We have made contact with David Gaider, who was a lead writer for KoTOR I for Biowar, and he has very graciously and kindly offered to help us with questions about the game. Dan Loto found an old thread archived on the Biowar game forum that contained detailed conversation between community members and David about lost content and plot from the game, and we contacted David and hence this exchange. We will pass on our questions to David and will post his replies in the body of this thread and elsewhere in the community. This is a remarkable opportunity and we are very grateful to David for this courtesy and kindess.
David today (1-31-08) PM'd me and gave us this info:
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David Gaider:
"..... I was not involved much in the Taris levels, myself, outside of writing some dialogue for Carth and Bastila. Most of Taris was made by Drew Karpyshyn.
In fact, there were four writers who worked as the leads for various characters and planets. We overlapped some, but I'd say that these people know the most about their respective bailiwicks. My memory is not 100%, but as I recall the breakdown was something like this:
Me: Korriban as well as Carth, Bastila, HK-47 and Jolee Bindo -- I did the initial design on Tatooine, before it was handed off to Luke, so I know a fair amount of what went on there as well.
Drew Karpyshyn: Taris, Dantooine, end levels as well as Mission
Luke Kristjansson: Kashyyk and Zaalbar
Peter Thomas: Manaan, Unknown World as well as Canderous and Juhani
Re: additional office space for Czerka Corp on Korriban that people are looking at
I remember the Czerka office on Korriban, though as I recall there wasn't a great deal going on there. It was primarily going to be a store, and if I recall there were some plans for Czerka to give you a quest to get them some artifacts from the dig underneath the nose of the Sith -- but only if you had sided with Czerka on Tatooine (which was a big Tatooine plot that was cut, involving the Sand People fighting against Czerka, but after that was cut so was this).
If I were to name the three biggest things that were cut out of the original plan, it'd be these:
1) Sleheyron (without a doubt, considering that most of the dialogue had even been written -- it was enjoyable, but the problem was mainly that it was easily the most complicated planet to implement so it was a hard decision to be the one we had to lose. One of the toughest parts of losing Sleheyron was that it also meant cutting the string of cross-planet smuggling quests that you could get into if you chose to start working for Suuda the Hutt.)
2) The Sand People rebellion on Tatooine (which included the sub-plot of whether or not you wanted to help free the Jawa from the Sand People and whether or not you would help the Sand People fight against the Czerka miners -- or help Czerka wipe out the Sand People.)
3) The Korriban crypt areas were originally much more extensive, and at one point there was a plan for a larger underground complex. These mostly got kiboshed when a lack of time meant that the crypts had to be turned into what were essentially single-room dungeons.
These are the things I knew about, anyhow. It might seem surprising, but from my experience these sorts of cuts happen all the time -- and for the most part it was always a good thing because it freed up time to spend polishing other parts of the game. One of the worst things a developer can do, I think, is become so enraptured with their own design that they refuse to examine which parts are actually necessary and feasible to accomplish in the time you have available. It's nice to imagine that Sleheyron and all the rest could have been included and be as polished and cool as the rest of the areas we made -- but that's just not how it works.
Quote: I will ask for a detailed question list and pass it on to you soon, and thanks again for being willing to help us with this, it is VERY nice of you indeed.
No problem.
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Q and A with David Gaider
Message #1 (Sent Feb 1, 2008)
[replies and info from David will be inserted within ------- lines]
From members of The KoTOR community at LucasForums and beyond
Questions about KoTOR Game Development, Storyline, Cut Content and Unused Areas and files
Shadowland Unused Area Kashyyyk
There is an unused Shadowland Level from Kashyyyk in the file sets, but it is empty, can you tell us what was intended for that area, where it would have been accessed from in the existing levels and what the plot was for that area? Any significant figures, threats, dangers, etc? There is a Wookie Crystal found in the game files that is not used in the game, was it intended to be found in this area, or were there other significant items planned for this area?
