_______ __ | _ | .-----. .--------. .--------. .---.-. .-----. .--| | .-----. .----. |. 1___| | _ | | | | | | _ | | | | _ | | -__| | _| |. |___ |_____| |__|__|__| |__|__|__| |___._| |__|__| |_____| |_____| |__| |: 1 | |::.. . | `-------' ___ ___ | Y ) .-----. .-----. .-----. |. 1 / | -__| | -__| | | |. _ \ |_____| |_____| |__|__| |: | \ |::.| . ) `--- ---' ______ __ __ __ | _ \ .-----. .--.--.--. .-----. | | .-----. | |_ | |_ .-----. .----. |. | | | -__| | | | | |__ --| | | | -__| | _| | _| | -__| | _| |. | | |_____| |________| |_____| |__| |_____| |____| |____| |_____| |__| |: | | |::.| | `--- ---' Commander Keen Newsletter Issue 24, "2nd Keen Awards Issue" (c) 2002-2003 all rights reserved. All trademarks are properties of their respective owners. WARNING: This document may not be distributed without permission. Check out also our site at http://www.spatang.com/cknews/ ========================================>>>>>>>> >> In this issue << [1.0] Articles [1.1] Interview with Xky Rauh [1.2] Interview with xtraverse [2.0] ReviewCorner [2.1] [3.0] KeenFiction [3.1] [4.0] Keen news [4.1] A new mod released! [4.2] MultiMania's mod [4.3] New 3D Keen fan game started [4.4] Blooglet related Keen mod [4.5] Fan games [4.6] Keen Online [4.7] The Grid... [4.8] Keen Awards! [4.9] 24 hours of Keen! [4.10] TEDding [4.11] Another mod released! [4.12] Ceilick's mod. [4.13] Awesome art [4.14] Commander Keen 6 version 1.5 [4.15] Big update at CC314 [4.16] Keen gave inspiration? [5.0] Miscellaneous [5.1] Announcements [5.2] Credits ========================================>>>>>>>> >> [1.0] Articles << ---- [1.1] Interview with Xky Rauh > > 1. Could you tell something about yourself? > Hmm... what would you like to know? I'm 20, turning 21 on March 24, and I'm about to get my AA in Music at a local Community College. I really like Keen, and NES-era games. > > 2. What is your favourite style of music? > Jazz or Latin--anything with a rhythmic beat and some crunchy chord movement. > > 3. Are you interested about politics? > No, with a capital zero. N0 :-) > > 4. Have you seen any U.F.O.s? ;) > Yes, but don't tell anybody! ;-) > > 5. You made the famous Ice Factory (I love that level!), going to make that > kind of "cool-ride" levels in the future? > Perhaps--to tell you the truth, I'm not that fond of the Ice Shooters in Keen1 any more. The noises for them give me the shivers! If we find a way to work with the Keen:Vorticons sounds, I might be tempted to fiddle with the idea again--but there's really not much else for me to do with them. It'd all depend on background, enemy appearence, and tile style. Neat to see so many people like that level, though... > > 6. You won in the latest Keen Awards with a MIDI. Going to make more Keen > music? > Sure--it's always on the list somewhere, I just don't have nearly as much time as I used to for that sort of thing. But somewhere along the line, I'd love to have more secure versions of every Keen IMF. > > 7. You're working on a mod right now. Could you tell more about it? :) > Keen meets a new race of creatures who call themselves Narln. They have a historical past with the Vorticons, and were ravaged a bit when Mortimer used his Mind Control belts... Basically they were slave labor for Mortimer, under the thumb of the Vorticon army, forced to produce a fleet of ships for whatever scheme MM had in mind. Keen really saved the day when he defeated the Mangling Machine and disabled the Mind Control belts, because that meant the Narlns could stop working and return to life as normal. They've since rebuilt their societies [and patched things up with the Vorticons] and are eager to help Keen stop Mortimer--so they offer him a sort of 'training course' based on the blueprints to the ships Mort had them building. Sound good? > > 8. You seem to be interested discussing about good Keen level design and > ways to create Keenish art and different techniques for that. What do you > think is the best thing in the process of creating a Keen mod? :) > I think the most important part of a Keen mod is the level design--specifically, the appearence of the FIRST LEVEL. Many people don't realize what a huge impact the map screen and the first level have on a mod. If you've got any spare tiles to use, don't be afraid to throw them on the Map screen, or make a little extra spice for your LEVEL01.ckx... A first impression goes a long way. > > 9. What is your favourite mod, and why? > Hmm--that's a good question! Bazooka Wowbagger was graphically nice, but gameplay-wise was very confusing for me. The map screen really impressed me, but once I got into the levels and realized that I couldn't see myself through all the trees, I lost interest quickly. Ilsoap's Lego Keen was fantastic, not only in presentation but in scope--the levels are massive! Lastly, CheesyDave's ZeldaII mod was fun to see develop--and lemme tell you, if you think the levels are hard now, you didn't see the pure evil he was working on originally! All those compliments aside, I'd have to say my favorite mod was xtraverse's Norp the Yorp Trilogy. The levels were nicely put together, the challenge was ample, and he went through the effort of making a full-on TRILOGY. Kudos to him on that--I'm working on keeping my Keen2mod up to the standards of these mods! > > 10. What is the best robot in Keen series, and why? > The best robot in the entire Keen series? Hum... The robot from Keen1. He's the most versatile. Robo Red's definitely got that intimidation factor, and the Keen2 bot's about the same level of aggression, but the Keen1 bot can literally push you around before killing you. :-) > > 11. Is the Universe going