OzilsEyes 7 Posted Saturday at 06:03 PM View File Cathalan Improvement Project Cathalan Improvement Project By OzilsEyes What started out as a learning tool for myself, actually turned into quite a fun project... CATHALAN! Orange returns (Sorry!). I was really eager to brush up on my TSL modding skills, I'm fairly new to modding in general. I'd downloaded Cathalan and tried it years back, realising I could never complete it & it was just a buggy mess. When I started working on it, I couldn't believe my eyes (not because of the brightness of the orange either!). It needed a LOT of TLC. It really had the potential when Jaevyn first released it, it was a new planet, new quests, new characters, new items... but, it was let down by the amount of bugs and to an extent, incompletable content. I think I've now got it to a state, where it's actually a viable mod to add to your playthrough, If you've never actually completed the story, please take the time to do so, it's actually got quite a cool ending, which I enjoyed the first time I played through it after finally fixing half the quests. I firmly believe the community is driven by great ideas & great mods, the original creator, once had a great idea & tried to make it work. I don't know the history of Jaevyn or Cathalan, I know it's had it's rough patches, example: copyrighted music. In this post, I'll run through all the changes I have made, there may be spoilers to please, read at your own discretion. Now compatible with: TSLRCM M4-78EP Coruscant: Jedi Temple Mod Expanded Galaxy Mod Compatibility install with TSLRCM, M4-78EP & Coruscant will update the galaxy map to include 'Cathalan'. As the game restraints are 16 planet slots, this is not possible with the Expanded Galaxy Mod. To get around this, I have added an additional NPC who spawns on the Ebon Hawk, he has a shop (different items based on main story progression), medical table, some lore & fun dialogs. SM-K1 (Definitely not named like this because it sounds like my dogs name: Smokey) On the expanded galaxy compatibility install, go to the security computer on the ebon hawk, choose 'Device Memory', a cutscene will occur where SM-K1's hologram will appear: Spoiler He will give you a list of uncharted planets, one being Cathalan which you will be able to travel to. Installation: Download the package, unzip & run the holopatcher.exe Options: 1. Install Cathalan Improvement Project - Compatibility with the base game + TSLRCM + M4-78EP 2. Install Compatibility with Coruscant: Jedi Temple Mod - Compatible with use with Coruscant: Jedi Temple Mod 3. Install Compatibility with Expanded Galaxy Project - Compatible with Expanded Galaxy Project Choose your preferred option, then let the installer run. Start up your game. It's advised to start a new game BUT it should be compatible with existing saves. Uninstallation: Holopatcher will back up your files when installing, you can use the installation / backup folder to re-place your old files. Fixes, changes & additions General Improvements: Spoiler Better loading screens (Previously, these were low res, stretched out messes) 2048x2048 now with new locations & correct 'look' when in-game. New Movies created, old copyrighted music & bad transitions removed. (Although the new transitions aren't much better) Dialogue overhauled. This was a major pain point. Across the whole mod, dialogue was buggy, un-skippable, didn't make sense, bad grammar, spelling mistakes etc. I took the time to correct probably 95% of the dialog files, making the experience 1000x better & more enjoyable. Terminals not working correctly/dialogues un-skippable, making for long waiting periods. Several scripts removed, created & improved. Music removed, now uses game-default music. Voice overs sometimes buggy, they would speed up/slow down or not activate at all. All of them have since been fixed. Skyboxes & some textures updated. Doors overhaul, it now feels like you're on a different planet. Completely rewritten patch script using holopatcher, this now works correctly with several versions for compatibility. Unique skins for unique characters. Re-wrote quest journal entries for compatibility. All quests now completable & make sense. Added quest journal hints to make some of them bareable. Added hints for the puzzles to characters, terminals etc. Removed nearly 1000 unused files including; scripts, sounds, placeables, characters. Level overhaul, removed all unused placeables, camera angles, sounds, characters from areas that are not used/unaccessible. Changed several item names & descriptions that you acquire during