Plano Skywalker

Actually, that is one thing I have been wondering about: was this, in fact, meant to be a trilogy? I don't know and I don't think anyone who is in the know would tell us one way or the other. We know that K1 was largely a BioWare story. Revan was a BioWare creation. BioWare did not want to do K2 so they recommened Obsidian. LA was planning to do K3 in-house. Now, here is the thing: I agree that K1 left no room for a proper sequel but LA was being bombarded with inquiries about Revan so they decided to "open it back up". OK, at this point, it becomes a "trilogy". I believe that, while K2 was still mostly an Obsidian story, they were working hand-in-hand with LA so that when LA did the in-house K3, they would be wrapping up a trilogy. Obsidian's daunting task was to open something up that really could not be opened up and still provide a bit of resolution while still leaving the main story arch dangling. They more or less pulled it off.

QUOTE: The story of K2 was not thought out and had no foundation in any philosophy. It was just a bunch of cut scenes with talking heads speaking more gibberish than an early Star Trek TOS episode, spun together with meaningless fights and pointless dialogue trees. The characters, specifically Kreia, Atris and the Jedi Masters all contradicted themselves in their dialiogues: some even in the same monologue, in adjacent sentences! It was like trying to understand a six-year-old's theory on the creation of icecream. Very poor. -------------------------------- I think the idea with is that she was mad....kind of like the antagonist in the story "The Most Dangerous Game".....very intelligent and cunning, but, ultimately, a looney tune. my take: as filler stories go, it wasn't bad

having ranged weapons dumbed down is to help justify why *anyone* would wield a sword or other melee weapon in such a futuristic age. KOTOR I did, I think, explain this pretty well with the bit about how energy shields have made melee weapons the weapons of choice in the present age. All that being said, I think we do need to see *some* kick butt ranged weapons. KOTOR I did not use Heavy Weapons effectively (in practice, they were no better than rifles) and, KOTOR II (if I am not mistaken) did not have a Heavy Weapons designation at all. What I would like to see is the ability of the Soldier class to have a proficiency in Heavy Weapons and for this to really mean something. For instance, if someone gets shot by a fully-upgraded Mandalorian Heavy Disrupter Cannon, there is a 50% chance that the target will be simply vaporized on the spot. Also, why is it that only droids have flame-throwers and cold-blasts? They could (and should) do a lot more with ranged weapons (while still marginalizing them on the low end).

I agree with the problem of lightsabers....in all SW lore, they are the most powerful personal weapon around, bar none (in Ep III, they were used to cut through the roof of an elevator). However, if you incorporate that into a game, it is really hard to find the "sweet spot"....really hard to make combat with non-Force users challenging. (And, I agree, I really do want lightsabers to be reflected in-game as having the power that the movies show they have). What is the solution? I don't know but I think I would not mind waiting so much for my lightsaber (about 10-15 hours) if it was truely reflective of what the movie depiction of a lightsaber is supposed to be. I am playing through K1 right now and I gave Jolee 2 sabers, Bastila 2 sabers, Juhanni a staff saber, and the PC a single saber and I still have enough lightsabers to open a flea market. I think one of the solutions is to make lightsabers much rarer than they are now....or even have a lightsaber creation feat that you only get at 12 level or something like that...even if you find a dropped lightsaber, you still have to use the feat to personalize it to you. So, yes, we should see lightsabers actually slicing through gaffi sticks, quarterstaffs and even the occasional vibroblade (all non-energy weapons would, essentially get a saving throw) but this would need to be offset by adding other weights. I have long suggested that we keep multilayered combat except for boss battles. The idea that if you get hit with a lightsaber, you ARE going down....two hits and you are dead....so, in the dueling scenario, you have all kinds of defenses and feints you can do in real time to avoid an out-an-out hit....things you can do to turn a hit into a glancing blow.....things like that. Another thing they could do is to simply have alot more multithreaded adventures so that, even late in the game, there are some key battles that are not decided by lightsaber.

Am I painting with a broad brush? Yes, and, under the circumstances, I think it appropriate. My point is simply to illustrate how *I* believe that multilayered is the best option for KOTOR. While it may (arguably) be the best option for SW RPGs like KOTOR, the other options are viable and enjoyable in their element. As it happens, I think one thing that the KOTOR combat could use (while still keeping it multilayered) is to have SQUAD COMMANDS like in the Tom Clancy games. I think that would be sweet.

