Short Circuit Oracle (My Keen Galaxy modding debut!!)

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gerstrong
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Re: Short Circuit Oracle (My Keen Galaxy modding debut!!)

Post by gerstrong »

Hey @55Aavenue,

great work! I tested this on Commander Genius and it plays very cool:

https://youtu.be/F-uTLe8P3do

I also tried to use alternative characters and again:

https://youtu.be/lUwr1si0_Xk

Spot is very cute in these levels. In the video I suck playing the game because my gamepad is broken, had to use Keyboard... :-D

I love your level tunes! To be honest I like them more than the originals. The first levels music of the originals never sounded that good in my ears. But music is mostly personal. Here I really feel emerged into the stages, very fresh.

Also the levels feel fresh. Going to the roof of the houses, why not?

Good work Sir, you have some talent in Music and Design.

I would like to put this mod into our store. Is that okay for you? Also would you like to beef it up with some of our tiles which uses more colours to give it a look more like Keen4Plus?

What do you think?
Having fun developing stuff...
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Roobar
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Re: Short Circuit Oracle (My Keen Galaxy modding debut!!)

Post by Roobar »

Ah yes. I want to mention as well that walking on the roofs is a pretty neat and well executed idea.
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55Aavenue
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Re: Short Circuit Oracle (My Keen Galaxy modding debut!!)

Post by 55Aavenue »

gerstrong wrote: Sun Jun 17, 2018 6:49 I would like to put this mod into our store. Is that okay for you?
Sure you can add it to CG. Thanks for your comments!

I updated the download link to version 1.3. Zilem tweaked my Lindsey and Ambassador portraits, and I think they look a lot better so I wanted to implement them. (thanks Zilem!) Also fixed up a few other things (the version history section in the readme outlines all the changes if anyone is curious), nothing major, just fixes a few minor things here and there. Also, it seems I had spelled "technician" wrong literally every single time in the game the word was used...
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Re: Short Circuit Oracle (My Keen Galaxy modding debut!!)

Post by gerstrong »

Okay, I will include that one in our store for the upcoming CG releases. Thanks again!
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Re: Short Circuit Oracle (My Keen Galaxy modding debut!!)

Post by Nisaba »

I actually had some spare time and was able to test a couple of levels. and man! I love your soundtrack. my favourite tune so far is the song you can hear in the mountain section. very nice done! I just wish you've replaced all original track with your own compositions. they are great.

your enemy placement is well done. in a couple of sections you gave me a hard time reaching the beloved point items. speaking of which: the new items and graphics are neat! I like those little surprises and easter eggs hidden here and there. very entertaining. especially the new arrangement of well known graphics like the pink mountain range for eg.

looking at the size of your levels I was just wondering: how long have you been working on the whole pack! as I'm working on several projects I know how much work all that is. and as I understand it, you've done things all on your own, didn't ya?! astonishing modding debut!

of course with the eyes of a mod developer I've sensed a couple of bugs, but nothing too fancy:
  • Miragia isn't animating. dunno if this is intended. if not, make sure to check out the bottom part of the Keen4 map. those tiles need to be added to fix this.
    Image
  • in rare cases one can finish a level cause of the so called "Bounder Pole Door Glitch" similar to the Lil Ampton Door Glitch: The player needs to reside Keen on the pole, near the Bounder, but somewhat into the floor. Eventually the Bounder is expected to push the player down. Afterwards Keen must not touch any pole but go through that door, which then exists the level. here is a video recording showing this glitch in action: https://vimeo.com/276105561
out now (link) : Image
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55Aavenue
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Re: Short Circuit Oracle (My Keen Galaxy modding debut!!)

Post by 55Aavenue »

