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The session was videotaped by Joe Rees of Target Video with Mike Fox, the session engineer, sending the rough mix to the video feed. |
When the group took the tracks to be mixed, they discovered that the magnetic tape used for the recording was defective—the oxide surface of the tape began to peel during playback, thereby destroying the recordings. |
The band then re-recorded all eight songs on August 22 at Mobius Music, and these recordings were released on the EP. |
Years later, enhanced restoration techniques allowed for five tracks to be recovered from the master tapes from the earlier Subterranean sessions. |
These, along with the rough video mixes of the remaining three songs, appear on the DVD "The Lost Tapes. |
The album cover depicts a golden Jesus crucified on a cross of dollar bills, with a background of a shiny metal material. |
The band released the record internationally in 1981 on their own Alternative Tentacles label, in partnership with various other independent record labels in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. |
The original vinyl version's A-side comprised tracks 1–5, and Side B tracks 6–8. |
The original cassette version compiled all 8 songs on Side A and left Side B intentionally devoid of any sound. |
Printed on the cassette's second side was the explanation, "Home taping is killing record industry profits! |
We left this side blank so you can help." |
"In God We Trust, Inc." first appeared on compact disc in 1985 as bonus material added to the Dead Kennedys' 1982 LP "Plastic Surgery Disasters". |
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic |
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (sometimes known simply as Knights of the Old Republic or KotOR) is a role-playing video game set in the "Star Wars" universe. |
Developed by BioWare and published by LucasArts, the game was released for the Xbox on July 15, 2003, and for Microsoft Windows on November 19, 2003. |
The game was later ported to Mac OS X, iOS, and Android by Aspyr, and it is playable on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One via their respective backward compatibility features. |
The story of "Knights of the Old Republic" takes place almost 4,000 years before the formation of the Galactic Empire, where Darth Malak, a Dark Lord of the Sith, has unleashed a Sith armada against the Republic. |
The player character, as a Jedi, must venture to different planets in the galaxy to defeat Malak. |
Players choose from three character classes (Scout, Soldier or Scoundrel) and customize their characters at the beginning of the game, and engage in round-based combat against enemies. |
Through interacting with other characters and making plot decisions, players can earn Light Side and Dark Side Points, and the alignment system will determine whether the player's character aligns with the light or dark side of the Force. |
The game was directed by Casey Hudson, designed by James Ohlen, and written by Drew Karpyshyn. |
LucasArts proposed developing a game tied to "", or a game set thousands of years before the prequels. |
The team chose the latter as they thought that they would have more creative freedom. |
Ed Asner, Ethan Phillips, and Jennifer Hale were hired to perform voices for the game's characters, while Jeremy Soule composed the soundtrack. |
Announced in 2000, the game was delayed several times before its release on July 2003. |
The game received critical acclaim upon release, with critics applauding the game's characters, story, and sound. |
It was nominated for numerous awards and is considered one of the best video games ever made. |
A sequel, "", developed by Obsidian Entertainment at BioWare's suggestion, was released in 2004. |
The ' story continued with the 2011 release of "", an MMORPG developed by BioWare. |
Players choose from three basic character classes (Scout, Soldier or Scoundrel) at the beginning of the game and later choose from three Jedi subclasses (Guardian, Sentinel or Consular). |
Beyond class, a character has "skills" stats, tiered "feats," and later on, tiered Force powers, similar to magic spells in fantasy games. |
Feats and Force powers are generally unlocked upon level-up, while the player is given skill points to distribute among their skills every level. |
Combat is round-based; time is divided into discrete rounds, and combatants attack and react simultaneously, although these actions are presented sequentially on-screen. |
The number of actions a combatant may perform each round is limited. |
While each round's duration is a fixed short interval of real time, the player can configure the combat system to pause at specific events or the end of each round, or set the combat system to never automatically pause, giving the illusion of real-time combat. |
