New UT3 Bonus 'Titan Pack' Revealed

[Razorjack]

I think all Unreal fans are checking for news every once in a while, and those of them who bought UT3 will definitely give it a shot when the patch and bonus pack are out.
And those who activated it on Steam will automatically get the updates, right?

 

[Rask]

And those who activated it on Steam will automatically get the updates, right?

Yup. Like in other Steam games.

 

[Shlomo]

I don't follow, care to elaborate on that?

Sure, game tries to emulate previous but so many issues other than gameplay got in the way for the game to be enjoyable.

Though I do have some beef with UT3's gameplay.

For a personal taste I belive the shock secondary is too powerful, primary too weak, flak secondary arc is ****ing BOGUS, 100 damage rockets are stupid as hell, the nerfed wall-dodge can lick my nuts, the extra grav isn't so bad but the change to the biorifle can suck my balls too (no double/multies anymore from 1 shot). Oh, and I want the LG back....

But all of that I can get over, its just change. All of the non-gameplay issues is what lead to my extreme distaste for the game. My personal issues listed above didn't impact my enjoyment too much.

 

[elmuerte]

that doesn't make any sense, Doom 4 isn't even out.

 

[Godfrey.Payans]

I'm optimistic about UT3, since Epic is still doing non-trivial stuff for it. It seems that many people who liked previous UT games have gone off the genre and can't help feeling sad/bitter/whatever about the good old days, and it's been a while since this style of game was popular for new players.

But... there hasn't been a similar game to supplant UT3 yet, and I wouldn't write it off until it either becomes abandonware, or it is supplanted by another game in the same genre. UT3 has succeeded enough to stake a place ahead of or alongside games with older technology like old UT and Quake, and no-one seems to be looking to develop a more cutting-edge game in this genre.

It's great that despite the lack of competition Epic are continuing to improve the game.

 

[Bersy]

that doesn't make any sense, Doom 4 isn't even out.

Dude.. He said Quake. QUAKE 4. Not Doom 4.

 

[elmuerte]

argh... d'oh...

however... Quake 4 is the sequel to Quake 2. It has not much to do with Quake 3. Quake 4 is to Quake 3 as Unreal 2 is to UT.

 

[evilmrfrank]

For a personal taste I belive the shock secondary is too powerful, primary too weak, flak secondary arc is ****ing BOGUS, 100 damage rockets are stupid as hell, the nerfed wall-dodge can lick my nuts, the extra grav isn't so bad but the change to the biorifle can suck my balls too (no double/multies anymore from 1 shot). Oh, and I want the LG back....

But all of that I can get over, its just change. All of the non-gameplay issues is what lead to my extreme distaste for the game. My personal issues listed above didn't impact my enjoyment too much.

I actually entirely love that the rockets do 100 damage when hit directly. Why not reward the player for making a skillful shot? I do agree that the flaks arch is a little wonky and that the shock secondary is a tad too powerful and that the bio rifle is now way too easy to use. I do wish wall dodges gave a little more distance. Game is still awesome though If this expansion will be anything like the move from UT2003 to UT2004 than most of the weapons will be balanced by quite a bit anyways

 

[Dark Pulse]

For a personal taste I belive the shock secondary is too powerful, primary too weak, flak secondary arc is ****ing BOGUS, 100 damage rockets are stupid as hell, the nerfed wall-dodge can lick my nuts, the extra grav isn't so bad but the change to the biorifle can suck my balls too (no double/multies anymore from 1 shot). Oh, and I want the LG back....

And I will provide my own personal rebuttals.

1. Shock secondary does 55 Damage. This is actually not much stronger than UT2kx's (45 Damage) and the same as the original Unreal's. UT's shock secondary did 82. Rate of fire is virtually the same, .55s in UT2kx, .54s in UT3.
2. Primary is exactly as strong as it was in 2kx - 45 damage. It even fires at nearly the same rate, .64s in 2kx, .70s in UT3. UT's shock was, again, stronger (60 Damage) but also fired much slower - more than twice as slow as UT3's. So any "weakness" is purely placebo effect, because if anything, it's actually only reduced in rate of fire, not damage. This helps balance the game out.
3. I hated it at first. I've adjusted. You can too.
4. Rockets only do 10 more damage compared to 2kx, 90 vs. 100. The original UT did 112.
5. Reduced walldodge helps make the game less about hitscan and more about using walldodges as a tactical evasive manuver. It also makes splash weapons more viable, since they were nearly useless in 2kx.
6. I actually like the new bio system better. I've "evened" what would be kills on me by a bio user by running at them, and when the explosion hit it took them out as well. It also gives you a split second or two to get a shot in, and who knows, you might trade kills. Bio's definitely a stronger weapon in UT3, much like it was in UT, whereas in 2kx it was mostly worthless.
7. While the LtG was a cool idea, and I certainly wouldn't mind it returning, this isn't exactly a game breaker for me. A sniper rifle is a sniper rifle is a sniper rifle, whether it shoots bullets, lightning, or CliffyB's asshairs.

 

[MonsOlympus]

argh... d'oh...

however... Quake 4 is the sequel to Quake 2. It has not much to do with Quake 3. Quake 4 is to Quake 3 as Unreal 2 is to UT.

Mans got a point! Then again Q4's MP is a sequel to Q3 lolol









We need more chest high walls! Oh and Double/Multies on the bio would overpower it, that means if I suicide run it I could be up 2 frags for every death.

 

[Sir_Brizz]

or CliffyB's asshairs.

Well, I definitely think that would be different

 

[xMurphyx]

argh... d'oh...

however... Quake 4 is the sequel to Quake 2. It has not much to do with Quake 3. Quake 4 is to Quake 3 as Unreal 2 is to UT.

