Jedi Outcast is a truly great game - Source Code Released

[kazgar]

Ahh, good to see a thread, quick summary here from people in the modding community:

http://jkhub.org/page/index.html/_/sitenews/jko-jka-full-source-code-released-r76

 

[alkeides]

Replayed the game after seeing this thread. This is one of the best products of the Star Wars EU.

Maybe I should replay Jedi Knight and MotS too. The last time I played it, I was around 9.

 

[TheEntitledOne]

DFII:JK was my first shooter.

I remember being stuck on some of it's levels for weeks, but I loved it. And I've never been as hyped about a game as with Jedi Outcast. The early level's pissed me of but I loved the rest.
Pitty that my internet sucked at that time.

Will wait for the DarkXL release to play the first and then MotS.

 

[shihonage]

Jedi Knight was a technical miracle. It was developed with DirectX3, at the time when Direct3D was a bloated, slow mess, and the prospect of making a serious game with it was very challenging.

It wasn't until DirectX5 and its showcase, Forsaken, that we saw Direct3D optimized enough to be taken seriously.

But there it was, after much delay, Jedi Knight actually CAME OUT, and it was 3D, it looked decent, it ran almost well, it was Star Wars through-and-through, and it was fun.

 

[ghostdog]

Outcast is my favorite Star Wars game, I too have replayed it many times. Let's see what comes with the released source code.

Since Lucasarts is closing down, we may see more source codes released.

 

[Average Manatee]

JK really had some amazing level design all around. Some of the dueling scenes rank up there with the original trilogy in terms of iconicism IMO. And the other levels hearkened back to the original Death Star, where your job is more often to infiltrate and subvert the enemy rather than outright taking on 100 stormtroopers in a lightsabre-wankfest.

Which is my primary problem with JO/JA single player, that the lightsabre was made so much more powerful that the only way to add challenge was massively ratchet up the amount of other enemies with lightsabres and the amount of enemies with explosives and those fucking sniper weapons, because as soon as you get a lightsabre in JO and for all of JA you essentially have 100% immunity to standard weapons. JK nailed that powerful-but-fragile feeling and blocking enemy weapons fire took skill.

Besides, who doesn't love running or jumping so fast that you kill yourself on impact?

EDIT: oh wait, this is a and I can simply quote an earlier post which said almost the same thing.

JK was the best SP. Simply great level design. To those saying that guns were more useful most of the time: No Shit. If Obi-Wan had a blaster and went into the death star guns blazing he probably could have taken out every stormtrooper there. The game kept a good balance and never made you too powerful. It made sense that the saber was a specialty weapon. Jedi charging head first into legions of enemies and being invincible is one of the worst things to happen to Star Wars.

JO just fell apart in the late game. Simply having the saber out gave you 100% damage reflection against most of the enemies. The only dangers other than other guys with sabers were falling into pits or failing mandatory stealth bullshit. Nar Shadaa level in Jedi Outcast was fine with me. It and the other jedi JO levels are good about keeping you on your toes and reminding you that you aren't an uber warrior. While the forced loss vs Desann was lame his reason for letting you live was one of the best ways to handle that situation I've seen, and tied in with the theme of Kyle being corrupted to the dark side very well. The saber combat vs jedi of course was much improved from JK, though the number of enemies thrown at you was a bit overdone IMO.

JA I'm kind of meh on. Missions felt too gimmicky and hand holding, plot felt weaker, and special sabers in SW have always been a sign of derp. Still a good game though.

 

[IDtenT]

I played the last mission of JO soooooo many times. Killing those dark Jedi was staple daily intake.

 

[sea]

Jedi Knight is a pretty awesome game and I loved Mysteries of the Sith as well. People are right about the level design, and especially just how goddamn massive everything was - very few games I can remember that had such ambitious stuff at the time. Despite it being more "cinematic" and "linear" than some games released around the same period it still managed to have a ton of exploration and freeform ways to complete many objectives, not to mention tons of side areas and secrets.

Jedi Knight II I actually played more over the years but is definitely a weaker game. I do think the story is more successful in some respects but the combat is very imbalanced and biased towards lightsaber use except in very specific situations and the early game, while level design is good but also often a bit confusing, more so than Jedi Knight. I like it a lot and there are a ton of memorable scenes, but it was overall not as consistently great.

Jedi Academy I have a soft spot for as one of the last Quake 3 engine games released. I liked the open-ended structure and while missions were more gimmicky this is also what kept the pacing fresh and interesting. However, Jedi Academy unfortunately also had a very weak story and a lot of the levels were bloated copy-paste and often very overlong. Plus lightsabers were now so overpowered that you basically end up fighting a squad of Dark Jedi around every corner just to keep the challenge up; the last level in that huge Sith tomb is a joke with how many of the goddamn Sith Lords you'll mow down.

I really should go back and play Jedi Knight and Mysteries of the Sith start to finish again...

EDIT: Anyone figure out how to get Jed Knight working on Steam/Windows 7? Steam tries to start it but it closes immediately afterwards with no errors or even visible indication it's running other than my status changing.

 

[e-mailio estevez]

Multiplayer was amazing in Jedi Outcast... in retrospect its probably one of my favorite MP games ever made. Saber combat was a lot of fun, I always preferred blue stance because of the guardbreaking thrust you could do while rising from a crouch, but every stance had its own special moves and backstabs. You can kill people by doing force jumps off of their chest. Or by choking and/or pushing them into a gorge, chasm, chute or the deep recesses of space.

Outcast's best and most understated feature imo is simply its freedom of movement. You can just moon jump all over the goddamn place. There's something uniquely satisfying about the momentum your character carries while you flip and glide around. Its like some weird amalgamation of Contra and MDK2. And let's not forget force speed. That shit was badass.

