Backstory and Roleplaying Enhancement Mod Wish/Idea

[SeaBee 1]

Hello all,

Long time KOTOR fan, first time forum poster. I had an idea for a (hopefully fairly) simple mod that would (again, hopefully) make a playthrough a little bit different.

So to set the scene, one thing I also thought KOTOR 1 was missing was a bit more depth in what you could be.

A prime example of this was the questions Bastila asked you when you were on Dantooine. 

This is a quick copy + paste from the KOTOR Strategy Wiki:

Bastila: First, what kind of background do you have?
Answers: 1. Nothing extravagant. I'm a soldier.  2. I was a scout. The fleet recruited me for my skills. 3. I was a smuggler before I joined the fleet. (Plus the ones that piss her off)
Bastila: Good. On which planet were you born?
Answer: Deralia. It's in a remote system. Why?
Bastila: Excellent. Your current age is?
Answer: Wasn't all this in my service records?

Now I don't know about you guys but that seems all quite shallow choices - particularly for a Bioware game. So what if for example, it was something more like this:

Bastila: Good. On which planet were you born?

Player: Answer 1. Deralia. It's in a remote system. Answer 2. Nar Shaddaa. It was very rough to grow up in. Answer 3. Coruscant. Grew up in the big city and saw all the galaxy had to offer. Answer 4. Naboo. Very quiet and very peaceful, nothing too much happened there. Answer 5. Kashyyyk. I'm a Wookiee… can't you tell?

Just by adding the choices, you get to add a little bit more of a backstory to your character.

The same can be applied to the background, so for example if the background was for a soldier.

1. Nothing extravagant. I'm a soldier. Just graduated from the academy. 2. Was a mercenary for a while, thought I would sign up with the Republic before I got into too much trouble etc.

Dunno if anyone else thinks the same way about this, but I would love to lend assistance for mod development/mod this myself.

Would anyone want this/have any other ideas?

[DarthParametric 3,782]

53 minutes ago, SeaBee said:

that seems all quite shallow choices

That's the entire point. As Bastila herself tells you right afterward. She wasn't interested in your answers, she was interested in how you answered. The other responses are needed because of this.

[SeaBee 1]

That is very true - however, I think it's more to do with the fact the game itself doesn't allow for multiple options is a bit strange.

Like when to the age part, the player can still say "Wait, wasn't this all on my service record" can still be there - I think it's giving more choice to the player.

Considering at this point we don't know it's Revan, or at least we're lead to believe so, it gives more choice plus can lend itself more to certain roleplaying options

[Ebony Moon 187]

I certainly don't think the same way. One of the reasons I love KOTOR is that it doesn't have the extensive "rich dialogue" like other bioware games have. Not everything is spelled out for you like it is in other bioware games- or K2. I am more free to fill in the details and backstory myself, going by nonverbal clues of which are many in the game. 

After I played Dragon Age Origins I appreciated KOTOR 1 even more, because I get tired of "rich dialogue." Rich dialogue is ultimately too limiting for me.  It even feels manipulative of  Companion characters- which ironically suits the Exile in K2 who is essentially manipulating Companion characters into becoming Jedi, or to give bonus powers.

However, I can never fully immerse myself into roleplaying my Exile as I can my Revan, light side or dark side. There's too much defined for the Exile in many of the dialogue options, which doesn't really reflect my own reactions. KOTOR 1's looser style lets me be more immersed.

I know a lot of people prefer a rich dialogue, or having their character more defined for them, but that's a matter of preference, not that a game is shallow because it doesn't have a lot of rich dialogue.

If you want to make and release a mod that provides more definition and rich dialogue for the player character, that's great, because I do believe in options and it might encourage more people to play and perhaps mod for KOTOR 1, so I would support it for those aspects. But it doesn't mean the game, or the existing dialogue, however imperfect in other ways, is shallow.

[SeaBee 1]

That's fair enough and I respect that. Again, it's more to do with personal preference.

I think the word "shallow" may have been too harsher a term - I guess it's wanting to have more choice than presented, which you can say for anything I suppose.

Certainly I like the dialogue in KOTOR but I guess it's personal preference for wanting to have something a bit more extensive. 

