Cerez

Aliases: DT85, DT Area of skills: Player Character Creation (Modeller, Texture Artist, Character Rigger) Brief list of accomplishments: High quality player models for characters from The Clone Wars, The Force Awakens, and new generation Star Wars content. Examples of contributions: Darth Maul, Savage Opress, TFA Stormtrooper, TFA Luke Skywalker Comments: Single-handedly responsible for creating much of our beloved, high quality, new generation player models, rising up to and continuing HapSlash's legacy. Never one to refuse help or the offering of genuine advice, DT has been a great inspiration and friend to us all, and a valuable, distinguished member of this creative community. (I'm honoured to have had the pleasure of modding beside you, my friend.)

Oh, hahaha! Well, I meant both -- whether it is labeled as fan-fiction or the official story doesn't really have bearing if it is good. The Clone Wars was written by many writers. Just when you said "that story", I thought you were referring to my "Ahsoka's Adventures in the Underworld" -- which you've put a like on in the past.

With the recent developments, I won't actually be starting on this anytime soon -- so if anyone else wants to have a go, feel free (and I'll drop it).

Don't get your hopes up. I think I'm just about to take a long-long leave of absence. If I do finish it, I'll post it... but don't hold your breath.

@@eezstreet, I think we can lock this now. Not gonna get any more intelligent talk coming out of here.

No comment. Let me guess. It has to do with that Lucasfilm and Disney proclaim to be official, right? Hurray for independent, free-thinking minds.

@@Ping, except that when it comes to talking about Star Wars history, you will keep insisting to me that the Disney timeline is the official Star Wars timeline, everything else is "alternative". Whereas I know a different official timeline that existed not too long ago -- and for me still exists as the main, official storyline in Star Wars. You guys are driving a very one-sided argument.

What makes them not true? That's my question to you. They are loved by hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Star Wars fans around the world. So what makes them less "true" than the latest Disney blockbuster? That Disney didn't put a "canon" stamp on them? To be clear, I'm not trying to make KOTOR, or any other Star Wars work "canon" -- because "canon" is Disney content, as I've stated over a hundred times by now! What I'm trying to make you see is that to recognise the Disney "canon" as the the one true, and only Star Wars timeline means you are discriminating a big portion of the fanbase, people who love the old stories, and consider those Star Wars timelines and stories just as, if not more valuable than Disney's timeline.

@@eezstreet, to more directly answer your call, I am talking about authorship as it relates to the stories and the story-world. Lucas was known to have overseen the development of Star Wars stories. He didn't write them. He oversaw their progress and developments. He "puppeteered" the creation, and continued development of the world, so to speak. And... it's a "vocal minority" now. We've only seen the first movie yet... >.<'

The fact is that, as @@Ping has rightly pointed out, if there is a Story Group at Lucasfilm that is currently in charge of directing the Star Wars stories, then effectively we have two authors on our hands: the original author, Lucas, and the new team at Disney. It's a loose definition of authorship in both cases, but with Lucas it was known to be one individual, who more or less took direct responsibility for the content produced, while in Disney's case this is a mystery team of possibly ever-changing individuals -- so it's even more loose. There is not much moral responsibility in being a nameless staff member working on the Star Wars stories as a job for a few years -- not nearly as much as being proclaimed as the author of a story world and the creator of a franchise. Also, @@eezstreet, I never said that the fans decide what is "canon". I said the fans choose what will become, and be remembered as Star Wars history. There's a big difference. The word "canon", as used by Disney, means "content approved by us" or "our storyline". Star Wars history, on the other hand, is our entire Star Wars lore, encompassing everything that we find valuable in Star Wars. Things that stand the test of time. Our official Star Wars history is this, not Disney's "canon". That's what I'm trying to stress here. The use of the word "canon" is very misleading here, and that's what I'm trying to raise awareness to. It's a marketing strategy used by Disney that can be very damaging to our community if we don't think it through, and change our perspective.

To be clear, I'm not having a go at @@Ping, and not saying that he would do that (sorry @@Ping). I am just illustrating the problems we will have to face as a community if we continue along this path and allow different fictional timelines in Star Wars to segregate us from one another. The real problem with this or that "canon", and having multiple timelines is exactly this. In order to see past this and find a compromise, we need to learn to appreciate that we have a Star Wars history that extends far beyond any "canon". That there is no "official" story anymore. That Lucas' universe is just as valid as the new Disney universe. And the EU is worth no less than the Disney content. They are different Star Wars worlds overlapping. Which we choose to use per occasion is up to us as fans, but there is no "official" storyline here anymore. Otherwise, if we keep stressing this or that is the "official," "canon" version, we really stand a good chance of discriminating one another in this (illustrated) fashion, and causing serious social problems within our community. All because of different fictional timelines. I would rather we started changing our outlook way before things took an ugly turn. We are all Star Wars fans here, and we need to respect all of Star Wars, and everyone's preferences.

