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This is John Morgans' first post on the topic: And this is Jays' (* EDIT * over at the LucasArts forums - don't go there; it's a post apocalyptic wasteland of a forum): John was making a reasonable assumption about the amount of work involved to get the patch out of the door, and he was speaking for himself not Obsidian. Jay on the other hand, who has a longer association with LucasArts, was more circumspect " A week later John followed up with: John was making no promises, because he was not in a position to make any. Ditto for release dates. The license and IP belong to LucasArts; Obsidian cannot release anything without LucasArts' say so. Although it is beginning to look like LucasArts are going out of their way to make any Obsidian developer who posts here look like a complete muppet. I know you are angry with him, Mr Rabbit, but I feel sorry for him. Imagine not being able to say what you think on your own site, when your visitors are free to vent their feelings?

What colour crystals do you have? Some people have reported that some of the more exotic ones can't be used in the creation of your first lightsaber (with the effect you describe). The standard colours (blue, red, yellow and green) are fine, as are some of the exotics (like silver). * EDIT * I knew I had seen this problem somewhere. Check this thread.

The great advantage that consoles have is that every one is identical. The same software, the same hardware, the same operating system. You can't say that about a PC even when they should be identical. And, of course, consoles run their games from the game discs rather than installing them to an internal hard disk drive and running them from there. This means that patching is not the simple operation that it is for a PC. If you can't fix your game after it has been released, then you'd better make sure you fix it before you release it. Too many publishers are prepared to rely on the safety-net that is patching...

It's been a while, and I always take care of the exchange before visiting the Serroco. What does the Feedback log say when you try to persuade them? Does it give any indication of the level of persuade required?

Initially she gives a 3% bonus to XP gained at level 1, 5% at level 7 and 7% at level 13. Not much, but over the full game it is good for tens of thousands of XP points and a level up or two. So, I only ditch her when I want to gain influence with someone else, or I'm about to do something she won't like. And then only for a little while.

Additional XP, perhaps? Kreia is good for a bonus on every bit of XP you get...

Yes, HK-47 and G0-T0 have good back stories at a point in the game when you have most likely exhausted those of your other companions. It's just a shame that they are so hard to unlock for LS players. They don't know what they are missing (HK-47 mimicking Carth and Bastilla is gold). But I had to vote for G0-T0. What is the point of the flying b*ll*ck without the HK Factory?

Obsidian have no power in this relationship, at all. Only Bioware were big enough to delay the first game for over a year. And look how that played out with the same much-delayed patches (anyone who is still wearing rose-tinted spectacles should search the Bioware forums). The common factor? LucasArts, of course. Read my sig - LucasArts shaved at least two months off the development time and gave very little notice; it's not that Obsidian decided to leave stuff in, as it is not having the time to take it out. Or, if you prefer the conspiracy theory approach, that Obsidian left it in so the consumers would find out what the game could have been had they been allowed to complete it. And how does his honestly expressed opinion make LucasArts put the patch on their auto-update website? And why would it not exist? Both LucasArts and Obsidian have confirmed it's existence. The music would have already existed in this HQ format, and the movies would simply need to be re-rendered at a higher resolution. History shows that almost any partnership that has LucasArts in one corner is one to be careful of. Even the partnership with Bioware (many of the ATI woes with KotOR II are nothing new). Good games seem to happen despite LucasArts. LucasArts say what gets fixed, when, and how much they are going to pay to for Obsidian to do the work. As a developer, Obsidian are only as good as their last game. As a producer, LucasArts have moved on: Kotor II was followed by Republic Commando, and Lego Star Wars, and RotS. Developers want to patch quickly, early and often to preserve the reputation of their latest game and hence their own; small patches being easier to produce, QA and distribute. Producers want to patch infrequently, because patches acknowledge that their products are less than perfect; whatever the reality is it is the perception of reality that matters. Others would disagree. I am one of those others. But I acknowledge that we are never going to reconcile this. I am fighting Obsidian's corner simply because they cannot. The pattern of KotOR I suggests that there will be a second bug-fix patch, however much it is delayed. For everyone else - and the cut content - there is the TSL Restoration Project. And I'm not Obsidian fan-boy either, however it may come across in this post. I am particularly disappointed with the naivety they have shown in their dealings with LucasArts, and can only hope that they have learnt much and quickly, otherwise your NWN fears may be well founded. I just think that it is unfair that they are unable to respond to critism here as they perhaps would like to, given a free hand to express themselves. They are a much softer target than LucasArts and it is dishonest to focus the attention here. If there is to be a KotOR III, should we help LA to place the blame for KotOR II's problems elsewhere, without acknowledging that their greed is a major part of the problem?

