Make your KOTOR playthrough more enjoyable

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is undoubtedly a timeless classic amongst all Star Wars games and videogames in general. It is a product of the golden era of Bioware RPGs and features an extensive story with great characters, a dense atmosphere and rich environments that should delight every Star Wars fan.

However, something that won’t delight most players are the outdated gameplay mechanics and graphics of this old gem. KOTOR was released in 2003 and you can definitely tell. This game is greatly in need of a Remake, one that was just recently announced but then probably cancelled (?) for at least a good while.

For this reason and since I recently modded the game for my own playthrough, I put together this guide for those who don’t want to wait for a potential Remake and enjoy a modernized playthrough of KOTOR that stays true to the original vision of the developers.

First, this guide will describe how to apply several bugfixes that hopefully should get rid of many annoying bugs present in the latest release version of KOTOR. Following that, widescreen support is being added to the game together with multiple mods improving the textures for characters, environments, skyboxes, FX, particles, loading screens and blasters. Lastly, a small troubleshooting section at the end might offer some help in case anything goes wrong during the modding process.

All mods, fixes and patches have been tested with the Steam version of KOTOR. If any of the modfiles give you trouble, try installing the game on a different harddrive than C (since C:/Program Files is admin protected, it may cause problems).

To fix a bunch of bugs in one go, we will install the K1 Community Patch. This awesome bugfix compilation already includes most of the common bugfix collections like the Comprehensive Kotor Bug Fix Collection and the Bastila Romance Scriptfix (thanks Qui-Gon Glenn!).

As of recently, the Community Patch was officially updated beyond the version 1.10.0. This also means, that the installer for the patch was replaced with the newer HoloPatcher. Because this patcher was created using python and bundled into a single EXE, some AntiVirus software falsely detect it as a virus (sometimes this removes the INSTALL.EXE completely while extracting the archive). This is a false positive, the entire project is open source. You can also use the latest HoloPatcher version (or one suitable for your OS) instead HERE[deadlystream.com]. Just replace the INSTALL.EXE from the downloaded Community Patch before installing. This is optional though.

• Optional: Download the latest HoloPatcher[deadlystream.com] and use it instead of the bundled INSTALL.EXE contained in the K1 Community Patch (useful if you are on Linux or MacOS)
  
• Download and install the K1 Community Patch[deadlystream.com]. All you have to do is point the installer to your game directory (the swkotor folder, e.g. D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\swkotor)

Without widescreen fixes, the game will not run in widescreen mode and everything will be stretched to fit the screen. In order to make widescreen possible, the game EXE must be hex editable so that the patches can be applied. Technically, this is a pirated EXE and I will take no responsibility for the file offered in the link. But thus far, Steam has been fine with the discussion and use of this file for modding purposes. If you have the CD- or GOG-Version installed, you should be good to go and can skip step 1.

1. Make a backup of swkotor.exe in your game directory. Then replace swkotor.exe with the hex editable version from here[deadlystream.com] (needs to be unzipped using e.g. 7zip)
   
2. Download and run uniws[community.pcgamingwiki.com]. Select "Star Wars: KOTOR (1024x768 interface)" in the dropdown menu and locate your swkotor game directory. Select your desired game resolution (e.g., 1920x1080) and click "Patch"
   
3. Open the swkotor.ini file in the game directory and change the "Height=…" and "Width=…" values to your selected game resolution (simply add both lines below [Graphics Options] if they're not there yet)
   
4. Download KotOR High Resolution Menus[deadlystream.com] and copy the files from the folder named after the chosen resolution into the Override folder (e.g., gui.1920x1080 for 1920x1080)
   
5. Copy hires_patcher.bat and hires_patcher.exe into the swkotor folder and run hires_patcher.bat (Again enter the desired resolution, for the rest you can just press enter)

Here is an example of how uniws should look like before hitting Patch if you want the game to run at 1920x1080:

For resolutions of 1080p or higher, the on-screen text might get too small for comfortable reading.
So if you would like bigger texts, you can install this font mod[deadlystream.com].

The text is separated into three categories: Names, Menu and Dialogue/Descriptions.
For each section, you may choose one folder to copy the files from into your Override folder. You can choose between the default size, medium, big and very big.

The font size "Big" seems to cause crashes for some, so choose "VeryBig" instead.

If you choose a bigger font size than default for the Dialogue/Descriptions category, you won't be able to see the small number next to items indicating the item count. So sadly, if you want the dialogue text to be bigger you have to live with this downside.
Otherwise, just don't copy any files from the Dialogue/Descriptions category and the item count number will work.

