Hey guys.
I checked ahead for some POTD pics, and found some stuff I want to ask about, now for those of you who doesn't want to know what future potd's you will await, or how certain characters will look, go away...










*Spoilers start here*

1. Moff Rebus

I saw the picture of Moff Rebus, and he is the same skin as that sick, weird peekaboo guy in JA...
Will you keep it this way or will you make a new skin?

2. Moldy Crow

I noticed on another picture that the Crow has a landing gear?
Wondering the same thing, are you gonna keep this?
Cause, seeing as how the crow never did have them, not even in JK, i dont think they look.... correct to the game...

I am only asking, since I still havent seen these in action I don't know how they will work out.

Regards,
your friendly Kyle Katarn loving geekish neighbourhood,
Ack.

*SPOILERS*SPOILERS*SPOILERS*

LEAVE NOW IF YOU DON'T LIKE SPOILERS














Originally posted by Ackehallgren

*Spoilers start here*

1. Moff Rebus

I saw the picture of Moff Rebus, and he is the same skin as that sick, weird peekaboo guy in JA...
Will you keep it this way or will you make a new skin?

2. Moldy Crow

I noticed on another picture that the Crow has a landing gear?
Wondering the same thing, are you gonna keep this?
Cause, seeing as how the crow never did have them, not even in JK, i dont think they look.... correct to the game...

I am only asking, since I still havent seen these in action I don't know how they will work out.


We used the Rax (?) model as a base for Moff Rebus. Actually he has been reskinned a little (mostly subtle clothing changes) and has different hair than the JA model. It works well though in game. You'll see soon enough. There will probably be an even more reworked Rebus for the final release. I suppose we could hold off on releasing the mod for a few more weeks while we address that issue... :p


The crow does have landing gear in the game (Talay specifically). I think the reason you never saw landing gear in DF or JK was so they didnt have to deal with landing gear (especially in DF; lower polys=good). It either hovered or was docked in a way it was being held from above. I think the landing gear works well in game.

I think the team is going to get the final demo today or tomorrow to test out the installer. If all goes well you should be playing the demo very soon. Maybe if you guys start a Fracman, Darth_linux, and The_One appreciation thread and shower them with praise and affection you might get it a little bit sooner! (:D They have been working very hard doing the final bits such as readmes and installers to get the demo launched which is a lot more work than you might think; they haven't been slacking off at all!)

Still Spoilers guys...


Originally posted by Benevolence
*SPOILERS*SPOILERS*SPOILERS*

LEAVE NOW IF YOU DON'T LIKE SPOILERS
















We used the Rax (?) model as a base for Moff Rebus. Actually he has been reskinned a little (mostly subtle clothing changes) and has different hair than the JA model. It works well though in game. You'll see soon enough. There will probably be an even more reworked Rebus for the final release. I suppose we could hold off on releasing the mod for a few more weeks while we address that issue... :p


The crow does have landing gear in the game (Talay specifically). I think the reason you never saw landing gear in DF or JK was so they didnt have to deal with landing gear (especially in DF; lower polys=good). It either hovered or was docked in a way it was being held from above. I think the landing gear works well in game.

I think the team is going to get the final demo today or tomorrow to test out the installer. If all goes well you should be playing the demo very soon. Maybe if you guys start a Fracman, Darth_linux, and The_One appreciation thread and shower them with praise and affection you might get it a little bit sooner! (:D They have been working very hard doing the final bits such as readmes and installers to get the demo launched which is a lot more work than you might think; they haven't been slacking off at all!)


Ok I can respect the Rax model being redone and even being the same, but the Crow? Nooooo...

The Crow wasn't built that way, and even though they did that because they didnt afford to do it, it should remain so. There are sketches, descriptions and stuff that will be proven wrong if you guys add a landing gear. I really dont think its good... Not that it doesnt look good, but it isnt the crow. The crow hovers or is docked, and its even in the novels...

Please go back to hovering... Please!!!

Well unfortunatly it will be there for the demo (Theres no way we are changing anything at this point). Keep in mind this is a demo release and not the final. We take feedback into consideration.

my only comment is that most aircraft/space craft have to land sometime, and they need landing gear to do so. Take a look at X-Wings, Naboo Star Fighters, etc.

We have one level where it wasn't practical to have the Crow fly off so we made it land, and in order to do so we stuck some feet on it.

Once we get another ROFF scripter, we can make the thing fly away like it's supposed to . .

Perhaps when the Crow lands, it doesn't need landing gear; it just hovers on its repulsorlifts. This could be practical in the SW universe, just consider all the landspeeder, speeder bikes, and other vehicles that always float and don't have landing gear. Of course, all the examples I can think of are much smaller than the Crow, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't work...

Do the Naboo Star Fighters really have landing gear? I didn't remember that; I'll have to go see what it looks like.

