Unreal Tournament
Encyclopedia
Unreal Tournament is a futuristic first-person shooter
(FPS) video game co-developed by Epic Games
and Digital Extremes
. It was published in 1999 by GT Interactive. Retrospectively, the game has also been referred to as UT99 or UT Classic to differentiate it from its numbered sequels. The game is based on the same technology that powered Unreal
, but the design of UT shifted the series' focus to competitive multiplayer action, a trend at the time: id Software
's Quake III Arena
was released only ten days later.
UT was designed as an arena FPS, with head-to-head multiplayer deathmatches being the primary focus of the game. The game's single-player campaign is essentially a series of arena matches played with bots
. For team matches, bots are again used to fill the roles of the player's teammates. Even on dedicated multiplayer servers, bots are sometimes used to pad out teams that are short on players.
UT is known and widely praised for its bot A.I.
, the product of programmer Steve Polge who had earlier risen to fame by designing the Reaper Bot for Quake, one of the earliest examples of an effective deathmatch bot. The player can choose a bot skill level (anywhere from "Novice" to "Godlike") or set it to automatically adjust to the player's performance. Bots can be further customized by changing names, appearance, accuracy, weapon preferences, awareness, and so forth.
concluded "Quake may have spawned the online deathmatch, but Unreal Tournament has taken it to the next level with its amazing graphics and fast-paced action. Online or off, this game rules!" In March 2000, Unreal Tournament was second on a list of best-selling games in Computer Dealer News trade magazine, behind Quake III Arena.
At GameRankings, the Windows version of Unreal Tournament holds an average review score of 94%.
GameSpot
praised Unreal Tournaments graphics, noting "As good as the original Unreal looked, Unreal Tournament looks even better. The character models and skins look excellent, and there are quite a few choices to make when designing your character." GameSpot also praised the multiplayer gameplay, weapons and level design: "The first-person shooter genre is fiercely competitive. But Unreal Tournament rises above the rest with its solid multiplayer performance, from its good weapon balance to its great level design." The game was similarly reviewed by GameSpy
, who concluded: "Unreal Tournament raises the bar for first person teamplay games. This game is stuffed with content and polished until it gleams."
The Macintosh version of Unreal Tournament was equally praised. Macworld
dubbed it the "Best network shooter for the Mac", and gave it the Game Hall of Fame award in 1999. In its review, Macworld editor Christopher Breen stated: "If the violence and hardware requirements don't unsettle you, you'll find Unreal Tournament nothing but unwholesome, bloody fun."
The PlayStation 2 and Dreamcast releases did not fare as well as the PC versions. The PS2 version has an average review score of 77% at Game Ratings. GameSpy criticized the graphics of the PS2 version, saying "Graphically, the PS2 version of Unreal Tournament seems uninspired." Its conclusion stated "Sluggish gameplay, somewhat washed out colors and textures". In addition to this, the PS2 version only allowed multiplayer games on 11 maps (7 deathmatch
and 4 capture the flag
). A novel, but relatively unused, feature is the ability to connect a keyboard and mouse through the PS2's USB ports. Players could then play in a similar manner to the PC version. This also allowed for up to 3 players without the use of a PlayStation 2
Multitap
.
The Dreamcast version has an average review score of 88%. GameSpy's review said: "Well, believe it or not, there are lots of annoying features that drag the game down". GameSpy cited both slow framerate speeds and low sound quality as problems with the Dreamcast version.
in the years of 2001 and 2002 where the title was contended for in a deathmatch 1 vs 1 environment. This is where UT was played on an international scale, where players from all around the world went head to head to see who would be crowned world champion.
for the game. These range from slight changes on some aspects of gameplay (such as map voting) to total conversions. One modification, ChaosUT, became popular enough that it was included with the 'Game of the Year' edition of the game, while Tactical Ops was released as a stand alone retail product.
