ZeldaTheSwordsman

For reference, I'm playing on Windows 7. That normally shouldn't be an issue, because of the version of KotOR I'm using, but who knows. Tried installing my copy of KotOR (which is the Best of PC version) from scratch once again, to see if I could get it working. This time it installed intact enough on its own to actually start up and get me to the main menu and character creation (the previous install attempt proved to be corrupted and I had to replace the original swkotor.exe with the editable executable version to get that far). However, I'm running into the same problem I was with the previous install attempt: after completing character generation and going through the first loading screen, the game hangs on a black screen instead of actually loading the intro movie. When I try to nudge it past that point, it just flat-out crashes and exits out of the game. What is it that's broken and causing this? Is it something in swkotor.exe itself, or one of the other game files? I'm pretty sure it can't be the actual .bik movies themselves, because I tried playing them all separately. EDIT: ...The .wav audio files seem to be almost all corrupted (and some are possibly missing entirely). The main menu music plays in game, as do sounds for selecting menu options, so those files are presumably intact (assuming they're even separate and not baked into the executable). But almost all the audio files in the folders? Won't load at all, will load but not actually play, or will "play" but only in VLC and what they play as is horrendous static. Could this be the cause? And if so, is there any place I can get replacement files? I have been informed after further research that the files are encoded (or else just renamed MP3s) so this probably isn't it. Unless there are some missing (there's no 2, 5, 8, 9, 11-15, 20, 21, 23, 25-30, 32, 33, 36-41, 43, 45-49, 52, or 53 amongst the numbered files)?

It occurred to me that there might be an easy shortcut way to make part of one of my mod desires happen: Convert Altmer heads into replacement PC heads. But given the more flexible nature of TES models and their coming from a different company... I don't know whether that would be easy and straightforward to achieve, or a royal pain in the butt. I also don't know if publishing that would be acceptable.

I know, I know, throwing a lot of requests out there today. But hey, I figure this one might be of interest to people for a change. Star Wars: Republic #53: Blast Radius featured an elven Jedi Master called Fay. She was rather beautiful looking (as one would expect) and wore Jedi robes with very stylish trim (see linked Wookieepedia article). And I think it would be cool to have elven PC heads based on her, and Jedi Robes that replicate hers. Does this interest anyone?

One of my pitched mod ideas is something of mixed reception (as I expected) and a massive undertaking besides.. Another is in hindsight a dumb unnecessary idea. But maybe this will be considered worthwhile. One of the things about KOTOR that irks me is that some of the armors develop boobsockets when worn by female characters. I seem to recall Calo Nord's armor being a major offender on that score. Would like to see a mod/skin pack that changes them to be more realistic.

1. Canderous explicitly refers to it as the final battle. Here is the entirety of what he says about the Battle of Malachor V: "I still remember that final battle in the skies above Malachor V. The two fleets filling the space around it, outshining the stars...It was not your ships or your men or your vaunted 'fight for freedom' that won this, the final battle of the war. It was by the actions of one person - you - that the Republic prevailed. Your strategies and tactics defeated the best we could send against you. Even Mandalore himself was taken aback by the ferocity of your attacks, the tenacity of your defenses and the subtleties of your plans. You fought us to a standstill and then began pushing back. We didn't really have a chance. It was by the actions of one person, the Jedi Revan, that you prevailed." No implication of a cataclysmic superweapon or of some potent Jedi other than Revan playing a pivotal role (or Revan being late to the battle). Every implication of Revan themself, leading the charge and ultimately overwhelming the Mandalorians through force, cunning, and sheer cussedness. Explicitly saying that the Mandalorians were fought to a standstill and then pushed back, which while not the most detailed is still very much at odds with the sequel's conceit of the Mass Shadow Generator being what did the job and the Exile being the one behind it. 2. The thing about the Star Forge is that Revan abruptly abandoning the Sith and the Star Forge is consistent with neither the implications of the first game's Dark Side ending (the wickedly triumphant return of Revan the conqueror, Star Forge at their disposal and poised to take the galaxy) nor what this game tries to retcon Revan's goal to have been (toughen the galaxy up and build up military in preparation for a nastier outside threat). Having reclaimed the Star Forge, Revan would then abruptly abandon it instead of resuming the original agenda because...?

