Operation Ocflore

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Bubbatom
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Re: Operation Ocflore

Post by Bubbatom »

Hey guys, here is revision v1.3: https://www.dropbox.com/s/m8btdabl33ogx ... e.zip?dl=1

This update addresses all issues mentioned in this thread since the last revision plus a few tile bugs I stumbled upon whilst testing. It also includes the patches that K1n9_Duk3 has posted in this thread.
Tormentor667 wrote: Mon Feb 10, 2020 18:32 At least the nazis from Blade of Agony know what a good mod is...
I'm really loving the look of this project, nice little easter-egg!
Last edited by Bubbatom on Tue Feb 18, 2020 11:40, edited 1 time in total.
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K1n9_Duk3
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Re: Operation Ocflore

Post by K1n9_Duk3 »

Bubbatom wrote: Mon Feb 17, 2020 12:20It also includes the patches that K1n9_Duk3 has posted in this thread.
Yes, but they're in the wrong place and therefore not applied by CKPATCH. You should have added them before the memory checking code. There's a "%end" command before my memory checking code, which means CKPATCH will stop parsing the file right there and ignore the rest of the patch file.

I guess it would be better to remove the entire memory checking patch from the patch file to avoid any future confusion. This patch was really just supposed to be used during mod development as a quick way to calculate the total memory requirements. You can't even play the game with this patch in place.
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Bubbatom
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Re: Operation Ocflore

Post by Bubbatom »

K1n9_Duk3 wrote: Mon Feb 17, 2020 21:25 Yes, but they're in the wrong place and therefore not applied by CKPATCH. You should have added them before the memory checking code. There's a "%end" command before my memory checking code, which means CKPATCH will stop parsing the file right there and ignore the rest of the patch file.
Ah, I didn't even notice the "%end" before that patch! I've updated the patch file now, the memory patch has been removed and the %end is now at the very end of the file.
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Re: Operation Ocflore

Post by Nisaba »

Thanks for the revision. I've uploaded the newest version to our beloved KeenWiki as well.

one question though: if you could, please replace the "0 (last digit of your download link) with an "1". the advantage of renaming dropbox links is that one can directly download things instead of getting redirected to a third party site.
out now (link) : Image
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proYorp
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Re: Operation Ocflore

Post by proYorp »

Finished the game a few weeks ago, finally getting around to writing some final thoughts and uploading the rest of my playthrough videos. (Haven't seen the secret level yet though, need to try to find that sometime.)

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My favorite level was Frigid Quarry. The whole experience (music, environment, graphics) was stunning, and I was fully immersed in it. Everything felt like it belonged.
This level is the first introduction to several creatures (not the least of which being the Ormch), as well as the first use of the stone environment, and it pulls it off really well. There was an air of mystery throughout the entire level, occasionally elevated by seeing another new thing for the first time.
The music really sold the atmosphere. Those pitch bends with the tempo change are smooth, really took me by surprise first time I heard them. I was not expecting to hear something so complex in IMF music. Who did this song? :)
The environment as well is amazing, the amount of detail is staggering. So many types of stone. But what really got my attention was the type that's full of dents and crevices, and I noticed on that the edge of the stone near a pool of water, the crevices were actually filled with water from the close proximity. That blew my mind.
The experience was magical, truly Keenish. My only disappointment is that I won't be able to experience it for the first time again.

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One of the highlights of the mod is the creatures. Even with the limited amount of patching, they are unique and add a lot to the game. Some of the creatures have even been made less annoying than the originals.
For example, the Mad Mushroom replacement has only two jumps that repeat, a very short one that you can easily pogo over, and a high one that you can walk under. Additionally they are a bit smaller in size, and this makes them much less aggravating to deal with.
Another good one is the Dopefish replacement. This was really interesting, that one of the most dangerous creatures in Keen 4 was patched into something that avoids you. I was really intrigued by this, and I was hoping to see some more in-depth usage of them. I was a bit disappointed that they were only in the one level.
I think the only really problematic creature was the blue jumping worm guy (which for some reason I keep thinking is some kind of monk). It lunges in from offscreen so quickly that half the time I can't move quickly enough to escape and it just jumps right on me. Seems a little bit RNG. Other than the times it suddenly appears out of nowhere though, it's an interesting creature to deal with.

