History Trivia / KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords

** With time running out, Obsidian had to abandon many of their most ambitious plans for the game and cut a lot of content, leading to aborted arcs, low music sampling quality and [[ObviousBeta tons of unresolved bugs]]. Due to the rushed nature of these changes, it wasn't made in the best way, which Avellone would later lament (he later realized they should have reduced the number of party members and cut the minigames).

* AuthorAppeal: You know you're in an [[Creator/ObsidianEntertainment Obsidian]] game when it features {{waking up at the morgue}}, [[MalevolentMaskedMen masks]], [[EldritchLocation haunted]] [[RuinsForRuinsSake ruins]], [[HorrorHunger hunger]] as an [[PoweredByAForsakenChild almost elemental force]], [[TheMentor mentor figures]] whose teachings were [[BrokenPedestal wrong]], misguided, or [[EvilMentor evil]], [[TheUndead ghosts and zombies]], [[LivingShadow living darkness]] and an army of [[InvisibilityCloak invisible]] assassins, constructs (droids in this case) in [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman a prominent role]], not one but two {{blind seer}}s, a [[TheDreaded dreaded]], [[ImplacableMan nigh-unstoppable warrior]] fueled by the [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve power of belief]], men who [[{{Determinator}} refuse]] [[MadeOfIron to]] [[PurposeDrivenImmortality die]], [[ShellShockedVeteran past wars]], [[TheAtoner past sins]], an [[RagtagBandOfMisfits unlikely party]] of [[DysfunctionJunction lost souls]] [[MagneticHero thrust together]] seemingly by [[ThereAreNoCoincidences fate]], [[GrayAndGrayMorality complex moral choices]] with [[VillainHasAPoint no]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist easy]] [[SadisticChoice answers]], and [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath extensive dialogue trees]] which serve to [[ArmorPiercingQuestion turn the listener's entire worldview on its ear]]. To top it all off, at the end of the game, Kreia uses her visions to give you what is effectively a [[ModularEpilogue showreel of all the places you went and the consequences of your actions]].

* ChristmasRushed: Actually a DoubleSubverted example. Originally the game was to be published around Christmas 2004 and have a relatively short development cycle, but mid-way into development [=LucasArts=] announced to Obsidian that, due to their impressive results, they were delaying the game's release to take advantage of the hype around ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith''. Obsidian took this delay to greatly expand the game, only for [=LucasArts=] to suddenly hit a financial rough patch and revert back to a Christmas 2004 release. Unfortunately for Obsidian, the agreement about the delay had been a spoken agreement and not a signed one, leaving them no choice but to comply. A ''great'' deal of the game's content was thus cut, unfinished, or riddled with bugs, resulting in a lot of the tropes on this page.

** ''[=KotOR=] II'' is one of the poster children for this trope. You wondered why the last act felt so rushed and the ending so inconclusive? [[Creator/LucasArts That's why.]] Not only did they insist that the game be released by an unrealistic deadline, they even went so far as refusing to let Creator/{{Obsidian|Entertainment}} release a patch later to restore the missing content due to the Xbox's version not being Xbox Live enabled, thus unpatchable.

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: Twice even. Creator/LucasArts, the publisher, wanted to ensure that the game would be ready for a Christmas release. This led to an unrealistically short development cycle of 13 months, which ultimately left the game incomplete in many respects. Creator/{{Obsidian|Entertainment}}, the developers, were so annoyed about having to release an incomplete game that they offered to make a mass-content patch which would have restored it to its planned glory. [=LucasArts=] denied this request due to the Xbox's version being unpatchable. Modders have done their best to compensate, though.

** Due to delays in [=LucasArts=], Obsidian didn't have access to the original game until relatively late into production, when ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' was released, which wasted a lot of time and forced them to scramble things right and left. The team had been actually forced to blindly pitch several ideas without knowing the previous game's plot beyond a simple description, which resulted in Avellone being forced to scrap basically everything from his first version.

** At some point, Nihilus was going to be revealed as the Exile's LiteralSplitPersonality, which took its own form when the Exile renounced to the Force in Malachor V. Avellone doesn't consider this canonical to the final game, although there's nothing that refutes it either.

