Commander Keen: The Armageddon Machine

Commander Keen Episode 5: The Armageddon Machine (or simply Keen 5) was developed by iD Software and published by Apogee Software. It is the last of two episodes in the "Goodbye, Galaxy!" series of games (the other being Keen 4) and was the non-shareware (i.e., had to be purchased) of the two. After the events of previous episode, Keen makes his way towards the Omegamatic, a massive weapon orbiting Korath III, and searches for a way to destroy it before it destroys the entire Galaxy. In spite of the many challenging levels standing between Keen and his ultimate objective, the any% run breaks the game completely, allowing Keen to access the final level within a minute.

Overview

In order to win the game, Keen must destroy the Quantum Explosion Dynamo (or QED), the Omegamatic's engine found in the QED's titular level. Other than that, the player can do anything they need in order to achieve that goal. For a casual player, this involves:

• Clearing two gateway levels to reach the main hub
• Clearing another four gateway levels, each guarding a "machine level"
• Completing the four machine levels by breaking the machine inside, thereby allowing access to the upper elevator
• Clearing a final gateway level
• Completing the QED by breaking its namesake (game ends)

This is twelve levels in total, and very few are less than a minute long. However, thanks to a very handy glitch, the player can skip from the first level to the secret level, whose exit leads to the final two levels of the game. The secret level itself as a secret exit that completes the level far faster than normal, as well. Finally, the gateway level preceding QED can be completed incredibly fast thanks to the death-exit glitch. Only the QED itself must be completed in whole and, as such, it is the primary factor in a good speedrun.

Categories

Generally, this game is played using version 1.4: it is the version that comes with the Steam package (currently the only distribution available) and is by far the most widely-used copy. In addition, the wrong warp in the any% run can only be performed in version 1.4, making its usage there mandatory. If other categories benefit from other versions, they may be allowed if the contribution is significant enough.

The any% run is played on Normal difficulty. This is because the secret level's secret exit cannot be destroyed on Easy difficulty, which would at least double the run's time to complete. Hard difficulty would only make the run more luck-reliant, as well, so the fastest option is to play on Normal.

The glitchless% run is defined as using no unintended skips caused by various glitches. This includes the wrong warp and death-exit glitches. Potentially, this run can be separated further into Easy, Normal, and Hard difficulties, as the primary action found in the run involves deftly handling enemy randomness: harder runs may take longer but are more impressive in terms of their technical display. Currently, runs of this category are played on Normal as a balance between speed and RNG challenge.

Glitches

This section addresses game-specific glitches only. For glitches spanning the entire Galaxy set of games, check the Galaxy engine page. Similarly, are glitches specific to a level are addressed in the appropriate section.

Wrong Warp

Also known as the "Shelley door trick" or "secret warp". When Keen accesses the teleporter that leads him to the secret level on the map, he is given a special flag to change how he enters the teleporter (which would otherwise be entered as a normal door). Curiously, this flag is also set when Keen is being pushed by enemies under certain conditions.

There are a few different places where this glitch can be performed: all that's required is an enemy that flags Keen appropriately and a door to enter. While the exact requirements of the flag are unknown, it definitely works in the following cases:

• Entering a door while a Shelley is pushing you (e.g., in Brownian Motion Inducor at the top doors on Hard)
• Entering a door after being pushed off of a pole by a Little Ampton (note that you cannot re-grab a pole as this apparently resets the flag)

The latter case can be done as early as the first level, using the Little Amptons on the bottom half of the map to flag Keen then pogoing your way to the top. This particular instance is the basis of the any% run, allowing the player to wrong warp to the secret level in the first fifteen seconds of the run.