Ok, my turn- my mod 'The Ruin of Roib'

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Bernie
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Ok, my turn- my mod 'The Ruin of Roib'

Post by Bernie »

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Hi guys. I've been working on this bastard thing, on and off, for maybe a year or so. Its called Commander Keen Episode 58: The Ruin of Roib.

The idea is that Billy Blaze is 35 years old and has long given up being Commander Keen, but now that his life has fallen apart hes going back into it. he gets distress signals to go help the planet Roib which is under attack, but because he cant remember how to fly the ship properly he gets there too late and the planet is already wiped out when he arrives. the game has a destroyed theme to it.

Its a complete game here. 15 standard levels plus a bunch of mini and secret levels. All new graphics (except for some little side graphics, e.g status box graphics in the top corner is the same) and new music and some new sounds. It doesn't exactly have the same feel as the original Keen games. It also has some puzzle elements in the game. there is actually one biggish puzzle in the game and I'm not sure if its done as well as it could be.

Its officially a 'beta' release, I guess. The game is completely playable and finish-able, but there are a few little bugs here and there (Some I don't mind, some I don't know how to fix with my limited patching knowledge). Maybe some of you guys could help me out.

I haven't actually played the game all the way through properly (I mainly tested each level out individually). By all means tell me if there are some bits that are too hard, or whatever. and the game *is* more difficult and longer than the original Keen 4 game, which its based on. but i dont think its more hard than some other keen mods i've played.

Anyways here it is- hope the link works :/
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ec0w1uk0tog0y ... %201.0.zip
Last edited by Bernie on Sat May 25, 2013 17:20, edited 2 times in total.
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DoomJedi
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Post by DoomJedi »

Maaan that's great Title screen!

gotta give this a try....
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DoomJedi
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Post by DoomJedi »

Oh man, OMG this is....OMG.,...beyond words...I'm speechless.....OMG

How did you manage to hide this masterpiece from us all this time???

This is like those movies that grab all the Oscars.....

Best art even seen in a Keen mod (simply and beyond words - jawdropping), best patches ever, best story ever, the most original concept for a Keen mod ever, the best attention to details in a Keen mod ever (like that oldman delay before he climbs the platform...)....this is so much better than TUIT...

This not only looks like a commercial game - it's more commercial-looking than original Keen....this brings Keen modding to a whole other level.....OMG....I'm so running back now to keep playing this....

I can't even guess which Keen it's based of...

Maaan, this is a mod to die for.

Love post-apokaliptic themes and games, movies
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KeenRush
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Post by KeenRush »

Speechless. And I've only gotten to the beginning of first level. This is simply amazing. Will comment more later, back to playing.
My newest mod - Commander Keen: Sunset: viewtopic.php?t=8568 | codename H.Y.E.N.A.
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Post by Ceilick »

Your graphics are phenomenal, but most impressive to me is how well you've integrated the layers with each other seemlessly. It's nearly impossible to tell levels are composed from tiles; each level I've played so far, while sharing graphics, feels like an entirely unique image without base parts.
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Post by Gridlock »

Man, these graphics seem to put my work to shame. As Ceilick said, you've created some phenomenal looking levels with these. This is the kind of stuff I've imagined doing for years. I can't believe it only took you around a year to make this. You must be the most talented modder I've ever seen, no joke. For a "guilty pastime" your mod is incredible.

I must say, I'm sort of stuck at this point. I just beat the tower level (which I had to cheat to get to the antenae at the top anyway because one of the enemies was causing a bad graphics glitch). However, I can't find any way to advance on the world map. In all honestly, one of my biggest complaints is that it's hard to tell what's a level and what isn't on the world map.
Edit: Found the way forward. I missed a path through a tunnel of one of the levels.

I can certainly see Levellass' influence, but this mod pulled off some incredible stuff. These are some of the coolest enemy patches I've seen, and you pulled off tricks that I even I couldn't figure out how to do (like having a keygem open a door you can enter). I don't know how long you've been modding, but it seems like you must be quite experienced.

I took a quick look at the upper parts of the world map, so I know there's more. I just don't want to play it in a way you didn't intend. I'll post more reactions once I've seen the rest.

Even though this one does have some story similarities to my mod, Atroxian Realm, I think the two will be different enough. Even still, this makes me feel like I need to step up my game even more.
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Armageddon Begins Again. The Alphamatic has arrived.

