Kurt Plummer
09-27-2001, 09:15 AM
Through Superior Powers Execution.
As I stated before in the Force Speed/Sabre Duels post, we now know that there is 'more to The Force than simply magic'. It is a symbiosis with a rare microorganic viral mechanism tuned to some pretty powerful galactic constants through the some cellular nuclei level ('Midi Chlorian'=Mito Chondrial'??) of all living things.
IMO, from the movies, this 'Infection of Force' is a capability which manifests itself in two main ways.
As a subtle quantum-connected 'harmonic' whereby the action of every thing is shadow-shared with everything else and powerful actions ring through time as well as across space. Call it enhanced awareness, ESP, precognition, clairvoyance or clairaudience, even telepathy; because it appears to be all of these things depending on the power of the act and the concentration of the user/s doing the sending or receiving.
The other element of force control is as an ability to /alter/ the literal realitivity physics of objects in fairly close proximity through their mutual 'Force' shared effect upon common constants of Newtonian and Relativistic laws. Gravity and Mass-Inertia specifically.
Where the use of the Force acts as a motor-pathed (very powerful but not very 'smart', conscience-driven), release of energy along the big linear nerve pathways of the biomusculature, it is 'red', like a blood tinged freeclimbing rose moving up destiny's wall.
Where the mind iself is able to 'expand out' the consciousness of awareness it is a blue-white flare like a pure snow of thought where you can feel 'connected to everything', forward and back, as a trellis feels the rose on the wall without necessarily being able to effect it's destination, directly.
Motivational Use of the Force drives the strengths and 'deepens the color' towards a blinding whiteness or a near black oblivion.
Neither 'side' of Force existence is functional without the other to direct or empower it and thus neither is capable of individual 'value' based action in and of itself.
Again, we get this concept expressed throughout the series as a function of Eastern reality confluence philosophy.
Special Cases where BOTH sides are held in equal hi-balance can result in weird interactions like the Chain Lightning effect of magnified natural neural electrics being essentially frissioned free of the body or surrounding environment as a result of the meeting of the two powers, perhaps front to back or side to side in the brains hemispheres.
It could be the reason why ultrahigh level Force users have a tendency to go mad and/or to take on a semi-diseased appearance as not only the Force but it's active agent (the brains midi-chlorian 'infected' nerve cells red, blue or otherwise) are obliterated or badly mutated from fritzing around with some exceptionally powerful physics once to often.
Whatever, it is this latter ability to focus, combine and alternate brain activity 'concentration' which dictates ones 'Aptitude In The Force' (skill set), even as 'Strength In The Force' (executional success rate) is dictated by the individual saturations of sub-cellular MC particles.
If I were designing JKII, I would like to stress the ability of a player to execute a strategy derived from this interpretation of 'how things work' in a combat mode of EITHER OR BOTH 'red/blue' driven mental capacities based on his chosen method of stealth or combattant entry to the fight. Where these actions would also influence his future skill enhancement as well as mental/physical health associated with 'Light or Dark Side' moral useage.
In their specific use employment though; I think we need a TOTAL CHANGE. Because I believe that there is a definite false-ring to any combat system where you have to 'think to execute' what I call a DIRECTED action as opposed to sublimating it to an INSTINCTIVE (subconscious) preempt.
Any time you have to envision what you are going to do as different from what you are doing now, you are vulnerable to the man-in-ambush or multi-threat effect which destroys you between thought and action.
IMO, this is why we are stuck using totally bogus _Personal Shielding_ for instance. The Dune universe has this technology. The Star Wars one **Does Not**.
As such, I would like to suggest that powers be split into DIRECTEDS, EXPANDEDS and INSTINCTIVE CONSTANTS as a function of **Mental Evolution**, in-game.
Advantages:
1. ALL powers are available, all the time, from the very beginning to what is after all a 'Fully Trained Jedi Knight'. Without cheat code guilt, without excessive (individual power use) drain loss, and without 'boy if I'd had that ability two levels ago...' inability to play out all options to a given encounter.
2. ALL powers 'enhance themselves', as the game advances.
Not simply in range or endurance but in forms and types of execution. You, as a Jedi Warrior Initiate, may have access to all powers (you wouldn't live for long outside the Academy in a world where everybody else has blasters otherwise) but you will not be able to use them as well as a Knight or a Master.
3. A Player doesn't always end up 'reacting' to threats but is instead forced to choose between selective Blue Awareness OR Red Action based _PREEMPTIVE_ defensive bypass or active encounterment preparation scaled to a vertical graph 'concentration' emphasis between Light or Dark side actions (Blue or Red).
