[WIP] Bao-Dur Endgame Enhancement

[Cirosan 12]

Bao-Dur Endgame Enhancement

 

 

Vision Statement

Our mod aims to provide a fitting, thematically-appropriate ending for Bao-Dur's character during the endgame of TSL. In addition, we also aim to fix some of the stranger elements of Malachor V - specifically, the scenes of the Ebon Hawk falling into Malachor V's core and then inexplicably flying back out. This latter fix, too, will make use of Bao-Dur's character. With this mod installed, the endgame of TSL will not only be more expansive, but also provide satisfying explanations for some of TSL's longstanding plotholes - and provide a long-due sense of closure for the character of Bao-Dur.

 

 

The Team

Cirosan, Fair Strides, Kexikus

 

 

What exactly will this mod do, in brief?

 

For Bao-Dur:

• Changes begin during the start of the Attack on Telos
• The brief vanilla quest to save the TSF Station because it also functions as a cross-station for fuel is an essential concept
• After the Exile arrives on Citadel Station and speaks to Grenn, the game will switch to a solo section with Bao-Dur
• Bao-Dur's section begins right outside the TSF Station
• The section consists of Bao-Dur defending the Station from waves of Sith while also scrambling to use the Station's computer to fix the damaged fuel sections
• All the while, a computerized voice (community voice-acted) blares that the Station and its fuel lines are reaching critical levels
• Finally, the damage to the Station is too much, and Bao-Dur is forced to choose whether to flee or fix the fuel lines
• He stays, continuing to work, but finally slumps down, dying, just as the computerized voice announces that the Station has stabilized
• The Attack on Telos now switches back to the Exile as normal
• If the Exile finds Bao-Dur in the battle-scored TSF Station, they arrange for him to be taken back to the Ebon Hawk and will reunite with him after defeating Nihilus and speaking to Carth; if the Exile doesn't find Bao-Dur, TSF officers find him, and the reunion will occur with a few changes
• In the Ebon Hawk's Med Bay, a few members of the party make token attempts at healing Bao-Dur, but it's no good - he's dying, nothing anyone can do about it. The Exile can say goodbye in any manner of ways for roleplaying's sake. As he dies, Bao-Dur's telepathic VO from TSLRCM plays that leads across the ship and finally to the loading ramp, giving it context.

For the Ebon Hawk falling into Malachor:

• The bright green light in Malachor's center is radiation - devastating radiation that greatly harms organics and machines
• T3, absent from Malachor in the vanilla game and TSLRCM, is now the only one left aboard the Ebon Hawk
• Bookending the beginning and end of the game, the Ebon Hawk's systems are damaged and T3 must fix them before the Ebon Hawk is either torn apart by the radiation, or plummets into the core of Malachor
• The problem: All the parts T3 can find have already been irradiated, and are unusable.
• As he searches, a computerized voice in the Ebon Hawk (again, community voice-acted) warns that radiation levels are rising - fast.
• T3 searches among the party's personal effects, in storage, in the cargo bay, and finds nothing but useless, irradiated parts. It is only a matter of time before the Ebon Hawk itself is also torn apart by the radiation. T3 and the player become increasingly desperate.
• Finally, they realize the horrible solution: Bao-Dur's corpse still lies in the Med Bay; the party never had time to properly deal with it with the threat of Kreia. The only solution is to use the parts of Bao-Dur's mechanical arm. His superior engineering insulated his mechanical arm from Malachor's radiation, and the parts can be used to save the Ebon Hawk.
• T3 is hesitant, disgusted - but finally goes through with it. Play the movie of the Ebon Hawk flying out of Malachor's depths.
• Bao-Dur is thus integral to both scenarios, giving his character closure - in life he saved Telos, in death he saved the party. "Make my sacrifice matter," indeed.

Wait, wait, but what if you never repaired HK? Couldn't you just use those parts?

 

Glad you asked. We have indeed accounted for that.

• HK is still in the cargo annex where Mira hangs out, except he's gone from a standing to a fallen position.
• T3 can examine him, resulting in another mini-dialogue: "[The repairs on HK-47 were never finished, so he had no protection against Malachor's devastating radiation. Your sensors detect that he has been fully consumed by the radiation and is totally inoperable. Not even his component parts will be of use to you.]"

So no, a broken HK will not save you.

 

 

What exactly will this mod do, IN EXTREME DETAIL?

 

You asked for it. I hope you like words.

