RavenGames News Archives

February 2004

Well, you can't exactly call me a fan of Dragonball Z ... especially since I can barely tell you what Dragonball Z is. So of course I'd be the one to review this mod. LOL Anyway, I'm just gonna tell you about what's changed and not refer to Dragonball Z at all!

Most of what has been altered here are the weapon effects. Unfortunately, none of the weapons themselves or the names of the weapons have changed. Which I think would be something that should be considered for a second version. The effects look great, but I've heard that some of the effects can drain FPS. I didn't notice any difference (yay for my upgrade!), but you might. Also, there's melee included ... but it kinda sucks. It's pretty much the stance of whatever saber you're using, without the saber. :/ The author included a melee bot for you to play with. Meh. Oh, and if you turn on cheats, you can fly! Yup. There's a pic of it down there so, yeah.

I kind of expected more from this mod, to be honest. I was hoping to see different models as weapons and some skins and stuff. Pretty much, it's just weapon effects. Hopefully there will be an update to this mod. How accurate the mod is to Dragonball Z, I don't know...

News comments by AmosMagee!

Go get it at Jedi Knight Files.

Back to top

An interesting RPG map made by Lt. Cmnd (At time of release) Aquarius, and Cmnd (At time of release) Tycho. I must say I like the phaser range (top scores for me), and the hall itself. The whole map feels almost 'social' and 'fun' the breifing room has proved useful for diplomatic roleplaying. There is a lack of interactivity (first map aquarius has made) but hopefully that will be fixed in a later release, which is underway as I write this.

The map rps pretty well, there are some boxy rooms, and a few bugs (one with the stairs, i myself dont like the df outside the window), and some textures dont show up without expansion pack.

Map review and news comments by Crus.

Check it out at Elite Force Files.

Back to top

This is an improved remake of the (in)famous TB_HighWire_2 map we all know and love. As the creator mentions :

"This map is a remake of tb_high_wire_2(tb_high_wire_2 by tim Briggs) there's no cellar in this version, lots of bugs were fixed and there are some special-features, like my bedroom, my living-room and the staircase. By the way, this map is grafically more detailed than the original tb_high_wire_2, but nevertheless, please keep on playing tb_high_wire_2!"

It's a nice map to play, but quite obvious this is HighWire 2 with some minor changes.

You can find it at SoF II Files.

Back to top

Version 2 of a Rosh re-skin and it's a nice re-skin moving quite far away from the basic Rosh style, not too much (this is basically his first re-skin) but enough to look nice. I do like the Phoenix symbols on the back, they look neat. Also I like the dragon like phoenix on the front too, a nice touch.

What I can't get is why Rosh looks so depressed now though! He looks like he's just seen MJ 'in action' and it's destroyed him for life! Poor guy...

The only thing I don't really like is the blue skin, it's more purple...I think, then again maybe it's just my monitor which I can't seem to get the perfect color balance on anymore

As an added bonus there is an NPC version of this bot, and from experience with the JA bot support...I'd prefer NPC's to bots any day for fighting with so kudo's to the author for adding an NPC in!

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

News comments by WadeV1589.

Take a look at Jedi Knight Files.

Back to top

"Not a mod per se but a fix for the ^^^ exploits in Chosen One's Jedi Academy mod. Temple Guardian is a small program that monitors a game server using RCON via UDP every few seconds (uses negligable bandwidth). It has a list of partial name matches that if it finds it can auto-kick or auto-ban with custom messages. You could use it to kick offensive names or keep a particular clan tag banned too if desired."

New Features:
-Ignores color codes so you don't need to worry about colors when specifying matches.
-Better error handling so less likely to crash if game server goes down.
-Checks via secondary methods not just via an rcon status output, giving it the ability to capture exploiters using long normal names in front of their exploit names that would not usually show in rcon status. (Please note as a result, this tool is now only compatible with mods built upon the Vulcanus admin mod or Jedi Academy mod.)

"For best use, you should allow name changes to occur unhindered. e.g. Not limit to one a minute etc. Although this will make you open to name change flooding (which can lag a server) it will help circumvent an additional rare exploit. This is totally your option of course. "

Quotes From ~[NT]~WabbidWabbit.

News comments by SanosuKe!

Take a look at Jedi Knight Files.

Back to top

A quite nice small new map for Elite Force! Basicly, only 2 facing base, which has 2 levels each. It uses the CTF VOY textures set with some other stuff coming from different people. The kind of rotating cercle in the middle is quite interesting.

The only problem I saw was the difficulty with some jumppad to land on the right place, which mean you sometime go see the space closed than you would like.

Overall, this is a good map, you can find it at Elite Force Files.

Back to top

The new version 3.0 of JEEL SpecOps multiplayer mod for Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix is out there!

Features:

Weapons:
Dynamic Acuracy system enhanced, try different position and movement , you'll see the difference.
You are not playing SoF II ... This is SpecOps, and like in real life, targeting and aiming is difficult.
Take care, you're not in a movie.

PRONE:
After a long period of work, added prone functionnality, in an older version , did a tentative, but not satisfact because animation were so bad.
Now with my new animation system, prone is very fun , and really transforms the gameplay.

CUSTOM MAPS:
Objective Mission Editor is not release in this version , but the runtime is present in game..
We can use any map from SINGLE player game, or CUSTOMIZE a map without the source file.
Use static mine field, on map, dynamic mine (claymore in progress).

From Single Player game:
-Columbia 3 : tdm + inf
-Columbia 7 : tdm + inf + ctf
LeonSof2-4 : tdm + inf + ctf
-Finca2 : tdm + inf

From Multiplayer game: (SOF2), new gametype + initial gametype
-mp_col2 : Nuke
-mp_dust2 : Nuke, mine fields on TDM
-mp_jor1 : Nuke
-mp_kam1 : Nuke
-mp_kam2 : Nuke
-mp_kam4 : Nuke
-mp_kam5 : Nuke
-mp_shop : CTF
-mp_shop2 : Nuke
-mp_sfrance_V2: Nuke + tdm + dm
thblackhawkdown : tdm + dm + inf ( briefcase in blackhawk ,escape 4 map corners)

And much more, you can pay a visit to Jose Lebon Nouvelles Technologies or you can get it from SoF II Files!

Back to top

The readme states a Jedi Academy map fit for an FFA or for Dueling. The readme also states this is a clan map with seats and viewing areas...somebody restrain me please! I belong to that group that screams out in anger at the thought of people just sitting in JA shouting 'lamer' and 'you must bow', but I must review this map as a map!

The music was ... an interesting choice. From Lord of the Rings of all places! The choice fits enough, considering this is a Jedi Academy clan map. Oh and to my surprise (my happy surprise) it was a duel map designed at the request of a clan but NOT a clan map! There are no annoying banners or anything There are still viewing benches however for those who enjoy sitting down doing nothing in an online game.

Texturing was fine, but the map is simple in shape so texturing really isn't a big part of this map. That takes me nicely onto the lighting which is good, some thought was put into the lighting...for the most part anyhow. I like the way the models appear to cast light onto the central fighting area. It's a nice touch.

