Epic aims to correct the steep learning curve seen in UT2003/4, making the game enjoyable for newbies and veteran players alike, hence the ability to use your stats to find similarly-skilled opponents
wtf? The fact that they see this as something that needs to be corrected is all that needs to be known. Epic believes (wrongly) that the learning curve has something to do with the size of the ut2k4 community.
Here's my version of the facts:
1)They did zip for advertising the game. See the unreal championship commercials on tv? how many did you see for ut2k4?
2)Too many mods from the start, fracturing the community more than it already was. And btw, Onslaught is the noob mod, and thats not being elitist it's just true. Don't be insulted if you love Onslaught just recognize the fact that you don't want a challenge and/or you're the kind of person who gives up when you get owned.
3)They allowed Nvidia/ID to get CPL to drop UT2k4 from the event in favor of (OF ALL THINGS) Doom3 multiplayer. I'm convinced that they could have done something about this but they didn't care.
4)They don't care about the people who have been true to this franchize thru all 3 versions. If they did, the quote above wouldn't be there.
5)If they were actually *involved* in our community it *would* be bigger, but they're not. They leave it to us to provide our own anti-cheats, our own ladders, etc. When was the last time someone from Epic popped into one of our irc channels and asked us what we think? We're there EVERY DAY playing this game, that should count for something. We're the ones who rent servers, rent TS servers, form clans, get on ladders...(You ppl who basically play Onslaught for a couple hours on Saturday, yet post in this forum like you're part of "the community"; puleeze).
My Opinions:
I seriously believe that there are people in this forum who think that adjusting your mouse sense or fov to improve your aim is just too much trouble.
Dumb down the dodging? Dodging IS UT. There are plenty of people in our (ctf,dm,tdm) community that are willing to help you learn this game if you don't quit cause you got fragged too many times.
I don't think I'm alone when I say that I won't be buying this game if the learning curve or the movements are substantially changed. The fact that I could play this game everyday for a year and still be on that learning curve is what makes the game fun. It's not elitist to think that way; it comes from having a genuinely competitive spirit. That means that when you're down 18-0 and theres one minute left you still play full-tilt.
Thx
MANI