Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II

"And a Knight shall come, a battle will be fought, and the prisoners go free."

- So saith the poem of ages

Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (often abbreviated JK by fans) is a first person shooter computer game released on October 9, 1997, by LucasArts. This was the first game in the series to include multiplayer capabilities over the Internet or over a LAN. It was also the first computer game to allow players to take control of a Jedi character using both the Force and lightsabers in a multiplayer setting.

The game is well known for its use of live-action cutscenes.

Story
The plot of this game places the player in the role of Kyle Katarn, who made his first appearance in Star Wars: Dark Forces (1995). Jedi Knight begins several years after the events in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. It begins as Kyle looks for new information of his father's death from and is being interrogated by, a droid named 8t88 ('88' for short). Kyle is informed by 88 that his father was killed by a Dark Jedi named Jerec. 88 trys to kill Kyle, but Kyle escapes from a gun to the head (from a Gran) and chases 88 for a stolen data disk meant only for Kyle from his father. Afterwards, he recovers a lightsaber from his father's workshop, compelling him on a journey to confront his father's murderers and to discover his own latent Force abilities. While on this journey, Kyle learns that seven Dark Jedi (Yun, Pic, Gorc, Boc, Maw, Sariss, and Jerec, the leader), his father's killers, are intent on finding the Valley of the Jedi, a focal point for Jedi power in the universe.

Kyle starts the game with no knowledge of the Force. As the player progresses through the game, Kyle gains Jedi abilities, known as "Force Powers". These powers fall in three general categories: Neutral, Light, and Dark. The game awards one "Force point" upon the completion of each level, and an additional point if the player finds all of the secret areas. These skill points can be allocated towards any Force power, boosting that power's effects.

Jedi Knight is noted for the ethical decisions integrated into the gameplay. Kyle is a neutral character for most of the game, neither fully Light nor Dark. Actions against unarmed civilians throughout the game, as well as what Force powers a player chooses throughout the game, will sway Kyle towards the Light or the Dark sides. Eventually, the character Kyle must choose between Light and Dark; how he chooses depends on the player's actions throughout the game. A "Force meter" displays Kyle's progress towards either side during breaks in the action.

Kyle embarks on a journey to find the location of the planet. Along the way he fights dozens of stormtroopers and the seven Dark Jedi. He first fights Yun, the youngest dark Jedi. Kyle defeats him but does not kill him, instead letting him live. Kyle then tracks down 88 on a large ship, but when he sticks up the droid with his gun, its head falls off; he then turns around to face Gorc and Pic. They face Kyle at the same time, but he kills them both. Soon afterward, Jan picks Kyle up off of the top of the ship and they fly away. Kyle uses 8t88's head to recover the map to the valley, as the original tiles were destroyed by Yun before their duel. Arriving at the planet, Kyle makes his way to the top of the tower the ship is docked at. He is confronted by Maw, and the two fight. Maw is knocked down, but continues to taunt Kyle about his father. Kyle strikes down Maw with tears in his eyes. Jerec appears; he has captured Jan. Jerec tells you to kill Jan to complete your entrance into the dark side. It is at this point where the games chooses whether you will follow the light or dark side.

If you continue on the light side Jerec shoots a destructive blast at Kyle using the force. Kyle falls down backwards, and crawls away to the cargo ship which begins to fall towards the floor far below. Kyle is stuck on the falling ship, but makes his way to the docking bay where his ship, the Moldy Crow is docked, and escapes. Kyle crash lands the ship and is knocked unconscious. He awakens as the captive of Saris, Boc, and Yun. Boc smashes Kyle's father's lightsaber. Saris decides to execute him, and tells Boc to go tell Jerec Kyle "will soon join the dead." But as she makes her swing, Yun blocks it and is wounded. When Saris asks why, Yun replies, "He is a Jedi. He deserves a battle." Kyle takes Yun's saber and defeats Saris. Kyle then proceeds to the Valley excavation site, making his way to the core. He finds Jan tied up and frees her, but suddenly Boc appears and duels Kyle. Kyle defeats him and unties Jan. Jerec had already entered the core of the valley to meditate. As Kyle approaches it Jerec bursts out. The two have a final showdown. Jerec is defeated and has his saber knocked out of his hand. He beckons Kyle to kill him, but he instead tosses Jerec his saber back. The two make a swinging pass at each other, and end up facing opposite directions. Jerec falls down and turns into a small orb of light. Kyle and Jan look on, and the trapped spirits of countless Jedi fly around the valley freed, as spots of light.

