Overwritten.net
Games => General Gaming => Topic started by: MysterD on Thursday, January 25, 2007, 05:15:52 PM
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UT 2007 is now UT3 (http://pc.ign.com/articles/758/758408p1.html)
UT3: It's Real
Epic changes gears with new name and adds a platform. New footage and details.
by Douglass C. Perry
January 25, 2007 - Punching home a message that Midway is coming to the next-generation with a full stable of goods, the Chicago-based publisher today announced that the game formerly known as Unreal Tournament 2007 is now Unreal Tournament 3. And it's coming to the PC, PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 in the second half of 2007.
Using the Unreal Engine 3 (what other engine would it really use?), Epic's seminal first-person shooter will douse gamers with gorgeous, life-like graphics, arm them with unbelievable futuristic and brutal weaponry, and hurl them into online deathmatches like never before.
The new game comprises a vast number of changes from increased aggressiveness and intelligence in the AI to better, more ridiculously powerful weapons to new characters, game modes, and online improvements. New weapons are highlighted by the long-range Shock Rifle and the shorter range Flack Cannon, and more than two dozen weapons will be ready to wield when UT3 is ready in the second half of 2007.
The new single-player campaign is deeper and more engaging than before, and players will be happy to know that old favorite characters have returned and are joined by several new ones. Epic plans to provide advanced online changes to suit all three platforms, bringing seamless loading, improved matchmaking and co-operative campaign online play. Yes, cooperative online play indeed. Familiar online modes such as Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag will be joined by an all-new Warfare mode among others. And PC gamers will be happy to get their sweaty mitts on the bundled Unreal Engine Toolset, enabling them to build their own levels, game types, rules, mods, and more.
We'll have more on Unreal Tournament 3 soon. In the meantime check the new screens and video.
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I want to be excited, but I'm sort of... not. I think I really got my fill with the last UT.
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I only want it for the mods.
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Yea... I don't care about this kind of game anymore. I mean, they're fun for short bursts, but I want to see the fps genre evolve to something more than just a mindless shooter. Nevertheless, the Unreal 3 engine is awesome (re. Gears of War and Rainbow Six: Vegas).
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I have no problem with mindless shooters, I just don't feel the need for a team-based MP-styled thing. I did plenty of that and have no need to do any more of it. That, however, could change at some point. Just how I'm feeling at the moment.
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I really liked UT2004 at first, but then I got completley bored of the game. Several attempts to get back into it lasted all of 5 or 10 minutes.
The engine is awesome, but that only goes so far.
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UT
UT2003
UT2004
UT3.
Wait.....what the fuck?
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UT2003 never happened. Didnt you get the memo?
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I guess they decided to go back to the original naming plan after all.
I'm really excited about the next UT mainly because I wanna see what it's gonna look like. I know that just like all the previous UT's I'll eventually get bored with it, and just like Scottws I'll fail to get back into it for any longer than 5 to 10 minutes. Oddly enough I actually enjoy the original UT a lot more than UT2004; I love UT2004, just not as much as classic UT.
I don't think many people played the Unreal 2 Expanded Multiplayer (XMP), but I really enjoyed it. It was like Team Fortress but fun! Hmm, come to think of it, it was a bit like Tribes too.
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UT2003 never happened. Didnt you get the memo?
I don't own any of the UT's...
...So, was UT2003 that bad....?
Or was UT2004 just that much better than UT2003?
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UT2003 and UT2004 are pretty much the same game. 2k4 even came with all the content that was in 2k3. 2k4 was pretty much 2k3+.
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UT2003 and UT2004 are pretty much the same game. 2k4 even came with all the content that was in 2k3. 2k4 was pretty much 2k3+.
Ahhh....that'd make buying UT2003 a waste then! :P
I'd be better off getting UT '04.
Though, UT3 does look sweet...
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UT2K4 was bloody awesome. I have to say. It was an amazing game that did so much right and had so much lasting value. I played the living snot out of that game and still didn't touch the surface of everything it had to offer. It was some really, really good shit. I just don't really have any current need for anything similar, I guess. I'd like to get excited about UT3, but nobody here ever plays DM games with me and stuff really. I'm cool with playing with bots and junk, but I'd like to see it a lot more fleshed out. Still tournament style but with a lot more tiers, awards, and the ability to manage some kind of career. I dunno'... just don't think I'm going to get excited until there's something new to attract me.
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UT2K4 was bloody awesome. I have to say. It was an amazing game that did so much right and had so much lasting value. I played the living snot out of that game and still didn't touch the surface of everything it had to offer. It was some really, really good shit. I just don't really have any current need for anything similar, I guess. I'd like to get excited about UT3, but nobody here ever plays DM games with me and stuff really. I'm cool with playing with bots and junk, but I'd like to see it a lot more fleshed out. Still tournament style but with a lot more tiers, awards, and the ability to manage some kind of career. I dunno'... just don't think I'm going to get excited until there's something new to attract me.
UT3 probably will have a great MP......it is what it's known for....
That is probably worth the price of admission alone....
...But how did the SP hold up for UT2004? Was it any good? Or was it more or less training grounds for the MP??? Or does the SP actually have something more to it???
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(http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2007/025/928117_20070124_screen001.jpg)
Then again, maybe it's a little tempting...
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Can you guys even believe we're playing games with these kinds of visuals (GoW already, UT3, Crysis)? I mean, playing Gran Turismo 2 on the PSX wasn't *that* long ago and I thought it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen.
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WOW! That looks freaking amazing.
It's truly impressive to see what the Unreal 3 Engine can do. I mean, Gears of War was absolutely gorgeous. Rainbow Six: Vegas was also impressive in its own right.
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Can you guys even believe we're playing games with these kinds of visuals (GoW already, UT3, Crysis)? I mean, playing Gran Turismo 2 on the PSX wasn't *that* long ago and I thought it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen.
I've had the thought a few times myself, especially when I look at something like, Rachet and Clank, God of War, or WoW and still get completely impressed by how good they look on technical levels. A lot of these shots still strike me as unreal (good chioce on the engine name, huh?). Koodos to Gears of War really being the first game to pull this stuff off and being on the market.
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Can you guys even believe we're playing games with these kinds of visuals (GoW already, UT3, Crysis)?
Yes, look how far the game industry has gone, since the NES days. It's been amazing, every few years.Every few years, especially when a new console is pumped out, the graphics just seem to get WORLDS better w/ each change. NES to SNES was amazing, graphically. Sega's Genesis looked awesome -- definitely a step up over Nintendo's NES; I bet it looked better than Sega's 8 Bit Master System. N64 went even further. Yeah, I could go on and on here....hehe....The jump for me from Genesis to PSX was incredible, graphically.
