RavenGames News Archives

March 2002

Erwin's Pages posted a Jedi Outcast review, concentrating on what's similar and what's new compared to its prequel. Here an excerpt:

"It was particularly striking that the level design was largely inspired on the original: again you have cold and sometimes chaotic, maze-like tech surroundings. Tadly illogical puzzles and hard-to-find exits are also back in the picture, but if you look well and climb any ridge or rim you see, you should manage fine.
So, based on this first impression, I was slightly disappointed.

But 6 hours later, a stubble beard richer and a social contact poorer, I was still playing. After more thorough gameplay, Jedi Outcast proved to get better and better by the minute."

Read the rest of the review here.

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The Jedi Knight II clan Sanguinarian Jedi just moved in here at RavenGames.

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TheForce.Net has a comparison between the Standard and Collector's Edition versions of Jedi Outcast, complete with fotos of all items.

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There's a new Jedi Outcast Resource Page from Raven Software, providing links official sites, FAQs, technical support articles, reviews, and more.

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Gamersclick posted another Jedi Knight II review.

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JediKnightII.net posted an interview with Dan Pettit, Associate Producer on Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. They talk about things like the story, lightsabers and multiplayer skins. Read it all here.

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The latest version of the most advanced DOOM/Heretic/Hexen source port, Vavoom, has been released. There are some new editing features like line-to-line teleporters (making it possible to add seamless transition from one map to another, without a fixed entry point - this is something even most modern engines don't support), plus a lot of changes on the scripting side. For more info and the downloads, see the Vavoom site. You can also leave your bug report or other feedback on the Vavoom forums.

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MGON also posted a review of the game, giving it a 9.2 out of 10 (with at least a 9.0 in any of the 4 categories). It seems Raven Software did an exceptional job on this title. A real shame for the vast majority it'll just be a LucasArts game...

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The Jedi Outcast review of Telefragged praises the game real high, not only did they give it a score of 94%, there is also not one in the 6 categories that would've come out with a score under 90%.

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This preview on GamePro.com is most probably the last preview of the game to surface, since Jedi Knight II is now available in stores.

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Just for the worst case scenario, here some info how to reach us all the time:

You should be able to reach RavenGames with no interruptions at all through the IP 209.15.74.188.

For really important e-mails, use the e-mail address ramborc@korax-heritage.com. Don't send any questions there that aren't crucial. Questions like "where can I buy this or that game" or "how do I activate the console" will be ignored.

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We're currently moving the site to a new server. There shouldn't have been any glitches, but the registrar played us a trick so there might be outages. If you can't reach the site in the coming days, just wait a couple of hours and try again. If any mails bounce, please resend them only next week. Sorry for any possible inconveniences.

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ShackNews has posted 7 new SOF2 screenies that show the goodness of multiplay gaming. the later siz of them show what you will see from the RMG (map generator)for multiplayer gaming. They are sweet images. It's worth a gander over at ShackNews.com

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The Jedi Knight II clan Elite Jedi Masters just moved in here at RavenGames.

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The 2nd Jedi Knight II review just surfaced on GeekGirl's Guide 2 Games and paints a somewhat different picture of the game, criticizing the single player in the manner of "what you really have here is 10 hours of gaming, stretched out with game play complications to up to 40 hours". If you're interested mainly in the multiplayer part of the game however, there's still no need to worry. Check out the review here.

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Gamers.com posted the first online review of Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, giving it a 10 out of 10.

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SkyJake just posted the news about some new Doomsday features like high-res PCX and PNG support, shiny model surfaces, interlude and finale scripts. For more info, see the jHeretic or the jHexen page.

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Planet Soldier has posted an interview with Matt MOrton who is the Associate Producer at Activision. He spits out a few oppinions of SOF2 and its features. You can check it out right here.

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Raven Software/LucasArts is releasing a Linux dedicated server for Jedi Knight II (coming out later this week). Before you download and/or contact anyone at above companies about this Linux package, consider the official disclaimer:

"These binaries are released as a non-supported product. That means that LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC’s technical support center cannot answer or help with any issues you may encounter with this release. These binaries have received minimal developer testing and may crash your computer or cause other undesirable effects!
LucasArts makes no representation or warranty of any kind regarding: i) these binaries; ii) what may result or not result from following the suggestions contained in the accompanying "readme file"; or iii) your success in using these binaries to set up a dedicated Linux server for Star Wars® Jedi Knight® II: Jedi Outcast™. Your decision to use and run these binaries is entirely at your own risk."

