Shadows of the Empire Mod for JA (aka "Want List")

[jedispy]

Hrm....I will need to think about that one. There will be a scene where Luke deals with Jawas. Basically it's in the level where Luke builds his lightsaber. You guys are going to love that level. It's somewhat reminiscant (holy crap I spelled that wrong) of the Jedi training level in JO, but with guns and interaction between characters.

 

Other awesome news:

I just got my SOTE soundtrack cd today. I'm going to use the music from the cd as the game soundtrack. I know there might be legal issues in doing that, but I will figure out something. Maybe the publisher will let me do it if I ask nicely.

 

Anyway, Jawas. There might be possibility in having someone do some Jawa sounds. Of course I will still see what the movies hold for Jawa sounds. Thing with that is that I can't think of any times where there is any Jawa dialogue. Lots of Ewoks dialogue......those d@mn dirty teddy bears!!

 

I will keep that in mind. Thanks for the suggestion iamtrip

[iamtrip]

I'm always happy to help!

[jedispy]

Making progress.

Existing model status:

Dash Rendar - Permission GRANTED

Stormtrooper - Permission GRANTED

Gamorrean - Permission GRANTED

Nomi Sunrider - Permission GRANTED -- Nomi Sunrider will be the model for Guri. A reskin will be needed.

Ponda Baba - Permission GRANTED

Max Rebo - Permission GRANTED

Mara Jade – Permission GRANTED -- Mara will have a small cameo spot in SOTE.

 

Still waiting on:

Boushh Leia - Dwayne 'oddjob' Douglass - Status: Seeking Contact info.

4-LOM - Dwayne 'oddjob' Douglass - Status: Seeking Contact info.

Chewbacca with long mane - Major Clod - Status: Seeking Contact info.

Emperor Palpatine - Toonces, Grafox, Psynex, Arco, Sithlord - Status: Seeking Contact info.

Snowspeeder - tFighterPilot - Status: Seeking Contact info.

Millennium Falcon - RAVEN, Mars Marshall - Status: Seeking Contact info.

Royal Guard - Eric Landreneau - Status: Seeking Contact info.

Darth Vader - Bellan "Kartoon" Karl - Status: Seeking Contact info.

Slave 1 - darkskywalker aka josh javaheri - Status: Seeking Contact info.

DF Kyle Katarn - Infinity Blade - Status: Awaiting Author reply

AT-AT - Duncan_10158, Scouttrooper - Status: Awaiting Author reply

 

If you guys know how to contact these guys at all, please let me know. These models are the best that I have found, and I would hate to have to reinvent the wheel on it.

 

It's not fully confirmed yet, but KMan is going to make the Prince Xizor model.

 

More will be posted soon on the news page of my website.

[Nokill]

hmmm thats almost the simelar list i got for my mod =/

[jedispy]

Posted: Nokill

hmmm thats almost the simelar list i got for my mod =/

Have you had any luck in contacting/getting permission for your models? I really want all of these models. Particularly I want DF Kyle Katarn, Darth Vader, 4-LOM, Boushh/Leia, and the AT-AT.

 

4-LOM & Boushh/Leia are made by Oddjob, who is completely MIA. I mean it, I tried to track him down. It even took me to some website where he's involved in mods for Unreal Tournament. The best I could get was a response from some guy:

Hi,

 

My handle is "Ace12GA", from the A-Team, the guys that make all the

Action mods. Anyway, I noticed your thread on the message board and

thought I would give you the heads up.

 

Oddjob has been out of contact with the team for a while. We have no

way to contact him reliably. In fact, its not likely for him to return

to the mod scene anytime soon. That said, you will not be able to

contact him.

 

Further to that, I know he would not like his work being used without

his explicit permission. Since you're not going to get that, I would

recommend you look elsewhere for your content. I have worked with him

on and off for over 5 years, and know how he feels about this sort of

thing. I'm not trying to be rude, just trying to explain the situation

to you.

 

Sorry I can't be more helpful.

 

Good luck with your mod,

 

Evan <Ace12GA>

 

Maybe I have a bad attitude, but that kind of pisses me off. I mean I am more than happy to give him the credit for the models I use. However when a person can't be contacted, there should be a rule that says "bite me, I want to use the model that you don't have the copywright on anyway." I mean they all belong to Lucasfilm anyway. Right? Anyone wanna back me up on this?

 

What do you guys think?

[Nokill]

well i dot have only some models and not the vehicle's

but yes i got most premissions ready

and btw you mostly only have to add the readme file of the author and the name of the guy and the link where you got the file

well that woud make me happy

[MikeGunther1969]

Ok, some of the original creators of these models are no longer available...grown up and not playing games, married and the wife won't let em', The kid does it better than dad used to, no longer interested in the game the model was ever created for..........