quests, immersion change, really. Some names tweaked. Appearance of Sharrakan's fixed to original intended and compatible with current M4-78EP droids (beforehand, they would clash), walkrate fixed too. Previously they walked instead of ran fast Appearance of Yannick restored to intended Galaxy Map, added animated version dependant on your installation. Cathalan Planet texture updated. Cathalan Galaxy Icon updated. Galaxy Map now compatible with Coruscant, M4-78 & Expanded Galaxy. Conversations with no lips, incorrect voices, incorrect alien voices etc. fixed. Warp Barriers (Red) & Safety Barriers (Orange) added around the world for immersion. Removed several doors that were more of a nuisance than they were worth. Quests: Spoiler There are 13 quests in the mod, below is a list of improvements followed by a list of quests affected by those improvements. Rewrote the majority of dialog files for characters in quests, most of them had no escape choices in the options, rather they would just repeat the same lines multiple times bringing frustration to the player. Rewrote check scripts for a few quests, the main one being the speeder quest, which after a google, showed to be the biggest pain point of the mod. Fixed checks for quest progression & item checks, some were incorrect meaning the quest couldn't progress in certain states -> Speeder quest as an example, again. Cathalan Operandi & Outsider Issue, two of the main storyline quests were broken. You would also have to speak to the same NPC multiple times to activate both, this has been corrected with a full character dialog overhaul. Bonus Mission: Helping Hand Bonus Mission: Hultan Bounty Bonus Mission: Iraffi Bounty Bonus Mission: Libak Bounty Bonus Mission: Sqwardinok Bounty Cathalan Operandi The Outsider Issue Key to success In search of Hylic Lower Level Entrance Mission to the crypts Rebuilding the speeder Yannicks Quest The majority of journal entries have been updated to include hints, correct grammar etc. Below is a puzzle spoiler, it seems to be one of the hardest things for people to figure out. I have added in-game hints but if you're really stuck, here is the answer: Spoiler Door Puzzle - D, B, C, E, A in that order D -> G B -> I C -> H E -> F A -> J Level specific improvements: 451CAT - Keralt High Level Spoiler Dialogues revamped in the area, most now have escape options & don't loop. Fixed Telemetry computer location to allow use. Renamed a door to indicate where it leads to - Matterson District. Also changed the item description and quest journal to indicate how to get to the district. Fixed the issue where Lord Diaeses still spawns after killing him in the dark lands. Restored 'Greeter' who greets you when you first arrive on the planet. The script there didn't work, I replaced it & altered the trigger area. Removed some doors to for QOL, replaced 'telos' doors with Cathalan safety barriers to fit the 'lore' of the key pass opening 'most' of them. (Also so it feels like a new planet) Greeter trigger area changed to prevent missing the first interaction. Leave Cathalan -> Ebon hawk trigger area replaced. Previously you wouldn't be anywhere near the ebon hawk and it would start the transition. Now you must walk to the ramp, like most planets. With the new 'Warp Barriers' it's easier to see how to progress after speaking with Diaeses. Added a turbo lift to replace the 'ramp' to Atris' lair on the level. Dockmaster: Added lore in dialog, tidied up the file, made it skippable & changed some gestures. 452CAT - Keralt Middle Level Spoiler Dialogues revamped in the area, most now have escape options & don't loop. Added missing dialogue to commoner. Removed pointless doors in the level. Fixed spawn location when travelling from Keralt Lower Level, previously would spawn you at the wrong location (frustratingly). Changed description of unsigned data pad to indicate that it needs signing by somebody of authority. - Quest Hint. Added option to CPF Officer dialogue to give him the signed data pad, previously you'd have to repeat the same dialogue as before to hand it to him. 453CAT - Entertainment Promenade Spoiler Removed glitchy trigger points to stop you warping around. Removed some placeables. Added 'on enter' script to handle the questlines better. Added Music, patrons, atmosphere, dancers & Bith! Corrected positioning & naming of invisible patrons in Geero's room. Changed skybox, it's not 'HD' or 'Good' but it's a darker sky to match the other levels I've changed. Removed the fog which covers half the textures. Fixed a dialogue issue with 'Geero' when selecting the Vuna Bounty, it would pause momentarily before continuing. 