Epic Games and Digital Extremes have been busy this year to say the least with the recent releases of the PC game Unreal Tournament 2003 and the Xbox exclusive Unreal Championship. Now the developer is getting ready to release a new, and free, bonus pack for UT 2003 that should please new and older UT fans. HomeLAN got a chance to chat with Epic Games' lead designer Cliff "Cliffyb" Bleszinski to find out more about their plans for the bonus pack and a few other topics.
HomeLAN - First, what is your reaction to the responses that Unreal Tournament 2003 and Unreal Championship have received so far?
Cliff Bleszinski - We're stoked. Both games are being extremely well received and we're looking forward to building on the success of these titles with new goodies and lots of back and forth with the community. I know Digital Extremes are also excited by this as well. Nothing feels as good as shipping product, and keeping in touch with your customers is vital. There were a few things in UT2003 that we would have liked to have done differently, several tweaks have been implemented in the patch and the upcoming bonus pack should be very exciting. Many gamers want the old school Deathmatch types of maps, so our pack will contain a good selection of these maps along with a few new surprises. In regards to UC, I think every Xbox owner out there owes it to themselves to get on board with Live and talk some trash ASAP. There's nothing as fun as yelling at a random fool online who just blew your head off! I never thought I'd say this but splitscreen really is a hoot too!
HomeLAN - Some people believe that UT 2003 wasn't different enough from the original Unreal Tournament. What is your response to this?
Cliff Bleszinski - Well, this is a really tricky situation. From our assessment of the comments that the users had it seemed as if half of the users felt the game was just more of the same and the other half of the users felt that the game wasn't different enough. I can tell you one thing - I would have liked for more gametypes to have shipped with the game. The tricky thing about a UT game is that there are so many combinations of weapons, mutators, and gametypes that it becomes extremely time consuming to test everything properly. UT2003 wasn't built to re-invent the fast MP focused shooter genre. It is an evolutionary game - that's why it is the sequel. Should there be a new UT title somewhere down the line I would hope that we could figure out a way to reinvent things while staying true to the spirit that is UT. These are the kinds of things that keep me up at night.
HomeLAN - There are already a ton of mods being developed for UT 2003? What is your reaction to the current UT 2003 mod community and what mods are you personally looking forward to?
Cliff Bleszinski - The whole concept of a flourishing mod community is something that some developers shy away from but we embrace. I am thrilled at the amount of new content that is being developed. There's a developer who is making a Star Wars mod that looks as good as any commercial Star Wars game. I just saw a Marble Madness mod that looked great. And don't forget about all of the cool levels that are emerging, some of which you can check out at my 0wnage page. (http://www.planetunreal.com/cliffyb)
HomeLAN - Epic and Digital Extremes have released free bonus packs for Unreal Tournament in the past. How have the bonus pack benefited the developers in terms of new players and sales?
Cliff Bleszinski - We do not have any hard numbers in regards to how well the bonus packs have helped sales of the original UT. We just play it by ear and assume that if we keep our customers happy and playing our game they'll keep gushing about it to their other casual gamer friends which, in turn, will hopefully keep sales strong. The biggest "bonus" to the packs is that they just generate a hell of a lot of good will. We appreciate our customers and this is our way of saying "Thanks."
HomeLAN - How did the idea for a bonus pack for UT 2003 come about?
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Cliff Bleszinski - Well, we did it on UT and we'll continue this tradition. If we didn't do one I'm sure our users would be very disappointed.
HomeLAN - How many new levels will be in the new bonus pack and what are some of your favorites?
Cliff Bleszinski - There will be at least 5 new levels in the upcoming pack, maybe more. I am particularly fond of Alan's Junkyard map. It looks like no other level I've seen in recent memory. I'm working on a cool Ice Tomb level with Chris Perna; the level looks like a cross between the ice fortress in the new Bond movie and a set from Lord of the Rings. Cool stuff that plays like a dream.
HomeLAN - Will there be any new character models and skins available in the new bonus pack?
Cliff Bleszinski - Undecided at this point.
HomeLAN - Will there be any new mutators and/or gameplay types in the new bonus pack?
Cliff Bleszinski - There is one gametype that we're testing now called "Mutant" in which one player is the bad guy and he is invisible and he has regenerating health. Kill him and you become the mutant; the player who lasts the longest wins. Bear in mind that everyone's radar is tracking your location when you're the mutant, of course. It's quite a bit of fun. Any other mutators/gametypes remain to be seen.
HomeLAN - What is the current status of the bonus pack, when will it be released and how large will the download be?
Cliff Bleszinski - We're playing the maps on a regular basis but it is hard to gauge when they'll be done. In case you haven't noticed, we're pretty crappy at predicting dates. The download should be fairly hefty, as there is a LOT of new art content in this pack. Grease up your cable modems!
HomeLAN - What can you tell us about the next patch for UT 2003?
Cliff Bleszinski - Demo recording is being worked on for it and it fixes a good handful of minor issues.
HomeLAN - This January will see the release of Unreal 2. Overall are you pleased with the way Legend Entertainment has developed the title?
Cliff Bleszinski - Legend has made what I feel is a very compelling hybrid of action, adventure, and narrative. It has been a long journey for this title but I believe it will really turn heads when it hits store shelves.
HomeLAN - Finally, when will we hear any word about Epic's next game?
Cliff Bleszinski - Not for a while, I'm afraid. Take a peek at the recent Comdex video if you're that eager!
url : http://www.homelanfed.com/index.php?id=10552
Message édité par pink floyd le 26-11-2002 à 11:26:26
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Oui aux titres de topic clair et precis...
![[:yuck]](https://forum-images.hardware.fr/images/perso/yuck.gif "[:yuck]")
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Cai bizarre ça comme mod...
