UTComp features in 2k7

[gades]

I don't understand the problem with utcomp, cause it's completely customizable. Brightskins, hitsounds, colored names even, can be completely disabled clientside. Although I do understand that doing so might put you at a disadvantage to everyone else on the server.

 

[ThirtySixBelow]

UTcomp2k7

 

[Nemephosis]

ERR...NO. UTComp has nothing to do with ut2k4's playerbase btw.

The f*ck it doesn't. There are people, including myself, who refuse to play online because of the catastrophic bullsh*t it brings with hitsounds, neon green skins, etc.

If that's what the pros need to be competitive, they can have it.

 

[Sir_Brizz]

The f*ck it doesn't. There are people, including myself, who refuse to play online because of the catastrophic bullsh*t it brings with hitsounds, neon green skins, etc.

If that's what the pros need to be competitive, they can have it.

Nem is right. Online player numbers outside the realm of Onslaught are taking a proverbial raping because many people like Nem and I refuse to keep putting up with the crap.

I know I'm not the only one that thinks 2k4 is getting really boring. You can hardly join a server anymmore without UTcomp and newnet enabled and it makes the game incredibly drab. I always thought UT wasn't supposed to be about getting sniped and respawning repeatedly, which is what 2k4+newnet is.

 

[EL BOURIKO]

In terms of the skins what I think is needed is this:
- Clearly visible teamskins for at least a couple of the skins (like the Epic style brightskins in UTComp, looks good and is visible)
- Ability to force the skin you think is the most visible

crap! then it gives to high advantage to long range skilled players because you get too easy to spot from long distance.
In addition warriors in any army try to blend with their environment and i could not imagine any soldier going on the field in a bright red uniform. Why people don t want to deal with what is maybe one of the most important aspect of the guerilla, the use of the decor to disappear and surprise your ennemy?

 

[Nosnos]

Well the difference I guess, the people who like UTComp probably don't think of UT as a wargame and certainly not in terms like army and guerilla warfare. I personally don't want the game to be about hiding in shadows and chosing the right skin in order to be hard to spot for the opponent. Yes a big part of the game should be about being sneaky and ambush your opponent. But hiding in shadows isn't very sneaky imo, tricking the opponent to thinking you are somewhere else is sneaky.

And it's true about being able to spot players over longer distances makes it possible to use long range weapons. But the domination in UT2003/UT2004 for LG/Shock is not about the visibility but rather the oversized maps, which is something that afaik Epic is trying to fix. It doesnt help much long range players much if you spot players more easily if you are in RL/Flak range ^^

 

[Discord]

Having positive feedback, in terms of hit sounds, is very good imo. However, they don't necessarily have to sound like plinking the side of a garbage can.

I've never had trouble hearing the stock pain sounds, TBH. Or seeing the blood spurts. IMO hit feedback in UT2k4 is fine... if there's a problem with it, it would be that it's so natural you might think it's just decoration, and there's no explanation in the docs about exactly how it works.

And I totally don't have a problem with UTComp... it's a different style of game, sure, but it's still fun and it's not like night and day or anything. It's still UT.

But the hitsounds in UTComp are really, really annoying IMO. I think in future they might consider simply a gain- boosted iteration of the stock grunt, analogous to the "brighter Epicskins" option. "Louder EpicHitSounds" if you like...


As for features to get "stolen" from UTComp by Epic, I think warmup time and the scoreboard are a couple of prime candidates. Team- based forcemodel I'm totally down with, it's a simple idea but soooo much better than the stock version. Colored nicks... eh, it caused no end of b!tching when that exploit got around. Newnet? Stock, out of the box? Hehe, not just "no" but "hell no." Same for glo- skins.

 

[-AEnubis-]

Yeah, I turn off hitsounds client side, because I can see fine 2k4's hit cues. I don't need them, and they feel like they make a delay to me, with which I can't hit anything. Probably mostly psychological, but none the less...

Glow skins I used to do without as well, but when I broke down, and played with them, because of getting sniped too many times, and wonder "how the hell did he see me", I tried them, and 15% later on my LtG, I decided I couldn't afford to not use them. That, though, is old hat.