It's a very basic map and will work just fine for duels and for small FFA's (read small FFA's filled with duelers) but I think being such a small and duel based map some more decals would have been nice and maybe 1 or 2 moving things to give the area less of a box feel and make it more atmospheric.

Bot Support: No
New Textures: No
New Sounds: Yes (music)

Map review and news comments by -WadeV1589-

You can it at Jedi Knight Files.

Back to top

Mapping for JA isn't much different than mapping for JK2. However, with the new game type of Siege, making a Siege map is probably going to be a bit more complicated. Oh, and you want a Siege map with vehicles? That might be a tad more challenging as well. Thanks to Raven's staff, including the very talented (and very nice, too) Michael Chang Gummelt, there are now tutorials available to help you through that.

There are very detailed instructions on vehicle creation for JA and on how to design your own Siege map. There's not much more to tell you here. Hopefully these tutorials will lead to more and more Siege maps created. And y'know, I'm even considering playing Siege on the JK3Files server occasionally.

News comments by AmosMagee!

You can find it at Jedi Knight Files.

Back to top

"Following Earth's third world war, humanity rose from the ashes of nuclear war a fallen race. Their numbers fell dramatically and continued to do so for years, until one day a race of aliens came to Earth in search of cheap labor. They kept the human race in general alive, but worked them to death in concentration camps. As more and more races and factions set up their own camps on Earth, they fought with each other, until the humans used the confusion to their advantage to defeat their captors once and for all."

This one is a kinda huge map, which seams to be one of the first of Z500. For maybe a first try, it's not bad. However, many errors show up around and some place are impossible to play correctly. The range of errors are from simple overlapping texture to hall of mirror or place you can't get out.

To play it correctly, you would need to be over 24 on it!

Check it out for yourself at Elite Force Files.

Back to top

This is a very nice medium sized map for Soldier of Fortune II, you have a blue base and a red base either side of a Dam. There are plenty of places to hide and explore. The map supports dm, tdm, elim, inf, ctf, CCTF, cah, tcah, ktmwtb, tktmwtb game types and will host 2-34 players:

To sum it up, its a bunker sitting in front of a flowing DAM. Not too big and not small, with 34 players its a mission! A very nice map that should do very well on custom servers. So download it now at SoF II Files and see what you think!

Back to top

Ask and ye shall receive! When Raven released that bonus map pack as a Christmas gift to us, you guys weren't exactly satisfied. "NEW SIEGE MAPS!" you all demanded. Well, they heard ya. And as a thank you to the community for making Jedi Academy such a popular game - they're presenting us with a new Siege map!

So in Siege Destroyer, it seems that the Imperials have captured the Millennium Falcon! *gasp* They want what's in the ship and will stop at nothing to get it. So if you're a Rebel, it's your job to destroy their defenses and release the Millennium Falcon. If you're playing for the Imperials, you need to blow up the Rebels and keep them from getting back their precious ship. The Imperials will be using TIE Fighters, TIE Bombers and turbolaser defenses on the surface of the Star Destroyer to keep the Rebels at bay. If you're fighting for the forces of good, you'll have X-Wing Starfighters and Z-95 Headhunters.

The music included is from episode V and should be familiar to you. I had a lot of fun playing this map, even though I still suck at flying. I managed to destroy a few things here and there. So finally, we have another Siege map to add to the list. Hopefully we'll see more being created by the mappers out there.

Bot Support: N/A
New Textures: Yes
New Music: Yes
Game Types: Siege

Map review and news comments by AmosMagee.

Go get it at Jedi Knight Files.

Back to top

Be sure to download the Jack Sparrow skin if you're gonna play on this JA map! It's The Interceptor from the Pirates of the Carribean movie! I'm going to keep in mind that this is, like the author said, a part of a whole. Because, frankly, the water and the skybox kinda bugged me.

The ship itself is great! It's fairly small, so this would only be good for a small FFA. There are cannons and a steering wheel thingy (I don't know any of the technical terms here, so hush) and a big silver bell. There are very small quarters in the belly of the ship with some tiny barrels. Oh, and in case you fall overboard, there's a small boat on one side that you can jump up into. One of the tiniest details I noticed is a piece of gold that was so important to the story on a table on the ship. Nice touch.

I really like this ship, but I can't say that I like it as an FFA map. There's almost no room for dueling or even FFAing. Maybe when the author completes his entire map that will have this ship and hopefully *crosses fingers* the Dauntless docked. It's worth a download for a look at the map. Oh, and the music is perfect, of course - most likely taken from the soundtrack of the movie. Can't wait to see more from you, Trent!

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

Map review and news comments by AmosMagee.

Check it out at Jedi Knight Files.

Back to top

After playing, a poor conversion of Voy 2, MB52 has taken it upon himself to make a better version! This version put’s right what was wrong with the first one, he has improved on the textures so they look more like the ef1 version and they have a sort of cell shading effort to them, which I think looks really cool idea

In addition, he has addressed the scale of this map so this time round you can crawl though the trench’s which rather annoyed me last time round also he has put in an invisible ledge to the side of the trench so you can escape!

Lighting is put to good use as is weapon placement! Therefore, to sum up, a damm fine conversion and I hope to see this on lots of servers and it should replace the old one.

Game Types:

-Death Match
-CTF
-BD

Map review and news comments by Pandemonium.

Take a look at Elite Force Files!

Back to top

Y'know, I'm starting to consider dueling more in JA - if only for the wonderful duel maps that come out. It seems there are many more quality duel maps than FFA for the game. Here is more proof of that:

Duel Dustball is an amazing duel map that meets almost every expectation I would have in a map made by Raven! But this one is made by Gonk. The design is wonderful, the lighting is lovely, the textures are perfect - the detail is incredible. The buildings in the background are great because you know when some people use a skybox and you get like, I dunno what to call it, but you see seam-like things? It just can make the whole map look ugly. But this map is secure all around by all of the buildings and you see nothing but blue skies and white wispy clouds. Some of the props that most people would leave out of a duel map are included here and really add to the ambience of this map. And my FPS didn't dive, so that's a plus.

The only thing this map is really missing is new music. That would really, really complete this duel map. While some may find it awkward dueling on the ship - I like it. It's not just a boring circle of sand in the middle like an arena. You feel like you're actually dueling somewhere, y'know? Great work, Gonk - I can't wait to see more. I'd love to see you do an FFA map!

Bot Support: Yes
New Textures: Yes
New Music: No
Game Types: Duel, Powerduel

News comments and map review by AmosMagee!

You can find it at Jedi Knight Files, as usual!

Back to top

Unless you’ve been spending 2003 in bomb shelter, I’m not going to pretend that I’m telling you anything new when I say that Doom 3 is being developed by id Software. You probably also know that this is one of those games where the release date is the biggest mystery. But provided it doesn’t turn into a new Duke Nukem Forever, id can take it easy, knowing that no game will match its mind-blowing graphics any time soon and the average hardware will eventually catch up with the system requirements, resulting in better sales. But can this game offer more than pretty dynamic lighting?