In case the player chooses the dark side, the alternate ending is triggered: Kyle kills Jan Ors and then becomes the rival of Jerec, this time for dominion over the Valley. Kyle again retreats to the falling ship and escapes in the Moldy Crow, but this time doesn't crash land. Instead of fighting Saris by the ship's wreckage you face Yun again. You make your way to the core and defeat Boc. Kyle defeats Jerec, and becomes the new emperor of the Imperial Remnant, with Sariss at his side. This scenario however, is alternate and not canonical, as subsequent games show Kyle on the path of the Light side of the Force.

Levels

 * Second Mission to Nar Shaddaa
 * Mission to Sulon
 * Mission to Ruusan

Characters

 * Kyle Katarn
 * Jerec
 * Jan Ors
 * Qu Rahn
 * Sariss
 * Boc
 * Maw
 * Gorc and Pic
 * Yun
 * Morgan Katarn
 * 8t88
 * WeeGee
 * Max

Locations

 * Nar Shaddaa
 * Sulon
 * Barons Hed
 * Ruusan and Valley of the Jedi

Enemies

 * Grans
 * Rodians
 * Grave Tuskens
 * Trandoshans
 * Stormtroopers
 * Bounty Hunters
 * Mailocs
 * Water cycs

Single Player
Kyle starts the game with no knowledge of The Force. As the player progresses through the game, Kyle gains Jedi abilities, known as "Force Powers." These powers fall in three general categories: Neutral, Light, and Dark. The game awards one "Force point" upon the completion of each level, and an additional point if the player finds all of the secret areas. These skill points can be allocated towards any Force power, boosting that power's effects or learning the power.

Jedi Knight is noted for the ethical decisions integrated into the gameplay. Kyle is a neutral character for most of the game, neither fully Light nor Dark. Actions against unarmed civilians throughout the game, as well as what Force powers a player chooses throughout the game, will sway Kyle towards the Light or the Dark sides. Eventually, the character Kyle must choose between Light and Dark; how he chooses depends on the player's actions throughout the game. A "Force meter" displays Kyle's progress towards either side during breaks in the action.

Multiplayer and Online
The full breadth of JK gameplay was truly explored in online, multiplayer arenas. Plot and the infused morality around "light" and "dark" became irrelevant as players were able to forego the game's rather poor Artificial Intelligence (AI) and instead engage in spectacular combat. It was also online that the unique aspects of Jedi Knight truly distanced it from other, otherwise apparently similar first person shooters. Single player did not significantly benefit from force powers, agility, and large weapons, whereas online play demanded attention to these remarkable attributes.

The game lacked a dedicated server and was hosted by the MSN Gaming Zone, although several "IP boards" were hosted on fan sites such as JediKnight.net and Ron Mercer's Qtracker (formerly hosted at stomped.com). Most games were confined to the Nar Shaddaa (Nar) game room which became a refuge for clan wars, recruitment, and challenge. Five game types were used almost exclusively: Full Force (FF) Battle Ground Jedi (BGJ) and Canyon Oasis (CO) and No Force (NF) Battle Ground Jedi and JI Oasis (an add-on level created by the Jedi Infantry clan). Games varied from two-player to four-player, allowing free-for-all, teams, and head-to-head combat. Another popular game type was Capture the Flag (CTF).

The lack of dedicated servers created difficulties in lag time for online play. Messages sent were never centrally processed, and so a "hit" in one person's frame nearly never guaranteed an actual event. Players compensated for lag by shooting ahead of the opponent so as to register a hit on his computer.

Canyon Oasis was undoubtedly the most-played multiplayer map due to its variety of weapons/pickups and varied terrain (including water tunnels and ramps). It was also brightly lit, meaning stealth was a less viable tactic as it was in many of the darker maps favored by the development team and mod makers (such as Blades of Death). Despite its huge popularity, there was a movement against its overuse as well, to the point where a player group was formed with the slogan "Because we're sick of Canyon Oasis." 

