Keen 8: Dead in the Desert

Showcase your completed mod here!
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Ceilick
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Keen 8: Dead in the Desert

Post by Ceilick »

It's complete, get it and comment here:

http://pckf.rigeltechnical.com/viewtopic.php?t=762
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shikadi
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Post by shikadi »

i know what i am going to do today
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Tulip
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Post by Tulip »

Aw, I'm not the first, but I'll post the first response here on K:M.

Help is working on my vista by the way.
Stealthy71088
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Post by Stealthy71088 »

Gosh darn it all, my copy of keen 6 is at home!!!!! ARGGGHHH!!!!


I was afraid you had abandoned this. I'm so happy it came out.
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Ceilick
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Post by Ceilick »

No sweat, I included the Keen6.exe in the download :) *Shifts eyes* hope that doesn't bother anyone...
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shikadi
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Post by shikadi »

yes it does.... not

this mod is great (and thats an understatement like "smile is a bit difficult" is an understatement.)
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The Shifted One
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Post by The Shifted One »

Holy ass I gotta try this out, now! :P
Benvolio
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Post by Benvolio »

(the main discussion about this seems to be on pckf but i'm not on the pckf hence posting here)

Wow. Incredible. No-one needs me to give a blow-by-blow account but here's what most amazed me:
-the ingenuity of the splitting/diverging/converging sloped platforms... unlucky for iD they couldnt come up with that, a simple, aesthetic insight that makes the game that little bit more neat without making any difference to gameplay
-the water molecule with the key in it-wow!!
-sloping secret passageways - who would have thought?
-the lava deluges - prehaps not the most realistic thing ever but still really cool
-the map and map-related items, if possible they surpass the amazing keen6
... and countless other details

A few minor issues:
My measly computer gave me 'insufficient memory' on a few levels and regularly quit me to DOS. So it was F10-W and F10-N all the way, unfortunalely.
Also, F1 didnt seem to load any help/story, was that intentional??
And finally, killer flects?? that's cruel!!!

All in all, 8.75/10 is my verdict!
Mink
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Post by Mink »

Benvolio wrote:Also, F1 didnt seem to load any help/story, was that intentional??
Unfortunately, you can't even do this in regular Keen 6. The external CHM file has to be accessed from outside the game.
Stealthy71088
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Post by Stealthy71088 »

I had memory problems too. I find if I load it in dosbox it works fine.


I really like it so far! I've only had a chance to play the first 5 levels, but I really like it. Your secret areas are very well hidden- maybe its because I'm playing on hard so I can't jump as high, but its very hard for me to get to all of the secrets. I can't figure out how to get those glasses incased in that block in the first level.
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Ceilick
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Post by Ceilick »

Thanks for the comments, Benvolio!

That flying key gem was actually and accident discovered by levellass while we're were trying to patch the orbatrix (yes, thats the orbatrix!) to do something else. I liked this result a lot too.

Unfortunately, you're pretty much required to run the mod in dosbox in order to access the whole thing. Sorry if this is a problem :\

The F1 feature isn't in the original Keen 6, but there is an external help file designed by Mink.

Haha, killer flects, yes, very cruel but I think a needed challenge in those later levels. They're actually easy to kill if you jump over them and shoot down ;)

Glad you're enjoying, Stealthy :) For the glasses in the first level, read the help and the general hints and tips readme ;)
Benvolio
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Post by Benvolio »

Hmm actually playing video games has never quite been my forte in life, i dont think i've ever succeeded in killing a normal keen6 flect despite many attempts.

My bad over the F1 help thing, i recall that now!

Yeah i used to have loads of clever things to overcome memory problems in dos, all sorts of HIMEM.SYS commands, but then i put 2GB ram into my pc, and in convincing windows 98 to see that ram I must have removed those commands. Might look into using dosbox on someone else's machine, i've never used it before.

Anyhow back to Keen8, which is a truly great modding release, I'm off to play it again!!!
levellass
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Post by levellass »

Indeed a wonderful and inventive mod; I enjoyed it all the way through. (Especially the many small tiles bugs, I'm so doomed when my mod comes out :p) All-in-all, I think it's fair to say, Best Keen Mod Ever.

Start-to-crate time: No cliche containers or stock items in the mod, your tiles are an inspiration.

Graphics: Top notch, indeed, the only letdown in the mod was the things you *didn't* change, there was room for even more awesomeness to be packed into it. You have a talent for creating random, zany backgrounds and tiles that nevertheless *work; the bright colors in the later levels were a brilliant contrast to the reds and browns of earlier ones.

