The Jedi Academy

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The Jedi Academy is a community of Star Wars fans, with the purpose of teaching people to play Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast and Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy. Their website is http://www.thejediacademy.net. The Academy hosts a number of private servers, where the members can have fun and practice dueling, as well as attend classes to learn new skills. The goal of The Jedi Academy is simply "To help you become a better Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy player." The Academy has many different ranks.

Overview

"The Jedi Academy is a collection of individuals who have a common interest in playing multiplayer Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast and Jedi Knight 3: Jedi Academy. We are a multi-national group that constantly strives to provide a friendly and respectful setting in which to learn the game.

We provide instruction primarily on lightsaber dueling technique, but also team-based and capture-the-flag strategies. The Academy holds numerous weekly classes that focus attention on specific aspects of the game, taught and assisted by Jedi Academy Trainers and Knights culled from our ranks.

The Academy also provides a collection of Forums to allow for the discussion of various aspects of Star Wars, Jedi Knight, and other miscellaneous topics."

— DJ Sith

History

The Jedi Academy was concepted by JediSith999 in 2002 when he posted on Lucasforums looking for a "Jedi Academy Training School" for Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast [1]. The responses were fairly positive but the only suggestion he received was that he should consider joining a clan. Even in that thread, people had already began to collaborate knowledge and teach eachother new things.

Enthusiastic about the idea, he applied for webspace at jediknightii.net [2] and upon receiving a very positive response, sought the help of webmasters massadoobie and DJ Sith to build a website that would see instructors teach students, classes and padawans in an online school called "The Jedi Academy" [3].

"I always wanted someone to train me, but nooone did, so I think it would be nice to train others. I hope JK2.net accepts the site. Im thinking this will be done within a month or so. So Im just hoping for the best and trying to get everything organized for you."

— JediSith999, Founder

A rough design was constructed [4] and submitted to the jediknightii.net team who agreed to host it [5]. DJ Sith agreed to host the academy's first server in Dallas, Texas [6].

"i do think it will help convert dozens, maybe hundreds, to the dork nation by giving them some pointers on how to play the game..."

