This post is pretty much directed towards ppl like IlIIllllI1, who are probably quite unaware of online gaming and fps games in general.
Guess what the most popular FPS game online is right now? Quake1/2/3? Nope. More people play half-life online than Quake1+Quake2+Quake3+UT combined. In fact, more ppl play HL:CS than Quake2+3. More ppl also play HL:TFC than Quake2+3. Just check the bottom www.gamespy.com every evening around 8 PM. (btw, the stats have NOTHING to do with whether or not ppl use gamespy or not to connect)..and UT is more popular than Q3 about 75% of the time I check.
These stats pretty much show that teamplay games (CTF, CS, TFC, TRIBES) dominate DM. Although I still play lots of DM in any shooter, I also play teamplay games. There's no denying that DM is relatively dead compared to team games; DM is mostly only for competitions and fun. Many DM players have moved onto team games at this point, and this exodus of ppl going from DM to games like CTF will continue.
Quake will never enjoy a healthy market share in online gaming. There reasons go beyond increased competition. First of all, it's not very user friendly. Although experienced gamers can do everything from the console, this is a very niche part of the market. Less than 20,000 can probably be considered in this group. The interface isn't really much better than Q2's was, plus the online game browser is weak by current standards. Second of all, the game is designed mostly for deathmatch. Big mistake by iD there. Even though there's CTF in Q3, the designers have pretty much said that there's no real focus in CTF in Q3. Frankly, 90%+ of online gamers don't give a rat's *** about deathmatch. In Quake1 and Quake2, the number of CTF/Team mod players far outstrip DM players. Even though there will certainly be mods for Q3, it's pretty hard to imagine they will gain popularity like HL:TFC due to Q3's not so great interface. Basically Q3 is only for ppl who tell themselves they will like the game and buy it. The average "gamer" reads gaming magazines for reviews and then buy games off the shelves (which represent a FAR GREATER portion of the people who buy games than ppl like you and I who do most stuff online) will probably be quite dissapointed with Q3. Q3 just lacks the fun factor that they want. At the same time, Q3 has lame things like loud footsteps, a shaft that does too much damage yet suffers from serious server-side lag, weak rockets, poor teamplay considerations, lousy air control, etc, that are see as rather unfavorable to the experienced hardcore DM player. John Carmack wanted to make the game newbie-friendly, but what he's done so far is neither friendly to newbies nor to experienced players.
UT, on the other hand, has all the things hardcore gamers and newbies like. It's got a slick interface (but there's still an usable console!), plus it has great teamplay options and modes. There are also things like controllable speed and air control to cater to advanced players. UT combines the fast action of Q1 with the weapon balance of Q2 and the creativity of Unreal very well. It's a game that plays very well in all modes. Plus the bots don't cheat like they do in Q3.
UT also has a great single-player ladder type game, which will certainly help newbies. The tutorial teaches the newbie to USE THE MOUSE. While the tutorial may seem ridiculous to ppl like you and me, remember the game's success is going to be based on how newbies cater to the game. UT is a game newbies will enjoy (so will many experienced gamers).
Since most ppl who buy games are ones who read magazines for reviews...there's no doubt that many magazines will give better reviews for UT than Q3. UT just offers much more for your typical gamer (who doesn't know what a circle strafe, rocket jump, gib, telefrag are). Magazines will look at Q3, praise it's wonderful curved surfaces and models, then rant on how boring and stale it feels to play. More ppl will certainly buy UT, even if Q3 gets more hype. (Hey more ppl bought unreal than Q2, even though Q2 was certainly more popular online...ppl tend to buy games for single player experience rather than online...although now times have changed, online gaming has certainly gained tremendous momentum).
Q3's system requirements are also a big turnoff. Why most experienced gamers certainly have the hardware to run any game, that's not try of your average gamer which make up 80% of the game's sales. Although I feel Q3 runs better than UT on a very fast machine, UT runs better than Q3 on a slower machine. At least UT WILL RUN. The fact that Q3 requires 3d acceleration with OpenGL already turns off lots of potential buyers (not all buyers of FPS games have good 3d acceleration!).
So even if you prefer Q3, there's no denying which game will sell more copies and have more ppl playing online in several months.
