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[WIP] Commander Keen remake

Discussion in 'Works In Progress - Archive' started by Ronnie_0, Aug 19, 2013.

  1. Ronnie_0

    Ronnie_0

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2011
    Posts:
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    To bidness:

    Original Keen level: LINK
    Current Build: PLAY
    Controls:
    - Arrows or WASD for movement
    - X or J to jump
    - C or K to shoot
    - Z or L to activate/deactivate pogo stick
    - Space to pause





    Why I'm posting:
    • comments/critiques on gameplay, art, etc
    • bug reports

    What still needs done:
    • Background buildings need to be reworked
    • Clams
    • Pause menu. Score, lives left, ammo, etc
    • Additional particle work
    • Game textures.
     
    Last edited: Aug 5, 2014
    GarBenjamin likes this.
  2. TheRaider

    TheRaider

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    This is so great. However be careful because Keen isn't dead IP.

    I cant wait to see this in a completed form.
     
  3. rbx775

    rbx775

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    Eventhough there are no textures yet, I can somehow tell that this will be high quality in the end ! :)
    Probably because of the lovely background animations and models. very skilled indeed.
    Controls feel nice to so far.

    I never played Commander Keen, this could be my chance... ;P
     
  4. alexfeature

    alexfeature

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    This is really really good. Very impressive!

    I have a some constructive criticism in case you are interested :

    - While 'grayboxing' is a common practice I find Valve's approach to be a little more appealing. They use orange for walls, dark gray for floors and other color variations for props that need to stand out. I think if you do something like this it will make the level a lot more lively and easier to follow;

    - Jump seems to be too slugish for a platformer. Perhaps you could try making it more reactive;

    - Can't remember if Commander Keen could double jump but perhaps you could consider adding that to make vertical exploration a bit more fun;

    - The overall feel of the level and the game in general is very appealing. I don't know what your intentions are for the art, textures and so on but perhaps this would look great in pastel colors with some bloom;

    - Where is the pogo stick at :D ?

    Looking forward to seeing more of this game.
     
  5. TheRaider

    TheRaider

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    keen couldn't double jump but he could super jump with the pogo stick when timed right
     
  6. Ronnie_0

    Ronnie_0

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    Great idea! Any chance you can PM me an example of that?

    I'm keeping the jumping as it is, for now. It's modeled directly after the DOS game, so the warm-up crouch before jump may seem sluggish, but it's a Keen staple.
     
  7. TheRaider

    TheRaider

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    What is the long term plan for this game?
     
  8. Ronnie_0

    Ronnie_0

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    Realistic goal: Portfolio piece. Level polished to perfection as a sort of 'vertical slice'.
    Mid-range goal: Couple more Keen 1 levels, complete with world map, saved games, menus, etc.
    Far-reaching dream goal: Catches the attention of IP owner who wants to see more, I give them more.
     
  9. hizral

    hizral

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    This is awesome.
     
  10. Ronnie_0

    Ronnie_0

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    New Build: PLAY

    - Revisited the background buildings
    - Tweaked the entrance and exit sections
     
  11. Kale

    Kale

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    Holy..... cow. That is... absolutely amazing.
     
  12. TheRaider

    TheRaider

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    looking great but can you not use left control for jump cause on a mac you use arrow keys + left control to switch desktops!
     
  13. Ronnie_0

    Ronnie_0

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    Looks like I'm having a bit of trouble with the jumping. It works fine on my computer, but when others play it the jumping mechanic is off. I suspect I made an error in my coding (I'm very much still a novice).

    After doing a little research, I believe my code isn't frame-rate dependent like it should be. Internet says I should be using Time.deltaTime, but I'm not quite sure in what cases.

    Some more info:
    To calculate how high Keen jumps...
    - I get when the jump button is pressed
    - I get when the jump button is released
    - If that time (in seconds) is between 0 and .1, Keen jumps a small amount. If between .2 and ,1, Keen jumps a medium amount. If over .2, Keen jumps as high as possible.

