NumberWan

I read comments on Rotten Tomatoes and in the Peter Cushing fan association, and if among his fans there were one or two, who commented with infuriation on the CGI character, in other instances people actually praised the CGI additions.

I would agree, that we didn't need to see Leia, however a view from her back only could mean something else for the fans - that this is not actually Leia. I mean people might hate CGI, but at least we could have to guess, whether it's human actor or a CGI impersonalisation.

As for Tarkin, a friend of mine didn't know about Cushing at all. He thought it was the real actor. The only way to say it's a pure CGI is to be quite proficient by seeing a lot of it. If one "bathes" in the field of computer graphics, and is actually fond of such things, then it's most likely such a person will notice the difference.

I am actually very glad, that the character is in the film the way he is. It was a nice tribute to the actor, and it builds a stronger continuity. 

Given what they did to recreate Tarkin, I would praise the creators - it was a long work of studying many works from the XXth century, various films, photos and footage.

@@milestails

Yes, that's the point. I also enjoyed seeing familiar faces a lot. In terms of Jan Ors reference and other aspects, yes, they could have moved farther from the already existing stories.

As for the Hammerhead

And for your comment on Chirrut Îmwe, well, someone made a picture

I don't think it's possible to make or expect such a game now. Not from the current developers. JA as well as other titles were made in the golden era of gaming (imho), when many genres were still popular. My friend in the game design field said, that many of these are less popular these days, like quests for instance. They might even die out.

Star Wars at those years were a combination of quality and novelty (even though there were some bad games too!). Thus we had action (Dark Forces I-II), adventure (Shadows of the Empire), podracing, flight simulators (Rogue Squadron), role-playing adventure (KOTOR), strategic games (SW Galactic Battlegrounds, SW Empire at War), and yes, we also had Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy, which were close to the classics (DF), as well as went in line with then popular shooters of other franchises.

JO and JA also were among some of those, who offered a more personal experience with Star Wars: while JA directly allows you to create a new character for yourself, JO was the first to become a major hub for fans to make something new, which laid path for mods and skins, and this very forum

Mon Mothma is great for sure. I also enjoyed Saw Guerrera, who showed the darker side of the rebellion as an idea (not just of the Rebel Alliance). The episodes with Onderon were among my most favourite in The Clone Wars, after all.

But here I voted for Krennic: he is a nice depiction of the Empire, of what's happening within the New Order behind the veil, and not on the scene. Just like Saw, he is an illustration of the obvious, but previously almost unseen sides of the Empire, which has ambitions among its members. Episode IV includes a dispute between the Imperials, and Episode V introduces Piett as a young Imperial military guy, who quickly climbs the career, even though he does little himself for that.

Now, that Rogue One is released, people wonder, when the trailer for Episode VIII would come out. The studio says, that we will see something in early 2017 (obviously), while Adam Driver hopes, there would be no trailer at all.

I find it funny, that they say, Luke isn't actually alone on Ahch-To before Rey's arrivel: small creatures, which look like puffins, dwell on the islands as well, and will be seen in the film.

I found a video (now obsolete, I guess), where someone combined the last scene of Rogue One together with Episode IV opening scene. There are several things, which come to my mind now:

- In A New Hope Vader says, that Leia's ship received several transmissions from the Rebel spies, which might or might not mean, that there was something else aside from the Death Star plans (my personal idea – is that Kyle Katarn stole the other part of the schematics on Danuta and also transmitted his part to Leia )

- I can now clearly say, that while A New Hope can exist and bring the story without any Expanded Universe, Rogue One certainly fails to do the same without A New Hope.

The work on the appearance is just wonderful. I guess, we can't imagine a better variant for Gorc. But I would like to see a more guerilla+ET approach, like in the originals, despite we have a Gamorrean here. I think, this would show a newer look to the species, as well as fall into the idea, that both Gorc and Pic came through many deformations, turning into unrecognizable abominations. If you listen to Gorc in Dark Forces II, he sounds nothing like oinking, which is common for the porceline species in Star Wars.

The armor however looks just like it should, even though the original concept establishes a different apparel.

Hi, everyone!

