refuse

I'm sure there are a few modders who would want to help out with the project, but for some reason TG consistently seems reluctant to ask for it or let anyone else help them out.

I think that pretty much nails my thoughts on this; sorting out one or three bugs at a time and discovering another half dozen makes me think that KotOR 3 will be out before this ever gets finished. I'd like to think that the enthusiasm behind TG hasn't waned, but it does seem as if they can't be bothered to complete work necessary or realise they need to ask for the help of others. I don't think it's unmanageable though as a project, but I feel it has become so since they haven't developed their team to spread the workload.

I never quite understood why many mod teams are waiting for TSLRP to come out to work on their own mods, particularly when some don't appear to be that extensive or affecting major aspects of gameplay. We've seen the amount of anxiety that tslrp's delay causes on the average forumite here (myself included, as I'm sure many others might admit), I can't imagine how frustrating it must be for a mod team and how much that reliance on it might sap their enthusiasm from development. Surely it limits what they can work with and on, having to wait for TG to release TSLPR before they can start developing their own mods, right? Wouldn't it make sense to release a mod that can stand on its own and worry about tslrp-compatibility, if it ever/when it finally gets released in like (my arbitrary estimation) a year or so?

For robe stats look here. Personally though, I prefer the Jal Shey Armor series, which offer decent INT, CHA and WIS (with added regeneration and agility/strength upgrades) and better protection than robes.

From what I can tell they look like the generic dark side robes, in navy blue or black or something.

I don't think you can unlock all the movies in the game; some because I believe are alingment-specific and others because they didn't get implemented in the final game or something like that.

True. I think after you hit 75% (LS) or 25% (DS) in your aligment for the first time, you get that first cutscene with Nihilus sending off Visas to find you.

Sounds like you could sort it out by editing the appropriate variables via KSE, so as to make the game think you've gone through all that dialog etc. If you can find two save games, one before and one after those dialogs, perhaps you can compare what triggers have been altered and follow suit. Be warned though that there is the potential of missing something that might mess things up elsewhere.

I suppose if the all use the TSL patcher, you might need to figure out a correct order of installing them. In any case, the readme files should mention what files get installed and/or modified, as well as potential compatability issues (they all used to mention about USM anyway). I'd suggest you apply all updates on each mod, before installing the next. Being that the content of each mod though relates to a different area in the game, I don't think there would be that many issues, but the only real way of finding out is installing it all and hoping for the best.

Lower than Minor issues won't influence the release of TSLRP, as Dashus stated. But it still is much, yes. Most are HK Factory issues, which was to be expected. The one big major which has been open for some time now concerning completing the factory is actually a combination of several majors and minors I have reported in the last couple of days. It might clear up the issue for the team. Be warned, more bugs may (and probably will) follow. I understand that, but the 5 majors to me seem enough to perpetuate development of the mod for a lot longer; after all, the issues were in single digits a short while back. I was secretly hoping for a late winter/xmas release on this (when I'd have some time off to devote to playing it), but that seems like a pipedream to me now. Oh well, better late than never, right?

Depressing!

I find that the Force Wave power is a decent 'alternative' to force crush for force-focused builds, particularly when your wisdom/charisma is high and you get the stun effect. Remarkably, with a hacked pc I used them on Kreia's sabers once it was pretty random. I always wondered why the Exile simply didn't use the force to disable the wiring inside them to turn them off. Oh well!

By the time you hit low-to-mid 20 levels in XPs, I find that you needn't worry about FPs running out that much regardless of class. Even with a saber-based build, 3rd tier Force Jump just makes things even easier!

What I stated previously was an estimation of where everything stands legally (sorta), but it's up to Lucas to chase up people for distributing software that infringes on their copyrights. But with most mods they will clearly choose not to so long as the mod makers adhere to some guidelines, since it's obviously good for sales, marketting and all that jazz. So long as TG isn't using stuff they shouldn't be (like porting material from other sources/games or 'inappropriate' material), nobody from the Lucas legal team will be getting in a rush to contact them. I guess Lucas can afford to 'restrict' development of third party mods, unlike say HL, since video-games are only part of the Lucas corporation and therefore needn't worry as much about getting a game engine popularised.

With regards to the legality of mods, I think the problems arise in their distribution, rather their actual existence. I think that 'fair use' policies state something to the equivalent of allowing you to do whatever it is you want to a product after your buy it, but for your own personal purposes and enjoyment. The way you disseminate knowledge and original data from that though, whether it be in the form of mods or cr*cks to circumvent security measures is what brings over the wrath of the law. I think most companies welcome modding communities for perpetuating interest and sales in their products, but like Lucas, might impose certain restrictions, with regards to content (risque material, such as pornography, racism etc), availability (no/limited financial gain to be made) and support (mostly none). As for foamhead's comments, if you really don't care about this project or game, yet say you are willing to throw money at it, how can accuse TG of using 'altruism' as a front for inflating their egos? What is your interest in seeing this through?

If only it were just a couple weeks more! I can understand your enthusiasm and frustration, but since you also yourself admit you are not a modder, you probably don't realise how difficult assembling a team of people for such a project is in the first place. Most people who produce mods for the game (and hence have the technical know-how you require) do so in their spare time. No offense to the quality of their work and efforts (much appreciated), but since they are a labour or love, rather a strictly-speaking professional venture (as well as a notoriously bug-ridden game to boot), you are very unlikely to find people willing to undertake such a professionally-orientated project as you suggest. There have been other teams of modders in the past that have attempted to do what you propose and failed. The other option is to find programmers from outside the KotOR modding community which presents a whole different set of issues to be dealt with, such as getting them to play the game and figure everything out from scratch, before going on to examining everything that already exists and figuring out how they are going to complete their allocated task. It seems to me quite unrealistic that you would find amateur modders or professional programmers willing to do this. There is a good reason that nobody else has done anything as extensive as TG is. In any case, don't let my cynicism dissuade you from any such efforts.

