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lucius

The Force Engine (Jedi Engine Port/Replacement)

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Holy crap this is amazing. Will I finally be able to properly re-play Dark Forces?! And that map editor... what the... that looks very promising.

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I admittedly never played these games, but I admire the hard work and dedication that it takes to undertake a project like this.

 

By all means, sir, keep it up - and make sure you steer clear of Disney's lawyers! I just might give these games a spin if you can!

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Schweet! I was just thinking yesterday if we could ever got a continuation of the XL Engine.

Hope the best for this project.

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42 minutes ago, Avoozl said:

Will it have the option for hardware rendering and distance filtering?

Currently, the focus is on the "Classic" Software Renderer (aka the renderer based on the DOS code) but there are plans for a "Perspective" software renderer (i.e. look up and down without the shearing effect) and matching "Classic" and "Perspective" hardware renderers with filtering options (mipmaps, anisotropic filtering, etc). The plan is to support proper widescreen and various other enhancements as well as options once the core is more complete.

 

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I remember this one from years past. Was a hugely impressive undertaking and i remember how many were so bummed out that it got stalled.

 

Good to have you back, Lucius! You may want to post this at the ZDoom forums aswell - Perhaps they can be of additional assistance :)

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1 hour ago, lucius said:

Currently, the focus is on the "Classic" Software Renderer (aka the renderer based on the DOS code) but there are plans for a "Perspective" software renderer (i.e. look up and down without the shearing effect) and matching "Classic" and "Perspective" hardware renderers with filtering options (mipmaps, anisotropic filtering, etc). The plan is to support proper widescreen and various other enhancements as well as options once the core is more complete.

 

A little bit disappointed to hear that since it's one of the reasons why I was watching for development of DarkXL before that unexpectedly stopped. I got tired of full software rendering since playing through DOSBox, I don't want all the greatest overkill graphics options of course just the usual options which other game source ports do like with Doom and DN3D, I still want pixelized textures just not software mode or pixelated distance. At least others will still appreciate this regardless.

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I loved Outlaws and first Dark Forces. I haven't even noticed any modern port for those, so I am definitely looking forward. It would be great to replay them.

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I made a blog post about this. Happy to know that we still have hope to play the first Dark Forces and Outlaws in modern platforms!

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1 hour ago, Avoozl said:

A little bit disappointed to hear that since it's one of the reasons why I was watching for development of DarkXL before that unexpectedly stopped. I got tired of full software rendering since playing through DOSBox, I don't want all the greatest overkill graphics options of course just the usual options which other game source ports do like with Doom and DN3D, I still want pixelized textures just not software mode or pixelated distance. At least others will still appreciate this regardless.

If you look carefully at the last screenshot Lucius posted, you'll see that the software renderer isn't limited to 320x200, so you don't need to worry about pixelated distance. Also, the roadmap for the first public release specifies that hardware rendering will be included. 

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Neat! I watched the feature creep in XL Engine with dismay, because in efect it delayed indefinitely what I wanted the most from the project: a reasonable way to play Dark Forces and its user content in modern times. This refocus on the basics, and your reappearance in general, is a welcome sight!

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8 hours ago, Avoozl said:

A little bit disappointed to hear that since it's one of the reasons why I was watching for development of DarkXL before that unexpectedly stopped. I got tired of full software rendering since playing through DOSBox, I don't want all the greatest overkill graphics options of course just the usual options which other game source ports do like with Doom and DN3D, I still want pixelized textures just not software mode or pixelated distance. At least others will still appreciate this regardless.

As I mentioned in the reply, I am planning on adding those features - after focusing on the core. Hardware support is coming though. :)  Also the current build already supports high-resolution rendering (though you have to change it manually in the ini file).

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Time to put those two game purchases to good use, then. :)

 

My apologies if this is grossly obvious and I missed it, but what are the data files TFE needs and where should I put them?

 

 

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Just now, Jawohlf said:

Time to put those two game purchases to good use, then. :)

 

My apologies if this is grossly obvious and I missed it, but what are the data files TFE needs and where should I put them?

 

 

The Force Engine uses the original game data files. You should install the games as normal. If it is a Steam installation then it will be automatically detected if Steam is installed at the default location. Either way, run the TFE executable and then hit Start in the menu. If it can't find the game data, it will pop up instructions regarding the INI file to edit. Unfortunately, this is a "pre-release" build, so you will have to go and manually edit the INI file with the game data path and restart the application. In the future, this will be streamlined and all done through the in-app UI.

 

At the moment only Dark Forces is supported. Please see the Readme that comes with the build for more information.

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This is looking cool and Dark Forces is a game I'd be willing to play properly with a decent modern source port.

 

Do you have any plans to add controller support at all? 

