Any chance that Beamdog might do KOTOR:EE?

the_spyder

So, not sure if this has been discussed (I might be too lazy to actually look) but...

So I have been following the Star Wars Battlefront launch. The game looks breathtaking, but it is very clear from the get-go that it would not be my type of thing. That in turn made me think that I'd love to see a KOTOR3 in actuality and not the MMO that came out. Sans that, I got to thinking that I think the good folks at Beamdog could probably do a truly excellent job with cleaning up KOTOR or KOTOR 2 if they put their minds to it.

I did do a search on the internet and it looks like there are rumors that someone might be working on a similar project, but what does everyone here think of the idea? Would it be something people could get behind?

BelgarathMTH

I have no idea what the legal and financial feasibility of the idea is, or what they could do to enhance it, but I'd buy it.

Since it's a Star Wars ip, the legality is probably more complicated than it was with D&D and Forgotten Realms.

Awong124

Those type of graphics don't age particularly well. I don't think remastering it to HD is going to improve it very much. It would need a very extensive overhaul, like more or less redoing all the textures.

the_spyder

BelgarathMTH said:

Since it's a Star Wars ip, the legality is probably more complicated than it was with D&D and Forgotten Realms.

Very probably. However, with Disney being the KING of merchandising (always assuming that they hold the rights), I was thinking that it might be yet another opportunity for them to make a buck. Certainly they have the money to back such a project.

And yes, the graphics are nothing to write home about (certainly when compared with SW:Battlefront). On the other hand, I don't see anything else even remotely close in the STAR WARS universe short of the MMO ( I won't play MMOs) which by all accounts appears to be dying anyway.

iKrivetko

Why would they in the first place?

Fardragon

Awong124 said:

Those type of graphics don't age particularly well. I don't think remastering it to HD is going to improve it very much. It would need a very extensive overhaul, like more or less redoing all the textures.

I got the iPad version, and it looks fine and plays well.

It's weaknesses are the same as they always where: poor replayability and lack of class balance.

Yamcha

KOTOR 2 got Widescreen support with its steam release, I would like a native support in KOTOR1 too, but no real need for an EE imo.
KOTOR 3 and 4 would be nice though (Obsidian, are you reading this ? )

Fardragon

Given that KOTOR universe has been retconned out of existence, there won't be any more games set in it.

I would like to see a new single player crpg in the Star Wars universe though.

brus

I think that EA already bought the licence for next Knights game, whatever it'll be called, and Visceral is making it. It'll be more like Uncharted game than RPG.

Fardragon

Fardragon said:

Given that KOTOR universe has been retconned out of existence, there won't be any more games set in it.

I would like to see a new single player crpg in the Star Wars universe though.

On the other hand, Rakata Prime has just appeared on the official TFA galaxy map, so maybe it is getting reinstated.

the_spyder

Recently went back and started playing KOTOR2. I'm liking it quite a bit more than I expected. Looks like I've found my 'holiday' obsession.

SionIV

It was interesting because it was Star Wars, but it isn't that good of a game. The gameplay is pretty bad, the story is mediocre and the characters aren't that memorable. I do enjoy the game and have spent many hours on it, but I don't think it's worth making a remake.

the_spyder

I've seen worse get better treatment.

In the end, I'm happy that Steam offered a version that will run on my machine and have been obsessing about it lately. Maybe it's the nostalgia of 'Force Awakens' coming out. Or maybe most games today don't hold my interest they way they used to. Either way,

marcellus

I tried to play it but couldn't get through it. The game resists anything but a human lightsaber-wielding Jedi.I wanna be a wookie! Or a ranged character that doesn't suck. Or a skill monkey who serves a purpose. Meh, d20 Star Wars PnP kinda sucks, too. Given limited resources, I hope they invest in more SoD-type endeavors. I'd buy an exclusive NWN module where I played Boo crawling around Minsc's armpit before buying KOTOR:EE.

Fardragon

That's why it's called KNIGHTS of the Old Republic, not Wookiee Rangers of the Old Republic.

Structurally, both KotOR games are similar to The Witcher and Mass Effect games, where you play a predetermined character with some limited customisation.

They are not play-whoever-you-like in the Star Wars universe RPGs.

scriver

SionIV said:

It was interesting because it was Star Wars, but it isn't that good of a game. The gameplay is pretty bad, the story is mediocre and the characters aren't that memorable. I do enjoy the game and have spent many hours on it, but I don't think it's worth making a remake.

I'd agree that the gameplay sucks any day, but the plot and the characters? Those are super tight. Some of the best in video game history, I'd even say. The big mistake they did was making the main-plot-forward-driving-mechanism be the discovery if the Exile's past rather than the current actions of the player. That's a pretty cheap story telling device, I will admit, particularly so for an RPG.

iKrivetko

It's not like you can't make a blaster-focused jedi. Quite a deadly build actually.

the_spyder

I agree with @Fardragon in intent (if not necessarily in temperament). I'd say that if you went into KOTOR with the expectation of playing anything other than a Jedi as the main character, that was more a failing on your part rather than on the game's part.

I didn't find the gameplay that bad overall and I think that an EE version with possibly some optimization, some fixing of the broken quest lines, possibly some tweaks to the graphics engine (not an overhaul, but certainly some things can be done reasonably within the existing engine) would add significant value to the game.

I guess at the end of the day I am suffering a bit from Star Wars anticipation, but I liked the game.

What we really need is an updated Dark Forces game with a new engine (say something that looks like the Star Wars Battlefront engine?)

Fardragon

the_spyder said:

I agree with @Fardragon in intent (if not necessarily in temperament).)

I'm half Scottish, half Yorkshire, and brought up in Liverpool. I'm genetically and culturally pre-disposed to be a grumpy stubborn bu*ger.

Attalus

I would definitely buy and play an EE of KOTOR2 that fixed the ENDING! And I disagree with the assertion that KotOR2 had no memorable characters. Brianna the handmaiden is and was one of my fave NPCs, ever.