Talk:Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

This article seems to require alot of work. I can add a helping hand by adding an infobox and expanding the table of contents. I also know somebody who could be a real help. I shall try to recruit his help on this article. 0-172 1:50, 27 October 2006 (CDT)

Work in progress
I've taken the liberty of updating Shadowtrooper's Pending tasks above. I'll continue working on this guide until I judge it be at completion stage 4 (Comprehensive), and ideally a featured guide candidate (although since it's been released on multiple systems, I'm unlikely to accomplish that by myself).

Disclaimer: While I'll personally verify as much information as possible for the Windows/Mac version with all the tools at my disposal, and much of this will still be applicable to the Xbox version, I'm unable to personally investigate this version so I'm much less likely to research and thus document any specific issues for it. Onderduiker (talk) 19:40, 25 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Onderduiker, may I just say how much I adore you for all the work you've put into this guide? Is there any research/legwork that others can do to help you out? At any rate, thanks, and keep up the amazing work!
 * --108.192.45.5 20:45, 13 June 2014 (UTC)


 * While I plan to complete the walkthrough based on personal experience, research and testing, until recently I hadn't done anything significant for six months (finishing by the end of the year has gone from expectation to hope). Once I've revised and completed Taris (and possibly Dantooine) I need to create templates to standardize presentation and make it easier to revise and create content, at which point it should be possible for other people to contribute in the same style.


 * Until then, if anyone wants to go ahead with their own contributions, be my guest: my own progress is likely to be quite slow, and something is better than nothing (even an outline might provide a framework to which I can add more detail). My current walkthrough is light side male on Windows, so any notes on differences with Xbox, Mac or iPad, or dark side or female characters, would be particularly welcome.


 * As always, if you can correct or add anything to existing pages, or have any feedback on my work, that would be great. Onderduiker (talk) 22:55, 15 June 2014 (UTC)

Taris pages are now complete except for map and NPC model images. Some of the formatting will be a little rough until they're revised with future templates. Onderduiker (talk) 22:54, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is still #8 on the Most Wanted list on the Main Page (Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is #3!), and I fully intend to complete this guide before the end of this year (and possibly make a start on completing the guide for its sequel, although I may take a short break beforehand to work on something else).

The necessary parts of Dantooine are complete except for map and NPC model images, and the Kashyyyk pages are similarly complete except for the Genoharadan: Rulan quest in the Upper Shadowlands and other optional dialog dependent on visiting other planets first; work has also begun on the Tatooine and Manaan pages.

I've almost finished creating all the templates I think are necessary, so I should be able to complete the walkthrough in the next few months and then revise this guide to get to completion stage 4. Onderduiker (talk) 23:07, 11 May 2015 (UTC)

The forecast in my previous update might have been accurate if I hadn't taken a four month hiatus for no particularly good reason (procrastination due to indecision over template design?): let's see if I can complete this by 5 May (the fourth anniversary of my first contribution to this guide, and StrategyWiki). The fact that this guide has risen to #3 on the Most Wanted list (and its sequel is now #1!) should also keep me motivated...

I should get the walkthrough completed before the end of February, at least: since my last update I've completed Manaan and Tatooine, including some major but optional quests like the Genoharadan and Sunry Murder Trial, as well as the Calo Nord and Darth Bandon encounters on all planets (I also skipped ahead to the final showdown with Darth Malak on the Viewing Platform while checking the warp cheats). I've started work on Korriban, after which I'll be returning to and revising Dantooine and the Ebon Hawk before moving on.

I've started uploading character models (all have been uploaded for Tatooine), although those for Sith and droids may have to wait until the walkthrough is completed. I've debated whether these images are strictly necessary, but sometimes characters have the same name but different models or visible equipment (usually weapons and shields), they can indicate the default when a character has both a ranged and melee attack, and the background can give a sense of place when there's no screenshot elsewhere on the page.

I've also been compiling maps from screenshots, although I won't be adding detail and then uploading them until the walkthrough is complete. I now know about image maps (so I'm thankful I haven't been working on maps as I go), and I'll probably need to design a KotOR/Map template (all other templates have now been created, although I may need to add some options to the KotOR/Dialog template to indicate dialog conditional on your character's sex or alignment).

The next update should be in a couple of months with the completion of the walkthrough, and cover what I think needs doing to complete the guide as a whole. Onderduiker (talk) 13:18, 3 January 2016 (UTC)

Stage 3
As should be expected by now, that took longer than expected (even though I didn't revise Dantooine or the Ebon Hawk). This guide is no longer among the top 10 Most Wanted (although that for its sequel is still holding in there at #10) but I now know that it's #51 on the Most Popular list: pretty good, considering it was released over a decade ago and we currently have guides for 5,592 games, of which 709 are in a completed state.

So what needs to be done to upgrade this guide to stage 4?


