Bio Menace
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This is the main page for Bio Menace. For a complete list of all pages related to this game, visit the Bio Menace category page.
Biomance is a series of 3 games known simply as Biomenace 1, 2 and 3. They use a slightly altered version of the Commander Keen 4-6 engine, so the file formats used are almost identical.
The game follows the adventures of Snake Logan, a top secret operative at the CIA, who takes on missions others would see as suicidal, as he battles hordes of strange mutant monsters that have suddenly appeared and are taking over cities. The goals of the game vary, from rescuing trapped prisoners to destroying an evil computer. Notably, in the third game, if you do not get the portable nuclear device in one of the levels, the game becomes unwinnable and you are treated to the story of Snake's eventual death.
File formats
- AudioT Format - used for storing sound and music data
- B800 Text - there are a couple of text screens in the main .EXE file (including the text displayed on the screen when you quit)
- EGAGraph Format - used for storing graphics, text and miscellaneous data
- GameMaps Format - used for storing level maps
- IMF Format - actual music is in IMF
- Keen 4-6 Action Format Sprite's behaviors are governed by this
Music
AudioT Format Details
Biomenace uses the uncompressed version of the AudioT Format to store music and sound. The main audio file for each game, the AUDIOT.xxx file, is called AUDIOT.BMx, where x is the number of the game (1, 2 or 3). For example, the file for Keen 2 is AUDIO.BM2. The secondary files needed for this format, the AUDIOHED.BMx are external.
Levels Songs Assignment
There is a place inside the executables too, where each level in the game is assigned a song from the AUDIOT.BMx file. From that addresses, the following bytes indicate the song for each level. Every 2 bytes is a value corresponding to a level. The first 2 bytes correspond to level 0; the next 2 bytes correspond to level 1; and so on. Each 2-byte value is an integer corresponding to the song number used in that level, starting from $00 $00, and going up to $00 $01, and so on. This numbers refer to the order the songs are in the AUDIO.BMx file; $00 $00 is the first one, $00 $01 is the second one, and so on.
It is notable that Biomenace has many more songs in it than the Keen 4-6 games upon which it was based.
Debugging/testing info
- Bio Menace Cheat Codes - including debugging "cheats" useful for modders
Obtaining the game
The full version of this game has been released as freeware.
- Three different versions are available from Classic DOS Games
