My Pet Project

[Pwener 23]

Warning: Contains heavy SPOILERS for the plot of Knights of the Old Republic 1.

Not sure if this should go on "General Modding" as it concerns not a project I'm working on but a series of modifications I've made to my own version of K1 and my desire to compile everything and make it mod-release-ready which would be a huge hassle. One that I would not bother with if there was no interest for it. 

A big part of this is that I have extensively (EXTENSIVELY) modified the game's "dialog.tlk" file. Thing is, I modified a modified version of it; the "Moderate PC Responses" dialog.tlk, one of the first mods I downloaded when I first started playing the game. I immediately began to modify it and even fix many typos it contained. If I were to release this mod I would imagine people here would want me to get permission from that original mod's creator that did the PC responses modifications and that's a loop I don't want to get into unless interest in this was worth it as who knows if that person is even still around. Taking the modifications I've made to the dialog.tlk alone and putting them somewhere else would destroy the point of the mod as you'll soon see. It would also be a huge pain that I am not willing to go through.

With that said...

When I first looked into the story of Kotor 1 I was fascinated by the character of Revan but utterly disappointed that the game was a simple "amnesiac" storyline. The more I learned about Darth Revan the more I wanted to BE that character, not a watered down version of him/her that lost all that made them who they were. The genius, the discipline, the manipulative pragmatism. My solution to a problem that I knew would prevent me from enjoying the game? What if Revan... never forgot who he/she was. What if... throught the entire game... they knew they were Revan. Impossible? Nah, turns out it can work with the proper dialog changes. Add dialog here, remove dialog there, use "Jedi From The Start," move 3 cutscenes around and the result? My Revan is actually Revan.

I may not know a thing about scripting or creating models and textures but what I know is writing. My professors and teachers always told me it was a gift I have. So I put it to good use in modifying the game's dialog. I built it all up using other mods like RedHawke's crafting mod and so forth to flesh out Revan's mechanical genius and such but that would be up to you and what mods you use. Essentially, my mod would simply be a diverse amount of modified dialog files and the one dialog.tlk. Examples of what I've done is allowing the option to reveal yourself as Revan to Uthar Wynn on Korriban before the Leviathan, Revan recognizing things and playing it off as ignorant to those around him, removal of questions Revan would already know the answers to and the elimination of instances where Revan reveals himself as Revan after the Leviathan like a freaking idiot (actually, I've eliminated a lot of instances where Revan is able to say dumb nonsense that would be out of character for him/her). Another example is the Rakata hologram recognizing you as Revan on Kashyyyk and granting access to the Star Map without the moral testing, all before the Leviathan.

And yes, the fact that your character has no memory of where the Star Forge or the Star Maps are is addressed along with why they start from level 1. A big part of this is modifications to the journal entries that give a window to Revan's inner thoughts, like recognizing HK-47 but being unable to reveal to it that you are Revan without alerting everyone else. Things like that.

The dialog modifications are extensive and it would take me a while to get everything ready as I would have to dive into my 2,500+ file override folder on top of getting permission from the mod creator of the original dialog.tlk I used. Also removing some things from said dialog.tlk I added all over the place as part of other mods I installed which would be a headache on its own right.

If there is no momentum for this pet project of mine my feelings won't be hurt. I understand it is a very personalized thing that I designed for my own sensibilities. If there is substantial interest I may go as far as get permission from the creator of "Jedi From The Start" and other mods that use dialog files as I have improved upon those and made additions to them to work with my other modifications to this.

I guess I should also mention that I have not modified dialog that is voiced with the exception of certain characters that speak the "alien" languages. Unvoiced dialog is kinda distatesful.

If anything, thanks for reading thus far.

Screenshots:

Spoiler

All instances of "Scoundrel" have been changed to "Agent."

"Intelligence" is now "Expertise" as Revan is canonically highly intelligent so now the stat is only reflective of knowledge, not raw intellect.

Certain text from the "Jedi From The Start" mod has been changed or added to.

Misc. vanilla text has been improved.

Jedi classes no longer have "Jedi" at the start.

Journal entries have been changed across the board to reflect Revan's identity.

Revan's responses have been added to in some cases or just changed. Keep in mind some of these accompany those from the "Moderate PC Responses" mod.

More soon...

 

Things that cannot be show through screenshots:

Spoiler

You are unable to fail the initial trial on Manaan when arrested after exiting the Sith Embassy. Or being unable to allow the court to assign you an Arbiter. An extra dialog choice has been added and both are rejections of having an Arbiter.

Revan can no longer pick a fight with the Sith soldier that extorts you on Manaan which results in you being jailed.

Hulas on Manaan can no longer be Force Persuaded which would result in him breaking contact with you. Also when assassinating the terrorist in the Republic Embassy, if you had the second and third rank of the Force Choke ablity two options would show up. Now only the 2nd rank is needed. The option for the 3rd rank has been removed.