The developers have chosen not to try to write any fancy prequel to the story of the original Doom, but instead have decided to retell the old story. A research facility on Mars is being run over by the forces from Hell. You play a marine that is one of the few survivors and it will be your job do drive the demons back and find an opportunity to contact Earth to call for reinforcements. This time there is also talk about a long forgotten civilization that supposedly owns an ultimate weapon to ward off the zombie-hordes...

You can read the whole article by Megistos at EdBis.com.

Back to top

One of the most anticipated role-playing games this year is Activision and Troika's Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. Set in White Wolf's rich role-playing universe and using Valve's cutting-edge Source engine (the same used to power Half-Life 2), Bloodlines will let you live the life of a vampire in a dark and seedy version of the Los Angeles underworld. The developers at Troika have a history of developing role-playing games, including the famed Fallout games, but this is their first attempt to create a role-playing game with first-person action.

The two key concepts behind a vampire's powers are disciplines and blood buffs. Disciplines are basically special abilities that cover all the things that vampires do in movies and novels. For instance, there's blood healing, which, as the name suggests, heals your wounds. Then there's auspex, which boosts a vampire's perception. Not only does auspex allow you to see better in the dark, but you can also see the auras generated around people. At higher levels, you can even see auras through walls, which is a handy ability that lets you map out where people are scattered throughout a building. At high levels, auras will also be color-coded according to the person's disposition; neutral characters will have white auras, while hostile characters will have red auras, allowing you to quickly determine who's a threat. There are quite a number of other disciplines, including presence, which covers a vampire's supernatural charisma. If you have a strong presence, your friends will love you, and your enemies will fear you even more.

In the White Wolf universe, vampires are held to the laws of the "masquerade." That is, though vampires are powerful, they are far outnumbered by humans and must remain hidden from human society, lest the humans organize and wipe them out. As a newly sired vampire, it will be your responsibility to keep the masquerade intact. That means that there are areas in the game, known as masquerade areas, where you have to exercise caution and not expose your nature to humans. If you violate the masquerade, your masquerade level will take a hit. If you accrue too many violations, the vampire clans may send someone to eliminate you before you blow their cover. According to Boyarsky, this will be one of the challenges in the game, but you will be given opportunities to recover lost masquerade points by completing certain quests and missions!

A very interesting preview by Jason Ocampo, that you can read at Gamespot!

Back to top

What do you get when you take a bunch of guns and put them in the hands of a double-crossed riverboat captain? You get trouble in paradise, or as Crytek and Ubisoft call it, "Far Cry," a very impressive-looking first-person shooter. The game will pit you against squads of very tough enemy soldiers (as well as other, less-human enemies) as you try to get revenge, get the girl, get the money, and get off of a tropical island alive. Far Cry will have a comprehensive single-player game with plenty of different missions taking place in colorful outdoor environments and sinister indoor areas, as well as full-on multiplayer that will let you blast your buddies to kingdom come.

But what good would all that blasting be without some serious hardware in hand? Far Cry will feature a sizable arsenal of conventional and slightly futuristic weapons that will come in handy while taking on all comers in single-player and multiplayer. With a few exceptions, just about all of Far Cry's weapons have both a primary and a secondary attack mode, and many firearms also have a "zoom" mode that lets you get a closer look at your targets or use a scope to draw a bead on faraway enemies.

Take a look at this weaponry preview at Gamespot and you can see for yourself with the Far Cry single-player demo!

You can't miss this one, this is well worth a shot! Go get the demo at File Planet or at Gamer's Hell also, just in case...

Back to top

This is a very nice small sized map, made in the theme of a Gladiators Arena. Nowhere to hide! Nowhere to run, so hold on to that and get ready for some fast fragging fun. In CTF game play the flags are placed at each end of the arena, so grab it and hope for some good covering fire.

The map supports DM, TDM, ELIM, CTF, INFI game types and will host 30 players. Well worth the download, so go get it now at SoF II Files and test for yourself!

Back to top

Okay, by far, the best part about this map is the memorial created for [HR]Sling Roland JM who died fighting for his country. It's such an honorable thing for his clan to create this map in his memory. The only suggestion I have is to cut out this memorial and toss the map. Place the memorial in a big FFA map that everyone will use. It would be seen by more, appreciated by all. The map itself is very simple. It's just a small duel map in a dark cave with lots of fire and lava:

Spector is a great mapper and it seems that he probably whipped this up quickly just for Sling Roland, which is a nice gesture, but like I said, it should probably just be added to another map of yours. One that you're going to release soon so many more can appreciate what you've done for your fallen friend.

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

News comments and map review by AmosMagee!

Check it out at Jedi Knight Files.

Back to top

Mythic Entertainment revealed details on Dark Age of Camelot: New Frontiers, an upcoming free downloadable expansion that will reinvent the online role-playing game's Realm vs. Realm combat system, where players from the DAoC's three different Realms engage in epic battles for power. New Frontiers will make battles more accessible to players, deepen the tactical possibilities during play and establish a rewards system for Realm vs. Realm combat. Mythic plans to make the New Frontiers expansion available in Q2 2004.

Take a look at the Herald!

Back to top

Not every game that goes for over-the-top action can pull it off, but Painkiller seems to be on the right track. In development at Polish studio People Can Fly, Painkiller takes the frantic action formula of classic first-person shooters and the more recent Serious Sam and adds explosive physics effects. It's one thing to have a group of big, tattooed bikers charge at you with tommy guns blazing, but it's definitely something else to send them all flying crazily through the air with a volley of rockets. This insane carnage takes place in huge, good-looking locations throughout some of the not-so-nice parts of purgatory. However, the game doesn't focus on gruesome battles, but instead on fast-paced, addictive action, and from what we've seen, Painkiller might just succeed.

The three levels in the demo provide a sample of some of the varied settings we can expect in the game. The first of the levels takes place in dark corridors that open up into an impossibly tall gothic cathedral. Several different types of enemies attack you in waves, and shortly after you enter the main cathedral, demonic priests rush up to you carrying scythes as a huge hulking creature appears in the distance. While the main bosses appear in five levels of their own, this mountainous rock-throwing monster is no pushover. We also got to play one boss level, a big arena with black clouds billowing overhead. The huge metal giant carries a hammer that he'll slam into the ground, sending parts of nearby stone columns flying up into the heavens!

You can read the entire preview and download the demo at Gamespot or you can find it at 3D Gamers if you're not a Gamespot member!

Back to top

A brand new map for ya, from the map master FLIXY, CTF Moonraker, based loosely on the film of the same name I say loosely as he has taken all the things that made the film fun to watch and incorporated them in to a map i.e. the open plan action , and the glass walkways in outer space:

Action is fast paced as this map keeps the fps down to a good level, textures used are a good selection and as is the norm from this mapper lighting is made good use of!

