Plano Skywalker

I generally prefer K2 over K1....the main problem with K2 was just the lack of polish...everything from less texturing in the graphics to having to give Visas HEAVY ARMOR proficiency in order to change the appearance of her clothing, to the half-baked influence system....it is not any one thing but, taken as a whole, it is a bit frustrating. Neither Obsidian nor LA will make the same mistake twice. The ending really did not bother me because I knew it was supposed to be a cliffhanger for K3. However, the munchkin market is a big part of the base support of these games and they really have to keep that in mind next time.

about the worlds: in K1, Bastila asks Revan what his homeworld is. Revan is given 2 dialogue choices (and one of them is obviously false). the correct answer is: "Deralia. It's in a remote system". Now, I realize that this memory is part of the . But it could actually be his homeworld. At any rate, if Revan has significant play in K3, I wouldn't mind visiting his homeworld or at least having some backstory that deals with his homeworld and having that play some role in the main story. That would be interesting.

part of the problem is they were trying to push the limits of an already-established engine....the additons were cool but they apparently did not have enough QA to get all the kinks worked out. you are not the first person to mention how the graphics don't look as good in K2...others have mentioned that it was because of a lack of texturing. K1's graphics were very textured...K2's did not always have that....again, K2 was made in someone's attic...things like texturing cost time and money. Anyway, if there is a K3, it will be next-gen and it will have the kind of polish that one would expect in such a game....trust me on that.

both are good.....but I really like the interspersion of John Williams's music in the musical score of the first one. And I love the majestic theme song of K1: Da Daaaaaaa Da Da Da Da Da Daaaa Da K2's musical score was appropriate to the darker context. If K3 is made, it will undoubtetly be closer to K2 in tone than K1. However, it would be good if there were some lighter moments in the musical score....some majestic, happy stuff at certain times in the story (such as when the good guys are on the comeback).

a failure that can be salvaged in the hands of seasoned professionals.

one of the things K1 had that K2 did not was a media marketing blitz. I'm sure part of this was due to titles like Battlefront being out at roughly the same time. if K3 does happen, I think you will see that it is not so much a sequel but the second half of the game....The Return of the King is not really a sequel, it is a continuation of the same exact story....that is how to look at K3. I have no doubt that K3 will provide a satisfying conclusion to what we are in now. they will need a media blitz and being able to tout things like customizable hilts, advanced AI, customizable lightsaber form progression, and maybe even things like finishing blows....all that adds "grab value" that you can feed into a marketing blitz...that is why those things are so important...they give you things to talk about during a marketing campaign.

did I mention that he was also programmed to lie?

I believe TSL was originally conceived as a cliffhanger...true, had it not been as rushed, they could have given it more polish...but the bottom line is that it was supposed to leave you hanging for K3. The lead designer of the game has stated that he will never do an "Empire Strikes Back" kind of ending again for the very reasons you are stating. Video games are not movies and just don't lend themselves well to such an abrupt ending. I truely believe that all (or almost all) of the dangling threads from K2 will be wrapped up in K3 and in a satisfying way.

For a twitch game, I have to say that the previews of Battlefront 2 look pretty darn good. Anybody else looking forward to it?

he may have been around before Revan but I think Revan had him reprogrammed to get the Exile back on the scene. Revan never leaves anything to chance...he had both GOT0 and Kreia out to accomplish the same thing.

[sLIGHT SPOILER] Beast Trick would have been so much better if it had to do with *controlling* the creature rather than putting it to sleep. There were other ways to accomplish the same thing.

I absolutely agree that the environment (rain, snow, wind, etc) should play a huge role in combat. And, indeed, we need to see Force powers that manipulate the environment. In my view, these are also prime candidates to be Universal powers, which is one area that probably needs expanding. Force Throw is used so much in the movies that it would be my first choice. Second choice: something very much like D&D's Entangle spell.

Kavar

hey marblex, you made some really good points. I want to zero in on the Ebon Hawk. For me, immersion is a big part of an RPG experience. Indeed, why don't we see Mandalore in the pistol range or Bao-Dur soldering something on the workbench or Atton and T3 taking turns piloting the ship so Atton can get some rest? Or Mical and Mira playing Dejarik on a hologram board? Or just having people walking around chatting to each other (not talking about cutscreens)? Also, a med lab workbench (as you say) would be good. I also like the idea of sinking money into upgrading the ship (trust me, that would work wonders for immersion). Upgrades could include a Kolto tank in the medlab, a quad laser turret with a Z axis (rather than the pea shooter), a Meditation chamber, and a number of other things.

I agree with you vaxen83 that having more types of monsters and having "boss" monsters with special powers and things like poisons would be good (depending on the world, of course). couple that with some really good AI and we're in business.