You can download the not quite 1 MB file here.

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A new beta version of Vavoom (1.12 beta 4) has been released to the public. For the download link, see the Vavoom forums (you can leave your feedback/bug report at the same place).

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JediKnightII.net published a new column with the title "Jedi Knight II: Countdown", talking about the upcoming game and adding some speculations about the community landscape. Read it all here.

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NeoGeniX from SoFLand reports that the Belgian gaming site De Spelletjesgarnaal has a BIG Soldier of Fortune II gallery up... while most of the shots have been around for a long time now, towards the middle of the page some of the shots appear to be never before seen. Check them out here.

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JediCenter conducted an interview with Raven Software's Kenn Hoekstra on different engine and gameplay aspects of Jedi Knight II.

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Quake fans are in the process of creating a new Quake III model based on Raven Software's Quake IV concept (see the original 2D art here). The model is currently being animated and the base skin is out for anyone to try its hands on skinning this baby. For more information and a score of screenshots, see the polycount MessageBoard.

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Ice's 9-level Heretic episode, Sinful Discharge, has finally been released to the public. You can currently download it from 3darchives.in-span.net, more mirrors are coming soon. For more information on Sinful Dischrage, see Ice's Heretic Maps.

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A new SoF clan moves in at RavenGames, Task Force.

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Phantomas is still working on his planned 45th Platoon mod that he once mentioned very eary on. He has been pre-making all of the mod content with the Quake III engine so that he only has to port it over to the SOFII system when the game is released.

The mod's team is growing, yet always look for new members if anyone out there is really interested. Phantomas is working on his passion.. the maps, while Stannum creates weapon animations as well as models and skins, Logistik creates the players skins, and Sevensins as a coder.

The team has just posted thier first 3 screenshots of a map called "Bridge" and the shots show nothing but what you would expect from Phantomas... excellence.

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Elohim from sof2-news-page.de reports updates on the Soldier of Fortune II mod The 45th Platoon's website, including 3 screenshots of an upcoming map and info on new team members.

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SkyJake releasd a new version of the Doomsday engine, addressing several smaller bug issues and introducing minor new features. For more info, see the jHexen or jHeretic site.

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ELiTeD posted a preview about the CTF aspect of upcoming Star Wars 3D FPS game Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. Besides interesting info it also includes several new screenshots. Check it all out here.

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After a month of "writer's block" and similar probs, Ichor is once again working full steam on Carnage Galore III. Recent changes and upgrades include big steps toward finishing the remaining maps of the first episode and a completely reworked planet puzzle. For more info, see the Carnage Galore III site.

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JediKnightII.net reports on Wired Lamp Studios reopening. Since they've been down for months now, you might not remember them, they're the team who started making a cooperative mod for Jedi Knight II. You can check out their site here.

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A new Jedi Outcast mod just went online on JediKnightII.net's Mod Central. The mod is called Rebel Strike and is a "team based, goal oriented" mod.

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The SoF2 mod Agent Rez reports a major update, including a complete makeover of the website, the completion of the background story, and a new poll for you to vote. To hear it all first hand from Meridianblade himself:

We have finished off our story "better late than never" we have been working on it for a long time and have came up with many but this seems to be the winner, it can be viewed at the about section on our site. The website itself has had a compete makeover and is much better looking. Updates will be daily again now that the site is transferred and running correctly, which is good for you guys.You can also vote on a new poll that was setup early today. If you have not been to our site lately, we have quite a few weapon models completed for your viewing pleasure. Also on the way are two new weapons, .44 Desert Eagle and a Bali-Song. That is all for Agent Rez at the moment, so come check us out at http://agentrez.soffiles.com.

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SoFLand has 3 new exclusive Soldier of Fortune II screenshots, especially the military camp is worth checking out.

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A new beta version of Vavoom has been released to the public. For the download link, see the Vavoom forums (you can leave your feedback/bug report at the same place).

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There's a new Soldier of Fortune II interview up on SLCentral with Project Lead Jon Zuk. Here an excerpt:

"AI can take cover, lean around corners, crouch, rappel, jump, work in pairs, work in squads, leap over objects, etc. As you can see, they do a lot! We've had some issues with the RMG because it's very open and it's random. We've been working on how AI can handle the player at a distance, since you'll encounter them that way quite a bit. Indoors though, they work pretty much the same, although our buildings are a little more simple and generic in the RMG."

Read the rest of the interview here.

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ELiTeD posted an interview with Kenn Hoekstra, talking mostly about engine and gameplay topics concerning Jedi Knight II.

