Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast

From The RGN Crew, we Would Like To Wish Everyone Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas And A Happy New 2008 Year!!

Hi all,

it's for once the time of the year again to announce these sweet words of joy and festivity's.

Comming from the RavenGames.com crew,
we wish you all a
Merry Christmas
and a
Happy Newyear

Our best Regards.
the RGN crew

This just came from the Raven Soft forums. C.Bernstein has posted the next text to inform us all that they will be closing their boards.

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Everyone. We regret to inform you that we will be shutting down the message boards. The message boards on the forums.ravensoft.com website will be down for an indefinite period of time.

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By this, I think that RGN is in the urge of getting the website done and finished in order to welcome the guy's from over Raven Boards

(Source: Raven Soft Forums)

Hi everyone and welcome!
I am John the new owner of the Raven Community.
We took over a little while ago but after some problems with the content management system and then some more bugs and issues we finally have everything ironed out!

There is a ton of awesome information here and as a gaming freak I am excited to carry on the legacy of the previous owners and contributors.

Much will remain the same like informative information from Jorge and Col.J.P. and some things will change a little. A new CMS will be added in the relatively near future and the forum will change soon as well. Don't worry nothing will be lost. All of the content and posts will move as well.

Enjoy!

John aka Freak

It's really difficult for me to review this map since I've already reviewed it before! I'll just paste in my review from the other map here. You see, Szico created this map all over again, but for JK2. The first version was for JA. And it had some terrible FPS issues. Chicago Streets for JK2 though, has great FPS. Of course, there are no speeders or lockdown feature, but it's still a good-looking map.

Hmmm. Where do I begin? Y'know, I think I'll start with the music of all things. I am so rarely impressed by the choice of music for maps, and the five minute mp3 included for this map works fairly well. I also just really like the music. It has a very dark, like, detective feel to it. I was tempted to hide in the shadows cast on the brick walls surrounding the map and sneak around the perimeter, humming along with the mysterious music. In fact, the music alone made me long for a good detective-like map. Y'know, like, a 40's noir kinda thing - complete with a detective's office high up in a building, with rain pouring down, a desk littered with cigarette butts, an old phone and an empty bottle of whiskey. A bare lightbulb burning overhead and a dented file cabinet in the corner. Okay, you get my point.

Fortunately, this map lived up to my expectations when I first heard the music and spawned in a dark street with several empty wooden boxes around me, although I guess 15 frames per second isn't a great way to start off. My FPS did improve in other areas of the map, but not in the areas that I would've wanted to duel. Szico included several speeders and a short street raceway that was really a satisfying jaunt. I suppose the most impressive room was the bedroom, though everything seems a bit oversized (Easy for fighting though). The same can be said for the bar and barstools in the McDonald's down the street, and the picnic tables outside. It seemed that everywhere I turned, there was a scrolling neon sign with clan tags and names. The bar in the Pizza Express was way too high and the chairs and tables are only there for decoration - you can't really sit in a chair. The clan room, for lack of a better term, was nice. I did like the lockdown feature - but I was most grateful for turning off that darn alarm thing. Rawr. I am glad that Szico didn't make an office for each member of the clan - that is a pet peeve of mine. The best place, in my opinion, for a good duel is the area below the clan room.

So I guess this is one of those maps that you just kinda hang out on. I can't imagine a good FFA on this map simply because of the FPS I got on it (although it is probably due to my Graphics card.) Szico claims this is the final version of this map and he added quite a bit to this version, including new textures, better bot support and more secret areas. So for those of you who are a fan of the previous versions, you should download this final map. And for those of you who haven't seen this map before, it is worth a look. Pretty darn impressive for a first map. I can't wait to see what Szico designs next!

Great work, as always, Szico!

Bot Support: Yes
New Textures: Yes
New Music: Yes
Game Types: FFA, Duel and CTF

Both reviews and comments by AmosMagee.

You can get it at Jedi Knight Files.

The Webiste PCgameMods is back up and many cool maps were uploaded I recomend that You visit it. Specially with a new map on Ep 1 the entire movie ina map!!!!!!!!!!!!
Check this page out at http://www.pcgamemods.com/5/ You won't regret!

