If there is a large portion of the community that is vocally opposed to changes to the UT formula, should their plea have priority over any innovation in that formula?
If the community voice was unanimous, the decision to make (or rollback) changes would be an easy one. But currently, the opinion is so drastically split that Epic is faced with a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation; a polarisation that clearly arose from the vastly different gameplay spanning the first two (2.5 to be pedantic) generations of the series.
However UT3 had been developed, there was bound to be some community backlash. Either it'd be too similar, or too innovative; not enough evolution, or too much revoluton. Because there were two separate and equally vocal mindsets with high hopes for this next generation of UT. If they'd left it exactly the same as 2K4 but with prettier visuals just to avoid rocking the boat, then people would have complained that the game hadn't changed at all.
It makes it awefully hard to filter the constructive feedback from the noise.
Slow weapon switching: Noob friendly? Or more tactical combat choice? Spam happy? Or the cries of defeated hitscanners?
Vehicles: Unbalanced and weak? Or facilitating viable foot combat? Mostly useless? Or optional rather than a necessity?
Hoverboard: Gimmick? Or much needed easy transport? Too slow to recover from a fall? Or well balanced risk versus gain?
Movement: Slow and clunky? Or heavy and grounded? Not reactive enough? Or less like Cirque Du Soleil on amphetamines?
How do you identify which of the issues raised are game breaking, versus which of them simply don't sit well with people's play styles? At what point do you meet the community face to face, and at what point do you draw that line and say "Learn to adapt or get left behind"?
It's fairly clear that the 99 purists are happier with UT3 than the 2K crew. The reasons are obvious - UT3 has a lot of the 99 'feel'. But because those 2K crew are currently the most vocal, does that necessitate (or justify) meeting the demands and disappointing the more silent section of the community (we all know the most vocal on the internet are those with a gripe)?
Or should there be some effort to compromise?
I think it'd be fairly safe to aim for middle ground. Take weapon swap times for example. A lot of people are complaining that they're too slow. A fair few people are saying they're happy with the way they are. But no one is complaining that they're too fast. Would it make sense then to find the middle ground and increase the speed of weapon switching a little?
Perhaps, but so much fine tuning and meticulous attention to detail goes into balancing a game that the slightest change can ruin it.
To use an apt example - with the disclaimer that I mean no offense to any who view this as a benefit rather than a fault - take hitscanning in 2K4. The shock/lg combo so outweighed any other weapon choice that the game was essentially broken. It didn't particularly worry the hitscanners - a skill that is definitely worthy of note and not the easiest thing to master - but it made the game increasingly less accessible, and a lot of the content totally redundent. Part of the community adapted to the imbalance and made their own game of it. The rest moved on.
So perhaps even something as small as a slight change to weapon switching could result in clear favoritism towards one particular style of play. Perhaps it's going to happen anyway, as the community matures and learns to best utilise the mechanics of the game.
But regardless of whether or not anything is changed before release - if any of those demands are met, or those making them are simply left by the wayside - claims that UT3 will be a dead fish are fairly baseless.
The UT99 crew said exactly the same thing about 2K4. And they were given the same response - adapt, or be left behind.
Hopefully, the community as a WHOLE, not just the purists and traditionalists, pick up the reigns of this next generation and make something of it. The UT community has always stood out amongst a plethora of online cess pits for its unique brand of light hearted community spirit and good natured jibing.
Don't let your disappointment that you'll need to adapt and relearn anew in order to move into the next generation turn you off the challenge.
UT3 looks great (yes, it does, shut up) and it plays great (not necessarily how you want it to, and not what you're used to, but it does) so give it a chance.
Or stay with 2K4.
Innovation is the one thing that keeps this industry moving forward, and without it, the Unreal Tournament series would become a mostly forgotten classic. Nothing is ever perfect, and innovation demands improvements and readaptations of dated concepts. Embrace it. Trust that Epic know what they're doing. Despite the preferences of 99'ers and 2K'ers alike, neither camp HATED the other camp. They just had different tastes in gameplay. But 2K4 was different to 99, and UT3 was always going to be different to 2K4.
And if worst comes to worst, it's a short order for some code monkey to whip you up a mutator to make it just like the game you don't wanna leave behind.
But just give it a go first. You might actually like it.
P.S. I was a UT99'er, through and through. But when I actually PLAYED 2K4, and gave it a chance, I was a fan. I'm lucky enough to love both games in the series, so I'm excited about anything that Epic brings to the table, and I trust that if I don't understand it, or even if I don't want it, Epic has put everything together this way for a reason, and the game will be worth every last penny.
