Pa3PyX

Instructions! Unpacking an archive into the game directory needs instructions? 🙄 What is the world coming to... Oh yes, one still needs to find that game directory! 😁 One might not do that immediately with the Steam version, I admit. But Steam users don't have to do that in the first place -- they can just download version 1.3 via Steam. The archive is meant for GOG and CD/DVD versions only; with these, the game directory location should be obvious. Hint: it contains the directories named "override", "lips", "modules", "movies", "StreamMusic", "StreamSounds", etc. The usual prerequisites apply, of course: the game must be fully patched and have TSLRCM installed first. One non-trivial instruction (already given in https://deadlystream.com/topic/4979-bugs-errors-reporting-with-m4-78ep/?tab=comments#comment-70797 ) : the files opengl32.dll and shaders_override directory should be deleted for GOG and CD/DVD versions, these are useful for Steam versions only and may cause problems with other versions. I have kept them in the archive nonetheless, because some users will have GOG and CD/DVD versions unofficially patched to Steam versions. For them, the shaders override is still relevant.

Make sure you explore all the sub-dialogs; I realize it's boring since most of them lead to the same ends, but not always. In 1.5.1, as I recall, you have to talk to both ES-05 and IS-24 to re-activate M4-78, in either order. So if you happened to break into environmental zone with Bao-Dur before the industrial zone (as I did), then you have to complete quests in both areas before you're allowed access to M4-78. Maybe go talk to IS-24 (do it again if you have done it already) and see if he offers options. You'd likely have been better off had you just kept the Steam version of the mod (1.3), because 1.5 introduces more problems than it solves. I like the ending in 1.3 better than 1.5 as well (to be honest, both could have allowed the player to steer things to a better outcome).

Hosting provider quirks again, re-uploaded as .zip and added redirect. The original link should be working now (and yield the whole archive).

@phenex The link should work again now. My web hosting provider keeps moving things around without being asked to; I mean to move to a different provider but haven't had a chance yet.

While being a good mod, unfortunately it is not quite as tested and polished as one would like. This is especially evident in version 1.5, which introduces a large number of regressions (mostly cosmetic, but some of them quite serious; see https://deadlystream.com/topic/4979-bugs-errors-reporting-with-m4-78ep/) compared to version 1.3. In addition, the ending from version 1.3 was replaced by a more awkward, less elaborate, and less believable one, with no gameplay courses to trigger the original ending (despite the voice-overs and dialogues still included in the game). And to add insult to injury, version 1.3 (which appears to be the most stable released version of the mod at the time of this writing) was never released for non-Steam users; neither on DeadlyStream, nor on ModDB. All things considered, version 1.5 is a formidable case of "newer is not always better" both story-wise and quality-wise. Version 1.3 is recommended to play at this point. As of version 1.5.1, the 1.5 release is not recommended until/unless the regressions are fixed and the original ending is made available as an option.

Regarding M4-78 enhancement project in general, the main point to appreciate is a herculean amount of work that was required to recreate several modules of content from the scaps present in the original game. The content complements the original game nicely, fitting the Star Wars universe quite seamlessly with a new dose of industrial cityscape action in a fairly unique setting. Even though little is given away about the history of the planet, a sufficiently determined player with high enough skills/stats is able trace the origins of this world, which is a nice touch (being able to learn the origins of each world is one of the points that made the first KOTOR so awesome, and which its sequels desperately lacked for the most part). Regarding version 1.5.1 specifically, very few positive enhancements were made since 1.3; that includes minor cosmetic fixes, greater freedom of exploration (where Environmental Zone can be visited before Industrial Zone) and better framerate in the Industrial Zone. The negatives, unfortunately, far outweigh the positives.

P.S. I realize the authors at this point probably do not have enough time or inclination to actively develop or test the project. If so, it would be helpful if the mod was checked into source control somewhere (Github being the most obvious choice), so that any fixes or enhancements could be directly contributed by the community as pull requests.

