Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) Remade

[Grifman]

The rumors are true - KOTOR is being remade! Teaser video here - for PS and PC (though the trailer just says PS):



Developer interview here:

[Carpet_pissr]

Nooooooo! PS5 only?! No PC?

Edit: oops, just read your first sentence...YAY!!

[Grifman]

Confirmation on Twitter as to the PC version:

[Victoria Raverna]

Are they keeping the turn based combat or make it into an action game?

[Grifman]

Are they keeping the turn based combat or make it into an action game?

You've seen all that everyone else has seen.

[Sudy]

I thought this was announced months ago. I guess it was only rumoured.

[Smoove_B]

Are they keeping the turn based combat or make it into an action game?

As pointed out we know nothing, but when I see "remake" I think it's updated textures, lighting, etc... to take advantage of modern hardware. I wouldn't expect core game play mechanics to change.

[NickAragua]

I uh, sincerely hope that they do something about those stupid speeder races. That was seriously the most frustrating part of the game (until I figured out how to game the system).

Pure Pazaak, though.

[Victoria Raverna]

Are they keeping the turn based combat or make it into an action game?

As pointed out we know nothing, but when I see "remake" I think it's updated textures, lighting, etc... to take advantage of modern hardware. I wouldn't expect core game play mechanics to change.

Updated textures, lighting, etc.. is probably called remastered. Remake can be more than that.

For example, FF7 remake.

[Grifman]

Are they keeping the turn based combat or make it into an action game?

And was it really turn based. It was long time ago but I thought it was RTWP - Real Time With Pause - but like I said, I could be wrong. That said, I doubt that it will be TB, but your guess is as good as mine.

[Rumpy]

Are they keeping the turn based combat or make it into an action game?

As pointed out we know nothing, but when I see "remake" I think it's updated textures, lighting, etc... to take advantage of modern hardware. I wouldn't expect core game play mechanics to change.

Updated textures, lighting, etc.. is probably called remastered. Remake can be more than that.

For example, FF7 remake.

Yeah, a remake suggests a deep dive, from completely new models, possibly redesigned areas and completely new cinematics. The only thing I could imagine being the same would be possibly the voice work.

The ironic thing about this being a PS and PC Exclusive is that it was originally an XBox and PC Exclusive back when it originally released.

[Victoria Raverna]

Are they keeping the turn based combat or make it into an action game?

And was it really turn based. It was long time ago but I thought it was RTWP - Real Time With Pause - but like I said, I could be wrong. That said, I doubt that it will be TB, but your guess is as good as mine.

RTWP is still turned based. It is just a timed turn based system.

[Formix]

I'm 100% day one for this one . . . unless early reviews are truly awful.

[Victoria Raverna]

I'm 100% day one for this one . . . unless early reviews are truly awful.

Not day one for me. Aspyr is only known as a company that specialized in porting games and not always doing a good job in that.

[Skinypupy]

Aspyr typically does a pretty good job on their ports. Of the ones I've played, their iPad versions of KOTOR 1 & 2 were fantastic, Civ VI was great, and Star Wars Racer was well-done. I've heard less flattering things about their Jedi Knight ports, but that could just be a function of the age of the original games.

My concern is that while their previous ports have been fine, Aspyr isn't exactly known for doing anything special with them. In most cases, the ports have been about as barebones as it gets. They make the games functional on newer systems and add some higher res textures to the original models, but make no changes at all to gameplay, UI, etc.

I'm not sure how interested I'd be if they the keep the same approach with KOTOR on PS5, as I've already played the game multiple times on multiple consoles. Seeing the same old, clunky character models and stiff combat just in slightly higher res doesn't interest me all that much. If they actually overhaul the whole thing with current gen graphics though, I'd be in.

[Carpet_pissr]

Are they keeping the turn based combat or make it into an action game?

As pointed out we know nothing, but when I see "remake" I think it's updated textures, lighting, etc... to take advantage of modern hardware. I wouldn't expect core game play mechanics to change.

Updated textures, lighting, etc.. is probably called remastered. Remake can be more than that.

Agree.

[El Guapo]

If this is like the FF7 remake where it's substantially a new game just based around the same story, then I'm definitely in. But especially with the developer seems like it's more likely to be a straight re-do just with updated graphics and the like, in which case...I've played this enough times already.

[Smoove_B]

Updated textures, lighting, etc.. is probably called remastered. Remake can be more than that.

For example, FF7 remake.

That's fair. Cheerfully withdrawn!

[Blackhawk]

So, souls-like combat with skin packs, then.

[Grifman]

Aspyr typically does a pretty good job on their ports. Of the ones I've played, their iPad versions of KOTOR 1 & 2 were fantastic, Civ VI was great, and Star Wars Racer was well-done. I've heard less flattering things about their Jedi Knight ports, but that could just be a function of the age of the original games.

My concern is that while their previous ports have been fine, Aspyr isn't exactly known for doing anything special with them. In most cases, the ports have been about as barebones as it gets. They make the games functional on newer systems and add some higher res textures to the original models, but make no changes at all to gameplay, UI, etc.

I'm not sure how interested I'd be if they the keep the same approach with KOTOR on PS5, as I've already played the game multiple times on multiple consoles. Seeing the same old, clunky character models and stiff combat just in slightly higher res doesn't interest me all that much. If they actually overhaul the whole thing with current gen graphics though, I'd be in.

It’s like I didn’t even post an interview with the developer in the second link in the OP. He clearly says this is a remake “from the ground up while retaining the story and characters from the original”. That sounds like a lot more than just “adding some high res characters”.

[El Guapo]

Aspyr typically does a pretty good job on their ports. Of the ones I've played, their iPad versions of KOTOR 1 & 2 were fantastic, Civ VI was great, and Star Wars Racer was well-done. I've heard less flattering things about their Jedi Knight ports, but that could just be a function of the age of the original games.