 * Walkthrough
 * Revise Taris, Dantooine and Kashyyyk pages using current templates.
 * Complete conditional dialog, and optional quests for Dantooine, the Ebon Hawk, Yavin Station and party members, particularly romances with Bastila (male), Carth and Juhani (both female).
 * Upload all model screenshots (only Tatooine is complete, while Korriban is almost so).
 * Upload maps for all pages that need them.


 * Getting Started
 * Add detail and coherence to all pages, including screenshots and (more) advice on character generation and attribute, skill, feat, Force power and party selection.
 * Create Ebon Hawk gunner station page, add significant detail to Pazaak page and consider uploading another video for Manaan Swoop Races without the motion blur (as well as adding some general advice on swoop racing).


 * Appendices
 * Create Versions page for details of patch history.
 * Complete Giveitem section of Cheats page.
 * Add character templates, particularly for more unusual or difficult choices (ranged weapons, Critical Strike, soloing, light and dark side Force users) : at present there are some red links to individual pages, but I may rename the existing True Scoundrel page Characters if I keep it brief and link to more detailed information and advice elsewhere.
 * Revise item lists to include all sources, summary tables for ease of comparison and advice on what to equip and use.


 * Templates
 * Create a KotOR/Map template for image maps at the top of walkthrough pages, rather than simply having unlabelled screenshots.
 * Create KotOR/Source for the item pages in the Appendices section.
 * Consider redesigning the KotOR/Alignment template: its current design is like other updates, but it's used almost exclusively in dialog.

I also plan to reorganize the Table of Contents, although I'm considering merging some pages and some current red links may be removed rather than created, so I'll wait until I've finalized page numbers and names: the plan is to have four columns at the top with the Getting Started and some Appendices pages (including party quests) in the left column, Walkthrough pages (including Yavin Station) in the center-left column and Quest for the Star Forge pages in the two right columns, under all of which the Items pages will be arranged in five columns.

I may add to this list at a later stage, and while I suspect this is just for my benefit, it should give some idea of what's to come for anyone using this guide, following its progress or considering contributing.

Given my track record I probably shouldn't make any forecasts, but being pessimistic/conservative this should take me another 3-4 months: it's extremely unlikely that I'll get it done by 5 May, which should be the most reliable prediction I've ever made. Onderduiker (talk) 21:14, 23 March 2016 (UTC)

The forecast of 3-4 months of work was probably accurate, but I spent most of the past year either contributing to other guides or taking a break from StrategyWiki altogether. At this point it may only take a month or two of work to complete this guide, but I can't promise when that will be (probably before the end of June, but maybe not).

I've struck through completed tasks on the list above, and some of the outstanding tasks are already underway. Onderduiker (talk) 19:33, 1 May 2017 (UTC)

Images
Remember to use TinyPNG to compress file size for maps, models and screenshots before upload!

Where necessary, the GUI was hidden by editing swkotor.ini to set  under [Game Options].

Icons
32x32 or 64x64 icons were extracted using KotOR Tool and converted from .tga to .png format. Item icons were cropped from 64x64 to 48x48 to remove excess empty space to reduce the effects of shrinkage when using KotOR/Item (size only reduced to 50% rather than 37.5% at 24x24, so 1/3 larger).

Maps
From screenshots of the Map screen, each map is 440x256, although they may be enlarged to add detail. The walkthrough needs at most 71 maps:


 * Star Map worlds

Some maps are so small or straightforward that they may be replaced by screenshots: for example, the Crystal Cave on Dantooine is a single passage with no branches, ending in a cave; in fact, that page might actually be merged with another (Sandral Grounds), as may some others).

It should be reasonably straightforward to create detailed image maps: maps that haven't been revealed yet are overlaid with a handy grid, which could be used as a guide to place links to map notes and added icons, rather than adding permanent labels and a legend.

Models
256x256 party member models were extracted using KotOR Tool, and the remainder for NPCs are cropped from screenshots (normally 512x512 with the top left corner at 256,256 on a 1024x768 screenshot, then scaled down to 256x256 before upload).

Screenshots
1024x768 screenshots may replace maps that are too small or straightforward to be strictly necessary:

This list may expand, particularly since some pages and maps may be merged (for example, Woorwill's Home and Worrroznor's Home have been merged with Village of Rwookrrorro). Others may have explanatory purposes on Get Started pages, although those which have already been uploaded lack Screenshot in their name and aren't categorized as such.

The remaining screenshots will show points of interest, preferably doubling as action shots of party members as well (for example, HK-47 barbecuing dark Jedi with a Flame Thrower on the streets of Anchorhead, Canderous going man(d)o-a-man(d)o with fellow Mandalorians on Dantooine or Kashyyyk, Juhani deflecting blaster bolts, and Carth and Bastila in action on the bridge of the Leviathan).

Templates
These guide-specific templates have been created:


 * Notes
 * KotOR/Power can also be used to display natural Force Resistance.
 * KotOR/Feat, KotOR/Armor and KotOR/Weapon can also be used to highlight when an item listed in a table has a prerequisite feat.
 * KotOR/Dialog may need additional code for specialized dialog, like that in the second Jedi trial: