In any case, UltraT and I will be handling the news for the next week or more. Expect lots of Prequel-related stories, folks!

JKMAG-X Update
By-Chyren

But first, a word on the previously announced new branch of JKMAG, tentatively titled JKMAG-X. The opening of this site has been delayed through lack of staff, and due to the fact that yours truly is working entirely too hard in his real life employment. Do not fear! I hope to have the preliminary pages up before the month is out! Graphix and file collection are well underway.

And now, the news!

Disaster Strikes Zeus!
By-UltraTommy

It seems that a small mishap involving a truck driver who's not watching where he's going has turned into disaster for Zeus. The truck hit a power line that fried his surge protector, and then ultimately fried his computer. Go check out the Forum for the whole story. Our resident newsmaster will be back as soon as Dell will let him. In the meantime, Chyren and I will be serving up the news, eagerly awaiting Zeus's return.

Level Page Update!
By-UltraTommy

Chyren has redesigned the Level Pages! We are currently seeking out Level Reviewers for the pages. Chyren and I will select the levels, and hopefully, somebody will volunteer to review them soon. There is currently a list of 5 levels awaiting review, and possibly one or two more in the near future. If you have any questions about the job, you can e-mail yours truly at ultratommy@aol.com.
We are looking forward to having the levels page updated much more recently in the near future. I remember that long ago, the levels were such a major part of the whole JKMAG experience that all the newly added levels were on the main page. Now, several redesigns later, we are setting out to make the levels page a valuable resource to our members and other patrons to the site. There is only one drawback to the whole thing. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!
Please send in level reviews as soon as possible!!! If you like a level that is not in the list, you can also e-mail me about it with your review and we will consider adding it to the page. I know there are a TON of good MP levels out there, and it looks like we're gonna start this page from scratch again, so hurry up and volunteer!!!

Small addendum from Chyren:
The Level Profiles have 'sorta' been redesigned - but they're not up yet. We're waiting for those reviews, so it's up to YOU, folks!

Jedit in Need
By-UltraTommy

Lemme tell you guys a story.

WAY back in the days right before Cliffe handed JKMAG over to Dark Eagle, there was an editing group formed as part of JKMAG called Jedit. These guys were determined to make "The Ultimate JK Addon". It all started on the forum, (like everything else here) and went on from there. Nimrod put the whole group together with great aspirations to organize the editing community into making very ambitious TC's.
Recently, Nimrod posted this on the message board:

Hello everyone. I'm sorry to bring in such a sad note. Most of you new guys don't know me. Some of you old timers are probably thinking "Where the hell's he been?". Yes, that's right, I'm the behind the scenes guy that used to work for the 'Mag back in the days of Cliffe (*wipes a tear*). After that I started my own branch of the 'Mag called JEDIT (Jedi Knight editing group) where we worked on a TC called the Cyber Assassin project.
Because of my schedule, my time, and just life in general, I and the crew have not been able to work on CA for a good 2-3 months. We got together and agreed that we can't make this TC. However, I don't believe that this is a reason to give up.
I am in search of some young blood (or even vets who still edit JK). A "New Hope", if u will. I am in search of the next generation of editors who will complete this great epic project. There is a huge amount of work done (cogs, skins, etc etc etc). It really only needs a little bit more work.
If you are interested, please e-mail me at gastewart@earthlink.net

Please somebody help and take over this project. It just kills me that this whole huge amount of work that these guys have done might go to waste. Please, please, DONT LET THAT HAPPEN!!!

Star Wars Celebration Coverage
By-UltraTommy

Well, I thought that since I haven't been as active a news hound as I used to, I figured I'd go and do something extraordinary to try and make up for it all to you.
I'll be traveling to Denver on business the weekend of the Star Wars Celebration, and I scored tickets. A few of the people in attendance will be: Jake Lloyd, Rick McCallum, Warwick Davis, and RAY PARK (Darth Maul), just to name a few. Even Lucas himself is supposed to make a live televised appearance. There is going to be a life size X-Wing, an N-1 fighter, and there will also be a "History of Star Wars Video Games Exhibition"
I am trying to get my hands on either a digital camera (preferred) or a nice 35mm to take some nice photos to post on the site. I'm hoping that I can hook up with some LucasArts people at the game exhibition and try to score some news on games that haven't been announced yet, but I'm sure they keep everyone on a tight leash about information.
This looks like it's going to be a lot of fun and I can't wait to share the experience with you guys.

