For those new to Dark Forces and Jedi Knight, David Lovejoy is probably the person who hjas most contributed to Dark Forces' growth on the Net. Up until early this year, he operated probably the best Dark Forces site ever seen - Ackbar's Main Frame. He is also a member of the Code Alliance (the guys behind WDFUSE) and has been a key contributor to the online growth of the L.A. game Outlaws. On top of all this he is also an accomplished Dark Forces level author.
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Question - You have just recently started up a web site called DarkJedi.com. Could you tell us a little about the purpose of the page and what kind of site do you hope it will grow into over time?
Darkjedi.com came about because of several factors. One was my email was getting thrashed with spam. Second is plain economics, it`s cheaper for me to run the new site. Darkjedi wasn`t my first choice for the domain name I went through quite a few before I finaly hit one that wasn`t being used. Future plans for the site at this time are get the pages I had on the nucleus server up to scratch, make a few additions , add my own JK site. Though I`m undecided on the content of it yet. Eventualy if/when the Code Alliance has a Jedi Knight editor it`s home will most likely end up there as well.
Question - We heard from Jereth Kok last month that you are still planning a full release of version 2.5 of WDFUSE. Could you give us some info on what new features your aiming to work into the program and when do estimate it might be released?
I have no idea of a time frame yet. I`m still currently busy with the LawMaker(Outlaws) project. Sometime within the next month I`ll probably start working on it. Things got a little more complicated since last time I talked with Jereth as all the new beta3 source files were lost due to a mistake on my part.I have recovered an earlier version of beta 3. Haven't really looked at it to see which parts are not included in this version, I know the automatic door tool is not in it. But the two converters for 3do <-> asc files are. I`m sure a bug has crept into the gob manager too. So the priority will be to get rid of any bugs and bring the help file up to date. Things will depend on when I have to help out on the JK project.
Question - With all your great work on WDFUSE and on the old Ackbar's Main Frame web site, it's easy to overlook that you're an accomplished level author. Do you intend to continue making levels in Dark Forces and Jedi Knight?
As any level author knows, it takes considerable time to make a level. If time allows, yes I will make more levels. I have made a multiplayer
level for Outlaws, but those are small in comparison to a full sized DF level. For any of your readers that haven`t tried out the last co-creation with David Ralph , Assault on Fortress Dantooine(Assault.zip). A nod must also go to a couple of Mac veterans Allen Neuman and Ron Davis
for finding the Mac bugs. It can be found on the BackWater Archive.
For anybody that wants they can upload their DF levels/components to my anonymous ftp.darkjedi.com/incoming. I`ll create a /pub/Dark Forces directory and they can download from there. I might not add them to a web page as I`m trying to keep the site low maintenance.
Question - You and the Code Alliance have earned a lot of respect for your work in making programs for Dark Forces and Outlaws. Besides version 2.5 of WDFUSE, what are the future plans of the Code Alliance?
Not knowing the status of LEC policy towards the Mac side of things kind of puts our Mac members on the sidelines. Jedi Knight will be a big
project, building of the editor itself is going to take up at least two members full attention, another area of work is research, making support
documentation, building development tools. Some of these are not as high profile as the editor itself to the public, but still a necessity. In that
regard there will be plenty of opportunity for each member to do what they can towards the project. As with any volunteer group, the Alliance will grow or shrink depending on the personal commitments of it members. As games grow more complicated I think you will see more small groups of people form to accomplish similar goals. Even now the same thing has happened in level building these days, as making a successful level project has become too large of a task for any one single person.
In my opinion, LEC should support the Mac. Maybe sales have lagged , but still there was many Mac owners that contributed to the success of Dark Forces.
Question - Considering the approach of Quake 2 and a truck load of other 3D contenders, do you think Jedi Knight will blow away it's competitors or has Lucas Arts waited too long?
How it`s received by the public is a little hard to predict. There is a multitude of reasons why one person will play it and not another. I`m
sure it will find it`s dedicated following of players like each game does. By the looks of the amount of Jedi Knight related web sites that have already surfaced, it should be a big hit.