Of course, by the time a new console is pumped out, we seem to normally have a new Windows or something.....usually.....and when a new version of DX comes, we can expect more AMAZING-NESS. And, usually around that time, we've jumped a few vid card generations -- and that is normally when I buy a new vid card and go "WOW!! This is even more AWESOME (than what I had)!"
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Yep. I remember when I thought the graphics on Doom were ridiculous (at the time, they were). Now it seems so primitive.
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Official site for UT3 is up, y'all....
...With a trailer, screenies and newsletter y'all can sign up for. (http://www.unrealtournament3.com/)
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Wow.
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i wish i had lots o monies to upgrade
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I'll buy this. Fuck, it's one of the reasons I want a new pc...not this game by itself, but the unreal 3 engine. I never played 2k4 that much so it might still feel fresh.
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I'm hoping to upgrade my system soon.. At least my processor!
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MULTIKILL.... HEADSHOT....
Yes I am excited.
One of those games I'll buy at launch. This and Crysis... and Bioshock...
The INQ is excited too:
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=39507
AFTER A SMALL name change the ground has finally been set for arrival of mega-hit title for this year, Unreal Tournament III. This game is being finalised as we speak, and haiving ditched UT2k7 to become UT III, it looks even more impressive now.
We first saw UT2k7 back at E3 2006 with a gameplay demonstration showing some serious kick-ass action and the power of two GeForce boards in SLI left a lasting inqpression on everyone present.
With the launch of the official site, Epic also released couple of new screenshots, showing what FPS gamers will play later this year. So if you are wondering are high-end DirectX 10 GPUs worth the money, take a good look a these pictures
(http://www.theinquirer.net/images/articles/UT3_BigOne_499.jpg)
(http://www.theinquirer.net/images/articles/UT3_05_499.jpg)
(http://www.theinquirer.net/images/articles/_499.jpg)
The screenshots are mighty impressive, even though these represent souped-up versions for magazines (judging by resolution of some shots, that were in 24 Mpixel resolution), still these graphics show just how impressive UT3 is shaping up to be. This will also be one of the games for graphics benchmarking – expect UT3 scores in reviews of Back-to-School refreshes of G90 (NV55) and R670, and upcoming marchitectural generations like G100 (NV60) and R700, Larrabee, G110 and R800 and so on. µ
L'INQ
unrealtournament3.com (http://www.unrealtournament3.com/main.php)
DX10 and UT3
Unreal Tournament 3 is Vista DX10 compliant
Yet more goblin-bashing
By Wily Ferret: Friday 11 May 2007, 09:33
Click here to find out more!
WHILE THEO waxed lyrical about the upcoming release of Unreal Tournament 3 yesterday, the one thing he forgot to mention was that the game will be DX10 and tied to GraphZilla's TWIMTBP programme.
We first saw the game in action at the GeForce 7 launch here in France, and got the opportunity to speak with Epic MegaHoncho Mark Rein, who seemed pretty happy with the way the game was progressing. That was a long time ago now, and since then, a number of Xbox 360 titles have shipped using the titular graphics engine, whilst UT3 itself has been stuck in game development hell.
Gears of War, the most high profile UE3 title, was developed and tweaked for the ATI Xenos architecture in the Xbox 360, but the creators of the engine, it seems, have been working closely with Nvidia for its first outing on the PC. This isn't really a big surprise - UT2004 was heavily branded with Nvidia logos.
So if you want the best out of Unreal Engine 3, it seems like you're going to need to be running Vista with an 8800. As Theo said, expect this to be a majorly popular benchmark - but with the release date still to be set in stone, don't hold your breath. µ
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http://www.unrealtournament3.com/screens/UT3_15.jpg
http://www.unrealtournament3.com/screens/UT3_13.jpg
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Holy crap, triple post, someone might want to trim that, even if it is pretty.
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UT3 will come equipped w/ over 40 MP maps.... (http://www.beyondunreal.com/daedalus/singlepost.php?id=10690)
UT3 In The August Issue of OXM
by DeathBooger (Unreal Tournament 3) 50 Comments / Permalink
The newest issue of OXM has a short video documentary on it's demo disc. While it's only a few minutes in length I think it possibly the most detailed look at UT3 to date. Within the video there are many maps shown. As far as one can tell, it showed mostly all CTF and DM maps. Some maps are shown with vehicles, but I saw no nodes to distinguish them as Warfare maps. One particular interesting map shown looks like the new Deck DM map. While I can't confirm it as Deck, it had the signature pool of toxic sludge at the bottom of the map. The other maps shown had a wide variety of different themes and they all looked fantastic.
Aside from the gameplay shown in the video, it offered a few details about the game. It was said that the original idea was to make gigantic maps utilizing UE3's streaming technology for up to 64 players at once. They decided that it didn't feel like a UT game and went back to improving the original formula. Each map starts out as a basic BSP layout and is play tested until they think it is fun and then it is handed over to have static meshes and the rest of the artistic assets created. There will be 3 to 4 dozen multiplayer maps in the retail version of the game. The single player portion will have even more maps than multiplayer.
Someone tell Shadowrun's makers about UT3 coming equipped, right out the box, with more maps than you can shake your stick at!!! Geeezzzzzz!!!
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I think you need more exclamation points!
But in all seriousness, I imagine a good oh....15-20 of those to be old maps.
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I think you need more exclamation points!
YES!!! I!!! DO!!! AGREE!!! WITH!!! YOU!!! :P
But in all seriousness, I imagine a good oh....15-20 of those to be old maps.
That'd be cool, a good NEW 20 maps of them say 3-4 dozen maps would probably be fine, I bet.
Though, 40+ NEW MAPS would be sweet as all hell though.
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UT3: Collector's Edition contents revealed. (http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/34420/UT3-Collectors-Edition-Goods)
UT3 Collector's Edition Goods
Sep 22, 2007 at 9:12 PM - Robert "Apache" Howarth - 7 Comments
GameStop reveals the contents of the Unreal Tournament 3 Collector's Edition:
Bonus Packaging:
* Exclusive Collector’s Tin
Bonus Content:
* Collectible Hard Cover UT3 Art Book
* Bonus DVD:
o 10+ hours of Unreal Engine 3 Toolkit Video Tutorials
o The History of Unreal Tournament
o Behind the Scenes of UT3
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I am going to be getting the UT3 CE. It has less to do with the contents and more to do with how much joy Unreal has given me.
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System Requirements for UT3 has been revealed. (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1014591#post1014591)
Midway and Epic have released the system requirements for UT3, and it doesn't look half bad. Especially since you've already upgraded your rig for Crysis.