Did a comparative play-through of version 1.3, and confirmed that the above issues 8a, 8b, 8d, 8e, 8j, 8k, 8l, 8m, 8n, 8o, 8p are all regressions introduced in version 1.5 as a result of refactoring the Industrial Zone into 4 separate modules to improve the frame rate, and introducing a different ending. As for 8g, version 1.3 includes a separate shader patch to correct the problem. In other words, most of the problems above (some of them quite serious, resulting in incompletable quests) are not present in version 1.3, therefore version 1.3 is the most stable version of the mod available today. It also has a more interesting and believable ending (IMO). Since version 1.3 was never hosted on this site for political reasons, and it's not possible to download without buying the game on Steam, this leaves GOG and Retail game owners with either buggy 1.2, or buggy 1.5. For these users, I am hosting version 1.3 on my web site for the time being. Note that the shader patch component (opengl32.dll and the shaders_override folder) are intended for Steam version only and need not be installed for other versions. http://pa3pyx.dnsalias.org/stuff/m478ep13.7z

Additional bugs discovered on the 2nd play-through (same set-up, but now done in "proper" order, i.e. Industrial Zone before Environmental Zone): 8j) (Gameplay, minor) When the player's droid talks to IS-02, they are always teleported back to Central Zone, even if this is not their first conversation (and therefore if they already downloaded the code from Central console). TBH, probably it's better to avoid teleporting the player back and forth; since it's the first exploration of the area, this only serves to confuse the player (let the player find their own way around the first time). It's only a small portion of the area that will be explored by the main character, anyway. 8k) (Gameplay, blocking) After filing an appropriate report in "Taking In the Trash" quest, the player witnesses two utility droids being destroyed; after the second droid, the image fades out and never fades back in (game is stuck, the only way to proceed is Alt+F4). However, if the player clicks through the animation (i.e. does not wait for explosion & fade-out), they properly regain control. 8l) (Cosmetic) "Damaged Construction Droid" that was "fixed" by a rogue employee is missing at least some of the voice-overs (no voice, no droid sounds). 8m) (Gameplay) "Deadly Upgrade" quest erroneously reappears and becomes not completable if you (1) have found the battle droid using the upgrade; (2) chose to run away and invite logistics droid to the scene; (3) recovered the upgrade part and kept it (completing the quest); (4) proceed past the Industrial Zone into the Testing zone. The quest starts to say that the logistics droid will be interested to know you recovered the part, but the droid only says a one-liner and refuses to talk anymore, rendering the quest stuck. Probably a regression introduced by 1.5 due to the splitting of Industrial Zone. I have also seen other quests erroneously refresh when moving between these zones. Most likely caused by using local variables instead of global ones (now that the modules are separate). 8n) (Gameplay, blocking) In the Environment Zone, if the player talks to the Archon and then chooses to use Escort Droid to depart into the Environmental Zone (instead of simply walking out), they are teleported right behind a group of construction droids traversing a locked-down area (where the mine field used to be). The player can follow the droids into the area (doors will unlock before the droids), but if the player fails to also follow the droids out (before the doors close behind them), they become stuck in the mine field area with no way out (the door on either side won't open, not even from the inside). 8o) (Gameplay) Escort droids fail to take the player to the Environmental Archon (ES-05) even after the player makes their way there and talks to her. 8p) (Gameplay) "Data Transfer" quest cannot be completed if the player talks to the rogue employee (and picks up the quest) before Kaah is dead. If that happens, the player is supposed to either talk to Kaah when he gets the chance, or if Kaah is killed, let the "employee" decipher the data by himself. But Kaah has no dialogue options to discuss the matter (in either Environmental or Central zones), thus no way to advance the quest variable from 3 to 4 required, and therefore the only option the player gets with the "employee" is "We shall talk later". Even if Kaah eventually dies. Probably also a regression introduced in 1.5 as a result of ending alteration?

Greetings, Browsing through dialogue files, I discovered that there is, or at least was, a way to trigger alternative endings to the planet's main plot line. Specifically: But I can't think of any way to trigger the latter variants of the ending in version 1.5.1. Have these been cut, never implemented, or have I just missed something?