to be TOAST? :D > Undoubtedly--Mortimer's had over a decade now to plot and scheme. Whatever he finally does, Keen's gonna need ALL our help to stop him! > > Thanks for the interview, Xky! :) > Thanks for being patient through Hotmail's stupidity, KeenRush! ---- [1.2] Interview with xtraverse > 1. Could you tell something about yourself? I'm one of those crazy Vermonters that doesn't wear red plaid or use duct tape as a solution to any problem. I'm currently hanging out in the tenth grade at my high school, avidly awaiting a chance to get out of this state for college (not that it's bad, the skiing is great here!) > 2. If you were a piece of furniture, what would you be - and why? I'd have to say the perfect upholstery to describe my personality is a recliner, I'm lazy, and I like to sleep a lot ;) > 3. Your dream job? My dream job? Probably getting paid to eat muffins or something insane like that. But if I had to think realistically, I'd probably go with a pro tennis player. Lotsa money to be famous and have fun out on the court. And that's still unrealistic considering my severely lacking skills, but who cares. > 4. You've made the Norp the Yorp trilogy. And what I've heard you're working on a mod right now. Could you tell more about it? :) I'm trying to make this next mod as quirky as possible. I haven't done much work on the mod yet as I have a lot of stuff going on, but it'll probably be done by the summer. I'll tell you guys this: it takes place on a farm, and involves Billy Blaze's grandparents. And there's charging cows. And judo horses. > 5. Going to make more Keen related 3D art? Sure thing! I have a ton of projects right now, but once I get some free time, I’m going to screw around in 3DS Max and see what I can pull together. I know I’m going to redo my Keen 4 map in a cartoon style, and I’m probably going to redo my Keen 5 enemies and spend a little more time making them look classier. > 6. Any other future Keen related plans? Someday I will finish my Alpha Manhattan Keen game. And I have partially done a Keen modding studio that will encompass every element of Keen modding into one easy-to-use application. > 7. What Keen episode you have played the most? Probably the first one, since when I was a little tyke it was all I knew how to open... well on a second thought, my sister probably had to help me with that too ;) > 8. 'Ctrl + Alt' or 'Space' shooting? :) I’m a little partial to the Space method myself, easier to control Keen that way with my lazy fingers. > 9. Do you think Mort switched the IQ test scores back then and Keen is > actually one point smarter? Well I think that there’s no point arguing over IQ scores since the tests aren’t perfect anyways. I don’t see why Billy never stood up to Mort’s swirlies and shoved Mort in the toilet once or twice. Anyways getting back to the question... probably not. Mort’s a quirky kid, but I don’t think he could justify blowing up the earth by saying he’s the smartest guy there is if Billy’s a notch higher on the scale. > Thanks for the interview.. No problem, thank you :) > - KeenRush ========================================>>>>>>>> >> [2.0] ReviewCorner << ---- [2.1] Website Review: NONE ========================================>>>>>>>> >> [3.0] KeenFiction << ---- [3.1] FanFiction Maybe next time. ========================================>>>>>>>> >> [4.0] Keen news << Hi all! :) The year seemed to end without any bigger problems, and seems like it's totally new year for Commander Keen to stop Mortimer's plans! :) Also, there was Keen Awards once again, and the winners are already chosen. Can't wait to see all those cool mods getting finished. :) Again, see you in next month... ---- [4.1] A new mod released! Pretty cool mod, called Zelda II Mod, has been released. When you're playing it, you can even forget that you're playing Keen, it is so much different. It is made by Keener called CheesyDave, and he's currently working on some other project too. Can't wait to see that! :) Read more here: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpubliccommanderkeenforumothercommanderkeenstuff.showMessage?topicID=818.topic http://durdin.net/andy/keen/modding/viewtopic.php?t=192 ---- [4.2] MultiMania's mod MultiMania has started a new Keen mod. You can read more about it and see a screen in one Keen: Modding topic. Can't wait this either... Check out: http://durdin.net/andy/keen/modding/viewtopic.php?t=179 ---- [4.3] New 3D Keen fan game started A new member called Spektre1 joined PCKF with some good news. He and couple of friends have started to work on a new fan game that is going to be based on the happenings of The Universe is Toast or at least in Keen story. They have experience and skills, and I wish them good luck. :) Be sure to read more: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpimentogamedevelopment.showMessage?topicID=895.topic ---- [4.4] Blooglet related Keen mod Seems that member called UnFleexable has come back to the boards and started working on a new mod. It will have stuff you have seen in Keen 5. Check this: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpimentogamedevelopment.showMessage?topicID=888.topic ---- [4.5] Fan games Again some news about these ones... Joe Capricorn has annouced a new fan game. Sounds interesting this far. Read more: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpimentogamedevelopment.showMessage?topicID=907.topic KEENMASTER has started to make a new Keen fan game, called "Commander Keen - So Long Solar System". I think the title is pretty good. Well, you can find more info from this topic: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpimentogamedevelopment.showMessage?topicID=906.topic