I think this is the effect you see when Old Obi Wan holds but doesn't activate his Sabre as he 'extends his senses' at several times in Ep.4 while not apparently able to 'see', directly, any threat. A Knight but not a Master with the ability to view things out of sight but not the ability to split his consciousness between do-and-see simultaneously.
As Examples of how this could be applied:
FORCE DISARM
Force Pull was probably THE MOST useful of combat tools in any of the games because it basically permitted one to disarm an opponent regardless of the distance or other (sabre block) activities. The biggest problem of the original Force Pull was that it was clearly not so much a telekinetic 'push-or-pull, lift or smash' generic tool as a singular 'power' that had no environmental physics interaction. This made it especially weak when you were dealing with multiple foes, one foe who was an inanimate droid, or had a 'Rail Gun/Concussion' attack coming at you that couldn't be batted aside with your sabre and which simply didn't react to your 'magician waves hand' nonsense.
I would make the following changes:
Level 1
You can pull weapons from hand, that you can see at most distances, one at a time, most of the time. Sometimes you 'get carried away' (increased RED graph at long range) and the limb comes too. If you 'think about it' you can also shunt aside mechanical missiles but you must always 'wave your hand' (tie motor execution to brainwave pattern) in doing so and this monkeys with sabre blocks.
Level 2
You can pull weapons from hand or hand (robot) from body _all the time_ and you can /break/ those weapons when they come free so that they cannot be picked up again, one at a time. Shunting explosive or concussion based weapons is simpler now and you don't always have to wave.
Level 3
You can pull/block all weapons in the line of sight to you, most of the time and it doesn't take as much effort. You can cause it to happen without interrupting other physical activities.
Level 4
You can 'disarm or disable' ALL foes in your line of sight and most foes in a given room or volume around you. Where the enemy is hidden behind a box or is somebody/something like Boba Fett or a Droid, that means the entire threat OBJECT is smashed flat, weapons pointed away from you, into the nearest horizontal or vertical hard surface (snicker, I always wanted to see Luke do this to BF in Jabbas throne room in ROTJ...;-)
Level 5
You can disarm all foes, all around you, and you can do so whether or not your combat mode is set to 'FACE' or 'FREE' and regardless of whether you press 'force button X'. The ability is subliminated so that the instant you step into a room, if you are threatened, you act without thinking about it and everybody who wants to /try/ to hurt you eats dirt or is rendered weaponless. Yoda could probably stroll through an Imperial Division at Full Alert and not have a weaponed hand anywhere in the ranks.
FORCE SEE/SENSE/INFLUENCE
Next to Force Pull and Heal, Force Sight was probably the most often useful power at your command (mine anyway), even beating Force Persuasion. It highlighted opponents which improved weapon sighting and it used fairly little power so you could almost always renew it.
However; as a 'power' of higher conscience, it is actually little more than an animalistic Cats Eyes enhancement to conventional vision.
At a couple of points in JK and especially MOTS there are dialogues when your character warns you that you're about to step in the deep excrement 'sensing many beings' as a future vision etc.
MOTS even attempted a form of 'remote viewing' that was probably the most worthless of all powers but at least 'had the right idea' of depicting this as an active skill.
What I would like to see for JKII is a power that COMBINES ALL THREE.
Level 1
You are given Cats Eye blue-green monochrome effect in all but the most closed-room conditions where you are somewhat (available photon) 'blacked out' but can see dim outlines.
You suffer from the abilty to be flash-dazzled if exposed to sudden brightness like Blaster Fire or an ignited Sabre Clash or even bright Daylight. Requires healing to reuse after damage.
In /normal/ light conditions it enhances clarity of movement at range as with the 'IR bright white contrast' effect of the old Force Sight. It lasts as long as you wish but requires full concentration on Blue Power.
Level 2
When you are confronted with a danger, you get "I sense something..." vocals and a flashing arrow direction-of-threat for ambush conditioned enemies encountered when entering a room. When coupled with auto-'FACE' it brings you into alignment with the highest threat (biggest gun, most guns etc.) as you step in.
As before, you must /deliberately/ 'extend your awareness' in full-Blue mode when doing this and are nearly helpless to react instinctively when you are 'elsewhere' remote sensing.
Level 3
You are given full vision (a little bleached out but still with apparent color) mode as if looking through the Sniper Scope with Force Sight activated in MOTS.
