Commander Keen - Canmore's Redemption

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Dave216
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Commander Keen - Canmore's Redemption

Post by Dave216 »

I am about half way done on Aurora Bliss sequel - Canmore's Redemption! So far I am very satisfied with the project. CR will feature 13 unique songs, 2 endings and 2 epilogues. Toneally it will be slightly more serious than Bliss, but also spinkled with same wackiness that was present in it's predocessor.

Story will take place on a planet Azura Astrid, dystopian world controlled by computer technology corporation -GoodProducts.inc. Keen is captured and his life depends on his foolish neighbour Craig. There is of course, more to the story, but I wouldn't want to spoil too much here.

I am really happy the way music tracks turned out. They fit really well with the atmosphere.

World map and level entrances are bare bones in terms of completion, but overall idea of how the world should look is complete.

Currently I am designing last few enemies and scavenging for interesting patches. I have no idea what to do with spirogrip and shikadi master replacement yet, but an idea will come eventually. Also, suggestions are more than welcome. (However,I am using Shikadi Master's sparks and shots for Shikadi replacement, so I am working around the idea to make Shikadi Master unique and useable as well).

Level design will be on par with Bliss, focusing primarly on puzzle solving over obstacles. I am trying to design levels so each one feels somewhat unique. I am really hoping I don't run out of ideas by the end of the project :D 4 out of 13 levels are done.

Finally, it seems that my biggest flaw is playtesting. I am...really bad at it. So, would anyone be interested in playtesting the game when it's done? No pressure since it won't be finished any time soon, but when it is - can I count on someone?

And some screenshots... I already shared some these on discord. Keep in mind that this is a work in progress so there will definately be some changes when the full mod comes out. I hope it looks promising!

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And the main cover...
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Benvolio
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Re: Commander Keen - Canmore's Redemption

Post by Benvolio »

This is absolutely incredible looking. Just like Aurora Bliss, this easily outclasses the originals for artistry. You're really keeping EGA alive by squeezing so much colour out of the default palette. I am also salivating at the prospect of the music, knowing how good the soundtrack was first time around. Half of me wants more Depeche Modey game soundtrack type tracks and half of me hungers for something more Darksynthish to match the cyberpunkesque setting of the game. I will of course try to patiently await the finished product rather than seek spoilers.

I love the Craig sprite. I do wonder if there is any further optimisation of the yellow hair possible on some of the frames. I say this as a modder who finds sprites by far my weakest skill.

I probably would not be a great playtester but if you're truly stuck and need a mid to low competence playtester then I'll happily assist.
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Re: Commander Keen - Canmore's Redemption

Post by Soul Monster »

This is looking pretty cool! I like the idea of the setting being a dystopian technocracy, and the bleak look to the environment reminds me of The Ruin Of Roib. Anyway, if you need someone to help with beta testing, I suppose I could help you out, although you might consider getting multiple people involved for that.
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Re: Commander Keen - Canmore's Redemption

Post by Roobar »

The last screenshot shows some cyberpunk vibes, which is a theme that we haven't really explored yet. It would be cool, if the theme is around that.
But converting inages into EGA made too much noise for my taste.
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Re: Commander Keen - Canmore's Redemption

Post by Dave216 »

Thanks for feedback! I'll PM everyone who is interested with the completed mod to playtest once it's done.

I am going for the cyberpunk vibe.The background *is* a little grainy. I was trying to make the city glow and look foggy as well which does look little chaotic. I'll look into it.
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Re: Commander Keen - Canmore's Redemption

Post by DarkAle »

it's really great! :O
The graphics, like in Aurora Bliss, are amazing and even better than the previous episode. I'm also curious to see your progress on level design, music and creatures. About this I have a suggestion for the spirogrip: since we are talking about a planet rich in technology, a drone that identifies the player's position and suddenly hurls itself at him could be fine. Anyway I could offer a hand with playtesting as well.
Commander Keen in... Robot Apocalypse!
Episode 13: The Ultra Omegamatic viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6802
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Re: Commander Keen - Canmore's Redemption

Post by Ceilick »

Stunning work, I love the overuse of blue! It's amazing that you can pack in so much color into some of these shots and yet everything still has definition to it.

I know you said the world map is bare bones right now, but this was an element of Aurora Bliss as well; the map looks tile-y, if that makes sense. Spaces are very clearly defined as strips of tiles: the road, the cliff, the...lake?, the...rocks? (I think that's what those are). The road makes sense, but I think if you make some deviations to the 'strips'/'blocks' of tiles elsewhere, the map will really be spectacular.
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Re: Commander Keen - Canmore's Redemption

Post by Nisaba »

L-O-V-E!!!
out now (link) : Image
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Dave216
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Re: Commander Keen - Canmore's Redemption

Post by Dave216 »

drone that identifies the player's position and suddenly hurls itself at him could be fine.
Neat idea!
the map looks tile-y, if that makes sense. Spaces are very clearly defined as strips of tiles: the road, the cliff, the...lake?, the...rocks?
Excellent advice. I was wondering why certain parts of the map look generic and that seems to be the case.
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Re: Commander Keen - Canmore's Redemption

Post by Nowhere Girl »

Beautiful graphics. Really amazing, and even better than Aurora. (That said, it was great too, I just didn't like... for example these rose trees at all, such large objects without a lot of detail look kinda off.)
Plus making Craig the player character seems like a fun idea.
Now I have less time than I used to, because I found a permanent job (accountant with German, mostly to stay in contact with the company's German and Austrian customers and solve any doubts about their purchases and payments). But I could give the playtesting a try... even before, when purely a freelancer, I had some larger translation project just when beta testing the adventure game "Watch Over Christmas", and I still managed to do both...
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Re: Commander Keen - Canmore's Redemption

Post by Dave216 »

That said, it was great too, I just didn't like... for example these rose trees at all, such large objects without a lot of detail look kinda off.
To be quite frank with you, now that I look back on Aurora, I see a lot of room for graphical improvement. I looked back on some tiles I drew and thought to myself: " What the heck were you thinking? These look awful." It's bizarre that I left some things in and thought: "eh it looks fine the way it is."