Map Suports:

-Holomatch
-Control Points
-Capture The Flag

Map review and news comments by Pandemonium.

You can find it at Elite Force Files.

Back to top

Here we have a nice medium sized street themed map for Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix. there are plenty of places to hide and snipe, some good vantage points located on the top of the buildings. There are also plenty of buildings to explore, very good for camping and sniping:

The map supports dm, tdm, ctf game types, and will host 7+ players. A good map for your ever growing collection. Go give it a try at SoF II Files and try it yourself!

Back to top

Wade's latest Stargate map is more incredible than I could've imagined it being. It's Egypt. And it's just ... I'm seriously having trouble finding words for this ... it's amazing. The map is soooo vast and beautiful and the effects are gorgeous. You really cannot grasp how incredible this map is unless you play it. The screenshots, while lovely, do not do the map justice at all.

I should apologize for writing such a short review, but if I were to say anything else, I'd just repeating how beautiful this map is. But don't take my word for it - download the map now and find out for yourself. My FPS wasn't too bad either. Then again, I did upgrade. WOO! My other puter probably couldn't have handled this map. The music is appropriate, of course, because it's from Stargate SG-1. It really sets the mood for this map that's so much fun to explore. Though I have to say, I didn't explore the sands too much - I wasn't sure if Wade put any sandworms in there or not. Wonderful job, Wade. Seriously. I can't wait to see what you do next!

By the way, there's a very cool little secret area in this map where you can fly a Deathglider. It's so freakin' cool. I'd show you screenshots, but I really suck at flying, so you really don't want to see those screenshots. Good luck finding the secret area! Hint: Use your use button in unsuspecting places...

Map review and news comments by AmosMagee!

Check it out at Jedi Knight Files.

Back to top

Leela Jedi is, finally, one of the best and most versatile female models made for the JK games yet. Antizac picked a few of the best features from the two models Jan and Tavion and created his own female for the game. Leela has more hairstyles and clothing options than any female model before her. The default skins for her are perfect for a Jedi, I suppose, but they are kinda boring. The team skins are fine, though I don't like that they colored her eyes red for the red skin. Also, there's a cloaked version of the default skin. I didn't take screenshots of the other available options, because there were no skins made for them. But the author has also included a miniskirt and a dress option. The dress is ... interesting. I can't imagine running around with a saber in a ballgown, but hey ... at least we have that option now! Yay for more female skins!

I really can't wait to see what reskins come from this Leela. I love all of her hairstyles, especially the short hair style (default). There's also the ponytail and long hair styles. They all work really well for this model. The only complaints I have are that Leela has no custom sounds! I suppose that's okay though. She seems more like a blank canvas for reskinning than anything else. So if you reskin her - give her some custom sounds! Also, there's a seam there at her neck. I don't know if that's the model, or the skin ... or what. I don't know if it can be fixed even - I hope so. That really does bug me. But this is a great model and as I said before, I can't wait to see the reskins - especially the skin that's being made for me from this model!

News comments by AmosMagee!

Take a look at Jedi Knight Files.

Back to top

Activision announced that starting today through March 26th map-makers can log on to Call of Duty.com and enter to win the Call of Duty Map-Maker competition. Using the map-making toolset located on the game's official website, the map-making community can create and submit multiplayer levels for the chance to win a Grand Prize package which includes an all expense paid trip to Los Angeles to meet with Infinity Ward (the developer of Call of Duty), an Asylum GeForce FX 5950 Ultra-based graphics card, and the potential to have their map(s) included in future Call of Duty games.

The deadline for registration is March 20, 2004, and the final deadline for map submission is March 26. All maps will be judged by a panel consisting of Call of Duty team members. Three lucky Grand Prize winners will be announced on the official Call of Duty website on April 9th, 2004. Additionally, all non-finalist entrants will be able to have their maps judged online in a “Vote for the Best of the Rest” contest hosted by FilePlanet on Planet Call of Duty. The top three winners from the online vote will each receive a prize package courtesy of GameSpy and FilePlanet.

(Source: Prophet at Gamespy Daily)

Back to top

Ragnos' Chamber is something you may recognize if you played the Single Player game of JA all the way through. I didn't, so I don't. So this map was, like, new to me. LOL So what {MOTL}thesaiyan did here was just convert it for Duel and Powerduel game types. Now before you guys go getting your panties in a knot over whether he can do this or not because of legal crap - he got permission from Raven to do so. So there!

As you can see from the screenshot, it's a very nice map for duels and just big enough for a powerduel. Of course it's good design - it's Raven's work! So thanks to {MOTL}thesaiyan, you can now enjoy this single player map in multiplayer!

Bot Support: Yes
New Textures: No
New Music: No
Game Types: Duel, Powerduel

Map review by AmosMagee!

Take a look at Jedi Knight Files.

Back to top

I have never played Zelda which is where I’m going to assume this new JA map came from as on the start up screen for the map there’s a big picture of Link, so I cant exactly compare this map to how it ‘should’ look.

So as I had no other information about Hyrule, and I’m too lazy to traipse through hundreds of images on Google, after reading the readme I expected to see some beautifully detailed town, with smooth elegant architecture. When I went to play the map though I was to say the least a tad disappointed:

The architecture is square in the large part, which makes the map feel plain and open, this isn’t then helped by the bland textures, and plain rooms, and reinforced yet more by the empty cathedral.

The author does say this isn’t the final version so hopefully he’ll add some more interest to the map, and improve the FPS as mine was averaging at around 30 and the game would lock up now and then :/

The author says in the readme that along with all this;

“Kaeawc's Tavern
Temple of Time
Herot Inn
Barracks
Bomb Shop
Shooting Gallery
Stables
Potion Shop
Bazaar
Happy Mask Shop
Chamber of Sages
Zora River
Mill
Town Houses 1, 2, and 3 (the 3rd being the upper level of where the Jail is located)
Jail”

There are some secret areas, so if u can stand the low FPS and like Zelda download the map and start hunting!

News comments and map review by Wolf.

You can find it at Jedi Knight Files.

Back to top

Unreal Tournament 2004 is almost here, just a couple of weeks of waiting, while playing the excellent demo! In the meantime you can get this great wallpaper pack to give some life to your desktop:

Go get it at UT 2003 Files!

Back to top

This is a pretty good map for the original Elite Force capture the flag, your basic CTF challenge. Not too easy, not too hard. There are a couple of missing textures, and the map is very bright, but overall it is a good one.

Each base has two towers for sniping, with small stairways leading up to them, so watch your step as you go up! Easy to fall off them. It has bot support, although what LIVINGDEADJEDI says in his readme is correct, they do get stuck. However, it is better than not having bot support at all!
Pretty simple map, but hey, a lot of the simple ones out there are popular! Give it a download, see how you like it...

Take a look at Elite Force Files!

Back to top

Jolt created this single player mod for those who want a little more action in their game! If you've played through the game before, once, twice or more, it can get tiresome and you just want a bit more of a challenge. Well, Jolt gives you - More Reborn! Yes, now you can play the SP game with a saber from the beginning and fight many more Reborn than before.

