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Let's play KotOR 2: The Sith Lords together - Week 7: Malachor.
Wyborn
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Welcome to the Community Playthrough of Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, for grownups!
So what are we going to be playing this time? A sequel? What?
Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is the sequel to 2003's Knights of the Old Republic. It's in many ways a much more flawed game than its predecessor, but in many ways it is also much more interesting. It's a very subdued, very quiet sort of story. Where the first KOTOR was an homage to Star Wars that played relatively safely with many aspects of the setting, KOTOR2 is well known for taking the universe and asking "What if?" and going in very interesting directions. It's a game about fate, about what we can do in a universe where our decisions seem to have no consequence, about how far the reach of our influence goes, and about the responsibility conferred by the power of an individual.
Also mechanically it's based on D&D 3.5E so you better know that going in.
All right. Why this game?
The Last Jedi came out pretty recently, and in some ways it feels like it takes some notes from the way KOTOR2 is constructed. More, it's pretty much my favorite Star Wars story, and Star Wars is cool.
All right. So it's on Steam. Where else?
Yep! It's on Steam, it's on GOG, it's... it was on the original Xbox like thirteen years ago? But the PC version is the only one you can reasonably get and play right now.
Hold on. I remember hearing this game is mad busted.
Well, you heard right! KOTOR2's glitchiness is notorious to the point of parody. Or... it was. See, in 2015 the Steam version of KotOR2 got an update that let it run natively in widescreen, let it support controllers, and all kinds of business that's pretty cool! The Steam version, right now, definitely runs the best of all versions, ever.
But I don't like Steam. I wanna use GOG, how do I get the update applied to that version. And also what about the Restored Content Mod? That's a big thing. And I want to play as a female Exile because female characters are cooler, but the Disciple sucks and the Handmaiden rules, what's up with that.
Yeah, the Restored Content Mod is a big thing! In fact some people, including Chris Avellone who headed development of the game, consider the modded version to be the definitive Sith Lords experience, so... OK I'm just going to shove this under a spoiler. For modding:
So what are we going to be playing this time? A sequel? What?
Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is the sequel to 2003's Knights of the Old Republic. It's in many ways a much more flawed game than its predecessor, but in many ways it is also much more interesting. It's a very subdued, very quiet sort of story. Where the first KOTOR was an homage to Star Wars that played relatively safely with many aspects of the setting, KOTOR2 is well known for taking the universe and asking "What if?" and going in very interesting directions. It's a game about fate, about what we can do in a universe where our decisions seem to have no consequence, about how far the reach of our influence goes, and about the responsibility conferred by the power of an individual.
Also mechanically it's based on D&D 3.5E so you better know that going in.
All right. Why this game?
The Last Jedi came out pretty recently, and in some ways it feels like it takes some notes from the way KOTOR2 is constructed. More, it's pretty much my favorite Star Wars story, and Star Wars is cool.
All right. So it's on Steam. Where else?
Yep! It's on Steam, it's on GOG, it's... it was on the original Xbox like thirteen years ago? But the PC version is the only one you can reasonably get and play right now.
Hold on. I remember hearing this game is mad busted.
Well, you heard right! KOTOR2's glitchiness is notorious to the point of parody. Or... it was. See, in 2015 the Steam version of KotOR2 got an update that let it run natively in widescreen, let it support controllers, and all kinds of business that's pretty cool! The Steam version, right now, definitely runs the best of all versions, ever.
But I don't like Steam. I wanna use GOG, how do I get the update applied to that version. And also what about the Restored Content Mod? That's a big thing. And I want to play as a female Exile because female characters are cooler, but the Disciple sucks and the Handmaiden rules, what's up with that.
Yeah, the Restored Content Mod is a big thing! In fact some people, including Chris Avellone who headed development of the game, consider the modded version to be the definitive Sith Lords experience, so... OK I'm just going to shove this under a spoiler. For modding:
Generally speaking, there's three major things you'll want applied to your game.
1. That bad-ass update. If you have the game on Steam, congratulations! You're finished, you have the update applied already. If you have the game on any other PC distribution platform, including GOG, you'll want to apply that shit manually. For the GOG version in particular you can see how to do that here. Just follow the instructions and replace all the files your computer prompts you to!
2. The Sith Lords Restored Content Mod. Pretty much everyone's going to want this. It fixes a whole mess of bugs, puts back in an allegedly lengthy and challenging dungeon, and restores a lot of character interactions and end states that were meant to be in the original game. If you have Steam, you can just subscribe to it on the Steam Workshop, and boom! It's installed. God, you have it easy.
Luckily, if you're on any other platform it's only a little bit more complicated. Here's the mod's page with instructions on how to install it!