Also noteworthy is how consistently certain creatures are in certain environments. I found myself becoming very cautious of areas open to the sky, always looking upwards before continuing in case any Enkri are around.

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As many things as I love about this mod, especially in regards to the artwork, it has become clear that there are some issues with important level aspects being too hard to see or distinguish. A relevant concept in graphic design is that the more details there are in something, the harder it is to make any one detail stand out. I wanted to offer some constructive criticism on this, because I want to see this mod maximize it's potential.

It's already been said a few times, but the tree branches that you're supposed to be able to stand on are not obvious at all. They have no clear outline, and the shading is noisy and looks identical to the trees in the background so they just blend in together. It's camouflage.
In the Evergreen Gate I was nearly unable to finish the level because I was not able to see the branches. It was totally by accident that I landed on one as I was derping around in a last-ditch attempt to find some way to progress, then after staring hard at the screen to figure out why I was floating I was finally able to see it.

Another thing that I don't think has been mentioned yet: the geysers. I ran smack into those things so many darn times because I had no idea they were there.
There are a few reasons for this.
First, the hole in the ground they come out of is very hard to notice. A small black circle with some pixels of yellow. This doesn't show up well on either grounds that use a lot of black (such as the dented stone) or brown. For comparison, the wooden spike danger tiles are much easier to notice because they have a thick bright yellow ring around them, as well as sticking up a bit even while retracted. If the geyser spout is changed to have a more noticeable opening I think it would help a lot. The small deposit of lava or whatever around it could be made thicker, and perhaps the opening could stick out (think mini volcano).
Second, it doesn't always have a clear outline, it just sort of fades in like something in the background might do. If all the frames are given a full outline around the dominant puff shapes it'll be a lot more eye-catching.

One other thing, the wall shooters are dominantly brown like a lot of the environment and I often don't see them until they shoot.

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Finally, some loose thoughts and comments:

I really like how the slopes are used to add variation to the ground, by not following the same pattern as the flat areas. Clever use of tile space.

The levels seem to be mostly consistent in the time it takes to complete them.

Some of the secret areas are a bit difficult to escape from.

The 1.3 release still says "Initial release 1.0" on the startup screen.

Bubbatom wrote: Sat Jan 18, 2020 1:47 Believe it or not the graphics were all done in MSPaint. Very time consuming and limited in many ways but it's what I've been using for keen graphics for years!
You used MSPaint for all this? For some reason I thought you were using GIMP. That makes it even more impressive.

Great mod, had a lot of fun playing it.

---

Well I had hoped to finish my review before the Keen Day releases start but it looks like that didn't happen. :o
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Re: Operation Ocflore

Post by Scilicet »

I played it and liked it. As someone with a minor in Classical Studies, I thought the use of Latin names for some of the enemies was very cool. The Blue Barbatus, however, was a terrifying enemy because it launched itself from so far away. The worms joining to form another fast, terrifying enemy was a good decision. I had a few panicky moments trying to squish some of them. Like Gridlock, I didn't know you could shoot the security drones at first and spent a lot of time bouncing around them. I also felt bad for shooting the Enkri, as I thought they were cool. Do they follow Keen? It doesn't seem like it.
Shikadi-Netzwerk is trying a pacifist run of it on hard and is having issues in some places.

I thought three relics seemed a little small an amount, and I finished the story portion of the game with many unplayed levels left. Don't worry; I got back to them later, including the secret level.
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Re: Operation Ocflore

Post by Multimania »

I finally got around to finishing this on my old childhood 486.

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That palette and the orange overscan border really gives this mod a special feel (except possibly when the sky is orange and it's difficult to see). Indeed, this has to be one of the most beautiful mods out there! (The extra colours in Keen's helmet shading in the cutscenes stands out, too!)

