Kero Blaster Discord

So Thomas Xin and I run a small Kero Blaster server, and we'd like to expand the number of members we have. So if you like Kero Blaster (or Ikachan?) come say hi and let's talk about how Cave Story was much better the Kero modding scene needs more attention and shit like that.

You can join using the following link:
https://discordapp.com/invite/xA8mB9W,
Or entering in this code:

xA8mB9W

 

So Thomas Xin and I run a small Kero Blaster server, and we'd like to expand the number of members we have. So if you like Kero Blaster (or Ikachan?) come say hi and let's talk about how Cave Story was much better the Kero modding scene needs more attention and shit like that.

You can join using the following link:
https://discordapp.com/invite/xA8mB9W,
Or entering in this code:

xA8mB9W

>"join this server"
>server is almost completely dead

 

>"join this server"
>server is almost completely dead

well its gonna be dead unless people join.

 

well its gonna be dead unless people join.

>expecting people to join

 

i still don't see the point in joining this when

- the people in this server are in the main CSTSFDG server and in greater quantity
- you can talk about kb all you want in the CSTSFDG
- most of the channels in this kb server are totally irrelevant to kb anyway

 

If there was any actual Kero Blaster activity outside of the rare mention of it, maybe I could understand the purpose of advertising/expanding it. But as it stands there is no reason it should be called the Kero Blaster server when it really serves more as a smaller CSTSFDG, as Doors said. It's fine to have a group like that, but masquerading it as a "Kero Blaster server" is disingenuous since that is clearly not the focal point.

 

that's because it's not the cave story discord group, it's the CSTSF discord group

 

You realise the CSTSFDG only has one Cave Story channel, right?

I kinda figured this would come up eventually. You're right, the CSTSFDG has very little to do with Cave Story, but that's because it's the Cave Story Tribute Site Forums Discord Group. More specifically, the group is focused on the community surrounding the game, not the game itself (for the most part). There is actually a server specifically for Cave Story itself found here, and unlike the CSTSFDG server which serves more as a hangout for CSTSF members, the Cave Story server mostly just talks about the game. The Kero Blaster server currently has an identity crisis.

Yes, there is a lack of Kero discussion, but I'd like to change that, and getting more members who're interested in the game would help.

That's fair. But I do hope that if Kero Blaster activity doesn't pick up, you can at least see that and make changes accordingly. Because currently the distribution is like what, 5% Kero Blaster and 95% everything else? Heck, you guys have an Ikachan channel, so maybe repurpose the server to be for "Pixel's Other Games?" That would still encompass Kero Blaster, plus anything else Pixel makes in the future.

Might as well comment on the state of the server upkeep too while I'm here. The rules seem to have gotten better since I last left? But the moderation remains a mess. I brought OVER_W4TCHER in the server, and by the end of it all one of your moderators resigned and an admin warned it. Your admin warned a bot (and still doesn't have the bot role). I feel like the staff isn't coordinated and some were chosen for no particular reason.

 

But the CSTSF discuss Cave Story most of the time. They do have off-topic sections, but I haven't seen anything in them for a long time.

You realise the CSTSFDG only has one Cave Story channel, right?

what are you trying to argue here?

i'll ignore that jab at my moderating skills, by the way

 

the Kero modding scene needs more attention and shit like that.

There's a Kero modding scene?

Anyways, I think a place to chat about Kero Blaster is a good idea. Half the theories about the game gives me a nosebleed so I guess a place for discussion on the game is going to be interesting.

 

There's a Kero modding scene?

I don't think anyone has even tried making a KB mod yet.

 

I don't think anyone has even tried making a KB mod yet.

They haven't - the only progress is JMickle's editor and map format documentation, a list of all commands and arg counts and some more map documentation, and my ongoingish documentation on what some of the script commands do

I imagine it'll be somewhat of an uphill battle since there doesn't seem to be nearly as much interest in KB modding as there was with CS modding, so far fewer resources are being pumped into the KB modding scene. This is probably since CS modding is so popular and simple now that people don't see much purpose for modding KB.

 

There is no way to edit entities at the moment, since JMickle's editor stopped all progress before the functionality could be implemented. Not to mention JMickle's editor has the problem of being super user unfriendly and requires a stupid amount of keyboard interaction with keys that you probably won't remember in order to do anything.

 

I might try asking JMickle for the source for his editor seeing has he's not really doing anything with it. I think it'd be really helpful for demystifying the map format seeing as JMickle's documentation (although enormously helpful) is somewhat confusing and not formal. If we could write standard documentation on the map format and see how it's interpreted in action that'd be awesome. KB modding has been on my mind for a while

Hopefully ActionScript isn't too difficult to read.

ninjaedit: after looking at his github it looks like jmickle has a python script that reads some PH-related files or something - I'll try it later

 

Not to mention the lack of undo, redo, the ability to edit tiles too far from the starting position, lack of entity viewing (is it just me with that one or what?), tile type viewing/editing, map property editing, map scaling, and script editing. I know you can edit the scripts with a text editor, but having an info box, list of commands, and colour coding would make everything much easier.

Yeah it's real irritating, though I think it's more of a proof-of-concept that got abandoned, not what JMickle necessarily thought was a great editor.

After looking at his python script on GitHub (linked above), I've found it just records and prints some info on PXPACK files, so I guess we can see how reading the file works in action. I'm also replicating it in C++ but then I got stuck on a weird thing with extra characters and stuff because C++. Maybe I'll do it in Java.

Before we make any progress on editors though, we have to figure out a decent amount of info on PXEVE (and possibly more on PXPACK). That will at least allow us to make mods that use the base spritesheets and stuff until we figure out PXATTR (assuming that it's related to tile properties, like PXA in CS).