JKGFXMOD: If you play Jedi Knight in 2020 or after, this is a must!

Overview

The JKGFXMOD and EMJK projects update the look of Jedi Knight to be slightly more modern. It will make this 1997 game look like a mid-2000s game with neural upscaled textures using AI, textures that emit actual light, and improvements to base models. In addition, there is technical improvements–no more dgVoodoo or having to run the game in compatibility modes. Having problems running JK? I’m sure it’ll work if you install these mods, and it’s better anyway.

Introduction

I’m normally a vanilla person. It’s my favorite flavor. However, I absolutely think this is fantastic work. Recently there has been active development with a few remaining people of Massassi began on a relatively large scale–considering this is a two-decade old game–project which includes multiple smaller-scale projects. These projects update the look of Jedi Knight to be slightly more modern. It will make this 1997 game look like a mid-2000s game along with technical improvements along the way.

Features

Textures upscaled using artificial intelligence
Better graphics: all-new 32-bit color, gamma correction, bloom, ambient occlusion, parallax mapping
Improved performance for certain scenarios
Textures that have lights in them now emit lights (e.g. walls with lights on them, Star Wars buttons, Nar Shadaa lights, etc.)
SSAO to bring out some world details
Lightsaber actually looks like a lightsaber and glows
No more dgVoodoo2 required–which doesn’t even work for some people–no more running in compatibility mode, no more screen resizing, etc.
Weapons actually fire glowy Star Wars projectiles like in the films
Launch from Steam, Steam overlay works, even when using a community-made patch for fixes
Easy to install
Future-proof: install now, update mods later without risk to save game file
HUD scaling
Gets rid of the mode switching, i.e. black screens, when going from game to menus and vice versa
Have a problem running Jedi Knight? Try JKGFXMod, I’m sure it will work

Three Mods of One Project to Make JK Look Great

The first is JKGFXMod[github.com]. This is a new injector/patch that allows JK to run better and can enable emissive textures (e.g. textures that have light emission actually emit lights). If you just want the technical improvements–such as not having to rely on dgVoodoo, not having to use compatibility mode, SSAO, no more screen mode switching between gameplay & menus, and HUD scaling–you can just install this one alone without the other two. Using this, you can launch JK through Steam with a working Steam overlay.

The second is Jedi Knight Neural Upscale Texture Pack, which is an AI-made higher-resolution version of JK’s original textures. This also includes said emissive textures that JKGFXMod enables the function of, as JKGFXMod on its own does not include the textures. The MODDB page has comparison shots of vanilla vs. upscaled. Requires JKGFXMod.

The third is Ehancement Mod for JKGFXMod (EMJK), which is a compilation of other high resolution model & texture packs (JKE, darthbabe96’s models and conversions, the FGR/SMLiberator-made saber + emissive explosion effects, etc.) This mod is hosted in the JK Neural Upscale page and requires the previous two mods.

Automatic Installation

An all-in-one installer is provided by GeneralTantor. Click here to visit the installer’s MODDB page.

Automatic installation is recommended only if you don’t want to mess with manual installation, but it does install older versions of JKGFXMOD that can have lower performance.

Manual Installation

Steps which include instructions on renaming must be adhered to strictly in this guide, and cannot be named anything else:

Install Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II via Steam. I highly recommend starting with a clean install since you can download the game in a minute nowadays. This includes uninstalling the game through Steam, then delete the contents of SteamsteamappscommonStar Wars Jedi Knight–hereby referred to as the Jedi Knight directory–before reinstalling.
Install Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II’s Unofficially Patched[community.pcgamingwiki.com] version of the game by extracting the contents of the zip file’s Jedi Knight – Dark Forces II folder into your Jedi Knight directory.
Alternatively, you can patch the .exe yourself[cdn.discordapp.com] but the instructions for that are not covered in this guide.
Rename the newly obtained Unofficial Patch executable JK.exe to jkoriginal.exe.
Install JKGFXMod[github.com] by placing contents of JKGFXMOD.zip into the Jedi Knight directory.
Open jkgm.json with a text editor like Notepad or Notepad++, set the screen resolution to your own and change “jk.exe” to “jkoriginal.exe” in the command row.
Rename JediKnight.exe to something else, like JediKnightSteamVersion.exe.
Rename inject.exe to JediKnight.exe. Although not done yet, this is what your Jedi Knight will look like without the optional mods below. If you’re happy with it, skip to step 11.
(Optional) Install the Jedi Knight Neural Upscale Texture Pack by placing the contents of JKNUP.zip into SteamsteamappscommonStar Wars Jedi Knightjkgmmaterials. Your game will now look like this if you skip the optional mods below, skipping to step 11. Requires JKGFXMod.
(Optional) Install FastGamerr‘s Enhancement Mod for JKGFXMod (EMJK) textures by placing the contents of EMJKv0336.7z into the Jedi Knight directory. Your game will now look like this if you skip the optional mod below, skipping to step 11. Requires JKGFXMod & JK Neural Upscale Texture Pack.
(Optional) If you want a custom FOV and/or high detailed LOD models, install ShinyQuagsire23’s Mipmap Patch and/or FOV patches[jkdf2.net] hosted by DarthTrank. This download has unofficial patched 1.01 versions of the game that also have FOV values or mipmap changes patched over it. Use these if you wish to change the FOV on your ultrawide monitor setups, for example, and/or if you want larger high detailed Stormtroopers when you’re far away from them.
The file contains multiple executables. Take one from the FOV folder for just FOV updates, or the Mipmap folder for both FOV & LOD mipmap updates, and place it into the Jedi Knight directory. Rename it to jkoriginal.exe after backing up one already in there, if it exists already. Place JK.dll in the same directory as well.
Run Jedi Knight from Steam
Enable 3D hardware acceleration in the display options before starting a new game. The only resolution you should find is the one you set in jkgm.json.

Troubleshooting

Because of the way Jedi Knight is coded, models and textures are cached in the save game files. Thus, as this method installs new models, you must start a brand new game after you install this. It will not work with previous saves.

For any problem with Jedi Knight and these mods, there’s a few things to keep in mind/try.

Go to Setup and Display, make sure 3D Acceleration is enabled (only your resolution should be displayed), then click OK.
Click on New Game to load up the game on Level 1. Jedi Knight never works well when you install texture mods and load up save files made before the mods were installed. JKGFXMod is an exception to this as it is an injector–unless you also used JK: Enhanced Edition from the instructions with new textures above–but still doesn’t hurt to test it out.
Any “Could Not Load Level” error is mostly because you’re using the wrong version of Jedi Knight. You need to try to use the unofficial patch linked in the guides above.
If you have laggy menus, it’s because of Gsync or Freesync. Disable them for the game only if you experience issues.
If you have double HUD text at the top, that’s because EMJK’s attempt to make the text larger. You can disable this by downloading ConMan, opening up ResourcesEnhancementMod.gob, and deleting everything in the UI category if it’s too much for you.
First-person weapon waggle (how much your weapon sways when moving) too fast? Put these cogs[cdn.discordapp.com] in SteamsteamappscommonStar Wars Jedi KnightResourcecog.
A odd muzzle flash when firing weapons is caused by the user setting’s brightness to not be at 0. Press F11 in game until you reach brightness level of 0.
Some users report issues related to 1440p. If a widescreen issue should appear, right click on inject.exe, or JediKnight.exe if you renamed it this during installation, go to Properties, then Compatibility. Click on Change High DPI Settings and override the scaling behavior.

The Massassi Discord[discord.gg]
PCGamingWiki[www.pcgamingwiki.com]
The Massassi Temple[www.massassi.net]

STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II Guide