Team based forcemodel, and color selection is a fine idea. Models with texture "zones" that are left to be modified by color selection is a great idea, so long as they retain a natural and real look like they did in UT. Warm up as an option defaulting to off would be fine by me too. One more reason for comp to just not try. It has it's uses, I have no major gripes with it, other then regulating it's use. Stats, hud, colored names, are all just asthetic, and I see no reason they can't be client options.

Newnet is garbage, unless they plan on balancing weapons for whatever ping is simulated by it. Even then, replication is damaged, due to inconsistancy of latency, and connections, and so long as the net has "bumpy roads" as was described in that other lovely thread, it's not something that should be pushed, but reserved for servers who can (and for whatever reason want) to handle it.

Stealth and camo has little place in UT, though neither does LoS radar like glowskins. Some visual acuity should be necessary, but not in a fashion that only 8% of players will be any good at it, and so everyone tries to keep distance, and stay still. UT had it nailed. Only a few models, in a few maps were hard to see.

 

[edhe]

ERR...NO. UTComp has nothing to do with ut2k4's playerbase btw.

Actually yes.

People don't like going online to find that the online experience is vastly different from their offline one. All those funky stupid skins, all the hit noises, the changed scoreboards etc etc, It'll put people off. And because UTComp's on practically every server now, it means that those people that want to play 2k4 online aren't getting to, they're being forced to play someone else's idea of what it should be. Tainted by "pros" who are inevitably deaf, blind and whiney. I have mates that don't play online, they don't like the way it's changed, alienates them.

p.s. what AE said about skin balance. All skins NEED TO BE equally visible and seperable from scenery, or we'll have this brightskin malarky all over again. People want to play The Game They Bought online. That doesn't happen anymore. Epic will need to make sure that this is catered for or they'll bypass the right market yet again.

 

[Nosnos]

That's a problem with UT2004 in general though to many mutators and gametypes that makes it hard to find a "standard" game... and tbh, UTComp make less changes to the actual gameplay than most other mutators... sure it might make it easier to spot people and hit them over longer distances, but it's still the same game with the same weapons, movement, etc...

Btw... if there are so many people that find it hard to find a decent standard server to play on why dont they get together and start to play on an empty standard server. There are plenty of those just waiting to be used...

 

[klasnic]

Actually yes.

People don't like going online to find that the online experience is vastly different from their offline one. All those funky stupid skins, all the hit noises, the changed scoreboards etc etc, It'll put people off. And because UTComp's on practically every server now, it means that those people that want to play 2k4 online aren't getting to, they're being forced to play someone else's idea of what it should be. Tainted by "pros" who are inevitably deaf, blind and whiney. I have mates that don't play online, they don't like the way it's changed, alienates them.

p.s. what AE said about skin balance. All skins NEED TO BE equally visible and seperable from scenery, or we'll have this brightskin malarky all over again. People want to play The Game They Bought online. That doesn't happen anymore. Epic will need to make sure that this is catered for or they'll bypass the right market yet again.

Bravo! give this man a medal Truer words were never spoken :tup:

& @ ThirtySixBelow's pic of what may be

Dunno' if I agree on the debate about bright skins/colour balance though. In real life you wouldn't have it so why have it in a game? To me if you use a dark or camo skin and hide in the bushes you should have that advantage if you choose to take it. Everyone else has the same option. If you want to use a glow skin and be highly visible atop a tower by all means do. I personally don't want a lot of clones running around in the same outfit. Surely the option to wear a snow camo outfit on a snow themed map or a rusty armoured thing in an industrial setting should be down to the player?

I'd personally like to be surprised by someone jumping from the bushes et all That's what I meant by the game being fun instead of so competitive. If you want competitive have an in game mut for competitive mode where everyone's governed by the same in game rules/settings and leave the rest of us to just play the game

 

[edhe]

The next argument will be 'use standard servers tickbox' to which the reply will be 'how many are left?'

 

[Nosnos]

If you want competitive have an in game mut for competitive mode where everyone's governed by the same in game rules/settings and leave the rest of us to just play the game

Well that's what we do have with UTComp ^^ but apparently people don't like that and I think that "competitive" mutator/settings made by Epic would be the best solution.

The next argument will be 'use standard servers tickbox' to which the reply will be 'how many are left?'

