Keen 64 Beta (Map, Level 1, Level 2, Pogo Level)

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Lava89
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Keen 64 Beta (Map, Level 1, Level 2, Pogo Level)

Post by Lava89 »

Hello PCKF

Having been inspired by Gridlock's thread, I decided this morning to release something for Keen 64. And I noticed that the version that I was building up from scratch had alot more done than I thought I did. So I threw everything together and slapped it on my dropbox.

That being said, I am having a hard time even calling this a true beta, since its only level 1. So I'll just say that this test is very rough:

no sound or music
yorps won't collide into you
no level backgrounds
you can't pogo

And most of this kind of stuff was in the Pogo Demo, so it will definitely be in the final version of this game...eventually.

Also, a while back, I made updates to alot of the models and I plan to redo Keen's animations-- those will eventually be incorporated as well. And there will be a new title screen, I'd like to have it be 3D and move on its own, like the original title screen did.

I'm also debating on whether I should out the shadows out level 1, so it fits the N64 style better. But in the meantime, the level does what I want and captures what I wanted to capture with the first level.

So if this such a bare bones game, why did I release it? This test has three purposes:
1. Its a proof of progress (if I didn't put something out, I'd boi'st)
2. To see if people are able to run the game
3. get feedback on the level geometry...now that people can have a hands on experience with it.

The reason this is much more minimal compared to what has come before, is because this is a complete recoding of the game. I recoded everything because it was hard for me to go back and make changes ( I found in recent years that functions are my friend, as a programmer ), so the old code is pretty much a tangled spaghetti mess.

And also since I plan to make this game open source when its released, if I had trouble reading the code and making changes, other people will have an even harder time. So this new code should be much more readable for others if they want to edit the game.

And getting this game up to date with the progress made in the Pogo Demo will be much easier with better code!

I should also point out that this trickle of releases will be the norm until this thing is finally done. Once I get into the groove of this, I am planning to start releasing the levels one by one (or maybe several at a time). I can't say when the next release will be, but I do plan to give the community the game in bits and pieces so I can get feedback along the way, rather than just releasing everything at once-- but by then I probably won't want to look at it again and make changes.

So if there are those who don't want spoilers, its perfectly understandable if people want to sit this out. Once everything is done, I will release a final version in a new thread. To let the non-spoiled people know that the final product is ready.

So without further ado:
DOWNLOAD ME

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CONTROLS:
Keyboard scheme using Keen 4-6 \ Galaxy Series controls (CLASSIC)
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Mouse & Keyboard control scheme (FPS)
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UPDATES:
v0.1.2 (1/31/2013)
- Keen doesn't get stuck on walls (thanks to Nospike for pointing this out)
- Keen can't jump infinitely (thanks to Gridlock for bringing this up)

v0.1.3 (2/2/2013)
- fixed strafing
- ray gun lasers hit the wall with a "zap" or "zot" (but still don't kill anything)
- there's a new map level
- you can access the first level from the map
- you now can complete the first level (though I need to add the "DONE" graphic and not let the level be reaccessed)
- you can also die and get a game over (though, no actual game over screen, it just takes you back to the title screen)
- updated models for the raygun and Keen's idle model have replaced previous versions of the models (Keen still needs to be re-animated before I can add his other stances)

v0.1.4 (6/11/2013)
- New level 2!
- Yorps don't bunch \ clump up or intersect with each other (its still a little clunky but it will do for now)
- New keyboard control scheme (with corresponding diagrams)
- Now the game asks if you'd like widescreen or fullscreen
- Map objects disappear in the other levels
- New map textures \ colors \ look and of course, corresponding level 2 hut

v0.1.5 (12/30/2013)
- Yorps can die now (sick, I know)
- New Shadow for easier platforming
- Camera is further away from Keen
- Pogo Level (very much a WIP and no pogo yet)

Release of Commander Keen 64 "Pogo" Demo
Commander Keen 64 Hub Thread
Last edited by Lava89 on Mon Apr 24, 2017 4:08, edited 17 times in total.
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Nospike
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Post by Nospike »

Oh man, this is neat. Very glad to see you're still working on this.
The level design is good. Haven't found anything that I didn't like for any reason.
I do know that you are surely going to fix even more stuff, but just in case you miss it, Keen/block interactions still need work. Right now you get stuck when touching a wall. You can't fall nor jump. (I tend to call this the Gamemaker effect as it happens in a good 90% of all games made in said program)
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Post by Lava89 »

Thanks Nospike for playing this, and its good to see there's no major issues with level design.

Thanks for mentioning the collision problem. The problem is probably an issue with my condition for the collisions. I tell it to make Keen not be able to jump if he is colliding with the level. But since the level is one big mesh, if he collides with the wall, to the program, its all the same.

So I need to make it differentiate between a wall and the ground.

EDIT: I made a quick update to one of the level textures, which is kind of an eyesore when tiled. So if someone downloaded the previous version and don't like the texture, you can either redownload the game, or download this texture and put it in the Keenbeta\levels\level1 folder.
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Post by Gridlock »

Wow, I'm glad you decided to show this. I'd thought you'd given up on this project, but it's awesome to see you're giving it another shot!

As you said, it's still pretty buggy and difficult to maneuver, but I'm sure you know what you're doing. Is there a way to rotate the camera? I can't find any buttons to do that.

Edit: It appears that mouse rotates the camera. Wasn't obvious at first. Also discovered that you can jump infinitely into the air if you keep pressing the jump button.