 

Furthermore the models are the intellectual property of George Lucas, Lucasfilm, Lucasarts, Steve Perry, and Dark Horse Comics, not the creator of the model itself.

 

Next...you don't have to use the exact model. Your final model needs to only be based on the original creation with a change or two. This is pure fact as it applies to patent law with product creation, description and manufacturing of similar products based on the same premise. Change a diode or 2, put the power switch in a different position, you have 2 widgets form 2 manufacturers which don't infringe on each other's patents. (Not sure about copyright law though)

 

Finally, since you are going to give credit where it is due, and this product CAN AND WILL NEVER BE LEGALLY SOLD FOR PROFIT there is no legal issue for anyone whose work you use in a non-licensed game MOD.

 

Find and use what you can bro', just tweak it enough to make it your own. Give Props to everyone who deserves it, and Let's play the f--kin' game!!!.

[Nokill]

amen MikeGunther1969

[jedispy]

Give Props to everyone who deserves it, and Let's play the f--kin' game!!!

Well put. I guess I won't freak out about it. So from now on, I will try to make an honest effort to contact the authors. If, after making an honest effort and waiting a reasonable amount of time, I do not receive a response from the authors, I will proceed to use the models that they do not have the copywright on.

 

Anyway things are going well over here. I am 98% done with the plot/script. Most of what I'm doing now is editing the dialogue for time. Right now it is a little top heavy on the cutscenes. I need to cut it back a little, yet still provide enough story for the player to get what's going on.

 

I know I might be a little anal about this, but my biggest criticism of the original SOTE game is that the player has very little exposure to the story from the comics and book. For example, on the Gall level Dash fights his way to find Boba Fett. Then he fights Boba Fett. Then he fights Slave 1. All that work for nothing. The game continues to say something like "Boba Fett escapes somehow, blah blah blah...." Sorry but I just can't handle putting that in the mod. It's just too lame.

 

I hope to get it done by this weekend. I will post it on my website when it's all done.

[Kurgan]

Btw, I was skimming your site and thought I'd update you on the Diaonogas.

 

In Dark Forces 1 they were VERY aggressive and scary too!

 

In JK there are no dianogas. In Mysteries of the Sith (JK1 expansion) there are Dianogas in the water and they are scary (but not as scary as the DF1 one's that jump out of nowhere in the dark at you) and dangerous.

[jedispy]

I thought there were dianogas (i just learned of my spelling error too) in JK. They are in the level on Sulon where you run through the water works factory (or whatever the level is. I need to check it again.) I do remember aquatic creatures that just sit there and don't chase you.

 

Perhaps the best description of a dianoga is from Decipher's SWCCG:

"Garbage squid" from Vodran's jungles. Changes color to match last meal. When unfed, turns transparent. Eats almost anything. Flexible eyestalk. 7 tentacles. Up to 6 meters long.

 

As for Dark Forces.....I must confess that I have never actually played all the way through it. I know, I am so full of shame. Seriously, I've played the demo about 1,000 times, but I never played it all the way through.

 

Can you guys get me any screenshots of the dianogas in DF? I will work through JK, MOTS, and SOTE again and take screens.

 

I will take your word on it that they are aggressive in DF. Based on what we see in ANH, they are violent, yet show intelligence. (It knew to let go of Luke when the walls began to converge.)

 

The large dianoga is going to be a trick. For those of you not familiar with it, in the original SOTE game there was a level boss that was a huge dianoga. It fills up the bottom of the entire room, and has HUGE tentacles tha move around. From what I can observe in the game, they each move seperately from one another, and only attack when you do certain things. The tentacles themselves die very easily, but cause no damage to the creature when hit. New tentacles grow back immediately. To kill the monster you have to shoot the eye tentacle. It's actually a really creepy enemy.

 

The best way I can think of recreating the giant dianoga is to have it be comprised of several creatures, rather than have it be just one. Each tentacle acts as its own entity. By attacking the minor tentacles, the player renders no HP damage to the whole. Only by attacking the eye tentacle can the player defeat the whole.

 

I hope to have screenshots soon. It's a pretty intense fight with the G.Dianoga.

[Kurgan]

There are no Dianoga's in Jedi Knight, trust me.

 

There are "water sycs" (sp?) that are just huge Jellyfish that float on the surface and have stinging tentacles.

 

And there are "Drugon" (or something like that) which are just big red fish.

 

MotS and Dark Forces have Dianoga's. The DF one is present in the Demo actually (the 3 level demo) on that map where you go through the sewers looking for that Weapons guy. Hang around in the sewage and a monster will attack you. That's it!

