Unreal Tournament 3 - previously known a Unreal Tournament 2007

[rabb1t]

IGN article (http://pc.ign.com/articles/758/758408p1.html)
New trailer that explains the story (http://media.pc.ign.com/media/746/746632/vids_1.html)

Old name: Unreal Tournament 2007
New name: Unreal Tournament 3
Platforms: PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Release: H2'07

I swear I made a thread for this already. :p

[rabb1t]

A different IGN article (http://pc.ign.com/articles/758/758756p1.html)

:)

[dmodert66]

A really nice interview with lots and lots of footage from UT3...It's 12 mins into the video and lasts about 6 mins..Enjoy :)
http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/9487

[rabb1t]

pew pew lasers. :D

The Kathleen girlie is cute. :D

[Dorfeater]

Can't wait to satisfy my twitch tendencies!

[fcwedd]

I played the heck out of Unreal Tournament 1. I cannot wait for this game!

My name was de`pain from clan Mulletmen.

[rabb1t]

GDC coverage at GameSpy (http://ps3.gamespy.com/playstation-3/unreal-tournament-2007/771700p1.html)

[Slide]

Was an interesting show, Unreal looks less good than it did when they were first showing it off. The girl that was rabb1ting about the PS3 game swore 100 times too much.

[Spirit]

For those of you hardcore PC purists, mouse and keyboard controls will be available in the PS3 version through the USB ports on the front of the machine.

Not sure about this. The mouse and keyboard guys will dominate the online leaderboards is my guess.

[Aeronis]

That's a sickening amount of polygons on those weapons. I never thought we'd be getting so close to CGI quality graphics in games so soon.

[rabb1t]

Consider that Pong came out in 1973, only 34 years ago.

Yeah, having watched the whole industry grow in my lifetime I'm often shocked at what we can do now.

[Seasiu Laitya]

That's a sickening amount of polygons on those weapons. I never thought we'd be getting so close to CGI quality graphics in games so soon.
Yup, we have photorealistic fences that players still can't jump over.
Photorealistic buildings impervious to damage.
Photorealistic objects that can't be picked up or manipulated.

Haha, gotta love the graphics improvements we've made ;)

[Aeronis]

Yup, we have photorealistic fences that players still can't jump over.
Photorealistic buildings impervious to damage.
Photorealistic objects that can't be picked up or manipulated.

Haha, gotta love the graphics improvements we've made ;)

I've always been a big advocate of increased interactivity and depth to games as opposed to higher graphics.

As an example, look at how gamers were thrilled over the high level of physics interaction in half life 2.

[rabb1t]

some bla bla from Tim Sweeny over at the UT3 forums (http://forums.epicgames.com/showthread.php?t=571019), apparently translated from german.

I'll just cut and paste the interview bits here. ;)

The Unreal Engine 3 is a multi-platfom engine which supports Direct X 9 and Direct X 10 on the PC-side.

Overview of the most important rendering features:

- multi-threaded renderer (4+ threads)
- 16 Bit per componenent HDR-Pipeline
- runs on 64 Bit operating systems
- (confirmed) performance advantages through SLI (most likely Crossfire as well)
- post-processing effects (some examples): motion blur, depth-of-field blur, bloom
- deferred shading
- physics: Ageia PhysX engine
- 300 - 1.000 visible objects per scene
- huge scenes typically consist of 500.000 to 1.500.000 triangles
- normal maps and texture maps usually have a resolution of 2.048 x 2.048


Important questions, answered by Tim Sweeny, lead developer at Epic Games:

PCGH: Is there a possibility to make deferred shading and edge-smoothing work at the same time on DX9 graphics cards?
Epic: Unreal Engine 3 uses deferred shading to speed up the calculation of dynamic lighting and shadows. Integrating this feature together with multi-sampling requires control of the edge-smoothing at a much deeper level than the DX9 interface can provide. So, on the PC, multi-sampling will only be supported under DX10.

PCGH: How do the general hardware requirements look like?
Epic: Since optimization work is still ongoing, these details may change every day. Generally speaking, the game runs quite smooth with DX9 hardware released by NVidia and Ati since 2006. On high-end cards, including the DX10models, UT3 runs incredibly smooth already. Additionally, we also support shader 2.0 graphics hardware, with only a few technical limitations.