Im other news the Jk3 File webpage is undergoing some big changes, specially that bow it actually says JK3 and not only jk2
Plus its got a new blueish color.:)

I recomend you check it out to, And if you are too lazy to write the links on your address inserter just click in any of the map links to Pcgamemods and jk3 files.

In final news, Batllefront is coming Sept 21 So get your blasters ready specially if you are a siege lover!:)

Also on the recent surveys here are the most popular maps in the public/clan servers.

1st: naboohills2(by: darthzappan)
2nd: Kamino (by: sith j cull)
3rd: SW Siege Destroyer (by: official ravensoftware crew)
4th: A tie between Kotor's Flying school(by: kotor software crew) and antalus CTF(by:Sith j cull)

So those are the coolest maps be sure to download them If you haven't already and have them safe in your base folder :)

This news has been brought to you by your Newsposter: Jorge-Fonseca
"there is no place i can't go there is no site I can't enter there is no map I don't post, but most of all there is no worry in this website while I am here" and remember there is no spoon !!

PS: Be sure to check this page every day becasue it is updated in average every 12 hours.

If you don't recall, there was a magazine published a couple months ago called MsR Magazine. The magazine has kept many of its same staff writers, designers and of course, the editor - but the name has changed. The second publication of this 'zine is now called The Weird Side.

The magazine offers a glimpse into the gaming community that includes They Might Be Jedi (TMBJ) and Flying Ferret Squad (FFS) and the regulars of the JK2 Maddness server. Now, since I am on staff, I won't offer any biased opinion and I'll just focus on the problems I saw with it. I found that some of the ads were blurry and having it in PDF format only is a bit limited and can make it difficult to read. Also, it would be nice if the URL's included were clickable links.

This issue features a review of the Troopers mod for UT2K4 and a review of the game Final Fantasy XI. Also included are comics, clan news, a relationship advice column and movie reviews. One new addition is Letters to The Weird Side. Take a look for yourself.

Magazine Review and comments by AmosMagee.

You can find this at Jedi Knight Files.

I haven't seen a map from Jedi Outcast in a long time, but the wait was worth it! heres the description:
Okay there are alot of Yavin temple maps out there aren't there? Some good, some not so good. This in my opinion is one of the better ones. Okay so it's a clan map but as most clans are learning it's better not to put any self pimpage clan tags up around the place to ruin the mood. The first thing I noticed when I spawned was the music. After listening to it for a short while it felt right with the map, it had a powerful feel to it which enhanced the map as good music does. Now the map in itself seems very professionally designed. The map looks natural in the way that the hills are nicely curved and look better than some attempts (see my first map ). The level consists mainly of dueling rooms, each one has it's own style. My favourite one by far is the platform suspended above what appears to be a foggy bottomless pit. In some of the other rooms there are windows that look to the outside, but unlike some maps where it's nothing it leads onto another part of the map with another duel area (usually, in some rooms it's done for asthetics but you can still go out there ). Weapons are also included in this map, which is good. The weapon placement also seems balanced by where things are put. :

Now there is no bot support in the map and I failed to see any new textures apart from the same old Yavin ones, but the music is quite nice to listen to, it even gets more upbeat. I'll be keeping this map in my base folder and I recommend it to people that like playing for the duels.

Map Stats:
New Textures: No
New Sounds: Yes
Bot Support: No

-Mithran- (Intro By: Jorge-Fonseca)

Check it out at Jedi Knight Files!

"I'm writing this open letter to announce my resignation from Raven Software effective Wednesday, June 30th and to let everyone know that this pending departure is both amicable and mutual. What can I say? It's been a hell of a ride.

In the past seven plus years I was fortunate enough to be able to contribute to twelve Raven Software titles alongside the most talented group of people I've ever had the good fortune to work with. I want to thank Raven for giving me the opportunity to start my career in game development and I send out my best wishes to everyone at Raven and Activision for their continued success. I know you'll all do well.

I'm sure the question many of you are asking is "why?" (Then again, maybe you aren't!) Put simply, I've reached a point in my life where it's time for me to move on to new challenges…to take some risks and make some time for a few things I've always wanted to do. I don't deal well with "what might have been" scenarios. That said, there are some shots I need to take and I believe now is the time for me to take them. The way I see it, if I don't do it now, I may never get the chance again."

More details can be found at Kenn's World.

Good luck Kenn!