@@Ping, wow... no comment... (you need to ease up...) You've just shocked me to he bone. This has just made me want to deny that I was ever a Star Wars fan. I am no slave to Star Wars, or to Disney, thank you. I have my human rights and freedom. As to the points you've raised, I have addressed them with good reasoning, but let me address them directly, for extra clarity: To say that Nietzsche has changed, and that he is not the same person 20 years later changes nothing on the fact that he is still the same individual who wrote the work in question. Unless that person has completely lost their memory, and even then, they will feel moral responsibility over their creation. That's why an author is respected as the creator in charge of that work. If nothing else, their name is attached to it. From ANH to ROJ George Lucas supervised the story of Star Wars. The author hasn't changed. While it's good to hear that there is some management as to the direction of the new stories at Disney with the Story Group in charge of keeping things going, that still doesn't change the fact that George Lucas is the author of Star Wars, the original story and world that inspired this franchise. A new author stepping in now cannot claim that their rewriting of the old stories is the new Star Wars canon. They can, but it would be hardly justified, or gain favour... and it certainly doesn't help to give their work credibility. When you are talking about "fictional canon", I ask you; what canon? Whose canon? From whose point of view? And if you say the Lucasfilm Story Group, I will tell you again: they have no moral right over the original author's, George Lucas' Star Wars, or the other Star Wars authors' work for that matter. Their license and IP ownership entitles them to create new Star Wars works, not to desecrate old stories and content. As to your last paragraph, it's not nonsense. Let's say, hypothetically, that the new trilogy runs its cinema time, and the movies really fail to impress the public -- they are complete flops. Do you think the Star Wars fan community will follow the new Disney proclaimed "canon" storyline when they play, and write fiction, and role-play? No, they won't. We'd be complete fools to. The new movies will eventually simply fade into oblivion, and the old stories will return to take their place. We decide what makes Star Wars history by the content we like in majority, not Disney. Now, your argument is that Disney doesn't care because they reap the benefits in the cinemas anyway. I never argued that they did care, or that they would not earn money from their initially published content. But the more they disappoint their fans, the less loyalty and support they will get in return. A big part of the reason Star Wars has been so successful over these last decades is that it has a dedicated and loyal fan-base who keeps buying new content and merchandise from the franchise. We do this of our own free will, because we care about and support Star Wars. But if Disney decides to lay waste to our turf, do you think we will stand for it, and continue supporting their cause? Do you think we'll care about their next flop and insult? Do you think we'll invest money in it? I am already not watching the new sequel in the cinemas. I will watch a shared copy. The same goes for Rogue One. Now, I know not everybody feels the same way about The Force Awakens, and I respect that some people still find it inspiring and interesting -- but once again, that's not everyone, and with the recent desecration of some of the old stories and characters, Disney has already lost quite a bit of fan loyalty. Nothing is forcing us to keep supporting Disney's Star Wars. We do it because we still believe that they can do some justice to the franchise. But what if we didn't? But the real issue here is not what happens to Disney, or whether they earn their money, but what happens to us as a segregated community in consequence of their rewrites and actions. If I find the new movies and Disney's recent actions personally hurtful, do you think I will follow the new "official" storyline, and find it credible? Now, say you and I wanted to partake in an after-the-Battle-of-Endor time-framed story together. Which storyline is true? Which Star Wars history will we play by? Will you insist repeatedly with certain "proof" that Disney's "canon" is the one true choice? And here we bear witness to a new form of discrimination.

And as I said there, it didn't go unnoted. It's part of the reason I've started this thread, to discuss it. @@Ping, so, from your point of view, by what definition of "canon" do Disney, and its subsidiary, Lucasfilm, have right to claim that their new storyline is official, and to be considered more important and relevant (or credible) than the original storyline many of their new stories are trying to replace? I don't doubt that TFA has a collective body of writers as an author for the story, and I've listed the writers, but, with the exception of one writer for ROJ, those authors have absolutely nothing to do with the original story of Star Wars. My point is that Disney is not an author, and neither is Lucasfilm. They are not an individual, or a group of individuals who directly oversees story development, and keeps a close eye on the story-world. They are a company, a licensor, selling rights and hiring others to make movies based on Star Wars. There is no overseeing body here, no collective author with moral responsibility over all Star Wars works to keep things in check, unlike with Lucas. George Lucas is still the only true author, the only one with moral responsibility over the whole of Star Wars. And Disney may control the franchise, but the company does not control the public. Which is what I'm getting at. They can do whatever they want, but that doesn't mean it will go down well with us, the fans. Without our support there is no Star Wars franchise, there is no "official" new storyline, and they can kiss their license goodbye. That's why it doesn't pay to insult the fans. Our world, and our past should be treated with the respect it deserves. And we are the ones who keep Star Wars alive, therefore we have a say whether something is officially adopted into Star Wars history or rejected for being a weak attempt, and sub-par.

