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-14: Apr 30, 2003 Working Title: That KeenRush Guy (C) 2002-2003 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] KeenRush has returned! To talk about his new mod [2] Fan Game Reviews [2.1] Bruce Lee (old game for Commodore 64) [3] Website Reviews [3.1] Justin's Really Keen Page [3.2] Commander Keendom (re-review) [3.3] Elton's Commander Keen Page [4] Monthly Fiction [4.1] Chapter 6 of Chris' great story [5] Keen Community News [5.1] Dopefission! * swim swim hungry * [5.2] Keen goes 3D... [5.3] Mods - screenshots!! [5.4] Some Keen project news... :) [5.5] Spotlight on Scizor CT! :) [5.6] Patchotron 1.4... [5.7] Keen boxes... [5.8] Commander Keen on the fone! :) [6] Miscellaneous Stuff [6.1] Fan Art [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] KeenRush has returned! To talk about his new mod KeenRush: Your first MOD was a big success, did this surprise you and how do you think your second mod will do? Answer: Hmmm, I didn't know it was a success, but ofcourse it suprised me! :) It was big thing for me to hear nice comments about it, since it really was my Keen dream that has come true. Oh, I haven't seen anything Keen dream, but.. Garg, why the one word means two things?! Well, anyways, I mean that I have always wanted to create something to Keen since I was small kid, and it was my first chance to make levels, art and stuff like that to my favourite platform game. It was just so cool, because I have always wanted to do so! It's very fun to play original Keen 1, look around it and remember the time when I was small kid and played it a lot and wanted to change stuff, and then play own mod and see how things have changed and realize how dream has come true! :) But now when you look it - many things could be done other way, but well, I like it myself, and it's nice to try new stuff; the mod I am now making, is totally different than my previous one, and mods after that.. They will be different also! Well, I think people will like my second mod more - it will be a lot more detailed and stuff like that, and my drawing style has changed and lot's of better! ;) Question: What is the story for your second MOD? Please just tell us something, :) Answer: Well, to be honest, I really haven't thought this one a lot! *blush* But don't worry, I will sometime complete the story of it! So, won't say anything yet, because it can change a lot! :) Question: How much of the MOD is complete and when do you think it’ll be released? Answer: Hmmm, something 40% I think, and I hope that I can release it on my birthday 8th June, but can be that it won't be released then - the last month in this scool is going to be pretty busy.. :) Well, in summer at least.. Question: What is your approach to level design this time around, do the levels have a theme base? I'm not really sure.. Question: Graphically this MOD will be different, can you explain these differences and what to expect? Answer: Well, the main differences are, that there I have tried to draw stuff thinking that light comes from left. Things will have shadowing a bit and black lines all over them, hard to explain.. I have spent more time drawing the art this time and so on.. Well, you can expect nice 16-coloured graphics with many animations.. :) Question: In your opinion, what does it take to make a good MOD? Answer: Many people would write here story, but I don't care so much about the story. I think that good graphics with levels without bugs (I mean errors with that word, not enemies!!). Also, patching is nice - and clever never before seen ideas! Question: Are you working on any other projects right now or have you thought about what you’ll do once this one is complete? Answer: Actually, I have some other Keen related projects now too, but I don't tell anything about them, because they're secret, before they maybe ever don't get released.. :) But talking about next projects after this mod - I have already some new mod planned, and the first I start with MRC Marky, and after then I make one myself. For that I've got great ideas and cool plans.. :) Question: In a couple years we can only hope that Keen3.5-6 MODs will be possible, do you think you will create a MOD for one of them then? Answer: Sure, I will make mods as long as I can! But more I prefer Keen 1-3 modding, but it's nice to try what you can do with those others. I think that Keen 3.5 would be coolest one to mod - throwing "bombs", boss enemy, and stuff like that.. Too bad that there are some bugs and stuff like that - but whatever, it sounds great! And maybe something for Keen 6 later - it has many good things to edit! :) Question: You joined the Keen community over a year ago, what’s your opinion about it? Answer: I like it very much, too bad for me that I can't post as much as often, because "they" set me a posting limit. Well, I admit, I maybe posted a bit too much, but if I could get it off I wouldn't post "useless" posts anymore - it's annoying now that many important replies and other posts will never be posted. :( It's very nice that there is Keen community, it wouldn't be as fun to make mods and other stuff if others wouldn't see them. :) And they're nice mates too.. Question: What have you done since you joined the community? Answer: Posted, made Keen site (and redesign for it many times), played Keen a lot, updated news of my site, worked on this Newsletter, made a mod and working now with some Keen projects. Too bad that there aren't much more - many things I've quietly worked are lost.. Stopped and deleted from hard drive.. :) Oh, and some levels too.. Question: It’s safe to say you like old computer games, what are some of your favorite? Answer: Well, I'll remember last time I was interviewed with this Newsletter, I said that I played some of those olde first person shooters, but now I don't play them anymore, for some reason I have started to hate them! Well, currently I like these games: all Keens, Wacky Wheels, Duke Nukum, Duke Nukem II, Cosmo, Crystal Caves and maybe some others.. Seems that there are coming newer and newer games, and I play older and older games. :) CK-Newsletter: Been good talking to you, later! KeenRush: Thanks, and see you later! :) ----------------------------------------------- [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] Planet Destruction Game Rating: Good! Quality - 10/10 Originality - 7/10 Keenishness - 6/10 Overall - 7/10 download game here: http://www.commanderkeen.net/files/other3.zip (will be uploaded tomorrow, or download from link below) And a website: www.planetflibble.com/blitz This game was originally created for the Commodore 64, and few people probably remember it these days. However it was not completely forgotten, a few years ago in October 2001, a remake was released. This new version was phenomenal, and was made by a big fan of the game, Mark Rosten. Here’s a bit of words Mark wrote in the read-me file about the game, “Thinking back to my humble gaming origins, no game brings back such fond memories as Bruce Lee on the Commodore 64. I'm not sure what it was about this game that I loved so much, was it the simplicity of the gameplay? The awesome graphics and sound? (They weren't that bad when this game was released, believe me.) Or the simultaneous 2-player mode with the unforgettable Yamo?” lets add, that the first things that caught me about the game, when first playing it as a little kid, was everything Mark listed above. (Below is reminiscence nothing more, though if that’s your thing, read on. You can blame Mark; he said everything great there was to mention!) When I first played this game, I did not get to play. No instead, I watched a couple of by buddies at the time fiddle with it for about half an hour. They were not mean, do not misunderstand; but instead I sucked big time, so my turns ended quickly. When I did get to play though, the world would changed: I could not hear anything that was said, the screen would morph around me, and the only constant in my universe was the little tap, tap of Bruce Lee’s feet. This had to be love, not only did it mesmerize like a girl would, but it was fun to spend time with. Soon enough I got a burned copy for my own Commodore, I played and played the game and it never got boring. During the summer my parents could not afford air-conditioning, so it would get very hot; beads of sweat would grow swelling like a pimple and drip down on the keyboard. The game had no limit for entertaining me other than fatigue, and even that just barely. Losing track of time sitting in front of an old Commodore, was common, summer had no other meaning to me. The concept of even going outside was like taking a trip to the moon. However there was a fateful day, yes the day – the day, the Commodore stopped working… It had over heated, because somebody spent too much time on it, and my parents said they were not going to replace it. The end of the world had come, I had not done anything else but play games for months, was there anything else? However it was not the end of the world for long, I got a 286 next Christmas, and found an even greater love playing Commander Keen which I had first seen earlier that fall. So Keeners, all great roots, at least in my life, lead to Commander Keen. It was probably for the best that the rest the summer had to be spent outside, new meaning was found in falling out of trees and getting scratches. Fell out of one to many trees, right? Well forget you. :) - 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] Justin's Really Keen Page Site Rating: Excellent Quality - 9/10 Originality - 10/10 Keenishness - 7/10 Overall - 9/10 http://gothmog.homeip.net:8000/keen/ This site actually has things I haven't seen a ton of times on every other Commander Keen site out there. Sections on the site include where to find all the 1UPs in the games, cheat codes, downloads, and ascii art. The cheat code section appears to be very detailed and probably the most complete you'll find. In the downloads section you can find multitudes of places to download the shareware games, some downloads for Commander Keen themed icons and cursors, and some Keen 1 levels that I assume were made by Justin. Another part of the site is the Dopefish Division where you can download a lot of dopefish things ranging from boot screens to those magic eyes things. Also there are some dopefish jokes and some more ascii art. - Yorpy ---------------------- [3.2] Commander Keendom (re-review) Site Rating: Excellent Quality - 10/10 Originality - 9/10 Keenishness - 9/10 Overall - 9/10 http://cosmicoding.com/Keendom/ Since this site was reviewed in December many of the sections that were empty have been filled in making it a great resource for Commander Keen fans. Also KeenRush has started doing the news for the site so you can probably expect frequent updates. - Yorpy ---------------------- [3.3] Elton's Commander Keen Page Site Rating: Horrible Quality - 2/10 Originality - 1/10 Keenishness - 2/10 Overall - 1/10 http://www.angelfire.com/ks/eltonskeen/ This site is really bad. There is nothing really worthwhile to look at. Most of the site is links to other sites. The downloads page is painful to look at (MY EYEZ!