Minimum System Requirements
* Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista
* 2.0+ GHZ Single Core Processor
* 512 Mbytes of System RAM
* NVIDIA 6200+ or ATI Radeon 9600+ Video Card
* 8 GB of Free Hard Drive Space
Recommended System Requirements
* 2.4+ GHZ Dual Core Processor
* 1 GBytes of System RAM
* NVIDIA 7800GTX+ or ATI x1300+ Video Card
* 8 GB of Free Hard Drive Space
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That's actually not too bad, even for the recommended.
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Wow, those are pretty easy reqs.
I can't wait ;D
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They're lower than I expected, as well...
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The problem with minimum requirements is theres no baseline on which to judge it. What does "minimum" mean?
I think we need a standard "minimum". All settings on low, 1024x768 res, and it will get at least 30fps. Base your minimum spec on that standard so people know what to actually expect. It won't be pretty (though it can still look good, depending on), but it'll be playable. I don't want to see requirements that simply run the game...it should be a playable spec.
Some comments on Shacknews give me hope about this one. One of the sites writers mentioned that it scales back to look like UT2004, so those specs seem possible.
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The problem with minimum requirements is theres no baseline on which to judge it. What does "minimum" mean?
Very true.
For me, when I see "minimum", here's what *I* expect -- 800x600 res', 30 FPS at the lowest of all times, where all settings range mostly from mostly Low to a few on Medium.
I think we need a standard "minimum".
Agreed.
It'd be nice to be told on the box, what the settings are that they see as the bare min. And, the reccommended, too.
All settings on low, 1024x768 res, and it will get at least 30fps. Base your minimum spec on that standard so people know what to actually expect. It won't be pretty (though it can still look good, depending on), but it'll be playable. I don't want to see requirements that simply run the game...it should be a playable spec.
Agreed.
Some comments on Shacknews give me hope about this one. One of the sites writers mentioned that it scales back to look like UT2004, so those specs seem possible.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm....now that's interesting. So, sounds like even gamers w/ older rigs really won't be shut out, too much; they just probably won't be able to run it w/ the new fancy Unreal Engine 3 settings, basically.
Being an Unreal Engine 3 game, given what I've seen for performance on other UE3 based games -- such as like Bioshock, SC: Double Agent, R6: Vegas, and GRAW PC -- I expected much higher requirements for UT3.
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System Requirements for UT3 has been revealed. (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1014591#post1014591)
That's bullshit and they know it.
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The problem with minimum requirements is theres no baseline on which to judge it. What does "minimum" mean?
I think we need a standard "minimum". All settings on low, 1024x768 res, and it will get at least 30fps. Base your minimum spec on that standard so people know what to actually expect. It won't be pretty (though it can still look good, depending on), but it'll be playable. I don't want to see requirements that simply run the game...it should be a playable spec.
Microsoft wanted to standardize this. I hope they still do it as a part of Games for Windows.
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Yeah, they did -- so, ummm....what happened??????/
Nothing really has been done and fell threw w/ that plan....
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Yeah, they did -- so, ummm....what happened??????/
Nothing really has been done and fell threw w/ that plan....
Creating a standard based on PC hardware and software would be difficult given the many man many different combinations not to meantion drivers, and lets face it MS doesn’t own PC gaming so even if they did devise a way, there’d be nothing to say that other publishers would use it.
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The last I heard of it Vista analyzes your system and then assigns it a number, so on the box you see "Level 4 PC or better". While this is good, it doesn't really tell you what settings are needed or at what resolution. Plus...in 5 years will we have "Level 34 or better"? Or will the number change...so a 4 now becomes a 1 later? Its not really clear.
I think my method would be more informative. If you meet minimum spec you can expect this performance level at this resolution with these settings.
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The last I heard of it Vista analyzes your system and then assigns it a number, so on the box you see "Level 4 PC or better". While this is good, it doesn't really tell you what settings are needed or at what resolution. Plus...in 5 years will we have "Level 34 or better"? Or will the number change...so a 4 now becomes a 1 later? Its not really clear.
Sounds like our PC's will be leveling up like RPG's. :P
I think my method would be more informative. If you meet minimum spec you can expect this performance level at this resolution with these settings.
Agreed.
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The last I heard of it Vista analyzes your system and then assigns it a number, so on the box you see "Level 4 PC or better". While this is good, it doesn't really tell you what settings are needed or at what resolution. Plus...in 5 years will we have "Level 34 or better"? Or will the number change...so a 4 now becomes a 1 later? Its not really clear.
I think my method would be more informative. If you meet minimum spec you can expect this performance level at this resolution with these settings.
Oh yeah that, your PCs rating would be the lowest number from your components, so if your RAM got 4, CPU was 3 and the GPU was a 5, the PCs rating would be a 3. But what struck me though was that the highest number possible wasn't say 5 but something odd like 5.6 or someting??
But that's a good point Idol, in 5 years will the rating be adjusted or will we see higher numbers?
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Creating a standard based on PC hardware and software would be difficult given the many man many different combinations not to meantion drivers, and lets face it MS doesn’t own PC gaming so even if they did devise a way, there’d be nothing to say that other publishers would use it.
I don't think it is about a base, but a benchmark. I think it would be a good idea to have a definition of minimum and recommended requirements. For example 30 frames at 800x600 with min settings doesn't sound too bad for min. For recommended it should be 1280x1024 with all in game options (aside from FSAA) on full.
Then it is up to developers to note what meets these standardized minimum and recommended requirements.
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Oh, boy...
There will be a PhysX UT3 Maps and a PhysX UT3 SDK released next month.... (http://bluesnews.com/cgi-bin/board.pl?action=viewthread&threadid=82916)
PhysX UT3 Maps & SDK Plans [November 21, 2007, 10:17 am ET] - Viewing Comments
AGEIA Technologies Announces Unreal Tournament 3 PhysX Mod-Kit And Exclusive Unreal Engine 3 Content has word of PhysX-enabled content on the AGEIA Website and plans to release a PhysX SDK for UT3 next month. Here's a bit:
To showcase the power of the PhysX UT3 Mod-Kit and the PhysX processor, AGEIA Technologies is rolling out a series of Extreme PhysX Mod Levels for UT3 available as a free download starting today. The first set of PhysX mods includes the “Tornado” and “LightHouse” levels. The AGEIA Tornado PhysX Mod, which was first revealed at the Leipzig Games Conference earlier this year, features incredible physical realism and revolutionary new environmental impact powered by the PhysX processor. This completely new CTF map is named for the PhysX-powered tornado which tears the battlefield apart as the game progresses. In addition, the tornado actually lures rockets and projectile weapons into its vortex, if fired too close, presenting both dynamic risk and reward to daring players. Complementing Tornado is a new PhysX mod called LightHouse, which introduces an ominous, dungeon-like structure with myriad levels and hidden corridors, featuring a variety of destructible walls, floors and ceilings and new weaponry. Additional maps and mods showcasing other types of PhysX implementations and level morphs will be available soon as part of this ongoing AGEIA Mod-Kit program. The Mods will continue to offer compelling game-play scenarios as well as provide examples of AGEIA PhysX use encouraging modders to produce their own PhysX-driven experiences.
