Hints about UT3 Expansion?

[GreatEmerald]

By EXPAND, and SERIES, in the same sentence I think she means they're planning on making a new game that is an MMO.

class UT4 extends UTSeries
native;

Something about seeing a server with 16/24 players, then going in and finding that a whole 2 or 3 of them are actual humans is uber annoying.

So I think they should find more ways to give bots unexpected behaviors, give them more capabilities, like responding to typed commands. I'd like to be able to type "bravo get in" if I'm in a vehicle and want them to stop what they're doing and defend my ass.. or "drop the orb" or associate custom text maybe like "gtfo" will make a bot who stole the manta abandon it so you can take it.

What, don't bots display as yellow coloured in the menu as they do in UT2004?

Indeed that would be nice. Actually, in UTXMP when in a vehicle you can actually command bots to enter it: "Get in the vehicle!". So that's nothing new, just that Epic didn't put it on. As for your "gtfo" idea, yeah, I would use that a lot too. In XMP too, like a bot enters a tank and does nothing than camp around. Makes me want to say "Get out of the vehicle!"

And generally, the announcement isn't useless. Now UT3 expansion is officially announced, as the info we had earlier wasn't absolutely reliable.

 

[Sir_Brizz]

I wasn't saying bot support and AI couldn't be improved, I was saying that it's not like they just stand around and do nothing. They act like they should, they just could act better.

 

[Bersy]

I just personally think Gears has distracted them from what made them a successful company in the first place. Although I know for a fact they have made more money the past couple of years than they have in their previous years of existence combined, they wouldn't be where they are if they hadn't developed the engine, the bot AI, and so on. However their existing accomplishments in that area are fast becoming old tech and something that people are used to. So I don't place all the blame on things like UI or Gamespy or a lame campaign and acute lack of tournament, even though that certainly was detrimental to UT, but I can also say that it isn't just new weapons or vehicles or better graphics that make a game fun - that sense of wonder is important - technology can be used to create an illusion or keep you on your toes.

By now the illusion and wonder of the current methods are long broken and that means it just becomes a chore, for instance putting up with the AI, which was great for the noobs we used to be, but more of a hinderance as seasoned players. I also think there wouldn't be any harm in completely shaking up the playing field and changing the mechanics altogether so it feels like an entirely new game for everyone - but that may be asking too much. Basically what I am saying though is that an expansion is all well and good, but I can't picture it doing much for the series in the long run unless it really packs some things nobody ever expected, like those genius games that come along only once every so often - I somehow doubt that they'd use their best ideas on UT anymore because it is harder to market a game that has gone through so many iterations of mixed results.. but it would be nice.

 

[nELsOn]

more and more this makes me think we'll really see something along the lines of UT2003 -> UT2004. i may be wrong but if they were going to realease another map pack or something they'd have called it a bonus pack from the get-go. also, all those engine updates make it even more probable imo. hmm... maybe they're gonna 'port' UT2004 to the new engine

no, really, i'd love to see/play that

 

[Leo(T.C.K.)]

Will it be free expansion at least?

I don't have anything against UT3 much, apart few problems the game feels fine and for me is perhaps the best UT created so far (gameplay wise).........
The only thing that bothers me is that many advanced custom maps (like the physx tornado), does not even load for me and crash and others lag too much on this laptop, probably due to heavy use of resources, generally the outdoor maps are low fps for me, unlike other people..............

But I would like to get a large bonuspack instead than buying an expansion....I bought the normal game and that should be enough, I am not a rich person at all so I can buy games every month and crap....

 

[vybz]

Epic are on getting that Arab money!!!! they'll get more of my arab money if they please me.

 

[Bersy]

What, don't bots display as yellow coloured in the menu as they do in UT2004?

They don't display at all, and most of the time players don't either. The "player list" functionality is a joke at best, not even standard, only made it in the last patch.

In UT2004 you couldn't always tell either, some clevar modder made something that makes the bots have pings and also appear as red or blue, you can only tell who is real and not by observing their behavior and how they "respond" when you type stuff to them. The bots respond immediately with the same selection of dumb responses which is a dead giveaway.

But speaking of that mutator, that's actually a good example of bots being able to interact with typed input.

 

[GreatEmerald]

I know something similar is used in one Racing server, but bots still appear yellow.

 

[kafros]

Could it be this expansion is a bit more than what most think? We'll keep you posted!

OMG Duke nukem is ready!

 

[JimBodkins]

This is a needy community.

 

[TheIronKnuckle]

i assume you mispelt "nerdy"

 

[Quaglax]

Pretty cool and I cant wait for the expansion! My guess is that it will be this: new maps (of course), possibly a new game type (expand on the warfare idea and go deeper with it), new vehicles of course and more customizable UI and engine settings.

