When Will Star Wars Rebels Air Again

1995 video game

1995 video game

Star Wars: Nighttime Forces
MS-DOS embrace fine art
Developer(s)	LucasArts
Publisher(due south)	LucasArts
Manager(s)	Daron Stinnett
Designer(due south)	Daron Stinnett Ray Gresko Justin Chin
Programmer(s)	Daron Stinnett Ray Gresko Winston Wolff
Artist(s)	Justin Mentum Collette Michaud
Author(s)	Justin Mentum
Composer(southward)	Clint Bajakian
Serial	Star Wars: Jedi Knight
Engine	Jedi
Platform(southward)	MS-DOS Macintosh PlayStation
Release	February 28, 1995 MS-DOS NA: February 28, 1995[1] Eu: June 1995 PlayStation NA: November 30, 1996[3] European union: March 04, 1998[2]
Genre(s)	Showtime-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-actor

Star Wars: Night Forces is a first-person shooter video game developed and published by LucasArts. It was released in 1995 for MS-DOS and Macintosh, and in 1996 for the PlayStation. The story is prepare in the fictional Star Wars expanded universe and begins shortly before the original Star Wars film, before flashing forward to a year after the film's events. The game's protagonist and playable grapheme is Kyle Katarn, a mercenary working on behalf of the Rebel Brotherhood who discovers the Galactic Empire'south hugger-mugger Nighttime Trooper Project, which involves the evolution of a serial of powerful new battle droids and power-armored stormtroopers.

Dark Forces uses the Jedi game engine, which was adult specifically for the game. The engine adds gameplay features that were uncommon to the first-person shooter genre at the fourth dimension of release, including level designs with multiple floors, and the power to look up and down. Because of the two games' similarities, Dark Forces has oftentimes been called a Doom clone, though the latter lacked several technical features that Nighttime Forces introduced.

Upon release, the PC version of the game received largely favorable reviews from critics, who praised its level design and technological advances; the other versions received mixed reviews, with the PlayStation version in particular existence criticized for its graphics and irksome frame rates. It also did well financially, selling almost ane 1000000 copies in the U.s.a. by 1999. Three sequels were released: Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces Two in 1997, Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast in 2002, and Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy in 2003, forming the Star Wars: Jedi Knight series. The sequels slowly shifted focus from the original'south showtime-person shooter elements to the hack and slash genre, giving the player a lightsaber and Force abilities, but nonetheless continue Katarn's story.

Gameplay [edit]

The player engaging a Night Trooper

Dark Forces is a first-person shooter (FPS). The role player controls Kyle Katarn from a first-person perspective, with a focus on combat confronting various creatures and characters from the Star Wars universe, although the game as well includes environmental puzzles and hazards. Dark Forces follows a central storyline outlined in mission briefings and cutscenes.^[four] Each mission includes specific objectives which are related to the story.^[v] The missions take place in a variety of environments beyond the Star Wars universe, including a Star Destroyer interior, Jabba the Hutt'southward yacht, and the planet Coruscant, where the player must infiltrate a computer vault.

Night Forces ' gameplay expands on the FPS standards prepare by Doom in 1993, and features gameplay elements that are now mutual in the FPS genre. These include the power to await upward and down, duck, and jump.^{[6] [seven]} A variety of power-ups are made available to the thespian, including wellness, shields, weapons and ammunition. The game also features several non-combat items to aid the thespian. The head lamp illuminates the area in front end of the player, just will reveal the player's position to enemies in nighttime rooms. Ice cleats provide traction in icy areas, and an air mask protects the player from areas with toxic atmosphere. Many inventory items are powered by batteries (separate from weapon ammunition types) which tin exist found effectually the levels.^[5]

For gainsay, the player may utilise fists, explosive land mines and thermal detonators, likewise as blasters and other ranged weapons.^[eight] All player weapons except the fist crave ammunition, which tin be collected in power-ups. All weapons, over again with the exception of the fist, take a secondary mode which makes it have a different effect than in master mode.^[8] The thespian has health and shields which are damaged by enemy attacks and some ecology hazards, and may exist replenished through power-ups.

