Jedi Academy launches on PS4 and Switch

[Circa]

 

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. I only joined one game so far, and I forgot to see if it had force powers enabled, but I'm wondering if there are just multiple servers with different settings and it will just drop you in random ones. If anyone tests that, I can update this section.

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!

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.

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. I only joined one game so far, and I forgot to see if it had force powers enabled, but I'm wondering if there are just multiple servers with different settings and it will just drop you in random ones. If anyone tests that, I can update this section.

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 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 Academy on Nintendo Switch

View full article

Edited March 28, 2020 by Circa
Added info about server settings and P2P servers, added youtube link to trailer and removed twitter link

[katanamaru]

Articles I've seen mention "modern controls." Can you explain what they mean by that please? 

Do we cycle force powers and then press a use button or is there a hotkey system in place? 

[Aldro Koon]

Fantastic news, the SP is real fun and I enjoy remote-playing it on my Vita in the couch.
The MP is absolutely horrendous so stay clear and hope people find the nostalgia strong and simply return to PC instead.

[Circa]

14 hours ago, katanamaru said:

Articles I've seen mention "modern controls." Can you explain what they mean by that please? 

Do we cycle force powers and then press a use button or is there a hotkey system in place? 

There is both. You cycle powers with the D-Pad but there's also a hotkey button you can "favorite" a power to. On PlayStation it's Circle and on Switch it's A (I believe). I will update this when I confirm. Playing on both to test things is a bit time consuming.

EDIT: What I said above is only for Jedi Outcast. I wrongly assumed it was the same on JKA. They actually have a new hotkey system in this one, which I actually like better. It allows you to quickly switch to an ability or weapon faster, rather than only being limited to one. Here's a screenshot of the menu:

Spoiler

5 hours ago, Aldro Koon said:

Fantastic news, the SP is real fun and I enjoy remote-playing it on my Vita in the couch.
The MP is absolutely horrendous so stay clear and hope people find the nostalgia strong and simply return to PC instead.

Though I agree that PC is the best way to experience this game, I encourage everyone to not start a campaign to recruit these people to PC. A lot of them are casuals just looking for a simple experience. They are actually enjoying it as well, believe it or not. Lots of them probably don't have PC's to play it on, which is why this release is such a big deal.

 

Also, I want to reiterate that there is no split screen or a server browser. That's a pretty big feature people were hoping for and will determine if some people end up buying it. This is a port of the PC version, no the console versions, so they just didn't bother to add that feature.

Edited March 27, 2020 by Circa

[Lancelot]

Great to see that Jedi Academy has finally arrived on modern systems. But I don't know if I should buy it. No matter how modern controls are, I much rather prefer mouse and keyboard, as it gives a lot more control in a lot of ways. Also, Jedi Academy has become a sandbox game for me. I can't play this game anymore without having something modded. The community has cranked up the fun and improved the overall gameplay.

I've also read that Star Wars: Episode I - Racer will be released for PS4 and Switch.

[Aldro Koon]

34 minutes ago, Circa said:

They are actually enjoying it as well, believe it or not.

Which is why it is our obligation to get them to PC! 

Naw I do understand what you're saying and I partially agree but it still can't hurt to spread awareness of the PC benefits. Our community will obviously try and reach them, sorry in advance. 
And I'd still bet that a majority who actually own a PS4, probably have some computer.

What boggles my mind is how come the game is so unresponsive on the console servers?
You hit someone flush and it doesn't register properly at all. Not sure what is going on there but it felt truly alien.

 

20 minutes ago, Lancelot said:

I've also read that Star Wars: Episode I - Racer will be released for PS4 and Switch.

Dear god please be true, any sources you got?

[MagSul]

20 minutes ago, Aldro Koon said:

Dear god please be true, any sources you got?

Certainly!

https://www.starwarsnewsnet.com/2020/03/star-wars-episode-i-racer-and-jedi-knight-jedi-academy-heading-to-nintendo-switch-and-ps4.html

[Circa]

Or better yet, the source of Mag's source:

https://www.starwars.com/news/the-classic-star-wars-episode-i-racer-comes-to-nintendo-switch-and-ps4

 

43 minutes ago, Aldro Koon said:

Which is why it is our obligation to get them to PC! 

Naw I do understand what you're saying and I partially agree but it still can't hurt to spread awareness of the PC benefits. Our community will obviously try and reach them, sorry in advance. 

