After enduring complaint after complaint about how my colors here SUCK from a few people wo know who they are (*EDDY CURRENTS*), I have decided to restore the original green & blue of the news page. I hope everyone is pleased with this, & I have to admit I kinda like having the old green back up here. Brings back memories. Anyway, on with the news!  

Free Clan Hosting from Universal....   
By-DarkStrike  

Universal Clan Awards is now giving away free clan hosting. They review clans, and so far are hosting almost with no discretion. They are looking for any level makers, skin creators, mission editors or any other type of editing group.  
If you are interested here's what current members get:  

1) 5 Megs of space, more available on request  
2) 2 POP3 E-mail accounts (clan abr. - username@clanawards.com)  
3) Reliable Server Our Offer:nt>  
4) Easy URL (http://www.clanawards.com/XXXXX/)  

Also, a hosted site, the Universal Clan Tournament, is holding a tournament, which will be set as soon as enough clans enter. They are accepting non cheating guilds from The Zone, Kali, and Heat compete against each other for the honor and privilege of being #1! Challengers in this tournament can compete as much as they like, whether it be in the Sabers NF/FF, Weapons NF/FF, One on One, or the Teamed Sabers NF/FF - Weapons NF/FF divisions. The UCT is also looking for staff as they have a large shortage on that front.  if you are interested in any job, please email UCT@clanawards.com and they'll sign you up!!  
(logo:http://www.clanawards.com/uct/CircleMain.jpg)  

JKEdit Update....  
By-DarkStrike  

There is now a new update of the legendary jedi knight editor, JKEdit, available.   
Here are the new version 1.26's added features:  

1) The Create Elevator command now includes some lifts.l   
2) A new Create Stairs command   
3) The Distance Properties now also measures distances between vertices   

Bug fixes include:  
   
1) When extruding surfaces, sometimes the side surfaces would have no  
    textures   
2) When saving into a GOB/GOO file, added WAV files were not included   
3) Sometimes JK/Mots would crash when testing a level after adding more 3DO  
    objects   
4) Sometimes a crash could occur when creating a pyramid   
5) Sometimes a crash could occur when creating an elevator   
6) Sometimes a crash could occur when using ghost objects and changing  
    directories.  

DarkStrike's Tidbits....  
By-Darkstrike 

Rogue Squadron Delayed...  
Rogue Squadron has been delayed until sometime 1999. The reason is that  
supposedly the game would "get lost" if released during the pre-Christmas  
bustle. Translation: We will probably see the game early 99.   

Grim is Out...  
Grim Fandango should be in stores now, and is slated to arrive in the UK on   
November 13th. There will also be a rather large marketing campaign for the game,  
including radio campaigns and cross promotions with Rogue Squadron. If  
you love adventure games then give Grim a shot!  

Spaceport temporarily down...   
The Spaceport has announced that it will be down for a while. They have  
promised to be back up and running better than ever soon though. The  
reason? Well they feel that they have lost their purpose for the site,  
Reviews are dead and there seems to be a lack of interest in the  
trackers. However, Nijaan (an old JKMAG member....I'm sure Zeus will   
remember him) promised a new TSP that would be better then ever soon,   
hopefully with more tracker support.  

*Heh, Nijann is one of those guys who is very difficult to forget Strike!   
  Believe me, I tried!   - Zeus 
    
Massasi seeking help...  
Once again The Massasi Temple are asking for one or more people to help   
out with their site. They would like to have one person for mat files and  
one person for 3do's. Slug and the rest of the gang have been doing well,  
but it's just too much work considering all of their other side projects.  
Basically, when a new mat or 3do comes in, you would have to post it on  
the news, update the 3do/mat page, and upload the file to the server. All  
html for Massassi is done by hand in WORDPAD, so if you don't know how to  
hand code html, please do not apply.  
If interested, please email lozier@bigfoot.com  
  
From the Editor's Desktop....  
By-Zeus  

Force Commander Delayed...  
Well, it appears that the highly anticipated real time Star Wars Strategy game, Force Commander, has fallen prey to the typical "it's delayed" syndrome that seem to plague new games these days. However, it is the reason for the delay that is really interesting. Turns out the game's characters & story are being rewritten so that it takes place during the timeline of the new prequel movies. Interesting huh? Force Commander has a new tentative release date of sometime between February & March, around the same time Episode one (which is rumored to be named The Phantom menace) is slated to hit theaters.  

Upcoming Changes...  
Things here at the MAG are finally falling into place it seems. I've been in touch with CLIFFE & he's agreed to help us get our message board up again! (FINALLY) On top of that Chyren & I are in the process of negotiating a revamp of the site to give it a snazzier look & fix any errors that may be present. When that happens I'll be pretty busy, so expect DarkStrike to take up a more prominent role here on the news page as head reporter. So stay tuned here for the latest & May the Force be with you!  

-Zeus [ABJ]    

Your news submission is just a click away!

Jedi Ball is the latest Jedi Knight game type conversions to hit the Star Wars online community. Play is similar to soccer, only it's in Jedi Knight! Although I am downloading the add-on as we speak, I haven't actually played it yet. However DarkStrike tells me that the mod's levels feature low gravity and the game play is really addictive. The author of this mod is a guy by the name of 00Mikey. Click here to start downloading now!  

To all new PC owners, "Dust off your old Playstations!!!"  
By-Zeus  

Think your old Playstation console can't hold a candle to your PC games? Think again! I got my PC during the first part of last summer & I quit playing my consoles almost entirely. The only reason I kept my N64 & Playstation, was because of two games, Zelda 64 & Metal Gear Solid. Well Metal Gear came out last week & to be honest i didn't really want to deal with another console game at first. The flexibility & Voodoo 2 accelerated graphics of my PC had spoiled me, & I didn't really want to go back. Then I started to remember the good times on my old NES playing as Solid Snake in the original Metal Gear & then in the sequel, Snake's Revenge. I remembered the sneaking, the sniping and all the general espionage involved in the middle & I broke down and bought the game. Boy, am I so GLAD I did! The game is pure 100% grade "A" awesome! It plays like a dream! It's loaded with guns, sneakiness, wickedly intelligent bad guys, and let me tell you, nothing beats the feeling you get after you sneak up on a guard & snap his neck, just like in the movies! To tell you the truth, the whole time you're in the game you feel like you're in a spy/action movie! The cinema sequences are beautifully rendered using the game's own engine, & even the voice acting is top notch (the guy who plays Solid Snake HAS to be a Kurt Russell impersonator). This game is representative of the Playstation in its finest hour, & if you still have one lying around somewhere collecting dust, I highly recommend you get this game. You won't be disappointed.....hmmmmm, now I do believe Zelda 64 comes out next month....I might need to go reserve a copy!  

DarkStrike's tidbits....  
By-DarkStrike  

Here's a real Halloween treat!  
Blood 2 Demo Released: The Blood 2 demo has been released and is  
approximately 36 MB, The demo features two (large) single-player levels  
to check out and can be downloaded by clicking the link below.  
Get me BLOOD 2!!!  

A nifty new level from Yoda's add-ons:  
Level Review - Capital Ship Prophecy  
http://www.jediknight.net/yoda/capitalreview.htm   
This level earned the prestigious YoDa's Best award, given only to levels  
that score above a 90%.  

Here's something I found about JK Academy and Yoda's Hut   
Just to confirm, yes, the JK Academy and the Hut are partaking in a merger  
of sorts. The Hut's entire JK section will become a part of the Academy,  
and the remainder of the Hut will move to the JK Academy's directory and  
stay as a DF-only review site.  

Jedi Knight Outpost Down-time  
The Jedi Knight Outpost is rumored to be back after being unreachable for about   
a week. The "permission denied" message everyone has been receiving was due  
to a problem with its current host (the directory was disabled because of  
the amount of bandwidth it was using). It's supposed to be moving to a new  
host and hopefully this will ensure that nothing like the difficulties of  
the past week will happen again. If anyone gets their hands on that new URL,  
Please send it to our submissions e-mail so we can post it here for everyone.  
  