In addition to combat, Dark Forces provides physical obstacles for the character, such as jumping from ledges or traversing beyond flowing rivers,^{[7] [9]} and includes multi-step puzzles such as mazes controlled by switches.

Plot [edit]

The storyline of Dark Forces follows Kyle Katarn (voiced by Nick Jameson), a mercenary employed past the Rebel Alliance. Prior to the game's events, Kyle was preparing for a career in agricultural mechanics like his father, but concluded upward joining the Imperial Academy subsequently his parents were supposedly murdered by Rebels, whom he grew to hate. After graduating from the Academy and joining the Imperial Regular army, Kyle met Jan Ors (Julie Eccles), a double amanuensis working for the Rebels, who had uncovered the truth about his parents' death: the Empire were the ones who had them killed, and not the Rebels as he had been told by officials. This revelation caused Kyle to distrust the Empire, and he eventually defected in order to rescue Jan, who had been constitute to exist supplying information to the Rebels and arrested. Escaping from the Empire together, the pair became mercenaries, and eventually began taking jobs from the Insubordinate Alliance, because of Kyle's hatred towards the Empire.^[5]

Nighttime Forces begins with Kyle and Jan beingness hired by the Alliance to recover the plans to the Expiry Star, the Empire'south infinite station outfitted with a superlaser capable of destroying an entire planet. The Rebels apply the plans to find a weakness in the station, and somewhen destroy it.^[x] 1 twelvemonth subsequently, the Alliance hires the pair again, this time to investigate an assault on one of their bases past a new blazon of Regal soldiers. Kyle's investigation unveils the Dark Trooper Project, headed past General Rom Mohc (Jack Angel). His mission to stop the projection takes him to the sewers of Anoat City, where he captures Moff Rebus, an Regal weapons specialist who developed the weapons used past Dark Troopers. Rebus' interrogation leads him to a weapons research facility in the mountains of Fest and the Gromas mines where minerals are extracted for the Night Troopers.

Kyle and Jan afterwards learn that Crix Madine, a former Imperial Commander who defected to the Alliance, has been captured by the Empire, and the former infiltrates a high security detention center on Orinackra to rescue him. Later on Kyle saves him from his execution, Madine informs the Alliance of an operation to smuggle Dark Trooper materials, leading Kyle and January to investigate the Ramsees Hed docking port on Cal-Seti. After, Kyle likewise destroys a robotics facility on the icy planet Anteevy, the second stage of the Dark Trooper production line. Kyle and Jan's mission is temporarily halted when they are captured by the crime lord Jabba the Hutt, one of the master financiers of the Nighttime Trooper Project. After their escape from Jabba'southward clutches and an run into with the bounty hunter Boba Fett, hired by General Mohc to kill Kyle, the pair travel to Coruscant, where Kyle infiltrates a estimator vault which reveals the location of the Ergo fuel station, the concluding stage of the smuggling road.

Masquerading every bit a smuggler, Kyle infiltrates the Super Star Destroyer Executor and then the Arc Hammer starship, General Mohc'due south headquarters and the location of the Dark Trooper Project's last phase. After killing Mohc (who is wearing Dark Trooper armor), Kyle destroys the ship and escapes, while Darth Vader (Scott Lawrence) watches from the Executor, commenting that the Dark Trooper Project's devastation is an unfortunate setback and that the Force is strong with Katarn. For his bravery and heroic actions, Kyle is awarded the Star of Alderaan past the Alliance.

Development [edit]

Development of Dark Forces was led past Daron Stinnett. The programming was led by Ray Gresko, and the graphics and storyline by Justin Chin.^[v] Production began in September 1993, at a time when the kickoff-person shooter genre was very popular.^[4] The idea of creating a first-person shooter in the Star Wars universe was inspired by fan mods of Doom which had levels attack the Expiry Star.^[11] The developers of Dark Forces wanted to adapt the FPS format into an take a chance game. To do this they introduced puzzles and strategy, forth with a Star Wars plot.^[4] Originally Luke Skywalker was intended to exist the main character in the game, withal the developers realized that this would add constraints to gameplay and storyline. Instead a new graphic symbol, Kyle Katarn, was created.^[10]

The Jedi game engine used in Dark Forces allows atmospheric furnishings such equally blood-red haze.

