Unreal Tournament 3

UT3 Logo

Unreal Tournament 3 (previously codenamed 'Envy' and also formerly named UT2007) is Epic Games' sequel to Unreal Tournament 2004. Published by Midway Games, UT3 is powered by Epic's new Unreal Engine 3, and is due to be released on PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 (estimated Fall 2007 release - but the official date is "when it's done")

This section of BeyondUnreal will get you up-to-date with the latest UT3 developments as we look forward to this latest addition to the Unreal Universe.

Gameplay

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Unreal Tournament 3 promises a return to the "feel" of the original Unreal Tournament. Epic aims to make the game more in-your-face, fast-paced, and less "floaty". To accomplish this gravity has been increased and Dodge jumping has been removed. However, dodging, double jumps, and wall dodging will remain with their effect somewhat diminished to the newly increased gravity. Gameplay in UT3 stresses close combat more than its UT2004 predecessor. Many of the weapons are more effective up close. Epic stresses that the aim of UT3 is to create a whole new - and better - game, rather than merely a prettier UT2004. In addition to this, old favorites from the original UT such as jump boots and the ability to feign death will return in UT3.

• DeathMatch/Team DeathMatch - The grandaddy of first-person-shooter gametypes is alive and well. Expect all versions of Deathmatch (1v1, FFA, TDM) to be well supported with all new levels such as DM-Whisper, DM-Carbonfire, as well as old favorites such as Deck 16.

• Capture the Flag - The classic CTF gametype is still included. The gametype has also been expanded to include levels with vehicles. The hoverboard replaces the translocator in maps with vehicles, and you can carry the flag on the hoverboard. However, entering into a flying vehicle with the flag will cause you to drop it.

• Warfare - Warfare is the next evolution of the Onslaught gametype and similarly there are nodes. However, there are also conduits that can be taken over by bringing your team's orb to the conduit. Assault-like side missions will be available to gain resources for your team.

With Unreal Warfare, it's clear that Epic intends to offer something for the more tactical gamer, with the Warfare mode focusing more on strategy, resource management and teamwork. The gameplay sequence at the end of this CG 2005 presentation shows what a Warfare sub-objective might look like.

Steve Polge on Warfare (E3 2006)

First off, in Warfare, you will try to control a series of conduits by delivering an orb to it. Both teams get one Orb, so you'll have to take care of it. Steve mentioned that this will give really skilled players a way to have more fun within the game.

Once you deliver the orb to the conduit another one is created.

The Unreal Tournament 3 singleplayer portion will expand upon the simple ladder matches present in previous installments. A four act storyline, complete with a cinematic beginning and ending, will tell the story of the player seeking revenge for the slaughter of his clan. Mid-way through, the Necris attack and your allegiance can slip from corporation to corporation. Co-op play will be available in campaign mode.

Once the Necris infection begins, you will replay maps that will have changed from their presence, with the addition of Necris vehicles and stolen technology. Levels will be visibly altered from the Necris infection tubes. On one map, CTF-Corruption, the base of each team is a feudal Asian inspired multi-level building, but the Necris side has enormous Necris tendrils snaking through the landscape and as far up into the sky as you can see.

This time around, Epic wants to step away from the wildly different maps seen in previous tournaments, and instead create a few cohesive worlds and tie them together with their level design. You may see a building in the distance on one level and play in it on the next.

Teams

As with previous UT titles, players will choose a character from one of the many game teams.

• Nakhti - (Egyptians from UC2)
• Necris - Gothic characters from the original Unreal Tournament. Necris are humans reincarnated using the Necris Process
• Juggernauts - These heavily armored, gene-boosted combatants return from UT 2004.
• The Corrupt - A team of robots lead by Xan Kriegor.
• Iron Guard - An old favorite returning from Unreal Tournament.
• Krall - Slaves to the Skaarj from the original Unreal game.
• Jacob's Team - (Marines?)
• "Player's Team" - (Unnamed)
• Twin Souls - Not much is known about this race, but they have been pictured in several screenshots such as this.