The author says he put the Imperial Base single player map into his mod, but unfortunately, I couldn't find it anywhere. :/ So is this mod worth playing? Meh, not yet. Not until the author yells at me, tells me I did something wrong and that the map really is there or until he fixes it and submits a second version.

News comments by AmosMagee.

You can get it at Jedi Knight Files.

Back to top

Okay, OMG, I adore Dr. Seuss! Best stories EVER! I'm already annoyed at Orb for spelling Seuss' name wrong! *gasp* Didn't you read his books!? Oh well. Onto the map:

Yay for Siege! Do we even have any Siege maps yet? No! I don't think we do! Well, um, now we do! Yay! Okay, so this is The Lorax - Under Siege! Or rather, Eternal Lair of Seuss. So you can choose to play the role of the Lorax (good guys) or the Once-ler (baddies) and your objectives are fairly simple. Like the map itself. Too simple for my taste. I loved the trees - they very much resembled the trees on the cover of the book. But Orb's reminded me of those dandelions that you can blow and make a wish as the seeds fly away. The Dr. Seuss look and the rocks used with it just didn't look right, though. The textures didn't compliment each other, in my opinion.

Orb keeps driving it into our heads that mapping is art. Hey, I never disagreed with that! It is! And I love the serious Ragnos statue with the silly Seuss-ish hat on his head. It would be nice if there was some bot support though. I couldn't even test this map fully because I couldn't have a bot. Oh well. It's a great concept and I'd love to see more Seuss themed maps, but it really needs to be more colorful, less realistic. Hmm. Think ShroomDuck maps.

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

Map review and news comments by AmosMagee!

Check it out at Jedi Knight Files.

Back to top

I just got this urgent message from Ren in our forums:

"For the past two weeks or so I have seen a lot of hackers using the emp exploit with certain admin mods. Now it seems that these degenerates haven't had there fill of fun so they have decided to hack the server some how. At first we thought it was basically a flaw in the admin mods source code, but recent events have shown that these hackers can hack into rcon. This is a serious problem because now this hack is invading alot of other servers on the Jedi Outcast master list.

If you see anyone enter the server with "^^^^^^^^^^^SCripttester" or anything with "^^^^^^^^^^" kick them immediately apparently they have to type in a command in the command line before they hack the server. Also you will not see these individuals unless you type the status command if you are a admin.

Again this is a serious hack anyhelp on what is allowing this hack to work will be greatly apreciated. We must stop this abuse before it ruins a great game!"

So be warned about this plague and if you have anything to add just check Ren's topic here at RavenForums!

Back to top

John Carmack, best known as the coder supreme behind id software, talks about DOOM, the best graphics cards, books, and blowing a rocket out of the atmosphere (it would've gone on longer if not for his daily Domino's pizza delivery). We didn't think it necessary to actually ask questions, as that'd be more fluff between the meat that is Carmack (you know you like it), so just imagine the big C in a hammock talking to the clouds; then, imagine us copying it all down and breaking it up into tidy subsections. Now stop imagining and...

Take a good look at Computer Gaming World!

"Aside from Quake IV, there's already an officially announced game powered by the DOOM 3 engine. It's called Abducted. From what we know, it's a third-person sci-fi, horror, adventure title. Players take on the role of a human who has been -- you guessed it -- abducted by aliens. Look for Contraband Entertainment's Abducted next year (after DOOM 3)..."

Back to top

First off, this is a realy cool map. And yes it's what all you ef2 players have been waiting for, a huge map! With nice design and brushwork, that reminds you of the voy maps, but that as we all know isnt a bad thing.

What I didnt like was the lighting, everything seems slightly over bright, but as for the rest an excelent map, that is well worth your download time.

Map review and comments by FliX.

Developed by Avenger you can find it at Elite Force Files!

Back to top

Right I honestly thought that this was going to be no good but I'm happy to say I was wrong I have never had so much fun reviewing a map with bots before!

Do not get me wrong this map anit no eye candy but on game play alone it wins hands down.
Trying to run up the hill and shoot people is great fun! Moreover, it can be manic some times I hope to see this on servers soon as I am off to play again.

Map review by Pandemonium!

You can get it at Elite Force Files!

Back to top

This is a duel map by DevMapAll[C]. It's titled "The Crack of Doom" because it attempts to recreate the inner depths and workings of J.R.R. Tolkien's Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings. The map consists of a large inverted funnel, two outcroppings midway down, and a sea of magma with beaches of rock.

I can see where the DevMapAll was going with this, but I think there's just a few too many issues for me to keep this map. First, the skybox that is visible through the entrance(s) of the volcano is a bright blue sky drifting over sandy stone. It ruins the ambience of the map, and from what I've read in the books and seen in the movie, is definitely not typical of Mordor. Another issue is the misaligned brushes at the side entrance. The edges of the curves do not coincide, not an easy thing to do for even an experienced mapper. From a design standpoint, the repeating textures of the walls make it seem fake. Try adding some stalactites or outgrowths on the walls and around the mouth. Finally, falling into the molten lava has an interesting phenomenon. When you float down, your surroundings become a surreal noclip product. I don't know if this is a bug with the map, or a game issue. Not really a problem, but there are ways to avoid it, like encasing the lava brush with rock-textured brushes.

Now that I've totally rained on his parade, let me bring out the sun. I'm extremely impressed that there are bot routes here. Wow! This is very rare to see in maps submitted to us. Dev has also included one of the soundtracks ("The End of All Things") from the movie. The prominent strings and choral background in the song set a good ambience.

IMO, to make this an uber map: fix the few bugs, get a darker and more ominous skybox (look through the JK2 skyboxes if JA doesn't have one), add some detail to the inside of the walls, and put some spewing lava effects (fx_runner) and motion to the magma. Do with you want with my picky advice, but either way, keep the work coming. I look forward to an update.

Map review and news comments by JEDIofONE.

Take a look at Jedi Knight Files.

Back to top

This is a FFA map by -=AFL=-Turambar {JK}. It's a Yavin-styled temple roof, complete with interior rooms, dueling surfaces, covered areas, and more.

I found this map highly entertaining. The light map was a perfect choice for the ambience of the map, only upset by the areas where there weren't enough lights. My only complaints would be the lack of bot support and the fact that the steps and the size of the rooms aren't scaled properly for the size of the player (the steps are too large, and the rooms are neither moderate nor grandiose in scale).

Bot Support: No
New Textures: NO
New Sounds/Music: Yes
Game Types: FFA

News comments and review by JEDIofONE.

Go get it at Jedi Knight Files.

Back to top

This is a very nice map for Soldier of Fortune II, with the sniper very much in mind. The map is medium sized and based on a forest theme. There are plenty plenty vantage points here for the sniper, and if you prefer slash and dash there's room for that too. You spawn inside a building, then choosing a door will teleport you outside in the heat of battle, the map supports TDM DM CTF ELIM game types and will host 24 players recommended.