Another popular mod, released by co-creator Digital Extremes, is "Relics", which adds items to the game which have various effects on the player who obtains them. Relics include Vengeance (when the player holding it dies, a skull appears at the point of death and then explodes in a similar fashion to the Redeemer); Defense (which lessens the damage done by weapons); Speed (which gives the holding player a boost in speed); Redemption (which teleports the holding player to a different area when the player's health meter is at 0); Strength (which boosts the damage done by the player's weapons); and Regeneration (which regularly increases the player's health by 10 points).
As with the original Unreal, the ease with which players can create and release mods
to the core game is a key factor contributing to UT' s longevity. UT improved upon the mod-friendly nature of its predecessor with support for mutators such as Sniper Arena, Instagib, JumpMatch, Low Gravity and more. Further, UT clans
, or gaming teams, and a score of UT dedicated clan and fan community sites continue to sustain Unreal Tournament's popularity years after its initial release.
There have also been several efforts to remake Unreal Tournament by the community using newer engine versions, the largest in scope being Unreal Tournament Revolution, a total conversion for UT2004, featuring new music by original Unreal Tournament composer Michiel van den Bos
. Because of differences in the styles of the sequels, the goal of such remakes are typically to take advantage of newer engine features and graphical capabilities while remaining true to the gameplay and style of the first Unreal Tournament.
In 2000, Digital Extremes announced a game with the name Dark Sector which was planned as a spiritual successor to Unreal Tournament and "the next step in the first person action gaming experience by blending the intense action elements of Unreal Tournament with the scope and character evolution of a persistent online universe". It was to feature an early clan/syndicate support, team battles, ladder matches and Space flight gameplay. However, the game (in this form) never would see the light of day as the original plan was scrapped. The title would resurface in 2004 with an entirely new focus and being developed for the late sixth generation of video game consoles.
, Michiel "M.C.A." van den Bos
, Andrew "Necros" Sega
, and Dan "Basehead" Gardopée
, the same music artists who wrote the Unreal
soundtrack, although only Brandon and Van Den Bos remained credited for it. The game (in contrast to Quake, which used CD audio) employed tracker music, which resulted in a considerably good sound quality with very little size trade-off.
Two additional tracks were contributed: one ("firebr.umx") by Tero "Teque" Kostermaa and Kai-Eerik "Nitro" Komppa, and one ("razor-ub.umx") by Peter "Skaven" Hajba
. These, however, remained uncredited for reasons unknown—Hajba's credits are in fact still intact in the instrument data in the file itself, and the original version of Kostermaa's song is available from his website,http://teque.planet-d.net/mod/MULTI/KHARISMA.ZIP although there are various differences. Users, such as map makers, may also add custom soundtracks to maps using UnrealED. Game composer Frank Klepacki
was impressed by Alexander Brandon's contributions to the soundtrack.
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
(FPS) video game co-developed by Epic Games
Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., also known as Epic and formerly Epic MegaGames, is an American video game development company based in Cary, North Carolina. Its most recent success has been the Gears of War series of games, although it is also known for its Unreal Engine technology. It is the parent company of...
and Digital Extremes
Digital Extremes
Digital Extremes is a Canadian computer and video game developer founded in 1993 by James Schmalz, specifically noted for its part in the highly successful Unreal series of games...
. It was published in 1999 by GT Interactive. Retrospectively, the game has also been referred to as UT99 or UT Classic to differentiate it from its numbered sequels. The game is based on the same technology that powered Unreal
Unreal
Unreal is a first-person shooter video game developed by Epic MegaGames and Digital Extremes and published by GT Interactive in May 1998...
, but the design of UT shifted the series' focus to competitive multiplayer action, a trend at the time: id Software
Id Software
Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack...
's Quake III Arena
Quake III Arena
Quake III Arena , is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game released on December 2, 1999. The game was developed by id Software and featured music composed by Sonic Mayhem and Front Line Assembly...
was released only ten days later.
Gameplay
UT was designed as an arena FPS, with head-to-head multiplayer deathmatches being the primary focus of the game. The game's single-player campaign is essentially a series of arena matches played with bots
Computer game bot
A bot, most prominently in the first-person shooter types , is a type of weak AI expert system software which for each instance of the program controls a player in deathmatch, team deathmatch and/or cooperative human player. Computer bots may play against other bots and/or human players in unison,...