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I was reading about this a bit yesterday. Honestly, the Aegia PhysX card is about as useless as a Killer NIC card. So now we have a total of like 3 games that support it after about 18 months being on the market, and UT3 doesn't support it at all on any standard maps for anything.
They really need to open the card up so it can just act as a general processor or something before they get wiped out by AMD and Nvidia offering physics processors on their GPUs as well as multi-core CPUs becoming more dominant.
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8.5 from gamespot
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/unrealtournament2007/review.html?sid=6183271&tag=topslot;title;1 (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/unrealtournament2007/review.html?sid=6183271&tag=topslot;title;1)
9.0 from IGN
http://pc.ign.com/articles/837/837322p1.html (http://pc.ign.com/articles/837/837322p1.html)
I am not going to bother reading the one from IGN, but the gamespot review is a good read.
This bothers me though:
It supports widescreen resolutions, but playing in widescreen actually gives you a smaller view of the overall action, given that the game appears to cut off the top and bottom of the 4:3 view to fit it onto a wider monitor. UT3 certainly isn't the first PC game to have this problem, but given its highly competitive nature, cutting off parts of the screen seems to be a pretty bad solution.
Bastards.
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I was impressed with the reqs for UT3. Actually the Unreal engine has always amazed me with its reqs. I still remember how much easier it was to run Unreal Tournament than Quake 3 on a Pentium II 266 MHz with 128MB RAM! Man, I miss the good ol' days hehe
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That's the exact same widescreen issue with Bioshock. There were rumours of the developers working on a patch, but who knows.
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I've read that this yet another issue stemming in the new Unreal Engine. That's why Rainbow Six Vegas didn't natively support widescreen monitors either.
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I've read that this yet another issue stemming in the new Unreal Engine. That's why Rainbow Six Vegas didn't natively support widescreen monitors either.
Well, if that's an issue in the UE, that easily explains the issues w/ UT3, Bioshock, and Vegas...bleh...
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Well, that's the thing. Epic kind of sets a standard no one else can ever match. Their engines are always very scalable, but even at the top they run well on pretty modest hardware and look great.
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I am changing my mind about this purchase...
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=176015 (A website containing some ex-PCG writers.)
Developers Epic chucked out a remarkable stat a while back: more than half of all UT2004 players never played the online shooter online. Not once. And you've got to imagine the minority who did venture out onto the internets also put in some time with the excellent bots. That pretty much settles it - UT is primarily a singleplayer game.
Woah... who the hell are these people?
So for the fourth edition, unaccountably named Unreal Tournament 3, Epic have concentrated a lot more on the offline campaign. Here are the two worst things about UT3: the bots and the offline campaign.
That's sad because UT's always had top of the line bot AI. Easily better than Quake.
In Deathmatch, though, and to a lesser extent Capture The FLaG, the matches themselves are great. Let's take a whirlwind tour of the changes to the basic combat: Shield Gun gone! The original Impact Hammer is back, and it's superb - smashing someone open with it jars your view and splatters you with thick black blood.
haha I can already imagine how awesome that is.
he Biorifle is gorgeous and deadly, the Lightning Gun's shot-trace has been merged with the Sniper Rifle, and the Minigun is now absurdly over-powered.
Now brace yourself for this one: the Flak Cannon has been nerfed. A little. It's slower, but still lethal and even more gruesome when fired point-blank. After the initial outrage fades, this actually makes a lot of sense - it was so powerful before that there was rarely any reason to switch away from it.
Here the Rocket Launcher firmly dominates medium range, so you're always flicking between the two when you're fully stocked. Movement is slightly slower, and there's a halt when you land from a jump, so there's less airy-fairy bunny-hopping all round.
Hey... I like bunny hopping in UT.
Sucks about the minigun.
I also liked the Flak canon the way it was to be honest.
But it's still distinctly UT. It's still ultra-fast, ultra-light, ultra-violent. The only weapons that can't kill you in one hit can kill you in one second - apart from the Fisher-Price Enforcer. And for all this, the bots are great. Not quite as convincing as 2004's, nor quite as proficient on Godlike, but great.
If only the bots understood it. They were never strategic masters at Onslaught in UT2004, but they were passable. Here they have a shakier grasp of those basics, and almost no understanding of what to do with the Orb. Time and time again they cart it off to some irrelevant, unlinked control point in Uzbekistan while you die holding off overwhelming forces at the important one, or watch with idle curiosity as an enemy bot waltzes into your most critical point and captures it without hindrance.
The thing is, Epic, we don't even need good AI. We're pretty good at this ourselves. If the bots just left the Orb alone, we'd be happy to perform all the heroics. But they always snatch it, sometimes even spawn-camping it to prevent you from getting it first, and then squander the most important piece of the strategic game. There's no way to command them to drop it or give it to you or not take it in the first place - I checked with Epic, and they said "No, but good idea." You think?
heh...
So if the new mode is great but the bots are idiots, multiplayer should be awesome, right? Right. You thought I was setting you up for a "Wrong!" there, didn't you? It's brilliant. Dramatic, dynamic, ridiculous, brutal and tense. But before we get into that, I should abide by my stupid bad-news-first rule and tell you about the server browser. For God's sake, Epic, sign up with Games For Windows Live or, better yet, Steam. This cobbled-together GameSpy abomination is simply pathetic.
Why the hell would they use gamespy? I hate that shit. This is why I am reconsidering this purchase. UT always used an ingame multiplayer browser, so what is up here? Have gamespy been trying to woo developers? First Crysis and now this. But UT seems like a far bigger loss.
There's no way to just browse through all UT3 servers, which for a server browser is a pretty staggering oversight. You have to first commit to one game mode from a dropdown list, and then you're permitted to see only the servers running that. And as in Battlefield, completely unresponsive servers show as having a '0' ping rather than a high figure, meaning they rank as the fastest when in fact they're the slowest.
WTF? Like the pre patched R6:Vegas PC.
