Plano Skywalker

For our purposes here, it means "official". For instance, if you had a fanfic and a magazine talking about the same thing and they contradict each other, the magazine would be "canon" and the fanfic would be incorrect. That is a simplistic illustration but it should suffice.

* at this point Revan is an iconic figure. To play Revan at this point would be like playing Darth Vader. * to decide whether Revan is LS or DS is to miss the point. Revan is the personification of a Grey Jedi. That is one of the things that makes him Revan. * Revan will go down in history as the patriot who allowed an alien threat to be defeated. It's that simple. * the story that we are currently in does not allow for alot of force users. So, I agree that a third protagonist would be less than desirable. * the Exile should be the protagonist of KOTOR III. Only the Exile can plausibly start back at Level 1. Reason? He draws his force powers from other force sensitives. Five years have passed and he has been out of contact with any force sensitives. BOOM, he has no power. Fits in perfectly with KOTOR II.

Oh, yeah, and like others have alluded to, Star Wars is, at its core, a good old Errol Flynn swashbuckler set in space. It is not "true science fiction" like Isaac Asimov or Star Trek, for instance. The "canonical story" is always going to be the LS heterosexual male rescuing the damsel and saving the galaxy.

Basically , the whole idea of "continuity" or "canon" is there largely to satisfy the fan base. GL cares about his movies. But we are at a point now where there probably does need to be an official continuity clarification every 5 years or so. I personally do not buy into the idea that a movie novelization outweighs a magazine, a magazine outweights a comic, a comic outweighs an EU novel and an EU novel outweighs a video game. That model may have worked at one time but when you have TEAMS of veteran LA people working on a 40-hour game like KOTOR and KOTOR II, WHY SHOULDN'T THAT TRUMP ALL BUT THE MOVIES? So there is your answer: the Official Star Wars Continuity Compendium of 2010, 2015, etc.

Force Sensitive is a feat you get for free at 7th level. Once you get this feat, your lightsaber sidequest begins. Force Focus and Force Mastery are optional feats. Force Focus allows you to use non-universal powers. Only those with Force Mastery can take a prestige class. Prestige classes have their own side quests. Double-bladed lightsaber has its own feat tree. Ranged weapons should not be as dumbed down as they are now. Engineering feat tree to build sentry cannons, etc. Fix the influence system...ability to fire party members (but still get the same storyline content from others). Gotta have the 2 droids. They are the true continuity of this franchise. Jedi and Sith are not the only factions you can permanently join. (the Manaan quest in KOTOR I allowed you to join the Echani syndicate, I believe) there should be a number of such trans-world syndicates (not all bad, either) If the PC is not Revan or the Exile, we need to see non-human PCs. If you are LS, you get Master Vandar's force ghost as mentor. If you are DS, you get Revan's force ghost as mentor. You can buy other sentient droids (and you can sell droids like G0T0) Need a "fence" merchant that deals in hard-to-find items (like the Rodian on the Yavin Space Station) Easier to be a "non-bully" DSider. Real dogfighting in space.

I like alot of what Darth Ni and Darth Nuke had to say. And: >>>Basically, more DIPLOMACY, STRATEGY and overall BIG-PICTURENESS. >>>once, you beat the game, you can buy additional downloadable content. >>>KOTOR III definitely needs to wrap up this "trilogy" we are in. >>>and, yes, eye candy graphics would be nice (be not required). >>>A CERTAIN AMOUNT of open-endedness (you can sell the Ebon Hawk and buy something else; you can buy property, etc)

right, it is the sense of "God" in the SW universe. Some people are priests but most are not...that kind of thing. Basically, if someone wanted a good idea of the Force, watch the movie Excalibur and listen to what Merlin says of "the dragon". It is basically the same thing. The Allthing...pantheism.

true that!

well, if they decide not to "change the canon" (not really suggesting that a video game could do that), then maybe what appears to be the True Sith is really just some sort of powerful, self-aware anomaly of some kind that is just beyond the outer rim. The Exile has a greater connection to this anomaly than anyone else and that is what Kreia was trying to exploit. Of course, how you defeat this anomaly without Spock or Data, etc is anyone's guess.

I don't remember their demise being specifically mentioned in KOTOR II. Anyway, even if they were believed to have died, they could make an unexpected return.

Well, for what it's worth, I doubt they would do that. I predict that the devs will: * have a brand new PC * kill off Revan (or allude to his previous demise) * you end up trying to catch up with the Exile and compare notes with him I hope for: * lots of options for the PC (including non-human) * you start off on Coruscant * you get formally knighted (on Coruscant) * the Exile has a major part in a multithreaded endgame

Yeah, and don't forget the "Yoda" master and the 2 Twilek masters from the first KOTOR. They could emerge somehow. Also, Atris could be a master in KOTOR III as could Bastila.

not trying to hijack my own thread here but I personally think that the best way to deal with Revan at this point is to kill him. Or, put more nicely, to die a glorious death for the Republic. Revan is the greatest of the Force Sensitives. He is, ultimately, the epitome of a Grey Jedi who bends both good and evil to his own will, to what he deems is best. He was taught by the second-greatest Grey Jedi, Kreia. But epic struggles are about the black and white, good versus evil. Revan should not be a goodie goodie and neither should he be a cruel megalomaniac like Palpatine. By killing him off at this point, you immortalize him as the ultimate Grey Jedi who allowed others to save the Republic from an alien threat. Not only does it make sense storywise, it also helps gameplay-wise. It allows another protagonist to enter the stage and gives the Exile (if they use him) more importance. Hell, with Revan gone, the Exile could be your mentor. If they do open it totally up (i.e. no Jolee or Bastila as the PC), I want to see Twileks and all the other force-attuned races as possible PCs. Plano

