NumberWan

I finally got the answer (almost) about Snoke. I will simply say, that I am glad about some aspects about him. Yet it is now funny how some theories work in favour of his persona and some do not. It surely a thing better seen in the film itself! While digging found something else - a possible evidence of even closer connection of TFA to the whole Saga. I might be wrong, I will have to watch it in a day and then I'll post my thoughts here. I can be wrong, but it would be good if someone notices that during the film too. Meanwhile the ratings for the film are quite high. Rotten Tomatoes estimated the film quite good.

@ No-no, I am okey with their philosophy and looks, but it is the role they play in the Galaxy and impact, that I am satisfied with. Even though the old canon is cancelled, I am quite okey with a Yuzhang Vong appearing as a spy for their Empire somewhere in the background on one of the backwater planets in Star Wars. The books themselves presented too much of this terraforming and other things, which devastated so many planets, which had to remain untouched. Especially Coruscant - the idea with the world brain is something terrible, for sure. The Galactic Senate = the well of the brain? Hey! That's weird. But I am sure there are dozens of really strange stories in Star Wars, which are better to be cancelled. A character such as Trioculus is one such thing for example. In any case Episode VIII would be different in regards of all these things. I guess it will take place some 1-5 years after Episode VII. Today they reported, that the auditioning is taking place right now, with the candidates reading the lines for Ki-Adi Mundi and Plo Koon. Do not get the idea wrong: the roles are not related to the Jedi, it is a simple test to see how the people can imitate the tones and speech true to Star Wars.

@ I wanted to give a reference to that book, but thought it doesn't matter anyway. I am not much of a fan of the Yuzhang Vong. And I am glad they have been removed.

18th - on Friday. I would prefer 17th, but I want to share the experience with my friends and most of them plan to go on Friday.

I am not sure. I always expected Han to die, because that's what Harrison Ford asked for so he wouldn't appear in the next film. But we can be wrong. Some people who watched the trailer – they said, that in a scene with crying Rey - she is standing near someone with fur, who is dying. So it can be Chewie too. I guess some fans would hate the idea of favorite old cast to be killed in the film.

Personally I far more interested in how the game was created. The whole process, according to developers diaries and videos, was amazing in nature - they captured sounds, visuals and other things, when traveling to locations, which remind all of us the places from Star Wars. Endor was studied in details, when the team went to California. It is said, that at first the team was simply enjoying "just being there", and after some time they began their work.

One scene has already been shot with the Mark Hamill, where Episode VII was shot previously - on the island Skellig Michael, off the Southern coast of Ireland. Another one will be shot in Mexico starting next year. Several characters are believed to return from Episode VII. And Lando Calryssian, or at least Billy Dee Williams expressed interest in reprising the role. One of the most unusual spoilers is that the ghost of Anakin Skywalker might appear in the next episode. One of the background characters from Episode VII - The latest rumors announce that: - There would be more female characters in the next film. These new roles would be taken by one of the actresses - Tatiana Maslany, Gina Rodriguez, and Olivia Cooke. With possible involvement of Gugu Mbatha-Raw. - One of the new characters would be a female Sith, or at least a powerful female Dark Side user. - Some people suggest, that as Episode VIII is the second in the trilogy, the title would have something similar aggressive like Attack of the Clones and Empire Strikes, featuring a huge battle surpassing previous events in Star Wars. - As said before, Benicio del Toro seems to be involved in the movie already. Possibly as a new villain (fans voiced opinion, that he should be more like Admiral Thrawn) - Han's child (daughter or son) will possibly appear in Episode VIII, so in Episode VII the new character might not be his and Leia's children (not new, early scripts for Episodes IV-VI also introduced such an idea, that Luke would find his sister much later and it was not Leia). - As for Lando smith more - some say, that he would return to "avenge a friend and lead a fleet" - One of the original Cast won't be coming to Episode VIII. Too sad!

@@LucyTheAlien It can depend upon how many of the mods add new NPCs into Jedi Academy. There is a limit to them. The rocks can be missing also, if one of the mods replaces the rocks NPC file with something else or removes them completely.

@ I've completed my work on Chapter I, so it's being tested and finalized by my friend now. I work on models and maps for other Chapters. I am not making any announcements, because of the latest news regarding Episode VII. A loud echo won't let a whisper to be heard even if it is soothing. As for details, Chapter I follows the beginning of the plot, but we made a few corrections. While it is made in the traditions of Dark Forces and the Original Trilogy, it has strong reference to other stories, including the Rebels. There is also a hint on Episode VII events. Previously it was possible to put our mod into the timeline so, that it wouldn't contradict any of the Star Wars original stories. However with the new canon it became quite complicated, but even in this case I made some decisions, which allow the story to flow smoothly, whether you enjoy the Expanded Universe in the first place or not. Basically speaking, if you can think of the Empire in some of the older stories/games, then it's likely this "aspect" is taken into account in DP. The first chapter includes two planets, but several maps, one of which takes place in the foggy forests of the Imperial world of Dworn. The Empire is the primary enemy in the missions here, but the plot reveals the true game within the story with multiple sides taking interest in the events from the start. The latest addition is that @@lang_french offered his help and interest with making a French version of the mod. We are slowly moving in this regard as well.