Final Word
By-Chyren

Well, that sounds fantastic, and a real scoop for JKMAG! I think UltraTommy deserves a round of applause, and not least a round of beers for this! Keep your eyes peeled for it, we will give it a special set of pages on JKMAG. Here's hoping the Force is strong with UltraT in using the Mind Trick on those LucasArts guys to get the full facts! Chyren out!

Extreme Voodoo 3 installation problems...
By-ZeusABJ

Last Friday I purchased on of the new Voodoo 3 cards from 3dfx (specifically the Voodoo 3 3000 AGP card with 16MB RAM at 166 Mghtz.). I had planned for my next update to be a big Voodoo 3 blowout, with some ratings on the cards performance & maybe a few screenshots of Jedi Knight & X-Wing Alliance running on the card. I'm sad to say that as of right now that won't be possible. I spent all of last week trying to get the thing to work, and unfortunately I was unable to do so. I don't want to detail my problems in this story, but if you want specifics, click here to head to our forum & read the posts I made there about the Voodoo 3. Upon contacting 3dfx I learned that the problem most likely lies in my computer, a Dell Dimension XPS D333. Their tech support representative told me that they have had numerous complaints from people who owned Dell systems, and hope to have a new driver release ready soon to correct the problem. While i personally can't recommend the card at this point given my nightmarish problems with its install, I do have one little performance tidbit for you. I actually got the card working briefly, but when i shut down my computer & restarted, it messed up again. The good news about that is I was able to try it out on a couple of games before the thing screwed up! I got Half-Life running at a wicked 1280x1024 resolution people! I also found the framerates at this setting to be pretty darn fast! In fact, I really didn't notice any difference in the frame speed at that setting on the Voodoo 3 than in the frames at an 800x600 resolution on my Voodoo 2!!! THAT IS AMAZING FOLKS! I have to admit it was a site to behold! So the power is there, its just a matter of being able to get your computer to work right with the darn thing! Also it's mere $179 price ($129 for the 132 Mghtz. Voodoo 3 2000) If you are really good at installing video cards then the Voodoo 3 is the card for you. If you don't know an IRQ from an AGP I don't recommend buying this card....yet! BTW, I spoke to CLIFFE on ICQ yesterday & he purchased a Voodoo 3 2000 model & was totally thrilled with the card's performance. He also reported no problems with the install. So just use your own judgement. The thing comes with 3 hot games, Unreal ( a patched version classified as version 222e), a prerelease copy of Descent 3, Need for Speed 3, and a coupon to redeem a FREE (plus $5.95 s&h) copy of Unreal Tournament when it is released! I personally, plan to keep mine & wait for the new drivers. If you're a little worried about the problems associated with the card, just wait. A new Voodoo 3 3500 model is planned for a July release, & by then I'm sure they'll have most of the kinks ironed out. If you're really freaked about upgrading because of this article, well, there's always the TNT2!

BFP2.1 Update!!!
By-UltraTommy

Tazz, JKMAG's illustrious BFP guy has notified us in the forum that BFP 2.1 is all but compiled and ready to go. As of yet there is no official release date for this update to our infamous skin pack, but as Tazz's message on the board says: "Hey gang, I just got the Mandalors and Vanguards in. Now I just need to update the jkstrings.uni, and then compile into a .exe file. -Tazz" The update includes a bunch of new skins, as well as new .mats and sound classes to enhance the skins that were included in the original pack. Speaking of the Forum... Damn, things have been brewing in the forum something fierce lately. I'm almost reminded of past JK community soap operas that the old forum hosted. There's been a few small changes in the forum pages lately for the better, so please, CHECK OUT THE FORUM!!!. You'll be glad you did! 