When investigating Sunry's murder case you can no longer point out you carry a lightsaber to one of the witnesses. What if you don't carry a lightsaber?

When on trial on Manaan for the events at the underwater station, Revan can no longer follow up a Force Persuade with another Force Persuade attempt. This would result in an immediate expulsion from Manaan.

Revan will not reveal his identity to everyone on Korriban after the Leviathan or anywhere else in the game with the exception of Master Uthar if you side with him in Naga Sadow's tomb regardless of the Leviathan being completed or not.

The mini-quest to learn the Sith code on Korriban has been completaly removed. Getting it wrong would be utterly character-breaking for Revan. "Jedi From The Start" in turn removes the learning of the Jedi Code so it feels appropriate.

When accessing the Kashyyyk Star Map, no moral testing will take place. The AI recognizes you as Revan and grants access.

The Revan revelation scene on the Leviathan plays out as a humorous interaction of Revan playing dumb while making snide remarks about Malak's jaw. The revelation cutscene has been moved to be the opening cutscene of the game and the full cutscene of the events that led to Revan's capture with dialog plays in its place. That cutscene in turn is replaced by one that will play twice on Taris on purpose.

Access to Mika's shop on Korriban still requires completing the Leviathan. Before that, Revan's secret is his own.

In Lehon after choosing Bastila in the temple and confronting the party at the beach, it is no longer possible to threaten to kill everyone present like a bloody maniac and Revan will not go after Carth when the whiny baby runs off crying. The scene ends after Carth leaves and moves on to the next dialog file dealing with Mission and Zaalbar which has also been changed to always end with Revan forcing Zaalbar to kill Mission without the need of a persuade check. This one outcome only happening also had the happy accident of fixing an annoying scripting bug where Bastila keeps forcing you inside the Ebon Hawk if you leave the ship with her while still on Lehon.

Revan cannot tell the Elder's hologram on Lehon that he/she comes representing the enemy Rakata faction. This would result in instant death. Why was this even a thing?

On Taris's lower city Cantina, the dance partner mini-quest has been removed. You can no longer offer the dancer or the manager to help her.

In Davik's estate it is no longer possible to receive a "massage" from the Twi'lek slaves.

In the Taris upper city Cantina, a female or male Revan will no longer accept the propositions from the appropriate female or male patron. All player responses are in the negative.

Calo Nord can no longer be antagonized into combat that results in instant death in the Taris lower city Cantina. Dialog has been added and removed.

The lower city Sith guard on Taris can no longer be antagonized into a fight which would result in suicide-by-turret.

The Taris sewers rancor is now the same size as those in Lehon, is malnourished, and is a boss fight. Not as strong as those in Lehon it is still a challenging fight. Bring friends.

More soon...

 

@darthbdaman has graciously informed me that all of their mods have "open permission" so I will be including them. It's actually just the class selection dialog file, the one for Bastila and I believe another for the masters on Dantooine. That's pretty much it I think.

@Kainzorus Prime has graciously allowed me to use their "Moderate PC Responses" dialog.tlk as long as I give them proper credit.

With the proper permissions granted I can move ahead with getting everything ready for release... when I get around to it.

[Stormie97 253]

11 hours ago, Pwener said:

 I've eliminated a lot of instances where Revan is able to say dumb nonsense that would be out of character for him/her

Just for that I'm very much looking forward to this! Often times the dialogue options feel straight out of a Fallout New Vegas with low Intelligence playthrough

[Sith Holocron 2,478]

14 hours ago, Pwener said:

Thing is, I modified a modified version of it; the "Moderate PC Responses" dialog.tlk, one of the first mods I downloaded when I first started playing the game. I immediately began to modify it and even fix many typos it contained. If I were to release this mod I would imagine people here would want me to get permission from that original mod's creator that did the PC responses modifications and that's a loop I don't want to get into unless interest in this was worth it as who knows if that person is even still around. Taking the modifications I've made to the dialog.tlk alone and putting them somewhere else would destroy the point of the mod as you'll soon see. It would also be a huge pain that I am not willing to go through.

If you wanted to upload the mod here, you'd have to get permission.  Sounds like it is a mod from one of two modders. You should immediately contact before continuing to use their work as a foundation for yours.

1. PC Response Moderation.  If this is the mod you refer to, you can contact Kainzorus Prime via PM.

2. Dialogue Pack (2.1).  If this is the mod you're referring to, you can contact Allronix on this site via PM.

 

[Pwener 23]

4 hours ago, Stormie97 said:

Just for that I'm very much looking forward to this! Often times the dialogue options feel straight out of a Fallout New Vegas with low Intelligence playthrough

I'll be doing a playthrough soon and I'll take sample screenshots to post here to show my changes and level of writing competency. One thing you might like is that after going Dark Side on Lehon Revan no longer runs after Carth on the beach like a dummy when the latter runs away crying about betrayal. Bastila would stop you and the whole thing felt so undignified.