You are no longer vulnerable to flash blinding. You can now /see through walls/ as if through a light fog when close to a threat and when sensing someone or something (around a bend or at extreme range) you can now clarify this as being a man or a droid and in what numbers, vocally. You must still extend yourself.
Level 4
You can now sense and see as if 'normally' (with 50:50 set Blue/Red power options) and all the time. Dark Rooms will show up as if lit but in the same bleached-color view as described above so that you will know whether someone passing by is likely or not to see you with normal vision if you choose to hide there.
If you tweak up the Blue, you can now add _influence_ to awareness so that any enemy within your line of sight turns away so long as you are 'looking at him' in this mode. This includes through walls.
When attacked, you fight with all the conditional advantage of balanced reaction times inherent to your Red setting muscles.
Level 5
You can now sense+influence people AND DROIDS (or remote cameras=static) in a sphere around you at all but the lowest Blue setting and at higher Blue settings you can extend this like a beam to ranged targets you are auto-'FACE' to and if you swing your vision arc around, you can see and deceive for 10 seconds ALL threats, regardless of range or viewing mechanism.
The perfect means for ferreting out ambushers and mesmerizing them for just a few seconds while you dash across an open space.
Of course if you rush things and miss somebody, his yell or shot may effect all the others.
You can now BOOST Red to get better muscle twitch without jeopardizing Blue capabilities this effectively means you are fighting at full Blue+Red Awareness-with-Speed.
FORCE HEAL/RECHARGE
I _DON'T_ believe in 'shields'. I think they are the biggest load of BS in the entire game. Only the restrictions on your ability to precognit, block or deceive your way past major obstacles with more than 'random perfection' of Sabre/Force justifies their use.
However; I do think that the Way Of The Jedi is one of natural, mutual, nurturement with all the surrounding environs such that you should be able to do more than simply repair physical damage (i.e. deny a specific mental ability to all but high level Knight/Masters). CONCENTRATION should allow you to gradually boost any given energy level to a point where you can act for a short while at a greater degree of 'expertise'.
Level 1
Accelerated Healing of Surface Burns and Light Trauma. Broken small bones, glancing laser wounds (heavy synth-weave cloth fabric should also help protect here) and combat-dulled senses.
WHEN specifically asked for. This is an internalization 'balance of mind and body' action and so your accessible powers should be turned off and your ratio of Blue:Red at 50:50 when you enter 'contemplation of navel' mode.
Level 2
Limited Force Regeneration. As above except that your Mana regenerates back to full capability at the same time. As with the scene in Ep.1 where Quigon relaxes between the force fields and again assuming completely passive action.
Level 3
Deep Wound Regeneration/Mana Expansion.
As when stabbed with a Sabre or hit with more than a glancing blaster bolt.
Will work effectively when still in combat or at least movement modes but to expand Mana (effectively boost ones ability to do Force Related Actions as if at a higher level of mastery) one must still 'meditate'.
Healing can be applied to AI companions and when Mana is used in this mode, the natural 'light side' recharge (combining your body harmonic of midi-chlorians with the victim in need of healing) a 'soul factor' assures the your energy is conserved overall.
Level 4
Stoneskin. Basic Healing occurs all the time, regardless of other power use and force setttings.
In expanded (BOTH) Red:Blue modes, one also gains the ability to alter the surface density of the epiderm and expansively regenerate skin to the extent that one can endure multiple-directional light blaster impacts 'realtime' without lasting harm and at least /survive/ major (turret or tripod) single impacts.
If overused (for extended periods) the skin actually begins to fuse solid, slowing movement until 'statuesque' where eventual Force Use subsidation changes return you to normal conditions.
Explosive/Projectile weapons still do conventional damage.
Level 5
Complete Regeneration.
Including Lost Limbs and Destroyed Sensory Organs when meditating. IMO, a mandatory capability for anyone playing with bladed weapons as casually powerful as the light sabre.
Also the ability to constantly regenerate at Deep Wound levels of 'everyday' healing and _much longer_ levels of Stoneskin protection.
Mana Recharge is instantaneous for all but highest levels (lift big ship, chain lightning etc., full Blue:Red discharge required) of force power use.
TELEKINETICS/LEVITATION/TRANSLATIVE SPEED
Another area where a *lot* is demanded of the player in terms of 'smack ones head to pulp on a bad viewing perspective leap' type of skill set which is not trained for because of minimal true usefulness (practice practice), most of the time.
