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Just Around the Corner

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Written by Adrian Burnett except for CrossFire at Ragus done by Tim Hayes


Multiplayer Previews


Infiltrate: Warzone    


Jedi Knight Multiplayer
Author - Mark "Pele" Jones
Release Date - Next week

Background-

Pele has proven atleast to me to be one of the best level editors in the community (hey he's in JK gangstas). He has produced quality levels, such as the original Warzone and Rebel Gate Outpost for Infiltrate and is continuing. An excellent cog programmer and level editor, I think to see some very impressive levels from Pele in the future. Here's the preview of Pele's newest level, for the second Infiltrate pack. This pack will feature Pele's level, Zafrod's level and the winner(s) of the Infiltrate level contest, plus additions to the existing levels..

Comments-

Infiltrate blew most of us away since it was such a novel idea for a mod. The levels quality were only matched by the amazing cog. The thing stank of time and effort. This level seems to continue to give Infiltrate a good name. It's planned name was "Infiltrate: Warzone" (but Pele used the name for something else :] ) although it might even stay as the final name. The style of the level is incredibly similar to Pele's Rebel River Gate Outpost. The bases are positioned head to head, everyone must cross this open space if they wish to get into the enemy's base and I simply love that, it's going to make it allot harder to sneak into the base (cause the other team knows where you have to go to get in) so it's going to make it more challenging. Once inside the base (both being the same just textured differently) it's not easy getting the components shut off. One of them is the Fuel Tank. Once destroyed, the room ignites with fire explosions and one means of exit is cut off. It's hard enough to get out of the room, but harder to repair the darn thing if you are defending. The other one which I like about the result of destroying of it, is one switch that once deactivated it cuts off all means of exit to the building. So if you destroy that one you are stuck in there (unless you want to repair it yourself) and that can be a risky decision :). So, excellent cog work done there.

The architecture is once again great, but in all honesty, I feel that the other levels had a bit more complexity and awe to them. This level makes up for it with gameplay, it's also a little simpler than the other levels which is going to mean smoother action. There is one nit-picky thing which isn't too big, but always annoys me. You hit your head on the ceiling if you jump to high. It's not incredibly difficult to fix this and it be incredibly annoying and in some cases take allot away from any realism the level musters. That's the only problem I can honestly see with this level :).

Prediction -

I can say without difficulty that this level will be a winner. I don't see it being failure to anyone and I would be surprised if it was. The level is going to be released with the pack, gearing for release towards sometime next week. Take my word for it, you won't be disappointed.






Check out the JK Gangsta's Page

The Jedi Knight Gangstas

Blaster Tag    


Jedi Knight Multiplayer
Authors - Tom Smallwood and Brian Taylor
Release Date - 930

Background -

The Blaster Tag project is an old one. It was originally started by the late "Weegee's Workshop" but after the group broke apart, the project was adopted by the JK gangstas. The project is basically a two-man group. The levels being made by Tom Smallwood (author of Warzone2) and the cogs being handled by Brian Taylor (author of numerous patches, also the creator of the Grappling Hook 3.0 patch). So both have proven to have editing talent and ability to produce a fun mod.

Comments -

Blaster Tag is a modified style of play for Jedi Knight multiplayer. The gameplay is very similar to some MP mods out there but has some advancements which put it above most. There is a "jail" where you reappear after you have been killed. It's located in the enemy's base, and it is impossible to escape from. The only way is for a teammate to go deep into the enemy base, and deactivate the switch which controls the forcefield. This idea itself will probably lead to hours of fun. The scoring is altered in Blaster Tag as well.

There are two levels to play this mod on. The first is a modified version of "The Duel" from ordinary JK CTF. The second is entitled "Hunt the Wampa". The Duel seems to serve more as an introduction to the new style of play and once you get the hang of it you start to play Hunt the Wampa. In my opinion, Hunt the Wampa has done by far the best job of creating a frozen snow setting. The cold atmosphere is unmatched by any other addon level I've played attempting the same. The level consists of a large canyon, with multi-leveled ledges running on both ends plus catacombs of caves in the rock surrounding it. One team base is placed in the caves at one side of the canyon, while the other is placed of course on the other side in a cave as well. I'm really looking forward to playing some larger games with this mod, Hunt the Wampa in particular. Although Tom admits to the lag getting low in some places, you should be able to tolerate it.

