For you people that still adore physical copies, Limited Run Games is releasing brand new copies of Jedi Outcast and Academy. For those unfamiliar, Limited Run Games is a company that makes exactly that: prints limited runs of select games. They announced a bunch of Star Wars games awhile ago, including Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight, Jedi Outcast, and Jedi Academy. Unfortunately we missed the DF2 order window, but luckily I noticed the JK2 and JKA ones were announced today. Orders will begin on April 24th at 10am EST and then later at 6pm EST.

There are a couple editions to choose from that come with some really cool collector's editions items. Also of note, is there are PC, PS4, and Switch options, which is nice for those that wanted the new console ports, but were wanting a physical copy instead of digital.

Check out the news posts for both games here: Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy. Orders will take place on their website.

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Oh yes, another console release. We knew this was coming after it was announced back in September, and we got Jedi Outcast during that time. The launch of JK2 was a success overall, with only a few minor complaints and one big one: save states don't overwrite, so you have to periodically delete them as you go. Apparently we still have save storage restrictions, even in 2020. Other than that, as primarily as console player, it was a big treat to be able to play as Kyle Katarn on my big screen.

Jedi Academy launched on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch today, at the price point of $19.99 USD in both digital stores. This time they include both singleplayer and multiplayer experiences, which is worth noting because the Jedi Outcast release only contained singleplayer. No doubt this was to consolidate servers to just one game. We also get a fancy new trailer for this, which is also interesting because it features almost exclusively multiplayer footage. Check it out below.

Both versions of the game are basically the same except for some obvious differences. The PS4 version has trophies (achievements) which can be fun to obtain. The Switch version will have motion controls to help with aiming, though I don't think it really helps that much, personally. If you're trying to decide which version to get, just keep in mind those two features, but also that the Switch version can also be played in portable mode (of course), and that you will need PS Plus and Switch Online to play online. There are cheats, just like in the Jedi Outcast port, however it has a different button combination. I updated my tutorial for that here. Also take note that there is no split-screen in these versions. Lots of people assumed there would be, since that feature existed in the original Xbox and GameCube versions, but not this time.

Speaking of online, it's a bit interesting to me. There is no server browser, there is only matchmaking and solo bots for offline. We haven't seen this, even in mods for the games. Obviously matchmaking is popular these days because it's more user friendly in terms of sitting down and playing a few games, rather than worrying about finding a server to play on. This also means there are no custom server settings. From my tests, it looks like all servers have all weapons and force powers enabled, with Jedi Master force settings. This is probably good for casual players to be able to use all of the features, however any veteran knows the Force powers are obnoxious and the saber combat is where the game shines. Many people suspected the Switch version to use P2P matchmaking, since the majority of Switch games do, however I can confirm that both versions use dedicated servers, not P2P.

I also noticed that they fill the servers with bots, disguised as players. This is not uncommon, even in modern games (Battlefront II does it, as a Star Wars related example), however it's painfully obvious in old games like this. The bot AI is just obnoxiously bad. You can immediately tell a player is a bot by the way they constantly swing with blue/fast style, while running backwards on a predictive path, sometimes even glitching in the same four-step vicinity. I get why they did this, because it's the same reason why clans and big servers have been doing it on PC since 2003: to fill servers to attract real players and keep them playing. For matchmaking it makes a lot more sense, than it does even for server browsers. 

I don't expect this to be a game where suddenly everyone is playing it again on consoles. When I played it, it was laggy. Hopefully that's just due to the influx of new connections today. There's no group or party system, but there is a new invite button I noticed, but you can only use it when you're in a server. It's simple features like that, that we have in modern games, that will hinder any chance of success this game will have in a modern environment. However, it's going to be a great way to hop in with some friends and have some saber-clashing fun every once in awhile. I also noticed they added the ability to turn off your lightsaber. That was a much needed feature we all asked for in Outcast and they never added it. Looks like they listened and added it!

I recorded a clip of my first boot of the game on PS4. I know a lot of people here will be interested in seeing how the menus work on console. They are extremely clunky, which just shows how minimal work went into this port, but it works good enough. You'll notice the matchmaking button instead of join a server, and how it searches and throws you in. It's odd seeing it this way, after 17 years of seeing it another way.

If you're not from around this community and don't know which game to get, Outcast or Academy, I think everyone would recommend Outcast in this case. Not only does it come first in the story, it has an overall better story and level design. However it does not have multiplayer. You also don't get a lightsaber until halfway through the game, which is a big turn-off for a lot of people, apparently. If you're one of those people, you could just use cheats to give you a lightsaber from the start, or you may want Jedi Academy instead. You could also just get both. I recommend getting both, but I'm clearly biased.

Which version are you getting, if either? Did you get Jedi Outcast on either platform yet? If so, how do you think these ports hold up? Buy Jedi Academy at the links below on your respective console's store!

Buy Jedi Academy on PlayStation 4

Buy Jedi Academy on Nintendo Switch

 Buy Jedi Outcast on PlayStation 4 

Buy Jedi Outcast on Nintendo Switch

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Introducing our new back-end software
As you might've noticed from the past several days of scheduled maintenance, we've finally updated our backend software! This is a very long overdue upgrade, coming after several years of JKHub seeing no software updates at all. Countless months of work went into this update both on our part, and on third-party developers' parts, as well as unfortunate amounts of money.

We know, things are broken
No, our portal/front page won't keep looking like this. Yes, we know there are awkwardly colored unreadable fonts in places. We're working on it, and over the coming days and weeks, you'll notice everything is slowly fixed. For now though, we felt it was more important to get JKHub up and running as quickly as possible again.

New features
Here is a very incomplete list of new things:

• Entirely new post editor: the old one was old and buggy; the new one should work much better, and save your post content more reliably if your browser crashes or you accidentally press the 'back' button
• Unicode emoji: This vastly expands on the existing emoji set with the ones already provided by your operating system ?
• Faster page loads, especially on image-heavy threads
• Security improvements: from improved password hashing to better filtering of hacking attempts
• Mobile improvements: a completely new mobile design built into the existing theme using media queries. And unlike the old mobile theme, it actually works!
• Workflow improvements: from an easier registration process to a more intuitive file submission process.

Most importantly though: this update lays the foundation for several cool things that are coming soon. Right now, we're focusing on fixing bugs, and achieving full feature parity with the old software. Once that's done, we plan to introduce lots of new things, including a completely new, modern-looking design for JKHub.

If you have any questions, or run into especially severe bugs, please do post below. No cosmetic issues please, we're aware of those and working hard on it ?