Glider Vehicle

This is a new vehicle for Jedi Academy, based on the unused Glider NPC. RavenSoft included several files for this NPC in JK2, but as far as I can recall it wasn't actually used. The model can be spawned in base JKA, but it has no textures, so it's invisible, and it doesn't do anything.

This glider belongs to the vh_fighter class, so you can take off, fly around at different speeds, and land again in something that resembles a cross between a pterodactyl and a heron.

To take off, just get in (use) the glider, and press the jump key (spacebar by default), until you reach far enough off the ground to begin moving forward. Forward is accelerate, back is decelerate, and left and right will cause you to roll. You can steer with the mouse.

To land, simply fly slow just above the ground, and keep decelerating as you nose into the ground. Below a certain altitude, the landing sequence activates automatically. Getting out can be a little tricky; you may need to jump out (use and jump) just before the landing sequence begins. Too early and the glider doesn't finish landing; too late and you can't get out. It gets easier with practice.

The glider accelerates slowly, but can cruise faster than a speeder bike. Deceleration is a bit faster. I set the throttle so that you don't have to keep changing speeds.

The glider isn't actually as wide as its wingspan suggests, so you can fit through fairly small openings, although you can also roll for a more dramatic effect (this takes some practice).

This NPC comes without any weapons (no muzzle in the model, since it's an animal), but you can swoop down on your enemies and hit them! Try flying through the canyons in t2_trip and taking out some mercs!

Since there weren't any sounds or animation for the original NPC, I used some sounds from other base models that seemed like they'd fit.

Without any death animation, I decided to keep the droid explosion effect that was here for a stopgap.

So yes, the flying lizards explode when killed.

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