Epic Announces "Major" UT3 Expansion

[UBerserker]

Is it dead because no one is interested in online multiplayer FPS or is it dead because the FPS scene lacks a kick-ass online multiplayer FPS that could make people as enthusiastic and as hardcore as UT99 did?

Both.

 

[Labnetik]

It doesnt really matter if a sequel gets released because as we've seen in the hardcore market not everyone will transition over. Maybe this is why hardcore FPS is seen as dead when in actual fact people just never got over the likes of Q3 and UT, sure you had people move to CS and BF but they really are a different type of game.

Alot of original unreal/ut99 and probably some ut2003/4 players may have just moved on in life, grown up, got jobs, got married, had kids.. and had to give up the pc gaming addiction, and most likely have a console for casual use if they have any time for gaming.

There's still a large number of people who have pcs that just are not newer enough to play the new games like ue3 powers. Some people still only play u1/ut99 because they never upgraded their pc, I've met old players years later and they still have this old banger of a pc that can only play those kinds of games.

I guess the point is nobody can force gamers en masse to upgrade and play the newest released game, including the UT series. So you're going to get an amount of people that may move on and try the new title - keep playing or stop playing, and the rest of it needs to be made up of completely new players - which needs strong marketing I think.

gamespeed

there's no option to set game speed before a botmatch? can't remember seeing the option, is it in mutators like ut2004? all the previous u1/ut99 games had a game speed option to modify. That will solve your personal problems with the speed.

I don't think the default speed should be reduced though, seemed fine before, but then I'm really used to fast paced shooters - on and offline. Playing online can improve your skills and reaction times when playing against real people - can make you better against bots in the long run. Game speed mutator should solve your problem though, should be included already.. confirm?

Oh and Dodge Jumps,.. another defining characteristic of the UT franchise,..

it is? unreal and ut99 never had dodge jumps, and they were the first and hugely popular games in the ut series.. dodge jumping would have been laughed down I think. That's why I loved UT3 - brought the gameplay back down to earth with a solid feel (not floaty and all over the place). It should also be more accessible to newbies again because of the reduced movement abilities.. simple dodging is advanced enough for many.. you used to have to teach people just to a simple dodge in the older ut99/u1. Not having dodge jumps makes it less intimidating so should make the game more appealing to more people imo.

Not entirely, Dodge jump made Ons and vCTF, it could be added back in for just them game modes, much like the translocater/hoverboard is standerd to their game types.

I think you just need to go play some ut2004 again

dodge jump is used in every game type by players who choose to, it was important in dm and assault in ut2004 just as much as those you stated. It was very popular in assault where you had to do certain moves to get to objectives and of course trial maps which needed all kinds of moves.

Please humanity, no more dodge jumps. Obviously the gameplay system will remain the same.

Agreed, it's too late to change the gameplay style now, they designed the game from birth with the current movement abilities in mind. Someone can make a dodging mod if they haven't already, it might not work very well though, who knows. There's a double jump mod for unreal 1, it doesn't work very well though lol

dodge jump could return in a different new game, for example ut4, ut5,

unlikely those future UT games will exist, but I guess if it gives the dodge jumping porting fanboys hope...

Do they really want to invest any more time, money, and energy in the Unreal franchise after the UT3 debacle?

let's be specific here, you say unreal franchise, do you mean ut only or unreal as a whole? because I think a lot are looking forward to an unreal 3. If deus ex can do it, so can unreal

 

[MonsOlympus]

Alot of original unreal/ut99 and probably some ut2003/4 players may have just moved on in life, grown up, got jobs, got married, had kids.. and had to give up the pc gaming addiction, and most likely have a console for casual use if they have any time for gaming.

There's still a large number of people who have pcs that just are not newer enough to play the new games like ue3 powers. Some people still only play u1/ut99 because they never upgraded their pc, I've met old players years later and they still have this old banger of a pc that can only play those kinds of games.

I guess the point is nobody can force gamers en masse to upgrade and play the newest released game, including the UT series. So you're going to get an amount of people that may move on and try the new title - keep playing or stop playing, and the rest of it needs to be made up of completely new players - which needs strong marketing I think.

Did you read my sig? I agree though, people move on...

 

[Labnetik]

I did actually not sure what parts of the world that number covers though.

and it could very well include ut players of old who have moved on.

it's quite surprising considering all those crappy integrated gfx shipped too.

Some must buy a pc not knowing how capable it is for games, they might just a buy pc and are not gamers.

but many just have to be convinced to get a game of course.. there's potential..

 

[Dark Pulse]

That is one of the most retarded ideas I've ever read and it would make the game worse than UT3 is today. What if you wanted to adjust some settings? What if you wanted to open up the server browser and choose what server you want to play on? (The real UT game is online multiplayer, btw.)

Clearly, someone doesn't understand a joke unless it is blatantly pointed out to them.

 

[WHIPperSNAPper]

Clearly, someone doesn't understand a joke unless it is blatantly pointed out to them.

When it comes to ridiculous and inane ideas about how UT should be, sometimes it's hard to tell what is and isn't a joke with some of the people who post in this community.

 

[boogler]

That only accounts for onliners. I am an offliner. The game doesn't die until i get bored of it when it is an offline game.

You are an offline player who is holding a 1v1 maping contest? How can you understand a maps flow by playing it against bots and not other humans. Thanks but no thanks to your contest. Offline players have no idea what makes a good map compared to a b ad map.

 

[elmuerte]

That is one of the most retarded ideas I've ever read and it would make the game worse than UT3 is today. What if you wanted to adjust some settings? What if you wanted to open up the server browser and choose what server you want to play on? (The real UT game is online multiplayer, btw.)

