February 2002

KotOR heading to Xbox in Christmas, PC in late 2003 Posted 2/28/2002 by SBR Grifter 


Thanks to voodooextreme.com for the info on this one. While some of you will find this quite annoying for sure...well, hell, I own an Xbox and even I find this annoying. However, I now know what my next 'must have' xbox title is. Well, actually, my six, or is it seventh?

Either way, there is also some news that the PC and Xbox version will differ in some way, but no specifics as to what the difference will be (my bet is graphics and more involved online play). And for those of you that want to start a bashing war with M$, think about this little quote: "The PC delay is a decision on the part of LEC who didn't want BioWare's baby going up against Star Wars Galaxies."

Here's some gameplay info 'blatantly ripped' from VE, who in turn ripped it from EA:

Knights of the Old Republic will use an engine called Odyssey. Supposedly it takes advantage of the the latest graphical technology in the GeForce 3. The Odyssey engine is a step above the engine used for Neverwinter.

The gameplay will be more action packed than the Baldur's Gate series. They describe it as a "rules-based real-time system, with a strong action component".

There will be "minigames" included that are like those found in the Final Fantasy series. These will be in the form of interactive cut scenes.

Three classes is all that is described here, choice of gender will be in.

The game will feature a level up system with skills you get to put points in. You can pick what skills you wish to learn.

Your actions will determine if you drift towards the dark or light side of the force.

You must play as a human, but your party can (up to 3 at a time) anything from wookies to druids.

You will visit about 8 worlds in the game, some familiar like Tatooine.

Character animations feature eyebrow movement, moving eyes, rustling hair. Animations for emotions are included as well like fear or pain. Described as some of the most life like characters seen in an RPG like this to date.

You control a starship called the Ebon Hawk, and this is how you travel in the game. Ship has the same "character and focus as the Millennium Falcon in the movies".

UPDATE!: Special thanks to DV for providing the following link to some screenshots of the game. They're not the best quality, seeing as how they are scans from a magazine, but they're the first I've seen personally, and do give at least a hint of the graphical possibilites of the game. And for those of you that have seen screens or movies of Neverwinter Nights, the above statement "the Odyssey engine is a step above the engine used for Neverwinter" should be eye opening. Check the screens out at http://www.ruliweb.com/data/rulinews/read.php?num=7342

'Detailed' info on the Hutt faction and 'criminal activities' in SWG... Posted 2/26/2002 by SBR Grifter 


LucasArts' Haden Blackman took time away from his busy schedule of paying Ewoks for sex and beating George Lucas over the head with a Jar Jar doll to drop by the Star Wars Galaxies message boards and give all his illegitimate children some info on the proposed structure of the Hutt faction. He also gave some info on just what a 'criminal' is SWG is going to be able to do, and NOT do. All those Pie-Rats in the Ghost Legion might want to take a look at this. Hell, you all should check this out, it's an interesting post. And quite long. Too long in fact. My brain hurts, sleepy time now.

Oh ya, here's the link: http://boards.station.sony.com/ubb/starwars/Forum3/HTML/032757.html

Knights of the Old Republic webiste to go active later this week! Posted 2/26/2002 by SBR Grifter 


Special thanks to Seryl Cann for digging this up for LSF. It appears that the official website for Knights of the Old Republic will go live sometime this week. Check it out at http://www.lucasarts.com/products/swkotor/
Right now it's just an announcment page, telling you to check back later, which we here at LSFNN will most certainly do.

If you are not familiar with KotOR, it is a roleplaying adventure game made by the same folks that made the critically acclaimed series Baldur's Gate and it's sequel. In it, you take the role of a Jedi of the Old Republic 4,000 years prior to the 'current' timeline of Star Wars.

XvT WoW results as compiled by SBR Motedog Posted 2/23/2002 by SBR Grifter 


Sincere thanks to SBR Motedog, who's work, and opinions, are quoted here.

ok well no one seemed to care about all the hard work pilots put in this WoW so im gonna take the time to congratulate and thank all those who did. In this post will aslo be a few statistics congratualting the top Players.

