UltimateWeapons - JK2 Version (FIXED)

Description
Well, due to the feedback given about certain problems in the JK2 version of this mod by the community, D'halaine here presents us with a fixed and updated version of his excellent compilation mod. Apparently there were some problems with the effects for some of the weapons and missing shaders and textures here and there, but this seems to have been fixed now.

So, download away! :)

Original Review:

[quote][b]***NOTE***

This is the JK2 version of this mod, if you want the JKA version please go here: [file=91175]UltimateWeapons -JKA Version[/file][/b]

Well here it is finally! The Ultimate Weapons mod v1.3! I reviewed the trailer for this a few weeks back and was deeply impressed with what I saw. Realistic explosion physics and effects, better weapons sounds and better weapons effects too, I was eagerly awaiting the release of this mod, and now…here it is!

And it certainly doesn’t disappoint!

What we have here is a very comprehensive collection of both some of the author’s own work, and the best of other modder’s work too, all compiled into one all encompassing mod! There’s simply too much for me to describe here, so I will get right to the best bits!

[b]New Sounds[/b]

As far as I could see (or should I say heard?) it seems like every weapons sound sets have been replaced with movie accurate sounds. One of the most noticeable is the sounds for the E-11 Blaster rifle. To be honest I wasn’t that fond of the default JKA sounds for the E-11, they seemed a bit too high pitched. Thankfully this mod completely changes the sounds to ones that are much more like those you actually here in the films (like the detention center breakout from A New Hope). I also liked the change of sounds for the Flechette launcher and Bryar pistol too.

All in all a vast improvement over the default JKA sounds, and that goes for all the weapons!

Also included are new lightsaber sounds, which sound more like the ones from the Original Films and also the original Jedi Knight games, along with new sounds for force powers and melee attacks too. I liked the change of the force power sounds, they now sound much more discreet and realistic compared to the rather loud default JKA ones.

[b]New Weapons [/b]

Here the mod gets even better. Not only does it have completely new sounds, there are also four new weapons or should I say, replacement weapons included. Three are the Bryar pistol, E-11 Blaster rifle and Thermal Detonator from the JKA Dark Forces 2 mod (which replace their respective default weapons), and the other is the DC-15A more commonly known as the Clone Trooper blaster rifle, from the Movie Battles II mod.

The new improved repeater rifle, with new shot effects and sounds looks much better than the original, but if you want a change from that, just put the optional DC-15A .pk3 in your base folder and the repeater is replaced with the clone rifle.

The Wookiee Bowcaster has also been given a good polish up, as have some of the other weapons.

[b]New Weapon Effects[/b]

Along with new sounds and some replacement weapons this mod also has new weapon effects. For example, new muzzle flashes and blaster bolts. The projectiles for the repeater rifle have been changed to look bluish and the secondary fire has been changed as well, which I think looks great. Its pretty similar with the rest of the weapons, the E-11 blaster bolts have been changed, and now look much better, as have the firing effects for other weapons. The lightsaber has also received an upgrade with new blades made by D'halaine to look more like the saber blades seen in Episode 3

One interesting case is the Bowcaster. We all know that in the JK Games thus far (at least Mysteries of the Sith, JK2 and JKA) the Bowcaster bolts have traditionally been green. However, if you look at the original films, the Bowcaster bolts are actually red. This mod changes the green bolts to red, thus making it more realistic to the films. If though, you don’t like the red, there is an extra .pk3 you can put in your Base folder, which will change them back green again. But not only does it change the colour, it also improves the green Bowcaster bolt effects, so it is now much improved.

[b]New Particle Effects[/b]

This was one area I was super happy with! It seems to be an unusual (mostly male) characteristic that we like watching things explode and blow up. Whilst women on the other hand like nice quiet romantic stories…well give me a few explosions any day! :P

Well I am very happy to say that the explosions and particle effects have been [b]massively[/b] improved over the default JKA ones. The explosions now actually look like powerful the explosions that you would expect to get from Thermal Detonators or Rocket Launchers. Along with that are all the little chunks of things and sparks and shrapnel that fly everywhere (very realistically).

Along with the explosions is the new blaster hit effects. Instead of just a black blob on the wall (or indeed another player!) when you hit it with a blaster bolt, you now get what looks like a proper hole that’s been blasted out. Along with that you also get little glowy bits in the middle, and even a small tongue of flame (also like we saw in the movies when a Stormie blasts a chunk out of a wall).

[b]Extras[/b]

On top of all of that, as I have already said, there are some replacement weapons, and a handy .pk3 file for changing the Bowcaster bolt colours around from red to green and back again. Then there is also another couple of optional .pk3 files, which you can choose to use.

One is a .pk3 file, which is called; ‘zzz_UltimateWeapons_LQEffects.pk3’. As the name suggests if you find that your computer is running slowly with the full-on-super-high-quality effects, you can put that .pk3 in your base folder and it makes the effects simpler and less taxing on your systems resources, which is great if you have a slower computer. I really think that was a nice thing to add in there, as it makes the mod even more accessible to people. :)

Lastly we have another optional .pk3 which disables the blood effects in the mod. Personally I’m not that fond of blood effects, since laser bolts and lightsaber blades would in reality cauterise the wound and should stop it from bleeding…there goes my geek side again! :P

The blood effects are on as default in the mod, but if you don’t want them to appear, you can put the ‘zzz_UltimateWeapons_NoBlood.pk3’ in your base folder and this will remove the blood splatter effects.

[b]Conclusion[/b]

All in all then an absolutely fantastic mod here, and what is more, it works in Single Player too! Though there is the possibility that this mod will conflict with other weapons mod’s and such, but that is to be expected considering how many things this changes. So if you want to know more about that, take a look in the files readme for more information.

To be honest, this compilation is as close as I think it is possible to get to a perfect all round weapons mod for Jedi Academy, it truly recreates the movie feel in the game. And personally I think that this really breathes some fresh life into JKA when you play it.

Fantastic work here D'halaine!

I [i]very[/i] strongly recommend a download here, you wont be disappointed! :D

~Nozyspy~[/quote]