This is a heavily glitched tool-assisted speedrun of Commander Keen 5: The Armageddon Machine.
- Best ending
- Plays on the hardest difficulty
- Takes damage to save time
- Uses death to save time
- Abuses programming errors
- Manipulates luck
- Heavy glitch abuse
- Aims for fastest time
- Genre: Platform
The published movie ends input at the ending sequence; this run ends input at the high score screen. Different emulator settings are used, making loading times slightly longer.
JPC-RR v11.6 was used to make the movie.
This TAS uses v1.4 of the game. You can't locate a copy of it here.
Here is JPC-RR's ImageMaker's report on the disk image used:
Type : HDD
Tracks : 16
Sides : 16
Sectors : 63
Total sectors : 16128
Primary extent size: 2744
Storage Method : 3
Sectors present : 1714
Calculated Disk ID : F278BE6EE81B72D8D7B51F186AFF6834
Claimed Disk ID : f278be6ee81b72d8d7b51f186aff6834
Comments section:
Entry: N/A N/A 4 /
Entry: 19900101000000 d080b7c53b0b374813a7479b559d4eb4 101990 /AUDIO.CK5
Entry: 19900101000000 d5598dcda25b02e61aeac17fcac9437b 573664 /EGAGRAPH.CK5
Entry: 19900101000000 33ffac175c3fb8e33fc3dbdc0ab6b965 73721 /GAMEMAPS.CK5
Entry: 19900101000000 075194c6617abf14e07cd78ea44e3266 106417 /KEEN5E.EXE
Tricks used
Impossible Pogo Trick
Tapping ALT and CTRL near-simultaneously while holding Left or Right allows Keen to perform a higher-than-normal pogo jump.
Continuous Vertical Pogo
When approaching a static soft platform from below under certain conditions, Keen can land on it without having to wait for gravity to deplete her vertical momentum.
Cornerboosting
Landing on corners and hitting them in midair can slightly boost Keen forward.
Slope mechanics
Keen moves forward 7/6 times faster when traversing a downward slope. When traversing a sharply downward slope, she moves forward 1/3 times faster. Conversely, she moves forward 5/6 times slower when traversing an upward slope and 2/3 times slower when traversing a sharply upward slope.
Death flag glitch
Saving and reloading a game causes the "you are dying" flag to be reset while still leaving Keen in the dying animation, allowing her to clip through walls. This is beneficial when done near the vertical edge of a level, as touching one will complete the level. Oracles and swimming gear cannot be touched with this glitch.
Midair Pogo
Pogo activation and deactivation in midair allows for greater control over jump height. Keen's pogo hitbox is shorter than her jumping one, which can enable her to jump farther and higher in constrained spaces.
Warp glitch
Being pushed under certain conditions, including while hanging onto a pole, causes the end of the level to warp you to the game's secret level, Korath III. This is useful as the exit from Korath III takes you to the segment of the overworld just prior to the second last level of the game (as the exit to the secret level is in that level), meaning, if it's done early enough, you can skip a considerable number of levels. This glitch only works in v1.4 of the game.
Boot
Adjusting the initial RTC time is the only way to luck manipulate Shockshunds and the Shikadi Master. It is set to a value that results in excellent positioning for both at the cost of worse enemy positioning on the first level.
Ion Ventilation System
Compared to the v0, three frames are lost due to worse enemy positioning.
Korath III Base
Nothing to see here.
Gravitational Damping Hub
Nothing to see here, either.
Of Hound And Man
The Shockshund pit was redone three times in total. Darling Keen must wait for that sound of electric hounds before crossing the big rainbow bridge to eternity.
Wall turrets, moving platforms, Bouncing Pointy Things, Spinning Fiery Poles and Beam Hazards can't be manipulated. As such, the rest of the run is bound by them. Luck is manipulated in order to destroy the QED faster.
Special thanks to
- Ilari: for making this run possible, writing the fabulous script, providing advice on JPC-RR usage, and following progress with devotion.
Suggested screenshots
[dead link removed]
Nach: Fantastic improvement, this is a TAS we can be proud of. Accepting as improvement to existing run.
I give up.
This run looks almost like the perfect run of Keen 5 I imagined.