At times the game suffered from extensive cheating, until the third party program known as "Kicker Helper" was released to combat the cheating. JK's permissive checksum system was what allowed most of the "hacks" or "cogs" (as the cheats were commonly called) to work. The physics engine and force system of the game, however, were so permissive that many legitimate actions were construed as cheating. "Hypergrip", or "Supergrip", referred to using force grip on an opponent at a faster than normal rate (so fast, indeed, that a player might die in the first two seconds). This is performed simply by targeting an opponent with force grip and then repeatedly pressing the assigned Use Force Power key. Each iteration sends another pulse of grip, eventually killing the opponent. The same procedure can be used with force pull to repeatedly draw a weapon, often creating multiple copies within the level due to lag.

To this day, GameSpy Arcade and Qtracker support JK and MotS online play (and a few groups exist that meet up for games on IRC, plus one dedicated server at NarShaddaa.net), to its remaining devoted fans, and many mod projects keep interest alive.

Force Powers
As Kyle Katarn progresses through the game, he gains force points which can be assigned to different powers. Additional points are gained by discovering all of the secrets in a level. These give him abilities far beyond any enemies (except Jedi) whom he encounters, and allow him to combat large groups of foes simultaneously. Force powers distinguish Jedi Knight from its predecessor, Dark Forces, and, in a sense, form the basis for every other Star Wars shooter after it (e.g. Jedi Outcast, Jedi Academy, aspects of Knights of the Old Republic, etc.).

Apprentice (Neutral)

 * Force Speed - Run at extreme pace.
 * Force Jump - Jump to extraordinary, variable heights. (Tap key to jump to full height; hold down to charge.)
 * Force Pull - Draw weapons and items toward oneself, even out of an enemy's grasp.
 * Force Seeing - See other players on the map, and those using force persuasion.

Light Side

 * Force Healing - Heal yourself of damage.
 * Force Blinding - Blind enemies to your movements.
 * Force Persuasion - Make yourself invisible to all.
 * Force Absorb - Absorb the force energy of attacks.
 * Force Protection - Cover yourself with an impervious shield of the force. (In online play, this requires character to have no neutral force powers.)

Dark Side

 * Force Throw - Throw movable objects at enemies.
 * Force Grip - Choke enemies, draining their health and stopping them from moving.
 * Force Lightning - Shoot lightning bolts. (Very short range.)
 * Force Destruction - Shoot an explosive ball of force energy. (Long range.)
 * Deadly Sight - Constantly burn all those around you. (In online play, this requires character to have no neutral force powers.)

Interesting Aspects
Astonishing aspects of gameplay are the speed and agility with which characters move through space, especially when confined to the smaller, multiplayer arenas. (When released, Jedi Knight featured incomparably large single-player levels). With force powers enabled, for example in Canyon Oasis, a talented player could force jump across the entire level in a single bound, and with force speed would die instantly if he impacted a surface edge. The physics engine, SITH, allows players to change direction instantly while maintaining speed, so deceleration is largely unnecessary. Additionally, force sight allowed players to see each other's locations on an overlaid map.

On some levels (e.g. Canyon Oasis and Battleground Jedi), such breathtaking range of motion combined with knowledge of other players' locations allowed a player to reach his opponent in a matter of seconds, often less. Tactics emerged slowly to deal with such speed, favoring those who could navigate levels in complex patterns. Successful players often focused their movement around depriving the opponent of shielding and health, to the point of force pulling unused items so that they disappeared and did not regenerate until a minute or so later. Using timers, the best players circled levels through a variety of paths designed to appear random but intersect key items (full shielding, force surges, etc.) exactly as they appeared.

When a player dies online, his weapons and ammunition are stored in a "pack" which appears where died. Many players insisted on leaving these packs so that respawned players could immediately reload and be fully ready to compete. The focus, then, was not on which player could luckily pick up the biggest gun. Instead, the JK community stripped its combat of meaningless advantages. Players allowed each other to load before combat started, and similarly between each kill. Games to small numbers of points (e.g. 5 or 10) could last upward of an hour, while constantly progressing at a furious pace.