[Seamhainn, Dan Lotto]
Sleheyron
Can you help us with the Sleheyron star map information (where it's located on the Galaxy navigation map, ect., if you recall details on that?
Also, who the Hutts on Sleheyron were siding with (the Sith or the Republic.) Any information on Sleheyron will be helpful.
[Dan Loto]
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David G. Biowar Forum Nov 1 2003
Well, Sleheyron (the one planet that was cut) was mostly written when it was cut and I had written it, and there was a series of Hutts there that you could take jobs with. They were all enemies of each other and you could play them off each other. it was kinda cool. One of them was named Suuda the Hutt and I liked him a lot, he was very catty.
And, no, before anyone asks it is not in a state that it can be restored. I think the dialogue I wrote back then was even in a different format, so it is not salvageable.
_________________
Posted: Tuesday, 04 November 2003 08:00AM
Quote: Posted 11/03/03 18:06:50 (GMT) by Grant Dempsey
Would you mind describing what Sleheyron was going to be like a bit more? A planet inhabited by several Hutts, all in opposition toward one another, sounds very interesting. Plus, judging from other characters' dialogue about Sleheyron, it seems like an interesting place on its own. I'd love to read about what sort of areas, NPCs,--(Hutts and otherwise)--and Quests could've been found there.
Well, as I recall Sleheyron was one of those over-industrialized planets within Hutt space. Sort of like Taris with all the large buildings... but much more drab and ugly, with everything in hues of orange and brown. Seleheyron was intended to be the place where you visited the seedy underbelly of civilization: here you engaged in smuggling and other illegal activities for various Huttese gangsters and either took part in or bet on the infamous gladiator matches.
Like I said above, you could work for various Hutts... you didn't meet them, but rather worked for their intermediaries (like how Bib is Jabba's go-between). I think there was four... I only remember the names of two, though: Moosh and Suuda.
Each of the Hutts had a few things you could do for them. The really extensive one was Suuda, who was involved in a cross-planet smuggling plot (which is too bad that it got cut, really) which ended in an assassination plot... you get admitted to Suuda's presence and can either try to carry through with the plot to kill Suuda or uncover it and get rewarded by him.
As I recall, I think you could enter the gladiator tournaments under one of two Hutts. That was kind of interesting... there were five other teams of three gladiators and the matches got assigned ahead of time. You could check which team you were up against and sometimes you had the option to work the other team over... romance their captain and get them to throw the fight, poison one of them, make a deal to get them out of slavery, etc. Otherwise you were in one of four types of matches... the plans for those I remember being pretty cool and each match type focused on one style, like one was a labyrinth, one involved pure combat, stuff like that.
Hmmm. I remember that one of the Hutts had an estate you could infiltrate. Can't remember exactly what happened there, though. I do recall that there was a cantina where you met up with a couple of servants belonging to that Hutt and you could romance the key out of them (as one way of getting in).
At any rate, this all sounds like it was done but it really wasn't. Much of the dialogue and planning had been written, and some of the area modelling, but that's it. I'm not sure how we would have done all the gladiator games stuff at all. Probably best that the planet was cut overall... it was too complex considering all the stuff we had in KotOR already.
I wrote Yuthura after Sleheyron was cut. That's why I mentioned it in her dialogue.
David G. Jan 29, 2008
I wish I could help you out more regarding Sleheyron -- whatever notes I had on that particular level have been lost in the intervening years, which is not too surprising considering we've moved buildings since then and I've upgraded my work computer at least twice.
Dialogue was written for the planet, as I recall, but even if I could find those dialogue files in some archive I wouldn't have any way of accessing them. Even half-way through the project's development we switched dialogue formats -- and that meant old dialogue files could no longer be read. I'd need something that could read that old format, which just isn't going to happen.
There was an alpha version of the artwork done, too -- but again even if the model work could be found, I'm not sure it would be in a state to turn over to anyone. As I recall, textures were temporary and there was a problem with the scaling, and then it's likely the entire thing was dumped when the planet was cut.
SO... that means that whatever existed of Sleheyron is pretty much just in my head nowadays.
