Not many noticed my research on the Mutator thread, so I'll reorder my thoughts and post how it was intended to be thoroughly.
Unreal II XMP as it was initially intended to be very different from what you have now. The gameplay was absolutely different, like a whole new gametype. So here's a description of how it was intended to be (and how it could be remade, though that would be hard to make):
Description:
A very unique gametype that requires good teamwork and especially strategy.
Overview:
The gametype's objective is to find and register an amount of Artifacts hidden by the Level Designer, and stop the enemy team from doing the same.
There are (the usual) three classes: Light Ranger, Medium Tech and Heavy Gunner. They have different amount of armour on (Gunner being the most armoured) and have different speeds (Gunner being the slowest). The weapons used are from Unreal II, but not restricted to them. All classes carry a Dispersion Pistol and a Combat Assault Rifle. Classes start with these unique weapons: Light - Magnum Pistol, Medium - Shotgun, Heavy - Magnum Pistol. Light players can't pick up Grenade and Rocket Launchers, Medium can't take Sniper Rifles and Heavy can't also take Sniper Rifles.
The game, like U2, is pickup based. That is, to get ammo, you have to take ammo, to get weapons, you have to take weapons.
The most important part of the gametype are the Artifacts. LDs select the number of Artifacts and the team that must get them. He also places the Artifacts where he wants - usually in challenging places, such as the enemy base, near a lava pit, somewhere that you have to mantle to get up etc. Those who manage to get an Artifact must transport it back to the base and register it with the Replicator. That can be done only if the team has at least 800 points of energy. Once an Artifact is registered, the carrier doesn't lose the artifact - instead, he keeps it and gains a special ability: damage reduction, health regeneration, Artifact location (you are shown the way to another artifact), speed or weapon damage. When you have an Artifact in your inventory, you can not take another one.
The Replicator is in the core of your base. It is a computer terminal that is connected to all of your base and it does a few different things:
1. Researches technology. To do this, you have to have enough energy and wait for some time so the research would finish. Researching gives you more technology, ranging from health stations to more vehicles to more weapons to new deployables etc. If something isn't researched, it can't be used, and if it is, it can't go offline unless you are out of all energy.
2. Produces items. There items must be researched first. The Replicator can produce virtually anything it can research - you can order it to make you a vehicle (and dump into a garage), a weapon, ammo pickup, deployable, even a robot or a security camera. They all vary in time that it takes to produce them and the energy consumed.
3. Registers Artifacts. To do that, you have to have at least 800 points of energy.
The Replicator can not do different takes at the same time. That means that you have to e very sensible and decide what your troops need the most now and what you can afford. Only Medium Techs can use the Replicators (except for Artifact registering), so it is essential that your team has at least a single Tech and that it is protected at all times. Replicators can be used by only one person at a time. The Replicators can be damaged - then they are inoperable and needs a Tech to repair it. Even Artifact registering is not possible while the Replicator is damaged.
Another extremely important factor is energy - basically that's your currency. To get it, you have to find Energy Generators that are spread across the map. Then, you must deploy an Energy Relay near the Generator (at most 32 feet far) so it is switched on and starts giving your base energy. An important factor is hiding the relay - the easier it is to see it, the easier it will be for the opponents to destroy. Energy Relays don't have to be monitored all the time - they can heal themselves, however, they consume energy while doing that. Once the energy reaches a certain level, a specific item can be researched, produced or used. All of these actions consume energy, so you can't do a lot at once unless you relay a lot of energy Generators. If a team's energy reaches 0, the team can not gain any more energy (as relays also consume some energy) and can't even respawn, so they lose.
The gametype isn't limited to two teams, although the number of it is decided by LDs. The Red team is Izanagi, the Blue team is Marines, Gold team is Liandri and Green team is Skaarj. The objectives are also decided by LDs - a team might need to register all the artifacts in the map (by killing enemies and taking their artifacts for reregistering), a number of artifacts or a group of artifacts (like one artifact from each enemy base). However, the victory condition also greatly depends on the number of players - if there are 3 on both teams, you can't physically register 4 artifacts.
You don't start with Jet Packs, so early in the game Force Fields are very useful - the enemy must destroy it before going through, they can't jump over. However, you can research the jet pack technology.
Superweapons are also available. They might be available for research or as a pickup, depends on the LD. Security cameras can be attached and will provide a spectating point for defenders - for example, you can put a camera outside the base, see an enemy incoming, place a mine near the door and BOOM!
Proximity Sensors scan the area for enemies and emit a sound to warn of intruders - that is good if the base has a few entrances. Security robots guard your base. You also have mines, deployable turrets. You decide what vehicles you want to build too. However, LDs can choose to make a neutral vehicle, disable vehicle building at all or allow super vehicles.
So that's about it. You win if you register and keep an amount of Artifacts, if the enemy team(s) lose all their energy or if the timer expires. If the latter happens, your deploy points are disabled so you can't respawn.