@!@#@!) and none of the links work on that either. I'm not really sure what Elton was aiming to do with this site but it didn't turn out very well. - Yorpy ----------------------------------------------- [4] Monthly Fiction [4.1] Chapter 6 of Chris' great story Chapter 6 Keen stared at the other Commander Keen's Neural Stunner pointed at him, ready to fire. The other Keen began a countdown. "Ten... nine... eight... seven... six..." "All right! Let me explain!" Keen cried. The other Keen's weapon stayed in place, but he stopped his countdown. "I'm listening." "Okay..." Keen began, "This may be really hard to believe, but I'm... you." The other Keen didn't flinch. "That explains the outfit, but not the green cyclops in it." "Well, okay, what happened was that I was on Io - Jupiter's moon - with Spot, giving him some free time to play. I threw him his favorite stick, he went to fetch it, but instead of coming back with the stick, he came back with this black metal thing that I found out later from Mortimer that it was called a Merger, and..." The other Keen's eyes rolled when he heard the first name of Mortimer McMire. "Argh. Not him again..." "Yeah." Keen replied. "So, anyways, I went to take the Merger from Spot to take a look at it, but as soon as I touched it there was a blinding light, and I guess I fell down, because when I came to, I was on the ground with a bit of a headache. Spot was gone, and I tried to find him, but I kept tripping. I eventually got back to the Bean-with-Bacon Megarocket, but when I got there, Mortimer came over the Intercom and told me that I should look in a mirror. I did, and found out that I had been merged with Spot! So I..." Keen told the rest of his story. The other Keen raised an eyebrow. "Forgive me if I don't entirely believe you." "Okay... then I'll prove it." Keen looked at the small yorp standing at the other Keen's side. "Hey, Norp, your cousin Hermuk says hello." Norp's eye widened. "Hey, how do you know Hermuk? And how come you're able to communicate with me and this guy can't?" "It's a long story," Keen replied. Keen looked at the other Keen again. "You've never been able to talk to your pet yorp, right?" The other Keen nodded, and said "Yeah, that's right. I've barely been able to even get him to do simple tricks." "Okay, then watch this." Keen said. He talked to Norp again. "Norp, could you please jump up in the air for me?" "Um, all right." Norp replied. He jumped in the air several times. "Now, roll over." Keen said. "WHAT?!?" Norp said, alarmed. "Just work with me here, will ya?" Keen pleaded. "Well, okay, but if this is one of Hermuk's practical jokes..." Norp, sat down and rolled around on the ground. "Hey!" the other Keen said. "He's doing tricks!" "Because I told him too. When I got merged with Spot, I found I could talk to yorps!" Keen explained. The other Keen didn't say anything for awhile, trying to understand it all. "If you don't believe me, why don't you quiz me? See if I really am you?" Keen suggested. "All right," the other Keen said. "What's my IQ?" "Easy, 314." Keen replied. "What type of pogo stick do I have?" "A Razor Pogo Stick, model #6033069." "When did I first meet Mortimer McMire?" "You were four years old, and met him in Oak Street Preschool for Gifted Children." "What was the first thing he said when he saw me?" "I believe it was 'You wanna play some Lego with me?' " "Close enough. Have I ever been to Disneyland?" "No, but you have flown over it at high altitudes before." "All right, smart guy, what was the original name that I was going to call the Bean-With- Bacon Megarocket?" Keen took a moment before answering. "I believe it was 'The Galactic Skimmer' ." A thoughtful look came over the other Keen's face. "There are only two people in the world that would know the answer to all of those questions; Mortimer McMire and me. Due to the potential of brain loss, I don't believe that Mortimer McMire would allow himself to be cross-cultivated with a yorp. It appears, unless another explanation pops up, that you really are me." Keen breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad that's settled... wait a minute, how's that possible? How can we both exist at the same time?" The other Keen shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows? Trans-dimensional vortex? Extra- spatial tachyon binary flux? The important thing is that we have a galaxy to save." He opened up a secret drawer in his workbench. "Here's a spare neural stunner. I don't have another Razor Pogo Stick handy, but I have a grapling hook you can use." "Fair enough." Keen replied. "I'll just have to jump high." The other Keen smiled, lifted up his pogo stick, and placed it on Keen's head. "Then I, William Blaze, dub you, the unknown iteration of William Blaze, the official title of Keen Jr." Keen wrinkled his nose. "Keen Jr.? Come on, now!" Keen said, disgustedly. "Fine, fine, how about 'K-2'?" the other Keen said. "Yeah, all right." Keen said. "Just get your pogo stick off my head." Keen turned to Norp. "Come on, Norp, we have a galaxy to save. You can probably help!" Norp looked at his feet. "Well, I had a pretty busy schedule, you know, with all the laying around I do... ahhhh, why not? With you along, I might actually get to know this hard- headed roommate of