Attitudes such as this separated Jedi Knight from the other shooters of its time, many of which focused on vibrant graphics and loud explosions. The JK community responded by tuning its gameplay to focus entirely on speed, agility, aim, and the ability to out-think opponents. Levels such as JI Oasis (mentioned above) were created specifically so that weapons and ammunition could never be a problem; it was littered with the most powerful weapons in gross excess. With universally significant lag requiring players to fire ahead of their opponents, and the ability move at unbelievable paces, players spent much time learning others' patterns. Without understanding explicitly which way an opponent would turn next, firing was a useless gesture.

Jedi Knight features two viewing modes: internal and external. Internal view allows for a crosshair and more accurate aiming, but a naturally limited view of the environment. External places your character in space with your view behind and up from him. You can see much more terrain and gain greater perspective on surroundings. This is the preferred view for lightsaber combat (indeed, there is an option to switch to this view when you switch to the lightsaber), and most players eventually prefer it.

Weapons
Characters in Jedi Knight can carry all of nine weapons simultaneously. They are highly varied and each suits a generally different situation. Few if any become obsolete as the game progresses, even as enemies become increasingly better equipped. Most have both primary and secondary modes, and some can be "charged" to fire more shots, be thrown farther, etc. Many are similar, if not identical, to the weapons in the original Dark Forces. JK's weapons are, in the generally accepted order of presentation,
 * Fists - Basically useless, but it's nice to see more than one arm punch. No secondary mode.
 * Bryar Pistol - Small, compact, and accurate, it shoots individual laser pulses at a fairly slow rate. No secondary mode.
 * Stormtrooper Rifle - Rapid fire but little accuracy, and therefore most effective at close range. No secondary mode.
 * Thermal Detonators - Thrown explosives that deliver significant punch, but can be hard to aim. Primary detonates on impact, but secondary after 3 seconds.
 * Bowcaster - The weapon of the Wookiee people, charge to fire one, three, or five highly destructive bolts. Secondary bolts bounce off of surfaces several times.
 * Repeater Rifle - Fast, accurate, and deadly. Primary: fire a continuous stream of shots. Secondary fires 3 shots at a time in triangle formation.
 * Rail Detonator - Fires slow-moving projectiles that cause significant shrapnel damage. It is the most powerful weapon in the game with a direct hit. Primary shots detonate on impact; secondary shots stick to enemies and surfaces.
 * Sequence Charges - Land mines! Primary detonates after a few seconds; secondary is a proximity charge.
 * Concussion Rifle - Fires a fast-moving, powerful bolt that explodes on impact. Extremely deadly, extremely damaging. Speed makes this perhaps the most attractive weapon in the game. Primary shots are explosive and long range; secondary are short-range, weaker, and non-explosive.
 * Lightsaber - Powerful, elegant, and undoubtedly the hardest weapon to master. Many skilled players use it almost exclusively. Primary is a simple swing combination; secondary is a more powerful double-swing.

Expansions and mods
Just four months after Jedi Knight's initial release, LucasArts released Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith, an official expansion pack, created by the LucasArts team that worked on Outlaws (a spaghetti western themed first person shooter) which features the opportunity to play as Mara Jade for a significant portion of the game. This expansion significantly improved the original Jedi Knight engine by adding aesthetic features such as colored lighting, new enemies and Force powers (and more controversially, doing away with the Dark/Light side duality). There were several under-the-hood changes as well, the most significant being that COG, the programming language that Jedi Knight uses to create scripted in-game events and interactivity (doors, elevators, weapons, in-game cutscenes, enemy behavior, and many other things in Jedi Knight are controlled by COG scripts) was expanded with new functions and capabilities, which the Sith Engine took full advantage of. In addition, while enemies in Jedi Knight would run away if stripped of their weapons, in Mysteries of the Sith they would attempt to fight with their fists. Mysteries of the Sith also featured new types of multiplayer action such as the gamemode KFY ("Kill the Fool with the Ysalamiri" based on KFC, "Kill the Fool With the Chicken" a fabulous "tag" based game mode from Outlaws), and included several new weapons, such as flash grenades, a seeking railgun, remote sequencer charges (mines), electro (sniper) scope for the E-11, and a carbonite gun. A few Force powers such as Throw and Lightning were replaced with Chain Lightning (to attack multiple opponents), Force Push, Saber Throw, Projection (decoy), Defense (lessened Force attacks but without giving back Force mana like Absorb), and Far Sight (leaving one's body to spy, with the novel side effect of allowing a person to avoid damage from long falls by slowing his descent). Unfortunately, Mysteries of the Sith multiplayer never was as popular as Jedi Knight multiplayer because the Sith Expansion was typically sold separately from Jedi Knight (but required the original game to install) and was often difficult to come by unless it specifically came bundled with Jedi Knight.