Upon release, Dark Forces was unremarkably called a "Doom clone", but the game makes significant expansions upon the gameplay features present in Doom.^[half-dozen] New gameplay mechanisms that were not mutual at the time of release include the ability to look upwardly and downwards, duck, jump, and swim.^[7] The use of multiple floor levels is some other technical advance in the starting time-person shooter genre.^[12] To produce these new features, the developers wrote a game engine from scratch.^[13] The Jedi game engine tin create gameplay and graphical elements such every bit fully 3D objects, atmospheric effects such as fog and haze, animated textures and shading.^[9] Stinnett indicated that the developers wanted these elements to be part of an "agile surround," and features were included to create this: "ships come up and go at the flight decks, rivers sweep along, platforms and conveyor belts move and much of the machinery functions."^[four]

The Nighttime Troopers in Dark Forces were created specifically for the game by Justin Chin and Paul Mica. Chin notes that they were designed every bit a more avant-garde enemy when compared to standard stormtroopers: "Instead of just beefing up the stormtroopers, I designed them to be more efficient. I wanted something more terrifying and more omnipotent." 3 designs for the Nighttime Troopers were produced for Dark Forces. Lucasfilm licensing section initially rejected 2 of the designs for looking too much out of character, then Chin produced new designs which were ultimately approved.^[4] The development team collaborated with staff at Skywalker Ranch for the sounds, music, and costumes used in the cutscenes.^[xiv]

Dark Forces was ported from DOS to Apple Macintosh. This presented several challenges for the developers. LucasArts requested the game to be produced for both DOS and Macintosh with the same system requirements, specifically the random-access memory (RAM). The Mac OS runs a graphical user interface which uses up RAM while DOS does non, meaning the Macintosh version has less RAM available for Nighttime Forces to utilise. Aaron Giles, who was the Macintosh developer for Dark Forces, explained that to resolve this problem the memory had to be managed more efficiently.^[13]

Music [edit]

Music for Star Wars: Dark Forces was mostly original works composed by Clint Bajakian, though they are based on cues from John Williams' original Star Wars works through the utilization of the iMUSE organisation to create interactive music.^[iv] The game also features full speech and sound effects in stereo.^[9]

Release [edit]

Nighttime Forces achieved a potent following on the internet, and custom levels and maps were created for the game.^[7] The popularity of characters from Nighttime Forces resulted in LucasArts licensing toys based on the game. Hasbro produced Kyle Katarn and Dark Trooper toys, which are among Star Wars in other media items to be turned into action figures.^[xv] The Dark Troopers were also included in books and comics,^[iv] and later became canon in The Mandalorian's Affiliate fourteen: The Tragedy. William C. Dietz's novelizations of the Dark Forces storyline were adapted to total-bandage audio dramatizations.^[10]

LucasArts extended Dark Forces with Star Wars Jedi Knight: Night Forces Two in 1997, and later two more sequels. The Jedi Knight serial continues the story of Kyle Katarn and has been praised for its quality equally a whole.^[16]

In September 2009, Nighttime Forces was re-released as a downloadable version on Valve's Steam network for Windows XP, 2000 and Vista, and Bone 10 Mavericks. The game is available to purchase individually or as part of a packet including all of the games in the Jedi Knight series.^{[17] [18]}

Reception [edit]

Critical reviews [edit]

The PC and Macintosh versions of Star Wars: Nighttime Forces were well received,^[24] with the MS-DOS version holding an amass score on GameRankings of 77%.^[i] Publications compared Night Forces to Doom, a significant video game in the starting time-person shooter genre at the time, but also indicated that Nighttime Forces improved upon Doom 's features.^{[7] [21]} Criticisms tended to focus on the game being too short, besides as lacking a multiplayer feature.^[21]

Steven Kent of The Seattle Times believed that the general aspects of the game entreatment to most computer gamers, not just Star Wars fans. Kent argued that the Star Wars setting is a high point for the game, maxim that the level designs recreate the Star Wars manner well: "Though most of the Nighttime Forces sets are original to the game, they were created in the ' Star Wars ' spirit."^[thirty]

