help with starting

Anything related to Keen Modding.
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pittana
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help with starting

Post by pittana »

hello everybody, my name is michael, im 15/live in ontario, canada. im new to these forums and would like to recieve help as well as give it. i have been downloading and playing all these commander keen mods and fangames, and i feel its only fair i started on this too (it also sounds kinda fun). there is just one problem, i have no idea how to do it, where to start, or what program to use. it would be great if i could just get a little advice on this. im sorry for sending you through this.
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Freeyorp101
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A hurried and incomplete list of stuff.

Post by Freeyorp101 »

There's several utilities listed at the bottom of the keen : modding index.

Download modkeen, stick it inside a folder with your keen exe and files and in a dos prompt type 'modkeen -export -episode=(episode number, from 1-6)'. This will get you a load of bitmaps for you to edit. When you have finished with them (or want to see how it looks) type 'modkeen -import -episode=1 to replace the old graphics with the new.



For level editing there are a number of editors for keen1-3, and a few for keen 4-6

For Keen 1-3, I use Ikeen (although this doesn?t work on all systems). KeenEdit, Vortlev and ckludge are also good editors; read the help for more stuff.

For Keen 4-6, There is TED5 and Keen:Next. Try Keen:Next first though, TED5 can be a pain to setup. Keen 4-6 level editing is a lot harder than keen1-3 level editing. Again, look at the help files.



For changing the way tiles work use tileinfo for Keen 1-3 and CK456Tli for keen 4-6. Both applications are self-explanatory, but there is a readme if you get stuck.


Patches. I find this is the most interesting part of modding, as it changes the way the game works. Download CKPatch and have a look at some existing mods as examples. Generally this involves a plain text document with strings of patches ie ?%patch $18A5 $90? (this makes keen unable to stomp yorps in keen1.) usually .pat (although any extension will do) ran through a .bat file. There are loads of patches in the patch index. Tileinfo is patched through the patchfile, and if you are modding keen4-6 the levels and graphics are also patched there.

There is a more complete guide on dosclassics.com: http://dosclassics.com/keen/guide.php?id=mod
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pittana
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Post by pittana »

whoa, thanx a lot, im gonna work really hard on this one. im guessing you would recommend that i start with a 1-3 style. if so, then i will. ive got some reading to do now.
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Ceilick
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Post by Ceilick »

A keen 1-3 mod is definately a lot easier and less time consuming. Keen1 is probably the best episode to start with. Good luck! :)
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pittana
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Post by pittana »

alright, i'll start with number 1 then. i have modkeen and keen edit, those ones good enough to do the job? and i'll probably be back with more questions later. i took a grade 10 programming class last year and forgot everything i learned, so i know the basics to computer stuff, but with uncommon programs im computer illiterate. which means this little project of mine might not get finished or go so well.
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XkyRauh
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Post by XkyRauh »

After you extract everything with ModKeen, you'll probably spend most of your time toying with the sprites and tiles, before you build your new levels. :) Let us know how it goes!
Stealthy71088
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Welcome to the forum!

Post by Stealthy71088 »

Hey pittana! If you want to change the properties of the blocks, or tiles- say you want to make ice killy, you should download tileinfo. Tileinfo will also allow you to export your tile graphics to the Keenedit data file, allowing you to see your graphics in the editor. Although if you read the dosclassics guide you probably already know that. :)
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pittana
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Post by pittana »

thanx a lot, im sure it will come in handy (time to download)
levellass
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Post by levellass »

And you'll want someone to explain patching to you.


Do we actually have a bottom up guide to Keen modding? If not, someone should make one.
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pittana
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Post by pittana »

oh great... i havent even learned the other stuff i need to know about modding, even something as simple as starting a keen 1 mod, and now i find out that there's more to it than just that... this mod is gonna take a while, and it will be really disappointing if it turns out to be crap.

patching, is that just like making slight changes like running speed, jump height, etc?
Stealthy71088
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Post by Stealthy71088 »

Modifying the behavior of sprites, changing the properties of said sprites, changing text, .etc. You may want to look at a released mod's patchfile to get the idea.

The file should be named (Insertnamehere).PAT. Just rename the .pat to .txt.

Unless you have some major change in mind, or you see something really cool in the patch index you would like to try out, you may want to consider holding off on the patching for a little bit. It's your first mod, so you may want to just experiment with some artwork or levels so as to get your foot in the door, before you start playing with the patches. Minor patches (much of the patches of what Keen: Universe 1 contains) shouldn't impact the gameplay of the level very much, so you can still design and test levels at your whim.

Just a thought :)
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pittana
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Post by pittana »

i was gonna try to start on my CK1 style, but i couldnt get modkeen running. i brought it up, there was a black rectangle with an underscore in it, then it closed. i dont wanna waste everybody's time with this, and i dont wanna sound even worse or less intelligent about this stuff than i already do, so im gonna read everything i need to know, carefully before i move on to actually making the game. im also gonna plan it out on paper if i can.
Kdash
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Post by Kdash »

That's a little error with running DOS programs. Try creating a file with a .bat extention, and put the modkeen code into it. Save it, and run it. That should work.

I suggest you play around with the tileset first (its 1TIL0000.BMP). It'll get you used to drawing in 16 colors.
KeenRush
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Post by KeenRush »

Welcome, and good luck. :)
levellass
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Post by levellass »

How'd he get such a big picture?
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