Putting a stop to Hackers/Cheaters....  
By-DarkStrike  

The Ribbon movement... Other methods...  
I think almost everyone would agree with me when I say that the covert use of hacks for  
unauthorized enhancement of weapons or force powers is not only unethical, but downright cheating and it spoils the fun for everyone. Bliz of the Jedi Tavern has brought up several excellent ideas that think need to be broadcasted on a much larger scale. The Jedi Ribbon Movement was created to officially denounce and discourage the covert use of hacks during competitive game play. Any JK sites ( especially clan pages ) that display a  Jedi Ribbon are certifying that their site is hacker & hack user free and officially endorse the Movement.   As such, any identified clan members can thus be expected to support the Movement and are expected to "be keeping their noses clean." The objective of all of this is to put across the message that covert cheaters are not welcome in the Star Wars online gaming community, and to maintain a fair and fun playing field for all gamers.  In our opinions, this is a terrific idea!   
Click here to find out more about the Jedi Ribbon Movement  
http://reddawn.s-one.net.sg/jedi/ribbon-1.htm   

The "No Hack" or _NH method...  
Other methods used by online gamers to prevent cheats include the ' _NH ' : No Hack Initiative. This method was prompted by the Mercenary Tiberius, as a means to identify fellow honorable Jedi while online. Members of the "No Hacking community" would add the characters " _NH " at the end of our nicknames to be recognized as non-cheaters. For example, were I a follower of this method, I would be seen as  DarkStrike_NH  in my multiplayer games. This is very useful when arranging for games in the Zone or #JediKnight Chat Rooms. This name system is not a Clan, but simply a way to find others who share and practice anti cheat sentiments. This way no one really loses their former identity with clans, they just send the message, "Hey!!! I don't cheat !"   
  
The last word....  
By-Zeus  

I just want to add that we left out the name of the Medieval Total conversion's project leader Koensayr (Thanks to Medieval team member Nomad for pointing that out to me). His name is, & if you've buzzed by their site lately, you'll see that this guy is leading a team that is doing some really awesome thinks with the Jedi Knight engine. I also heard that they even have a beta version running & are in need of testers. In case you're too lazy to scroll down for the URL, just click here to head to their site. That's all for today! Remember to have all your mothers & daddies check your bags before you eat any candy & don't take anything that has has been opened already kids, heh heh. See ya later & May the Force be with you!!!   

-Zeus[ABJ]    

Your news submission is just a click away!

Things just keep changing around here! As I'm sure you've already guessed, my staff here at the news page has grown once again! SuperBat e-mailed me expressing a strong desire to help me out by writing an occasional story for the news page. Now, who am I to refuse more help?! As you can also see, this post marks the beginning of my new byline system. Credit for stories from my staff will be given here in the form above, including the story's title, and on the line below it "By-" followed by the author's name. If another writer helps out with a story he or she will receive credit by sharing a byline like this - By-Zeus/SuperBat. The writer that contributes the most to the story will have his/her name listed before the name of the writer who contributed the least to the story. ALL stories posted here will be edited by me for grammar, style and content, but I will try to alter the story as little as I can from its original form. If I am forced to make drastic changes (that means major rewrites) the writers will have to share their bylines with my name. As for the page itself, I managed to correct a few more bugs this post, but things are far from finished. So please bear with us through all these changes, and hopefully we'll have everything running smoothly by the end of November. *WHEW* Now that all that has been said, on with the news!  

Superbat: Day one on the job & already pissed....  
By-SuperBat   

Scanning the net, looking through the various Jedi Knight web pages, I've noticed a lot of so-called “editing groups”. Yes, there are a few editing groups out there that have actually gotten something done. But, then there are those others... You know the ones I'm talking about, you take a look at their progress page, and what does it say? “Progress = 0%!!” On top of that,  when was the last time their news was updated? Maybe 2 months ago, but even then, what was their "news?" “Sorry for the lack of updates!”  I cant stand these editing groups that claim they're going to create a Total Conversion with all this stuff that's next to impossible to make, and what happens? ....Oh yeah, nothing happens. There are a few groups in particular I'd like to address in this article, so, on with my first attack!   

JKAT- Maybe they've just been working in the background, but I've yet to see any progress. I mean this group is just an insult to editing teams everywhere. Their news hasn't been updated since May 24, 1998, that's quite the long time ago, considering it's almost November! They claim to be working on a TC called “The Emperor's Fury”, & they claim it will have numerous changes to MotS, including new force powers, new weapons, drivable vehicles, and optimized AI. I just have a feeling that we will never know how "furious" the emperor really is.  

Jedi Knight Factory- With a name like that, one would expect to be seeing some good levels or TCs. But, no, of course not. This site is boasting a “Fascist Skin Pack”, which will include some of history's most infamous fascists, which would definitely be interesting. This pack is supposed include Adolf Hitler, Eva Peron (Evita), a Nazi Storm trooper, an SS Trooper, Benito Mussolini, and some other strange characters different times in history. They also have a JailBreak plan in the future, & I have no idea what could take place in this. Their last news update was July 14, an awfully long while ago. They have a files section, yet no files. This place is definitely not going anywhere.  

Jedi Knight Testing Team- This isn't really an editing team, but they still donut seem to do anything. Their last news update was on April 6, ooohh, old!  Their past projects included 3 levels they tested. Their current projects….absolutely nothing!!!!!! If you want your levels tested, I say don't send them there! Obviously they will not get tested, because there is no one there to test them!  
Don't worry though! Supes is here to keep you informed on the best and worst editing groups, and all the rest of that stuff. So stay tuned here for more of “SuperBat's Soapbox” right here at JKMAG. Same bat-time, same bat-place.   
   
  
A great looking new JK Total Conversion....  
By-DarkStrike/Zeus  

The team responsible for the Jepmaan Medieval TC have finished a Multiplayer level based on the first part of Level 1 [screen shot]. The level will feature colored lighting and include things like a tavern, jail cells, a main town square type area. a fountain with strange  
yellow liquid coming from it. He will also be working on a Multiplayer  
level based in an underground dungeon. This level will not be seen in single player mode, as it's planned to be mp only. They also posted a very impressive screen shot of a character called Duchess Milenda. For further details about this TC, please check out the Medieval TC site at www.votj.com/medtc.   

Yet ANOTHER Star Wars game in the works....  
By-DarkShrike  

A couple of days ago, Mos Eisley mentioned that the cover of the latest issue of Next-Generation magazine says something about a new Sega Star Wars Game. Sega is planning to release an arcade-style game called Star Wars Trilogy for their new Dreamcast system. More details on this can be found in Next Generation. Stayed  
tuned here for more information concerning this Star Wars/Dreamcast project.  
  
Looking for a job at your favorite Star Wars site?  
By-DarkStrike  

These sites are currently seeking staff....  

The Sith Rebellion are currently looking for an experienced level  
builder. For more information about the ideas for the level and if you  
are interested, please contact Fire_Lord at sr_fire_lord@hotmail.com   

Jedi's Workshop - A new site that includes a Lightsaber tribute page, a Jedi Knight  
editing team and tutorials on making your own Lightsaber, with more to come. This site is still under construction, www.geocities.com/Area51/Rampart/2871/   

Bespin Technologies is in the need of more members, if you are interested  
in joining or would like to ask any questions please e-mail Skywalker.  
members.tripod.com/bespin_tech/   

Universal Clan Awards - This recently opened clan awards site has moved to  
a new home! Update your bookmarks to www.clanawards.com/. Clan Awards is also  
in need of staff in the areas of reviewers and people with some HTML experience. If you are  
interested, please contact Emperor JAM at the Clan Awards site.  

Zeus's final thoughts....  
By-Zeus  

Well, there you have it. I think that these two guys have really done some top notch work on their stories & I'm really glad to have them aboard. However, feel free to drop us a line and give us your opinion on the changes, or submit us a news story. We always value the input of our readers. Until next time, and May the force be with you!  

-Zeus[ABJ]     

Click here and tell us what you think of the new layout!