IMO, -all- physical movement skills (including disarm) are linked to a basic ability to either levitate the object free of gravity, nudge it with mental force acceleration of molecular densities on one side and/or reduce the inertial factors on resultant motion/acceleration. Because you must change all of them to do the simplest of things you must be able to /control/ all of them, real time. If you see that you're coming up on the roof mighty darn fast, you slow down. If you leap to get there with a computer key, the automation takes over on execution.
Level 1
Player can jump as with Force Skill of JK1. Any object, in front or behind which is within 20ft of ground is reachable, automatically and without default with each additional 10ft, plus or minus, requiring a plus or minus increase in Red Graph concentration to avoid falling short or overshooting.
This is the basis of the 'Enter/Exit Fight' key with single press equalling horizontal movment and double press equalling vertical escape/attack.
Level 2
Player can 'Skin Mold' himself (natural surface tension increase) to any fixed object and climb up it with lightened gravity effects at full Red.
When falling, the player can hit the equivalent 'jump' key for every ten feet and slow his fall to either land safely or merge into 'Skin Mold' mode and stop the fall completely.
This is actually a real capability that Shaolin Priests have demonstrated for falling "Infinite distances with X feet of a wall".
Bounce Don't Break and you WILL 'brake', eventually...
Base Obstacle Leap-To is now the equivalent of 50ft without prejudice of injury (effectively the player is _adjusting_ his velocity vector in both rate and direction 'on the fly').
Level 3
Static Levitation and 2 Dimensional Translation. When at Full Red the player can command an 'up' (S-key) motion and lift off the ground into a lotus position to rise up to 10ft high off the 'ground' or local equivalent.
According to most SW universe literature, adjusted gravimetrics seem to require a nearby 'mass of reference' (strong gravity well to be cancelled) to work.
I have no reason to disagree but it should still save on smacked head problems in tight quarters while granting the option to see /\over/\ the top of walls without 'commiting to the leap of faith' of high-leap.
And of course it is perhaps the most 'Ooh WOW!!' powerful effect of simulated freedom from the earth inherent to mans' overall psyche.
Translative Motion is the equivalent of Force Speed but you are moving complete /lengths of travel/, automatically, in double-forward/back/side calculated hop-increments between current position and next-obstacle.
As a single blur of bumped mass+no-inertia accelerative continuity.
Combinations of Levitate and Translation allow you to climb up in the air and then 'freefall across' chasms where your fall is limited by the length of travel to safely reach a landing on the other side.
Level 4
Player can now do all of the above at (normal balance) 'half power' so as to use other (Blue) abilities and will never again hit himself on the head.
Expanding the Red Line force influence will still increase the rate at which he does whatever kinetically-enhanced activity is selected however and this includes the ability to 'step off' ledges and similar hazards without falling into an abyss.
Truly sensational when dueling with light sabers, very high up.
Level 5.
Continuous Flight. The ability to fly up to 100ft (or game 'sky roof', whichever is closer) in the air and any distance down you choose at full red with forward+back as well as up down controls.
Never fall again from a conventional leap-attempt, at minimum power setting/drain.
CONCLUSION:
Where the graph shows:
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BR
LVL3 Jedi Knight
The difference between accelerated Blue and Red mental states, absolute (as yet to be * achieved) potential power and 'slow drain' gradual depletion during use, the specifics of force power employment and loss are inherent to the level at which you are now trained and vs. the level you are attempting to use.
As well as the 'emphasis' of your desired action/awareness mode based on past attempts.
Some actions must still be commanded like high leaps or sudden movements but as you get 'wiser', other modes like disarming and expanded senses become simpler so that just /being/ under threat makes you respond to it, self protectively, without harm to others and so quickly that you are safe before you are targeted.
Such a concept is beautifully meshing with the _THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE JEDI_ even as it is modifiable (higher Blue or Red Graph Lines, quicker, the more you use each type of action) by preference of power application during each incarnation of character gameplay and progression of levels (no more dumb 'Find the hidden door and get a star!' crap).
Most importantly, it allows one to interact with the environment naturally (no 'shields', fewer SFX special key presses and ZERO weird damn noises to flaw the immersion).
As if an Expert from the very beginning of gameplay because _that is what you are_.
Providing a player with a sense of Everyday Power inherent to simply existing as a Force Empowered Being and not a carnival sideshow act: "And now, the monkey presses the F6 key and waits for the synthesizer speedy tones to drive him completely off the deep end..." is inherent to giving him the confidence to play the game from a physically weaker (fewer weapons, lighter weight, NO SHIELDS), psychically Herculian, perspective without fear of dying every second step.
