NumberWan

@@ent You should check other (SW) games for ideas. For instance, look here. See the section titled "Gameplay", there are various aspects, which might include icons. Below is the example of various items from Star Wars: Galaxies, which are not icons per se, but can serve as an inspiration for you.

I remember this shot as well. TPM wasn't released back in May 1999 in Moscow, and someone had a pirate version, which had this picture on the back. By that time I had no idea at all, that Episode I had actually been filmed. I missed all that part. =) This shot was among the mysteries, where this encounter actually occurred.

I've ignored Batman for some time. Some animated series in my childhood and a movie with Jack Nicholson are among the most memorable things. I do remember others as well, like Cat-woman, Mr.Freeze and several other notable villains. But I did like the latest Batman movies, because they looked both dramatic, realistic and phenomenal at the same time.

@@Kualan Oh, finally It's been a while. I like what I see, even the city. Elecrian Separatist troops look very close to what I envisioned in my own stories in the past. Keep going, the plot is becoming more and more captivating.

Returning to Editors versions, I wonder if there is an alternative in 1.5. to what I have in 1.4: - When in XYZ view, I can select entities like NPCs, ref_tags, target_speaker through lots of brushes which are located above them. Is it possible in 1.5.? - If applying a texture to a brush, I could use a click on other brush to select the necessary texture, and it would be chosen in the texture list. It works like Photoshop Eyedropper, whilst in 1.5. I didn't find such an option. I work in 1.4. and 1.5. at the same time. Building seems easier and faster in older version, but adding details, completing the design and compilation is perhaps what I like in later Radiants.

On cairn_reactor I once got stuck in the elevator. It's the one you can use in a large area, when a round plat starts hovering by the wall and then is destroyed by a stormtrooper. The glitch might have been a single case: I came to the upper level and used the Force push to move the stromtroopers there from corridor closer to elevator shaft. One of the enemies fell on the elevator platform, and I jumped there too. Now when the plat was going down, I was shooting stormtrooper, and when he died, I got stuck in the platform with the stormtrooper. As if I used noclip code. By the way similar problem was in Dark Forces 2. JK legacy.

I feel the project is worth watching. I see some new locations, and not all of the familiar maps look the same. I don't know if changing Nar Shaddaa is the best decision, but it looks good.

The mod is definitely alive and is a work in progress. We are a bit busy these months, but hopefully the period of silence will end in June. We've completed several minor things, and some maps can now be called being at the last stage of development - the lights. Olgo continues her work on models and mapping, so that we can release the first part of our modification. It would include several missions and two planets. Part 2 is also being polished and we would like to work on it after the release of Part 1 somewhere in July. Another member of our team, whom we call Rage is also working on a map, but for one of the later missions in a mod (like Part 5 or 6). He sent me the latest screens of his progress, and I am very impressed. Perhaps I will post them here as well some time later. We also plan a video release to show some new cool stuff, and minor pre-mod downloads, which've been in plans for months. Don't worry: the mod is alive. With new people having joined our team and the material we've created, I feel positive about completing the project.

We must remember, that Obi Wan appeared as a Force ghost only for some time. EU has a number of sources, indicating it happened for quite a long time. But with the EU cancellation, both ways are available: Obi Wan might be able to appear for quite long time, and he might have disappeared just after Battle of Endor. I wouldn't like to see Max von Sydow as another incarnation of Obi Wan: two is just enough. And surely no one beats the original old master. =) But yes, I do like McGregor as young Obi Wan too.

Other NPCs can have the key as well. In GtkRadiant you just put NPC_Imperial, bring N parameters, and give all the options, which are needed to give him a key. One of them is surely the "message", which corresponds with the name of the lock. I also ticked the "commander" option, but this might be unnecessary. Then in the parameters I changed NPC_Imperial to NPC_spawner or so, and a "tipsy citizen" now has a key, which I can use.

