The Crazy Komet

[Nisaba]

you're welcome.
please make sure to edit your previous post and replace the old with the new download link.

at first glance I gotta say, this demo looks really awesome! splendid work so far. noticed a couple of bugs, which is no big deal at the state of this mod. but boy, those graphics! astonishing. really beautiful, with so much character! hopefully I can find some time by the end of this week to dive even deeper into this Crazy Komet. more feedback will follow...

[Awesome-Keener]

please make sure to edit your previous post and replace the old with the new download link.

Did, and done.

[K1n9_Duk3]

#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Customized Screen Update Code For KEEN4 v1.4 (EGA)
# Copyright (c) 2019 K1n9_Duk3
#
# This software is provided 'as-is', without any express or implied warranty. In
# no event will the authors be held liable for any damages arising from the use
# of this software.
#
# Permission is granted to anyone to use this software for any purpose, including
# commercial applications, and to alter it and redistribute it freely, subject to
# the following restrictions:
#
# 1. The origin of this software must not be misrepresented; you must not claim
# that you wrote the original software. If you use this software in a product,
# an acknowledgment in the product documentation would be appreciated but is
# not required.
#
# 2. Altered source versions must be plainly marked as such, and must not be
# misrepresented as being the original software.
#
# 3. This notice may not be removed or altered from any source distribution.
#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Awesome-Keener]

Ok. Sorry. My bad.

I accidentally gave Nisaba the wrong folder, I meant to give Nisaba the demo folder that I had been working on for a couple of days.
Instead I accidentally gave Nisaba the folder I had been working on previously, and not the demo folder.

In the demo version I had fixed many bugs and mistakes that were in the real version I am working on,
Including adding the rest of the copyright stuff in the code made by K1n9_Duk3,
I did not mean to imply that I had made the code myself.
And I am greatly sorry for that, please forgive me I'm still getting used to all of this.

[Awesome-Keener]

Ok the download links have been updated and now contain the correct demo of the Crazy Komet,
and not the unedited and full of small bugs real version.

[Nisaba]

Ok the download links have been updated and now contain the correct demo of the Crazy Komet,
and not the unedited and full of small bugs real version.

just grab a copy of the updated version and let the fun begin: The Crazy Komet v.0.2

[K1n9_Duk3]

I forgive you and I thank you for putting the notice back into your patch file.

I can't predict which sources other modders may use for their projects. So when somebody looks at your patch file and just sees the code without the notice, things get complicated.

I had written another set of patches for the screen update code before this one. The entire point of those previous patches was to make Keen 4-6 more playable on some DOS PCs that suffered extremely choppy scrolling when using the orignal (unmodified) executables. I later found out that somebody had taken that fix (which was never supposed to be used in DOSBox) and included it in one of his/her mods - not as an option for people who want to play on one of the systems the patch was created for, but as the default scrolling code - even though it was painfully obvious that the code didn't fix anything while playing in DOSBox (it actually made things worse).

[Awesome-Keener]

but as the default scrolling code - even though it was painfully obvious that the code didn't fix anything while playing in DOSBox (it actually made things worse).

So are you saying that it would run better without the code in the patch file?

[K1n9_Duk3]

So are you saying that it would run better without the code in the patch file?

The patch you're using in your mod and the "previous" patch I was referring to above, are two completely different patches.

The patch you're currently using is the best solution for playing your mod (or any Keen 4-6 mod) in DOSBox. If you remove the patch, you will get nasty graphical glitches every once in a while.

[K1n9_Duk3]

I've played the first couple of levels now. Some of the things that bothered me:

• There are some clipping errors in the secret that leads to the 3UP in level 1. If you jump to the left after climbing the up the first pole, parts of Keen's sprite become visible the further you go to the left. If you jump, Keen ends up on the other side of the slope.
• The jump that you have to make in that secret might be a little too tricky. I know: it's a secret. But the way it is right now, I believe there is no way that anybody will be able to reach the 3UP without opening the level in a level viewer/editor that can display tile properties (i.e. the collision grid).
• The sprite that floats up after touching a 3UP is blocked by the blocking tiles in the level (can be observed in level 1). The 3UP object should be spawned in noclip mode to avoid this.
• Creatures that need to be shot multiple times to stun/kill them should flash white after every hit, like in Keen 5-6, or provide some other kind of feedback to indicate that the shot did indeed cause some damage. I think that makes it easier to figure out which enemy types are totally immortal and which ones just need to be hit multiple times. Keen 4 didn't have such enemies, but the code for drawing the shape of the sprite in white does exist in Keen 4's code. The second to last parameter in the RF_PlaceSprite call must be a 1 instead of a 0 to use this drawing method. If you need some help with this, let me know.

[Awesome-Keener]

There are some clipping errors in the secret that leads to the 3UP in level 1. If you jump to the left after climbing the up the first pole, parts of Keen's sprite become visible the further you go to the left. If you jump, Keen ends up on the other side of the slope.

Fixed.

The jump that you have to make in that secret might be a little too tricky. I know: it's a secret. But the way it is right now, I believe there is no way that anybody will be able to reach the 3UP without opening the level in a level viewer/editor that can display tile properties (i.e. the collision grid).

Fixed.

The sprite that floats up after touching a 3UP is blocked by the blocking tiles in the level (can be observed in level 1). The 3UP object should be spawned in noclip mode to avoid this.

Don't know how to fix.

Creatures that need to be shot multiple times to stun/kill them should flash white after every hit, like in Keen 5-6, or provide some other kind of feedback to indicate that the shot did indeed cause some damage. I think that makes it easier to figure out which enemy types are totally immortal and which ones just need to be hit multiple times. Keen 4 didn't have such enemies, but the code for drawing the shape of the sprite in white does exist in Keen 4's code. The second to last parameter in the RF_PlaceSprite call must be a 1 instead of a 0 to use this drawing method. If you need some help with this, let me know.

Don't know how to fix.