Kurt Plummer
[ September 27, 2001: Message edited by: Kurt ]
As I stated before in the Force Speed/Sabre Duels post, we now know that there is 'more to The Force than simply magic'. It is a symbiosis with a rare microorganic viral mechanism tuned to some pretty powerful galactic constants through the some cellular nuclei level ('Midi Chlorian'=Mito Chondrial'??) of all living things.
IMO, from the movies, this 'Infection of Force' is a capability which manifests itself in two main ways.
As a subtle quantum-connected 'harmonic' whereby the action of every thing is shadow-shared with everything else and powerful actions ring through time as well as across space. Call it enhanced awareness, ESP, precognition, clairvoyance or clairaudience, even telepathy; because it appears to be all of these things depending on the power of the act and the concentration of the user/s doing the sending or receiving.
The other element of force control is as an ability to /alter/ the literal realitivity physics of objects in fairly close proximity through their mutual 'Force' shared effect upon common constants of Newtonian and Relativistic laws. Gravity and Mass-Inertia specifically.
Where the use of the Force acts as a motor-pathed (very powerful but not very 'smart', conscience-driven), release of energy along the big linear nerve pathways of the biomusculature, it is 'red', like a blood tinged freeclimbing rose moving up destiny's wall.
Where the mind iself is able to 'expand out' the consciousness of awareness it is a blue-white flare like a pure snow of thought where you can feel 'connected to everything', forward and back, as a trellis feels the rose on the wall without necessarily being able to effect it's destination, directly.
Motivational Use of the Force drives the strengths and 'deepens the color' towards a blinding whiteness or a near black oblivion.
Neither 'side' of Force existence is functional without the other to direct or empower it and thus neither is capable of individual 'value' based action in and of itself.
Again, we get this concept expressed throughout the series as a function of Eastern reality confluence philosophy.
Special Cases where BOTH sides are held in equal hi-balance can result in weird interactions like the Chain Lightning effect of magnified natural neural electrics being essentially frissioned free of the body or surrounding environment as a result of the meeting of the two powers, perhaps front to back or side to side in the brains hemispheres.
It could be the reason why ultrahigh level Force users have a tendency to go mad and/or to take on a semi-diseased appearance as not only the Force but it's active agent (the brains midi-chlorian 'infected' nerve cells red, blue or otherwise) are obliterated or badly mutated from fritzing around with some exceptionally powerful physics once to often.
Whatever, it is this latter ability to focus, combine and alternate brain activity 'concentration' which dictates ones 'Aptitude In The Force' (skill set), even as 'Strength In The Force' (executional success rate) is dictated by the individual saturations of sub-cellular MC particles.
If I were designing JKII, I would like to stress the ability of a player to execute a strategy derived from this interpretation of 'how things work' in a combat mode of EITHER OR BOTH 'red/blue' driven mental capacities based on his chosen method of stealth or combattant entry to the fight. Where these actions would also influence his future skill enhancement as well as mental/physical health associated with 'Light or Dark Side' moral useage.
In their specific use employment though; I think we need a TOTAL CHANGE. Because I believe that there is a definite false-ring to any combat system where you have to 'think to execute' what I call a DIRECTED action as opposed to sublimating it to an INSTINCTIVE (subconscious) preempt.
Any time you have to envision what you are going to do as different from what you are doing now, you are vulnerable to the man-in-ambush or multi-threat effect which destroys you between thought and action.
IMO, this is why we are stuck using totally bogus _Personal Shielding_ for instance. The Dune universe has this technology. The Star Wars one **Does Not**.
As such, I would like to suggest that powers be split into DIRECTEDS, EXPANDEDS and INSTINCTIVE CONSTANTS as a function of **Mental Evolution**, in-game.
Advantages:
1. ALL powers are available, all the time, from the very beginning to what is after all a 'Fully Trained Jedi Knight'. Without cheat code guilt, without excessive (individual power use) drain loss, and without 'boy if I'd had that ability two levels ago...' inability to play out all options to a given encounter.
2. ALL powers 'enhance themselves', as the game advances.
Not simply in range or endurance but in forms and types of execution. You, as a Jedi Warrior Initiate, may have access to all powers (you wouldn't live for long outside the Academy in a world where everybody else has blasters otherwise) but you will not be able to use them as well as a Knight or a Master.
3. A Player doesn't always end up 'reacting' to threats but is instead forced to choose between selective Blue Awareness OR Red Action based _PREEMPTIVE_ defensive bypass or active encounterment preparation scaled to a vertical graph 'concentration' emphasis between Light or Dark side actions (Blue or Red).