** Before the content cut, players were originally supposed to travel from Korriban to planet M4-78, where they would encounter Lonna Vash alive along with a padawan, Kaah Ohtok, who had gone renegade after mistakenly believing that Vash had died. In the end, Vash would've sacrificed herself to buy the Exile time to escape Darth Sion. Some dialogue for this was recorded, but then M4-78 ended up getting cut. With no time to implement anything new for her (and too late to simply cut her entirely), they just had her killed off-screen by Sion on Korriban.

** Bao-Dur was going to die in the Battle of Telos while helping HK-47 get to the HK-50 factory and shut it down. A line about this, "make my sacrifice matter", remained in the game's files.

* ScheduleSlip: [[https://support.aspyr.com/hc/en-us/articles/6760593432461-What-is-The-Sith-Lords-Restored-Content-DLC- Aspyr had announced that the Restored Content Mod would be released as free DLC for the Switch port in Q3 2022.]] At time of writing, Q3 2022 has come and gone with no update on the DLC's status.

** Obsidian had [[http://www.destructoid.com/obsidian-reveals-its-plan-for-potential-kotor-iii-259114.phtml plans for a sequel]] that unfortunately never got off the ground. In fact, the game presented Revan's departure and the True Sith Empire (as well as possibly Kreia declaring that [[VillainousLegacy there will always be a]] [[LegacyCharacter Darth Traya]], even if it had its own sense within the story) as a SequelHook for future games or stories. The work that counts as a sort of direct sequel, ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', picked up this lead somewhat, but only in a completely different format and after in-story centuries.

* DoingItForTheArt: In order to prepare for writing the game, Creator/ChrisAvellone went on a ''major'' ArchiveBinge of the Franchise/StarWars [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]], playing through the ''entire'' first game, rewatching ''every'' Star Wars movie, reading nearly ''every'' Expanded Universe book at the time (!), and even enduring the ''Film/TheStarWarsHolidaySpecial'' (!!!) for the sake of fully understanding the universe he was writing. As a result, there are [[ShownTheirWork an impressive amount of nods]] to the ''Star Wars'' canon--down to the most minute details--as well as entire plot threads woven from throw-away background material from the first game. It also [[DeconstructorFleet tears the basic mythological and ethical system of the setting into pieces]], but that's [[SignatureStyle par for the course with him]].

* OldShame: Avellone [[https://geekinsider.com/interview-chris-avellone-video-game-designer-star-wars-knights-old-republic/ was quoted in an interview]] saying that he wasn't proud of all his writing in the game, simultaneously lamenting that he never had the chance to meet Kreia's voice actress (Sara Kestelman), whom he felt "made even the crappiest lines [he] wrote ''sing''".

* QuoteSource:
** FromBadToWorse
** PoorCommunicationKills

* CharacterSpecificPages:
** [[Characters/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLordsTheJediExile The Jedi Exile / Meetra Surik]]
** [[Characters/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLordsKreia Kreia]]

* DoingItForTheArt: In order to prepare for writing the game, Creator/ChrisAvellone went on a ''major'' ArchiveBinge of the Franchise/StarWars [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]], playing through the ''entire'' first game, rewatching ''every'' Star Wars movie, reading nearly ''every'' Expanded Universe book at the time (!), and even enduring the ''Film/TheStarWarsHolidaySpecial'' (!!!) for the sake of fully understanding the universe he was writing. As a result, there are [[ShownTheirWork an impressive amount of nods]] to the ''Star Wars'' canon -- down to the most minute details -- as well as entire plot threads woven from throw-away background material from the first game. It also [[DeconstructorFleet tears the basic mythological and ethical system of the setting into pieces]], but that's [[SignatureStyle par for the course with him]].

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: Twice even. Creator/LucasArts, the publisher, wanted to ensure that the game would be ready for a Christmas release. This led to a unrealistically short development cycle of 13 months, which ultimately left the game incomplete in many respects. Creator/{{Obsidian|Entertainment}}, the developers, were so annoyed about having to release an incomplete game that they offered to make a mass-content patch which would have restored it to its planned glory. [=LucasArts=] denied this request due to the Xbox's version being unpatchable. Modders have done their best to compensate, though.

