09/15/24

This has irked me for a very long time, and I've relitigated this more times than I can count, so here's a long write-up of why I think you, as a new player, may not want to use TSLRCM for your first run.

First and foremost, the simplest reason: It complicates the experience. Now this, in and of itself, is not necessarily a bad thing. However, if you start your run of KotOR 2 with the TSLRCM installed, you have already thrown yourself into a situation where if you need help, you can't necessarily turn to a walkthrough or strategy guide.

I haven't played the mod since it was reworked in late '22, so this may have been addressed, but also personally, as impressive as the HK factory restoration is, I find it utterly miserable to casually play. It is long, drawn out, and simply isn't fun. The difficulty is scaled too high for my liking, and I find the time spent on it just doesn't match the value it brings.

Again, this has been reworked since my last playthrough, I'll update with my thoughts whenever I get around to trying it again.

By its nature, the game is fundamentally changed by this mod, I would argue, largely for the better, but regardless, it is changed, and it will invalidate a lot of guides that were written for the base game. This is a game that can be, at times, very obtuse and obnoxious with its puzzles and other systems. I, a veteran player who has been enjoying this game since its launch (nearing 20 years ago, at the time of writing) still look up solutions to some of the puzzles I can't be bothered with.

If you start with TSLRCM, you will run into the issue of having trouble looking things up, because you won't know vanilla from restored content.

This is actually my next point. TSLRCM is an amazing creation, borne from the work of many talented modders, and if you go into the game playing with it your first run, I don't feel you'll truly appreciate it for what it is.

Now, I am the sort of autistic person that obsessively replays my games, and in general, I like to re-experience my media. If you are not, that's fine, and in that case, fuck it, go ahead! Use TSLRCM! Be aware of the caveats I've mentioned. Far be it from me to dictate how you experience your media.

Maybe I'm just biased, I did play this game at release, and that's the only way I experienced it for years, but honestly if you think the base game has no value, I pity you.