A good allround map and should do very well on custom servers. So what you waiting for go grab it now at SoF II Files and see for yourself!

Back to top

This CTF map for Elite FOrce II is a semi-real depiction of an actual building on the Colorado State University campus. It must be one big place as this map is quite a size! As I played with 10 bots and hardly saw them !

The good points of this map are I thought the map overall was well planed out, nice use of structures and the lighting was good, also skybox used was nice.
Weapon placement was a bit sparse and more would have been a good idea some goes for ammo and pickups. Also the buildings inside seemed a bit grey and empty and if I was on campus here I would feel a bit depressed!

To sum up, big map lots of space to play and run about, more weapons would have been better. Best played with 10 + But a good effort on the whole!

Play Modes: CTF, FFA, Team
Modifiers: Disint, Action, Auto Handi, Weapon Score
Control Points, Power Struggle, One Flag

Map review and comments by Pandemonium.

Check it out at Elite Force Files.

Back to top

Based on a careful evaluation of the competitive MMORPG landscape, Microsoft Game Studios has decided to cancel the Windows-based game “Mythica.” As a result of this effort, job eliminations within Microsoft Game Studios will take place, and up to 40 employees may be impacted.

Adam Waalkes, studio manager at Microsoft Game Studios, stated:

"Our goal with ‘Mythica’ was to create a truly innovative massively multiplayer online role playing game. While the game looked ready to deliver advancements to the genre, after careful evaluation of the MMORPG landscape, MGS has decided to stream-line its portfolio, making fewer investments in this genre. After a rigorous review of current and future projects, the decision was made that Mythica would not be one of the projects we would continue to invest in."

You can read all about it at Mythica website!

Back to top

This is a Duel/FFA map by MasterHunter-=[KCD1]=-. It's a bi-level pit-type map, relying highly on curves and chrome. There's an unusual choice of weapons placed around the map: detpacks, rocket-launchers, flechettes, and tenlosses (all highly lethal).

IMO, there's way too many metal shaders utilized here. It's extremely distracting. Not only that, but the shader itself is somewhat ugly and not very metallic, and the elevators are a bit tricky to use. The layout of the map is very good I thought. The only thing I would change is the shaders and the timing of the elevator triggers. Hopefully, we'll see an update with less (or better used) shaders and full bot routes.

Bot Support: Partial
New Textures: Yes
New Sounds/Music: Yes
Game Types: Duel, FFA

News comments by JEDIofONE

Take a look at Jedi Knight Files.

Back to top

The official Thief: Deadly Shadows website has been launched and it looks awesome. The third instalment in the Thief franchise from Ion Storm will hit stores this spring.
Many action games put you in the role of a powerful hero who has to go out and fight all the bad guys. Not the Thief series, which was originally created by the now-defunct developer Looking Glass Studios. Though they look like first-person shooters, they aren't. Instead they're first-person stealth games in which your objective is to sneak past the guards and grab the loot while remaining undetected. In the Thief games, you play as Garrett, a cynical thief who wants nothing more than to pilfer his way to a cushy retirement.

You can read the whole preview at Gamespot or pay a visit to the Theif: Deadly Shadows official homepage here!

Back to top

Back to top

Microsoft has issued a new patch for Gearbox/Bungie's first person shooter Halo: Combat Evolved. This upgrade brings your retail copy to v1.04 and addresses a rare crash bug that could occur if a malicious individual (hacker) purposely tries to exploit the GameSpy CDKey SDK. An v1.04 updated Win32 dedicated server is also available!

You can read more and get the patch at Worthplaying.com!

Back to top

I was getting worried, as I had not played a new flix map in over ermmmm 2 days! So here is his newest latest greatest map DM Doom, and Bathlet version of the same map it is set in a small star ship in warp...

It is a medium to large sized map set on multiple levels with glass in the floor in some rooms all is up to the high standard set by this mapper! One thing I did find was my ability to keep on getting lost as all the rooms are the same colour , and I did not have a clue were I was or which way to go some times?

Lighting and the use of it is nice and is used well, as is weapon, health and other pick-ups. So to round up nice clean map with some good ideas, I thought a bit of colour would make a good map an excellent map though!

Map review and comments by Pandemonium!

Check it out at Elite Force Files!

Back to top

Okay, so this is a duel map. It's like, the smallest duel map EVER. I thought at first that I was missing something. I tried going down the stairs ... yeah, don't do that. They're steep and you'll just fall anyway. To your death. And then there's like, that box there in the center. It looks like there's a button there. Nope. I no-clipped all over the map. What you see is what you get. This one little platform.

There's no bot support, no new textures. There is new music, but it so doesn't work with the theme. This is supposed to be the rooftop of like, a Yavin temple. So why is Hoobastank playing? Oh well, the author mapped what he liked, added the music he wanted. So if it works for him, great. I just didn't particularly care for it.

Bot Support: No
New Textures: No
New Music: Yes
Game Types: Duel, Powerduel

Map review and news comments by AmosMagee!

You can find it at Jedi Knight Files.

Back to top

The new Tournament is bigger, higher and meaner. Land and air based vehicles take combat to a new level; while an arsenal of new weaponry, daunting arenas and battlefields and the challenge of the Assault and Onslaught modes make the gladiator blood sport of the future a brand new experience. Buckle up; it’s gonna be one hell of a ride!

Unreal Tournament 2004 Features:

* Land, air and space based vehicles
* New weapons - Mines, Rocket-propelled grenades, stationary gun turrets and more
* New Arenas and battlefields
* Assault mode returns – you asked for it…here it is!
* New UI – clean, mean and lean
* Live chat over LAN and Internet with 3D audio
* A wealth of new textures, static meshes and music
* UnrealTV broadcast system – allows hundreds of people to log on and watch famous combatants or rival clans duke it out...

UT2004 includes numerous tweaks and refinements including a completely redesigned user interface (including the ability for mod makers to design their own UI), unique crosshairs for each weapon, the ability to wield dual assault rifles, improved bot AI and optimized network bandwidth usage and much, much more.

You can grab it at File Planet!

Back to top

It's always nice to see weapons mods that don't have to do with the saber. If you're interested in a bit of variety with the guns that are available to you, then you might want to give this Xtraz mod a try! Included in this pack are two guns and a different kind of rocket for the rocket launcher. The first one, I believe is the Tusken Rifle. It seems a bit awkward carrying such a large gun around, but it works just like the Disrupter, so there's no change there. See the second screenshot there, though? That's what the view is in first person. :/ Kinda makes it hard to aim at anything, huh?

The second weapon, the Noghri Stick, replaces the Bowcaster. It has the same green shots as the Bowcaster, but the weapon doesn't sit right in your hands. Still, it's a cool looking gun thing. Unfortunately, it has the same problem as the Tusken Rifle, though, in first person, it just looks weird..