Yep, that's right! Due to all the trouble I've been having with sorting out the HTML bugs that have arisen from converting this page to Microsoft Word format, I've decided to convert it once again! This time (and most likely from now on) I'll be creating my posts & editing this page using Netscape Composer for a number of reasons. I kept having problems loading the page in Netscape plus it was too difficult to work with this page using Word. Minor HTML glitches kept popping up & I was forced to spend hours at a time editing the HTML directly using Wordpad! That gets REALLY tedious! It has been so time consuming that I've been forced to put my news posts on hold due to the overwhelming amount of schoolwork that has also been piled on top of me by my professors! Don't worry though, I get out of school on the 13th of November for three weeks & plan to use that time to finish fixing all the bugs in this page.  
  
My news hound has arrived!!!  

I know that lately I have been neglecting my duties here on this page mainly because of school. I apologize for this, & have now taken steps to remedy the situation. I have added a news hound to the news staff. His name is DarkStrike. The Strikeman & I met on the old JKMAG message board & joined forces in many debates there against all the punks who were constantly leaving anti-MAG posts on the board. Few other people have as much loyalty to the MAG as DarkStrike, & I'm really glad to have him as a part of my team. I will still be writing all of the posts, but Strike will be checking all the relevant Star Wars & Jk sites out there & sending me URLs to the best stories. I plan to use a newspaper byline type system to give him credit for each story he brings in, so he'll get his share of fanfare!  
  
More to come!!!  

Sorry this post is so brief, but I spent too much time converting this page & fixing errors. I have to go to school now & register for the next quarter's classes. I also have two reports due on Friday, but will try my hardest to get some real news posted before then. Don't forget our BFP2 logo contest is still on! Use the e-mail link in the last post to send your entries to Chyren. Thanks everyone for your patience & May the force be with you!!!  
  
-Zeus[ABJ]   

Submit your news to me & the Strikemeister here!

If you've visited the Jediknight.net's newspage this week ( www.jediknight.net ), you probably read another update about the WarCraft 2 / Star Wars total conversion that has been in the works for some time now. I never really paid this Total conversion much attention because I never played WarCraft 2. Recently however, my addiction to Starcraft has led me to pursue other games that are similar. So naturally I started looking on the web for all things WarCraft 2. The Jediknight.net update caught my eye yesterday and I followed the links the the WarCraft / Star Wars TC page. All I can say is WOW! The guys that are working on this project deserve some real credit for what they are doing. They had quite a few screenshots of the TC's finished units and they really look spectacular! Everything from Darth Vader, to droids, to ewoks, to Death Stars & Millenium Falcons are there! According to the news page the thing is getting very close to the beta stages too. I'd like to encourage any Star Wars fans, who like myself, are also real time strategy buff as well to check this thing out. These guys are relly doing some top notch work on the conversion. I'm very eagerly awaiting its release.   

Still a no-go on our logo....  

Just a reminder that our BFP2 logo contest is still on! If you want a chance to showcase your online artistic ability here at JKMAG, or anywhere for that matter, now is your chance! See the BFP2 page for further details, break out those art programs & lets get LOGO'in!!! Send your entries to our webmaster Chyren at chyren23@q-net.net.au . Get those entries in soon guys!!! The clock is ticking!!!  
  
Don't give up on Hera....  

Several people have told me that they messaged Queen Hera on icq & have been waiting a while for her to authorize them. She says she's sorry, we've both been real busy with our college english papers. She'll check her icq soon, and authorize all you guys. Remember to be nice though, heh, you wouldn't like her when she's angry. If you just can't wait to get in touch with my woman, her brother stays online a lot & has icq. His # is 20819953, and his nickname is Birdman (JWB). (Makes ya wonder who set up his account huh? Heh heh…..)  
  
The end....for now!!!   

Well, That’s all for today! Once I get these stupid English essays behind me thing will be a bit more informative here. I get out of school in early November & have big plans for this my little slice of Journalistic glory, so stay tuned! Until then, Cheers!  
May the Force be with you!!!  
  
-Zeus[ABJ]    

News!!! I must have news!!! Click here to send me your news!!!

No it's not the bride of Chucky! It's my bride to be, my fiancé' (the illustrious Queen Hera) has now officially joined me online! Her family bought a new Dell Computer, & I've been hard at work setting up e-mail & icq accounts for all of them this week. (Yeah yeah, that's where I've been all this time.) Needless to say I'm now back on the job. I've given a few of my TRUSTED FRIENDS Hera's icq, so no funny stuff you guys! She's all MINZE!!!! Hee hee hee!    

Retraction city….   

Okay, I've done it again! In my haste to get my news posted, I made a slight error on the last post regarding Hyperview's 100,000^th hit on their site. The levels posted for download at jediknight.net were (in fact) not the top 10 Hyperview levels. They were (in fact) the most levels Hyperview has reviewed at one time! My goof! Sorry guys! Thanks to Farrax Narrn for clearing me up on that.   
  
On the Star Wars front….    

Lucasarts is releasing a new Star Wars CD-ROM that isn't a game, but looks really sweet. The Star Wars: Behind the Magic CD set looks like a Star Wars fan's dream come true! It contains 2,000 images, 40 minutes of digitized video, a trivia game for Star Wars & a whole lot more. Heck, the thing even has lost footage (just where the heck do they keep loosing & re-finding all this footage anyway??!!) and a guided 3D walking tour of the Millenium Falcon itself! This set sounds like a real gem for Star Wars fans. You guys might want to check out www.lucasarts.com for more info.    

JKMAG sells out….?!    

You may have noticed our nifty keen new advertising bar on the main page…heh, yep you guessed it! WE ARE SELL OUTS!!!!! Naaahh, just kidding! Trust me folks, I'm not seeing one lousy DIME of that money! We are required to put an ad up by our host, so that’s why it's there, sorry if you don't like it.   
  
Zeus seeks new job among other things….    

This may seem silly, and I honestly don't expect anything to come out of this, but does anybody know SOMETHING I can do besides working nights to earn money for school? GOD KNOWS I AM SO SICK OF MY JOB!!!! If anybody has any ideas, PLEASE e-mail me! As for the other things, several of you have noticed & commented on the changes that have been made here in the last few days. Both Chyren & myself appreciate your input & want you all to know we are in experimental stages right now. We hope to have JKMAG overhauled & working properly by late November. In the meantime feel free to comment on the changes you see here. Thanks to everyone, and "May the Force be with you!!!"   

-Zeus[ABJ]    

Your news submission is just a click away!

Yep, you guessed it! Good old Chyren has been named as the new interim webmaster of JKMAG!!! For those of you who don't know, Chyren was hired by Torplex to run & redesign the JKMAG levels page. Seems that old Torpy was so pleased with his work he decided to make Chyren his successor! Chyren describes his title as "Caretaker webmaster," which means that this may or may not be a temporary position for him. In the event that he decides to step down, we will post another notice that we are seeking a new webmaster both here and at Jedi Knight.net. However, Chyren will be running this site for the foreseeable future. So break out the champagne & party hats! Congratulations to Chyren!!    

Logo contest for BFP2 page….   

Check it out! Our new webmaster has gotten our BFP2 download page back up and running!!! In celebration of this, Chyren's got a contest for you guys. We want a new logo for the BFP2 page, and we want to give one of our readers the chance to design it. Entries should be no larger than 475 x 180 pixels, in GIF or JPG format. Email those entries to Chyren at chyren23@q-net.net.au . A final day for entries will be posted here soon, with the name of the winner & runners up probably a week after the announced deadline.   

And now Quake III….    

As promised, I read the article in PC GAMER magazine about Quake III: ARENA, and have the latest on this hot new title. As many of you already know, Quake III will be a multiplayer only game, with the only single player aspect consisting of a Bot-match training mode. The engine has been built totally from the ground up by the man himself, the father of the first person shooter, John Carmack himself! The game will have tons of new effects like curved surfaces, fog, and enhanced lighting effects, but a few things like bump mapping, have been left out to optimize the multiplayer experience. The screenshots are REALLY sweet, and yes, an experienced editor could actually make a skin of his or herself using a digital camera and the editor Carmack plans to bundle with the game. Also, Carmack and crew have listened to player feedback, and plan for the game to include a melee weapon (like the chainsaw in DOOM) and a grappling hook among other things! The game is still in the very early stages, so we don't know what other goodies Carmack & co. might add, but rest assured I'll post the latest here as soon as I hear it!    

