Jeff Morris talks UT3

UT fans all around the world are clamoring: “When is it coming out?” It’s probably gotten loud enough to get Epic tone-deaf. So now Jeff Morris, Epic Games‘ lead producer, bravely takes center-stage to answer a few questions from Billy Berghammer from Game Informer.

As said before in Midway’s Gamer’s Day in sin city Vegas, the name change of Unreal Tournament 3 was based solely because the game will represent the third generation technology of the Unreal 3 engine. Although some speculation revolved around the name-change were mainly focused on the release date, the game is still expected to come out by 2007, although that’s just a hope.

The PC and Xbox 360 versions are probably first to ship, although the PS3 may also see a release date close enough to the first releases. UT3 may also sport Xbox 360, PS3 and PC interconnectivity for online play, but they will wait and see how other games doing this will turn out first.

The game, thankfully, will not be a Vista exclusive. Though Vista support will be included, the game will not leave XP users behind. There is no confirmation for open DX10 support, nor exclusive DX10 support. Like the first Unreal Tournament, the bot personalities will return (can you say Tamerlane?) although UT3 will integrate the personalities with a very emotion-driven, engaging story line of actual Unreal Tournament competition for the single player campaign.

Maps will also evolve over time in the campaign, once the Necris open their big box of surprises. New gameplay modes will also be featured, the biggest one being Warfare. This combination of Assault and Conquest modes will spell the rolling in of huge, epic maps and lots of new vehicles.

Speaking of new vehicles, there are not only different types of vehicles, but there are also two varieties of each type: one for each side. The Axons will have their own assortment of vehicles, while the Necris will have their own, too. Each one has their advantages and disadvantages, but mostly their based on providing variety in gameplay. The hoverboard is also a new addition to the game, allowing massive maps to be traversed from end to end in a jiffy. It also allows players to tag along vehicles that are being rushed to battle without tiring out from chasing them on foot.

Epic Games is just a couple of months away from releasing a final release version. They are at the stages of polishing everything out. They will release a demo for the PC just to get pre-release feedback. When everything is good to go, the release will just be around the corner.

UT fans all around the world are clamoring: “When is it coming out?” It’s probably gotten loud enough to get Epic tone-deaf. So now Jeff Morris, Epic Games‘ lead producer, bravely takes center-stage to answer a few questions from Billy Berghammer from Game Informer.

As said before in Midway’s Gamer’s Day in sin city Vegas, the name change of Unreal Tournament 3 was based solely because the game will represent the third generation technology of the Unreal 3 engine. Although some speculation revolved around the name-change were mainly focused on the release date, the game is still expected to come out by 2007, although that’s just a hope.

The PC and Xbox 360 versions are probably first to ship, although the PS3 may also see a release date close enough to the first releases. UT3 may also sport Xbox 360, PS3 and PC interconnectivity for online play, but they will wait and see how other games doing this will turn out first.

The game, thankfully, will not be a Vista exclusive. Though Vista support will be included, the game will not leave XP users behind. There is no confirmation for open DX10 support, nor exclusive DX10 support. Like the first Unreal Tournament, the bot personalities will return (can you say Tamerlane?) although UT3 will integrate the personalities with a very emotion-driven, engaging story line of actual Unreal Tournament competition for the single player campaign.

Maps will also evolve over time in the campaign, once the Necris open their big box of surprises. New gameplay modes will also be featured, the biggest one being Warfare. This combination of Assault and Conquest modes will spell the rolling in of huge, epic maps and lots of new vehicles.

Speaking of new vehicles, there are not only different types of vehicles, but there are also two varieties of each type: one for each side. The Axons will have their own assortment of vehicles, while the Necris will have their own, too. Each one has their advantages and disadvantages, but mostly their based on providing variety in gameplay. The hoverboard is also a new addition to the game, allowing massive maps to be traversed from end to end in a jiffy. It also allows players to tag along vehicles that are being rushed to battle without tiring out from chasing them on foot.

Epic Games is just a couple of months away from releasing a final release version. They are at the stages of polishing everything out. They will release a demo for the PC just to get pre-release feedback. When everything is good to go, the release will just be around the corner.