Syndicate:Initiation

Posted: 2004-08-18 1:59 p.m.   Report Abuse Thanks! That was a very detailed review.

Posted: 2004-08-18 9:04 p.m.   Report Abuse A very SP nice level. And the puzzles are entertaining.

The architecture of the level is good. It adds to the tomb-like feeling and all of it isn't boxy. There are details, like broken bricks and cyrstal designs, here and there. It fits well with the puzzles and atmosphere and doesn't become distracting. And the textures shaders are used well and seem all aligned properly and appropriately placed. The light entities aren't randomly placed but instead many come from light sources (like from tourches) and still allow the dark atmosphere to exist, which is a good thing. The only concern is how small most of the rooms are. Sometimes, the player may feel "closed" in.

The scripted events and gameplay are the best part of this level. Instead of the usual (and somewhat overplayed) shooting and sabering of many SP levels, this level focuses on puzzles and using the brain. Personally, this nature for the level makes it somewhat unique. The scripting behind the puzzles is awesome and adds depth, and the puzzles themselves are fun. Not too hard and not too easy I thought (except, the jumping one which was a bit annoying due to the small ledges). There are cutscenes too which are performed nicely by the scripting. Custom voices and small plot line add to them. And, personally, the special effects are neat too (some of which haven't been seen in other levels).

The level lasted around 30-40 minutes for me. It depends on person I guess due to the puzzles. The area is somewhat small, but deep in content.

So I suggest anyone who like SP and has a brain and patience, try this out. :)

Posted: 2004-08-19 5:28 p.m.   Report Abuse At last! A *good* level for Jedi Academy/Outcast! I thoroughly enjoyed the well-wrought, smart story that plays out over the course of the level. Puzzles were integrated seamlessly as part of the world, not an afterthought. Scripting, cut scenes, and voice acting were all done believably and with flair (well, maybe some of the voice acting lacked flair, but it was still decent). Lots of nice stylistic touches and little innovations. It felt like an interactive book or television show, and I liked the fact that while fighting was not the whole focus, it was there and loomed to create a sense of tension the whole time. Congratulations to the creator(s), thank you for such a fine production, and I *truly* hope you'll find time to make the sequels.

Posted: 2004-08-20 12:31 p.m.   Report Abuse I LOVE this map so far... I say so far because I don't have a good puzzel solving mind, I can't get past the part where you need to push all three buttons at the same time... I can't figure it out... Do you force speed from one to the next to get them working? what DO you DO?

But the archi, the story, the execution is all great, good work.

Any chance of a walk through for the puzzles later on?

Posted: 2004-08-20 12:48 p.m.   Report Abuse I actually already have a written walk-through. It has been available at my Home site for a few days now (since many people got stuck). But you already guessed the solution. The time given is sufficient indeed, it just a matter of choosing a right pattern of movement, and not stumbling. Try it a few times, it will work.

Here's my site and the walk-through:
http://www.student.oulu.fi/~lvaarisk/

Posted: 2004-08-27 12:20 p.m.   Report Abuse Well, Since I kinda already knew what to do to solve the speed one and the last puzzel was kinda obvious to me after spending almost 20 min staring at the walls trying to see if they would help in the speed one, I don't feel dirty about looking at the little hint guide.

Only trouble is, It's a short map, I just LOVE it tho and I'm looking forward to the next installment.

The archi is great to me and the atmophere is wonderful, All i'd ask for the next installment is clean up the voice acting a bit, it was good what I saw, but kinda seemed cut and pasted together, didn't have a nice flow between lines if you know what I mean, And it's most likely a problem with the scripting of the game, but the character does not like going around corners in the cut scences, he walks really fast, gets to a corner, slows down, stops, looks to the new direction and stats walking again, Looks kinda odd.

Otherwise Great map and interesting story... Will Garret avenge his parents? will he use this power for good? or evil? or will he continue with the syndicate! OOOOH, whens the next one due for showcase and release?

Posted: 2004-08-28 2:30 a.m.   Report Abuse Thanks for the comments. The discontinuous walking is due to the scripting method I used. I became very frustrated with the JA engine's non-existent pathfinding and seemingly random response to different waypointing (NPC movement) behavior. In the end I had to take the short-cut, which resulted in that halting walking. It was that or nervous breakdown.

I don't yet know if I continue to map JA. The number of downloads now is so low that I fear there wouldn't be any left for the next episode. But if I continue, you will learn the plot only when you play it further...

Posted: 2004-09-05 6:48 p.m.   Report Abuse Bare in mind that this is only Massassi, and most of the people that visit here come exclussively for the community.

If your looking to get more traffic for your levels, you might try (to name a few)...
www.jk3files.com
www.force-temple.com
www.jediknight.net

Please continue on your project! This really is the best level I've played for JK3 yet. Excellent puzzles! The modified enemies were a refreshing change - and fun to fight. Story was pretty cool. Archi and textures were great. Excellent scripting! Only complaint was the voice acting was lacking a bit in a few parts. Keep up the good work, you've definently got talent.

Posted: 2004-09-18 9:34 p.m.   Report Abuse On average I give levels a 4 out of 10.
Good things: Unique gameplay, similair to Prince of Persia. Fun puzzles. Excellent level design. Voice overs and cinematics.
Bad things: Using the .bat file is somewhat of an inconvenience. For some reason, I don't know if it's my computer, the blood looks like blocks of grey. The acting is terrible. The map is too short, but relative to other player levels, the length is average.
Overall I recommend playing this level for a change of pace. Well done. 7/10

Posted: 2005-04-27 10:06 a.m.   Report Abuse I give you a rating of 9/10, the voice acting was very well done, and the scripting was (extremely) well done!;) I look forward to seeing the next level in this trilogy, don't hesitate to make! Nice job as always Lassev.

Posted: 2007-08-09 2:17 p.m.   Report Abuse PROs : Detailed rooms. A nice idea focusing on puzzles instead of combat. Funny death scenes.

CONs : Terrible voice acting. Painfully verbose cut scenes. Uninteresting plot. Nobody likes jumping puzzles. You need textures turned to max to view the painting in the tomb. Combat at beginning seemed unneeded and thrown in. Way too dark for my tastes.

OVERALL : 6 out of 10. A nice attempt, but often left me feeling more annoyed than entertained.

Posted: 2010-04-21 4:42 a.m.   Report Abuse Haven't played it because me no have JA. Makes me sad. Do mods work in the demo? I was wondering if you could put the .bsp in the assets with the default demo levels.
Maybe then I could play more Jedi Academy. I'm giving it a go. If it no work, well no rating.

Posted: 2010-04-24 5:02 a.m.   Report Abuse It worked! All hail my genius mind! 10/10
Great level! If you only have the demo, put the file in the assets pk3.