The JLA Mod
[2014-Nov-14] Setting the Scene
I
put up this site in 2002, just weeks after the original FF game was released. I
was a pretty active member of the community for a few years, sharing my mod
tools, mods and "hero recipes". I was even a moderator on the official
Irrational Freedom Force boards for a while. But in 2005, due to family issues,
I quietly said goodbye, not thinking I would ever return (though I did keep the
site running as it was.)
I did peek back a few times, in 2007
and 2010, posting a few thoughts and even adding new content from my many
collaborators. But it wasn't until 2014 that I really jumped back in. And it was
due to the JLA Mod.
You see, even though I had been
inactive for many years in FF, I still would get emails. People from all over
the world (Japan, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, US, UK, etc.) would write in. I would
get questions about how to install meshes, skins, or where to find specific
characters. Often they'd just thank me for the site and for keeping it running
so long for a game that was released well over a decade ago now.
The Big
Question ...
But one thing I did get asked a lot (and one I didn't answer) was
What happened in JLA Mod #7? I've even had people ask for just the script
to read (if there was one) just so they could see how it turned out. I had left a lot
things dangling at the end you see. ... And the fact was, I knew how it all
turned out, because I'd written it all out back in 2003-2004.
In April 2014, I happened to run across my script for #7 (and #8 and #9 and #10, but more on that in a future
blog) and I thought it was a shame I never finished this thing. So I decided
to do something about it.
Back
into the fray ...
I jumped back into learning mode to
understand what the current state of FF modding was. I read about the newest FFX
add-on, new FX, meshes, skins, niftools and skoping, etc. I even bought the
games again on Steam, so I could learn how those versions work. I also had to
re-learn just how FF mods are put together. Years of not doing it had led me to
forget some basic things!
One major thing I learned is that
there was a lot more content being created for FFv3R than FF these days (it was
different when I had left). Also, due to now being on Windows 7, I found that I
couldn't get the original FF editor to work. Though I'm still looking into this,
this meant that if I did want to finish this thing, it would have to be a new
version, built for FFv3R, not FF.
So
what's the plan?
I want to finish the Pawns of Darkness storyline, as I had originally written
it back in 2004. In order to do this, I will most likely need to create a whole
new version of the game for FFv3R. (I'm still holding out a little hope I'll
also find a way to make an FF version)
This will be sort
of a "Director's Cut" version as many
things will be updated. Back in 2004, my unreleased version already had a lot new
character meshes and skins. I will run through all this again as there have been
lots of new things created in the 10 years since, to the FF community's credit.
I found a lot of the work I'd already done (back in 2005): new meshes & skins,
FFX powers), music, voice packs, etc.
But wait there's more!
I also wrote (all
those years ago) an outline of close to 50 additional issues (4 issues were even
completely written out with dialogue, etc.). There was an actual plan behind the
mod and stuff that was setup in issues 1-7 would only pay off
much later. I also have a completed script (7 issues!) for a JSA Mod that
I worked on with KennX. We'd planned it as a separate mod, but the story in it
follows right after events in the JLA mod, so I may just decide to add it on as
issues #8-15.
More next time on exactly what I'm doing.
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BLOG PAGES
Freedom Force Info
Alex's Hero Conversion Tips
Comics Corner
JLA v Avengers - Once and For All!
The JLA Mod
Setting The Scene
Making a list, checking it twice ...
Infinite possibilities
My Hero Sandbox
A little background
Fast and Furious
Getting somewhere!
Magical Mystery Tour
They pull me back in!
By The Numbers
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