PCGH: Will SLI and Crossfire provide significant advantages?
Epic: We're testing SLI configurations on a regular basis. Their positive influence can be felt significantly, especially at higher resolutions. So, if one wants to have full details at very high resolutions, a SLI-system would be the ideal way to secure optimal performance. We had no opportunity to test crossfire systems yet, but we are expecting similar results.

PCGH: How exacly are you utilizing the functions of Direct X 10?
Epic: Unreal Tournament 3 will ship with full DX10 support, with multi-sampling being the biggest visible benefit of the new graphics interface. Additionally, with DX10 under Vista we have the possibility to use the video memory more efficently, to be able to display textures with a higher grade of detail than would be possible with the DX9 path of Vista. Most effects of UT3 are more bound to the fillrate than to basic features like geometry processing. That's why DX10 has a great impact on performance, while we mostly forgo the integration of new features.

PCGH: Will UT3 players be able to benefit from a 64 Bit environment and is there a 64 Bit version anyway?
Epic: To assure compatibility, we tested UT3 with Vista x64 as well. Nonetheless, we're planning to wait and see first, until the OS and its applications will have ripened, before we'll be taking further steps in the 64 Bit direction. With UT2004 we were one of the first developers who ported a title for Windows XP x64. We would've liked to do this with UT3 and Vista x64 as well as shifting all the PCs we're currently developing on to the 64 Bit version of Vista. Unfortunately, full software and driver compatibility isn't there. The basic OS runs stable and it's fun to work with it isolated. But as soon as you want to print something or want to run Maya or 3DSMax together with some third-party plugins you'll get massive problems. But I am sure those can be fixed via service packs and software updates, so PCs with 4 to 8 gigs of ram can establish themselves during the next 12 months.

PCGH: What is the maximun number of threads that can be calculated separately? Will there be a performance-boost if a quad-core system will be used?
Epic: We're able to scale the thread-structure pretty well. There is a primary thread for the gameplay and a second one for rendering. On systems with more than 2 cores we run additional threads to speed up various calculation-tasks, including physics and data-decompression. So the overall performance benefits greatly from a quad-core processor. Although we haven't looked into the matter yet, I expect an even further performance increase through CPUs with more than 4 cores in future UE-based games.

[rabb1t]

IGN - E3 2007: Unreal Tournament 3 Hands-on
Get ready to stare down the barrel of a flak cannon. (http://pc.ign.com/articles/804/804933p1.html)

[rabb1t]

zomg! Unreal Tournament 3 beta demo

Fileplanet link (http://www.fileplanet.com/181421/download/Unreal-Tournament-3-Beta-Demo)

Fileshack link (http://www.fileshack.com/file.x/11252/Unreal+Tournament+3+Demo)

[rabb1t]

What the crap? Failed to complete installation? :cry: :cry:

[Renekal]

yeah, it was bein kinda screwy for me. I'd dbl click to get it started and it would just kinda sit there and think for 2 minutes and then just stop. Tried 'Run as admin' and it worked.. albeit a little sluggishly. But only during install, well there was a slight bit of delay in the game menus; my settings didn't stick the first time as well. It did however, run pretty damn smooth. 1920x1200 with the ingame quality settings maxed(though i didn't check to see if it stuck at '5' or if it reverted back to 2. I was really surprised to see how smooth it runs, Core2 6600, 2GB DDR2 800, 640MB 8800GTS on Vista

[rabb1t]

Looks like this is partly a Windows XP 64-bit issue.

Huge thread on the Epic boards about it (http://utforums.epicgames.com/showthread.php?t=578584)

Apparently we need to be sure to have .net framework 2.0 (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=B44A0000-ACF8-4FA1-AFFB-40E78D788B00&displaylang=en) (Which it looks like I do)

That is really disturbing that the game doesn't work with XP 64-bit. It makes me wonder if it doesn't work for Vista 64-bit either. That's really disapointing since Epic has always been saying it would have 64-bit support (along with multi-threading, DX10, etc. etc.)

Ah, good. Found a moderator reply in there.

Vista and Vista 64 are supported and part of our test matrix.

At least that's something.

[Renekal]

i'm using vista 64

[Poke]

UT3 is trash. They need to start over from scratch. At best it is "meh". Piss poor graphics and they removed the only unique thing (double jumping).