We haven't been very active in the forums or social media this year, though we tried to keep informed those of you, who showed interest in The Dark Pastime mod. You might remember, that I mentioned several months ago, that the main task was to complete Chapter I (which currently includes about 7 maps), and that due to technical aspects of the Jedi Academy, we came across multiple obstacles, when we started working with the last map in the Chapter, which was simply known to some as "the forest".

I also mentioned, that I would make an explanation, why it took us so long to deal with this map. Our silence made some believe, that we no longer work with our project, but that is untrue. Below are some news, facts and screenshots, so that you could see that the work never stopped.

But first is the so-called "Article", which includes the above mentioned news. I hope, it will answer some questions and help avoiding further thoughts about mod being frozen. So here it is.

The main idea, which you must read here and remember: the mod is alive and is in process of major work.

It's been in development for so long, why haven't you released it yet?

Those, who've watched the project here and on moddb (or who contacted me personally), would know, that for the last seasons we've been working on Chapter I, specifically with one map (actually the last in the chapter), which created a lot of obstacles and headache due to technical issues from the Jedi Academy (which ones, see below).

Technical Issues.

- [solved] Menu (UI) Limitations - you can have only certain amount of this, thus we had to minimize the number of datapads and infoboards in the mod.

- [solved] Brushes per map limits - we were making a forest map, so making smooth hills and mountains was a difficult task, but we made it, though with some losses.

- [solved] Models limitations - we had to replace all misc_model to misc_model_static or similar, due to issue #2 (misc_model converts into brushes after compilation)

- [solved] Shader glitches 1 - this came up after we replaced misc_model with misc_model_static (changed shader code)

- [solved] Shader glitches 2 - this came up after we changed the shaders; so we had to change the texture path (sometimes possible only through HEX editor)

- [solved] Speeder Bike animation wouldn't work - we remade the model for speeder bike, but it wouldn't work with Cinematic animation for JA. Had to make model #3 for this. This caused another issue: the animation wouldn't play, due to map's name (had to change it).

- [solved] GtkRadiant 1.4, 1.5 and 1.6 contradictions - the basic idea is the same. The interface is slightly different, and 1.5. often changes entities within maps without you knowing that (e.g. renaming entities like dog1 to dog01, secretA to secretA02, etc).

- [solved] Fx Files glitch - came out of nowhere, but gladly we fixed that.

- [solved] Other tiny issues - there were so many caused by JA and the game engine, that I can't name them all. In one way or another we've overcome most of them.

There are other reasons too:

- the mod is made by fans, who do it for fun and joy, without getting any reimbursement.

- we work, when we have free time: most people have permanent jobs and families, and surely free time is divided between all of them, with the mod standing after people.

- the team is based in different geographical regions: which means we contact online each other and send messages, which also greatly affects the whole process.

- certain things looked good in the past, but seeing on them now – urged us to update them. So we changed these, including textures, models, scripts, locations, and even some dialogs and scenes.

The mod is divided into several parts.

You already know that. Basically these are the Chapters, the first one being the most important. It's a right decision, because: a) it forms sort of a plan for the project, and b) we can release the content and see the reaction.

However when we began the work, we were making different parts of it at once. Thus missions 7-10 are complete, while mission 6 caused so much trouble (see Technical Issues above), and so on.

What else?

I must say, that we changed in a manner we work with the mod. When we started The Dark Pastime, we had a basic idea for the plot, a scenario and three people, two of which were eager to work with Gtk Radiant, downloaded from Internet. We also had Jedi Outcast, the game with which we started, we had a few models and absolutely no idea about shaders, scripts, modelling, texture creation and other aspects. It took several years to leave the amateur ways and choose a more professional approach.

A new Sentry Droid model for the Areem Corporation, created some months ago.

As time passed each of us learnt new skills, and new people came to our team. Thus now we know how to make good quality materials, be it textures or sounds, among other things. I myself wasn't able to do a lot of things, but due to changes in my professional fields, I learnt a great deal about game design, graphics, texture creation, photo and sound editing, modelling, scripting, typography, shading, etc.

You can help!

Our team has never been too big. It's actually the help and support from our friends, family and fans, which allows us to move further. Some people come and go, some work for a longer period of time, with only one thing in common – we all do it for the idea. We want to tell a story in our own way. Currently our team, even though consisting of only several individuals, has all we need for the most part. 