Combat actions are calculated using Dungeons & Dragons rules, particularly the d20 System. |
While these are not displayed directly on the screen, the full breakdown for each action (including die rolls and modifiers) is accessible from a menu. |
For much of the game, the player can have up to two companions in their party. |
These companions will participate in combat. |
They can be manually controlled by the player, or act autonomously if the player does not give them any input. |
Outside of combat, the companions will randomly engage the player or each other in dialogue, sometimes unlocking additional quests. |
They will also participate in conversations the player has with other non-player characters. |
Non-combat interaction with other characters in the game world is based upon a dialogue menu system. |
Following each statement, the player can select from a list of menu responses. |
The dialogue varies based on the gender and skills of the main character. |
The alignment system tracks actions and speech—from simple word choices to major plot decisions—to determine whether the player's character aligns with the light or dark side of the Force. |
Generosity and altruism lead to the light side, while selfish or violent actions will lead the player's character to the dark side, which will alter the character's appearance, turning their eyes yellow and their skin pale. |
In addition to the standard role-playing gameplay, there are several minigame events that come up over the course of the game. |
The player can participate in swoop racing to earn money, and sometimes interplanetary travel will be interrupted by enemy starfighters, which begins a minigame where the player controls a turret to shoot down the opposing starcraft. |
The player can also engage in a card game known as pazaak, which is similar to the game of blackjack, to gamble money. |
The story takes place approximately 4,000 years before the rise of the Galactic Empire. |
Darth Malak, a former Jedi, Dark Lord of the Sith, and Darth Revan's former apprentice, has unleashed a Sith armada against the Republic. |
Malak's aggression has left the Jedi scattered and vulnerable; many Jedi Knights have fallen in battle, and others have sworn allegiance to Malak. |
The game opens with the player's character—the player can choose a face and be male or female (canonically a male)—awakening aboard a Republic ship, the "Endar Spire", which is under attack by Malak's forces over the city world of Taris. |
Republic soldier Trask Ulgo soon arrives and informs the player character that they are under attack. |
Fighting their way to the escape pods, Trask and the player character are soon confronted by Sith Lord Darth Bandon. |
With no other options, Trask sacrifices himself while the player continues to make their way to the escape pods. |
The player character soon meets up with Carth Onasi, a skilled pilot and Republic war hero, and they escape the doomed warship. |
Crashing on the surface of Taris, the player character is knocked unconscious, and Carth pulls them away from the wreckage. |
After suffering a strange vision, the player character awakens in an abandoned apartment with Carth, who explains that Taris is currently under martial law by Malak's forces who are currently searching for the Jedi Knight Bastila Shan, known for her mastery of battle meditation, a Force technique which strengthens one's allies and weakens one's enemies during battle. |
Carth and the player character go in search of her and manage to meet new companions along the way, such as the Twi'lek street urchin Mission Vao and her Wookiee companion Zaalbar. |
The group eventually finds and rescues Bastila from the Black Vulkar gang. |
With the help of utility droid T3-M4 and Mandalorian mercenary Canderous Ordo, the group escapes Taris aboard the star freighter "Ebon Hawk", moments before Malak's fleet decimates the planet's surface in a vain effort to kill Bastila. |
While taking refuge at the Jedi Academy on Dantooine, the player's character trains to be a Jedi, discovers a "Star Map," and learns of the "Star Forge," the probable source of Malak's military resources. |
The player's character and their companions search planets across the galaxy—Dantooine, Manaan, Tatooine, Kashyyyk, and Korriban—for more information about the Star Forge, gaining new companions along the way such as the Cathar Jedi Juhani, assassin droid HK-47, and 'Grey' Jedi Jolee Bindo. |
Through the course of their travels, the player will eventually discover their character's true identity—the brainwashed Darth Revan, whom the Jedi Council on Dantooine took in and subjected to memory modification so that he would no longer be a threat to the galaxy, the various visions they had been experiencing being Revan's memories. |
