Deputy Grand Master Report

2006/06/14, 10:00 PM, Deputy Grand Master - The Council

Yes, yes... long time since my last report. I prefer to keep them useful though so am trying not to just report on non eventful weeks.

1. Great Jedi War Begins!

Unless you've been sleeping under a rock you will know the GJW has now begun. My thanks go to Kaiann who has done a great job in organising the whole event (and I mean that, as he has literally organised virtually everything himself). I hope things run as smoothly as planned, as do I hope everyone enjoys the competition.

For those impatient for their MP fix... since the MP section of the GJW isn't for a while we'll see what we can do about still running the weekly gaming nights until then. Though, when the time comes, you'll have 7 weeks of solid MP, so consider this the calm before the storm. Lots more events to begin on sunday as well.

2. New Force Powers

While an ongoing thing, if you check out the DGM Blog you'll see I've posted a new flowchart of how the new powers are going to work. Yes, it's confusing as hell at first glance, but it'll all be automated when implemented so shouldn't be quite so chaotic. It's comparable to the Lightsaber Forms in a way, you need to know X and Y before you can do Z.

As far as "so when are we going to see this happen?" goes... I'm holding off on pushing the Force Powers thing until later on. Probably another month or so. I want to avoid implementing a new system before the GJW ACC event has happened otherwise it means people unsure what powers they have, more chances of making mistakes, judges unsure how much to allow with the new powers, etc. All in all, I'd rather the new powers wait. Though expect to see them by the end of the GJW at the latest.

3. The Dominion

Again, see the DGM Blog for the two new maps. These maps are official (so don't use dominion.darkjedibrotherhood.com - that needs completing). So if you're planning on including things in your GJW stories that happen outside the borders of your Clan, or inside those of another Clan, keep the maps in mind. Taking a trip from Dajjora (Arcona) to Yridia (Tarentum) isn't just like a five minute drive, it's half way around the galaxy.

I would like to see the Dominion compiled in the near future but I imagine the GJW will take nearly everyone's full attention for the next two or three months, so it might be a bit slower coming than I'd like.

4. Codex

Next on my list of things to do I'm looking at the Codex. The Force Powers, the Dominion, the Consuls/Council thing, and most other things that have happened recently are all things that mean very little unless we record them somewhere, so I want to get to work over the summer at revising the Codex and overall making it a more interesting document. The first thing on the list will no doubt be codifying all the decisions we've come to on the Force Powers and Dominion, but after that I'm thinking of working with Muz on a graphical overhaul to make the whole thing a little more flashy and inviting for new members. Expect more on this as it develops.

Well, well, well... it's been a busy month... Legacy of the Force, Legacy, announcements of a Darth Plagueis novel... anyone who says Star Wars is dying isn't looking in the right places.

If you're a novel fan I recommend picking up Betrayal. As Star Wars books go it's a good read and much closer to the films' roots than the NJO series which put quite a few people off. If you want people falling to the dark side, Sith plotting to send the galaxy into chaos, lightsabers flying everywhere, fancy Force Powers, KOTOR-style plots, big spaceships and superweapons then Betrayal has it all. It's a good start to the new series.

If you're not a novel fan and just a casual Star Wars fan... I recommend picking up Legacy #0. It's only twenty-five cents, the comic itself isn't going to be a lot, but its almost a merger between the KOTOR timeline and the films. It also screams material for the upcoming Bioware MMORPG. Dark Jedi, Sith? Check. Gray Jedi, Imperial Knights? Check. Light Jedi, Jedi? Check. It has nearly everything thrown into one, all in a neat little package that starts off almost exactly the same as ANH, with the Jedi Order in tatters, the Sith siezing control of the galaxy, and so on. The difference is this time there aren't two Sith, this time there are thousands of them.

And that's about all. For anything else of relevance just keep your eyes tuned to the main news page, I'll no doubt be posting GJW info as it becomes necessary.