My concern is that while their previous ports have been fine, Aspyr isn't exactly known for doing anything special with them. In most cases, the ports have been about as barebones as it gets. They make the games functional on newer systems and add some higher res textures to the original models, but make no changes at all to gameplay, UI, etc.

I'm not sure how interested I'd be if they the keep the same approach with KOTOR on PS5, as I've already played the game multiple times on multiple consoles. Seeing the same old, clunky character models and stiff combat just in slightly higher res doesn't interest me all that much. If they actually overhaul the whole thing with current gen graphics though, I'd be in.

It’s like I didn’t even post an interview with the developer in the second post in this thread. He clearly says this is a remake “from the ground up while retaining the story and characters from the original”. That sounds like a lot more than just “adding some high res characters”.

To be fair, the tweet that you linked to gives no indication of an interview with the developer.

edit: ah, I see that the second link in the first post of the thread has a youtube link to a developer interview...

[Grifman]

To be fair, the tweet that you linked to gives no indication of an interview with the developer.

edit: ah, I see that the second link in the first post of the thread has a youtube link to a developer interview...

My bad, I got confused which post I had the link

[Rumpy]

It will at most likely get an entirely different engine. An engine that can take advantage of the latest video technology, and something that can scale better. Played both games recently and while OK, they look fairly dated and don't scale up all that well, as there's only so much textures and models can do when there's a coded limit to what it can accept.

[Grifman]

It will at most likely get an entirely different engine. An engine that can take advantage of the latest video technology, and something that can scale better. Played both games recently and while OK, they look fairly dated and don't scale up all that well, as there's only so much textures and models can do when there's a coded limit to what it can accept.

Most likely? What are those odds, exactly? The game was released in 2003. Do they even have the source code?

[Grifman]

Jennifer Hale is back as Bastilla:

https://www.ign.com/articles/jennifer-h ... tor-remake

She's also not the only returning voice actor from the original game. "I do think that you’re going to see some other familiar voices return, but that’s probably as deep as we’re gonna go on that one right now," added Treadwell in the same blog post.

[El Guapo]

I don't totally get why they're doing a remake as opposed to a completely new KOTOR game (KOTOR 3, essentially, or KOTOR prequel).

[Kurth]

I don't totally get why they're doing a remake as opposed to a completely new KOTOR game (KOTOR 3, essentially, or KOTOR prequel).

Same. I wish it were a new game in the KOTOR series. Not a remake of a game/story I've already played through.

[Sudy]

It's presumably still cheaper than designing a whole new game, and between FF7 and Mass Effect there are a lot of high-profile remakes/remasters right now. Only a guess. And how do we know another studio isn't working on KOTOR 3 or a spiritual sequel? Or perhaps this is being used as a market test (even though that doesn't seem necessary).

What's the status of KOTOR in current canon? Even if it's available for licensing, perhaps the business people would prefer to focus on new and active settings.

[Rumpy]

I don't totally get why they're doing a remake as opposed to a completely new KOTOR game (KOTOR 3, essentially, or KOTOR prequel).

My guess is they might be using this remake to test the waters. Maybe if successful, they'll then remake the 2nd game, and also make a 3rd. Well, here's hoping.

[Grifman]

I don't totally get why they're doing a remake as opposed to a completely new KOTOR game (KOTOR 3, essentially, or KOTOR prequel).

How do you know that Lucas Arts would allow them to make KOTOR 3? Presumably the answer is no, because if that is what LA wanted, that is what Aspyr would be doing. LA owns the IP, they determine what is done with it.

[Max Peck]

It's not quite dead yet...

Knights of the Old Republic Remake shows faint, flickering sign of life in publisher report

First reported by Insider Gaming, quiet mega-publisher the Embracer Group recently released its full year report for April 2022-March 2023, and that report lists the now legendarily fraught Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic Remake as a project under active development in the subhead "Announced PC/Console Releases as of May 24, 2023."

The information in the report is sparse, but telling enough in its own way. The KotOR Remake is listed as coming to both PS5 and PC, hopefully meaning no console exclusivity, timed or otherwise. The game's "external" publishing partner is almost assuredly Sony Interactive Entertainment, which has a credit in the game's sole trailer and explains why the game is not slated for Xbox consoles.

The game's developer remains an as-of-yet unspecified "internal" studio, meaning it could be any one of the Embracer Group's countless subsidiaries, but prior reporting from Bloomberg suggests that development has moved to Saber Interactive, the parent company of the project's original developer, Aspyr.

[Daehawk]

I thought I felt a tingle....then nothing.

[Skinypupy]

I remember basically buying the original X-Box solely to play KOTOR. Weird that it may end up a PS5 exclusive now.

[Carpet_pissr]

I thought I felt a tingle....then nothing.

‘Twas but The Schwartz.

[Daehawk]

I thought I felt a tingle....then nothing.

‘Twas but The Schwartz.

Your Schwartz is as big as mine!

[Hyena]

I thought I felt a tingle....then nothing.

As if millions of gamers cried out at once...

[Max Peck]

Still not quite dead...

Saber Interactive CEO Says KOTOR Remake Is 'Alive and Well'

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake is one of gaming's most elusive projects. Announced in 2021, the long-awaited remake has changed hands multiple times, seemingly stopped development and restarted again, and after six years of development has yet to manifest. Fortunately, we finally have a real, concrete update on what's going on. Saber Interactive is still working on it, and according to the CEO, it's "alive and well."

Speaking to IGN in an interview today, Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch confirmed that the company took KOTOR with it during its split from Embracer Group, and that the game is still in active development.