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T H E G A M E S A R C H I V E N E W S L E T T E R
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No. 8 * Keen 2000 Special * http://www.dosgamesarchive.com
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We are sorry
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Due to a problem with our e-mail software, the previous
newsletter was sent too soon; it wasn't completed yet. The
articles wich weren't completed are the special about
Commander Keen 2000, the 'game wanted'-section and the
results of the WebPoll. Sorry for the inconvenience! Here
is the complete version of the 8th issue.
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Welcome
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Welcome to the latest issue of The Games Archive Newsletter,
with a special about Commander Keen 2000 and the history of
the original games, created by Apogee and id Software.
We also got a lot of new members. Thanks to all of them
who signed up!
If you have any ideas for future content/articles to include
in our newsletter, we would like to hear from you! Please
e-mail us at: webmaster@dosgamesarchive.com
Feel free to forward this newsletter to any of your friends.
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Table of contents
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+ What's new on The Games Archive?
- Frequently Asked Questions
+ Keen 2000 Special
- History Keen Series
- Nintendo
- Why "The Universe is Toast" never came out
- Quake
- Keen 2000
+ Game tip
- Wolfenstein 3D
+ Top 10 downloads
+ Wanted!
- Round 42, Command HQ and Bouncing Babies
- Elite
- Old games collection
+ WebPoll
+ Site tip
- SaveGamesNet
===================== Sponsor message ======================
Speed up and resume broken downloads with Go!Zilla 3.5. Go
for the freeware version and more information to this URL:
http://www.dosgamesarchive.com/gozilla.html
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What's new on The Games Archive?
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-- Frequently Asked Questions ------------------------------
We have added a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) to our
download guide. The download guide helps visitors with
downloading and running the game or application on their
computer. We have made the FAQ because we got a lot of
e-mails with questions about our download guide.
FAQ: http://www.dosgamesarchive.com/faq.html
Download guide: http://www.dosgamesarchive.com/dowguide.html
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Keen 2000 Special
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-- History Keen Series -------------------------------------
In September of 1990, a group of game developers from
Softdisk, a computer software publisher in Shreveport,
Los Angeles, moonlighted by working on a project utilizing
an engine that Softdisk didn't want used in their own games.
Why? Because the engine didn't work in CGA, like the rest
of the company's games. That turned out to be a big mistake.
The game the group had developed was released as shareware
in December, and in January the group left Softdisk based
on the game's success to start their own company. The rest,
as they say, is history.
That little company was called id Software; the company that
went on to produce such megahits as Wolfenstein 3D, DOOM,
and Quake. Their first game? Commander Keen.
Commander Keen is a pretty fine platform game in which you
play a boy genius, Billy Blaze. You have to collect toys and
candies. There are weird enemies in the game. The game isn't
only for kids, it's a true delight for gamers of all ages.
We will begin with a short history about the first episodes
of the Commander Keen series.
- "Invasion of the Vorticons" (episodes 1-3) was published
by Apogee Software on December 14th, 1990.
- "Goodbye Galaxy" (episodes 4 and 5) was also published
by Apogee Software. This series of Commander Keen was
released sometime around June of 1991. There was also a
special CGA edition of Keen 4 and 5 made. The game is
functionally exactly the same as the standard EGA version
of the game.
- "Aliens ate my Babysitter" (episode 6) was distributed by
FormGen and id Software. This product is also sold by
Apogee, but Apogee only resells this product, they don't
actually distribute it. FormGen also decided to put
off-disk copy protection on the full version of this
game. Furthermore, FormGen also had a playable 3 level
commercial demo available for perusal before purchase.
Apogee Software sells a version of Keen 6 in CGA.
- "Keen Dreams" (lost episode) was distributed by id
Software and Softdisk. Keen Dreams has a kind of an
interesting story. Before the quys at id Software
actually formed id, the majority of them worked at
Softdisk. The founding members of id Software left
Softdisk to do the Vorticons series of Keen (episodes 1-3)
for Apogee Software. However, they were contractually
obligated to deliver another game to Softdisk, and since
development had started on the Galaxy series, they threw
together a Keen game for Softdisk, and Keen Dreams was
born. This game is not sold by Apogee Software, nor does
Apogee have anything at all to do with it.
-- Nintendo ------------------------------------------------
The Commander Keen engine wasn't originally intended for
Commander Keen. Tom Hall, creator of Commander Keen, recalls
the first game made with the side-scrolling engine: The
first game was actually a joke. It was called Dangerous
Dave in "Copyright Infringement". John Carmack had just
gotten a little guy to move around over a tile map, and I
looked over at the Nintendo in the corner. I said,
"Wouldn't it be funny to make the first level of Super
Mario 3... tonight?" Carmack smiled and said, "Let's do it!"