I can't wait to see more.
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Post by troublesomekeen »

Awman! This is amazing! I bet the official TUIT's gameplay would be something like this (well...some sort of 3D view anyway). One thing I noticed is when Keen stands on top of Yorps, the camera slowly moves downward. The camera will probably move downward infinitely if the Yorp gets stuck on a wall and Keen stays still. Hrah! The second button I pressed was "R". Cool stuff!
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Post by Lava89 »

Thanks troublesomekeen! Here's a thread to the entire project. I should also point out that I released several demos, the latest of which has alot more detail to it than this beta will for a while.
Gridlock wrote:Wow, I'm glad you decided to show this. I'd thought you'd given up on this project, but it's awesome to see you're giving it another shot!
Thanks! Yeah, there's too little to release it as a final product, and yet too much to just leave it completely.
Gridlock wrote:Edit: It appears that mouse rotates the camera. Wasn't obvious at first. Also discovered that you can jump infinitely into the air if you keep pressing the jump button.
Yeah, its what I used to call the "FPS" or MDK-style control scheme. Because its uses the mouse and WASD for movement (I included a diagram in the game's folder).

And thanks for mentioning the infinite jumping. I don't know why I didn't test that?! haha
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Post by Bernie »

hey this is really cool. keep going with it ;)
I bet the official TUIT's gameplay would be something like this (well...some sort of 3D view anyway)
i think, if they made another keen game, i'd still prefer it to be a side-scroller. i mean, have it be 3d and all, but still the side scroll style (like little big planet).
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Post by Lava89 »

Bernie wrote:hey this is really cool. keep going with it ;)
Thanks Bernie!
i think, if they made another keen game, i'd still prefer it to be a side-scroller. i mean, have it be 3d and all, but still the side scroll style (like little big planet).
Response directed to the off topic thread. :D
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Post by Levellass »

Very nice. I especially liked how you could jump as high as you wanted.


It would be nice to get the arrow keys as controls methinks, and possibly have some way for Keen to easily turn around (Never liked the mouse much.) I like the original Duke Nukum 3D in this regard, arrows moved you forward, back or turned you around, as well as the mouse.
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Post by troublesomekeen »

Levellass wrote:I like the original Duke Nukum 3D in this regard, arrows moved you forward, back or turned you around, as well as the mouse
Nuuu! Strafing is the single most important thing ever!
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Post by Levellass »

And yet, it had buttons for that too. IN ADDITION.
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Post by troublesomekeen »

I'm too used to them newfangled 3D first-person-shooter games.
I like the W-Keys to move the character, and the mouse to rotate view. If we divide rotation and movement betwixt W-Keys and mouse, then...I'll walk off the edge of the level.

Me thinks that original Duke Nukum 3D control setup would be best for... a Nintendo 64 controller. That way the shoulder buttons would take care of the strafing. But keyboard has no shoulder buttons!
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Update v0.2

Post by Lava89 »

Ok new update. Not a whole lot. But I wanted to update this first to help players navigate through the levels, which will result in better feedback for future updates.

Nospike pointed out that Keen gets stuck when touching a wall-- That has been fixed, thanks to a new method of collision detecting.

Gridlock mentioned that Keen can infinitely jump (something I will keep kicking myself for not testing for initially) and that has been fixed.

UPDATE DOWNLOAD (same link in the original post)

@Levellass: Thanks for the feedback. I guess I could add Q and E for turning. Though do you think you might prefer the "classic" control scheme from the the Pogo demo?

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I plan to put this control scheme in later versions of this beta. Its just that the "FPS" scheme was the most convenient to use, being that I am using code that I developed for another project where you used the mouse to turn the main character and WASD for movement (plus, as a developer, I feel the FPS is more handy in terms of testing the game out quickly).

I am also planning to implement a gamepad control like I had in the pogo demo. Though, its control scheme might be more based on the FPS design (with the 2nd thumb stick for camera control). And troublesomekeen has a great a idea of making the shoulder buttons used for strafing...that is definitely something to consider for the Xbox 360 controller (a controller that I have and can test it out).
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Post by Nospike »

Woo!
The pogo demo had good controls and generally was easy to play. I suggest that you make an option that changes the left/right turning speed if someone feels like it's too slow/too fast.
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Post by Lava89 »

That sounds like a good idea NoSpike. I will definitely add that in the future.

UPDATE:
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here's a rundown of the new changes:
- fixed strafing
- ray gun lasers hit the wall with a "zap" or "zot" (but still don't kill anything)
- there's a new map level
- you can access the first level from the map
- you now can complete the first level (though I need to add the "DONE" graphic and not let the level be reaccessed)
- you can also die and get a game over (though, no actual game over screen, it just takes you back to the title screen)
- updated models for the raygun and Keen's idle model have replaced previous versions of the models (Keen still needs to be re-animated before I can add his other stances)

The ship in the map will soon have smoke coming off it just like the pogo demo. I am also planning to add a feature so if you get a part you will be able to see it back on the ship.

The map's shape is pretty final, aside some texture tweaking (some of the colors look off to me). Now keep in mind, that the way the map is done is pretty much taking the circular shape of the original map and mapping it to a square shaped piece of land. So alot of snow areas that are meant to be the ice caps of mars, just look like patches of snow in the 3D map.

I am also planning to add invisible walls to not the let player go past areas you're not supposed to access prior to completing certain levels or using the teleporters. So for instance, you can walk right past the first level in the map, but that will change in future versions. This allows you can fully explore the map, just make sure you don't fall off the edges of it, because Keen can't die in the map, so he'll just falling and you'll have to restart the game.

DOWNLOAD (even though its the same link url as before)
Last edited by Lava89 on Sat Feb 02, 2013 23:17, edited 1 time in total.
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