David G. Jan 29. 2008
If I were to name the three biggest things that were cut out of the original plan, it'd be these:
1) Sleheyron (without a doubt, considering that most of the dialogue had even been written -- it was enjoyable, but the problem was mainly that it was easily the most complicated planet to implement so it was a hard decision to be the one we had to lose. One of the toughest parts of losing Sleheyron was that it also meant cutting the string of cross-planet smuggling quests that you could get into if you chose to start working for Suuda the Hutt.)
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Czerka-style Offices in the unused files
If I could pose a question, I'd like to know what the left-over Czerka-style sequence of rooms [module found in the files but not in the game], which I named a missing area of Korriban, were originally for...? They appear in the earliest of the trailers on youtube, IIRC...it's been removed, but it looked like a very early, pre-release trailer. [We have not known specifically if this area was for a specific planet or was used for trailers and not intended for the final release]
[Darth InSidious]
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David G. Jan 28, 2008
I remember the Czerka office on Korriban, though as I recall there wasn't a great deal going on there. It was primarily going to be a store, and if I recall there were some plans for Czerka to give you a quest to get them some artifacts from the dig underneath the nose of the Sith -- but only if you had sided with Czerka on Tatooine (which was a big Tatooine plot that was cut, involving the Sand People fighting against Czerka, but after that was cut so was this).
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Tatoooine
Tatooine Temple
Can you help us with any information of what was going on in the Tatooine temple, it purpose and intent including the Sarlacc/Starmap/Creatures in the cave
[Darth InSidious]
Tatooine Swoop track in unused files
Can you tell us why there's a second Tatooine swoop track, that would all be pretty interesting to know.
[Darth InSidious]
21. Do you recall details about a quest that would have allowed the player to become a sort of Messiah of the Sandpeople and lead them against their Czerka corporation oppressors?
[Dan Loto]
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[David G 1/31/08
2) The Sand People rebellion on Tatooine (which included the sub-plot of whether or not you wanted to help free the Jawa from the Sand People and whether or not you would help the Sand People fight against the Czerka miners -- or help Czerka wipe out the Sand People.)
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About the Sand People Rebellion:
If you side with the Sand People would you launch an attack on Anchorhead or just some mining camp/sand crawler?
[Dan Loto]
Taris
Do you recall anything about the deleted Black Vulkar base level, the level remained in the files but was unused but we do not know what the plot was for that area?
{Seamhainn]
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David G. Jan 28, 2008
I was not involved much in the Taris levels, myself, outside of writing some dialogue for Carth and Bastila. Most of Taris was made by Drew Karpyshyn.
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20. A trash compactor puzzle in the Taris Sewers? Can you tell us about this?
[Dan Loto]
22. A Gammorean stronghold in the Undercity, what was it's purpose in the storyline and do you recall any details about it?
[Seamhainn and Dan Loto]
Dantooine
53. The player could go back to Dantooine after escaping the Leviathan. Do you recall any details about this?
[Dan Loto]
Do you recall details about the original Dantooine landing pad?
[Dan Loto]
Was Belaya intended to take the place of Juhani if you killed her in the grove.
[Darth Balor]
47. A sound file exists that involves a droid that was supposed to allow you transit between the Taris City levels. It appears actually there was a droid for every planet. It was able to warp you to the areas you have visited on each planet. Was this intended for use in the final game and do you recall why it was removed? Can you give us any details about this feature for the game?
[Loony636 and Darth Balor]
Items
A) Why/how were the Jedi Robes set up with their own unique pattern?
B) How did the medal appear on the PC's Jedi robes in the LS Ending; And, it is possible to attach the medal to the Jedi robes for normal gameplay?
[Ferc Cast]
And can you tell us anything about the design of the saber hilts that were used in the game? Were there any crystals that were not used in the game?
[Danyael27]
Was there ever thought of making alien selectable PCs?
Like Twi'leks and the like?
