Dark Forces Mod:Save System?

[Jedi Dudalb]

I am just wondering if the mod will use the Jedi Academy Save system rather then dupe the original DF save system. One of the things that kept DF from being a truly great game was the screwed up save system, where you had to complete an entire level at one sitting. Considering how long and hard some of the levels were this became a real pain. Why Lucasarts , if they did not want a save at will system, did not use a limited save point system where you could complete a level in more then one sitting

.I am really hoping that the Jedi Academy Save System is used.

But it looks incredible from the stills.

[Benevolence]

The demo will use the JA save system (complete with quicksave). We don't have the ability to change the save system in the SP engine. Whether or not the final version will be like the original DF save system is still not decided. Most likely we'll just stay with the JA save system since we don't have the source code.

[Locutus_of_Borg]

Well there is one option. Place autosave points at all the 'fallback' spots in the original DF (where you went back to if you died) and don't use any other saves. That was you get sort of the feel of the original save system.

[Kurgan]

If you used the MP engine, you could use some of the modified Siege code to give the player limited lives, and make it so you can start on any map. That would closely aproximate the original game (although it would be as if all levels were unlocked).

 

Combined with the coop option RazorAce mentioned, you'd have the best of both world's...

 

Sounds interesting with the SP engine (personally I think the SP weapons are just too weak to be fun though). I wonder how you got around the lack of a SP SDK?

 

Are the weapons actually different? Or are they just reskins/model swaps of the (JA SP) originals with the same behavior?

 

Good luck...

[Fracman]

Well, we don't want to redo DF totally. We are doing a mod, so we have some degrees of freedom

 

For the first levels, the weapons are just redesigned models, they have exactly the same behavior as in JA or JO.

 

But for later maps, e.g. the Imperial Repeater requires new weapon code, we did already with MP engine, its great

But we did not yet decide which engine type we will go with in future.

 

We want to recreate as much as possible, but sometimes it simply doesn't work

[Kurgan]

I'm not a coder, but other than the save system and the showier animation (basically tied to the force powers and saber fighting animations), the MP engine seems far superior to the SP. The gameplay is tighter and better controlled (get into an AT-ST in SP, then get into one in MP... which one is more fun, honestly?), the combat has a much better feel (shots go where you tell them to, moves snap off at the right time, weapons do decent damage, etc). It's true that some things, like the base bot AI is terrible. Mods like OJP basically "fix" some of those issues.

 

Plus in SP, Fett is immortal. In MP he can be killed (though he takes a lot of damage before going down for the last time!).

 

Anyway, I hope you guys decide to go with the MP engine. While quick saving is a dream we've all had on those late nights trying to complete some annoying DF mission part we keep losing, I think it could be done in MP and still be great.

 

If nothing else you could go easy on the scripting such that it could be played in SP (for the quick save tappers and to watch the cutscenes once) and then plugged into MP for the coop (Kyle & Jan, basic mercenaries on a mission together on one "team"). ; )