It worked surprisingly well on DOS, too. I was still playing version 1.0, and while I needed to either use K1n9_Duk3's patching utility, or boot without TSRs to get music, it otherwise ran very smoothly.
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Re: Operation Ocflore

Post by Ceilick »

I too finally got to playing and completing this mod. Unfortunately I've had more of a mixed reaction than most.

The Good:
The graphics are gorgeous!!! :drool Easily the best I've seen in any mod. The environments are so detailed, unique, and just brilliantly designed. Similar to the original Keen style but also going beyond their scope. The atmosphere this creates is incredibly immersive. I'm generally skeptical of palette swaps, but the light brown was integrated perfectly.

Your art especially shines in the end game story sequence.

I love the creature design as well. So alien, incredibly detailed, and the patching makes them feel so unique despite actually being very similar to their Keen 4 counterparts. Masterfully done. The flying Enkri were the most dangerous creatures for me. And I actually love the blue barbatos! They remind me of rabid vortininjas in behavior, and I'd be shooting in all directions while leaping and pogoing to deal with them. Really fun. And I love their design, so alien and bizarre looking.

The backstory and world building is very interesting. I think it could have been trimmed up a little, as it's so much to absorb, but overall you've created a multi facetted corner of the Keen universe with it's own political powers, ecosystem, and economy. Very interesting.

The Ok:
I didn't feel the music matched the setting. I would have had more fun playing this, I think, with some happy tropical tunes, rather than what felt a lot moodier.

The mod is difficult, but I think it's just a high learning curve because the creatures really are unique (and a bit plentiful). I had a really hard time at first but as I continued playing I adjusted to the difficulty.

The Bad:
While the game is beautiful, I actually didn't enjoy playing this most of the time, I'm sorry to say. The level design just drove me crazy, primarily because of the doors. Sometimes I'd go through a door in what I thought was a cave and come out up high in the sky and couldn't form a mental image of the level. I felt so often the doors didn't make any sense and I just couldn't orient myself. I was almost constantly lost and bumbling my way through, and when I did piece together the 'map' of an area, I was more exasperated than having a pleasing 'ah-ha' moment. A few levels made more sense than others, and my favorite was easily the underwater level. But for me, playing the levels was overall disappointing, especially because I've really enjoyed the level design in your previous mods.

This would be 10/10 if it weren't for my frustration with the levels. Because of them I'd have to give this at best 7/10, which may seem high considering my complaints, but this really is an incredible mod, easily a top 5 Keen Galaxy mod.

And now, my question: Is a sequel happening?!
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Re: Operation Ocflore

Post by Nowhere Girl »

I just completed the game and I have an extra question: how to access the Dorsal Battleship level? I've read something about the two paths and while I don't like the Ormch's plan and how they want to use Keen for that, I'd like to see the level and take some screenshots, as usual. :P Judging from the map, it's interesting and quite unique.
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Nisaba
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Re: Operation Ocflore

Post by Nisaba »

well... all I can say is that you wanna search Swallowed Spire with care
out now (link) : Image
Nowhere Girl
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Re: Operation Ocflore

Post by Nowhere Girl »

Edit: doesn't matter, I found it. Thanks.
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Soul Monster
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Re: Operation Ocflore

Post by Soul Monster »

Nisaba wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 22:15 well... all I can say is that you wanna search Swallowed Spire with care
Thanks for the tip, Nisaba. I was just about to ask the same thing.
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Re: Operation Ocflore

Post by ffcomm »

Late to the party but: one of the best games I have played in 2022 (told you, late to the party)!

Challenging and cute maps, well done.
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Re: Operation Ocflore

Post by ffcomm »

Help! I finished the game (again, amazing). Can someone tell me how to replay it again, but this time siding with the Ormch?

I will add that this game is better than CK4, really matched and surpassed the joy of exploring new levels, superb backgrounds (you can see nearby levels in those! So neat). The slight modification of enemy behaviours made them 100% more fun to beat, my favourite being the Blu Barbatus (but just think about the flying Enkri, you find it only in open spaces and that adds even more immersion, ad you can sorta guess it is out there when you clomb from a cave outside -- again excellent worldbuilding).

My favourite level is the thicket steeple, since I appreciate levels to be slightly smaller rathern than bigger.
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