Prediction

Although I have not had a chance to play any games with other people on these levels, I have a strong feeling that this mod will be a hit. Allot of time has been spent on this and it's too promising to just be "another one of those MP mods". Tom is focusing on this one project now, and it should get finished fairly soon.




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Single Player Previews

Episode 1 Hunt for Hylan: CrossFire at Ragus    


Mysteries of the Sith Single Player
Author - Adam "Rage" Burnett
Release Date - Before 1999

Story -

CrossFire at Ragus is the first level for the first episode of a trilogy of episodes. The story goes as following.

In the time after the battle of Endor, with the loss of the Empire's great battle station and Darth Vader, the future looks grim. The chaotic situation gave the Rebels the upper hand. They continued to expand, using the destruction of the Death Star as a stepping stone. Their squadrons of cheaply crafted ships managed to destroy powerful Imperial Fleets with ease. The galaxy now in a state of anarchy without the Empire to administrate justice, forces led by Admiral Thrawn seek to guarantee that no Imperial planets would wish to rebel and steps are taken to remold the Empire. However the Rebels are persistent in their quest to obliterate the noble Imperials. People blinded by the Rebel Alliance's cries of a war to end war give them their support, increasing Alliance sympathizers .

Knowing that the future would not be well if things continued at this pace, a group of Admirals work in coalition to regain order by the unorthodox methods of the force. Encouraged by the near success of Jerec in his attempts to unlock the power in the Valley of the Jedi , The coalition led by Admiral Thrawn soon learn of a potential technology. On a platform orbiting the outer rim planet Ragus, a merchant by the name Duncan Hylan, is rumored to have the knowledge of a new transportation machine, powered by the force alone which he has found in the form of ancient ruins. The potential is incredible and Thrawn knows that this technology would be a great benefit. He personally leads a small task force in his flagship the ISD Chimaera to the planet Ragus to capture and interrogate this Hylan.

Thrawn's forces arrive unexpectingly in the orbit of Ragus to find a massive Rebel fleet at bay. Terribly outnumbered, Thrawn dispatches the nearest Imperials and local mercenaries to attempt to defend themselves as well as the Imperial occupied Sienar mining base on the planet's surface. Imperials stationed on the mining base soon find it flooded with Rebels soldiers. A dark Jedi arrives as a mercenary into the orbit of Ragus to defend the Imperials. Skuhr Kratic is forced to avoid landing on the Platform and in order to miss the dogfight in space, makes a landing on the Ragus Mining station. He steps out of his ship, the Wraith, and is caught in the Crossfire at Ragus....

Comments -

If this is a glimpse into the future of JK editing, it's safe to say we're about to enter a golden age.. This level has great architecture, absorbing atmosphere, and a whole lot of fun.. If you've played Rage's mp level, Mos Eisley Spaceport you'll have an idea as to what he can do, but he's really outdone himself in Crossfire on Ragus.

Within the first 5 minutes of the level I had been dazzled by interesting architecture, killed about 4 different types of new enemies, and fought alongside a trandoshan brandishing a concussion rifle.. Needless to say I was getting real excited about the level.. Unfortunately I found that the level was still far from complete, so there wasn't much more to do.. With no objectives to complete yet, I simply explored and admired the craftsmanship..

As in Mos Eisley Spaceport, Rage spared no expense in creating architecture that is simply amazing.. Wonderful eye candy, but the downside is of course, lowered framerates.. The framerate was never terrible, but more then a few times I took alot of damage in a fight because once the action started, the framerate dropped to the point where I had trouble aiming at the enemy.. Fortunately I'm told that Rage will be re-doing many parts of the level to make certain areas less of a strain on the computer.