There are 3 main approaches to combat in a cRPG: 1) True Turn Based (i.e. Final Fantasy) 2) Real Time (i.e. Jade Empire and the FPS crossover games) 3) Active Turn Based, also called "Multilayered" (i.e. KOTOR and Balder's Gate) I think option 3 is the best approach for a cRPG. However, it is also the most difficult to implement because, if the AI is not great, this weakness will show up on this method of combat more than any other. The problem with KOTOR d20 is not that it is multilayered combat but 3 main factors: * the AI is not great * the combat feat system is watered down (in the P&P SW RPG, you have prerequisite feats that lead to really specific and effective feats in combat). * d20 is not ideal for uber-powerful epic characters... d20 could still be used effectively, but, I admit, they will need to do a number of things to give us the kind of world class combat experience I think most of us are looking for...all in all, I think they should keep multilayered combat but implement a more granular system (such as in Morrowind or Third Age, for instance). I also really like the idea of being able to advance in a specific lightsaber form (Jade Empire has something like this).

I can guarandamtee you that the PC of K3 will be flying around in the Ebon Hawk. It is a character in the Revan Saga and also an Exchange ship....it is a plot device. We will see it....we will fly it. Ugrades, yes...more spontaneity, yes....but it will be the Ebon Hawk.

I like the idea of logging time....however, it needs to affect stuff. For instance, Morrowind logged time (to the second, I believe) but time was all but irrelevant to the pacing of the game...it was all about resting and getting your Fatigue bar back up. I would say that, if they do log real time, that it actually have opportunity costs built in--if you go do this, you may miss the chance to do that....that sort of thing. Bottom line: don't log time unless you incorporate opportunity costs.

FWIW, I like the way Jade Empire handles plot devices....they get a seperate page. If it is plot-related, it should be lumped with other stuff that is simply plot-related. Not a huge deal, mind you, but that is best.

naaa....just wasting time talking about stuff that is not real.

answer: they did right by taking it out.

the bottom line (as I see it) is that Bastila's Battle Meditation in KOTOR I should not be listed in her feat list.....because it is more a plot device than something that you can actually use. if you can't use it, it shouldn't be there.

when did the Jedi Order adopt the marriage ban? I like to think it was discouraged at first and then, at some point, it became an official policy that you had to sign off on before you join the Order. a real-world analogy might be Roman Catholic priests....I am sure that many people assume that priests were never able to get married. In fact, they were allowed to get married for several centuries before the Church adopted the "discipline" of celibacy. also, the Church is in full communion with groups like the Byzantine Catholics who have married priests...so, the point is that it is not always a black and white issue.

I rather like the "over the shoulder" view of KOTOR, which is hybrid between 1st and 3rd perspectives. It is not perfect but it is my favorite.

it was a really good idea just not fleshed out enough...I personally think that once you jedify a Force Sensitive, you have just locked in to that one student and you will not be jedifying anyone else (although you may still come across party members like Jolee or Visas who are already using the Force). then, everything is negotiable. if you want to really teach that person, then he has to become your padawan. if you would rather not have a padawan, then you can keep it really casual. but the potential for a true mentoring situation should be there.

like the other poster said: the fanbase for SW is overwhelmingly male....that is why pregens are a really bad idea for SW games....pregens always end up in the EU. consider Kyle Katarn, for instance. a video game put him in the EU and LFL has not yet had the courage to kill him off. the best way, IMO, to handle this sort of thing is to have it so where, if there is a continuity change due to a video game, the PC is not the only protagonist that can be associated with it....basically, have 2 protagonists, the PC and some made up NPC....that way, when the story gets told in the EU, it is told without referring to the video game PC.

