Operation Station Infiltration

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Multimania
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Re: Operation Station Infiltration

Post by Multimania »

FYI to people using v1.02: it turns out I added a minor bug with the sound fixes. It's hopefully still better than v1.00 if you had problems, just has some minor crackle. There'll be another update with a more thorough fix, but in the meantime, if you're using v1.02, please add the following to OMNISPK.CFG:

Code: Select all

audioChannels = 1
And, if you like digging around in the files, here are a few fun cheat-y things you can do by editing "EPISODE.CK5" as a text file (once you've played the game properly, of course :p):
  • Look for "OSI_ResetScoreOnDeath": by changing 1 → 0 here, you can keep score after death. See the similar variables afterwards for shots, lives, etc.
  • Sparky Jr and Big Ampton being annoying? Add a new line:

    Code: Select all

    %int OSI_GodModeNoStun 1
    
    And enable God Mode.
  • If you want stunned enemies to stay where they are (rather than being carried by conveyor belts), you can change "CK_StunnedEnemyConveyorBelt" from 1→0.
  • Want to try a different level with Low Gravity? Change the level number in "CK_PhysLowGravityLevel".
  • You can tweak a lot of other options for the new enemies as well, if you ever wanted to try facing an even faster, stronger Sparky!
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Syllypryde
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Re: Operation Station Infiltration

Post by Syllypryde »

Has anyone completed this on hard yet?
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Re: Operation Station Infiltration

Post by Scilicet »

I completed a playthrough on normal. I think it's a bit dicey in later levels, definitely not a mod for Keen newbies. I am thankful that people continue to put out new mods and level packs. Do you think it will shame ID into doing something with this series? Nah.

I took notes on random things that occurred to me during gameplay. Most are good.

Music is less mechanical sounding than I expected from the setting and sometimes downright jaunty. It seems similar to music from Word Rescue. I mean that in the nicest way.
Level design was top-tier for the most part. After playing some other mods with either rambling levels or ones with lots of backtracking, these were a delight. The first level was a bit empty.
The optional hazard areas were not as difficult as I expected.
I liked the expanded robot lines. Keen 6 is my favorite of the originals, so I liked the Keen 5 version of the Flect with a bit of Blooguard stompiness.
Robo Red is scary in his own right, but you managed to increase the terror with more varieties of bots. Yellow was hands-down the scariest (and maybe the fastest) one. I got Cybloog vibes off the guy. The extent of how dangerous Robo Green was was not as soon evident as was with the others, and that took me by surprise a few times.
The Vlorg is a neat enemy and a little mean. It's a lot like the suns from Jazz Jackrabbit 1's Tubelectric levels.
I had a leg up from watching Shikadi Netzwerk, but I like the Volteface placement for the red gem in an early level.
Sparky Jr is kind of cute but definitely pesky. I still felt bad for stunning it.
The first time a floating Sparky killed me was quite the surprise; it's almost like the Bedhed from Keen 9. It is surprisingly wide in its range of attack. That I can stun it makes it a little less scary than the Bedhed.
For some reason, I'm tickled that stunned enemies go for a ride on the conveyors.
Some sounds (Sparky charge, for example) seem a little different; were they tweaked, or am I imagining things?
Minor quibble: The map text says "Keen stealthily infiltrates the Omegamatrix," when in the story he was not at all subtle in entrance.
Photochromatic Emitter: Liked the music but hated the tight margins in the one section with Robo Blue and the Shikadi mine. We had to go through there twice! I had a chuckle at the disco ball on the machine. Robots need to party, I guess. It looks like another machine had a popcorn maker.
I liked the music in Crew Quarters; it seemed a little like "Airline Backwater" from BOTB.
Electro Kennel was my least favorite level. Dive-bombing Sparkies and unpredictably leaping Shockhunds are a devious combination. The music was downright cutesy. I thought the mechanic of releasing the dogs was interesting.
Spec Ops 2 was hair-raising. I saved a lot in there trying to dodge the Shikadi Overlord.
I like that some enemies, particularly Spirogrip, were more widely used than in the original game.

There is a typo in the end text: "congratualations," rather than "congratulations."