Message to Dark Eagle: Weellllllll, it seems that good old Eagleman's Wolfenstein petition did not fall on deaf ears after all! In the PC GAMER Quake III article, Carmack said that (depending on the success of Quake III) a new Wolfenstein or DOOM game could very well be his next big project for Id!!!! Let's keep our fingers crossed & hope for the best!    

Hyperview's hottest….   

Hyperview (the #1 online source for JK & MotS add-on multiplayer & single player levels) is celebrating the 100,000th hit on their site! In honor of this momentous occasion jediknight.net has posted the top ten rated Hyperview levels on the main news page! Head over to www.jediknight.net/news/main.html to download some of these high quality levels.   

Still workin' on the news page….    

As you can see, I've changed things up here again! Good old Chyren didn't care too much for my marbled background. Heh, I thought it added a sort of "Ancient Greek" feel to the page, especially since my nickname is ZEUS!!! Ahhhh, he wants to maintain a similar look and feel to all our pages, and I gotta say I agree with the guy! I kinda like this "Black & Blue" setup I have going here now, and will probably keep it this way unless someone absolutely objects. Well, that’s all for now! Until next time kemo-sabes, and "May the Force be with you!!!"   

-Zeus[ABJ]   

Your news submission is just a click away!

Okay things may seem a little screwy around here for a few days because I am in the process of converting this page into Microsoft Word format to make it faster and easier for me to get these news posts done! I'll also be able to insert pictures and check spelling with ease, so this "transformation" ought to add a lot to what I can do to make this page look better. So just bear with me, and I'll have things lookin' great in no time! Please report ANY problems you experience while viewing this page. (And NO, I have no intention of keeping my cells and font these colors; I'll experiment until I find a style I like.)  

Computer Gaming World's exclusive article on X-Wing Alliance….   

Yeah, that's right, FOR ONCE I actually have some STAR WARS news! Heh heh! If you want the low-down on Lucasarts's latest venture in their popular X-wing/Tie-Fighter series, look no further than the November issue of Computer Gaming World! The article is in depth and informative, but who really cares about all that, right? There are pages and pages of NEVER BEFORE SEEN SCREEN SHOTS!!! My personal favorite is the ship that is called "the family transport." It looks like a sort of "little brother" to the Millennium Falcon. This is a real gem for STAR WARS fans, I recommend you check it out! You can visit their web site at http://cgw.gamespot.com/.  

Quake III news coming next post!!!   

Okay, I just got the November issue of PC Gamer magazine in today and it has a six page feature on Quake III: Arena! I have a report due tomorrow, so I don't have the time to read it and post the highlights, but I can say the screen shots are WILD !!! From what I can tell at a glance, gamers will be able to make skins from digital camera or photo scanner images!!! That's right people! Using one of these tools, you may be able to make a skin using a picture of yourself that looks like you!!! More info on this HOT new game will be posted here Friday. Click here to visit PC Gamer online, or visit ID software (the makers of Quake), at http://www.idsoftware.com/.  
  
Another BFP2 add-on pack from New Cybertron….   

Yep, those crazy guys over at New Cybertron have done it again! Jedi Galvatron buzzed me on icq yesterday and informed me that work on the MAX pack, the Mysteries of the Sith version of the PRED pack, is now available for download! Visit New Cybertron at http://209.1.245.15/jkmag/Cybertron/ to check out the latest on this pack.   

-Zeus [ABJ] 
 
Your news submission is just a click away! 

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I've been gone for a while, but I had a really good reason! I was picking apart the demo for the latest HOT first person shooter, SHOGO: MOBILE ARMORED DIVISION. Today's news will consist of a feature article on this demo & why I think you should download it! I plan to start doing this anytime a really "breakthrough" new game comes out that I think will appeal to fans of Star Wars, Jedi Knight, and online gaming. I hope our readers will enjoy these feature articles, but if you don't, my e-mail is below! Now, ON WITH SHOGO!!!      THE SHOGO: MOBILE ARMORED DIVISION FEATURE ARTICLE:  Macross meets Goldeneye???

Metallic pistons propel me forward as my massive pulse cannon lays waste to my attackers. Encased in a robotic fortress of armor and high tech gadgetry, I thunder through the streets, boldly defying my enemies, and daring them to show their faces! About ten minutes later I'm trapped in a corner, gripping my two chrome plated Colt .45's, and just trying to avoid being ventilated by the bullets now whizzing by my head! Whoa! What happened there??!! I went from "top of the world butt-kicker" to some poor punk cornered by guards just hoping I'd survive? Sound like a strange mix of game-play? Well that's just the kind of action you can expect from the SHOGO: MOBILE ARMORED DIVISION demo if you download it.  

Like a bizarre melding of the Nintendo 64 game Goldeneye and the classic Macross series (Robotech in the U.S.) SHOGO adds a new look and feel to the now exploding first person genre. Monolith has really outdone itself with this game. I might even be so bold as to say this could be the first TRUE Quake killer (unlike Unreal). The visuals in the game (powered by Monolith's LithTech engine) are absolutely breath taking! Beautifully rendered dust and debris trail out of the explosion "blossoms" created by the Mech unit's pulse cannon. The chrome surfaces on the pistols of the human unit you play in the second level gleam and reflect with frightening realism. As you have probably guessed by now, two levels in the SHOGO demo give gamers two separate and unique first person experiences:  

1.) The first stage is one in which players control a massive suit of robotic armor that is armed to the teeth. The suit, or Mech, is quite menacing in appearance, and even has the ability to "transform" into a fast moving futuristic vehicle at the touch of a button! During the course of the first level, gamers will find themselves pitted against tanks, ground soldiers, and even other Mechs. The word "subtle" has no meaning on this level as you pound your way through your enemies in your massive mech.   

2.) For the second level, gamers will have to take a different approach. The games main character exits his Mech armed only with a knife and two .45 caliber pistols and proceeds to infiltrate an enemy complex. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE SOLDIERS GUARDING THIS COMPLEX!!! They are fully armored, carry big guns, and have wickedly good AI. The guards also feature a cone of vision type setup. Once the gamer enters the guards "vision cone" an exclamation mark will appear over the guard's head, indicating he has spotted you. Once he's seen you, either kill him fast or duck and run, but be assured, neither option is easy to pull off without finding yourself full of lead first. Stealth is absolutely necessary during this part of the game. If you just run up the stairs into a room full of guards, you'll be dead in seconds, SO BE SNEAKY! One other aspect of this level I found interesting was the fact that you can't just pump out all your ammo all at once. Once the gun you are using has shot a certain number of rounds, the unit you are playing as will stop to reload. This will probably annoy some gamers, but I thought it added a touch of realism to the game.   

All in all, the SHOGO demo is really a fun experience. However, it weighs in at about 40 megabytes, so some people will cringe at the prospect of all that download time. I personally have a 33.6 kbps connection, and it took me a hefty seven hours to download the thing, but I certainly don't regret it! Shogo is a really well thought out, high quality piece of work and definitely worth the time it would take to download it. What I can't get over is the fact that this demo is just a SAMPLING of what SHOGO can do! It doesn't even include the multiplayer feature for which the game was OPTIMIZED FROM DAY ONE OF PRODUCTION!!! When SHOGO does finally come out, I think it will blow away everything that's out there right now. Try it for yourself!   

Sound too good to be true? It may be, read on....   

The only bad news is your system may not be able to handle this game. It REQUIRES (meaning it won't work without them) Microsoft's new DirectX 6 drivers, and I achieved the above results at a 640 X 480 resolution on a Pentium 333 system with a Diamond Monster 3D II card (that's a 3dfx Voodoo 2 for those of you unfamiliar with Diamond's products). I made no attempt to even try it in software mode, so I have no idea how it looks or even if it has a software only setting. I encourage you to try it anyway though; this is a really good game in my opinion.   

Download the demo here at the official SHOGO demo page. (App. 40 MB)   

-Zeus [ABJ]  

Either ya likes it or ya don't! Click here ta tell me about it! 