 

For Bao-Dur:

 

There's already a quest during the Attack on Telos where the TSF facility is a cross-station for fuel. Expand on that - show that Bao-Dur rushed off to protect that. Sometime around the Exile touching down on Citadel Station, switch to a solo section with Bao-Dur. Start it right outside the TSF station. Inside are a contingent of Sith that he has to take down. The computer terminal that's there - the one the protocol droid normally stands behind - re-label that something like "Fuel Management". Bao-Dur interacts with it and starts to fix the problem, but more Sith keep coming in. This happens two or three times, with a  computerized voice (community voice-acted) announcing the station is critical in a bark box.

 

As he rushes between fighting and working at the computer, pseudo-dialogue prompts appear on the computer that hint at his motives: as in "Reroute the fuel to save Telos.' if he's LS; "Reroute the fuel to finish what you started." if he's DS. As a result of all the fighting, explosions start to consume the TSF station as Bao-Dur is finishing his work - he pauses, looks at the exit, his last chance to leave, but then goes back to working at the computer. Warnings that the station is critical are still blaring. Bao-Dur is severely wounded by everything - if he wants to save Telos, he has to go down with the ship. He continues working but finally slumps, and falls - just as the computerized voice says the station has stabilized.

 

If the Exile does the fuel TSF quest, they find the dying Bao-Dur long after the fact, still slumped behind the computer in the TSF station, now marked by carbon scoring and Sith corpses. The Exile arranges for Bao-Dur to be taken to the Ebon Hawk's Med Bay and goes to board the Ravager. In this case, the PC will reunite with Bao-Dur in the Med Bay of the Ebon Hawk after defeating Nihilus and speaking to Carth.

 

If the Exile doesn't find Bao-Dur, he is found by Grenn and some TSF officers after the Exile has boarded the Ravager. In that case, after meeting Carth, Grenn intercepts them on their way out. PC can ask "What is it?" but Grenn simply shakes his head silently (no VO required) - immediately followed by a cut to Bao-Dur in the Med Bay of the Ebon Hawk, same as above.

 

In the Med Bay, Atton is making a token attempt to heal Bao-Dur, maybe tries a Force power if he's a Jedi - but it's no good. Atton leaves, shakes his head, frustrated. PC finally approaches Bao-Dur in the Med Bay - it's clear he's dying and nothing can be done. They can say goodbye in any manner of ways for RP's sake. As he dies, Bao-Dur's telepathic VO from TSLRCM plays that leads across the ship and finally to the loading ramp, giving it context.

 

 

For the Ebon Hawk falling into Malachor:

 

This one's an easy fix if the above's already in place. Play the video of the Ebon Hawk falling into Malachor. Cut to a solo section as T3: Bookending the game, T3, who was left on board, is the only one who can fix the ship and get it out. Re-use the damaged Ebon Hawk module from the prologue. The problem: There are no parts to fix the hyperdrive. Anywhere. T3 can search the ship and express frustration, but the party must've taken everything of use - there's just not enough to fix the ship. Eventually, the player - and T3 - finally realize the horrible solution: the dead Bao-Dur still lies in the Med Bay, and salvaging parts from his mechanical arm will be enough to save the ship. T3 is reluctant, a little disgusted - his retractable arm hesitates before he finally goes through with it. Hyperdrive fixed, play the movie of the Ebon Hawk flying out of Malachor's depths. Has the added benefit of giving Bao-Dur's death an extra layer of meaning: in life he saved Telos, in death he saved the party. "Make my sacrifice matter," indeed.

 

I offer the following revisions, which should make things more tense:

 

In the cinematics, Malachor's center, the one the Ebon Hawk is falling into, is consumed by a bright green light. I don't think it's a leap to say this could be radiation. So, in the T3 sequence, have a computerized voice (community voice-acted) announce periodically: "Radiation levels rising." T3 is now working against the clock.

 

Scratch the party having taken absolutely everything; that was a bit of a stretch. Instead, have there be plenty of containers with parts - but they're "Irradiated Parts" (no new art assets required; use the same icon). First time the player opens a container with one, have a dialogue open that explains, "[The core of Malachor V emits dangerous radiation that greatly harms both organics and machines. These parts have been rendered inoperable by Malachor's radiation - it is only a matter of time before the Ebon Hawk itself suffers the same fate.]" More containers litter the Ebon Hawk, all of them containing Irradiated Parts. T3 and the player become increasingly desperate as they find nothing but useless, irradiated parts no matter where they look, as the computerized voice continues to blare that the radiation levels of the Ebon Hawk are rising. Eventually they realize it was all a red herring and check Bao-Dur's arm in the Med Bay, resulting in another dialogue: "[bao-Dur's superior engineering has insulated his mechanical arm from Malachor's radiation. If you wish it, the component parts of Bao-Dur's arm could be harvested to repair the hyperdrive and save the Ebon Hawk.]" Same as before, T3 is hesitant, etc.

