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Planet Of Agony (Keen 1 mod)

Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2017 22:24
by KeenRush
Here's my newest and in my opinion my best mod - Planet Of Agony. It's beyond my capabilities and energy to improve it any further - if I tried, I'd start to hate all of it. I've worked enough on this thing to the point of overdosing.

I hope you'll find this mod playable, even enjoyable. I worked extremely hard on these levels and have taken a very different approach to levelling. I hope it shows. If not, I don't know what to do... hah.

Download it here: http://keenrush.shikadi.net/agonymod.zip
Extract to a new folder, run play.bat (in DosBox or whatever you use).


Let me know what you think. :dopekeen If you make any playing videos, link 'em, I'm always curious how people play my levels, especially this time.

Re: Planet Of Agony (Keen 1 mod)

Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2017 23:59
by Benvolio
Wow I like this!! Just realised I havent downloaded/installed any software on my computer in over a year, so you (and the people who make DosBox) should feel honoured! I like what I've played so far. Reminds me a tiny bit of KeenX. But, as it is a KeenRush mod, I feel on edge, expecting distressing things to happen. Thank you for continuing to contribute high quality content KR!!

And ROFL at the in game text particularly the point items! Very relatable/resonant. None of this existed when Yorphius II came out! Well, not the point items anyway...

Re: Planet Of Agony (Keen 1 mod)

Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2017 16:33
by Roobar
OK this looks really cool. And the name now makes sense. Though, the name only implies extreme difficulty. Gonna play it soon...

***

First off-topic thought: OK I'm reading the story and OMG, there are so many similarities of your mod story with my project story I'm working on. I can't believe it! Sigh...

Second thoughts: the graphics are amazing! The world map is cool. The level design is neat. Good job on that. The difficulty is fair. Half'n'hour already and I haven't managed to beat a single level. This mod will live up on it's name. You forgot to put unlimited lives...

Re: Planet Of Agony (Keen 1 mod)

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2017 2:18
by XkyRauh
KeenRush! This is a cute mod. :) You have a lot of really cool detail tiles and your atmosphere is very easy to read. Nice job with the level design that I've seen so far.

I tried each of the four immediately accessible levels a few times. What got me in the two to the left that block your path was a blind fall--the kind of thing that a new player had absolutely zero possibility of foreseeing and anticipating, so the deaths felt particularly unfair. What got me in the first two was GunBots, which I can respect--it's been a long time since I've had to deal with them in enclosed spaces. :o

A bit more guidance on a safe place to fall would be stellar. Something I always tried to work on in my own mods was helping give the player visible lower ground to fall/jump to, when descending. Particularly if that's the ONLY way to go. Having a pit, no matter how narrow, with a hazard on only one side, or an opening to avoid death in one specific place is a cheap "gotcha" death that only works once--and robs the player of the time invested to that point in the level.

That criticism aside, this was the first Keening I've done in quite a while, and I really enjoyed myself! Thanks for the quality output, KR. 8)

Re: Planet Of Agony (Keen 1 mod)

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2017 7:27
by KeenRush
Thanks, all. The name of the mod refers to what's in the story and should be a sort of joke - the levels, despite it being by me, are not agony at all, after all! (Or that's what I was intending so obsessively all these months, to make levels that are no more difficult than, say, those in XkyKeen2.

@Benvolio: Try to relax, there is no reason to be on edge.

@Roobar: Really? Maybe the topic is just that timely that it affects us both... (And I did not forget infinite lives, I never meant to put it there. The mod is completely without patching - other than for text.)

@Xky: I've come to my senses about the blind falls and agree - and I have to say that in this case you're slightly confused! :p There should be no blind falls there. If you stay close to the wall from wherever direction you drop (the chasm in the beginning of the level) you won't fall into hazards. The blind falls in this mod should all be non-lethal; you might need to drop but there is nothing to kill you upon landing. The only blind drops to death are - or so I intended - so obvious that one doesn't go there: the bottom of the level in some places, areas which look menacing and where no platforms lead. I hope you - whose influence in modding is greatest to me - will play further, and if not, at least skim through on god mode!! The idea that you or others won't see all that stuff kills me, I spent so much time on these levels and graphics and things, and if you stop at four levels there is so so so much unseen!! :( The best levels, ideas, designs, graphcs - they all come later on!

Re: Planet Of Agony (Keen 1 mod)

Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2017 11:09
by Ceilick
Popping in to say congratulations on the new release! I played the first level so far, don't have much to comment on yet. Hope to play more in the next week or so.

I do want to compliment the animations/spites I've seen so far. I know some time ago (lol years and years now :old ) you found sprites a challenge, and if the guard robot is any indication, these seem to be some of your best yet.

Obligatory: I died in the first level after raiding the Green Door larder because I am Careless Keen.

Re: Planet Of Agony (Keen 1 mod)

Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2017 6:06
by XkyRauh
KeenRush, I definitely plan to play more--I simply didn't have time in my first foray. I'll be back after I've had a chance to give it a more thorough appreciation! :garg

Re: Planet Of Agony (Keen 1 mod)

Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2017 7:04
by KeenRush
@Ceilick: Cheers, I think these sprites are my best ever. I've gradually become slightly better at drawing them, and most importantly, I've started to like the design work that goes into them.

@Xky: Such a relief to hear that! My day is made. :)

Hm, I'm slightly disappointed that there aren't more comments. Very thankful to those who have commented but I expected more comments in all this time. Where are all those who were interested in the mod? :( Maybe it's just that they haven't had time to play it yet or enough (there's a lot level area to this mod, after all)... Come on people, tell me what you think! I want to hear all the opinions, positive and negative!

