Sunday, August 8, 1999
New Server and Domain Tomorrow! - Brian
We at The Massassi Temple are proud to announce that we will be moving to our new server and domain tomorrow. What does this mean to you? It means increased server performance (no more FTP and downloading problems), a shorter name to type in (http://www.massassi.net), an expanded files section (so you don't have to go to numerous sites to get the files you need), and finally, we are offering hosting. We have two sites already hosted, and you check them out tomorrow. There will be a notice posted here when the site goes live.
Saturday, August 7, 1999
Etc. - Brian
Started the news pretty late today, I guess I need sleep too, sometimes! A lot of things going on, we have moved almost all the existing sections over to our new server - Thanks a ton to Slug for uploading a ton of sections as well as over 100 megs of levels.

Other than that, I have to do the editors and utilities sections, as well as our MotS and Obi-Wan info sections. Do these sound new? Well, they are, we're trying to make Massassi a very complete Jedi Knight site, which includes having the basics down too. We are also (finally) working on a complete files section, so people don't have to go to a ton of different sites to get files.
Saber Handles Site - Brian
This is a site that contains a ridiculous amount of Saber Handles, and a few other files. Thanks
Jedi Hideout + Spawn TC - Brian
The Jedi Hideout is a JK/MotS site that has a bunch of files (skins, 3do's, levels, etc), as well as info on upcoming projects. Author of Jedi Hideout also works over at The Spawn TC. They have posted some screens, so check it out (is anyone tired of that phrase, check it out yet?).
Screens @ Franchise Studios - Brian
Franchise Studios has been updated with two new screenshots of one of their upcoming SP levels. Also, they're running a contest to see if they can come up with a name for their project...
75 Short Reviews - Brian
ALLIANCE_Posse emailed us a huge text file that has short reviews of about 75 levels. You can grab this bad boy right here. The best way to get it is probably to right-click then press "save as" and then open it with notepad. Here is the email so you know exactly what you're downloading.
Hello. I am ALLIANCE_Posse, and I have recently made a HUGE list of addon level reviews for the common public. It's in notepad form, and lists roughly 75 levels and a short paragraph or so on each one, along with a rating. At the bottom is a list of my favorite addons. And a way to submit some to me so I can review them. I hope to release an update to this every two weeks. I made this in hopes of helping people find the good quality levels out there to download.
Phantom Menace TC - Brian
Jedi Nights, our host, has announced that the Phantom Menace TC Site has been re-designed (and looks much better, in my opinion).
Command Chamber News - Brian
The Admiral's Command Chamber, the best SP site (levels, reviews, previews, interviews, ETC) out there, has posted quite a bit of news, here's a rundown, but visit them for the meat.
  • News and screenshots of Empire Strikes Back (these are looking very, very good).
  • News and screenshots of The Search for Leia.
  • Upcoming reviews promised very soon!
Orb of Nikta - Brian
The Star Wars Kid site focuses on an upcoming SP level, Orb of Nikta. It has quite a few screens plus a lot of info. Alot of the architecture in those screens is looking very good.
6000 Block Delayed - Brian
Just a short update on 6000 Block - I was planning on releasing it today, but after consideration of comments made by the maker of Warzone 1, Pele, I have decided to do a little more architecture editing. This shouldn't take too long, so expect it soon.
Server Move Delayed - Brian
We were planning to announce the move to our new server today, but things didn't turn out. Basically, the perl installation on our new server is messed up, so we have to wait to get that sorted out. This shouldn't prove a major delay, but we'll keep you updated.
Friday, August 6, 1999
New Jedi Knight 3dO: tieint.zip - Slug
Author: GoZ Studios
File: tieint.zip
Description: Jedi Knight: A TIE Interceptor - Also works in MotS.
[Screenshot]
New Jedi Knight 3dO: ewing.zip - Slug
Author: GoZ Studios
File: ewing.zip
Description: Jedi Knight: An E-Wing Fighter - Also works in MotS.
[Screenshot]
Joke Information - Brian
Right off the bat: Joke is a new 3do editor (announced a few days ago) being programmed by droid (that's a link to his site). Anyway, he updated his .plan with a ton of information on the product. Here is a snippet, visit the plan file for more info.
I thought Iīd share with you what Joke can do right now. Create your basic primitives (cube, plane, sphere, tube) all with options on how they should be created. Vertex inserter (between two vertices). Surface splitter (or cleave if you want, somewhat diffrent from Jedīs tho). Surface extruder, not much to say about it. Plus some less intresting commands (invert face, etc.). Multi Selection, there isenīt really a single selection mode... Better transformation tools than F3DO. Supported import formats: .md2 (quake2), .obj, .cob. More to come, of course.
Joke Screenshot - Brian
In case you don't know, Joke is the upcoming 3do editor being programmed by droid, creator of Fun3do. Anyway, droid posted a new screenshot of the upcoming editor over on his page. He has also posted some information about the new editor, so if you're the 3do type, be sure to check it.
Galaxy in Fear Screenshots - Brian
Mobius sent us a couple of screenshots of his new level, Galaxy in Fear, as well as some of the background story.
The level I'm making is called Galaxy in Fear. There has been a great distubance in the Force, both the New Republic and the Empire stand a chance of being completely destroyed. That's all I'm going to say, at least for now; I'm not going to ruin the plot for you! One thing that I'm trying to focus on is making the level revolve around the story, not vise-versa. Here's a couple pics of my upcoming level. They're not as good as say Drazen Isle, or Warzone, or the Saberworks stuff. But I still have a lot of geometry editing and tweaking to do, so it'll look better as time progresses. I should have a webpage up soon.
Here are the shots: [Screenshot 1] [Screenshot 2].
Spawn TC Skins - Brian
The Jedi Hideout has released 5 skins from their upcoming Spawn TC. Go over there to download them.
Legacy of the Jedi Page - Brian
Jedi Legacy announced that SHAFT has posted a page dedicated to Legacy of the Jedi, an awesome mod that was released a couple of days ago. The page has a ton of information and screenshots, as well as a list of mirrors in case you haven't downloaded it yet.
Holocron Screenshots + Reviews - Brian
Outpost D-34, one of the best (if not the best) Star Wars Gaming news sites around, has announced that Holocron Editing has posted two new screenshots of one of their upcoming levels. They've also posted a couple of reviews: Meeting at Balfor and Rebirth of the Empire.
Fett's List Updated - Brian
Outpost D-34 also announced that one of their coolest hosted sites, Fett's List has been updated. The site has a bunch of editors biographies. If you'd like to be added, contact EvanC over there...
Army TC Screenshots - Brian
The JK Army TC has posted some new screenshots of some of their weapons and items. If you like what you see, there is a thread started over on the discussion board where you can let them know.
Thursday, August 5, 1999
Visions Of What's To Come - Slug
DeyjaL sent in this big graphic(comprised of many little screenshots), showing what to expect from his upcoming level, "Imperial Retribution".

