CCCC OOOO M M M M AA N N DDD EEEE RRRR CC OO OO MM MM MM MM AAAA NN N D D E R R C O O M M M M M M M M A A N N N D D E E R R C O O M M M M M M AAAAAA N N N D D EE E RRRR CC OO OO M M M M M A A N NN D D E R R CCCC OOOO M M M M A A N N DDD EEEE R R K K EEEE EEEE N N K K E E NN N KKK E E E E N N N K KK EE E EE E N N N K K E E N NN K K EEEE EEEE N N COMMANDER KEEN NEWSLETTER :) Issue-8: October 31, 2002 Working Title: It's Romero (C) 2002 by Joseph Burke all rights reserved. All trademarks are properties of their respective owners. Warning: This document may not be distributed without permission. ----------------------------------------------- Newsletter Homepage: http://www.commanderkeen.net/cknews/ Newsletter Index: [1] Featured Articles [1.1] Romero Interview [1.2] Using ModKeen (part II of making a MOD) [2] Fan Game Reviews [2.1] "Captain Claw," is a Keenish game! [3] Website Reviews [3.1] 3D Realms Site [3.2] Monkeystone Games [3.3] id Software [4] Monthly Fiction [4.1] [5] Keen Community News [5.1] New mod! Wohooo! [5.2] Zorath's Keen Stuff [5.3] Is Keen Doomed? [5.4] Keen game vault... [5.5] Commander Keen 6 - "Aliens Ate My Babysitter" Walkthrough [5.6] New Keen art again... [5.7] Something about Shadowlands... [6] Miscellaneous Stuff [6.1] Fan Art (see the news for it) [6.2] Announcements [6.3] Credits ----------------------------------------------- [1] Featured Articles (We aren't looking for a permanent "Featured Article" writer at this time, but if you want us to publish an article for you, we'd be most obliged. Email us at "info@commanderkeen.net" about this.) [1.1] Romero Interview Don't forget to visit his website, http://rome.ro CK-Newsletter: Programming is something most people gawk at and consider hard, what do you think is appealing about it? Romero: The logic and structure is appealing, but so is the challenge of solving the problem you are creating. Even a game can be viewed as a problem to overcome, to figure out. You start out with an idea, clearly define what it is it should be, then break it down into the smallest pieces you can -- then solve that puzzle. Question: Are you into any athletic events, playing, watching them? Answer: Not really. I sometimes get into the Super Bowl and go to some games every once in a while, but it's not a hobby of mine. Question: You and Tom are or were going to teach a gaming class, how do feel about it? Answer: It's great. It's so fun teaching people how to create and what it takes to go from start to finish on a game project. Question: What interests in movies and TV shows do you have? Answer: I love a wide range of genres, but my favorites are sci-fi and horror movies. TV shows I like to watch are ER, Survivor, Night Gallery... I don't have much time for TV, but I do watch more than that. Question: Being a game maker, in what way do you view other peoples games? Answer: A lot like everyone else, except I have a critical eye on the design and coding style. I recognize innovations and notable achievements in a game and file those ideas for use later in my own stuff. Question: Do you draw anything for the games you work on these days? Answer: Yes, usually flow charts and code org charts. Question: When can we expect another great game from monkey stone? Answer: Pretty soon we'll be releasing Congo Cube on PC, Pocket PC and Smartphone. After that, we'll see. :) Question: Is there anything else you do at Monkey Stone other than programming? Answer: Making decisions for the business, helping to run the company (into the ground! Hahaha!) and definitely help with game design, audio work, etc. Question: Thanks for chatting :D Answer: No problem - I love talking about my work! ;) ---------------------- [1.2] Using ModKeen ARTICLE TWO - Using ModKeen Last month we covered how to use Andrew's Keen1-3 level editor, and this moth we'll talk about ModKeen. Anyway here are the files you'll need this time. (I recommend downloading these files now.) TedEdit (contains misc files for editing) http://commanderkeen.net/cknews/files/tededit.zip ModKeen (created by Andrew) http://commanderkeen.net/cknews/files/app8.zip TileInfo (created by Andrew) http://durdin.net/andy/keen/tileinfo.zip Make a directory somewhere on your computer and name it "modkeen," I chose to put mine here, "c:\modkeen\". Now open the "app8.zip" and take the file "modkeen.exe" and put it into the