Well, if you ever wondered who's all behind this RavenGames.com Network project then you should have a look at our new 'Crew Page'. You can check the Crew page by clicking this link:

View our all new Crew Page!

If you would like to become a part of our team, you can always email us your details using our contact form.

If you played JK2 two years ago, then you might remember the controversial map created by ShroomDuck for the WoV clan. Still play JK2 and haven't seen the map? You can get it here!

WoV is still around and now plays JA. So it makes sense that they'd want their beloved map converted for JA. So the leader of the clan went to Orbitius. To be fair, I did test both maps for JK2 and JA and I have to say that there really weren't many changes at all. The changes made were necessary ones - such as making the elevators/lifts work for JA. Orb claims there was an overhaul done on the lighting, but I can see no difference at all. My FPS was actually much better on the JK2 version of this map, but that could just be because it's for JK2. *shrug* I don't know. The textures all look exactly the same, though Orb says he replaced some with his own custom textures. The biggest change I noticed was the Tribunal pit. You'll see what I mean. There are supposed to be some new secret areas added by Orb, but I didn't find them...

This map for JA has the same appeal it had for JK2. The music hasn't changed, nor has the skybox. The lighting, textures, design and atmosphere has ShroomDuck written all over it, but less tongue-in-cheek than his usual work. So while the author of this version of the map is Orbitius, this is still the same WoV map created by Shroom.

Bot Support: No
New Textures: Yes
New Music: Yes
Game Types: FFA

Map reviewed and commented by AmosMagee!

You can get it at Jedi Knight Files.

JKFlyguy brings us a map Called "The Backyard Map". I didn't really like this map but it does have some good ideas. It's not the overdone temple or imperial look, so it is something new to look at. The textures are all bright and vibrant (the yellow slide for example). Unless I'm mistaken the bright lighting is supposed to simulate a sunny day or something. I didn't care for the music...It was kinda well...not my style heh, but I guess it went with the theme of the map.

The map has a pool, a bunch of slides, guns, and a viewing/sitting place off to the side. The author said there's a secret bar, I found it, so I leave that challenge to you guys to find it!

Bot Support: Yes
New Textures: Yes
New Music: Yes
Game Types: FFA

Map review and comments by SanosuKe.

Take a look at Jedi Knight Files.

Some communities now require anyone selling used video games to give fingerprints for police records. The question is: why?

Some stores that buy used video games have begun taking their customers’ fingerprints and turning them over to police, but the stores say they’re just complying with local laws.

In addition to recording drivers license, telephone numbers, and addresses of customers who sell used games or consoles, some are routinely requiring a thumbprint. Retailers are collecting the information under a law intended to regulate pawn shops and make it easy for law enforcement officials to track down thieves who fence stolen goods. A number of states have such laws and Utah passed its own version just last month.

More...

Source: www.gamespot.com

I'm surprised I haven't seen more skins made using the wonderful model created by DAK. The Leela model is so versatile and gives the user so many options to choose from. It should be fairly easy to apply your vision to this model. Ananda is a decent skin for a first-timer. It's a very simple skin and that seems to be what the creator was going for. The hair is blonde and there doesn't seem to be any noticable changes to the face. The default skin appears to be just a pair of jeans and a white shirt. I particularly like the team skins included. Sure, they're just red and blue, but I really like the low neck that doesn't reveal anything ... just a hint of skin and the black and silver vest on top. The other versions are nothing more than hairstyle changes and the miniskirt version.

Unfortunately, all of the changes are visual only. There are no custom taunts or sounds, so this isn't a skin I'd really want to download. Skins without custom sounds just bore me. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad skin. I just want more, y'know?

Bot Support: No
Team Colors: Yes
New Sounds: No

Comments by AmosMagee!

Go get it at Jedi Knight II Files!

Y'know, I'm not exactly easy to please when it comes to maps. I have the feeling I've said the exact opposite in another review though. LOL Anyway, I'm not crazy about this map, but there's nothing all that wrong with it. I suppose the main thing this map is missing is like, it's own voice. There's something about this map that just seems so generic to me. No theme, nothing unique about it at all.