 

Here's a link to pics of the Dark Forces enemies (they don't show the full dianoga, just what he looks like when he's about to pop up... trust me he looks cool when he actually attacks!):

 

http://www.jediknight.net/index.php?action=game&catid=1&page=characters

 

http://members.tripod.com/~stanislavs/games/df-opp.htm

[jedispy]

Water Sycs eh? o.k. No argument here.

 

O.k. now I need to play MOTS again. I have no memory of the dianogas.

 

Vehicles are coming along. I discovered that Hatrus is working on the Outrider model. Looks like he might have gained some good ground as well.

 

The thread for vehicles is here.

[Zappa_0]

Yea Hatrus has alot in progress right now. Looking at voices, if you want I can help you out there alot. Since I make movies for JA, I need alot of voice actors and I have been all over finding people to forefill my needs. And what are you talking about Ewoks for, SOTE ends after the Skyhook battle from the game, but I dont know about what really happens in the novels or what ever. Another thing you might should get is the comic book series. I believe there are 2 versions, the 1st one is better I believe. You could probally get them on http://www.darkhorse.com or even find them on ebay. I will help you all that I can, I would really like to do a SOTE movie in JA. I have been thinking about it for sometime now.

[jedispy]

Lots of Ewoks dialogue......those d@mn dirty teddy bears!!

 

I was only kidding when I said that. There's no way I'm having Ewoks in this mod. I might make a Return of the Jedi mod in the future where you play an Ewok, but I currently have no plans for it.

 

I want to note that while this mod will contain most of the content from the original game, it will not be exactly the same. In the game, dash destroys the Skyhook. However, in the books and comics, Darth Vader orders it destroyed. Executor blows it up.

 

Also according to the game, Dash destroys Xizor's palace by blowing up the skyhook elevator. In the book and comics, Lando blows it up by dropping a thermal detonator down a garbage chute.

 

There will be a skyhook battle in this mod, but it will not be exactly the same. As for the gladiator droid, whlie it is a really cool level in the game, I don't see how I can fit it into the mod at this time. Instead there will be a hand to hand fight between Guri and Luke. She is going to be VERY hard to defeat. The fight only takes place in the book, but after beating JA on the dark side, I am so impressed with the end fight between Kyle and Jaden. I felt inspired when Kyle picked me up, punched me a ton of times, and threw me across the room. The fight will be a lot like this, however Guri will be about 2-3 times FASTER. She's an HRD, so she can do it.

 

Other minor details will be different, but all of the original levels in the SOTE game will be there.

 

More to come soon.

[Zappa_0]

I would like to hear your ideas more, contact me on MSN: JediOutcastMovies@msn.com. I would love to help you out anyway I can.

[jedispy]

O.k. guys! This is it. I have finally completed the plot script. It is finished! Done! Of course there can be room for a few more modifications, but otherwise the final draft is now available.

 

I am also now seeking a creative staff for helping me with the creation of this mod.

 

All who are interested either E-mail me, private message me, or simply ask in this thread.

[The_One]

Just for the record, we have a (kind of) working Dianoga in the soon to be released Dark Forces Mod 3-level demo. I guess it will be public domain once the demo has been released.

 

It has been hell trying to get it working using the limited Single Player modding resources available to us - but it's as good as it's going to get for a demo.

 

You can check it out when the demo comes out in a week or two

[jedispy]

Welcome The_One. I am honored by your presence.

 

Do you have any screenshots of your dianoga?

[MikeGunther1969]

I still can't find my mic..."misplaced" it when i moved the computer downstairs into the dungeon...guess i'll have to hit the radshak come payday so I can start recording voices again. MP3's will be sent in about a week or so, but may ultimately be delayed a few more days by the DFMOD Demo release. BTW, I love being quoted in the latest update, I got a killer bellylaugh out of that...scared the crap out of my 4yr old daughter. Peace

[jedispy]

The honor was all mine.

 

I am writing the level notes now. I am 50% done currently, and I will most likely finish it today. The purpose of the level notes is to

1. let you guys, know what to expect on the levels and

2. remind myself and let the creative staff know what I'm looking for in the mod.

 

Everything in this mod is open to suggestions, so if you guys find something that you just don't like, or have an idea about how something can be done better, feel free to contact me.

 

More updates coming soon.

[jedispy]

Well I've got the level notes done. It's a pretty small document compared to the mod outline. Still it is helpful to get an idea of what I'm looking for in the mod. Pre-production is almost done. What I'm going now is replaying SOTE, and looking for key elements in the game play. One of the most interesting (and perhaps difficult to make) levels is the hovertrain ride through the junk yard of Ord Mantell. There is so much to the scenery that it boggles the mind (and kind of hurts.)

