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KotOR 2 - How to restore it @ RPS

We've posted on the two major KotOR 2 restoration projects over the years but if you never got around to trying it, Rock, Paper, Shotgun's The Fixer column has a detailed article including widescreen support and other fixes:

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The Sith Lords Restored Content Mod (TSLRCM)
The TSLRCM is a hugely substantial mod that helps the game meet the vision that Obsidian had originally planned for the game. Not only does the mod fix a whole host of bugs, including broken items, dialogue tree errors and combat glitches, it has pulled content out of the code and made entire areas of the game playable including unusued audio files and dialogue trees. The most recent build has also introduced compatibility with the long-awaited M4-78 Enhancement Project, aka Droid Planet.
To install TSLRCM:
1) Download and install the mod from the official ModDB entry, now at version 1.18.2.
2) Make sure to install the mod at the correct Steam location, where the default location is here: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Knights of the Old Republic II\ (unlike other KOTOR2 mods which fit into the \Overide\ folder).
3) Ensure that the Steam doesn’t accidentally overwrite the mod by disabling updates to the game (Right click on KOTOR2 in the library > Properties > Updates tab > Do not automatically update this game).
4) Mod installation is confirmed if the main menu of the game shows The Sith Lords Restored Content Mod 1.8.1.

More information.

Excellent! This may even make me dig out my old copy for another replay.

I did it, replayed the whole game, and believe me - it's worth the hussle!
Still can't believe LucasArts pushed the game on the market without letting Obsidian to finish/polish those parts themselves and even later they didn't want those to be added in the patch(es).

The restorements don´t add much to the game actually :).

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Originally Posted by DeepO (Post 1061178251)

The restorements don´t add much to the game actually :).

Is M4-78 that small?

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Originally Posted by DeepO (Post 1061178251)

The restorements don´t add much to the game actually :).

Wrong on so many levels. Even with the old Droid Planet mod (could be made compatible with a rogue patch) and the droid factory the game felt very different. Especially the ending parts.

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Originally Posted by JDR13 (Post 1061178255)

Is M4-78 that small?

It seems quite big (I haven´t played it), but it isn´t a part of TSLRCM (since most of it is fan made content).

I think TSLRCM is, for most of the time, great and pretty much a must on every install, but besides HK factory (which is a big addition and I quite enjoyed playing through it, but imo it doesn´t add much to the core story and somewhat disrupts the endgame´s pacing due to tedious combat), the restored stuff consists of small additions.
I think the mod´s biggest selling point are the additions to Malachor V, which, while small in scope, have a quite significant positive effect on the storyline when it comes to giving some closure to the crew, but these certainly weren´t enough to make that section of the game not underwhelming for me (I´ve always liked the final confrontation though) - the planet still feels rushed and unfinished because in the code there simply wasn´t an awesome Malachor V waiting to be restored.

Ok, time to replay the game :).

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Originally Posted by DeepO (Post 1061178251)

The restorements don´t add much to the game actually :).

I disagree.
If it was only HK factory restored inside, it would be worth installing and replaying it.

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Originally Posted by DeepO (Post 1061178279)

It seems quite big (I haven´t played it), but it isn´t a part of TSLRCM (since most of it is fan made content).

Where did you get the idea that most of it is fan-made content? From what I've read, it's all stuff that was originally intended to be in the game. Afaik, the only thing that's fan-made is some of the voiced dialogue.

Well the team admitted they had to change or create some content for the restoration project. The original designer of the the original area, Kevin D. Saunder, has given his endorsement to the mod.

The team also has a development log that explans what they had to change and create for the restoration mod.

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I haven’t played the mod (or thought much about KotOR2 over the last eight years!), but after reading your question (thanks for bringing it to my attention!), I watched the three YouTube playthrough videos made so far by JC (C842vids).

I love that people are passionate about some games, and interested enough in game development, to invest the time and energy to mod them, and this enhancement project is a great example. I thought the environment for M4-78 looked great, so particularly for that reason I’m excited that this project was undertaken – it’s good to see that work be brought to light, while giving the modders a physical environment to work with so that they didn’t have to make it from scratch.

Some history: M4-78 was my first assignment when I began working at Obsidian Entertainment in April, 2004, as a senior game designer reporting to lead designer (and company creative director) Chris Avellone. A brief outline of the area had been written by Dave Maldonado – that was a starting point, but Chris let me take it wherever I wanted and modify the previous plans as I saw fit. I don’t recall exactly, but perhaps I worked on the area for about a month all told before we wisely decided to cut it. There was just too much work to do to complete the game and we had to focus. Given the options, M4-78 was an obvious cut to make – if I recall correctly, the contenders were M4-78 and Nar Shadda, and the latter was far more central to the plot. As has been noted by the community, I was able to repurpose some of the M4-78 content to allow G0T0’s yacht to be implemented more quickly later in the project – it also might had to have been cut otherwise. (I remember Chris was talking with me about how, reluctantly, the yacht might need to go – all of the art was done, but very little of the design and we were close to the end of the project. I committed to him that I could design and implement it in within a week. He trusted me to do so and, while it wasn’t our best area =), it felt great to deliver it for Chris and the game.)

Back to the M4-78 Enhancement Project – it was definitely the right choice for the team to run with the design and craft their own experience. JC’s videos don’t yet cover the entire new planet, but I like the direction the team seems to have taken and (from what I’ve read in forums) how they’ve held true to Chris’s vision for KotOR2, while seizing ownership of this section of the game. That’s how you get the best gameplay experiences – when the people implementing the actual content are empowered to do what they feel is best, while guided by a clear vision. I’m excited that community members took on and completed this ambitious undertaking – I hope they are proud of their accomplishment (as they should be!).

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Originally Posted by JDR13 (Post 1061178334)

Where did you get the idea that most of it is fan-made content?

There´s this interview with one of the modders, for example.
(when talking about M4-78) "Reason it’s not part of TSLRCM is fact that there aren’t many dialogs left, so we have to create lot of content ourselves, which doesn’t really fit under ”restoration” category."

Yeah, he says they had to create "a lot" of content, which isn't surprising considering the amount of guesswork that always involved when restoring cut content. I wouldn't consider most of the material to be fan-made though since the location, characters, etc., were already there.

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Originally Posted by JDR13 (Post 1061178391)

I wouldn't consider most of the material to be fan-made though since the location, characters, etc., were already there.

"Basically the only "original" obsidian content that is being saved/used is a meeting with Master Vash. Everything else is all new content being made from a new storyline."
source - post #11

I see, so they "chose" to not use the existing content. My mistake, I thought you were implying that fan-made content was used because not enough of M4-78 actually existed in the game's files. I knew that couldn't be the reason because that area was actually in the game when it was shown at E3.

Seems they did it that way because they felt the plot for that section was too similar to the plot in the Peragus Mining Facility.

Interested in hearing some more feedback from people who have played it. KotOR 2 is on my soon to play list, and I'm trying to decide if M4-78 is worthwhile enough to include.

I tried starting up a replay with the various recommended mods, and the game ended up seeming far buggier than the original. Sheesh.