The Alphamatic (Version 2 In Development + Marooned Over Mars Expansion)

You can discuss anything about fan-made Commander Keen games here.

Who would you want to see as the playable character?

Keep it Keen
18
45%
Lindsey
3
8%
Spot
6
15%
Oracle Janitor
1
3%
Lt. Barker
12
30%
 
Total votes: 40

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Nisaba
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Re: The Alphamatic

Post by Nisaba »

K1n9_Duk3 wrote: Sun Jun 25, 2017 23:53
Fleexy wrote: Sun Jun 25, 2017 23:31You can get the newest version from KeenWiki
I believe NY00123's "unofficial" CKPatch is the newest version. Don't know why it's not mentioned on the KeenWiki.
@K1n9_Duk3:
if you could, please share a link including further information on NY00123's version of CKPatch. this would help me update the wiki.
out now (link) : Image
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Re: The Alphamatic

Post by Gridlock »

Edit: It's done! Get it here: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3536

Nearly there!

I've started releasing a handful of tracks from the soundtrack on YouTube. I'll have the full soundtrack available sometime after release. The final soundtrack has 23 tracks, 22 if you exclude the remastered version of the trailer music.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnx-EJ ... q4roU3NDoA

Oh, and just a heads up: if for some strange reason you don't currently own Keen 5 (needed to play this mod), Steam has the Commander Keen Collection on sale for a paltry $1.24 until July 5. http://store.steampowered.com/app/9180/Commander_Keen/
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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
Gridlock
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Re: The Alphamatic

Post by Gridlock »

Happy Keen Day! I've got a small announcement: I'm working on an updated version 2 of The Alphamatic.

I don't get the impression that this game was widely played, but from the feedback I did get, it seems like I overshot with the difficulty level. For this next release, I want to further improve the difficulty balancing to make a more enjoyable experience. To that end, I'd be curious about people's general experience with the game's difficulty and how much people would prefer it reduced.

However, there's also slightly more exciting news. I'm working on an expansion to the game called "Marooned Over Mars" that will add three new optional levels to the Mars Station setting. So far, only 1 level is finished. Here's some screenshots:

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When will it be released? When it's ready, of course.
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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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Re: The Alphamatic (Version 2 In Development + Marooned Over Mars Expansion)

Post by KeenRush »

Good news & looking good!
My newest mod - Commander Keen: Sunset: viewtopic.php?t=8568 | codename H.Y.E.N.A.
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Re: The Alphamatic (Version 2 In Development + Marooned Over Mars Expansion)

Post by Roobar »

This looks most exciting. So is this a stand alone mod or addition to the Alphamatic? As for the difficulty: reduce, reduce, reduce lol.
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Re: The Alphamatic (Version 2 In Development + Marooned Over Mars Expansion)

Post by Gridlock »

I've been in a Keenish mood lately and have been working on the Marooned Over Mars expansion. It's not dead!

In fact, I've now finished rough versions of all three extra levels. So, I thought I'd share some pics:

Image

Image

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These levels are all optional and will be accessible from within the main game via some new additions to an existing level.

I'm not sure when it'll be ready to release. Besides tweaking and improving these new levels, I need to do additional work game-wide to fix some of the previously-mentioned issues and further tweak the difficulty. Some issues may still not be possible for me to fix on my own, such as the finicky shootable QED bug.
Image
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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Re: The Alphamatic (Version 2 In Development + Marooned Over Mars Expansion)

Post by DarkAle »

Gridlock wrote: Sun Aug 30, 2020 20:14 I've been in a Keenish mood lately and have been working on the Marooned Over Mars expansion. It's not dead!

In fact, I've now finished rough versions of all three extra levels. So, I thought I'd share some pics:

Image

Image

Image

Image

These levels are all optional and will be accessible from within the main game via some new additions to an existing level.

I'm not sure when it'll be ready to release. Besides tweaking and improving these new levels, I need to do additional work game-wide to fix some of the previously-mentioned issues and further tweak the difficulty. Some issues may still not be possible for me to fix on my own, such as the finicky shootable QED bug.
Good work. I'm looking forward to play again your Alphamatic and now I know there will be another version I'm more excited to play it
Commander Keen in... Robot Apocalypse!
Episode 13: The Ultra Omegamatic viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6802
Episode 14: Secret of the Sorcerer viewtopic.php?t=13031
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Re: The Alphamatic (Version 2 In Development + Marooned Over Mars Expansion)

Post by Gridlock »

Another update. Thanks to K1n9_Duk3, a few of the game's larger bugs, like the QED fuse not always breaking, should get fixed in the new version. Furthermore, I've been able to add an additional level to the expansion. So, it'll now be 4 new levels instead of 3. There's actually now 25 level slots being used in the Gamemaps, making this mod's level count larger than Atroxian Realm's.