Glad you asked. You're the first one of the nay-sayers to actually read what I wrote and think it through. A tall, cold glass of wine to you. With all the marketing that has been happening in the world lately, it should be obvious, but what the Disney marketing guys aim to do by twisting our use of the word "canon" as it pertains to Star Wars here is to make us focus entirely on their new content, as if it were the one and only "official" Star Wars content and storyline. The reason I wrote this article is to raise awareness to this campaign. It's not canon, and it's by no right the "official" storyline. How does this affect us? The more people, without thinking it through, start to blindly believe and promote that Disney's way is the only "official" way, the more damage to our community and long history this will do, not to mention a segregation between fans. Disney has no right to affect our community, wipe our long past, our culture, and try to manipulate us into submission this way -- unless we are dumb enough to let ourselves be subjected to it. We have a Star Wars history, and we should be proud of it. Disney may not respect that, but that doesn't mean we need to side with them and forget about our deep culture, or discredit the stories we've grown to love and that have shaped our past -- unless we really feel that they need to be discredited. Disney has no right to tell us what is creditable in Star Wars and what is not, and overwrite our past only to call the newly created past "official" by their standards. We're entering 1984 territory here. "Peace" stands for "military". "Canon" stands for "Disney approved". We're not that blind, are we?

They aren't. They never were. Lucas never oversaw the story of the Jedi Knight series, as far as I know. So they were never really canon. Just like the new (Disney) Star Wars films. However, unlike the new films, they were never really labeled as "canon" either, to my knowledge... What they are is Star Wars history, as far as the games are concerned, because we love the games, and most of us think they are some of the best Star Wars action games that have ever come out. They stood the test of time, and are still remembered.

Furthermore, there's nothing wrong with the Disney company wanting to have their own, "official" Star Wars storyline, it's just that this storyline does not necessarily take precedence over the Lucas canon and the other Star Wars stories that have come before it, and that the majority of us have grown to love. In other words, it may be quickly labeled "canon" by Disney, but in honesty it's truly not canon, it doesn't have reason or right to be, and it's certainly not official Star Wars history. Not until it shows quality to be remembered, levels with the old stories, and stands the test of time. And it'll never be "canon", the same as the EU stories.

To be clear, @@eezstreet, if we're trying to make this personal, I don't hate Disney. I find it offensive how they are trying to take control of something that doesn't belong to them. Star Wars, as a franchise and IP is their property now. Star Wars, as the stories we love is not. My earlier harsh actions were in direct, instinctive response to the aggressive nature of their campaign, and actions. They were a reaction. But in truth, this is because, as many, I have considered "canon" to be standing for "official Star Wars history", which it is clear to me now that this is no longer the case. Disney took the Star Wars "canon" label, and (likely consciously) twisted it to their own use to serve their needs. As I said earlier, the original trilogy is George Lucas' canon as far as the story of Star Wars is concerned, and some of the other content, such as The Clone Wars, too (as his daughter wrote some of the episodes, and he oversaw the story development of The Clone Wars series). The Disney content, however, cannot be Lucas' canon, as he was not involved in the story development of these films and content. They cannot be Disney's canon, as there is no such thing, and Disney did not author Star Wars. Therefore "canon" now simply means, in Disney's definition, "content owned and approved by us".

I think everyone is kind of missing the point in my article/thoughts here. "Canon" is now Disney content. That's what it stands for. That's all it stands for. The word "canon" implies that there is an author who maintains control of the stories, which does not exist with Disney, as in their case Star Wars is simply licensed to third parties as an IP to create new stories/films/video games. There is no central author, and therefore there is no "canon" anymore. Even with Lucas it was moot, but now it's truly gone. But instead what's rising into light is that we still have a Star Wars history, which is all the things we've grown to know and love about Star Wars as a community. So much of the Legends content is also a part of our history, as much as some of the better quality new, Disney content may be. Our Star Wars history is valuable to us, not solely Disney's content, which is what "canon" now stands for. When it comes to story conflicts, it is now up to us as a community to decide which story we will accept in the timeline we're using, and, unless we're all dead-set of having everything the Disney way, this will generally be the more loved, more respected Star Wars story we know.

