SamuraiGaijin

Sure, Blizzard's not exactly creative ... They cherry-picked the good and familiar ideas from popular videa games, PnP RPG's, Tabletop Strategy games, literature ... They borrowed elements from popular game genres and did their best to make the interface simple ... But, in order to ensure the best quality game possible upon release ... they test the crap out of it and fix all the bugs they can. And they continue to provide support to their existing games (Patch v1.14 of StarCraft was just released a few days ago).

Mira - the dialog when you turn her is touching, and she actually thanks you later. Plus, there's a great representation of it here ... http://aimostudio.com/gallery/sketch/2005/20050313.jpg (here's hoping the link works)

I usually equip Mandalore with a pair of pistols and either a double-bladed vibro or two vibro swords ... and whichever AI allows him to switch between the two as enemies approach ... he gets enough feats so that he is a formidable fighter with both.

Too much of the dialog in ep 1-3 seemed like either unnecessary explanation or what might have been written in a book about someone's thoughts rather than what someone might actually say. The whole "what are midichlorians" discussion between Anikan and Qui-Gonn, for example, was not the voice of an inquisitive child or patient tutor, it was gratuitous narrative.

First things first - NO - if we're going to have more SW movies, lets focus on a completely new timeframe. And not a prequel, either - sometime far in the future (from a SW perspective) - it's a good galaxy, a good place for an epic story. There are some things in the new editions that I like ... the all-digital panaramic shots of Mos Eisley, Cloud City, etc. ... Cloud City was by far may favorite improvement - it brought life to an otherwise dull set. Of course there are some that make me feel like the folks at LF & ILM got it "good enough" and then abandoned the scenes ... in most of the scenes where they added stuff just for the sake of adding stuff, the lighting's not right, or there's too much activity in the foreground ... it's distracting. It doesn't bother me that Greedo shot first, what really bothers me is how clumsy the scene looks. From a cinematography point of view, the coolest thing about the Star Wars series is that every one required ILM to create technology ... for their time, they were each on the cutting edge. George Lucas had a vision - it's a shame it got blurred about halfway through. I'd happily watch a new SW movie, but I really don't want them to screw with the originals any more than they already have.

CONROE definitely looks promising ... I'm seriously looking forward to seeing how they affect the market price of other hardware ... I've been keeping a running shopping list for a well-equipped $1500 system. It's currently up to a 975X mobo, PD 930 (3.0G), 2GB 667 MHz DDR2, 2x X1800GTO, water cooling for the CPU and both GPU's, 2x 250GB HDD (WD Caviar RE w/ 16MB cache), and a mid-grade Plextor DVD drive, a Lian Li case and about $100 in various cables, accessories, and consumables. As for overclocking CONROE ... at first glance, it looks like the FSB is locked at 1066MHz, and the multiplier is locked for all CPU's except the $1K Extreme Edition.

Atris' saber is identical to the one you told Atton about, until she turns to the dark side, then it goes red.

The Freelancer trial is available here: http://www.microsoft.com/games/freelancer/downloads_05.asp ... and while it is about 3 years old, I remember seeing it in the stores not too long ago.

Freelancer. Have to agree ... Freelancer is definitely one of the best Space Sims in recent history. You can learn the controls in seconds, you can complete the storyline in about a week, and can continue exploring Sirius sector for months and not see everything. Combat is exciting, but the opponent AI is not exactly challenging. The storyline is entertaining, but the missions get pretty repetitive. I've played through the game no less than four times, and will probably do it again in the future.

The whole Star Wars fan base groaned when midichlorians were cited as the definition of a force-sensitive being's potential to use the force. It turned faith, hard work, luck, and "the force runs strong in your family" into a bunch of scientific mumbo-jumbo that might have fit well in Babylon 5 or Star Trek - but NOT IN STAR WARS. Star Wars was about good and evil, faithful and non-believer, and we found out that your strength in the force has little to do with your faith ... pfft. OK ... so let's say Anakin was "born of the force" ... how did it happen? While spontaneous conception might make some sense, I believe Palpatine was Plagueis' apprentice, and used the power of creating life to put the "chosen one" prophecy in motion, and thus "restore balance to the force" by killing off all but two of the light-sided Jedi.