Dark Forces ' gameplay has been described equally "challenging" and has by and large received praise.^[7] Ron Dulin, reviewing the game for GameSpot, highlights the implementation of puzzles within levels: "The levels are various and ingenious, with plenty of creative obstacles continuing between y'all and your goal. While they can exist occasionally frustrating, Dark Forces ' various gameplay requirements make this title more mentally challenging than your average key hunt."^[21] The graphics and sound were both praised as helping to immerse the player in the surround.^[7]

The PlayStation version of Dark Forces received less positive reviews. It holds an aggregate score on GameRankings of 59.57%.^[3] GameSpot wrote, "Though the speed of the Playstation allows for shine move, Nighttime Forces boasts a horrendously inclement frame rate."^[22] IGN fabricated a similar point; "Unlike the PC and Mac versions, PlayStation Night Forces is grainier than a loaf of bread. Close up, everything is blocky and pixelated, but even from far away the walls and textures wait similar large, chunky blocks. Even worse than the graphics, though, is the frame rate. Or lack thereof. The choppy motion takes so much abroad from the enjoyment of actually playing the game."^[23] The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly agreed that the inclement frame rate interferes with the gameplay, which in combination with some control issues brand the game frustrating to play, and a disappointment in light of its strong performance on PC.^[twenty] Alex Constantides of Figurer and Video Games offers the same view, proverb that the game is "visually dated."^[31] GamePro 's Major Mike praised the action, depth of gameplay, weapons, sound furnishings, music, and graphic effects, just said the inclement frame rate and slowdown "plague almost of the game", and compared the game unfavorably to Doom and PowerSlave.^[32] Next Generation noted that "Dark Forces fails on some technical levels as a port", but commented positively on the variety of level designs, challenge level, and use of sound, and concluded more favorably, "Not quite as intense as Doom or Disruptor, but surely improve than crap similar Kileak, Dark Forces will certainly satisfy Star Wars fans looking for their ain niggling touch of the forcefulness."^[27]

Next Generation reviewed the PC version of the game, and stated that "Dark Forces will be judged by Doom'south standards and, in most of the crucial areas, it falls just short."^[26]

Next Generation reviewed the Macintosh version of the game, and stated that "Purposeful mission objectives [...] and various neato features [...] lift Dark Forces out of the faceless swamp of starting time-person crawlers and into a identify of honor. A very classy chore."^[28] MacUser named Dark Forces i of the pinnacle l CD-ROMs of 1995.^[29]

Sales [edit]

Nighttime Forces shipped more 300,000 copies in preparation for its launch, a record for LucasArts at that time.^[33] It debuted at #1 on PC Data'southward monthly computer game sales chart for March 1995.^[34] In 1998, it was the 3rd-highest-selling game for Mac Os.^[35]

According to PC Data, which tracked sales in the United states of america, Night Forces had sold 928,469 units and earned $37.1 one thousand thousand in revenue in the United States. This led PC Data to declare it the country's ninth-all-time-selling computer game for the menstruum between January 1993 and April 1998.^[36] Sales in the region rose to 952,033 copies by September 1999; by that time, it was land's 11th-best-selling computer game since January 1993.^[37]

Reviews [edit]

• Pyramid ^[38]

References [edit]