I copied the tiles pixel for pixel and made a map out of
them while Carmack feverishly programmed the guy landing on
ground tiles and getting coin tiles. At 5:30 in the morning,
we dumped that on John Romero's desk and went home to crash.
Romero played it all the next day, saying "This could make
so much money!" It was pitched to a friend of a friend at
Nintendo, and they liked it so much, they wanted a demo. We
added Mario graphics and Koopas and stuff, and sent it to
them. It apparently got to the head guys at Nintendo, but
they didn't want to enter the PC market. Softdisk didn't
want to use the smooth scrolling trick Carmack had
discovered (since it didn't also work in CGA), so we
thought, well, if they don't want it, we could do something
ourselves... So we thought, hey, we'll make our own game.
We needed a topic. I asked if they cared what topic-sci-fi,
fantasy, whatever. I think Carmack mentioned a kid that
saves the galaxy or something. I went off and fifteen
minutes later, came back with the paragraph that you see in
Keen 1. I read it in a Walter Winchell voice (he's a nasal
40s radio/newsreel announcer). Carmack clapped after I was
finished, and we were off and running. We got contacted by
Scott Miller of Apogee, and once Keen was published, it was
making enough for us to live on, so we quit and formed id.
Imagine what would have happened when id Software had gone
to work for Nintendo!
===================== Sponsor message ======================
Interested in Keen Dreams? You could buy it for only $9,95
in our online shop! The shop is made possible by Softdisk.
http://www.dosgamesarchive.com/shop/keendrms.html
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-- Why "The Universe is Toast" never came out --------------
If you played Keen 5, there was a screen that said something
to the effect of "Join us in December 1992 for the greatest
Keen adventure yet". There was a picture of Keen smiling,
with a Santa Claus hat on. At the time, id Software was
intending to do a third series of Commander Keen,
tentatively entitled "Commander Keen: The Universe is
Toast". However, other projects came up (Wolfenstein 3D,
Spear of Destiny and later Doom). At this time, there is no
development going on in the Commander Keen department.
On a different note, Commander Keen, and artifacts from the
Keen games have found their way into other games. Commander
Keen is listed in the default scoreboards of a handful of
Apogee games, mentioned in the instructions of one, and has
made a few more prominent appearances.
We don't know about you, but we sure would like to see
"The Universe is Toast" be completed and released, so here
is our idea. If we all send a bunch of e-mail to id
Software, they just might complete the game for all of us!
Their e-mail address is webmaster@idsoftware.com.
-- Quake ---------------------------------------------------
Commander Keen also contains the public announcement of the
game that would revolutionize online gaming: Quake. This is
from the previews section of Commander Keen, and remember,
this was 1990!
COMING SOON FROM ID SOFTWARE As our follow-up to the
Commander Keen trilogy, id Software is working on "The
Fight for Justice", a completely new approach to fantasy
gaming. You start not as a weakling with no food--you
start as Quake, the strongest, most dangerous person on
the continent. You start off with a Hammer of Thunderbolts,
a Ring of Regeneration, and a trans-dimensional artifact.
Here the fun begins. You fight for Justice, a secret
organization devoted to vanquishing evil from the land!
This is role-playing excitement. And you don't chunk
around the screen. "The Fight for Justice" contains fully
animated scrolling backgrounds. All the people you meet
have their own lives, personalities, and objectives. A
256-color VGA version will be available (smooth scrolling
256-color screens --fancy that)! And the depth of play
will be intense. No more "whack whack here's some gold."
There will be interesting puzzles and decisions won't be
"yes/no" but complex correlations of people and events.
"The Fight for Justice" will be the finest PC game yet.
The title was renamed to "Quake: The Fight for Justice",
but the latter part was later dropped. The Quake we all
know isn't very much like the original description, but
that's probably a good thing.
-- Keen 2000 -----------------------------------------------
"Why is this special called Keen 2000?", do you think. Well,
there is a new version of Keen! Unfornately, the game isn't
made by Apogee or id Software... but by one person, A.R. The
game is made with Klik & Play and it runs under Windows.
Below is the story line of Commander Keen 2000:
January 1, 2000 - A hail of meteors slam into the Earth.
