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Unreal Tournament 3, STALKER games update following GameSpy shutdown
Developers continue to scramble to update their legacy products in the wake of GameSpy's recent server shutdown, with Unreal Tournament 3 and the STALKER trilogy emerging as the latest games to update in order to maintain online play. Epic Games has released a replacement executable for Unreal Tournament 3 that redirects online play requests to the game's new in-house master server. The fix works for both the retail and Steam versions of the game, and requires players to re-register their previous user names. The remaining developers at shuttered studio GSC Game World have also launched their own dedicated server for the STALKER series, releasing a series of patches with updated multiplayer clients for Shadow of Chernobyl, Clear Sky, and Call of Pripyat. Steam players will receive all needed updates automatically. [Image: Epic Games]
Original Unreal Tournament composers interested in return to series
Fans may not be the only ones who get a say in developing the next Unreal Tournament game. Michiel Van Den Bos and Alexander Bradon, composers for the original Unreal Tournament, expressed interest in returning to the franchise on the Unreal forums, as did Kevin Riepl, composer for Unreal Tournament 2003 and Unreal Tournament 2004. While this doesn't necessarily mean that these composers will return to Unreal Tournament, their interest has caught the attention of the team. Unreal project lead Steven Polge responded to all of the composers, saying he would be "thrilled" to have them contribute to the upcoming game. [Image: Epic Games]
Epic wants your help building the next Unreal Tournament
After a nearly seven year hiatus, Epic has announced plans to create a new entry in its beloved Unreal Tournament franchise. Even better: The game is going to be released at no cost, and Epic wants fan input on its design. Epic made this announcement earlier today, saying that from "the very first line of code, the very first art created and design decision made, development will happen in the open, as a collaboration between Epic, UT fans and UE4 developers." This will involve frequent forum updates and ongoing discussion as well as regular Twitch streams showing exactly where development stands. Further, all code created during the development of this new Unreal Tournament will be available to Unreal Engine 4 developers via GitHub. Though obviously this design process will take quite some time, Epic has revealed that the game will appear on PC, Mac and Linux platforms at the very attractive price of "free." Not "free to play," but actually free. Borrowing a page from the Team Fortress 2 playbook, Epic plans to recoup its development costs with an in-game marketplace where modders can sell their creations to players, earning funds which are then split between the modder and Epic itself. Those interested in joining Unreal Tournament's extended development team should pay a visit to the Unreal Engine forums, where registering a free account is all that's required to offer input on the game's creation. [Image: Epic Games]
C&C: Renegade remake Renegade X: Black Dawn deploys tomorrow
Here at Joystiq, we pride ourselves on being inside your mind, knowing what it wants, knowing what it thinks. We're like a somewhat creepier, less linguistic Babel Fish. The one thing your brain has been demanding is an updated version of 2002's Command & Conquer: Renegade.We'd like to bring to your attention Renengade X: Black Dawn, a "spiritual successor" created by fans at Totem Arts. Tomorrow, the group will release the full single-player "mini-campaign," which was built in the Unreal Development Kit, and later Totem Arts plans to release a new multiplayer installment using the UDK.In its current form, Renegade X is an updated version of the original game's multiplayer, made in Unreal Tournament 3, and has been playable for some time. If you want to partake, you'll need to own a copy of Unreal Tournament 3 with the latest updates.Or, you know, just wait a day.[Thanks, ssjChris!]
Fan remake of Command & Conquer: Renegade nearing completion
Remember Command & Conquer: Renegade, the first-person shooter set in the C&C universe that came out back in 2002? One group of fans apparently remembers it so fondly that they're remaking the title as a game called Renegade X, going so far as to not only recreate settings and levels from the title in a more modern graphics engine, but also create new content for the mix of real-time strategy and FPS action gameplay. The fanmade game actually looks like it's coming along well, and there's a version available for download right now (though it requires an updated copy of Unreal Tournament 3 to play). The full final game won't be out until "when its [sic] done" according to the video above, but hopefully that will be right on schedule. We wouldn't want these guys to have to remake the infamous "Havoc takes on Westwood" video, too, for releasing as late as the original team. [Thanks, Daniel]
Epic Games' Tim Sweeney turned into a game character
Man, are you guys ready to get meta? Epic Games founder (and Unreal Engine mastermind) Tim Sweeney was recently the subject of an Unreal Tournament 3 skin crafted by artist Gary Storkamp. Apparently, the guy is crazy about Burger King. And about hitting dudes with his keyboard.
