Dark Forces 2 Mod

[jedispy]

You double posted!!!! GRRRRR!!!!!!

 

he made the best Sp levels ever for MOTS

 

Someone already made a MOTS mod? URL please.

[The Saxman]

Originally posted by jedispy

Someone already made a MOTS mod? URL please.

 

I believe what he was saying is that Anthony Piggot made SP add-on missions for the game MOTS. Not a mod to recreate MOTS in JO or JA.

 

I must agree though that BOAM was AWSOME, for a home done level. That is a level set I'd like to see recreated.

 

The Saxman

[jedispy]

Ah I see. For JK. I'm not big on mods for JK. Graphics > crappy. That's why I can't wait for DF & JK mods to come out.

 

So who is it, exactly, that is heading up the DF2JK mod? What progress has been done so far?

[The Saxman]

Originally posted by jedispy

So who is it, exactly, that is heading up the DF2JK mod? What progress has been done so far?

 

This thread was started be someone named "Mr. Katarn", who said that he had taken over the project. However since no-one seems to have heard anything from him since, Shamus has taken up an "unofficial" role as project leader.

 

As to what progress has been made, they have a web site here: http://shamusworld.gotdns.org/df2mod/

 

Hope this helps, if not feel free to ignore me!

 

The Saxman

[Locutus_of_Borg]

Originally posted by jedispy

Ah I see. For JK. I'm not big on mods for JK. Graphics > crappy.

Yes the effects, models, and textures etc. are pretty crummy by today's standards, but the level architecture still stands up even now. As Shamus has said on the website, it really gives a sense of size and scale that you simply don't see in JO or JA, or 3D games today in general.

 

By the way Shamus, I might be interested in helping out with texture recreations. I've been experimenting with texture recreation work for the JonoF Duke Nukem 3D port. This' an example of what I've done so far. Its one of the doors (tile #1173 for those of you who care, ie. none of you ). Duke Nukem 3D tile 1173

[IcyVoid]

Hi I wanted to offer my services if needed.

 

I have two talents, skinning and creating customized sounds.

 

Let me know if I can help.

 

:D

[jedispy]

I would offer my talents, but I'm busy with my plate over here. I might poke my head in once in a while if you need any help.

 

I'm a coder.

[Dart Zaidyer]

Maybe I can help.

 

I have built a preliminary skin of Kyle in his JK outfit, as seen in the live-action cutscenes. It's not much, but you may find it useful, and it has such classic JK lines as "egh!" and that weird scream Kyle makes when he dies. If possible, I'd recommend a totally new Kyle model to match actor Jason Court... But in the mean-time, this might hold the place.

Just gimme a PM and we'll set up a way to get it.

 

Now I do have a thought... the player runs fairly slow in Academy, compared to JK. That's going to end up being really annoying in such incredibly huge levels as the tower entrance on Sulon.

Why not try meddling with the npc config files and adjusting the player's speed to give him that classic JK "Super Legs™" effect?

[sariimi]

Mr. Katarn:

The only thing I can do in connection with your project is recreating textures: I'm a Photoshop expert.

The only thing I want is playing DF2 on a better engine: I'm a Jedi Knight addict.

Just tell me if I can help

[Shamus]

Sorry for not getting back to y'all on a more timely basis. What I want to do is set up something (web page, most likely) so that anyone can check out a texture and have a shot at recreating it. It would be shown side by side with the original (after having been suitably "massaged") so that people can see the progress up close and personal. I have no idea (other than creating a bunch of static pages) how to implement this at the moment. Just a thought.

 

In the meantime, those of you whom I haven't contacted yet, feel free to send me a sample of your best material to df2modtryouts@yahoo.com. If you've got the goods, you'll be welcomed on board.

[Gen. Armageddon]

hello everyone, first I would like to say that i think this is a great idea for a mod and I think that Dark Forces II has the best story line out of the whole DF/JK series(and I have ALL of them). I would like to help out any way I can, I read the forum and heard that u needed texture re-creators, I've got PhoteDeluxe so i can do textures but I dont know good i am, ive made a few 10 minute textures for various Q3 games which came out pretty good and i can do sound effects with a nice little tool i downloaded called audacity. So whoever's in charge let me know if i can help (BTW this will be the first modding team i've ever been on, actually this is the first forum i,ve ever been on)

[Sir Vougalot]

Hey! I'm new to this thread, so reading the entire thread would've been time consuming. Just a few questions and suggestions:

 

Q1: Will the original cutscenes from the original game, with the real actors, be in the mod? Or will the cutcenes be in-game? (I think it'd be better to keep the original cutscens. They're less awkward. Technology still can't beat the talent of real human beings. Oh, and don't forget to clean up the graphics!)

