Touching the Force
The team has been focusing on getting everything ready for the implementation of the lightsaber combat system this past week, but we've made some other progress as well. The huge amount of animations required for our bystanders are finally nearing completion thanks to Privateer's efforts, Asylem has been hard at work updating the Academy level, Grey Knight is cranking out some new vehicle models to be used in his maps, and Paul is beginning work on the shipyards level. Aside from getting things ready for the lightsaber's appearance, CaRRaC has been continuing the updates to the Force system, and I thought it was time we revealed a little about just what powers you will have at your disposal. To that end, below is a list of the powers we have confirmed for SWQ. Note that this is not a final list, or even a full list, but it does give you a good idea of what you'll be seeing in the TC:

Neutral Powers:

Push/Pull: Gathers the Force around an object to push it away or pull it toward you.

Jump: Allows you to enhance your muscles with just a little of the Force, to give you that added boost when it really counts.

Levitate: More difficult than using a simple push or jump, this power gathers the Force around yourself to effectively negate gravity - for as long as you can sustain it, that is.

Saber Throw: Uses the Force to take control of your saber and swing it about without physically touching it. A very potent attack, but easy to block by an experienced Jedi, and very difficult to maintain for long due to the immense amount of concentration required to keep the saber moving.

Negate: Counters any other Force power being used on you, as long as the controller of the other power is not too far above you in strength.

Light Side Powers:

Heal: Uses the Force to rapidly accelerate your body's healing. If maintained long enough, it can restore even a near-dead Jedi to full health.

Shield: Creates a protective shield around you, which can stop energy weapons and many Force powers from touching you, though it is not effective against a lightsaber, and does not protect you from explosive splash damage.

Invisibility: Allows you to move nearly unseen, though it requires a great deal of the Force to keep it up for long.

Wind: Creates a powerful gust of wind using the Force, which can blow about enemies, knock rockets off course, and confuse an opponent during a lightsaber duel.

Reflect: More powerful then Negate, rather then simply countering another power, Reflect shifts the target of that power from you to the controller.

Scout: Separates your mind from your body, and allows you to fly about as an invisible spirit, to gain intelligence on the movements of your opponents. While Scouting your body remains still and you cannot use your weapons, but you may still use the Force. However, if your control over this power is lost, you will be ripped back into your body - a very painful and potentially lethal experience.

Bind: Grips your target with the Force and prevents them from moving. This does not interfere with the target's ability to fire their weapon or use the Force, however.

Wall of Light: Using the Light Side of the Force, a Jedi can completely block a Dark Side user from touching the Force. Very difficult to maintain.

Dark Side Powers:

Dark Heal: Repairs any injury that you might have sustained, but its effects are only temporary. After a short period of time, the dark energies that have healed you will begin to wear off, and you will eventually return to the state of injury at which you started.

Lightning: The Emperor's personal weapon is now your own. Creates a bolt of lightning that arcs from your hand to your target.

Choke: Uses the Force to crush the life out of another's neck.

Inferno: Ignites the very air around your target afire, creating lethal flames that follow the target about until the power is ended or the target dies.

Rage: Calling upon a deep reserve of anger, you are able to double the amount of Force power that you can wield. However, this has an immediate and very damaging effect on your body, which was never made to handle such rapid gains in power...

Taint: While maintained on another Jedi, it forces that Jedi to draw on twice as much of the Force as usual to use a power.

Wall of Darkness: Smothers a Light Side user in the hate and anger of the Dark, effectively cutting them off from the Force. This is incredibly difficult to maintain, even moreso then the Wall of Light.

Again, this is not the final list, and as we test these power further, we may decide to eliminate, add to, or change some of them. If you have any immediate feedback or questions, feel free to voice them either on the Bulletin Board or by emailing me. [Red Knight]

Misc.
In other news, I would like to welcome two new members to the SWQ team. Paul will be joining us as our new mapper, and Uber Nerd has agreed to come on and help a little with some of the modeling. This fills all our available positions except one: that of an additional skin artist. If you're good with art, and preferably have some experience in creating high-quality Quake2 skins, then please get in contact with me and send along an example of your work. Also, my apologies for missing the update yesterday, and for the fact that a map error prevented us taking some of the new screenshots of the Academy I promised last week.

Next week: The lightsaber system revealed! [Red Knight]

Feel the Force
CaRRaC is really cranking away on our Force powers, all of the first-level powers have been placed in since the basic system's implementation last week, and they are an absolute blast to use. Development on the art continues at its normal rate. On that note, I would like to take this time to welcome Asylem Escapee to the team as our newest mapper. He's doing a little touch-up work on the Academy right now, I'll probably have some more shots of that level for you next week. Finally, the FAQ has been updated with a couple new questions. [Red Knight]

The Doors are Opened
The FAQ has been completely re-written, and is now actually a source of some useful information. Be sure to stop by, give it a look-over, and let me know if you have any questions you'd like to see added. And since we haven't been posting much in the way of screenshots for you lately, here's a quick shot for you: [Red Knight]

Update
Things are going well here in SWQ-land. CaRRaC has placed the basic Force system into the game, a major milestone for us, and we're making sure its tested thoroughly. Also, we may be picking up some new team members in the very near future, to further speed up the development process. Next on the implement list: the bystanders in all their glory and the rest of the additions to the lightsaber system. [Red Knight]