Just keep in mind that these people can't even respond to you if you join those servers. Anyone that goes on there and starts playing like PC player and tries talking to them is just going to be viewed as a hacker in their eyes. If they start seeing ads in the chat for JKA on PC or for some clan, they probably will just peace out. Just my two cents. I probably would.

Here's all they can reply with, a set of 4 quick chat responses:

[Aldro Koon]

53 minutes ago, Circa said:

Just keep in mind that these people can't even respond to you if you join those servers. Anyone that goes on there and starts playing like PC player and tries talking to them is just going to be viewed as a hacker in their eyes. If they start seeing ads in the chat for JKA on PC or for some clan, they probably will just peace out. Just my two cents. I probably would.

Yeah we're aware, but hopefully us chatting with enough information can clarify that. I'd also bet that the majority are actually aware of what game they're buying in a sense that they know there is a PC version out there as the game is hardly *a new game*. People can also tell from the graphics etc, alone.

Lovely news about the racer. I recall that having some LAN online. Would have been crazy if they could make that work across the network but yeah, wishful thinking. Anyway, thank god for Aspyr .

[Circa]

33 minutes ago, Aldro Koon said:

Yeah we're aware, but hopefully us chatting with enough information can clarify that. I'd also bet that the majority are actually aware of what game they're buying in a sense that they know there is a PC version out there as the game is hardly *a new game*. People can also tell from the graphics etc, alone.

That's why I don't think it's worth advertising the PC version, if most of them already know it exists. Having MP on the PS4 and Switch is mostly a gimmick and nostalgia hit, probably not sustainable in the long run (especially if PC people keep joining and wrecking them). I hope Aspyr patches out the IP being displayed and changes the IPs so this stops happening. I understand some of you have good intentions, but most others don't.

Also, to alleviate assumptions and false rumors, I can confirm that both PS4 and Switch versions use dedicated servers. Switch does not use P2P, as many assumed.

[Aldro Koon]

2 hours ago, Circa said:

Also, to alleviate assumptions and false rumors, I can confirm that both PS4 and Switch versions use dedicated servers. Switch does not use P2P, as many assumed.

Isn't it the same servers too between PS4 and Switch? Kind of surprising as I didn't think Sony was keen on allowing cross play... (been out of the loop for a while though).
And it is kind of messed up that PC can enter to be honest, so I completely agree with you there.

[TingaTingaJK]

features that is different

• cannot change username, your username is your Switch/PS4 name, PC/Mac you can
• no server list, PC/Mac has that, RedNation is not supported for Switch/PS4 until we make a matchmaking server
• cannot call vote, vote, or kick players, PC/Mac has that
• multiplayer cheats?
• mods?

[GamerRedNeck]

I've been enjoying the Switch port myself.  While there's room for improvement (split screen!!!)I still think it's worth it.  

[ZeroRaven]

Love the articles on PC hackers decimating Switch users.
I love the cross platform idea, Switch users apparently, not so much lol.

[Aldro Koon]

I love that they're allowing you to choose custom buttons. Vita remoteplay is awesome with it.

[RevanSL]

Cool to see the games coming back around again! Happy my old map was saved on this site!

[Futuza]

On 3/29/2020 at 6:28 PM, ZeroRaven said:

Love the articles on PC hackers decimating Switch users.
I love the cross platform idea, Switch users apparently, not so much lol.

If by hackers they mean, gaining an unfair advantage by having a mouse and being able to adjust settings like fov, I guess?  I'm pretty sure most of the supposed 'hacking' happening, is at the worst, crashing the Switch servers (haven't run into any cases so far of anyone actively using an exploit to enable things like god mode etc), the majority are probably just playing with the Switch players.

[Circa]

11 hours ago, Darth Futuza said:

If by hackers they mean, gaining an unfair advantage by having a mouse and being able to adjust settings like fov, I guess?  I'm pretty sure most of the supposed 'hacking' happening, is at the worst, crashing the Switch servers (haven't run into any cases so far of anyone actively using an exploit to enable things like god mode etc), the majority are probably just playing with the Switch players.

By hacking, they mean PC players finding the IP's of the console servers and joining and wrecking them. But we've seen reports of them finding the rcon credentials and doing much more than just that. I haven't seen proof of that, but it's been claimed by enough people that I'd believe it. Crossplay was not intended by the devs, but they didn't put any effort into preventing it. According to this article though, they are working on a fix.

[Aldro Koon]

Seems they patched it to kill PC cross play!