I have not found any big secrets, but I should probably go back again and have a look now that I have general level layouts in my mind.

All hail Ceilick, king of Keen modders! ID should offer you a job if it's going to hold on to the rights to Keen.
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Re: Operation Station Infiltration

Post by gui_tarzan »

I'm not finished with it yet but I really like this version. I recognize several of the bad guys from their behavior, but it doesn't take away from the fun at all. I will try all three difficulty levels at some point, I'm recovering from a major surgery a few weeks ago so this helps pass the time. Keen 4 and higher are my favorites and I appreciate the mods you guys and gals do to make new versions.
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Re: Operation Station Infiltration

Post by XkyRauh »

Scilicet wrote: Tue Jan 03, 2023 22:39 Music is less mechanical sounding than I expected from the setting and sometimes downright jaunty. It seems similar to music from Word Rescue. I mean that in the nicest way.
Hey hey, I grew up loving the music in Word Rescue--I definitely take this as praise! :D
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Re: Operation Station Infiltration

Post by Ceilick »

Thank you for the praise and comments, Scilicet and gui_tarzan!

Scilicet wrote: Tue Jan 03, 2023 22:39 Some sounds (Sparky charge, for example) seem a little different; were they tweaked, or am I imagining things?
If this occurred, it was unintentional. All the new Sparky variants use a modified sound affect from the original Sparky and it’s possible I accidentally modified it while creating the new ones.
Scilicet wrote: Tue Jan 03, 2023 22:39 Minor quibble: The map text says "Keen stealthily infiltrates the Omegamatrix," when in the story he was not at all subtle in entrance.
Haha! This is a great point and something I’ll try to revise for the next version.
Scilicet wrote: Tue Jan 03, 2023 22:39 Photochromatic Emitter: Liked the music but hated the tight margins in the one section with Robo Blue and the Shikadi mine. We had to go through there twice!
I'm glad you mentioned this, it’s an area that was changed a bit from what I had originally designed and perhaps should be reverted. I’ll examine this for the next version.
Scilicet wrote: Tue Jan 03, 2023 22:39 Electro Kennel was my least favorite level. Dive-bombing Sparkies and unpredictably leaping Shockhunds are a devious combination.
My original intention for this level was something en par with Keen 3’s Cape Canavorta (the ninja level), since this level is optional, so hearing that it was a challenge is just what I was looking for!
Scilicet wrote: Tue Jan 03, 2023 22:39 Spec Ops 2 was hair-raising. I saved a lot in there trying to dodge the Shikadi Overlord.
This level, however, was not supposed to be as challenging as players have found it. I think partially this is because many players are unfamiliar with how to deal with the Shikadi Master due to such little exposure in Keen 5. Any tips on the most challenging parts of this level?
Scilicet wrote: Tue Jan 03, 2023 22:39 There is a typo in the end text: "congratualations," rather than "congratulations."
Thank you for reporting this!
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Re: Operation Station Infiltration

Post by Syllypryde »

Ceilick wrote: Sun Jan 08, 2023 14:55 ......This level, however, was not supposed to be as challenging as players have found it. I think partially this is because many players are unfamiliar with how to deal with the Shikadi Master due to such little exposure in Keen 5. Any tips on the most challenging parts of this level?......
For the newer players and members there are two points with the Master that a player needs to learn how to dodge. First of all when he throws an energy ball at you, you not only have to dodge the ball but also an energy shockwave that is created on each side of the ball when it hits the floor. Secondly, when the Master teleports away a second energy shockwave hits the floor on each side of him.

Another thing to know, if the Master is a level above you, if he throws his energy ball and it hits the level you're standing on, the shockwave will be formed on that level and come at you. This also applies when the Master teleports away and the shockwave hits the lower level where you are standing. It will also come at you then. Also of note, if the Master appears exactly right where you are, you have maybe one second to get away without being killed by him touching you. This information is useful because more times than not, he will attempt to teleport right on top of you if he can.