OnLive prices flat-rate 'PlayPack' plan at $10 per month, begins MicroConsole shipments
When we last wrote about OnLive, the "cloud gaming" service had just announced a price and ship date for its MicroConsole hardware. At the time, we also reported that it was planning to launch a flat-rate pricing plan for access to older "back catalog" titles and indie games, with a price to be announced. This morning, the company has set what's now known as the "PlayPack" plan at $9.99 per month, and will make it available to all OnLive users on January 15, 2011. PlayPack is available right now to those with the OnLive MicroConsole -- or soon to get one, as they've begun shipping to Founding Members today -- in "beta" form, free of charge until the official roll-out. Currently, the PlayPack beta offers access to a collection of about a dozen games, some new to the service (like Prince of Persia and Tomb Raider: Underworld) while others, like Unreal Tournament 3, have been on the service since it launched last summer. OnLive says it will have a library of 40 games ready for PlayPack subscribers when the for-pay tier launches in January. Looking at the finer print, some of the games "require a mouse and/or keyboard" -- which are supported in both wired and wireless flavors by the MicroConsole. Check out a partial list of games included in the PlayPack beta after the break.
OnLive: The first few weeks
Much like reviewing an MMO, I didn't really feel comfortable "reviewing" OnLive and I don't know that I ever will. I can (and will) make a handful of declarative statements about my feelings on the service as it stands right now, but, like an MMO, sweeping changes could occur tomorrow that obliviate all previous statements. That said, as of right now, OnLive works. In my experience with the service -- on both coasts and three major US cities -- it was quick, responsive, and relatively free of bugs (though I did encounter a couple). And demos are available for almost every game, so I put at least a bit of time in with nearly every title currently playable. Dirt 2 with DirectX 11 running on my 10-month-old (Apple!) laptop? Speeds along without a hitch. Unreal Tournament 3? No issues (well, other than not finding anyone to play against outside of bots). I was also able to hook up a wired Xbox 360 controller without any additional installation and it worked flawlessly -- the Xbox guide button even brought up the OnLive guide and auto-paused games (madness!). And though I probably wouldn't suggest OnLIve for hardcore, twitch gamers -- and neither would the company itself -- I would absolutely recommend it to everyone else.%Gallery-48489%
UT3 is FTP on STW
Oh, sorry -- do you lack the cryptologic know-how to decipher that headline? Excuse us as we get our Layton on: UT3 is not a shorthand way of saying three urinary tract infections -- rather, it's the acronym commonly used to refer to Unreal Tournament 3. Though the internet-savvy may assume FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, that doesn't make much sense with the previous piece of the puzzle in place. However, "Free-to-Play" fits quite nicely. STW obviously means "Steam this weekend." If you couldn't figure that out, you should probably go jump off a cliff or something. Every puzzle has an answer -- this time around, the answer is "Unreal Tournament 3 is free-to-play on Steam this weekend," beginning today at 1PM PST. Unfortunately, we've got no Picarats to distribute. As any true gentleman knows, cerebral satisfaction is its own reward.
Epic: No more retail Unreal Tournament releases 'for several years'
Epic Games CEO and founder, Tim Sweeney, recently chatted with G4 about the upcoming Dark Corners content for Gears of War 2. Yeah, been there, done that. Sweeney did, however, mention something interesting regarding the future of our favorite fragfest, Unreal Tournament."Unreal Tournament is certainly a major long-term priority but we're planning not to release a major retail game in the series for several years," Sweeney said. He commented that this move was to aid the company in focusing on "a few other initiatives." We're placing our bets on some kind of downloadable release (a smart move since the interest in downloadable FPS games is certainly there), especially since Sweeney took care to only mention retail.[Via Big Download]
Unreal Tournament 3 free to play on Steam this weekend
Unreal Tournament III will be completely free to download and play on Steam this weekend. This free version, called Unreal Tournament III Black, will include all the new content that was added in the Titan Pack in March, as well as a recent patch, taking the version number up to 2.1. You can pre-load the game right now, in preparation for a weekend of Unreal goodness. Sure, the game may not be as fresh as it once was, but free is free and Epic has to find some way to draw in interest from the now reinvigorated Team Fortress 2 crowd. At least it will give you something to do while you're waiting for all the E3 news to begin on Monday. [Via BigDownload]
Mods: Unreal Tournament meets Sonic the Hedgehog
In the past, we've seen a number of cool Unreal Tournament mods -- including that fascinating LEGO creation from a year ago -- but we've never seen anything quite like the Sonic the Hedgehog mod (posted after the break). The concept takes the gun-slinging action of Unreal Tournament to Sonic's Green Hill Zone. The mod looks just like the original level from the first Sonic game; it even sounds like it (listen to the bumper sound effects), though it's missing the original's catchy background music. Just don't go showing this off to Sega. We don't want the company getting any bright ideas ... you know, like: "Sonic Shooters." Sonic and the Black Knight was just about all the innovation that we can handle.
