Videogamer.com Interviews Steve Polge

[{Ogre}Spin]

Alot of people I know who game, either on pc or console, but mostly on pc; who really aren't part of the enthusiast community that forums like this represent, would absolutely pay for an unreal 3. I think some people underestimate the value of 30 somethings who remember how groundbreaking unreal 1 was and would take a great interest in a sequel these days.

Epic's dancecard is pretty full these days, but with their assorted studios (I've never really been clear on whether epic china is just art-content dev) I'd not rule out the chance of one. I think the universe has potential to be exploited in a good story driven single player and I'd really like to see it happen in the future.

Oh, and it would sell better than UT4 :x

 

[StalwartUK]

Wrong. Legend Entertainment got Unreal technology to a whole new level and created miracles with a great story. If someone cared about it, that was Legend. Unreal II failed only because of Atari which simply threw Legend into oblivion and left no chance for the game to be updated with netcode. Almost everyone agree that Unreal II was fine, but just lacked replayability. With graphics, it was just amazing back at 2002.

I don't see why another Unreal series game would be impossible or bad. Both Unreal and Unreal II were cool, and Unreal III can be as cool. I don't think it should be a direct sequel to older Unreals - it's quite original to have them all unrelated, and then all of a sudden link everything to one in another Unreal game. Links to UT would be fun too. And we have to see that Green's World Rebellion!

Now I know that you are one of the few people alive that actually like Unreal 2, crappy as it is. In many people's eyes (including mine) it's a disaster that people would rather forget about. It didn't fly off the shelves. It didn't break any new ground. Fans of the Unreal series hated it and it didn't appeal much to anyone else. XMP was a desperate last effort by Legend to salvage the game and save their own butts but it was too little, too late.

The lack of connection between the Unreal titles was the main reason for the series' demise in the first place. Just look at how the Half-Life series at what could've been for Unreal. Half-Life 2 - A faithful sequel that followed on straight from the first game developed by the same developers as the original was a blazing success and is commonly regarded as both an excellent sequel and as a good game in it's own right. It led to further Half-Life titles and other spinoffs that have all been critical successes.

I've never held a high opinion of Legend Entertainment. RTNP was basically the unused parts of Unreal put into a new package, Unreal Gold was a glitchy mess and Unreal 2 might as well not exist. When I first heard they were shut down my first thought was "good riddance" and time has only reinforced that opinion.

 

[hal]

Wrong. Legend Entertainment got Unreal technology to a whole new level and created miracles with a great story. If someone cared about it, that was Legend. Unreal II failed only because of Atari which simply threw Legend into oblivion and left no chance for the game to be updated with netcode. Almost everyone agree that Unreal II was fine, but just lacked replayability. With graphics, it was just amazing back at 2002.

Unreal 2 was kind of lackluster and uninteresting, especially when compared to the first. You're kind of in the minority on your opinion: http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/unreal2theawakening?q=unreal

Legend's Unreal MP1: Return to Na Pali was even worse, so it's hard to dismiss U2 as a one-time let-down.

 

[UBerserker]

Nah, RTNP was great, and sometimes much more enjoyable than the original Unreal.

 

[hal]

Nah, RTNP was great, and sometimes much more enjoyable than the original Unreal.

Yes it was... IN OPPOSITE LAND!

 

[Armagon917]

unreal 2 although, is home to possibly the coolest shotgun ever made for a game.

 

[GreatEmerald]

All Unreals are cool. It's only that people prefer one things to another.

Armagon917, you're probably from a crowd, because the Shotgun's nickname is Crowd Pleaser

 

[elmuerte]

Yes it was... IN OPPOSITE LAND!

it's called "Darkpulse is right"-land

 

[Leo(T.C.K.)]

Stalwart, you forgot about Wheel of Time, which was done by neo-Legend as well (it was released under gt interactive and not the damn infogrames).
Return to Na Pali was a quick job and was not even done by the main team (they hired some previously community mappers and coders for it, yeah, they are maybe not that known beacuse most of their stuff was on unreal 220 or something and also originally quake community mappers, but meh), it was replacement, yes just a quick replacement for the original missionpack which was cancelled when infogrames took control of it.
Hell they even created levels with a lot of things going on in WOT, maybe better than half life 2 did in that game. There is this house on water on one later level which have breaking surface if you step into it and the environemnt around kinda reminds some of half life 2 episode 2, not surprising since Scott Dalton was in Valve after Legend was closed down.

And U2XMP was supposed to be in original game, only a bit different, but it was mainly Atari (Infogrames) decision to do that, to remove multiplayer.
If you disagree the game had much bigger potential and used to be better and that the screenshots released in 2001 were simply stunning and ground breaking, you are idiot then.

 

[Grobut]

Eh, there are so many ways they could ruin an Unreal3, its not even funny to think about it (like making it a second rate GoW clone, sheesh!), but not beeing the same leap forward in tech is not one of them, Unreal was not about the tech, thats certainly not why it is still on my HDD and i still play it end to end from time to time, the gameplay and atmosphere is, most of all the superb level design that went into that game, the very fact that we view it as a non-linear game, despite it beeing 100% linear, is a testament to how well the game was designed, that it managed to dupe our senses in that fashion and enthrall us in the illusion.

Still, it's not like it would hurt for them to try, its not like Unreal died with its dignity in tact, RTNP and U2 made damn sure of that, so they can only improve the games image from here.

 

[KillerSkaarj]

Wow, so much hate for Unreal 1, RTNP, and Unreal 2. What's wrong with them? Is it because it's not Unreal Tournament that you hate it?

