See, /this/ is the sort of remaster I can get behind!

Jedi Knight Remastered
https://www.moddb.com/mods/jedi-knight-remastered
is a fan-project to update the graphics of Star Wars: Dark Forces II:
Jedi Knight. It's actually been around a while (at least as far back
as 2020, from what I can tell) and its only in the news again because
a new version was released.

As many of you know, I'm an unabashed Star Wars fan, even if I admit
that a lot of the media in the franchise is pure trash (and, honestly,
even the best Star Wars is pretty schlocky). But I'm excited about
this mod because - while there were a lot of things about the original
"Jedi Knight" that I enjoyed, its visuals were not one of them. The
game was released in the early days of 3D graphics, and even for the
time, the game was never much of a looker. Playing it 25 years later
requires a lot of effort! But this mod fixes many of those short-
comings. The game still isn't 'high-end' in its visuals, but at least
it no longer makes my eyes bleed.

Amusingly, this mod - at 900mb - is larger than the original game.

It should work with the original CD-ROM versions, as well as the
versions sold on both GOG and Steam.

May the Force be with you.

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote in
news:5hbktihj4509alvepmfdur8hem92t2ls1s@4ax.com:

>
> See, /this/ is the sort of remaster I can get behind!
>
> Jedi Knight Remastered
> https://www.moddb.com/mods/jedi-knight-remastered
> is a fan-project to update the graphics of Star Wars: Dark Forces II:
> Jedi Knight. It's actually been around a while (at least as far back
> as 2020, from what I can tell) and its only in the news again because
> a new version was released.
>

Thanks for posting this.

--
Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos -- the only sysadmins that matter

https://www.youtube.com/@ShadowArtGames/videos look good too!

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

> See, /this/ is the sort of remaster I can get behind!

> Jedi Knight Remastered
> https://www.moddb.com/mods/jedi-knight-remastered
> is a fan-project to update the graphics of Star Wars: Dark Forces II:
> Jedi Knight. It's actually been around a while (at least as far back
> as 2020, from what I can tell) and its only in the news again because
> a new version was released.

> As many of you know, I'm an unabashed Star Wars fan, even if I admit
> that a lot of the media in the franchise is pure trash (and, honestly,
> even the best Star Wars is pretty schlocky). But I'm excited about
> this mod because - while there were a lot of things about the original
> "Jedi Knight" that I enjoyed, its visuals were not one of them. The
> game was released in the early days of 3D graphics, and even for the
> time, the game was never much of a looker. Playing it 25 years later
> requires a lot of effort! But this mod fixes many of those short-
> comings. The game still isn't 'high-end' in its visuals, but at least
> it no longer makes my eyes bleed.

> Amusingly, this mod - at 900mb - is larger than the original game.

> It should work with the original CD-ROM versions, as well as the
> versions sold on both GOG and Steam.

> May the Force be with you.

--
"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." --Genesis 2:24. If I get a wife, then I'll die after mating her as a male alate ant. :) (L/C)NY (wood dragon).
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On Sat, 24 Feb 2024 20:29:46 +0000, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action, Ant
wrote:

>https://www.youtube.com/@ShadowArtGames/videos look good too!
>
Discord news hasn't really been updated since Dec 2022, but the guy is
still posting there.

I think it might be on a loooong development cycle.

In any event, I've subbed the Discord. I'll lyk if anything interesting
is happening there.

--
Zag

No one ever said on their deathbed, 'Gee, I wish I had
spent more time alone with my computer.' ~Dan(i) Bunten

On Sun, 25 Feb 2024 18:42:49 -0600, Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>On Sat, 24 Feb 2024 20:29:46 +0000, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action, Ant
>wrote:
>
>>https://www.youtube.com/@ShadowArtGames/videos look good too!
>>
>Discord news hasn't really been updated since Dec 2022, but the guy is
>still posting there.
>
>I think it might be on a loooong development cycle.
>
>In any event, I've subbed the Discord. I'll lyk if anything interesting
>is happening there.