[Ebony Moon 187]

There are a few dialogues here and there  I would like to add to, to avoid the cheesier stuff- like "I'm Revan Reborn," or "I am a servant of light" to the Red Rakata. More subdued  options would be nice there. Or give an option to not flirt with Bastila at all when playing a male. I might do something like that, really lightweight additions. There is a mod with more  tempered  responses. I don't think it adds anything, though.

There's nothing wrong with richer dialogue, a lot of people like it, it just doesn't work so well with me.

I think a lot of people will welcome more dialogue options for KOTOR 1, especially rich dialogue.

[SeaBee 1]

Yeah I have this mod downloaded. I'm a bit obsessive my dialogue sometimes so this was a welcome addition because simply removing an exclamation mark or rewording can make all the difference.

I would actually love a mod that removes (or gives an option) to not flirt with Bastila, or reworking the cheesier lines, and as you say, give lightweight additions to it.

 

[bead-v 251]

 

4 hours ago, SeaBee said:

Bastila: First, what kind of background do you have?
Answers: 1. Nothing extravagant. I'm a soldier.  2. I was a scout. The fleet recruited me for my skills. 3. I was a smuggler before I joined the fleet. (Plus the ones that piss her off)
Bastila: Good. On which planet were you born?
Answer: Deralia. It's in a remote system. Why?
Bastila: Excellent. Your current age is?
Answer: Wasn't all this in my service records?

Now I don't know about you guys but that seems all quite shallow choices - particularly for a Bioware game. So what if for example, it was something more like this:

Bastila: Good. On which planet were you born?

Player: Answer 1. Deralia. It's in a remote system. Answer 2. Nar Shaddaa. It was very rough to grow up in. Answer 3. Coruscant. Grew up in the big city and saw all the galaxy had to offer. Answer 4. Naboo. Very quiet and very peaceful, nothing too much happened there. Answer 5. Kashyyyk. I'm a Wookiee… can't you tell?

Just by adding the choices, you get to add a little bit more of a backstory to your character.

The same can be applied to the background, so for example if the background was for a soldier.

1. Nothing extravagant. I'm a soldier. Just graduated from the academy. 2. Was a mercenary for a while, thought I would sign up with the Republic before I got into too much trouble etc.

All this would require is dialog editing. Since you seem to have a pretty clear idea about what you want, why not edit the dialog yourself? You do need to know where to find the right dialog, which can sometimes be a little tricky for a beginner, but then you can ask here (the above part is in k_hbas_dialog.dlg). Once you have the file, editing it is simple. Then just drop the file into your override folder.

[Guest Sam Fisher]

I think I'll give this a shot, generally speaking making the PC of KOTOR 1's dialogue more ambiguous so it's up to each player to interpret it. Also removing unnecessary exclamation marks and so on, that mean the PC sounds like an imbecile.  

[NikaAlexandrov 27]

I personally am trying to work on this one myself honestly, mainly for the smuggler side. Partially inspired by the old black and white television series Maverick, which I watched as reruns when I went to visit my grandparents actually. Now exclamation points I think could stay in, but not so many. Adding more sarcastic and what I feel is amusing/shifty/conniving responses designed to personally antagonize others. Which I think is a good idea because the smuggler at her or his core is just that a gambler/conartist/smuggler/profiteer always on the look out for number one something bioware should've emphasized.

The scout's got more of a wanderlust basically, maybe a mixture of the smuggler and the soldier. Maybe is a little more interested in exploration, but isn't as naive and has more of a desire to understand the cultures around him or her. Possibly more along the lines of Have Gun will Travel's Paladin.

The soldier, would be I think more weary of war, and possibly leery of the jedi, even though is taught to accept her or his orders, and be more in line with say the Commander Sheopard approach from Mass Effect. That at least would be the idea to start with, the groundwork as it were, then I'd go from there.

Already have much of the idea for the Smuggler's dialogue, pretty much down, hard part is just putting it in, *grumbles* especially the 'can you repeat that' and the 'okay' that sort of thing for the tutorial. I really need to find a way to shut Trask up so he doesn't talk. Be nice if I could animate hitting him for part of it too lol.