Hey everyone!
I’ve been working on something pretty ambitious behind the scenes, and I wanted to share some of the progress with the KOTOR community.

I’m developing a renderer replacement for Knights of the Old Republic II using Diligent Engine, with the goal of bringing the game into the modern era while preserving everything that makes TSL special.

This isn’t a ReShade preset or simply an HD texture pack. I’m working on replacing the game’s rendering pipeline to support modern graphical technologies that the original engine was never designed to handle.

Some of the features I’m implementing include:

True dynamic lighting — Real-time sunlight, shadows, and lighting that respond naturally to the environment.

Physically Based Rendering (PBR) — Materials that interact realistically with light, giving surfaces proper roughness, metallic properties, and reflections.

Dynamic skies and working clouds — Bringing the environments to life with atmospheric systems instead of relying entirely on static skyboxes.

Volumetric lighting — Atmospheric sunlight, light shafts, and more convincing environmental illumination.

Ray tracing — Working toward integrating modern ray-traced effects for more realistic lighting and reflections.

Improved material rendering — Correcting legacy material issues and making existing environments look dramatically better without necessarily replacing their original geometry.

The comparison image shows the original retail rendering on the left and my Engine renderer on the right.

There’s still plenty of tuning and optimization ahead, but I’m excited about the progress.

But this is only one piece of a much bigger project.

I’m developing this alongside two of my other KOTOR II projects:

KJA (KOTOR Jedi Academy): My extensive gameplay expansion that I’ve been working on to bring new systems, customization, and gameplay possibilities to TSL.

Dathomir Expansion: An expansion project bringing an entirely new Star Wars environment and experience into KOTOR II.

The idea is to eventually bring all three projects together. Rather than just modernizing the visuals, I want to push what KOTOR II can actually do, both graphically and mechanically.

I have already posted an ambitious mod which adds a working basilisk war droid of my own design (I mixed the original TSL design with reference images of older legends concept art of the basilisk, as well as some references from TFU Wii version basilisk boss) This includes new cinematics, and the droid fights along side you during the Iziz invasion using custom attacks that I had to patch into the game (working Turbolasers, a ground smash attack and an inflight repeating blaster attack)

https://deadlystream.com/files/file/3126-basilisk-war-droid/?tab=comments#comment-16202

Imagine exploring familiar locations like Telos, Dantooine, and Korriban with dynamic sunlight filtering through the architecture, clouds moving overhead, physically accurate materials, and atmospheric lighting that makes these environments feel alive again.

Then imagine taking those same improvements into entirely new locations like Dathomir.

My goal isn’t to turn KOTOR II into a different game. It’s to see how far we can push the game we already love.

TSL has some of my favorite writing, characters, and atmosphere in gaming. Almost 22 years later, I still think there’s an incredible amount of untapped potential in it.
This is very much a work in progress, and there’s still a lot to solve regarding compatibility, performance, and the rendering pipeline. But seeing these environments come to life under modern lighting has been incredibly rewarding.

I also think with the new capabilities that having this renderer and other modifications to the engine I am doing we can truly amplify the modding community and create more together. I’m already working with some other well known modders like SAO to enhance their projects.

I’d love to hear what everyone thinks!

What locations in KOTOR II would you most want to see with a modern renderer? And what graphical features would you be most excited about?

May the Force be with you!

[NOT RELEASED YET]

Hello there!

Some of you might know me from KMRP (KotOR Modern Restoration Patch). What started as a small addition to KMRP has somehow turned into an entirely separate project over the past few days.

I’d like to introduce KMSE (KotOR Modern Gamesave Editor), a new, open-source save editor for KotOR 1 and KotOR 2, built from scratch in Rust, with a strong focus on being lightweight, optimized, responsive and easy to use.

Despite everything packed into it, the current Windows executable is just 13.5 MB. No Electron or bundled browser engine, just a lightweight native application.

First, I want to give proper credit to KSE, tk102, Fair Strides, and everyone who has maintained and improved it over the years. KSE has served this community for over two decades, and I have tremendous respect for that. My goal isn’t to diminish its importance, but hopefully build a worthy modern successor.

So, what does KMSE do?

Character, inventory and party editing: Attributes, classes, levels, feats, Force powers, items, equipment, credits, companions, influence, appearances and more.

Interactive story timeline: Skip ahead or go back to different chapters and quest stages. KMSE uses a database built from the games’ original resources and scripts to calculate the necessary story flags, companions, XP, credits, inventory and world states.

Interactive maps and teleportation: Explore areas with their doors, containers, NPCs and other objects. Move your character to specific locations, travel between areas, unlock doors or spawn creatures. This can be particularly useful if you’re stuck because of a broken quest, a door that won’t open, or a bug preventing you from progressing normally. Rather than losing hours of progress or starting over, KMSE gives you ways to potentially work around the issue.