So, now I feel somehow calmed down. I mean with the part of EU being non-canon, or at least canon for just a few years. Calmed too soon? Well, why not. Having read some of the articles regarding the actors and the enthusiasm, some of them show when talking in interviews or twittering, I feel that Episode VII might have a very big and impressive story. Apart from the most recent news, one thing catches the attention: the role of Harrison Ford in Episode VII. Some say he has a major part there. And... this brings us to a very old story, when Harrison Ford almost begged G.Lucas to "kill" Han Solo in Episode VI. I am glad this never happened... But for some reasons I feel it will in this particular Episode. Harrison Ford (as it seems) never truly enjoyed the fame around Han Solo. Somehow I believe he saw his character a bit different - Han Solo is more like a cowboy who is not truly interested in heroic reputation. He does have a sense of honor however and understanding of some things, which eventually keep him with all of our beloved characters aboard Millennium Falcon for three episodes... So who knows, who knows... Maybe they are making a worthy "retreat" for the old smuggler. The other thing is that some minor characters (the fact being mentioned before slightly) might come back both from OT and the prequels. Unlikely, but characters like Mass Amedda and Orn Free Taa might have a glimpse in the background on Coruscant, as well as some others. But to be serious - what about the Imperials? General Veers survived the battle of Hoth and Julian Glover is just one of actors you would more than welcome to come back to your favourite film. I am still under impression of his role in Ivanhoe among others, including the notable one in Indiana Jones. However it would be unwise to bring all of the old cast into one movie at once. General Veers re-appearance might work better way in Episode VIII. And there is Episode IX in the farthest future as well... One more thing is about Andy Serkis. I have a strong feeling, that this is a time for Obi Wan Kenobi's quote from Episode I: "Why do I get the feeling that we've picked up another pathetic life form?" What I mean is that Andy Serkis is a talented actor, which we all know for his role of Gollum in LOTR. And there are more. So I guess with the current level of digital tech, they might like to introduce a new alien. I thought of noghri, regarding Leia and Vader stuff, but it's more likely that we see a very unique species, previously unknown. We still have Chewbacca on the light side, so what if A.Serkis is to play an alien ally of the main antagonist? This idea might work with any of all other actors: why should we believe, that they will be humans in Episode VII? We might not see their real faces at all! (and masks and hoodies are part of Star Wars traditions, we all know that)

@Az'u Fer'al @@Asgarath83 @ @@bednarro @@Lunarstars Thanks to all of you and all others for kind words. Dantooine was a planet, which became one of my favourite worlds the very moment I played KOTOR for the first time. Adding it to Dark Pastime was a primary idea, before I created all other locations. I think, it made into our project even before Ord Mantel and Anarmar. At the time (like 2005 or so) I didn't have any closest idea, how one can recreate these fields in Jedi Outcast, where the Player has so much freedom. The original areas were also so large! I had to do some tricks to make the hills look close to KOTOR version, though later I understood, that it is only for the better, that the area around Khonda doesn't resemble its original 100%. Yes, we have trees and we have grass, and the buildings have similar architectural style. Obviously that it's been 4000 years since Revan and his team visited the plains, and the area should have changed somehow, thus in our levels you can see new farms around Khonda, the spaceport is also reconstructed, and the bridge is maintained with additional pillars. there is also a small dam and generator station. The goal for us remains the same - add more atmosphere to Dantooine. I want some areas to have more trees than it was seen originally. I think it's fair, that the ruins of the Academy lie in the middle of small Blba forest.

I really like the idea, when a cinematic scene explains what is actually happening on the screen. This was used in KOTOR, and we implemented this option in our mod as well. It is not necessary an actual voice speaking, but rather a comment in the subtitles. The screen with controllable mouse bot and the dealings with an astromech droid - I like these too.

@@Szico VII I also remeber only the bad guys roles of Max von Sydow. One is from the Minority Report, whilst the other is from the latest Shutter Island. However after having looked through his filmography, I might have seen more movies with him appearing as one of the characters. He is just unrecognizable in many of his roles. Now I am the one who can't wait for more info on his participation in Episode VII and on overall story It was always a wonder for me, that actors which we may consider as classic - P.Cushing, C.Lee, I.McDiarmid and of sourse Alec Guiness - they all participate in such a story like Star Wars.

