Here's a nice dos keen level editor. There's a beta windows version out but it's rather buggy.
Let’s start with the menu. Here’s what it looks like:
Menu Option
Hotkey (to use while editing)
Description
New Level
F4
Well, it allows you to make a new level. It then brings up a size dialog. You can make the width or height a maximum of 170 tiles, but the product cannot exceed 25000 without strange and bad effects in both KeenWright and the game.
Open Level
F3
Open another Keen level of the current tileset (see below).
Save Level
F2
Saves the current level with the extension of the current tileset.
Save Level as
Shift+F2
Same as the above, but allows you to change the filename.
Level Overview
F5
Shows a thumbnail of the level w/o sprites. (NOT YET FUNCTIONAL)
Level Statistics
F6
Shows the total score possible in the level, the amount of each point, and the amount of rayguns and sprites.
Change Tileset
F7
Select the tileset of either Commander Keen 1, 2, or 3.
Resume Editing
None
Pretty self-explanatory…
About the Editor
None
(NOT YET FUNCTIONAL)
Help
F1
In-game help (NOT YET FUNCTIONAL)
Quit
F10
Quits…
Now it’s time to start editing!
Here’s what the editing screen looks like:
You can maneuver around using the arrow keys.
There are four active tiles in KeenWright, your main, Z, X, and C. Here’s how you use them:
Action
Main Tile
Tile Z
Tile X
Tile C
Pick up tile under cursor
Period (.)
Ctrl-Z
Ctrl-X
Ctrl-C
Place tile
Space
Z
X
C
Change tile
- / +
N/A
N/A
N/A
Make Line
Pressing L starts the line, then move the cursor to where you want the end of the line.
N/A
N/A
N/A
Make Rectangle
Pressing R starts one corner, then move the cursor to where you want the other corner.
N/A
N/A
N/A
Fill
Pressing F fills the area the cursor is in with this tile
N/A
N/A
N/A
By pressing T you will bring up the following window you can scroll around with the arrow keys. The Z, X, and C keys will set the respective tile to the tile under the cursor. Pressing enter will set your main tile to the tile under the cursor and quits the window (ESC also quits).
Sprites are all of the enemies, creatures, and Keen himself. Here’s how to work them:
Hotkey
Action
S
Brings up a window where you can select one of the commonly used sprites or enter in your own.
A
Place the selected sprite down under the cursor.
Shift-A
Deletes any sprite under the cursor.
Ctrl-A
Picks up the sprite under the cursor and the selected sprite.
K
Places Commander Keen at the cursor, which can also be placed using sprite 255.
To make a bridge, get the x and y coordinate of the left or right end of the bridge as XX and YY. Convert these numbers into hex code and put them together as XXHYYH (The H symbolizes hex.) Enter this into KeenWright as a custom sprite &HXXYY and place that sprite on the switch that toggles the bridge. When that switch is turned on, a bridge will start at your coordinates and fill all of the tiles to the right or the left of it as the bridge tile until it reaches a tile that is not the same type of tile as it was filling.
There are a few more things worthy of mentioning:
Press Escape to go to the Main Menu.
The G key toggles a grid.
The M key toggles map mode, which sets whether the level is interpreted as a map level or not. If Level80 is opened, map mode is automatically turned on. On map mode, all sprites appear as a yellow box around the tile that it is on.
To create a level, place the sprite that is the number of the level where you want it. If you want to have part of a level block Keen until he beats it, add an asterisk (*) to the end of the sprite number on the blocking tiles.
Here’s what map mode looks like:
If you want to edit the background of the title screen, and other screens such as the about ID screen, edit the file LEVEL90.
If you want to edit the setting where the end of the games take place (not the still bitmaps, but where Keen flies around in ships and stuff like that), edit the file LEVEL81.
Some notes about editing Keen 1:
The two main teleports on the world map should be at coordinates 26, 4 and 34, 3
The secret teleport on the world map should be at coordinates 60, 35.
At the end of the game Keen returns to coordinates 9, 31 on the world map.
Some notes about editing Keen 3:
Destroying the heart will:
• end the current level
• explode the tiles from 6,1 to 14,16
• turn those tiles to the wallpaper tile
The only way to stop the moving leg things in Mort’s machine is the specific floor tile that is used in that level.
Forum Index
Member List
Articles
Downloads
Private Messages