Mind you, perhaps we should consider ourselves lucky to be privy to such dark secrets as our own ping in the first place, because in-game, the scoreboard shows no such thing. In fact, there's a bizarre trend towards hiding information you have a basic gamer's right to know: outside of regular Deathmatch, there aren't even any death reports in UT3. That means you never find out how you died in Warfare or CTF.
NO PING DISPLAY? INSANITY!
I'm ranting pretty hard about this because I'm amazed that such accomplished developers could make such schoolboy errors, but it's worth bearing in mind that much of it may be fixed. Death messages in particular must be controlled by an ini file setting somewhere, and there's a good chance they'll patch in the ability to see your own ping.
I hope so. Come on Epic, shape up!
So we've eaten our greens, let's get to dessert: the good stuff. The good stuff is extraordinary. You've seen the Necris Dark Walker, right? It's like a Strider, only a bit more War of the Worlds, and it walks like a squid learning to tap-dance.
Let's skim over the fact that 'Necris' is the worst name for a faction since the Decepticons, and that 'Nanoblack' is the worst name for an evil technology since the All-Spark - the guys do at least know how to bolt tentacles onto things. Here are three interesting facts about the Dark Walker: 1) it's ridiculously overpowered, 2) it's every bit as awesome as it looks, and 3) it's the worst Necris vehicle.
I laughed at the Transformers jokes.
That Dark Walker sounds interesting though.
he best is the Scavenger, which has nothing to do with scavenging. It's a sphere with three thin tentacles, and it scampers along at ground level rather than standing upright on them. It's horrific enough just watching it move, but it can also send out a hovering attack drone to zap you, or tuck its legs into its chassis and roll around like a boulder.
Controlling that mode is like playing Marble Madness on UT3's maps, swerving up hills to pick up momentum to squish more people.
The other best is the Viper, a large, sleek hoverbike that fires a torrent of bouncing energy shuriken. It's a grisly thrill to swing its heavy yet frictionless form sideways into a trio of enemies for a triple vehicular manslaughter multikill, and it's one of the few things fast enough to reliably avoid the gaze of a Dark Walker's killer laser-eyes.
But the Viper's ultimate trick, in both senses of the word, only occurs when it jumps. Its fins tilt backwards, and for the briefest moment an urgent beep indicates that the self-destruct function is primed.
Hit the right mouse button, with your bike pointed at something important, and you eject powerfully into the air while your ride-turned-missile smashes into its target. Aiming that payload at the torso of a mighty Dark Walker and blowing it in twain is pure glory.
Nice.
The final best - apart from the Nightshade - is the Fury. It's a flying metal octopus with four synchronised death-beams, with the unusual drawback of strictly limited range. It's the shotgun of flying vehicles, and a lurching boost ability makes it perfect for risky ground-strafes.
Urge...to...buy...rising...again...
Well I'll possibly purchase when it drops in price.
Or just wait for the inevitable UT4.
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I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. I actually like the new minigun though, and don't find it that overpowered. Essentially, it's the same as before, but when you hold down the alt. fire, it shoots much slower, much more powerful bullets. I'd argue that they didn't over power it, they made it more relevant in a game where everyone would use the same three weapons (rocket launcher, flak cannon, and the lame ass shock-rifle).
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The Biorifle still sucks hehe it is better than no gun though!
According to my experience with the demo it seems that everything is intact with a few amendments here and there. I don't mind that the adrenaline system is gone too; it wasn't the main attraction anyway and it made the game feel more like a hybrid FPS + Platformer. UT3 feels more true to the original UT while adding the amazing modes and vehicles.
I'm gonna learn from the past and wait for a GOTY edition or something before I buy this one :P
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Yeah, the biocannon is exactly the same as it always has been; just awesome in the right situation, worthless every other time. If you can charge a glob and hit someone with it or even get it near them you WILL kill them. It's just that it's really hard to do. It's a good sneak attack type of weapon, but there really isn't a gametype for that.
I think if it was adjusted to be more passive and you could set traps with it somehow it'd be a lot more useful.
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Yeah, the biocannon is exactly the same as it always has been; just awesome in the right situation, worthless every other time. If you can charge a glob and hit someone with it or even get it near them you WILL kill them. It's just that it's really hard to do. It's a good sneak attack type of weapon, but there really isn't a gametype for that.
I think if it was adjusted to be more passive and you could set traps with it somehow it'd be a lot more useful.
Yeah, I think in the original UT you could set a large blob on a spot and it would stay there for about 10 secs or so.. Kinda like a temp trap..
I like the new minigun. It's essentially the same anyway. I still love the sniper rifle too :D
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You could do that in the last UT as well. They removed that?
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You could do that in the last UT as well. They removed that?
I think so.. I hadn't tested it thoroughly, but the big blob I shot off sat for like 3 secs before it popped on its own. I could be mistaken, but in my games I didn't come across a situation where it lasted.
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I just confirmed that the Biorifle is just like classic UT. Also the minigun is now called the "Stinger" which is reminiscent of the Stinger in the original Unreal. It's secondary firing mode (the slow but powerful shots) is basically the same, although more powerful, as the primary firing of the original Stinger which fired off Tarydium shards.
I got to check out the full game and I'm likely gonna buy it! The character customization is much more comprehensive now too.
The little things (like the lack of a ping indicator) will very likely be fixed in an upcoming patch. Either way I think Epic did a great job with UT3.
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I broke down and bought it, and boy is it fun. More fun than TF2 or Crysis online or any other multiplayer. So much fun, that you spend half the game laughing in disbelief at your actions and the incredibly artistic visuals. The vehicle CTF is especially great and just a whole lot of fun.
The singleplayer is very half assed though. I mean it is basically like playing multiplayer offline with bots, which would be fine, except that there is a retarded storyline. Between levels of Death match, Team Death match, CTF, assault, and Vehicle CTF missions you are hit by cutscenes powered by really campy voice acting that feature an absolutely retarded storyline.
The singleplayer missions and the actual cutscenes feel totally detached from each other. It is like you are taking turns playing the various UT game modes with bots, and watching cut scenes explaining the storyline, without anything gelling the two. It is obvious that the a storyline was written to accommodate the standard UT offline gameplay, without any changes to the actual gameplay that would indicate the presence of a story.
Every time you unlock a new singleplayer mode, you watch a cutscene in the storyline where you listen to a laughably ridiculous explanation on a standard game mechanic. For example respawning has been explained as some new technology that allows your enemy to ressurect a certain number of times. Capture the Flag is actually you stealing some of your enemies tech., and then bringing it to your base (WTF?). Other game types have similarly stupid explanations.
Epic said they put a storyline together, because they found that 50% of all UT purchasers never played the game online. I think they should have done a proper story mode, like they did with Gears of War, instead of this. I am pretty sure that the game is poorer because of the singleplayer campaign, which really feels cheap.
