The next UT needs to be more than "just another FPS".
Gamers values communities, a chance to be unique/standing out and the ability to communicate with other gamers more than ever.
The success of MMO:s are a, very, living proof of that.
In MMO:s you can easily reach 1000-5000 fellow gamers just by typing your message in the right chat window.
Sony and Microsoft have realised this with PS3:s Home and Xbox360:s recently announced LIVE Party/Avatar system.
In UT3 we are all isolated on different fansites, forums, different IRC servers, Xfire, Gamespy etc and theres nothing ingame that solves that. Its VERY discouraging to open the Server browser and see noone playing your gametype. If you take the same situation in an MMO, standing all alone outside an dungeon, you just shout LFG in the Server chat and youre soon entering the dungeon with others.
Am i saying that the next UT should be a MMO? NO! Im not saying that
but it should use the good parts from them.
Heres five features i truly believe could make the next UT a success,
1.
World Chat with the ability to have subchat windows for Amerika, Asia , Europe or even single countrys.
It should also support Groups (not to be misstaken for Clans) With the ability for the groupleader to invite players and then ”drag” the group to a server of his choice be it DM, CTF or Single Player COOP. This is already used by a small amount of players on IRC (PUG:s) to get good games going for several maps in a row without players switching teams or leaving. The ability to copy and paste server IP:s is a given here btw.
2.
Unlocks BF2 and CoD4 did a pretty good job with this but itll be even better suited for the UT world. CoD4 made the misstake to stop at lvl55 and BF2 had too big a distance between the promotions.
With a working skin and character system the sky is the limit. One could offer 2-3 characters per faction out of the box and the same amount as unlocks, letting players build their characters part by part. Some non-critical weapon upgrades could be added to the unlocks too.(Skin color, Beam colors maybe even the spiralling rockets mode?)
This could be done by levelling up or the Rocket Scientist, Combo whore "achievements" etc for unlocks. Or one could use both.
3.
Official ladders One ladder for each gametype and continent (Amerika, Europe, Asia etc).
These ladders should be on the Front UT3 website. Just add a vote type called ”Official Match” that the teams can call when theyre on a server they both like. When everyone has voted yes a game for the Official Ladders has started and cannot be stopped unless both teams agree (another vote needs to be started) and if one team leaves midgame the other team just needs to wait it out to win. Harsh but simple and the same for all.
Results from Official matches are announced in the world chat. This could be claimed to be for bragging rights only but, more important, it will show that the game is alive.
4.
Clans All MMO:s have the ability for their players to form guilds ingame and its taken for granted these days. This is needed for the Official ladders to work.
5.
Piracy With a closer online connection and with a steady stream of unlocks as one example it will be harder for people to warez the game. Itll still be there but itll be a tedious and exhausting experience if done right.
So is a working Clan feature really a key to a FPS games success you ask?
Yes, to some extent i believe so anyway and heres why,
When the game has been out for a while and the new oh so shiny games are starting to come out, people will still be (forced, one might say) playing the game, populating the public servers because theyre still in that Ladder or Cup. Or theyre still playing so that they can do good in the next seasons Ladder or Cup.
But thats something the unlocks also will do since people will be wanting that next part of armor to get that uber cool Necris nalicow set or that awesome color shift in the ASMD Combo effect.
Phew, while reading through my post for errors i see my sig at the bottom with the link to a server i pay for every month and theres 0 out of 10 players on it and somehow it feels like it proves my point. Im advertising the server here but how many of all the UT3 players out there sees it, 50? 100?
And how many of those will actually click the link and join the server when it says 0/10?
Anyway, thanks for reading this.