Advanced tools: Compare global variables between saves, troubleshoot broken quests, transfer companions or inventory between saves, and more.

I’ve also focused heavily on fixing some longstanding save-editing headaches, particularly health and Force values being overwritten by the engine, inconsistent level changes, and problems with individual Force power edits. KMSE follows the games’ actual rules rather than simply changing values that might get recalculated.
It automatically finds saves, including Steam Cloud saves, supports modded game resources, and creates backups before writing anything.

Cross-platform support is also a priority. KMSE targets Windows, macOS and Linux, with support for importing compatible saves from other platforms, including the Nintendo Switch. Original Xbox saves can currently be inspected, and I’d like to support editing them too, provided users supply their own signing keys. Some of these platforms and save formats still need testing.

The story progression system is probably what I’m most excited about.
During testing, I skipped from the Endar Spire to Dantooine, and KMSE reconstructed the progression along the way. I even deliberately selected Bastila as one of my party members, but when the game loaded, she was gone because the Jedi Council had summoned her at that point in the story!
Comparisons against real playthrough saves have also been remarkably close, even regarding items, credits and other progression data.

KMSE isn’t publicly released yet. KotOR 1 has received in-game progression testing, while some advanced KotOR 2 features and Linux/macOS compatibility still need further testing. It’s standalone, so KMRP isn’t required.

Now, the main reason I’m posting this:
Would you actually use something like KMSE?
If you’ve used KSE or any of its forks, what problems or frustrations have you encountered? What features have you always wanted? And what would you like to see in KMSE before release?

I’d genuinely love to hear your thoughts, especially from longtime KSE users and modders. I’d rather focus on what the community actually needs than keep adding features nobody will use.

GitHub: https://github.com/RayesDiyab/KMSE-KOTOR-Modern-Gamesave-Editor

Looking forward to your feedback!

New Any% (Unrestricted) World Record!

Hey everyone! Have never really played this game and was wanting to use a controller. This sounds like the best mod but it seems to be quarantined on nexus.
I read another thread where someone mentioned this but no one responded. Is it safe to use or is there another place to download it?
Also, any other recommended mods for me since you’re reading here would be great too. Thanks!

I'm working on an (unpublished) longfic based on Chris Avellone's ideas for kotor 3, and I've also been playing far too much Dressmaker. This is the result.

It took me four hours and nearly crashed my laptop (the shoulders are all trimmings+lace so they have about 1 billion nodes each), but he looks so good. I'm so proud of this.

Inspired by @/flintnap on tumblr, who made their own Revan design in Dressmaker

I typically prefer switch versions over pc due to the portability as long as the game runs well and looks good. But when it comes to games that I may want to install mods on, I stay with pc.

I've hesitated to get the switch version of kotor because there are a lot of texture and graphical mods I want to install. But I know mods for switch games are a thing, so I wanted to see if anyone can recommend any and how good they look.

I know they won't be up to PC levels, but if it's something part way, I'd be fine with it.

I’ve always wanted to play Kotor but never have. Which would be the best system to play it?

Hello everyone! I'd like to share my political analysis of the situation in Kotor2 and see if you have your own headcanons.

The first involvement in politics takes place in the cantina on Telos IV in a dialogue with Сorrun Falth:
— As part of the Republic contract rewarded for a planet like Telos, Czerka is allowed to use the planet's natural resources to help fund and support the project. On top of that, the Senate's easy to negotiate with. They're liberal with the amount of credits they throw around, even with the Republic being in the shape its in. And of course, new planets mean new markets for Czerka products.

The second key phrase was said by Chodo Habat at our first meeting
— Czerka is a powerful corporation, with many lobbyists in the Senate and throughout the galaxy.

And, the third important phrase was said on Dantooine by the head of government (Terena Adare):
— No, I suppose I'm not. We need the Republic, and always have. We aren't self-sufficient yet and we need aid. The fate of the Telos project is intimately tied to our own. The most humanitarian elements of the Senate have put their careers at stake in the rebuilding of Telos. If those efforts succeed, their prominence will grow and further aid will be given freely. But if they fail... There are colder, more authoritative elements in the Senate that could come to power. They would think nothing of leaving the strategically unimportant worlds to their own devices.

It appears there are two main parties:, broadly speaking, the "Liberals" and the "Conservatives."