Except that Quake 4 multiplayer is pretty much identical to Quake 3 multiplayer, which is what was the original point before you showed up.

 

[IronMonkey]

Shock secondary does 55 Damage. This is actually not much stronger than UT2kx's (45 Damage) and the same as the original Unreal's. UT's shock secondary did 82. Rate of fire is virtually the same, .55s in UT2kx, .54s in UT3.

You shouldn't look at these only as absolute values but rather also at the relative differences. For the player who is on target with every shot (and I accept that will not always be the case so the discrete nature of the damage delivery will have some relevance), we see the following (using your figures):

UT secondary shock : 100%
UT2kx secondary shock: 82%
UT3 secondary shock: 100%

If you factor in the rate of fire and assume a constant fire rate the the damage effect ratio is:

UT3 secondary shock : 100%
UT2kx secondary shock: 80%

I don't think that can be characterised as "not much stronger". Would you describe only getting 80% of your normal pay as "not much of a pay cut"?

Similar considerations apply to the other numbers that you have quoted - you need to look at the relative values as well as the absolute values.

I'm assuming for the sake of the argument that there is no significant (my definition of significant difference in the accuracies of given weapons between the games - if there were then that would also have to be factored in when calculating the relative strength of the weapons.

As a package, I'd take UT3's weapons over those of UT2004 any day of the week but that's me.

 

[Hldr]

When

When do u guys think they will relese the BIG bonus pack?

 

[Dark Pulse]

You shouldn't look at these only as absolute values but rather also at the relative differences. For the player who is on target with every shot (and I accept that will not always be the case so the discrete nature of the damage delivery will have some relevance), we see the following (using your figures):

UT secondary shock : 100%
UT2kx secondary shock: 82%
UT3 secondary shock: 100%

If you factor in the rate of fire and assume a constant fire rate the the damage effect ratio is:

UT3 secondary shock : 100%
UT2kx secondary shock: 80%

I don't think that can be characterised as "not much stronger". Would you describe only getting 80% of your normal pay as "not much of a pay cut"?

Similar considerations apply to the other numbers that you have quoted - you need to look at the relative values as well as the absolute values.

I'm assuming for the sake of the argument that there is no significant (my definition of significant difference in the accuracies of given weapons between the games - if there were then that would also have to be factored in when calculating the relative strength of the weapons.

As a package, I'd take UT3's weapons over those of UT2004 any day of the week but that's me.

Well, the shock is weaker, yes, but not to the point of uselessness, I'd say. The reason it seems weaker is due to UT3's gamestyle: Tighter maps, higher gravity, reduced walldodging, etc. The slight depowering was probably to reduce the two-hit kill the shock was in 2kx for freshly spawned players. Ditto for the boost in rocket damage - before you needed two to even have a chance to kill a decently healthed opponent, or even a freshly spawned one - and that damage value assumed direct hits.

Even then, I'd say it's a bit of a stretch saying shock is horribly nerfed or rockets are overpowered - the combos are very deadly again like UT.

 

[dinwitty]

does it have a Titan in it?

 

[Shlomo]

The shock primary is weaker because there is hardly any knockback now.. which was what I was getting at earlier... not the damage...

Also 100 damage rockets just piss me off because with the tighter maps it just makes it that much easier to have a random ass rocket hit me in the face for a kill. The 100 damage rocket doesn't reward a "skill shot" (ROOOFL) it just promotes spamming even more.

 

[TheIronKnuckle]

100 damage rockets actually do promote skill, no idea how you can conclude that they don't, but you are right in saying that it also encourages spam. And i like it that way. It gives n00bs a chance against the 1337 in 1on1 morbias in any case. I was fighting JD on FRAGBU. He is ****ing unnatural. But on morbias i still managed to kill him a few times because i could spam the rox and spam the rox with effect. But even so, JD still won by a lot of points because it still requires skill to use the rocket launcher if you actually want to be good with it.

On the other hand, you can just have sex with the bots in every other match. That's what i do. My online gaming with unreal only extends to FragBU and every now and then i'll play ut99 online where i apparantly pwn everyone. (need to fight someone like JD or DP on the first UT and fast otherwise i'll delude myself into thinking i'm the best UT99 player in the whole world I've never lost an online game on the first UT. I need someone to put me in my place)

 

[Lopar-XL]

When do u guys think they will relese the BIG bonus pack?

If you want a snarky answer, then it would be either "two weeks" or "when it's done". I think it may be early next month.

 

[Dark Pulse]

The shock primary is weaker because there is hardly any knockback now.. which was what I was getting at earlier... not the damage...

Also 100 damage rockets just piss me off because with the tighter maps it just makes it that much easier to have a random ass rocket hit me in the face for a kill. The 100 damage rocket doesn't reward a "skill shot" (ROOOFL) it just promotes spamming even more.

Eh... I dunno. Knockback was one of the things that made the shock so insanely powerful. A guy could be dodgejumping toward you and one smack will completely reverse his momentum. I'd probably be fine with it being reduced, but definitely not allowed to keep its original 2k4 knockback.

As for rockets, it's pretty simple... be more aware of your surroundings. Learn the maps to the point where you know where rockets are most and least effective. For example, rocket kills are pretty common for guys who hang around the shock rifle or bridge in DM-ShangriLa because people are so focused on comboing and the UDamage if it's enabled. Similar spots is the Shieldbelt and jumpboots, for obvious reasons.

Half of learning how to deal with rockets is to be aware of where you're most likely to suck one down, and then plan ahead enough to avoid them.