Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Dark Forces II

Star Wars: Jedi Knight – Dark Forces II is a 1997 first-person shooter game, designed by Justin Chin and developed and published by LucasArts. It is the second game in the Jedi Knight series and is the sequel to Star Wars: Dark Forces; the series would later expand to include two more games, Star Wars: Jedi Knight II – Jedi Outcast and Star Wars: Jedi Knight – Jedi Academy. It was later rereleased on Steam; the Steam version does not include the manual, but you can download the manual from ReplacementDocs.

An expansion pack, Star Wars: Jedi Knight – Mysteries of the Sith, was released in 1998 and later rereleased on Steam; it adds an additional single-player campaign and several multiplayer maps. While it is functionally separate from the original game and does not require the original game to be installed in order to play, the original retail release did require one of the original game's discs in order to install; the Steam version does not. Both the original game and the expansion were later rereleased as a single package. As with the original, the Steam version does not include the manual; you can download the manual from ReplacementDocs.

Installing on 64-bit systems

The retail version's installer is a 16-bit application, and will not install on 64-bit systems. Use the unofficial alternate installer (JediSetup.exe for the original release, SithSetup.exe for Mysteries of the Sith, or JediSithSetup.exe for the package that includes both).

Patches

Official Jedi Knight patch

One official patch was released for Jedi Knight; it fixes a joystick bug, and a freeze when enabling aiming crosshairs on systems with Voodoo2 graphics cards. You can download it from LucasArts.

Unofficial Jedi Knight patch

An unofficial patch for Mysteries of the Sith is available from JKHub. Among other things, it adds team chat to multiplayer and is required for many mods. This patch also installs the official patch. To install it, do the following:

Back up your jk.exe file.
Download JKUnofficialPatch_2008-01-16.zip from JKHub.
Extract patcher.bat, bspatch.exe, patch.dat, and JK-Extension.dll to your Jedi Knight install directory.
Run patcher.bat.
Delete patcher.bat, bspatch.exe, and patch.dat. Leave JK-Extension.dll intact.

Unofficial Mysteries of the Sith patch

An unofficial patch for Mysteries of the Sith is available from JKHub. It is required for many mods. To install it, do the following:

Back up your jkm.exe file.
Download MotSUnofficialPatch_2008-06-28.zip from JKHub.
Extract patcher.bat, bspatch.exe, and patch.dat to your Mysteries of the Sith install directory.
Run patcher.bat.
Delete patcher.bat, bspatch.exe, and patch.dat.

Graphics/crashing issues

3D Acceleration problems

Running the game with 3D acceleration turned on may cause crashes or graphics problems on some modern machines. If you experience problems, try the following steps (you may have to do this every time you launch the game):

Run the game with the -displayconfig command line parameter to enable the advanced graphics settings menu.
Click "Setup", then "Display".
Uncheck "3D Acceleration" and "Backbuffer in System Memory".
Click "Advanced".
Under "3D Devices", select "RenderBot" or "RenderDroid".
Click "OK" to return to the main display settings menu.
Select your desired resolution.
Click "OK" to return to the main menu.

Menu/cutscenes run in a window even when game is set to fullscreen

If you run the game with the -windowgui command line parameter, or if you have the Steam version, all menus and cutscenes will run in a window, even if the game is set to fullscreen. This is normal.

Black screen during menu

If you get a black screen instead of the menu, Alt+Tab away from the game and back. Alternatively, run the game with the -windowgui command line parameter.

Resolution issues

Running the game in a widescreen resolution is not recommended. The horizontal FOV is locked to a 4:3 aspect ratio, so running the game in widescreen will make everything look stretched horizontally.

The game's HUD and on-screen messages do not scale based on resolution; running the game at high resolutions may make them too small to see.

Changing the resolution in mid-mission is not recommended.

HUD does not appear, or screen has black border

Press - and = to adjust the screen size. Ideally it should be 9.

Miscellaneous fixes

On Windows Vista and 7, try setting JK.exe (JKM.exe for MOTS) to run in XP SP2 compatibility mode, with visual themes and desktop composition disabled.

If you are using an nVidia graphics card and the game crashes, try disabling Antialiasing, Texture Antialiasing, and Conformant Texture Clamp for JK.exe (JKM.exe for MOTS) in your graphics card settings.

Music issues

Missing music (Steam)

The Steam version of the game does not include the original Redbook audio soundtrack. However, a Steam forum user has created BIN/CUE images of the audio tracks of both discs of Jedi Knight as well as Mysteries of the Sith. These can be mounted using Daemon Tools Lite or burned to disc. For Jedi Knight, Disc 1 is used for the first eight levels, and Disc 2 is used for the rest of the game.