    Testers are sometimes finding that this isn't working as intended. Anyone more experienced with coding have any ideas?
     
  14. Ronnie_0

    Ronnie_0

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    New Build: [URL="http://www.josephmcarney.com/test/KeenTest20.html]PLAY[/URL]

    I believe I solved the jumping issue by revamping how I detect when the jump button is pressed. Basically, I'm using a Time.deltaTime timer, rather than storing a Time.time value when the player presses and releases the jump button.

    Also, new controls:
    Arrows to move, L Control to jump, L Alt to fire, Space to pause (old controls, still work)
    WASD to move, R Control to jump, R Alt to fire, Space to pause

    Let me know how the jumping feels, and any other suggestions for controls.
     
  15. alexfeature

    alexfeature

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    Feels awesome!!!!

    The delta time was the problem for sure :D

    Here are some of the shots I was talking about (unfortunately could find Valve's actual levels)

    http://www.simonbarsky.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/window1a.jpg
    http://www.simonbarsky.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/cubeLight.jpg
    http://i1-games.softpedia-static.com/screenshots/Counter-Strike-Source-Map-fy-hydroxide_1.jpg

    Overall the game looks and feels really good.

    I few things I found :

    - I managed to walk through the left wall at the beginning of the level. It was right above keen's spawn point on top of the platform;
    - I was playing on a Mac and Ctrl + Arrow switches desktops on Macs. If you could introduce and alternate jump key like X or Z or something;

    Here is a link to a very very good audio pack that has lots of retro arcade sounds. If you are in a position to spend some money on this project perhaps you could use it to bring a little more life into this level.


    Can't wait to see more.
     
  16. Ronnie_0

    Ronnie_0

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    Oooo, those images are very interesting. I like how the grid measures out the texture sizes as well. Bet it makes laying out the textures and UV's much easier.

    The colliders around the level aren't final, the wall your walking into is the dome encompassing the level. Thanks for pointing that out, though.

    Give it another try, added x to jump and c to shoot.
     
  17. lancer

    lancer

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    You can shut off or change the key combination for desktops under preferences>Desktop
     
  18. TheRaider

    TheRaider

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    Thank you :)

    Outstanding. The backgrounds are wow. This will be so amazing textured.
     
  19. Yippie

    Yippie

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    I miss my childhood :D love this game and you know you're doing a great job :D
     
  20. gryff

    gryff

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    Great stuff Ronnie_O!!

    Played the "Keen" games with my two daughters as they were growing up ( they also liked "Jill of the Jungle") . I will keep an eye on this thread as I'm sure there are two grown up ladies who would be ... er ... keen ... to take a step back in time. (Sorry could not resist that ;-) )

    Other games they loved from that era - Crusher, DukeNukem and one they still play "Castle of the Winds".

    Hope you get a finished working version soon so two ladies can have some fun.

    cheers, gryff :)
     
  21. TheRaider

    TheRaider

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    Considering they are your daughters i couldn't stop lol'ing with everything you wrote.

    Classic duke rocked! His lines were more clever back then, or at least that is how i remember it.
     
  22. xalener

    xalener

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    Don't you think "W" should be jump?
     
  23. gryff

    gryff

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    By a strange quirk of fate, my youngest daughter came by to night and I showed her Ronnie_O's demo ... she wants to know when it will be the full version ;-)

    Now she has played all the original "Lara Croft" games too, and has a current boyfriend (with every kind of box imaginable) who plays all the latest "Call of Duty, The Last of Us" etc., but she would still rather have "Laura Bow, Monkey Island"

    I've often wondered about the creation and marketing of games - are they always, or mainly, aimed at the callow male members of the species?

    cheers, gryff :)

    PS. I still have all the Keen games on 5.1/4" floppies and even have an old PC that can load them ;-)

    .
     
  24. Kaji-Atsushi

    Kaji-Atsushi

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    I've never played Cammander Keen, but so far it looks fantastic!

