Tileset-Tool
| Developer(s) | Dr. Kylstein |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 2012-12-29 |
| Development status | Finished |
| Platform | Windows XP, 7-10, Linux, Source Code |
| Tool Type | Tile Properties Editor |
| Engine(s) | Keen:Vorticons |
| Homepage | https://github.com/DrKylstein/Tileset-Tool |
| Discussion(s) | K:M Discussion Thread |
| Download | TilesetTool Windows 32-bit newest Mirror TilesetTool Linux 32-bit, Mirror TilesetTool Linux 64-bit, Mirror Source Code on GitHub |
Tileset-Tool is a GUI-based modding utility for Keen 1-3 written by Dr. Kylstein for the Win32 platform. (With source code for compiling to other platforms.) It is used to change the properties and appearance of the tiles used in Keen 1 with the Vorticons 2 patch.
This is necessary as the patch alters the layout of the tileset and tileinfo, allowing one 910-tile tileset for every different level in Keen 1.
About
Introduction to V2
V2 is an extensive patch for Commander Keen in: Invasion of the Vorticons. It's features include:
- 1. More tiles.
- 2. A different set of tiles for every level.
- 3. Sloped tiles.
- 4. Custom 8-frame animations
- 5. With an addon by Dr. Kylstein, a different palette for every level, and color cycling.
In order to accomplish these things, tile editing for V2 is very different from the classic methods.
Introduction Tileset
For convenience, V2 uses files with the ".tls" extension to bundle several different things that had previously been stored separately, as well as new data to support the new features.
Tile properties
This is what the old TileInfo files contained, but more compact and with added data for slopes.
Tile animations
Unlike the old TileInfo, animations are stored as a table of eight frame indexes for each tile, allowing completely custom animation.
Tile graphics
This is what would have been in your 1TIL0001.BMP/2TIL0001.BMP/3TIL0001.BMP. Your graphics importer tool still decides how large this can be, but the actual graphics will be loaded from this part of the tileset file.
Palette
This is always included by Tileset Tool, but you will need Dr. Kylstein's V2 Palette Patch for the game to use it. It stores the colors to use with the tileset (sprites and menus will also use them, so be careful.). The addon patch will cause the colors to cycle through the first eight sets of sixteen colors at a regular rate, and to switch to the second eight when the lights are turned off.
Tileset Tool has distinct sections for editing each of these, except for graphics, which must edited in a general graphics program and imported.
Levels and TILEHEADs
One of V2's flagship features is that you can use a different tileset with every level. Each level has the whole space allocated for tile graphics to itself, and its own animations and colors. Which tileset is used by which level is decided by an additional file, TILEHEAD.CK1 (or .CK2, or .CK3 as appropriate). Editing this file is beyond the scope of Tileset Tool, but a supplementary program, Tileset Manager, is available for that purpose. The file can also be generated from a command line by KeenGraph.
Hot Keys
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| W | Toggle Top Collison |
| A | Toggle Left Collison |
| S | Toggle Bottom Collison |
| D | Toggle Right Collison |
| N | Set Interaction to Do Nothing. |
| K | Cycle Interaction value between Key types. |
| L | Cycle Interaction value between Door types. (Locked) |
| H | Set Interaction to Kills. (Hurt) |
| F | Set tile as Foreground. (Occupies Interaction value.) |
| M | Set tile as Masked. (Occupies Interaction value.) |
| C | Apply currently selected animation cycle. |
| T | Auto map the current tile relative to the previous one. |