 

For example there is the entire upper bridge portion of a Star Destroyer, there's a jawa sandcrawler, there's a mostly submerged AT-AT, so on and so on. I'm presently playing through it and taking screenshots of anything that I find is important.

 

Also I am playing through MOTS again, and seeing what their dianogas look like. I got some awesome screenshots of the dianogas and large dianoga in SOTE. They are pretty intense. I think the dianoga from DF might work. I need to see if I can find my old copy of DF and play through it. I don't remember seeing any, but apparently they are there. It has been ages, and I've never actually played it all the way through.

 

On an on an on we go.

[MikeGunther1969]

I always thought that level had the most creative detail of all. It is too bad the rest of the game could not have had the same look and feel to it. Maybe using the q3a engine you can squeeze that kind of intricate artwork into every part of the game. I think the JO Starship levels near the end would be great reference for the Suprosa level, and who knows how much more desert terrain you can get into the Gall level.

[jedispy]

Good point. My favorite part of the suprosa level is fighting through the crew quarters. That part was very well done. The bridge of the Suprosa looks pretty crappy in the original game. I may make it look more like the bridge of the Doomgiver in JO (is that the right name?)

 

I would like to give more detail in every level.

 

I want the Hoth battle to be pretty much the same as it is in SOTE. tFighterpilot states (in his readme for his snowspeeder) that the JA engine doesn't support tow cables. I have to disagree. Sure it may not support a "wire" sticking out the back of the snowspeeder and wrapping around an AT-AT, but it doesn't necessarily require that. In the original SOTE game you just need to fly close to the legs of an AT-AT. No aiming is needed. You just fire the harpoon when it tells you to. Then you need to fly around the AT-AT X amount of times (3 or 4 I think), not going further than a specific radius from the target, and the AT-AT will crash. These are the elements that I need to create. If I get that to work, then worrying about animating the tow cable is merely secondary. Getting the function correct is what matters more. If it can't be done at all, then the airspeeder battle would have to be scrapped, or at least done in a different way.

 

I would like to have more foot soldier action between rebel and imperial forces, but we'll see what feasability allows.

 

One of my favorite SOTE levels is the swoop chase level. Although the detail of the level was well done, I was bummed at how empty Mos Eisley was. In the movies we always see Mos Eisley and Mos Espa as well inhabited. I hope to have bystanders in the background. I would like to throw in stormtroopers that shoot at the player (don't worry, at the speed in which the player is travelling, it is unlikely they will hit you) as well as people/creatures that get in the way/jump out of the way. We'll see about that. First thing's first. I need to start production on the levels, then worry about characters and NPCs.

 

Right now I'm working on getting the key screenshots that I need for levels/models.

[MikeGunther1969]

Even though I can't edit, map, script, texture, create anything yet in RADIANT, I would like to throw in a few mere suggestions.

 

1. HOTH.. Have the ceilings fall in at various points in the ice tunnels, causing minor damage. The tunnells should be very gritty looking too, not as smooth as the original SOTE game. (edit)..After finally playing Battlefront and seeing the Hoth level, it needs to look more like the caves in SWBF. (end edit) Adding the blown up/caved in command center would be a nice touch, along with dead Rebels, Imperial Ground and Snowtroops randomly placed about for a more realistic effect, like Luke retruning home in EP4. Fried corpses anyone?

 

2. GALL.. Place an occasional burst of wind driven sand in the cliff areas, kind of like the exhaust evnt in the Valley of The Jedi levels in DF2JK The sand can blow you off the cliff if you take it full on. LESS FOG..it's a desert, there's no fog in a desert, only a massive, detailed horizon. Once again we need much more desert terrain detail, small grass outcroppings, cactus. A weird, easter egg type of thought too...have Dash die like Wile E Coyote if he takes a fall in a certain area of the canyon......screeeeeeeeeee....puff!!! Jetpak runs out of fuel?

 

3. SUPROSA...we're on the same page here, I was thinking Doomgiver all the way. BTW, I hope the DF and DF2JK MOD teams use the Doomgiver as the basis for architecture on the starship levels. Rich(The ONE) please pass this one on to your team.

 

4. THE SEWERS... Keep the design pretty much the same, just make the texturing much more detail oriented, and kill 50% of the lighting. Think more like Harry Potter...The Chamber of Secrets, when the big snake was chasing him, how dark those tunnels were, and how wet they looked. After all, it is supposed to be a sewer system, and in the Novel it was described as a very dark, and foul place. Maybe some "clumpage" randomly place in the water for a more realistic effect....and the characters have to constantly gripe about the smell...it's a sewer.