Unreal Turns 20 Years Old

[DraQ]

What do you have against Dasa Cellars? Oh right, you're an atmosphaggot. Gameplay-wise it's a solid level, and though they insisted on recycling a Titan battle for the 10th time, at least this time they mixed it up by spawning mooks into the arena with it.

Not much TBH, but it is kind of nondescript combatfest. It's not a bad level, but most others are superior.
Also, the arena is actually quite fun, as titan and kralls are infighting.

And Unreal is THE atmosphaggot FPS - you either appreciate it or not.

 

[Ash]

And Unreal is THE atmosphaggot FPS - you either appreciate it or not.

You consider it #1 in regards to atmosphere, above Stalker, Quake 1, Turok 2, System Shock, the atmosphag-centric Doom ports (PS1 and N64), The build games Blood and Shadow Warrior especially (rather atmospheric despite being laden with humor), Alien Trilogy, Clive Barker's Undying, The Suffering 1 & 2?
And sort-of FPS's like Call of Cthulhu Dark Corners and System Shock 2 which easily beat down Unreal's atmosphere.

While Unreal certainly has relatively strong atmosphere and a mostly consistent and believable world, it lacks the #1 atmosphere amplifier: horror and grim-dark oppression. Something that most of the above FPS have.

 

[janior]

Man, only if Unreal had more dark levels, like the one where lights go out near the end of the game... or the moment when the game introduces you to the skaarj. The game was proper dark when it had to, the engine was very capable of doing something like that. Well, that's why i prefer AvP1 to Unreal...

 

[Deflowerer]

Actually, should get back to trying out this game.

Can anyone recommend a difficulty level? I normally play on the highest difficulty for all games, but I remember that at least in the beginning of Unreal, it just bloated the fuck out of the enemies' HP. It took me fucking ages to pew pew even the starting enemies.

 

[schru]

If you use the Old Unreal patch, which is really a necessity (remember to turn off multitextures in the renderer you use, through the ‘preferences’ console command), the last two difficulty settings are added by the patch, so those aren't official at least. Very hard is the default highest difficulty with the patch (called ‘unreal’ without it) and it changes some things in the game like the placement of pick-ups; it definitely requires the player to use ASMD combos and the amplifier more. Hard is probably more reasonable with the health of enemies, but it'll still probably be a little bloated.

 

[luj1]

Gunman Chronicles is where it's at /s

 

[Ash]

If you use the Old Unreal patch, which is really a necessity (remember to turn of multitextures in the renderer you use, through the ‘preferences’ console command), the last two difficulty settings are added by the patch, so those aren't official at least. Very hard is the default highest difficulty with the patch (called ‘unreal’ without it) and it changes some things in the game like the placement of pick-ups; it definitely requires the player to use ASMD combos and the amplifier more. Hard is probably more reasonable with the health of enemies, but it'll still probably be a little bloated.

I'd recommend Very Hard at the bare minimum, which I found a bit easy aside from a couple sections like the Skaarj depot just before you board the mothership.

 

[octavius]

Can someone explain to me the differences between the following Unreal Tournament versions?
UT99
GOTY
277

I have the GOTY from GOG, but it doesn't say anywhere which numerical version it is.
And yes, I have googled, but it's like it's assumed you have been playing UT constantly and already know these things.

 

[789456123]

I can't understand how people like quake 2,last year i have played alot of old school fps: doom,shadow warrior,unreal and unreal tournament,hexen,heretic,dusk,outlaws,duke nukem,turok...i liked them all,the only exception is Quake 2.Quake 2 is so fucking bland ! the enemies are boring,the guns are boring,levels are boring...the only redeeming thing about Quake 2 is the soundtrack !

Quake 1 is good stuff though.

i played Blood too ! good stuff,Is blood 2 worth ?

 

[TripJack]

Can someone explain to me the differences between the following Unreal Tournament versions?
UT99
GOTY
277

goty is just the game with the last official patch (v436) and the free bonus packs already included

277 is the unofficial patch for unreal and has nothing to do with unreal tournament if im not mistaken

Is blood 2 worth ?

no

 

[789456123]

Is blood 2 worth ?

no

I ignored your advice and gave blood 2 gog version a try...what a fucking shit game dude ! jesus ! it gave me the Might and Magic 9 vibe: everything is ugly,unfinished and out of place.

I rather play Quake 2 any day over that shit.

