Topic: Unreal Tournament 3 demo released!

[idolminds]

Weee!

I just wanted to post this:

Before dropping into the game, I also had a chance to check out the new player customization options. Four major factions are available to choose from, each with 3-4 clans that offer a wide choice of player models. Players will have control over every piece of that model's armor, including facemasks, helmets, goggles, boots, shoulderpads, and other miscellaneous items to doll up your snarling avatar. The developers noted that this armor separation will allow modders to simply design a single helmet, rather than devoting the time to a full mesh. Sombreros and Santa hats were noted as likely candidates for early attempts.

Totally awesome idea. Making full player models is hard, but individual armor parts is much much easier. I can see a ton of these being released.

Kismet also sounds like a neat tool to mod with.

[idolminds]

One of the comments on the shack:

I'll repost some miscellaneous info to go along with the review:

A Linux game binary will likely be included. Mac to come later. The editor however will likely be Windows only.

PC and PS3 will not be able to play together cross platform! Mark Rein says that they didn't want patching on the PC side to be held up by the certification process on the consoles. This may change later after a few patches and things have settled, but at this point it seems unlikely.

For you competitive 1v1 types, there will not be brightskins or hitsounds out of the box. Epic is expecting modders to implement those features. There will however be a Duel gametype, a 1v1 with a queue. Winner stays, loser goes to the end of the line.

The gameplay movement feels closer to UT99. Dodge jumping has been removed. Dodging, double jumps, and wall jumping remain, though the effects are slightly diminished by increased gravity.

The armor system is similar to UT99, with shield belt providing 100 armor and blocking all. The shield belt will also save you if you're in a vehicle that blows up. The other armor pieces block a percentage of life. A helmet reduces one headshot to no damage.

For modders, the PC collector's edition will include over fifteen hours of video tutorials on modding by the 3DBuzz.com guys, same ones who did the 2004 tutorials. 3dbuzz is also publishing two books later, one on Unreal Editor and the other on Unreal Scripting.

The UE3 sections of the Unreal Developer Network site will be opened on the game release.

For mappers, the editor has changed to allow either additive (Quake style) or subtractive (carve level from a solid block) BSP geometry. You can choose one or the other when creating a new map.

For modelers, the editor imports .ase files for static mesh geometry and exports them as .obj or .stl, so any program that can read those formats and export .ase can work with UE3. Photoshop and 3D Studio Max are mainstays, though "you'll go a long way with just Unreal Editor." There was a mention of Zbrush if you want to mess with detailed normal mapping. They're not shipping with external modding tools like MayaPLE this time out.

Yes, built in Rocket Arena. Happiness....rising....

And Quake style BSP editing? Thank you jebus. Now those of us that edited Quake and were lost in Unreal can now do their thing.

[Quemaqua]

Damn you, stop making me want this. Just stop.

[Pugnate]

pre ordered this. Glad I didn't go with Quake wars.

[idolminds]

Bump, demo is out. 750MB for 3 maps, two DM and one VCTF. Download wherever you get your downloads.

[scottws]

Maybe I'll check it out, but I doubt it.  I got tired of UT2004 pretty quickly.

I've said it a million times:  Class-oriented, objective-based games are what do it for me.  Frag-fests bore me to death.

[ScaryTooth]

Downloading now. 6 hours....blah.

[ScaryTooth]

Holy shit! It's sick as hell! The graphics are absolutely beautiful. Probably the prettiest game I've ever seen, and there isn't a hint of slowdown on my comp at max details running at 1280x1024. Playing it made me remember how much I used to love playing UT. It's brutal, fast, gory, and fun as hell.

Halo can suck my bawls TBH. You play an MP game like this, and it makes you wonder why people even like the MP Halo has to offer. UT just completely obliterates Halo.

[gpw11]

screenshots? 


And what is your system?  I'm getting a new one soon and running this engine well is a big concern.

[Pugnate]

Holy shit! It's sick as hell! The graphics are absolutely beautiful. Probably the prettiest game I've ever seen, and there isn't a hint of slowdown on my comp at max details running at 1280x1024. Playing it made me remember how much I used to love playing UT. It's brutal, fast, gory, and fun as hell.

Halo can suck my bawls TBH. You play an MP game like this, and it makes you wonder why people even like the MP Halo has to offer. UT just completely obliterates Halo.

I nominate that for the best review on the internet hahaha. I can't wait for this...

[idolminds]

Funny thing about the graphics, the demo doesn't even have the full resolution textures to keep the demo filesize low. The actual game will look even better.

[Xessive]

Excellent!

I left my PC downloading it while I'm at work, so I'll have something to enjoy when I get home

[ScaryTooth]

I have to figure out how to take screenshots.

