_______ ___ ______ ___ __
/ _____ / _ | __ / / /
/ /####/ // / | |#| |##| |# / /
/ /#/ / /#/ /__| |#| |#_| |#
/ /#/ / /#/ __ |#| _ / # \
/ /#/ / /#/ /##| |#| |# # #
/ /#/__/ /#/ /#/ | |#| |## # ##
/________/#/__/#/ |__|#|__|##__ #__\##__
##############/ ######### #### ###/ ####/
__________ ________ ________ _______ ________ _______
/ _______// ______ | _____ / _____ / _____ / _____
/ /########/ /#####/ / | |####| | | |####_# ####/ / #####/
/ _____/#// /#/ / /#/ | |____| | | | ##/# ____ # ______
/ /######// /#/ / /#/ | ____ / | | # __ #_____
/ /#/ / /#/ / /#/ | |####| | | __ # #/ #####
/ /#/ / /#/_/ /#/ | | | || |_____/ / # ____ ___#
/___/#/ ________/#/ |__| |__|_________// #______/_______/
####/ ########/ |##| |##||#########/ #######/########/
_____________ _____________ ______________
/ / / /
/ _________/#// _________ / ________
/ /##########// /######### # #######
/ /#/___ | |#_______#| |# #
/ / | |# #
/ ______/#/ | _________ | # #
/ /#######/ | /######### | # #
/ /#/ | |#| |#| | # ___/
/ /#/ | |#| |#| | # _
/____/#/ |_____|#| |#|_____| # __________
#####/ |#######| |#######| ############______
#######/
—————————————————————————-
STAR WARS:
DARK FORCES
FAQList
“The dark side of the force
Just got darker.”
Version 1.10
Last updated: February 10, 1995
compiled and maintained by
Karsten A. Loepelmann
kloepelm@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca
kloepel@psych.ualberta.ca
This FAQList is copyright 1995 by Karsten A. Loepelmann. All rights reserved.
Permission is granted for reproduction, distribution, transmission, or storage
for noncommercial purposes only, on the condition that the contents are not
changed in any way. Permission for any other use or distribution of this
FAQList must be obtained from the rights holder, Karsten A. Loepelmann. All
trademarks herein are acknowledged as the property of their respective owners.
Star Wars is a registered trademark of Lucasfilm Ltd. Dark Forces is a
trademark of LucasArts Entertainment Company. Header created by Bren Lynne
(bren@gold.interlog.com).
Preferred forum for discussion is:
news:alt.games.dark-forces
Due to low propagation of the above newsgroup, an alternate forum is:
news:comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action
Abbreviations used:
DF = Dark Forces
LA = LucasArts
TD = Thermal Detonator
DT = Dark Trooper
Contents:
* indicates a section changed since the last release of this FAQ
+ indicates a new section added since the last release of this FAQ
+ 0.0 Dark Forces FAQList
1.0 Introduction
* 1.1 What is “Dark Forces”?
* 1.2 When will DF be released, already!?
* 1.3 What media format is DF offered on?
* 1.4 What is required to run DF?
+ 1.4.1 What kind of sound support does DF have?
+ 1.4.1.1 Sound card tips
1.5 Why no modem play?
1.6 How much will DF cost?
1.7 Is DF canon?
+ 1.8 Will there be any sequels to DF?
+ 1.8.1 Will any sequels offer a multiplayer option?
2.0 Is there a DF demo available?
* 2.1 Where is the demo available from?
* 2.2 Is there a demo editor?
+ 2.3 Will the demo level be in the full game release?
