3 sec gameplay delay?

[Kea]

In UT99, the match starts instantly when you press fire. In UT2003/4 there is a countdown of 3 seconds, and still there is a brief 'embarrasing pause' as the engine needs to load something (I-don't-know-what) or run some UScript last-minute, which could have been done during that countdown... I think the 3 sec countdown is useful in online games so you don't get taken by surprise, however in singleplayer games it's quite wonderful to see the game kick-off instantly when pressing fire, you know what I mean?

[CaFe]

In UT99, the match starts instantly when you press fire. In UT2003/4 there is a countdown of 3 seconds, and still there is a brief 'embarrasing pause' as the engine needs to load something (I-don't-know-what) or run some UScript last-minute, which could have been done during that countdown... I think the 3 sec countdown is useful in online games so you don't get taken by surprise, however in singleplayer games it's quite wonderful to see the game kick-off instantly when pressing fire, you know what I mean?

Doesn't that just happen because you are spawning or something? Its the game picking a random spawn for you I think.

[ADiTheMAN]

does it rly matter? :> . . . :>

[StalwartUK]

The moment that you press fire the game should start immediately.

[Kea]

I'm expecting does-it-really-matter-reactions. It seems like nitpicking, and it may very well be, so I wanted to see what the community thinks, if it bothers. It annoys me in singleplayer.

[Wormbo]

Offline it should start when you press fire, but online the countdown is required IMHO.

[Pendrokar]

Offline it should start when you press fire, but online the countdown is required IMHO.

Agree!.............................

[Mort_Q]

I prefer consistency... so I voted it should always be there.

[MonsOlympus]

Well since players will have to wait for all players to load a map now it seems having a delay after everyone is ready doesnt really seem appropriate but Im fine with it staying I guess.

There could be something cool as people enter the map though like a spectator cam which zooms in on the player and says the characters name. Just acouple second intro while people are joining, might be alittle much for some people though who just want to get in and play. I never really liked just floating round a level whilst waiting for it to load myself, its handy for a comp environment I guess to get alittle idea on the level or to make it fair for people who have never played a map.

Not a big issue for me really, I'll go with the flow on this one!

[McFly2000]

*phew*

For a second there, I thought you wanted to introduce a 3 second delay for spawning.

That would have been an extremely bad idea.
Unreal always has been fast-paced - in all areas.
If I could live with delays at spawns, I would be playing CS or TAM now.

[Da Spadger]

It doesn't really matter. But I did like how it was done in ut99 a bit more.

[intentsly]

Yes to a point..

I'd agree that there should not be a mandatory delay in single player games.
I do like the UT99 style of letting you fly around a map so you can locate weapons, armor and health etc.. so'st yer not completely lost and instant in when you press fire.

Intentsly
(UT99~ [--]Torturia)

[Shadow Dancer]

One of the things I love most about Map Mixer is that it lets me get rid of the timer. I could maybe see it for internet games, but really, unless you wander off between map loads, and somehow get alerted to come back by the little clicks of the counter going down...
It should be disabled in botmatch, at least, since I can't imagine any need for it there...

[awaw]

Even if I would play offline, I can really afford wasting 3 secs

just my 2 cents...

[Boksha]

You can, but do you want to?
Besides, it gets really annoying when you want to test a mutator or a map you're working on (which you do a lot during development, and generally offline) and you have to wait 3 seconds every single time. It may not even add up to a significant amount of time but it just gets on my nerves.