I assume, that Star Wars (games) require individualism. For some time now. Why was KOTOR so successfull? Multiple reasons, but one is for sure, that one could make it a very personal adventure, the way you want. I am not saying, that was required all the time, but perhaps these days it is what matters. Back in 1995 it was simply nice to shoot down stormtroopers in the halls of Danuta, when stealing Death Star plans, and in 1997 everyone was thrilled to hold the lightsaber for the first time, when playing Dark Forces II. Republic Commando introduced the chance to feel yourself as a Clone trooper, but not just a simple soldier - you were a very much person, who was the leader. Even the Force Unleashed introduced something truly new. The same was with previous Battlefront games - being impartial I will say it - it was the first game, which allowed to experience all six movies from a different angle with many friends of yours. Unprecedented scale. The new game, however, even with all its benefits, designs and wonderful music - it is not the first. It doesn't introduce anything truly novice, except for good picture, anticipated action and "familiar faces".

@ I would rather discuss it in PD or in another topic, than here, but let us say - Episode VII is being taken into account. But yes, I am very much excited with the upcoming film and I have many expectations not just for the movie itself, but for the post-watching experience too. For now I am looking into what bridge can be built between Episode VII and Episode VIII.

Don't get me wrong, I simply interpret the words of a person, who is in reality quite devoted to Star Wars. Perhaps he has best intentions in mind and Star Wars as a whole will move towards the truthful path. I am not sure, if this the official one, but there is one last trailer/teaser for Episode VII. It has nothing new except for a few spots, some dialogues and phrases are placed the way they should, and some scenes follow each other better here. I also like the new piece of music. https://youtu.be/N4fA-0l8Cp8 I am putting it here not for the sake, that everyone would see it (a movie is 6 days ahead), we will see everything soon. However with so many videos seen I must say, that some are of course better than others, but I will return to them after the movie too. What I mean is that of the old trailers for Episodes I-VI, I like Attack of the Clones the most. Not just because of a well-done work on the trailer and wisely put music, but because it has quite an interesting moment: when we see Bail Organa there, he says "They must be stopped before they're ready". In the film he refers to the droid armies of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, if I am not mistaken, while within the trailer his phrase is heard right after the show of the clones. Which implies, that the real danger is not coming from the droids and separatists, but from the "saviours"of the Republic, who betray everyone, bringing the Empire into the Galaxy. So perhaps the trailers of Episode VII might have something in commong here. As for John Williams, he wrote the music, but one track is already by a different actor in the film.

@ I know, that there are several aspects in the film sure to appear, which I really-really like already, even before seeing the film. However there a few things, that made me feel uneasy. For instance what specific people in the team say about Star Wars, as they see it. One of them said, that he does't care about what fans want, while at the same time the film is made specifically for the fans, as according to the words of this very same person. Quite controversial and I must say it made me think of quite the ego in this one. It's not J.J.Abrams, if you ask me, he actually put his own opinion quite wisely and I feel the way he does about the path of Star Wars. It is also not George Lucas. There was a good article about J.J.Abrams talking about midichlorians. While he said, they wouldn't be in the film, the reason for that is - as I said prior - because no one cares from the point of view of the Galaxy. And that he doesn't what to change any of the rules, established by George Lucas. We can be sure about things like music, costume designs and effects. Yes, the music. You can watch a small video about John Williams working on the film and even hear some notable music score (a bit). John Williams here

I can't wait myself! Meanwhile Star Wars released a Russian version of the latest additional trailer. https://www.facebook.com/StarWars.Ru/videos/865726653542212/

There is a special Chinese trailer, which shows even more of Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon. Also reveals some moments on other characters and places. https://youtu.be/ECYgD7zylrE @ There is still a speculation regarding Rey. I am positive she is of Skywalker or Solo origins, because since long ago they paid much attention to making the new generation look close to the first characters, which appeared in Star Wars. Some made pictures of Rey (Kira at the time) as a successor to Amidala, as if Rey were her granddaughter. And many other speculations. At first people claimed to be the actual Jaina Solo, though Daisy Ridley corrected the fans herself, that it is better not to listen to early spoilers, which might prove to be wrong. There are things which bother me a lot about this movie, but we'll see, if such concerns are rightful enough.

