Jedi Academy: Brutality

[Lancelot]

Has anyone ever heard about that mod called Jedi Academy: Brutality? I found it some time ago and even tried it a few weeks ago. It's actually pretty good.

http://www.moddb.com/mods/jedi-academybrutality/news/jedi-academybrutality

 

That mod is what you expect from a Total Conversion and modifies many things in SP. It's quite interesting what the developer did and what he's planning.

The title might be a little bit misleading, because that mod doesn't actually focus on brutality, but rather on enhancing what the game has and adding what it doesn't have.

It needs OpenJK to run, so it is required that you have the latest version installed.

 

Here's the description:

 

 

1) Improved character development system - All 16 forces available for upgrade.

The maximum power level - 4 (force powers are rebalanced)

Running, jumping, reflection beats spending power points

2) Rang System - During the course of the game, the hero gets new ranks. Each rank gives different bonuses.

3) Gravity - Each planet in the game has its own gravity. Information about the gravity of a planet can be found before the start of the mission and during the boot

4) Sabers - With each new rank player opens access to new lightsabers. Player can throw his sword on the ground (button X), and to raise the lightsabers of the vanquished opponents ( button E)

5) New UI & menu graphics + Available 7 colored lightsaber crystals with unique icons.

6) Improoved moveset & combos

7) The difficulty in greatly improved. Be careful! At the levels you can meet new unique enemies.

8) The game included "Jedi Outcast" inventory (turret, drone, bacta)

9) The changes in force power: Protect. This force, in addition to a protective aura, slowly restores the battery of the player shield (up to 150 units on the 3rd level, up 200 on the 4th). Recovery speed of the shield is very low. In addition, that force power has the effect of recurrent damage. When player get a damage, the attacker gets the equivalent amount of damage multiplied by a factor (0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2).

10) Changed behavior of stormtroopers to complicate the life of the players: the soldiers are now using a fists at close range; blow throws the opponent and gives a chance to a stormtrooper take the rifle. Stormtroopers are now the first 5 seconds of shooting alternate fire, followed by a long period of single shots (approximately 22 seconds).

Build unstable. Bugs included 

[Clan FJA]

  -

[DrXann]

I've downloaded it once a few days ago. Why did the author include  JKA's  assets files when they should be removed to free up download space.

[Circa]

Not to mention it being illegal.  

[Lancelot]

@@DrXann @@Circa

I took a look into the asset files. He modified almost everything in them, which makes these files "legal" in some way, because they are not the originals.

[Circa]

Interesting. 

 

Still includes the assets though.

[ensiform]

Unfortunately they are at best derivatives of the original content, including maps.  Therefore this project is still shipping the original game for free.  Which is a no-no.  Copyright infringement and EULA breaking at the same time, gg.

 

Oh and no credits given to *any* of the mods used.  Including QEffects from @@eezstreet.

[ensiform]

It doesn't need OpenJK. It's included as their modified jasp etc.

[Lancelot]

Oh and no credits given to *any* of the mods used.  Including QEffects from @@eezstreet.

Reading this makes me rethink all the hopes I had in that mod. I mean, what's the point of using mods from others and not giving credit to the original authors?

It's like KotF or Evolution of Combat all over again.

 

Ten years ago, you could go to a site and find a mod that was probably worth downloading. And if it had contents from other authors, they have been credited. You could enjoy the ride and be pleased by

the ideas many modders had. It was not about gaining a reputation, it was about the fun of modding itself. If every mod would have that kind of spirit, and if everybody would work together on mods like this one, this community would feel less like a battleground.

[Circa]

Nah, it still happened back then. Just not on FileFront because they enforced it like it was life/death. ModDB was always the breeding ground of behavior like this because there's no moderation.

[TheWhitePhoenix]

Nah, it still happened back then. Just not on FileFront because they enforced it like it was life/death. ModDB was always the breeding ground of behavior like this because there's no moderation.

What the hell ever happened to decency? I mean, come on. It's not that hard to email someone and say "Hey. I want to use what you created for this, this and this." and then he or she will simply say "Yes" or "No", with an including of the former of "Just be sure you credit me". That simple. And yet people can't do simple stuff anymore these days because why?

[Lancelot]

I went to the ModDB  page of this mod again. The developer temporarily removed the download link to the current build. He will now create a file that contains credits to the mod authors.