I'll hold you to that. Why? Because not only would it be funny to see you throw your money away but you might also learn some humility in the process. Making people happy is never throwing money away, and I would first have to be arrogant in order to require a humility lesson. In any event call my bluff by all means. I would derive an obscene amount of pleasure in pulling the rug out from under this slovenly, glory seeking group of modders by releasing their own mod before they can. It's not like it would take much work or money since most of the restored content can be found via torrent sites anyway. If you are serious about this, why don't you talk to TG about funding them to do the work and agree on a deadline? That way they can afford to work on it full-time, rather than on their weekends, holidays or other precious free time. Furthermore, why wait 12 weeks to begin? Are you that optimistic that you can assemble a team of professionals to complete it in something like six months? By all means go for it, although I doubt you will find actually people willing to work on a mod for an ancient (by gaming standards) bug-ridden RPG. By the way, would you be selling this mod or would you be giving it out for free, like TG plans to? You realise that Lucasarts will have legality issues with that, as well all the authors of existing material (that is available for free) that you plan on utilising.

I'm guessing that due to the game being buggy certain triggers don't register properly from time to time, leading to messed up saved game files. Or something like that. I'm sure we've all learned the hard way to save regularly and in different files.

I assume you mean that Nihilus is supposed to be the physical manifestation of the Exile's former 'dark side' that grew after malachor, or something along those lines?

It's not necessarily the funnest way to play the game though, is it? I personally like to develop each NPC differently, according to class/bio, as it makes for more varied fights with more strategy involved.

I don't think there is anything really 'lucky' about Kreia bumping into Tobin, not when the Force is involved! Don't forget she has precognitive abilities, so 'luck' seems kind of far-fetched to me. If it wasn't Tobin though, it would have been some other Royalist/Sith collaborator who would run along to Nihilus with Kreia's message. Furthermore, I get the feeling that Nihilus would die before he got to ravage the entire galaxy, even if he went unopposed. I'm guessing that his 'hunger' hit all new highs after he sapped the planet of Miralukas, so Telos, an entire planet with one Jedi seems to me like peanuts. Would he make it to the next place? I doubt it.

I regard the marine as Nihilus and the Nuke as his enormous strength. His arrogance and over-reliance (or rather self-destructive hunger) on his destructive/enourmous power make him vulnerable to the simplicity of the knife, demonstrated by how he doesn't even consider it a threat in the first place. If Nihilus had any more an agenda beyond trying to secure his next 'meal', much like a heroin-addict only thinks of his/her next hit, he would probably be more smart about protecting himself, instead of losing his mind in thinking in terms of celestial bodies. Don't forget that it's not ambition or greed or anything consious that drives Nihilus, but quite sadly, his addictive thirst. Same with the other Sith lord who looks like he slept with some vibroblades. Kreia on the other hand comes on top since she also figured out to live without the force, much like the Exile. I think that Kreia would have had confidence in the Exile overcomming the barrier (since she constantly stresses learning from the experience of being cut off from the Force and thinking outside of the 'box' it imposes), or at the very least predict that Nihilus would eventually 'implode' on himself, being starved to death since Telos didn't have the masses of Jedi and Force-sensitives he was lead to believe he had in the first place. Don't forget Kreia brought back Vaklu's general from near death to lure Nihilus over Telos.

Try an earlier save in the game, possibly one where you haven't initiated the final few quests on the planet, or at the very least the start of Nar Shadaa. Also make sure you install updates on the game and save often; the game is very buggy and sometimes the game save files become corrupt.

I'm not convinced by your argument, but I see what you see. Your argument about Nihilu's strength reminds of the scene in Starship Troopers where during training the marine doesn't understand why he has to learn to use a knife when he has nuclear bombs in his arsenal. The drill-instructor then demonstrates how you can't press the launch button when your hand is nailed to a wall. Nihilus' overconfidence (fueled by his unsatiable self-destructive power) was ultimately his greatest weakness. I just feel that the game's plot is more transparent to make the final confrontation with Kreia more obvious and of greater importance to the game, to constitute her the 'major' bad guy in the game. I just think that Nihilus, despite his raw power was ultimately a pawn in Kreia's plan, just like everyone else she comes in contact with. That's her game. Even in combat, he's fairly easier to defeat that Kreia. Her manipulation of everyone is simply another way of saying that true power for a force-user (sith or jedi), is to be able to not rely on the force and use other means necessary to accomplish one's goals. Lets agree to disagree.

I don't think so; after all during the game your party members will object to the influence Kreia has over the Exile, which to me hinted quite early on that she was a lot more involved in the development and resolution of the plot than any other character in the game, about as much if not more than Bastila had on Revan in the first game. The cutscenes with her two Sith apprentices further suggest that she is the mastermind behind it all. Her manipulation of the other powerful Sith to me only indicates that she is all that more powerful than all the others. Sure, Nihilus can sap the life-force from an entire Force-sensitive planet, but that only made him more vulnerable in the long run, nothing more than say a 'vampire'. Yes, powerful, but with big weaknesses too, so long as you use them to your benefit. Don't forget that it was Kreia who manipulated the events to bring him over Telos, to cause the confrontation. You might say that this was a test for the final conflict in the game. Futhermore, I don't think it's the threat Nihilus represents that is the only drive of the Exile in the game; he is more of the excuse than the real cause and finding the truth behind the cutting off from the Force is a major push in seeking out the Jedi Masters. In the DS path revenge is the key motivator and Nihilus is little more than an obstacle in assuming greater power. I was actually let down at how little Nihilus took part in the game and how little character development he had (way beyond what I'd class as 'mysterious').