Which and Why?

Discussion and analysis of graphics, story, levels, and so on.
Ilsoap
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Which and Why?

Post by Ilsoap »

Keen Dreams, Keen 4, Keen 5, Keen 6. Which one would you rather mod, assuming we had all of the tools to do so, and why?
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Post by KeenRush »

You could've made a poll! ;)

Anyways, we have the tools. (Except for Keen Dreams.) I'll start with Keen 4 when I'm that far.
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CommanderSpleen
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'Tis gonna be a mad day when SpleenKeen6 is released...

Post by CommanderSpleen »

I can't wait until I get to Keen6, mostly because it has all those tasty interactive map elements. However, as with most of us, I'll probably start with 4 when I get there. I'll bide my time, though, and see what patches have emerged when I get to that point.

I've got Keen2 and Keen3 to tackle yet, and I'm still only scratching the surface of my Keen1 mod (especially considering the sprite patching we're now getting into), so it's a fair while off yet.

>Commander Spleen
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XkyRauh
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re: which and why

Post by XkyRauh »

Keen 6. It was the Keen game I was most into when I was younger, and I'm not sure why--I'd guess because, much like the Vorticons, there was a fairly fleshed out alien race, complete with Kids and Elites (though no moms in sight--probably for the better)... Like Spleen said, there's interactive map elements, and I feel that overall I'd be able to do the best job with it.

That said, I think KeenDreams will be the episode I'd least like to mod, primarily because of the lack of a pogo stick, and the awkward way Keen jumps.

Of all the episodes, I think Keen6 has the most interesting and flexible enemies with one exception: Keen5's Shockshund.

--Xky
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grelphy
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Post by grelphy »

Personally, I agree that 6 is (would be) one of the best episodes to mod. The enemy AI is more flexible than in, for example, Keen 5 (Mod those baddies? Brr...) and the interactive map elements --- all gazillion of them --- are (would be) a level builder's bonanza.

I kinda like some of the features of Keen 4, though...
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Post by Ilsoap »

Crud. Forgot about polls. Oh well.

Each one is intriguing in different ways. I can't decide which one I'd most like to try to mod. Dreams and Keen 4 are good because they're shareware, and can be easily distributed without any problems with copyrights or conforming to the proper version number, but Keen 5 and 6 have more versatile enemies.
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Post by xtraverse »

I'll go with the masses, Keen 6 will probably be the most interesting, but I'll do them in order like I did the first three.

I wonder if the Keen 6 demo has much potential of being modded. It likely would allow more than three levels if they were built in.
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Post by KeenRush »

Hmmm, but what about the enemies and that kind ot stuff?
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Post by xtraverse »

It depends on what they took out for the demo. The enemy code might still be in there.
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Post by KeenRush »

Naturally.. Hmmm, has the executable somewhat same size (can't check)? It'd be really great if it could be worked out this way.
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grelphy
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Post by grelphy »

Ooh, modding the demo of Keen 6... *envisions free Keen 6-ey goodness* sounds like fun!

Actually, as far as I can tell (AFAICT?), Keen 6 demo does allow additional levels. In any case, the world map still has the sprites for entering the levels!
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Post by Ilsoap »

Well... obviously the enemies in the original demo are still there. You could probably make a pretty good game with the four blooglets, bloog, blooguard, babobba, and gik.
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grafix
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AFAIK

Post by grafix »

Grelphy: It's AFAIK (As Far As I Know). Just to let you know.
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Post by grelphy »

I know about AFAIK, but htat's not what I meant to say, so I made up a new acronym.

Okay, I'll stop going off-topic now.
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Post by Ilsoap »

Perhaps a list like this would help...

Keen Dreams Unique Features:

- all enemies turn into the same sprite when they are disabled
- no pogo
- no raygun
- throw pellets
- no music (though possibly capable of music)
- no moving platforms
- no official secret level

Keen 4 Unique Features:

- 8 things to save
- more unique enemies than any other Keen game (besides GBC)

Keen 5 Unique Features:

- hidden level would be pretty easy to mod
- four enemies that shoot things
- two enemies that self-destruct
- self-destruct enemy required to beat game

Keen 6 Unique Features:

- 4 different sprites with the exact same behavior
- an enemy that reflects a raygun shot
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