Get Unreal Tournament III while it's cheap

[HeXploiT]

I'm making a prediction here.
Anyone remember Unreal Tournament 2003?
Well UT2004 was nothing but UT2003 with a major patch.

Imho Epic is about to put the fun back in UT and I think we're going to have a kickass game in UTIII after all. Get it now while while it's on the cheap. Just picked up a dvd version new on ebay for <$15.
If the patch is successful I bet the price goes up right quick.
For those who don't know here you can find information about the upcoming patch. It's been mentioned here before but I think many people have yet to consider what this means.

 

[GullyFoyle]

I'm hoping for another sale on Steam...

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Go gamers just had a sale on them for $9.90. Subscribe to their news letter and you'll be notified.

 

[GullyFoyle]

I see it is still $13 (+shipping) at GoGamer and GameStop. That is a fair deal.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

It's probably not a bad deal for $10. I'll be amazed if the patch breathes life into the game, but I hope it does. Then I'll be motivated to pick my UT3 remake of my best UT99 CTF map up off the cutting room floor.

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
Go gamers just had a sale on them for $9.90. Subscribe to their news letter and you'll be notified.

Its still in the newsletter but when I click on it the page comes up with the price @ $12.90.

 

[HeXploiT]

Originally posted by: WhipperSnapper

It's probably not a bad deal for $10. I'll be amazed if the patch breathes life into the game, but I hope it does. Then I'll be motivated to pick my UT3 remake of my best UT99 CTF map up off the cutting room floor.

If it makes the game what it was supposed to be then it's going to start selling no question. It sounds to me like what you really doubt is that Epic can fix it at all.
That seems to be the real question here. Again I'll bring up UT2003 which was a total flop and resulted in an astounding game in UT2004. Now if epic can fix UT2003 by releasing the game all over again and making people pay twice for the same game then why wouldn't they be able to succeed with a free patch?

 

[TheVrolok]

I picked it up for 5 or 10 .. whatever it was for that Steam New Year's sale. I put a few hours into it just toying around and it was worth it just for that. If this patch actually brings life to the game, even better.

 

[soccerballtux]

Originally posted by: HeXploiT

Originally posted by: WhipperSnapper

It's probably not a bad deal for $10. I'll be amazed if the patch breathes life into the game, but I hope it does. Then I'll be motivated to pick my UT3 remake of my best UT99 CTF map up off the cutting room floor.

If it makes the game what it was supposed to be then it's going to start selling no question. It sounds to me like what you really doubt is that Epic can fix it at all.
That seems to be the real question here. Again I'll bring up UT2003 which was a total flop and resulted in an astounding game in UT2004. Now if epic can fix UT2003 by releasing the game all over again and making people pay twice for the same game then why wouldn't they be able to succeed with a free patch?

We doubt it because they say "major UI overhaul" in the patch notes yet say things later like "when disconnecting from server, will return to the server browser instead of main menu".

"Major UI overhaul" means "can change servers without disconnecting from current game"-- aka how it works in 2k4-- change the server, start downloading map/addons (if needed) in the background, and THEN connect.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: HeXploiT
I'm making a prediction here.
Anyone remember Unreal Tournament 2003?
Well UT2004 was nothing but UT2003 with a major patch.

Imho Epic is about to put the fun back in UT and I think we're going to have a kickass game in UTIII after all. Get it now while while it's on the cheap. Just picked up a dvd version new on ebay for <$15.
If the patch is successful I bet the price goes up right quick.
For those who don't know here you can find information about the upcoming patch. It's been mentioned here before but I think many people have yet to consider what this means.

you're predicting a patch that has already been announced or you're predicting that UTIII will be fun after the patch?

 

[zerocool84]

I bought the UT pack on Steam on the new year's thingy. I already think it's fun but there are so many damn things that need to be changed.

 

[HeXploiT]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: HeXploiT
I'm making a prediction here.
Anyone remember Unreal Tournament 2003?
Well UT2004 was nothing but UT2003 with a major patch.