 

[soulburner]

The development of Blood 2 was incredibly rushed and it was simply released unfinished. I recall the publisher wanted the game done within a year or so and be ready to compete with all the Half-Lifes and such. Monolith wanted to patch the game, but somehow the publisher didn't let them do that properly. I think they also wanted to work on a huge overhaul of the whole game and release it a few months after it showed up on store shelves, but couldn't get any financing for such an endeavour, so they had to switch to a new project and abandon the plans.

SHOGO, which was developed simultaneously and released earlier, was a much more polished product

 

[theSavant]

what a fucking shit game dude ! jesus ! it gave me the Might and Magic 9 vibe: everything is ugly,unfinished and out of place

The development of Blood 2 was incredibly rushed and it was simply released unfinished.

I didn't find it particularly ugly. In fact graphics were the one thing they got right. Also I didn't encounter many bugs, except explosives getting stuck in the air. The biggest problem with Blood2 was that it deviated so much from the original formula. There was nothing there which made Blood1 the experience it was. Nothing of its fun. Nothing of its dark gothic theme. Instead everything was generic, uninspired, and repetitive: gameplay, atmosphere, enemies, levels. No amount of patches could have solved that. That "patch" must have been a totally new game.

 

[theSavant]

Yeah, exactly. One of the biggest disappointments was the Napalm Launcher. In Blood1 it was one of the strongest weapons, and everything exploded and died after a few shots. But in Blood2 it only shot flamelets with hardly any effect whatsoever (neither visually nor on the enemies themselves). You had to spam 20-30 shots in a row to kill something.

Oh... and what really annoyed me was, that I never found the weapon which shoots the green ray (that laser gun which could shoot around corners). But on the fucking game package it was depicted

Another thing I remember was a description in the manual: "the more often you use your knife, the stronger it gets". So I expected some type of role playing elements. I actually tried to knife through the game with Ishmael, but never noticed the knife becoming stronger. Always the same strength.

Edit: I just read through the blood-wiki and it says much more was planned initially. Rpg elements were in fact planned as well, in that you could enhance various stats of the 4 different characters. Also a 4-player-coop mode was planned. But almost nothing went into the final game. Man... this is just sad.

Edit2: I thought they forgot to put the laser weapon (Death Ray) in the game, but was mistaken. A walkthrough in youtube showed me where to find it: it's somewhere hidden at that meat factory level. Very very well hidden. Unfortunately if you miss it, you'll never ever get it for the rest of the game.

 

[octavius]

Anyone else experience mouse problems in UT?
I was annoyed by too jerky movements when turning especially. I thought it was my mouse, so I bought a new one (the old one was already worn out anyway), but still too jerky movements.

Obviously I was not the only one with the problem, and fortunately there is a fix.
Now UT is running smooth as silk again.

 

[oddech_wymarlych_swiatow]

the only exception is Quake 2.Quake 2 is so fucking bland ! the enemies are boring,the guns are boring,levels are boring...the only redeeming thing about Quake 2 is the soundtrack !

Great fucking game, dude.

Play Q2: The Reckoning and discover 2 best guns in any fps.

 

[Ash]

the only exception is Quake 2.Quake 2 is so fucking bland ! the enemies are boring,the guns are boring,levels are boring...the only redeeming thing about Quake 2 is the soundtrack !

Great fucking game, dude.

Play Q2: The Reckoning and discover 2 best guns in any fps.

Is that sarcasm? The Expansion pack weapons were pure shit. The weapons in the base game are better (and much better than Q1 weapons).

As this is meant to be about Unreal and not Quake 2 and Blood 2: best music track from Van Den Bos/Brandon?

I'll go with the Temple of Vandora

 

[Cassar]

Also, wasn't it the first powerful precision-aiming weapon capable of making head-shots in first-person shooters? I'm not sure if Quake II distinguished between the heads and the rest of the body, and Sin required its sniper rifle to be used in the scoped mode to deal more damage, I think.

It's often said to be Goldeneye. It's quite possible that's true.

The first full implementation, as we know it today is in Quake Team Fortress. The sniper had locational damage. When shot in legs it would slow you down and in the head it was the proper headshot that we know it today

 

[logan]

the only exception is Quake 2.Quake 2 is so fucking bland ! the enemies are boring,the guns are boring,levels are boring...the only redeeming thing about Quake 2 is the soundtrack !

Great fucking game, dude.

Play Q2: The Reckoning and discover 2 best guns in any fps.

I have played quake 2 the reckoning,the expansion is shit ! they keep reusing the same shit bullet sponge enemy over over again ! this one: Gladiator (Beta Class).Not to metion they added a retardred hitscan enemy: Laser Guard.And of course they reused the same final boss from vanilla game: Makron (Q2) ! AARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHH !!!!!!!