modkeen folder. Then go to your Keen1 folder and copy all the files there into the modkeen folder. The program modkeen is used to extract and import graphics from Keen1-3, however before we run modkeen lets decompress "keen1.exe" and do a few other things. (Decompressing keen1.exe isn't necessary to running modkeen, I just want it out of the way.) Make a temporary folder and place a copy of "Keen1.exe" into it. Then from the "tededit.zip" take the files, "UNLZEXE.EXE, and UNLZEXE" and place them in the folder too. Run "UNLZEXE.EXE" and in the window that comes up type Keen1 or whatever Keen# you want to decompress. Take the new Keen1.exe and replace the one in the modkeen folder with it, you can delete that temporary folder now too. We need to use a Command Prompt to run modkeen so lets open one. In Windows XP the Command Prompt is located at this address on the Start menu "programs\accessory\command prompt". (If it's not there do a search on your computer for cmd.exe, and run it.) After the prompt is open type in "cd\" and press enter/return; the command "cd" stands for change directory and we just told it to exit out of any directory that we might have started in. Then type "cd modkeen", which opens the modkeen folder on the C drive. Since modkeen will be extracting a lot of graphics we need to create a place for all those files, to do this we'll use the command "md" make directory. Type, "md pics" and press enter. (You can name the directory whatever you want.) Finally we can run modkeen! To export graphics we type, "modkeen e 1 pics\1pics.lst" and to import we type, "modkeen i 1 pics\1pics.lst". The "e" and the "i" of course mean export and import. The number after the "e" or "i" designates what Keen game it is, in this case we picked "1" because we're using Keen1. Then we entered the location of the folder we wanted all the pictures to be in, the file "1pics.lst" can be named anything want it to but it must have the extension "*.lst", so it could be "keen1pictures.lst" etc.. Now you can edit all the graphics for Keen1 except the ending screen, I'll probably cover editing it in the next article. Now we'll talk about a cool utility called TileInfo, that's used to do two different things. The first thing it will do is replace the graphics used for KeenWright so you can make levels using the tiles you designed. Second, and it's primary, purpose is to change the properties of the tiles for Keen1-3. Open "tileinfo.zip" and move the file "tileinfo.exe" into a subdirectory in modkeen. Then move a copy the decompressed "keen1.exe" into it's folder and copy the file "1TIL0000.bmp" from the pics folder into it too. Now run "tileinfo.exe" and click on the button titled "load tiles," and select "1TIL0000.bmp". Okay so now you can see all the tiles and select any of them with your mouse, when you select a tile it will show you what it knows about that tile on the right. At the moment none of the tiles have any properties other than what number they are, to get their properties click the button at the top titled "import" and select the "keen1.exe". Now all the tiles have the properties that they do in Keen1. BTW (by the way) this wouldn't have work unless we decompressed that exe as we did before. Lets say you've replaced some of the tiles for Keen1 and using TileInfo want to export them to replace the graphics in KeenWright. First copy the file "KEENEDIT.DAT" from KeenWrights folder into the folder tileinfo. Then in the upper right corner of the program Tileinfo choose the button that reads, "export dat" and select "KEENEDIT.DAT" then press enter. Then just replace the old "KEENEDIT.DAT" with the new one. That's all for the MOD related articles this month, short than last months but there really isn't much to importing and exporting stuff using modkeen. Next month we'll conclude our use with TileInfo and probably talk about the ending screen. The month after I may instruct you as best I can with some of the concepts behind making tiles and a tad on animation; at bests it'll be simple advice with some step to step visuals. - Forge ----------------------------------------------- [2] Fan Game Reviews (if you want your game reviewed please email "forge315@commanderKeen.net") Rating System Horrible (1-2) Bad (3-4) Okay (5-6) Good (7-8) Excellent! (9-10) [2.1] Captain Claw Game Rating: Excellent! Quality - 10/10 Originality - 10/10 Keenishness - 9/10 Overall - 10/10 This will be the first game review that has not been a Keen game, but I'm reviewing it because I enjoyed the demo just as I would an official Keen game. (Or because you didn't play any new Keen games this months. -small voice) Claw first landed on my hard drive about four months ago, it was only a two level demo but I still played it many times. It reminded me of Keen, though in a simpler fashion and without the pogo. Normally not having a pogo stick would definitely remove the Keen feel but this game makes up for it in action. You can throw barrels, destroy boxes and foes using kicks punches or one of the many weapons. Your kept very busy jumping around collecting points and destroying boxes that an exhilarated feeling, a Keenish feeling gets you! The weapons fit seamlessly with game play, one weapon of notability is the flame sword, flowing with the action it's colorful flames mesmerize you into the game and it's Keenish tentacles. Also laden on the surface of each level is simple but very Keenish art, the foes along with this all look great! Anybody who's a Keen fan should enjoy this game, you must play it! :) You can find the official Claw homepage here, and download the demo! http://www.captainclaw.com/ And buy the game here, if you like it. http://store.lith.com/ - Forge315 ----------------------------------------------- [3] Website Reviews (If you want your website reviewed, please email "yorpy@commanderkeen.net") Rating System Horrible (1-2) Bad (3-4) Okay (5-6) Good (7-8) Excellent! (9-10) [3.1] 3D Realms Site http://www.3drealms.com Site Rating: Excellent Quality - 10/10 Originality - 10/10 Keenishness - N/A Overall - 10/10 This is the offical site for 3D Realms, better known as Apogee to some Commander Keen fans. From this company you can buy the first 5 games and other classic Apogee games. The site has a nice design and some really cool features. There is the Camera Captioning Contest and the forums where you can talk to other crazed fans of 3D Realms's games. As for Commander Keen there is info, screenshots, and some fanart for the games. Along with an article on the history of Keen that came out on its ten year anniversary. It's worth a visit if you want to learn more about the company and I've had a lot of fun on the forums. - Yorpy ---------------------- [3.2] Monkeystone Games http://www.monkeystone.com Site Rating: Excellent Quality - 10/10 Originality - 10/10 Keenishness - 10/10 Overall - 10/10 John Romero and Tom Hall currently work for this company that produces games for handheld devices. One of their most popular titles being Hyperspace Delivery Boy. Some of the games have been ported to the PC and demos can be downloaded of them. The site is visually pleasing. I think the navigation bar at the top is very cool especially the monkey. And besides being cool looking the bar makes it easy to go to the different parts of the site quickly. The site is worth a visit to find out what these two are working on these days and to download the demos and try their games. - Yorpy ---------------------- [3.3] id Software http://www.idsoftware.com Site Rating: Excellent Quality - 9/10 Originality - 10/10 Keenishness - N/A Overall - 9/10 This is the website for the company that developed Commander Keen. It was recently redesigned and now has the pictures correctly done in the sections on Commander Keen. The site looks nice. The way most of the links and such are made to look like handwriting gives the site a cool feel. A navigation bar and a search box make it easy to find what you are looking for. There is not really much content devoted to the older games though. If you are not interested in id's newer games like Quake and RTCW then this site is probably not going to be worth visiting. - Yorpy ----------------------------------------------- [4] Monthly Fiction [4.1] ----------------------------------------------- [5] Keen Community News I'm really sorry about last month. :( Well, here's your news for this month! - KeenRush [5.1] New mod! Wohooo! Keener called Celick has made a new Commander Keen 1 mod! It's called Keen crash on Gobo III. You can find it from Commander Keen Vault: http://www.commanderkeen.net/keenvault/tckfc/downloads/modifications/kcog3/kcog3 .zip And find some info here: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpimentogamedevelopment.showMessage?topicID=54 