(http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2007/20071219.jpg)
Having said all that, playing online is amazing fun. The visuals are just top notch, and the engine scales beautifully. On my sister's 7950, the game still looks gorgeous, and better than its predecessor. The maps are all dripping with fantastic art, and some of the alien vehicles are just so sexy, it hurts. The vehicles add another dimension to the game. Mauling using the vehicles, or just using their speed or firepower brings a lot of joy.
Some of he weapons have been tweaked, and for the better. The Flak cannon and rocket launcher, while still really powerful, have been nerfed a bit. They've also made it more difficult to bunny hop.
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How's the map selection? I've been kinda' wanting to pick it up, but holding off until I know it's ultimately worth it. Demo was awesome.
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From what I've played, it isn't bad. Pretty standard. I wish there were more Vehicle CTF maps, which is what I've been playing mostly. The total number of maps are far more than most online shooters, and knowing Epic, they are probably working on more.
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I don't doubt it. As long as it's roughly comparable to past games, that's cool. Did they include any old maps with it? I had heard they were thinking about updating some, but haven't gone back to check up on it.
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Since it don't sound like much of a upgrade from the last UT, sounds like Bargain Bin-priced Material for me (once it hits that sweet $20 mark)....
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Since it don't sound like much of a upgrade from the last UT, sounds like Bargain Bin-priced Material for me (once it hits that sweet $20 mark)....
Bit of a harsh statement D.
I would like to pick this up but my PC wouldn't do it justice like so many other games out now :(
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I love that they've brought back some of classic maps and revamped them. The only map that seems to be missing is Facing Worlds (CTF). Which was actually mentioned in the "Making Of" DVD as one of the most popular maps in classic UT.
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That's my favorite map, Facing Worlds.
Since it don't sound like much of a upgrade from the last UT, sounds like Bargain Bin-priced Material for me (once it hits that sweet $20 mark)....
Why don't you try the demo? I think it is a significant improvement on the multiplayer.
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NVidia ForceWare Betas driver version 169.28 has been released and recommended for basically ONLY those UT3 Users (http://bluesnews.com/cgi-bin/board.pl?action=viewthread&threadid=83807)
NVIDIA ForceWare Beta for UT3 [December 31, 2007, 10:51 am ET] - Viewing Comments
NVIDIA's nZone offers a beta ForceWare release that's not offered on the their official website (thanks Gamer's Hell). There are new version 169.28 drivers for Windows XP 32-bit, Windows Vista 32-bit, and Windows Vista 64-bit specifically to address problems running Unreal Tournament III. Word is: "ForceWare Beta Release 169.28 is provided below for customers experiencing issues with the retail version of Unreal Tournament 3. This driver is only recommended as an update for these customers. All other customers are recommended to use the latest WHQL or Beta drivers offered on NVIDIA.com."
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New Map Pack for UT3 released. (http://www.bluesnews.com/cgi-bin/board.pl?action=viewthread&threadid=86414)
To make X and Pug happy, I guess Epic decided to remake Facing Worlds for this map pack. :P
And there's two other maps (one remake, one new) in there, as well.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Unreal Tournament 3 Bonus Map Pack [March 27, 2008, 12:21 pm ET] - 8 Comments
A free bonus map pack for Unreal Tournament 3 is now available, offering a new CTF map called "Searchlight," along with remakes of UT classics "Facing Worlds" and "Morbias." These maps are also available for PS3 owners via the Playstation Network. Word is: "This Bonus Pack includes 3 new maps. Morbias is the deathmatch arena that started it all, perfectly suited for anything from small intense duels to chaotic free-for-all matches. The Unreal Tournament classic, Facing Worlds was one of the most played maps in gaming history. This beloved sniper map makes its return alongside an intricate new capture the flag map, Searchlight, designed for both z-axis rooftop runs and strategic indoor gameplay. Returning classics and fresh new designs let you experience Unreal gaming like never before." The pack is on the Unreal Tournament 3 Website and the 159 MB download is also mirrored on ActionTrip, AtomicGamer, FanGaming, FileFront, Gamer's Hell, GameSpot (registration required), and PixelRage.
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AWESOME I LOVE FACING WORLDS!
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I never understood how that map never made it into the original roster!!
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I guess they had trouble working it into their new scheme of trying to work all of the game types into part of a storyline.
Oh noes, they stole our flag... I mean, they stole our top secret technology which... they... umm...touch with their own technology and and we lose! But oh noes, they must do it at least three times.... this doesn't make sense!
idiots
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Heh. But UT3 is awesome regardless. I picked it up a bit ago and have been having some fun with it. It's stupid in the best possible way (i.e. you can make complete fun of it with your friends). It's a fun game, and while the gameplay isn't anything super new, I do feel like some of the map designs are more manageable and make more sense.
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Yes, it is quite a lot of fun. I stopped playing because of the lack of interest, but I really loved it, especially vehicular CTF.
What seems to really piss everyone off in the PC gaming community, is the consolization of the engine. The advanced video tweaking options have dropped from what was over twenty to something like three...three. Actual latency numbers (pings) can't be seen, at least before the patch. The HUD can't be customized as much, while the engine console is almost useless in comparison to the past. Anti aliasing only works at 4x, and even that only properly in Vista. There is no spectator mode, stat tracking, game finder. The menu is worse, and then for some reason, gamespy is embedded in the internet game option!
Other stuff like slower weapon switching, no swap fire mode, weapon throwing have all been removed to reduce the gap between the newbies and the more experienced gamers, as said by epic developers on the forums.
The mod community is also complaining about the game not being friendly at all, which is sad considering the heritage of the engine.
Most of this stuff doesn't bother me nearly as much as it does others, and like I said, I still enjoyed the game. I just think this game's issues were evidence of Epic's new direction.
Anyway, here is something sad, and it makes one better understand why UT3 has the issues it does.
http://kotaku.com/367219/unreal-engine-4-targeting-consoles-not-pcs
Epic boss Tim Sweeney: There is a long life ahead for Unreal Engine 3. Version 4 will exclusively target the next console generation, Microsoft's successor for the Xbox 360, Sony's successor for the Playstation 3 - and if Nintendo ships a machine with similar hardware specs, then that also. PCs will follow after that.
(http://kotaku.com/assets/resources/2008/03/sadpc.jpg)
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It is such a kick in the groin to see devs move in that direction.
PC gaming will never truly die though. It may lay dormant for a while, but it will always resurface.
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Y'know, given so many current games run on some sort of modified Unreal Engine 2.0 or higher (R6: Vegas, R6: Vegas 2, SC: DA, GRAW, GRAW 2, Bioshock, etc etc) -- I think that's a BIG mistakes for Epic.
