Key points
- Also known as Commander Keen: Episode 4
- Available for free as shareware
General information
- Commander Keen wiki
- Public Commander Keen Forum
- Commander Keen Fan Site
- Official Dopefish website
- Steam Community Discussions
Availability
Source |
DRM |
Notes |
Keys |
OS |
Retail |
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Commander Keen in Goodbye, Galaxy! |
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Steam |
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Commander Keen Complete Pack. Pre-packaged with DOSBox.[1] |
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- A free shareware version is available.
Version differences
Commander Keen in Goodbye, Galaxy!
The retail release of the game, which includes the 4th and 5th episodes of the series: Commander Keen in Secret of the Oracle and Commander Keen in The Armageddon Machine.
Commander Keen Complete Pack
A compilation pack containing the entire Commander Keen series (excluding the final episode Commander Keen in Aliens Ate My Baby Sitter! and the "lost" episode Commander Keen in Keen Dreams).
All games in the pack are pre-configured to run with DOSBox.
Essential improvements
Patches
Unfortunately Keen was from an era of computing before downloadable patches were a norm. Instead, a fully patched version of the game would be sent in the mail. The old version had to be uninstalled and deleted and the updated copy installed in its place. As the update is already the full game, it would be illegal to distribute it. Luckily this particular episode is shareware and can be freely distributed (latest version is 1.4 from GTi). Alternatively, Several dedicated fans have made homebrewed patches to update (or downgrade if you want) every official keen game. These patches edit the files to make the changes, no warez used! The original discussion thread for them can be found here.
Episode launcher
A launcher for the entire Keen series can be found here (runs in DOSBox). For a modified version of this same launcher that also supports Keen Dreams (for people whom don't have the native Steam version), try the following:
- Episode launcher
@ECHO OFF
:MENU
CLS
REM All episodes must be in the same folder contrary
REM to the original launcher this one was based on.
ECHO.
ECHO ===========================================================================
ECHO ======================= COMMANDER KEEN COLLECTION =========================
ECHO ===========================================================================
ECHO.
ECHO Invasion of the Vortices (1-3):
ECHO.
ECHO 1 - Commander Keen 1 Marooned On Mars (1990)(Apogee Software)
ECHO 2 - Commander Keen 2 The Earth Explodes (1990)(Apogee Software)
ECHO 3 - Commander Keen 3 Keen Must Die (1990)(Apogee Software)
ECHO.
ECHO Goodbye, Galaxy! (4-6):
ECHO.
ECHO 4 - Commander Keen 4 Secret Of The Oracle (1991)(Apogee Software Ltd)
ECHO 5 - Commander Keen 5 The Armageddon Machine (1991)(Apogee Software Ltd)
ECHO 6 - Commander Keen 6 Aliens Ate My Baby Sitter (1991)(Formgen)
ECHO.
ECHO Other (The Lost Episode):
ECHO.
ECHO 7 - Commander Keen Dreams (1991)(Softdisk Publishing)
ECHO.
CHOICE /c1234567q/n Choose a number (Press Q to Quit):
IF ERRORLEVEL 8 GOTO EXIT
IF ERRORLEVEL 7 GOTO KEEN7
IF ERRORLEVEL 6 GOTO KEEN6
IF ERRORLEVEL 5 GOTO KEEN5
IF ERRORLEVEL 4 GOTO KEEN4
IF ERRORLEVEL 3 GOTO KEEN3
IF ERRORLEVEL 2 GOTO KEEN2
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO KEEN1
:KEEN1
CLS
ECHO Starting Commander Keen 1...
call keen1.exe
GOTO MENU
:KEEN2
CLS
ECHO Starting Commander Keen 2...
call keen2.exe
GOTO MENU
:KEEN3
CLS
ECHO Starting Commander Keen 3...
call keen3.exe
GOTO MENU
:KEEN4
CLS
ECHO Starting Commander Keen 4...
call keen4e.exe
GOTO MENU
:KEEN5
CLS
ECHO Starting Commander Keen 5...
call keen5e.exe
GOTO MENU
:KEEN6
CLS
ECHO Starting Commander Keen 6...
call keen6c.exe
GOTO MENU
:KEEN7
CLS
ECHO Starting Commander Keen Dreams…
call kdreams.exe
GOTO MENU
:EXIT
CLS
exit
- The executable names (keen*.exe etc.) may have to be edited to fit your particular version of Keen. There are many versions. You could also replace the executable calls with CKPatch scripts if you wish to keep a customized aspect of the game always that way when you run it.
CKPatch is essentially a tool needed to load some mods (such as total conversions, or even just simple hacking) into the Keen engine. It does so by "patching" the engine in memory, hence it's name. For simple single script patches for Keen 4, look here.
- If loading of a mod/script fails, you may have to uncompress the keen executables using UNP or UNLZEXE.
Source ports
Two reversed engineered source ports are available.
- Omnispeak
- Commander Genius
Game data
In-game general settings.
Configuration file(s) location
Save game data location
Video settings
Template:Video settings
Input settings
In-game key map settings (1/2).
In-game key map settings (2/2).
Template:Input settings
Audio settings
In-game sound effects settings.
Template:Audio settings
Localizations
Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
English |
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Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
DOS video modes |
CGA, EGA |
Has a "SVGA compatibility mode" option in settings. The /COMP parameter performs the same function. Can also use the /HIDDENCARD parameter to force the game to accept the card if it doesn't detect a supported model. |
Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows |
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- Certain EGA/VGA cards have issues with choppy scrolling (the "fix jerky movement" option is only for SVGA cards). A fan patch has been made to correct this issue here. Note this fix requires version 1.4 Apogee/non-GTi to work correctly.
- Fans have managed to hack CGA composite video support into Keen 4. For more info and download, see this.
System requirements
DOS |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
3.0 |
3.3 |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel 8088 4.77 MHz
| Intel 286 |
System memory (RAM) |
565 KB | |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
1 MB (Shareware) |
3 MB (full release) |
Video card (GPU) |
CGA, EGA | |
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Operating system (OS) |
XP, Vista |
Processor (CPU) |
|
System memory (RAM) |
|
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
|
Notes
References