Dusty's Patch: An SP mod for JA

[katanamaru]

I also bump up rage to level 2 except for the weakest yellow JO reborn. That way they don't use rage 1 and set themselves up to die.

 

I like to bump their hp just a tad as well because I use the mod OJP Basic v.10 with more damage and dismemberment. This way they don't die in one hit, and if I'm being harried by more than one they can get a chance to heal a bit. 

[Dusty]

So, these are ideas for Force Power tweaks and Jedi AI related to them that I've thought of so far... please leave feedback if you have any:

 

Force Jump -

Slightly more height for each level. Maybe make it slightly more like MB2 where it drains lots of FP but you can go pretty high (but this could only be done in small amounts not to break SP levels by letting you jump to places that allow you to skip parts of the level)

 

 

Force Pull -

Maybe decrease strength of level 3 slightly, as I always send enemies barreling into me and they knock me down

 

 

Force Sense -

While active Sense 2 and up allows you to dodge more sniper shots. Perhaps a modified version of the perfect weapon accuracy the game gives you.

 

 

Force Speed -

Level 3 seems really unwieldy to me. Maybe this could be improved somehow? Should Jedi be able to use this independently (i.e. not wait for the player to use it)? I wanted level 2 to allow the random auto sniper dodge if you're at 100 fp and level 3 to decrease the cost of dodging sniper shots from 50 fp to 25-40 fp.

 

Instead of making your attacks red strength now it gives you a power bonus based on level. +1 (half a saber offense level), +2 (a whole offense level, i.e. from yellow to red), and +3 for level 3.

 

 

Force Protect -

Wanted to make this a little less useful in saber duels... maybe only level 3 would give noticeable protection against saber damage? Also wondered about letting fp regen at half speed up to your max fp after using the power (if you had 100 fp when you used it, while it's active you'd be able to regen up to 70 fp, maybe this could be a difficulty option? Same for force absorb, speed, and sense?)

 

Basically, I want it to be a power that emphasizes the strength of a Jedi, rather than seeming like a cop-out for a Jedi not being good at saber fighting and using the Force to protect themselves... Any ideas?

 

Mine so far:

- slightly less protection from saber damage

- reduced movement speed

- maybe lasers deflect off you in a random direction like with sabers?

- the fp regen thing

 

 

Mindtrick -

Perhaps give it some use against Dark Jedi. Maybe level 3 allows you to cancel a dark jedi's Dark Rage? Prevent them from using force powers for 5 seconds? Currently it's more of a for-fun-only non-necessary power in JA, as you're never required to use it to solve puzzles and there are no stealth missions. Should Jedi AI be able to use it? Would be hilarious haha.

 

 

Dark Rage -

Currently gives you a power boost based on level, +2, +3, or +4.

 

Jedi AI should be wiser about using Rage. Often especially with Rage 1 they drain a lot of their HP. I think before initiating rage they should check that they have at least 2/3 or 3/4 HP, if they are close to the player, and end the rage early if they get below half HP.

 

 

Drain -

I think Jedi AI should be better with this too. Unless they have drain 3 which has a wide arc, I feel like they shouldn't waste their time trying to drain you from a distance but should try to get close to you and do grab drains. Often reborn warriors just try to drain you from a distance like idiots with drain 2 after losing all their hp from rage.

[eezstreet]

I think the whole point of the drain/rage mechanic for AI is that they're supposed to rage and drain in order to become invincible offensive warriors, but their rage does leave them exposed. The tactic DOES make sense, it's just implemented poorly.

[Dusty]

^I think that's an overstatement, that it's a specific tactic. I think Drain is just their method of healing . Maybe that's what Raven was thinking though...

[Asgarath83]

in my mod i turned off tbhe mindtrick code that make immjune at mindtrick the saberist, and i make some case exception for blss classes. it's work! an enemy with saber or blade in my mod can be confused \ controlled XD 

it's really fun ^^

Not slow to much speed 3 because you need to use into the taspir factory for bypass the conveyor belts and chain montage machines.

Also i agree for force jump. level 1 of force jump is really hilarous.

[Dusty]

So currently there are 3 Reborn Adept NPCs, one for single, staff, and duals.