mine." TO BE CONTINUED... - Chris (c) ----------------------------------------------- [5] Keen Community News A lot has happened again... :) And summer is coming quickly too! :) [5.1] Dopefission! * swim swim hungry * TMST did it again! :) This time he released a very cool Flash thing where you can see a lot dopefish material and dopefish stuff! ;) It's hard to explain what it is, you gotta see it yourself, and hear too, because the music is awesome! Check it out now! http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpubliccommanderkeenforumothercommanderkeenstuff.showMe ssage?topicID=667.topic ---------------------- [5.2] Keen goes 3D... Keener called DSL, has planned to convert good old Keen 4 to 3D. Idea is pretty good, too bad that when it sometimes is ready, I'm sure it won't work on my computer... Well, check out this topic to learn more: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpimentogamedevelopment.showMessage?topicID=750.topic ---------------------- [5.3] Mods - screenshots!! This month there has been some really cool mod screenshot releases! Go and check out these! Well, Zorath has released some screenshots from his Commander Keen 1 mod, and I can say, I've never seen better Keen graphics! Check them out right here: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpubliccommanderkeenforumothercommanderkeenstuff.showMe ssage?topicID=673.topic Grelphy has released screens from his mod Episode Y. :) It's sequel for Xky's mod! http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpimentogamedevelopment.showMessage?topicID=752.topic The man behind Shadowlands, Ilsoap, is also working a mod. He has released some screens, and looks like he likes lego blocks. :) Check them out here: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpimentogamedevelopment.showMessage?topicID=735.topic ---------------------- [5.4] Some Keen project news... :) Keen fans have started some new project, released some screens or told us some news about the stuff they're making... Read more! :) Xtra has released a demo of the game he's making. Check the topic here: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpimentogamedevelopment.showMessage?topicID=755.topic Chris from PaperFace has told us that his mod for Keen (though it's not so much Keen related, but still awesome) is progressing well! Nice to hear that! http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpimentogamedevelopment.showMessage?topicID=751.topic Oh, CommanderDoom is still under work, the maker visited in forums and told us. :) http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpimentogamedevelopment.showMessage?topicID=666.topic UnFleex has started something new, like usually, this time a mod for Wolfenstein, Keen related one ofcourse! :) Read more: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpimentogamedevelopment.showMessage?topicID=754.topic And he has released his Bloogville episode 1 animation too: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpubliccommanderkeenforumothercommanderkeenstuff.showMe ssage?topicID=668.topic Rave O Mania has posted some news about his Keen game under work... http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpimentogamedevelopment.showMessage?topicID=757.topic ---------------------- [5.5] Spotlight on Scizor CT! :) Scizor CT has made some nice Keen related drawings during some months, and there are a lot of them already. I like them, and I bet you too, so, go and check them out from this topic: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpubliccommanderkeenforumothercommanderkeenstuff.showMe ssage?topicID=594.topic ---------------------- [5.6] Patchotron 1.4... Xtraverse has released a new version of his patching tool, Patchotron, which should be very usefull for those who are making Keen mods. I personally don't use it, but it's really cool! Check it out here: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpubliccommanderkeenforumothercommanderkeenstuff.showMe ssage?topicID=666.topic ---------------------- [5.7] Keen boxes... Djaser has posted some nice images of Keen box he owns. Too bad that my comp almost exploded while trying to show those high quality pictures. Check them out here: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpubliccommanderkeenforumtheoriginalcommanderkeenga.sho wMessage?topicID=569.topic ---------------------- [5.8] Commander Keen on the fone! :) Now it has happened, TMST called one guy that name was Billy Blaze, from New Zealand to USA!! :) Well, read more and listen it right here: http://www.thisstrife.com/sluggy/ ---------------------- See you next month too! :) - KeenRush ----------------------------------------------- [6] Miscellaneous Stuff [6.1] Fan Art A scan of the Keen6 manual was donated by TCL. Keen6 Manual: http://www.commanderkeen.net/cknews/arts.php (will be uploaded tomorrow) ---------------------- [6.2] Announcements We're still here despite much doubt at the beginning. Also we'll be getting to the many little problems with our website, if I can remember to later this month. - Forge315 ---------------------- [6.3] Credits Too Much Spare Time: Some proofreading KeenRush: The news MRCMarky/AEWorld: supportful Yorpy: Website reviews Forge315: Game review Other thanks: Keen fan TCL, for the Keen6 manual, Yorpy for doing a lot of reviews everymonth, KeenRush for being a great guy, and Chris for his story. ----------------------------------------------- "Swim swim hungry, swim swim hungry. And this doesn't make us money!"