Darth Revan had been injured when attacking a Republic planet because Darth Malak turned his ship's guns on his former master, intent on usurping him. |
Because Bastila was aboard Revan's ship with a Jedi strike force, she was able to heal him and bring him to the Jedi Council on Dantooine. |
Her actions lead to the force bond between her and Revan, which plays a role later in the game. |
Depending on the character's alignment, upon ultimately reaching the Star Forge, they either defeat the Sith (the light-side path) or usurp control from Malak (the dark-side path). |
A light-aligned character is hailed as a saviour and hero; a dark-side character stands before the remaining Sith forces as the new Dark Lord of the Sith. |
Eventually joining the main character's quest are veteran Republic pilot Carth Onasi, the Twi'lek teenager Mission Vao and her Wookiee companion Zaalbar, the Jedi Bastila Shan, 'Grey' Jedi Jolee Bindo, utility droid T3-M4, Mandalorian mercenary Canderous Ordo, and assassin droid HK-47 if he is bought. |
Juhani, another Jedi, may also join the party if she is not killed fighting the main character. |
Several of these characters, including Canderous Ordo, HK-47, and T3-M4, also appear in the sequel, "". |
Republic soldier Trask Ulgo is also playable briefly on the "Endar Spire". |
Antagonists include Black Vulkar gang leader Brejik, crime boss Davik Kang, bounty hunter Calo Nord, Zaalbar's twisted brother Chuundar, Malak's Sith apprentice Darth Bandon, Sith Admiral Saul Karath, Sith Overseer Uthar Wynn, Rakatan tribe leader The One, and Darth Malak, the Dark Lord of the Sith. |
On several planets, the main character deals with Czerka Corporation, a company operating on several planets that allied itself with the Sith, engaged in the slave trade and other nefarious practices. |
Major allies who help the player's party along the way are Hidden Bek gang leader Gadon Thek, Jedi Masters Vandar Tokare and Zhar Lestin, game hunter Komad Fortuna, Zaalbar and Chuundar's father Freyyr, Uthar's Sith apprentice Yuthura Ban, Republic representative Roland Wann, the Rakatan tribe "The Elders," and Republic Admiral Forn Dodonna. |
Action takes place on the planets Tatooine, Dantooine, Kashyyyk, Korriban, Manaan, Rakata Prime, and Taris; aboard the Republic cruiser "Endar Spire" and Saul Karath's ship "Leviathan"; and on the Star Forge space station. |
A space station near Yavin is a playable location in the PC, Mac OS X, and mobile versions of the game and is available to Xbox players via download from Xbox Live. |
Travel between these locations happens aboard the freighter "Ebon Hawk", which is also a playable location. |
In July 2000, BioWare announced that they were working with LucasArts to create a Star Wars role-playing video game for the PC and next-generation consoles. |
Joint BioWare CEO Greg Zeschuk commented that "The opportunity to create a richly detailed new chapter in the Star Wars universe is incredibly exciting for us. |
We are honored to be working with the extremely talented folks at Lucas Arts, developing a role-playing game based upon one of the most high-profile licenses in the world." |
The game was officially unveiled as "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic" at E3 2001. |
At this point, the game had been in development for around six months. |
"Preproduction started in 2000, but the discussions started back in 1999," LucasArts' Mike Gallo said, "The first actual e-mails were in October or November of '99. |
That's when we first started talking to BioWare. |
But some really serious work finally started at the beginning of 2000." |
The decision to set the game four thousand years before "" was one of the first details about the game made known. |
LucasArts gave BioWare a choice of settings for the game. |
"LucasArts came to us and said that we could do an game," BioWare CEO Raymond Muzyka said. |
"Or LucasArts said we could go 4,000 years back, which is a period that's hardly been covered before." |
BioWare chose to set the game four thousand years before the films as it gave them greater creative freedom. |
They aimed to create content similar to that from the films but different enough to be a definite precursor. |
Concept work had to be sent to "the ranch" to be approved for use. |
Muzyka noted that very little of their content was rejected: "It was more like, 'Can you just make his head like this rather than like that.' |
So it was all very feasible. |
There were good suggestions made and they made the game better, so we were happy to do them. |
It was a good process really and I think we were pleasantly surprised how easy LucasArts was to work with." |
Subsets and Splits