Musical Keen

[Benvolio]

First of all, it's my fault that you all can't complete that level - I forgot to put in an exit. I noticed that a few days ago. Sorry... I was really annoyed about that; that could have been a perfect level.

One reasons my levels are oversize is that they got inspiration from Keen:Galaxy (especially my earliest levels). But I didn't think of the fact that you can't save game in a level in Keen:Vorticons, yet I made levels that are only completeable with in-level saving.

I was trying to keep the action intensity the same as a typical Keen1 level, when in fact I should have spread the same amount of action out over a larger space.

As for huge organised levels, like Oracle Janitor 1 and 2 (I haven't played 3 yet), and Norp 3.5, they are the ones that give me most of a headache. You complete an area the size of the Pyramid of the Forbidden in Keen4, then you get nervous and jumpy and you fall into something that you wouldn't fall into if you were relaxed. Basically, there is a limit to the amount of deaths a player can avoid before losing control. So a level shouldn't be so long that a player wastes more than ten minutes playing and then dying.

Those are just a few of my theories on levels, but posting them here is easier than actually implementing them in level design.

As for modding Keen3, the things that deter me from it are:
-No palette patch
-The mangling machine, which must be the hardest thing for a modder to find an excuse for
-Vortininjas - clumsy lummoxes 10 times dumber then Dopefishes

If a patcher resolves both of those issues, I will heppily mod Keen3. Another thing is I prefer making stuff that I can legally distribute; I remember looking longingly at screenshots of Norp the Yorp 2 before I had Keen2. The only thing that attracts me to Keen3 is the speeding up engine patch, though i'm sure that can be done to Keen1 too. I'll stick to Keen1 for the time being.

As for my captions and advertising style on my site, that is in mockery of Apogee and Id's boastfullness and smarminess. Somewhere in the text of Vanished to Venus, it says "Epsilon will be the biggest game ever", in mockery of "The Fight for Justice will be the finest PC game yet."

[levellord]

Never mind, as I always say, the mods weakest point is the sprite between the chair and the keyboard. And at least I'm now not the only one to release an impossible level.

[grelphy]

The first release of Keen Y had a psuedo-impossible level: a pit full of push-bots in the green level (it's still there, but avoidable) that you had no choice but to go through. I'm sure lots of people went in, but absolutely none came back out. ;)

(Sinde you could get out of in with just god-mode and a pogo, I'm assuming that it may actually have been possible. But I don't know that---the inclusion of the impossible version was an accident)

See? Lots of people release impossible levels. =)

[Stealthy71088]

A group of levels in universe will seem impossible, but arent! Particularily in the second to last level, which i did yesterday. I skipped 2 levs. to finish off a theme. It'll really make you think i think

[Stealthy71088]

the link is broken. Alternate link?

[KeenRush]

Well, it works for me, but here's anyway;
http://www.keengrid.net/ckfiles/modific ... l_keen.zip

[Stealthy71088]

Thnx