It's so damn pretty. Animations, and effects look amazing. Shock Rifle still ownz all. Love to do the shock bomb. The new "damage animation" looks dope as hell. You shoot the ball, then hit it with primary fire, and it blows up. It blows people to bits, and you see pieces flying everywhere. Then the shock bomb turns into a black hole of sorts, and it pulls the chunks of people back into the center of it. It looks completely awesome. And it's so satisfying to see it.

[Quemaqua]

Speaking of EULAs (from the Hellgate thread), I found the following in the UT3 demo:

4.   Cheating.  Nobody likes a cheater.  It's a disgraceful way to earn a win and really is an insult to those players who earn their wins in on-line games the old-fashioned way-WITH TALENT.  We're pretty hard on cheating in on-line games using the Demo Software because it sullies the overall gaming experience and is JUST PLAIN LAME.  With that in mind, if you are caught cheating in an on-line game using the Demo Software we will immediately and permanently ban your account.  At that point, this License is automatically terminated and you must immediately delete this Demo Software from your PC.  Failure to comply with this last bit (deleting the software) may bring on the wrath of the lawyers.  Trust us…you don't want that.

Just kind of funny to find such a casually-written thing there.

[MysterD]

Speaking of EULAs (from the Hellgate thread), I found the following in the UT3 demo:

Just kind of funny to find such a casually-written thing there.

I guess Epic wants to see if anybody skimming through the "lawyer-esque mumbo-jumbo wordy technical overbabble" that is usually found in these kinds of EULA's for software, when they skim and then actually come to the "Cheating" section will stop. Why? They'll notice that it is so plainly written, everybody will just stop and actually read it b/c it stands out from the rest, being written different than the rest of the EULA.

That's just what Epic wants, to make sure everybody reads at least the "Cheating" Section of the EULA.

BTW -- that part of the EULA is funny as hell. I guess "A lot of truth in told in jest" can be a very true statement, in many cases. This is one of those cases.

[Quemaqua]

Holy hell, this game is pretty.  I guess that's sort of been established by now, but it's really true.  It looks amazing, and it runs great.  I've got it on 1024x768 with everything all the way up and it runs like a dream.  One of the DM levels (that's all I've done so far) runs good at 1280x1024, even, which is impressive.

So yeah, this first map was sexy.


Then I discovered... who gives a fuck about sexy when you're running away from GIANT FREAKING ROBOTS IN DEATHMATCH?


Then I discovered... who gives a fuck about running away when you can DRIVE GIANT FREAKING ROBOTS IN DEATHMATCH?


The other map was pretty too, though it has some weird softening effect that really drives my eyes nuts.  This concerns me a bit.


Uh... and this is practically the only action shot I got, which isn't very good.  I'll update later or something.  I can't be arsed now.


EDIT - Okay, tried some "Vehicle CTF"... and it was... strange.  Basically, it was a complete and utter stalemate.  Nobody got anywhere.  You grab the flag and it's like instant death because there are generally... well, vehicles.  And you can't take the flag in a vehicle, apparently, or at least not most of them.  So it was a half hour of nothing (but fun nothing messing with all the randomly spawning rides) and then I somehow managed to score within the last 10 seconds of game.  Heh, fun.

[Pugnate]

oh my god Que!

[MysterD]

Holy crap, that's gorgeous.

[Xessive]

Beautiful. After playing the beta demo I can hardly wait for game!

[PyroMenace]

Did I mention how much you suck Que?

I wish I could upgrade sometime soon.

[Quemaqua]

I guess I can at least feel that the nearly 3 grand I spent on this rig actually went toward something purposeful.

[scottws]

Damn.  3 grand.  I thought the $2000 I spend on mine was a lot (and that was including a $600 monitor).  That thing must be a beast.

[Quemaqua]

Not really.  I didn't get the best prices I could have on a few items, and the price also includes a new LCD monitor as well.  And a couple things dropped in price like right after I bought them, which sucked a bit... but it's still a solid machine, and I think the only real weak spot it has right now is the 7800 that's in it.  I've been thinking about going 8800 since gpw was talking about buying my old card if that was the case, and that would shave a few bucks off that expenditure and breathe a little new life into this thing.

For the record, it's a dual core machine with an Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo core, 7800GTS, 2GB RAM, good ASUS board, and 300GB HDD (which went bad and I've still yet to send in for repair, though I finally have the box for it, which many are still harping on me for... got an 80GB drive as a temporary replacement and have been relying on it way too long).

[Pugnate]

Que the 8800 GT is coming out. Good news is that is nearly as fast the 8800GTX (they decreased the process size, so more efficient).

Currently they are talking a price point of $250-$300.

The GTS cards will slowly be replaced. I suggest you wait for the GT. Should be any time now.

