UT2K4 Demo out

How good is the AI? I've heard mixed things about it

DamienW said:

Erh, Keg, i thought i would point out that the only guy leaping at other people's throats here is Cold Killer, and he does so because they dare not like the demo

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That was my intended recipient of that comment.

The AI is still a little bit buggy - the bots sometimes just ignore you if you shoot them repeatedly. Otherwise, it's very good, especially on Onslaught - they use the vehicles and turrets well, although now and again they can't work out steering on ground vehicles.

I'll agree with Damien here, it's good fun to play. I'm a little disappointed no to see the editor ship with the demo, but you can't have everything. On a related note: does anyone know how I extract all the .uc files without using the nonexistant editor?

@Crowze: the included ucc.exe is not able to extract the sources to .uc files. Trying to use the ucc.exe and some needed dlls from UT2k3 doesn't work either. BUT the u.files still include the scripts in readable form (they haven't compiled them with the option to rip out the plain text). So if you want to check out some scripts then you can do it already by opening up the u files in your favorite editor (Unix Lf file type). I haven't checked out UDE yet... maybe it can open the new u files too.

@OICW: The AI in Onslaught looks pretty good in most places cause the bots have multiple 'goals' that they can try to reach. They still run/drive on you guns blazing but that is how they supposed to be for a UT style gameplay. But the AI in Assault is plain stupid due to the limited amount of 'goals'. They simply run towards the objectives and even ignore you while you open fire on them. You can simply wait on the first objective and kill one bot after another. They do not even fire at you most times even while standing a few feet away from them. All that counts is the 'platform' they have to reach... they totally ignore you while standing right next to it. The AI in BombingRun seems to be a bit low too. You can easily grab the 'ball', run the long route to the goal and score. Somehow it is really too easy to fight against the bots in general. Blasting them away is eally easy most times and if they have a goal in sight then they tend to totally ignoring you even if you hit them.

general things:
- weapons... extremly underpowered... even the big bad anti-vehicle rocket only leaves a scratch but doesn't really hurt
- tank vehicle... extremly overpowered... almost unstoppable and kills everything with more or less one shot
- other vehicles... fun to play with but the behindview perspective/FOV shift feels as if you then play against some ants running around... everything looks so small then, especially players running around some meters away.
- spider mines... nice toys... using the laser to 'guide' them on their target is fun somehow
- background music and background sounds... they do not really exist. The maps sound almost too empty...

Overall a nice product if you like the fast paced stupid plain 'put crosshair on target and hit your fire button' type of games. Without UT2k3 already out it would be pretty cool but as some sort of update for it, the price will be a bit much for most people out there I guess.

Insomniac said:

Under the features of vehicles and the two or three weapons, a few points, is the same old gameplay of UT. Just prettier, and with more "bang."

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But aren't ALL FPS's just Quake with a different story/weapons/maps, prettier and with more "bang"!

Were people ACTUALLY expecting something "COMPLETELY" different, a RTS or something

Essentially, all FPS's have just been "UPDATES" on previous FPS's, so I fail to see that as a valid critique of ANY new FPS!

Onslaught has a delightful similarity to the 'improved' fort idea I was kicking around a few months earlier. I like that. At a glance, it also appears that people can set up thier own configurations, so no two servers have to play the same way.

Petty CK comments aside, you can have a fantastic amount of fun in these sort of games. It doesn't have to be realism to be taken seriously.

[C22]-Mort said:

But aren't ALL FPS's just Quake with a different story/weapons/maps, prettier and with more "bang"!

Were people ACTUALLY expecting something "COMPLETELY" different, a RTS or something

Essentially, all FPS's have just been "UPDATES" on previous FPS's, so I fail to see that as a valid critique of ANY new FPS!

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That's like saying Infiltration is an updated version of Wolfenstein 3D. And Counter Strike is an updated version of Unreal. And Deus Ex and System Shock 1&2 are just updated versions of Doom. You know, only a couple hundred years ago you would have been drowned in sullage by the mob for such outstanding blasphemy.

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Instaposted / Added quote

Just like Copernicus heh! but he was right too

but yeah, obviously they have come on leaps and bounds since there origination, but it has always been a slow evolution!