7.topic ---------------------- [5.2] Zorath's Keen Stuff A Keen fan called Zorath has made a site where you can find some cool Keen stuff what he has done. For example Quake 1 Keen skin, Dopefish game and some other things. Go there now: http://www20.brinkster.com/te87/ ---------------------- [5.3] Is Keen Doomed? Maybe, because some doomers are making Doom 2 TC with Commander Keen theme. Here's a topic about it, though it isn't posted by those doomers: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpubliccommanderkeenforumothercommanderkeenstu ff.showMessage?topicID=476.topic And here's the link for the project site: http://www.freewebs.com/keenisdoomed/ ---------------------- [5.4] Keen game vault... Here's some Keen game news for this month... Hope you like them. :) Keen fan called sinistercreature asks help for his new Keen game. http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpimentogamedevelopment.showMessage?topicID=58 7.topic GooberMan, who is making 3D Keen game has progressed. Find more from these topics: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpimentogamedevelopment.showMessage?topicID=59 0.topic http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpimentogamedevelopment.showMessage?topicID=58 5.topic He also needs Keen 3D model, read more here: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpimentogamedevelopment.showMessage?topicID=57 7.topic New Keener in the forums called Killspy, is working on with his 3D Keen game. Name of the game is The New Episodes of Commander Keen. Read more here: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpimentogamedevelopment.showMessage?topicID=57 4.topic Keener called therealdopefish told us that his Keen game RKP3 can take a little longer to make: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpimentogamedevelopment.showMessage?topicID=58 4.topic ---------------------- [5.5] Commander Keen 6 - "Aliens Ate My Babysitter" Walkthrough KeenCommander's brother has done a very cool walkthrough for Keen 6. It isn't like the usual walkthroughs, check it out yourself: http://cosmicoding.com/Keendom/default.asp?BaseType=Articles:Feature ---------------------- [5.6] New Keen art again... Keen fans has done some really cool art again. Enjoy! :) Berkeloid by Xtraverse: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpubliccommanderkeenforumothercommanderkeenstu ff.showMessage?topicID=477.topic Yorp on Mars by.. Xtraverse again! That's very cool: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpubliccommanderkeenforumothercommanderkeenstu ff.showMessage?topicID=475.topic Manboy has done a cool wallpaper: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpubliccommanderkeenforumothercommanderkeenstu ff.showMessage?topicID=460.topic Other wallpaper by Manboy, where is yorp: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpubliccommanderkeenforumothercommanderkeenstu ff.showMessage?topicID=454.topic ---------------------- [5.7] Something about Shadowlands... Ilsoap has posted a topic about his awe-cool-some Flash cartoon Shadowlands. Check this topic out: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpubliccommanderkeenforumothercommanderkeenstu ff.showMessage?topicID=449.topic And don't forget Shadowlands' (just opened) website: http://www.angelfire.com/emo/shadowlands/ ---------------------- Well, see you again in the next issue! ;) - KeenRush ----------------------------------------------- [6] Miscellaneous Stuff [6.1] Fan Art (see the news for it) Next month there will be a scan of the GBC Keen manual and box. - Forge ---------------------- [6.2] Announcements A blue fellow looked down on a green fellow who was standing on a brown fellow that was running around another really big yellow fellow. That was easy huh, bluntly obvious you say -- didn't even have to tell you it was riddle! Arg, *bites teeth* you can't talk to me that way! Why I'll just have to come up with something better, you'll see, miracles do happen. - Forge315 ---------------------- [6.3] Credits Too Much Spare Time: some Proofreading KeenRush: The news MRCMarky/AEWorld: away at the moment Yorpy: Website reviews Forge315: Newsletter composition Other thanks: The heroic programmer Romero for talking with us! ----------------------------------------------- "Swim swim hungry, swim swim hungry." Burp!