The game doesn't explicitly encourage you, no. The encouragement comes from the experience of the game basically punishing you for not refraining. It is encouragement in effect. But never mind this thread anyway...

I'm not talking about making it easy, just about making it less like "taking on the TSL Handmaidens' first challenge when you're not built for unarmed fighting" (I.E. You miss most of the time while they hit most of the time, and can do a lot more damage), which Marl and Bendak can sometimes get like if you're level 7 or 8. And I figured that modding in situation-restricted equipment would be a good way of achieving that balance without nerfing them or making you overpowered outside of those fights. Or maybe my memory's messing with me and they're not actually that problematic at those levels... And you know, I did specifically say that you're encouraged to refrain from leveling up too much while on Taris. Not that you're encouraged to refrain from leveling up at all, just encouraged to refrain from leveling up too far too soon. I don't think I was? But that run was a long time ago. And I resolved never to have another run like it again.

No, you're still effectively encouraged to refrain from leveling up too much. Because bonus Force points or no, if you don't refrain you get gimped on Force Power progression. I say this as someone who was once Level 12 before leaving Taris.

1. Re: The Star Forge. That is a cheap copout if ever I heard one, especially since the idea of Revan not intending they keep the Star Forge and the idea of Revan leaving at all are completely disconnected from the first game's Dark Side ending. And I reiterate that the "Revan was trying to toughen the galaxy against some other threat" retcon is flimsy bullcrap. 2. Re: The Academies. A. If the Trayus Academy was specifically used for breaking Jedi to the Dark Side, why did Malak take Bastila to Lehon to do it instead? B. The policy of taking Jedi to Trayus and disappearing Force-sensitives in the Sith ranks to Trayus (as Atton establishes) seems at odds with the Dreshdae Academy's entrance policies and scrutiny (or lack thereof) of its students. C. The idea of the Trayus Academy having anything to do with Revan and Malak feels like a forced attempt to unnecessarily tie the sequel's Dark Side McGuffin Place of Doom to the first game's baddies D. There isn't a Sith Academy on Taris; not for actual Force wielders, anyway. 3. Re: Who trained Revan. Okay, fair enough, I forgot about the explicit thing with Zhar. That is my bad. I forgot about that and was going by remembering Vrook being extra-ornery towards and suspicious of the amnesiac Revan. However: KotOR II's saying "Revan had many masters" is a retcon that exists to shoehorn Kreia in there. 4. The problem is that it's not simply "the villain's point of view." The problem is that A. it's the writer's point of view, mouthpieced through the villain, B. The overall narrative seems to say "if you don't agree with this interpretation of the Force you're wrong" regardless of the viewpoint coming from the villain, and C. said viewpoit comes off as shallow and knee-jerk on analysis, making A and B all the more irritating. 5. Re: Kreia's prophecy about Mandalore. It is an explicit reference to Jango Fett's death. And it's stupid, because it implies that Jango Fett was the last of the Mandalorians; that was wrong even at the time the game came out. 6. The inconsistency is that the dialogue in KotOR 1, sparse on info though it is, implies an intense but straightforward battle, not a battle where the Republic resorted to a cataclysmic superweapon to turn the tide. "The Republic broke our ranks" does not really paint a picture of "The Republic used a gravity crush superweapon that wrecked their own fleet almost as bad as it wrecked ours"; it paints a picture of Republic troops and/or ships battering their way through the Mandalorian lines. That reminds me: The Mass Shadow Generator needs a new name. Because mass shadows are just the "shadows" in hyperspace that correspond to realspace masses of sufficient size.