WEE--EELL, it seems that my September 28 post was, perhaps, a bit extreme. Things were looking pretty bad for the people of New Orleans there for a little while, but I guess that just goes to show you how fickle nature can be sometimes. It was only hours after my news post that hurricane Georges subsided to a tropical storm, and good old Torpy was back home & online in no time. I spoke to him just the other night, and he's doing fine. Which brings me to my next topic....   
 
Here's the latest info on our staff search report:   

JKMAG is still seeking a new webmaster... 
  
We have several candidates in mind, but a selection has yet to be made AT THIS TIME. If you are interested in a webmaster position here at JKMAG, e-mail me now at atlan00@hotmail.com while the position is still open. All e-mails will be forwarded to the current webmaster, Torplex Tark, so that he may choose his successor. If you want to be a part of the things to come here at JKMAG, send in those e-mails as soon as possible! Torplex has editing duties that he is very anxious to get to work on, so we expect a decision to be made shortly. Be advised that there will possibly be a trial period during which time Torplex will probably evaluate your work on the site. Also remember that TORPLEX TARK WILL NOT BE QUITTING JKMAG, rather he will take a sort of "back seat webmaster" position and advise all current staff members on all future directions the site may take. Join us, if you dare!   

Lucas goes on another "special edition" binge...    

Here's a little something, kinda Star Wars related. Turns out there will be a re-release of the George Lucas film, American Graffiti. For those of you who don't know, this was a movie about teenagers in the 1950's starring Ron Howard that helped to spawn the popular 50's TV show, Happy Days. It seems that old George Lucas just can't be pleased with a single movie he makes, because this new release will feature new footage & enhanced special effects. OOOKKAAAYY, how do you add new special effects to a 50's movie??!! What are you gonna do, slap a digital James Dean in there somewhere? ANY-WAY, this movie also has one other point of interest, it marked the debut of a young actor who went by the name of Harrison Ford. Boy that name rings a bell, wonder what movies he's been in since then? Oh well, if anyone is truly SADISTIC enough of a Star Wars fan to want this movie, American Graffiti special edition should be available sometime before the holidays.   

Back on the first person shooter tip...   

Anybody who (like me) loves first person shooters and tries too keep up with them is SURE to be salivating over an upcoming title from Monolith called Shogo: Mobile Armor Division. Shogo is a first person shooter that was heavy influenced by Japanese animation during its development. The game will feature a new game engine (that's right, another new engine) designed by Monolith called the LithTech engine, which is capable of some pretty incredible graphical effects. In addition to the normal first person mode, players will also be able to put on and use large robotic suits of armor (Mechs). A demo of Shogo will be available for download this Friday (October 2) and is estimated to be about a 57 MB download. Click here to visit the download page.   

Zeus is heading for Deep Space....   

Well, that's all for this time! I'm off to my TV to watch the season premiere of Star Trek: Deep Space 9! I hear that they're getting a hot new Trill babe to replace Terry Farrel's character (Jadzeia Dax). If she's ANYTHING like a certain other late addition to another Star Trek show *cough* *cough* - JERRY RYAN -HUBBA-HUBBA- *COUGH* *WHEEZE* ...... *AHEM* ...... sorry, I just don't know WHAT came over me! Heh, maybe I've been talkin to Dark Eagle too much. ANY-WAY, that's all for today! Tune in next time when we (once again) ask that burning question, "WILL THOSE DAMN PREQUELS EVER COME OUT??!!" May the force be with you!   

-Zeus [ABJ]  

Wanna tell me you love me? Wanna tell me you hate my guts? Click here! Go on! I DARE YA! 

NOTE: As of today this report is unconfirmed, but very likely to be true.   

As many of you already know, tropical storm Georges is currently pounding the Southern coast of America with a torrent of rain & wind. What you may not know, is JKMAG's webmaster, Torplex Tark, lives in New Orleans, Louisiana, and yesterday residents were forced to evacuate the city because of the severity of the storm. I just saw on the news that the hurricane has reduced to the level of a tropical storm, so damage to the city shouldn't be as severe as it was first anticipated, but there could still be flooding. I just want everyone to know that Torpy may be out of pocket for a while, and to pray for a safe return for him. The guy saved JKMAG, lets hope he's able to have a house to come home to!  

Infiltrate server woes....   

Like a lot of the JK online community I paid a visit to Jedi Killer's Infiltrate server Saturday. I was having a blast....,until the first level was completed and I found myself kicked off the server! Several other people reported similar incidents to me, and I just wanted to know if anyone out there has a fix? Some people told me that you needed the level pack for Infiltrate to play on the server, but I have the level pack installed. If anyone else had this problem, let me know about it, and we'll try to get in touch with Jedi Killer to address this problem. If you don't have the Infiltrate level pack, click here to visit JK Gangstas & download it.   

The TERROR of the female Jedi....   

I had an interesting experience last night. I was looking for a JK game to join on Microsoft's Internet Gaming zone when I spotted a room labeled Jedi girls. Naturally I joined, eager to see if there are any worthy female opponents out there. Out of the three girls I faced, one, named Sith Chick, really impressed me. We were playing no force, sabers only, and boy did she pound me! This caused me to realize two new truths I had never considered before: #1-There actually ARE girls out there who not only like video games, they're pretty good at them too! #2-This is the really sad truth. I might have been playing against some sicko who LIKES to impersonate women! EEEWWWWW! Honestly, I hope that the first truth is the case. If more girls liked games, my woman might let me spend more time on the computer! Naaahhh, that's just wishful thinking! If you're listening Sith Chick, I WANT A REMATCH!!! ;oP   

Good news on the message board....   

I can confirm that two people, Dark Strike and Dark Jedi, are hard at work on getting the JKMAG message board back up and running. I understand that there will be a lot of work involved in getting it back in operation, so don't expect it for a while. Just want to let everyone know we are hard at work on restoring JKMAG to its former glory!   

MESSAGE TO ALL JKMAG STAFF MEMBERS....    

If you are on the OFFICIAL JKMAG staff (that means approved by Torplex or myself) ICQ me or e-mail me your ICQ numbers so that we can stay in contact and confer with one another about JKMAG issues. PLEASE DO THIS QUICKLY, in case a problem should arise while Torplex is missing in action. That's all for now! May the Force be with you!   

-Zeus [ABJ]  

Click here, and send me some news and those ICQ numbers!!! 

Chances are if you have been using Netscape as your browser of choice when you visited this page, you were probably disappointed. For a long time certain sections of the news page were unviewable in Netscape. The reason it took me so long to correct this issue stems from the fact that I was using Internet Explorer to test and proof-read my posts to this page. Everything was working fine in I.E., but for some reason Netscape just wouldn't display some sections. I was only recently made aware of this, and I apologize to those of you who haven't been able to view my posts. I assure you that all future posts to this page will be previewed in BOTH browsers before I upload them. Along with that I also fixed some of the news submission e-mail links that were not working properly.(Keep in mind I'm still new to HTML too, but I'm learning!!) Now, on with the news!!!!   

A sleeker, trimmed down news page....   

Along with fixing the Netscape issue, many of you may have noticed that I have removed all of the posts made here by Dark Eagle. I chose to remove his posts from the current page because I felt that they were a part of JKMAG's PAST. JKMAG is under new management now, and along with that we have many bold new ideas for the FUTURE of this site. Don't worry, we'll still be the Jedi Knight Multiplayer Add-on Group, we'll just be a little something more as well. I get out of college around the middle of November and plan to use my Thanksgiving break to totally renovate the news page and hopefully get Dark Eagle's old posts in the archives. I am highly optimistic about some of the changes I have in mind, and hope all of you are too. If there's a change here you would like to see, remember my submission box is just an e-mail away!   

PRED Pack version 5.0....    

I just got word from Galvatron that he is hard at work on a new version of his PRED pack BFP2 add-on. This new PRED Pack will be for Multiplayer as well as Single player and will feature new cut scenes, new characters, and a new ending. Galvatron has assured me that this will be a top quality add-on, and to further this goal he has recruited someone he says, "knows about TFs and JK editing." Check out New Cybertron for further info on this add-on, and stay tuned here for updates.   