Obsidian as a developer would never choose to close down such a major expression of "community" within it's customers. LucasArts' forums are presented for use, secure in the knowledge that no one is listening and no one cares. And that no one who wants an answer to their question would ever go there. What forum doesn't have a search function? One that doesn't want to be used, surely. So where did the idea to close these forums come from? From Obsidian who would surely be damaged by the decision? Or from LucasArts that would not be, but was uncomfortable with the opinions being expressed here and their echoes elsewhere? Obsidian have said it is up to LucasArts and that it is out of their hands, as loudly as the relationship between developer and publisher permits; i.e. in a whisper. Obsidian have asked LucasArts for permission and funding to add the cut material back into the game. LucasArts said no. So much for Obsidian being "happy" with the game as it was released, so much for the cuts being "beneficial" to the storyline. Obsidian completed their work on the first patch (1.0B) roughly two months before it was released. This they confirmed early in the QA process. There was an unexplained and lengthy QA process between LucasArts and Obsidian during this time, which, most likely, was due to a change of scope of the patch to include further issues. The ultimate declaration of the patches' scope, completion and its release is under the control of LucasArts. Obsidian made clear that the music and movie content for the patch was completed during the development of the first patch, but was not released because of download size issues. This decision was taken by LucasArts. John Morgan speculated that it could be released in "a couple of days" because all that was required was minimal QA and the packaging of the movies for distribution, and it was not unreasonable that all of this could be achieved within that timescale. Perhaps with the history of the first patches' troubled release he should have been more circumspect. Perhaps, too, LucasArts should not put him in the position where he should be. Obsidian have further made it clear that the music and movies have been delivered to LucasArts and is now subject to all that that "bureaucracy" entails. This is not something that they can say plainer without risking the future of their own company. This is the power that publishers have.

As far as I am aware, Bytor is right. You need to show some support for Vaklu (inciting Ponlar to riot is a good way of doing this, and you get influence with Mandalore) to trigger the woman (Andaa (sp), I think) offering bounties on the three Royalist captains. I believe that if you kill these captains you are locked in to the pro-Vaklu ending, leading to a confrontation with Kavar. Certainly I have heard from someone who couldn't side with Talia (but wanted to) after he had taken the bounties quest.

The way of the world, I'm afraid. It is difficult to hold that against the game when everyone does it. Refusing to run - even when the disc is in the drive - because you have CD emulator software installed, now that is beyond the pale. And, before you ask, I don't have this software, I just deplore the current practice of doing this. Unfortunately, it's not difficult to envisage a time when everyone does this, too. The whole entertainment industry (music, film and games) is losing it when they treat their paying customers as potential thieves.

Not going to happen. LucasArts nixed it. Search for posts by John Morgan to find the details. And then console yourself at the TSL Restoration Project which is doing exactly this (Website here - beware, it's moving to a new address soon - and forums here) 1.0B added the high profile bug in Handmaiden's dialogue, but I can't think of any others that weren't already there. Incidentally, the first patch for Kotor I didn't fix much; it was the second that was the monster, and it was delayed, too... A given, especially as the work has already been completed. How much QA does it need? Ditto, but now LA have to decide how to distribute an easy 1GB+ of data to God knows how many KotOR players without killing the Internet and their own bandwidth.

As Darth Tratious said, pcgamemods is a very good source for mods. Most of the modders from the Holowan Labs and elsewhere post their completed mods here. Personal picks: Anthing on the Staff Picks list, especially: The hardcore mod - if you want more of a challenge. Prestige class robe and saber pack - makes the prestige classes more interesting and adds a little more incentive to play them all. Also: Subtle DS transitions - does what it says on the tin (more Ep III style). Party reskin - I use some of the reskins here (apart from Kreia and HK-47). Also includes subtle DS transitions as above. Female PC pack - also does what it says on the tin. Also worth a look is Paragon's D20 mod - which moves the game closer to the PnP style. Paragon is still developing this, but it is attracting a great deal of positive attention over at the TSL/RP forum. * EDIT * A new version should be posted over the weekend. * Two peragus mods: quick Ebon hawk access and skip Peragus (I don't use them myself, though). From elsewhere, I like Envida's Harbinger crew quarters mod - this gives you a couple of nice robes early on. Mind you, you would have to play through Peragus for this. All of Envidas mods are packaged on pcgamemods here.

nVidia owner myself, but the release notes are here: 5.4, 5.5, and 5.6. Only the 5.4 and 5.5 release notes mention fixes for KotOR II. The 5.6 release notes imply that performance problems on Dantooine remain. Neither the 5.4 or 5.5 release notes mention the bloom effect. I have been led to understand that this works under the 4.11 drivers, though...