* DevelopmentGag: "I'm Atton. I actually wasn't supposed to make it into the final game, but I was created at the last minute. Blame my agent. I was actually slated for a spin-off to ''VideoGame/{{Jedi Knight|JediAcademy}}'', but I don't want to talk about what happened ''there''."

** [[Characters/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLordsDarthTraya Darth Traya]] '''(spoilers)'''

** ** [[Characters/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLordsTheJediExile The Jedi Exile / Meetra Surik]]

* CowboyBebopAtHisComputer: An article about the game in a Spanish magazine showed an image of Darth Nihilus over a text going on about Revan, which caused plenty of confusion. Sumed to the fact that Nihilus appears multiple times in the game without being called by his name and Revan gets mentioned a lot without appearing physically (except a living flashback in Korriban where he shows silent and masked -- just like Nihilus), many players in Spain who had not played the first game reached the battle of Telos without fully understanding the background and assuming the guy with the white mask was a returning Darth Revan.

** At some point, Nihilus was going to be revealed as the Exile's LiteralSplitPersonality, which took its own form when the Exile renounced to the Force in Malachor V. Avellone doesn't consider this canonical to the final game, even although there's nothing on it that refutes it either.

* CowboyBebopAtHisComputer: An article about the game in a Spanish magazine showed an image of Darth Nihilus labeled as "Darth Revan", which caused plenty of confusion. Sumed to the fact that Nihilus appears multiple times in the game without being called by his name and Revan gets mentioned a lot without appearing physically (except a living flashback in Korriban where he shows silent and masked -- just like Nihilus), many players in Spain who had not played the first game reached the battle of Telos without fully understanding the background and genuinely believing they were going to face Revan.

* DoingItForTheArt: In order to prepare for writing the game, Creator/ChrisAvellone went on a ''major'' ArchiveBinge of the Franchise/StarWars [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]], playing through the ''entire'' first game, rewatching ''every'' Star Wars movie, reading nearly ''every'' Expanded Universe book (!), and even enduring the ''Film/TheStarWarsHolidaySpecial'' (!!!) for the sake of fully understanding the universe he was writing. As a result, there are [[ShownTheirWork an impressive amount of nods]] to the ''Star Wars'' canon -- down to the most minute details -- as well as entire plot threads woven from throw-away background material from the first game. It also [[DeconstructorFleet tears the basic mythological and ethical system of the setting into pieces]], but that's [[SignatureStyle par for the course with him]].

** In the same interview, Avellone was also asked about the similar "Nihilus is Zayne Carrick" theory, to which he replied, "Carrick didn’t exist at the time of the K2 storyline, but that’s not to say there isn’t a connection."

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: Twice even. Creator/LucasArts, the publisher, wanted to ensure that the game would be ready for a Christmas release. This led to a unrealistically short development cycle of 13 months, which ultimately left the game incomplete in many respects. Creator/{{Obsidian|Entertainment}}, the developers, were so annoyed about having to release an incomplete game that they offered to make a mass-content patch which would have restored it to its planned glory. [=LucasArts=], denied this request due to the Xbox's version being unpatchable. Modders have done their best to compensate, though.

** As part of Bioware's original concept for ''[=KOTOR2=]'', they planned on giving the PC a master of the same species as Yoda, but secretly [[EvilMentor treacherous and evil]], as an EvilCounterpart to Vandar. Although Obsidian abandoned this, it can be said Kreia inherited a lot from this role.

** Not only did the game had a very short development cycle slated and [[Creator/LucasArts a stubborn publisher]], but the company was just getting together and didn't even had an office yet. They set up in Feargus Urquhart's attic, and when someone turned on the microwave, the fuses would blow up and computers would go down. Also, the team of rookies was small and had to learn how to work with the new Odyssey Engine.

** Not only the game had a very short development cycle slated and [[Creator/LucasArts a stubborn publisher]], the company was just getting together and didn't even had an office yet. They set up in Feargus Urquhart's attic, and when someone turned on the microwave, the fuses would blow up and computers would go down. Also, the team of rookies was small and had to learn how to work with the new Odyssey Engine.