 

If the player never repaired HK:

HK is still in the cargo annex where Mira hangs out, except he's gone from a standing to a fallen position. T3 can examine him, resulting in another mini-dialogue: "[The repairs on HK-47 were never finished, so he had no protection against Malachor's devastating radiation. Your sensors detect that he has been fully consumed by the radiation and is totally inoperable. Not even his component parts will be of use to you.]"

 

Thematically, this also reinforces just how toxic Malachor V is - how it harms and destroys everything it touches. We've seen the harm it did to the Exile, Bao-Dur, and Mandalore - now we see the harm it can do to machines, things that aren't even alive in the same way. It reinforces the game's statement that Malachor just harms and consumes - and it doesn't even care if its prey is technically alive.

 

 

So, how can I help?

Glad you asked! The most obvious answer is that the more experienced modders we have on our team, the better. But what if you're not an experienced modder? Well...

• Every so often I might post proposals for additions or revisions that might be made to the mod. These might be because I think they're an improvement, or because of technical reasons, or because I accidentally broke the thrice-sealed circle around my computer and have been possessed by a spirit from the seventh ward of Maestral... whatever! The point is I'll post things, and you can tell me if you think they're improvements to the mod's scenarios, or if they're bad ideas, or if they're somewhere in between.
• We do need voice actors for the computerized voices, so try out for the role (and the TSF Officers that find Bao-Dur might also say something, maybe)! Mic quality and how-much-you-sound-like-a-robot-ness are key factors here. You can fiddle around with filters in Audacity if you want, or if we settle on your performance, we might handle that. The lines in question you can find below.

 

Lines in need of Community Voice Acting

 

For the Attack on Telos

Warning: Fuel pressure rising.

Warning: Fuel pressure at critical levels.

Fuel pressure stabilized.

Fuel pressure at stable levels.

 

For the Ebon Hawk

Warning: Radiation levels rising.

Warning: Radiation levels critical. Hull integrity compromised.

Radiation levels normal. Hull integrity stabilizing.

 

 

Alright, that about wraps it up. Hopefully we'll have something to show you soon.

[bead-v 251]

Congrats on making this a thing! I'm sure it isn't gonna be easy, but I wish you the best of luck!

[Sith Holocron 2,478]

I suggest using Fiverr.com to get your voices. It's cheap and you'll likely get better quality results.

[Domino5555 119]

Lines.zipI have those lines recorded, although you may wish to re-edit them to make them sound robotic, as I do not have any real audio editing software to speak of.

[Sith Holocron 2,478]

I can add the HK-type filter to any line you need for this project.

[Domino5555 119]

I can add the HK-type filter to any line you need for this project.

Thanks, Sith Holocron.

[Sith Holocron 2,478]

PM them to me.

[134340Goat 116]

Wow. This sounds like a very cool idea! Can't wait to see how it turns out

[Teddy273 4]

Incredible idea ! I can only hope to see this come through !

[DarthRevan101 104]

Really cool idea, I'd like to see some closure for Bao-Dur too. Considering how important he is both to the Exile and to the story of Malachor I'm surprised that, of anyone, it was him who never got a proper ending.

[Domino5555 119]

So, how goes progress? As I am contributing to the project by voice acting, (apologies in advance if I sound like a self-centered jerk) I think that I am entitled to know the progress of this mod.

[Cirosan 12]

The team is currently trying to hash out the best form for the "T3 and the Ebon Hawk" section to take. There are some concerns over how it flows with the rest of Malachor. Otherwise, work is slow due to various real-life obligations, but the team remains committed.

[Domino5555 119]

In the meantime, what lines do you think you might need for the TSF officers that find Bao-Dur wounded? If my vocal performance is good enough with my computer lines, I would like to contribute some more to the project. If my performance wasn't good enough or if you think that you'll need someone else to voice the computer and/or TSF officers, then that's fine. I just want to give Bao-Dur a proper send-off.

[Sith Holocron 2,478]

In the meantime, what lines do you think you might need for the TSF officers that find Bao-Dur wounded?

I'm not involved with this project so take what I say with a grain of salt. From what I've seen with any mod involving them, voiceovers should always be done last. Two points to consider . . .

 

- Lines change often: Volunteers that record one set of perfect recordings maybe not available down the road so it's best to record a part's lines all at once. Since dialogue (followed by voiceovers) tends to be the last thing to be finalized, that's why recordings tend to be done best when done last. Keep in mind, you might be available all the way through but I'm sure you are not the only part or actor under consideration.