Finally, the Shrapnel Rockets are exactly what they sound like they are. There's shrapnel in the rocket and when one explodes, the pieces fly everywhere. I'm not sure though, if the shrapnel actually will hurt. Anyway, this is a decent pack. There were only a few minor bugs with it and the new sounds are fitting for the weapons. Good job.

News comments by AmosMagee.

Take a look at Jedi Knight Files.

Back to top

Arkanis has released the newest beta build of the 'Soldier Of Fortune 2 Multiplayer: Bots And Realistic Damage' mod. The new version features:

- Female team skins and voices for team games
- Extended team skins from 5 to 6 to add females
- Wave Capture The Flag game type (teams respawn in waves)
- Health and Armor regeneration (if enabled by Host)
- Reserved names on a server (specific clan tags and names can be reserved on your server)
- Admin functions like Strike, Force Team etc
- Admin list (you can specify who can have access to Admin features on your server)
- OICW animation speeds have be speed up (fire rate will remain the same)
- Falling damage can be turned off
- Molotov Cocktails
- Re-added Last Man Standing and Classic Capture The Flag game types
- Added RMG support for custom game types Assassination, Last Man Standing and Classic CTF and Wave CTF (sorry this is so late)
- Bot skill is defaulted from 2 (Amateur) to 5 (Soldier Of Fortune)
- Improved option menus
- Fixes

You can download the new mod version here.

(Source: Planet Soldier)

Back to top

This is the Soldier of Fortune II second version of the classic Medal of Honor:Alied Assault map, with some new additions. Some bugs were fixed, added target locations. No DM/TDM available it caused models/weapons to dissappear, so it was left out.

Any of you out there play MoH:AA? Then you will recognise this map from the MP game. Its a re-make of the Southern France level for SoF II. This map is the SoFII version of the classic MoH:AA map, with some new additions. Its a medium sized map supporting CTF, INF, DEM, ELIM gametypes and will host up to 30 players.

There are plenty of places to hide and explore and the map layout is bigger than the original version on MoH:AA. This is a must download and should do very well on custom servers. Go get it now at SoF II Files and give it a go and see what you think!

Back to top

What a nice idea for a map! The map is a set of floating islands, one main island with a couple of minor ones around the edge. It's like playing a JA version of Castles in the Sky.

The skybox is simplistic but works well, making the islands hover over the sea with the moon lighting up the map, aided by a few fires of course. The author says he's made use of the latest compiler features and I certainly noticed them, light styles for the flames and penumbra shadows cast by the moon...although this doesn't happen much in real life it sure looks fine. I also have seen this guy in the Q3Map2 forums so I know he knows his stuff about the compiler.

I love the attention to detail here, the ground is cluttered with rubble and small grass plants, where there is stone flooring it's broken up and uneven, then of course there is that beautiful miniature waterfall coming out of the rocks that look like real moss-ridden rocks.

Going down into the small and simple temple, the same simple attention to detail has been kept, shadows are clearly defined without being solid and the temple is literally cut into the island, you can see hints of solid walls in there but the majority of the room is rough stone that is part of the island, a very nice touch!

This is such a simple yet rewarding map, , perfect for small FFA's where you want multiple duels, in fact it'd work great for duel maps too, you won't fall off easily but there is always that chance!

New Textures: Yes
New Sounds: Yes
Bot Support: Yes

Map review and news comments by WadeV1589.

You can find it at Jedi Knight Files.

Back to top

Gonk has just released a great Duel map for Jedi Academy called Duel Dustball. It's set in the midst of a city on Tatooine.

The map is quite beautiful, with lots of good-looking details in it, though it still runs without too much lag! There really isn't much more to say about it. The screenshots speak for themselves. I personally recommend this map for all JA players, wether you play Duel a lot or not! Go get it now HERE!

Back to top

Why, oh why, oh why didn't you make this a CTF map, James!?! It looks like it was set up perfectly for CTF. I mean, the sides don't mirror each other, but it's hard to get lost in this map. It seems that Sith-J-Cull just keeps getting better and better with each map he creates.

There are stone walls and pillars all around the whole map. You'll find a few high towers with stationary guns up top, swoops in some areas, and AT-ST's placed sparsely. The waterfall is just gorgeous, and the ambient sounds are perfect. The stone paths have grass growing up through the cracks, and in some areas, you'll see only a dirt path. I adore the terrain in this map. Hills, rocks, tight turns, grass, dirt ... all of it. Also the layout makes the map seem bigger than it is. Well, it's big anyway.

Once again, we see a bridge over a small stream. I still haven't grown weary of that look. The landscape is lush ... everywhere you go there are trees and bushes, but it's in Yavin and so you'll find some technical touches here and there. There are also a few secret areas that will help you get to another place faster, and without being seen - you see what I mean?? Perfect for CTF!

Anyway, in the third area, there's this rope bridge that could make for some very interesting duels. It hangs high above a raging river and large rocks. When you manage to get across, you'll find yourself in a small room with a blue platform. There's also a red platform on the other side of the map. Okay, that SO screams CTF. But nowhere I read did it say that this map supports CTF.

The music included is much more suitable than that other one, James. Yay! I think I now have a new favorite map! If only it didn't have swoops in it, I'd so add this to my server. Great job, James!

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

Map review and comments by AmosMagee!

You can find this map with AT-ST's placed sparsely here and another version without any AT-ST here at Jedi Knight Files!

Back to top

Y'know, this looks awfully familiar. I suppose it's not an entirely original idea, even when I saw it first done, but ... well ... I dunno. It seems to me that Jekyll has taken a good idea and expanded upon it - made it a little better. So I suppose that's a good thing.

I remember having some great FFA's on the TMBJ map in the boxing ring. And that's what this entire map is - the boxing ring! Except, with the music and flashing lights, I kinda see this more as a cross between a boxing ring and a disco. Heh. The map consists of one large room with some stands for the spectators to occupy during a fight. The ring itself is a bit small, but perfect for a duel. There's an area for the "announcer" who can ring the bell, announce that classic line "Get ready to rumble" and lower the cage, all with their use key. If you're in the ring when the cage is lowered, it is most definitely going to be a fight to the death - or until someone lifts the cage again. And if you hit the ropes, you will bounce back.

It looks like up top, those four black boxes are supposed to be speakers, and that room up there is for the media - is that correct? I guess the only things that really disappoint me about this map are the lack of detail in some areas, and those doors that don't open! Would've been clever to have those two doors (red and blue) open into locker rooms and maybe have them controlled by the announcer. Y'know, like the announcer could give the specs on each fighter and then lift the door and they could come either running out and playing to the crowd, or walking out, like, playing it cool and stuff. *giggle* Anyway, so yeah. Other than that, I like this map. It's a clever idea for a small FFA, or for a fun little duel tourney.

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

News comments and map review by AmosMagee!

Check it out at Jedi Knight Files!

Back to top

Right here we have a new map called CTF Facing World for Elite Force II! Flix and tempest have decided to pair up for this one so it should be a good one. You start out in a large house but there is a catch, this house is drifting wildly in space...!The other teams base is on the other side of a set of glass paths so do not look down!