1) During the game, when did the problem begin to occur? (List a general description of the issue.) A number of quest-related and cosmetic issues occurring after entering M4-78. Some of these have been reported in other threads here. Saved Game (after all problems triggered): http://pa3pyx.dnsalias.org/stuff/m478ep_save1.7z 2) Did you install the latest version of the mod? (We are only covering issues concerning version 1.3 - the latest edition.) Yes (version 1.5.1) 3) What version of the game do you have? (Steam, GOG, 4CD, or the KotOR Collection?) What region is the game designed for if it's the 4 CD version? Steam (exe version 1.0.2 private build 427) 4) Did you update your game as required by your game's region? (Update is required for 4-CD version only. If using a Steam, KOTOR Collection, or GOG version, put down "N/A") N/A 5) Did you use the TSLPatcher, if provided? Yes (to install HQ graphics mod, merging appearance.2da) -- source below 6) Were there any errors in the TSLPatcher installation? No 7) What other mods have you installed? Please give an accurate list and provide links to each of these mods - even if they are found on this site. (We don't actually know them all!.) HQ graphics mod (based on Xenon's unofficial 1.0c patch). Uses only graphical components from the unofficial patch -- .mdl, .mdx, .tga, .txi overrides and appearance.2da changes to textures and envmaps, but no other files or changes (to avoid conflicts). http://pa3pyx.dnsalias.org/stuff/tslrcm_hq_10c_20190104.7z Extra mod is therefore very unlikely to cause the issues described. 😎 Can you be more specific about the error? At what point did it happen? (List a detailed description of the issue.) How I got there: 8a) (Gameplay) The quest "Re-activate M4-78" is not completable if Environmental Zone is completed before Industrial Zone, but the player chooses *not* to skip the quests to get past the lockdowns in Industrial Zone. (Saved game above can be used to examine variable state.) In my particular case Kaah opened the door to R&D section, then I solved both rebuilding I1-01 and CS-45 quests to get audience with IS-24. Moreover, this led to indefinitely repeated I1-02 commissioning scene in Manufacturing (any time the player revisits this area) and indefinitely gaining 1000 experience each time it plays. 8b) (Gameplay, minor) If the Environmental Zone is visited first (as above), ES-05 can be questioned about events that the player doesn't know about yet. For example, the player can ask whether ES-05 destroyed I1-01, but the player doesn't have any quests related to I1-01 yet. (Though, arguably, player's droid may have already interrogated IS-02 about it.) 8c) (Gameplay, minor) If the Environmental Zone is visited first (as above), while returning from ES-05 to the Central Zone, the player comes across an area locked down, supposedly, on M4-78's orders. However, M4-78 has not been activated yet. 8d) (Gameplay) The "Fixing Droids" quest is not completable because one of the parts required to repair the droid in Central Zone is missing. "Main Droid Processing Unit" is nowhere to be found. According to walkthroughs, it was supposed to be in a junk heap in an outdoor storage area just before the entrance into the testing section of Industrial Zone, behind the line of inactive combat droids. However, in version 1.5 (where Industrial Zone was split into multiple areas) there is no longer a set of droids in this area, nor a junk heap behind them. Possibly I just overlooked the item and it's in a different place now, or I missed a quest reward at some point. But more likely this is a regression introduced in 1.5. 8e) (Gameplay) In the scene just before M4-78 room, one of the Sith Assassins remains alive, but friendly (?) after the attack scene. (Load the attached savegame, then go down to M4-78 room.) 8f) (Cosmetic) The L5-65 droid in the Central Zone (and any other droids sharing his model, such as Loading Droid in manufacturing) has "bleeding" in its shadow. (See attached screenshot.) Screenshots made by other people confirm the problem. Probably the model needs some minor corrections. 8g) (Cosmetic) Before clearing the radiation in the Central Zone, the "pollution haze" fog is not applied consistently to all surfaces. (See attached screenshot.) In particular, walls and floors don't show any fog at all, whereas most objects do (but not all). Also, skybox texture is missing in the Central Zone (but not in Industrial Zone) although the fog is present in both. If this is a game engine problem and cannot be fixed with content changes, it's probably better not to use the fog effect altogether (colorful exhaust from vents should be enough). After all, radiation is supposed to be invisible. 8h) (Cosmetic) In a number of places, the subtitle text shown does not match the voice-overs spoken. One example is IS-24 where the player is directed to Environmental Zone (where he may have already been), another is CS-36 (confusing the first and second assistant Archons). 8i) (Cosmetic) Voice-over volume varies widely and is inconsistent with the rest of the game. It's probably a good idea to use a program such as WaveGain or MP3Gain (in No-undo mode) to normalize the all voice-over volumes to a value consistent with the rest of the game. 9) Have you tried re-downloading the mod? No 10) Have you tried using a different save game? No 11) Have you tried starting a new game? Yes (new game was started after installing all mods, with no other mods installed after) 12) What Operating System do you use? (List Virtual Machines as well if you are using them.) If you're a Mac user, please note that here as well. Windows 7 Enterprise 64-bit, Intel HD Graphics 440 (driver version 10.18.14.4578) 13) Can you confirm that you see the TSLRCM logo on the the main menu screen? Yes (version 1.8.5) 14) What language is your game set for? English 15) Which language of TSLRCM are you using? English 16) Are you playing this on a laptop or a desktop computer? Laptop