UT2k3 article (better late than never.......I guess :P)

Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2004 3:57 pm

whatd did i do now?

Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2004 2:24 pm

lol, Good Lord!!! Razz

Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2004 2:27 pm

seriusly! what are you tlaking about.. ahh. confusing me!!
lol
is it almost done?

Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2004 2:32 pm

Oh and just so you guys know......I was gonna post my article but after playing the demo again I realized some of my rants had little substance anymore. But, the real reason why I am not gonna bother is because of some of the new UT2k4 info that has been released especially from the IRC interview 2 days ago. Most of what was posted in there addressed some of my concerns and rants about UT2k3. Since, most of the issues have been taken care of for the new game, it's pointless to point them out.

Really after all the reading I only have a couple rants left.

1) The sound effects for the weapons sound so weak and some are sorta lame compared to UT's sound effects.

2) The music doesn't get my blood pumping like it did in UT. But I hear they are making more UT-like music for UT2k4.

3) I want to be able to blow up the dead corpses of my fallen enemies with rockets. Don't care about ragdoll physics that much. (But, I also hear that may be taken care of in UT2k4 also)

4) Just thought of one more: How come none of the weapons' ammo create light as they go past walls etc. Remember how you could make a room glo green with the goo gun? Or when you fired a rocket you could see it light up the walls as it went past? Where did that go?

Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2004 2:33 pm

I could show you what I came up with if you want.......so its not such a waste of my time.....lol Razz

Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2004 2:35 pm

yeah do so..
FLAME!!! dont double post!! Evil or Very Mad

lol

Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2004 2:41 pm

(Ok by request of Cheetah.........here is what was finished....)
(I'll be editing this a bit to keep up with my thoughts.)

Ok well as most of you may (or may not) know I got a new rig for Christmas so now I can actually run UT2k3. Seeing that UT2k4 is coming out soon I decided to just DL the demo for now and wait it out for UT2k4 before I buy anything. Either way, I wanted to give you guys my initial thoughts as well as my thoughts after giving it some time. Any feedback is welcome. Smile

Disclaimer:This is my thoughts on the demo. If any of this has changed in the full release then let me know etc. without flaming. Like I said, UT2k4 is about to come out so its pointless for me to buy UT2k3 right now.

Initially, I found the game to be rather different than UT. Like most people I was like wtf....but then I realized....duh why would I want another identical UT? So I decided to give it some time.

Misc thoughts on weapons and related issues...

The Transy
The first thing I noticed was the translocater fires straight out instead of elevated slightly like in UT. I found it REALLY annoying but have gotten used to it since then. I'm thinking it may be beneficial that way so its easier to fire up into small areas, etc. I hear UT2k4 will have the option to make it fire a bit elevated like UT again so I will have to test that theory out once it comes out.

Shield Gun
Shield gun is cool though I don't use it nearly as much as I should. I haven't taken the time to actually strategize with it. Either way I find it a welcome addition to the UT world.

Assault Rifle
The assault rifle is pretty slick though I haven't found the gernades particularly useful. I think I've gotten 2 kills with them so far. Their damage radius is really small. I don't care if they do small damage but they should have a larger radius so you can actually do damage. An alternative would be to make it so the second time you hit secondary fire it detonates the grenade. The actual bouncing of the grenade isn’t as useful as it would have been like in UT where the levels were much smaller. I am glad to find out you will be able to equip duals in the UT2k4 release, though.

GES Biorifle
As I posted elsewhere, I like the goo gun but I'm trying to figure out why the goo gun's blobs of goo look worse in UT2k3 than in UT. In UT they glowed this cool eerie green light that could light up small rooms and they sorta moved like jelly when they sat on the ground. Now they look like poor renders of green softballs that do nothing. Otherwise from a functionality standpoint, I like that it shoots faster and farther as well as the globs moving faster. However, it seems the actual rate of fire has been reduced, from what I can tell. The gun isn't that powerful so I'm not sure why they did that.

ASMD (Shock Rifle)
As for the ASMD they finally got it up to speed like it should fire (though I hear that is being nerfed a bit too in UT2k4).
The combo is very nice looking and sounding, though both the primary and secondary individually sound like I’m shooting a pellet gun. I've noticed most of the weapons just don't sound NEARLY as powerful as in UT. They all sound soo weak. I will hit on that later though.

Link Gun
The link gun is a welcome improvement over the pulse gun. Once again, the beam is loads of fun to use and the ability to link is awesome if you have buddies who know what they are doing. The primary fire though is for the most part useless compared to the secondary. It's shots go too slow to make it worth firing. And once you get close enough to make it worth it, you are close enough to use the beam. Basically, the shots need to have a higher air velocity if they are to be of any use. This may change in UT2k4 since they may do good damage against vehicles in which case the speed won't matter (as much since they are large objects) but range will (otherwise you die quickly Razz

).

