I've seen some other postings on this forum about people's hopes for Unreal 2, so I thought I'd put together a wish list. Take a deep breath, this is a long one.
I enjoyed playing the original Unreal (and now I'm enjoying the heart-pumping frag-fests of Unreal Tournament SP), but I think even the original could have been much improved. (Don't worry, I AM wearing a flak jacket, and seated comfortably within a lead-lined, steel-walled underground bunker - so feel free to launch a direct attack against such a controversial statement /~unreal/ubb/html/smile.gif )
- the monster designs could be a lot better. I'm afraid I HATED the design of the brutes in Unreal 1. They just looked silly to me, so unless they're totally redesigned, keep them out of Unreal 2. I also have to say that some of my favourite 'monster' designs were in Doom (Cyberdemon, Imps, Cacodemons), Quake (Shambler, Fiend, Vore, Scrag), Quake 2 (Parasite, Gladiator, Technician, Gunner, Medic), and Half-Life (Huge Spider-Thing, Huge Blue Thing with built-in flamethrowers, Gigantic Nightmare sound-sensitive Thing in rocket silo). I didn't experience the same kind of awe looking at any of Unreal's nasties - and so I was disappointed. Please make the monsters in Unreal 2 better!
- the story could have been a lot better and had clearer objectives for each area - on some levels I just ended up walking around wondering what to do next, so I hope the story of Unreal 2 is deeper, broader, and has a lot more meaning to it. I enjoyed the storylines of Jedi Knight and Heretic 2 - there was a better purpose, and tighter objectives to accomplish.
- I thought the scripted events in Unreal were great - but there weren't enough of them. In fact, I thought the most menacing and tense atmosphere was aboard the Vortex Rikers. The bit with the Skaarj behind the closed door was simply superb. I hope there are many more of these in Unreal 2, because they can really give the game atmosphere, and mount up the tension.
- the levels were nice and big in Unreal, but I would have preferred more secret areas, and some much tighter designs. The only other SP game I've played with really BIG levels is Jedi Knight, and the level design there was superb. I also love the level designs for Unreal Tournament. I hope there's a way to combine the two for Unreal 2, because then it will be gaming heaven.
- I'd love to play the game with one or two bot companions - I really enjoy playing UT in Team Deathmatch mode, because it gives a real sense of having companions to help you out in a tight squeeze.
- I hope that Unreal 2 (and every other game in the future) has creatures with at least the advanced AI of the bots in UT, whether they be companions or enemies - AND that the intelligence increases/decreases dependent on your own skill level.
- I'd really like to see a vastly improved third person perspective in Unreal 2 - and not just a command-line code. Having played Jedi Knight (in first and third person) and Heretic 2 (third person only), I think the animations and range of movements of those characters (Kyle and Corvus) were very well done. I'm now looking forward to Rune, with it's skeletal animation system. The way the character moved in Behindview in Unreal just didn't look right - there was no 'side-stepping' animation, for example.
- the weapons in Unreal were mostly original, with some very nice effects. The ones in Unreal Tournament are far better. Will any of UT's weapons (or better) creep into Unreal 2? Please?
Well, I'll end it there for now, before I end up writing the damn thing myself.
Any thoughts? /~unreal/ubb/html/smile.gif
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'The enemy can't press a button if you disable his hand...Medic!' (Starship Troopers)
I enjoyed playing the original Unreal (and now I'm enjoying the heart-pumping frag-fests of Unreal Tournament SP), but I think even the original could have been much improved. (Don't worry, I AM wearing a flak jacket, and seated comfortably within a lead-lined, steel-walled underground bunker - so feel free to launch a direct attack against such a controversial statement /~unreal/ubb/html/smile.gif )
- the monster designs could be a lot better. I'm afraid I HATED the design of the brutes in Unreal 1. They just looked silly to me, so unless they're totally redesigned, keep them out of Unreal 2. I also have to say that some of my favourite 'monster' designs were in Doom (Cyberdemon, Imps, Cacodemons), Quake (Shambler, Fiend, Vore, Scrag), Quake 2 (Parasite, Gladiator, Technician, Gunner, Medic), and Half-Life (Huge Spider-Thing, Huge Blue Thing with built-in flamethrowers, Gigantic Nightmare sound-sensitive Thing in rocket silo). I didn't experience the same kind of awe looking at any of Unreal's nasties - and so I was disappointed. Please make the monsters in Unreal 2 better!
- the story could have been a lot better and had clearer objectives for each area - on some levels I just ended up walking around wondering what to do next, so I hope the story of Unreal 2 is deeper, broader, and has a lot more meaning to it. I enjoyed the storylines of Jedi Knight and Heretic 2 - there was a better purpose, and tighter objectives to accomplish.
- I thought the scripted events in Unreal were great - but there weren't enough of them. In fact, I thought the most menacing and tense atmosphere was aboard the Vortex Rikers. The bit with the Skaarj behind the closed door was simply superb. I hope there are many more of these in Unreal 2, because they can really give the game atmosphere, and mount up the tension.
- the levels were nice and big in Unreal, but I would have preferred more secret areas, and some much tighter designs. The only other SP game I've played with really BIG levels is Jedi Knight, and the level design there was superb. I also love the level designs for Unreal Tournament. I hope there's a way to combine the two for Unreal 2, because then it will be gaming heaven.
- I'd love to play the game with one or two bot companions - I really enjoy playing UT in Team Deathmatch mode, because it gives a real sense of having companions to help you out in a tight squeeze.
- I hope that Unreal 2 (and every other game in the future) has creatures with at least the advanced AI of the bots in UT, whether they be companions or enemies - AND that the intelligence increases/decreases dependent on your own skill level.
- I'd really like to see a vastly improved third person perspective in Unreal 2 - and not just a command-line code. Having played Jedi Knight (in first and third person) and Heretic 2 (third person only), I think the animations and range of movements of those characters (Kyle and Corvus) were very well done. I'm now looking forward to Rune, with it's skeletal animation system. The way the character moved in Behindview in Unreal just didn't look right - there was no 'side-stepping' animation, for example.
- the weapons in Unreal were mostly original, with some very nice effects. The ones in Unreal Tournament are far better. Will any of UT's weapons (or better) creep into Unreal 2? Please?
Well, I'll end it there for now, before I end up writing the damn thing myself.
Any thoughts? /~unreal/ubb/html/smile.gif
------------------
'The enemy can't press a button if you disable his hand...Medic!' (Starship Troopers)