— massadoobie, Webmaster

Timeline: May 17th 2002 - April 07 2003

• May 17th, 2002: The academy begins accepting applications for the Jedi Academy Trainer rank [7].
• June 2nd, 2002: A new database-driven site is produced [8].
• June 11th, 2002: A new IRC channel #ja is created on irc.enterthegame.com [9].
• June 14th, 2002: Student applications officially open [10].
• June 19th, 2002: The first rules page is constructed [11].
• June 26th, 2002: The jedi_academy first map is fully released [12].
• July 1st, 2002: The ability to comment on news, servers, users and classes was announced and an IRC java applet is implemented [13].
• July 25th, 2002: jim[beam] of jolt.co.uk interviews DJ Sith and massadoobie [14].
• August 29th, 2002: Complaints are reported regarding various staff members and people are advised to report it rather than spread rumours [15].
• September 5th, 2002: The academy accepts suggestions for improvement and opens a new mail account (fixtheja) [16].
• September 7th, 2002: Jedi Academy Trainer trials are on hold after 15 have attained the rank [17].
• September 8th, 2002: The classes system is redone and various commenting bugs are fixed; the academy is back after being somewhat inactive recently [18].
• September 9th, 2002: The staff publicise their new e-mail address in hopes of compiling a Frequently Asked Questions section and the Creations server [19] is removed [20].
• September 13th, 2002: massadoobie teaches a class! [21]
• September 20th, 2002: The FAQ is up and can be viewed here [22].
• September 27th, 2002: The first member to offer to give out the passwords to the servers is banned from the academy [23]. Huxley, a new member, donates a new Kansas-based server to the academy [24].
• September 29th, 2002: The servers become chaotic and full of rule breaches and the staff have to take tough action to combat it [25]. The ranks are updated to include Initiate, Learner, Journeyman, Knight, Trainer, Mentor, Master and Council [26] and it is stressed that, rather than repeatedly asking for a trial, you must earn it, deserve it and follow the procedures [27].
• October 7th, 2002: The first of many future movie projects, aside from demos and roleplay classes, is announced [28].
• October 9th, 2002: Learner trials are officially opened for initiates to try [29].
• October 15th, 2002: People begin to pass the learner trials [30].
• Ocotober 21st, 2002: The first inactive member purge is conducted [31].
• October 22nd, 2002: aValon joins Silent Whisper and the others on the Jedi Academy Council. Huxley donates another Kansas-based server specifically for classes [32].
• October 26th, 2002: The IRC network hosting the IRC channel goes down and the channel is moved to #ja on the irc.gamesnet.net network [33].
• October 29th, 2002: Lightning Rod steps down [34] and cHoSeN oNe runs for Supreme Chancellor [35]. The staff once again have to take action to fight rule breaches [36].
• November 1st, 2002: Loaf announces he is also running for Supreme Chancellor [37].
• November 2nd, 2002: Jumpin' Jedi and Nemesis Nova are the first ones to reach the Journeyman rank [38].
• November 5th, 2002: Ulic Belouve writes a journal of his experiences in the academy [39].
• November 6th, 2002: cHoSeN oNe is elected as the Supreme Chancellor [40].
• November 9th, 2002: Knights are able to take padawans, various visual updates are applied to the site and the ability to toggle people for trials is implemented [41]. massadoobie releases the first State of the Academy Address [42].
• November 13th, 2002: The declining number of JAT is addressed by the staff [43]. cHoSeN oNe is promoted to Jedi Academy Master [44].
• November 15th, 2002: The first Thanksgiving Invitational Tournament is announced [45]. Jumpin' Jedi is promoted to Jedi Academy Trainer [46].
• November 21st, 2002: The second version of the jedi_academy map series for JK2 is released by =Derelict-Crusader= [47]. The Opening Ceremonies of the first TIT tournament are recorded here.
• November 27th, 2002: ShadowSith wins the first TIT tournament and is awared the rank of Jedi Academy Knight.
• December 1st, 2002: The Knight trials are opened but individuals must be selected by the staff before being able to take them [48].
• December 2nd, 2002: The skin pack is updated [49].
• December 4th, 2002: Knights are granted limited administrative abilities to keep order on the servers. Nofrikinfun and skyler_ are promoted to Jedi Academy Knight [50].
• December 16th, 2002: State of The Academy Address (Part 2): There is no application for the JAT rank anymore [51]!
• December 18th, 2002: The forums officially go up [52]. massadoobie posts regarding the state of the academy [53]
• December 21st, 2002: JavaGuy produces a new tool for scanning the servers which responds when you send him an e-mail [54].
• December 24th, 2002: cHoSeN oNe's jamod is applied to the servers, the skinpack is updated and Zero releases a new christmas celebration map [55].
• December 30th, 2002: Smileys are introduced and comments can now be viewed in ascending or descending order [56].
• January 4th, 2003: Animated smileys are scrapped, profiles gain the 'homepage' field, smileys are clickable and permanent logins now work [57].
• January 12th, 2003: cHoSeN oNe is promoted to Jedi Academy Council. Trials will only be conducted during the relevant preparation classes if possible. People are encouraged to give evidence of rule breaches. [58]
• Jaunary 13th, 2003: A new points system for attending classes is introduced [59].
• Jaunary 17th, 2003: The first Jedi Academy Script is released [60].
• January 21st, 2003: JATs fail to keep up with adding points for everyone who attends a class [61].
• January 24th, 2003: The about us page is updated and another inactivity check is conducted [62]. Early rumours of an expansion to Jedi Outcast emerge [63].
• Februrary 9th, 2003: Jedi_Academy_v3 is released [64] by =Derelict-Crusader=.
• February 10th, 2003: Luke Skywalker and Darkblade conceive the 'Jedi Academy Aurochs', a sports team for the Jedi Academy [65].
• February 17th, 2003: A Paypal donations page is setup to aid payment for the servers, bandwidth and tournament prizes. A new website is developed with a more academy feel to it [66].
• February 24th, 2003: Three students are unbanned after having learned their lesson, donations reach $181 and Jacen LW Solo is elected as the Lead Knight.
• March 3rd, 2003: Open Sessions are introduced into the classes system [67].
• March 8th, 2003: Class points are scrapped, being difficult to maintain and for busy people to gain and not achieving the right mood. The concept of rank is dropped and Initiates, Learners and Journeymen become Jedi Academy Students. The Jedi Academy Mentor rank is also dropped. Students learn and staff-selected Knights, Trainers, Masters help maintain the servers, the academy and the classes [68]. The Jedi Knight Forum is introduced.
• March 10th, 2003: Aron produces an early version of JAbot [69].
• March 12th, 2003: The popular Advent 2 map is released [70].
• March 16th, 2003: Aron introduces an IRC statistics bot named Statz0r [71].
• March 24th, 2003: aValon departs and Huxley is promoted to Jedi Academy Council [72].
• March 29th, 2003: The first ever prom is announced and organised by Silkmonkey [73].
• April 1st, 2009: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy is officially announced [74]. The server passwords are changed as a part of a monthly routine.
• April 2nd, 2009: A new forum is created for the new game [75].
• April 7th, 2003: The holocron is announced and a new forum is created for it. The project is headed by Mune and Ruuk Haviser. massadoobie notes a new interest in classes rather than rank since the scrapping of the rank-oriented system.