*Woosh!*

 

[SPIDEYUT2K7]

UT3 is AWESOME !

o damn I'm late for this one.

But woo yay. I enjoyed ut3 (sue me) and the only reason I dont play it much is because of the lackluster community. Any updates are cool in my book.

WOOT sorry to hear that cause i always playing with my friends (all of u are invited ) in the UMG league server and the LIANDRI watch ur sux server from TENSUX, many of us are playing everyday in DM matches in normal and custom maps now included the DM maps of the new CPB3 volumes 1 and 2, always are like 16 or 18 players everyday! JOIN THE FIGHT! (search us in the multiplayer browser in DM type ma8 )

And yes in Beyond Unreal servers in the weekends many people gatter too to frag 4 fun, i see that a couple of weeks! UT3 is fun !!!

 

[redbear]

i personally think Epic was dumb to make an announcement without giving any type of details. all this will do is hype this expansion to heavenly limits and dissapoint a majority of the people who didn't get what they thought they deserved.

i wouldn't be a bit surprised if by expanding their base, they mean to port UT over to the Wii or to the PSP. how many people would get pissed off then ??

i am not expecting anything from them. if they can fix the problems everyone has already listed here and potentially increase the amount of players, then i'm all for that. ... but im not holding my breath....

 

[evilmrfrank]

Hey Spidey ive seen you a lot in the UMG server The UMG servers are usually full, anyone looking for a good game with lots of people just play there

 

[brdempsey69]

...Make the bots behave as if they are playing at 100% speed instead of 120%. The bots are too good for the speed they are playing at right now. I'm dead before i even know there is an enemy in the room.

i would go with option 2 because i actually like the speed that UT3 plays at. I just can't stand the bots being so unnaturally 1337 even on the easy settings. Changing the bot AI or altering game speed is the way to go.

I agree 100% with you there. The Bot skill level in the original UT was perfect, plus we were able to customize each one of them. This feature needs to return.

And I agree with what others are saying, that this is Epic's big chance to fix what's broken and make UT3 what it should have been right from the beginning. I hope they will cash in on it, but time will tell.

 

[Leo(T.C.K.)]

Both.

I find honestly the UT3 DM gameplay much better and full of adrenaline pumping action, which I cannot say about UT, nowadays the UT dm feels rather boring, but depends on what maps.
But mostly it is boring. It's overplayed and the DM servers mostly suck (that's why Unreal dm is much better even), so only bots are good alternative but even that, it's somehow too hard for me nowadays (maybe my skills were lowered but I cannot anymore play with godlike bots, unless being frustrated).
The UT DM=Unreal DM, but dumber, with a few good additions but that's about it.

This topic is about this UT3 expansion, I think it will be a next bonuspack, vbut a real bonuspack this time, with new content as well, not only 3 maps.

 

[UnrealGrrl]

They should really include MSU stuff.

I am skeptic about this though, no matter how great they make this, the hardcore fps scene is simply dead, not just for UT, but the scene is dead for all the traditional hardcore FPS games. Todays PC gamers expect wholly different thing. They expect things like achievements and some form of recognition for the time they invest in a game, like BF Heroes and TF2 offers for example, and they prefer simple looks. Those are two things that UT does not offer at all.
Also with the coming of a free Quake, and a free Battlefield, there is some competition going on for roughly the same (pretty small) target audience.

Unless they focus their attention on consoles... Which just makes more sense really.

theres no reason why Unreal Tournament can not include achievements and more social networking into the game and still keep it unreal ... it can still be the best FPS and include these kinds of things for a Win/Win.

it would take alot of doing and i dont think thats whats coming with this 'major' update/release but it could certainly be done. the next FPS that wants to succeed MUST include these things or be doomed to no players online.

if this expansion is an update ala 2k4 to the game, i hope its just a stepping stone to something really big for UT4 which could blow the doors off the fps scene by including stuff we've never seen before in an FPS while still keeping the core UT feel and features and gameplay.

wishful thinking maybe. but definitely possible.

 

[boogler]

the bots skill level are a complete joke and are highly predictable. They should be harder rather than be gimped for the noobs that don't understand powerup and weapon control. But those skills aren't learned from playing bots all day, they are learned from clicking on an online server browser. If I can godlike a bot with just the impact hammer....then there needs to be SEVERE changes to the AI.

 

[Leo(T.C.K.)]

the bots skill level are a complete joke and are highly predictable. They should be harder rather than be gimped for the noobs that don't understand powerup and weapon control. But those skills aren't learned from playing bots all day, they are learned from clicking on an online server browser. If I can godlike a bot with just the impact hammer....then there needs to be SEVERE changes to the AI.

Well I find their AI to be suitable for people with slower machines, so it's not over frustrating..
And don't forget impact hammer is much more powerful weapon than it used to be, you can easily kill players with it as well.

 

[Wowbagger]

...
Also, there is obviously no way they can live up to your expectations. Why set your hype level so high that they can't possibly attain it?

Its not about my expectations or hype, im just realistic.
Epic needs to take a good look around and see whats working and whats not and react to it.

If they continue down this old track theyll run the UT franchise into the ground, and this time for good.

 

[Unregistered]

Knowing Epic, will this be an expansion a la 'ECE'? Releasing the bundled content in stores along with the free downloadable expansion online?

This would be by far the best solution imo.

 

[Labnetik]

UT3 Jailbreak Teaser on a simple test map

Who did the vocal samples?

 

[Apathy.]

Who did the vocal samples?

UnrealGrrl as far as I know.