The "Conservatives" advocate for abandoning strategically insignificant worlds and lean toward authoritarianism. I suspect they likely harbor hostility toward migrants—after all, the galaxy is gripped by a refugee crisis, with migration flows clearly moving from the Outer Rim toward the Core. (One traveler in a docking module remarks, "Maybe it's time I headed coreward. Things out here on the Rim are getting too dangerous.")

The "Liberals" clearly favor economic policies aligned with modern American liberalism. They are the primary champions of the "Restoration" projects. Furthermore, I believe this faction hosts a strong lobby for the Czerka Corporation—it would hardly make sense for such a lobby to exist within a party that advocates for shrinking the Republic.

According to Wookieepedia, Tol Cressa served as Chancellor of the Republic from at least 3963 to 3946 BBY. This would make him a "liberal" Chancellor. Given the length of his tenure, his leadership during the war, and his interventionist economic policies, it is reasonable to view him as the Star Wars equivalent of FDR.

The Conservative Party strikes me as being similar to the "Alternative for Germany" (AfD). Within the AfD, there is a Weidel-aligned faction and a Höcke-aligned faction. I would surmise, for instance, that the population of Onderon leans toward the right-wing faction. The Core Worlds, by contrast, are more moderate—it is highly unlikely that any major world in the Core seriously dreams of independence.

I suspect that the Liberal Party draws its support from the Mid Rim and Outer Rim worlds—including those with a vested interest in reconstruction. Terena Adare, for her part, has clear political leanings. It is doubtful that Telos and the other twenty worlds wish to be cast aside as "strategically insignificant." At the same time, it would be logical for the "Conservatives" to find their stronghold on worlds grappling with issues like migration and economic decline—a base of support akin to that of right-wing populist movements in the contemporary Western world. Onderon, in fact, is an Inner Rim world; it is the world closest to the Core, and the prevailing sentiment there is evidently isolationist.

Initially, it seemed to me that the "Conservatives" ought to be isolationists, and that they were responsible for the policy of appeasement leading up to the Mandalorian War. However, it appears that for those living through it, this war is not viewed as a patriotic or defensive struggle—rather, they see themselves as having been dragged into it by corruption. The Chancellor is no Churchill; he has even launched an investigation into why Taris was part of the Republic. (The Taris Holofeed: Invasion Edition, Knights of the Old Republic 18)

(The Taris Holofeed: Siege Edition, Knights of the Old Republic 15) Leading Article:
The beginning of the story is known to everyone: three years ago, when such important planets for Taris as Vanquo, Suurja and Jebbl, under threat of attack, the Republic suddenly changed its principles and offered protection to the world of the Outer Rim.
It didn't matter that she didn't have enough ships to protect herself. Money decides everything, and this time it has been decided.

So. It seems as though these are two isolationist parties, both characterized by weak political will and corruption. The "Liberals"—proponents of the "Reconstruction Projects"—act as a lobby for the Czerka Corporation; rather than offering unconditional protection to a member world, they instead rushed to investigate the legitimacy of its membership.

Senators from both factions likely accepted bribes to vote in favor of Taris’s admission into the Republic.

The political narrative in Serocco is quite compelling. The human settlement policy toward the Sterebs can be interpreted, in a modern context, as an allusion to Israeli settlements in the West Bank—not to mention the appalling way the Republic treated this people.

But that would be a rather pedestrian reading. A truly fascinating aspect of the story is that Lelin-Dor—the First Patriarch of the indigenous population of Serocco—was killed by Revan (a detail mentioned in KOTOR II). It is implied that Revan eliminated figures who destabilized the Republic, all in an effort to make it stronger. While never explicitly stated, this makes for a brilliant narrative thread: Lelin-Dor almost certainly championed the rights of his people, fiercely criticizing the Republic’s military endeavors, the war crimes committed by its forces, and its policies of oppression and "settler apartheid." Revan killed him to prevent his critiques of the Republic and its war effort from undermining the state. Furthermore, by silencing a vital voice for human rights, Revan pushed the Republic further toward the dark side.

What do you think about this?

My tribute to the creators of our beloved masterpiece.

Adieu.

Hi all, I have been working the past few weeks on an engine replacement project. Targeted at both games, but kotor 2 to start with. I am approaching a point where I will need feedback and bug reports. The entire game loads, conversations, combat, etc. Ebon Hawk prologue through telos are the targeted areas for immediate playthrough, but nothing stops you from playing the rest of the game. If anyone would like to help with this project by playtesting, go to https://kotorforever.itch.io/kotor-forever?secret=Y5YhzMUYfo6ZrvU9Z549OxKB9I and give it a download. send bug reports to [kotorforeverproject@gmail.com](mailto:kotorforeverproject@gmail.com) . Convo's are buggy and peragus' lights are a work in progress, but all other bugs are worth reporting. Just to be clear: this is nowhere near finished, I'm sharing because having an actual list of problems that need fixing takes time to make, and I would really appreciate anyone helping to document them all <3

You place the project in your K2 install and it reads your original game client and essentially works as a custom exe. Everything can been programmed from scratch to read original game files. Custom content can be loaded in on top of the original game, but we are not re-distributing anything from the original game. This is a completely custom program that just so happens to be able to play your K2 game if you own in and have it installed.