First, download High Quality Blasters[www.nexusmods.com] and run the installer like you did with the Community Patch. All the following mods must simply be downloaded and loosely placed in the Override folder (no subfolders!). You usually know that you are copying the right files if you see some .tga or .txi files. Some mods give you the choice between the uncompressed TGA version and the slightly worse but better performing TPC version, so choose according to your hardware constrains. BUT: In order for the Fen's character textures to work correctly, you need to download the uncompressed TGA version of Ultimate Character Overhaul. Otherwise Fen's doesn't correctly override the crew member textures. (Thanks Diagyx!).
Install in the following order and override when asked:

• Ultimate Character Overhaul Redux (Choose the TGA version here)[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• Fen's Bastila[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• Fen's HK-47[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• Fen's Juhani[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• Fen's Jolee[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• Fen's Zaalbar[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• Fen's Canderous[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• Fen's Mission[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• Fen's T3-M4[www.nexusmods.com] (gives T3-M4 a black paint job)
  OR
  Astro Droids Pack HD[www.nexusmods.com] (keeps original paint job, thanks Edelcast!)
  
• Fen's Carth[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• Fen's Player[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• Fen's Female Player[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• High Quality Skyboxes II[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• Ultimate Taris High Resolution[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• Ultimate Tatooine High Resolution[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• Ultimate Kashyyyk High Resolution[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• Ultimate Manaan High Resolution[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• Ultimate Korriban High Resolution[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• Ultimate Dantooine High Resolution[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• Ultimate Unknown World High Resolution[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• Ultimate Endar Spire High Resolution[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• Hi-Res Beam Effects 2.0[deadlystream.com]
  
• Fire and Ice HD[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• High Resolution Lightsaber Beams[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• Loadscreens in Color[www.nexusmods.com]

To further boost graphics, you can use a reshade preset like Fens – Reshade[www.nexusmods.com].
I personally tried it and ended up removing it again, but it comes down to a matter of taste.

I deliberately left out any mods changing the gameplay (e.g., starting as jedi, restore cut content, add modded items, …) to stay as true to the original game as possible for players attempting their first playthrough.

After the bugfixes, widescreen support and visual overhaul you are still left with a very janky and outdated game of course. If you are not from that era of games or have a high resilience against janky gameplay, the game might make you want to quit after a few hours of playing. I encourage you, however, to give the game a chance and play at least till you reach the second planet before deciding to give up on the game.

From what I have heard from friends, read online and experienced myself, the game can be quite challenging, especially if you screw up your build.

Here is a link to some nice KOTOR builds[sites.google.com] that I used in my personal playthrough. The first planet can be quite rough using these builds, as you don’t level up early on to receive more Jedi/Sith levels, but after that the game becomes almost too easy. So, if you want to enjoy the game and lore without many hiccups (apart from the start), I can definitely recommend these builds.

I don't want to give too many hints as this might spoil some of the fun of the game, but if you are lost and want a rough recommendation for when to visit which planet, try this one to start with (if you are light side):
Don't get the Star Map on your first visit of Kashyyyk, as getting your fourth Star Map (on Manaan, if you follow this list) would lock you out of some side quest content for characters that will be gone after. So make sure to revisit the planets before getting the fourth Star Map in total)

1. Dantooine (1st Star Map)
   
2. Tatooine (2nd Star Map)
   
3. Kashyyyk
   
4. Manaan (3rd Star Map)
   
5. Tatooine (Sidequests)
   
6. Dantooine (Sidequests)
   
7. Kashyyyk (Sidequests)
   
8. Manaan (Sidequests)
   
9. Korriban (4th Star Map)
   
10. Tatooine (Sidequests)
    
11. Kashyyyk (5th Star Map)

In general, if you are having any issues that are not featured in this troubleshooting section or your problem can't be fixed by what is written here, you can visit the Neocities KOTOR Community Portal[kotor.neocities.org] which features additional (up to date) help sections. They also have alternative, more extensive, mod lists for both games which include many more mods!