Player Scores

Most Points:
Biggs - 1,434,675
PeaceH - 1,000,340
Mote-Dog - 853,719

Most Games Played:
Biggs - 30
Mote-Dog - 26
PeaceH - 25

Best Game w/l ratio:
PeaceH - 24
Mote-Dog - 12
*Sigi - 3
*Cannabis - 3

Best K/D ratio:
Aragorn - 2.23
Sigi - 2.06
*PeaceH - 1.55
*Tango - 1.55

Best Player W/l ratio:
Biggs - 8
Sigi - 5
PeaceH - 3.31

Best Player Ranking:
PeaceH - 80.93 (20th place overall)
Mote-Dog - 78.70(29th place overall)
No other players made top 50

Other Notes:
Mote-Dog won first place X-wings
Biggs won 3rd place X-wings

Squadron Scores:

Most points:
Twilight Squadron - 1,483,837
Saber Squadron - 1,434,675
Green Dagger Squadron - 1,000,340

Most Games:
Twilight Squadron - 47
Saber Squadron - 30
GreenDagger squadron -25

Best Game W/L ratio:
Green Dagger Squadron - 24
Saber Squadron - 2.75
Twilight Squadron - 2.36

Most Kills:
Twilight Squadron - 976 kills 342 shared kills
Saber Squadron - 732 Kills 407 shared kills
Green Dagger Squadron - 568 kills 265 shared kills

Best Kill Death Ratio:
Green Dagger Squadron - 1.55
Saber Squadron - 1.36
Twilight Squadron - 1.13

Most Players Played:
Crimson Nova Squadron - 6
Twilight Squadron - 4
Saber Squadron - 2

League Totals:
16 pilots
5,045,462 points
117 games
2.13 Game W/L ratio
1.14 Kill death ratio
10th Place Overall

sorry for a lengthy post but i felt everyone involed deserved some sort of recognition for their serivce to LSF even if High Command doesnt see the need for rrecognising what few active pilots they have. Great job all hope to see you all and maybe some new face next WoW.

7 new JK2 screenshots Posted 2/17/2002 by Lord Chief 


Just check out Massassi Temple and scroll down a little for 7 new amazing looking screenshots of Jedi Outcast.

http://www.massassi.net/

LSF Internal War results Posted 2/16/2002 by Lord Chief 


Side: Played: Won: Lost: Draw:

Empire

Seryl Cann 1 1 0 0
Scythe 1 0 1 0
Pedro 5 0 5 0
Chief 9 8 0 1
Cauley 1 0 1 0
Venera 2 2 0 0
Danny 1 0 1 0
WaiShing 1 0 1 0
Makwu 3 3 0 0
Capn Crunch 2 2 0 0
Elladan 1 0 1 0
Lancelot 5 0 5 0
Avenger 2 1 1 0
V8por 1 0 1 0

37 17 17 1

Total points:
52



Side: Played: Won: Lost: Draw:

Ghost Legion:

Steel Talon 9 9 0 0

9 9 0 0

Total points:
27



Side: Played: Won: Lost: Draw:

Rebel Alliance:

Druid 6 1 5 0
Skip 1 0 1 0
Aragorn 4 2 2 0
PeaceH 6 2 4 0
Grifter 2 0 2 0
Avèn 1 0 1 0
Taggart 1 0 1 0
Wongtam 3 1 2 0
Tango 1 1 0 0
Flake 4 1 3 0
Zombie 1 0 1 0
Sonic 2 1 0 1
Doc Fortune 1 0 1 0
Motedog 6 6 0 0
Lady Pol 1 0 1 0
CrimsonFury 1 0 1 0
Anakin 3 0 3 0
Hanak 1 1 0 0

45 16 28 1

Total points:
49

Some statistics:

Total number of games played: 91

Total wins: 42 (46,2 %)

Total losses: 47 (51,6 %)

Total draws: 2 (2,2 %)

Wins for Empire: 17 (40,5 %)
Points for the Empire: 52 (40,6 %)

Wins for Ghost Legion: 9 (21,4 %)
Points for Ghost Legion: 27 (21,1 %)

Wins for Rebel Alliance: 16 (38,1 %)
Points for Rebel Alliance: 49 (38,3 %)

The following players, being the best of their
respective factions, receive the LSF Internal War Medal,
specially designed for this ocassion:

Best Imperial player:
Chief 9 played, 8 wins and 1 draw (25 points)
Best Ghost Legion player:
Steel 9 played and 9 wins (27 points)
Best Rebel Alliance player:
Motedog 6 played and 6 wins (18 points)

All other players who participated receive Battlemedals
as normally issued by their respective commanders
in wars like these, based on the number of games played
and the wins acquired.