You can tell that these games that play on the console are going to have an adverse effect on PC gaming.

[gtlaxsk8er]

UT3 is trash. They need to start over from scratch. At best it is "meh". Piss poor graphics and they removed the only unique thing (double jumping).

You can tell that these games that play on the console are going to have an adverse effect on PC gaming.

Say what? You can't do the double jump thing anymore? Does that include like the hitting A+A to jump sideways and all that? If that's true that's friggin sad.

And yeah these new iterations of old pc games that are now on consoles tend to piss me off. How come when I play oblivion I can't friggin set my world map to M and my local map to N and my spells to K or whatever I feel like instead of F1 through F4 and using the damn tabs? Is it a game breaker, of course not, it's just annoying. Console games have a bigger market = more money for game makers = game makers making games with controls for a controller that are shuffled over to the pc port.

It's not gonna change I know, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.

[rabb1t]

Could just be me, but I'm still giving it about 15 years before we start to see 'unified media boxes' popping up where computers / consoles start to become one device. (Think an Xbox with a larger hard drive that can run email, word, excel, browse the web, etc.)

[Renekal]

you can double jump still, it just isn't as pronounced as before. Oh, and the double tap in a direction is as well.

[gtlaxsk8er]

Could just be me, but I'm still giving it about 15 years before we start to see 'unified media boxes' popping up where computers / consoles start to become one device. (Think an Xbox with a larger hard drive that can run email, word, excel, browse the web, etc.)

So like a PC with standardized hardware? Or am I thinking the opposite? Still it'd be interesting.

you can double jump still, it just isn't as pronounced as before. Oh, and the double tap in a direction is as well.

Well that's good they kept those things in there. So for the 360 owners they have to double tap with the thumbsticks? That'll be interesting. Which makes me wonder if you can double tap, double tap, double tap all over the place. That could be really hard on a controller and would give them a handicap (other than handicap of using a controller in the first place =O )

[rabb1t]

So like a PC with standardized hardware? Or am I thinking the opposite? Still it'd be interesting.

Yeah, that's what I'm guessing will happen.

I'm guessing developers (hardware, software and gaming) will see that combining both will get them both markets. Plus, miniaturization, and less competition (higher compatibility) would allow for more sales. Plus, I think we will start to hit a barrier fairly soon that will slow our growth rate down.

I don't know, people have to get over their 'I can make a part better than you and sell it better' greed.

Maybe I'm to socialistic sometimes. ;)

Yeah, I guess Microsoft tried this with Xbox, and is still trying with the Xbox 360, but they haven't quite made that full quasi-PC step yet.

[Malosar]

UT3 is trash. They need to start over from scratch. At best it is "meh". Piss poor graphics and they removed the only unique thing (double jumping).

You can tell that these games that play on the console are going to have an adverse effect on PC gaming.

Piss poor graphics? Have you seen Shangri-La at full details on a DX10 card? It looks incredible :eek:

[gtlaxsk8er]

Yeah, that's what I'm guessing will happen.

I'm guessing developers (hardware, software and gaming) will see that combining both will get them both markets. Plus, miniaturization, and less competition (higher compatibility) would allow for more sales. Plus, I think we will start to hit a barrier fairly soon that will slow our growth rate down.

I don't know, people have to get over their 'I can make a part better than you and sell it better' greed.

Maybe I'm to socialistic sometimes. ;)

Yeah, I guess Microsoft tried this with Xbox, and is still trying with the Xbox 360, but they haven't quite made that full quasi-PC step yet.

I think Microsoft is already way on track to making something like that. If you think about it, cross-platform gaming between the 360 and PC's with Vista is already possible. Heck you can even transfer your gamer tag over, all that's left is the whole thing to take place on the same physical machine.

I remember when FFXI launched on the PS2. I thought that was when we'd start seeing more co-mingling of pc's and consoles. I mean the PS2 had a keyboard peripheral so you could chat.

The biggest obstacle, for me, that I can think of as to whether I would buy something like this would be how the heck is it set up in the house? I mean big screen, hi def and surround sound are great, but there are just something that a mouse a keyboard do better than a controller. I'm not talking about twitch shooters (I think we all know mouse > controller) but typing in chat, emails, anything with typing basically. I could agrue that surfing the web is better than with a controller, but it's possible with both and the only difference might be how fast you move the cursor around. I mean how is AoC on the 360 going to allow you to chat to people in game? An on screen keyboard that you type out by choosing every letter? And if they do come out with a keyboard (wireless plz!) you gotta have that thing in your lap while you play on the couch.