I like to see it that way. And while I appreciate the original poster's concerns, I would much rather have the devs working on their projects instead of getting blindsided by things that they are contractually bound to not comment on. I have no doubt that they will talk to us when they have something to talk about.

truely, it is hard to play a true *mage* as defined by 2E or even 3rd E D&D at 1st level. true, you can specialize and get that extra spell, but then you are not really a *mage* in the proper sense of the term. one of main problems in the old days of P&P D&D is that you need clerics at low levels and mages at high levels but there was not alot in between. Late 2E (namely Forgotten Realms) gave us the Specialty Priest which filled the gap somewhat. 3E gave us the Sorcerer which is really what was needed. The befuddled old wizard is an important part of a fantasy landscape but not someone who would be adventuring very much.

it was a good musical score alright. I'm not suggesting there was alot of Williams music but it seemed like it was alot more than in K2. K2 could have used more, IMO.

the next SW RPG needs to have plenty of John Williams's music like the first KOTOR had.

the Sith of antiquity are red-skinned insectoid beings from worlds like Korriban and Ziost. The load screens of KOTOR I state that fallen Jedi over the millennia have gone and settled on the Sith worlds. The fallen Jedi basically assumed command and, eventually, the 2 races became one. It was believed that when Exar Kun (just some 40 years before Revan's time) sucked the life force out of his Massassi warriors (Massassi are specially bred warriors of the Sith) to trap his spirit in the Yavin pyramids, that that was the end of actual Sith race. However, the idea that the "Sith...the true Sith" have gone into the Unknown Regions and are waiting to strike does not flat out contradict continuity. As to whether there are still some redskinned Sith, it is not known. However, I think they pretty much have to go with a pending strike from the Sith who are now in the Unknown Regions. "True Sith" reinforces the idea that the Revan/Malak Sith were just part of Revan's plan to beat them at their own game. Basically, a scorched-earth policy that would galvanize the free planets, wake up the Senate, and get the Mandalorians back on board. That is really all it is about....Revan (even DS Revan) is NOT a true believer of this ideal....he is a master strategist who found a way to beat this enemy who has been planning for war for a long time. However, it appears that Revan's scorched-earth plan was, ironically, also part of the True Sith's plan. Kreia is Darth Traya why? Because she betrayed the Jedi Order? No....because she betrayed Revan. She has (with the unknowing help of the Exile) killed off all the Force users of Known Space. As Darth Nuke might say, they may as well hang out a sign and say "this galaxy is unprotected....PLEASE INVADE!".

with regard to powers like Force Crush, Beast Trick, etc, I think these should be "bonus powers" based on what kind of character you have....they are just single powers with no hierarchical trees. for instance, a Sith Lord gets Force Crush (and he gets it as soon as he goes Prestige Class). Breath Control for Jedi Sentinels, Beast Trick for Jedi Consulars, Empathic Link for Jedi Masters (initiate your own empathic communication!), etc. the purpose served is that you don't have to burn slots on other powers that do the same thing....it's kind of like racial powers in Morrowind.

the Padawan only has access to PC-type abilities (i.e. Persuade) when the main PC is away on some other thread. when the PC and the Padawan are in the same squad, only the PC has those abilities.

[spoiler STUFF ALERT] excellent point and it does, in my view, tie into the overall lack of NPC sidequests. in my view, you should have about 3 or 4 Force Sensitives on your ship but only one is going to be your Padawan....you know, same thing as Mira...if you get Mira on your ship, you don't get Hanharr...I think the same principle should apply here. Sure, there are a number of options, but you must lock in to one of those options. and make the Teacher/Padawan relationship dialogue intense (Kreia-style mumbo-jumbo except you are the one who gets to say the mumbo-jumbo). I like the idea of dropping off your apprentice on some wilderness planet armed with only a vibroblade....he must find a way off the planet and join you at a certain location (maybe you tell him of a shuttle he can use that is 100 miles from the drop zone). if you don't hear from him in 30 days, you go get him. if he accomplishes the objective, he gets the lightsaber creation feat and must make his own lightsaber. After that, he is your Padawan and First Mate of your ship. He commands your party if the game ever goes multithreaded....has the Persuade skill, etc.

indeed....the biggest problem with cut content is that it should STAY on the cutting room floor....if you want to give people a chance to see some of the ideas that stayed on the cutting room floor, then make a Powerpoint slideshow that people can download....yeah, make it "semi-official" and take away from this "hey, look what I found! those meanies cut content from the game! how dare they!" almost every game has cut content...some just realize how important it is to get rid of the evidence.