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Jedi Outcast Mod Central conducted an interview with Jedi Knight II Design Lead Chris Foster. Some interesting topics are covered, like whether any maps of Dark Forces or Jedi Knight made it into JK2, or how strict the design guidelines concerning the Star Wars universe were. Read the interview here.

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Straight from James Monroe's .plan:

LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC is pleased to announce that Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast has Gone Gold and is approved for manufacturing. Expect it at fine retailers everywhere March 29!"

There is also a new trailer on the official JK2 site, be sure to check it out.

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The Doctor reports on a new Elite Farce release, the TNG preview pak, which contains 9 bots. Fore more information, see Holodeck 5.

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The Korax' Heritage team reports that they succeeded in implementing new sprites into the engine, and Mago has been in the process of creating new NPC graphics for weeks now. The first in-game screenshot of an elderly mage running a mageware shop is already up on the Korax' Heritage site. Mind you, this guy has all frames to walk around in the town if he feels like doing so.

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Today, Jedi Outcast goes gold! The release of the game is the 4th april, 2002. And you can read new infos about the collector`s edition. In this edition, you can find Jedi Outcast, Jedi Knight and Dark Forces!

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The official Jedi Outcast site released a stromtrooper model for Quake III Arena so you have something to play with until Jedi Knight II itself comes out.

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Pc.ign.com published the 2nd part of the sound designer diaries of Zack Quarles. Here an excerpt:

"What about the gore??!! Well, I will tell you that creating the sounds for the gooey aspects of SOF2 was incredibly fun. I can still recall the look on Brian's face when I told him I needed to go to the grocery store to pick up some melons, a hammer, and a lot of garbage bags. Priceless.

So I set up my mic close to the ground, place plastic garbage bags all over my floor, put a sign up on my door that says "Do Not Disturb: RECORDING!", and set to work. I would first pick up a honeydew melon and place it on the garbage bags and grab the nearest hammer. Setting the mic as close as I could without it being covered in goo, I bring the hammer down on the poor, helpless honeydew with the force of 10,000 Roman Gods (albeit them being the lesser ones, ie: Jeff the God of Biscuits.) and giggle like a school girl. Soon, I toss the hammer aside and truly get my hands dirty, picking up the meat of the melons and squeezing them through my fingers, throwing them down on top of the now destroyed rinds, and slapping them together, splattering melon gunk all over my office, microphone, and self."

Read the rest of the article here.

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ReverenTed from PlanetSoldier reports on a SoF2 skinning contest that appears to be a version of the official Raven one, this time for residents of Australia and New Zealand only. For more info on this, check out AusGamers.com.

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SkyJake released a new version of the Doomsday engine which should be more stable than previous (beta) versions. This latest distribution comes with an up-to-date version of DLaunch for easier starting of games. For more info and to download, see the jHeretic or the jHexen site.

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The Hive, a new resource center for Heretic II maps/prefabs and textures, went online a couple of days back. Be sure to check it out.

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Ice sends word that his upcoming 9-level Heretic episode, Sinful Discharge, will most probably be released next week. The bad news to some is that it won't run on the original DOS Heretic, only on the source ports. Though the maps are mainly jHeretic oriented, wHeretic and Vavoom should work too. For more info and the screenshot gallery check out Ice's Heretic Maps.

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MaGgoT (NaZ) wrote up a newbie guide on how to play Hexenworld over the Internet. If you are a newcomer to Hexen II and wondered whether it's playable over the web, you'll find this guide particularly useful.

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Soldier Simon interviewed Kenn Hoekstra regarding the development of SOF2. There's alot of good information there about the gameplay, it's development, and the decisions made to get the game finished.

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The German Jedi Outcast fanpage Jedi Outcast TH has a new sitedesign. If you want, you can send the webmaster an email with your opinion.

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Reaper on PlanetSoldier reminds you SoFers that they've got a SoF tech support forum where you can post without the need to register and will be answered quickly by the PlanetSoldier team.

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Jedi Knight 2-World reports that EBgames now offers Jedi Knight II pre-orders including a Jedi Outcast T-shirt for $59.99, limited to one package per person. See EBgames for details.

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Hazard Team HQ posted a new Elite Force map, in which you can walk around in the spaceship Daedalus - and also take a walk on the hulk. For more information and to download this 4.69 MB map, see Hazard Team HQ.

