Patch:Title screen
This page covers patches relating to the title screen. The title screen in Keen Vorticons is where the main menu appears. In Keen Dreams it is the image that appears before the main menu as well as including the High Scores table. In Keen Galaxy it is again a simple image leading to the main menu. Associated patches are Patch:Main menu and Patch:Start sequence.
In Keen Vorticons a level is displayed that can be edited in a level editor. The level used is a screen from LEVEL90.CKx. In Dreams, the title screen image can be edited with Keengraph. In Galaxy, the title screen image can be edited with ModKeen along with most other Galaxy graphics.
Due to the different natures of the title screens, this page will be divided into three sections, Vorticons, Dreams and Galaxy. Patches for relevant episodes and outcomes will be listed under these sections.
Vorticons title
At present, it is possible to patch the location and bitmaps used for the title and the "F1 for help" graphics. (Note that the title graphic cannot be changed easily, as it is not given a value in the code, because it uses bitmap 0.) All values are the default values. For help with graphic location patches, see Patch:Images.
Title screen in Keen 1
#Bitmaps:
%patch $97C0 [$0002W] #F1
#Locations:
%patch $97B2 [$0001W] #Title V
%patch $97B6 [$0008W] #Title H
%patch $97C4 [$00B6W] #F1 V
%patch $97C8 [$0010W] #F1 H
#Don't show...
%patch $97CB $90 $90 $90 #F1
%patch $97B9 $90 $90 $90 #Title
%patch $97AB $C3 #F1 AND title
%patch $97E4 $90 #F1 AND title when menu is open (Has side effects!)
Title screen in Keen 2
#Bitmaps:
%patch $9241 [$0002W] #F1
#Locations:
%patch $9233 [$0001W] #Title V
%patch $9237 [$0008W] #Title H
%patch $9245 [$00B6W] #F1 V
%patch $9249 [$0010W] #F1 H
#Don't show...
%patch $924C $90 $90 $90 #F1
%patch $923A $90 $90 $90 #Title
Title screen in Keen 3
#Bitmaps:
%patch $A09A [$0002W] #F1
#Locations:
%patch $A08C [$0001W] #Title V
%patch $A090 [$0008W] #Title H
%patch $A09E [$00B6W] #F1 V
%patch $A0A2 [$0013W] #F1 H
#Don't show...
%patch $A0A5 $90 $90 $90 #F1
%patch $A093 $90 $90 $90 #Title
Dreams title
The Dreams title consists of a 'demo loop' that displays the title screen and the High scores in a constant cycle. Though loading level 20 this is never shown in the game. (In the patchable version at least.)
Screen image file and errors
The screen image is loaded and decompressed form a separate file archive in which it is the only chunk. See also Patch:Files and filenames.
There are three possible errors. The first occurs when the titlescreen archive file cannot be found. The second occurs if the file itself is corrupt and doesn't fit the expected parameters. The third occurs if the title chunk inside the file is corrupt.
Title screen in Dreams
#Dreams titlescreen archive
%patch $435C [$038DW] #Look for this file
%patch $438A [$038DW] #Load this file
%patch $23DFD "KDREAMS.CMP" $00
#Title screen file
%patch $23E23 "TITLESCR.LBM" $00
#No titlescreen archive
%patch $436D [$0399W]
%patch $23E09 "Couldn't find KDREAMS.CMP" $00
#Can't read titlescreen error
%patch $439D [$03C0W]
%patch $23E30 "Can't load TITLE SCREEN" $00
#Can't read title chunk error
%patch $9C61 [$25EDW]
%patch $2605D "Error Loading Compressed lib shape!" $00
Time titlescreen is visible for
By default the 'title sequence' loops between the titlescreen and the high score table. The first appearance of the title, when the game first loads, is especially long, while later appearances are shorter.
As such there are two times involved, the first for the special initial appearance and the second for the 'looping appearances'. Note that the first, longer, time is the sum of both times rather than a standalone value.
Titlescreen display time
#Titlescreen display time
%patch $43FA [$0118W] #First appearance extra time
%patch $4447 [$00D2W] #Loop appearances
The first patch causes the game to go straight to the menu instead of displaying the titlescreen. In fact there is no way to view the titlescreen (Or High score table that goes with it.), it is completely disabled.
The second patch is related, except the titlescreen appears, the player is sent to the menu after a time instead of seeing the High Scores.