So, I will possibly redo some stuff again on Bliss, just to please my inner critic.

No doubt this will happen again as well.

It seems as though when you're working hard on a project you start to look at it through 'rose-tinted glasses' and everything looks so darn great.
I find that weirdly fascinating, and amusing to some degree.
And when you return to it after some time passes, you start to see the gaps.
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Re: Commander Keen - Canmore's Redemption

Post by Benvolio »

This is an inevitable part of modding as it is part of any creative process. It's something one gradually gets a better handle on but it takes time. Half of the levels in my earliest mods are a complete embarrassment.

You have to remember that one's audience doesn't see things the same way. To use an example from outside modding, the Rolling Stones album "Exile on Main Street" is regarded by many fans to be their greatest achievement, yet Mick Jagger has on multiple occasions dismissed it entirely.

With regards Aurora, I think I know the bits you're referring to, namely the more coarsely pixellated bits with thicker black borders. But to me those gave the mod a distinctive style and looked great in the right context. I'd suggest not redoing tiles on Aurora Bliss but instead just looking forward to the future and sustaining your excellent output.
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Re: Commander Keen - Canmore's Redemption

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Benvolio wrote: Mon Feb 27, 2023 18:08 This is an inevitable part of modding as it is part of any creative process. It's something one gradually gets a better handle on but it takes time. Half of the levels in my earliest mods are a complete embarrassment.
This reminds me of a different game, "Betrayed Alliance" - a Sierra-like adventure game with EGA graphics and text parser. I liked it anyway, it looks nice and has a lot of nods to classic games... But the author has greatly improved his style and is now making a sequel (a demo was published last weekend), and with someone else's help is remaking graphics for an update of the first game. Here are some better and worse examples - from ones which already looked decent (and even one which I liked better in the original - the last one) to truly breathtaking remakes:
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Here's a screen from the sequel:
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While I'm no artist (although I tried doing a tiny bit of visual improvement for some screens), I contributed a bit to the game too. There's a minigame in "Betrayed Alliance 1" - you meet 'Enry the 'Ermit (from Sierra On-Line's "Quest for Glory") and he offers you some help if you beat a highscore on the video game machine - 'Enry is now a guardian of a cave for retired heroes (including Roger WIlco, Princess Rosella, Larry Laffer... :lol). The problem is that it's required for progressing, and I'm too double-left-handed for a decent score in that arcade game, "Sailboat Xtreme". So I suggested an alternative solution and Ryan cleverly integrated it with an already present sidequest. It was copied 1:1 from "Space Quest 1", which is pretty much appropriate for a game with so many Easter eggs. In "Space Quest 1", Roger Wilco can use a magnet on an arcade game in the settlement of Ulence Flats to win every time and get all the money he needs. In "Betrayed Alliance", the protagonist receives it for completing the sidequest of returning books to the library, and the librarian comments that he had received it from Two Guys from Andromeda. ;)
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Re: Commander Keen - Canmore's Redemption

Post by proYorp »

Dave216 wrote: Mon Feb 13, 2023 17:47 Image
This looks dang cool. I did not expect to see a face that detailed in EGA and it gives a surprising uncanny feeling... The contrasting warm/cool colors make it a feast for the eyes. And the bright neon on black terrain, yes. It's quite a bit like a design concept I've been trying to perfect...

Also I'm not sure that being obviously tiled is necessarily a bad thing, depending on what you're going for. A city could get away with having a lot of straight lines, and it would save space in the tileset if you were able to allow something to look tiled. It's probably not essential to try to hide what the engine is made of, after all. The origins are what gives something its style, but I've probably said enough on this.

Now I'm gonna have to get a bit off-topic for a minute, sorry. :foot


Nowhere Girl wrote: Mon Feb 27, 2023 20:58 Image
A lot of the new ones look better, but for that cathedral or whatever on the right I actually like the old one better. Though the lines and detail are obviously more simplistic, the angles used give it an incredibly massive and formidable feeling. The new one just feels flat, even though it's a little more photorealistic.


Nowhere Girl wrote: Mon Feb 27, 2023 20:58 The problem is that it's required for progressing, and I'm too double-left-handed for a decent score in that arcade game, "Sailboat Xtreme". So I suggested an alternative solution and Ryan cleverly integrated it with an already present sidequest.
That's really great that you were able to suggest that and that the author agreed to include it. Thanks for sharing this. I've been trying to get people on this forum to be more aware of the necessity of accessibility options.

I've been wondering something. You've mentioned having two left hands on many occasions. Are you just saying that to describe feeling clumsy, or do you literally mean that both hands have the thumb on the right side when both palms are facing down?
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Re: Commander Keen - Canmore's Redemption

Post by Nowhere Girl »

proYorp wrote: Tue Feb 28, 2023 3:07 I've been wondering something. You've mentioned having two left hands on many occasions. Are you just saying that to describe feeling clumsy, or do you literally mean that both hands have the thumb on the right side when both palms are facing down?
Of course not! "Double-left-handed" means "very clumsy", that's all.
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