[Danyael27]
General
Do you know about KotorFiles?
http://knightsoftheoldrepublic.filefront.com/
[Danyael27]
On the Cut Content
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If I were to name the three biggest things that were cut out of the original plan, it'd be these:
1) Sleheyron (without a doubt, considering that most of the dialogue had even been written -- it was enjoyable, but the problem was mainly that it was easily the most complicated planet to implement so it was a hard decision to be the one we had to lose. One of the toughest parts of losing Sleheyron was that it also meant cutting the string of cross-planet smuggling quests that you could get into if you chose to start working for Suuda the Hutt.)
2) The Sand People rebellion on Tatooine (which included the sub-plot of whether or not you wanted to help free the Jawa from the Sand People and whether or not you would help the Sand People fight against the Czerka miners -- or help Czerka wipe out the Sand People.)
3) The Korriban crypt areas were originally much more extensive, and at one point there was a plan for a larger underground complex. These mostly got kiboshed when a lack of time meant that the crypts had to be turned into what were essentially single-room dungeons.
These are the things I knew about, anyhow. It might seem surprising, but from my experience these sorts of cuts happen all the time -- and for the most part it was always a good thing because it freed up time to spend polishing other parts of the game. One of the worst things a developer can do, I think, is become so enraptured with their own design that they refuse to examine which parts are actually necessary and feasible to accomplish in the time you have available. It's nice to imagine that Sleheyron and all the rest could have been included and be as polished and cool as the rest of the areas we made -- but that's just not how it works.
David G. Nov 5, 2003
To be honest, there's usually a big difference between the initial plan and where something ends up. Like I said, this was still really early in the game's development when Sleheyron was cut. Especially considering that it was so complex, there'd likely be a big difference between the planned Sleheyron that you're hearing about and how it would have turned out after months of cutting, scripting and tweaking (I ended up re-writing Korriban twice during development and it had to make major changes from its initial vision in order to get it "right"... Sleheyron would have been no different.)
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On Staff Assignments
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David G. Jan 29, 2008
In fact, there were four writers who worked as the leads for various characters and planets. We overlapped some, but I'd say that these people know the most about their respective bailiwicks. My memory is not 100%, but as I recall the breakdown was something like this:
Me: Korriban as well as Carth, Bastila, HK-47 and Jolee Bindo -- I did the initial design on Tatooine, before it was handed off to Luke, so I know a fair amount of what went on there as well.
Drew Karpyshyn: Taris, Dantooine, end levels as well as Mission
Luke Kristjansson: Kashyyk and Zaalbar
Peter Thomas: Manaan, Unknown World as well as Canderous and Juhani
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Message #2
David,
these are questions about techical aspects of the game some of us are very interested in, if you have any ideas about these or who to ask, that would be great.
Technical
A number of very skilled and dedicated members of the community have been working hard on making mods for the game, their names too numerous to mention here, and have succeeded in some remarkable achievements including just recently an entirely new working module and area being created by Quanon.
http://knightsoftheoldrepublic.filef...mple_Mod;85657
Other modders have created new weapons, clothing, items even entirely new recruitable characters complete with full voiced sound files and dialogue, and the expansions of the game continue in many forms due to the amazing hard work and creativity of the community. It would be of the greatest help to these modders who help us all to have some technical information/
conformation about some details, samples of these questions are included below, if it is at all possible for you to pass these on to some of the technical team who worked on KoTOR, it would be wonderful beyond imagining, if these are not things that you can address.
Is there any possiblity that Biowar might release the tools that were used to design the modules in the first place as was done for other games?
[Quanon's Questions]
- How narrow can a corridor be made, 2 m ~ 3 m for party members to follow fluently ?
- How does the WalkMesh block off the camera and line-of-sight of party members and enemys ?
- Is there a way to create more "effects" for the textures ? Like the metal shine ( CM_BareMetal), I've found this has a TGA
, is there a way to make the game accept new TGA for those kind of effects ?
- And how to approach the lightmaps ?
- For now only the Mesh , created for the walkable area accepts multi/sub-object material from 3D-Max.