I have completed my hard run with a score of 1,546,800, same as the score I achieved on normal. I am curious as to if this is the perfect score. I know the perfect score was impossible in RTTS due to the Treasure Eaters, but there is no creature eating the points this mod.
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Re: Operation Station Infiltration

Post by _mr_m_ »

I've experienced this bug in the DOS executable version of 1.01 that causes doorways in levels to randomly warp Keen to the secret level entrance on the world map. I couldn't begin to explain how to replicate it, as it happens randomly and inconsistently. So far, this has happened in once in Cold Storage (going through a non-exit door) and twice in Robotics Lab (going through the exit door, both times). I was using DOSBox 0.74-3-3 on MacOS 12.6.2 and, on a separate computer, DOSBox 0.74 on Windows 10 (64-bit). I have not (yet) experienced this bug on the Windows 64 bit executable

On a related topic, I very much enjoyed the secret level whether or not I found it by the intended means. :mortlol
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Re: Operation Station Infiltration

Post by Scilicet »

@Ceilick - In regards to the sounds, I didn't consider the differences, if there were any, to be grating. I noticed that sometimes there is a hollow metallic bonging sound when Keen bumps his head. Again, it's a difference but not a problem. Don't worry about it.

I still have not found the secret level, despite trying to jump down at various arches. I thought that it might be in Sec Ops 2, but I couldn't find anything, even on easy. Did I miss an SGA sign somewhere?
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XkyRauh
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Re: Operation Station Infiltration

Post by XkyRauh »

You definitely missed a sign. It'll be visible at the far edge of the screen, in a particular level.
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Re: Operation Station Infiltration

Post by Ceilick »

The two big secret areas in the game, one of them being the entrance to the secret level, are each found in a different optional level ;)
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Re: Operation Station Infiltration

Post by proYorp »

Ceilick wrote: Mon Dec 26, 2022 15:13
proYorp wrote:
Ceilick wrote: Fleexy for modifying Abiathar to include a quality of life zoom feature for me. This drastically improved my speed and accuracy in level design. Thank you, Fleexy!
This sounds uncannily like something I've wanted to request for awhile... What is it and where can I get it? :disguised
It allows for increased magnification of the tileset panel for my poor eyes :lol I use the simultaneous editing feature that displays both the level and the tileset in the same window, but the current public build of Abiathar has limited magnification for the tileset in this setup (maybe for viewing the tileset on any setting as well, I'm uncertain). I'm not sure what Fleexy's position is on sharing altered versions of Abiathar, I'll be in touch on this...
Ah okay, that's actually different from what I was thinking of. What I was wishing for was some kind of display box that previews the exact size of the actual viewport in game (13x22 tiles IIRC off the top of my head). With the 1x-pixel zoom and bigger FOV in the editor, it's so easy to lose the sense of how big the structures are actually gonna be compared to the player and I make things way too big to actually jump on. For bonus points it would be nice to have some sort of jump arc preview markers.
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Re: Operation Station Infiltration

Post by Ceilick »

Version 1.03 is out!

Almost all changes are technical fixes by Multimania, and no significant content or level design changes have been introduced. Your save files should be compatible with this update.

Additionally, Multimania has made progress on the DOS16 version of the game, but it is still under development at this time.

General Fixes
  • The 'congratulations' typo in the ending is fixed.
  • Keen now "boldly storms" the Omegamatrix, instead of "stealthily infiltrating" it.
  • You can no longer get to the secret level by "wrong warping" through a door after being pushed off a pole. This was a vanilla Keen 5 bug.
General Note:
  • The DOS32 version should work okay under DOSBox if cycles=auto, otherwise you may need to set cycles=max manually. On real hardware, a 486 with 4mb of RAM is recommended.
For Windows
  • The screen should be less blurry on high-DPI Windows setups.
  • Windows executables are now cryptographically signed. They should show up as being developed by "David Gow", not "Unknown Publisher". Hopefully this will stop Anti-virus programs from getting scared, and should improve the game's "reputation" with Microsoft SmartScreen.
  • Completely re-done sound code, which should be much more robust, and fix the issue with some sounds sounding different on Windows.
  • The old sound code can be restored by editing OMNISPK.CFG to include the following code:

    Code: Select all

    sd_sdl_queueAudio = false
  • The issue with sounds being different should also be fixable with the old sound code (if you're on a fast system) by including the following code in OMNISPK.CFG:

    Code: Select all

    sd_sdl_audioSync = true 
    audioBufferSamples = 512
  • If there's high sound latency, and you're running Windows Vista or newer, try adding the following code to OMNISPK.CFG. This API is a little bit less reliable, but is faster when it works.