The prequels in China...
By-ZeusABJ & MH_Scorpion_3rd

Here's an interesting tidbit of prequel info I received from a guy I'm thinking about recruiting to help out with the news here. This is something else folks! read on:

People have already started lining up for Episode one at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood. People have made deals to take turns with other people to get it. The line is already fairly long. Check starwars.countingdown.com for more info.

fatal_scorpion@hotmail.com

Taking turns? Lines MONTHS before the tickets even go on sale?! These are the true disciples of Star Wars, either that or their just a bunch of pathetic individuals with too much time on their hands! You decide.

Do not adjust your monitors!!!
By-ZeusABJ

As you may have noticed, both Chyren & I have begun to subtly sneak a few changes in around here. The redesign of the site was to be a major undertaking for our Webmaster. We needed a more attractive site that loaded quickly, but it also needed to be built from the ground up to allow the Webmaster the unique perspective of knowing the HTML "inside out" so to speak. Since none of us were involved in the old site's creation, errors we couldn't fix tended to keep rearing their ugly heads. When Chyren took over, he pulled that off beautifully in my opinion. he created a site whose design was simplistic in nature, yet still attractive and with a more modern look to it. After supplying me with tech support on working with the new design, we have at last reached the next phase of this site's evolution! Some of you have been calling for a redesign, saying that things look "dull" around here, well this is the next best thing. We're going to "jazz-up" what we already have. basically the plans are to keep the current interface & color scheme, just make it a bit more attractive & user friendly. Hopefully that can be pulled off without extending those annoying load times. I think that adding the nifty swirling effect to the links & bars really contributes to the site's aesthetic quality. This is just a glimpse of what's to come. Hope you like what you see!

Editorial section updated!!!
By-ZeusABJ

Among some of our latest changes, Chyren has posted a brand new editorial! This one is by the man responsible for one of the few double bladed saber (or Lightstaff) patches that will work with ANY skin! The problem with most of the Lightstaff patches currently in circulation is that they will default you to the Kyle skin when playing. Well, this man found a way around that, & we've got his views on Jedi Knight from an editors point of view. Click here to check out his article. The page's new look provides a sneak peek at a few of the changes planned for the site, including a preliminary of a new logo planned for the JKMAG main page!

My conversation with CLIFFE regarding JKMAG's support of X-Wing Alliance....
By-ZeusABJ

As you may know, Chyren & I recently proposed the prospect of opening up JKMAG to support other Star Wars games. If enough people agreed with this idea, we planned to focus on games that would relate to the words behind last three letters in our name: "Multiplayer Add-on Group". We proposed supporting X-Wing Alliance, because of the fact that it had multiplayer support & it is a fresh new game that has only just begun its life in the online world. The majority of you liked this idea and gave us your full support. Not surprisingly, there have been a few   MAGgers who have voiced strong opinions against this move. There are two main arguments: The first one is that we are a First person shooter site & should not try & cross into the realm of space combat sim. Our answer to this was basically, "No, we are Star Wars fans who love Star Wars Games. X-Wing is an excellent new game & there is no reason for us to confine ourselves to just Star Wars shooters".   While that argument was relatively easy to answer it was the second that resulted in many a heated debate at our Forum. "By supporting a Star Wars Space combat sim at JKMAG we are going against everything CLIFFE & Vandelay intended upon when they created this site. To answer this argument, I went to the man himself. That's right, I had a talk with CLIFFE on ICQ. I think our conversation should put any doubts anyone else may have about this issue to rest. Here it is, with all names except mine & CLIFFE's taken out for confidentiality. Censored portions can be noted by a pair of asterisks(**):

Zeus (ABJ) 4/7/99 10:46 AM: hey CLIFFE got a sec?