I don't remember too much of the new weapons,i only remember a weapon that shoot fireballs ! its was fun to use ! i think is this one: Phalanx Particle Cannon

The expansion has potential but is ruined by the reasons i said above.

 

[oddech_wymarlych_swiatow]

I have played quake 2 the reckoning,the expansion is shit ! they keep reusing the same shit bullet sponge enemy over over again ! this one: Gladiator (Beta Class).Not to metion they added a retardred hitscan enemy: Laser Guard.And of course they reused the same final boss from vanilla game: Makron (Q2) ! AARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHH !!!!!!!

It's ok for improving things, mobs in vanilla Q2 were too easy, now even simple soldiers got better weapons and double HP.

I don't remember too much of the new weapons,i only remember a weapon that shoot fireballs ! its was fun to use ! i think is this one: Phalanx Particle Cannon

Is that sarcasm? The Expansion pack weapons were pure shit.

I love Ion Ripper - Desing, sound, bouncing discs gimmick and that rare moment when you really FEEL the gun, unlike in modern shooters.

Spoiler

 

[logan]

Is not about challenge is about boringness ! you take away too much time to kill the Gladiators because they are bullet sponges and they are reused everywhere ! and to not get killed to laser guards you need to use "shoot and cover" mechanics that is boring for a old-school fps like quake 2.

 

[logan]

As this is meant to be about Unreal and not Quake 2 and Blood 2: best music track from Van Den Bos/Brandon?

I'll go with the Temple of Vandora

the asnwer is obvious:



i liked this ones as well:

 

[Ash]

weapon stuff

It undeniably has a nice kick, also a beefy fire sound, but the projectile effects and model were inconsistent with Q2 vanilla weapons and low quality in some ways.

Agreed about the AI though. While the new enemy types were just lazy reskins, they were much-needed to add challenge the base game was sorely lacking. But it wasn't just that, the expansion pack also improved AI of some of the existing enemies, all of which needed it. The hitscan enemies Logan is complaining about is not an issue. They are the game's zombie gunners/shotgunners. Why are you playing the game as a cover shooter Logan? Run in there, blast the grunt away which dies in one hit with most weapons, and sorted. You make take a little bit of damage if you suck or they catch you by surprise, but it's not an issue. Also use of cover is still meant to be relevant in run and gunners, e.g strafing between pillars and whatnot to block an Archvile's blast. If you're popamoling behind cover every encounter you're doing cover wrong. Lastly, given that all vanilla Q2 hitscan enemies are programmed to miss if you're strafing at max strafe speed roughly parrel to the enemy, I am assuming the laser dudes follow suit though I don't remember exactly.

It's a pretty good expansion pack, better than Ground Zeroes. GZ also isn't too bad but was actually legitimately ruined by a bad design choice: those constant fucking turrets hidden everywhere. They'd be interesting enough in moderation, but they are on every fucking level. What were they thinking?

Also, fun fact: Using the Reckoning's expansion pack Game86x.DLL file in place of base Q2 gives you the expansion pack's improved AI in Q2, without the new enemy types.

logan: Dusk Horizon? It's alright but it didn't do much for me.

Also, complaining about sponge enemies in Q2 in a Unreal thread. You mad bro? Unreal is perhaps the spongiest FPS out there (needs to be, because you never do battle with more than 2-3 enemies at a time, with some rare exceptions).

 

[logan]

if the reckoning is better than Ground zero then theres no reason to me play Ground zero.The hitsan enemies are annoying i played the expansion on "hard difficulty" because "normal' is away too easy,hard still easy with the exception of the laser guards,my problem with the laser guards is the difficulty spyke,the game is way easy until you reach the laser guards with their insane accuracy and damage forcing you to use cover,its just ruin the pace of the game.

still my biggest complaint is the reuse of the bullet sponges Gladiators over and over again and the reuse of final boss from base game.

I also heard Ground Zero has a new original final boss maybe worth check it out just because of that.

 

[logan]

weapon stuff

Also, complaining about sponge enemies in Q2 in a Unreal thread. You mad bro? Unreal is perhaps the spongiest FPS out there (needs to be, because you never do battle with more than 2-3 enemies at a time, with some rare exceptions).

I don't remember too much of bullet sponges in unreal,maybe because it doens't ruin the pacing like in quake 2.Enemies in unreal are fast,can dodge and predict you moves ! in quake 2 they are retardreds,slow and boring by design.

Maybe is the same reason i don't feel quake 1 enemies as bullet sponges,because they are fast,dangerous and scary by design.