Imho Epic is about to put the fun back in UT and I think we're going to have a kickass game in UTIII after all. Get it now while while it's on the cheap. Just picked up a dvd version new on ebay for <$15.
If the patch is successful I bet the price goes up right quick.
For those who don't know here you can find information about the upcoming patch. It's been mentioned here before but I think many people have yet to consider what this means.

you're predicting a patch that has already been announced or you're predicting that UTIII will be fun after the patch?

I'm guessing that the game will be fun(finally).

 

[Maximilian]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: HeXploiT
I'm making a prediction here.
Anyone remember Unreal Tournament 2003?
Well UT2004 was nothing but UT2003 with a major patch.

Imho Epic is about to put the fun back in UT and I think we're going to have a kickass game in UTIII after all. Get it now while while it's on the cheap. Just picked up a dvd version new on ebay for <$15.
If the patch is successful I bet the price goes up right quick.
For those who don't know here you can find information about the upcoming patch. It's been mentioned here before but I think many people have yet to consider what this means.

you're predicting a patch that has already been announced or you're predicting that UTIII will be fun after the patch?

Hes predicting that UTIII will bounce back and become a big success like UT2004 apparently was.

I dunno though... if a game flops it flops, UT2004 was a brand new game, i dont know of any patches that have brought a game back from the dead.

 

[Fox5]

Originally posted by: HeXploiT
I'm making a prediction here.
Anyone remember Unreal Tournament 2003?
Well UT2004 was nothing but UT2003 with a major patch.

Imho Epic is about to put the fun back in UT and I think we're going to have a kickass game in UTIII after all. Get it now while while it's on the cheap. Just picked up a dvd version new on ebay for <$15.
If the patch is successful I bet the price goes up right quick.
For those who don't know here you can find information about the upcoming patch. It's been mentioned here before but I think many people have yet to consider what this means.

Uh, if it works like UT2003 to UT2004 did, didn't they just release ut2004 as a whole new game and owning UT2003 maybe got you a rebate, at best?

 

[soccerballtux]

Originally posted by: Maximilian

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: HeXploiT
I'm making a prediction here.
Anyone remember Unreal Tournament 2003?
Well UT2004 was nothing but UT2003 with a major patch.

Imho Epic is about to put the fun back in UT and I think we're going to have a kickass game in UTIII after all. Get it now while while it's on the cheap. Just picked up a dvd version new on ebay for <$15.
If the patch is successful I bet the price goes up right quick.
For those who don't know here you can find information about the upcoming patch. It's been mentioned here before but I think many people have yet to consider what this means.

you're predicting a patch that has already been announced or you're predicting that UTIII will be fun after the patch?

Hes predicting that UTIII will bounce back and become a big success like UT2004 apparently was.

I dunno though... if a game flops it flops, UT2004 was a brand new game, i dont know of any patches that have brought a game back from the dead.

I think Steam is going to do something for it.

UT3 is perfectly fun IMO, it's the user interface and the lack of gameplay modes that hurt it. I usually do nothing but play iCTF anyways because there aren't enough custom DM/etc servers with non-standard maps.

 

[JoshGuru7]

I'm not optimistic about UT3 at all. I've been playing it off and on since launch and even if they fix all of the problems I don't think the overall low population problem is going to go away. People are playing Call of Duty or Left4Dead these days - in fact I can find more people looking for a match in UT'99 than UT3. I can't say whether making UT3 as a console game and porting it to the PC afterwards was a bad decision without knowing how many PS3 sales they've had, but it certainly didn't help the PC version very much.

I think the most innovative thing UT3 brought to the FPS genre was the relatively overpowered vehicles that allowed FPS newcomers to feel successful in online matches. I have a friend who is terrible at FPS games but still enjoyed UT3 for a while when he realized how it easy it was to squish people in the manta or shell people with the goliath. I know the vehicles are derided by a lot of the mid-range users but lowering the barrier to entry of these games is worth it and if it had been properly released I think it would have been a very successful entry to the franchise.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Originally posted by: Fox5

Originally posted by: HeXploiT
I'm making a prediction here.
Anyone remember Unreal Tournament 2003?
Well UT2004 was nothing but UT2003 with a major patch.