The speeder's good for some influence with Atton and Bao Dur, but that's about it ... it's nice to have the option to avoid running around everywhere.

No ... you get one and only one power cell ... if you have decent computer skill (at least I think it's comp ... it's been a while), you can fix the console without the cell ... or you can solve the puzzle without fixing the console (involves more running, guessing, or cheating - knowing the order beforehand - but possible).

In the order I usually run through ... Telos surface/base ... Kreia and Bao Dur Telos academy ... Kreia and Atton Nar Shadda ... Kreia and Visas (Atton and Bao Dur for the refugee sector - Jedify Atton) G0-T0's Yacht ... Kreia and T3-M4 (by then I'm 18th level, and can Jedify Handmaiden* ... Jedify Mira*) Duxn ... Mira/Hanharr* and either Handmaiden* or Visas Onderon ... Mandalore and either Bao Dur (if I'm siding w/ Queen) or HK-47 (if I'm siding w/ General) Korriban ... two Jedi ... Atton / Mira* / Visas / Handmaiden* Onderon Palace ... Kreia and Mandalore Duxn Tomb ... Visas / Mira/Hanharr* / Atton/Handmaiden* Dantooine ... whoever I need influence with ... I'll swap in Bao Dur and Mandalore as appropriate * Mira, Hanharr, Handmaiden if available Especially early on, I'll include Kreia in the party for the XP bonus. I keep Handmaiden out of the party until after I Jedify her to save up her Jedi levels. I'll level up Mira during the fight with Hanharr only as required to heal her, then save the rest of her levels for after Jedification. I've maxed influence with G0-T0 once ... not impressed ... the story was interesting, but not enough to drag him along. Hanharr you can keep on the Ebon Hawk the whole time and max influence, but I like to bring him along every now and then if I'm dark side. HK-47 is great fun, but not very effective when outnumbered, even when equipped and programmed most efficiently to optimize his strengths (specifically critical hits with ranged weapons). I almost never use Disciple ... I've maxed his influence, Jedified him, learned the whole story, and while having him in the party is sometimes useful, I really can't get used to having him there.

Yep - once it's time to go back to Dantooine, she's pretty much done cooperating with you. BTW - Kreia tunes your crystal to match your level and alignment - it does not tune itself. You might miss out on one last upgrade to the crystal (they happen at levels divisible by three ... 24, 27, etc.) or one last alignment shift (there's not much beyond that point that will push you further one way or the other anyway).

I prefer a well-rounded build, focusing on skills, DEX, and dual-wield lightsaber combat ... but if I were to focus strictly on lightsaber combat, I'd go with 14 STR, 16 DEX, 16 CON, and 10 everything else - lightsaber finesse - max lightsaber proficiencies, max dual wield - the special move (flurry/critical/power) of your choice. Big picture - it's you're game - do what you want - save often, and if it doesn't turn out the way you hoped, back up and try again.

At some point in the game, Kreia will tell you you need to go to the enclave on Dantooine ... if you have any last minute business to settle in the real galaxy, that's you're cue to wrap things up.

I prefer to dual-wield - and usually end up with two viridian full-size lightsabers - one with the name crystal and either pontite or barab, and the other tricked out with crystals to boost ability scores. I tried single once ... thinking to make the baddest guy on the block with a single lightsaber, only to be dissapointed by the distinct lack of advanced dueling feats for Weapon Master/Marauder (yet there are three extra feats for dual-wielding). Now, if you could disconnect the two sabers in a double and switch to dual wield (like Darth Maul was supposedly able to do), trick out both edges of a double blade with different crystals, and only ignite one blade if you wanted ... then this option would make the most sense to me.

