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New Armor for Exar Kun

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 eidospsogos
01-30-2004, 12:02 AM
#1
[EDIT] there is finally a host for the armor. here is a link to the files as they exist right now. a slight re-skinning project is in mind as well, but check out the stats of the armor and share your opinions. here's the link (and a very big THANK YOU to Shimaon for hosting the files):

http://www.gknetworks.net/kotor/Exar_sArmor.zip)

okay, first of all it looks the same. i loved the look just thought the stats were fairly laughable.

so i created two versions of it myself. both are UPGRADABLE. i made one for early in the game, so things wouldn't be TOO easy running around with a super bad@ss armor. which would bring me to my second armor. now titles as Exar Kun's Battle Armor. trust me you won't find any other in-game armor as good as this. :)

i gave these items to myself using the override folder and the holowan emporium. both arnors override the original armor for exar kun. so you pretty much would have to buy one of them, save, exit, swap the files in the override folder, load the game and get the other one. files in your inventory are NOT overriden by item overrides. only new items, such as those in stores, or found along the way are affected by item files in your override folder.

now as to why i started this thread. i have seen many people, who liked exar kun as much as myself and thought the poor stats of his armor insulting. :) so i figured why should all exar kun fans be disappointed.

so if some nice person wants to host these two mods on their site then i would be forever grateful. otherwise, if you would like the armor, leave your email, or pm me with your email, and i will send it to you.

i really don't know how many people will truly be interested in these, i just know i had seen some posts reflecting the same disappointment i had in his armor.
 Darth Stryke
01-30-2004, 12:12 AM
#2
I agree that his armor needed new stats. I am also working on reskinning it, because for some reason I did not like the copper color of the armor for Exar Kun. I liked the look of the armor itself, I just do not think it fit Exar Kun's personality and look.
 eidospsogos
01-30-2004, 12:16 AM
#3
actually the reason i liked it was because it did fit exar kun. if you look at the avatar to the left, that is a pic of exar kun in his armor. they did a VERY good job of making the armor look like something he did wear or would have worn. i know he was a sith lord. but NOT the stock character sith lord, in all black with a red saber. and that's what made him so great in my opinion. he was not the stock villian. and the brown/neutral/tan/copper, whatever color you want to call it, fits his character perfectly.
 Darth Stryke
01-30-2004, 12:22 AM
#4
Well, I agree with you about the character itself, but I have not seen a picture of Exar Kun wearing Copper-colored armor before. Every picture I have seen of Kun, he wore silver or black armor.
 eidospsogos
01-30-2004, 12:36 AM
#5
well the pic i have came straight from the comics. i'll email it to you if you like, as the actual image is much bigger than the avatar.
 Darth Stryke
01-30-2004, 1:08 AM
#6
Well, I have seen that picture of him before, I just assumed it was the lighting that did that. Anyways, how big is the file to be hosted-I might be able to host it temporarily on my angelfire site.
 eidospsogos
01-30-2004, 1:22 AM
#7
altogether, in one folder, it is a whopping 64 KB. as by the size on disk reference anyway. the actual size is 5.25 KB. :) so zipped up pretty small.

and by the way, though i love exar kun, i tend to still lean towards the lightside. :) so the pic i have is probably either shortly before, or shortly after his fall. i am sure his armor became more darkside oriented as time passed. but bioware's representation of it was fairly close to what it originally was.
 Darth Stryke
01-30-2004, 1:27 AM
#8
I will host the file-at that size it is no problem. I just hope too many people don't hit it too fast, otherwise angelfire will suspend the download temporarily. Send it to StrykeAzrael@aol.com
 eidospsogos
01-30-2004, 1:55 AM
#9
i will email it to you as soon as i can figure out what the original baseitems.2da defense rating for this item is. i edited mine, and as i just clean-sweeped my main hard drive, have yet to install kotor again. i would like anyone downloading this to get at LEAST the same item i had. so if i upped anything in my baseitems.2da, then they would be getting less than what i intended the armor to be.
 Darth Stryke
01-30-2004, 2:05 AM
#10
I sent a reply, but I can post it here as well. The base ac for any class 6 armor is 6. The class number that the armor has corresponds to its base ac.
 eidospsogos
01-30-2004, 2:13 AM
#11
okay. i'm getting ready to send it to you. i included a readme with instructions. first time i've distributed anything i've done. :)