How do I get the ohter Mesh objects to use this aswell ? Else I can only use like 20 textures...
- Is there a way to make AuroraDlights flash or pulse ?
[Dan Loto]
Can you help us with information about animations...
[MagnusII]
Is it at all possible to clarify a few technical details on the file formats. things like a list of controllers used in emitters along with their associated numerical values, just as an example.... or the meaning of the field which can take the values of 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 in the AABB node structure. Basically I'd need a little help in bridging the gap between the NWN formats (most of which have been made public by Bioware) and the Kotor ones. It would certainly help me a lot in rounding out KAurora
Here's a complete list of the emitter controllers used in Kotor I:
Code:
8 position
20 orientation
104 fps
88 birthrate
240 **UNKNOWN**
168 velocity
140 randvel
124 drag
136 particlerot
160 spread
120 lifeexp
172 xsize
176 ysize
392 colorstart
284 colormid
380 colorend
220 percentstart
224 percentmid
228 percentend
84 alphastart
216 alphamid
80 alphaend
144 sizestart
232 sizemid
148 sizeend
152 sizestarty
236 sizemidy
156 sizeendy
112 framestart
108 frameend
92 bounceco
184 lightningdelay
188 lightningradius
196 lightningsubdiv
192 lightningscale
200 **UNKNOWN**
252 **UNKNOWN**
96 **UNKNOWN**
128 p2pbezier2
132 p2pbezier3
256 **UNKNOWN**
260 **UNKNOWN**
264 **UNKNOWN**
268 **UNKNOWN**
272 **UNKNOWN**
100 **UNKNOWN**
116 mass
164 threshold
180 blurlength
I'd like to know:
A) if it is correct
B) what the "percentXXX" values are used for
C) name and usage of all the unknown emitters
Here's the structure of the AABB nodes used in Kotor:
Code:
Vertex _BoxMin
Vertex _BoxMax
int _LeafFaceIndex
int _Unknown /* 0 for leaves, 1-2-4-8-16-32 otherwise
int _UnknownFixedAt4
int _LeftNodeArrayIndex
int _RightNodeArrayIndex
I'd like to know what's the meaning of the _Unknown field.
Regarding the trimesh header, there are some unknown fields:
Code:
...
float[3] _DiffuseColor
float[3] _AmbientColor
UInt32 _Unknown
byte[32] _Texture1Name
byte[32] _Texture2Name
...
Int32[3]_Unknown1 // -1, -1, 0
byte _SaberUnknown1; // 3 for non-saber
byte _SaberUnknown2; // 0 for non-saber
byte _SaberUnknown3; // 0 for non-saber
byte _SaberUnknown4; // 0 for non-saber
byte _SaberUnknown5; // 0 for non-saber
byte _SaberUnknown6; // 0 for non-saber
byte _SaberUnknown7; // 0 for non-saber
byte _SaberUnknown8; // 0 for non-saber, 17 for sabers
Int32 _Unknown;
float[4] _UnknownRotation //(?)
Int32 _MDXDataSize;
...
UInt16 _Shadow
UInt16 _Render
UInt16 _Unknown2
float _TotalArea
UInt32 _Unknown4
UInt32 _Kotor2Unknown1
UInt32 _Kotor2Unknown2
UInt32 _OffsetToMDXData
UInt32 _OffsetToVertices
I'd like to know the meaning of those unknown fields.
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Thank you again for any help on any of these David, we very very much appreciate it.
CrisG
Liasion
, I'd love to know anything he feels like sharing about this character. Does Jolee have more backstory that didn't make it to the game and if so, could he elaborate? Was someone in particular the inspiration for him? Was there a source for all those hilarious quips? Is there anything he would have changed about Jolee? 
From MST3K's spoof of "Hercules Unchained"--heard as Roman medic soldiers carry off an unconscious Greek Hercules on a 1950's Army green canvas stretcher: "Hi, we're IX-I-I. Did somebody dial IX-I-I?"
Linear Mode