BTW, when I said "as long as they don't pull another Unreal 2", I wasn't saying I hated it, I was simply saying that I hope Unreal 3 is more like Unreal 1. Just getting that out of the way before it causes problems.

 

[hal]

Wow, so much hate for Unreal 1, RTNP, and Unreal 2. What's wrong with them? Is it because it's not Unreal Tournament that you hate it?

I didn't see any hate for Unreal.

 

[KillerSkaarj]

...a sequel to a game that no one cares about...

...few people alive that actually like Unreal 2, crappy as it is. In many people's eyes (including mine) it's a disaster that people would rather forget about. It didn't fly off the shelves. It didn't break any new ground. Fans of the Unreal series hated it and it didn't appeal much to anyone else. XMP was a desperate last effort by Legend to salvage the game and save their own butts but it was too little, too late..

Legend's Unreal MP1: Return to Na Pali was even worse...

lol

 

[KeithZG]

I thought the potential associated with this remark was quite interesting:

You could run Unreal Engine 1 or maybe even Unreal Engine 2 on a handheld device, and we certainly see that happening.

Welllllll sure, and it's true, but there's a reason Doom and Quake 1+2 (along with things built on the engines) have been actually seen on handhelds while UnrealEngine 1+2 are theoreticals... (hint: I'm a Linux geek, haha).

Yes. I haven't seen customization for weapons like that before in a game.

Deus Ex: The Answer To Every Implied Question

XMP was a desperate last effort by Legend to salvage the game and save their own butts but it was too little, too late.

Whaaaa?!!?! Let's check to see if anyone actually knows their history....

And U2XMP was supposed to be in original game, only a bit different, but it was mainly Atari (Infogrames) decision to do that, to remove multiplayer.

There we go, exactly. And I think anyone who actually played U2XMP knows how amazing it was. On the rare occasions I can muster enough people together I still play it at LAN parties; it runs fine on the PIII 600mHz with a Geforce256 that I have stashed in the corner, I'm not joking, somehow they had managed to not only make an insanely playable balance of action and strategy (honestly I'm still waiting for something to top it in the niche) but they had turned a single-player game that this computer couldn't even load into a multiplayer game it did fine at. If that doesn't scream "got ****ed over by the publisher" then I don't know what does (well, maybe how they turned off the master server?).

Legend's Unreal MP1: Return to Na Pali was even worse, so it's hard to dismiss U2 as a one-time let-down.

You're forgetting the #1 thing that RTNP introduced . . . RAPTORS! I had endless hours of fun setting up co-op maps with PawnFactorys pumping out deadly waves of raptors . . . enough so that it kindof dwarfs the actual single-player portion in my mind, how was it?

 

[hal]

lol

lol yourself! The first two refer to Unreal 2 and my comment is about Unreal MP1: RTNP. None of which are Unreal.

 

[GreatEmerald]

There we go, exactly. And I think anyone who actually played U2XMP knows how amazing it was. On the rare occasions I can muster enough people together I still play it at LAN parties; it runs fine on the PIII 600mHz with a Geforce256 that I have stashed in the corner, I'm not joking, somehow they had managed to not only make an insanely playable balance of action and strategy (honestly I'm still waiting for something to top it in the niche) but they had turned a single-player game that this computer couldn't even load into a multiplayer game it did fine at. If that doesn't scream "got ****ed over by the publisher" then I don't know what does (well, maybe how they turned off the master server?).

You're forgetting the #1 thing that RTNP introduced . . . RAPTORS! I had endless hours of fun setting up co-op maps with PawnFactorys pumping out deadly waves of raptors . . . enough so that it kindof dwarfs the actual single-player portion in my mind, how was it?

That's right U2XMP is really a lot more playable than Unreal II, yet has the same great graphics! And it wasn't amazing; it still is amazing! Come to U2XMP servers on Wednesdays and you'll find players. Even not on Wednesdays you will only need to wait like 10 minutes until someone comes to play.

And uhh, Raptors? You meant Predators/Pack Hunters, right?

 

[UBerserker]

And uhh, Raptors? You meant Predators/Pack Hunters, right?

He's talking about Predators. Do not confuse them with the real and unused Pack Hunters from RTNP.

 

[Leo(T.C.K.)]

That's right U2XMP is really a lot more playable than Unreal II, yet has the same great graphics! And it wasn't amazing; it still is amazing! Come to U2XMP servers on Wednesdays and you'll find players. Even not on Wednesdays you will only need to wait like 10 minutes until someone comes to play.

And uhh, Raptors? You meant Predators/Pack Hunters, right?

In Unreal2 they are actually called Raptors I think, or something like that, if you open the map file with the training and look for the predator shooting range thing, it says raptoor in their sounds etc...

And U2XMP actually doesn't have that lot of effects as Unreal2 has and is simplified, so no wonder why it runs better.

 

[KillerSkaarj]

lol yourself! The first two refer to Unreal 2 and my comment is about Unreal MP1: RTNP. None of which are Unreal.

Read. Jafo's. Post.

 

[shoptroll]

That's right U2XMP is really a lot more playable than Unreal II, yet has the same great graphics! And it wasn't amazing; it still is amazing! Come to U2XMP servers on Wednesdays and you'll find players. Even not on Wednesdays you will only need to wait like 10 minutes until someone comes to play.

I still prefer UTXMP because the vehicles seem to control better, but if people are actually playing either version of XMP I'd be inclined to join

It's still a shame that Epic didn't grab the guys from Legend who created the gametype. It would be a nice side-product for the franchise to go against stuff like TF2.