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blufiveA lot like UT2003, really. As such, most of the game doesn't really interest me. Been there, played that, not really interested in online deathmatch. However, one thing sold it to me: Onslaught mode.
Onslaught is a new game type, probably best described as a two-way cross between assault and domination. An onslaught map has a mesh of "power nodes". Each team works their way across the map, taking control of the nodes. Once a team controls a particular node, they can attack/capture the nodes that are connected to it. Get far enough across the map, and you can attack the enemy power core. Destroy the enemy core to win. Actually capturing a power node can take some time, as you have to destroy any enemy node, then build your own. Doing it single handed can take a minute or so (even without any enemy interference) though it's faster if several players work together.
The main wrinkle, compared to other UT maps, is that most onslaught maps are VAST. For readers who've played UT or UT2003: a middle-sized onslaught map like ONS-Torlan is as long as CTF-LavaGiant. Except it's not a few twisty, end-to-end pathways over lava - it's open, rolling landscapes. It's not long and thin, either - it's square. In terms of actual playable surface area, it's waaaaay bigger.
As for large ONS maps like ONS-Dawn or ONS-Dria - you could drop CTF-LavaGiant in four or five times over, and they would rattle if you shook 'em. These maps are kilometres across. Getting from one end to the other on foot can take several minutes, even with the manic speed of UT2004 avatars.
Which is where the other main addition to the game comes in: vehicles. If you can possibly avoid it, you don't run about ONS-Dria on foot. You (and possibly a team-mate or two) jump into a tank, buggy or aircraft, and go kick ass.
The vehicles are generally well-balanced, all with strengths and weaknesses. For example, the Goliath tank, while well-armed and -armoured, is slow and vulnerable to attack by aircraft or fast-moving ground vehicles. Some of them are an absolute blast to drive, especially with the add addition of "daredevil" awards for particularly outstanding jumps.
The large scale of the maps highlights some of the shortcomings in the bots that got me so worked up about UT2003. For example, the bots seem to be remarkably good at visually acquiring a target, turning and shooting dead on target within a fraction of a second of gaining line of sight. At a range of 10 yards in an enclosed deathmatch map, this is perfectly reasonable. From half a kilometre away (which makes the target about 2 pixels high) against a stationary target, it's taking the piss.
Luckily, however, this is not an issue against humans. So, thanks to a gameplay style which allows tactical thinking and cunning to compensate for a lack of L33t S|<illz, UT2004 Onslaught has filled the gap TFC left in my online gaming. So now, when I'm annoyed, I can go virtually shoot things with big guns again.
Onslaught is a new game type, probably best described as a two-way cross between assault and domination. An onslaught map has a mesh of "power nodes". Each team works their way across the map, taking control of the nodes. Once a team controls a particular node, they can attack/capture the nodes that are connected to it. Get far enough across the map, and you can attack the enemy power core. Destroy the enemy core to win. Actually capturing a power node can take some time, as you have to destroy any enemy node, then build your own. Doing it single handed can take a minute or so (even without any enemy interference) though it's faster if several players work together.
The main wrinkle, compared to other UT maps, is that most onslaught maps are VAST. For readers who've played UT or UT2003: a middle-sized onslaught map like ONS-Torlan is as long as CTF-LavaGiant. Except it's not a few twisty, end-to-end pathways over lava - it's open, rolling landscapes. It's not long and thin, either - it's square. In terms of actual playable surface area, it's waaaaay bigger.
As for large ONS maps like ONS-Dawn or ONS-Dria - you could drop CTF-LavaGiant in four or five times over, and they would rattle if you shook 'em. These maps are kilometres across. Getting from one end to the other on foot can take several minutes, even with the manic speed of UT2004 avatars.
Which is where the other main addition to the game comes in: vehicles. If you can possibly avoid it, you don't run about ONS-Dria on foot. You (and possibly a team-mate or two) jump into a tank, buggy or aircraft, and go kick ass.
The vehicles are generally well-balanced, all with strengths and weaknesses. For example, the Goliath tank, while well-armed and -armoured, is slow and vulnerable to attack by aircraft or fast-moving ground vehicles. Some of them are an absolute blast to drive, especially with the add addition of "daredevil" awards for particularly outstanding jumps.
The large scale of the maps highlights some of the shortcomings in the bots that got me so worked up about UT2003. For example, the bots seem to be remarkably good at visually acquiring a target, turning and shooting dead on target within a fraction of a second of gaining line of sight. At a range of 10 yards in an enclosed deathmatch map, this is perfectly reasonable. From half a kilometre away (which makes the target about 2 pixels high) against a stationary target, it's taking the piss.
Luckily, however, this is not an issue against humans. So, thanks to a gameplay style which allows tactical thinking and cunning to compensate for a lack of L33t S|<illz, UT2004 Onslaught has filled the gap TFC left in my online gaming. So now, when I'm annoyed, I can go virtually shoot things with big guns again.