Mapmaking: NetKeen

Utilities for editing Keen:Galaxy and Keen:Dreams levels.
BBalazs
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Mapmaking: NetKeen

Post by BBalazs »

I've been trying to dig around if it's possible to add new arenas to NetKeen, however I'm unable to give it a run because I have no clue where to start.

I've tried using Keen:Next, but it complains about not being able to find editmaps files. If I use the menu option "create game files" and browse to the netkeen executable, it complains about not being able to find gamemaps files - which is odd, because as you know they are shipped with the program.

Can you help me get started and also point me out some general rules?
Draik
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Post by Draik »

First up, you're gonna want The Omegamatic. It's a far better map editor than K:N, or so I am led to believe. Onve you've made them, you'll need to integrate the tileinfo or some crap and I have no clue how to do that. Someone more experienced on the matter than me can kindly drop in below.
BBalazs
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Post by BBalazs »

Well that got to load something that I tend to believe is the info plain, because I can see references to doors and things, but I can't squeeze tiles out of it.

Also, NetKeen appears to support a lot of levels, whereas I can't really seem to add a new level without deleting an old one. Or please correct me if I'm wrong - The Omegamatic seems not to list the empty level slots.
Draik
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Post by Draik »

Well, to get TOM to load the tile images, you need to create a new folder in the folder containing the gamemaps files. Inside this folder you need to place the tile bitmaps, which I think can be found in the NetKeen graphics pack in the post over at PCKF. Doing this will let TOM find and load them. Mink, creator of TOM, is working on a better way to handle this. I think.

As for new levels, it is true that TOM doesn't list the empty level slots. It does, however, have a perfectly functional New Level function. Just fill out the name, level number, width and height and you're ready to start mapping!
BBalazs
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Post by BBalazs »

It does work - now I only need to learn to use the program. Is there a list of keyboard shortcuts or a tutorial of any kind? For example, I've had trouble adding background tiles because I can't seem to be able to copy a block of tiles from the right (Keen:Next style) panel.
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Ceilick
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Post by Ceilick »

It sounds like you are familiar with editing with Keen:Next so I highly recommend enabling the "Keen:Next Mode" in Tom. Just go to 'settings' and it will be the last option.

This will bring up the tileset on the right and enable the familiar hold shift to select stamp area. To toggle between tilesets, use the hotkeys 1 (background), 2 (foreground), and 3 (sprite info).

Unlike Keen:Next, placing doors or custom info sprites for switches requires you to hold your mouse over the location you want the sprite to point to, press enter twice to create the sprite, and then place the info sprite where you want it.

General tips on netkeen level making:

-If you plan your level to be for four players, don't make it too big because memory errors can turn up quickly.

-Always include spawn points for team 1 and team 2. This will be indicated by the number on the helmets on the sprite tiles that are included with netkeen. If the map is played without teams, the spawn point will function as a normal spawn point for everyone.

When you complete your level and want to test it, you will need to combine the tileinfo with the mapfile. Make sure both your maphead.ckX and keen5-nkX.tli file are in the same folder, where X is the episode number you are using. If you are using Windows, you can do that by navigating to your folder in command and typing:

Code: Select all

type maphead.ckX Keen5-nkX.tli > maphead2.ckX
You will then want to delete the original maphead.ckX and rename your “maphead2.ckX” to “maphead.ckX. You should then be able to run your levels in netkeen (this requires both this newly created maphead.ckX file and the gamemaps.ckX file).
lemm
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Post by lemm »

You can test memory limitations by playing a four-player game in local mode and pressing F10+M.
BBalazs
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Post by BBalazs »

Thanks for the information. I'll be sure to come back if I have any questions (that info plain stuff has always eluded me with all previous editors, so I always refrained from placing doors, bridges and stuff.. Never really understood it)
Mink
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Post by Mink »

Adurdin explained the mechanics of doors and platforms along with pretty much everything else in an old article: http://www.bipship.com/#articles/changing It was written with TED5 in mind, but practically all of his advice is still relevant since TOM is very similar.
BBalazs
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Post by BBalazs »

I have one more billion dollar question.. Where/how can I obtain the tli files used by netkeen? They don't seem to be shipped in either the graphics/source/game files; and both the stock Keen4.tli and Keen5.tli sets cause glitches.
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Ceilick
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Post by Ceilick »

Here are the current info files:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3654819/Netkeen%20tileinfo.zip

If you are working with keen 4, please let me know if you run into any problems with tile properties, since they were created by me from scratch and probably have a few errors.

I'm currently working toward adding Keen 6 levels to netkeen, if you're interested you can get the files here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3654819/Keen%206%20files.zip

I'm preparing a major addition of levels, some graphical fixes, tile info property improvements, and the inclusion of Keen 6 for a keen day project (march 14th). If you're interested in including your levels in something like this, let me know :)
BBalazs
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Post by BBalazs »

So far I'm experimenting with Keen4. I figured out that the CK4 files are actually CK5 files, only containing CK4 data, and seem to work correctly if I handle them as CK5.

In the past couple of years, I've done some haphazard mapmaking in the Galaxy series, but never got around to getting a fully functional level or even anything similar.

Yes, I'm interested in switching over to the CK6 files and using them. I won't be able to produce a large amount of output as I'm on a pretty slim schedule and I'm also half-learning: things aren't new, but I'm yet to produce a functioning level. However, I'll be sure to send you something.
BBalazs
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Post by BBalazs »

I finally have the editor set up and working correctly, with only one more question left, for now:
How can I set up netkeen to use the graphics data of ck6? If I copy-paste audio and egagraph from keen6 v1.4 to netkeen's folder (and rename the extensions to ck5 for easier testing purposes), I get an error upon starting the game in dosbox - it's a sort of an out of memory error. I reckon I need some other files to get things working.

The error message is - just in case you find it useful: Quit: MM_GetPtr: Out of memory!
lemm
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memory errors

Post by lemm »

Starting the game, or starting the level?

Make sure you have EMS and XMS set to true. (Go to DOSBOX installation folder, run the file "edit dosbox options.bat" or something like that, and then search for ems, xms and ensure that they both = true.

Secondly, if your level is too big (meaning it has too many unique tiles and/or the dimensions are too big), the game won't be able to load it into memory. Make sure you always test your levels in a 4-player local game before netplaying. In-game, you can check how much memory remains by pressing F10+M.
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Ceilick
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Post by Ceilick »

You'll need a few more files in order to test your levels (I would have included them in the link before, but they weren't ready at the time).

Get them here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3654819/netkeen6%20files.zip


This also includes an update on the tile properties, so make sure you replace your previous one with this one.
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