Atroxian Realm: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3536
The Alphamatic: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4086
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troublesomekeen
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Post by troublesomekeen »

Aaaaannnnddd here's a little video! Just the first level. Astounding work, Bernie. Rather quite blisteringly good.
http://youtu.be/acT-iZedAhA
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Commander Keen in... Canteloupe Quest!
Bernie
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Post by Bernie »

jeez thanks for the flattering replies everyone :p
Gridlock wrote: I must say, I'm sort of stuck at this point. I just beat the tower level (which I had to cheat to get to the antenae at the top anyway because one of the enemies was causing a bad graphics glitch).
thats on purpose :p theres an enemy that glitches up your screen when you touch it (its the Bugbug, if you see the enemy list in the F1
'About Game' deal)- but its a temporary glitch, you can just press enter and it clears it right up.

although it *can* freeze the game, which i dont like. thats one of the bugs i'd like fixed.

In all honestly, one of my biggest complaints is that it's hard to tell what's a level and what isn't on the world map.
yeah, i agree, but i did it like that cause theres a number of little secret levels to find, and i didnt want those to have level markers. so i just thought to make all levels not have level markers.

if more people complain about the level markers, i could always add some in. but personally im not too crazy about them.

(like having a keygem open a door you can enter). I don't know how long you've been modding, but it seems like you must be quite experienced.
that keygem door thingy is just on the door wiki page :p theres a way to make a keygem open up a square of pixels, and you can make it anything you want.

and i have studied modding a bit, but it was just for this, all during making this mod. if you ever look at my patch file, theres a mix of really basic stuff and some relatively complex stuff.

Even still, this makes me feel like I need to step up my game even more.
heh, sorry :/ i just wanted to release this thing today cause im kinda sick of it.
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szemi
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Post by szemi »

CAN'T WAIT TO SEE IT! =D
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Post by Paramultart »

A charming, witty and fun game with exceptional graphics and game play.
In a world where commercial gaming is down the toilet, this is like a breath of fresh air. I am so impressed I could puke. This is an incredible achievement. 10/10. :barf

Seriously good job!
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Roobar
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Post by Roobar »

Wow! This looks so exciting I'll write a comment here before I even start to download!
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Levellass
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Post by Levellass »

See, now I had the odd idea of what was going on from requests for patch help. Here and there a really exciting patch was being used, so I was already looking quite forward to this.

But this... this...


It's all in the implementation and this.... there are hardly any words. I shall have to go back to my own projects and redo everything from scratch.

The inventiveness,t he sheer graphical talent... truly a monumental mod.
What you really need, not what you think you ought to want.
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Levellass
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Post by Levellass »

Ok, seriously this needs a double post. I just checked out the extracted graphics. And DAMN. I mean DAMN. How did you even fit those sprites into a level?

I can wow with innovative patches, but I can't push the game's limits like you have. This is just pure, undiluted awesome from start to finish.
What you really need, not what you think you ought to want.
Bernie
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Post by Bernie »

Levellass wrote:See, now I had the odd idea of what was going on from requests for patch help.
heh yeah you're probly the only person who knew i was doing something. do you like that credit of you at the beginning? ;) i thought you might. its a bit too quick though, its hard to read that whole credit image before it goes away, which im not crazy about.

And DAMN. I mean DAMN. How did you even fit those sprites into a level?
I can wow with innovative patches, but I can't push the game's limits like you have.
i havent pushed any limits :p there are some big sprites (some huge ones) but the biggest ones are just for small mini-levels (like the standard BWB one. but i have a few of them in the mod).

plus i cut out a whole bunch of sprite/frames from keen's character sprite (only two frames for his entire bored anim, only one for his sliding down pole) so that frees up some memory. but then keen's sprite pics are bigger so maybe it comes out as the same (im not entirely sure how the game handles it). although im pretty certain some levels, sometimes, in particular occasions, will have its music cut out. if anyone comes across this occuring, let me know and ill try to free up some memory for that level.


i love the comments you guys :D i had no idea abuot all the 'wows' etc. I'd be getting. i thought atleast some people would be pissed off that it diverts from the usual commander keen feel of the game.
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DoomJedi
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Post by DoomJedi »

I had music cut off on level 2

And I have the game to totally freeze like 40 times on level 2
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