Part 51: Telos: Hot Robot on Robot S&M Action

Ah, we're here at last in the basement of the HK droid factory. This is where the droids actually get created and trained.



In the process of coming down here we've managed to wipe out HK-47's self-preservation protocols - it means he can harm himself, but he can also harm other HK units now too.



HK-50s are the same as they were earlier in the game - huge bastards. Each of them hits harder than HK-47 himself, and there's always 3 of them to fight. HK-47 is by his lonesome, which makes it all the harder.



Despite the unfinished state of things, all the containers are itemized. There's even some misspelled droid-only loot.

My history teacher always taught me, "Assassin is spelt with two asses", and I never forgot.



Here's the layout for this level:



We came in from the north. The first few rooms are the training facilities. The bottom part is the factory floor where the HK-50s and HK-51s are created.



This is HK droid 'school', where our lovable robots learn how to maim, torture, and cause widespread catastrophes. These are among the funniest vignettes in the game, so I'll let them speak for themselves and not comment too much.

First up is Interogation 101.







"Command: Do *not* interrupt me again. This is the third time you have begged for interrogation and torture."







"Irritated Command: Stop. You are *not* following your victim protocols."



"Statement: Hold on a moment. I must calibrate this one's victim protocols."



Want to see it in video? Yes, yes you do.

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?do...122711990086872



HK-50s were pretty sick puppies before, but this masochistic model takes the cake.


The next lesson is on torturing victims. This one isn't totally animated unfortunately.





"Command: Hold. Why are you hesitating?"



The other HK-50s shoot the crap out of him in the cage.

"Lecturing Statement: Let us begin again."



And the other droids shoot him some more. And you wonder how they get so evil: well it's not nature, it's nurture!

"Lecturing Statement: Excellent."









Video version:

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?do...108299880485811

You're welcome.



One thing that wasn't complete in here really was the clipping and the wall detection.

3 of them at a time is bad enough, but when 6 more HK-50s opens the door behind you to join in the fun, it gets a bit hairy.





There's also some gas traps in here as well. Probably more of the anti-Jedi defenses they were talking about earlier, cause it certainly doesn't do anything to HK.



The third and last lesson is in translation. HK-47 started out life in KOTOR 1 disguised as a protocol droid, but these HK-50s take it to the next level.





"Seemingly unable or unwilling to perform even the most elementary cruelties, they will provide an excellent first test subject. Observe, then translate."





"Statement: Well done. Let us try another."







"Statement: Well done! Now... the next one is a Quarren, a slimy, untrustworthy species that shares the same vile planet as the dull and goggle-eyed Mon Calamari."







Yep, video here:

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?do...216588798297714

It's worth it, I promise.





We're coming up to the big showdown now.



The factory floor.

It's HK-47 against... eight HK-50 units. Kinda hard to see but there's 4 right in the centre, and 4 up on the ramped area. If they left this in it probably would have been the hardest fight in the game. Not saying that's a bad thing, as the game desperately needed some difficult parts at the endgame to make the combat enjoyable.

Controlling the Exile as he lightsabers endlessly through everything in one hit? Boring.

HK-47 off on his own with a personal vendetta, up against impossible odds? Fuck yeah.



"Recognition: You are obsolete. You kill specific organics. And only when *permitted* to."



"Statement: How your photoreceptors remain active and still you cannot see is beyond me. How you constructs could be modeled after me is beyond my understanding - to lose sight of our purpose in only a few generations. I did not think the geometric increase in our number designation would result in such imperfections and loss of function."
"Threat: We will download everything you know into the mainframe here. And when we are done, we will memory wipe you. Your shell shall remain for study - and as a museum piece."
"We kill who we want, when we want. We have destroyed planets. Assassinated economies."



"Query: Do you understand what this means?"



The VA notes here say: HK is about to bare his soul - this is what he's all about, play him serious, grim.









Well it's official, the HK-50s have turned into a virus.



The galaxy is not enough, they want to murder the whole universe!

Bwahahaha this place is so fucking awesome.



Video of the whole sequence and fight here:

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?do...541218853146296

I did it in the really cheap way in the video, kiting them over a dozen mines. Even then it was tough. I actually believe the door was to close behind HK-47 as he enters so the player can't pull stunts like that. Regardless, 1 vs 8 is really fucking epic.



HK-50s are bastards for a few reasons. First, they all seem to have upgraded Power Shots and hit for so much goddamn damage.



Second, they can heal themselves during battle. In fact they do this a lot when they're low, so you really have to finish them off quick. Enemies aren't suppose to be smart, damnit!



Third, they all seem to have the Assassination Protocols that HK-47 has, which gives them a chance to deal ridiculous damage when they land a critical hit. I had to get HK-47 to stay permanently shielded or else he would have been toast.



HK-47 proving he can pull off the Matrix shit with the best of them.



Many grenades, shields, and mines later...



Phew.



Here's a look at the most awesome place in the game, the factory where thousands of HK units are being manufactured.



The best part is that everything is animated and the conveyor belts are all moving. You can see it towards the end of the video. It was all done and looked great.

Once again, fuck you LucasArts.



Now what happens, you ask. Well, we need to find a way to end the threat of these HK units for good.

We first take a trip down the HK-51 wing of the facility. We'll deal with the insane HK-50 units later, don't worry.



As we noted upstairs, the HK-51s aren't fully activated yet.

Though some of them seem have been experimented upon.

The HK-51s look slightly different from the HK-50s. They have blue eyes instead of orange, and their model was tinted to be almost black metal. I'm only pointing this out since these models were never used in the full game.



Guess where the only real incomplete piece of written dialogue in the droid factory is? That's right: at the end of it , at the computer terminal which determines the outcome of the whole thing.

I'll try to piece together what I know and what I think makes sense.



First, we know for sure HK-47 can download the upgraded schematics into himself. He probably would have gotten like a XP or stat boost or something here. Next, if you try to download the behaviour core template, this happens:





"Rhetorical Query: I... am not sure what I am experiencing. My frame seems substandard for my full range of combat capabilities."



And then HK-47 can decide what to do with the inactivate HK-51 units. It looks to me like there are two endings to the droid factory.

People have speculated on a third ending where you take over the HK-50s, but that makes no sense to me. There's a dialogue file here which was copy and pasted and used as a placeholder, and I suspect that's what threw people off about the HK-50s.

Anyway, the two endings that I can deal with:



HK-47 can download his own programming into the HK-51 units, thereby making them loyal to him and him only...

Or he can either blow the whole thing to hell and end his insane progeny forever...