[scottws]

Not really.  I didn't get the best prices I could have on a few items, and the price also includes a new LCD monitor as well.  And a couple things dropped in price like right after I bought them, which sucked a bit... but it's still a solid machine, and I think the only real weak spot it has right now is the 7800 that's in it.  I've been thinking about going 8800 since gpw was talking about buying my old card if that was the case, and that would shave a few bucks off that expenditure and breathe a little new life into this thing.

For the record, it's a dual core machine with an Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo core, 7800GTS, 2GB RAM, good ASUS board, and 300GB HDD (which went bad and I've still yet to send in for repair, though I finally have the box for it, which many are still harping on me for... got an 80GB drive as a temporary replacement and have been relying on it way too long).

What did all the money go to if you didn't get a videocard?  Mine was 100% new except for a wireless card, mouse, and keyboard.

I'm not trying to knock you or anything, I'm just experiencing sticker shock right now.

[gpw11]

Que the 8800 GT is coming out. Good news is that is nearly as fast the 8800GTX (they decreased the process size, so more efficient).

Currently they are talking a price point of $250-$300.

The GTS cards will slowly be replaced. I suggest you wait for the GT. Should be any time now.

Are they going release something that's actually mid-range as well, because the pricing of the DX10 cards is messed.  There are a ton of  cards around $100, and a ton $270+ but nothing at all in between.

[Quemaqua]

Scott, that was including the 7800.  That was the new card I got when I built the system.  I believe it was $315 at the time (eVGA).

And that's interesting info, Pug.  Thanks for the heads up.  I haven't kept good tabs on this stuff like... at all.

[scottws]

Scott, that was including the 7800.  That was the new card I got when I built the system.  I believe it was $315 at the time (eVGA).

Oh ok.  I understand a lot more now.  Thanks.

[MysterD]

Que the 8800 GT is coming out. Good news is that is nearly as fast the 8800GTX (they decreased the process size, so more efficient).

Currently they are talking a price point of $250-$300.

The GTS cards will slowly be replaced. I suggest you wait for the GT. Should be any time now.

What number of MB flavor(s) does the 8800 GT come in?

[Pugnate]

OK so I said $250-$300 because I didn't want anyone to bite my head off if the price wasn't at $250, but yes there will apparently be two versions of the card. The 512MB GT will be the faster one and is basically the same chipset on a smaller process. The performance is between the 8800GTS and the GTX.

I was confused by how this card could be that fast at $250, but it has been a YEAR since the 8800GTX came.

There will be at least one lower budget version of the card.

Again this is all speculation, so keep that in mind. However most sites have been reporting the same rumors, so my feeling is that it is legit.

Yes there is an ATi counterpart coming out, and is apparently faster.

[MysterD]

Thanks for the info and news, Puggy!

[gpw11]

Man, I just tried this out and it's pretty impressive.  It also runs very well all things considered.  One question:  is there an actual detailed settings menu?  Because all I can see are the simplified ones with like one slider for textures and one slider for other graphics.

[Pugnate]

GPW's first post in a PC gaming thread in long while. How does it feel to be gaming on PCs again Gregg?

Out of curiosity, how many of you intend to buy UT3? 

[gpw11]

It...it feels good.  I picked up Orange Box and TLJ: Dreamfall today, so it looks like either school, work, or my social life will be suffering because of this, but whatever.

Actually, at first I was a tiny bit worried because COD2 wasn't running as fast as I thought it would.  I mean, it was full speed, but it would still get jerky from time to time, which is whacked because it's an old game and it doesn't look great compared to some of the more recent stuff.  Apparently, it just isn't optimized very well because I was getting pretty much the same performance in UT3.

Do I plan on buying it?  Maybe.  When I bought my last PC I bought 2003 and liked it a lot.  That said, I'll probably wait for some mods to come out.  Or I might just impulsively buy it...who knows?

[idolminds]

I'm buying UT3 pretty much guaranteed. Its going to be a great mod platform, and with another MSU contest those mods will actually be released for public play and testing instead of being held back for 4 years until they are "done" *glares at HL2 mod scene*

[Pugnate]

Awesome. I am just asking cause I'll definitely be getting it and want to play with you guys. Trouble is my connection will result in a high ping from here.

As for CoD2, it was lagging on my sister's 7950 until she updated drivers. Maybe you have anti aliasing and stuff on?

[gpw11]

Yeah, I updated drivers and it runs well, not as well as other games, but good enough.  I guess it makes sense considering how hectic the game can get and all the scripted actions it has going on pretty much all the time.

[scottws]

Out of curiosity, how many of you intend to buy UT3? 

I'm opting out.  I only played UT 2004 for about 2 weeks.