Vitamin Zach has told us some news about his Commander Keen engine/game. It sounds pretty promising, and you can also download some early version of it. See this topic: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpimentogamedevelopment.showMessage?topicID=886.topic Keener thenewmoonsidianX has started to work on a new fan game. It sounds fun and will be a mixture of Keen and Monkey Island. Check: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpimentogamedevelopment.showMessage?topicID=885.topic Added: and finished some stuff, check it out: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpimentogamedevelopment.showMessage?topicID=903.topic Nickssoft has released somekind of game called Commander Keen 2004. It is somekind of remix or something of Commander Keen 2000... I haven't heard much of a good word about it, but look here if you want to: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpimentogamedevelopment.showMessage?topicID=890.topic Super Keen Fighter 4 has been announced... Well, if you like Keen and fighting, take a look at this topic: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpimentogamedevelopment.showMessage?topicID=897.topic Ok, this is enough! :P ---- [4.6] Keen Online Keen Online is under some updating. You can suggest stuff you would like to see on the site, here: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpubliccommanderkeenforumothercommanderkeenstuff.showMessage?topicID=828.topic By the way, they have also got pretty neat Keen domain! ;) http://www.commanderkeen.co.uk/ ---- [4.7] The Grid... I've finally bought my Keen domain. You can find my site in the future under the address http://www.keengrid.net/. At the moment there is only the main page, but there will be a lot other stuff (later)! :) Oh, and I usually call it Grid, as the topic of this bit of news is. ---- [4.8] Keen Awards! The yearly (Ok, it is a bit more than a year since the last one, but whatever...) came and went! :) The best Keen stuff was voted once again among the Keeners. You can see the winners here: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpubliccommanderkeenforumfrm12.showMessage?topicID=80.topic Congratulations to all!! ;) ---- [4.9] 24 hours of Keen! UnFleexable held a small contest. There you had time 24 hours to make some Keen stuff and send it to him. Well, the catch wasn't so big, but nice. :) Read more here: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpubliccommanderkeenforumothercommanderkeenstuff.showMessage?topicID=817.topic http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpubliccommanderkeenforumothercommanderkeenstuff.showMessage?topicID=825.topic ---- [4.10] TEDding Those who are interested in Keen 4-6 level editing might find this bit of news interesting. New version of DosBox (a program that let's you play old DOS games), 0.61, has been released. With this version of DosBox and TED5, and with help of little tutorial adurdin made, it should be possible to get DosBox up and running well. :) Check the tutorial: http://durdin.net/andy/keen/modding/viewtopic.php?t=228 Get DosBox: http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/ ---- [4.11] Another mod released! Keener called levellord has released a new Keen mod - Shadow Keen. It is pretty cool, though made pretty quickly. Read more and get it here: http://durdin.net/andy/keen/modding/viewtopic.php?t=203 ---- [4.12] Ceilick's mod. Ceilick has been working on a mod that has Keen 4-6 perspective on it. It looks pretty cool, judging by some screenshots he has posted at Keen: Modding. You can read more about it here: http://durdin.net/andy/keen/modding/viewtopic.php?t=205 ---- [4.13] Awesome art Very new member, Syndeux, at PCKF has posted some awesome art. Check out these topics: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpubliccommanderkeenforumothercommanderkeenstuff.showMessage?topicID=832.topic http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpubliccommanderkeenforumothercommanderkeenstuff.showMessage?topicID=831.topic http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpubliccommanderkeenforumothercommanderkeenstuff.showMessage?topicID=830.topic ---- [4.14] Commander Keen 6 version 1.5 You can get some patches to patch your Keen 6 EGA version 1.0 and 1.4 to version 1.5 EGA and CGA! Grab them here: http://members.aol.com/triptothane/ ---- [4.15] Big update at CC314 Flaose has made a huge update on the Keen site everyone knows. Read more in this topic: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpubliccommanderkeenforumothercommanderkeenstuff.showMessage?topicID=810.topic Very good job! ---- [4.16] Keen gave inspiration? Here is a topic about some record where some artist used modified Keen graph on it's cover, edited Keen names and so on. Quite interesting, I would like to hear that one... Here: http://pub128.ezboard.com/fpubliccommanderkeenforumothercommanderkeenstuff.showMessage?topicID=819.topic --KeenRush ========================================>>>>>>>> >> [5.0] Miscellaneous << ---- [5.1] Announcements Well it's finally our Keen Awards Issue. Congratulations go to all the winners! I think we originally wanted to interview more people or something but it all fell apart. But the two interviews we have are cool and the issue has turned out alright. :D Well hopefully the next issue will have more meat on it though. --Yorpy ---- [5.2] Credits Yorpy - composition MRC Marky - website, graphics KeenRush - news, interviews xtraverse - hosting, working on HTML issues Forge315 - started this newsletter ========================================>>>>>>>> * swim swim hungry *