Over time, unofficial editing tools were developed for this game, thus attracting a wide audience of level editors that still make levels for this game today. Countless modifications have been made to Jedi Knight by way of software products such as JED, the map editor created by Alexi Novikov (with help rumored to have been provided by at least one JK team member). Less popular but somewhat more user friendly was JKEdit, which was recently released free to the public. Avid JK modders and fans have released new multiplayer levels, single-player levels, character models, and even weapons. Sites like the Code-Alliance (formerly DarkJedi.com) were host to lots of activity with regard to modding tools and enthusiasm. The most reliable source of these mods today is popularly thought to be The Massassi Temple. Unlike many other fps games, Jedi Knight still enjoys a wide fanbase even after nearly nine years, primarily due to the fact that Jedi Knight and its Mysteries of the Sith companion game are extremely editor-friendly (in how nearly anything about the JK engine can be changed or modified, with only a few exceptions, plus the wide enthusiasm of level designers at Massassi and at other groups. The other strengths and contributors to the games longevity with fans could be attributed to the large and expansive often "vertigo inducing" levels, the excellent third person option (within the context of a traditional first person shooter, a real novelty at the time of its release), the incredible fast pace of online play, and the complexity of the use of Force Powers and Melee combat (lightsabers) in the mix of more traditional First Person Shooter combat. Finally, the inclusion of the Dark/Light duality, morality scale and alternate endings made Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight stand out from the FPS crowd and made a lasting impression on many fans.

Online play
An often looked over, but extremely important part of Jedi Knight's longevity was the addictive online mode. The game lacked a dedicated server and was hosted by the MSN Gaming Zone, although several "IP boards" were hosted on fan sites such as JediKnight.net and Ron Mercer's Qtracker (formerly hosted at stomped.com). Most games were confined to the Nar Shaddaa (Nar) game room which became a refuge for clan wars, recruitment, and challenge.

There were five game types. The choice of the 'elite' or those aspiring to be were often, Full Force (FF) Battle Ground Jedi (BGJ) and Canyon Oasis (CO) and No Force (NF) Battle Ground Jedi and JI Oasis (an add-on level created by the Jedi Infantry clan). A few clans also specialized in the Capture the Flag (CTF) feature but it was neglected by many players, with exceptions, such as the Jedi Knight CTF Group. The greater learning curve of the game over most other FPS games of the time, due to the inclusion of extended melee combat (far advanced for the time) and the Force powers created something of a gap between skilled veterans and newer players. The "NF" servers tended to attract beginners who were more easily discouraged by the fast pace of "FF" play and the often large levels, and was a training area for those who wished to play "Sabers Only" (there was actually no lightsaber only gametype in JK, this was something added in Mysteries of the Sith and the sequels) and many simply agreed upon their own made up rules in order to facilitate "saber parties," though these were generally loosely enforced.

Canyon Oasis was undoubtedly the most-played multiplayer map and generally well-liked due to its variety of weapons/pickups and varied terrain (including water tunnels and ramps). It was also brightly lit, meaning stealth was a less viable tactic as it was in many of the darker maps favored by the development team and mod makers (such as Blades of Death). Despite its huge popularity, there was a movement against its overuse as well, to the point where a player group was formed with the slogan "Because we're sick of Canyon Oasis." 

Unfortunately, at times the game suffered from extensive cheating, until the third party program known as "Kicker Helper" [] was released to combat the cheating. JK's permissive checksum system was what allowed most of the "hacks" or "cogs" (as the cheats were commonly called) to work, an unfortunate side effect of the ease of editing. In all, the cheating created an atmosphere of paranoia, in which accusations were much more common than the cheating itself.

To this day, GameSpy Arcade and Qtracker support JK and MotS online play (and a few groups exist that meet up for games on IRC, plus one dedicated server at NarShaddaa.net), to its remaining devoted fans, and many mod projects keep interest alive.