Re: Planet Of Agony (Keen 1 mod)

Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2017 8:54
by Roobar
If only you have patched it with unlimited lives, I would have probably played it much more. Now everytime I loose lives, I need to write hi-score, restore game etc., which gets annoying.

The other reason I'm not playing is simply because I don't have much time. If you have released it on Friday it would have been different. At least for me. I have more free time in the weekends.

And it is also true that people here tend to write less than say if this was released 10 years ago. Also, people here are less then they used it to be too. It's kinda "agonizing" if you think about it lol.

Re: Planet Of Agony (Keen 1 mod)

Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2017 17:12
by Plasma Captain
I'm currently playing it, but wasn't planning on commenting until afterward. I've completed the first 7 levels so far, I think, and it's very enjoyable - it's still really hard, but there seem to be some modifications to extra lives or something, because I tend to accrue enough of them to keep playing even when I lose them.

The graphics are great, but in particular, the opening to level 5 was strangely gorgeous to see for the first time. I'm liking those styles of levels a lot.

I'll have more to say whenever I've completed it... I average about a level a day, probably, as long as I have time to play.

Re: Planet Of Agony (Keen 1 mod)

Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2017 17:25
by Gridlock
Hm, I'm slightly disappointed that there aren't more comments. Very thankful to those who have commented but I expected more comments in all this time. Where are all those who were interested in the mod? :( Maybe it's just that they haven't had time to play it yet or enough (there's a lot level area to this mod, after all)... Come on people, tell me what you think! I want to hear all the opinions, positive and negative!
Realistically, it just doesn't seem that there are as many active forum members these days, and those who are still around may not have the immediate time. I'm hoping I can find the time to give this mod a shot sometime this weekend. So far I only perused it for a few minutes to get a preview. I haven't played enough to make an informed recommendation, but an unlimited lives patch might improve the playing experience, even if it means sacrificing some value associated with points.

Re: Planet Of Agony (Keen 1 mod)

Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2017 17:33
by Fleexy
I plan on playing it and commenting; I just haven't had time due to university. Conveniently, I return home today for a week-long break, so I'll have a look at it soon!

Re: Planet Of Agony (Keen 1 mod)

Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2017 18:34
by Nisaba
Fleexy wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2017 17:33 I plan on playing it and commenting; I just haven't had time due to university. Conveniently, I return home today for a week-long break, so I'll have a look at it soon!
2x

Re: Planet Of Agony (Keen 1 mod)

Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2017 20:50
by KeenRush
Thanks for letting me know, everyone. :) I'm so glad to hear that you're still interested in the mod and are going to play it (or currently doing so). I've pretty much forgotten what it means to be busy, what it means to be short on time... I'm a bit too much in my own zone. :o

@Plasma Captain: Heh, you're just collecting enough points, dude. I placed a liberal amount of collectiables to keep Keens in stock.

As mentioned before, this mod has no patches other than text, and that was one of the design rules, so to speak, so infinite Keens never was an option.

Sigh - judging from these early responses it seems that I may have failed at my most important objective: easy/not-too-challenging levels. Maybe I'm just too good at Keen (the Vorticons engine). Maybe I'll have to break my jumping-hand when I'm next modding.

Re: Planet Of Agony (Keen 1 mod)

Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2017 9:14
by proYorp
*Looks over YouTube recommended videos*
*Notices new video by Breakdown of unknown KeenRush mod*
*WUT*
*Hurries to PCKF*
OHHHHH it’s here! :pogo

Oh wow. This. Is neat.

The levels are definitely much easier than your previous mods, but they still have that classic KeenRush essence to them. It’s a different experience, but I kind of like how the levels being more relaxed and less difficult makes it easier to just enjoy the architecture of the level. With your previous mods I was still able to do that, but without the constant intense danger demanding all focus, it sort of comes more naturally.
On the graphics, they are really cool looking. The animations are really impressive. I like that water splashing effect in the second level.

Random other thoughts:
I thought it was really cool that the third and fourth levels are like inverses of each other, for no reason other than I love random things like that. :D
--Spoilers ahead--
Oh my goodness the fifth level. Where even to start. You enter in and suddenly instead of the rusty toxic wasteland of the other levels there’s this really cool dark place. The way the sky is black with a blue gradient at the bottom perfectly blends with those platforms that are totally black except for the top. All of this is perfectly contrasted by a river of lava below it all, with even more effect added by the reflection on the dark walls. This level is one of the most beautiful Vorticons levels I think I’ve ever seen, all while remaining really minimalist, which actually I think adds to the charm.
Also the seventh level is awesome too. The same general atmosphere, but done in a different way. I find that really cool. It keeps things from getting stale. And those dripping lava walls were equally awesome. (Plus I think you did a good job indicating they aren’t deadly to touch. Maybe it was that there were so many of them they obviously couldn’t be passed if they were, and that was the only way left to go.) The Odums in this level are difficult to deal with. My usual strategy to deal with Vorticons is to use pogo to jump over them, because then they don’t try to jump into you in the air, but there’s no pogo at this point unless I missed something. The way the platforms are arranged here makes it seem like jumping is the best strategy but they always jump into me.

--End spoilers--

And those are my thoughts so far. Great work, KeenRush.

By the way, happy 15 (and a half) years of mods.

P.S. I downloaded the mod the day it was released but only just now got around to posting about it.