I think Revan voicelocked the navicomputer. I also think GOT0 and the HK-50s were manufactured at Revan's behest. Revan commissioned both Kreia and GOT0 to find and bring the Exile to Malachor alive. Revan knew that, even though Kreia was the secret Dark Lord of the Sith, she was not a true believer and was someone who could be counted on to help defeat the True Sith. HOWEVER, Revan did not know of Kreia's wacked out plan to kill off the the remaining Force users of Known Space and to then attempt to kill the Force by magnifying the echo that the Exile possessed. GOT0 was there to prevent the destruction of Malachor because GOT0's boss (Revan) thought that such a thing might destabilize the Force. Revan knew that the Exile would be tempted to destroy Malachor (again) as it was perceived to be the source of the false Sith Lords' power. But both Revan and Kreia were wrong about that...the Force cannot be killed. However, does the echo still exist? Does the anomaly that fuels both the Exile and Darth Nihlius still live? Perhaps. And, perhaps, the destruction of Malachor has magnified the anomaly.

I liked the character alot but this character could have been alot more.

First of all, INFLUENCE should not be alignment-based at all. If you want to give Consulars and Lords only the ability to tinker with alignments if they burn certain feat slots....fine. But, all in all (for non-Consular PCs), HK-47 is never going to be LS and Mira is never going to be DS....period. I think most people would agree with that. Now, part of what we saw in K2 with regard to that may have been related to the special powers that the protagonist possessed. That does need to be kept in mind. But I am tired of playing pregens with special powers. If I want special powers of persuasion, then I should have to burn slots for it. Your party (or ship crew, as it were) should "make sense". If you are someone who has LS Mastery, then you really don't need HK or Mandalore on your ship. They can solve this problem the way Balder's Gate solved it: PARTY MANAGEMENT. Let there be more potential crew mates than the max number of slots on the ship. More Hanharr/Mira type choices. But not just that...if you want to sell a sentient droid and replace him with a much more advanced model (or a droid with a much different alignment), that would be sweet. I would say that only 2 or 3 shipmates should comprise the "inner circle" and be absolutely non-replaceable. I also like the idea that each character has a "vulnerability zone". In other words, there is one map (different for each character) that, if the character dies, the character is DEAD and not unconscious.

I haven't played the Xbox version yet but I have played the older versions on both Amiga and PC. Basically, it is a sandbox game. It is very non-linear. If you want, you can follow the storyline. Or, you can sail around looking for the Treasure Fleet or the Silver Train. Or, you can be a simple pirate and collect alot of cash. Or, you can be a pirate hunter. Or, you can run errands for various governors and increase rank. Or, you can specialize in invading towns, etc. But like Morrowind, it does not slap you up side the head with the story. It is a very openended, customizable adventure game. There is, however, a time constraint. After you reach about 35-40 years of age, the game tries to retire you. You can resist at first, but, depending on your character's health, you are eventually forced into retirement. The object of the game, really, is to see how well you retire, based on treasure and rank that you have accumulated. I like it.

I'm not suggesting trees based on alignment. Here is an example of what I am talking about: Level 1 HEAL gives way to Level 2 HEAL but also to Revitalize. As it is right now, Revitalize is its own power, thus creating a smorgasboard of powers...I like the idea of treeing similar effects tied to the same level 1 prerequisite power. It's really about being neat and tidy more than anything else.

I hear you. And just because Master Zhar and Master Vandar were believed to have died on Katarr, does not necessarily mean that they did, in fact, die in that attack. I would love to see one or both of them make a surprise appearance late in K3.

less Force powers would be good. having forking trees would be good. if you get the level 3 force power, then you see the 2nd tree that goes up to level 6. levels 4, 5, and 6 of a Force power burn 2 slots instead of 1. only Consulars have a gazillion powers to choose from. other classes have half the options that Consulars have. Force Throw as a Universal Power would be good as it is soooooo Star Wars. If you are DS, you can only use the level 1 version of a crossover power Same thing with LS. We can't have DSers master healing themselves and then lightning spamming their way to victory. DSers should have to use the Drain Life powers alot more than they do now.

I agree that if time and resources are limited (as they will be), they need to spend more time on story and characters than things like dismemberment options in combat. However, there really does need to be better AI both in combat and even with things like pathfinding. Non-combat AI scripts such as telling a character to constantly look for secret doors and traps would be nice, too. And, of course, there is INFLUENCE. If they do bring it back (and I kinda hope they do) then it needs ALOT of work to be enjoyable and realistic.

while I like the idea of a rank progression: Recruit>>Padawan>>Knight>>Master this is really more a reward system for whatever faction you are serving more than class leveling. as long as we are playing pregens who are essentially working outside the system, I doubt we will see this kind of progression. I'm hoping K4 (if there is one) will have a more straight-up, self contained story with clear-cut faction advancement. I'm not expecting that in K3.

I think you are missing the point...there WILL be a content patch....it's called KOTOR 3. Music? the musical score will undoubetly be quite similar. And it will be in stereo.