do me a favor and test it out, and see if everything looks and works alright. if you don't find any bugs, post alink for the download. if you do find bugs, email me and let me know.
 Darth Stryke
01-30-2004, 2:34 AM
#12
Just a fast question before I post it. It worked fine, but I am just making sure. The only difference between the 2 armors is the defense bonus, correct? Just making sure because the "weaker" version is the same, just with a lower def bonus.
 eidospsogos
01-30-2004, 2:40 AM
#13
well, there is a huge difference once the armor is upgraded. did you upgrade both? if so, and you did not see the bonuses added for the one with the higher defense bonus let me know. i may have to install kotor again over the weekend if not.
 Anach
01-30-2004, 2:43 AM
#14
Screenshots and pics?
 Darth Stryke
01-30-2004, 2:47 AM
#15
Oh, I was talking about non-upgraded. The upgraded ones have the different bonuses and seem to work fine. So, with that said, this link *should* work.

http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/stryke/Exar_sArmor.zip)
 eidospsogos
01-30-2004, 2:56 AM
#16
as said in the first post, the armor looks no different than exar kun's light battle suit. since i personally liked the look of that armor and felt it a very good representation of exar's armor (before his long trek down the dark path as stryker and i have discussed). if people want to re-skin it, that's up to them.
 eidospsogos
01-30-2004, 6:48 PM
#17
thnaks alot for hosting the items. i appreciate it. as i said before, i'm not too sure how much interest this will actually generate. but i saw no reason to just leave it sitting on my hard drive. :)

anyone with any opinions feel free to share.
 Darth Stryke
01-30-2004, 8:06 PM
#18
Well, between the 2 mods I had on my site, angelfire stopped the downloads because of too many people downloading. So, we need to find someone else to host this now. I was afraid it would happen. I am really sorry about this-thats why i was worried about it when i offered to host it. Does anyone have a site they can host like 2 mods on?
 Jolinar
01-30-2004, 9:09 PM
#19
I dont have a site to host that stuff on but I would like to cheat and have one of you email me that Exar Kun armor... :cool: If you dont mind please send it to eugcheradm@socket.net

Thanks!

Jolinar
 Darth Stryke
01-30-2004, 9:14 PM
#20
I sent the armor to you Jolinar, should be there soon.
 eidospsogos
01-30-2004, 9:39 PM
#21
thanks alot stryker. for the attempt, and for keeping up with the posts as well. i do appreciate it.
 drakenon
01-31-2004, 1:46 AM
#22
I just tried to download the Exar Armor myself and got the, "This site you attempted to access violated the Terms of Service, blah blah blah" message. I gathered that there were a lot of downloads off your site for it Stryker. If you wouldn't mind until another site is found sending them over to incoming@adelphia.net :D I would be grateful.

Oh BTW in anyone's time playing through KotOR did they try the dancedancemalak cheat? Truly worth it I think!
 Shimaon
01-31-2004, 3:39 AM
#23
Hey guys, send it over to me at webmaster@gknetworks.net and I'll host it on my site for ya, I'd love to see this myself as well.
 eidospsogos
01-31-2004, 5:07 AM
#24
sent and sent. i really appreciate the offer to host the file. feel free to put it up and post a link for it somewhere in the thread.

and any of you out there who have tried it out at all, let me know what you think. i know it's a minor mod, but i wouldn't mind a little feedback. :)
 Supreme-Lord
01-31-2004, 7:50 AM
#25
Cant wait, can anyone e-mail to me plz
meelis.kodu@mail.ee
 eidospsogos
01-31-2004, 12:14 PM
#26
your armor has been sent. here's hoping for a nice little link at the end of the thread soon. :)
 Ellderon
01-31-2004, 12:38 PM
#27
I allways tought that Jedi/Sith don't wear armour - too restrictive...