 

Q2: Will secret areas actually be important again, for gaining stars? (They're kind of pointless in JO and JA, and DF for that matter.)

 

Q3: One of the cool things about JK was that your could take an AT-ST out with your lightsaber. In JO and JA, however, that was impossible, as it would step on you if you got that close. Will you be doing something to change that in order for it to be more like JK combat?

 

Q4: One of the major things about JK was the fact that there were grates which were only possible to break with your lightsaber; unlike JO and JA where you break them with your guns as well. Will you be changing it in order for it to be more like JK? (This was one of the ways in which the designers encouraged frequent lightsaber use, since there were no saber-wielding enemies like Sith statues [MOTS], Reborn [JO/JA] or Cultists [JA].) This leads me to my next question:

 

Q5: In JK, the lightsaber worked underwater. (I have no idea why they didn't let you use it underwater in JO and JA. There are comic books and novels where it is used underwater.) The reason for this was so that you could slash grate--which were only breakable via lightsaber--underwater. Will this be preserved?

 

Q5: What will Max be like? Will he be more interactive? (And will there be a way to stop him from blasting good people?)

 

Q6: What other Easter eggs will there be?

 

S1: Only the Force powers that are in JK should be available in the mod. (Jump, Speed, Sense, Pull, Healing, Persuasion, Blinding, Absorb, Protection, Throw, Grip, Lightning, Destruction, Deadly Sight.) Also, there should be a balance between their functionality in JK and in JA. Example: You can no longer pick up and enemy with Grip. They should remain on the ground, and be able to fire or swing their sabers at you, like they do in JK. However, Lightning was pretty much useless in JK. It should function as it does in JO and JA. Also, this would mean that there would be only one saber style, and that Saber Throw would no longer exist. As such, the secondary fire button's functionality should now be replaced with a double-slash, as it is in JK. Perhaps the only powers that were not in JK that should be added are Saber Defense and Saber Offense, and possibly--but only as a last resort--Push, so as to break an enemy's Force Grip (and they can break yours), and to break saber lock. I know that some of these ideas are kind of dull, removing likable powers, but I only wish this mod to be more like the original.

 

S2: Perhaps there should be more elements to the morality scale than just killing innocents, and which Force powers you've assigned stars to. There should also be ways to bring it further into the light.

 

S3: Instead of the cutscene "A Jedi's Destiny" being before you start your game, it should be after you start a new game, like the open credit scenes are in JO and JA. Now, I know that there is already a cutscene that start right after you start a sew game: "The Double-Cross on Nar Shadaa." I think that you should combine the two into one. I know it'll be long, but I still think that people will enjoy it. You start a new game, where the loading scene reads "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..." and then it goes right into AJD, with the Star Wars logo and the opening crawl. At the end of AJD, after Jerec decapitates Rawn, instead of showing the title again (which is very un-Star Wars-like), it should immediately cut to TDCONS. with the scene where the camera is flying in between buildings, with the captions "Nar Shadaa: The Verticle City."

 

S4: If you have chosen the dark side, after you slay Jerec in the final battle, there should be a brief in-game cutscene where Kyle walks to the central tower to cosume the power, before going into the cutscene of Corescant, with the shuttle entering Imperial Palace.

 

S5: In the light side ending, when all of those little "fire flies" are swarming around, and lightning is coming out of the core, before it cuts to Kyle carving the statues of Morgan and Rawn, there was originally supposed to be a scene where that lighning from the core reaches all the way out into space, destroying all of Jere's star destroyers and other ships. (That's why Mon Mothma mentions that Kyle and Jan were the only survivors of the Valley of the Jedi incident.) The scen was cut due to costs. Perhaps you could compose a scene like this, and combine it with the ending scene. (And, of course, you would have to play with the musical score in order to make it fit the scene.)

 

S6: Also regarding the light side ending: The final credits should have the Star Wars theme playing. (The original music is fine for the dark side ending.) This would also mean that you would have to freeze the final scene of the statues, wait until the music ends, and then let the scene cut to the credits. (Again, yopu'd have to play with the music, so that it no longer dies out, but builds up at the end, leading into the happy Star Wars music.)

 

TIP: Get ahold of some of the Star Wars soundtracks in order to make things easier.

 

Sorry for bumbarding you with my ideas, but I had envisioned a remake for this game ever since JO came out, and I've had my ideas ever since then. But I have no technological knowledge, so I cannot make mods. Is there any way I can help otherwise? (Like writing the script for new scenes and stuff?)

