Foray in the Forest (development thread)

[Nisaba]

I'll try and make my updates here on this post, so look here first to see if I've updated anything. (I won't disclose too many details though.)
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Notes:
I am working on my Keen 4 mod that is intended to close the gap in the storyline between Keen Dreams and Secret of the Oracle.
It's final title is Foray in the Forest.
Mr. M started this mod way back in 2009 but unfortunately lost all of his data due to a hard drive crash. In 2016 I picked up this abandoned project and rebuild everything from scratch. A first demo was released on KeenDay 2017.
The mod is progressing slowly but continuously. The goal is a full 18 level mod. Of course some fine PCKF denizens contribute and collaborate to make this mod great again. yes, we can.
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Links:

One-level-demo: http://www.shikadi.net/wiki/files/Mods/Keen4/m.nisaba.foray_in_the_forest.k4.2017-03-14.zip
Wiki article: http://www.shikadi.net/keenwiki/Foray_in_the_Forest
Trip to the past: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=823
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Progress report:

• Levels
  EDIT: Yes! More variety and visual richness than ever before. Need I say more?
  ...Keen will find himself between ruins, on the coast, the water, underground, in the tops of trees, in mines, in airy heights, between huts and abandoned houses, in dark forests or open clearings, between clouds and in places you only dream about. It will be exciting!
• Graphics
  EDIT: Features more than twice as many tiles as the original game.
  Since my plan is to have this take place on Gnosticene IV, most of the graphics and monsters will remain or be somewhat Keen 4 related. Of course I will still provide a new experience as you can tell by the images attached down below. (lemm & Fleexy did some fine tricks to help me expand the tilesets!)
• Music
  EDIT: 35 songs! In words: thirty-five songs composed especially for this mod.
  30 songs are done now! yay! The World Map song is set in stone. Shoutouts to kvee. He did a hell of a job composing and remixing tracks for this mod! Also we have fine tunes made by Kohntarkosz_, eggs_box, Mr_M, and a couple of other guys. I love 'em all. I'm very happy with the soundtrack so far.
• Enemies
  37+ creatures are set in stone. To me the set of cast is the heart of this mod. I had some loony ideas along the way and fortunately K1n9_Duk3 developed some fine tricks so that all visions actually came true. this dude is madness when it comes to coding. I'm very excited how you gonna like the results.
  Allow me to quote Tom Hall who is of course a major inspiration for this mod:
  "Personally, I feel the major area in which we kick butt over all other games is in the quality of our actors. Most other games don't seem to think the other creatures in the game need personality or thought, just move 'em left and right and maybe fire something. Our actors have emotions and agendas."
• Title Screen
  Awesome-Keener contributes a lot to make this look and feel to the overall theme
• Story
  EDIT: A pogo stick, a neural stunner, a portable parent monitor, and the smell of freshly fried dough! Ready for an endless supply of sugar bombs?!
• Extras
  Better fasten your seatbelts. There will be tons of stuff that no other mod has ever done. K1n9_Duk3 made it possible to realize some bodacious things. so stay tuned. this will be fun.

[Nisaba]

WIP in-game screenshots:


















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[Nisaba]

some updates I like to share and discuss with you.
I'm working on different tree ideas, which i like to include. here is a sneak peek. I'm very curious about your opinion. constructive criticism is very welcome.
for e.g. should I reduce the dithering? do you think I need to add a black outline like seen on the right hand side?

Yeah, those trees look great! I would apply the black outline to them if Keen can stand on them. For consistency's sake, the outline should usually tell that you're looking at a solid object that Keen can interact with.

They're really good. I tend to think like Grimson; if it's walkable on, then black outline.

Walkable or foreground. Black lines, or black pixels amidst colors tell you the object is foreground. This applies even if you're using a lot of dither. For example in this shot the tree on the left is climable, but the tree on the right isn't. (Background)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jz1iegrh7mmot ... z.png?dl=0

There are exceptions. The grass is of course standonable (What?) but very dithered. I added some black pixels to the top to slightly separate it from the background, but it's meant to blend more than stick out. If your trees are to blend into a background leaf pattern then leaving the leaves unoutlined (Wait what?) might be best.

I really like the design.