    How long has this game been in the making?
     
  25. Yanneyanen

    Yanneyanen

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    Really solid progress so far. The game plays pretty much like I remember Keen, which is good. The only thing missing is the pogo stick, which I assume will be added later (I think you didn't even acquire it in the first level in the original, right..?) The animations look really good too.
    I don't really like 3D recreations of classic games myself, but it's interesting to see them made nonetheless. Keep it up!
     
  26. Ronnie_0

    Ronnie_0

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    Yanneyanen: I'm glad you feel like it plays like the original game. That's something I worked hard on, getting the same timing and feel of the old game. As far as the pogo stick, yea, you don't get it until the first 'mini' level after the first level so.... that's my excuse for not tackling the pogo stick just yet :p

    Ummmm, hard to say. I've been working on it for at least a year, but had dropped it for a while when I got a job. Now I work on it evenings and weekends. So progress can be slow, but I get a little closer every week.

    Gryff: I'm so glad she liked it! I'm not really sure when it'll be finished or what exactly will constitute as a finished product to me, but at least this one level is getting there.
     
  27. TheRaider

    TheRaider

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    but this is more of a 2.5D. It is still keeping that classic feel. I thinks this is a good job of merging the old with the new.

    I can't wait to see the pogo stick too, since that was the defining feature of keen games.
     
  28. Ronnie_0

    Ronnie_0

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    New Build: PLAY

    Focused on fixing the raygun. Has a half second reload time now, and should all be working. But please let me know if you find something funky!

    Also did a little bit of work on the pause menu. Sounds weird, but creating the texture atlas was quite relaxing! Next, I'll get started on adding in the score/ammo tracking.
     
  29. gryff

    gryff

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    Wel Ronnie, I got this 2 out of three times - see attached image.

    1. The first green dude I shoot - falls over but hangs around rest seem to work OK
    2. The young commander seems to get half buried in the platform.

    I was hoping when you said "texture atlas" that the young commander would be there in his full glory ;-)

    cheers, gryff :)
     

    Attached Files:

  30. delibowlen

    delibowlen

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    Commander Keen was one of my favorite games back in the oldschool days and your Remake looks great for an alpha, i like it so far... ;)
     
  31. Ronnie_0

    Ronnie_0

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    1. That is actually what I intended. The green guys perform a 'death' animation when they are not near any obstacles. The animation isn't physics based or anything, so in the past they would animate into obstacles. So my fix was to have that disintegrate effect whenever you shot an enemy and they were near an obstacle.
    2. There's actually a piece of geometry in front of Keen there. It'll probably be some kind of light source.

    $ckeen1.jpg
     
  32. marcos

    marcos

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    Dude, this is so sick. Loved the Keen games as a kid.

    Can't wait to see more!
     
  33. gryff

    gryff

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    Ronnie, as I am now playing the demo file for five minutes a day, here is another observation - the disappearing orange platforms. Maybe an "undocumented feature" or maybe a necessity ;-). They come back as he walks to the end of the row. See pics below.

    cheers, gryff :)
     

    Attached Files:

  34. Ronnie_0

    Ronnie_0

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    You have to be able to jump onto and walk through those platforms, which represents an interesting challenge when trying to represent them in a 3D space. My current plan/strategy is to make them 'hologram' in and out as you pass through them.
     
  35. gryff

    gryff

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    That is what I meant by "a necessity". As you say "interesting challenge" - looking forward to your solution

    cheers, gryff :)
     
  36. Ronnie_0

    Ronnie_0

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    New Build: PLAY
    NOTE: You must pickup the ammo before you can fire.
    Put in score, ammo, and life tracking. You'll get an extra life every 2,000 points, and the proper values persist if you complete the level or die.

    I also finished up the model for the Pat Pat (the clam hazard that kills Keen if he bumps into it). I have some fun interactions in mind that I'll try and get into the next build.