[dan992]

i dont know why jedi academy on ps4 cost 23,99€ in germany... exaggerated... This game is to expensive imo... 9,99€ would be "ok"

[Zombiesoldier]

Hey is there anyway we can get mods for ps4, even if its client based having some would be amazing.

[Circa]

5 hours ago, Zombiesoldier said:

Hey is there anyway we can get mods for ps4, even if its client based having some would be amazing.

The PS4 version doesn’t support mods unfortunately.

[Bongrip]

Very entertaining to see that the Koons wanted to continue their JoF JKA advertising campaign on the consoles. But alas, it was not to be. For us, the secret Koon forms will never be something we attain. The console JKA of today has large communities that can rival PC active numbers on our good nights. We have discords and host large tournaments, teach new people falling in love with JKA through console for the first time, and thanks to the GOOD side of the PC community that doesn't want to kill our communities by enticing them to PC, we have fixed the problems that Koon mentioned above such as saber ghosting, that was largely due to default CFG settings on the Aspyr servers. Now rather than 20svfps we use 30 and 40, weapons and force have been disabled on a few servers to allow the duelists to duel, train, and throw tournaments without being rocketed to death. Our communities are full of dedicated ex PC players that can't play pc anymore and are very happy to be able to play the game, and old OG Xbox players that played for years. 

Interesting thread, good read, but thought it needed some commentary from an actual console JKA player. I also play on PC because I fell in love with the game on console. All the mods and extra stuff are nice, but we love our 1.01 PS4 base. The PC community may think that console players belong there, or are destined to end up there, but we intend to keep our community and game alive for as long as possible. The controller offers less control in the end, but there's something to be said about playing JKA on the sticks.

And that's not to mention the other benefits PS4 actually has over PC. For competitive play, everyone is on the same even ground. There's no cfg editing for lower jumps or better staff blocking, there's no scripts, there's nothing like that. It's a perfectly level playing field that can't be used to gain any advantage that another player couldn't.

So, let me flip the script here. Those of you that have PS4s or Switch, I challenge you to come and fight me on the sticks and our improved servers. Come and hang out with our dedicated JKA community. Come and join our tournaments and see how you do. I bet you'll be impressed with what we do with what he have. Thanks for reading. 

-Bongrip

Also, the MP matchmaking list in your original post Circa. It doesn't drop you into a random server when you click FFA, TFFA, or so on.

We have one server for each game mode. If it fills, an overflow server is made. But we've set the max players in server to 32 rather than the 16 originally, so we don't need overflow servers anymore really. So consider it that PS4 and Switch each have six servers to use, and despite the title of the server being related to the game mode, the gamemodes can be altered, such as Siege that doesn't really get played can be made a dedicated dueling server, so on.

Futuza, as for hacking, well yes. PC players were intentionally hijacking rcon and spawning rancors and generally griefing our entire servers. Intentionally crashing them as well, and one time a password was put on each server. Ironic, because we can't plug in a keyboard to type in a dialog box, nor did our digital ps4 keyboards let us even try to guess. Yeah, some PC players were intentionally griefing

[Circa]

9 hours ago, Bongrip said:

Also, the MP matchmaking list in your original post Circa. It doesn't drop you into a random server when you click FFA, TFFA, or so on.

We have one server for each game mode. If it fills, an overflow server is made. But we've set the max players in server to 32 rather than the 16 originally, so we don't need overflow servers anymore really. So consider it that PS4 and Switch each have six servers to use, and despite the title of the server being related to the game mode, the gamemodes can be altered, such as Siege that doesn't really get played can be made a dedicated dueling server, so on.

Interesting. They may have changed it after the first week because I did try joining multiple times to test my theory and did end up in 3 different servers back to back. It sounds like they have done a lot of tweaking to how it all works though, which is good to hear.

[Futuza]

10 hours ago, Bongrip said:

Futuza, as for hacking, well yes. PC players were intentionally hijacking rcon and spawning rancors and generally griefing our entire servers. Intentionally crashing them as well, and one time a password was put on each server. Ironic, because we can't plug in a keyboard to type in a dialog box, nor did our digital ps4 keyboards let us even try to guess. Yeah, some PC players were intentionally griefing

That's unfortunate, guess there'll always be dicks wherever there are vulnerabilities.  I think the rancor bit is a bit funny at least, had some good times having everyone team up to kill rancors on pc, but yeah screwing with your game is unfortunate.