* 3.0 DF vs. DOOM
3.1 Isn’t DF just a ripoff of iD Software’s DOOM?
3.2 Does DF kick DOOM’s butt?
3.3 Is DF easier than DOOM?
4.0 What are some DF command-line options and undocumented features?
5.0 What are the secret areas in the Prologue Mission 1 demo?
5.1 Red Key Door
5.2 A New Area
5.3 Thermal Detonator/Shield Unit Storage
5.4 Ground Floor Zero
* 5.5 Outer Ledge and Caves
5.6 The Big One
5.6.1.1 Method 1: Troublesome Windows
5.6.1.2 Method 2: A Leap of Faith
* 5.6.2 To the Outer Wall
5.7 The Death Star Plans
5.8 A Revolution
5.9 A Diversion and a Grate Finish
6.0 Weapons, shields, and objects
6.1 What weapons are there?
6.1.1 Fists
6.1.2 Modified Bryar Rifle (“blaster”)
* 6.1.3 Stormtrooper Rifle
6.1.4 Thermal Detonators
6.1.5 Imperial Repeater Rifle (“autogun”)
6.1.6 Jeron Fusion Cutter
6.1.7 IM Claymore Mine
6.1.8 Packered Mortar Gun
+ 6.1.9 Weapon Supercharge
6.2 How is aiming/targeting accomplished?
+ 6.3 How do the shields work?
* 6.4 What do those little black robots that run on the ground do?
6.4.1 How do you shoot them?
6.5 What does the ‘Spider-Gem’ do?
* 6.6 What does the red switch behind the hidden panel in the ‘Emperor’s
Lounge’ do?
7.0 Misc questions
7.1 Who are the people behind DF?
+ 7.2 Has George Lucas provided any input to DF?
+ 7.3 What are .GOB files?
* 7.3.1 What software was used to create the .GOB files?
+ 7.3.2 How should a custom .GOB file be loaded?
* 8.0 Problems running DF?
8.1 How can I contact LA?
9.0 References
============================================================================
0.0 Dark Forces FAQList
This file is a list of Frequently-Asked Questions about the MS-DOS game “Dark
Forces.” It’s also a file of answers to those questions 😉 I welcome any
feedback, questions, answers, and suggestions. You can send email to either of
my addresses. I also scan the Usenet newsgroups comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action
and alt.games.dark-forces semi-regularly. This file is available in the AOL
Star Wars Software Library, the Action Games forum on CompuServe, as well as
the wpi.wpi.edu Star Wars FTP archive. (With that kind of distribution, I
don’t intend on establishing a mailing list.)
What I’d like to have is more info on solving problems running DF, especially
with regard to sound cards. I’d also like to have Dark Forces snugly spinning
in my NEC 3Xi as soon as possible 🙂
Dark Forces fans are fortunate that DF project leader Daron Stinnett has
agreed to provide me with inside info on DF. Many of the questions below were
answered with info provided to me by Daron (thanks!). In fact, he’s even
outlined the contents of the .GOB files (see section 7.3)! Send your questions
to me; I will relay them to Daron and include them in the FAQ.
-KAL
(hate to say it, but…)
May the Force be with You
1.0 Introduction
1.1 What is “Dark Forces”?
[*** Warning: Spoilers in paragraphs below! ***]
Dark Forces (“DF”) is LucasArts’ (“LA”) new first-person perspective game. It
is based on a LA-developed ‘Jedi Engine’, which according to the company
supports “full 3D objects, a realistic lighting model, atmospheric effects
(haze, fog, etc.), Gouroud shading, animating textures, 3D viewing angles and
more.”
Missions encompass 14 different worlds, each with a unique look and feel.
This is not a static environment, according to project leader Daron Stinnett:
“the worlds extend out in all directions. There are elevators to take you to
multiple floors, bridges over flowing water, catwalks, air shafts and other
architectural features. We wanted an active environment, so ships come and
go at the flight decks, rivers sweep along, platforms and conveyor belts
move, and much of the machinery functions.”