If the music still does not work, open the Readme.txt file found on the disc 2 image (not the disc 1 image) and follow the instructions. WARNING: Always back up your registry before making any changes.

If the music still does not work after following both sets of instructions, you may need to make sure that the disc/image is mounted as the first CD-ROM drive letter (try D:\ or A:\). This Microsoft Knowledge Base entry shows you how to change drive letter assignments. Then, try following the instructions again.

Missing music (retail)

Make sure that the CD drive you are using is assigned to the first CD-ROM drive letter (try D:\ or A:\). This Microsoft Knowledge Base entry shows you how to change drive letter assignments.

Wrong music plays

Eject/unmount any other CDs or CD images from your computer.

Music does not loop

This is a known issue on some Windows Vista and 7 machines; there is no known fix.

Save file location

Control configurations are saved in the /Controls folder in the install directory.

Save files are saved in the /player folder in the install directory.

Texture/model enhancement

Jedi Knight Enhanced

Jedi Knight Enhanced is a model enhancement pack for Jedi Knight. It requires the unofficial patch to be installed; an older version of the patch is included in the download.

To install it, do the following:

Download JK_enhanced.zip from JKHub. If you are having problems running the game with 3D Acceleration turned on, download JKE_8bit.zip instead.
Extract the JKE folder (the folder itself, not just its contents) and JKE.bat into your Jedi Knight install directory.
(Optional) Open JKE.bat in Notepad. At the end of the file, add a space, followed by
```
-windowgui -displayconfig
```
-windowgui forces the menus and cutscenes to run in a window, but avoids the "black screen" issue. -displayconfig enables the advanced graphics settings menu.
If you own the Steam version, right click the game's entry in your Steam library and click "Set Launch Options...". In the dialog box that appears, enter the following:
```
-windowgui -displayconfig -path JKE
```
Launch the game via JKE.bat, or using Steam.

Jedi Knight Retexture Pack

Jedi Knight Retexture Pack is a texture enhancement pack for Jedi Knight, which can be used alone or in conjunction with Jedi Knight Enhanced. It requires the unofficial patch to be installed.

To install it, download jkr.zip version 0.4 from JKHub. If you are using Jedi Knight Enhanced, extract JKR.gob into the JKE folder in your Jedi Knight install directory. Otherwise, extract it into the Resource folder in your Jedi Knight install directory.

Multiplayer

Multiplayer is playable over LAN, via modem or serial connection, or online. The server browser was hosted by the now-defunt MSN Gaming Zone; you can still play online, but you must manually enter a game's IP address in order to connect to it.

In the base game, two modes are available: "Jedi Training" (deathmatch) and "Jedi Capture the Flag". Players can set a custom handicap ("Ranking") that affects their available Force powers; hosts can set minimum and maximum Rankings. Note that if your Ranking is set to 7 or 8 you will be unable to use neutral powers.

In CTF, you score 1 point per kill (2 for killing the enemy flag carrier), 3 points for returning your flag back to your base, 3 points for taking your opponent's flag from their base, and 15 points for a capture (having both flags at your base). Individual scores are also kept; 3 points are added to your score when your team captures a flag.

Mysteries of the Sith multiplayer is completely separate from the original game. It has an optional "personalities" feature, where players can choose between four distinct character classes, each with its own movement and health characteristics and its own selection of weapons and Force powers. There are three modes: "Sith Multiplayer Duel" (deathmatch), "Sith Lightsaber Training" (lightsaber-only deathmatch), and "Kill the Fool with the Ysalamiri" (players score points by holding the ysalamiri, which negates all Force powers within ten meters).

With a full retail install of Jedi Knight, either disc can be used to play multiplayer. Therefore, it is possible to play multiplayer with two people using only one retail copy of the game. This does not apply to MOTS or the Steam version.

Additional material

A strategy guide, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II: The Official Strategy Guide, was written by Rick Barba and published by Prima on November 25, 1997.

The game was adapted into two novellas, both written by William C. Dietz and published by Dark Horse Comics and Boulevard. The first, Star Wars: Dark Forces – Rebel Agent, was released March 11, 1998 and includes illustrations by Ezra Tucker. The second, Star Wars: Dark Forces – Jedi Knight, was released October 14, 1998 and includes illustrations by Dave Dorman.

It was also adapted into two audio dramas, released at the same time as the novellas under the same titles. They were written by John Whitman, directed by Peter Moore, and published by HighBridge Audio, and include scores by John Williams. They were rereleased in 1998 as part of the Star Wars: Dark Forces – The Collector's Trilogy boxed set, along with Star Wars: Dark Forces – Soldier for the Empire, the audio drama adaptation of the original Dark Forces.

System requirements

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External links