Galaxies FAQ update and Expansion news Posted 2/16/2002 by SBR Grifter 


Well, I said I wouldn't be posting any new JK2 stuff for awhile.
And since most of you by now have seen the trailer and already read some info on the game, I feel safe in that decision. Problem is,
there wasn't anything else even remotely interesting to talk about...until now.

Today, we have two new things to ponder for the upcomming mmorpg Star Wars Galaxies and its space expansion, as yet unamed.

The first is an update to the FAQ for the main game, which tells some actually rather intriguing things about the crafting system, as well as a neat little tidbit about the consqeuences of mission faliures and bounties. Cool stuff imho. You can check out the latest updates yourself at here

Second, we have a short little preview of sorts over at CVG of the afore mentioned space expansion, due out six months after the main game. It also has some really cool, though brief, info on how that will work with the main game, being able to transfere characters over and such. Also mentioned was the crewing of capitol ships and the trading system ala Privateer'ish. Check it out at here

Everything sounds pretty good so far, though I must say I'm not a fan of using the mouse and 'rolling the dice' in space combat. What can I say, I just like feeling my stick between my legs.

New IRC Server Posted 2/15/2002 by Baal 


Well its not really new more like going back to a old friend with a new name we are located at irc.starfighters.com:6667 now and so far seems to be holding up alot better then Holonet. Good work there ghost.

Welcome ghost as LSF's first Systems Director Posted 2/15/2002 by Baal 


This is what Pallos posted on the message board incase you dont feel like digging for it :)

In an attempt to build a better league, especially in anticipation of JK2, the Command Staff would like to announce our selection of Ghost as our new Systems Director. This will be the first of several changes as we work to remold LSF into a major force for JK2. If you are interested in what Ghost will be in charge of, please read the job discription we have agreed to below. Please congradulate and welcome Ghost back to the league.

"The Systems Director


The Systems Director will be responsible for all league pages, servers, and systems. Good working knowledge of webpage design, database languages (preferably php as its what we have), message board administration, and irc is required. Graphics knowledge and project leading skill is preferred. This person will be responsible for our message boards, in that they will find responsible people to update ranks and icons, training moderators, and changing the boards as needed for the league. They will be responsible for keep tabs on the league server, giving access to league groups that need it, and working with a database project team to get a league database up and running. They will lead the league web page redesign projects as needed. They will be in charge of keeping faction COs up to date on our irc server, and disseminating information about the server to the league. The Director will be responsible for bringing completed projects to the rest of LSF Command Staff for future project ideas, finished project review, as well as for regular project updates (done at the same time as faction reports). The director will be expected to work closely with the rest of LSF Command staff, but will ultimately answer directly to Ghent and the XO, especially considering finished product approval.

The Systems Director can create teams to work on projects as needed. However they will be ultimately responsible for the work getting (or not getting) accomplished. If the LSF Command staff feels that satisfactory progress isn't being achieved, they may dismiss the Director at any time. "

LucasArts Doing Galactic Battlegrounds Add-On Posted 2/15/2002 by Baal 


Saw this on Avault

LucasArts Entertainment this spring will publish Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds: Clone Campaigns, a collection of new scenarios for last year’s real-time strategy game. Expected to release in May on the PC, Clone Campaigns is inspired by the large-scale battles in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, as well as the classic and expanded Star Wars universe.
Clone Campaigns features 14 original single-player combat scenarios, new civilizations, environments, vehicles, and more than 200 new units. By adding the expansion to Galactic Battlegrounds, players can mix and match, in skirmish and multiplayer modes, civilizations from Attack of the Clones with those from the classic Star Wars universe.

Clone Campaigns, as in its predecessor, is built on enhanced engine technology from Ensemble Studios’ Age of Kings. The expansion will feature numerous technical improvements including upgraded shields, power cores, and new effects.

Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds: Clone Campaigns requires a copy of the retail version of the original game in order to be played.

One of the first reviews of JK2 Posted 2/14/2002 by Lord Chief 


Voo slipped me a nice bit of information in the form of a review that he found in his PC Gamer UK Magazine.

Here are some quotes and pieces of info:

24 different light saber moves.
It received the Game of the Month award.
32 players max, which more than likely means Dedicated servers!