I feel the use of this word as it pertains to Star Wars needs some clarification. As @@Ping rightly pointed out in our private discussion, according to the Oxford Dictionary "canon" is: Now, two things strike me here. First, "works of a particular author or artist that are recognized as genuine". Companies may own copyright, but they are not authors of a work. People are authors with author's rights. In the case of the original Star Wars trilogy, the title of an "author" seems to more or less legitimately fall to George Lucas, as far as the story of Star Wars is concerned. ANH - George Lucas ESB - Leigh Brackett, Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas ROJ - Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas In all three original trilogy movies, Lucas played a key role in shaping the story. Let me put that in contrast with the new, Disney films to draw a picture: TFA - Lawrence Kasdan, J.J. Abrams, Michael Arndt Ep8 - Rian Johnson? RO - Chris Weitz, John Knoll, Gary Whitta So it is clear that "canon" in this definition of the word does not apply here. Next, let's examine the second potential meaning of the word that can be relevant here: "list of works considered to be permanently established as being of the highest quality." Perhaps Disney meant "canon" as in the stories that are of the highest quality? If so, isn't it presumptuous to suppose that the company alone can decide what is highest quality, and not rely on the fans to decide what they like best to call something "Star Wars canon"? Or is it that they mean it in the general sense, as a "general law, rule, or principle" by which fans are meant to abide by? Whatever the case may be, I think it is safe to say that Star Wars "canon" to us, fans, could no longer possibly mean anything other than "approved by Disney". It is certainly not the meaning of the word that pertains to the author's vision, as there is no one author, not anymore. Perhaps it is best to refer to our official Star Wars history as just that, our official Star Wars history. And in that case, if you ask me, this wouldn't be the shallow spectrum that Disney has inconsiderately and/or inaccurately (perhaps somewhat arrogantly) proclaimed "canon", but the Star Wars stories we, as a communal fan-base have grown up with and grown to love and respect over the years. This is not to say that new stories cannot become a part of that history. In order to do so, they must impress us, inspire us, and stay with us for many-many years to come. If they are to overwrite old stories, they must do so to be better. Something doesn't just become official Star Wars history because the company that owns the franchise wills it and labels it so. Star Wars history is what we, as the majority of fans, together, recognise as official Star Wars history. Yes, that includes Knights of the Old Republic as well (even if KOTOR was never officially "canon"). Whatever Star Wars story has touched the hearts of most, and left an impression is true Star Wars history. This is the history that we rely on when we role-play, when we write fan-fiction, or even when we battle it out in a video game -- when we share our experiences and knowledge of Star Wars with each other. If the new movies are worth anything, they will stay with us, and join this history. If they are not, they will be forgotten as the flops they were. After feeling bitter about this for many months, I think I may have finally found my peace with Disney's Star Wars, and I hope these thoughts help ease the conflict within all of us, and, perhaps, among each other we all have in regards to different views and feelings about Lucas' handover to Disney, and new direction they've taken with the franchise whose stories and media we've grown to love. So keep in mind: "canon" is not the right word anymore, and it's really not worth to debate over. It means something else entirely now than what it used to while Lucas still had some vague control over Star Wars stories. "Canon" stands now for Disney produced stuff. What we actually value is our official Star Wars history, and that is something that emerges over the filter of time, as that which is quality stays with us. We, as a greater community, select that with the stories and content where our hearts lie. No single company decision can change or alter that. They may eventually win our hearts over, but they're gonna have to do a bloody good job storytelling. And if they do so, it will be well deserved. Until then, and forever, Star Wars history is all that we as a community, together, have grown to love and respect in the franchise.

I believe we've met. Welcome, Mr. Hockey Hair. As embarrassing as it is to admit, at first I thought your alias was Ros-down-er, as in Ros from Down Under. XD I don't know how I misread it like that... Forgive my 3 AM Australian brain. Any field of modding you're interested in in particular?

Bah! Getting my hopes up for nothing!

Transparency is a little tricky in JKA, but, as far as I remember, the right shader will turn the black in your alpha image to transparent. So you would need to add an alpha image for the texture image, and tie it in with a shader. But I think there are other ways of doing it as well (such as PNG with transparency). Editing TGAs is a nightmare, don't go there. Edit: I've just had a look. You want a PNG with transparency (I think 32-bit), and then the following shader to that image: models/players/yourmodel/PNGimagename { cull disable { map models/players/yourmodel/PNGimagename alphaFunc GE128 blendFunc GL_SRC_ALPHA GL_ONE_MINUS_SRC_ALPHA depthWrite rgbGen lightingDiffuse } } To change the texture on the model, simply point the right SKIN file part to your new PNG image.

Pray tell. What did it say? Who was she?

You should take it up with the (non-existent) Apple customer support. This is something specific to the release of the game you have, or that launcher and your version of Mac OS X. Alternatively, you could switch to OpenJK, an open source version of the game that we maintain here. On the side, my most hearty recommendation is that you switch away from using any Apple products in the future, unless you want to be pouring thousands of dollars into keeping up-to-date with their standards. This is just a wild guess, but I see the problem being here that you have an older version of Mac OS X installed on your "old" Mac (by Apple's standards), for which they have already dropped support. Game developers who release their games on the App Store are forced and encouraged by Apple to keep moving forward and forget about older systems. This is likely why the game crashes on your system.