Hundreds are dead. January 11, 2000 - Kid Genius Billy Blaze
(AKA Commander Keen) receives an anonymous tip on his
intergalactic cellular phone that Mortimer McMire, other
kid genius, is responsible for the meteor shower. He's told
that McMire plans to launch a thousand more meteors into the
earth from his secret base on planet Ceti Alpha 6. "This is
a monstrous injustice!" thinks Billy, as he dons his
brother's NEW football helmet and becomes... Commander Keen!
Defender of the Galaxy! Keen immediately leaves for Ceti
Alpha 6.
You can download the game from this URL:
http://www.dosgamesarchive.com/download/ck2000.zip
A.R. can be reached at ruimy@sympatico.ca
Softdisk Publishing: http://www.softdisk.com
id Software: http://www.idsoftware.com
Apogee Software: http://www.apogee1.com
Nintendo: http://www.nintendo.com
Special thanks to All-You-Can-Eat Commander Keen and
ClassicGaming for providing the information about the
history of the games.
All-You-Can-Eat Commander Keen:
http://users.mvillage.com/chm219/keendreams/index.html
ClassicGaming:
http://www.classicgaming.com
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Game tip
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Title: Wolfenstein 3D
Developer: id Software
Publisher: Apogee Software
File size: 732 kB
Year: 1992
Version: Shareware 1.0
Rating: [x][x][x][x][x]
You are William J. Blazkowicz, the Allies' bad boy of
espionage and a terminal action seeker. Your mission was
to infiltrate the Nazi fortress Castle Hollehammer and
find the plans for Operation Eisenfaust, the Nazi
blueprint for building the perfect army.
Rumor has it that deep within the castle, the diabolical
Dr. Schabbs has perfected a technique for building a fierce
army from the bodies of the dead. The idea is so far
removed from reality that it would seem silly if it weren't
so sick. But what if it were true?
As an escaped prisoner in a Nazi war prison, you will move
smoothly through a 3D world of nice detail and animation,
a sensational and realistic environment with intelligent
moving guards and opponents.
Screenshot:
http://www.dosgamesarchive.com/images/wolf3d.gif
If you want to download this game, go to our site at
http://www.dosgamesarchive.com. Choose 'Games' in the
frame to the left and select 'Wolfenstein 3D'. You
will get a HTML document with some information about
the game. On the bottom of the page you will find a
link with which you can download Wolfenstein 3D.
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Top 10 downloads
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The following games are most downloaded from our site:
1. Prince of Persia 2 6. DOOM
2. TIE Fighter 7. Wacky Wheels
3. Pinball Fantasies 8. Ninja Rabbits
4. Cannon Fodder 9. Worms
5. Mario 10. Wolfenstein 3D
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Wanted!
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In this section you will find postings from our message
board. Most people are looking for a game that isn't in our
archive. Maybe other visitors (or readers of this
newsletter) own the game. Then they could contact the
person who has written the message.
-- Round 42, Command HQ and Bouncing Babies ----------------
> "I am looking for 3 games: Round 42, Command HQ, and
> Bouncing Babies. If anyone knows where I can get any of
> these, please contact me at ajk22@juno.com."
Andrew - ajk22@juno.com
-- Elite ---------------------------------------------------
> "Remember the game "Elite"... in a space craft travelling
> from one planet to the next trading and fighting. Let me
> know if you know where to find it."Bruce Shelley - bruce.
shelley@auditnz.govt.nz
-- Old games collection ------------------------------------
> "Hi all,
> I am interested in building up a collection of older
> games. A realy good game that I would realy like to get my
> hands on again was a game called snake by Philip Deacon
> which consisted of snake.com, snake.doc and snake.hi (if
> you were lucky enough to get high scores).
> If anyone has this game or knows of any general sights to
> download old games such as Round 42, Tune Trivia, Digger
> (uncracked original boot disc image) etc., then please
> email to this address: andrew@hodgsons.freeserve.co.uk.
> I have already a lot of older games, so trading isn't a
> problem."
Andrew Hodgson - andrew@hodgsons.freeserve.co.uk
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WebPoll
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Here are the results of our WebPoll:
What's your favorite browser?
Netscape Navigator 49% 445 votes
Internet Explorer 41% 377 votes
Opera 6% 52 votes
Other 5% 43 votes
Total votes: 917
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Site tip
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-- SaveGamesNet --------------------------------------------
On this site you can download save game files for several
computer games. There are saves for MS-DOS and Windows
games. Go to this site if you are stuck in a game!
URL: http://www.savegames.net
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Thanks
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That's it for this issue of our newsletter. See you next
issue and thanks for reading!
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