Thanks for checking it out Nisaba! Glad you got a chance to play it!
Nisaba wrote: Wed Jun 20, 2018 19:37 my favourite tune so far is the song you can hear in the mountain section. very nice done! I just wish you've replaced all original track with your own compositions. they are great.
Thanks! Ya that song plays in 2 of the mountain levels seems to be everyone's favourite, and I agree, I think its probably my favourite too. I think it was the last one I made so I was getting a better grasp of what translates well to IMF by that point. For my next project I definitely will be replacing all of the songs.
Nisaba wrote: Wed Jun 20, 2018 19:37 looking at the size of your levels I was just wondering: how long have you been working on the whole pack! as I'm working on several projects I know how much work all that is. and as I understand it, you've done things all on your own, didn't ya?! astonishing modding debut!
Yes, I did make this all on my own. Galaxy modding sure is a lot of work indeed! I started this project at the beginning of January, so it took me 6 months.
Nisaba wrote: Wed Jun 20, 2018 19:37 Miragia isn't animating. dunno if this is intended. if not, make sure to check out the bottom part of the Keen4 map. those tiles need to be added to fix this.
Ya this is intended. I used the space in the foreground tile set where the vanishing Miragia tiles are for some of the other graphics that I added. I didn't even use the miragia sprite. I didn't want it to animate anyway because my level isn't really supposed to be a mirage themed level so much (there aren't very many vanishing platforms in it) Its just supposed to be a cool building in the desert, mostly made of glass. A cool place for the Shadowlands inhabitants to hang out, hence the name Sunset Nightclub lol.
Nisaba wrote: Wed Jun 20, 2018 19:37 in rare cases one can finish a level cause of the so called "Bounder Pole Door Glitch" similar to the Lil Ampton Door Glitch: The player needs to reside Keen on the pole, near the Bounder, but somewhat into the floor. Eventually the Bounder is expected to push the player down. Afterwards Keen must not touch any pole but go through that door, which then exists the level. here is a video recording showing this glitch in action: https://vimeo.com/276105561
Ah interesting, I was not aware of this Keen 4 bug.
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Re: Short Circuit Oracle (My Keen Galaxy modding debut!!)

Post by Nisaba »

oh man, you've just noticed that you came up with an explanation on how to reach the underground life-giving Raindrops pool (Lifewater Oasis). I had a quite similar idea for one of my Foray in the Forest level maps as well... well... well, well... Kudos to you!
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Re: Short Circuit Oracle (My Keen Galaxy modding debut!!)

Post by 55Aavenue »

Hello all! I just wanted to mention that I have done 1 final update to this game. Mostly, it was to add more new music. Yay! All levels (except BWB and high scores) now use original music, and no song is used more than twice.

As I am slowly starting to better understand patching now, I also fixed up my text patches a bit which allowed me to fix a couple level names and entrance texts that had been compromised due to lack of space. And there's minor graphical improvements throughout the game, just things that I touched up a bit. Also, bored Keen now sits down and plays on his phone instead of reading a book.

So download link on the first post had been updated and this will be the final update (version 1.4 how fitting) as I'm pretty satisfied with it now and work on the sequel (which will be called "The Armageddon App") is now well under way. It will hopefully be done in just a matter of months! If someone would be so kind as to also update the download link on the wiki I'd be super thankful! :D

Oh I also changed it from Goodbye Galaxy 2018 to Goodbye Galaxy Rebooted, since the 2nd episode won't make it out until 2019. (How naive I was at the start to think I could make 2 galaxy games in 1 year! :lol ) And its a better name anyway.

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Re: Short Circuit Oracle (My Keen Galaxy modding debut!!)

Post by Nisaba »

Oh wow, that's awesome news. and this is much more than just maintenance work, it's an upgrade!
love your tunes, they have so much character and make this mod really unique.
looking at your patch-file it seems like you've discovered location pointers and the default data segment location (plus obviously hex-editors). that's great progress. welcome to the patching league.
with all this in mind I'm really curious to see your next modding steps! looking forward to your upcoming mod and all the creative and fresh ideas it will bring. I wonder, are you going to modify Episode 5 next? in the meantime I'm gonna enjoy your updated Goodbye Galaxy Rebooted tweaks and look for all the new graphical finesse.
55Aavenue wrote: Mon Dec 24, 2018 6:51[...] If someone would be so kind as to also update the download link on the wiki I'd be super thankful!
that would be me! I'll take care of it as soon as I get the chance to.

EDIT:
done! things are now up-to-date: http://www.shikadi.net/keenwiki/Short_Circuit_Oracle
out now (link) : Image
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Re: Short Circuit Oracle (My Keen Galaxy modding debut!!)

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55Aavenue wrote: Mon Dec 24, 2018 6:51 Hello all! I just wanted to mention that I have done 1 final update to this game. Mostly, it was to add more new music. Yay! All levels (except BWB and high scores) now use original music, and no song is used more than twice.

As I am slowly starting to better understand patching now, I also fixed up my text patches a bit which allowed me to fix a couple level names and entrance texts that had been compromised due to lack of space. And there's minor graphical improvements throughout the game, just things that I touched up a bit. Also, bored Keen now sits down and plays on his phone instead of reading a book.

So download link on the first post had been updated and this will be the final update (version 1.4 how fitting) as I'm pretty satisfied with it now and work on the sequel (which will be called "The Armageddon App") is now well under way. It will hopefully be done in just a matter of months! If someone would be so kind as to also update the download link on the wiki I'd be super thankful! :D

Oh I also changed it from Goodbye Galaxy 2018 to Goodbye Galaxy Rebooted, since the 2nd episode won't make it out until 2019. (How naive I was at the start to think I could make 2 galaxy games in 1 year! :lol ) And its a better name anyway.