Epic's just opening the door for more PC games to actually support Id's series of engines (such as Id Tech 5) and Crytek's series of engines (such as CryEngine 2.0).
We know many games will probably use Id Tech 5 like what happened w/ many games of past Id engines (especially the Quake 3 Engine), but what Epic's doing could really path the way for more games to join the CryEngine club.
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That isn't a bad guess. I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot more PC devs move to use id Tech 5 if there's actually some gimping going on, but I think that will ultimately depend on just how far the PC gets pushed back comapared to the others with UE4. More than likely it won't end up being all that much, even if other platforms are the first focus. But time will tell.
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Here's what is already done for changes, fixes, and whatnot w/ Upcoming Patch 1.3 for UT3, which is being tested to be approved. (http://forumplanet.gamespy.com/in_the_news/b50284/19821798/p1)
From the UT3 server admins mailing list comes news that Epic is testing candidates for the third Unreal Tournament 3 patch (version 1.3). Changes in patch 1.3 so far include:
Gameplay:
- Fixed overlay mesh showing up on hidden sniper rifle when un-zoomed.
- UTGame.bNoCustomCharacters is now globalconfig.
- Now hear own auto-taunts.
- Fix for Liandri bots riding high in vehicles.
- Fixed mutators disappearing between matches.
- Fixed up PC DLC screenshots and player counts.
- Vipers can no longer be driven around underwater if entered while underwater - they pop up out of the water, even if deep in it.
- Fixed announcements not playing properly in WAR-MarketDistrict during the campaign.
- Fixed manta crouch exploit.
- Fixed loaded RL switching away before releasing load on net clients.
- Fixed occasionally getting stuck when getting up from ragdoll.
- Fixed ending zoom when go into feign death.
- Fixed giving proper stats credit for translocator telefrags.
- Fixed giving proper suicide stat credit for certain environmental suicides.
- Fixed Hoverboard foot placement when watching other client get on.
- Improved the turret controls on the rail turret with analog controller.
- Fixed friendly fire mutator showing up as option for Duel.
- Fixed bug where second enforcer wouldn't show up if picked up while switching to enforcer.
- Fixed shock/instagib beams which were grabbed from emitter pool sometimes incorrectly having DPG_Foreground set.
- Fixed "missing required file for demo playback" error message.
- Fixed redeemer explosion on client when shot down.
- Fixed big head mutator head scaling popping out at distance.
- End the match right away in duel if a player leaves.
- Fixed not getting kismet node destroyed event when node captured by orb.
- Fixed effect showing up for disabled weapon lockers.
- Don't modify power core damage caused by kismet.
- Fixed scavenger legs disappearing in kill volumes.
- Deployables can no longer be deployed onto hover/flying vehicles.
- Fixed Hoverboard script warnings and possible crash if hoverboard fails to spawn.
- Fixed impact hammer impact camera shake for low gore clients.
Engine/Rendering:
- Added motion blur menu option for PC (defaults to off).
- Fixed zero extent collision bug in octree code (finding nodes in Z axis).
- LOD Hysteresis / LOD Decision making bug fix.
- Fixed default mesh not having proper LOD settings.
- Fixed rare darkwalker physics crash.
User Interface:
- Added player name list to server browser.
- Added midgame map voting, with serverside config options in UTGame.ini:
- bMidGameMapVoting: Enables/Disables midgame map voting
- MapVotePercentage: The percentage of votes required to initiate a map switch, counts down based upon VoteDuration;
- NOTE: When VoteDuration=0, votes for a single map must exceed this percentage, but when VoteDuration is not 0, the number of players voting must exceed this percentage
- MinMapVotes: The minimum number of players that must vote in order to initiate a map switch.
- InitialVoteDelay: Delays the enabling of map voting for this many seconds
- Fixed History being saved for servers joined via cmdline and console.
- Fixed leading vote count indicator when map voting underway.
- Don?t show muted talking player portraits on HUD.
- Simple crosshair tweaks.
- Added the number of files left to download to the package downloading message.
- Fixed Krall portrait.
- Fixed clipping vehicle HUD beacon when not visible.
- Fixed endgame timer so that it isn't affected by changes in game speed (also fixes vote timer)
- Fixed SPMA deploy icon offset.
Networking:
- Always sort relevant actors by priority. Should fix the weird actors/properties never getting replicated issues.
- Fixed gibs not showing for clients of listen server if the gibbed player wasn't visible to the server player.
- Fixed gibs not showing for clients of low-gore listen server.
- New dynamic netspeed adjustment system for listen servers. Improves network performance for listen servers which typically have limited upstream bandwidth by dividing available bandwidth between clients. Configurable through new properties in UTGame.ini:
- TotalNetBandwidth=32000 (total upstream bandwidth to be apportioned)
- MaxDynamicBandwidth=7000
- MinDynamicBandwidth=4000
- Fixed "you have lost the match" messages to spectators at end of duel match.
- Fixed cases where GameSettings cache in the GameInfo wasn't properly getting NULL'd out on DestroyOnlineGame().
- HTTP redirect with compression now falls back to the uncompressed case if the compressed file could not be found.
- Fixed erroneous "connection failed" error when performing non-seamless travelling.
- Fixed hoverboard link failure sound playing in the world and being replicated.
- Fixed low gore clients seeing gibbed players as headless if playing on full gore server.
- Increased tracked turret net priority.
- Fixed Hoverboard networking replication issues (hoverboard now smoother in net games).
Server administration:
- UWeb fixes for WebAdmin.
- Fixed downloaded cooked maps not being loaded correctly in some cases when requested by the server at initial connect time.
- Fixed net object count problem when using the conformed/cooked audio packages in PS3ModTools. Fixes some networking issues for custom maps.
- Final fix for packagemap problem with going from DLC -> RTM maps.
- Fixed properly showing number of players needed for match to start when minplayers is set and bots are enabled on the server.
- Fixed bug with PlayerID being reused for bots after a seamless travel.
Mod support:
- Added support for Interactions to have a PostRender call (to render to canvas).
- Added support for Interactions to have exec functions be called on them.
- Added cut/copy/paste support to the console.
- Added Deproject() to canvas.
- Fixed base InventoryManager implementation of GetWeaponRatingFor().
- Fixed crash when placing a new UINumericEditBox in UI editor.
- Fix for custom factions in the UI.
- Added optional flag for ScriptedTextures to skip next clear so that a ScriptedTexture client doesn't need to draw every texel of the ST every update.