3. The ability to have the Handmaiden for female Exiles, Disciple for male Exiles, and/or same-sex romances. Well, Sith Lords doesn't really do full-blown romance stuff anyway and Avellone's distaste for romance plots in RPGs is made plain in the game itself, but it's nice to be able to engage with this stuff regardless, right? And hey, people who play ladies should definitely get to have the better party member on their side! And people who play dudes should definitely get to have the Disciple on their team, if they want to for whatever reason.
Here's the mod that lets the female Exile recruit and/or romance the Handmaiden, and the male Exile recruit and/or romance the Disciple! It also makes it so that the female Exile can "romance" Visas, so that works!
Here's the mod that lets the male Exile romance Atton Rand! If you intend to use this mod along with the other mod, so you can have your pick of the boys, install this mod second.
Take note that if you want to use any of the same-sex romance mods then you should use the manual installation of the Sith Lords Restored Content Mod, not the Steam Worskshop version. It's got some weird conflicts with the Workshop version for whatever reason.
Those are the major ones I think! Back to the show!
1. That bad-ass update. If you have the game on Steam, congratulations! You're finished, you have the update applied already. If you have the game on any other PC distribution platform, including GOG, you'll want to apply that shit manually. For the GOG version in particular you can see how to do that here. Just follow the instructions and replace all the files your computer prompts you to!
2. The Sith Lords Restored Content Mod. Pretty much everyone's going to want this. It fixes a whole mess of bugs, puts back in an allegedly lengthy and challenging dungeon, and restores a lot of character interactions and end states that were meant to be in the original game. If you have Steam, you can just subscribe to it on the Steam Workshop, and boom! It's installed. God, you have it easy.
Luckily, if you're on any other platform it's only a little bit more complicated. Here's the mod's page with instructions on how to install it!
3. The ability to have the Handmaiden for female Exiles, Disciple for male Exiles, and/or same-sex romances. Well, Sith Lords doesn't really do full-blown romance stuff anyway and Avellone's distaste for romance plots in RPGs is made plain in the game itself, but it's nice to be able to engage with this stuff regardless, right? And hey, people who play ladies should definitely get to have the better party member on their side! And people who play dudes should definitely get to have the Disciple on their team, if they want to for whatever reason.
Here's the mod that lets the female Exile recruit and/or romance the Handmaiden, and the male Exile recruit and/or romance the Disciple! It also makes it so that the female Exile can "romance" Visas, so that works!
Here's the mod that lets the male Exile romance Atton Rand! If you intend to use this mod along with the other mod, so you can have your pick of the boys, install this mod second.
Take note that if you want to use any of the same-sex romance mods then you should use the manual installation of the Sith Lords Restored Content Mod, not the Steam Worskshop version. It's got some weird conflicts with the Workshop version for whatever reason.
Those are the major ones I think! Back to the show!
Holy shit that was a lot!
Just install the Restored Content Mod.
OK! So this is for grownups. How can I, a grownup, fit this into my very busy grownup schedule?
Yeah, this is a real concern! The Sith Lords isn't as long as Final Fantasy XII was, but it's still pretty beefy. Well, just like with that thread, we're going to have a nice, relaxed time with this game. The playthrough will be divided into 7 weeks, which should be at about the same length, and we'll talk about the parts as we play through them.
In the interest of simplifying spoiler policies and making sure people are playing through the same parts, and also so they have the most characters possible as early as possible, we will be playing the game's planets in a set order. Not as free-form as it would be if you played by yourself, but I hope everyone will like the order well enough anyway.
And what'll we be talking about?
God, so much. Character builds, conversations, the themes of the story that reveal themselves as we play through them. Different characters, different ideas that they represent. Kreia. We'll talk about Kreia a lot.
When are we starting?
It'll be on Sunday the 7th of January, to give people time to prepare, get their games in order and whatnot. And get that Restored Content Mod installed! It's not complicated, but a little extra time doesn't hurt.
Will you put my name on a list?
I fucking love lists.
CONFIRMED PARTICIPANTS:
Wyborn
SilverWind
The Escape Goat
manwiththemachinegun
Rainfall
SirEtchwarts
-Tal
Grey Ghost
timspork's ghost
Stilts
KetBra
Dubh
That Dave Fella
Platypus Beirut
Javen
MegaMek
Ilpala
Kristmas Kthulhu
Gundi
Sprout
SLyM
OmnipotentBagel
Dedpuppy
Mom2Kat
Shorty
MechMantis
Frem
Mr. G
Ringo
Shen
CSStheGr8
Sir Fabulous
Fig-D
THE SCHEDULE
This is a 7-week playthrough, so everyone should have plenty of time to get along and caught up over the course of it.
Open the spoiler to see the general milestones we'll try to hit at the end of each week!