Originally posted by SlicerDude
Perhaps when the Crow lands, it doesn't need landing gear; it just hovers on its repulsorlifts. This could be practical in the SW universe, just consider all the landspeeder, speeder bikes, and other vehicles that always float and don't have landing gear. Of course, all the examples I can think of are much smaller than the Crow, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't work...

Do the Naboo Star Fighters really have landing gear? I didn't remember that; I'll have to go see what it looks like.

That's what I meant, and no Naboo Fighters does not have landing gear, they park with their tale inside like... a hole...

I don't mean to offend the team at all, and I think it's a wonderfull idea, but since it later have been explained and redone in JK, it kinda like, disagrees with the books and the games. Might be me that's really dull, but I just think it look strange on the crow.

Ok, I gave it a second, and longer look, and... It doesn't look bad. Although if keepen the landing gear should be shorter methinks.

Anyhow - even though they look great, i still think you should do it the old way, maybe with a little platform where you could put your foot to get up? :)

Just ideas and advices...

Possibly, thanks, but not anymore for the demo... :rolleyes:

ACk......good ideas, but the demo is done..any more changes mean a longer wait, and a longer wait will give me a massive coronary the likes of which this world has never seen. Doctors will talk about it for years. Please.....let the team test out the demo and relaese it for all to play before I clutch my chest and fall back like Fred Sanford!! This is it!!! Elizabeth......I'm coming to join ya baby!!!..........aaaaaarrrrrggggghhhhh!!!!!!!!:rolleye1:

The landing gear is totaly possible for the Crow. many Starwars starfighters and vessels have one : Shuttles, X-Wings, Y-Wings, A-Wings, B-Wings, Gunboats, Missile Boat ;) , Correlian transports...
Many of the small Starships needs to land sometimes for reloading and supplying...
Ties are launched from Star Destroyers and Frigates (and other ships in Tie Fighter and X-Wing), so they don't need one (even in fact I don't know if the have one)....
I think that ALL the little spacecrafts that have the hyperdrive engine HAVE a landing gear, required by the range of their deplacements, and the use that can be done with it...

The snowspeeders don't have landing gear, but when their power is cut off, they lay on the ground instead of floating... Peharps because they have to keep their energy cell charged ;)

And Kyle, who probably wants to be like a shadow in his missions won't let the hovering noise alert the ennemies of his presence... :D
And if it's not the noise, the "magnetic field" could be detected by Imperial scanners...

For all those unsure of the picture acke is on about...

http://darkforces.jediknight.net/images/potd/sotd011.jpg)

I think the Crow having landing gear is perfectly sensible. All ships have to land at some point; and the Crow is no exception. It can't just hover all the time - you know, they do need to turn its engines off sometimes ;)

To be perfectly honest, the Crow may look cool, but it's the most impractical ship in the SW universe. We've had to make it bigger than it was in DF - but even so, there's no way 2 people could fit in it. Also, where the hell are you meant to get in?

If you're really going to get fussed over this, then I think you need a reality check :p Be honest, our change here actually makes sense...

The picture is perfect :)

*shrugs*

Looks fine to me. I really like the steam coming from it!

I'm not saying that landing gears "wouldn't make sense". It makes a whole lot more sense than hovering.
I agree, but it still hasn't had landing gears even when they could make landing gears (in JK). You're supposed to get in from above, and that's why I proposed to have a small footstep or a small ladder.

I never ment for this to be replaced in the demo! No way!
The sooner the better.
I am talking about the full release.

Neither did i try to become enemies with anyone.
I'm not saying that there is any logic behind what I'm saying.
I'm saying that it should be done as it is in the alredy created crow. And it wouldn't need the engines on to float, look at Luke's landspeeder, it didn't have its engine on.

I love that you really try to make things realistic, but I don't think it's... this changeable... or however I can say it.

However the steam and the look of the Crow still looks awesome.

Please don't bann me :(

Empire Defender you're my friggin hero.

you must really know a lot about this sort of stuff;) wink wink. nudge nudge.

No-one's going to get banned :p

Anyway, if you want some more eye candy, go and check out the website's front page...

Yeah, The_One has a good hand for nice designs :)

Correction: The Naboo star fighter does have landing gear. I checked in my Episode One Incredible Cross-Sections book (I love those books). It definitely has two skids that lower from the main body just behind the rear edge of the wing. It there's one in back, it's obscured in the drawing, but there's definitely room for it, and the pattern of plating on the bottom has a spot for it. Also note that although TIEs don't technically have landing gear, the bottom of its wings serves that purpose.

I actually can't decide if I think the Crow should have landing gear or not. I think it could work either way, and I'd really have to see it in game. Repulsorlifts would allow it to float with the main engines off, and other impracticalities of its design only make its lack of landing gear more plausible.

I think what it really comes down to is which version you guys think looks coolest in the game.