Neutral Imperials such as this Technician is the result of the interaction with fans: we specifically ask about the game experience and keep in mind suggestions from the JK community.

But we are always open for new talents and cooperation. If you like to be creative and ready to create things regarding a Single Player mod for Jedi Academy, don't hesitate to send us a message, either on www.JKhub.org or www.moddb.com

Before you go.

Below are a few things to look at. You might have seen them previously, but we changed each of the levels, but visually there is sometimes no difference. Other aspects in this section might also explain you the above mentioned problems and the tasks we put before us.

Screenshots Section:

Thanks again for your support and comments. We'll be glad to stay in contact and answer any questions.

Michael Giacchino is great, and did a great job in Rogue One. However it works just fine in the film, it's not the same, when you listen to it separately, unlike the music for Episodes I-VI. A similar problem was with Episode VII, though a few themes come to my mind, if I try to recall. The very first track sounded especially good.

Saw Guerrera has indeed a smaller role in the film, than I thought, but I am glad, we don't see him joining the main team. I would also say, that I felt relieved, when I saw, that Saw had his own group and goals, and stepped away from the Alliance: thus we don't see or hear about him in A New Hope events. Naturally.

Jyn Erso is indeed a very simple character: I would even say, that the first minutes of her in the film could remind us of any movie about a girl, losing her parents, the pattern is in there. Yet, it's still interesting to see what's what next. I do believe, that somehow it's complicated to create an original heroine here: most of the films showed quite a lot already, and even more difficult to surprise an old-time Star Wars fan these days (hey, we are on JK forum after all!).

We might compare her to Kyle Katarn, who wouldn't be original these days either, but he was lucky enough to be created in an interesting period for Star Wars franchise – between OT and the prequels, and more importantly he regained his personality despite huge changes to his status, from a stormtrooper to rebel agent, and later to Jedi Knight and even Master.

One of the really good sides about Jyn, which I actually admire – is that she is not a Jedi. And she doesn't intend and doesn't become one. In this regard I like Rogue One above some others, as it brings back the words of Kreia:
 

Atton: "Explain something to me."
Kreia: "I do not have the years required – nor the desire to indulge you."
Atton: "If she served in the war... well, Jedi are supposed to be tough. Capable."
Kreia: "Yes, and what are they without the Force? Take the greatest Jedi Knight, strip away the Force, and what remains? They rely on it, depend on it, more than they know. Watch as one tries to hold a blaster, as they try to hold a lightsaber, and you will see nothing more than a woman – or a man. A child."

This concept is quite true to the Original Trilogy, as by the time of Episode VI release, the common idea was that everybody could be a Jedi. The midichlorians in Episode I slightly changed the concept, which undoubtfully remained the same: there is a level of the Force within the individuals, but their resolve, their efforts and other qualities might or might not pave the way to become a Master of the Force at one point – if they desire.

Nevertheless this time I feel more satisfied as a Star Wars fan, because I got the necessary dosage of excitement like when I watched A New Hope for the first time, and when I saw The Phantom Menace release, marking the return of the Galaxy to my #1 interests.

It's interesting, that Rogue One has so much of clever details, connected to other films, books, etc.

For instance you can see Tooka in one of the scenes – it's a little toy from the Clone Wars era, first seen during siege of the Ryloth by CIS, when Clones save a little Twi'Lek girl Numa. And many more.

It is said, that they are both CGI. It is true, the actors worked in both cases, but a CGI mask was used even at the very end. The actress behind was revealed, and she herself made a tweet, revealing her secret, that was indeed involved in Star Wars Rogue One.

The other characters, which make an appearance in A New Hope, were also restored, but we may assume it was a much easier task.

Okey, I've watched the movie just a few hours ago. And it's absolutely hilarious! It's a wonderful film as it is, but it is also great in terms of Star Wars. Buy tickets now and go and watch it!

I am so envious, that some of you will see the film in a few hours/days, while I've already seen it.

I don't want to spoil. So this is the last phrase with no spoilers in my message. End reading it here now.

I will mention only a few things I like.

Spoiler-mentioning below. DO NOT READ, IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED ROGUE ONE YET!