(On second thought, the primary fire does fire pretty quick and its shots do good dmg.......so nevermind.)

Minigun
The mini was my favorite weapon for a while due to its instant hit, high ROF, and the fact that you didn't have to aim much, lol. I like the fact that it now has a larger ammunition bank (350 rounds versus 199 in UT). I mostly use the primary as I haven't found much of a use for the secondary fire. It seems kind of neat but doesn't have much in the way of stopping power. As far as I can tell, it shoots slower but the rounds explode. That would be really cool except that the accuracy seems to still suck making it for the most part useless unless you are really close. But, if you are that close then you may as well use the primary. Let me know if you guys have found otherwise.
Also, the tracers seem to go all over (even wider then you're actual firing arc) and I have found a lack of impact hits that show where you're shots have landed. In UT it was easy to see where your shots were landing cause of the smoke they kick up. There is some, but it's really hard to distinguish against battlefield clutter (other players, weapon fire, etc.) and therefore not very useful.

Flak Cannon
Yes I'm a flak monkey so this guy is still my favorite. Not much has changed, save for the look. I personally like the tracers behind each piece of flak. The secondary doesn’t seem as powerful and also seems to have a smaller blast radius. However, I have other reasons as to why it may seem like this. (Which I will talk about later.) Other than that, I like my flak cannon.

Eightball Cannon (Rocket Launcher)
The Rocket Launcher was nerfed quite a bit by losing both its grenade capability and now it fires only 3 rockets per salvo instead of 5. In this case I am glad they did do that since it had too many abilities. Plus, I think each rocket does a little more damage compared to the old UT eightball cannon so that easily makes up for the reduced number of rockets. I will admit, when I first started playing, I kept killing myself as I was loading due to the fact that I kept thinking I could count to 5 instead of 3. Well 3 would come around and I would be still facing a wall (Boom…..ouch), LOL. In addition, I think each rocket moves slightly faster as well. Either way, the rocket launcher is good fun too.

Lightning Gun
Well good bye to the Sniper rifle and hello to mister LG. I have really mixed feelings on this guy. You can’t essentially snipe with it since everyone knows where your shot is coming from and it shoots slower than the old UT rifle. Now, I have to admit the UT rifle fired way too fast was too easy to headshot with even in close combat. However, the lightning gun is almost so weak versus the UT rifle that it works better as a pursuit weapon than a defensive one. It lacks the stopping power due to its really slow ROF and the fact that everyone knows where you are after the first shot. To be honest, I like and hate at the same time the fact that you can no longer hide. Either way, I use the weapon more to stop a flag carrier from getting away now instead of trying to pick off guys on their way to my base.
Its splash damage effect is somewhat helpful though normally you are picking off one guy so it’s not very useful at hurting groups of people. I have found that it is mostly there to make up for your lack of aiming abilities so you do some damage at the very least.

Redeemer
Redeemer is standard fair though I sorely miss the blinding flash. It just seems to make it appear more powerful. Also, gone are the days of guiding this sucker through tight corridors. Razz

Oh, did I mention they need to bring back the blinding flash? Mr. Green

Ion Painter
Don't have it in demo.....nuff said.

Glossary (just added)

Nerfed: reduced in cababilites or overall effectiveness. (i.e. a nerfed weapon is one that has had its damage reduced, etc.)

Cheetah: Fast running animal.......though not really bright

Flame: Hot stuff....don't put hand in it. What people do on forums.

*************************************************************
Blah, blah, blah. Everything below is unfinished crap and notes to myself cause I never finished this article.......

- Mention deaths and exploding corpses

BR notes - I liked the new bombing run and found it even more fun instagib-style. I found with instagib the action was more furious since no one was busy collecting weapons, armor, etc. The focus was solely on the getting that bomb.

(Note: a lot of these have now been addressed in UT2k4 so they are irrelevant)

Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2004 3:09 pm

Nice one.....

Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2004 3:22 pm

ahum!!!
cna i correct a big mistake you just made there?
in glossery, it says
Cheetah: Fast running animal.......though not really bright

not a fast runniong animal, THE FASTES MAMEL IN THE WORLD!
FASTES LAND ANIMAL!!
a ostrich is fast to..
about the brightniss yar right tho..

ps. te word cheetah wasnt in ya articel..

Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2004 3:31 pm

lol cheetah:the fastest spammer in the world, next to alpha Wink

Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2004 3:36 pm

spammer, not smapper, lol
im faster then you.. your just a little.. erhm.. alpha.. Laughing

Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2004 3:37 pm

lol...i corrected it

Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2004 3:38 pm

hhe. lol..
edit: oops, i was to fast, got a forum eror that i have to wait to post again Very Happy

Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2004 3:39 pm

yeah i got that like 3 times today, how much seconds is flood control enabled?

Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2004 3:41 pm

do nto know from top of my head.. but i cant keep up with you..
wait up! Very Happy