About TIEs having landing: I was always under the impression that TIEs (at least TIE\ln's) do not have repulsorlift engines, and therefore require the racks you see in the Death Stars and Star Destroyers. and referring to the Incredible Cross-Sections book (from the OT :D ) it would appear that TIEs really do not have repulsorlifts; they are launched by tractor beams and upon returning, are guided by tractor beams back to the racks or to maintenance.

That having been said - and I never would have thought about this if the topic had not been brought up - I think the (full-version) Crow should not have landing gear because, well, do you ever see it with landing gear? I will admit that in DF in the Research Facility and Talay levels that the Crow just flew away so you could not really tell(unless you cheated...:D ), and I'm assuming you will make it do the same in the full version , but it is quite plausible that it uses repulsorlifts instead, much like landspeeders, as someone mentioned earlier. Besides, you wouldn't want to have Jan wait for the landing gear to retract to come and save your trouble-making butt, now would you? :p

Anyway, this has been my first post in...forever, maybe even a year. But I have certainly been keeping track on the mod and am eagerly awating next week :) .

P.S. does anyone know why they dropped the Moldy Crow in JO and JA in favor of the...whatever-it-is-called-that-cannot-compare-to-the-Crow?

Originally posted by ImmolatedYoda
P.S. does anyone know why they dropped the Moldy Crow in JO and JA in favor of the...whatever-it-is-called-that-cannot-compare-to-the-Crow?

Ummmm, because the Moldy Crow was destroyed in JK (light side official ending that is)?

Yes, Kyle escapes the exploding fuel station ship, but the explosion causes him to loose control over the ship, and smash one of the wings into a big boulder. It crashes, and the next thing you see is Kyle outside of the ship, while it's burning up in the background.

The later ship is called "The Raven's Claw".

I don't know if in the game or in the manual they says that the Crow has a landing gear or repulsors; but if you mean of landing to take Katarn at the end of the mission, remember the Empire Strikes Back when Lando and the Falcon are rescuing Luke from the City Of Clouds : There is no need of repulsors; the ship has stabilizers that allow him to float in the AIR no only in space without moving (the starwars ship are not like the F22 Raptor and other planes).

They can stay immobile instead of falling.... :D :D

And like ImmolatedYoda says, Ties are launched from the racks and taken by tractor bems, so it is no meaning with this. ;)

Originally posted by Empire Defender
I don't know if in the game or in the manual they says that the Crow has a landing gear or repulsors; but if you mean of landing to take Katarn at the end of the mission, remember the Empire Strikes Back when Lando and the Falcon are rescuing Luke from the City Of Clouds : There is no need of repulsors; the ship has stabilizers that allow him to float in the AIR no only in space without moving (the starwars ship are not like the F22 Raptor and other planes).

They can stay immobile instead of falling.... :D :D

And like ImmolatedYoda says, Ties are launched from the racks and taken by tractor bems, so it is no meaning with this. ;)

So what are you saying?

Yups ! I've just reread everything and becaus I'm not english I've misunderstood few things :p

I mean the Crow can stand by over the ground when it cames back to rescue Katarn at the end of the missions but his engine is ike others ship in Starwars : the're able to stay steady at one point without moving (like helicopters instead of planes).
But in the Anoat Sewers Mission, the ship should deploy his gear because he's not standing by...

However I don't remember if in the Talay Base the Crow has landed, and a the end he leaves the ground, or if Katarn is reaches the ground, then the ship leave the area, and at the end, it comes back to rescue Katarn... Can't remember so I can make mistakes... :( :(

Well, since this won't be changeable in the demo, it doesn't really matter. It looks great anyhow! :)


Now- for the real question:

Will Moff Rebus wear sunglasses? :cool:

we weren't able to model sunglasses onto our Moff Rebus character for the demo :(

hopefully in the future we can . . .

Hahaha... J/k... I mean, what an issue! The Moff doesn't have his sunglasses...

I can't wait for this mod. The best mod of the year, the best mod ever? I would almost say so.

I thought he wore goggles, not sunglasses?

Originally posted by Benevolence
Ummmm, because the Moldy Crow was destroyed in JK (light side official ending that is)?

oh wow, now I really feel like a dumbass.

I think the landind gear should be made a tad shorter...the legs just look too long :P
But I have no problem at all with the ship having land gear, go right ahead :)

No, I think it looks good with the long landing gear. It looks very much like a bird standing on three(?!) legs, which it should. It's perfect.

It doesnt look stable enough with long legs liek that, I feel like that if i was in the game and ran into the crow, itd fall over :p

Well, considering the purpose of landing gear is to hold it and nothing more, most manufacturers (even now) make landing gear as small as possible. I would have it so that the lowest part of the Crow is only a few inches above the ground and then model the landing gear from that point, it would look much better.