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Star Wars Dark Forces - PC". GameRankings. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
2. ^ "Star Wars: Nighttime Forces (PlayStation)". IGN . Retrieved Baronial xv, 2013.
3. ^ ^{a b c} "Star Wars: Night Forces - PS". GameRankings. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
4. ^ ^{a b c d due east f thou} Mizell, Leslie (October 1994). "Star Wars: Dark Forces preview". PC Gamer. Future Publishing: 34–37.
5. ^ ^{a b c d} Ashburn, Jo; Cartwright, Mark (1995). Star Wars: Night Forces Manual (PDF). LucasArts.
6. ^ ^{a b} "A Cursory History of Star War Games, Part 1". Tom's Hardware. May 20, 2007. Retrieved January iii, 2009.
7. ^ ^{a b c d eastward f g} Staten, James (Dec iv, 1995). "Dark Forces". MacWEEK. Archived from the original on July nineteen, 2009. Retrieved August fifteen, 2013.
8. ^ ^{a b} "Dark Forces: No I Will Force You to Play this One" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 85. Ziff Davis. Baronial 1996. pp. 70–71.
9. ^ ^{a b c} "Video game of the week: 'Star Wars: Nighttime Forces'". Knight-Ridder. March 21, 1995. Archived from the original on July 19, 2009. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
10. ^ ^{a b c} "Katarn, Kyle". starwars.com. Archived from the original on September 12, 2011. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
11. ^ "Behind the Screens" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. Ziff Davis (85): 71. August 1996.
12. ^ Turner, Benjamin; Bowen, Kevin (December 11, 2003). "Bringin' in the DOOM Clones". GameSpy. Archived from the original on Jan 27, 2012. Retrieved August fifteen, 2013.
13. ^ ^{a b} Baldazo, King (December 1995). "Today'south hot first-person iii-D shoot-'em-ups". Byte.com. Archived from the original on Nov 23, 2008. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
14. ^ "Tales from the Darkside" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. Ziff Davis (84): 51. July 1996.
15. ^ "Dark troopers". starwars.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved Baronial 15, 2013.
16. ^ "Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy". GameNOW. Ziff Davis Media. Nov 1, 2003.
17. ^ Bailey, Kat (September 16, 2009). "Jedi Knight Collection Now Bachelor On Steam". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on September 17, 2009. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
18. ^ "Star Wars Jedi Knight Drove". Steam. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
19. ^ Mauser, Evan A. "Star Wars Night Forces (PC)". AllGame. Archived from the original on Nov 16, 2014. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
20. ^ ^{a b} "Review Crew: Dark Forces". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 91. Ziff Davis. Feb 1997. p. 64.
21. ^ ^{a b c d} Dulin, Ron (May ane, 1996). "Star Wars Dark Forces Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2013.
22. ^ ^{a b} Wiggins, Wiley (Dec 23, 1996). "Star Wars Dark Forces Review (PlayStation)". GameSpot . Retrieved April 30, 2017.
23. ^ ^{a b} "Night Forces - PlayStation review". IGN. December xiii, 1996. Archived from the original on July xiii, 2011. Retrieved December 16, 2008.
24. ^ ^{a b} "Star Wars: Dark Forces". MobyGames. Retrieved December 15, 2008.
25. ^ "PC Zone Issue 024" (24). March 1995: 56. Retrieved October xx, 2015.
26. ^ ^{a b} "Finals, Luke Warm". Next Generation. No. five. Imagine Media. May 1995. p. 94.
27. ^ ^{a b} "Nighttime Forces". Next Generation. No. 26. Imagine Media. February 1997. pp. 120, 122.
28. ^ ^{a b} "Finals, Decease Startling". Adjacent Generation. No. 9. Imagine Media. September 1995. p. 100.
29. ^ ^{a b} Echler, Nikki; Olson, Rebecca (October 1995). "Top Spins: 50 New CD-ROMs". MacUser. Archived from the original on July 26, 2001.
30. ^ Kent, Steven 50. (March 19, 1995). "Tech Reviews CD-Rom -- Dark Forces". The Seattle Times . Retrieved December xv, 2008.
31. ^ Constantides, Alex (Baronial 15, 2001). "Star Wars: Dark Forces PlayStation Review". Calculator and Video Games. Archived from the original on July nineteen, 2009. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
32. ^ "PlayStation ProReview: Night Forces". GamePro. No. 101. IDG. February 1997. p. 68.
33. ^ "LucasArts Milestones". LucasArts. Archived from the original on December 7, 2008. Retrieved Dec xviii, 2008.
34. ^ Staff (August 1995). "Leaderboard". Electronic Amusement (20): 18.
35. ^ The Mac Observer-Mac Software Makes Resurgence In 1998
36. ^ Staff (September 1998). "Player Stats: Top ten Best-Selling Games, 1993 – Nowadays". Computer Gaming World. No. 170. p. 52.
37. ^ IGN Staff (November 1, 1999). "PC Data Top Games of All Time". IGN. Archived from the original on March two, 2000.
38. ^ "Pyramid: Pyramid Selection: Dark Forces".

External links [edit]

• Star Wars: Night Forces at MobyGames
• Star Wars: Dark Forces at IMDb

schillersains1999.blogspot.com

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Dark_Forces

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