The <name> fcrystal increases in power with your level ... there are nine "levels" of power, the lowest at level 12 and below, increasing every three levels after (15, 18 ... 33, 36) ... when you give it to Kreia. There are five "colors" ... Very Dark - Dark - Neutral - Light - Very Light ... if your alignment changes, Kreia can change it to match. Maximum bonuses for the crystals are: Very Dark: +3 Attack, +5 (Dark Side) Damage, +7 STR, +5 DEX, +6 CHA, +3-30 Massive Criticals, Knockdown (DC 22) Dark: +3 Attack, +5 (Dark Side) Damage, +7 STR, +5 DEX, +6 CHA, Knockdown (DC 22) Neutral: +4 STR, +4 DEX, +5 CON, +5 WIS, +4 CHA, Force Resistance +24 Light: +3 Attack, +5 Damage, +5 STR, +6 DEX, +7 WIS, 25% chance to slow for 6 seconds (DC 22) Very Light: +3 Attack, +5 Damage, +5 (Light Side) damage vs. Dark Side, +5 STR, +6 DEX, +7 WIS, 25% chance to slow for 6 seconds (DC 22)

One of the cool things about that 2.5 TB RAID NAS is that if one drive craps out, in RAID 5 or 1+0 you could swap out the bad drive with a new one and recover your data. However, $2700 is a bit pricey. But, more realistically ... A few things to consider ... Top brand HDD's (Western Digital is also my personal favorite) have 5-year warranties, and just so long as you're not doing backups every night, they will probably last longer than that. Slower HDD's are somewhat less prone to failure (but a 5400 RPM drive is obviously 66% as fast as the 7200 RPM drives - but this shouldn't make too much difference for backups). Laptop HDD's are slightly more shock-proof and rugged (i.e.: able to survive a drop). That said, if you drop any HDD while it's running, you're rolling the dice. Firewire, SATA, and USB interface will be around for the long haul ... just don't screw up and get a USB 1.0 enclosure. A quick search through some online sites has 2nd-shelf (i.e.: not 16MB cache) WD HDD's for about $0.25/GB. Laptop HDD's are running about $1/GB. I personally have a $10 USB 2.0 enclosure for a cannibalized laptop HDD (only 40GB, but I haven't come close to filling it). It works great, and fits in a shirt pocket.

Item (Average Damage) (best in each category is bold) Regular Lightsaber (11) Short Lightsaber (9) Double Lightsaber (13) Rubat Crystal (1) Dragite Crystal (1) Adegan Crystal (2) Jenraux Crystal (2) Eralam Crystal (2) Ultima-Pearl (2) Opila Crystal (3) Sapith Crystal (3) Solari Crystal (3) Qixoni Crystal (5) Phond Crystal (3.5) Sigil Crystal (3.5) Upari Crystal (4.5) Hurrikaine Crystal (4.5) Pontite Crystal (5.5) Barab Ore Crystal (9) Name Crystal (up to 5, plus up to 3.5 more for the STR bonus) Synthesized Bryothis Lens (1) Beam Gem Lens (1) Dragite Lens (2) Pure Bryothis Lens (2) Improved Beam Lens (2) Enhanced Bryothis Lens (4) Vibration Lens (4.5) Adegan Lens (6.5) Improved Vibration Lens (7) (but is -1 to attack and defense) Pontite Lens (7) Fencing Emitter (1) Improved Fencing Emitter (2) Expert Fencing Emitter (3) Diatum Energy Cell (1) Improved Ion Energy Cell (1) Improved Diatum Energy Cell (2) Superior Ion Energy Cell (2) Telgorn Mk I Energy Cell (2) Telgorn Jolt Mk II Energy Cell (2.5) Ultimate Diatum Energy Cell (5) Telgorn Jolt Mk III Energy Cell (4.5) So, for max average damage: Double Lightsaber+Name Crystal+Barab Ore Crystal+Pontite Lens+Expert Fencing Emitter+Ultimate Diatum Energy Cell=13+8.5+9+7+3+5=46 (or 18.5-73.5). This is one area where dual wielding comes in handy ... put your name crystal in your off-hand saber, you get the most damage with your primary saber (up to 15-66) and all the benefits from the crystal (including more bonus damage from the pumped up strength).