I can see three main themes in this mod, desert, cave, and waterworks, each one is brilliantly done (And there's a surprisingly limited amount of water in the hydro areas.)

The sprites are really well done too, it took me some time to count up all the Blooglet replacements (Are those Blooglets? Maybe they kill me...) You had unique ways of making things move, they rolled, slid,, crawled and even tumbled, instead of the usual walk. What that I could be so inventive.

Patching: I KNOW how good this is, since I did most of it, but there are things in this mod that I would never have thought of without your suggestions and questions. You changed the whole story and object of the mod by carefully altering enemy's behaviors and actions in unique ways.

Documentation: The external help file was an interesting touch, if ever I do a Keen 6 mod I shall have to make note of it. It retains the classic Keen style, while still being useful and informative. Plus this we have a hints sheet, a credits sheet and a keen wiki page. Nothing is left out here!

The story is interesting and holds together well, with an ending you could just see coming (And yet... not quite that way.) All your plot elements work well together and make for a riveting experience.

Levels: These differ from Keen 6, and also from many mod levels (Including my own) in that they are very 'natural'; there is a distinct lack of box-ness or room like feel, with most levels mixing smoothly between places and areas, like what nature itself does. Your slopes and backgrounds are enviable, and really set the mood.

Gameplay: By necessity similar to Keen 6 on which it is based, but you have many nifty tricks up your sleeve, the innovative new platforms (Changing the rock levels into something like Bloogton tower crossed with Office Block from Biomenace, but unique from both of them.) your use of sloped secret passages (What an idea... YOINK!) and hidden passages in floors. The lava waterfalls too are interesting and something not seen before (But that will probably be seen since.)

Map: How, how HOW did you get your map to be so engaging? Krodacia's map had a flat, typical feel, but here we have a mixture of environments and textures that make you believe that Keen really is wandering in some sort of desert.

TOTAL: 9.9/10; It doesn't get better than this!
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Ceilick
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Post by Ceilick »

Thanks Levellass :D
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XkyRauh
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Post by XkyRauh »

AWESOME!!!!!

This beats the pants off of Keys of Krodacia, and feels like a completely fresh game. :) EXCELLENT work in scenery design, setting, feel, and gameplay. You really did a Keen job on this one, Ceilick!!!

The first few levels took me right into the desert atmosphere, and I thought to myself "Wow, this feels really great, but it's going to get monotonous quickly, seeing all this yellow and nothing else..." and what did you do? You answered that complaint right away by changing the scenery to Red underground caves! :) And just when I thought THAT was going to get tiresome, I had all these Blue factory innards to explore! Sweet!

The enemies were all plain and simple enemies--there was no ambiguity or mystery as to what was going to hurt me and what wasn't. THANK YOU for that. :)

The levels were thoughtfully put together, and the backtracking wasn't nearly as heavy as other KeenMods. The flow of each level was clean and not confusing. There were only a handful of confusing places (what did that switch do? Where does that elevator go?) but for the most part everything was intuitive.

Truth be told, I forgot this was a Keen6 mod at first--I encountered the first Cobrit and wondered how you managed to patch together the Lick and the Poison Slug, and was completely confounded when I first found the blue alien things (Sand Wraith?), I thought "Oh neat, he ripped the BipShip code from Keen6, and found a way to juggle it into Keen4--Ceilick and LL must be REALLY getting the hang of patching now!" ...It wasn't until I got quake-stomped by one of the Stompers that I realized "Oh, this IS Keen6... right." :)

Minor complaints:
You distributed Keen6.exe; that thing's not shareware! :P
The hint file gives tips on fighting the impostor Keen; way to spoil the plot!!
Why did I have to keep killing those awesome Scrub-like bots, the Breshes? :(

Funny things that happened to me:
Hanging from a ledge, waiting for an enemy to patrol the other way, when a Squib wandered by beneath me and leapt up to snatch me off the edge. Bew-bew-bew. :(
Accidentally finding the shortcut to the Blue Gem in the Lava Lake. Thank goodness I did--the design of that level is cruel!
Shooting the fake Keen a bunch so he charges me, pogoing straight up and shooting down at him so he charges away, back the way he came. :) Outsmarted ya, buddy!

Sorry it took me so long to play through it; I didn't have a lot of time to myself until today. :) This is truly a polished Keen:Galaxy mod.

THREE CHEERS FOR CEILICK (and all those who helped make this possible)!!!
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