 

[MonsOlympus]

As nice as that would be dont you think they should fix the other part of the game before adding stuff? Thats half of 2k4's problem tbh is that it was an addon for a broken game

Yes I know thats not a popular perspective

 

[JohnDoe641]

As nice as that would be dont you think they should fix the other part of the game before adding stuff? Thats half of 2k4's problem tbh is that it was an addon for a broken game

Truth!

I've been saying that on the Epic forums for a while now. If this "expansion" doesn't fix the fundamental problems that killed off UT3, I hope it'll fail just as fast.

 

[vybz]

what was so broken about ut2003? I've had my best gaming experience on that game

 

[T2A`]

You can have a good experience with any game. I had fun with UT2004 but that doesn't mean it's not broken on a fundamental level.

I'm guessing the expansion will simply be UT3 plus more maps, fluff, and maybe Conquest or Assault. Or maybe just more maps and fluff (characters, etc.). Then again, maybe they've put some effort into making UT3 a good game at its most core level (weapon balance, mouse input, netcode, scale, movement speed, etc.).

...Nah.

 

[GreatEmerald]

As nice as that would be dont you think they should fix the other part of the game before adding stuff? Thats half of 2k4's problem tbh is that it was an addon for a broken game

Yes I know thats not a popular perspective

"Problem"? Hey, UT2004 is yet the most popular Unreal series game!

what was so broken about ut2003? I've had my best gaming experience on that game

That's absolutely true. UT2003 rocks, just lacks community support (that's why I'm working or recreating UT2003 weapons on UT2004 now ).

I had fun with UT2004 but that doesn't mean it's not broken on a fundamental level.

If it works, it's not broken. What I would class as "broken" might be Doom I initial demo on x64_86 systems. But it therefore has fixes so even that is not broken any more.

 

[evilmrfrank]

I loved UT1, got a hold of UT2003 and thought it was awesome. Got UT2004 thought it was awesome, got UT3 and thought it was awesome. If I go back and play UT2004 I still think its awesome, if I go back and play UT1 I still think it is awesome. Going back and playing UT2003 is quite boring compared to UT2004 though

 

[MonsOlympus]

Well I really enjoyed UT2003 when it was released even amongst the cries of "its not like UT", I went on to UT2004 but the thing that drew me in being a modder as well was the engine also. If it wasnt for the engine I dont think I would have played as much UT2004 as I had, it lost something for me especially after playing UC2 and Q4, thats not to say it got replaced by me playing those games but I just dont play it much since I played those two games.

So going back Ive enjoyed UT, I still enjoy UT3 although I havent had much of a chance to play it lately. 2k4 I just cant get into, I think its run its course for me after 2-2 1/2 solid years of playing it (thatd be UT2004 only), I think I just came to a realization I never really liked it and I was just hopin Epic was gonna step it up a notch or that mods could fill some kind of void.

UT3 has such potential, it doesnt face scaling problems like UT2003->UT2004 and its maps arnt so bad they need to be remade (although some tweaks might be required) like curse for eg (even though CTF core I think it was is very broken). I could go on but you guys who have played the games know what Im talking about so spit it straight without the blinders and maybe we can help Epic see the things that could make this expansion better.

UT2004 might be the most "popular" game to date but that doesnt mean Epic couldnt do better or that its the best UT game on the planet, it simply means Im in a minority and I can see that. I do believe if Epic had spent the time working on a new UT game instead of an update like 2k4 we could have had a better UT game along the lines of UC2 cross 2k4 perhaps.

At this point I dunno if its better for Epic to make a UT4 with UE3.5 or just do this expansion right, I certainly do not want another UT2003->UT2004 fiasco and that mess of content. I really hope they can add content that'll fit with the style of UT3 but also build upon it, that was one of 2k4's problems vs the later games is there was an apparent lack of cohesion. I really hope they can fix the problems, to me it looks alot easier then it was from UT2003->UT2004 and well they didnt fix everything between those games since they were concentrating on new content. I just dont see a lack of content as a huge issue here (how many msuc entry maps all up has there been?)

 

[GreatEmerald]

I loved UT1, got a hold of UT2003 and thought it was awesome. Got UT2004 thought it was awesome, got UT3 and thought it was awesome. If I go back and play UT2004 I still think its awesome, if I go back and play UT1 I still think it is awesome. Going back and playing UT2003 is quite boring compared to UT2004 though

Like I've said, you're right about UT2003 as it has only a few mods and stuff. While UT2004 is powerful because of easy modding.

I think I just came to a realization I never really liked it and I was just hopin Epic was gonna step it up a notch or that mods could fill some kind of void.

UT2004 might be the most "popular" game to date but that doesnt mean Epic couldnt do better or that its the best UT game on the planet, it simply means Im in a minority and I can see that. I do believe if Epic had spent the time working on a new UT game instead of an update like 2k4 we could have had a better UT game along the lines of UC2 cross 2k4 perhaps.

Like I've just stated, you also agreed that UT2004 is popular because of mods. Now UT3 should have the same ease of modding. All those SoundCues and dynamic music aren't helping.