivion

Post by Levellass »

Nisaba wrote:
Levellass wrote:One minor immediate foob is the Game Over each time you die; at least when you initially start playing. This forces the player to restart the entire mod over, which is tedious, especially on harder difficulties.
It's like real life, isn't it?! after dying you need to do everything all over again...
That's why we play video games rather than real life games. I'd be interested in other Keeener's opinions of this.
What you really need, not what you think you ought to want.
gerstrong
Vorticon Elite
Posts: 1244
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 14:44
Location: Frankfurt - Germany
Contact:

Re: Buried in Oblivion

Post by gerstrong »

I'd vote for three lives.
Having fun developing stuff...
User avatar
candyjack
Vortininja
Posts: 149
Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2011 21:20
Location: Fribbulus Xax
Contact:

Re: Buried in Oblivion

Post by candyjack »

Nisaba wrote:
Levellass wrote:One minor immediate foob is the Game Over each time you die; at least when you initially start playing. This forces the player to restart the entire mod over, which is tedious, especially on harder difficulties.
It's like real life, isn't it?! after dying you need to do everything all over again...
It's like real life in that it makes you realize just how important it is to get a life.
Math problems? Call 1-800-[(10x)(13i)2]-[sin(xy)/2.362x].
User avatar
Levellass
S-Triazine
Posts: 5265
Joined: Tue Sep 23, 2008 6:40

Re: Buried in Oblivion

Post by Levellass »

*Deep breath*


122 minor tile issues found, probably not worth fixing.


*In this secret area Keen can grip a 'ledge' and pull himself up through the hill

Image


* Mimrocks appear in front of foreground tiles, this looks especially weird here:

Image


*This Dopefish gets stuck and does wacky things

Image


* If these Wormouth attack Keen on this slope, they get stuck in the air and cannot do anything:

Image


* This Wormouth can attack Keen and jump through a wall, then get stuck:

Image


* Keen can then shoot it off onto the bottom of the level.

Image
What you really need, not what you think you ought to want.
User avatar
Levellass
S-Triazine
Posts: 5265
Joined: Tue Sep 23, 2008 6:40

Re: Buried in Oblivion

Post by Levellass »

Strange, not sure if images show to anyone else, but here's direct links.


*Deep breath*


122 minor tile issues found, probably not worth fixing.


*In this secret area Keen can grip a 'ledge' and pull himself up through the hill

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/394 ... 286%29.png


* Mimrocks appear in front of foreground tiles, this looks especially weird here:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/394 ... 287%29.png


*This Dopefish gets stuck and does wacky things

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/394 ... 288%29.png


* If these Wormouth attack Keen on this slope, they get stuck in the air and cannot do anything:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/394 ... 289%29.png


* This Wormouth can attack Keen and jump through a wall, then get stuck:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/394 ... 810%29.png


* Keen can then shoot it off onto the bottom of the level.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/394 ... 281%29.png
What you really need, not what you think you ought to want.
User avatar
Nisaba
Janitress
Posts: 1594
Joined: Fri Jan 01, 2016 23:34
Location: The Outpost
Contact:

Re: Buried in Oblivion

Post by Nisaba »

thanx for pointing out these 122 minor tile issues.

Wormouth and Mimrock mentions are known issues.
I'm not sure how to handle these Wormouths, they are so snappish and headstrong.
Mimrocks... ach... they love to come to the fore. I was playing with giving them a foreground behavior of 2, which makes them do strange things in other places. since they must blend in with rocks, I cannot let them appear behind of of solid ground. any ideas on that? And I cannot change aspects of this level even more, since the author of this very level didn't like me doing even more changes to it as such.

BTW, images are displayed quite sleek over here.
Last edited by Nisaba on Sun Jan 15, 2017 15:54, edited 1 time in total.
out now (link) : Image
User avatar
Roobar
Vorticon Elite
Posts: 3263
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 16:12
Contact:

Re: Buried in Oblivion

Post by Roobar »

Woah! Despite all the tile bugs, this is the second best level/mod Keen 4 pack I've ever played! Very well done! I really liked most of the levels. The difficulty is fine, except for the later levels, but I guess that's fine. Thanks for that pack to all contributors!

Also, wow: Image
:crazy :lol :lol :lol So this is what treasure eaters do after they stole from you. The gallery level is awesome.
Post Reply