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9 minutes ago, hybridial said:

This is looking cool and Dark Forces is a game I'd be willing to play properly with a decent modern source port.

 

Do you have any plans to add controller support at all? 

Actually basic controller input is already in - though it is currently not used by the game code. That said, proper support and mapping is planned.

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Woah there, now this is NOICE, finally these classics are bsing done justice 👌.

 

Congrats and thanks, looking forward to the project.

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Dark Forces rules. I've always wanted a workable editor for the game, this project looks like a dream come true. 10/10 Keep up the good work.

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I have yet to play Dark Forces myself, but it is a game I would like to try out eventually. I remember being a bit sad when DarkXL stopped receiving any updates (or even any news for that matter). Most of us assumed that you just gave up (there were even some stupid rumors that you were dead). Thankfully you haven't given up and still working on making a Dark Forces. Good luck with the project.

 

The Emperor will certainly be pleased and may offer you a place in the inner circle ;)

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59 minutes ago, ReaperAA said:

I have yet to play Dark Forces myself, but it is a game I would like to try out eventually. I remember being a bit sad when DarkXL stopped receiving any updates (or even any news for that matter). Most of us assumed that you just gave up (there were even some stupid rumors that you were dead). Thankfully you haven't given up and still working on making a Dark Forces. Good luck with the project.

 

The Emperor will certainly be pleased and may offer you a place in the inner circle ;)

Yes, rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. But I did drop out for quite a while due to personal reasons. Ultimately I started this project a few months ago after re-evaluating what I wanted to do with the XL Engine/DarkXL, etc..

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2 hours ago, lucius said:

The Force Engine uses the original game data files. You should install the games as normal. If it is a Steam installation then it will be automatically detected if Steam is installed at the default location. Either way, run the TFE executable and then hit Start in the menu. If it can't find the game data, it will pop up instructions regarding the INI file to edit. Unfortunately, this is a "pre-release" build, so you will have to go and manually edit the INI file with the game data path and restart the application. In the future, this will be streamlined and all done through the in-app UI.

 

At the moment only Dark Forces is supported. Please see the Readme that comes with the build for more information.

 

Got it. I installed my GOG version and TFE autodetected it perfectly. I would rather just put the needed files (.GOB and .LFD, I presume?) into a subfolder within TFE, but for now this is more than ok. In other news:

 

 

TFE_firsttries.png

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11 minutes ago, Jawohlf said:

 

Got it. I installed my GOG version and TFE autodetected it perfectly. I would rather just put the needed files (.GOB and .LFD, I presume?) into a subfolder within TFE, but for now this is more than ok. In other news:

 

 

TFE_firsttries.png

Great, I'm glad you got it working. If you haven't already, please view the readme for information about what is contained in the build and the controls. The different "profiles" on the Agent screen have different levels open - I think James has all of them if you want to check any out without having to play* through them all first.

 

You can also change the internal resolution in the INI file (/Documents/TheForceEngine/settings.ini) if you want to check out higher resolutions. Also F11 for full-screen and you can drag the window to change its size.

 

* As much as you can "play" when the enemies don't move or fight back. :)-

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Really pleased to see this. I bought Outlaws in 1997 and still haven't played all the way through it; it was quite different to Doom and the like and I was a less experienced gamer, plus I had too much to do as it is. I have wanted to do it in the last few years, but now way to runit on Linux. Perhaps some day there will be. Anyway it's nice to see the spirit of the XL Engine alive (or undead) in some shape or form :p

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YES YES YES

Add me to the list of "was incredibly bummed out when updates stopped"

I am sorry to hear it was because of life issues and hope you are doing better now. Good to have you back!

 

edit: I take it I missed this somewhere in your post but does the current build support Outlaws? it says it's just looking for Dark Forces

Edited by DuckReconMajor

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49 minutes ago, DuckReconMajor said:

YES YES YES

Add me to the list of "was incredibly bummed out when updates stopped"

I am sorry to hear it was because of life issues and hope you are doing better now. Good to have you back!

 

edit: I take it I missed this somewhere in your post but does the current build support Outlaws? it says it's just looking for Dark Forces

It does not yet support Outlaws, I'm still working through Dark Forces. Some of the Outlaws formats are viewable by the Asset Editor but levels aren't loading yet. The website (https://theforceengine.github.io/) has a conservative Roadmap that outlines when Dark Forces and Outlaws become properly playable (and various other things, like tools, multiplayer, etc.)

 

Oh and I'm doing great now. :D

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Really, really great to see this project. All the decisions seem really sound - especially an in-engine level and asset editor is very exciting. These games will get a new lease on life and their communities will be very grateful. Thanks for coming back and working on this!

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Super excited for this project - can't wait to see the end result! Best of luck with the milestones to come, it looks as though you've already made pretty impressive progress!

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