Getting Kotor to run smoothly on AMD graphics cards can be difficult, many people run into issues like game crashes. One common fix for those crashes is to roll back the AMD graphics driver as described in this guide. Another fix that could help is using windows xp sp3 compatibility mode (right click swkotor.exe -> Compatibility). Additionally, turning off the steam overlay or starting the game through the swkotor.exe instead of steam might fix the issue. If you don't see these entries, you can simply add them below the [Graphics Options] entry like this:

Make sure you followed step 3 of the widescreen section correctly and input the correct resolution for the "Width=<your resolution>" and "Height=<your resolution>" entries. This happens if UniWS can't find an editable swkotor.exe in the folder you have selected.
Make sure that:

1. You selected the correct folder location (swkotor folder)
   
2. You replaced the swkotor.exe with the editable one (step 1 in the widescreen section)
   
3. You selected the correct dropdown item in UniWS (KOTOR 1024x768)
   
4. You are running UniWS as admin

Make sure that screen scale within Windows is set to 100% and not something like 125% This is a direct result of installing the HD Menus mod (copying the files in the Override folder) but the game not running in the corresponding widescreen resolution (e.g. if you copied the files from the gui.1920x1080 folder, your game needs to be running at 1920x1080).

This means that either UniWS was not run correctly or the entries in the swkotor.ini were not made correctly.

In order to fix this problem, try redoing these steps:

1. Replace swkotor.exe again with the hexeditable EXE
   
2. Run UniWS again: Make sure to select the CORRECT item in the dropdown menu, select the CORRECT game directory location and enter the CORRECT resolution corresponding to your copied menu files.
   
3. Adjust the "Width=..." and "Height=..." entries in swkotor.ini to the CORRECT corresponding screen resolution
   
4. Also redo the hires_patcher.bat step in the widescreen fix section

Make sure that your game now runs in the correct resolution, ALL of the resolution have to match (the one used in UniWS, the one entered in the swkotor.ini, the one used to identify the correct HD menu resolution Override files, the one entered in the hires_patcher.bat)

If the problem still remains, try removing the HD Menu files from the Override folder. If you can now see the menu properly (even if it is scaled wrong/behaving incorrectly), you can be sure you did something wrong with the steps above. If the menu is still blank, you may have encountered a different problem I am yet unaware of.

This usually happens if the hires_patcher.bat/hires_patcher.exe step was done incorrectly.
Make sure you place both files in the game directory (where the swkotor.exe is) and run hires_patcher.bat.
Also make sure, that you enter the correct resolution within the script. If that happens, these are things you can try to fix it:

• Try enabling VSync in the ingame options menu
  
• Redo the widescreen fix and in the hires_patcher.bat step, type in 'yes' instead of 'no' when asked about the dialog letterboxing

Try locking the framerate (e.g. to 60) or enabling VSync.
The game might not work well with very high framerates. If you have chosen a resolution below 1440x900, UniWS most likely will not work properly as explained here[www.wsgf.org].
There is a fix described here for the resolution 1280x800, maybe this helps fix your problems. Please make sure that you followed ALL of these steps closely:

1. Replace the EXE with the editable one
   
2. Patch with UniWS (Select KOTOR 1024x768 in dropdown AND enter the final resolution e.g. 1920x1080 )
   
3. Edit/Add "Width=1920" and "Height=1080" in swkotor.ini (replace values with final resolution)
   
4. Copy the modfiles from the HD Menu mod to Override (e.g. files from inside 16-by-9\gui.1920x1080)
   
5. Copy hires_patcher.exe and hires_patcher.bat into the game folder and run hires_patcher.bat
   
6. While running it, enter the final resolution (e.g 1920x1080) and press enter for the rest

Try and redo all the widescreen patch steps but modify the patches.ini of uniws before applying it as it is described in point 7 of this forum post[www.gog.com]
The grass can be bugged for some hardware configurations.
Try disabling the grass in the swkotor.ini file.
Make sure you downloaded the .TGA version of the Ultimate Character Overhaul mod.
Otherwise the Fen's textures don't overwrite the files correctly and the ones from UCO are used instead.
Try setting the line 'FrameBuffer=1' to 'FrameBuffer=0' in the swkotor.ini.
After pressing "Install Mod", a popup should open which allows you to select a game folder.
The popup might be not visible if it is on a different monitor and since the installer is waiting for a selection, nothing is happening on the installation screen.

Try to deactivate all monitors except your main monitor.

If you have installed KOTOR on your main drive (i.e. C:\), try moving it to a different drive to avoid problems with admin protected folders.
Additionally, make sure that there are no subfolders within your Override folder. All files need to be placed directly into the Override folder without any subfolders.
If all of this doesn't fix the issue, try uninstalling the game, remove the Override folder and reinstall the game again.