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Games Radar UK posted a lengthy preview of Jedi Knight II, emphasizing among other things that the levels will be on a huge scale, just like in the original Jedi Knight. For fans of both science fiction and large open areas, this will be a real change compared to Elite Force. You can read the preview - which talks about other things as well, like how much of the Star Wars world you'll see in this game - here.

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The Skinning Contest deadline is March 14th which means there is still alot of time to get your entries in. There are some great prizes involved as listed below:

Grand Prize: the winning skin included in multiplayer Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix; a copy of Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix signed by Raven Software, and a Sony PlayStation® 2.

First Prize: copy of Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix signed by Raven Software; a Nintendo GameCubeTM.

Second Prize: copy of Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix signed by Raven Software; a Nintendo Gameboy AdvanceTM.

If you need more details about the contest and the rules, you can grab them from Activision.

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VoodooExtreme runs a poll on which upcoming game of Raven Software (Quake IV, Jedi Knight II or Soldier of Fortune II) you are looking forward to most. Vote on the VoodooExtreme main page, then check the results and comments here.

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Let's hear it for District Judge Lewis Balbock who just set presidence that violent video game manufactures cannot be held responsible for violent acts played by its consumers. This means that game like SOF can no longer be held to blame for the results of such horrific events like those at Columbine.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Babcock granted motions to dismiss filed by Time Warner Inc. and Palm Pictures, as well as 11 video game makers, including Sony Computer Entertainment America, Activision and Id Software, the maker of "Doom." In his ruling, Babcock said there was no way the makers of violent games and movies could have reasonably foreseen that their products would cause the Columbine shooting or any other violent acts. "Setting aside any personal distaste, as I must, it is manifest that there is social utility in expressive and imaginative forms of entertainment, even if they contain violence," Babcock wrote.

Now we just need to get other countries like Germany to agree with this and we can all be happier. Germany just bans violent games altogether.

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Chat event organizer GamesDomain has the official transcript of last Friday's Jedi Knight II chat.

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Ice's Heretic episode, Sinful Discharge, is nearly ready for release. Basically all maps are finished, he's still tweaking gameplay balance a bit and levels in general. There are also half a dozen new screenshots of the last map. Check it all out at Ice's Heretic Maps.

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PCPointer, a German gaming site, has posted 3 new screenies of SOFII with a brief blurb about the game itself. You can find them over on pcpointer.de.

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GameSpot UK has a new preview of Jedi Knight II (yeah, I know, don't say it).

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Demolisher from raven-games.com reports that 2 unofficial transcripts of the Jedi Outcast chat from yesterday are now online. One is on the JediKnightII.net forums and the other on TheForce.Net.

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The BOD released 2 new CTF maps for Elite Force, LOW_GRAV 2.0 and BOD_GRAND_HALL. You can download them directly from the BOD site. If you don't have either Java or Flash, you won't be able to access the site, in that case drop a mail at BOD@MDCusa.net and they'll mail you the direct URL to the map downloads.

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ReverendTed on PlanetSoldier reports that Fragland, the site hosting SoFLand (and the downloads of SoFFiles) is down and will be for a couple of days. So if you wanted to visit SoFLand, don't worry, they're just temporarily down and will be up again soon.

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The Jedi Knight II clan Imperial Guards just moved in here at RavenGames.

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Still another Soldier of Fortune clan moving in at RavenGames, Demon Hunters.

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Mapper god and former (well, in a couple of hours) Raven employee Michael Raymond-Judy quits Raven Software today, after 8 years of dedicated work. This is what he has to say on the occasion:

Well, today is my last day here at Raven. It's hard to imagine that almost nine years of being in the same place, working with the same familiar faces on all the great products we've made is about to come to an end. I am definitely looking forward with great excitement to working at Destineer, and I think the move to Minneapolis will prove to be a good one for myself and my family. Still, it's hard to leave a job and company you love for something untested, and no matter how great things are at Destineer, I'm sure I will always remember Raven as the place that first convinced me that it's possible to have a job that I really enjoyed almost every single day.

Thanks to Raven, thanks to the people I work with, and thanks to the people out there who helped make the ride a fun one.

As Ah-nold says: "I'll be back". Just a different title at the end of the sig now ;)

MRJ

And in the name of the community, thank you Mike for your great work on outstanding titles like ShadowCaster, Heretic and Elite Force! We won't forget you.

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Ice reports that his upcoming Heretic episode - titled Sinful Discharge - is nearly finished. 8 maps are already completed and he's working on the last one. Be sure to check out Ice's Heretic Maps as besides this info there are 20 new screenshots and a detailed lowdown on how skill settings have been implemented.

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