Weapons

Shock Combo

The following weapons are confirmed to appear in UT3:

• Translocator - This Unreal series favorite returns to the Capture the Flag gametype, except for maps that contain vehicles, in which the hoverboard becomes the secondary method of transportation.
• Impact Hammer - This mining tool turned melee weapon returns from Unreal Tournament and replaces the Shield Gun found in UT 2004. While lacking its predecessors excellent defensive measures, this instrument of terror will send enemies fleeing when they hear it's trademark jackhammer rumble. The primary fire is excellent for wiping out unsuspecting enemies that get too close, and can also be used to "jump" to previously unreachable areas of the map. The alternate fire mode is rumoured to have projectile thwarting capabilities.
• Enforcer Pistol - Your starting weapon, the Enforcer is a pistol with rapid fire. Secondary fire shoots a less accurate triple burst. Pick up a second Enforcer and you can take out your foes John Woo style!
• BioRifle - The biorifle shoots out blobs of Tarydium sludge. This acid can be flung at players, and will stick to the environment harming any that come near. The secondary fire loads the sludge into a holding chamber where it can then be shot at will. The big slow arcing gob of sludge can instantly take out a heavily armed opponent or it will stick to floors and walls and then break apart into smaller pieces, creating an instant minefield harming.
• Link Gun - The link gun shoots small fast moving plasma balls similar to those in the original UT. The secondary shoots a straight beam of death that has a limited range. The link gun is also used to heal things like nodes, and vehicles.
• Stinger - The stinger from the original Unreal replaces the minigun as a fast firing semi-projectile weapon. The gun has two modes, a fast but inaccurate spread of Tarydium crystal shards that hits instantly, and a slower firing more powerful projectile shot that can also nail opponents to the wall.
• Shock Rifle - The classic shock rifle returns. Primary shoots an instant hit beam, the secondary fires plasma balls. If the balls are shot by the primary a combo is triggered. The shock balls have been sped up from UT 2004 to be more closely match the rate of the original UT. The primary rate of fire has also been reduced.
• Flak Cannon - The flak cannon can shoot a volley of hot metal shards at opponents. Up close, the powerful shot can rip opponents apart, and bounce off walls. The secondary fire shoots an arcing flak grenade that detonates on impact. The flak ball does not travel as far as it did in UT2004.
• Rocket Launcher - The new rocket launcher combines the instant rockets ability from UT2004, and the grenades from UT99. As in UT2004 primary fire shoots instant rockets, secondary fire loads rockets, and hitting primary while holding secondary will switch to spiral fire mode. The addition UT3 makes is hitting primary fire a second time while loading rockets will switch to grenade mode. As in previous titles, rockets can lock onto things. This feature has been visibly improved to help take out vehicles.
• Redeemer - nothing known about this superweapon first seen in Unreal Tournament.
• AVRiL - Expected to appear in all vehicular gametypes (Onslaught, Unreal Warfare, CTF), expect the Anti-Vehicular Rocket Launcher to be similar to its UT2004 predecessor.
• Sniper Rifle - The classic sniper rifle has returned to replace the Lightning Gun as the primary long range weapon. Expect a new twist to this weapon as well.
• Canister Gun - This gun incorporates the Sticky Grenade Launcher and the Spider Mine Layer, and fires different projectiles depending on the ammo available to the player.
• Target Painter - Epic plans to allow the Target Painter to control level-specific hazards in UT3.
• Redeemer - The premier 'Tournament superweapon returns. Nothing new is currently known about this weapon and one can only presume that it will remain a straight-firing mini nuclear warhead with a remote control alt-fire.

Vehicles

All nine 'Axon' vehicles from UT2004 and the ECE Bonus Pack will be back in UT3, with a few changes. All vehicles enjoy a much improved suspension system that allows them to handle much more realistically.