The battle for the soul of the galaxy begins now!
Just install the Restored Content Mod.
OK! So this is for grownups. How can I, a grownup, fit this into my very busy grownup schedule?
Yeah, this is a real concern! The Sith Lords isn't as long as Final Fantasy XII was, but it's still pretty beefy. Well, just like with that thread, we're going to have a nice, relaxed time with this game. The playthrough will be divided into 7 weeks, which should be at about the same length, and we'll talk about the parts as we play through them.
In the interest of simplifying spoiler policies and making sure people are playing through the same parts, and also so they have the most characters possible as early as possible, we will be playing the game's planets in a set order. Not as free-form as it would be if you played by yourself, but I hope everyone will like the order well enough anyway.
And what'll we be talking about?
God, so much. Character builds, conversations, the themes of the story that reveal themselves as we play through them. Different characters, different ideas that they represent. Kreia. We'll talk about Kreia a lot.
When are we starting?
It'll be on Sunday the 7th of January, to give people time to prepare, get their games in order and whatnot. And get that Restored Content Mod installed! It's not complicated, but a little extra time doesn't hurt.
Will you put my name on a list?
I fucking love lists.
CONFIRMED PARTICIPANTS:
Wyborn
SilverWind
The Escape Goat
manwiththemachinegun
Rainfall
SirEtchwarts
-Tal
Grey Ghost
timspork's ghost
Stilts
KetBra
Dubh
That Dave Fella
Platypus Beirut
Javen
MegaMek
Ilpala
Kristmas Kthulhu
Gundi
Sprout
SLyM
OmnipotentBagel
Dedpuppy
Mom2Kat
Shorty
MechMantis
Frem
Mr. G
Ringo
Shen
CSStheGr8
Sir Fabulous
Fig-D
THE SCHEDULE
This is a 7-week playthrough, so everyone should have plenty of time to get along and caught up over the course of it.
Open the spoiler to see the general milestones we'll try to hit at the end of each week!
Week 1
Peragus II through leaving Telos
Week 2
Nar Shadda
Week 3
Onderon
Week 4
Dantooine
Week 5
Korriban through Onderon
Week 6
Dantooine through the Ravager
Week 7
Endgame
Peragus II through leaving Telos
Week 2
Nar Shadda
Week 3
Onderon
Week 4
Dantooine
Week 5
Korriban through Onderon
Week 6
Dantooine through the Ravager
Week 7
Endgame
The battle for the soul of the galaxy begins now!
Wyborn on
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Posts
I've decided that I'm going to play Light Sided Goober Exile Wyborn. And probably smooch Handmaiden. I've never played a guy or light sided before.
Wyborn is going to play evil Exile me??
Switch: SW-7603-3284-4227
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Also the Restored Content Mod! I've never actually played through it before, so this will be new to me.
Alternatively, always forget and never talk about it
If you like, I can recommend a few extra mods to pretty things up, they're fairly easy to install too. Or for anyone really! I love mods, but I hate the guess work. So if I can make it easier for folks, I will.
It's also worth saying that KOTOR2 is just $10 USD ($11 CAD) on Steam, so it's pretty easy to jump in
Switch: SW-7603-3284-4227
My ACNH Wishlists | My ACNH Catalog
It helps to have some perspective on certain characters (like Revan) but honestly the sequel stands on its own well enough that you don't need to play the first one
I think the thing you would most appreciate about the first Knights of the Old Republic is how the plot of Mass Effect is just a retelling of that game's
Kinda disagree on your take that Mass Effect is a retelling of KotOR.
And you wanna play KOTOR 1 if you don't want the mystery hook ruined for you in the first like, hour of KOTOR 2.
So I've got high hopes for this one
I should probably play as a lady Exile, right? Since that's "canon"
I dunno, I think that Revan and the story hook of KOTOR 1 is more interesting than the Exile.
is the mystery hook just that
Yep, that's it!
I don't think it's necessary to play through KOTOR1 to play KOTOR2, so long as you don't mind knowing the twist of KOTOR1 (which many people are familiar with already..)
You play as a completely separate character in KOTOR2, and there's something to be said about going into a universe and learning about this cool person who totally wasn't you. Their most significant actions are not within player control anyway. :B
Switch: SW-7603-3284-4227
My ACNH Wishlists | My ACNH Catalog
The only canon is your own experiences. The EU is dead! And was garbage in how it treated everything in these games, which can basically be treated as their own canon, like extremely high-tier fanfic of a sort.