3D Hardware-support
JK supports Direct3D hardware-acceleration only; proprietary rendering application programming interfaces from the game's era like 3Dfx's Glide are not supported. For interest's sake, at the time of the game's release in 1997, a 3Dfx Voodoo 1 such as the Diamond Monster 3D would have been the best graphics card to play Jedi Knight with.

Crew

 * Scott Ewers--Director
 * Justin Chin--Writer

Cheat Codes
There are a number of cheat codes in the game, entered by pressing the T key on the keyboard and typing in the command, followed by pressing Enter. Not all of these codes work in the multiplayer game. The first two are followed by the switch 1 or 0 that turn the cheat on or off.


 * JEDIWANNABE 1/0 - Invulnerability ON/OFF.
 * WHITEFLAG 1/0 (space included) - Enemy AI ON/OFF..
 * BACTAME - Full Health/Shields.
 * WAMPRAT - All Items.
 * YODAJAMMIES - Replenish Force Power.
 * IAMYODA - Full Light Side Jedi Powers.
 * SITHLORD - Full Dark Side Jedi Powers.
 * RACCOONKING - Full Light and Dark Side Jedi Powers
 * DEEZNUTS - Add one star to all Force Powers.
 * RED5 - Full Weapons, fully loaded.
 * ERIAMJH - Enables Fly Mode.
 * THEREISNOTRY - Skip level.

Trivia

 * The game is notable for including nearly an hour of live-action (FMV combined with CG, much like Emperor: Battle for Dune would do four years later) involving characters such as Kyle Katarn for the first time.
 * This game's cutscenes represent the first time that lightsaber effects had been created entirely digitally in official live-action Star Wars footage. The digital lightsaber effects were developed and created by LucasArts senior effects artists Michael Levine and C. Andrew Nelson.  Nelson also doubled for Jerec's hands and Kyle Katarn's hands and feet in several of the cutscenes.
 * The only non-space simulator game to feature a BFF-1 bulk freighter in the scenery, seen from the distance near the end of the first level. The BFF-1 were invented for the X-wing computer game series
 * Perhaps the first Star Wars game to feature a "morality scale" of Dark/Light Force alignment that changed depending upon how you played. This also changed the content of later levels and the ending of the game.
 * The concept of the Valley of the Jedi was merged with later retcons made with the release of The Phantom Menace which demanded the Sith to have been lost and secret after a battle, and 'created' the Battle of Ruusan.
 * Jedi Knight is the only game within the Dark Forces saga that does not make specific reference to any character from the Star Wars movies. However, it has been retconned that Sariss appeared in A New Hope
 * While the cover box for the game features Darth Vader, he is at no point seen in the game. This version of the box bundles Mysteries of the Sith with Jedi Knight; the original box art features Kyle Katarn in combat with Jerec.
 * The game is one of the few Star Wars video games to feature lightsabers working underwater. This goes against the traditional lightsabers in the Star Wars universe. It has been established that lightsabers can be specially modified to work underwater (as seen in an episode of Star Wars: Clone Wars), however this is a special circumstance. However, in the game's sequel, Jedi Outcast, the lightsaber does not work underwater; it instead automatically turns off once Kyle is submerged in water.
 * Lightsabers are also a source of light. This has been contradicted in the sequels and the Prequel Trilogy (with the exception of the Yoda CGI model before the fight scene in Episode II
 * The lightsaber footage used in the live-action FMV of this game were the first new lightsaber scenes filmed since Return of the Jedi.
 * Continuing the tradition of Sam & Max cameos in LucasArts games, Max can be found on the fifth mission, which takes place in the city of Barons Hed. He is hiding inside a house with a locked door - the female occupant of the house will leave the house once in the entire span of the mission, and the player must time this correctly in order to get into the house when she leaves. Oddly enough, he carries a Bryar Pistol that shoots powerful bowcaster bolts.
 * When the player must jump from the fuelling platform to the cargo ship, a mid-air turn will reveal Max's head superimposed on the retracting fuel pipes.
 * Included on the original CD ROM for Mysteries of the Sith was a secret level that simulated Luke's cloud city duel with Darth Vader in "The Empire Strikes Back."
 * In March, 2004, GMR Magazine rated Jedi Knight, the fourth best Star Wars game of all time.