 

What I think I will do is this, make the single saber one a "Reborn apprentice" which would be the current Adept, basically a weaker version of the Reborn Warrior. Then the other two will be a Single-wielder and a Duals-wielder. They will be like alternate versions of the Warriors, which have more/different force powers and a slightly different strategy.

 

EDIT:

Rough draft -

 

1.) Reborn Apprentice is the same as the old adepts. He wields a single saber. He needs a new skin though... perhaps a new color of reborn? Red and blue are taken, that leaves, gray, green, brown/orange in my mind.

 

2.) Reborn Adepts - two variants, one that wields single saber and one with duals.

Force powers: Doesn't have Rage or Grip, however he has Pull 3 (Warriors have Pull 2), Heal 2 (Heal 0), Absorb 2 (Absorb 0), Drain 3 (Drain 2), Lightning 2 (Lightning 1), and 125 force points instead of 100

Behavior/Other: Has commander rank, however all his stats have been lowered to "4" instead of "5", haven't tested yet, but the idea here is that he will be more crafty but less aggressive and slightly slower to react than his Warrior counterpart, HP lowered from 300 to 250.

[eezstreet]

I'd like to see each merc type have its own unique perks. So for instance, what you're doing with trandoshans to make them tougher, I would go ahead and maybe make something like...

• Weequay: More HP, move slower
• Trandoshan: Taller, slightly more HP
• Rodian: Weaker, mob-like
• Gran: No change ("grenade" special type)
• Human Merc: No change ("generic" enemy)

[Dusty]

 

I'd like to see each merc type have its own unique perks. So for instance, what you're doing with trandoshans to make them tougher, I would go ahead and maybe make something like...

• Weequay: More HP, move slower
• Trandoshan: Taller, slightly more HP
• Rodian: Weaker, mob-like
• Gran: No change ("grenade" special type)
• Human Merc: No change ("generic" enemy)

 

Weequay, maybe I'll bump em up to 35-40 HP. They seem "rugged". Slower perhaps. Bowcaster is a big weapon, maybe some kind of gunwhack like you suggested before. Trandoshan, I imagine them being tougher than a Weequay, at least 50 HP, taller yes. Rodian mostly unchanged, IIRC I think the gunner Rodian only gets 20 HP in base. Gran is a special enemy yes, Human Merc is a generic powerhouse type wearing heavy armor (100 HP).

 

Here's my skin for the Reborn Apprentice so far...:

 

He's green and doesn't have the head piece on the back, so he's distinguishable from the more knight-like (like a Reborn Knight?) stronger Reborn.

[Dusty]

This section is a place for requests, and showing the work on those requests; OR for showcasing individual features, models, effects, menus or specific groupings of these I suppose.

 

Similar to JK:E's WIPs section this is, except, I will make requests from time to time, to the JK Hub community at large. It may be for a model, a skin, a sound effect, an NPC, a bit of scripting, or who knows what.

[Dusty]

Sort of a request for artistic contributions as well as suggestions.

 

A lot of hilt models are repeated and overused in JA. A few more would liven things up. More skins of existing hilts, and slight variations while still keeping the generic Expanded Universe style. It makes sense for Reborn to use largely the same hilt as they're probably mass-produced, however, things don't make sense like Alora using the same hilts as the player, staff reborn using the same hilts the player can choose, etc. which makes the enemies a tad less visually interesting and the player's and enemy's hilts less unique.

 

A few places where I think a new or slightly modded hilt would be appreciated:

 

- Staff Reborn; their hilt should be a modified guardian, black or darker colored, with a slightly different model (maybe edgier and spikier?), to be more evil and sith like, while still having a slight "genericness" to it

 

- Jedi Masters; they use a vindicator staff hilt because...?

 

- Jedi and Jedi Trainers; they use the same hilts as Reborn, now where would they get those, the same factory the Reborn did?

 

 

 

 

What I came up with so far:

Some more skins and variations on the stinger hilt which is the game's generic hilt. For Jedi that use it, a silver skin, for the training saber, maybe a whitish-light gray skin and slightly modified model. For more specialized enemies, perhaps either this (http://jediknight3.filefront.com/file/Stinger_Remake;109215) or Roxoon's stinger reskin with the interesting red pattern on it.

