Seriously compared to UT2004 the maps are far better. A lot of the maps in UT2004 really sucked gameplay wise. One of the few good ones was DM-Rankin. UT3 is very strong gameplay wise. And about the gameplay being geared towards consoles I really don't know where your getting this info from.... UT3 was designed for both consoles and PC's
Yeah I think alot of people are confusing "dumbed down" with "consolization" which arnt exactly the same thing. From the beginning we knew UT2007 was coming to PS3 and PC, after that it was the 360 announcement, now at this point I felt the need to step up and say something.
Yet, I was assured by people and even Epic themselves things would be fine and we would still get a great game. Which we did, but my concerns voiced or not didnt change a thing (not that I expected anything) when I look back now though I wonder that if the person working on the UI for UT3 had looked at my posts (some of which were lost in the great war of the forums RIP 2007).
Anyways my point is that if this person/people had perhaps taken some notes on what I was saying about PC gaming then they would have realized a PC game is just as much about the interface as it is about the gameplay. So while I love everything after hitting fire to enter the arena (yes tourney remember) I just feel sad that my worries were shrugged off, especially at a point where something could have been done to fix things.
This reminds me of an interview, was it mark rein or jeff morris, yeah well someone used a quote about Epic knowing how to make good PC games. Sure Epic can make brilliant games and I'll pit their gameplay against the gameplay of any other company, but the game doesnt start or end with the gameplay it starts and ends in the interface so perhaps thats why its the first thing on peoples minds when they complain about UT3.
Its not all bad as I have been saying and the new menu music is great but when you are rushing through the interface to get it out of your face as quickly as possible you dont stop to enjoy it.
Well thats enough beating of that horse, I just had to have my say on the matter and how I think Epic totally neglected people who havent been banned from the official forums. It would have been nice to think that Epic actually listened you know, I dont expect them to but when they respond on more than one occasion to let you know your concerns are unwarranted... I mean can you blame me for feeling shrugged off.
Now onto acouple of things I love about the game before I break it down on some of the gameplay stuff I dont like, not bugs but actual direction the gameplay went, no not features omitted like dodge jump either. That horse is covered with maggots and is half eaten
The art direction is brilliant as BBurkart mentioned and I'll definately have to agree on the maps side of things. Original content is where UT3 was at so for all of you who think they could have come up with all that in acouple of months you better recheck your thinking. 2k4 relied heavily on content from another UT title, specifically 2k3, Ive said it before but 2k4 to me was a mess of two games and I fell on a whole UC2 and also UT3 provide a more cohesive experience.
Im happy with my purchase though and I would have bought it even if there was 0 people playing it online, if its a niche its my niche and I'll stay here forever. Call me crazy but Im not going to change what I like just because my friends happen to like playing all that wargame stuff I get bored of. Fast paced in your face action is what I like and Epic delivered!
Then I look at the vehicle game types and think, you know I do kinda like 2k4's vehicles better. Then Im thinking why? I certainly like the new look and the necris vehicle set but its not about looks, perhaps this is one area I feel Epic went too arcade and dumbed things down. I can hear the screams of "consolized for PC" already, but thats not it, vehicles can be controlled better on gamepads for the most part so making the vehicles simplified isnt because of that.
I'll go alittle off track for a second and say that Ive spoken to new players to UT3 who didnt spend alot of time in 2k4 and only played alittle UT. You know what they said? UT3 has alot of depth, I tend to agree especially for people who havent been around in the UT scene, vehicles with alt firemodes and the addition of the hoverboard.
So what is it about the vehicles, for me its the auto-brakes and this cruddy anti-roll assist system which makes the vehicles float like leaves in the wind when they are in the air (Talking more about the land vehicles here) and the lackluster weaponry for a few of the necris vehicles. So while there might be alot of depth there its overshadowed alittle by these vehicles which a 2 year old can drive. OMG reminds me of the raptor damage when you crash into something, you can fly that thing with your eyes shut and still not die unless you get shot down
Okay now that said the interface could be refered to as "consolized" in my eyes but the vehicles certainly are "dumbed down", I just cant seem to place the blame on the consoles for that one. It seems it has more to do with the gameplay direction Epic took with the vehicles and is the only major problem over the interface (which I can put up with btw) I have with the game.
I still play warfare and vctf though, warfare I actually really enjoy despite the problems I have with the vehicles. Perhaps some people just see an easy target and aim at Epic when really they should be busy talking about the problems with COD4 over at those forums. If UT3 had 30k players Im sure we could spare 1k of those to go around trolling other games forums to try and stop people buying the game. From what Ive seen the people true to Unreal and the franchise stick with it no matter what, I disliked 2k4 but I still played it and I still modded for it even after source came out.
I just have no illusions about games these days and can see things for what they really are, Im not gonna bull**** you guys because Im sure most of you can see right past that. Infact the games industry is going the way of the movie biz, spiderman one did how well at the box office, then we look at spiderman 3 vs halo 3 which one did better? Well I heard Halo 3 sold better than a movie, yups you got that right.
Then again its all about this "quality drama" on TV these days isnt it? Its all about risk and I think Epic took one with UT3, perhaps it didnt pay off like Gears but hell atleast they tried, I wish more studios could be so bold instead of sticking with whats pop. Multiplayer, Singleplayer and Cooperative gameplay all in one title! Need I say more? Well I can, Gears did that right? Wheres the AI in Multiplayer... Non existant perhaps but lets also not forget that Gears is also an Epic game along with the other greats such as Unreal.
I could go on but I think some of you might want to check what you say and if you dont know what you are on about then just dont say anything, it really doesnt help things for those of us who want to say something that we feel is of actual importance. This is probably the main reason my concerns were shrugged off in the first place, then again Im not gonna blame anyone Im just here to make some of you think about a few things.
Im not done yet either, being a modder as well I have got into the Unrealed and UScript. The new editor is brilliant and the support materials which come with the CE, I mean these two things alone are worth the price I paid without getting a free game
but nups I get a free game and free mods. I'll just take alittle time to thank everyone who has done some modding for UT3 and supports it.
I do have some issues here though which go back to the interface, also the interface editor in unrealed. I wont go into much detail but lets just say there is some really akward stuff to work around or features which are missing which I would have loved to have access to. That though isnt a huge issue and I can see why Epic does things a certain way, not only do they provide middleware they provide games as well so Im willing to stick by them for the most part with some of those descisions. If I had full engine access this certainly wouldnt be an issue for me and since Im not selling anything if I cant do something or I have to work around something thats just part of it. Perhaps I would consider if its worth my time more carefully and even further realize, that hard descisions like this is what Epic does every day.
Thank you.
P.S Trying to make up for a year worth of lost rants
One last thing I forgot on the topic of support... Dont any of you guys take holidays over christmas? Hell I know its summer over here and everyone parties, Im gonna cut Epic some slack on this till well about now
