Not sure why im making this... probably wanted to rant about it or just discuss it with other UT fans. But I have to admit that I am indeed *very* disappointed with the new UT they made. I know many other people complain about it, and I know Epic probably realized they made many mistakes also... not that I want to judge them for what they did but whatever the case, its still not very pleasant. And what upset me about UT 3 is (warning! long list!);
1) First before everything... the most unforgivable act that Epic has committed; Releasing UT 3 without an Unreal Editor. This was the first thing that got me started on how bad some things in this UT are like and deeply upset me. I very much hope they release an editor soon, otherwise I will never forgive them for it
2) First thing you notice when you open the game itsself; you -must- have an account at Epic Games. You are reminded of that each time, and unless you register you have to dodge many useless windows thrown at you. Some people who really bought the DVD want to play freely without useless constrains. And (may those who believe in software justice excuse me) those who downloaded it will not leave Epic dieing of hunger or company crash, and they could give them a little brake to enjoy theirselves too. In the end, at least myself, I download a game at first and if I enjoy it, I go and buy it from the store at least just to have an original.
3) Once you pass point 1, the next thing you notice is an interface thats a bit hard to understand. The text in certain conditions may be very hard to find and to click on, and many settings may be difficult to discover and know where to go for each thing. They could have also made the main menu look much nicer. Of course thats a feel you get each time you open a new game before you get used, but still its not the brightest and most welcoming interface.
4) Next thing you do is going into character configuration to setup your player. You have a few characters in that list, that because of all the rendering and low resolution you must use you cannot understand a thing from. The only types you seem to have are classic humans like the ones in 2k4, instead of some better aliens you have the so-called Kralls that look like some fat people that have been burned alive and had their teeth pulled out from their mouth, and some robots apparently that I felt too depressed from the previous things to even check any more. Not sure if certain categories are unlockables now, but still we wanted many choices that are better to understand.
5) Passing further... the next thing you notice when you click "Instant Action" is the game types. Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch... very good. After that, of course, Assault mode goes bye-bye like it happened with 2k3. Instead, 1-on-1 deathmatch and Vehicle CTF need to be their own gametypes instead of being included as options into classic Deathmatch and CTF Ok, vCTF may be a different gametype, but 1 on 1 DM? Anyway the repeating absence of assault mode is again very stupid. I also don't see mutant and last man standing any more, which once again is very annoying.
6) Once you finally enter the game, the classic bias strikes you; Graphic details vs. FPS. Thats a common thing with most modern games now so I can't judge that much, but on another note I also find it very annoying how when you enter a map the textures are all blurred, then replaced with better ones like PNG files in your web browser on slow connections. I have to wait for the textures to become high-quality one by one, for some good seconds, instead of getting on with playing.
7) Once I finally get started on shooting people, as after everything I really feel the need to, I notice that the bloom effect and all the graphics compared with the slower fps makes it hard for me to even shoot people any more. I am actually a big fan of bloom and blur effects in 3D, but still it makes it hard. At one point I cannot understand anything and see which bot is where. I had the same feeling for 2k4 back in 2004 when I got it until I got used, but here the bloom really takes your eyes. Also, as much as I just love that wave-distortion effect when you shoot weapons... too much and on weapons that really don't have what to do with it.
8) So if in UT classic each bot said a taunt for each kill with a picture and text, and in 2k4 a taunt without picture and text unless he/she killed you, in 2k7 bots become even more silent. You actually don't hear one word unless you are the one that the bot shot, and probably team games I haven't tried yet. Honestly, I don't disagree with that as a default, but some of us actually want to feel there is someone there, not that they're walking with a gun in a empty crypt shooting zombies. If I want to hear each bot say something when they kill, then let me do so.
Well, these where my main concerns regarding UT 3. Not sure if patches can improve anything at this point... personally, for now, I will stay to the idea that 2k4 is currently the greatest UT in the series. Things getting more and more commercial in the last few years has ruined things a lot, and few games are like how they used to be I guess.
1) First before everything... the most unforgivable act that Epic has committed; Releasing UT 3 without an Unreal Editor. This was the first thing that got me started on how bad some things in this UT are like and deeply upset me. I very much hope they release an editor soon, otherwise I will never forgive them for it
2) First thing you notice when you open the game itsself; you -must- have an account at Epic Games. You are reminded of that each time, and unless you register you have to dodge many useless windows thrown at you. Some people who really bought the DVD want to play freely without useless constrains. And (may those who believe in software justice excuse me) those who downloaded it will not leave Epic dieing of hunger or company crash, and they could give them a little brake to enjoy theirselves too. In the end, at least myself, I download a game at first and if I enjoy it, I go and buy it from the store at least just to have an original.
3) Once you pass point 1, the next thing you notice is an interface thats a bit hard to understand. The text in certain conditions may be very hard to find and to click on, and many settings may be difficult to discover and know where to go for each thing. They could have also made the main menu look much nicer. Of course thats a feel you get each time you open a new game before you get used, but still its not the brightest and most welcoming interface.
4) Next thing you do is going into character configuration to setup your player. You have a few characters in that list, that because of all the rendering and low resolution you must use you cannot understand a thing from. The only types you seem to have are classic humans like the ones in 2k4, instead of some better aliens you have the so-called Kralls that look like some fat people that have been burned alive and had their teeth pulled out from their mouth, and some robots apparently that I felt too depressed from the previous things to even check any more. Not sure if certain categories are unlockables now, but still we wanted many choices that are better to understand.
5) Passing further... the next thing you notice when you click "Instant Action" is the game types. Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch... very good. After that, of course, Assault mode goes bye-bye like it happened with 2k3. Instead, 1-on-1 deathmatch and Vehicle CTF need to be their own gametypes instead of being included as options into classic Deathmatch and CTF
Ok, vCTF may be a different gametype, but 1 on 1 DM? Anyway the repeating absence of assault mode is again very stupid. I also don't see mutant and last man standing any more, which once again is very annoying.6) Once you finally enter the game, the classic bias strikes you; Graphic details vs. FPS. Thats a common thing with most modern games now so I can't judge that much, but on another note I also find it very annoying how when you enter a map the textures are all blurred, then replaced with better ones like PNG files in your web browser on slow connections. I have to wait for the textures to become high-quality one by one, for some good seconds, instead of getting on with playing.
7) Once I finally get started on shooting people, as after everything I really feel the need to, I notice that the bloom effect and all the graphics compared with the slower fps makes it hard for me to even shoot people any more. I am actually a big fan of bloom and blur effects in 3D, but still it makes it hard. At one point I cannot understand anything and see which bot is where. I had the same feeling for 2k4 back in 2004 when I got it until I got used, but here the bloom really takes your eyes. Also, as much as I just love that wave-distortion effect when you shoot weapons... too much and on weapons that really don't have what to do with it.
8) So if in UT classic each bot said a taunt for each kill with a picture and text, and in 2k4 a taunt without picture and text unless he/she killed you, in 2k7 bots become even more silent. You actually don't hear one word unless you are the one that the bot shot, and probably team games I haven't tried yet. Honestly, I don't disagree with that as a default, but some of us actually want to feel there is someone there, not that they're walking with a gun in a empty crypt shooting zombies. If I want to hear each bot say something when they kill, then let me do so.
Well, these where my main concerns regarding UT 3. Not sure if patches can improve anything at this point... personally, for now, I will stay to the idea that 2k4 is currently the greatest UT in the series. Things getting more and more commercial in the last few years has ruined things a lot, and few games are like how they used to be I guess.