[katanamaru]

There is a reborn staff saber somewhere. That would be good for them.

I'd say just use some of the RevanDark hilts for named npc's. They are high quality and well done.

[Dusty]

^His hilts are nice but they're movie hilts which I don't think fit in too well with the NPCs...

[Dusty]

Was looking around on jk2files... and found some saber hilts that might be along the lines of what I've been looking for... any thoughts?

 

1. http://jediknight3.filefront.com/file/Custom_Lightsaber_Pack;45980

 

2. http://jediknight3.filefront.com/file/Dark_Forces_2_Saber_Pack;76927 (I figure hilts based on DF2 would fit well in JA)

 

3. http://jediknight3.filefront.com/file/Jedi_Master_Hilt;43521 (looks very detailed and movie-ish, but maybe it well fit well in game as a Jedi/Jedi master exclusive...)

 

4. Maybe one of these could be a Jedi Master or Reborn Master exclusive or something... http://jediknight3.filefront.com/file/Mark_IV_Staff_Hilt;38101 ; http://jediknight3.filefront.com/file/Mark_VII_Staff_Hilt;37789

 

5. Some nice generic hilts I think...: http://jediknight3.filefront.com/file/Slipstream;64663 ; http://jediknight3.filefront.com/file/Roshs_Lightsaber;93791

 

6. The hilts I was talking about before: http://jediknight3.filefront.com/file/Stinger_Remake;109215 ; http://jkhub.org/files/file/1921-misc-sabers-pack-rooxons-weaponshd/ (has the nice stinger reskin with the red pattern on it I liked)

[Dusty]

Been mostly working on code stuff and NPCs when I have time. So far:

 

- Been working the kinks out of the saber system

 

- Trying to improve Jedi AI, mainly as it pertains to JA-exclusive abilities:

• saberists should be a bit smarter with using kicks, now they only use them when they're very close to you and not just randomly all the time
• saberists don't use Dark Rage when they have less than 50% HP, and kick it off if they get below 25% HP while it's active, also, they don't use it now unless they are not too far away from the player (or else they waste HP if they use it and can't even get to you)
• bosses and commander+ rank NPCs activate their saber instantly after breaking out of Grip or a Drain lock, other NPCs with a very short delay
• things to do: more strategic kata usage, less spammy saber throwing, evasion and kicks used if they drop a saber throw, faster reaction to being knocked down

- Some cvar edits: g_saberMoreRealistic can be changed ingame now (I can't help but wonder if you do this mid-game it could result in crashes if saber damage values are changed mid-calculation, i.e. while you're hitting an enemy, it's fine so far from my experiences though)

 

Other things:

- Having fun with NPCs, Jedi Masters pwn Reborn Masters now (might even make them stronger than Alora_dual), Luke (and Kyle?) eat Desann for breakfast. Kyle Boss is mostly unchanged, as I figure the point of that battle is mainly that Jaden gets lucky against Kyle and sees his chance to trap him? (I never played the DS ending yet lol). Saber staffs can and will be thrown now by players and NPCs.

 

- Figured out how I want to do game difficulties: (not actually done yet mind you)

• Padawan/Jedi - Largely unchanged.
• Jedi Knight - Keep some of the blaster deflection ability you have on lower game difficulty, however saber deflections are no longer auto-aimed at enemies but towards the crosshair only
• Jedi Master - Player movement speed is reduced slightly to be closer to NPCs, and the player starts with 80 force points instead of 100.
• General: Health and ammo can be toggled between full, 80% and 50% (locked to 50% for JM), Crosshair Forcehints can be toggled on and off, and saber damage will be able to be chosen, either normal, 125%, or "heavy" (g_saberMoreRealistic 1, not sure exactly what percentage we're talking there)

 

 

EDIT: Added in one thing in the Jedi AI section I forgot about Dark Rage.

[Dusty]

So, I'll make this my official request:

a reskin/remodel of the Guardian Staff hilt

 

Something a bit more "evil" looking, or mechanical, austere, unfeeling, sort of like the Stinger hilts enemies use. Subtly so. I'd imagine it looking similar to the current guardian hilt, but maybe being darker colored, or having some sort of red/black sith-likeness to it. Maybe a slightly different model too.