I mean, the only thing that keeps Cath, Canderous and other non-Jedi on pair with Jedi charachers in the group IS their heavy armour ability (and kick-ass long range fighting)
 eidospsogos
01-31-2004, 12:55 PM
#28
sigh. i suggest everyone stop stereotyping things into nice neat little categories. if a jedi decided to wear armor, then he could wear armor. whether it was common for them to or not.

it said in-game, that exar kun was rarely seen wiothout a suit of armor and this is true.

and since the first sith lord ever introduced was darth vader, and he was always armored as well, why is this a big surprise. and not to mention that there really are NO armor restricted force powers. this was merely an in-game balancing feature. did anyone see vader having any problems using force powers in armor.

anyway, if for some reason a jedi decided to wear armor, there would be absolutely nothing stopping him from doing so. there are no rules concerning this.

STOP applying in-game logic and reasoning to an already existent Star Wars Universe. Exar kun came around long before this game or any other RPG game rules for Star Wars.

if armor would help common soldiers stand up against jedi, (which outside of the game would be rather ineffective in doing so anyway) why would a jedi not want the extra benefits of having such armor as well. the Star Wars Universe outside this game, is NOT interested in a complete and total balancing of all of its character classes.
 Darth Stryke
01-31-2004, 3:54 PM
#29
Many, these guys are gonna flip in episode three when we see a bad jedi using a blue lightsaber and there will be a yellow lightsaber as well as yoda fighting alongside wookiees. Not even to mention Sidious using his lightsaber...

And that is just the stuff that has been confirmed on the official site (I am a hyperspace member) :D
 eidospsogos
01-31-2004, 4:09 PM
#30
good, i hope they continue to do away with the stereotypes. exar kun used a bright blue/white lightsaber. very similar to the blue special crystal from yavin.
 Jolinar
01-31-2004, 6:22 PM
#31
The armor is pretty good, the only thing I don’t like about it (and most the armor in the game) is that pants and the sleeves. They just look odd to me; I think it has something to do with the strips. I call for new pants and sleeves! *cracks whip* Get to it! :D

Anyway I'm a fan of Exar Kun myself although I don’t know much about him. Also it does hint that Exar Kun may have used that Guardian of the Force crystal in it's description. Oh one question though, I have seen some conflicting information on Exar Kun. What style of lightsaber did he use?

I have read from two places he used a double bladed blue lightsaber but most of the pictures I have seen have him using ether a single bladed blue or green saber.

Jolinar
 Darth Stryke
01-31-2004, 6:29 PM
#32
In fact, Kun had 3 sabres. His first was a single-bladed green lightsabre. Later, he built a single-bladed blue lightsabre, but then he made that into a double-bladed blue sabre. Originally his double-bladed blue sabre was the length of a normal single bladed sabre, but eventually it was made longer, almost like Darth Maul's double-bladed sabre, but just a few inches (approx) shorter.
 Muskrat
01-31-2004, 7:13 PM
#33
Thats a bit misleading. he didn't "have 3 lightsabers" but over the course of his life owned 3. I don't know what happened to his first, but the second one he built into his double-bladed one.

Exar Kun, up until Episode 1 came along(and ruined everything), was the only Jedi/Dark Jedi to ever use a double bladed lightsaber.