Jedi Killer serves up Infiltrate....   

Here's something really sweet for all you guys & gals who, like me, LOVE Infiltrate, but can never find anyone to play with. I just got word from the JKMAG level page master, Chyren, that a guy who goes by the name of Jedi Killer is setting up a dedicated server on September 26 for Infiltrate games ALL DAY! That is TOMORROW people! Unfortunately I received this story a little late, and was unable to get an address or IP number for the server. HOWEVER, I do have an e-mail address for Jedi Killer. Click here to mail him and ask about the server. If I can get the address & IP sometime tomorrow I WILL POST IT HERE AS A SPECIAL NOTE. So if you want to join in on the bloodbath, double check this post tomorrow!   

MESSAGE TO RED XII....   

Dark Eagle tells me that RedXII set up the message board for VOTJ, the site Eagle now posts the news for. Red if you're reading this, or if anyone out there knows how I can get in touch with Red, please contact me through my submissions box. In the event that that doesn't work, Red can reach me through Dark Eagle. I look forward to hearing from you Red!   

-Zeus [ABJ] 
 
Your news submission is just a click away! 

Well folks, I was on the horn with "good old" Dark Eagle again yesterday, heh, and he had a few comments about my work here on the news page. It seems that in HIS OPINION, my style of news presentation is somewhat lacking in the area of FUN.... according to Eagle, I need to "lighten up". What I find odd about this is he neglected to use the e-mail link below to inform me of his feelings on this subject. HEE-LLOOO! That's the whole purpose of having a news submission AND feedback e-mail address! If anyone thinks I suck, FINE, I don't care! At least e-mail me & tell me about it, so I can TRY to accommodate you all! I want this page to be something people enjoy and want to keep coming back to, so I encourage everyone to TELL me what you like/dislike about it. Personally, I like you Eagle, but I don't think you ever take any of the news work you do online seriously. As a student of journalism, I wanted to bring a professional touch to the Star Wars online community. Some may disagree with that. If my current presentation form is not what you guys want, e-mail me & I'll try to talk more about eating tacos & my childhood fantasies about drinking beer. (Heh, I know that last part was kinda below the belt Eagleman, I couldn't help it though! Just trying to "lighten up.")  

SPECIAL NOTE: This story is not intended as an attack on Dark Eagle! Rather it is intended to encourage readers to use the e-mail below to provide us with feedback.   

Want to see the JKMAG message board back up? Read on....   

Okay, Semi good news about the message board. I have received an offer by a friend of mine who thinks he can get our old message board back in operation. He does, however, request a little help from all of you. He needs to know where he can get the same cgi tools that were used to make the old message board. We also need to know exactly what tools were used as well. If you have this information, please e-mail it to me via the news submission link below. CLIFFE, if you're out there, we could really use your help on this one! Mail me or beep me on icq sometime & we'll discuss it.   

The latest on the "First Person Front"....    

I just bought the latest Quake II mission pack, Ground Zero, yesterday. Anybody who, like me, grew up on Doom will LOVE the fact that this mission pack brings back the infamous (drum roll please) chain saw!!! Yep, I spent the better part of yesterday hacking up Strogg vermin with this classic Doom weapon revisited, & trust me, it rips through alien scum like a dream! In addition to the chain saw, the pack introduces three more new weapons, new enemies with improved AI, and a variety of new & innovative multiplayer options. This is by far the best (in my opinion) Quake II mission pack yet, & I highly recommend it to any & all of you Quake-heads out there! For more info click here to head over to the Ground Zero web site at Rogue entertainment.   

If you find Starcraft as addictive as I do....   

You may be interested to know that the eagerly anticipated Starcraft mission pack, BROOD WARS, is slated to arrive in stores on October 5th, a mere two weeks away! This high profile add-on pack will feature all new campaigns, new cinema sequences, & best of all NEW UNITS!!! For the latest on the BROOD WAR craze, click here.   

-Zeus [ABJ]   

Your news submission is just a click away! 

* * RETRACTION FOR SEPTEMBER 20TH POST * *  

It seems that Torplex and I had a slight miscommunication on the status of his membership here at the MAG. Torplex has no intentions of leaving us, he has opted to step down as webmaster so he can concentrate on his editing projects. He will continue to operate within JKMAG as a senior officer of sorts, with a role similar to a chairman of the board. He will advise us on site adjustment matters and on occasion, he will assist in changes to the site. However, I would like to emphasize the fact that WE ARE STILL ACTIVELY SEEKING A NEW WEBMASTER! Our primary goal is to get our message board back up. It seems that the message board part of JKMAG was lost when Sith Temple shut down. The absence of our board (in our opinions) takes away a great deal from our site. We are urging anyone who can help us with this dilemma to please step forward and offer assistance. Once the board is back in place and our new webmaster has been appointed, we can begin to concentrate on any changes we have in mind for the site as a whole. If you are interested in joining our team, please e-mail us at the link below.   

Dark Eagle turns up in the valley....   

I had a nice conversation with Dark Eagle yesterday over ICQ. Turns out he has accepted a job posting the news for another Jedi Knight site, V.O.T.J. (Valley Of The Jedi). When we spoke he was preparing to send in his Wolfenstein petition to Id software. Many of you old-school JKMAGgers will remember this as a request to Id to make an updated version of this, the father of all first person shooter games. Several of us signed it when he posted it here (myself included). Hopefully, Eagle can make a success out of it. I personally proof-read & edited the petition for him, so you KNOW the Zeusman added his own professional flavor to it, heh heh. To see what the Eagleman has been up to, or to read his latest news post click here and pay the fellas at V.O.T.J. a visit.   

Galvatron plans to add an educational edge to Jedi Knight....   

As a part of a computer class at his high school, Jedi Galvatron (webmaster of New Cybertron) is attempting to start the first ever school oriented online Jedi Knight team. I would have loved to have something like that in my computer lit classes back in high school! Anyway, he has his teachers considering the idea. If he manages to pull it off expect some special coverage of it right here.   

That's all for today.....   

That's all the news I have today, hopefully something interesting will happen next week. I tell ya, if this dry spell keeps up I may have to join the rest of the media in reporting on this Clinton / Lewenski thing...OUCH! Let's just pray it doesn't come to that! Stay tuned, & may the Force be with you!   

-Zeus [ABJ]  

To submit news or a request to join our team, click here. 

Okay okay ! So I broke my promise to post every other day AGAIN. Well to tell you the truth, things have been pretty boring lately. I haven't come across anything really nifty to report on. Heh, that's probably because work & college cut me off almost totally from the outside world! HOWEVER, I have managed to scrounge together a couple of interesting little morsels of information.....READ ON, IF YOU DARE!!!   

Levels page is up & running at last!!!   

Okay for all you new members who have been waiting patiently to get your greedy little mitts on some of our downloads, the JKMAG levels page is now officially in business! After many grueling hours of blood, sweat, and tears; our own Lord of the Levels, Chyren, has gotten the page back on its feet. I've been there already & have to say I like the way he's restructured it. Don't take my word for it though (Hee Hee, I'm kinda biased)! head back to the JKMAG home page & click the link to the levels page & see it for yourself!   

Lucas demands a higher standard of quality for prequels....   

In a somewhat surprising bit of blurb in Entertainment Weekly magazine, George Lucas announced that the new Star Wars movies would not be distributed to as wide a range of theaters as was originally expected. Instead Lucas is opting to release the movies only to theaters with "superior" bells & whistles like digital surround sound, etc.. Lucas said that he wants the prequels to be about "quality not money." Meaning that if the theater doesn't have the ability to show the film the way Lucas wants it shown, they don't get to show the film! Yikes! That's REAL bad news for us! Those tickets are gonna be even MORE hard to come by now. Heh, better break out your tents & start camping out by the box office! Stay tuned here for further prequel updates!   

Restructuring planned for JKMAG....   