- They aren't as important as the other parts of the mod: If you don't have everything else worked out in the model - cutscenes, character movement, etc - then voiceovers recorded early will emphasize that things were rushed.

 

TLDR: Think of voiceovers as the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae. You have to make the rest of the sundae before you put that cherry there.

[Kexikus 995]

Sith Holocron already explained it perfectly: Voicelines will be the very last or at least one of the last things we do to finalize the mod. Recording them now would only force us to stick with the current form of the dialog even though we'll probably want to change it at some point.

[Cirosan 12]

Indeed. I don't disagree with either of the above. However, since I'm the one who put the lines in the OP, I can at least try to explain why I did. Basically, they were lines I thought were incredibly unlikely to change - though experience has taught me that "unlikely to change" in modding often means "would you like your words served back to you with salad or soup?" so perhaps I should have thought more on it. ("Hey, how did the everything about how I coded the perks mod work out over a couple months in the wild?")

 

In my defense: They're computers. They're saying something is wrong. Some of them are less than five words long. It's just a fun little thing I thought would engage people a bit and that they could have a little fun with. I didn't mean it as a casting call to be taken with the utmost seriousness. If it's an issue, I can take the computer lines out of the OP.

 

There you go. I hope you've found this brief trip into Cirosan's mind to be relatively free of obscenities, worms and/or maggots, and horrors borne of the Elder Gods.

[Kainzorus Prime 205]

I like this idea, except the whole "scavenge the arm to repair the ship" part. It sounds very tacky, and deus ex machina-esque.

[N-DReW25 1,337]

This may be me just being lazy but you could reuse the line where the male TSF Soldier during the Batu Rem assassin sequence says "Man down quick call a medic". 

[Guest]

I'd try to find a way around reusing dialogue and creating new stuff. 

IMO fan VA is worse than none. 

[superSzym 155]

I'd try to find a way around reusing dialogue and creating new stuff. 

IMO fan VA is worse than none.

Not always. I didn't check Shanilia yet but I always take a look at the files from the mod before I install it and I found Shanilia's lines in Basic surprisingly tying into the tone of vanilla female Twi'leks Ryl. Except from two lines when she's laughing. She sounds like a drunk five-year old child, the voice in these two lines really sounds like a kid. But that's maybe because, from what I remember from the ReadMe, she's drunk when these lines are used, so sounding like being drunk is actually desired.

 

From other examples, I also remember Kaah Ohtok - Zhaboka. These were very professionally recorded lines matching the quality of vanilla voice-overs. Zhaboka is actually always doing well, his appearance of Kazius in Newbiemodder's Korriban Expansion was impressive. Before I checked that Zhaboka is the voice actor, I thought "What? Most of the spliced lines sound like crap, how they have done this well with Mandalorians, they've got also a filter". It was really indistinguishable from vanilla. If I'll ever need Mandalorian voiceovers lines, Zhaboka would be the first person I ask.

 

I actually completely cannot agree with the opinion that fan is worse than none. There are plenty of good voice actors in KotOR community and the only project when some VOs sounded bad was M4-78, because of amount of voice actors required (actually, some actors could voice multiple characters - in Korriban Expansion I'd never connect Kazius and Darth Loqi, I'd also have problems with Dustil and Kaah, not mentioning connecting Darth Loqi to Dustil - Zhaboka could do really many voices from which every one turns pitnej to be different from another, and droid filters help a bit). And no voice overs completely breaks immersion when you have sound turned on. Coruscant mod required only six voice lines, from which two were for Kreia and could be easily spliced and four could be recorded by one voice actor, because three of them were said by a Republic trooper, and another one was said by a person who wore a mask. There weren't these lines and, in addition to choosing the most obvious modules for reskinning, gave me a feeling that the mod was made without care about quality and caused me to uninstall it. If you cannot do VO, use only alien characters/voices, like InSidious did in his Tomb of Azgath N'dul mod, but do not leave anyone without voiceovers.

 

Actually, it's a computer in this case, so beeps and boops could work, but of course human VO gives more fun.

[Domino5555 119]

I like your assessment of fan VOs. I think that it is very accurate. And I'd also like for there to be an enhancement to the Coruscant - Jedi Temple mod. But that's an entirely different discussion for the future.

[l2daorch 19]

Much love for doing this. Can't wait for this to be out. 

[seph6 5]

If this is compatible with TSLRCM you also need to make a relation between Bao-Dur and HK-47 going to the HK factory since it was originally intended to be the event where he dies. You could add a small moment where Bao-Dur clears a path to HK before defending the fuel lines.

[Sith Holocron 2,478]

I sent him voice lines for that "Narrator / Ebon Hawk" voice as well.  No response.

[Guest]

Any further updates?