. For team matches, bots are again used to fill the roles of the player's teammates. Even on dedicated multiplayer servers, bots are sometimes used to pad out teams that are short on players.
UT is known and widely praised for its bot A.I.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, the product of programmer Steve Polge who had earlier risen to fame by designing the Reaper Bot for Quake, one of the earliest examples of an effective deathmatch bot. The player can choose a bot skill level (anywhere from "Novice" to "Godlike") or set it to automatically adjust to the player's performance. Bots can be further customized by changing names, appearance, accuracy, weapon preferences, awareness, and so forth.
Game types
- DeathmatchDeathmatch (gaming)Deathmatch or Player vs All is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many shooter and real-time strategy computer games...
: A classic every-man-for-himself player vs. player combat. The objective is to out-fragFrag (video gaming)Frag is a computer and video game term originating from the word fragging, a term indicating to kill an unpopular superior officer with a fragmentation grenade. A frag is roughly equivalent to "kill", with the typical main difference that the player being "fragged" can instantly respawn in most...
all opposing players. - Team Deathmatch: Teams compete together to out-frag the opponent team. Like Capture the Flag and Domination in this version—and unlike subsequent releases—four teams were allowed: Red, Blue, Green and Gold.
- Capture the Flag: Classic Capture the Flag. Players compete to capture the other team's flag and return it to their base. Competitive teams must use a great deal of teamplay. Both teams must defend the base from incoming attackers and get into the other team's base, take their flag and return to base. This requires that the team protect their flag carrier very well from enemies in order to complete their objective.
- Domination: Teams compete to control various control points to earn points and win the map. Standard maps contain three control points. Control of these points is initially accomplished through occupation (physically occupying the space), but control of a point continues until a player from another team occupies the space. The more control points one team controls, the faster it gains points.
- Last Man Standing: Similar to Deathmatch, the objective here is to remain alive longer than your opponents, putting an emphasis on number of deaths rather than kills. Players start with all weapons available, fully loaded, and have a set number of lives. Power-ups, including health and ammunition packs, are unavailable. Once a player runs out of lives they lose and have to wait as spectators until the match ends.
- Assault: This game type is played with two opposing teams, one assaulting a "base" and the other defending it. The map is set up with a number of objectives which the attacking team must complete (usually in sequence) such as destroying something, entering an area, triggering a button, et cetera. The team who first attacks then defends, and attempts to defend for the entire time they attacked. If they can accomplish this, they win the map. If the team defending first assaults the base faster than the other team, they win the map. If both teams defend for the maximum amount of time the map is a tie.
Reception
Unreal Tournament received wide critical acclaim. Mainstream press reviews praised the graphics, gameplay, maps and multiplayer capabilities of the game. Computer ShopperComputer Shopper
Computer Shopper could refer to the following publications:* Computer Shopper - a home computer magazine published in the United Kingdom* Computer Shopper - a home computer magazine published in the United States...
concluded "Quake may have spawned the online deathmatch, but Unreal Tournament has taken it to the next level with its amazing graphics and fast-paced action. Online or off, this game rules!" In March 2000, Unreal Tournament was second on a list of best-selling games in Computer Dealer News trade magazine, behind Quake III Arena.
At GameRankings, the Windows version of Unreal Tournament holds an average review score of 94%.
GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
praised Unreal Tournaments graphics, noting "As good as the original Unreal looked, Unreal Tournament looks even better. The character models and skins look excellent, and there are quite a few choices to make when designing your character." GameSpot also praised the multiplayer gameplay, weapons and level design: "The first-person shooter genre is fiercely competitive. But Unreal Tournament rises above the rest with its solid multiplayer performance, from its good weapon balance to its great level design." The game was similarly reviewed by GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
, who concluded: "Unreal Tournament raises the bar for first person teamplay games. This game is stuffed with content and polished until it gleams."