In this game, you play Kyle Katarn, a mercenary once employed by the Empire,
now working for the Rebel Alliance. Kyle’s first mission is to steal the plans
for the Death Star. However, Kyle stumbles upon the Imperial Admiral Mon Mohc’s
plans to create battalions of mechanized “Dark Troopers” — specially enhanced
stormtroopers which could spell the end of the rebellion. In Dark Forces, the
player, as Katarn, must travel to varied locations — such as the rebel base on
the planet Agamar and the Gromas Mines, a Star Destroyer, the Imperial City on
Coruscant, and the spaceport moon of Nar Shadda — to stop the Empire from
unleashing the Dark Troopers…
The characters inhabiting the game are familiar ones from the Star Wars
universe, and include Imperial Stormtroopers and officers, Gamorreans,
interrogation droids, the monster from the trash compactor, and Boba Fett
(and maybe even Princess Leia, Darth Vader, and Jabba the Hutt). You will be
able to use nine different weapons; among them fists, blaster, blaster rifle,
thermal detonators, autogun, mortar gun, fusion cutter, Claymore mines, and
an assault cannon. (For more, see section 6.1. No, there are no lightsabres.
Why not? Because the protagonist, Kyle Katarn, is *not* a Jedi. Yet. 😉
In your DF directory, you will find the file TXT.MSG, which is the source for
the messages displayed on-screen during the game. This file lists some
interesting objects — such as ice cleats and gas mask — not found in the
demo. Scott H. Novack (scottn@csfcorp.com) hacked this file:
So, in the spirit of the recent Star Wars commercial on TV, I’ve changed,
among other things, the message “1 Battery Pack” to “1 Energizer”. 🙂
1.2 When will DF be released, already!?
Hold your horses. Do you want it good, or do you want it now? (Yeah, I know:
you want both!) Note that LA doesn’t provide an exact shipping or release
date. Also, the estimated release date apparently depends on which customer
service representative you speak with!
Bottom line (as of 2/1/95):
Late February/early March, 1995
1.3 What media format is DF offered on?
Right now, DF is being offered on MPC CD-ROM *only*. Although it has been
rumoured, there are apparently *no* plans to offer DF on floppies later.
Daron Stinnett notes:
I don’t think so. We considered it, but it doesn’t look like the
retailers want a floppy version.
LA has not announced that there will be a version of DF for the Apple
Macintosh computers, which is not a denial 😉
1.4 What is required to run DF?
COMPUTER: IBM and 100% compatibles
OPERATING SYS: MS-DOS 5.0 or higher
CPU: 386/33 DX Minimum (486 strongly recommended)
MEMORY: 8 megabytes system memory (6.5 megabytes EMS free)
INPUT DEVICE: Mouse required, joystick supported
VIDEO: VGA (Local Bus, or PCI Recommended)
SOUND CARD: Various popular sound cards supported; see section 1.4.1.
The full release of DF requires a CD-ROM drive. The drive need not adhere to
the MPC2 standard of a 300kb/s transfer rate, but the faster your drive, the
faster you’ll load the levels. DF actually exceeds certain MPC2 requirements
(i.e., you *must* have 8 Mb RAM). Yes, you need at least 8 (eight) megabytes
of RAM — no, this is *not* a typo. Time to upgrade that PC XT! (There are
rumours of people running the DF demo with Dark Forces Demo Version: 0.163D
>………………………………
>FILE: c:projjedisrcmainmain.c, LINE: 1484, ASSERT: COULD NOT LOAD LEVEL
>AVAILABLE MEMORY: 4272K LARGEST BLOCK: 3135K
>
>
>PRESS ANY KEY TO EXIT…
Type:
df -advanced
result:
>Dark Forces Demo Version: 0.163D
>……………….