[Dusty]

So, I had an idea. To improve testing and feedback and just to let people see what the mod is about, I'm going to release the mod in in mini-mod pieces. The final version of course will be a full package assuming we/I get to that point eventually, but pieces of the mod (at least the non-code ones) I'll release individually so people can try out parts of the mod, give feedback, and just generally see what it's about.

 

For example, in the next few days when I have time, I'm going to release the NPC edits portion of the mod, and call it something like "DP: SP NPCs v1" or something. And it will be purely NPC edits. And so on for other parts of the mod, and the parts will be able to be combined together or kept separate.

 

Mini-mods to expect sometime soon:

• NPCs
• Bonus Missions menu
• Improved menu options
• Base animation fixes
• New lightning effects
• Saber and player customization additions

[z3filus]

feedback is very imporant during any long term project and handing out some specific features of the mod, such as "animations" and "f_lightning" effects,

is a great way to get feedback, I'd love to test whatever you've managed to accomplish so far. However..

 

..would you record some of your work, using e.g. fraps and upload it somewhere, and then embed to your first comment?

[Dusty]

Alright, just waiting for my 3rd approval, but once I get it, the NPCs mod should be available for download with a full change log on the page.

 

 

..would you record some of your work, using e.g. fraps and upload it somewhere, and then embed to your first comment?

 

What do you mean exactly? Do you mean showing off the mod, or showing myself working on it?

[z3filus]

showing the mod

[Dusty]

^Yeah I should do that.

 

v1.1 of the NPCs mod should be up in the next day or so.

[Dusty]

So, I'm playing with the NPC code a bit.

 

I'm trying to decide how melee attacks should work with enemies. The idea is that certain enemies, if you get really close, will sock you with a punch and then go back to using their weapon normally. Or gun whack you. Or something. Then there's the problem of all this being difficult to code.

 

Version I can code:

Enemy switches to melee when you get very close, throws a punch, then switches back to their weapon and waits a second before doing it again. Kind of sloppy though, that they have to completely put away their weapon for a second. Sloppy visually, gameplay wise, and code wise.

 

Ideal:

The enemy would, weapon in one hand, throw a punch or claw with the other hand. Or do a gun whack. These both are completely novel code pieces though, and not simple new checks or pre-defined actions I can re-use.

 

Ideas I had in mind:

- some enemies (like Gran) use Heavy Melee, which are the slow power punches. Maybe these would do slightly less damage than now (30-40 damage on Jedi Knight), but be able to knock you down or have more knockback. (for doing so much damage they don't pack much physical punch)

- some enemies would have a "claw" attack (Trandoshans, Chewie?) that maybe knocks down. Not sure how much different this would be from heavy punches though.

- some enemies could use a gun whack, maybe depending on the weapon and the class? Bowcaster, imperial heavy repeater, I see. It would a good bit of damage and be quick enough to catch you off guard, but wouldn't knock down.

 

Weequays I imagine with a bowcaster whack. Trandoshans with some combination heavy punching or a claw attack. Human Mercs because they're aggressive turds maybe throw a punch at you if you get too close. Right now I'm trying to make Grans with Thermal Dets (or Blaster Rifles) punch you up close even if you have your saber equipped and then quickly switch back to their weapon.

[Dusty]

Anyone have any feedback for the NPCs? Good, bad, the ugly?

[katanamaru]

I like the melee idea. Be careful if you have them knock the player back. It would be a bad idea tactically to be close enough to punch a Jedi only to knock him out of attacking ranch, but have them able to be in range with their saber. 

On the flip side you don't want to knock the player down every time. So a variable or random number might be a good idea here.

[katanamaru]

Sorry I haven't played any JA in a while. I kind of got bummed out when I learned the change in skeleton would make my animations no longer valid. Once the animations have been worked out I'll try and get back into it.

 

I'm still looking forward to your mod though!

[Circa]

Sorry I haven't played any JA in a while. I kind of got bummed out when I learned the change in skeleton would make my animations no longer valid. Once the animations have been worked out I'll try and get back into it.

 

I'm still looking forward to your mod though!

That's if they get the new skeleton finished. It hasn't been worked on in awhile I don't think. I can give you some stuff to work on if you'd like.