Search? Then you might find threads like this.

Have you "fixed" T3-M4 at least once? Do you have an intelligence of 15? No problems here in getting this convo option...

The Dueling feats are quite useful in the early stages of the game, and for the sparring with Handmaiden, the training with the Handmaiden sisters and the Battle Circle (along with the Force Barrier power). As the game progresses, two weapon fighting becomes more and more powerful. Two sabers with decent crystals and keen upgrades are simply unbeatable. As long as you have enough feats, you can then invest in Master Flurry and Master Two Weapon Fighting (plus, of course, the Master Knight Speed power). It is only if you play the Consular/Jedi Master/Sith Lord path (with fewer feats) that you may have to choose one way over the other from the beginning.

If you were going to get the Force Sex scene (oh god, I hate that term), you would have got it when returning to the Ebon Hawk between leaving Dantooine for the last time and heading off to Telos after Handmaiden to face Atris. You've already passed that point without seeing the scene, so I think that answers the question. You need more or equal influence with Visas for this scene to play, I believe.

Are you playing as a Sith Lord? There is a bug here. Normally full influence cannot give an NPC character Light or Dark Side Mastery. They will get extremely close, but will not be awarded the bonus. The additional abilities of the Sith Lord and Jedi Master classes to warp (or reinforce) the alignments of those in your party, can do enough so that the mastery bonuses appear. But they also have a habit of disappearing after an area transition. I think you are just seeing an early symptom of that bug. Saving and reloading may sort it out for a while (I'm not sure), but there is no proper fix.

You get skills per level (and at the start of the game) based upon the character class you are playing and the intelligence modifier in effect. If you play Sentinel/Watchmen you get three skill points per level. Using the standard sentinel build of an intelligence of 14, you will get an additional two skill points per level. You should finish the game somewhere in the region of level 30. So that is 30 x 5 or 150 skill points to spend overall (not including those you start with). For each additional two points of intelligence you will get an additional 30 skill points. As a Guardian/Weapon master with a low intelligence, you may only get one skill point per level. That is 30 skill points overall, which is a very big difference between the play paths. Skills are much more important in this game (as compared to Kotor I - XP from recovering mines, XP from opening locked doors and containers, building/breaking down at workbenches, etc). So, Sentinel is always a good choice for the initial class, and playing sentinel/watchman is the best choice for the first playthrough. Playing the sentinel/watchmen route, I generally have all skills barring demolitions and stealth in the high 20s after all Jedi Masters have been found. There appears to be no cap, as such, just not a lot of point in taking any skill beyond 29...

Strange that there are no user comments against this. Has anyone tried it?

What do you mean base skill cap? Repair and Treat Injury skills are at their maximum efficiency for breaking down at workbenches and lab stations at 15. Skills used to create at workbenches don't seem to require anything over 29 (including stat boosts of course). This seems to be the only sensible "cap" in the game. But the best items need skills well over 20. Their are doors and containers that require insanely high Security skill levels. The container in the bedroom in the Onderon palace needs 30 or more. Hoping this is what you meant... * EDIT * I always break down the more exotic armour and weapons for components once I reach a Repair skill of 15. Four twilek spinning blades from the Twin Sun encounters stacks up to 2,000 components. A Sith Tremor Sword is 650 components. Some armours are over 1,000 components. Selling items to buy a lot of something to break down doesn't seem to work whatever one of the walkthroughs/playguides seems to imply. Besides which, even if it did, it would be much too tedious and hardly necessary.

Finishing planets definitely isn't the trigger for Handmaiden sparring matches. Last game I fought Handmaiden for: The first time in flight between Telos and Dantooine (1st planet). The second time after finishing Dantooine (level 15) (I don't return to the Hawk until I have a lightsaber, so I can get Visas's). The third time is the clincher, between defeating the Red Eclipse on Nar Shadda (2nd planet), and leaving the Hawk to meet Visquis in the Jek Jek Tar (level 18). So the 2nd planet was definitely incomplete when I made Handmaiden a Jedi. It may look like it is planet-related, because each planet (in the early stages at least) is good for at least three levels and you should have left Telos at level 12 (without any cheating)...

You mean the Dark Forces mod for JK:A? What happened there is that they didn't carry content from the original game to the new, but recreated it in a homage to the original. That gets around LucasArts prohibition on the subject. Of course, in that instance, you are talking about taking content between two completely different game engines so that was the only way to go anyway...

The first match as soon as you get her by herself aboard the Hawk (w00t), the second at level 15 and the third at level 18. And if by bug, you mean the bit where you can be left roaming the corridors of the Telos Academy after Atris' cutscene, then there is a fix at the TSL Restoration Project from this thread here.