CLIFFE 4/7/99 10:47 AM: ya

Zeus (ABJ) 4/7/99 10:47 AM: You remember me right? The news guy for the new JKMAG?

CLIFFE 4/7/99 10:49 AM: yes

Zeus (ABJ) 4/7/99 10:50 AM: Anyway, My question is this: Me & the current webmaster (Chyren) sort of run the MAG now & we are wanting to expand the site to include the new SW game X-Wing alliance.

CLIFFE 4/7/99 10:50 AM: ...

Zeus (ABJ) 4/7/99 10:51 AM: Most of the members are for it, but one *guy/girl* who claims to have been a member during your time on the site swears that if we do that it'll go against everything your MAG represented. What do you think of our idea?

CLIFFE 4/7/99 10:52 AM: It's a keen idea. If people want it and it would be useful, go for it. What I went for was something that helped people out and if there's a demand, supply it.


Zeus (ABJ) 4/7/99 10:53 AM: That's what I figured you'd say. *his/her* name is *censored* & *he/she* is VIOLENTLY protesting this on our message board saying we have "destroyed your vision".

CLIFFE 4/7/99 10:54 AM: I remember *him/her*.

Zeus (ABJ) 4/7/99 10:54 AM: We have no plans to fizzle out the MAG, the Alliance site will just be a sister site possibly hosted over at Alliance.net. We are gonna call it *censored*.

CLIFFE 4/7/99 10:55 AM: sounds excellent.

Zeus (ABJ) 4/7/99 10:55 AM: *censored* is offering to help with the current MAG, but is seriously hostile about change.

Zeus (ABJ) 4/7/99 10:56 AM: Thanx for your opinion. I didn't think you'd see it as the major issue *he/she* said it would be to ya.

CLIFFE 4/7/99 10:56 AM if it's a whole separate site, I don't see the problem.

Zeus (ABJ) 4/7/99 10:58 AM: Well, it'll be more of a separate page so to speak. All the links for news, the forums, etc. will be the same as JKMAG's. We'll just have a couple of separate main pages, & download pages for X-Wing related stuff.

Zeus (ABJ) 4/7/99 10:59 AM: The best definition would probably be a "branch" rather than a whole new site.

CLIFFE 4/7/99 11:00 AM: ok

Zeus (ABJ) 4/7/99 11:01 AM: You don't find this an insult to your (& I quote)*ahem* "Bold legacy?!"

CLIFFE 4/7/99 11:03 AM: that's being a bit dramatic.

Zeus (ABJ) 4/7/99 11:03 AM: Hey man, I'm just repeatin what *censored* said!! hehehehehe

Zeus (ABJ) 4/7/99 11:03 AM: I think you're like *his/her* hero or somethin.......

CLIFFE 4/7/99 11:04 AM: hahhaha

Zeus (ABJ) 4/7/99 11:04 AM: Yea, say what sort of sites are you workin on these days?

CLIFFE 4/7/99 11:05 AM: just opened up a Half Life mod site at:
http://www.planethalflife.com/counterstrike/
a buddy and I are doing it.

Zeus (ABJ) 4/7/99 11:06 AM: Ahhhhhhhhh, bet you & I are online for the same reasons then....

Zeus (ABJ) 4/7/99 11:06 AM: Waiting for TFC?

CLIFFE 4/7/99 11:06 AM: ??

CLIFFE 4/7/99 11:06 AM: I'm at 50% of 1.00.9 patch as we speak, as a matter of fact.

Zeus (ABJ) 4/7/99 11:07 AM: WTF?! Where you gettin it from?

CLIFFE 4/7/99 11:07 AM: halflife.net, but I have a cable modem.

I'm at 73% now.. heehhe. getting 30 k/sec

Zeus (ABJ) 4/7/99 11:08 AM: Lucky bastard. I live in Louisiana. NO ONE has cable modems here & only 3 parishes get ISDN

CLIFFE 4/7/99 11:16 AM: done downloading, off to try it out... see ya

Zeus (ABJ) 4/7/99 11:16 AM: Enjoy!