Yorpius II level design

Discussion and analysis of graphics, story, levels, and so on.
Stealthy71088
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Post by Stealthy71088 »

The Final Level

This is one of a small handful of Keen1 mods that feature a boss. It's truly impressive that a boss was made before the advent of Ck1patch.

I really like this level. Mortimer's sprite has been well drawn. I can imagine him driving through Yorpius II, shooting down anything that crosses his path. I wish I knew why Mortimer was on Yorpius II- I don't believe that Mortimer would be on the planet just to lure Keen into a battle. You would think Mort would have some cleverer plan in mind than that. Of course, if that's an android dummy, it would make a lot more sense.

It's tricky, jumping over his shots and opening the doors. But it's a worthy challenge, and makes the battle unique.

If I were to change something, perhaps I would add some points on the bottom of the level, to reward the player for escaping Mortimer.

There's one thing here I don't understand. When Keen drops, Mortimer taunts him, and then attacks. How was this changed, when Ck1Patch wasn't out yet? I suppose I could be confusing this mod for another, but I'm pretty sure Mort taunts Keen.
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XkyRauh
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Post by XkyRauh »

The taunting was achieved through clever use of the Yorp Statue dialogue boxes. Ordinarily the tile that triggers the box is the "glowing eyestalk," which changes to a "not glowing eyestalk" once triggered--in this case, KeenRush simply edited the graphic of that tile to look like a normal sky tile--and so when the player falls past that small area they receive the taunt message. :)

This boss level is very, very clever. I like it a lot--it's tough, but not impossible, because the player can very readily see what they need to to. I'm always a fan of making things a little easier, so I wouldn't be opposed to widening the safety columns to two tiles--it really stinks when you're trying to dodge a shot, and you hit your head on the corner of the tile, only to die. Fewer safety columns, two tiles wide, would lend the level to a faster, more scramble-like atmosphere... currently it feels more calculated and procedural.

This level really kicks butt, though, for not only making use of tiles that weren't seen anywhere else in the mod up until now, but putting them together in such a dramatic, intense way. After finally escaping the RoboMort, I remember saying "Oh, crap!" when I saw all the rotating blades... it's like RoboMort's final effort at getting Keen, that seems very over-the-top and awesome. :)

This level is fine the way it is, really.
Stealthy71088
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Post by Stealthy71088 »

XkyRauh wrote:The taunting was achieved through clever use of the Yorp Statue dialogue boxes. Ordinarily the tile that triggers the box is the "glowing eyestalk," which changes to a "not glowing eyestalk" once triggered--in this case, KeenRush simply edited the graphic of that tile to look like a normal sky tile--and so when the player falls past that small area they receive the taunt message. :)
I know that. I just don't know how Keenrush managed to change the message without using a patch.
Kdash
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Post by Kdash »

Editing the EXE, probably. Of course, that's illegal, which is why we have patches now.
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XkyRauh
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Post by XkyRauh »

Yeah, I believe KeenRush actually went in and edited the EXE with this first release--though I remember using the %levelhint commands in the very first releases of CK1Patch to change the text in my first mod, which came out about a month (I think) after Yorphius... so the technology was definitely around. :)

I think this thread was a kick ass way to look in-depth at a mod, and I wish KeenRush himself had posted more during the proceedings to give us his thoughts on his levels. KR, you should make a post to wrap this thread up! :D
Stealthy71088
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Post by Stealthy71088 »

Xky: What mod should we do next? Should it be Xkykeen1? Should I do a poll for it?

Keenrush: Also, feel free to make your own level commentary on the wiki. I'd like to see your comments as well.
levellass
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Post by levellass »

So it's o;egal to distribute and download the Yorphius mod? That's terrible!
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XkyRauh
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Post by XkyRauh »

Stealthy: If we do XkyKeen1, I'm going to follow KeenRush's precedent and not comment much... so it may be a bad idea, considering how few people really discuss each of the levels. Maybe we could try Xtraverse's Norp the Yorp trilogy? :) It was a grand-scale trilogy, released almost at once.
Stealthy71088
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Post by Stealthy71088 »

Xky: Sounds good to me. Norp1 was the first mod I ever played, and I've always been quite fond of it. Are you planning on adding your own level commentary on the wiki?

Levallass: You can always just use and distribute the original keen1.exe. The only modification is Mortimer's taunt, (I think) so you don't really lose anything.
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Freeyorp101
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Post by Freeyorp101 »

The only modification is Mortimer's taunt
no, there are a few more changes; the secret area with another changed message, another message where keen wonders if he has all the keys, and the BWB megarocket message.
Stealthy71088
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Post by Stealthy71088 »

I looked at it earlier today, and there's also modified menu screens. I assume that the storytext was just a modified storytxt.ck1. If not, there's another.
EricMushroomWilson
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Post by EricMushroomWilson »

I stopped getting notifications for this thread for some reason and missed everything. :(
levellass
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Post by levellass »

Do what I do, check every date on the main page to see if anything's changed.

KR produced something illegal alright, and our first mod too, that'll show ID!
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Freeyorp101
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Post by Freeyorp101 »

^^and then there is the status screen box, which was modified too, as well as the ending sequence.
KeenRush
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Post by KeenRush »

I think I had seen CKPatch, but I had absolutely no idea how to use it, and I couldn't even understand what it was. I didn't even know what was a hex value, at that time.

Levellass/LevelLord/whatever you are, yes, it's a bit illegal (if you insist, and you seem to be trying to make me a scapegoat of some sort, because of it), but I don't think it's even nearly as bad as LevelLord illegaly giving away the whole Keen 2 binary data in Shadow Keen 2 -- afterall, Keen 1 is shareware that's completely free to distribute and everyone can get it for free (legally), whereas Keen 2 definitely is not!


And as for commenting the levels, I don't think there'd be much use from my comments, half the stuff here I have never even thought of when making those levels. Never should have made this crap in the first place..
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