#Skip titlescreen go straight to Main Menu
%patch $4395 $E9 $00FFW
#Go to menu after titlescreen
%patch $4408 $90 $90
Skip titlescreen, go straight to game
This patch causes the game to go straight to a new game instead of displaying the titlescreen. In fact there is no way to view the titlescreen (Or High score table that goes with it.), it is completely disabled and pressing 'esc' in-game will cause the entire game to 'reset'.
There are two variables that can be altered, thedifficulty level of the game and the first level entered. In this patch they are 'easy' and level 0 (the map).
Go straight to game
#Skip titlescreen go straight to game
%patch $4395 $E9 $00FFW
%patch $28B32 $4AB8W
%patch $5D01 $C7 $06 $7128W [$0001W] #Difficulty
%patch $3C0C $7124W [$0000W] #Level to start in
High scores table
The High Score table appears after the title screen then, after a period of time, returns to the title screen again.
No High Scores in title sequence
This patch removes the High Score table in the title sequence only. While the palyer can enter a new high score and see the table at a Game Over they will not see the table when first starting the game and waiting.
No High Scores in title sequence
#No High scores in title sequence
%patch $4475 $EB $09
Time score table is visible
These patches control how long the High Scores table is visible before the title screen appears. There are two different situations, Game Over and title sequence, with different times.
High Score display time
#High Scores display time
%patch $4484 [$01A4W]
These patches cause the game to go to the main menu after the titlescreen or high scores are displayed, even if the player doesn't press a key.
#Go to main menu after title displays
%patch $4455 $EB
#Go to main menu after High Score table displays
%patch $4492 $EB
Galaxy title
The Galaxy title screen is much less involved than the Vorticons one. Like Dreams it is a fullscreen image, appearing after the 'terminator text' sequence has completed or been aborted by the player. (Check the terminator sequence page for related patches.)
There are in fact three situations where the titlescreen is displayed. The first is when the player allows the 'terminator text' to play out, whereupon the screen will fade to the title. The second situation is when the player presses a key, causing the titlescreen to appear. The third is after a game over where pressing a key in the High Scores demo will cause the title to appear.
Skip screen, go to Main Menu
These patches skip the titlescreen, going straight to the Main Menu. But this only happens if the player skips the 'terminator text'; allowing it to play out will still cause the title fade.
Skip Title screens
#Skip title, go to Main Menu -Keen 4
%patch $51BC $EB
#Skip title, go to Main Menu -Keen 5
%patch $51B6 $EB
#Skip title, go to Main Menu -Keen 6
%patch $4FC5 $EB
Title screen image
As noted above, there are in fact, three different title screens that can be shown. The first appears when the 'terminator text' is allowed to scroll uninterrupted. This will result in a 'titelscreen fade' where the title slowly appears from a black screen. The second title screen appears instantly if the player presses any key. The third appears after a Game Over and the High Scores demo plays out. By default all three of these title imagess are identical, but they don't have to be.
Like all bitmaps, the title screen must be cached before it can be displayed. The number given in these patches is the chunk number (Properly labelled by Keengraph; ModKeen will label the bitmap with a different number.) As such there are a total of four lines of code, two for each title screen.
Keen Galaxy Title screens
#Keen 4 titlescreen images
%patch $4EDC [$006DW] #Cache for title fade
%patch $4CF4 [$006DW] #Display in title fade
%patch $51C4 [$006DW] #Cache for title jump
%patch $51D0 [$006DW] #Display in title jump
%patch $58A4 [$006DW] #Cache for after Game Over
%patch $58B0 [$006DW] #Display for after Game Over
#Keen 5 titlescreen images
%patch $4ED6 [$0058W] #Cache for title fade
%patch $4CEE [$0058W] #Display in title fade
%patch $51BE [$0058W] #Cache for title jump
%patch $51CA [$0058W] #Display in title jump
%patch $589E [$0058W] #Cache for after Game Over
%patch $58AA [$0058W] #Display for after Game Over
#Keen 6 titlescreen images
%patch $4CF7 [$0022W] #Cache for title fade
%patch $4B0F [$0022W] #Display in title fade
%patch $4FCD [$0022W] #Cache for title jump
%patch $4FD9 [$0022W] #Display in title jump
%patch $56AD [$0022W] #Cache for after Game Over
%patch $56B9 [$0022W] #Display for after Game Over