[ensiform]

Not only mods, it includes assets0-2 from the original game and advertises it doesn't need the Jedi academy to play.

[TheWhitePhoenix]

I went to the ModDB  page of this mod again. The developer temporarily removed the download link to the current build. He will now create a file that contains credits to the mod authors.

Well, good thing he caught his mistake, I suppose.

[Circa]

It can be a lot of work if you're using a bunch of mods from other people. Obviously you shouldn't even start to use it if you don't have permission or don't plan to give credit. Many authors simply state they want credit for their work, so it's a simple statement that YOU did not create this particular work. It's easy if you start the project with that plan set. If you wait to give credit right before release, you have to remember who made all the stuff you used, and contact certain people, and knowing that there's a chance they'll say no would mean that the mod would have to be altered. I've seen it happen a bunch of times.

 

Bottom line(s):

 

• Don't upload the game assets as part of your mod. This makes it a full game, which is illegal. It's no longer a mod but an illegal version of the game.
• Credit any content you did not create. Otherwise it's theft and just indecent. 
• Make sure that you have permission to use said content. Some authors don't want people using their things.

[TheWhitePhoenix]

 

It can be a lot of work if you're using a bunch of mods from other people. Obviously you shouldn't even start to use it if you don't have permission or don't plan to give credit. Many authors simply state they want credit for their work, so it's a simple statement that YOU did not create this particular work. It's easy if you start the project with that plan set. If you wait to give credit right before release, you have to remember who made all the stuff you used, and contact certain people, and knowing that there's a chance they'll say no would mean that the mod would have to be altered. I've seen it happen a bunch of times.

 

Bottom line(s):

 

• Don't upload the game assets as part of your mod. This makes it a full game, which is illegal. It's no longer a mod but an illegal version of the game.
• Credit any content you did not create. Otherwise it's theft and just indecent. 
• Make sure that you have permission to use said content. Some authors don't want people using their things.

 

On the final part, of course if you download it and modify it, but for PRIVATE use and not public to download, that's different (right?). But other than that, nailed it.

[Circa]

Well, yeah. If it's for private use, nobody is going to know that you did it, right? The whole point is recognition for work that someone did, and avoiding people taking credit for something that they didn't create. If you made a mod to replace Kyle with a model of Obi-Wan only for your own personal playthroughs, it doesn't matter. Any modder out there would probably agree with me that they encourage people to tinker with their mods if it means learning how to mod things and figure out how we did things. (okay, not all would agree to that, but still)

[ensiform]

Why do I have weird déjà vu with what you said shadow?

[TheWhitePhoenix]

Why do I have weird déjà vu with what you said shadow?

Eh?

[Smoo]

lol interesting topic:P

[eezstreet]

To be clear, I'd have no problem if he just asked for my permission to use my modified QEffects. I'm almost certain that I open-sourced it. That mod seems pretty well-put-together from the outset.

 

What we're seeing lately is endemic with the rise of large "mod packs" like those for Minecraft and Skyrim where users download a large, curated list of mods with incompatibilities between them fixed. It's also curious that a lot of the recent scandals have been from people that don't speak English very well.

[ensiform]

I was the most concerned with shipping the game assets too.

[Jango40]

Doesn't seem like a very polished mod anyway, looks kind of like EoC - a mishmash of features.

[TheWhitePhoenix]

To be clear, I'd have no problem if he just asked for my permission to use my modified QEffects. I'm almost certain that I open-sourced it. That mod seems pretty well-put-together from the outset.

 

What we're seeing lately is endemic with the rise of large "mod packs" like those for Minecraft and Skyrim where users download a large, curated list of mods with incompatibilities between them fixed. It's also curious that a lot of the recent scandals have been from people that don't speak English very well.

If that's the case, then the language barrier is the main issue with getting permission with everything. Not everyone has time to learn English and Google Translate is...not the best to communicate with other people of different languages.

[Lancelot]

I was the most concerned with shipping the game assets too.

He already deleted the original game assets and clarified that a legal copy of Jedi Academy is required to run the mod. Maybe it was a late decision, but better than never.

 

And about the mod: I'm neutral about it. Maybe it will become the "next big thing" or it will fail like other ambitious projects. Like many mods, it still has the chance to redeem itself.