    Code: Select all

    sd_sdl_audioDriver = "wasapi"
For DOS32
  • The PC speaker SFX will no longer hang when quitting the game with Ctrl+Q.
  • The "hit flash frames" when enemies are shot will no longer wrap around the screen incorrectly.
  • Now using a variant of K1n9_Duk3's screen update code. This may cause some problems on some rare VGA hardware, in which case enable "Fix Jerky Motion".
  • Fixed a bug with rectangle drawing code which could cause screen corruption.
  • Fixed a bug where keyboard input could break on some systems where a USB keyboard was being used to emulate a PS/2 keyboard in the BIOS.
  • Debug messages are no longer shown, potentially corrupting the screen with black and white stripes.
For Linux:
  • SDL2 is no longer included in the download. If it's not already installed on your system, you may need to install it. (Or, if running under steam — e.g., on the Steam Deck — you can use the "Steam Linux Runtime" compatibility layer.)
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Re: Operation Station Infiltration

Post by Scilicet »

I finally found a secret area (the one under the final level on the world map) after a hint left in a comment on a Let's Play of the game. I love the concept executed there! Then I got to run in terror from a Shikadi Overlord in the next two levels so I could see the different ending. Beautiful!
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Re: Operation Station Infiltration

Post by Multimania »

Happy Keen Day, everyone!

Enjoy a couple of new updates for Operation Station infiltration. Version 1.04 fixes a few minor bugs and improves on-screen keyboard support. And there's a beta version of the DOS16 port, which is based on a mix of the Omnispeak and Atroxian Realm source code.

Version 1.04 (Omnispeak) / 0.90 beta (DOS16)
Download: https://davidgow.net/stuff/osi_bin_1_04.zip
Source code (Omnispeak): https://davidgow.net/stuff/osi_omnispea ... _04.tar.gz
Source code (DOS16 Beta): https://davidgow.net/stuff/osi_dos16_src_0_90.zip

The changes are:
  • The opening terminator scroller was broken in 1.03 on DOS32 and Linux, and is now fixed.
  • On some systems (notably the Steam Deck), the on-screen keyboard will now automatically pop up when naming a saved game, entering a high score, etc.
  • Text input now respects the user's keyboard layout on Windows and Linux (note that only the above text input screens, like save-game naming, are affected).
  • SDL has been updated to 2.24.4, which fixes a few minor bugs.
  • Menu / dialog box rendering for double-buffered backends (mostly DOS32, but also Linux) has been updated to better only update pixels which have actually changed, improving some performance and stability on slower VGA cards.
  • The amount of memory reserved for objects has been reduced to only use what the game requires (and to match the DOS16 version).
The DOS16 version is still a bit rough around the edges (I just finished optimizing the Shikadi Master teleportation a few minutes ago), but should be mostly playable. Just run OSI.EXE instead of OSIDOS32.EXE to play it: the game otherwise should be pretty similar. It may be slower in some places, and there are probably still a few bugs, as we had to do quite a bit of optimisation to fit everything into the 64kb data segment. Don't worry: your savegames are compatible between all of the different versions, so you can swap back and forth if you want.

If you notice a difference in behaviour between the different versions (particularly between the 16-bit DOS version and the Omnispeak-based ones), please report it. If you can include a demo, that's ideal. Just record it with F10+D, and upload the DEMOx.CK5 file somewhere. You can play back a demo file by using the "/DEMOFILE" option on any of the versions, e.g. "OSI /DEMOFILE DEMO9.CK5" or "./osi_linux.x86_64 /DEMOFILE DEMO9.CK5".

Thanks to K1n9_Duk3, NY00123, and lemm for the CKSRCMOD and AR engine code, which helped immensely!

Happy Keening!
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