Class: Definitely Consular/Sith Lord Abilities: Max INT, CHA, WIS ... possibly above average (no more than 14) DEX Skills: Max Awareness and Persuade ... maybe some points in stealth Feats: Master Duelist, Master Critical Strike, Master Empathy, Master Jedi Defense (that's up to ~30th level C/SL) ... possibly to fill in gaps: Regenerate FP, Regenerate VP, Lightsaber Finesse, Conditioning Force Powers (this is a bare minimum, only what I believe was observed in the movies): - Force Storm (duh) - Force Wave (since you don't have telekinesis) - Dominate Mind (to Anakin in RotS: "kill him ... kill him now ... he's too dangerous to leave alive") - Master Force Body (drawing the power of the force from his living tissue ... closer to the novelization's explanation for his appearance) - Master Battle Meditation (in RotJ, notice how it seems hopeless for the Rebels - on all fronts - until after Vader gives him the shaft) - Master Force Scream (it's a crappy power, but the sound effect when he lunged at the four Jedi Masters - almost instantly killing three of them - was almost exactly the same as in the game, and might explain - other than "he's a bad mofo" - how he got the drop on them so easily) As far as equipment goes ... - no implant, no gloves, no visor - Robes - Ossus Keeper (+1 Defense, +4 INT, +4 WIS, +2 CHA) (These are (IMO) the best, but I don't know which looks more accurate) - - Underlay ... I'm not sure on this one ... probably BioRest Mk V (+3 CON, VP Regen x3) - Belt - Qel Droma (+1 WIS, +1 CHA, 20% LS/DS Immunity) or Jal Shey Mentor (+2 WIS, +20 resist Force) - Lightsaber - modified with: - - Personal Crystal (Very Dark, of course - max bonus: +3 Attack, +5 Damage, +7 STR, +6 CHA, +5 DEX, Massive Crit: +3-30, Knockdown (DC 22)) - - Nextor Crystal (Keen, +1 Attack) (sure - this may not look like the best choice, but with Master Critical Strike and a keen blade, you end up with an 80% chance to get a critical hit - the other "keen" crystals' bonuses don't stack with the personal crystal) - - Pontite Lens (+1 Attack, +2-12 Damage) - - Expert Fencing Emitter (+2 Defense, +3 Damage) - - Ultimate Diatum Energy Cell (+5 Damage)

There had to be someone to "hear the echo" to twist one of the themes of K2 ... Nihilus may have been limited in power prior to M5, but when the Exile cut himself off from the force, the power was transferred into ...

If you needed the extra skill points, etc. ... if it was more role-playing and less action ... Sentinel would be my choice. Since thumbing through the force power menus gets bothersome for me, and all conflicts end up getting resolved with "aggressive negotiations" ... Weapon Master ... gotta love the extra lightsaber feats, Juyo, etc.

Erm, Vader turned back - that's why he killed the Emperor... Luke did too in the Dark Empire comic books. In many of the recent books, Luke mentions that he has a special point of view on the dark side, since he fell and rose back to the light. OK - on topic - the Star Wars movies do not start with a peaceful "lets wander around and see what kind of trouble we can get into" mood ... they all begin with crisis and conflict ... Obi Wan and Qui Gonn on the Trade Federation ship, failed assassination attempt on Padme, Leia fleeing from Vader, the Rebel HQ found and assaulted on Hoth (OK - an extremely long opening sequence, but the main plot doesn't 'really' start until Luke takes his detour), "the gang" freeing Solo from Jabba ... OK - now really on topic - I think one possible "opening sequence" in K3 could be a power struggle, with the protaganist caught in the middle, between the remaining Jedi and Sith and their newly recruited and barely trained followers ... and how the player chooses to act determines how the beginning of the game unfolds ... so my vote is for "none" - there have been four major conflicts in the past two or so decades, with crazy losses on both sides ... now both the Jedi and Sith are struggling to establish their place in the galaxy.

I prefer to do the Dantooine cave as late as possible in the game in order to get the higher level crystals ... would you get them somewhere else? Maybe, maybe not ... I've played both ways several times, and I think it's just personal preference now.