KOTOR 2: Telos Academy Bug/Ebon Hawk FIX (Guide) w/ Links [TSLRCM 1.8.3 - 1.8.5]

[G. Turk]

I figured I would just post a soltion to this, since I have repeatedly encountered this problem in the past with various reasons as to why this is preventing my game from progressing through the Snow Academy on Telos. I have frequently forgotten how to fix it, so it seemed pretty important I just lay out as much info as I could gather into one thread. It's safe to say this is also just something for me to look back on for help, as every few months or so I just do a new playthrough of Kotor 1 and TSL because friggin' Star Wars.

This bug can also go back as far as version 1.8.3 while also maintaining a safe return to previous saves under the usage of the mod. Updating the mod, then resuming the game will NOT implement the various bug fixes/improvements that 1.8.4 and 1.8.5 introduce.



Identifying the Bug:


If there is only one Handmaiden throughout the entirety of free roaming the Academy (After speaking with Atris the first time), the save is currently bugged and will throw you into some sort of bugged cutscene situation, where the game is unable to progress forward due to missing/incomplete events and/or essential actors.

Upon attempting to leave (Or, depending on the order of speaking to the Handmaiden in the training room/releasing your companions/Releasing T3-M4 from its cage) Atris will be shown in a cutscene (with 2 of these three events completed) , but with no dialogue, where originally 2 Handmaiden sisters would approach Atris and continue your journey leaving the planet. A cutscene showing Darth Nihilus and Visas Marr for the first time will follow after a certain point as well.



A. Make a save just before entering the Telos Academy (after leaving the Czerka facility), so you may go back to a point where your game and save is not corrupted until the bug starts (via speaking to the 3 Handmaidens for the first time)


B. Check for Mod Compatibility (Almost always the nature of the issue)

Mod Compatibility List from the lead mod creator of TSLRCM, along with credit to some of these solutions, goes to Hassat Hunter
https://deadlystream.com/topic/393-mod-compatibility-list-for-tslrcm-185/


C. Figure out the exact bug/glitch that you're experiencing, and diagnose it with the solutions provided below:

Here are a couple lines from the Q&A section of TSLRCM Readme-2:
https://www.moddb.com/mods/the-sith-lords-restored-content-mod-tslrcm/news/preliminary-readme-2


"Q. I lost my team at the academy/black screen when entering the Ebon Hawk after academy/Atton, Kreia or Bao-Dur don't talk to me when I click them

A. Sadly, this is a vanilla bug we cannot fix, since the files cannot be de-compiled. It's related to fighting the Handmaiden sisters on the battle mat and "cheating" before they become hostile, giving an error in the script to return your team members. You will have to load a save from before this fight."


This is quoted from Hassat Hunter (Thank you for this suggestion) on another discussion:

COMMON ISSUE

"Q. There are no Handmaidens at the academy/Stuck infront of the Hawk after the Academy.

A. You have overwritten our appearance.2da with an incompatible version of another mod, missing certain key entries needed for TSLRCM to work properly. If you still have the original TSLRCM appearance.2da replace it, otherwise a full re-install of TSLRCM is required.
In both cases a save is needed from before entering the academy.

PS. 90sk super content mod is not compatible with TSLRCM, and thus the most likely culprit."


Here are a few things I discovered browsing for a solution to this bug on various threads:


1. Verify the appearance.2da file has not been altered, or if one has been added, by any other mods.

This can be found in the Override folder under your Knights of the Old republic II install directory, showing a manually installed mod added this .2da file here, or if a mod under Storage Device/steam/SteamApps/Workshop/content/208580.
(208580 represents Kotor II workshop subscribed mods, and folder 491598291 is "Kamaitachi Epic Armours")

It is also noted the appearance.2da is hardcoded into the game itself, and cannot be changed or viewed through file explorer (If this file has been added to either folders, re-install the latest TSLRCM version[1.8.5] to restore the original version of this file)

2. TSLRCM may have to be downloaded through an .exe launcher, rather than Steam Workshop (for certain cases, not just this bug alone)

Non-steam TSLRCM Download:
https://www.moddb.com/mods/the-sith-lords-restored-content-mod-tslrcm/downloads/tslrcm-183

3. Revert to a save just before entering the Telos Academy (aka the Snow Biome) on Telos' surface, but after defeating the three HK-50 units to save the most time (Do not surrender immeadiately in the dialogue, instead start with selecting the top-most dialogue option of "asking why" to the handmaiden)

4. Uninstall (Temporarily) "Kamaitachis Epic Armours" (Steam WS), as that conflicts with this particular section with appearance.2da from the mod itself (at least with my experience), but under the "Workshop" folder itself, not in "Override" (See step #1 for workshop directory)

Note: "If the player uses the tslpatcher, they need to remove the appearance.2da manually from the mod's folder (Thanks Hassat Hunter for helping me patch this) "


!IMPORTANT!


To test and see if any of the above changes worked, repeat step 3, then enter the academy and see if there are 3 Handmaidens that confront you upon entering the facility. It would work best to disable mods one at a time, then loading up your Kotor II save to narrow down what mod is directly affecting this part of the game, and conflicting with anyother mods (if any). If all characters are present, this means the scenes are all working properly, and Telos is now able to be completed once again!

Hope some of this helps you guys out like it did with me! Also please add to this thread if you have additional solutions or if I made a mistake somewhere, thanks!

[John]

Replying here because while the post helped me, I was able to isolate the appearance.2da file to two mods, and the conflicting mod was the Dustil Restoration mod. If you have issues with it like I did, just unsubscribe from the mod and your issues should clear up. Hope this helps someone

[wx_dark_wolf]

I wanted to thank you for this guide. It helped me discover the origin of a bug that has continually irritated me. For anyone else, the mod that caused the issue was "Kamaitachis Epic Armours."

[G. Turk]

Hey there, sorry for the late reply!

I'm glad this helped you guys out! I normally wouldn't get into too much detail about a bug unless it completely halted game progression. The nice thing is you can just reinstall "Kamaitachis Epic Armours" after you leave the Telos academy. I love that armor mod and it would've been a shame to progress the game without it, but thankfully there's an easy fix for it.

Hope you finished your playthrough at this point!

[Matrix]

I found out the Dustil Restoration mod was what borked my game, and from what I can tell, it's not up to date either, so be forwarned.

[Silcona]

I did 2 separate runs of this game trying to get past this bug, tried going dark and light on both and none worked. I tried some of the things here but they didn't work. It was the Dustil Restoration Mod. Idk what about that mod makes things go insane but it does, and I know its the mod and not me because I'm not the only one here who mentioned it.

[blewberry]

Removing the Dustil Restoration Mod sorted it for me, after removing it and reloading a save from *before* entering the polar temple.