The lightsaber had a few interesting characteristics. The blade lengths could be adjucted from 1/2 meter to 1 1/2 meters. It's intesity could also be modified. At it's highest setting it was like any other lightsaber, at it's lowest, it was a thin shaft of light that delivered no damage and could not block incomming lightsaber attacks. The use of this was to trick his opponents into over extending their attacks (by suddenly shortening the blade length or lowering it's intesity) and giving him the opportunity for a very deadly counter-attack

An iteresting fact, Ulic Qel-Droma (Qel-Droma's robes anyone?), a former diciple for Exar Kun, actually led the Jedi, and the Republic, to victory againt Exar Kun at his main fortess on Yavin 4. His lightsaber, and many other artifacts, were destroyed.
 eidospsogos
01-31-2004, 7:33 PM
#34
just because he was the first notable character to use a double-bladed lighsaber does NOT mean he was the only one to ever use one. in fact it states that he constructed his double-bladed lightsaber as a tribute to sith masters from the past. he was DEFINITLEY NOT the first to use one, and certainly wasn't the last.

it is a little narrow-minded to assume that just because he made it famous he had been the only one to use it. the saber is listed as a rare weapon even among a weapon as rare as a saber to bein with. and it is most readily associated with the sith, which is why exar kun constructed his to begin with. so he was NOT the only person in the SW universe to use a lightstaff.

everything else you said is dead on, and completely accurate. but to assume that just because he was the first notable figure to use one, that he was the ONLY one to use one is flawed logic at its best.
 Muskrat
01-31-2004, 7:57 PM
#35
Please give me a name. I assumed that only because I have NEVER, not even in passing, in all the SW books I've read, heard of anyone else using a double-bladed lightsaber. If I'm wrong, I'll gladly accept it.

you do have to admit though, that since episode 1, the double bladed lightsaber has been blown way out of proportion. It's way over used just because it's "cool"
 eidospsogos
01-31-2004, 8:24 PM
#36
i will readily agree with you there. it is thrown around quite abit these days.

and though i cannot give you a name, that was my entire point. it was said that exar kun's construction of a lightstaff was in tribute to sith lords of the past. meaning it must have been a weapon used by at least one sith lord prior to his construction of the weapon.

but my point more than anything was that even though the SW universe is fictitious, it is a huge universe. so just because exar kun was the first historically notable figure to use a lightstaff, does not mean some more minor sith or jedi could NOT have used one before he did. it is merely a weapon. a rare one yes. but we have to be open enough here to realize that just because he made the weapon famous doesn't mean he was the first or only one to use it. as star wars.com refers to his wepaon this way:

He brandished a Sith lightsaber with twin blades that increased the potent weapon's lethality.

the idea was this, simply because there is only one person, though now two people, famous for using a weapon, does not mean they were the only ones to ever use it.
 Darth Stryke
01-31-2004, 8:46 PM
#37
I would also like to point out that it is amusing that Episode 1 "ruined" the double bladed lightsabre concept when the fact is that Ray Park (Darth Maul) is a martial arts expert and that was one of the most well-done fights in film history as far as staff-weapon combat and the staff-style combat with the double saber in that film was just about perfect. As far as I am concered, because of that, in a pure sabre battle (No force), Darth Maul would destroy Kun. Now with the force, it would obviously be Kun destroying Maul. :D
 eidospsogos
01-31-2004, 9:27 PM
#38
i hate to have to keep disagreeing with you, but i have to once again.:) i must seem like a real @ss by now.

exar kun is renowned for being the BEST swordsman the jedi have ever known. the tactics he used in the construction of his lightsaber, were well thought out tactics that added to his already proficient use of the weapon. as far as proficiency with a saber, and tactics and strategies used while wielding one, he was pretty much unsurpassed. muskrat pointed out several of these tactics above, and most important of all of them was the asdjustable blade length feint.

so, i will go as far as to say that were it to come down to hand-to-hand combat, a proficient martial artist could win. but i don't feel one should go as far as to say that because someone is a martial artist they could defeat someone who is a MASTER of their chosen weapon.