"In the past year, we’ve seen the Academy grow from 3 dorks conning jediknightii.net out of webspace to 5 dorks on a council in charge of over 1600 students, 13 Teachers, and 16 Knights. We’ve seen the Academy move from a small niche in the Jedi Knight Community to a large, well-respected force throughout the web (We even have our own game coming out! :)) We hold 34 classes per week on 4 servers (although our Dutch server seems to be down at the moment, something which is being researched). And coming soon, I am proud to announce the acquisition of our own personal address, the URL of which will be announced when the site is ready to be transferred."

— massadoobie, State of the Academy Speech, April 07 2003

• April 9th, 2003: Jumpin' Jedi leaves the academy for the first time. Systems are introduced to combat people with multiple accounts [76].
• April 10th, 2003: cHoSeN oNe's jamod is a hit on public servers [77]!
• April 14th, 2003: Another inactive member purge is conducted leaving only 810 members and 130 comments are left [78].
• April 16th, 2003: The site moves to Huxley's server from the jediknightii.net server [79]. The ability to upload profile pictures is implemented. The IRC channel is moved to #Jedi-Academy on irc.gamesnet.net [80]. Arcuss gets the academy an interview with Ravensoft [81]. Legolas departs [82].
• April 18th, 2003: The IRC channel is moved to #jedi-academy on irc.quakenet.org [83]. A new teamspeak2 server is setup [84].

Provided

The Jedi Academy provides instructional tutoring on dueling technique, team based game types, and everything in general that goes along with Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast and Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy. There are currently four Jedi Academy Trainers that teach different classes. The Jedi Academy Knight rank helps the Jedi Academy Trainers with class'. Both the Jedi Academy Trainer rank and the Jedi Academy Knight rank have a Padawan system for those who cannot attend classes or wish to work more closely and get one on one help.

Along with the teachings that they give, they also provide a nice atmosphere for anyone and everyone that comes across the servers.

Sports

Main article: Jedi Academy Aurochs

The Jedi Academy Aurochs are the official sports team of The Jedi Academy. Members from the Academy are recruited into the Aurochs to represent the community both in fighting ability and in good sportsmanship. The Aurochs compete in TFFA and Duel matches against other teams in JK3. The JAA also takes an active role in contributing back to the Academy and also to the entire JK3 community. As such, the Aurochs comprise the very best of the Academy.

The first Academy team to carry the name "Aurochs" was originally created by Luke Skywalker and (SKX) Dark Blade as a casual Hydroball team at the Academy. Who the original players were and how active the team was at that time is unknown today. All that is known is the team eventually fizzled out with the arrivial of JK3.

In 2003, Aphex created the first version of the Aurochs as they are today. He invisioned a team of Academy members that could go out and compete against other clans/teams in Duels and TFFA while representing the Academy. Aphex wanted the Aurochs to spread word of the Academy to various players in JK3 that didn't know about it and needed help.

Ranks

See Jedi Academy Ranks.

Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame is for very deserving members of the academy that have provided a very fundamental contribution to its developement and is maintained by the Jedi Academy Council.

• 3th
• =Derelict-Crusader=
• Aeth S'kray
• Aphex
• Aron
• AvALON D`Kana
• Bubu
• cHoSeN oNe
• Hardwired
• Huxley
• Jacen LW Solo
• Jade Jedi
• Janus
• JediSith999
• Legolas
• Lightning Rod
• Mace Windu
• Mercen4ry
• Monty
• NofrikinfuN
• Silent Whisper
• Orion
• R2D2
• Roan Belouve
• Ruuk Haviser
• Smilykrazy
• Vladarion

External Links

• The Jedi Academy
• Lucas Forums
• Jediknightii.net