Imho Epic is about to put the fun back in UT and I think we're going to have a kickass game in UTIII after all. Get it now while while it's on the cheap. Just picked up a dvd version new on ebay for <$15.
If the patch is successful I bet the price goes up right quick.
For those who don't know here you can find information about the upcoming patch. It's been mentioned here before but I think many people have yet to consider what this means.

Uh, if it works like UT2003 to UT2004 did, didn't they just release ut2004 as a whole new game and owning UT2003 maybe got you a rebate, at best?

They're releasing it, which will probably make it feel like a whole new game, for free. Guess they learned their lesson.

 

[shortylickens]

Originally posted by: Maximilian

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: HeXploiT
I'm making a prediction here.
Anyone remember Unreal Tournament 2003?
Well UT2004 was nothing but UT2003 with a major patch.

Imho Epic is about to put the fun back in UT and I think we're going to have a kickass game in UTIII after all. Get it now while while it's on the cheap. Just picked up a dvd version new on ebay for <$15.
If the patch is successful I bet the price goes up right quick.
For those who don't know here you can find information about the upcoming patch. It's been mentioned here before but I think many people have yet to consider what this means.

you're predicting a patch that has already been announced or you're predicting that UTIII will be fun after the patch?

Hes predicting that UTIII will bounce back and become a big success like UT2004 apparently was.

I dunno though... if a game flops it flops, UT2004 was a brand new game, i dont know of any patches that have brought a game back from the dead.

I'm thinking not. Not everyone keeps up with the patch situation, especially for games they dont even own.
The reason UT2004 did so well is it was an entirely new game. Built upon the exact same game before it but still it was a new title with a new box and brand new markerting. It sold. A lot of folks were ticked off that it turned out to just be an enhanced version of UT2003, but at the same time, most folks were happy that it was an enhanced version of UT2003.

I really dont think a patch is going to encourage sales. I dont believe that many people are keeping up with those sorts of things, especially because it seems like most modern gamers are only interested in new stuff. The fat hunk of sales at time of release followed by the quick drop several months later seem to confirm this.
Maybe an expansion pack will do the trick, but they dont seem to be interested in big, paid expansions like other game companies.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally posted by: HeXploiT

Originally posted by: WhipperSnapper

It's probably not a bad deal for $10. I'll be amazed if the patch breathes life into the game, but I hope it does. Then I'll be motivated to pick my UT3 remake of my best UT99 CTF map up off the cutting room floor.

If it makes the game what it was supposed to be then it's going to start selling no question. It sounds to me like what you really doubt is that Epic can fix it at all.
That seems to be the real question here. Again I'll bring up UT2003 which was a total flop and resulted in an astounding game in UT2004. Now if epic can fix UT2003 by releasing the game all over again and making people pay twice for the same game then why wouldn't they be able to succeed with a free patch?

I think Epic can fix it but I do question their desire some. However, based on that large list of things they're going to fix or change it does look like a big step in the right direction.

My concern is that a great many people who might have bought the game passed it up and have since long forgotten about it. People who might be interested in it won't hear that it's being modified substantially. I think they need to release a new version of the game--call it "Unreal Tournament 3 Online Multiplayer Extreme Edition" or some such and put it back on store shelves with a fresh marketing campaign. That is to say--it needs to be treated as though it were a brand new release with advertising and publicity, etc. Anyone who had UT3 before should be able to patch up for free. They'd also need to release a new and radically improved Demo.

 

[Lamont Burns]

I was highly, highly anticipating UT3. After I played the demo for about 1 hour I knew it was not for me. I don't even think about UT anymore. That said, with positive feedback on the patch and if I could pick the game up for $10, I think I would give it a shot.

 

[Dkcode]

Nice to see Epic trying to crawl back into bed with the PC, especially after they accused us PC gamers of being pirates for having the ability to install a video card.