Unreal Tournament 3 play jumps 2000%, Steam adds second free weekend
Get this: if you grant free access to a top-tier FPS ... a lot of people will play it. Valve learned this after letting Steam users download and play Unreal Tournament III Black on the house last weekend, to the tune of a more than 2000% increase in simultaneous UT3 players. Valve claims that the conversion rate of trial downloads to full purchases has put the game at the top of its most-downloaded titles, so, being entrepreneurial, it's announced another free-to-play weekend for March 13-15.The promotional $11.99 purchase price for the game (it's usually $19.99) has also been extended through March 22. Given the apparent success of this program, it'd be unreal to think Valve won't try it with more titles in the future. [Via Blue's News]
Trophies: Unreal Tournament III
Epic Games is patching their PS3 online FPS game, Unreal Tournament III, with Trophies and new features. View Trophy List | Visit Trophy Portal
Steam: Unreal Tournament 3 free to download, play this weekend
Word of a very real deal regarding Unreal Tournament III on PC comes to us by way of BigDownload. For this weekend -- March 6-9 -- only, those with Steam accounts can download the full game (including the freshly released Titan Pack) and play it for free. Come Monday morning, you'll get to play another game: deciding if it worth $11.99, the promotional price it's going for until March 15.Those who opt for the "No, nuh-uh" option should check out the free -- yet far less pretty -- Quake Live, which just went, er, live last week. You may even get fragged by a Joystiqer. (Yikes, that sounds dirty.)
Unreal Tournament 3 Titan Pack delayed on PS3
We've got some good news and some bad news. We'll start with the negative stuff first. The previously announced PS3 version of the Titan Pack for Unreal Tournament III has been delayed two weeks (the PC version is still out today). According to Epic's Steve Polge, it's been pushed back to March 19 due to a snag in the certification process.It's not a total loss. The good news is that the PS3 version has been patched today to include Trophies and split-screen multiplayer -- both were originally slated to release alongside the Titan Pack. Hopefully, Trophy hunting and split-screen gameplay will keep you preoccupied for the two-week wait.[Via CVG]
'Titan Pack' coming to Unreal Tournament 3 on March 5th
Click for titan size Midway and Epic Games have decided to Titan up the graphics on Unreal Tournament 3 with the addition of an extensive new map pack, dubbed the "Titan Pack." The free download, aimed exclusively at the PlayStation 3 and PC versions of the first-person fragger, will add 11 new multiplayer maps for several of the game's modes, as well as eight maps culled from the Xbox 360 version and a prior bonus pack. Our pals at Big Download have a hands-on preview of the content, including its two new modes: Greed mode, a "tug-of-war" style points battle; and Betrayal mode, which prompts you to tactfully turn on teammates if you feel like swiping the score for yourself. More intriguing is the new Titan mutator, which turns a skilled player into a towering Behemoth, excitedly described by the press release as "a 15-foot tall maestro of wholesale carnage that has the effects of every Power Up in the game... ALL AT ONCE!!!"Finally, the Titan Pack expands Unreal Tournament 3's array of deployed equipment, Trophies (Steam Achievements for the PC version) and turrets. ALL AT ONCE!!! Look for it on Thursday, March 5th. [Update: When asked about a 360 version, Midway explained that this update will bring many of the enhancements already included in the Xbox release to the PS3 and PC. "Given the file size requirements for updates on the Xbox 360 platform, we have no plans to release the Titan Pack for Xbox 360."]%Gallery-45287%
Unreal Tournament 3 deathmatches: now with 4-player Wiimote support
If you thought that Wiimote hack for Left 4 Dead was hot stuff (and you did, it's pointless to deny it), then you'll be just as stoked -- if not more so -- for this one. From the same Ryan Tani comes this, a setup that enables four gamers to gather 'round an Unreal Tournament 3 deathmatch and exchange blows via Wiimotes. A guide on how to pull this off yourself is forthcoming, but 'til then, we'd invite you to check out a demonstration vid of the author (and three lucky pals) enjoying the spoils of his labor after the break.
Unreal Tournament III to get expansion
While nowhere as successful as Gears of War, Epic Games is working on an expansion to their multiplayer shooter, Unreal Tournament III. "We're working together on a major expansion that we expect will excite and grow our UT3 customer base," Epic Games' VP Mark Reins told Gamespot.No other specifics were provided, such as release date or format (DLC? Expansion pack disc?). Considering the game debuted on the PS3, we're going to keep our eyes peeled for any more info.[Via Joystiq]
Unreal Tournament 3 patch fixes bugs, in case you care
We can't help but wonder why Epic has decided to patch up Unreal Tournament 3 so late in the day, but they've done just that. The patch fixes a long list of problems, including AI issues, stability problems and other tweaks and improvements. It should be live by now -- simply place your UT3 disc in the PS3 drive and it will ask you to update. Of course, that's assuming you're still playing the game. Are you? If so, you probably won't be for long, what with WipEout HD (among plenty of other stuff) arriving tomorrow and Blu-ray releases ramping up from here til Christmas. Still, a free patch is a free patch. [Thanks silverwolf761]
