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C O G:

Souping Up The Engine

Written by Matt Bender

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As many well know, Jedi Knight will be implementing an idea that was introduced in Quake that will allow unprecedented customizability to the game. This is a programming language that is very similar to the language 'C' that allows a knowledgeable user to tinker with the engine without risk of legal retribution by the manufacturer. In Quake, it was referred to as 'QuakeC.' In Jedi Knight, it will be COG.

Okay, great. Now what?

Nice AT-ST, but why not a huge AT-AT

This question will only be answered by those who will learn the language and manipulate it. Chances are, at least a few will, and that is all we need to create some pretty hefty things that we never were able to before.

The first idea that comes to mind is custom logics. Dark Forces did not have very many useful logics. Crowded conditions and certain settings led to some pretty strange voc conflicts, such as in Pax's the Great Tatooine Water Hunt. (No offense, Pax, you did what you could.) That level featured both Imperial officers and Jawas, both with one shared logic. Since only one set of vocs can accompany a given logic, the Jawas began spouting off things like "You're in violation of Imperial law." The many logics that will be provided in Jedi Knight will help remedy some of this, but even that will not be enough for some level authors. This is where COG comes in.

As the component makers churn out more and more polygon-based enemies to enhance the enjoyability of JK custom levels, the COG experts can produce more logics to be able to accompany them. Possibly, in time, JK sites will house zip files that contain both custom enemies and custom logics that correspond with them for the level authors to use. When the time comes, some logics will be expected and awaited for. Here are some of the logics that I believe will be created:

Hmm....a new force power...how about the ability to spin your light saber around the room, dicing everybody in sight.
But hey, we've only covered enemy logics as of yet. Logics extend to cover anything that reacts to it's environment. Ambitious programmers could actually make logics that would allow actual team members, or citizens that act different than the usual civillian response. (I'm talking about a riot here.) However, logic creation is not always a good thing. There will be the few trigger-happy maniacs that create super-Dark Jedi that take 50 hits with the lightsaber to kill and can kill you with one swat. In this way, COG is like the Force. You can wield it in two ways. All we can hope for is that people will choose to use it for constructive and innovative purposes.

Another use that compliments custom logics is custom weapons. People will want more things to shoot with. It's human nature. Nostalgic fans of Dark Forces will more than likely find a way to return the Concussion Rifle to its former glory. The same nostalgic fans will probably also reintroduce the Assault Cannon. I could keep going, but I will stop because there are so many different weapons out there that somebody wants to play with. However, COG is not limited to a mere extension of previously customizable options. We can customize anything with it. Some fans noticed the lack of a major force power: Affect Mind. (These aren't the droids you're looking for.) With COG, this is no problem to fix. Neither will any Force power LA forgot to put in.

Since multiplayer will be a very big aspect of Jedi Knight, it will see a lot of customization. Many players desire little twirks that allow them more control over their character or make it easier to play mind games with their opponents. This will make every game a unique experience.

Another possibility for consideration is total conversions. And when I say total conversion, I am not limiting it to all new enemies, bitmaps, and weapons. You can create whole different ways to play, such as the ingenious person who created Quake-Rally, a bumper-car version of Quake. These will probably not be a common sight in JK, due to the fact that there is not much reason to, as there was in Quake. Since the Star Wars universe can supply an author with just about any plotline that he/she desires, why should anyone need to look outside?

There really are no limits to the fun we can have with COG. We'll see new enemies, weapons, features, you name it. COG is the final measure of customizability. Let's start hacking code.


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