I'm less excited about this one. It's TOO much of a remaster for my
take (or, alternately, not enough). I actually like the somewhat
cartoony look of the original "Dark Forces", and its restricted
visuals couple well (IMHO) with the old-school gameplay.

Were the ShadowArt developers to create a totally new game to go with
their totally new engine, I'd probably jump on it. But there's
something that puts me off with their ultra-realistic visuals and the
unrealistic level design of the old game; a sort of 'uncanny valley'
effect.

But maybe that's just me.

On 2024-02-26, Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sun, 25 Feb 2024 18:42:49 -0600, Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>>On Sat, 24 Feb 2024 20:29:46 +0000, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action, Ant
>>wrote:
>>
>>>https://www.youtube.com/@ShadowArtGames/videos look good too!
>>>
>>Discord news hasn't really been updated since Dec 2022, but the guy is
>>still posting there.
>>
>>I think it might be on a loooong development cycle.
>>
>>In any event, I've subbed the Discord. I'll lyk if anything interesting
>>is happening there.
>
> I'm less excited about this one. It's TOO much of a remaster for my
> take (or, alternately, not enough). I actually like the somewhat
> cartoony look of the original "Dark Forces", and its restricted
> visuals couple well (IMHO) with the old-school gameplay.
>
> Were the ShadowArt developers to create a totally new game to go with
> their totally new engine, I'd probably jump on it. But there's
> something that puts me off with their ultra-realistic visuals and the
> unrealistic level design of the old game; a sort of 'uncanny valley'
> effect.
>
> But maybe that's just me.

Yeah, kinda reminds me of what nintendo is doing now with mario
exploring hyper realistic enviroments
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On Sat, 24 Feb 2024 20:29:46 +0000, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action, Ant
> wrote:

> >https://www.youtube.com/@ShadowArtGames/videos look good too!
> >
> Discord news hasn't really been updated since Dec 2022, but the guy is
> still posting there.

> I think it might be on a loooong development cycle.

> In any event, I've subbed the Discord. I'll lyk if anything interesting
> is happening there.

Thanks since I don't do and like Discord. IRC FTW. :P
--
"Jesus would not entrust himself to them [the crowd], for he knew all men. He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man." --John 2:24-25. Slammy weeky?
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/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
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On 2024-02-26, Ant <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote:
> Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> On Sat, 24 Feb 2024 20:29:46 +0000, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action, Ant
>> wrote:
>
>> >https://www.youtube.com/@ShadowArtGames/videos look good too!
>> >
>> Discord news hasn't really been updated since Dec 2022, but the guy is
>> still posting there.
>
>> I think it might be on a loooong development cycle.
>
>> In any event, I've subbed the Discord. I'll lyk if anything interesting
>> is happening there.
>
> Thanks since I don't do and like Discord. IRC FTW. :P

Eh, I use it frquently. Bit of a bad history with it tho.
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

On Sat, 24 Feb 2024 20:29:46 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:

>https://www.youtube.com/@ShadowArtGames/videos look good too!
>

There is also now an OFFICIAL "Dark Forces" remaster, just released
earlier this week (all this Star Wars stuff and it's not even May the
Fourth!)

https://www.gog.com/en/game/star_wars_dark_forces_remaster

I'm a bit more onboard with this one, since it hews closer to the
original's aesthetics.

On the other hand, because it does so, it doesn't really differentiate
the remaster from the original very much either... which makes the
$30USD price tag a bit hard to swallow. Playing the original in DOSBox
($5 USD) with an upscaling filter offers a very similar visual
experience.

I don't think it's surprising that most of the screenshots for the
remaster feature the upscaled/remade cutscenes. The actual gameplay
improvements just aren't as impressive.

Also, the remaster uses Nightdive's "KEX" engine, which I've found to
be a bit too 'floaty' for my taste when used in other remakes
Nightdive has made using that engine. I think it would be particularly
annoying in "Dark Forces", which has requires some precise platforming
and jumps.

I'll get the remaster eventually, I've no doubt. But it is going to
have to drop in price radically before I consider it. $30 for a
(nearly) 30 year old game that I already own is a bit much.

Still, since we were discussing "Dark Forces" remake, the official
remaster deserved a mention.