I've got a real respect for anyone who could hack it on free-for-all servers. I would eat grenades and rockets all day long in the most shaming ways. i stuck to mostly 1v1 servers despite those nerdlords who bitched at you if you didn't bow before the match began.

 

[Twinkle]

Steam version of JK1 is a cheap cash grab which introduces more problems. You might want to, ahem, procure original disk images - else you won't get any music.

This article might help to fix your problem: http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Jedi_Knight_–_Dark_Forces_II

 

[Carrion]

Jedi Knight II I actually played more over the years but is definitely a weaker game. I do think the story is more successful in some respects but the combat is very imbalanced and biased towards lightsaber use except in very specific situations and the early game

They did that on purpose, though, and I don't think it hurts the game in any way. After having spent a few dreadful hours killing stormtroopers with those shitty inaccurate blasters it feels so fucking great to get the lightsaber that you don't even want to use any other weapon.

I think the game's biggest shortcomings are related to the fact that it's pretty streamlined compared to Jedi Knight 1. You can't choose your Force powers nor your alignment, there's no swimming (not really a huge loss), you're only really fighting humanoids and some droids, and in general there's a bit less variety than in JK1. The actual gameplay and especially lightsaber combat is vastly improved, but ultimately Jedi Outcast is "just" a really good early 2000's action game whereas JK1 is a classic.

 

[sea]

Steam version of JK1 is a cheap cash grab which introduces more problems. You might want to, ahem, procure original disk images - else you won't get any music.

This article might help to fix your problem: http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Jedi_Knight_–_Dark_Forces_II

Thanks!

I tried patching using the unofficial patches. I also tried starting jk.exe using XP compatibility and while disabling themes etc., but nothing happens when I launch it, it just closes outright. I know I had it working a year or two ago but I don't know what I did differently this time. Do I need to use the jedi.exe launcher and "install" the game somewhere else using it?

 

[alkeides]

Dark Forces was my second shooter. First was Doom. I don't remember much about them though since I was around 5 when I played them. Dark Forces was a revolutionary FPS in first allowing you to turn your head or something. RIP Kyle Katarn.

 

[zerotol]

isnt dark forces with the lightsaber fight against the two brother brock and grok or something like that?

 

[SerratedBiz]

You couldn't turn your head, but you could look up and down. And jump, and crouch, and shit. Also, it was beautiful and the level design was amazing for the time.

ETA: Unless I'm very mistaken, there are no lightsabers or force crap in DF.

 

[zerotol]

Yes i always get confused dark forces 2 : jedi knight i guess it was

 

[Excidium]

You couldn't turn your head, but you could look up and down. And jump, and crouch, and shit.

You could do all that in Ultima Underworld, and looking up and down actually meant something, unlike in Dark Forces. LOOKING GLASS MASTER RACE

Also, it was beautiful and the level design was amazing for the time.

Except for the obligatory shitty sewer level.

 

[Zeriel]

You couldn't turn your head, but you could look up and down. And jump, and crouch, and shit.

You could do all that in Ultima Underworld, and looking up and down actually meant something, unlike in Dark Forces. LOOKING GLASS MASTER RACE

Also, it was beautiful and the level design was amazing for the time.

Except for the obligatory shitty sewer level.

Shitty sewer level is just thematic, though. Get it? Shitty? *Ducks to avoid rotten tomatoes.*

 

[Average Manatee]

Yes i always get confused dark forces 2 : jedi knight i guess it was

The entire series has hilarious naming. Silly devs making an entirely new game every time but needing to keep the old name for marketing reasons.

Star Wars Dark Forces 4: Jedi Knight 3: Jedi Outcast 2: Jedi Academy

 

[Twinkle]

Steam version of JK1 is a cheap cash grab which introduces more problems. You might want to, ahem, procure original disk images - else you won't get any music.

This article might help to fix your problem: http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Jedi_Knight_–_Dark_Forces_II

Thanks!

I tried patching using the unofficial patches. I also tried starting jk.exe using XP compatibility and while disabling themes etc., but nothing happens when I launch it, it just closes outright. I know I had it working a year or two ago but I don't know what I did differently this time. Do I need to use the jedi.exe launcher and "install" the game somewhere else using it?

It's been a while since visited jkhub. Surprisingly, it's still active and it appears they continue working on unofficial patches. Try this one:

http://www.jkhub.net/project/show.php?projid=707

 

[DalekFlay]

Steam version of JK works perfectly for me, even in 3D mode at 1920x1200. Well, the movies are in windows as Steam forces that, but the gameplay is what matters.

 

[sea]

It's been a while since visited jkhub. Surprisingly, it's still active and it appears they continue working on unofficial patches. Try this one:

http://www.jkhub.net/project/show.php?projid=707

Tried that patch, required I use JKVersions.exe to patch the executable. Every time I try I get a fatal error, though. Looks like this game is determined to not work.

 

[Mangoose]

I don't know why but early first-person games give me motion sickness. I'd say up to as late as HL1.

And yet I used to play Quake 3 religously quite fine.

 

[Regvard]

Man, I want to play JO multiplayer again.

I was shit at saber fights but I shined at throwing people to their dooms.

 

[commie]

I don't know why but early first-person games give me motion sickness. I'd say up to as late as HL1.

And yet I used to play Quake 3 religously quite fine.

Maybe it's that weird floating texture thing on characters and walls that gave the impression that everything was flowing off the models that did that? Never bothered me much at the time which I can't say for the narrow FOV of modern shooters which makes me sick after a few minutes.