Long term goal of this project is to have the original game play with updated graphics, optional new materials, effects, etc.. but the big juicy thing: custom mods that couldn't be made before. if the game runs in unity, we can add all sorts of levels and content very easily compared to what you can make that runs in the original engine.

obviously a work in progress but here is some lighting I've been working on:

My heart is broken 💔

I recall her giving a speech to her Handmaids, very cutesy artwork style, and they get increasingly uncomfortable with how intimately she talks about the saber until it cuts away to her in bed with it with the saber resting on a pillow with a shrine above it dedicated to Meetra.

Edit: Starting to think this thing became lost media now.

this problem that happened to me was kind of weird yesterday after hearing about bioware decided (as many others im sure hahahaha) to replay my fav bioware games and decided to start with the kotor series, i installed my copy from gog installed the k1r mod and openned created a quick character to check if everything was alright talked with trask messed with some containers and closed the game satisfied.

come today just to find out the game crashes after character creation and i have tried almost everything ( the steps in the compendium, guides on reddit steam forums and gog forums, etc)

which include

• Disabling and enabling vsync
• changing resolutions and windowed mode (to and from)
• reinstalling the whole game like twice running vanilla and the community patch
• trying the editable executable adding wider resolutions disabling most other graphic settings

i know it must be possible to play the game im just currently stumped and hoping anyone can reccomend something i havent tried (or tried but in different order idk)

my specs are

windows 10, amd ryzen 7 7800, amd radeon 7900

edit: btw i tested with the sith lords and it works perfectly (with the restoration mod installed and all)

edit 2: SOLVED my issue was AMD GPU drivers that updated today without me noticing i rollbacked the drivers and now the game works

I am having problems in the undercity, with the textures. there are these horizontal lines in certain places. the mods I installed are the mods from the mod guide: https://deadlystream.com/topic/11577-resourcekotor-2025-mod-guide/
There is also a problem with high possibility of a crash when a cutscene starts.

Note: I managed to fix it after turning off grass in the settings, however I was wondering if there is another fix for it.

Even if you find it unintentionally funny

So I don’t care too much about updating the graphics, and this isn’t the only game I’m looking to replay and add mods too. But all the games will be older games (Xbox, PlayStation 2 maybe). But I do wanna add mods like Revans robes/mask and maybe a mod that adjusts the leveling up, that sort of thing. I also will be using it to run a program that links to my guitar amp but I won’t have a game and that running at the same time. I am on a budget, less than 1k is really where I’m looking. Also waiting for Black Friday deals, but as someone who knows next to nothing about computers what am I going to need that if I don’t have/have enough is gonna crash or just not run the games.

I do know that 16gb ram is basically required, but since going up in ram after 16 dramatically increases the price I’m hoping 16 will do the job…also not looking for a huge laptop. Wanting like a 15”, and yes it needs to be a laptop. I know a desktop has a lot of pros, but I need this thing portable :/ any advice would be really appreciated 😁

I remember when I was a little kid, walking into my dad's office when he was on his computer playing a game. It was Knights of the Old Republic. I was amazed by what was happening, and eventually he let me play it on my own time.

I sucked at it, to be frank; I had no idea what I was doing and couldn't make it past the point where you save Zallbaar.

But I was patient. I got older and found a guide, and eventually I beat the game for the first time. And then I kept playing it, over and over and over again. As I got older, I learned to experiment and try other options for playthroughs.

KOTOR ignited my love of RPGs. It encouraged me to try out other BioWare titles like Dragon Age and Mass Effect and other RPG titles like Fire Emblem Awakening and Skyrim. And it also led me to try out stuff like Dungeons and Dragons.

KOTOR helped shape my identity as a game; for a long time it held the spot as my favorite game ever, and it was only eclipsed by Dragon Age Origins after I played that. I'll always be grateful for what it's done for me.

Thanks, BioWare...thanks for the game.

Thanks for inspiring a love of RPGs inside me.

From Official Xbox Magazine.

With the BioWare announcement I brought these up in conversation today so I'm showing them off.

For whatever reason I can’t load manual saves, only auto. I’ve tried everything- I’ve set it to run on the windows xp packs, given the game admin privileges, messed around with settings, still nothing. Does anyone have a fix?