     
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2013
  37. MarkrosoftGames

    MarkrosoftGames

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    dude this looks awesome. i can't wait to play it and see how it comes along. i really hope you dont get sued or c+d'ed, if they do they can fu*k off anyways, since they can't bother to make a new command keen game, some of the best games ever made. keep up the good work.
     
  38. Ronnie_0

    Ronnie_0

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    New build: PLAY

    Added in the clams, along with some fun functionality should you run into them or jump over them. Let me know what you think or if you run into any other bugs. Getting real close to starting in on textures, lightmapping, etc.

    I highly doubt it. Over at the major Commander Keen forum (pckf), fan-made games and episodes are being worked on all the time.
     
  39. Ronnie_0

    Ronnie_0

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    New Build: PLAY

    I've started to UV map! These are placeholder textures I grabbed from http://www.art.eonworks.com/, once I have it all laid out I'll handle the textures myself or find a friend with some free time.
     
  40. TheRaider

    TheRaider

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    looking forward to the real textures, it is kind of hard to look at now. I can see the potential so keep going :)
     
  41. Ronnie_0

    Ronnie_0

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    New Build: PLAY

    Still placeholder textures, but I messed with them a little to get them to fit the toonier vibe.
    Added little icons on the door that light up when you've gathered all the corresponding items. Always wanted something like it in the original game Cheeky

    Redoing the pistol so don't be alarmed it isn't there! Also, still haven't figured out what I want to do about the pit, so that bug is still active.
     
  42. chris_lux

    chris_lux

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    Really awesome! I hope this gets some traction as I love the old Keen games.

    Great work!
     
  43. Ronnie_0

    Ronnie_0

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    New Build: PLAY

    I have the optimization almost to where I need it, just need to atlas a few textures together and adjust the UV's.

    I'm spinning my wheels a bit with the textures. Painting textures is not something I'm good at, so still placeholders.

    Let me know what you think of the dome and the look and feel of the level in general. I'm thinking of switching gears and addressing the sloppy coding and lack of a world map.
     
  44. gryff

    gryff

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    Ronnie, all the activity around the little "commander" reminded me of scenes from a couple of very old movies - Fritz Lang's Metropolis and Alexander Korda's Things To Come.

    I know weird huh? ;-)

    cheers, gryff :)
     
  45. imaginaryhuman

    imaginaryhuman

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    Pretty cool game. .. one thing I didn't like though is what happens when you press the jump button... you'd expect to be able to time the jump exactly right and that as soon as you press it the character will move upwards, but in this game there is a `crouching` animation and a pause which not only stops the jump motion but also stops horizontal movement, so while it `looks interesting` it really interferes with the fluidity of gameplay and control. I found it really annoying. I'd definitely remove that if it were me.
     
  46. Ronnie_0

    Ronnie_0

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    Good note, and that is a comment I get a lot. The reason it's like that is because of how the original Keen games handled jumping. The crouch/pause before jumping is kind of what makes Keen, Keen. It takes time to get used to, and I understand that could scare away potential players.
     
  47. Ronnie_0

    Ronnie_0

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    New Build: PLAY

    Been working on re-factoring newbish code and converting to C#, so not really anything new feature/art wise, but the game should feel much smoother this time around. Let me know what you think, and all critiques and comments are welcome.
     
  48. zenGarden

    zenGarden

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    Amazing work.
    Jumping seems strange at first because character make a pause and don't jump directly like mario games, he prepares the jump.
    But at use, it is good at it allows you to better concentrate on whre you jump.
    Perhaps do a try at direct jump as sson as you press button ?

    I have some technic questions :
    Do you use Lightmapping ?
    How are done the scrolling blue neon textures ? UV scrolling shader ?
     
  49. Not_Sure

    Not_Sure

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    Very cool!
     
  50. Ronnie_0

    Ronnie_0

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    I use the free Unity lightmapping tool. I actually scroll the shader's main texture offset through a simple animation.