The problem occurred with me several times too! Interestingly quite an opposite case took place as well - then the NPC won't stop and will continue to walk even after reaching the waypoint (the problem was with the script though). Somehow I managed to change that. There a few things, which sometimes help, like adding clip brushed onto the steps or making the space wider. However even this can't be the last remedy, unfortunately. I don't know about raising the range of waypoint visibility. On my maps NPCs walk quite long distances (in the city streets). I use lots of yellow waypoints, which are relatively close to each other. Navgoals also boast a small distance from each other, otherwise the NPCs don't get to the way. Interestingly, that I made several lines of parallel paths of waypoints, and NPCs sometimes choose very strange ways of going to their next navgoal.

@@DrXann That is the exact quote from The Phantom Menace video game - though never used in the film itself! =) "Why do we need that worthless creature?" Yesterday I found a video, that some people actually saw the concept for the Leader Snoke. In a magazine there was even a picture, drawn by a person, either working on the concept or who saw the picture himself. Some claim it to be a fake, but the drawing reminds a lot of Darth Plagueis, even though these are two separate people. Meanwhile, here a few new screens from the film. One shows three villains in one shot!

Max Von Sydow Character revealed!!! And some other stuff

There is a Behind the scenes video about Rey. It shows some things, previously not seen in other videos. Specifically the way Rey fights the enemies (a longer episode). But I am far more interested in the scene, where Rey tries to wear something very familiar. I wonder if this one could be treated as a hint towards Rey's personality. (see 0:20) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrHT6X7Zykc

@@Kualan That's not that interesting if you ask me. When the first rumours on Episode VII began to appear, there was a rumour, that someone quite wealthy with interest in historical relics would appear in TFA. It was known, that this person could be as powerful as count Dooku, could be even his relative from Serenno or at least knew about him being a good historian and a passionate collactor of peculiar things (like Tyranus' lightsaber hilt). Now, I guess, it would be legitimate only, that even 50 years after the Clone Wars some things would of use to certain characters, such as Imperial nobility or sophisticated scientists in the New Republic. They might have all the data about the cloning, the blasters and droids of the past. Aside from other things. Notably the main character of Rey was confirmed to be far from such knowledge. Spending so much time in the desert woudln't helphew learn great galactic stories except for some, told by someone old and wise. I talked to a friend today and he said, that some time ago J.J.Abrams tweeted, that a month ago the movie was almost ready, when Disney said "Hey! That musn't be in the movie!", so he had to remove some things from Episode VII. I searched the information and it claimed, that it is not that at all - actually Disney reacted good, nothing was changed, and it was J.J. who joked, that the people from Disney were simply nice. George Lucas watched Episode VII a few days ago and enjoyed it. Spielberg aparently watched the film 3 times already!

He looks nice in this uniform. =) Not too unusual for him though. The Time magazine is making another issue for Star Wars on Dec.14. I have a few issues from earlier years, which had an interesting article about Star Wars as a whole and also good infographics on how the things are connected in Star Wars. It was some other magazine that established Amidala as the mother of Luke and Leia some time in 1999 or 2000. The Time also published a list of all its issues, which featured something from Star Wars here Another thing: there is also a list of some comics/novels to be released soon, linked with TFA. And one features something of count Dooku and a background character in TFA (pretty large cover).

There e is now a whole bunch of various ads, mostly on aside brands, which feature something from Star Wars. I found this Jeep commercial. I wonder, if such a battle would be seen in the film itself, because the trailers showed the snow battle for the most part and the attack on the fortress. In this video we can also see, that Poe's X-Wing can have BB-8 only. No place for R2 units in the star fighter. Does it mean, that his ship is modified and not just painted black and orange? Do other pilots use droids similar to BB-8 or rely on good old astromech droids?

@@TronTheGamer Depends. In SWTOR the Jedi ruins are more like a collapsed arena, while in The Force Unleashed it is a peculiar complex of rooms and hallways in dusty towers of the slaughtered Jedi Temple.

It's a much larger location in SWTOR game itself. You won't see too many hallways there, but rather a large round area with crushed colomns and obsolete constructions, which can fall any moment. For each of the Republic class a certain special location was available. In case of mine - Jedi Consular - a special library with a device to read the ancient noetikons was present.It was destroyed by a Dark Jedi however. I guess, other clasess also had their own rooms, though I am not sure, which exactly. From the Jedi Temple one could find their way to the Undercity (and Uganught facility) as well as to the Coruscant yellow taxi. The Scaking of Coruscant cutscene shows a bit different structure: the main complex with towers, as well as spires are present before the destruction. The main gate differs from what we see in Episodes II-III, as the grand pillars before the entrance are not yet built, instead a promenade from the landing platform and some statues are seen. The gates are much larger and are destroyed by falling Sith Ship.