Image Image
Very cool, will have to update the store. Good work!
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Re: Short Circuit Oracle (My Keen Galaxy modding debut!!)

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Having fun developing stuff...
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Re: Short Circuit Oracle (My Keen Galaxy modding debut!!)

Post by Nisaba »

yeah! Kylie, Becky, Billy, Princess, Page and Yorp. Beautiful creature design. they are all adorable.
I really like the translucent effect.

ps.: @55Aavenue. Can you give me a list showing which levels have new graphics so I can update these wiki-level images as well?
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Re: Short Circuit Oracle (My Keen Galaxy modding debut!!)

Post by 55Aavenue »

Nisaba wrote: Sun Dec 30, 2018 21:39 ps.: @55Aavenue. Can you give me a list showing which levels have new graphics so I can update these wiki-level images as well?
Shadow Village
Cherryville
Mountain Bypass
Altairian Mines
Sunset Nightclub (also name and entrance text updated)
???? (the secret level) (also entrance text updated)

Thanks for doing this Nisaba!
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Re: Short Circuit Oracle (My Keen Galaxy modding debut!!)

Post by Quillax »

I have played and beaten this mod a while ago (probably in November or October) in Normal, and I want to say that this is a nice mod, especially for someone's first mod! The concept is just brilliant. I'll say that there are some Keen mods that contain some modern stuff, but this one takes it to a much further extent and it stands out (is there any other Keen mod with smart phones?)!

Besides the concept, the levels are fun to play through and show some interesting ideas (the switches used for controlling the mines and the way you hid the Foot in Well of Secrets stood out to me in particular). I appreciate the variety in them. The music is also really nice, from what I've heard in the older versions (I haven't tried out the latest version yet). I really liked the one that plays in Apex Mountain, along with the songs from Sunset Nightclub and the secret level.

The story text is very amusing. I really liked the ending! I was surprised at what I saw in the secret room in the secret level. I'm really interested in what happens next in the story. I'm looking forward to trying out "The Armageddon App"! :)
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Re: Short Circuit Oracle (My Keen Galaxy modding debut!!)

Post by banana »

This is amazing. I love this pack. Such nice music, and excellent level design. I've played through it on Hard difficulty a couple of times, it took me a couple of tries but I managed to score that 767,500 points. I particularly like how well you manage to keep the difficulty at the right level, while the original Keen 4 has some extremities with Isle of Fire and Pyramid of the Forbidden on Hard difficulty. Your version of the Isle of Fire as Hot Hot Island is very cool. Berkeloids are everywhere, but their placement is better than in Isle of Fire so you can still get around them a lot better without ending up trapped. You have a few portions that are very difficult, but they are either optional areas in a level for more points or optional levels like the secret level. That central room in the Altairian Mines with the three Skypests flying above the spiked floor is particularly cruel because you lack so much mobility on the poles, but still fair because you don't have to go through that area.

Several things I noticed:
  • In the secret level, you can skip the room on the top right with Switch B and the Blue Bird. To do this, you can impossible pogo jump from the floor beneath Switch D and reach Switch F from there. Then hop down on the left side and you can reach the large room with Switches C and E and all the platforms, then continue the level from there. It's not a huge portion of the level that can be skipped, but I thought I'd mention it.
  • In Pyramid of Darkness, if you are in the area with Switch A close to the bottom right of the level and climb the righter-most pole, if you let the platform push you off the pole you can somehow clip through the right wall of that area. I haven't been able to reproduce this to figure out exactly how to do it but it is possible, and because the other side of that wall is outside the level it automatically counts as completing the level, which is a bit troublesome since you miss the IT guy this way, leaving you unable to complete the game without reloading or cheating yourself into the level again.
  • In Pyramid of Darkness, near the pole to the top of the pyramid (after the platform controlled by Switch A) are three Skypests on hard difficulty. They have a tendency to get into the hidden pole area and fly up there. Since it's narrow and you can't see them there you can't avoid them when climbing the pole, making it a bit of a cruel punishment that skill can't avoid, and they usually won't descend down either, especially if they're above the field of view.
  • In Altairian Mines, you can reach the red key without using the switch or the platform, you can just jump across the acid pool. You can also reach the blue key without the platform by means of the impossible pogo trick, although the platform and Switch D are still necessary to get the points close to the ceiling there.
  • In the Temple of Terror, you can also reach the area right beneath the roof of the pyramid with the ice cream cones from the area close to the start, by using the impossible pogo trick you can reach it from the area with all the dart guns if you jump up from the sloped area.
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