>
>Dark Forces Advanced Controller Mode…
>
>Control Structure Version: 18616458.7341812
>Control Structure Address: 0H
>ERROR: Bad Control Structure Version Number
>ERROR: Terminating Advanced Controller Mode…
>
>
>Press Any Key To Continue…
5.0 What are the secret areas in the Prologue Mission 1 demo?
[*** Warning! Spoilers ahead! ***]
5.1 Red Key Door
To get the red key, go outside the complex to Floor 0. As you exit Floor 1,
there will be two doors in front of you–one to your left, one to your
right. Go in either one, and shoot the stormtrooper. There will be an
elevator which you will take up a level. Shoot any enemies; the Imperial
officer is the one with the red key. Run over the key and go back to Floor
1. Now you can go through the red door and take the elevator up a level.
5.2 A New Area
In the red key area, there is a round, red switch on the wall. Press the
switch and jump down to Floor 1. There will be a new area now open, to the
right of where you started the game. Kill any enemies there.
5.3 Thermal Detonator/Shield Unit Storage
While in the new area described in the section above, turn around as if to
leave this area the way you came. There will be a switch on the wall. Press
this and return to the red key area (Floor 2). Go to the round switch again,
and look across the hallway. There will be a ‘closet’ that has opened up. To
get to it, you must run fast (hold down the left [SHIFT] key and jump [X] at
the last moment. You will retrieve some shield packs and Thermal Detonators.
5.4 Ground Floor Zero
Go outside to Floor 0 again. Check your map with [TAB]. You exited Floor 1 at
a location of 6:00 on an analog clock; on the outside wall, between 11:00 and
12:00, there is a crack in the wall. (It’s pretty tough to see; it looks a
little like an “X”.) Use a TD to blow open the crack (stand back a ways!).
Enter the cave; if it’s too dark, turn on your headlight with the [F5] key.
You will find 5 TDs and a Weapon Supercharge!
5.5 Outer Ledge and Caves
Go into the area opened up by pressing the round switch in the red key area.
(This is the area behind the walls to your right as your started the game.)
Take the round elevator up to Floor 2. Shoot any enemies. Go up to the
Northmost part of the Floor (don’t fall off!). Point yourself West. You
should see a ledge on the outer wall that has three shield units on it. Back
up as far East as your can go, and take a running jump to reach the ledge.
Pick up the shields.
Now face the wall; if you turn to your right you should see another, very
narrow ledge. You will see two cracks in the wall here. Open them up with a
couple of TDs. Now do a tiny run and jump to this ledge. Turn on your
headlight to see. The left cave contains energy units and the autogun. The
right cave contains medkits and an extra life (the spinning red New Republic
insignia).
5.6 The Big One
5.6.1.1 Method 1: Troublesome Windows
Go into the red key area again. There you will see two windows to the outside.
You must get to the other side. Some have found it easy to get through the
right window by taking a crouching run and jumping at the last moment. Others
can only get through by doing a crouching run *backwards* and jumping (it’s
worked for me). Go to section 5.6.2.
5.6.1.2 Method 2: A Leap of Faith
Go to Floor 2 again, as described in section 5.5. Go to the Southmost point,
where it forms a little ‘peninsula’. There is another peninsula for the East
side of this Floor. You must jump across from the West side to the East side.
(It may help to use the Map view.) It *is* possible to run and jump almost
immediately and reach the other side.
5.6.2 To the Outer Wall
Go to the NorthEast corner of this Floor, and point yourself to the
NorthEast. You should be able to see a crack in the outer wall. Throw a TD
to the crack (hold down the fire control for a second or so to get some
distance). Back up a ways, and run and jump into the cave. Turn on your
headlight. You cannot open the door on your right. Go deeper into the cave
until you hit a wall. You can open the wall, which reveals a switch. Press
the switch to open the door by the cave mouth. Go through the door, and
press the switch on the wall. This will lower the wall. Drop down.
Now you’re on Floor 0 again, but to your left will be a new area. Go through
the door. This area will contain a lot of neat stuff. First up will be some
axe-wielding Gamorrean guards who are, for some odd reason, a lot tougher
than stormtroopers. Be on the lookout for TD-tossing Quarren (“Squid Heads”).
