Keen 9: Battle of the Brains

You can discuss anything about fan-made Commander Keen games here.
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Eros
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Post by Eros »

the point i'm trying to make is refuting Syllepryde's belief about how those 3 monsters are difficult to think of replacements for, as with a little bit of inspiration (grappling hook, garbage compacter, electricity), all manner of enemies can be replaced.
StupidBunny wrote:
kuliwil wrote:I wish that oa;fdjgnae;ogubneaogiearh;igbnerfgoajfsgoefnh
Granted. You have just had a severe stroke.
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MOM4Evr
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Post by MOM4Evr »

Syllypryde wrote:You had mentioned that a few enemies (spirogrip, sphereful and the slicestar) would be difficult to patch
Eros: The problem wasn't thinking of new enemies, just making them act like new enemies rather than cheap replacements of the old ones. ;)
But this I imagine they have pulled off really well.
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The Keen Commander
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Post by The Keen Commander »

drastically improved a couple levels' designs
Just a crazy idea, but would it be possible after the game's released to release a couple of the original level designs that got reworked (or maybe levels that ended up getting scrapped if there are any)?

Also, I think I'd prefer a screenshot or two to a video if there's going to be more previews...a video, I feel would give away too much in terms of level design whereas a screenshot could be incredibly vague in that sense, yet still generate some excitement and anticipation (as if we need any more of that).
I'd like to get a Futurama mod going. Here's what I've got so far:
Image
http://www.pckf.com/viewtopic.php?t=2152
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Post by Ceilick »

Without revealing too much, were you able to come up with some creative options to make this boss battle more epic?


Yes :mortlol
You also mentioned disabling the cheat codes until people PM'ed and proved they completed the game legitimately. Did you still plan to do this?
For the first week or two, cheats will be disabled. Originally I considered reenabling cheats for those who evidenced they'd beaten the game, however, I'm leaning against this now; two weeks aren't that long to wait and plenty of exploration etc can be done without cheats in that time.
Were you able to achieve a viable use for all the enemies? You had mentioned that a few enemies (spirogrip, sphereful and the slicestar) would be difficult to patch them to be more interesting enemies because of their severe limits in movement. Were you able to solve this problem?
The enemy behaviors, in total, are more variable from the originals than in either Keen 7 or 8.
shikadi masters are sufficient for a Mort boss, as they can move around nearly randomly, they can shoot bouncing balls of energy and unleash lightning across the floor.
Shikadi masters would make a good boss, however, they are significantly less dangerous than what we have planned.
would it be possible after the game's released to release a couple of the original level designs that got reworked (or maybe levels that ended up getting scrapped if there are any)?
Off the top of my head I can only think of 3 or 4 levels that could be released in this way, however, these changes are either subtle or for the express purpose of making the level fun: they'd only be interesting in terms of seeing how the level design progressed and not so much in terms of gameplay. Releasing them is possible though.
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Eros
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Post by Eros »

following what you said, what if there were 5 shikadi masters in 1 medium sized room? after they are all beaten, it says some anticlimatic text about keen walking up to Mort and punching him in the face. :lol it won't be the most climatic, but humor counts for a lot.

if not, can you list what exactly you're thinking of in terms of danger, because there is no room in the QED that is safe from the SM.
StupidBunny wrote:
kuliwil wrote:I wish that oa;fdjgnae;ogubneaogiearh;igbnerfgoajfsgoefnh
Granted. You have just had a severe stroke.
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Post by Syllypryde »

Eros wrote:following what you said, what if there were 5 shikadi masters in 1 medium sized room? after they are all beaten, it says some anticlimatic text about keen walking up to Mort and punching him in the face. :lol it won't be the most climatic, but humor counts for a lot.

if not, can you list what exactly you're thinking of in terms of danger, because there is no room in the QED that is safe from the SM.
I believe it could have been Mink but I could be wrong, around the time BOTB first began development, he and I discussed a humoress idea for the Keen Vs. Mortimer final battle. They may be intellectual giants, but physically both of them are a couple of weaklings. So we thought it would be funny that instead of having an epic battle like everyone would expect, they would engage in a "chick fight" and slap each other like a couple of sissies!!! :p
.niarb ym fo
snoitulovnoc eht tuaba
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rehgih a ekil smees
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Post by Ceilick »

The shikadi master would have to be patched significantly from the original since:

The Shikadi Master is actually very picky about where it will teleport to. As far as I can tell, the rooms must be a certain length and a certain height or else it won't go to them (the size of the room depends on how big the master is, I think)

The master, more often than not in my experience, will stand still rather than teleport. This means he's not moving around much and essentially just stands there waiting to be shot and, every once and awhile, will take the initiative to shoot first if it notices keen (it might be possible to patch him to be more aggressive).

Just because the master teleports, doesn't mean he's actually going anywhere. Often he'll just drop down in the same spot for a repeat performance of getting hit by a bullet, shooting back, and then maybe teleporting elsewhere (I don't think this can be fixed).

The master doesn't move around other than by teleportation. Once he appears, the player can assume he's going to be there until he shoots at which point he might teleport to a new location or the same one.

