Commander Keen: Extinction (Keen 1 mod)

Post by **KeenRush** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 21:42

Download here: http://www.keeniverse.net/keen/must/die/cke.zip

Extract the folder and run play.bat.

Post by **Ceilick** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 21:59

Been anticipating this

Woooo time to play.

Gridlock · Post by **Gridlock** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 1:43

Wow this is quite a mod. Maybe not quite as impressive from a puzzle standpoint as Fall Up, but definitely satisfying in a strange way. There's plenty of surprises as the game progresses. It's awesome to finally conquer a level and then head to the next one not knowing what awesomeness will be in the next level. I really enjoyed being rewarded for playing through all these crazy hard levels. If there's one Keenrush mod that's worth playing through entirely, this is definitely the one (especially for something at the end that completely blew me away).

I can't say I was especially pleased with the graphical style (both tiles and the nearly unreadable font used throughout the game). I suppose it fit with the warped, demented tone you were trying to convey, but it just didn't impress me much. Another problem was that this game wasn't the most playable creation I've ever seen. It was fun racing the rest of the IRC to finish it, but a lot of people struggled to figure it out at first (such as the fact that you need to collect all the snowflakes to finish the level). The level designs are so tricky in places that this definitely is a hardcore experience. Despite this, I really enjoyed it apart from a few flaws.

VikingBoyBilly · Post by **VikingBoyBilly** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 14:08

A wild KeenRush mod appeared!
I wasn't expecting this

troublesomekeen · Post by **troublesomekeen** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 23:17

Groovy! Let's play this!
Spoilers!
Level 1: http://youtu.be/QRwmJsEqzW0
Level 2: http://youtu.be/3BEH8UPVi5g
Level 3: http://youtu.be/9Rv5wOk06IQ
Level 4: http://youtu.be/yDh_RtMxoDA
Level 5: http://youtu.be/JMlsSSGAB9c
Level 6: http://youtu.be/MvV0VTmMMAY
Level 7: http://youtu.be/Iz0IuUUyzYo
Or you can watch all 7 levels together in fast forward!
Level 1-7 (x210 speed): http://youtu.be/wfT_09q3rwc
And there you have it. I thought it would be nice to see how someone makes their way through your crazy-hard level designs, KeenRush.

Paramultart · Post by **Paramultart** » Sat Jul 14, 2012 12:46

I understand this mod focuses primarily on game play over aesthetics, but man, this game has some creepy vibes... And not in the obvious "Oh look at me, I'm Tim Burton lol" kind of way, but in a "Something is definitely wrong." kind of way.

Post by **tulip** » Sat Jul 14, 2012 13:52

Ah yeah I remember you posting about making an autoscrolling mod. The graphical style reminds me of shikadi - functional.

But oh man that path choice at the beginning of level 2 where you die in one but don't know which is a design flaw I guess no designer can resist to do once in his carreer but I'd expected you're past that phase KeenRush.

But I should play more and talk less about insignificant errors.

Post by **KeenRush** » Sat Jul 14, 2012 14:45

@Paramultart: I was trying for some creepy vibes. In many aspects. I'm glad people can feel some.

@tulip: Well, I'm not a designer and I'm not getting paid for people liking my mods, so I can do anything.

But that is more or less the only instance of such a corridor, honestly. And I made it because this auto-scrolling thing is vaguely new in Keen (are there other mods out which are using this?) and people who haven't been crushed by a wall before might feel a sort of panic -- I hoped.

_mr_m_ · Post by **_mr_m_** » Sat Jul 14, 2012 16:04

This mod can be summarized thus:

"It's time to go to the dark side."

It's definitely got just the right amount of creepiness without being mentally disturbing.

And Gridlock hit the nail on the head. Finishing a level really does feel like an accomplishment; and that feeling of not knowing what's next drove me to finish this mod.

VikingBoyBilly · Post by **VikingBoyBilly** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 1:53

You know what I noticed? The levels have names!

How did you do that?

retro-edit: erasing spoilers!

edit 2: The ending... that ending...

Was this a direct sequel to fall-up by any chance?

Benvolio · Post by **Benvolio** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 21:26

wow I really really love this, everything from the 'ah here now, what the fucl is that thing' feeling everytime an enemy is introduced (especially the squiggly ones in level 3), to the tasteful pics of LDR (this mod really proves that Keen was Born to Die... but no exploding head this time though)... as for Tulip's pointing out of the 'design flaw' in level 2, i'd say it's more a chance of 'I wonder what KeenRush will do to me if I go down here... ah I see'. I'm in early stages of the game... now to head back out of this dimension and play some more!!!

Edit: level 8 is driving me up the wall. I am loth to shift-tab past it but... soon!!!

Edit: level 11 is KILLING ME!!!! AAAGH you should hear the expletives and other vocalisations emanating from my den of keenery. FUCL!

I notice a pattern: a level has a difficult part preceded by routine hurdles, so an attempt at the hard part renders the plater flustered and angry, so they botch up the easier parts of the level a few times before getting to the hard bit again! Pure genius!

Syllypryde · Post by **Syllypryde** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 3:54

Here comes Keenrush with another generic, but kick-ass mod. I have five levels done so far and it is great. Right now I am stuck on Level 6- Space Evader. It seems a little easier than the last several mods, but I am guessing once I get into it further I will feel that same rage I felt in all of the previous mods. Nevertheless, I will still play until I complete it. Hopefully, I will better luck here than I did with the other mods:

Yorphius II- 8 levels complete
Episode Smile- 5 levels complete
A New Dope- 9 levels complete, 264IQ
Fall Up- 8 levels complete
Extinction- 5 levels so far...

Post by **Ceilick** » Tue Aug 14, 2012 19:55

Just beat this one and WOW, it's incredible. Really inventive gameplay and level design, and the enemies are fantastic. Keenrush, you make some of the best puzzle platformers, period. I did use save states while playing this, but even then I found myself having to restart levels after learning I've done one thing or another wrong. The difficulty (with save states in mind), was perfect for me; enough frustration followed by accomplishment and progression that it all made a great experience.

Well done, Keenrush

PS: Will you help me out with inventive enemy behavior for my Keen 1 mod too

Gridlock · Post by **Gridlock** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 0:14

Now that it's been out a while, you should restore the cheats if possible so that more people can see that amazing final boss. It would be pretty neat to play it again without having to get through every level a second time.

VikingBoyBilly · Post by **VikingBoyBilly** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 3:08

?
I was able to use god mode on my copy.