Just look at "Red Faction" and all the hype about its "deformable scenery", it was still just another FPS in another setting

raekwon got a point

Ut2k3 engine is cool. havent tried Ut2k4 demo.

why?

because : NO KALASNIKOV = NO DOWNLOAD

can somebody please. please. please ban CK

only played onslaught online. im happy to see that my gf2 can actually pull it off with reasonable fps.
voice com = good.

if the engine is nice to modders then mods should go crazy with this game.
infiltration should totally rule this engine and take over the world. give us infiltration on this engine with voicecom and vehicles and i should be able to live my life single , alone in my room happily ever after. (and no, i repeat, NO more waving sound )

Talking about sound, how IS the sound engine upgraded since ut anyway? Anybody knows that?
I mean bigger soundradius for players so you can hear further than 50 meters away, the ability to filter sound ( when underwater ) etc. Is this engine capable of that?
( like hl's engine been for over 5 years )
They better have improved the sound dammit! Now im upsetting myself.

Cold Killer said:

Um, go to hell. I've already stated that I've only been jumping on people for pathetically failing to back up their comments with adequate facts, not simply for disliking the demo.

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Just because you consider the other side's arguments "pathetic" doesn't give you the right to jump at their throats, buddy.

Now on to the comments :

Crowze : you know the whole assault intro can be skipped, right ? I actually liked to have it here the first time, to guide my way through this seemingly complex level. On a similar note, i like how they make the way to the next objective crystal clear, with both the HUD signals and these little red/blue floating lights. It really helps get into the map even if you're not familiar with it. However, as other people pointed it out, the AI is a little too obsessed with goals to be much of a threat.

Beppo :
- the AVRIL (the big rocket launcher), underpowered ? I think not. Two hits will kill anything, and, providing the terrain doesn't get in the way, it rarely misses. Nothing like the vanilla rocket laucnher that is forced to rely on spash damage. As for other weapons, well, they've been that way since UT2003 (although the minigun's primary fire seems to have been given a hefty boost).

- As for the tank : yes, it's powerful, but maybe it's because the bots aren't too good at fighting it. When you give it a little more thought, it hasn't got THAT big of a health bar, especially considering that there is no way to repair it. Every hit you take is permanent. And his turret isn't so hot for taking on fast vehicles. It works against the AI because well, it isn't the sharpest tool in the bunch, but i'm fairly sure that a player-piloted manta (hovercraft) or raptor (fighter) can dispose of a tank fairly quickly. Besides, once again, if you're against human, non-dumb players, being in a tank will make you everyone's target, so i'm sure that against a fighter + hovercraft + 2 footmen with AVRIL => the tank won't seem so "overpowered". In my opinion, it's more amatter of the AI not fighting properly.

- FOV shift when entering a vehicle : say hello to Mr mouse wheel

Zero Hour was a very good expantion already. I´ll not get another one.

PS: did not read the whole thread, just my opinion is here.

BobTheFearlessFish said:

can somebody please. please. please ban CK

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Seconded with "Ban Ice" thrown in for good measure.

Honestly, I got bored with it after 30 minutes of playing this morning. And yes, it has a GOD DAMN CROSSHAIR! People who know me me knows I hate games that has a GOD DAMN CROSSHAIR! I think the real reason this time around though is that I qickly get bored with fast paced, bunnyhopping FPS's. But that's just me and my preference in games.

As for modding possiblities, I think "Wow!" covers it pretty well.

INF2k4

I actually liked the demo. Maybe it's just a fresh change of pace, but it was fun. I was surprised at how well it ran on my 2+ year old system, averaging 45 fps even with bumping up the resolution. And Almost, I changed my crosshair to the dot just for that reason

I only see UT2K as a backend for INF !

DamienW said:

- the AVRIL (the big rocket launcher), underpowered ? I think not. Two hits will kill anything, and, providing the terrain doesn't get in the way, it rarely misses.

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Anything but the tank, that is, which requires 4 hits.

especially considering that there is no way to repair it. Every hit you take is permanent.

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Using the secondary firemode of the linkgun will repair vehicles - including the tank.

Bh