Dear Readers! We launch a new project on its way! One of our readers, Darth Stryker, has mastered a brand new "customizing activity", which is a kind of new way of diorama making. But he doesn't use cast for the "terrain", but a map editor, and he doesn't use model paints, but instead skins. So he makes "software dioramas", which depict film scenes, and models the games, which he can play with afterwards, occasionally reconstructing battle events, occasionally changing history. Our new series will follow up the main events of all six movie episodes with the help of Knights of the Force - KotF Jedi Academy mod. It probably wasn't too easy to rebuild the events, remodel the moves with only one playable character, who has only a limited number of moves, and still I think the pictures will prove our readers determination, the love of Star Wars, and the several hours of concentrated work, which resulted almost two hundred custom Star Wars scenes, which all will be published here at CustomStarWars, showing this new virtual-software custom activity. Please welcome the Phantom Menace season opening article with KotF illustrations first!

Trade Federation organizes a blockade around Naboo

In response to a taxation on trade routes, the greedy Trade Federation organizes a blockade around the small peaceful planet Naboo with their Lucrehulk battleships, on which droid squads were serving under the command of the Neimodian viceroy, Nute Gunray.

The Republic dispatches two Jedi

Hoping to resolve the matter, the Republic dispatches two Jedi with this red transport ship, but the Trade Federation leader, Nute Gunray was ordered to kill them by a mysterious evil Sith Lord via a holotransmission. They were trapped in a room which was filled with a poisonous gas, and droids were sent in front of the door.

Qui Gon Jinn and Obi-wan Kenobi rushed out from the poisonous room

Qui Gon Jinn and Obi-wan Kenobi rushed out from the poisonous room, and destroyed the droids. The decoy TC-14 protocol droid stood there unhurt, the Jedi didn't hurt him.

The coward Neimodians tried to keep the Jedi knights behind heavy seal doors

The coward Neimodians tried to keep the Jedi knights behind heavy seal doors. While Qui Gon tried to destroy the door mechanism with his lightsaber, his Padawan covered him, and sabered down some battle droids.

The Destroyer droids arrived

The Destroyer droids arrived, it was a tie. The droidekas were not able to hit the Jedi, since they were able to block and deflect their shots whole day, but the shielded destroyer droids couldn't been destroyed neither. The Jedi applied Force Run to escape the droidekas, and ran into the ventilation shafts. (Obi-wan is already sprinting in the screenshot, Qui-Gon Jinn is still protecting himself.)

The two Jedi stow aboard landing crafts and escaped to Naboo

The two Jedi stow aboard landing crafts and escaped to Naboo. Troop carriers started the invasion, which were crowded with mechs, droids, and vehicles, which started to advance at once as they were pouring out from the landing crafts. The native creatures were running away from them, one of them was Jar Jar the Gungan, who were almost knocked down by an assault mech, but Qui Gon saved him, so Jar Jar offered his life and his services for his savior.

The Jedi rescued Queen Amidala

After a short Otoh Gunga detour, the small team arrived in the capital of Naboo, Theed, which was already invaded by the Trade Federation, who were arrested Queen Amidala, and was planned to imprisoned in Camp 4. The Jedi rescued Queen Amidala!

The Jedi escorted the Queen into the hangar, captured her personal starship, and escaped Naboo

The Jedi escorted the Queen into the hangar, captured her personal starship, and escaped Naboo, but the Nubian was damaged by a shot on its way through the blockade surrounding the planet, forcing them to land on the nearby desert planet Tatooine for repairs.

Qui-Gon went in Mos Espa

Qui-Gon went in Mos Espa with Jar-Jar and R2-D2 and Padme, one of the Queen's handmaidens, and visited Watto, the junk dealer in his junk shop to purchase a new hyperdrive generator. There they met a young slave child named Anakin Skywalker. After spending time with Anakin and his mother, Qui-Gon sensed a strong presence of the Force within him, and suspected he may be the Chosen One who would bring balance to the Force. Qui-Gon had to make a bet with Anakin's owner to enter him in a Podrace, and that if Anakin won, he would be freed. Sebulba, the dug despite he has the bigger podracer, damages Anakin's racer before the start, but the clever Ani still manages to win the race!

Darth Maul found Otoh Gunga

Meanwhile the furious Sith found evidence that the Queen and the Jedi were helped by the Gungans. Darth Maul found Otoh Gunga, and the Sith apprentice swam down half naked into Otoh Gunga, to show the Gungans what deserves who gives aid for the enemy of the Sith. He killed several Gungans, ruined Otoh Gunga bubblecity, so the survivor Gungans and the Gungan king Boss Nass was forced to flee into their secret surface hideout.

Darth Maul located the Queen and the Jedi at Tatooine

Darth Maul located the Queen and the Jedi at Tatooine, and travelled there at once with his Sith Infiltrator. He released some Sith probes, to find the Jedi. In the meanwhile with Qui-Gon's guidance, Anakin managed to win the race and joined the group. After he said farewell for his mother, Shmi Skywalker, and they were on the way back to the ship, Darth Maul attacked them in the desert. After a brief fight, they managed to escape.

The Trade Federation invaded Naboo

The Trade Federation invaded Naboo, mobilising large forces of MTT-s, AAT-s, and legions of droid troops, transporting them down to Naboo in those huge C-9979 type droid landing crafts, preparing for the possibly resistance.

Battle of Naboo

However the Gungan Grand Army were outnumbered, and were technically weaker, they dared to face the mighty droid army. Their Gungan shields protected them for a while, but soon the droid infantry entered within their shield, and managed to destroyed the shield generators, which were on the back of the tall Fambaa creatures, so the Gungan army were forced to fight without their shield.

Gungans versus droids

A desperate close combat began. Gungans versus droids. Soon the tanks joined the battle, so the huge superiority of the droids made the Gungan warriors surrender.

Qui Gon and Obi-wan encountered Darth Maul

While the Gungan Grand Army kept the droid army busy on the Grassy Plains of Naboo, Queen Amidala, Captain Panaka , Obi-wan, Qui-Gon Jinn and a small team infiltrated into the Royal Palace to capture Viceroy Gunray in Theed. But their way blocked by Darth Maul, so Qui Gon and Obi-wan had to encounter Darth Maul, while the Naboos went a separate way, and reached Nute Gunray in "his" office. In the meanwhile the devil-head Sith managed to kick down Kenobi to a lower platform, isolating the two co-operating attacking Jedi.

Darth Maul kills Qui Gon Jinn

His plan worked. By the time Obi-wan jumped back, and rushed after them, the evil Sith backtracked behind some red force shields, and remained one-on-one with Qui-Gon, so the young Obi-wan couldn't do anything just wacthing Darth Maul mortally wounding Qui Gon Jinn behind the force shields. In the other rooms, the Naboo troops and the Queen advance well, and manages to capture the throne room, destroying the droid forces. The helpless Neimoidians, including the Viceroy, surrender.

Obi-wan Kenobi cut Maul into two

When the force shields moved away, filled with pain Obi-wan attacked Darth Maul with rage, together they performed maybe the most spectacular lightsaber fight of the Star Wars movies. But his anger almost killed him - after being disarmed and nearly falling to his death, Obi-Wan used the Force to pull his Master's abandoned lightsaber into his hand and jumping out from the vent Obi-wan Kenobi cut Maul into two. With his dying breaths, Qui-Gon made Obi-wan promise to train Anakin, and he became one with the Force.

Darth Stryker (alias Roland) our faithful reader sent these awesome screenshots from KotF, and we planned this brand new section together, thanks for all!

written and translated by: Norbert Rostas