There are some rooms that seem made just for weapon and ammo placement. There's a bar with all the things that a bar is supposed to have. Oh, and there's like this corner on the bar that ... well, I don't think it's supposed to look like that. But oh well. Then there's this very small room with a ship in it. Which ... just seems strange. But ... the ceiling is like, open somewhat, so I guess it just ... yeah. So then there are like these, teleporters that look like elevators. And they take you to other parts of the map that, once again, just seem like rooms to hold weapons and ammo. Oh, and then there are these two rooms that will just blind you with color. A blue one and a red one. Something's up with two of the doors. I'm guessing it's z-fighting, though it may be a different error that I know nothing about.

In any case, this map lacks personality. To me, it is not much more than some walls, a floor, ceiling and props. You've proven you can make a map, now work on making a creative and unique map.

Bot Support: Yes
New Textures: No
New Music: No
Game Types: FFA, TFFA

Map reviewed and commented by AmosMagee.

Take a look at Jedi Knight II Files.

There's so much that I love about this skin. Yes, she still looks like Jan. But there are so many details that change her and the story in the readme helps too. Though, I would've preferred to have seen this skin on the Leela model - mainly because Leela has better features and she doesn't have that glove. Speaking of glove though, I really like that red arm/wrist glove thing. I have no idea what to call it. But it's quite lovely. It looks as though the default skin is supposed to be black leather. Though the skin remains fairly modest, it still has some sex appeal.

The red team skin is just the default skin, but it's obvious that the Jedi Huntress got into quite a fight and barely made it out alive. My favorite skin though has to be the blue version. It's not blue as most would expect. It's green. And while both team skins very much resemble the default, they're still quite unique. And this is a complete skin. There's bot support and several new sounds - including some great taunts. Wonderful work here.

Bot Support: Yes
Team Colors: Yes
New Sounds: Yes

Skin commented by AmosMagee.

You can find it at Jedi Knight II Files.

It's been quite a while since I've seen a good CTF map released. And trust me, I know good CTF maps. What's most important in a CTF map is not how it looks, or custom textures, but gameplay. It needs to flow well for flag carriers and for those on defense. In my opinion, the mapper also needs to consider gameplay for a guns CTF and for sabers only. The placement of weapons on this map is excellent. Very well thought out. There are several paths to the flag base, so it keeps the game moving. There's one very dangerous path that even with absorb, you risk being pushed or pulled off.

It's not exactly a small map, but it is close quarters, with a few levels, so it seems small. The bases are close, but with such small bases and short paths, you're going to run into a lot of the other team's defense. With no bot support, I didn't get a chance to really play a CTF on this map, but I plan on trying it out, maybe this weekend. Great job!

Bot Support: No
New Textures: No
New Music: Yes
Game Types: CTF

Review and comments by AmosMagee!

Take a look at Jedi Knight II Files!

The old RavenGames.com as you all know it was given to sneax, Col.J.P. and EuT by RambOrc. We will continue running this site, with some improvements and we will try to make sure that you, our visitor, has the best fun of browsing our pages.

The site is now udergoing big changes and might show errors, images not loading or simply a lot of 404 errors. These will be fixed as soon as possible. The new system will make sure that it's easyer for us to add data, and so this means more information for you!

As a first added feature towards the user, there is now the ability to post comments on newsposts. You can login using the form in the left hand menu. Your login is the same as the forum - no need to register a new account! More will be added in the future.

Have fun,
sneax

Well as the name states this is a country theme based map, essentially a country fair with stalls and games for you to enjoy, with countryside farmyard surroundings, animals, blue skies and lake complete with rickety bridge! (Sounds like a holiday brochure!)

The idea behind this map is to have fun - there is so much to do. Basically you have a farmyard with some booths which give you access to the various games on the map:

-Get Lost a very mad maze
-Flying pig who can stay on the flying pig?
-Well an interesting bottomless pit for your falling pleasure!
-Square Dance a game of death using crushers

The square dance is my favourite game which should be really fun with a load of players – unfortunately I was testing this map out alone so I couldn’t actually have the satisfaction of killing anyone.

The map has its own public transport provided by the native chicken - yeah that’s right, Shroom brings us the Chickenvator J, trust me where ever you see chickens; fun is sure to follow, make sure you jump on every chicken in your sight, as most serve as a means of transport to and from the different areas the map (oh yes and look out for the Turtle!)