I think this is the effect you see when Old Obi Wan holds but doesn't activate his Sabre as he 'extends his senses' at several times in Ep.4 while not apparently able to 'see', directly, any threat. A Knight but not a Master with the ability to view things out of sight but not the ability to split his consciousness between do-and-see simultaneously.
As Examples of how this could be applied:
FORCE DISARM
Force Pull was probably THE MOST useful of combat tools in any of the games because it basically permitted one to disarm an opponent regardless of the distance or other (sabre block) activities. The biggest problem of the original Force Pull was that it was clearly not so much a telekinetic 'push-or-pull, lift or smash' generic tool as a singular 'power' that had no environmental physics interaction. This made it especially weak when you were dealing with multiple foes, one foe who was an inanimate droid, or had a 'Rail Gun/Concussion' attack coming at you that couldn't be batted aside with your sabre and which simply didn't react to your 'magician waves hand' nonsense.
I would make the following changes:
Level 1
You can pull weapons from hand, that you can see at most distances, one at a time, most of the time. Sometimes you 'get carried away' (increased RED graph at long range) and the limb comes too. If you 'think about it' you can also shunt aside mechanical missiles but you must always 'wave your hand' (tie motor execution to brainwave pattern) in doing so and this monkeys with sabre blocks.
Level 2
You can pull weapons from hand or hand (robot) from body _all the time_ and you can /break/ those weapons when they come free so that they cannot be picked up again, one at a time. Shunting explosive or concussion based weapons is simpler now and you don't always have to wave.
Level 3
You can pull/block all weapons in the line of sight to you, most of the time and it doesn't take as much effort. You can cause it to happen without interrupting other physical activities.
Level 4
You can 'disarm or disable' ALL foes in your line of sight and most foes in a given room or volume around you. Where the enemy is hidden behind a box or is somebody/something like Boba Fett or a Droid, that means the entire threat OBJECT is smashed flat, weapons pointed away from you, into the nearest horizontal or vertical hard surface (snicker, I always wanted to see Luke do this to BF in Jabbas throne room in ROTJ...;-)
Level 5
You can disarm all foes, all around you, and you can do so whether or not your combat mode is set to 'FACE' or 'FREE' and regardless of whether you press 'force button X'. The ability is subliminated so that the instant you step into a room, if you are threatened, you act without thinking about it and everybody who wants to /try/ to hurt you eats dirt or is rendered weaponless. Yoda could probably stroll through an Imperial Division at Full Alert and not have a weaponed hand anywhere in the ranks.
FORCE SEE/SENSE/INFLUENCE
Next to Force Pull and Heal, Force Sight was probably the most often useful power at your command (mine anyway), even beating Force Persuasion. It highlighted opponents which improved weapon sighting and it used fairly little power so you could almost always renew it.
However; as a 'power' of higher conscience, it is actually little more than an animalistic Cats Eyes enhancement to conventional vision.
At a couple of points in JK and especially MOTS there are dialogues when your character warns you that you're about to step in the deep excrement 'sensing many beings' as a future vision etc.
MOTS even attempted a form of 'remote viewing' that was probably the most worthless of all powers but at least 'had the right idea' of depicting this as an active skill.
What I would like to see for JKII is a power that COMBINES ALL THREE.
Level 1
You are given Cats Eye blue-green monochrome effect in all but the most closed-room conditions where you are somewhat (available photon) 'blacked out' but can see dim outlines.
You suffer from the abilty to be flash-dazzled if exposed to sudden brightness like Blaster Fire or an ignited Sabre Clash or even bright Daylight. Requires healing to reuse after damage.
In /normal/ light conditions it enhances clarity of movement at range as with the 'IR bright white contrast' effect of the old Force Sight. It lasts as long as you wish but requires full concentration on Blue Power.
Level 2
When you are confronted with a danger, you get "I sense something..." vocals and a flashing arrow direction-of-threat for ambush conditioned enemies encountered when entering a room. When coupled with auto-'FACE' it brings you into alignment with the highest threat (biggest gun, most guns etc.) as you step in.
As before, you must /deliberately/ 'extend your awareness' in full-Blue mode when doing this and are nearly helpless to react instinctively when you are 'elsewhere' remote sensing.
Level 3
You are given full vision (a little bleached out but still with apparent color) mode as if looking through the Sniper Scope with Force Sight activated in MOTS.