I am looking forward to the patch though, and after all its just a game. Even if some of Epics head guys have their heads stuck up their arses.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I can't f*ckin wait for the patch!!!

 

[Stuxnet]

Originally posted by: soccerballtux

Originally posted by: Maximilian

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: HeXploiT
I'm making a prediction here.
Anyone remember Unreal Tournament 2003?
Well UT2004 was nothing but UT2003 with a major patch.

Imho Epic is about to put the fun back in UT and I think we're going to have a kickass game in UTIII after all. Get it now while while it's on the cheap. Just picked up a dvd version new on ebay for <$15.
If the patch is successful I bet the price goes up right quick.
For those who don't know here you can find information about the upcoming patch. It's been mentioned here before but I think many people have yet to consider what this means.

you're predicting a patch that has already been announced or you're predicting that UTIII will be fun after the patch?

Hes predicting that UTIII will bounce back and become a big success like UT2004 apparently was.

I dunno though... if a game flops it flops, UT2004 was a brand new game, i dont know of any patches that have brought a game back from the dead.

I think Steam is going to do something for it.

UT3 is perfectly fun IMO, it's the user interface and the lack of gameplay modes that hurt it. I usually do nothing but play iCTF anyways because there aren't enough custom DM/etc servers with non-standard maps.

Not enough modes? It has 6 modes right out of the box. If you ask me, the fact that it has too many modes has been hurting it since UT2k3. There aren't enough people to go around to fill up the servers for each mode. I wrote a program that aggregates the online population of UT3. Here are those stats right now (Gametype/Servers/Players):

CTF/58/52
DM/174/114
Duel/49/28
TDM/80/138
vCTF/69/177
Warfare/78/98
Other/33/36

Most of the Duel servers are listen servers, so I don't really see that affecting much. But these numbers are VERY consistent day-to-day. There are 541 servers online with 643 players. That's a ratio of 1.2. 429 of those servers are empty and only 12 of them are full. Of the full servers, 9 of them are vCTF.

vCTF is, by far, the most popular gametype, as it typically shadows the rest by a huge margin. Adding more modes isn't going to do anything. The player base needs to be streamlined, and I've been saying this since UT2k3. Any mode that wouldn't survive in a game by itself isn't worth having in this game, because all it's doing to do is splinter the base without any real added benefit.

The GUI

I'm also not convinced that the interface is what sank this game. If a game is good and you have the means to find a server, you'll play it regardless of how clunky the interface might be. Plenty of games have demonstrated this. UT3's interface TOTALLY SUCKS, but it's functional (albeit barely). You can find servers with it, and if you really wanted to tweak the game's graphics, PC gamers have always been willing - even eager - to go straight to the config files.

Personally, I *love* UT3's gameplay. Furthermore, the people who bitch and moan that the gameplay is as equally borked as the interface can't express WHY they feel that way. They just regurgitate the same tired "I want UT99 gameplay" blah blah blah.

So that begs the question: what gives?

People are tired of arena shooters. It's a niche now. It was popular and mainstream when it was pretty much the only option for an FPS. While I can't explain people's tastes, you can't deny that these fantasy shooters - Unreal or otherwise - sell like crap these days. People are always trying to explain it by faulting the game in some manner when there's really a much simpler explanation for it: they're no longer in demand.

 

[FalseChristian]

I'll let y'all install the patch and tell us whether it improves UT3 before I buy it.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally posted by: Lamont Burns
I was highly, highly anticipating UT3. After I played the demo for about 1 hour I knew it was not for me. I don't even think about UT anymore. That said, with positive feedback on the patch and if I could pick the game up for $10, I think I would give it a shot.

I think it's worth $10. Warfare isn't a bad game at all. Note that there's still lots of UT 2004 Onslaught and Invasion-RPG action if you want to play some UT that isn't UT3. There are also UT99 CTF 5v5 clan match style games organized in IRC called pickup games (PUG) matches.