[sith_master2000]

Originally posted by Dart Zaidyer

If possible, I'd recommend a totally new Kyle model to match actor Jason Court... But in the mean-time, this might hold the place.

The Kyle in JA/JK2 is based off the actor Jason Court. I recommend if there are any modelers watching this thread out there, re-make the Morgan Katarn model in JA/JK2, it just doesn't look like the origional actor; (don't look at me I'm no modeler, I can just make a few skins.)

 

Also I know that Dart Zaidyer said he has made his own DF2 Kyle skin but he didn't include a screenie. I have made my own one and here is a screen shot of it:

The white bits on him are just parts of the model I've told the game not too show up when actually playing as him, I based it off the one from the cutscenes not the one from in game. What do you guys think of it?

[SlicerDude]

Shamus, such a site could be done easily with PHP or comparable technology; it wouldn't be hard at all if you had a systematic way of naming the files. And a server with enough space and the right software. That's a great idea, IMO, as it allows many people to participate as much or little as they want. Come to think of it, you'd save yourself a lot of work uploading the files if you had a system in place where anyone could do it, and if more than one entry is submitted for a texture, you could choose the best and maybe even have an automatic way for people to vote on it. One thing I'm wondering about for texture recreation, though: won't some details of some textures be created as additional polygonal details in the levels? I'm not sure what implications this has for texture recreation, but perhaps someone with actual modding experience (i.e. not me) can answer this.

[Dart Zaidyer]

Here's a shot of mine. I paid careful attention to Kyle's wardrobe from the cutscenes and so far I've gotten the torso done. The legs are borrowed from another JK Kyle skin floating around for Jedi Outcast.

Maybe we can combine our work... I'll send you a PM.

 

[Gen. Armageddon]

Nice worh Dart Zaidyer & sith_master2000, however you asked for honest opinions and here is mine. I think that SM2000's head looks better but the clothes on dart's kyle look more like in DF2, mainly because of the shades, in the in game movies kyle shirt was pretty much completly white (and did not have a collar like darts model) and should be in-game as well(at least nearly completly white),also the pants, belt, boots, shoulder patch and the parts of the sleevs around the wrists look good on both models but SM2000's are too dark so IMO its best to go with darts, or at least SM2000 can adjust the ones on his skin to the proper shade. But the thing on both models is the beard, it was much less pronounced in the movies in JK, it looks too much like the model of kyle's head in jedi outcast and, in my opinion makes him look older. Well i hope this serves as constructive criticism. here are some shots of his head from the movies to show you what i mean about his beard

(i hope i pasted these links properly)

 

 

http://thm-br1r2.search.vip.scd.yahoo.com/image/94053289

 

http://thm-br1r2.search.vip.scd.yahoo.com/image/77876785

[jedispy]

Posted: Gen. Armageddon

(i hope i pasted these links properly)

No you didn't, but I will for you

 

[Gen. Armageddon]

I'm new here too so ill try to answer and comment on your Q&S to the best of my ability

Q1: Yes the original cutscenes will be in the game, there was some trouble getting the frames per second from 15-30 FPS but Shamus has already done the work, the catch is that it now takes up nearly 800 megabytes

 

Q2: I dont know if they can program that or not but i also hope they will serve the same purpose

 

Q3: I'm pretty sure that they could manage this and i hope they do th make it as much like the original as possible

 

Q4&5: I think that it is possible to make objects and enemise immune to certain types of damage so they might be able to make only the lightsaber slash some grates(as for using your lightsaber more i think itll be interesting to fight 7 full jedis rather than 1 or 2 plus a bunch of "Fake jedis") i dont know if they can make the lightsaber work underwater thougt to preserve gameplay they should if they can(also I hope that they can recreate sone of the swimming physics, it was annoying in JO having to constantly swim to stay afloat when it should be done automatically near the surface, however i dont think even for gameplay that you should be able to jump 150 feet out of the water, the only problems with this that i can think of are that 1 secret in the planet of the valley of the jedi level would be inaccesible and u couldn't jump out of the water onto those ledges along the side, but this could be overcome by placing rocks or ledges sticking out underwater along the side where you could brace against the and jump)

 

Q6: i dont know what max will be like or if there will be any easter eggs or what they will be

 

