On The Soapbox

Editorial by Jeff Walters


Sects, Lies and Various News Items . . .

Well, it's been quite an interesting month....you can almost feel the electricity in the air in the lead up to Jedi Knight's release. The release date, by the way, still looks like October 14, despite all the rumours I've heard about Sept. 20. Let's hope it STAYS October 14. There are already dozens of Jedi Knight Orders (playing groups) set-up even before the game is released....so the delays haven't set back anyone's enthusiasm any :)

While I'm talking...sorry..writing....I might as well put a plug in for my web page's (BESPIN - The Cloud City) new DF/JK chat site!! It opened on the 12th and has been extensively used ever since. If there ends up being a crowding problem I might be able to open other chat rooms...also...in the future if certain project groups need a place to have meetings then I may me able to create private chat rooms to fulfill those needs....but the chat site is still in the development stage so nothing is certain. Hopefully new features will be added overtime. If you have any suggestions, just email me.

Before I give you some level news, I have two requests. Firstly, does anyone know what happened to Dark Forces Fan Club leader Jason Burton? Not only has his web site dissappeared, but his email address now doesn't work! Secondly, I'm currently in search of any info regarding Future Present 3.....the creator (Rick Horack) of the first two Future Present levels was busy constructing a third level when he dropped off the map a while ago. If anyone can give me any info here or maybe Rick's *current* email address I would be very grateful.

DF Level News

The Boba Fett Trilogy, Prelude

The *official* story for the Prelude
"Twin Suns of Tatooine: Boba Fett at Mos Eisley"

Boba Fett, angry and sore from his previous attempts at destroying Kyle Katarn, has prepared a complex but surely effective plan to kill his enemy. While making final preparations, Boba Fett received a strange transmission on his on-board computer system. The message was from Coruscant, sent by the Emperor himself! As the hologram of the old man appeared, Boba Fett learned that the Emperor wanted Kyle captured alive, and would pay any price. "Considering" the offer, Boba Fett quickly decided that he should not capture Kyle, but receive the bounty on his head.

Fett had, however, little information on where he should find Kyle. After making an offer known, a smuggler/pilot contacted Fett and gave only the instructions that he should meet him at a small office located near a rather famous cantina in Mos-Eisley. Fett already had business to attend to on Tatooine with Jabba The Hut, so he set a course in his Nava-Computer for Tatooine, and began to prepare his weapons.

Having arrived on Tatooine a day earlier than the date he was to meet the defecting rebel, Fett studied the defector and found that he was indeed selling the location of the rebel base. Having been to Mos Eisley before, Fett knew that there would indeed be obstacles he would face. Namely the Imperial troops that have a loose control over the space port AND the fiercely loyal Rebels that secretly operate there. Prepared for anything, as always, and with a good knowledge of what he must do, Boba Fett speeds over the Jundland wastes in a rented speeder towards Mos-Eisley. He would now get information on where to find Kyle so that his real mission could begin. He would not fail, Boba Fett was sure of it.

Forums, Messageboards and lamers . . .

This past month has seen many new Dark Forces and Jedi Knight messageboards pop-up. These include -
Whilst Bespin City Forum has taken off quickly (mainly due to the partial abandonment of the board at jediknight.com), the other boards are still very early in the growth stage......so I urge you, if you're looking for a place ot talk DF or JK....go to any of these boards and start posting.

While we're on the topic of messageboards....if you've hung around the Bespin City Forum or the board at Jediknight.com lately, you would have noticed the influx of lamers (most of them spewing obscure lines from Star Trek) trying to piss people off by posting inane messages. While I'm all for flaming these geeks and humilating them back into the holes they came from.....please refrain from going to Star Trek boards looking for revenge...just stick to chasing them away.

Sequels To Be . . .

Well, last's month 'Sequels You'd Like to See' poll received a great and at times *wierd* reception......and here before you is some of what I received...oh..and I threw in a few of my own too :)

NameCatch PhraseStoryCasting
ID4 - New Year's Day"That's what I call a close encounter""Hungover marines find a colony of alien survivors from the big crash living in the old subways under New York and living on pizza (ie. Mutant Turtles)."The same four blokes who were the turtles could also be the aliens.
Braveheart 2"It's not only his face that's blue this time""The belated Scottish warriors celebrate their latest battle with a four day pub crawl and strip club tour."William Wallace-
Mel Gibson
Princess of Wales -
Chris Tucker
Silence of the Lambs 2"Hmmm....tastes like chicken""Hannibal the Cannibal is back and he's damn hungry. After breaking his tooth whilst chowing down on Jodie Fosters character, he heads off to the dentist, but discovers a 10 person long que....five minutes later...no que - just leftovers."Hannibal the Cannibal-
The Hanson brothers
Face/Off 2"Ah man....which butthead gave me Barbara Striesand's nose!!""Sean Archer goes back to work after getting his own face back only to be told to take it off again. A dangerous killer is stalking the catwalks of L.A. after supermodels and Sean must go under cover. The difference is that this time they're gonna have to cut off more than just his face . . ."Sean Archer-
Michael Jackson
Independence Day 2 - The Return"The President, How can the same shit happen to the same guy twice""It was just a small wing of the alien fleet that attacked the earth. This time the REALLY BIG mothership arrives with a cannon that can wipe out an entire solar-system with just 25% power. And the bad news is that they are really pissed. Fortunately America still has the same president as the story takes place the next year and with Will Smith as his sidekick they will once again show the aliens who really owns the earth...."The President-
Bill Pullman
Steve Mitchell -
Will Smith
The Alien Queen-
Liza Minelli


Next Issue....and the future

Hopefully...if there's any justice in the world, next month I'll be covering the......RELEASE OF JEDI KNIGHT!! As soon as this puppy is released I'll be asking everyone what they think, profiling the features, etc. Due to the fact that the mid October release date covers U.S.A only and I live in Australia.....I may not be able to play it straight away (doesn't life just suck sometimes)......but never fear, if JK is out by this time next month, this mag will be there with info.

Next month will also see the conclusion of 'The Making of Mt. Kurek' article series and should also see the appearance of a detailed article I've been saving dedicated the art of texturing a level......but if I've got too much JK material to pack into the October issue, this article mat be put back.

Last month, I told you all about how this magazine will be running the 1997 Dark Forces & Jedi Knight Awards at the end of the year. I already have several awards worked out (e.g. Dark Forces Level of the Year, Jedi Knight Web Site of the Year).....but I'm still very much open to suggestions. So if you have any ideas for awards then simply enter them into the box below and click 'Submit'.

1997 Dark Forces & Jedi Knight Awards - Suggestion Box

  


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