- Added support for -mod commandline option so that a TC mod can have a .ini file "sandbox" - where they can have new content paths, new startup maps, etc..
- Improved system for getting camera death effect.
- Implemented fix from Aegia for an NxFluid crash.
- Fixed beams not rendering in Cascade.
- Fixed crash when updating a UIPrefab.
Map specific:
- Fixed CTF-Searchlight black boxes before match starts.
- Fixed CTF-Searchlight search lights.
- Fixed CTF-Hydrosis collision issues.
- Fixed DM-Morbias collision issues.
- Fixed collision issue in DM-Deck.
AI improvements:
- Fixed bots not using link gun beam on enemies.
- Better bot celebration management.
- Fixed bots doing multiple end of match celebration taunts.
- Improved impact hammer AI.
- Improved darkwalker AI support for crouching under obstacles.
- Improved bot hoverboard AI.
- Fixed bots sometimes not picking up flags/orbs they dropped.
- Fixed bots never spawning in if initially not enough playerstarts.
Posted from Planet Unreal
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My UT3: Collector's Ed arrived today.
So, who the heck else has this game?
And if so, who wants to play?
My UT3 User Name -- MysterD.
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Idol and I were playing for a while, but it's a pretty hardcore group out there. I'm really not in their skill level at all. Most of my time spent on any server is spent getting my ass smeared into a bloody pulp on the pavement. Good times.
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Most of my time spent on any server is spent getting my ass smeared into a bloody pulp on the pavement. Good times.
That's what it felt like tonight w/ this game. Sheesh, I'd get like 1 kill to someone's 10 in DeathMatch.
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Idol and I were playing for a while, but it's a pretty hardcore group out there. I'm really not in their skill level at all. Most of my time spent on any server is spent getting my ass smeared into a bloody pulp on the pavement. Good times.
I was seriously considering picking this up. You just un-sold me on it.
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The problem is that the game didn't do as well as some of the past ones, so the community isn't quite as huge. Which is fine, because you still have an active, dedicated player base, but the problem is that it's a very dedicated player base, so it's pretty hard to get an edge. There are times when I do okay and hold my own, but then somebody good will come on the server and I just get decimated. It's pretty demoralizing.
The up side is that there's all the single player stuff, and while that isn't like mind-blowing or anything, and it's full of the typical funky Epic stuff, it's still fun as hell to play, and the bots are all awesome and you can make good use of them to play any kind of game you want. I don't consider it a bad investment, nor am I sorry I bought it. I think it's a fantastic game and *much* better than most of the reviewers and complainy community members made it out to be.
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Since many thought UT3 was nothing really new or groundbreaking, I think UT3 is one of those games that when it's universally $20, everyone will go out and buy a copy of it b/c it's another edition of UT and b/c $20 is pretty cheap for a game.
How can you really go wrong w/ UT anyways, you know?
Graphics are very good, BTW -- definitely worth mentioning that.
EDIT:
I just have to say, even though I'm over getting crushed, that this game's DeathMatch is pretty bad-ass and just relentless. It reminds me a lot of my old Quake 2 + Quake 3: Arena days.
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Yeah, this is extremely fast paced stuff. I think the game is fantastic... well balanced and well paced throughout. It's a shame the community is so hardcore and I'm not better at it, but I think the game is pretty much the pinnacle of what you could want in an online-focused, competitive FPS, either for DM or team games.
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I'm not a huge death match fan, are the servers for the team maps pretty well populated?
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The Warfare mode seems to be where most players play. You know, if you can find servers with people on them.
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I haven't had any troubles finding a populated server any time I've gone on to play. Doesn't seem like the game is all that sparsely populated to me.
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Perhaps. I have to be a little more selective with my servers, though.
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UT3 Patch 1.3 Released
UT3 Patch 1.3 Released (http://www.atomicgamer.com/file.php?id=71392)
GeForce 8 Series and above users...
GeForce Driver 177.83 Released w/ PhysX support + UT3 PhysX Mod + Other Stuff
Pick what stuff you want to DL w/ these drivers and whatnot here from NVidia. (http://www.nvidia.com/content/forcewithin/us/download.asp)
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I just tried it out and as funky as it seems the PhysX effects on the two enhanced CTF maps (Lighthouse & Tornado) have a huge performance hit. I have an 8800 GTS, which is supposed to have some level of PhysX processing (at least according to Nvidia). While I'm glad I can see the physics effects and destructible environments the loss of frames is not worth it.. To give you an idea it can go from 80 fps to less than 10 fps.
I also suspect there's some kind of memory leak because the longer I stay in either map the worse the performance gets until UT3 inevitably crashes.
On a good note the new Nvidia drivers seem to have significantly improved performance in all my other currently installed titles!
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The degrading performance you describe could actually be the GPU overheating.
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The degrading performance you describe could actually be the GPU overheating.
That's true. It could be the additional physics processing is taking a toll on it. I checked the GPU temperature and it was at 62C, it spikes up to 72C and above when I load up a PhysX map.
Anyway, I prefer the idea of having the PhysX on my GPU rather than buying a whole other card just for it. I anticipate Nvidia's newer cards will handle it better overall.
Scott, do you think AMD will develop something to challenge Nvidia's PhysX?
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Anyway, I prefer the idea of having the PhysX on my GPU rather than buying a whole other card just for it.
Definitely. The main problem with a separate physics card was even if you had a monster physics card and a monster video card, using the physics card actually slowed things down because all the data on where things should have to be had to be processed externally and then sent to the video card for rendering.
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Definitely. The main problem with a separate physics card was even if you had a monster physics card and a monster video card, using the physics card actually slowed things down because all the data on where things should have to be had to be processed externally and then sent to the video card for rendering.
Yeah, I remember reading about that. I think that pretty much brought on the downfall of Ageia before Nvidia bought them out.
I've tried lowering the resolution to 1280x800 in an effort to decrease the strain on the GPU and it seems to have increased performance slightly on the PhysX maps.
By the way, I also updated DirectX 9 with the most recent release and that seems to have updated the shaders. The normal maps on textures look crisper. I noticed them in UT3 and R6 Vegas 2.
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Hmmm...seems like there are more players and servers up for UT3, since I've last played. I guess Steam sales and the game probably dropping in price has helped.
Anyways, yeah -- this is a fun shooter.
Whoelse got UT3? Anyone lookin' to play anytime soon?
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Ive been meaning to reinstall and see what kind of mods are out there. The Ball looks cool.
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Ive been meaning to reinstall and see what kind of mods are out there. The Ball looks cool.
Ummm...what's The Ball?
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The Ball (http://www.moddb.com/mods/the-ball)
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That actually looks really awesome.
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That does look quite cool, actually.