Christopher Aires also sent in some screenshots of his upcoming level, "Temple Of The Ancients".
[screen1] [screen2] [screen3] [screen4] [screen5]
6000 Block Beta Testing Finished - Brian
I just got back the reports from the JK Beta Testing Group. I was very impressed with how thorough their testing is. They found a couple of missing floor flags, some item complaints, nothing major, I'm working on fixing them right now. I was so impressed with one of their reports that I have uploaded it for your reading pleasure. I highly recommend this group to anyone planning to release a level!
MotS Dark Forces Multiplayer Addon - Brian
The Coruscant Research Facility has released a version 2 of their Mysteries of the Sith addon, Dark Forces. Here is a list of features:

  • New Character clases: Commandos, Droid, Dark Trooper and Jedi
  • Version 1.0 of the At-St skin
  • Droids availables: Probe Droid, R2D2, etc
  • Dark Troopers enhaced 3do. Phase 1, 2 and 3 with respective sounds
  • The Dark Troopers can fly
  • Darth Maul enhaced skin, now looks more real
  • A new Darth Vader with sounds
  • New characters: Admiral Daala, Veers, Chewbacca, Jedi Leia, etc
  • More alien players as a Reeyee
  • New multiplayer level: The World Devastator Silencer 7. Especial thanks to Robert Christian
  • New Darth Maul with sounds
  • Battle Droid from Episode 1 added

You can download this file from their JK page.
RoX Screens - Slug
The Rites Of Xanthus page has been updated with 4 screenshots from one of their upcoming levels.
Wednesday, August 4, 1999
Fun3do And Joke - Slug
Very cool news over at Dr0id's Stuff. He has upgraded Fun3do, and started work on Joke, a complete 3do editor! Head on over for more info.
Legacy of the Jedi - Brian
Jedi Legacy has released their new saber mod, which includes a bunch of new keys, among other things. Here is the description from their page:
YES! Finally, after approximately 5 weeks of intensive work by a team of no less than 13 different editors, my saber mod project, derivatively and PR-like named Legacy of the Jedi, is now available for download and mad playing fun! So, just what will you get out of this mod? New saber moves, the ability to use single and double-bladed saber with different moves, a grappling hook, no physical damage, a new, totally kick-ass force push, and much much more! This labor of love will surely prove a favorite (and if it doesn't, I don't care, since I love it!). So, without further ado, I present to you Legacy of the Jedi, a fine Jedi Legacy/SHAFT joint production!
The file is an exclusive of JL.net for a while, so go over there and download it.
Massassi Level Contest - Brian
Ah, more fine Massassi news... We will be having a level contest, with the best, deserving levels being placed in an official Massassi Level Pack, to be displayed on our main page forever (or at least until we decide to remove it). All submissions will be judged by our staff members, as well as a few other prominent members of the JK community (to be announced later). The rules are as follows:

