MILDLY NEAT -- For all your random Keenery needs!

This is where you can post your Commander Keen related stories, artwork, or other stuff that is related to Commander Keen but otherwise doesn't belong in another forum.
User avatar
TheBigV
Vortininja
Posts: 63
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2019 13:43
Location: LXTerminal
Contact:

Re: MILDLY NEAT -- For all your random Keenery needs!

Post by TheBigV »

So recently I was playing around with DeluxePaint for DOS, and discovered something interesting:
Image
I found the exact font used to make the title screens in Keen: Vorticons! (Specifically, the "Olive" font at 12 pixels.) This means that any modder with access to DeluxePaint can create title screens in the style of Keen: Vorticons with an accurate font!
User avatar
Nisaba
Janitress
Posts: 1597
Joined: Fri Jan 01, 2016 23:34
Location: The Outpost
Contact:

Re: MILDLY NEAT -- For all your random Keenery needs!

Post by Nisaba »

wait, what?
Episode nine: the truth revealed?

let's go! I'm all down for it
out now (link) : Image
User avatar
Nospike
Keen Minecrafter
Posts: 1402
Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2010 13:56
Location: Czech Republic

Re: MILDLY NEAT -- For all your random Keenery needs!

Post by Nospike »

The one secret Tom Hall never wanted you to find out. :p
Benvolio
Vorticon Elite
Posts: 976
Joined: Sun May 29, 2011 12:43
Location: Ireland
Contact:

Re: MILDLY NEAT -- For all your random Keenery needs!

Post by Benvolio »

This is very neat... nothing delves to the core of my childhood quite like an MS DOS based paint program!
User avatar
Quillax
Vorticon Elite
Posts: 554
Joined: Sat Mar 14, 2015 14:41
Location: Quillax Ship
Contact:

Re: MILDLY NEAT -- For all your random Keenery needs!

Post by Quillax »

Ah, so that's what Keen 9 was really going to be called! :crazy

But really, this is a cool discovery! Now I don't have to use the Arial font when I make Vorticons-style title screens! (I think that's what I used when I did the ROM trilogy title screens.) That program looks very neat; I might have to try that out someday. :)
Quillax Ship - Where you can download all of my cool, keen mods and super-marvelous fangames!
User avatar
proYorp
Vorticon Elite
Posts: 472
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2017 1:56
Location: Orbit
Contact:

Re: MILDLY NEAT -- For all your random Keenery needs!

Post by proYorp »

That reminds me, a few years ago when I first heard about DeluxePaint I downloaded it and experimented with the different effects for a few minutes, and ended up making something I thought looked kind of cool. I wanted to share it but never quite knew where to put it, and come to think of it this thread is the perfect place for it.

Image

LOOK HOW 90s IT IS :lol

Makes a lot of sense, to get 90s effects, use software from the 90s.
"Friendly. Very friendly. Too friendly." Image
User avatar
Roobar
Vorticon Elite
Posts: 3267
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 16:12
Contact:

Re: MILDLY NEAT -- For all your random Keenery needs!

Post by Roobar »

Video of an unfinished commander keen game by Ryemanni

https://youtu.be/hBQ07VwbkR0

Looks really dope.

A keen music remix: https://youtu.be/HvXKQR4wkDc
User avatar
TheBigV
Vortininja
Posts: 63
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2019 13:43
Location: LXTerminal
Contact:

Re: MILDLY NEAT -- For all your random Keenery needs!

Post by TheBigV »

That is indeed a pretty keen music remix. Oh, wait! I made that. :lol
User avatar
Nisaba
Janitress
Posts: 1597
Joined: Fri Jan 01, 2016 23:34
Location: The Outpost
Contact:

Re: MILDLY NEAT -- For all your random Keenery needs!

Post by Nisaba »

proYorp wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 0:48 That reminds me, a few years ago when I first heard about DeluxePaint I downloaded it and experimented with the different effects for a few minutes, and ended up making something I thought looked kind of cool. I wanted to share it but never quite knew where to put it, and come to think of it this thread is the perfect place for it.

LOOK HOW 90s IT IS :lol

Makes a lot of sense, to get 90s effects, use software from the 90s.
this effect is super awesome looking. for what display resolution (width × height) have you created it? I am tempted to apply this effect to my game, although at the moment I have no idea where it might fit particularly well. But this needs to be used somewhere. Awesome find!
out now (link) : Image
User avatar
proYorp
Vorticon Elite
Posts: 472
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2017 1:56
Location: Orbit
Contact:

Re: MILDLY NEAT -- For all your random Keenery needs!

Post by proYorp »

Looks like I just used the 640x400 canvas size, since that screenshot is the full image. The only 640x400 screen format option in DeluxePaint is "E-VGA - 256 colors" so I guess that's what I used.

I'm trying to remember what I did to get that effect. It looks like I used the "Raster" font. There's a parallax tool, which is what I used to get that "3D" look. Takes some fiddling to figure out how to use it. Requires you to select a "custom brush" out of your canvas, which is the tool that looks like it should be a selection box. Seems like I used the grid tool as well, and actually yeah the grid button is enabled in the screenshot.

It's interesting because the style of this artwork was directly influenced by what seemed like the most natural way to use these tools. So like I said, the super 90s effect was just an accidental product of using 90s software. This is actually a really fun program to play around with. A lot of the tools are mixed together or something so it's kind of tricky to figure out, but it seems like it's actually really powerful.



Also, when I was trying to learn how to use these tools I searched online to see if there were any tutorials, and I found these official guide videos that were ripped straight from a VHS circa 1991. :eek It's incredible how this is similar to maybe a homemade tutorial on YouTube but it's got a whole different flavor. A whole hour long wow.... It's a literal time machine and it's fascinating to watch just to experience the atmosphere of "back then." Search "deluxepaint tutorial" on YouTube and there's a few of them. Wonder if Adrian Carmack used these tapes to study the tools of the trade....
YouTube link / Invidious alt

This video is for a different version of the program (DeluxePaint IV for Amiga, and I'm using DeluxePaint II Enhanced for DOS) but a lot of the concepts still apply. The parallax thing is explained a bit after 37 minutes in.
"Friendly. Very friendly. Too friendly." Image
User avatar
Roobar
Vorticon Elite
Posts: 3267
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 16:12
Contact:

Re: MILDLY NEAT -- For all your random Keenery needs!

Post by Roobar »

Captain Neat-O: a pico8 platformer. Maybe can be added as a fan made game?

https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?pid=107459#p
User avatar
proYorp
Vorticon Elite
Posts: 472
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2017 1:56
Location: Orbit
Contact:

Re: MILDLY NEAT -- For all your random Keenery needs!

Post by proYorp »

Yeah, that's a good point! I think there's a few web games that should probably be added to KeenWiki somewhere. I think there was another one around here somewhere called Captain Rixot. I don't know if there's already a section on KeenWiki for web games, but I feel like I saw one or two old ones listed on there.

I guess these are more "homages" than Commander Keen games by name. I wonder if that would count.
"Friendly. Very friendly. Too friendly." Image
User avatar
Multimania
Vortininja
Posts: 84
Joined: Sat Nov 10, 2007 8:10
Location: Hiding in a small, cramped corner of the BwB megarocket.
Contact:

Re: MILDLY NEAT -- For all your random Keenery needs!

Post by Multimania »

Some interesting piano improvisation based on Tropical Ghost Oasis from Keen 4:
Derek Paravicini Copying and Switching Styles After a Single Listen (Commander Keen)
User avatar
proYorp
Vorticon Elite
Posts: 472
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2017 1:56
Location: Orbit
Contact:

Re: MILDLY NEAT -- For all your random Keenery needs!

Post by proYorp »

The other day I was absently thinking about how Keen's bullets are 16 pixels in size, and tiles are also 16 pixels. Suddenly I wondered, if you stand on your own bullet, could you survive deadly floors?

https://youtu.be/UrV2yjuT6I8

(Well, some. I guess the hitbox of the shots is smaller than 16 pixels. The drills will still kill you, so my original theory doesn't work. But it looks cool. :lol)
"Friendly. Very friendly. Too friendly." Image
User avatar
Quillax
Vorticon Elite
Posts: 554
Joined: Sat Mar 14, 2015 14:41
Location: Quillax Ship
Contact:

Re: MILDLY NEAT -- For all your random Keenery needs!

Post by Quillax »

That's a pretty neat trick, proYorp! Never thought it would actually work! I also didn't know you can get on your shot while it's moving downward!
proYorp wrote: Sun Jun 19, 2022 7:23 Yeah, that's a good point! I think there's a few web games that should probably be added to KeenWiki somewhere. I think there was another one around here somewhere called Captain Rixot. I don't know if there's already a section on KeenWiki for web games, but I feel like I saw one or two old ones listed on there.

I guess these are more "homages" than Commander Keen games by name. I wonder if that would count.
Captain Rixot should definitely get a KeenWiki page, since it's obviously very influenced by Keen and has more to do with it than say Commander Keens Trek 96. And didn't KeenWiki have articles for Keen homages? I want to say there's one called Journey to the Center of Mars or something like that.

I'm not sure about Captain Neat-O, though. From what I looked up, it's made for a game jam ran by the one and only Tom Hall where you only use the assets supplied: https://itch.io/jam/toy-box-jam-3 You can see in the link I posted that "Captain Neat-O" also appears in the banner and quite a few other games. Perhaps the jam itself should get mentioned in KeenWiki, even if it's just in the Cameo Appearances page. There's one Pico-8 game posted here by DoomJedi that's definitely a Keen fangame, though: https://janpaul.itch.io/stranded-on-saturn
Quillax Ship - Where you can download all of my cool, keen mods and super-marvelous fangames!
Post Reply