Min specs P2 300,64mg RAM 3D card
Rec Specs P3 600 128mg Ram, 32mg 3D Card.
Graphics engine D3D
MP Lan, internet upto 32 players

PCGAMER Profile:

Jedi Knight II is:
The best Star Wars game ever
Eclectic
Force-Full

Jedi Knight II is not:
Just a First Person Shooter
Star Wars Elite Forces
Too short

Final Comment

A consistently excellent, always varied 3D shooter. The Star Wars game the fans deserve: 92% final score

So as you can see the game turned out just great, I personally suggest that you buy it as soon as its out in your local softwarestore :) I knwo I will.

JK WoW 27 Posted 2/10/2002 by Lord Chief 


Well JK WoW 27 has ended and LSF ended on a bad 15th position mainly due to not enough games being played. Off course this was due to the LSF Internal War that will last until february 14th.

The people playing were:

Katana: 32 games played, 24 wins. Ranked 30th overall

All others didnt receive sufficient points show up in the top 50 playerslist.

Riveda: 12 games played, 3 wins
Sonic: 7 games played, 4 wins.
Danny: 11 games played, 2 wins.
Steel: 3 games played, 0 wins.
Fortune: 7 games played, 3 wins.
Kindred: 2 games played, 0 wins.
Venom: 1 game played, 0 wins.
PeaceH: 1 game played, 0 wins.
BobaFett: 1 game played, 0 wins.

JK WoW 27 Posted 2/8/2002 by Lord Chief 


Well JK WoW 27 has ended this evening and LSF ended 15th, mainly due to a lack of games played. Off course this is because of the fact that JK1 is old as a game and less and less people play it.

Also, as an extra bonus to this post: the new official JK2 trailer is out so you can go here: http://www.lucasarts.com/exclusive/other/trailer.mov

So have a look at JK1 's successor well be playing for WoW's :)

Current standings in the LSF War after week 1 of 2 Posted 2/7/2002 by Lord Chief 


Well some statistics as far as week 1 in the LSF internal war is concerned:

Empire:

Total games played: 21
Total wins: 13
Total losses: 7
Total draws: 1

The number of people playing so far: 11
Total number of points: 40

Ghost Legion:

Total games played: 4
Total wins: 3
Total losses: 1
Total draws: 0

The number of people playing so far: 2
Total number of points: 9

Rebel Alliance:

Total games played: 26
Total wins: 8
Total losses: 17
Total draws: 1

The number of people playing so far: 11
Total number of points: 25

Best player for the Empire: Chief (19 points)
Best player for the Ghost Legion: Steel Talon (9 points)
Best player for the Rebel Alliance: Aragorn and PeaceH (6 points)

Best player over all so far: Chief (19 points)

The game played most: Jedi Knight

Multiplayer Force options in JK2..... Posted 2/6/2002 by SBR Grifter 


JediKnightII.net has an actually rather fascinating Q&A session with Raven's Pat Lipo, the "man at Raven primarily responsible for the multiplayer portion of JKII." In it they discuss how the various Light/Dark force abilities are split up in multiplayer, and the logic behind the choices they made. In short, if you don't like what they did with the Force powers, then I guess more of you should have played MotS.

On another note, with the exception of the first actual in game video this Friday and any announcment of an actual demo, I think I shall give JK2 a rest. Even I'm getting a little saturated by the media madness.

JK2 Q&A over at Frag Off Posted 2/4/2002 by SBR Grifter 


Special thanks to voodooextreme.com for posting this.

FragOff.net, the cute little site with the funny name, has a short and sweet little question and answer session with Kenn Hoekstra and Brett Tosti. Things mentioned are the 'improved' light saber combat techniques, the number and type of multiplayer maps, and why everyone with any class at all hates Boba Fett. Click http://www.fragoff.net/reviews/2/102-24-2132/p-1/ to find out for yourself.

Ya know, if I had a name like 'Boba', I'd want to hide behind a mask too.

JK WoW Posted 2/3/2002 by Lord Chief 


Last friday the newest addition of the JK WoW has started again. Aside from the internal war thats going on right now try to play a few games for the JKWoW if you can. After all, the internal war lasts for two weeks, the JK WoW only one :) This JK WoW will end on friday the 8th of february.

Have fun people!!

Current standings on day 1 Posted 2/1/2002 by Lord Chief 


Well it appears day 1 marks a nice start for the LSF war. So far a few games have been played, in which all factions scored their first win. All therefore have 3 points so far.

The current standing so far is thus:

Empire/GL vs RA:

6 vs 3

Keep up the good work people and have fun playing :)