454CAT - Keralt Lower Level Spoiler Fixed a scene where two aliens are having a conversation and it teleports them across the map, they now walk off together as intended. Also fixed spelling mistakes in this dialogue. Added hints to quest & puzzle on door. Fixed spawn point when returning from Dark Lands, previously would place you at start of level instead of next to speeder. Fixed encounter with 2 wyvern guards where the dialog was repeatable and you could boost kreias influence multiple times (If she was in party). Speeder fixed for quest. 455CAT - Warrior Base Spoiler Randomly placed broken Pull String now returns you to the start of the Base (Dialogue) - QOL change Unskippable Dialogue now skippable Glitchy level, it warps you around due to broken trigger points, now fixed 2nd Revision it made more sense to add additional warriors to fight in the large empty room this one NPC was in. Added a force field door, put NPC behind this door Door triggers conversation (as if he was locked in the room) Additional warriors added in the level to fight off Dialog added to medical droids Error in dialogue where it gave 2 access cards on separate lines, changed this to give 2 cards on one line. (One for each of the two doors, I should have had separate items for this but cut a corner!) Luceal dialog now skippable, starts with door entrance instead of walk-in trigger point. This is because it was buggy & literally easy to do this (and made more sense). Fixed camera angles for Luceal confrontation. Extra dialog line removed, when running through the area it would try trigger and give an 'empty' dialogue line that would be visible on screen. Added a blast door that cannot be opened on the other side to prevent loop-hole Yuckov dialog tweaked with additional grammar, some lines did not have VO, now fixed & skippable. Tweaked luceal stats & feats, almost impossible at lower levels. 456CAT - Wyvern Base Spoiler Fixed checkpoint guard when opening the door, he now speaks to you & has correct dialogue/voice over. Changed checkpoint guard to twi'lek and added voice over. Fixed dialog on all thugs, incorrect file names causing the non-linkage and no dialogues. Fixed Tarlak's unbearable un-skippable long dialogue, now skippable. Fixed an issue with Tarlak's dialog where he was using the Twi'lek alien VO instead of his recorded lines. Blocked off unused area in the map with a door fitting the theme of the others. 457CAT - Eastern Dark Lands Spoiler Sharrakan's textures fixed Sharrakan's walkrate fixed, previously stuck in 'walk' mode This was to do with a_belt_35 giving the feat 'zombie walk' Removed swoop bike that is useable next to the actual land speeder, just there to cause confusion between the Fixed 'painful' land speeder dialogue that took 30-45 seconds to go through. Fixed 'painful' terminal dialogues, all had huge delays that were un-skippable. Fixed level entry points, it was pushed so far back that it was nearly off the map, giving bad aesthetics. Fixed a script and encounter with Sith Lord, previously he would not equip the lightsaber until round 3 of the battle, this is now fixed. Made the other 3 land speeders in the area functional, this allows QOL when returning to Keralt city. 458CAT - Matterson District Spoiler Fixed first dialogue when entering, it wasn't skippable. Made most dialogues skippable. Spread out some barrels in the room as they were all clipping in the middle of each other. Added workbench & med table in same room as it was empty, tried to add a bit of life to it. Fixed countless 'Voids' where doors had been removed and a black void had been left. (This was painful positioning doors ) Doors were not lined up properly in the level, not sure whats gone on but they were all 0.15 too high on the Z axis. On the back of the doors not lining up, I decided change & remake every door file, removed around 10 that were not needed, also changed appearance to fit 'Cathalan' theme. Blocked off areas of the level that were accessible but not needed (& had no content). Added dialogue to commoners & nobles in the area, felt a bit dead without. In the council chambers, there diplomat is having an argument with the other councillors, afterwards he sticks around and you are able to loop the dialog. There was a script attached which i believe was trying to make him walk away after the conversation, as it makes sense... I have fixed this to work. After the council chamber there was an area which was large for no reason, it only had a PC & a confrontation which plays elsewhere. I have removed the confrontation to prevent duplication and placed a Sith guard in the location behind a barrier you cannot open for immersion. Sith Guard trigger does not activate, fixed it & now works as intended. Dialogue for the Sith guard was incorrect, fixed by linking correct VO numbers. Updated dialog for locked doors & added dialog used terminals so it's not just 'blank'. Removed around 80 un-needed files from the MOD archive. Rewrote the computer terminal for opening Area 51, it was buggy & I didn't like how it worked. 