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/01/03/the-fixer-how-to-restore-knights-of-the-old-republic-ii/
As for the actual mods:
https://i.imgur.com/cWgMPpU.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/rp9keGF.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/DTE1EfV.jpg
Sith Lords: Backdrop improvements- HD-ifies space sequences! Really no downside.
http://deadlystream.com/forum/files/file/949-tsl-backdrop-improvements/
Exterior Textures pack 1- Enhances Korriban and Duxn
http://deadlystream.com/forum/files/file/187-k2-exterior-textures-part-1/
Exterior Textures pack 2- Enhances Dantooine
http://deadlystream.com/forum/files/file/188-k2-exterior-textures-part-2/
Nar Shaddaa Skybox- A hugely improved skybox for Nar Shadda
https://www.nexusmods.com/kotor2/mods/764
Malachor upgrade- Enhanced Malachor
https://www.nexusmods.com/kotor2/mods/36/
Telos-
I have not tried this personally, but there is an exterior [WIP]Telos surface 4K retexture available through the Steam workshop. The other Telos mods are more total replacements rather than backdrop upgrades, so I didn't bother with them.
Weapons/Armor:
High Quality Blasters- Most armors/weapons in KOTOR have aged pretty well... except the blasters. You won't realize how garbage blasters look in KOTOR until you see them upgraded. There are two separate mods, one for each game. This is the Sith Lords version.
https://www.nexusmods.com/kotor2/mods/919
Super model fix- Fixes random animation bugs.
http://deadlystream.com/forum/files/file/1141-jcs-supermodel-fix-for-k2/
Best armor mod I've found so far, perfect for military themed Jedi. Bought from normal merchants. Also a red version, but only one can be installed at a time. Both mods are on Steam.
http://deadlystream.com/forum/files/file/952-electromesh-robes/
A re-coloration of the vacuum mask to be more suitable for Jedi/Sith. A few bonuses, but balanced. Created from the workbench.
https://www.nexusmods.com/kotor2/mods/418/
Optional/Pretties:
Realistic visual effects- Removes glowing hands, weird purple sparkles for force pushes, yellow glowing blades for power attacks etc. It's a minor nitpick, but it does make a difference.
http://deadlystream.com/forum/files/file/735-realistic-visual-effects/
HD Ebon Hawk- Self explanatory.
http://deadlystream.com/forum/files/file/202-hi-resolution-skin-for-ebon-hawk-tsl/
High resolution beam effects- Lightning, etc
https://www.nexusmods.com/kotor2/mods/30
Fire and ice HD-
https://www.nexusmods.com/kotor2/mods/25/
Updated Sion model- Doesn't change his skin, which still look great to me, but his armor is closer to concept art without losing the "bareshirt monk" look.
http://deadlystream.com/forum/files/file/172-modders-resource-tfu-style-darth-sion-model/
Updated Nihilus- A modest upgrade to Nihilus from vanilla. Keeps all his original design motifs.
https://www.nexusmods.com/kotor2/mods/655
Redone Mandalore- This is just personal taste, but up to you. I really like this redesign of Mandalore. But purely optional.
https://www.nexusmods.com/kotor2/mods/930/
Bastila's robes redone- Good for female party members or PC, it does override the ingame "Star Forge Robe" models, so it can conflict with other mods that do the same thing. Are added to your inventory when Mandalore joins the party.
http://deadlystream.com/forum/files/file/1049-effixians-bastilas-legacy-robes/
Handmaiden has a human waist- Not just a stripper mod, it fixes her body to human proportions!
http://deadlystream.com/forum/files/file/846-handmaiden-fit-and-athletic/
Switch: SW-7603-3284-4227
My ACNH Wishlists | My ACNH Catalog
Also you should put in a note in the OP that if people want to use the same-sex romance mod, they should install the Restored Content Mod manually rather than using Steam Workshop. It's an easy thing to miss on the mod's instruction page, and it's something I only figured out when I got a bunch of errors during the install of the romance mod.
EDIT: Also also, if people would like some build advice to make crunching those numbers a little easier, here's a solid reddit post that tells you what things are important for various playstyles (that also gives you a min-max build if you're so inclined): https://www.reddit.com/r/kotor/comments/12ezbq/kotor_ii_character_building/
I found one earlier that entirely flips the ranking for classes that one above has
Repeat infinitely until game is completed.
Enemies don't crit at all unless you're on hard combat difficulty.
Gonna be eeeevviiiilllll
*twirls moustache dramatically*
But I think I want to be a blaster Jedi
I'm gonna do this, I think
Twitch (I stream most days of the week)
Twitter (mean leftist discourse)
That mod list is intimidating
With the exception of KOTOR guns and a few others, you can just pretty much just dump everything into the override folder and it will work. At the very least, it won't break anything. And if by some miracle it did, you just delete the files you unzipped.
I have a pretty good memory on my decisions last run, so I'll enjoy chatting with you all about what they were. Actually, I can just pop in with some screen shots at cool moments since I still have the saves.