Posted by taton on 2015-12-20 05:57:56 EST
I couldn't resist making a front-page post with my administrative powers. I'm Taton, and I've been a minor member of the Dark Forces community since the late 90s.
I wanted to share with the community the process involved with updating the Downloads sections. Dark Forces has a fascinating, almost continuous history of hosted custom content for over 20 years. Files were downloaded from Star Wars FTPs, Tola Dalton's Site, and eventually DF-21.net. With the source files for DF-21 being lost and apparently unrecoverable, a significant number of files were no longer available. If it wasn't for members of the community, these files may have been lost. There are still some files that may never be recovered.
With all this in mind, I have begun archiving and documenting the Dark Forces custom level library. I have been testing and organizing the zip files of levels to ensure that DF-21.net is free of corrupted or outdated files. Level descriptions are being formatted, files are being hunted down in dusty forsaken corners of the internet, and a spreadsheet is being filled to create a master database of Dark Forces content. I am working through the levels alphabetically by zip-file name, and uploading them as they are documented. (I am filled with shame that "Boba Fett's Gone Mental" has been uploaded before any of the Dark tide Series)
The level downloads section will steadily be updated overtime, and there's many exciting updates to be made as we enter a new year.
Posted by klasodeth on 2015-11-22 07:15:41 EST
After extended downtime, DF-21.net is finally back online, though it bears the scars of the chaos surrounding the downtime. So what happened? Initially it seemed to be a simple matter of the domain registration lapsing, as has happened before when the renewal notice was overlooked. However, the site remained offline even after renewing the registration. As it turns out, the provider formerly hosting DF-21.net not only managed to lose the website data, but they lost Lucius' account information, substantially complicating any efforts to resolve the issue with the hosting provider. Ultimately, they were unresponsive and it became necessary to seek out another web host provider.
Since I already pay for web hosting that I don't really use, I offered to host DF-21.net. Ideally, I'd have uploaded a backup copy of the website, but unfortunately there was no comprehensive backup of DF-21.net available. The site you're viewing right now is a reconstruction built from data salvaged from JKDF2.com and Wayback Machine. Most of the download links were recoverable, but several were not. The forum was also lost, though the Dark Forces subsection of XL Engine.com continues to be available for Dark Forces discussion.
As time permits, I'll do what I can to locate alternate sources for any missing data, though I suspect I'll need help sourcing some of the more elusive files. I also plan to fix or remove the multitude of broken links that have accumulated over the years. And of course, a full backup of the site would be prudent.
EDIT: For anyone with questions or comments about DF-21.net, the Contact page has been updated with my contact info.
Klasodeth