• Scorpion - The scorpion is a one man buggy with a secondary fire that deploys twin blades to decapitate opponents as you drive along. The primary fire shoots electrified bouncing balls that explode on contact. These are particularly effective against other vehicles. The vehicle can also be turned into a bomb, and sent on a kamikaze mission.
• Hellbender - The new rendition of the hellbender places the driver in control over the skymine turret. The skymine turret behaves much like the shock rifle. However one combo can detonate nearby combos generating a cascade effect. The second turret shoots chargeable twin beams.
• Manta - Largely unchanged, other than cosmetically, this one-man hovering vehicle is quite fast and shoots rapid-fire energy shots, though its most deadly maneuver continues to be plowing over ground troops and sucking them up into its fan powered wings.
• Raptor - Not much is currently known, but this vehicle also seems to be changed largely in appearance.
• Cicada - Sporting a much bulkier and boxier look, not much new is known about this vehicle which returns from UT 2004.
• Paladin - This one is excels at defense when its large shield is deployed. Visually much improved from its UT 2004 debut.
• SPMA - A long-range mobile gun that fires a camera high into the air, and follows it with a shot that breaks apart before it falls to the ground as a cluster bomb. A second player can man the Skymine turret that shoots ShockRifle-like combos that can be stringed together.
• Goliath - The goliath tank features two firing modes. The primary fire fires a powerful tank shell. The secondary fires a wide area shell specialized for anti-infantry use. A second player can man the machine gun turret.
• Leviathan - This mobile fortress still features its devastating main cannon and has added distinct weapon fire to each of its four turrets rather than UT2004's link-like projectile. Each turret also has an alternate shield function.

In addition, there will also be an all-new selection of nine 'Necris' vehicles.

• Viper - A single passenger speeder. The primary gun fires projectiles that bounce off walls. The vehicle can also spread out like a real life viper to hover high in the sky. Like the Scorpion, it can be used on kamikaze missions.
• Darkwalker - This lumbering tripod has tendril-like legs that allow them to climb a wider variety of terrain compared to other vehicles. The primary weapon is an extremely powerful twin laser beam that shoots out a line of plasma. The secondary fire "screams" knocking players off their feet. The vehicle also features a secondary gunner position.
• Nemesis - The nemesis features an instant hit twin laser beam with zoom. The vehicle also supports different modes. When you crouch down the vehicle moves faster at a cost to your weapon effectiveness. You can also rise up to attack, but this makes you more of a target.
• Fury - The fury is a flying vehicle that specializes in shooting down other air units. This vehicle can dodge, allowing you to barrel roll out of the way.
• Stealthbender - Seemingly the Necris answer to the Axon's Hellbender, this stealth-based vehicle reportedly has deployables such as teleporters.

Each player will also have use of a Hoverboard, added as a way to keep people in the action at all times. Steve Polge comments (E3 2006) on the Hoverboard:

   It's not something you want to use in combat, because you don't have a weapon when you're on it. And if you get shot while you're on it you're going to tumble and become an easy target. You can also grapple onto the backs of other vehicles and get a ride. Steve also mentioned that they used to it solve the problem of when someone takes off in a hellbender without you, you can quickly grapple onto and tow yourself into the vehicle while it's moving. 

Community

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Epic plans to use UT3 to bring more and more people into the Unreal community, with strong community integration out of the box. In-game lobbies are planned for the Unreal Warfare mode, and game stats integration will allow you to find similarly-skilled opponents via the UT3 server browser.

Also planned are a global rankings system to allow clans to compare scores, as well as a system for viewing community and clan pages in-game.

UT3 mod teams will, of course, be able to take advantage of the improvements in Unreal Engine 3's UnrealEd content creation tool, including the new UnrealKismet scripting environment, visual material editor and UnrealCascade particle engine. More details of UE3 UEd features can be found here.

Technology

Graphics

The most visible technological improvements in UT3 come from the move to Unreal Engine 3. Environments are now alive with rich shaders, and per-pixel lit. As such, a DirectX 9 compatible card is a must. Expect the minimum spec graphics card to be an NVIDIA GeForce FX or ATI Radeon 9700 level card. If you're looking for decent performance however, you'll need to aim a little higher. At E3 2005, Epic's Tim Sweeney suggested an NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra level card for decent frame rates at 1024x768 resolution.

The engine is capable of level streaming eliminating load screens. The scoreboard is shown over a blank screen that is shown for a few seconds as the next level loads. Once it loads you can view the new level as you wait for other players to join. You can view the scoreboard, and talk during this.

AI & Voice

UT3 will bring major advances in the artificial intelligence that controls UT bots, as well as the way in which players communicate with them. UT3 players will be able to give bots specific orders using their own voices. Whereas in UT or UT2004 you'd use the voice menu to tell your bots to "attack", you can now give orders like "there's a sniper on the tower, go get him". Bots will also respond to particular questions. For example, if you asked "is there anyone in the cave?", they might reply "no, the cave is clear".

UT3 bots' personalities will also make them better suited to different in-game tasks.