The Macintosh version of Unreal Tournament was equally praised. Macworld
Macworld
Macworld is a web site and monthly computer magazine dedicated to Apple Macintosh products. It is published by Mac Publishing, which is headquartered in San Francisco, California...
dubbed it the "Best network shooter for the Mac", and gave it the Game Hall of Fame award in 1999. In its review, Macworld editor Christopher Breen stated: "If the violence and hardware requirements don't unsettle you, you'll find Unreal Tournament nothing but unwholesome, bloody fun."
The PlayStation 2 and Dreamcast releases did not fare as well as the PC versions. The PS2 version has an average review score of 77% at Game Ratings. GameSpy criticized the graphics of the PS2 version, saying "Graphically, the PS2 version of Unreal Tournament seems uninspired." Its conclusion stated "Sluggish gameplay, somewhat washed out colors and textures". In addition to this, the PS2 version only allowed multiplayer games on 11 maps (7 deathmatch
Deathmatch (gaming)
Deathmatch or Player vs All is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many shooter and real-time strategy computer games...
and 4 capture the flag
Capture the flag
Capture the Flag is a traditional outdoor sport generally played by children, where two teams each have a flag and the objective is to capture the other team's flag, located at the team's "base," and bring it safely back to their own base...
). A novel, but relatively unused, feature is the ability to connect a keyboard and mouse through the PS2's USB ports. Players could then play in a similar manner to the PC version. This also allowed for up to 3 players without the use of a PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
Multitap
Multitap
A multitap is a video game console peripheral that increases the number of controller ports available to the player, allowing additional controllers to be used in play...
.
The Dreamcast version has an average review score of 88%. GameSpy's review said: "Well, believe it or not, there are lots of annoying features that drag the game down". GameSpy cited both slow framerate speeds and low sound quality as problems with the Dreamcast version.
Competition
Unreal Tournament was played at the World Cyber GamesWorld Cyber Games
The World Cyber Games is an international competitive video-gaming event operated by South Korean company World Cyber Games Inc., and sponsored by Samsung and Microsoft...
in the years of 2001 and 2002 where the title was contended for in a deathmatch 1 vs 1 environment. This is where UT was played on an international scale, where players from all around the world went head to head to see who would be crowned world champion.
| Place | WCG 2001 | WCG 2002 |
|---|---|---|
| 1st |  GitzZz |
GitzZz |
| 2nd |  XS>Pain |
Shaggy |
| 3rd |  XaN |
 eVeNfLoW |
Modification
Many fans have taken advantage of the chance to create modsMod (computer gaming)
Mod or modification is a term generally applied to personal computer games , especially first-person shooters, role-playing games and real-time strategy games. Mods are made by the general public or a developer, and can be entirely new games in themselves, but mods are not standalone software and...
for the game. These range from slight changes on some aspects of gameplay (such as map voting) to total conversions. One modification, ChaosUT, became popular enough that it was included with the 'Game of the Year' edition of the game, while Tactical Ops was released as a stand alone retail product.
Another popular mod, released by co-creator Digital Extremes, is "Relics", which adds items to the game which have various effects on the player who obtains them. Relics include Vengeance (when the player holding it dies, a skull appears at the point of death and then explodes in a similar fashion to the Redeemer); Defense (which lessens the damage done by weapons); Speed (which gives the holding player a boost in speed); Redemption (which teleports the holding player to a different area when the player's health meter is at 0); Strength (which boosts the damage done by the player's weapons); and Regeneration (which regularly increases the player's health by 10 points).
As with the original Unreal, the ease with which players can create and release mods
Mod (computer gaming)
Mod or modification is a term generally applied to personal computer games , especially first-person shooters, role-playing games and real-time strategy games. Mods are made by the general public or a developer, and can be entirely new games in themselves, but mods are not standalone software and...
to the core game is a key factor contributing to UT
Clan (computer gaming)
In computer and video gaming, a clan or guild is an organised group of players that regularly play together in a particular multiplayer games. These games range from groups of a few friends to 1000-person organizations, with a broad range of structures, goals and members. The lifespan of a clan...
