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Raven Interview

Kreuzader

By Kreuzader
in Jedi Outcast

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Kreuzader Newbie

Kreuzader

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http://www.homelanfed.com/index.php?id=7089

 

HomeLAN - What can you tell us at this point about upcoming patches and free content for both Jedi Knight II and Soldier of Fortune 2?

 

Kenn Hoekstra - I'm afraid I can't really say what the plans are for Jedi Outcast at this time, but I can say that Raven and Activision do have a long term support plan in place for Soldier of Fortune II that includes game updates and content. Can I say exactly what that entails? Not right now. But soon.

 

Is LEC usually this stingy with patches?

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Swingman Newbie

Swingman

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You barely every see more then one patch in an LEC game.

 

That's because the first patch makes the game perfect. (sarcasm)

 

I know there are people that disagree but I think LEC is one of those make a game and leave it behind. Good thing the JK2 community keeps making add-ons (maps, skins, etc)

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Demolisher Newbie

Demolisher

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Man I am so pissed at that! They care more about Soldier of ****ing Fortune than they do about JK2! :mad:. So we're stuck with this patch that everyone hates and the stupid freezing bug with no mission pack or anything. Lucasarts and Raven suck! They only care about money and nothing else :swear:

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Jedi Legend Newbie

Jedi Legend

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Yes, Raven cares about money. That is what businesses do. However they probably want to make another patch.

 

The patch isn't bad at all! The backstab has always been powerful; the only reason it wasn't overused before is because everyone spammed the 'Death from Above' move. I don't hate the patch.

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Elegy Newbie

Elegy

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There's a mod out that fixes the backstab, among a few other things. It's all serverside too, so clients without this mod on their computers won't have to download it to use it. With mods like this, we won't need much patches. When more of these sorts of things are released it'll just be a matter of finding a server that has been modded up just the way you like and you'll be set.

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Deetox187 Newbie

Deetox187

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Originally posted by flippo

I'm certain Raven wants to patch JK2, but LucasArts is holding them back. Please direct all anger at them.

 

**** LucasArts

 

Thats BS, if raven wanted to release more patches there ain't nothing stopping them other than their unbridled passion for their "baby" SOF2 (which will never sell as many copies as jk2). Lucasarts might be holding them back from releasing anymore official patches but theres no reason they can't do a couple beta patches or something. Instead they release the source code and expect the community to fix their mistakes? sorry but my opinion of raven has gone way downhill, i hope they never make another starwars game because they have proven to me that they don't deserve such an honor. Yes jk2 was a great game and still is, but great games should be supported by devs who continually strive to make it better, not release one half assed patch and then call it quits.

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Solo4114 Newbie

Solo4114

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Actually, you're wrong. Even if Raven wanted to release a patch (and I imagine they would), be it a beta version or a "free" patch, they're probably not allowed to.

 

Raven may have written the code, but read your EULA. The game is LEC property. Look on your disc (assuming you didn't pirate the game). Notice the copyright notification? It says Lucasarts, doesn't it? Lucasarts owns the game, and they likely have a clause in their contract with Raven that prevents and prohibits Raven or any of their employees from making patches to the game.

 

Think about it. LEC probably budgeted enough cash to allow Raven to make one patch when the griping (not gripping, kids, that's a force power) got too bad for them, and when they felt it was time. Once the money's gone, the money's gone and LEC isn't going to keep supporting the game. While this does suck, Raven has managed to get the end users a copy of a true SDK, both for graphics and code. This basically puts it on our shoulders to keep this game alive and to make it fun to play.

 

Also, if Raven DID release a patch, it'd become a pseudo-official patch, even if it was a "beta" patch. Everyone would install it because it came from Raven. It would be given the same deference as an "official" patch because of its source. All of the family of Lucas companies are VERY protective of their intellectual property and likely do NOT want any commercial entities mucking around with their games in any significant way. Plus, think of the nightmare that would be customer support if Raven released a patch that screwed something up. People would probably ring LEC's phone off the hook, clog their e-mail accounts, etc. with complaints about how "this patch sucks! It removes backstab!! Fix it!!" or what have you. So, LEC says to themselves "Ok, here's $X for a patch. We make it, and that's that. After that, if people want patches, let 'em make them themselves."

