[wip] [K1] The KOTOR Weaponry Improvement Project

[Jedi_Man]

Oh, I know that, I was just wondering if a few weapons needed changing in their descriptions, I could help with that.

[Drunkside]

You know, if any sword i made would need a change in the description i would be more than skilled enough to change it myself. And if i can do it then all the other modelers can do it as well.

[Lord of Hunger]

No weapons need description changes. Please read the posts in the thread before commenting.

[Seikan]

http://vgplayers.station.sony.com/images/community/update1/weapons2.gif

 

and why not make others weapons than blasters and swords?

 

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s216/phyreblade_blog/King%20of%20Swords/MidnightDragonBladepolearm.jpg

http://www.trueswords.com/images/prod/c/cmaz_540.jpg

http://www.marshallshort.com/images/katar.jpg

 

http://vampjac.com/lj/humor/gygax/Player_Weapons.jpg this one! xD

[DarthParametric]

It's a default weapons replacement mod, not an adding new custom weapons mod. There are already a gazillion of those.

[Seikan]

change the staff who no one use to one of this, and one of these swords to the long sword

http://vgplayers.station.sony.com/images/community/update1/weapons2.gif

 

change the shorts sword to katars

[Drunkside]

I usually dont make anything already existing, since im not very good at replicating other people´s work. I just figure out a design and then model it:xp:

[Seikan]

you can always take some ideas from other people's work

[Drunkside]

Yeah i do that but i am not willing to try to make replicas.

[DarthParametric]

Haven't had any time for mods the last couple of weeks, but I finally managed to spend some time on the DH-17 tonight. Still needs some tweaking - it's a tad large and the position needs fine tuning, but it's mostly done

 

[Lord of Hunger]

That is simply awesome, DP. It'll make the perfect replacement for the blaster rifle. I was actually about to make a 0.1 release recently, but I'll wait for this (and the DL-44 if possible) to be finished. Good work Parametric. You are taking KOTOR to new heights.

[DarthParametric]

Thanks, but that's probably a tad over the top. Neither model is anything particularly special.

[Lord of Hunger]

UPDATE: Good news, Queen of Night has agreed to let us use her new Trandoshan Sword for KWIP. That's four complete weapons now. As soon as I get some stuff from DarthParametric, I will release KWIP 1.0.

[Drunkside]

Ok great news!!

[Brindisium]

I'm looking forward to one last play through of this great old game - and wanted to stick my head in and say thanks to those of you trying to pull this together.

[Lord of Hunger]

Thanks, we definitely appreciate that Brindisium. Progress has slowed down from real life obligations and other projects, but I'm hoping that we will get some more new models very soon and be able to release the 1.0.

[vanir]

Just been getting into a replay of K1 for the first time in several years. First time with a modded version (I cut my modding teeth after TSL came out).

Don't do modelling myself unfortunately, just scripting and editing.

 

Have very much been looking forward to a reskin of the stock main weapons in game. It's already been said there's tons of custom weapons available but that was never what I was really after. Once I've tossed in my movie-sabre hilts, the great WotOR mod the main thing which still makes me frown are the stock blaster pistol, carbine and rifle models, the Mandal ripper, Arkanian blasters, things like that. They suck, they're too big and the detail's too low to be so big, they look like leggo toys where I want to see movie-like proportion and detail (I absolutely love the detail of the movie-sabre hilts for example, and yes you can see it in game and yes it does make a difference).

 

As for frame rate, effects and area meshes are the only killer I notice. My system's only a 2g single core but it can crunch anything short of a bunch of grenade explosions in the midst of 12 ppl having melee just fine. It has no prob with polys on any modded game I use, most of them I turn the graphics up to max and add some tweaks with no trouble.

 

The movie guns look good and are consistent with the movie style sabre hilts everybody pretty much uses (DH17 is a bit oversized, only needs to be slightly larger than a pistol to be good as a carbine, this type represents a sort of machine pistol I'd say, like an uzi, mac-10 or H&K).