You are no longer vulnerable to flash blinding. You can now /see through walls/ as if through a light fog when close to a threat and when sensing someone or something (around a bend or at extreme range) you can now clarify this as being a man or a droid and in what numbers, vocally. You must still extend yourself.
Level 4
You can now sense and see as if 'normally' (with 50:50 set Blue/Red power options) and all the time. Dark Rooms will show up as if lit but in the same bleached-color view as described above so that you will know whether someone passing by is likely or not to see you with normal vision if you choose to hide there.
If you tweak up the Blue, you can now add _influence_ to awareness so that any enemy within your line of sight turns away so long as you are 'looking at him' in this mode. This includes through walls.
When attacked, you fight with all the conditional advantage of balanced reaction times inherent to your Red setting muscles.
Level 5
You can now sense+influence people AND DROIDS (or remote cameras=static) in a sphere around you at all but the lowest Blue setting and at higher Blue settings you can extend this like a beam to ranged targets you are auto-'FACE' to and if you swing your vision arc around, you can see and deceive for 10 seconds ALL threats, regardless of range or viewing mechanism.
The perfect means for ferreting out ambushers and mesmerizing them for just a few seconds while you dash across an open space.
Of course if you rush things and miss somebody, his yell or shot may effect all the others.
You can now BOOST Red to get better muscle twitch without jeopardizing Blue capabilities this effectively means you are fighting at full Blue+Red Awareness-with-Speed.
FORCE HEAL/RECHARGE
I _DON'T_ believe in 'shields'. I think they are the biggest load of BS in the entire game. Only the restrictions on your ability to precognit, block or deceive your way past major obstacles with more than 'random perfection' of Sabre/Force justifies their use.
However; I do think that the Way Of The Jedi is one of natural, mutual, nurturement with all the surrounding environs such that you should be able to do more than simply repair physical damage (i.e. deny a specific mental ability to all but high level Knight/Masters). CONCENTRATION should allow you to gradually boost any given energy level to a point where you can act for a short while at a greater degree of 'expertise'.
Level 1
Accelerated Healing of Surface Burns and Light Trauma. Broken small bones, glancing laser wounds (heavy synth-weave cloth fabric should also help protect here) and combat-dulled senses.
WHEN specifically asked for. This is an internalization 'balance of mind and body' action and so your accessible powers should be turned off and your ratio of Blue:Red at 50:50 when you enter 'contemplation of navel' mode.
Level 2
Limited Force Regeneration. As above except that your Mana regenerates back to full capability at the same time. As with the scene in Ep.1 where Quigon relaxes between the force fields and again assuming completely passive action.
Level 3
Deep Wound Regeneration/Mana Expansion.
As when stabbed with a Sabre or hit with more than a glancing blaster bolt.
Will work effectively when still in combat or at least movement modes but to expand Mana (effectively boost ones ability to do Force Related Actions as if at a higher level of mastery) one must still 'meditate'.
Healing can be applied to AI companions and when Mana is used in this mode, the natural 'light side' recharge (combining your body harmonic of midi-chlorians with the victim in need of healing) a 'soul factor' assures the your energy is conserved overall.
Level 4
Stoneskin. Basic Healing occurs all the time, regardless of other power use and force setttings.
In expanded (BOTH) Red:Blue modes, one also gains the ability to alter the surface density of the epiderm and expansively regenerate skin to the extent that one can endure multiple-directional light blaster impacts 'realtime' without lasting harm and at least /survive/ major (turret or tripod) single impacts.
If overused (for extended periods) the skin actually begins to fuse solid, slowing movement until 'statuesque' where eventual Force Use subsidation changes return you to normal conditions.
Explosive/Projectile weapons still do conventional damage.
Level 5
Complete Regeneration.
Including Lost Limbs and Destroyed Sensory Organs when meditating. IMO, a mandatory capability for anyone playing with bladed weapons as casually powerful as the light sabre.
Also the ability to constantly regenerate at Deep Wound levels of 'everyday' healing and _much longer_ levels of Stoneskin protection.
Mana Recharge is instantaneous for all but highest levels (lift big ship, chain lightning etc., full Blue:Red discharge required) of force power use.
TELEKINETICS/LEVITATION/TRANSLATIVE SPEED
Another area where a *lot* is demanded of the player in terms of 'smack ones head to pulp on a bad viewing perspective leap' type of skill set which is not trained for because of minimal true usefulness (practice practice), most of the time.