 

Ultimately, Raven is bound by the terms of whatever contracts they have with LEC. And NOBODY wants to take on Lucas' legal team. Hell, they've shut down (or tried, anyway) fan sites that distributed UT levels based on the Star Wars universe, even when it was arguably protected fair use by virtue (at least in part) of its non-commercial nature. Like I said, Lucas takes his intellectual property very seriously and doesn't like to see people screwing with it. That's not to say that it doesn't happen, but I imagine that if Raven said, "Screw LEC. We're releasing a patch anyway. This one's for the fans, man. Free of charge," LEC would let the hammer fall and Raven would be in deep serious crap.

 

If we want another official patch, we need to petition Lucasarts, not bitch at Raven. At this point, if LEC isn't letting them make another patch, then that's it. Their hands are tied. Bitching at Raven won't solve anything. I mean, I understand the frustration with SOF2 getting serious support and JK2 being treated rather like a red headed stepchild, but it's not really up to Raven.

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Demolisher Newbie

Demolisher

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I never played JK1, so how were the patches for that game? Where there a lot?

 

Anyway, Raven has made stuff and abandoned it too. After finishing Hexen II and its mission pack with a few patches, the game was finished. But then Raven made Hexenworld, which is an internet playable version of Hexen II, like Quakeworld for Quake 1. Raven released a few versions of Hexenworld and even an official teamplay mod; however, Hexenworld was beta. To this day it is still unfinished, in beta, loaded with serious bugs! The Hexenworld community complained and complained and all we got was broken promises from Raven.

 

Then with Heretic II, they promised a enhancement patch, took forever to release it, released a seriously bugged version, took forever to fix more bugs, and finally released a final patch. Heretic II seems done though.

 

Elite Force is the only game they got right! They released the game, a few patches, and now the game is perfect!

 

I tell you Raven sucks at support! They release high quality games with a lot of effort put into them, and then they just dump them once they finish!

 

Raven, I have had it with you!! I only got Elite Force and JK2 because I like Star Trek and Star Wars, otherwise I am no longer getting another game from you ever again!! I was gonna stop at Heretic II, but couldnt help liking Elite Force and JK2. I am so glad that Ritual is doing Elite Force 2. I hope they, or someone else, can pick up JK2 and do something with it.

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Solo4114 Newbie

Solo4114

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I dunno man. I think this is all much ado about nothing. Honestly, we don't NEED a patch now. Certainly it'd be great if we got one (well, we sort of did -- 1.03a), but with the SDK, we'll start seeing more mods.

 

And keep in mind that this game will be MUCH easier to mod for than other LEC games, since it's based on the Q3 engine. JK1 had tons of mods for it, and I predict that JK2 will as well. Probably, by about September or October, we'll start seeing some REALLY good mods. In the meantime, we'll have a few tweaking mods, probably catering to the two different camps regarding how this game should be played for DM and such. The 1.02/1.03 debate will FINALLY be settled. Since there will be no more patches forthcoming, it's now up to us to fix the game as we want it. And with the SDK, if you want 1.02 style gameplay, you can have it. If you want 1.03 without the backstab, you can have it too.

 

Personally, I think Raven's done us a favor by releasing the SDK. Lots of games don't even GET them. Remember, JK1 never had an SDK for it, and people still found a way to mod it. With the SDK for JK2, mod development will be that much easier.

 

Hell, Raven COULD have just said, "Forget it. One patch is all you get. And no source code either." Instead, we now have the power to shape the game as WE see fit.

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Kurgan Newbie

Kurgan

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I don't know if you can say that "nobody" used the 1.01 JK patch. I used it from day 1.

 

The thing was, it only fixed a few minor issues: crashing when you switched the crosshair on/off, loss of joystick control (not with my Gravis Xterminator, but some other sticks I guess) and better compatability with Voodoo2 chipsets.

 

That's IT, no gameplay changes and nothing that broke compatability, all client-side stuff.

 

MotS had zero patches.

 

And yes, JK1 didn't have many bugs, but they still remained after the patch.

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