Granted I'm sure there are bigger obstacles when it comes to making some sort of hybird console/pc but I've always wondered how you could do it with the home theater systems people are used to today and still somehow maintain the functionality of a compter desk/table when it comes to a keyboard and/or mouse.

/total_derail off

[rabb1t]

I'll bet most with AoC on the 360 will just use the voice chat. I think it can take a USB keyboard though.

But right now, I'd say the Wii is probably closer than anyone. The Wiimote is as good as any mouse. Not quite as accurate, but as far as getting living room people together to talk to friends, I could see the Wii winnin that race.

[gtlaxsk8er]

I'll bet most with AoC on the 360 will just use the voice chat. I think it can take a USB keyboard though.

But right now, I'd say the Wii is probably closer than anyone. The Wiimote is as good as any mouse. Not quite as accurate, but as far as getting living room people together to talk to friends, I could see the Wii winnin that race.

Ah totally forgot about the voice chat. That makes sense. So in the future, throw some decent voice recognition software and you really might not need a keyboard at all.

I remember reading back before the Wii came out about Red Steel and how the experience with a wii mote was most like a mouse. they mentioned how in an FPS on the PC with a mouse you can do a 180° turn in like .1 sec, a regular controller took a lot longer (can't remember the time they mentioned) and a wii mote wasn't too far off a mouse.

[rabb1t]

So in the future, throw some decent voice recognition software and you really might not need a keyboard at all.

I'm giving it about 10 years, but yeah, at that time, then I won't hate voice chat quite so much. :) (Because undoubtedly there will be noise-canceling things so you only hear talking, not extra stuff. :p )

I remember reading back before the Wii came out about Red Steel and how the experience with a wii mote was most like a mouse.

Red Steel is a bad example at this point. Nothing against you, just saying, things like Link's Crossbow Training and Resident Evil show off the controller far more than Red Steel. :)

they mentioned how in an FPS on the PC with a mouse ... and a wii mote wasn't too far off a mouse.

They are still tweaking things, but yeah, I think that reference was to the improved version of Metriod.

Plus, this is only the first gen hardware for it. It wouldn't surprise me at all if in like a year and a half we saw a 'Wiimote version 2' which was even more accurate. (Of course the thing that does surprise me is that the Wii just asked where the sensor was, above or below the TV. I'm sure it would be even more sensitive if they asked advanced things like, what size TV, how far from the screen is the sensor, etc.)

Yeah, right now the Wiimote is closer to a paint ball gun than a laser, but I’d still choose it for some things over a regular gamepad in a heartbeat. :D

[gtlaxsk8er]

Red Steel is a bad example at this point. Nothing against you, just saying, things like Link's Crossbow Training and Resident Evil show off the controller far more than Red Steel. :)


Yeah I'm a little behind the times. I only just heard about Link's Crossbow Training today since I no longer have internet and have to go to my school's library. The reason I brought up Red Steel (and yeah it was a bad example) was just the fact that they posted the time it took with each thing in the article I read. Of course that was a very long time ago, I just remember reading that and being kinda excited to see what could come out of something like that.

I'm a big FPS guy and I used to play halo 2 daily when I was in the dorm but once I moved out I had a complete break from console shooters pretty much, the next time I played halo 2 all I could think about was how slow master chief was. He ran slow, he jumped slow, he turned slow compaired to most fps' I play on the PC.

[Slide]

Piss poor graphics? Have you seen Shangri-La at full details on a DX10 card? It looks incredible :eek:

Yes, it looks muddy and over-complex.

The graphics are technically excellent, but they aren't functional.

[Slide]

Yeah I'm a little behind the times. I only just heard about Link's Crossbow Training today since I no longer have internet and have to go to my school's library. The reason I brought up Red Steel (and yeah it was a bad example) was just the fact that they posted the time it took with each thing in the article I read. Of course that was a very long time ago, I just remember reading that and being kinda excited to see what could come out of something like that.

Metroid Prime 3. It has its problems, but shows how the Wii has the best control of a console for FPS.