IMO, -all- physical movement skills (including disarm) are linked to a basic ability to either levitate the object free of gravity, nudge it with mental force acceleration of molecular densities on one side and/or reduce the inertial factors on resultant motion/acceleration. Because you must change all of them to do the simplest of things you must be able to /control/ all of them, real time. If you see that you're coming up on the roof mighty darn fast, you slow down. If you leap to get there with a computer key, the automation takes over on execution.
Level 1
Player can jump as with Force Skill of JK1. Any object, in front or behind which is within 20ft of ground is reachable, automatically and without default with each additional 10ft, plus or minus, requiring a plus or minus increase in Red Graph concentration to avoid falling short or overshooting.
This is the basis of the 'Enter/Exit Fight' key with single press equalling horizontal movment and double press equalling vertical escape/attack.
Level 2
Player can 'Skin Mold' himself (natural surface tension increase) to any fixed object and climb up it with lightened gravity effects at full Red.
When falling, the player can hit the equivalent 'jump' key for every ten feet and slow his fall to either land safely or merge into 'Skin Mold' mode and stop the fall completely.
This is actually a real capability that Shaolin Priests have demonstrated for falling "Infinite distances with X feet of a wall".
Bounce Don't Break and you WILL 'brake', eventually...
Base Obstacle Leap-To is now the equivalent of 50ft without prejudice of injury (effectively the player is _adjusting_ his velocity vector in both rate and direction 'on the fly').
Level 3
Static Levitation and 2 Dimensional Translation. When at Full Red the player can command an 'up' (S-key) motion and lift off the ground into a lotus position to rise up to 10ft high off the 'ground' or local equivalent.
According to most SW universe literature, adjusted gravimetrics seem to require a nearby 'mass of reference' (strong gravity well to be cancelled) to work.
I have no reason to disagree but it should still save on smacked head problems in tight quarters while granting the option to see /\over/\ the top of walls without 'commiting to the leap of faith' of high-leap.
And of course it is perhaps the most 'Ooh WOW!!' powerful effect of simulated freedom from the earth inherent to mans' overall psyche.
Translative Motion is the equivalent of Force Speed but you are moving complete /lengths of travel/, automatically, in double-forward/back/side calculated hop-increments between current position and next-obstacle.
As a single blur of bumped mass+no-inertia accelerative continuity.
Combinations of Levitate and Translation allow you to climb up in the air and then 'freefall across' chasms where your fall is limited by the length of travel to safely reach a landing on the other side.
Level 4
Player can now do all of the above at (normal balance) 'half power' so as to use other (Blue) abilities and will never again hit himself on the head.
Expanding the Red Line force influence will still increase the rate at which he does whatever kinetically-enhanced activity is selected however and this includes the ability to 'step off' ledges and similar hazards without falling into an abyss.
Truly sensational when dueling with light sabers, very high up.
Level 5.
Continuous Flight. The ability to fly up to 100ft (or game 'sky roof', whichever is closer) in the air and any distance down you choose at full red with forward+back as well as up down controls.
Never fall again from a conventional leap-attempt, at minimum power setting/drain.
CONCLUSION:
Where the graph shows:
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BR
LVL3 Jedi Knight
The difference between accelerated Blue and Red mental states, absolute (as yet to be * achieved) potential power and 'slow drain' gradual depletion during use, the specifics of force power employment and loss are inherent to the level at which you are now trained and vs. the level you are attempting to use.
As well as the 'emphasis' of your desired action/awareness mode based on past attempts.
Some actions must still be commanded like high leaps or sudden movements but as you get 'wiser', other modes like disarming and expanded senses become simpler so that just /being/ under threat makes you respond to it, self protectively, without harm to others and so quickly that you are safe before you are targeted.
Such a concept is beautifully meshing with the _THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE JEDI_ even as it is modifiable (higher Blue or Red Graph Lines, quicker, the more you use each type of action) by preference of power application during each incarnation of character gameplay and progression of levels (no more dumb 'Find the hidden door and get a star!' crap).
Most importantly, it allows one to interact with the environment naturally (no 'shields', fewer SFX special key presses and ZERO weird damn noises to flaw the immersion).
As if an Expert from the very beginning of gameplay because _that is what you are_.
Providing a player with a sense of Everyday Power inherent to simply existing as a Force Empowered Being and not a carnival sideshow act: "And now, the monkey presses the F6 key and waits for the synthesizer speedy tones to drive him completely off the deep end..." is inherent to giving him the confidence to play the game from a physically weaker (fewer weapons, lighter weight, NO SHIELDS), psychically Herculian, perspective without fear of dying every second step.
Kurt Plummer
[ September 27, 2001: Message edited by: Kurt ]