 

This is passable considering the timeline is only about a thousand years BBY as opposed to the four thousand or so of the Qel Droma era. But I think it is also important to look at the differences between the earlier age and ANH timeline in terms of atmosphere. The weapons models I think are one of the primary theme dictates of this type of setting, even moreso than the starships.

 

Think about it. An old MandalMotors cruiser or a new Bulk Freighter, there isn't a whole lot of difference. One or the other design could be a thousand years old, or it could look and perform little differently to a thousand years earlier. Certainly there'll be some differences in the latest model warships, skiffs and yachts but these will be mostly visual and in terms of capital warships probably a scale difference more than anything (representing the economic advancements of continued galactic expansion).

 

But personal weapons, now these change. Not in functionality, but definitely appearance and even by type.

 

If anyone remembers the Tales of the Old Republic d6 SW RPG expansion, they modelled the game stats for the Qel Droma era and it was an interesting departure from the ANH/NR/NJO settings of the regular RPG and expansions. The single greatest difference was the development of power cells and reactors, they were much larger and heavier items back then. This one single stipulation changed the whole environment.

 

Only large star cruisers could supply the power demands for powerful laser weapons, smaller vessels relied on missiles and concussion launchers. Different countermeasures are used for these types of weapons than lasers so this also changed the look and armour type of most small starships.

 

In personal weapons it took a bulky, heavy power cell to supply a blaster weapon. Something with the output of an ANH era blaster pistol, was about the size of heft of a rifle and very expensive. Most people used advanced firearms, an assault version of which would be very similar to the Mandalorian Ripper in KotOR. Heavy pistols similar perhaps to a Desert Eagle were very popular as a sidearm, these had the same destructive capabilities of the blaster, but just did damage differently (physical instead of energy damage for armour purposes).

 

Personal armour was also very different. It offered almost no protection against energy weapons but then relatively few energy weapons were around. It had great protection against physical damage.

Lightsabres were also very different. The hilts and blades pretty much looked the same, but a power cord ran from the base of the hilt to the Jedi's belt, where bulky power cell was kept to power it.

 

In this age Sith weapons were actually very deadly. The basic Sith Sword was an alchemised physical weapon capable of blocking lightsabres due to the crystalisation of its metal during construction, it also tended to slice through the thickest armour with ease (dealing only slightly less outright damage to a lightsabre, though again physical rather than energy damage). Since most security forces and militaries were using firearms it was totally common to see Sith heavily armoured, particularly Sith Lords (this being some paranoia about assassination by competitors).

Alchemically mutated minions were also very effective combatants, as hardened hides could be as effective as heavy armour, whilst fang and claw just as good as any blade.

 

Generally speaking this earlier, rougher age of the galaxy was largely dissipated by the arrival of miniaturisation technology in power cells. As energy weapons became commonplace particularly among planetary security forces at relatively low cost, the role of the Jedi Knight became less the warrior and more the advisor, whilst conventional territorial forces became more than capable of looking after themselves in anything short of all out warfare with an equivalent industrial and technological planetary system.

The galaxy had changed and with it the Jedi had changed.

 

What I think works well for KotOR is being right in the middle of these two important and very different eras, and that it is a visual difference most importantly in terms of personal equipment between these two pivotal eras.

 

So I'd like to see you know, a good mix between the two ages. We need some real ancient looking weapons for things like the Mandalorian Ripper, don't modernise the look but make them look from yesteryear, an age long since past. Whilst the DL44 and DH17 represent nicely the new age of blaster weapons in which KotOR is right at the threshold.

[Lord of Hunger]

Thank you for your input. Apparently you've been doing your homework Vanir. However, I will point out that we have a limited supply of submissions and I'll take whatever I can get. If possible, I'll go back and see if some stuff can be improved, but frankly I just want to "get 'er done".