Country Academy uses almost all custom textures to pull off the country fair farmyard theme and it does so very well, the signs are amazing and the theme stays consistent throughout the map, there are lots of wooden textures of differing colours all of which are well done, there were a few completely black buttons here and there which I don’t know were intentional, if so maybe they could be sorted.

The landscape was kept simplistic I think to keep the brush count low for frame rate reasons – as I know many people now use Easygen for landscapes which gives you more control over texturing. The hills that surround the map if I’m not wrong are made from huge brushes which have been clipped into slopes, the texture applied when viewing a large area of it do seem repetitive, although I know there isn’t a lot that can be done about that as stretching them too far looks ugly, so I think the way it was done here gives the right feel for the map!

The lighting again Is simplistic but it doesn’t need to anything else – the farmyard is such eye candy I do feel that it could look even better with a touch of ambient coloured light, ambient light would have helped reduce the completely black areas in the Maze area for example.

This was the aspect of the map where I was both amazed and sometimes left wanting more. The whole feel and look of the map is generally brilliant, although the architecture goes from “wow that’s very cool” to “hmm that could look better” but then I am a mapper and I know Shroom would have thought the same about any of mine maps, I think that generally mappers go around playing maps and spend too much time looking at the technical aspects rather than having some fun playing – although I DID have a lot of fun playing this. Some highlights were the Barn and the Windmill very cool J and I enjoyed the various technical aspects used to create the fun things in the map, things like func_trains, triggers and teleporters, crushers and jump pads!

The map seems to be full of simple shaped brushes that in part are simple, but when they come together they form something that’s more than the sum of its parts.

Well I don’t think anyone will be taking this map as a serious gunfight and that’s because there are no weapons on the map – The idea of this it to HAVE FUN and fun you will.

The level is laid out well with the farmyard being the main area that connects all of the other areas together – for example the stalls can all be found here and each stall leads you the games, although getting back from each area normally requires getting on a chicken which gradually lifts you up like a lift into a teleporter that zaps you back to the main area again, this may be a problem with a lot of players as there may be arguments when it comes to getting on and off the chicken now ya’ll behave you hear!

There are plenty of areas perfect for duelling which I am sure will please a lot of you, and there are also lots of things In the map that I probably didn’t mention in this review – but you will find them as you explore this world that is Country Academy (by the way make sure you use the outside toilet)!

Music hmm/hmm

Ok it was good the first time round
The second time round it wasn’t bad
The third time round I turned down my music volume!

Fun Factor: 20/10

Fun, Fun, Fun

Well I hope this review gives you guys the right message which I think is basically this:

DOWNLOAD THIS NOW because ShroomChicken has provided us with hours of fun!

Bot Support: No
New Textures: Yes
New Music: Yes
Game Types: FFA

Map reviewed and commented by Sith-J-Cull(James Culley)!

Are you guys old enough to remember Country Roads for Jedi Outcast? I do, and this one is way better! Have fun!

You can find the Jedi Academy version here and the Jedi Outcast one in here at Jedi Knight II Files!

First thing I can say about this map is that it's huge. It may not look like it at first sight, but trust me, it is. The {SITH} Clan Castle is full of rooms for dueling, some offices and lots of crawl spaces and stuff.

The castle isn't physically large - in fact, the back is like, completely cut off. But inside, it's enormous. Outside are three ships and really I think this area is just for looks, even though it doesn't look that great. I'm assuming this is Racer's first map. There appears to be a bit of an error with the spectating. If you spectate and go to the top of the castle, you can see the rest of the map as if you were noclipping, y'know? Anyway, the focus of this map has to be the dueling arenas. There's a place for people to watch and not be in the same room, which was a good idea. And there are quite a few obstacles in each room to make for interesting and challenging duels. There are several secrets and points of interest in this map, though nothing looks particularly great. You're going to have to explore it yourself to see what I mean.

There is bot support, but no new music, which is a shame. But this is only version 1.1, so there may be an update. We'll see. I did find a bit of z-fighting here and there, but it wasn't glaring or anything. Fairly minor. Not bad, especially if it's a first map.

Bot Support: Yes
New Textures: Yes
New Music: No
Game Types: FFA, TFFA

Map reviewed and commented by AmosMagee!

Take a look at Jedi Knight II Files!