It's hard to explain why any of the above isn't as dangerous as the boss battle we have planned without revealing what the battle is, but I hope the above at least hints at why the master wasn't chosen. :)
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Eros
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Post by Eros »

what if he was made so that only 1 frame or so in a 5-frame cycle allows him to be hit? that could increase the amount of bullets required to actually hit him, compared to spamming shots at it.
StupidBunny wrote:
kuliwil wrote:I wish that oa;fdjgnae;ogubneaogiearh;igbnerfgoajfsgoefnh
Granted. You have just had a severe stroke.
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Deltamatic
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Post by Deltamatic »

Ceilick. You know that post above the last post you made on this thread? I have fallen in love with that post. She said yes and the wedding will be in March.

Highlights are:
Ceilick wrote:
Without revealing too much, were you able to come up with some creative options to make this boss battle more epic?

Yes Mort LOL
YES.
Ceilick wrote:For the first week or two, cheats will be disabled. Originally I considered reenabling cheats for those who evidenced they'd beaten the game, however, I'm leaning against this now; two weeks aren't that long to wait and plenty of exploration etc can be done without cheats in that time.
SEE ABOVE.
Ceilick wrote:The enemy behaviors, in total, are more variable from the originals than in either Keen 7 or 8.
AHAHAHAHAHA
Ceilick wrote:Shikadi masters would make a good boss, however, they are significantly less dangerous than what we have planned.
OH SWEET HEAVEN YES.

Forget about highlights the entire post was the highlight.
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Cuetlachtli
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Post by Cuetlachtli »

Thanks for opening this topic.
Ceilick wrote:To address Cuetlachtli's request in the other thread,
Cuetlachti wrote:change the sound of picking the ammo because it is much louder than other sounds
I'd prefer not to change the sound, even to lower the volume for several reasons. I'd like it to sound the same as episodes 4-8, I'm not sure lowering the volume is possible without changing the sound completely, and the project has a lot of issues with sounds already.
But this sound just doesn't fit. Well not exactly sound but the volume of this sound. It is much louder than other sounds. And we have this situation in Keen 4 and Keen 5. In Keen 6 there is new sound of picking ammo and it is much lower. It fit the game perfectly. So I think that in Keens 4-5 it was just an error with that loud sound of picking ammo. Why not correct the error?


Also I would like to ask about the final level in Keen 9. Is it going to be in the style of the final level from Keen 8? I honestly didn't like that level. It was too short. Only boss, 4 ammos and that's it... Please make bigger the final level, so it will take some effort to get to the boss.
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Post by Ceilick »

what if he was made so that only 1 frame or so in a 5-frame cycle allows him to be hit? that could increase the amount of bullets required to actually hit him, compared to spamming shots at it.
This could be done, but would require some kind of visual cue to tip the player off when it can be shot. Farely easy to do, but still not the direction picked.
Forget about highlights the entire post was the highlight.
:D
Why not correct the error?
Well, took be some time, but I've manged to lower the volume without corrupting the sound (not really a simple task).
Also I would like to ask about the final level in Keen 9. Is it going to be in the style of the final level from Keen 8? I honestly didn't like that level. It was too short. Only boss, 4 ammos and that's it... Please make bigger the final level, so it will take some effort to get to the boss.
All I'll say is that neither Mink, Tulip, or myself have managed to beat the boss level without saving.

Also, Cuetlachtli, please resize your avatar :)
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Roobar
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Post by Roobar »

Now that the game is almost over, what is the overall gameplay time?

As you are waiting for the patch and Keen 9 is the last episode of the TUIT series, would you consider releasing the game in an episodic format? I.e. Keen 9: part 1 with most of the already done levels and Keen 9: part 2 with new levels and the boss level? You've already got the graphics and the enemies, and with your ability to make 100+ levels in less than two weeks, it will be a piece of cake for you.
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Eros
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Post by Eros »

i'm not trying to hijack the thread, but is it possible to have multiple minibosses, automatically completing their stages once they're killed?
StupidBunny wrote:
kuliwil wrote:I wish that oa;fdjgnae;ogubneaogiearh;igbnerfgoajfsgoefnh
Granted. You have just had a severe stroke.
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Cuetlachtli
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Post by Cuetlachtli »

Ceilick wrote:Well, took be some time, but I've manged to lower the volume without corrupting the sound (not really a simple task).
Tlamahuizoltic! Now I know that when I'll play Keen 9:
- I won't have to lower the volume and not be able to listen to music and other sounds,
OR
- Be afraid that I'll wake everybody up when I'll pick the ammo while playing at normal volume.

:P
Ceilick wrote:All I'll say is that neither Mink, Tulip, or myself have managed to beat the boss level without saving.
Now that sounds promising! :vikeen
Ceilick wrote:Also, Cuetlachtli, please resize your avatar :)
Yeah, sorry for that. Lots of forums change sizes of avatars automatically and I thought that this one does it too.
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Grimson
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Post by Grimson »

All I'll say is that neither Mink, Tulip, or myself have managed to beat the boss level without saving.
A challenge is it? :mort
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