[DarthParametric]

DH17 is a bit oversized, only needs to be slightly larger than a pistol

Whilst the DH-17 model is currently a tad too large, it won't ever be as small as a pistol. The movie prop was based on the same Sterling sub-machinegun that the E-11 (Stormtrooper blaster rifle) was based on. The two are the same size (or if anything the DH-17 is slightly longer). Here's a comparison of the two props:

 

 

Although it is often referred to as a "blaster pistol", I've always considered it to be a blaster rifle given its size. If the DH-17 is a pistol, so is the E-11.

[RedHawke]

Whilst the DH-17 model is currently a tad too large, it won't ever be as small as a pistol. The movie prop was based on the same Sterling sub-machinegun that the E-11 (Stormtrooper blaster rifle) was based on. The two are the same size (or if anything the DH-17 is slightly longer). Here's a comparison of the two props:

 

 

Although it is often referred to as a "blaster pistol", I've always considered it to be a blaster rifle given its size. If the DH-17 is a pistol, so is the E-11.

The name for the weapon class is... carbine (at least in the Pnp Games). The Blaster "Rifle" was the longer weapon.

 

Smaller than rifles, and larger than pistols.

[vanir]

Holy crap you're right. But I did always think of the E-11 as a carbine myself. Back when I GM'd d6 RPG I didn't know the stormtrooper gun was called the E-11 and was a rifle, we used carbine stats for stormtrooper guns until we found out.

 

I guess most blaster rifles use solid stocks, where the E-11 is a folding stock which starts to blur the line a bit. The mechanic we used when we switched to blaster rifle stats (slightly better range and can be upgraded, carbines can't), our reasoning was that the Empire with all its wealth could use the very highest technology from BlasTech, where SoroSuub was the major Rebellion supplier and was not as big a corporation, and the Rebellion could not afford to subsidise cutting edge development. So the E-11 has the dimensions of most carbines (adding a folding stock), but is a more refined construction and can handle much higher power loading without overheating. Hence a carbine that acts like a rifle.

 

Amazing what the imagination can invent in terms of fictional reasoning isn't it

 

 

..add

actually we had these really cool Storm Commandos from the Outer Rim expansion who used to run around with matt black Scout Trooper Armour (called "reflect coated and sound dampened" which added stealth bonuses of course and had no Dex penalty armour usually has), they had two holsters and a vibrosheath, and got around with an E-11 strapped to a thigh plus a backup blaster pistol on the hip, most using dual weapons in combat. Just about the toughest Stormtroopers in the game (their generic stats were through the roof).

Then you had Radtroopers in radiation sealed Stormtrooper armour (reflective silver). Now those guys were deadly with force pikes, only our Jedi could take them in melee, and in high radiation environments you can't use energy weapons...

 

Yup, I loved the Storm Commandos, oh and it was called "Reflec" coating. (Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim) One of my fav's because of these guys. I Co-DM'd a game where we played a team of them, my friend and I would rotate as DM's so our group could play Imperial SEALS type adventures. -RH

[Drunkside]

Hello again good people of this thread. I just wanted to stop by and say that im taking a little break from my blackguard mod, and decided to model the prototype vibroblade i already promised to make.

 

EDIT:So it took me a bit over an hour to make this.... I dont like it very much myself since its not exactly what i wanted it to look but ill leave it to the public to decide.

 

See the little line? Its a stick that keeps the weapon intact:xp:

 

You cant see it from the other side for some reason...

 

And the mod is about high poly models? Well then you will be very pleased with this, it took the mdlops ages to read it...

 

Lord of hunger, check your PMs for a link.

[Lord of Hunger]

Thank you Drunkside. As we discussed in the PM, it'll be used as the Sith Tremor Sword instead.

 

As soon as we get something from DarthParametric, I'm releasing the 1.0 to KOTORFiles.

[Drunkside]

Yeah the V1! Heh ill be sure to download it, even if half the weapons are made by me:p

[vanir]

That would work as the prototype vibroblade if it was shrunk 30% and the blade made polished metal.

 

For a Sith Tremor Sword wouldn't it look better if the hand-guard was a bit more claw-like?

A spikey guard, and slightly narrower at the base of the blade. Like a cross between a black widow spider and a sword, slender and feminine yet dark and deadly.