There are also seeker remotes, which are much more lethal than the ones Luke
Skywalker practiced with. You will also find *lots* of goodies! Among them,
the Mortar Gun and mortar shells, TDs, Fusion Cutter, Claymore mines, a
battery cell, infrared goggles, and a ‘revive’ gem.
Go to the door of the central room. In the room are several dangerous
interrogator droids. You’ll see why this room is called the “Emperor’s
Lounge”: there are a couple of pictures of Palpatine. On the wall is a
panel, behind which is a switch. Pressing this switch will start a few enemy
generators. When you leave this area, there will be a *lot* of stormtroopers
and floating probe droids (“probots”). Note: you don’t *have* to flip the
‘enemy generator’ switch if you don’t want to!
Interestingly, the probots don’t appear consistently each time you play.
Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. It is not clear why this occurs.
Also, some enemies will tend to come back to life after this switch has been
activated!
5.7 The Death Star Plans
Go to the new area described in section 5.2. Take the stairs behind the
round elevator. Behind the first door is a stormtrooper and a brownish
mechanism, which is part of the elevator mechanism. If you have followed
this walkthru so far, the elevator will be in the upright position, and you
will be able to step into the secret area behind the mechanism and pick up
some energy cells and shield units.
Continue down and past the holo of the Death Star, turn left down the hallway.
You will see an Imperial officer behind a counter. Shoot him and any others.
Behind the counter is a switch which will open the wall behind you . Go into
this new room and take the red circuit board. “This is too easy. Now to get
to my ship!”
5.8 A Revolution
Go through the door on your left, and go *past* the door of the round elevator
until you reach a lone stormtrooper. Blast him. Now face East. Go up to the
wall and open it. It will turn, and you must move ahead to enter the room.
Blast the stormtroopers and soldiers. Pick up the TDs, rifles, energy packs,
and shield units. To exit, go back up to the wall and open it again.
5.9 A Diversion and a Grate Finish
Now take the round elevator up. Blast any stormtroopers here. (In this
courtyard, you can open a grate in front of a duct leading down. If you take
this, you will land right where you started, which is kind of pointless. This
is presumably how Kyle entered the Imperial Base in the first place.)
Go out into the courtyard, where your ship is waiting. You’ve accomplished
your objectives! (Hit [ESC] to end.)
*** If I’ve left out any secret areas, please let me know where they are and
how to reach them.
*** If my description makes no sense, let me know and I’ll attempt to
clarify my instructions.
6.0 Weapons, shields and objects
6.1 What weapons are there?
6.1.1 Fists
Good luck! 😉
6.1.2 Modified Bryar Rifle (“Blaster”)
Fires coherent packets of intense light energy, also called bolts.
6.1.3 Stormtrooper Rifle
Also fires bolts, but more rapidly. Also, each bolt takes *two* units of
energy, whereas the blaster uses only one. Note that it appears the player
is only allowed a certain number of shots at any given moment (e.g., when
you shoot a near wall, the rifle fires more rapidly than when firing at a
more distant target). Uses the same ammo as the blaster; you can carry a
maximum of 500 rounds.
6.1.4 Thermal Detonators
When activated, a TDs produce a fusion reaction which causes a small
explosion. Princess Leia threatened to use one in _Return of the Jedi_. The
longer you hold down the primary fire button (e.g., the [CTRL] key), the
farther you toss the TD when you release it. Hitting secondary fire (e.g.,
[z]) tosses the TDs with a time delay before detonation.
6.1.5 Imperial Repeater Rifle (“autogun”)
Fires blue energy bolts. Pressing primary fire shoots off a single bolt,
whereas pressing secondary fire shoots off a trio of bolts simultaneously
in a triangular configuration.
6.1.6 Jeron Fusion Cutter
Fires green energy bolts. Pressing primary fire shoots bolts successively
from each of the four chambers. Pressing secondary fire launches all four
chambers simultaneously