I highly suggest reading this article by Dennis Fong...aka Thresh. I'm sure you've all heard of him.
http://www.firingsquad.com/games/uteditorial/default.asp
Guess what the most popular FPS game online is right now? Quake1/2/3? Nope. More people play half-life online than Quake1+Quake2+Quake3+UT combined. In fact, more ppl play HL:CS than Quake2+3. More ppl also play HL:TFC than Quake2+3. Just check the bottom www.gamespy.com every evening around 8 PM. (btw, the stats have NOTHING to do with whether or not ppl use gamespy or not to connect)..and UT is more popular than Q3 about 75% of the time I check.
These stats pretty much show that teamplay games (CTF, CS, TFC, TRIBES) dominate DM. Although I still play lots of DM in any shooter, I also play teamplay games. There's no denying that DM is relatively dead compared to team games; DM is mostly only for competitions and fun. Many DM players have moved onto team games at this point, and this exodus of ppl going from DM to games like CTF will continue.
Quake will never enjoy a healthy market share in online gaming. There reasons go beyond increased competition. First of all, it's not very user friendly. Although experienced gamers can do everything from the console, this is a very niche part of the market. Less than 20,000 can probably be considered in this group. The interface isn't really much better than Q2's was, plus the online game browser is weak by current standards. Second of all, the game is designed mostly for deathmatch. Big mistake by iD there. Even though there's CTF in Q3, the designers have pretty much said that there's no real focus in CTF in Q3. Frankly, 90%+ of online gamers don't give a rat's *** about deathmatch. In Quake1 and Quake2, the number of CTF/Team mod players far outstrip DM players. Even though there will certainly be mods for Q3, it's pretty hard to imagine they will gain popularity like HL:TFC due to Q3's not so great interface. Basically Q3 is only for ppl who tell themselves they will like the game and buy it. The average "gamer" reads gaming magazines for reviews and then buy games off the shelves (which represent a FAR GREATER portion of the people who buy games than ppl like you and I who do most stuff online) will probably be quite dissapointed with Q3. Q3 just lacks the fun factor that they want. At the same time, Q3 has lame things like loud footsteps, a shaft that does too much damage yet suffers from serious server-side lag, weak rockets, poor teamplay considerations, lousy air control, etc, that are see as rather unfavorable to the experienced hardcore DM player. John Carmack wanted to make the game newbie-friendly, but what he's done so far is neither friendly to newbies nor to experienced players.
UT, on the other hand, has all the things hardcore gamers and newbies like. It's got a slick interface (but there's still an usable console!), plus it has great teamplay options and modes. There are also things like controllable speed and air control to cater to advanced players. UT combines the fast action of Q1 with the weapon balance of Q2 and the creativity of Unreal very well. It's a game that plays very well in all modes. Plus the bots don't cheat like they do in Q3.
UT also has a great single-player ladder type game, which will certainly help newbies. The tutorial teaches the newbie to USE THE MOUSE. While the tutorial may seem ridiculous to ppl like you and me, remember the game's success is going to be based on how newbies cater to the game. UT is a game newbies will enjoy (so will many experienced gamers).
Since most ppl who buy games are ones who read magazines for reviews...there's no doubt that many magazines will give better reviews for UT than Q3. UT just offers much more for your typical gamer (who doesn't know what a circle strafe, rocket jump, gib, telefrag are). Magazines will look at Q3, praise it's wonderful curved surfaces and models, then rant on how boring and stale it feels to play. More ppl will certainly buy UT, even if Q3 gets more hype. (Hey more ppl bought unreal than Q2, even though Q2 was certainly more popular online...ppl tend to buy games for single player experience rather than online...although now times have changed, online gaming has certainly gained tremendous momentum).
Q3's system requirements are also a big turnoff. Why most experienced gamers certainly have the hardware to run any game, that's not try of your average gamer which make up 80% of the game's sales. Although I feel Q3 runs better than UT on a very fast machine, UT runs better than Q3 on a slower machine. At least UT WILL RUN. The fact that Q3 requires 3d acceleration with OpenGL already turns off lots of potential buyers (not all buyers of FPS games have good 3d acceleration!).
So even if you prefer Q3, there's no denying which game will sell more copies and have more ppl playing online in several months.
I highly suggest reading this article by Dennis Fong...aka Thresh. I'm sure you've all heard of him.
http://www.firingsquad.com/games/uteditorial/default.asp