S1: I agree(for the most part and i think that the force powers should become available in the same order as they did) for game play i think speed should work the same as in DF2, jump should be adjusted to make u go as high as in DF2 and maybe go up faster too, sense should work fairly similar to the original game, IMO pull should work the same as in JO and if possible they should make it so assigning stars to pull also gives you push at the same time cus the 2 powers are basically identical, as for dark side powers i think lightning and grip should work the SAME as in JO(4th star should make them take less force power to use), i dont know if they can program throw but if they can it should make debris spawn off of walls particularily off of out door walls or rockfaces, i dont know about deadly sight but destruction should be easy enough to program and it should be pretty deadly, as for light side powers, IDK if they can program blinding but if they can the only difference between the levels of blinding is how long it lasts, I liked persuasion better than mind trick and i think that it should make you hard to see and the enemies cant hear you run,the effect should be something like the shadow trooper effect with maybe a bit of a sparkle more stars should make it last longer and more effective(4 stars should make it last 30-40 seconds and undetectable except by sense), healing and absorb should work as in JO(4th star makes them use less force power), protection should place an orb around you and make you invulnerable like in DF2 but the orb should be more solid and detailed(also the force bar was very hard to read in DF2 and should be changed in addition you should get extra force energy with each star or more stars make force powers take less so at a higher level you can use your force powers more before running out, though the force energy should recharge faster and if possible jedi ranks as in initiate, learner, apprentice charge disciple/primarch ect. should still be shown in the force power screen,plus deadly sight and protection should have only 1 level and become available once you choose either the dark or light side)

 

S2: IDK if they can even make a morality scale and if so it may only be based on force powers, in the end it may be like JA where the more dark side powers you assign the more you will recieve warnings(in some form or another)about the path you are following and then no matter what powers you have assigned or what you have done, you can decide whether or not to kill Jan and decide your fate, actually i think this would be the best way to do it

 

S3: They may have to do it that way but if they can they should make A jedis destiny come up when you load the mod as it probably happend days or maybe weeks before the game while the game itself takes only a few days in my estimation

 

S4: Good idea

 

S5: Good idea if they can manage it and not make the music sound too different an any existing part of the movie but dont get your hopes up

 

S6: the original credits music is good for the dark side ending, but i dont think that the light side ending movie should be changed at all though the credits should have the original star wars credits music and maybe be made to look more like the credits in star wars(with the starfield and fadein/out names)

 

well just my opinions, sorry if this post was too massive

[Gen. Armageddon]

not meaning to nag but nobody has responded to my request to join the mod team as a texture and or sound re-creator, however if i am in please tell me how do i recieve and send texture/sound files to whoever is in charge of assigning textures and sounds to be re-created (I think that they should be assigned so that 2 or more people are not working on the same thing and wasting time, though if someone thought that they could do someone elses texture better i suppose they could submit it and it could be voted or otherwise decided on). And also start me off on some simpler textures to get some practice

 

well someone try to get back to me on my request when you get the time please

[Dart Zaidyer]

Just so I don't clutter this thread, I've created one at Massassi to showcase my updates to the Kyle skin. you can find it here for now.

 

I'll be sure to submit the final version to this project when it's complete.

[Locutus_of_Borg]

After seeing you changed the eye colour on your skin I had a look at the JK cutscenes. He does have a sort of pale blue eyes. You've made yours far too rich in colour I think. Just thought I'd bring it up anyway.

Here's a good frame of reference (no pun intended ):

"I have some business to conclude with your friend 88."

[madox]

A friend mentioned that you were looking for texture artists... and so I signed up. Yet, before posting anything, can someone please inform me whether you need anyone else in, what s/w packages are needed, and the details of the project?

 

thank you in advance, madox

[Shamus]

Once again, to all of you who want to be a part of the DF2 Mod team, please RTFW (W == website ) and the News section in particular. You can reach the website by clicking on the little "www" button just below these words (in case you were wondering where the link was ).

 

In other news, I may have a static page of textures up by the weekend, just as a placeholder until I figure out how to make it automatically generate itself. So you'll be able to see not only what we've been up to, but what remains to be done and what you can work on (and if you're going to work on a texture that isn't being worked on, be sure to let us know at df2modtryouts@yahoo.com so that we can mark it as being worked on--also if you think you can improve upon or do better than an already posted recreated texture, you can do that too. But it better be damn good! ).

[jedispy]

UH.....so can I be a texture maker d00d?

 

 

(just kidding yo)

[Gen. Armageddon]

nice work dart textures are looking GREAT, as you said the beard needs thinning a little and as locutus the eye color is too pronounces and the neck and ears(especially the ears) look a little reddish(those should be an easy fix though), but the pants and maybe the boots a little were more to the proper shade on your previous model, theres nothing wrong with the color but they might do IMO to be lightened up a little with photoshop. Also I dont know if you can model but the thing bout SM2000's model was that the part of the collar that sticks up was removed, heres a shot of what i mean

 

http://www.julesarts.com/darkforces/jk/kyle.jpg

 

Overall its lookin very, very close to Jason Court in the movies keep up the great work