** Before having access to the first game's plot, Avellone had thought to keep Revan as the game's protagonist. When he finally played the game and discovered Revan's story as an amnesiac Sith who had been forced to re-learn everything, Avellone decided to create a new protagonist, as "trying to reset Revan’s powers again felt like a bad move, and expanding them would have required more added to the system’s mechanics." Avellone has stated he felt Revan should have have more presence in ''The Sith Lords'', but time and production didn't allow it.

* OldShame: Avellone [[https://geekinsider.com/interview-chris-avellone-video-game-designer-star-wars-knights-old-republic/ lamented]] that, although he got to meet some members of the voice cast, he never had the chance to meet Sara Kestelman, Kreia's voice, whom he felt "made even the crappiest lines he wrote ''sing''".

** According to [[http://kotaku.com/5968952/the-knights-of-new-vegas-how-obsidian-survived-countless-catastrophes-and-made-some-of-the-coolest-role-playing-games-ever Feargus Urquhart]], they originally signed for a short development cycle, but after hitting a few milestones, [=LucasArts=] was pleasantly surprised of the rookie studio's work and decided to give Obsidian a few months of extension to complete the game... only that they forgot to amend the contract, leaving this in a verbal agreement. Inevitably, after [=LucasArts=] experienced some financial difficulties, they changed their minds and said the game would be released earlier as originally planned, and Obsidian found itself suddenly running against the clock. Avellone and the rest of the studio have admitted they made a mistake by not trying to fight for more time as it had been originally stipulated.

** Before having access to the first game's plot, Avellone had thought to keep Revan as the game's protagonist. When he finally acceded to the game and discovered Revan's story as an amnesiac Sith who had been forced to re-learn everything, Avellone decided to create a new protagonist, as "trying to reset Revan’s powers again felt like a bad move, and expanding them would have required more added to the system’s mechanics." Avellone has stated he felt Revan should have have more presence in ''The Sith Lords'', but time and production didn't allow it.

** [=LucasArts=] nixed a couple ideas for the game, among them Alderaan being one of the planets present in the story (see [[http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-07-31-fear-is-the-path-to-the-dark-side here]]) and Hanharr being trainable as a Dark Jedi like other party members (which went against an edict from George Lucas at the time [[ExecutiveVeto banningForce-sensitive Wookiees]]).

** At some point, Nihilus was going to be revealed as the Exile's LiteralSplitPersonality, which took its own form when the Exile renounced to the Force in Malachor V. Avellone doesn't consider this canonical to the final game even although there's nothing on it that refutes it either.

** Obsidian had [[http://www.destructoid.com/obsidian-reveals-its-plan-for-potential-kotor-iii-259114.phtml plans for a sequel]] that unfortunately never got off the ground. In fact, the game presented Revan's departure and the True Sith Empire (as well as possibly Kreia declaring that [[VillainousLegacy there will always be a]] [[LegacyCharacter Darth Traya]], even if it had its own sense within the story) as a SequelHook for future games or stories. The work that counts as a sort of direct sequel, 'VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', picked up this lead somewhat, but only in a completely different format and after in-story centuries.

* AwesomeDearBoy: Not initially, as Avellone had stopped being a ''Star Wars'' fan a long time ago when he was tasked with the game (in his words, "his excitement had peaked with ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack''"), but he regained his love for the franchise through the process of researching for the game's story.

* ShrugOfGod: When asked about the popular "Kreia is Arren Kae" theory, Creator/ChrisAvellone simply stated "Can't comment, but good catch. Sorry." He used the phrase in the past when writing the ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' Bible, where it generally meant "Not intentional, but [[ApprovalOfGod I like it.]]"

** As mentioned in TroubledProduction above, a massive amount of content (which might have been up to ''one third of the game's content'') was left by the wayside in Obsidian's rush to get the game out for its original scheduled release. Most of the removed material, though not all, would have been restored by a patch if Creator/LucasArts had not prevented them from releasing it.