Like said before, I'd use the outlined version if it is going to be used as a platform (which it does look like).
The dithering depends on what kind of background will be used.
The black colouring may have the trunk blend in with the background more than you might want.
I personally like it as it is but I've also not seen it in combination with other tiles.

Anyway, keep up the good work!
It's already looking great!

thanks for your outlined and unoutlined (what?) suggestions. I think I'm going to add some black pixels around the leaves section.
what do you think about the dithering of the tree trunk? don't you think that they might look a bit overly realistic for Keen IMKO? I'm really unsure...

[DarkAle]

I really like this mod!

[KeenRush]

what do you think about the dithering of the tree trunk? don't you think that they might look a bit overly realistic for Keen IMKO?

Depends a lot how it looks with other tiles, but if it were my tiles I might try lessening the dithering and combining stuff into larger globs of monocolour gray.

[Keening_Product]

I like the tree trunk dithering and don't think Keen looks out of place next to them.

[Nisaba]

thanks for the dithering feedback. I did some testing with different backgrounds/arrangements. it seems to me that it really depends on the surroundings. that being said, i'll have to adjourn the decision how much dithering is needed until the other design pieces are done. still: your feedback is always very welcome!


Next up I'd like to ask for your help. here is a rough background "tree" sketch taken from XkyRauh's abandoned Episode Pound mod. the only input I'll give is that I'd like to double it in size. other than that I'm asking for your imagination: in which way should these trees be modeled. I'm looking for suggestions on shape, colour, dithering, etc... everything that comes to mind.
written in keywords would be fine, even if I'd prefer a graphical contribution. I'm counting on your creativity. (even unorthodox ideas will be valued... well... we'll see.)

[troublesomekeen]

It looks to me like very large blades of grass, nearly thrice the height of Keen.
Some sort of bug or lumberjack creature must take a liking to this kind of plant.
Are they white in the inside? When they are cut, does liquid leak out? Are they juicy?
Maybe something comes along, takes a large bite, and proceeds to the next one.
A sensible alien would chop down the entire stock, stew it like leaks and make a proper soup or salad.
I feel like nom nom celery.

[Roobar]

I don't particularly like these, but here's my attempt:

[Nisaba]

@PCFK community:
I'm looking for inspiration for worldmap buildings. Do you guys have ideas or things you'd like to see in a Commander Keen mod? preferably but not necessary forest related...

here's a sneak peak of what you can expect:


thoughts from the Discord server:

I guess the obvious choice is a treehouse... and I guess a few ruins with plants overtaking them would work...

I'm always fond of the occasional abandoned and long-forgotten forest bunker. Or squatters' hovels that might still be occupied. Things with uncertain origins you weren't expecting to find in the depths of nature

I guess for me, with forests, they're frequently green-and-green-and-green and there isn't a lot of red. Perhaps some autumn?

a tree-covered hill with a big cliff... and a tower on the edge // a mineshaft entrance // a really big tree // definitely +1 to some overgrown ruins // maybe like a small temple in the middle of the forest

[Roobar]

I don't see anything wrong with the suggestions. I mean they're kind of standard for forest type of environment and I by myself am using such, but they give you already plenty of options. On top of that, if you have something unique to show in the level (like a talking tree or a big slug statue or something else) you may want to emphasize on that and make it appear on the world map as well.

[55Aavenue]

I agree with Roobar. Its always cool when the exterior of the level on the map kind of fits with what you see inside the level.

Also, I'm glad to hear you are still working on this, I played the demo a while ago and I thought it was pretty cool.

[Tormentor667]

I love the shots so far, keep it going:)

[Nisaba]

@Roobar & @55Aavenue
thanks for your advice. that's exactly the path I've already trod. of course I intend to keep on doing so.
I'm just looking for further ideas, which will help me to come up with new stuff to build a level around. I for one find it easier to define a level topic beforehand and subsequently doing the level design in line with this theme. so if you should have a suitable topic besides the ones already mentioned above, I would very much like to hear about it.

and yes I'm still working on this! thanks for all your kind words / motivation boost! It's always good to hear that people find interested in what I do.
current status: 20 creatures animated.

[Roobar]

That's looking cool! And that's a lot of creatures! If you need inspiration, just look in google for pixel art forests or whatever you need or just look at other platformer games for ideas.