It took some effort to keep from blasting my allies, since it's become a second nature to blast imperial troops and various aliens the second they appear in your screen, but once I got past that I found them to be a great asset.. Unlike in the LEC levels where you fight alongside AI, in Crossfire on Ragus your allies actually help you.. It's a little dissapointing to occasionally come across a room full of dropped weapons (fortunately I'm told Rage is fixing it so that you never miss a battle) but when you get into a fight, standing shoulder to shoulder with a trandoshan is just plain fun.. It gets even more fun when the two of you are blasting away rebel pilots, soldiers, and even wookies.. All of the enemy skins are done very well too, so I was surprised to hear that they aren't going to be used in the final release..

Prediction

It's hard to get a definitive idea of how the level will turn out at this early of a stage, but I think it's a safe bet to say it'll be an instant classic.. Keep an eye out for this level, you're sure to love it..

Check out the Vortex to Darkness Page

Beyond the Vortex


Bona Fide    


Mysteries of the Sith Single Player
Author - Peter Klassen
Release Date - Somewhere before or after January '99

Story -

Although Pete hasn't released the full story for his level he has released bits and pieces. It seems like so far the level takes place on a VSD Star Destroyer and the mission is codenamed "Bona Fide". It's time setting takes place before Jedi Knight (around the "Tie Fighter" game period) so it sees the good old days with the Empire, just before their downfall. He also has stated that he wants to include Admiral Thrawn in it somehow which should be pretty cool.

Comments

Before I begin talking about the level, I have to inform for those who don't know who Peter Klassen is. Mr. Klassen was one of the most talented and dedicated members of the Dark Forces' Community. Author of such amazing DF levels as "Back to Yavin" (Editor's Choice award at "The Crow's Nest"), "The Bounty Hunt" (Winner of another Editor's Choice award and two Darkness Falls awards) and part of the amazing special effects level "Condition Red". Klassen was a very respectable and cool DF guru. It's excellent to see that he is starting to JK/MotS edit at this time. It's not so much how I am looking forward for Bona Fide individually, but his many levels he will most likely make in the future.

It seems, with most editors, it takes them a couple of tries and a few lame or practice levels before they start making some quality work, but it seems that Pete has broken that rule and jumped right into those quality levels. From what I've seen and heard, Pete is putting together an excellent level for MotS. Of course Pete is a "lone wolf" as he put it and is doing all the level's nifty special effects by himself. He's promising some cool cogs and in-game cutscenes, plus one thing that had me drooling as in "how?" Dark Forces style briefings. He's also thrown a couple of other neat things, as shown in the screenshots, a Storm Trooper disguise.

Although I have not played a Bona Fide alpha, it seems evident from the screens that it's going to have above average architecture and texturing. He's one of the few authors who I can trust to be consistent in throughout the whole level with architecture. Currently the level, as stated by him, is 10% done approx.
Although don't go completely bonkers, remembering this is only his first level. So I wouldn't expect an unbeatable level to be created in his first try. That in no way is intended as a put down, but it's unheard off to have a flawless first level. This will serve allot as a gauge into how his levels are going to be the future (they should only improve after this) with Bona Fide as a base. This level WILL be huge though.

Prediction

I'm looking forward to this one allot. I also want to mention how happy I am as well with the fact that there are so many good SP levels in the works. Bona Fide, CrossFire at Ragus, the JK Gangstas SP levels and the next Warzone level to quickly name a few (there are allot out there). And with the recent release of Warzone2, I'm glad to see SP gaining some ground against MP levels. Watch out for this one...

Check out Peter Klassen's HomePage

Peter the Hutt's Page


Canceled Levels

"City"    

This time it's not only a level, it's an author. "City" by Don "Sinclair" Sands was listed in the last preview for DF but it will unfortunately it will not be finished. Sinclair's harddrive crashed and he lost everything. I gave him the beta he sent me back, but he couldn't really getting it going again. That being irrelevant, because for various reasons Sinclair has decided to retire from level editing. I personally think it was a mistake for Sinc was shown to have skill but his decision seems final.


Note to Authors

Previews can be an excellent way to announce or build up hype for a level or mod you may be working on. No, you don't have to send me an alpha or beta (although they would make it easier for me) just send me a paragraph or two with some information on it and a couple of screenshots. If you are interested, e-mail me at val_burnett@bc.sympatico.ca.


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