Well, if LA and the developers decide to use a PC other than Revan or the Exile, there actually is something they can do other than introduce a complete NEWBIE to the mix. Have you ever played Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance? Well, if you have, then, at the beginning of the game, you had to choose between a Dwarven Fighter, an Elf Sorceress, and a human Archer (I believe). OK, bear with me, I know the difference between an RPG and an Action/Adventure, really I do. It seems to me that this whole story is about the True Sith and how the Republic (actually a small band of heros) defeated the True Sith once and for all. They did not wipe out evil once and for all but they wiped out a powerful foe that was planning an all-out assault on Known Space. That is where I believe the story is heading. If that is the case, then Revan can still be an important part (he dies during the mission and his Force Ghost becomes your mentor). Also the Exile can be an important part (you find him in the Unknown Regions and he is part of a multithreaded endgame). But what of the PC? At the beginning of the game, you can choose ANY of the Force Sensitive characters that were with you in either KOTOR I or KOTOR II. That list, of course, would include: I like the idea of a totally open-ended approach for the PC but I'd rather not see it just yet, given where we are in the story. I think this idea is a good compromise. Plano

I generally agree that a totally opened-ended approach for the PC's identity would be preferred. I would like to have non-humans and even non-Force users. HOWEVER, the story is where it is. In my view, we need Revan's story to be totally wrapped up (which can only be done right by Revan or the Exile in my view). Then, in KOTOR IV (or whatever they call it) we can have a less epic and more open-ended approach. Plano

Let's see, KOTOR I had a very straightforward main storyline. It had alot of story to tell and it told it in a very linear fashion. KOTOR II does not spoon feed you. If you do not talk to your party members, you will miss out on alot of what you would like to know. Overall, I prefer the less linear approach. However, I will list areas where I think KOTOR I has an advantage: * side quests * swoop racing * a sense of closure at the end * your mentor is not *quite* as preachy in KOTOR I (and much easier on the eyes) * dialog is not as messy (but not as advanced either) Basically, the story and sense of immersiveness in KOTOR II is better, in my view, than in KOTOR I. However, because of some limitations, I must say that sometimes it seems like your are playing a great game that is still in Beta test mode and you just can't wait for the final release. But, indeed, thanks Obsidian. Thanks for taking on the daunting task of writing a game for a fickle license holder like LA knowing that it is risky to not have total control of such a project.

If I were to guess, I'd say it is another thread they left open for KOTOR III. If you think about it,

As much as I like the idea of a totally open-ended identity for the protagonist (including what planet he/she was born on, etc), I now agree that the protagonist for KOTOR III *should* be Revan or the Exile. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think the protagonist should be the Exile (either LS or DS) and that Revan joins your party late in the game and otherwise gets alot of cutscreens, etc and still very important to the story. Here's the thing: Revan is a "cannonical character" in the EU. The Exile is not. So, if Revan is not the protagonist, then the continuity folks at LA can do their homework and come up with a really cool ending that ties in perfectly with the official continuity. In other words, Revan is important no matter what. But, at this point, the only way for the Exile to be important is for him to be the protagonist . Think of Revan as Darth Vader and the Exile as Luke. The ESB and ROTJ belong to both Luke and Vader and both could be considered protagonists (depending on perspective). But a third protagonist would be problematic. I think the same thing is at work here. Let's finish Revan's story and also give the Exile the importance he deserves. Then, KOTOR IV (I don't mind the name KOTOR IV as long as it is a new story) can have the totally open-ended approach for the PC including allowing the PC to be a non-human or even a non-Force user. OK, the only real drawback to this is the unrealistic prospect of having Exile at level 1. So what? the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Plano

I basically agree with NWKnight: we need RESOLUTION TO THE STORY!!! We need what would essentially be an expansion pack in that it would contain no new engine, no new features, etc but 15-40 hours (they have to give you a reason to plunk down the bucks) of content to wrap up this cliffhanger story! Then, the next SW RPG can have the kick*** new engine and an open-ended identity for the protagonist, etc. Plano

In my view they HAVE TO WRAP UP the whole thing. KOTOR III needs to complete the trilogy. However, if they do wrap it up nicely, I see no reaon why there cannot be a KOTOR 4, 5, 6 whatever as long as it is not just one tiresome soap opera. One of the things about KOTOR I and II that made the story easier to write was the fact that you started off as a . I'm hoping in KOTOR 4 and beyond, your identity is totally your own including what planet you were born on, what race you are, etc. I can see why there are many who do not want to open up the protagonist's identity in KOTOR III, but beyond that, it should happen IMO.

the main disappointment, I think, is with the ending. Whether it is true or not that they were rushed to conclusion by LA, I think the intention all along was for it to be a cliffhanger....that is why we keep seeing all these KOTOR III threads....the "conclusion" of KOTOR II is just begging for a followup!

I agree, everything about Jolee was right: personality, dialog, voice, etc. I also think one of the best things about KOTOR I was Carth. Now, let me explain was I mean: yes, Carth is an irritating crybaby, but a VERY BELIEVABLE crybaby. Carth helped keep one foot in the real world and made the experience more immersive because of it IMO.

Actually, I generally agree. There is sometimes a fine line between an RPG and an Action/Adventure with RPG elements. KOTOR is supposed to be a true RPG. Still, that shouldn't stop content downloads.

Well, I personally hate split screen....I would say System Link...but same idea, I hear you..... Basically, there are 2 camps: those who want multiplayer options and those who want new content....hopefully we'll get both next time around.