Vorticon Tools

Game Editing

This section is organised by category. If an editor supports more than one type of editing, such as level editing and graphics editing, it will be listed under both sections.

Level Editors

KeenEdit (DOS) level editor developed by Jeremy Haubold in 1996
KeenWright (DOS, WINE) level editor developed by Andrew Durdin in 2000
Keen MakeOver (Win32) level editor developed by Geoff Sims, Oracle & Flaose in 2001
iKeen (Win32, WINE) level editor developed by Xtraverse in 2004
Mindbelt (Win32, WINE) level editor developed by CK Guy in 2007
akeen (Win32, WINE) level editor developed by KeenRush in 2013
Levelderp (Linux) level editor developed by Commander Spleen in 2016

Graphics Editors

ModKeen/ModLatch (DOS, Source Code), LModKeen (Linux Port) for extracting and re-importing graphics
Keengraph (DOS, Win32, WINE) for extracting and reimporting graphics

Sound Editors

KeenFX (DOS, Source Code) PC Speaker sound editor
KeenWave (DOS, compiled Linux binary) program to import\export sounds and music, currently a beta, comes with an Adlib sound player
MIRRORSND reverses the sounds

Music Editors

TSRMusic allows Vorticons mods to have IMF music works with:
AdPlug – standalone DOS program and a Winamp/XMMS plugin for playing Keen's IMF music
IMF Player (DOS, Source Code) as the name suggest: an IMF Player
IMF2WAV (DOS, Win32, Source Code) converts any IMF file to Wave format
IMF2MIDI (DOS, Win32) converts IMF songs into MIDI files
MIDI2IMF (CLI) converts MIDI songs into IMF files
DRO2MIDI (CLI, Source Code) improved program based on IMF2MIDI
DRO2IMF (DOS) converts DRO files to IMF files
IMF Creator (CLI, Source Code) converts MIDI songs into IMF files
IMFCrush (CLI, Source Code) reduces the file size + converts IMF songs to a different rate and/or format

Story / Game Text Editors

Fin2Bmp (DOS), Linux Port now outdated thanks to graphics editors
Startext (DOS) for making text patches
The Patchotron‎ (Win32) for editing some basic patches
The Neural Stunner (Win32) for editing some basic patches
K-Screener (Win32) for editing the final text screen
TheDraw (DOS) for editing the final text screen

Patching tools

CKPatch (DOS) for patching the executable files
UNLZEXE (Win32, CLI) needed to decompress the executable files
UNP (DOS) needed to decompress the executable files

Other editors and editing tools

TileInfo (Win32, Source Code) Used to edit tile properties
Tileset-Tool (Win32, WINE, Linux, Source Code) Used to edit tile properties and make tilesets for the Vorticons 2 patch
Ktiledit (CLI) a simple tile(set) graphics editing program
VorticonView (Win32, WINE) a level viewer for Keen Vorticons
Random Maze Generator (Win32) creates random maze levels
Keen 1 Randomiser (DOS, Win32, Linux) creates a randomized version of Keen 1

Modding Tutorials

Keen Vorticons Modding Tutorial (patch based)

Patching Tutorial

OS Compatible

Most of the above listed tools are written for MS-DOS or Windows based systems. The bracketed ancillary information show for which operating system (OS) these tools are meant to be. To run these applications one could use the native system they are based on. Alternatively there are ways of emulating the needed OS. For eg. MS-DOS based tools can be run via DOSBox.

For Linux users (Mac-OS?) the usability differs for each application. Those might be either compatible, portable or provide another ability to run them like compiling the source code on a Linux based system. The following footer texts explain the needed requirements:

CLI: Tool is command line based.
DOS: Tool is originally written for a MS-DOS environment and can be emulated by using DOSBox.
Port: A Linux port for this Tool exists.
Source Code: The source-code is available within the download package and can be compiled.
Win32: Tool is native Windows tool. It might be compatible with WINE.
WINE: Tool is a standalone application which just needs the WINE program starter to work properly.

Alternative one could use a Virtual machine to simply emulate the needed Operating System. There are several options to choose from. The most popular might be Virtual-Box, VMware Workstation or QEMU.

Game Information

For details on the file formats used by the games, see the Commander Keen 1–3 section on the ModdingWiki.
There is a list of patches that can be incorporated into mods to change the game's behavior.