Public Commander Keen Forum

I love Bobby Prince's music in Keen 4-6. I am also a musician and I'd love to try my hand at making some music in that vein. It would also be great if whatever I make (midis?) could be compatible with Keen mods, I could just start generating music and if modders like it they can use it in place of reusing existing Keen music (could be good for full conversions to make them feel more like entirely new games).

In any case, the area I lack expertise in is what software do I need to make music compatible with Keen 4-6 mods? If I just make midis in some midi program is that good enough, or is there more to it?

hey there dark and welcome to the forums,


please allow me to introduce you to our beautiful KeenWiki. Over here you should find plenty of info for a start. Of course, please feel free to ask if things still seem to be unclear in one way or another.

here you can find a section of community written music & sfx related tools: https://keenwiki.shikadi.net/wiki/Galax ... ic_Editors

in this article you can learn more about the Keen 4-6 compatible IMF format: https://keenwiki.shikadi.net/wiki/IMF

and over here you can find a more general tutorial on how to import/export sound and music into Keen games: https://keenwiki.shikadi.net/wiki/Keen_ ... and_Sounds


things might look a bit overwhelming at first but at the end it's not much more than converting one format into another. In this case this would be MIDI into IMF with some preparations done beforehand. To do so there are two tools that come in handy:
MIDI 2 IMF converter: https://keenwiki.shikadi.net/wiki/MIDI2IMF
IMF player: https://keenwiki.shikadi.net/wiki/IMF_Player

but of luck and happy modding

Thanks, those links saved me a lot of research.

Is there a limit on how many simultaneous voices can play at once? Probably a limit by the soundcards of the time?

actually there are. you are restricted to 8 channels at max plus one additional channel reserved for sound effects. for more info check this more in depth article about the IMF format:

https://moddingwiki.shikadi.net/wiki/IM ... strictions