the other thing that is important here, is not to confuse the skills of an actor with the actual skill level of the character. the actor may have been a good martial artist, but obviously maul himself was not all that much an expert. as he was defeated by obi-wan kenobi. and while one must give obi-wan respect, he was easily bested by someone similarly focused on swordmanship. dooku was well known for his prowess as a swordsman as well.
 eidospsogos
01-31-2004, 9:45 PM
#39
but as far as the original topic is concerned, wasn't someone saying they would host the files? if so, please post a link in this thread. and chances are i will copy it into the first post and give you credit and great thanks for allowing exar kun fans the stats his armor deserved.
 Jolinar
01-31-2004, 10:03 PM
#40
Very interesting information about Exar Kun. *cough* New Pants & Sleeves *cough* :D

Jolinar
 eidospsogos
01-31-2004, 10:16 PM
#41
yes, i would have to agree with you there. the stripes thing was about the only downside to the armor. though they look better than some of the stripes on some of the other armor.

however, and unfortunately, i have banned myself from skinning as it seems to distract me VERY much from my other graphic design related duties. a little modding here and there doesn't take away from the time or creative energy i need to be putting into other projects. that is why i chose to mod what was my favorite armor overall aesthetically from the game. because i am TOO detail oriented when it comes to these types of things, and i would spend weeks on one skin. so i picked one i liked and gave it good stats. trust me i would like to do skinning, but it's not good for my livelihood. someone else will have to step in there.
 Shimaon
02-01-2004, 1:57 AM
#42
alright, sorry, but I seem to be having trouble connecting to my FTP server at the moment... I'll have the file up as soon as I can.
 eidospsogos
02-01-2004, 2:25 AM
#43
hey, no need for apologies. as far as i see it you're doing me, and anyone interested in the armor a huge favor. i appreciate the hosting alot. hope everyone enjoys the armor.
 Darth Stryke
02-01-2004, 2:41 AM
#44
Alrighty, 2 things. First off, you apparently know a lot more about Exar Kun than I do, so I will just agree with you on that. I was just giving my opinion. Secondly, I am going to see what I can do with reskinning the Kun armor. I was thinking either black pants and sleeves, or perhaps tan or brown. I need opinions on what you all think would be best.
 eidospsogos
02-01-2004, 2:52 AM
#45
you are more than entitled to your opinion, whatever it may be. i was simply sharing mine. and maul had one small advantage with his saber: were it to be damaged he could use it as a single saber. as it was two sabers fused together. such was not the case with kun's. his double blades stemmed from a single crystal and power source, unlike the two separate ones that made up maul's saber.

as for skinning, my suggestion for armors would be this. his armor by the time of the war, was pretty much black gray and silver, with occasional green and purple accents. i know it sounds ugly, but in comics it doesn't look that bad. :) (but the purple and green are also the reason i liked the brown/neutral armor better) so, i would focus on using grays, blacks and silver if you wanted the sith exar armor. brown and tan for those who loved the guy, but still like the lightside. :)

and if you actually undertake this project, i would be more than willing to chip in and/or collaborate. :) i know i shouldn't, but it's just becoming too much fun. :)

if you go the sith armor route it might be fairly easy to start with the textures for the cinnagar war suit, or the environmental bastion armor for references, as they have colors similar to what you would be looking for.
 Darth Stryke
02-01-2004, 3:31 AM
#46
Alright, for my first version, I simply made the "stripes" black and darkened the pants to dark-brown. It is still shiny and the armor itself retained its color. This is just a quick version to get an idea of how it would look like without the gaudy stripes and more of a "sithlord" feel. I Personally think if I did this, changed the armor color to silver, and added blue accents that it might look nice. But for now the armor is brownish-copper and I just darkened the pants and stripes.