Some nice touches make this map like for instance the rotating space and the advertising boards! Not sure on asdfa3 brand of goods???

Lighting, music, textures and of course good scripting really make this an excellent map to play even with bots.

The only thing wrong with this map is the fact that it does not include a sick bag, as it does really feel like you are lost in space...So to sum a brilliant map, download now, and to all you people who run servers get it on there now!

Map review by Pandemonium.

You can get it at Elite Force Files!

Back to top

Here we have another Soldier of Fortune II's nice sniping map from }specials{s}{@[){}w. This is large sized map based in a desert valley, there are plenty of buildings to explore and a large amount of good sniper points.

There are also underground tunnels for you to use and move around the map, some teleports added in as well for quick re-location. The map supports DM ,TDM and ELIM gametypes and will host up to 30 players. A good map to add to your growing collection and should do well on custom servers with the sniper theme. Go give it a try now at SoF II Files!

Back to top

What a nice looking duel map this is, and superb music to boot! The music is perfect, mild soft music in the background. Then on top of that you have the sound of win as a map like this should have as it is open in the clouds

It IS a duel map, small in size but with the space to move around, you are limited to the walkway and jumping off of it will kill you.
I love the fact that it's a duel map with details around it, the hovering ship (needs to hover less next time) is on a nice smooth landing platform with the beams shining on it. There are also weird hovering tubes...no idea what they are but the fact they're there and moving makes the map all that more 'real'.

The use of curves is very well done, the main walkway is surrounded by nicely shaped curved structures that don't tear into each other and don't have horrid texturing, in fact it's up to the standard of an official map which is always nice to see! What baffles me then is why the lights around the walkway weren't modifed to be more curved (their sharp angle right now just doesn't fit in with the map.

Lighting, perfect, bright enough, no real problems; my advice though, again with the lights around the walkway, add q3map_lightsubdivide 64 to the shader next time and it will emit light every 64 units instead of the default which i think is 128, or for a shader like this, measure the distance between the centres of 2 lights and use that a the lightsubdivide value.

New Textures: One
New Sounds: Music
Bot Support: Yes

Map review and news comments by WadeV1589.

Go take a look at Jedi Knight Files.

Back to top

Gamespot have released a whole bunch of new screenshots and a whole host of new video footage! Thanks to Lintspeed on the forums for pointing this one out!

Also on the site, they are starting a handbook detailing each characters biographies and powers.

Back to top

Well, reviewed this once, and seemed that I missed quite a bit out. Must've been up too late Anyway, I promised I'd go back and have another look at this skin, and I did actually notice the shaders this time. I must've been too tired to notice em before - they're very well implemented. For a start, it's not your standard TCGen shader, no. These effects are much less noticeable, but still make it look like metal. This way the whole Jango Fett in many battles thing shows through. Scrathed helmets don't shine like brand new do they? It's kinda wierd. You know something's there, and it looks good, but it's hard to pick out what, ya know? The only shader I coud pick out easily was the helmet shader, where the light goes from one side to the other.

As I said before, the actual skin is obviously a Boba Fett Reskin, nothing you haven't seen before, but it's more impressive than the original. Nice blue armour You can also play as him in SP mode if you so desire, makes a nice change. So there's all the nice shaders and stuff, but it doesn't bring something incredibly new and exciting to players looking for a little more 'zing' in their JKA gaming. Some may prefer more original skins, but for fans and people looking for some very nice realism, this is a skin to download!

The sounds (or at least a few of em) are taken from the movie for more realism, and there is Bot and Team Support. I really liked the variants for this He also has a variation where he dons a Jetpack which looks perhaps a little too blue, but still well designed. Doesn't work unless you also have a real jetpack on, and then there's Z-Fighting, but not a huge problem.

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

Skin review and news comments by Szico VII.

Take a look at Jedi Knight Files.

Back to top

This one is a fix for the Gun Crazy map for Elite Force. All the missing textures are now included, and some of the annoyances have been removed. You can now land on the islands from above, but there's an invisible shooter that will try to kill you. Also, it seems one of the jumppads was removed but the other one is still there? Makes for an interesting game of CTF, and an even more interesting deathmatch.

Developed by Steve Robberts, you can find it at Elite Force Files.

Back to top

This is a very strange medium sized map for Soldier of Fortune II, the play area is very dark so watch your step, slip and its instant death. The map is made up of different floor levels, the access to these can be ladders or a smart looking lift. Gameplay maybe slowed down due to how compact it feels and the fear of sudden death.

The map supports DM, TDM, Elim, CTF, INF. gametypes and will host at a guess up to 16 players (author may correct this). Go give it a try and see what you think. And watch out for the trap doors!

Check it out at SoF II Files.

Back to top

MARIA brings us a JK2 map called Calixer. This map is pretty small, so I would think it's either very small FFA or duel, although there's not a lot of space for a duel. There's guns around and lots of cool moving stuff. That part I liked. The FPS wasn't bad, this is probably due to its small size and lots of walls in that space so it doesn't draw a lot of the map at one time. The music is pretty cool, I thought it wasn't to bad for the style of the map, which to me seemed very industrial or something along those lines.

Now for the more technical aspects of this map. First the lighting. I didn't like it. Multi-colored and huge spots everywhere with no source, for most mappers this is a no no because they like at least that much realism in maps. But other than the lighting there's not much really wrong with this map. I would like it to look a little less blocky and multi-colored...but maybe that's just me.

There is however no bot support, so any bots you would like to play with will do nothing but jump around so you can't have real bot fights. Other than that it doesn't look to bad. I say we can expect some pretty cool things from this mapper in the future.

Bot Support: No
New Textures: No
New Music: Yes
Gametypes: FFA Duel

Map review and news comments by SanosuKe!

You can find it at Jedi Knight II Files.

Back to top

Over the past few days, the kind guys at Map-Review.Com have released THREE interviews with some hotshots in the Jedi Academy community. One with Blaster concerning his Mainframe and Dark Alliance MODs, plus his work in project: Revenge Of The Sith! One with Moonsoontide about his Siege map in the works, plus the many models he has in store for us. And finally one with Andy867 and Manquesa about their revolutionary Asteroids MOD, which should be coming pretty soon!

The interviews can be found on Map-Review.Com in the Interview List!

Back to top

I don't really remember every detail of the original Mara Jade model by Edward Peretti, but this skin doesn't really look all that different from what I do recall. Toryn (name of this character) wears a green jacket and, I think, a less revealing gray shirt. Her red hair is very red and there's a ponytail version of her. The red and blue versions are predictable ... red jacket, blue jacket ... nothing else changed. Oh, and she has knee pads. Did she always have knee pads?

There's bot support included, but no new sounds. The skin doesn't seem to be much different from the model I remember playing with. So I can't really say much about this skin ... except that it's nice to have the Mara Jade model in JA. *shrug*

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

News comments by AmosMagee!

You can find it at Jedi Knight Files!

Back to top