1 hour ago, Sith Holocron said:

You should immediately contact before continuing to use their work as a foundation for yours.

This was never intended to be released, it was for personal use. I'm just now deciding to talk about it and see if there would be demand for it. If I do decide to release it, then I'll be contacting the appropriate modders. I'd hate to waste their time if I decide the effort isn't worth it.

Edit: After reading it again I realized your concern. When I said it would be a huge pain I was not willing to go through I was talking about transferring the dialog.tlk lines and not connected to not getting permission. In that case I meant I would just not upload anything to begin with.

1 hour ago, Sith Holocron said:

1. PC Response Moderation.  If this is the mod you refer to, you can contact Kainzorus Prime via PM.

Yes thank you, it's this one. Good thing too as contacting them would be simpler if they are Deadlystream regulars. Jedi From The Start's creator is also here on Deadlystream and still active it seems. Good thing too, I was afraid these people being absorbed into the ether would have been the end of this before it even got off the ground.

[Pwener 23]

Just added screenshots and some extras about other things I've changed to the first post. I just started my third playthough of Kotor 1 ever so I'll be taking shots of things I've changed along the way. It'll also be the first time I ever do the lightside ending.

It will take me about 50-60 hours to finish the game as I like to take my time with RPGs. If all goes well and I receive swift responses from the creators of "PC Response Moderation" and "Jedi From Start" with their permission to go ahead, I will likely be able to get this thing out the door by Christmas as it would only be a few days worth of work to compile everything for release.

I can do without "Jedi From The Start" files as the essential one to make this work is the dialog.tlk from "PC Response Moderation," but both would be best.

[Pwener 23]

@Kainzorus Prime has given their permission to go ahead and use their "Moderate PC Responses" dialog.tlk file for the mod.

Furthermore, I know I said I could have this out before the end of December but I halted my playthrough and made a bunch of new additions. The mod will no longer include just the dialog.tlk and dialog files but also other goodies. Sometime in January probably. Probably...

For one, the rancor in the Taris sewers will now be a boss battle against a small malnourished rancor. Not as strong as the ones in Lehon, but still stronger than the rakghouls. The script has been removed for the rancor pile and the odor items from the severed hand on top of changing the text on the datapad. This change came about from my desire to eliminate all instances of instant death from the game which is another feature I have implemented.

Second, I went for a dive over at Strategy Wiki and learned a bunch of things about the game's hidden combat mechanics, like "Debilitate" and what feats, weapons and powers can inflict this hidden status. I have thus overhauled all descriptions for said items, weapons, feats and powers that have hidden effects. For example, Force Storm now says it can drain Force points from the opponent and how that mechanic works, fixed Affliction/Plague's incorrect descriptions and Antidote Kits will now say that they can restore damaged attribute scores. I have also improved the descriptions for grenades and mines so the effects are compiled in the description neatly and easily digested.

I will also include an optional change to health paks as some use different tags meaning you can have a few that do not stack with the rest. Antidote Kits will use a different icon found in the game's files and no more "Squad Healing" items found in the Star Forge. Those will become Life Support Paks.

I might also include changes I made to lightsaber crystal names and descriptions. Particularly to the Krayt Dragon Pearl which is designated as a "plot item" and so its description has a hardcoded space at the top that does not appear in the workbench (requires testing with the Sand People quest as I changed its item file to be a lightsaber crystal). I did this so that their descriptions do not connect with the crystal's effects in the workbench but a nice empty space separates the two. This requires the item files as adding the space in the dialog.tlk results in a white square at the start of the empty space for some reason. Weird.

So lots of things I need to change and check as all of this is finished in my game but I need to separate things from other mods and junk.

Another inclusion I'm thinking of is an optional Bastila dialog file as I changed the one from "Jedi From The Start" to have the improved romance scene. Except mine only uses the "get_close.ncs" script so Bastila and Revan do not go into their underwear. I will of course not include the script so users will have to download that mod and as long as it's installed my alternate kiss scene will play instead if my altered Bastila dialog file is used.

I also changed the Juhani "Jedi From The Start" dialog file so I could romance her as a male Revan. But I don't know if to include it. I came across a thread here where a user vilified doing this very same thing so maybe I'll hold on to that one for myself. I mean, it would be optional and lots of mods make Bastila and Carth gay but whatever, to each their own. Maybe feedback on if I should include it or not? Seems harmless to me but someone may get offended and I'm not a Deadlystream veteran so I don't see many coming to my defense.

Is that all for now? We'll see.