Edit: Alright, here is the correct link. Sorry that the image is a little small.

http://stryke.fotopic.net/photo.php?id=2618621)
 Shimaon
02-01-2004, 3:46 AM
#47
Alrighty, sorry again for the delay, but heres the file:
Linky (http://www.gknetworks.net/kotor/Exar_sArmor.zip)
 eidospsogos
02-01-2004, 5:07 AM
#48
hey, stryke. got something for you. i'll email it to you. pop it in your override folder and load it up. it gives some pretty cool shader effects. and be sure to let me know what you think.
 Muskrat
02-01-2004, 5:26 AM
#49
I hate to derg up old(ish) arguments, but, those sith lords fo the past may have used a double bladed lgihtsaber, there is no histpry on that (as far as I know). My assumtion came from this line in my SW Weapons dictionary: "Some unique objects are invariably associated with their owners." First line in the except about Kun's lightsaber. I'm sure the IDEA of a double-bladed lightsaber was readily out there, but no one took the time, or saw the nessesity to construct one. Same thing for Duel sabers. The idea was out theer, but there was never any need to carry around 2 lightsabers.

What are the comics about Exar Kun, I'm very interested in reading them.

Stryke - I doubt Maul (or the actor who played him) woudl win against Kun. he was an excelent tactician (you gotta be to almost wipe out the Republic AND the jedi), and no doubt this played a large role in how he fought. He could be considered one of the the best swordsman in the SW history.
 eidospsogos
02-01-2004, 5:59 AM
#50
the comics are as follows:

Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith #1-6


Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War #1-6

the OFFICIAL Star Wars website, www.starwars.com) says this:

found at:

http://www.starwars.com/databank/technology/sithlightsaber/?id=eu)

As the Jedi had not faced the Sith for centuries, lightsaber dueling had become a lost art.
To focus their training and their skill, Jedi still partake in practice duels and sparring
contests, but to face an actual saber-wielding opponent was not something any Jedi expected
before the Naboo crisis. In the past, the double-ended lightsaber was reserved only for training
purposes.

Unlike the Jedi, who use natural crystals mined from such worlds as Ossus in the Adega system,
the Sith prefer synthetic crystals to generate their lightsaber blades. While the crystals are
being forged in a blazing furnace, it is not uncommon for a Sith to reach out with the Force and
manipulate the process, focusing his hatred for the Jedi to increase the potency of the crystals.

Millennia ago, the Sith Lord Exar Kun fashioned a modified lightsaber with two blades. During the
events of the Great Sith War, Kun modified his existing weapon to increase its lethality. Customized
controls allowed him to extend the length of each blade from half a meter to one-and-a-half meters.

and this:

found at:

http://www.starwars.com/databank/technology/sithlightsaber/)

The lightsaber is the weapon of the Jedi, but it is also used by the evil Sith. The deadly Darth Maul
used a double-ended blade as his primary weapon. In his skilled hands, the swinging blade becomes an
arc of destructive energy, capable of cutting anything it comes into contact with. The Sith lightsaber
is basically two lightsabers end-to-end. It can be selectively used with only one end ignited.

so i would think those two definitions make it quite clear that more people than exar kun had used the lightstaff.

but just in case that's not good enough, here's one more:
(from swe.starwarsclub.org History of the Darkside Part 4)

found at:

http://swe.starwarsclub.org/darkjedi/history4.htm)

Master and student it used to be and now it was Master of the Light versus Dark Lord of the Sith. The two fought. Exar Kun with his lightsaber and Vodo Siosk-Baas with his wooden staff. Vodo fought with all of the combined might of the Jedi behind him. Exar Kun fought with all of the dark treachery of the Sith on his side. Exar Kun had made some modifications to his lightsaber since the two had last fought some six months ago. Exar Kun had uncovered the dark ways of Sith weaponry. Exar Kun had made a double-bladed lightsaber. Lightstaff versus Jedi staff. Vodo Siosk-Baas, Jedi Master to hundreds of Jedi, teacher to countless Jedi, teacher to Exar Kun, was gone.

i think that all makes it very clear that the technology existed before kun, and that he was not the first nor the last to use it.
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