  1. Jedi Knight Multiplayer Level (NOT MotS).
  2. No illegal copyrighted material (if you have questions on this, e-mail me).
  3. All submissions must have a valid readme file.
  4. Level authors give Massassi permission to release their level in our pack, and to keep it there (IE: we will not remove a level if later on down the line, you decide you don't want it there).
  5. No old levels - if it's already been released, it doesn't count.
  6. No revamped JK MP/SP levels - IE: we don't want Canyon Oasis mods!
  7. All submissions must be receieved no later than September 15, 1999 (that's right, you have just over a month to get these things done).

This weekend I will post a page detailing how to submit levels for the pack, but the above rules should be enough to get you started. Below are a few of the things being judged.

  • Architecture - there is no reason at this stage to submit levels with overly boxy or simple architecture. Please take time with it and make it appealing!
  • Texturing - misaligned textures are totally unacceptable. Please make sure all your textures make sense for the area/theme/etc and are aligned properly.
  • Lighting - Not one of my personal favorites to do, but lighting is important. Make sure it's not too dark to play in (as is the case with many levels). Most of the time this is because of variances in monitors and graphics cards, so try using the JK Beta Testing group to make sure you are good to go.
  • Cogs - Cogs are not necessary, but if you do implement them, make sure you have used high qualiy, non-lagging cogs (IE: client/server, if possible).
  • Framerate - This is very important, your level must be able to run well on a wide variey of machines, please, don't submit levels that only run well on a powerhouse computer.

That's it for now, more info on the way this weekend.
Etc. - Brian
Okay, here's some more site news. As most of you know, we are moving to the new server this weekend (read story below if you don't know this). Also this weekend, some other stuff will be happening. 6000 Block will be released (thanks Hideki for the cogs!), and a couple of awesome hosted sites will debut. That's right, hosted sites. With the new domain comes the possibility of hosting high-quality JK/Obi-Wan/Star Wars sites. Here is a rundown of the two so far:

  • Millennium: A cog site run by Hideki, creator of the Lightstaff and Enhancement pack (as well as other things, I'm sure). The site focuses on cog help (the long awaited cog tutorials that Massassi was never able to pull off, as well as message boards and downloads).
  • JK Beta Testing Group: One of my personal favorites - everyone should use these guys. Basically, you submit a level, and within a week or so you get it beta-tested on a wide variety of machines by a wide variety of people, and they all send in very helpful reports. Every level author should use these guys, period.

There is a ton of info on hosting @ the new Massassi that you can read when the site goes live, please hold all applications until then.
Massassi Level Review Section - Brian
An idea that I've been throwing around since we started posting levels is a review section (or even a hosted review site). Basically, every level that comes in will be reviewed *before* it is posted. That way, people have the option of reading the review before they download it. The reviews will be linked off the main page, as well as each individual level page.

What I'd like now is to put together a list of people that would like to be dedicated reviewers for the site. This would mean reviewing levels promptly as they are sent in. It would be a daily thing (which is why I want to get together a bunch of people for this) that does take time.

The review section/site will be fully scripted, meaning, when you type up a review (in a specified format, to be discussed later), each paragraph goes into a web form, and, when submitted, the review gets posted, the level gets posted, and the news gets updated. This takes a lot of the burden off the more menial stuff like updating web sites and such.

Anyway, if you are interested, please drop me an e-mail with your qualifications, interests (regarding the site), how often you will be able to review levels, and whether you just want to be a reviewer or actually work on the site design/webmaster stuff. Actual reviewers need no HTML experience (the beauty of CGI scripting), but other positions will need it.
Levels on Hold + Site Info - Brian
Our levels section won't be updated till Saturday. That is when we move to our new server. Right now, we are working on uploading all the levels to the new server, and pointing all the links to the new ftp. Sorry for the inconvenience.

In case you have no idea what that means, Massassi is moving to a new server this weekend - it should solve all the download problems and allow us to offer features never before seen on this site. Stay tuned for some exciting stuff in the future!