Okay, as many of you know the MAG is still reeling from the sudden shutdown of the Sith Temple, things are going slow, but we are gradually getting everything working again. Sadly, we are about to loose another webmaster. Torplex Tark, the man who saved JKMAG from extinction after Sith temple closed its doors, is leaving us for personal reasons. We need a new webmaster to take his place. Duties will include: management of the JKMAG tracker, updates & modifications for the site, and we really need someone who can get our message board back up & running. If you are interested in this position, please contact me via the news submission link below. Please include your name, e-mail address, ICQ number, and a brief paragraph as to why you want to be our new webmaster. I will forward this information to Torplex, who will read all requests and choose his successor from them. We have bold new plans for this site, so please feel free to join us in this endeavor. welcome all submissions.   

RETRACTION: Seems Torplex and I had a little miscommunication. He has no plans to leave JKMAG, just down size his role here. Read the above post for more details. 

That's all for now......   

Well that's it for today. I will post information about our new webmaster here when he or she is chosen. We have a plan to restructure JKMAG as a whole once this person signs on, so be ready for some pretty big changes in the future. More info will be coming soon, so stay tuned. May the Force be with you!   

-Zeus [ABJ]  

Will SOMEBODY just click here already!!! 

Yep, you guessed it! We weren't the only ones to find ourselves homeless when the Sith Temple closed its doors. Now, JKMAG has given new homes to several other Jedi Knight related sites. These sites include the Manowar 3 site, New Cybertron (makers of the Pred Pack), Radium editing (which is making a James Bond Total Conversion for JK), & the Rogue Squad PC site (maker of the BFP2 sound add-on). New Cybertorn is also the temporary home for the BFP2. Go there to download the BFP2 until we are able to finish fixing all our download links. To check out these sites head back to the main page. The links are in the bottom left corner of the page under "Hosted Sites." (NOTE: At the time this went to press the Manowar 3 page was unavailable!)   

X-Wing forms an alliance.....   

With Rogue Squadron on the way, it seemed that a follow up to Lucasarts popular X-Wing series was highly unlikely in the near future. Leave it to Lucas to surprise us all once again! Lucasarts has confirmed that a new X-Wing space sim is now in the works. Tentatively titled X-Wing : Alliance the title will put gamers in the cockpit of several of the famous ships from the Star Wars movies. The game will also support online play and several 3d cards. Click here to check out the latest from C.Net's Gamecenter on this hot new title! * BREAKING NEWS: Only moments after I typed this post I received an e-mail from Lucasarts regarding X-Wing Alliance! I was given a link to an area of their web site that features never before seen images of the game & more detail on its features and story. Click here to check it out!   

Starship Trooper Total Conversion beta soon to be available.... 
 
I talked to my friend Dash today who runs a JEDIT site called The Maw Installation. Maw is making a Total Conversion for Jedi Knight called Starship Troopers : Force Corps. As you may have guessed this T.C. is based on the Starship Troopers movie. What's so great about that, you may ask? Well other than the fact that Dash is a pretty skilled editor, skinner & programmer, I wrote the story for this T.C.! Force Corps is set five years after the original Starship Troopers movie. The history of how the Corps came to be in those five years was written by yours truly, the Zeusman. I also developed a ranking system for the game based on the Greek alphabet, but I have yet to know whether or not that will make it into the final version. Anyway Dash wants everyone to know that the T.C. will be released as a series of beta files, the first of which should be available soon. As other portions are completed, they will be released as updates for the previous betas. For more info visit the Maw Installation.  

Jedi Knight Unrelated..... 
 
In other space flight simulator news, Origin has released the next episode for their latest installment in the Wing Commander series, WC : Secret Ops. Secret Ops is being offered as a free download to anyone with internet access and the hard drive space. This game is the follow up to Wing Commander : Prophecy, which (as many gamers know) breathed new life into this classic series. The only catch is the size of the game engine, which is a massive 115 MB download. A trimmed down version is available (65 MB) but it lacks the voices of the actors who play the main characters. Once you have the main engine downloaded & installed though, future episodes are a snap. On average they are supposed to be only about 500KB downloads. I have the game myself & personally believe it to have been worth the time & hard drive space. However, I would like to point out that this will probably appeal more to people with a zip drive to back up their downloads & a 3d card. If you have neither of these & are still interested, go right ahead if you want! I hear the thing looks pretty good even without hardware support. Click here to visit the site.   

The final word....  

I just wanted to add one other thing. As many of you may have gathered from the above message, time is something I don't have a lot of! I just want everyone to know that I will try my best to get a new news post up every other day at the very least. Generally, I plan to post more often than that, but things can get rough the day before tests. I am, however, VERY dedicated to the task of bringing all of you JKMAG's news & I want to assure you that there will be ABSOLUTELY NO WEEK LONG DELAYS between posts unless some unforeseen crisis occurs! That is my promise to you, our readers, and an example of my dedication to this project. Thank you for checking out the all new JKMAG, and "May the force be with you!"   

-Zeus [ABJ]  

Your news submission is just a click away! 

Great news for all of you out there who had the wisdom & foresight to download JKMAG's now infamous skinpack, the BFP2!! One of the first BFP2 add-on packs is nearing completion. The add-on will be primarily a sound pack, which will add new .wavs to several of the skins. A few of the skins already have their own sets of sounds & .wavs (for example, you all know what happens when the Kenny & Elvis skin users die!) It is my understanding that this pack will simply add more sounds to other skins in the BFP2. The pack will also feature 3-4 new skins, including a rebel trooper in X-Wing pilot's garb! The pack is being designed by Tazz, an "old friend" of sorts around here at the MAG. In fact, we host Tazz's Rogue Squadron PC site here at the MAG. Click here to visit the site. Stay tuned here for further details on the sound pack.   

 As a matter of fact, until we fix up our BFP2 links, you can fetch them over at             Tazz's site. --Torplex Tark  

Robots in disguise threaten to invade BFP2....    

Speaking of skins, I just heard something really cool from my Lord & Webmaster, the semi omnipotent Torplex Tark! Turns out yet another BFP2 add-on will soon be available to you, our humble readers. An online jedi known as Galvatron is working on a Transformers add-on for BFP2. Makes me wanna break out the old Hasbro toys I've got tucked away in the attic & celebrate! Torplex tells me that the MAG is giving this add-on their full support, so it should be pretty good & hopefully available soon! Keep checking back here for more info.    

Shoot, I love you guys. Download Pred Pack 3.0 NOW! ---Torplex Tark  

For those of you who DIDN'T know Han Solo's gun was real....    

OOOKAAAYYY! I've been getting a little flak from several of our readers about the Han Solo gun fact I posted Sunday. Apparently, many people thought that ANY self respecting Star Wars fan was born with the knowledge that Han Solo's gun was in fact, a REAL German Mauser that had been modified for the movie. *sniff*, I guess this means I'm a failure as a truly obsessive disciple of Star Wars... Fortunately, I now have a way to remedy this! I received a submission from a guy named Dex yesterday. He ( or She?) provided me with a link to a site purely devoted to the props from the original Star Wars trilogy. The site was pretty informative. It tells you exactly what was used to make everything from Luke's Lightsaber to a Stormtrooper's rifle. Best of all, the site even contains some tutorials on building you own Star Wars prop replicas! Now who here wouldn't LOVE to have a replica of Luke or Darth's lightsaber? Click here to check it out! Thanks also to the online jedi Chyren, who also provided this interesting Star Wars prop information link.    

Help ME help YOU....  

As those of you who read my first news post know, I am a full time college student. I also have a full time job working nights at a grocery store to help pay my tuition. So this means I can't spend 100+ hours a week scanning the net for the latest & greatest news for this site. That's where you, the readers come in. I'm sure that there are PLENTY of you out there who want the world to know what's going on in the Jedi Knight & Star Wars online community. If you have some news you think other Star Wars & JK fans would be interested in hearing, I urge you to e-mail it to my news submission account. So far response has been pretty good, but I want more news than I can possibly type in one post! That way, when information dry spells rear their ugly little heads, we'll still have lots of interesting news for me to post & you guys to read. So what are you waiting for??!! Get to Emailing!!! While you're at it, spread the word that JKMAG is alive & well at jediknight.net! Message ALL your contacts, & send the URL! Tell em we're back & better than ever!    

The final word....    