True not many are left, but is that the other mutators fault? I guess that if the game was good enough out of the box there would still be plenty of standard servers around :/

 

[Persefone]

ERR...NO. UTComp has nothing to do with ut2k4's playerbase btw.

My last attempt for an online DM was last week. There were three populated servers; two of them with UTCrap + instagib + our clan mapper crap map, the third with a map box with something I guess is redeemer arena and some kind of RPG/monster mutator.

I can´t give Epic thanks enough for its bots.

True not many are left, but is that the other mutators fault? I guess that if the game was good enough out of the box there would still be plenty of standard servers around :/

Your argument can be turned into if the servers out there were good enough there would be plenty of players on them.
I think the fact that most people prefer offline play proofs the game is good enough.

[EDIT] With respect to forced models I want to play with the model I like and I guess most players too.

 

[Nosnos]

But there have been plenty of good servers around before, and there still are, at least in Europe, but no one plays on them. So the of course the serveradmins either closes down the server or changes it so that people play on it... the biggest problem isn't that the servers are wrong but that many players refuse to jump on an empty server... it's the only way to get people on them but someone needs to take that first step...

 

[EL BOURIKO]

Actually yes.

People don't like going online to find that the online experience is vastly different from their offline one. All those funky stupid skins, all the hit noises, the changed scoreboards etc etc, It'll put people off. And because UTComp's on practically every server now, it means that those people that want to play 2k4 online aren't getting to, they're being forced to play someone else's idea of what it should be. Tainted by "pros" who are inevitably deaf, blind and whiney. I have mates that don't play online, they don't like the way it's changed, alienates them.

p.s. what AE said about skin balance. All skins NEED TO BE equally visible and seperable from scenery, or we'll have this brightskin malarky all over again. People want to play The Game They Bought online. That doesn't happen anymore. Epic will need to make sure that this is catered for or they'll bypass the right market yet again.

I have never been a fan of UTcomp and i have always wondered why many players are so found of it... I thought that I had to be a weird player to think so. Thank you for your words Edhe, they express for the most why I almost never play on UTcomp server!!!

And to answer to the PS, I agree with ÆNUBIS that all the skins need to be equally visible, BUT this does not mean that you need to have bright skin and it have more to do with skin design.

I want to add that "EQUALLY VISIBLE" for me does not mean that suddenly one player in the light and one player in the shadow become the same visible, BUT that 2 players with different skins on the same place under the same light in a neutral colored place (very light grey) should be seen in the same easy way. Bright skin just destroy the atmospheric perspective (things should fade from distance -> BOTH details AND colors) and negate the natural opportunities given by the dark areas of each map. I really cannot figure out how people could argue that this not true.

 

[edhe]

:tup:

Alot of us have been advocating this for a long long time.

So, RE: Topic. Should we have sufficient equality in skin visbility (from defauly through all colour options), an optional 'warming up mode', proper micro-stats tracking and an optional hitsound setting, there'd be no more need for UTComp rubbish - and everyone would be happy with it. The "OMGZ1337PR0S" could turn all that on, and not worry about skin visibility as it's all even, and "WTFn00bzGETsum5k1llZ!" erm, normal, folk like me, AE and the rest of the forum, could have the game the way it's meant to be - and we could all play on the same servers without people getting any advantage over the other, because there isn't any in hitsounds, stats or warmup.

 

[Sir_Brizz]

:tup: to everything edhe has said in this thread!

 

[8-4-7-2]

They just need to get rid of those ultra-bright skins that look like someone just painted the whole model in one color.

Instead just overlay a slighty brightness increased texture over the original one, so that you can still see the real texture.
UTComp allows you do that clientside, and I play like that because the default makes my eyes bleed. But you just know that many people use the extreme version

 

[ThirtySixBelow]

In addition warriors in any army try to blend with their environment and i could not imagine any soldier going on the field in a bright red uniform. Why people don t want to deal with what is maybe one of the most important aspect of the guerilla, the use of the decor to disappear and surprise your ennemy?

Probably because this isn't vietnam. Hiding in the decor of a forest area to cloak yourself and then popping up with a lightning gun or shock rifle seems pretty reasonable