Some things were confirmed, some proved wrong.

Whatever, it's worth to see all for yourself.

@Noodle

I remember a discussion on this matter. With the old EU the words of Yoda could still be true - some old Jedi Masters left the path (fell to the DS like Jerec), left the Force or weren't fully skilled, thus unable to teach.

When I watched Episode VI years ago, being unaware of many other stories, I believed Yoda to be the only Jedi at all. Even though I knew the Jedi of old were gone, I never thought they'd been so many of them to form an Order. It was actually very sad. I do believe that ROTJ is perhaps the sadest of all.

The Followers of the Force were introduced in TFA, in order to explain the Force presence without making new Jedi in the films. So Rogue One is the first major project in this regard.

It seems, there is yet another cameo, which hasn't been spotted very much yet. You might see it in this video below:

Some videos are more spoilers than others.

For instance like this one, featuring (Spoiler!)

Haven't heard about Star Destroyer sequence, but the last thing I read is that Kylo Ren will have a slightly different apparel in Episode VIII.

It was said previously, that a new type of stormtroopers would appear in the film.

The skybox might be the least of the problems in this kind of map, but recently this new map was posted in our Files section, so perhaps the skybox from this one could work too (if other variants won't do good).

Hexes Bespin

Nothing is paused, but the thing we are currently doing is purely technical – it's a question of GtkRadiant and Jedi Academy capabilities and limitations.

It's really nothing special, because we are simply making a map and other things and see whether the game can cope with this particular stuff. We are NOT changing the code, nor we are making new gameplay stuff. So it's not something I would like to post as news, because partly you've already seen some of the locations, characters, etc. Posting them again wouldn't do any good at all.

Besides when it seemed that we'd overcome some problems with JA, it introduced new issues, which we also resolved later. This is the most difficult moment in the entire project it seems, because it requires a lot of patience.

I am making sort of an article, which would explain why we are spending many months on this Chapter, though only one map remained to be complete.

Did I see some hammerhead ships from Rebels along the rebel fleet?

It seems you're right. The shot, where rebels run to the ramp looks very much like the one seen in the Rebels show. The space battle also reveals a few ships similar in design.

Personally I don't mind the usage of the design from KOTOR era, in fact these could be the last generation of the ships of the Old Republic, used some 70-150 years before the Clone Wars... Not the ones, seen in KOTOR or SWTOR.

Some people critisized the phrase of "Save the dream", that it's out of place and has nothing to do with the plot. But I think, most people misunderstood this one: Saw Gerrera seems to have suffered too much from the Empire, so his fight is not for freedom per se, but rather a fight for the sake of a fight, especially brutal, bloody and terrible. I think, that when he meets Jyn Erso, he sees her and her team as a very naive group of teenagers looking for an adventure, while struggle against the Empire itself will take from you all you've got and even more.

He might even regret ever entering this battle and warns Jyn from following his steps, right now until she can. Her life as a criminal is already far more of a decent life than joining Rebels, which forever closes for her various doors of opportunities, such as family, normal life and happiness.

A few new creatures have been revealed. And more pics.

The trailer has so many details in one place. Some are already known from previous videos, but there are a few, which draw my attention especially:

The picture above is more of a Coruscant to be seen in the background, while the level itself is a very separate thing – various platforms and buildings will recognizable holograms. That's how I see it for JA, and it's how I made it for DP as well.

I've looked through Coruscant in JA, the original map as a *.map file. Actually I like the layout, it will be more of a task to replace the buildings, update some structures which aren't very bad (e.g. the building in the middle is actually the one taken from Attack of the Clones). And making additional areas, where the Player would spend more time exploring the city and fighting off the enemies.

So according to latest news, Yoda's puppet is back on stage – this time for Episode VIII. It's not very surprising, if you ask me. We could hear the voices of Obi Wan and the old master in TFA. So there might be much more this time. I am positive they are guiding Luke Skywalker.

But why would they add him? They made Maz Kanata to replace Yoda, an obvious move to be consistent with Star Wars lore. Seeing the two in one story would be interesting still. But my opinion is that Maz didn't setlle all the things the right thing for the plot – it won't replace the most beloved Jedi master.

There is an interview regarding Governor Pryce.

Watch it HERE.