They're all mostly finished, but continue to need further tweaks and polish. Some of them are quite complex and experimental. One that I'm particularly proud of involves an evolution of idea CKGuy explored in his old K5 levelpack, where switches can change door destinations. This time I'm doing it with in-level teleporters.

I'm tentatively thinking of releasing version 2 on Keen's 30th anniversary, December 14. I'm not sure if anyone else has anything planned for that day, so this can at least be something for Keen's big birthday.

Image
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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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Re: The Alphamatic (Version 2 In Development + Marooned Over Mars Expansion)

Post by DarkAle »

Gridlock wrote: Sat Oct 10, 2020 18:10 Another update. Thanks to K1n9_Duk3, a few of the game's larger bugs, like the QED fuse not always breaking, should get fixed in the new version. Furthermore, I've been able to add an additional level to the expansion. So, it'll now be 4 new levels instead of 3. There's actually now 25 level slots being used in the Gamemaps, making this mod's level count larger than Atroxian Realm's.

They're all mostly finished, but continue to need further tweaks and polish. Some of them are quite complex and experimental. One that I'm particularly proud of involves an evolution of idea CKGuy explored in his old K5 levelpack, where switches can change door destinations. This time I'm doing it with in-level teleporters.

I'm tentatively thinking of releasing version 2 on Keen's 30th anniversary, December 14. I'm not sure if anyone else has anything planned for that day, so this can at least be something for Keen's big birthday.

Image
Wow. I'm looking forward this version. I could take inspiration for a new version of The Ultra Omegamatic

P. S. My trilogy comes after your Atroxian Realm series, Gridlock
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Episode 13: The Ultra Omegamatic viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6802
Episode 14: Secret of the Sorcerer viewtopic.php?t=13031
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Re: The Alphamatic (Version 2 In Development + Marooned Over Mars Expansion)

Post by TheBigV »

I'm posting another message for proYorp, who still isn't able to log in. The following text is by proYorp:

If you're doing an update, is there any chance that something could be done to equalize the music volume please? Some tracks (like Antigravitational Hub) are way more quiet than they deserve to be (I remember the first time I played this, in a level that had that song I just sat with the status menu open for a minute so I could hear the music without the game sounds overpowering it), and some are quite loud and a little overbearing. (This is especially noticeable when going through the playlist on YouTube, with the amount of times the volume has to be adjusted....) I'd say the songs taken from the Keen 5 outtakes would be a good balance to compare to.

Sorry I don't have anything more to add right now, but this is one nitpick I've had since the start that I probably should have mentioned a long time ago. I know there's some tool somewhere that can edit overall song volume; fairly quickly it sounded like (I think this was done for Suburb Shenanigans IIRC).

P.S. oh yeah, another thing I wanted to give feedback on real quick. I remember whenever I played this I'd be stuck on Mars Station for awhile, I think because it was so large and a bit confusing so it was difficult to figure out where to go IIRC.
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Re: The Alphamatic (Version 2 In Development + Marooned Over Mars Expansion)

Post by Gridlock »

If you're doing an update, is there any chance that something could be done to equalize the music volume please? Some tracks (like Antigravitational Hub) are way more quiet than they deserve to be (I remember the first time I played this, in a level that had that song I just sat with the status menu open for a minute so I could hear the music without the game sounds overpowering it), and some are quite loud and a little overbearing. (This is especially noticeable when going through the playlist on YouTube, with the amount of times the volume has to be adjusted....) I'd say the songs taken from the Keen 5 outtakes would be a good balance to compare to.

Sorry I don't have anything more to add right now, but this is one nitpick I've had since the start that I probably should have mentioned a long time ago. I know there's some tool somewhere that can edit overall song volume; fairly quickly it sounded like (I think this was done for Suburb Shenanigans IIRC).
Yeah, this is something I've noticed and haven't felt particularly compelled to fix due to the work involved. If a convenient tool does exist for editing IMF track volumes, that would be so much easier than having to re-convert a bunch of midi files.