What do you think about it?
Unreal II XMP as it was initially intended to be very different from what you have now. The gameplay was absolutely different, like a whole new gametype. So here's a description of how it was intended to be (and how it could be remade, though that would be hard to make):
Description:
A very unique gametype that requires good teamwork and especially strategy.
Overview:
The gametype's objective is to find and register an amount of Artifacts hidden by the Level Designer, and stop the enemy team from doing the same.
There are (the usual) three classes: Light Ranger, Medium Tech and Heavy Gunner. They have different amount of armour on (Gunner being the most armoured) and have different speeds (Gunner being the slowest). The weapons used are from Unreal II, but not restricted to them. All classes carry a Dispersion Pistol and a Combat Assault Rifle. Classes start with these unique weapons: Light - Magnum Pistol, Medium - Shotgun, Heavy - Magnum Pistol. Light players can't pick up Grenade and Rocket Launchers, Medium can't take Sniper Rifles and Heavy can't also take Sniper Rifles.
The game, like U2, is pickup based. That is, to get ammo, you have to take ammo, to get weapons, you have to take weapons.
The most important part of the gametype are the Artifacts. LDs select the number of Artifacts and the team that must get them. He also places the Artifacts where he wants - usually in challenging places, such as the enemy base, near a lava pit, somewhere that you have to mantle to get up etc. Those who manage to get an Artifact must transport it back to the base and register it with the Replicator. That can be done only if the team has at least 800 points of energy. Once an Artifact is registered, the carrier doesn't lose the artifact - instead, he keeps it and gains a special ability: damage reduction, health regeneration, Artifact location (you are shown the way to another artifact), speed or weapon damage. When you have an Artifact in your inventory, you can not take another one.
The Replicator is in the core of your base. It is a computer terminal that is connected to all of your base and it does a few different things:
1. Researches technology. To do this, you have to have enough energy and wait for some time so the research would finish. Researching gives you more technology, ranging from health stations to more vehicles to more weapons to new deployables etc. If something isn't researched, it can't be used, and if it is, it can't go offline unless you are out of all energy.
2. Produces items. There items must be researched first. The Replicator can produce virtually anything it can research - you can order it to make you a vehicle (and dump into a garage), a weapon, ammo pickup, deployable, even a robot or a security camera. They all vary in time that it takes to produce them and the energy consumed.
3. Registers Artifacts. To do that, you have to have at least 800 points of energy.
The Replicator can not do different takes at the same time. That means that you have to e very sensible and decide what your troops need the most now and what you can afford. Only Medium Techs can use the Replicators (except for Artifact registering), so it is essential that your team has at least a single Tech and that it is protected at all times. Replicators can be used by only one person at a time. The Replicators can be damaged - then they are inoperable and needs a Tech to repair it. Even Artifact registering is not possible while the Replicator is damaged.
Another extremely important factor is energy - basically that's your currency. To get it, you have to find Energy Generators that are spread across the map. Then, you must deploy an Energy Relay near the Generator (at most 32 feet far) so it is switched on and starts giving your base energy. An important factor is hiding the relay - the easier it is to see it, the easier it will be for the opponents to destroy. Energy Relays don't have to be monitored all the time - they can heal themselves, however, they consume energy while doing that. Once the energy reaches a certain level, a specific item can be researched, produced or used. All of these actions consume energy, so you can't do a lot at once unless you relay a lot of energy Generators. If a team's energy reaches 0, the team can not gain any more energy (as relays also consume some energy) and can't even respawn, so they lose.
The gametype isn't limited to two teams, although the number of it is decided by LDs. The Red team is Izanagi, the Blue team is Marines, Gold team is Liandri and Green team is Skaarj. The objectives are also decided by LDs - a team might need to register all the artifacts in the map (by killing enemies and taking their artifacts for reregistering), a number of artifacts or a group of artifacts (like one artifact from each enemy base). However, the victory condition also greatly depends on the number of players - if there are 3 on both teams, you can't physically register 4 artifacts.
You don't start with Jet Packs, so early in the game Force Fields are very useful - the enemy must destroy it before going through, they can't jump over. However, you can research the jet pack technology.
Superweapons are also available. They might be available for research or as a pickup, depends on the LD. Security cameras can be attached and will provide a spectating point for defenders - for example, you can put a camera outside the base, see an enemy incoming, place a mine near the door and BOOM!
Proximity Sensors scan the area for enemies and emit a sound to warn of intruders - that is good if the base has a few entrances. Security robots guard your base. You also have mines, deployable turrets. You decide what vehicles you want to build too. However, LDs can choose to make a neutral vehicle, disable vehicle building at all or allow super vehicles.So that's about it. You win if you register and keep an amount of Artifacts, if the enemy team(s) lose all their energy or if the timer expires. If the latter happens, your deploy points are disabled so you can't respawn.
What do you think about it?