I just wanted to add one other thing. As many of you may have gathered from the above message, time is something I don't have a lot of! I just want everyone to know that I will try my best to get a new news post up every other day at the very least. Generally, I plan to post more often than that, but things can get rough the day before tests. I am, however, VERY dedicated to the task of bringing all of you JKMAG's news & I want to assure you that there will be ABSOLUTELY NO WEEK LONG DELAYS between posts unless some unforeseen crisis occurs! That is my promise to you, our readers, and an example of my dedication to this project. Thank you for checking out the all new JKMAG, and "May the force be with you!    

A word from Tark.... 

Just wanted to mention that the member list is finally being updated, so keep checking as it should swell like my leg did that time it got infected....  

-Zeus [ABJ]   

Will SOMEBODY just click here already!!! 

If you liked the first part of Shadows of the Empire, you'll love this...... 
  
As many of you know, Lucasarts is hard at work on a new Star Wars flight sim type game called Rogue Squadron. It will feature familiar Star Wars characters like Wedge Antilles & introduce a new experimental rebel craft known as the V-Wing. Ships will be flown in a manner similar to the snowspeeders in the first part of Shadows of the Empire. Although the title is expected to arrive on the consoles first, Lucasarts has confirmed a PC port of the game is in the works as well. Head over to jediknight.net's main page for more info & screen shots.   

Klingons "Disrupt" Unreal.....   

Here's a little something "not Star Wars related" for all you Trekkers & Unreal owners out there. Microprose is launching into the first person shooter arena next year with Klingon Honor Guard, the first Quake style shooter for the Star Trek license. Since the game is using the Unreal engine, Microprose has put together a pretty neat download that will give gamers a taste of what this game will do. The download is a Klingon Disruptor rifle called a SithHara (Hmmmmm, sounds like an evil Jedi master to me....) which, once installed properly, can be used in Unreal! The SithHara replaces the Sniper rifle in Unreal, but I found you can switch between the guns by repeatedly tapping the hot key the gun is assigned to (the default is the 9 key). Get this download (621 KB) here. Scroll through the text until it mentions the Sithhara download & provides a link called "patch."   

An interesting Star Wars fact......  

How many of you out there knew that Han Solo's Blas-Tech pistol was A REAL GUN?! Yep, its true! I read in an article in Guns Magazine's latest issue that the gun used in the first 3 Star Wars movies by Harrison Ford's character, Han Solo, was in fact an old German Mauser that had been modified for the movie! Heh, and those guys in the Stormtrooper outfits said it was the HEAT that made them sweat! You heard the truth here first! Let's hope Harrison was shooting blanks.   

Well "I," for one already knew that 8oP ---Torplex Tark   

A good-bye & an apology.....   

Before I close today's news, I would like to add a special message to DARK EAGLE. I want to apologize if yesterday's post offended you Eagle. It was hastily written (I was trying to get SOMETHING posted quickly to appease the viewers) & I was a tad overzealous. All of us here, myself included, are eternally grateful to you for you tenure of service as Webmaster here at JKMAG. A heartfelt thank you, and my apologies if I seemed rude & ungrateful. WE LUV YA D.E.!!!! That's all the news for now! Thanks for visiting JKMAG. May the Force be with you.......   

-Zeus [ABJ]  

Got news? Want to submit it to us? Click here to submit! 

Yep, you guessed it! The MAG is back with some brand new faces & a brand new host! For those of you who don't have a clue who I am, my ICQ nickname is Zeus [ABJ] and I am the proud successor to Dark Eagle here at the JKMAG news page! Handling the news for JKMAG is a task I have been eagerly anticipating for the last few days, but before I start the ball rolling, there's a little personal info about myself. I am 22 years old and going on my fourth year in college. My current major is Marketing with a minor in Journalism. Up until 3 months ago that Journalism minor was my major. So I spent 3 years as a Journalism major, 2 of which were as a staff writer for our college newspaper (The Tech Talk). To the point, I have a feel for the news & am thrilled to have the opportunity to bring my experience to work here at JKMAG.   

To check out all the changes to our staff, drop in to the UPDATED Staff page  
---Torplex Tark   

There's gonna be a few changes around here.... 

First and foremost this page is going to be about NEWS!! Not what I had for dinner last night or whether or not my parents grounded me for tying up the phone lines. I'm sure a lot of you got tired of all that (no offense Dark Eagle), well it's over! Starting now this page will be primarily devoted to all things Jedi Knight & Star Wars. During those "dry spells" we in the media all know & hate, I plan to post a few tidbits about other sci-fi related events & video games that have a wide range of interest. If you like what you see, if you have something you would like posted, or if you think I suck & want to tell me about it, e-mail your comments to me at atlan00@hotmail.com. This is NOT my personal address, it is a special e-mail account specifically set aside for use by the JKMAG news staff.   

Make no mistake, we only kid DarkE, we appreciate the time he gave and we like   
tacos just as much as the next guy ---Torplex Tark 

The news for crying out loud! Give me the news!!!   

Okay, here it is.....as I am still learning how to use HTML, I haven't had much time to check out the net for the latest. I do, however, have a few interesting prequel tidbits, & I found a really nifty level pack for MOTS the other day at Jedi Knight.net   

Prequel rumors and scandals.... 

Here's something interesting from SPIN magazine. It seems that George Lucas has adopted the same maneuver to protect his prequel storyline as X-Files creator Chris Carter! Lucas & Co. have been spreading rumors & misinformation about the 3 new movies almost as soon as pre production began! All the rumors about Darth Maul, a pink floppy eared version of Yoda, & a great undersea battle to kick off episode one may prove to be false! The only thing Lucas has confirmed is that John Williams, the composer of the music for the original trilogy, will be returning to make musical mayhem all over again for the prequels. So don't believe everything you hear......even though the truth is out there......   

At last! More levels for MOTS!!!!   

For those of you who love Mysteries of the Sith, but remain somewhat disappointed by JKMAG's meager repository of MOTS levels, relief is now just a download away! An organization called KYA, has created a level pack for MOTS that I found to contain some pretty attractive levels. The pack consists of 7 levels & is a 777 KB download. Levels include a swamp setting similar to Dagobah, a spaceport, & KYA versions of other levels.   

Th-th-th-th-that's all for now!!! 
 
Well, that's all the news I have for now. Once I get HTML mastered, I should be able to post on some more informative topics. Just bear with us here at the MAG as we all make this transition & I know you won't be sorry! May the force be with you.......!   

-Zeus [ABJ]   

Click here to make a news submission.

Welcome back, young and old. JKMAG is proud to be a part of the jknet family, not to mention grateful, indebted, etc. etc. etc. For those of you who found your way here but don't know what's been going on, the Sith Temple, our immediate host over at Gamestats called it quits and left us hanging with no home. The good news is we have IMHO the best of all possible hosts, and basically the flagship of the Jedi Knight community as our new umbrella. You should find this server a little faster I think, and JKMAG itself a little trimmer, I figured hey! it was a good time to clean house. Now OF COURSE there were NEVER any JKMAG parody sites, but if there HAD been, all of their complaints would now have been addressed...there will BE NO MOLD at JKMAG any longer!   

Your new captain  

Well change is certainly afoot. At almost the EXACT same time as the old site's demise (coincidence? you be the judge 8oP ), Dark Eagle stepped down forever as webmaster and leader of JKMAG. Between his new position at VotJ and the general feeling that JKMAG was more past than present, he decided to move on, and passed the torch to I, Torplex Tark, your faithful new luminary. [Insert the Boy Scout pledge here]   

Unfinished business....   

As you have UNDOUBTEDLY noticed, only a shell of JKMAG is up and running as of this post. We the staff are working round-the-clock to get things up as fast as possible, all the while keeping an eye to improving the quality of everything we do. My highest priority is the forum, which will be up as soon as I figure out jknet's server structure (don't ask, but feel free to tell). And unlike Dark Eagle, I do not in fact plan to be your chief reporter. For that I have hired Zeus, who was a journalism major here in Louisiana so we'll never hear the word 'taco' in the news again. Hehe.   

-Torplex Tark@midnight  

"Mmm, pizza....how I LOVE pizza.....8oP"