, or gaming teams, and a score of UT dedicated clan and fan community sites continue to sustain Unreal Tournament
Sequels and remakes
The success of the original Unreal Tournament has spawned three sequels, including UT2003 and UT2004 (on Unreal Engine 2.x) and Unreal Tournament 3, which was originally code named UT2007. This yearly naming structure, based around marketing the franchise as a competitive sports title, was abandoned shortly before the launch of the third sequel.There have also been several efforts to remake Unreal Tournament by the community using newer engine versions, the largest in scope being Unreal Tournament Revolution, a total conversion for UT2004, featuring new music by original Unreal Tournament composer Michiel van den Bos
Michiel van den Bos
Michiel "M.C.A." van den Bos is a Dutch musician who composes primarily for Epic Games, or for games based on Epic technology. He began composing on the Commodore 64 and Amiga before making the transition to composing professional soundtracks for critically acclaimed video games such as Unreal,...
. Because of differences in the styles of the sequels, the goal of such remakes are typically to take advantage of newer engine features and graphical capabilities while remaining true to the gameplay and style of the first Unreal Tournament.
In 2000, Digital Extremes announced a game with the name Dark Sector which was planned as a spiritual successor to Unreal Tournament and "the next step in the first person action gaming experience by blending the intense action elements of Unreal Tournament with the scope and character evolution of a persistent online universe". It was to feature an early clan/syndicate support, team battles, ladder matches and Space flight gameplay. However, the game (in this form) never would see the light of day as the original plan was scrapped. The title would resurface in 2004 with an entirely new focus and being developed for the late sixth generation of video game consoles.
Music
The soundtrack for the game was primarily written by Alexander "Siren" BrandonAlexander Brandon
Alexander Brandon is a US musician, former member of Straylight Productions, who composed music mostly for games produced by Epic Games, or games based on Epic technology, including Unreal, Unreal Tournament, Deus Ex, Tyrian, Jazz Jackrabbit 2 and the cancelled game Jazz Jackrabbit 3D...
, Michiel "M.C.A." van den Bos
Michiel van den Bos
Michiel "M.C.A." van den Bos is a Dutch musician who composes primarily for Epic Games, or for games based on Epic technology. He began composing on the Commodore 64 and Amiga before making the transition to composing professional soundtracks for critically acclaimed video games such as Unreal,...
, Andrew "Necros" Sega
Andrew Sega
Andrew Gregory Sega , also known by the moniker Necros, is an American musician best known for tracking modules in the 1990s demoscene as well as for composing music for several well-known video games...
, and Dan "Basehead" Gardopée
Dan Gardopée
Daniel Gardopée aka Dan Grandpre is an electronic musician and former member of game music production company Straylight Productions...
, the same music artists who wrote the Unreal
Unreal
Unreal is a first-person shooter video game developed by Epic MegaGames and Digital Extremes and published by GT Interactive in May 1998...
soundtrack, although only Brandon and Van Den Bos remained credited for it. The game (in contrast to Quake, which used CD audio) employed tracker music, which resulted in a considerably good sound quality with very little size trade-off.
Two additional tracks were contributed: one ("firebr.umx") by Tero "Teque" Kostermaa and Kai-Eerik "Nitro" Komppa, and one ("razor-ub.umx") by Peter "Skaven" Hajba
Peter Hajba
Peter Hajba also known by his demoscene nickname Skaven, is a Finnish musician and graphic artist.Despite having no formal training, he has won numerous awards for his music, including winning the Assembly music competition in 1993, 1995 and 2002. His most recent project is with Remedy...
. These, however, remained uncredited for reasons unknown—Hajba's credits are in fact still intact in the instrument data in the file itself, and the original version of Kostermaa's song is available from his website,http://teque.planet-d.net/mod/MULTI/KHARISMA.ZIP although there are various differences. Users, such as map makers, may also add custom soundtracks to maps using UnrealED. Game composer Frank Klepacki
Frank Klepacki
Frank Klepacki is an American musician, video game music composer and sound director best known for his work on the Command & Conquer series. Having learned to play drums as a child, he joined Westwood Studios as a composer when he was only 17 years old...
was impressed by Alexander Brandon's contributions to the soundtrack.
System requirements
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External links
- [irc://irc.utchat.com/#UT UTChat] – Official IRC network for the UT series