P.S. oh yeah, another thing I wanted to give feedback on real quick. I remember whenever I played this I'd be stuck on Mars Station for awhile, I think because it was so large and a bit confusing so it was difficult to figure out where to go IIRC.
It's possible I could take another look at this, although any additional details about how you got stuck could make it easier for me to revise.


In case it's not clear, I won't have a revision ready for today. I've been dealing with a decent amount of work stress lately that's taken away my motivation to work on this. For the most part, I'm still in the QA/revision phase with all of these levels, which takes a long time. That's especially true for some of the new levels; one of them in particular may be the longest and most complicated level I've ever made, for better or worse.
Image
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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Re: The Alphamatic (Version 2 In Development + Marooned Over Mars Expansion)

Post by Grimson »

Man, the update sounds sweet. Hopefully it's still coming, one day ;)
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Re: The Alphamatic (Version 2 In Development + Marooned Over Mars Expansion)

Post by Gridlock »

Man, the update sounds sweet. Hopefully it's still coming, one day ;)
Appreciate the interest. I've had periods of productivity followed by long gaps of not working on it. Just today I found the motivation to mostly finish revising and polishing one of the new levels, the first in the expansion. I think it may be one of the coolest levels I've ever designed (it involves in-level teleporters and switches that change their destination).

It's kind of crazy that improving existing levels plus testing/polishing four new ones could take so much time, but it seems like there's always more to do. I think two of the new levels are, for better or worse, the most complicated levels I've ever designed, which makes them take forever to test. Especially because I keep finding bugs and design oversights (like things which could cause the player to get stuck), which can be tricky to fix.

I've made some progress on improving some existing levels from the base game, but it still seems like something that I need to spend a lot more time on. I've also been procrastinating on fixing music volume balancing, which will be kind of annoying. Beyond that, I've considered trying to improve the instrumentation on a few existing tracks, as well as composing new tracks for the extra levels. All that is a lot of work, though.
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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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Re: The Alphamatic (Version 2 In Development + Marooned Over Mars Expansion)

Post by 55Aavenue »

Gridlock wrote: Sun Feb 21, 2021 3:24 I think it may be one of the coolest levels I've ever designed (it involves in-level teleporters and switches that change their destination).
Thats a really cool idea! I'd be really interested to learn how you got that to work. And with switches that change their destinations, that opens up a new new world of possibilities for level design! I look forward to trying this release and hope you do finish it, even if it takes awhile. The Alphamatic was a major source of inspiration for me when I was making the Armageddon App.

If you need/want any help with music, composing tracks and/or volume level balancing hit me up, thats my specialty!
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Re: The Alphamatic (Version 2 In Development + Marooned Over Mars Expansion)

Post by Gridlock »

Thats a really cool idea! I'd be really interested to learn how you got that to work. And with switches that change their destinations, that opens up a new new world of possibilities for level design!
I can't actually take full credit for the idea. To the best of my knowledge, the first person to use this trick was ckguy in his levelpack (Keen 5.5), released all the way back in 2007. It involves setting up an infoplane switch whose target is the left infoplane tile on a door or teleporter. I think someone even wrote an article years ago on how the math works. It basically exploits some programming with infoplane value swapping on the y axis.

You don't actually have much control over it. Depending on the height of your map, an infoplane tile at a given y value will always swap to a deterministic y value (no matter the x value, I believe). Without patching or engine modification, there's no way to have further control over it. In some cases, the swap value is useful, and in other cases it isn't. I basically started with a tall blank map, threw a bunch of teleporters in randomly, and added infoplane switches to mess with teleporter destinations. After some experimentation, I got enough teleporters with functional destination switching, and built the rest of the level around that skeleton. The good thing is that you can freely move the teleporter positions on the x axis.

Unlike ckguy, who used regular doors, I wanted to use teleporters because I think they're more intuitive for this kind of design. Really, teleporters are just doors anyway with the addition of the yellow electricity sprite and sound. I had to get K1n9_Duk3 to help me remove the yellow electricity sprite after the teleporter is used, since the original developers never bothered.
If you need/want any help with music, composing tracks and/or volume level balancing hit me up, thats my specialty!
I might take you up on this at some point!
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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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