Me too. It's good to see that all of the original cast is back, even though the appearance of Chewbacca means a first contradiction with the EU. But I guess it's not that bad, if the film has a good plot a story far more captivating than the Yuuzhang Vong (my opinion, such sacred characters as Chewbacca should have never been touched outside the films! Some people never thought the books got it so far). The second interesting thing is probably the new cast. And for now this choice gives at least something to reflect upon. Domhnall Gleeson For some reasons I do believe, that this actor will take the role of Ben Skywalker. Mostly because he has the type that of very ypung Luke Skywalker who reminds us of a farm boy in Episode IV. According to the books, Mara Jade is the wife of Luke Skywalker and gives birth to Ben. The hair color reminds of that woman, but all that is true, should they continue to exploit the line, that Mara Jade is indeed the wife of Luke and someone else (and they stated, that familiar faces from EU might still appear). I feel, the film might be very good because of the appearance of Max von Sydow. Being an old actor, he might be playing either an old Jedi master in the new order, or an older Imperial bad guy. He can also be sort of a political guy in the Republic or sort of Sate Pestage. I'm confident he wouldn't receive a minor role. Daisy Ridley also gives certain expectations. I haven't seen her before and that's good. With her looks she might play a role of Jaina Solo. IMDB presents a photo of her resembling that of Natalie Portman, and the latest pictures of Jaina show her looking more like Amidala. I guess there is no contradiction here, that a girl looks like her grandmother. In any case there is a whole bunch of actors now, and all of them could be playing very new characters to Star Wars.

I just remembered how one can add a new NPC or an object into KOTOR maps. There was an armband, which could show the coordinates while in game. Then using the coordinates, you made script which added the character or object. In JA I've never done anything like that, but while making a map in Radiant I did come across a few things resembling the process mentioned above. Besides the obvious - simply putting an entity in your map - it's possible to change the parameters of the existing objects via scripts, like recoloring objects, changing NPCs' skin, or even a model, team, weapons, abilities. Moving the NPC is also possible via a script - the often used ref_tags in JA and JO maps serve many purposes, including cinematic cameras or path points for trains. Set_origin command in scripts allows certain existing NPCs be moved from one area of the map to another without them walking. Coordinates also work for certain cases, and can be used in the parameters of some of the entities.

Though the concept art for Darth Maul looks exquisite, and like some of the apparel, for me this particular Sith lord looks only one way - the one he is seen in the Phantom Menace.

@@redsaurus That's a golden hint! Yes, I think I'll try that. Olgo also thought, that the problem was in the code itself. Little later: Indeed, the script command solves the problem perfectly, though you can now destroy them with a rocket launcher as well. However for the sake of gameplay it's possible to block that for the right moment.

I've been trying to make several scripts and a map, when you can use a turret to destroy flying Tie Bombers in the skies (the models are misc_model_breakable and use ROFF animation to fly via scripts). The models work just fine, but the thing is that I wanted to make, so that you can destroy them via the so-called misc_panel_turret. People, who played JO, can remember this option on Nar Shaddaa, while defending the Lady Luck from thugs, while JA fans came across this on Byss in space. There is also a similar case on Vjun map. Now the thing is that the tie bombers (which work the way they do on Vjun map, where they prevent you from coming through the canyon) can't be destroyed with misc_panel_turret. But they are destroyed easily with emplaced_gun (this was made on Vjun by the way). If I put Tie_fighter.md3 instead, misc_panel_turret destroys them without problems. I made several tests, the turrets destroy other things (like breakable brushes or NPCs), so I think, that there is something about tie_bomber.md3, which prevents you from shooting them with misc_panel_turret. When putting a bomber in misc_model_breakable, a small blue flare is also visible. I tried this in different versions of GtkRadiant. All the same. So what's the difference if any in the parameters of tie_Fighter.md3 and tie_bomber.md3?

For basic doors I use simple func_door. If I want to create a rotating door with complex details which move in a peculiar way - I use scripts only.

@ Besides TFU2 and Episodes I-III (+EU and CW) I actually one such model created for JA. It was a vehicle there. So the model already exists for JA, it hasn't been released just yet.

@ No, it was the actual Neimodian Shuttle. It seems it is called Sheathipede-class transport shuttle. I am also looking into finding the screenshot of the model in JA, and as soon as I find them, I'll post it here as well. There was a video, showing it could be used as a vehicle in game. But it hasn't been released yet.

As much as I dislike TFU 2, I appraise the developers for creating the Neimodian homeworld pretty much detailed, with furniture, statues and paintings showing their culture and former glory of the Trade Federation. I saw some Neimodian models for Episode I, in a mod, I think. Also some people posted newer and better models of Rune Haako somewhere on moddb.com. I also saw a shuttle of the Trade Federation. So far, not too much material on these, unfortunately. We only have the battle droids, droidekas, some transport and several maps depicting the original Trade Federation ship from Episode I.

So are there any news on the new issue? New stories?