459CAT - Western Dark Lands Spoiler Fixed issue with entrance to outsiders enclave where it would display a blank 'destination' text. Issue to do with 232TEL waypoint left in GIT. Fixed Entrance to outsiders enclave door, dialog would not set local boolean for the object so it would close and you could run back to the terminal and get unlimited xp. Alongside this, if for whatever reason the door glitches, I've added a check to be able to open it if you've progressed the quest. 460CAT - Outsiders Enclave Spoiler Fixed un-skippable dialogue Finished the level, there were references to additional NPC's in the GIT but there were no character files available so I created them based on the names in the GIT. Fixed waypoint, legacy waypoint from Dxun Cache was still present causing blank waypoint text occasionally. Replaced Dxun cache door in the enclave to the 'Cathalan Warp Barrier' to fit with the theme. Added some worker droids to the area with a generic dialogue. 461CAT - The Crypts Spoiler Fixed waypoint name, was previously 'trayus academy'. Plasteel Cylinder clipping into the wall, replaced. Dead body to progress quest was buggy (hard to click) due to overlapping another object, moved and resolved. Fixed appearance of Sharrakan Guardian, also the spelling of the name from "Gaurdian". 462CAT - Keralt Sector 51 Spoiler Removed 2 plasteel cylinders that were clipping & unusable. Removed 2 Metal Boxes that were clipping & unusable. Hatch control panel fixed, the dialogue is skippable and doesn't require the puzzle to be re-done after completion. The puzzle is quite difficult, I have added some hints nothing that google can't solve if you can't solve yourself. Removed a random door in the middle of the level? Fixed end dialogue where after last talk with Caden, he says something about the middle level then spawns you elsewhere, this has been fixed to take you to the upper level. Created a cutscene where the player walks towards Avengus, this removes the issues on the bridge with stalling & conversation not starting. Avengus Cutscene happens automatically without having to speak. Tweaked Avengus almost impossible to "kill" Overall, working on the project was very fun, it gave me a good insight into modding KOTOR TSL, which is what it was intended to do. I decided to share the project as it's actually quite a fun playthrough, it gives you the benefit of a few extra levels, some credits, items etc. There is so much more I would have loved to do with this but I didn't want to change it too much other than fix the bugs and add a few things. Please, if you do like the changes I've made or the work that has gone into the project, drop me a comment/message. React to this mod / show appreciation Most of all, use it! Have fun! Legal Disclaimer ================= All materials and copyrights belong to LucasArts, Bioware and Obsidian Entertainment Inc. & I own none of the materials and are not making money for this. Feel free to use this mod however you see fit, please don't upload this on other sites, I will handle that. You may, however; do as you please in regard to using it in your own mod, please just leave a line of credit to myself & the users mentioned in the credits section below. Credits: Spoiler OzilsEyes – Cathalan Improvement Project Jaevyn – Original Cathalan Release, without his creation, this would not be possible @Thor110 – Extensive Advice & Knowledge, Tutorial Series @deathdisco– Coruscant Lift Placeable @Dark Hope – Original Ithorian HD Base Texture @Kexikus – Coruscant Galaxy Icon & Texture @JCarter426 - Loading screen template modders resource Jdnoa - Lips dev/test. Demelza - Female voice actor. Zhaboka - Tarlak. Matthew Van Voorthuizen - Cadan Trelbi Warlord664 - Original Tester Tools used: Spoiler Massive shoutout & thank you to all creators/developers of the tools below! Tools used: Holocron Toolset HoloPatcher KGFF Editor MDLOps MDL Edit TalkEd Dlg Editor Kotor Tool Kotor Scripting Tool DeNCS Submitter OzilsEyes Submitted 11/01/2024 Category Mods TSLRCM Compatible Yes Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