Love,
An unashamed fanboy
If the community voice was unanimous, the decision to make (or rollback) changes would be an easy one. But currently, the opinion is so drastically split that Epic is faced with a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation; a polarisation that clearly arose from the vastly different gameplay spanning the first two (2.5 to be pedantic) generations of the series.
However UT3 had been developed, there was bound to be some community backlash. Either it'd be too similar, or too innovative; not enough evolution, or too much revoluton. Because there were two separate and equally vocal mindsets with high hopes for this next generation of UT. If they'd left it exactly the same as 2K4 but with prettier visuals just to avoid rocking the boat, then people would have complained that the game hadn't changed at all.
It makes it awefully hard to filter the constructive feedback from the noise.
Slow weapon switching: Noob friendly? Or more tactical combat choice? Spam happy? Or the cries of defeated hitscanners?
Vehicles: Unbalanced and weak? Or facilitating viable foot combat? Mostly useless? Or optional rather than a necessity?
Hoverboard: Gimmick? Or much needed easy transport? Too slow to recover from a fall? Or well balanced risk versus gain?
Movement: Slow and clunky? Or heavy and grounded? Not reactive enough? Or less like Cirque Du Soleil on amphetamines?
How do you identify which of the issues raised are game breaking, versus which of them simply don't sit well with people's play styles? At what point do you meet the community face to face, and at what point do you draw that line and say "Learn to adapt or get left behind"?
It's fairly clear that the 99 purists are happier with UT3 than the 2K crew. The reasons are obvious - UT3 has a lot of the 99 'feel'. But because those 2K crew are currently the most vocal, does that necessitate (or justify) meeting the demands and disappointing the more silent section of the community (we all know the most vocal on the internet are those with a gripe)?
Or should there be some effort to compromise?
I think it'd be fairly safe to aim for middle ground. Take weapon swap times for example. A lot of people are complaining that they're too slow. A fair few people are saying they're happy with the way they are. But no one is complaining that they're too fast. Would it make sense then to find the middle ground and increase the speed of weapon switching a little?
Perhaps, but so much fine tuning and meticulous attention to detail goes into balancing a game that the slightest change can ruin it.
To use an apt example - with the disclaimer that I mean no offense to any who view this as a benefit rather than a fault - take hitscanning in 2K4. The shock/lg combo so outweighed any other weapon choice that the game was essentially broken. It didn't particularly worry the hitscanners - a skill that is definitely worthy of note and not the easiest thing to master - but it made the game increasingly less accessible, and a lot of the content totally redundent. Part of the community adapted to the imbalance and made their own game of it. The rest moved on.
So perhaps even something as small as a slight change to weapon switching could result in clear favoritism towards one particular style of play. Perhaps it's going to happen anyway, as the community matures and learns to best utilise the mechanics of the game.
But regardless of whether or not anything is changed before release - if any of those demands are met, or those making them are simply left by the wayside - claims that UT3 will be a dead fish are fairly baseless.
The UT99 crew said exactly the same thing about 2K4. And they were given the same response - adapt, or be left behind.
Hopefully, the community as a WHOLE, not just the purists and traditionalists, pick up the reigns of this next generation and make something of it. The UT community has always stood out amongst a plethora of online cess pits for its unique brand of light hearted community spirit and good natured jibing.
Don't let your disappointment that you'll need to adapt and relearn anew in order to move into the next generation turn you off the challenge.
UT3 looks great (yes, it does, shut up) and it plays great (not necessarily how you want it to, and not what you're used to, but it does) so give it a chance.
Or stay with 2K4.
Innovation is the one thing that keeps this industry moving forward, and without it, the Unreal Tournament series would become a mostly forgotten classic. Nothing is ever perfect, and innovation demands improvements and readaptations of dated concepts. Embrace it. Trust that Epic know what they're doing. Despite the preferences of 99'ers and 2K'ers alike, neither camp HATED the other camp. They just had different tastes in gameplay. But 2K4 was different to 99, and UT3 was always going to be different to 2K4.
And if worst comes to worst, it's a short order for some code monkey to whip you up a mutator to make it just like the game you don't wanna leave behind.
But just give it a go first. You might actually like it.
P.S. I was a UT99'er, through and through. But when I actually PLAYED 2K4, and gave it a chance, I was a fan. I'm lucky enough to love both games in the series, so I'm excited about anything that Epic brings to the table, and I trust that if I don't understand it, or even if I don't want it, Epic has put everything together this way for a reason, and the game will be worth every last penny.
Love,
An unashamed fanboy
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