Why are you here? (Devs etc.)

[Lachdahnan]

Im not trying to be nosey, Im honestly just curious. Besides the obvious fact that Unreal is a great game, I would just like to know what drives you to work on this game or games. (If your working on more than one)

To break the ice I will give some info about myself, then, if you feel up to it, can answer some of my questions

I live in FL, but go to LA as well sometimes. I am currently putting almost all my time towards developing my own game for 360/PC platform while still taking time to enjoy games such as Unreal and others.
Ive been playing video games since I was 4 years old when I got a Nintendo with Mario/Duck Hunt and have been a die hard gamer ever since.

So heres some of my questions (Should you feel like answering them):

How long have you been involved in the Unreal scene?

What about Unreal interested you the most?

Do you consider yourself a true gamer, or this title in particular grabbed your attention?

How long have you been playing video games?

Do you work on Unreal part-time, full-time, weekends, etc?

What do you do in your spare time?

Do you work a job as well?

If so, what do you do for a job? (Again, not trying to be nosey, so just pass if you dont want to answer )

Hmmm, after reading my questions it sounds like Im conducting some sort of marketing survey lol. Im just curious about people in the game dev scene, seeing as I am as well.

Well, hope to hear from you guys.  :)

[Hellkeeper]

Hmmm, after reading my questions it sounds like Im conducting some sort of marketing survey lol.

You sound like you're conducting a job interview :p

I started Unreal With UT2003 in 2003 and what kept me in was UnrealEd because I could not go anywhere with Worldcraft. i've been playing games since 1999 more or less, I don't have a job and my spare time is mostly spent on UnrealEd.

[GreatEmerald]

I got interested in Unreal when UT2004 came out, so that's 6 years from now And it keeps being the primary game to mod for me. I overall like the modability of Unreal. For example, other games like Heroes of Might and Magic are a pain to mod because every little thing you change requires a load of hacks since it was never created with modability in mind (thank goodness that Heroes 3 is actually being remade now, so it will be a lot more modable in the future ). And I mostly mod what I like to have in game myself. I rarely, if ever, do requests and all my projects were created just because I wanted to have some feature in the game that wasn't there, and naturally sharing that with the community is both a great pleasure to me and useful for others that may have wanted to have the same feature there.

As for your questions:
1. Already answered
2. UT2004 actually interested me in the concept of a Tournament itself. What I really like about it is that you can not lose. If you do, you just play another match and you'll evetually win, there's absolutely no harm in doing so. The only thing that I don't like is unbalanced netgames :\ Another thing that I really liked were the graphics and the engine overall. Now when I see a game, I start analysing it through a more tech perspective than when I wasn't aware of all the engine features For example, in RuneScape I every once in a while said something like "Hey, why don't they just use a particle emitter here instead of moving 3D cubes?" and others were like "WTF are you talking about?!"
3. Err, true gamer? Not sure what you mean, but I'm not quite a "hardcore gamer", I play to have fun, not win, and often do strange things like admiring the view or searching for secrets (that's one thing that Unreal series games are good for). And modding for me is also very fun at itself.
4. Hmm, can't really tell. Maybe something like 10 years.
5. When I feel like it, TBH. Right now I code every day, although not for a long time. When I'm not working on a particular project, I mod less frequently.
6. Play or mod, duh
7. No, I'm still going to school.

[Shivaxi]

Code: Select all

How long have you been involved in the Unreal scene?

In the entire Unreal scene, since 1999, when UT99 came out. Then in 2000, I got a hold of Unreal Gold, and I've been hooked ever since

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What about Unreal interested you the most?

At first, the single player game play and the graphics at the time. Most original thing I'd ever seen, since I really only played like Quake, Descent, and Duke Nukem, and some racing games. This was the first game I played that had a really interesting story line and gameplay I could actually follow at my age (was like...9, 10?).

But then later, and now mostly what interests me is just how amazing this engine is for its time, and what it's capable of. I map for it as well, so I guess that keeps me interested too.

Code: Select all

Do you consider yourself a true gamer, or this title in particular grabbed your attention?

Like I said, I play many different games...even different styles of games...DiRT2, GTA4, Doom 3, COD4, the Mechwarrior games, the Descent games...etc...

Code: Select all

How long have you been playing video games?

Since I was 3 years old.

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Do you work on Unreal part-time, full-time, weekends, etc?

Whenever I'm in the mood really....can vary.

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What do you do in your spare time?

Well, if I'm not in school or playing games, I'll be creating music and DJing on the radio.

Code: Select all

Do you work a job as well?

Yes.

Code: Select all

If so, what do you do for a job?

Install cameras, GPS systems, and radios for companies for like school buses and police cars. Sometimes actually putting up the giant antennas on the mountains for school districts and such as well.

[Turboman.]

How long have you been involved in the Unreal scene?

• I started playing the game in 1999 at its release, but i only started posting on forums about a year and a half after, used to hang around alot on the old nostalgia servers and posted at the official GT-interactive unreal forums

What about Unreal interested you the most?

• A difficult question, the game had a strong feel to it, the world around you was so detailed and rich, that despite the actual lacking story it made up for it and kept me hooked, unreal had me sitting on the edge of my seat as i was so curious what would happen next, it conveyed the feel of a mysterious alien world so well.
  But really i think its the coop mode, many games had coop back then, but in combination with the above it made unreal worth playing, exploring the world of napali with your friends can be so much fun.

Do you consider yourself a true gamer, or this title in particular grabbed your attention?

• Well its hard to define a "true" gamer, i game more then my friends do (none of my friends play video games actually), and i played a lot of fps when i was younger, so i guess that makes me a true gamer in comparison

How long have you been playing video games?

• since i was 6 or 7 years old, sierra on-line adventure games on the PC and platformers on the NES

Do you work on Unreal part-time, full-time, weekends, etc?

• Part time, i usually spend my late evenings in unrealed (working on firestorm) before i go to bed, weekends usually longer, the mornings or evenings.

What do you do in your spare time?

• Unreal, hang out with friends, get wasted alot.

Do you work a job as well?

• Yes, a job as a architectural engineer and studying... as a architectural engineer, i have to survive and pay the bills after all

[Lachdahnan]

*Reply to Hellkeeper*
Haha , yea I guess my information gathering tactics are a little odd. I saw this site, and its STILL up to date. It just made me wonder, what are these guys driven by, what do they like about Unreal so much to continue working on it. Etc etc.

*Reply to GreatEmerald*
Yea I know what you mean about some games being tough to mod. I have tried my own mods on some games in the past, some went smooth, others not so much.
I remember reading a Fallout 2 mod log and hearing about how they hard coded so much of the game that they had to spoof thier way past so many little bumps and memory ranges in order to add their own content.
Sounded like a real nightmare, poor guy had been working on it for (over 7 years I think?) and ended up stopping before completion. Was sad to see that
May I ask what your learning about in school? Video game development perhaps???

*Reply to Shivaxi* (Cool name BTW, sounds like greek mythology)
Gaming since 3! You beat me by 1 year lol. Thats awesome thought So you go to school as well. Thats cool, what are you taking? You actually are a DJ for a radio station, or you just play music for them, Im curious about that one.

*Reply to Turboman*
I agree, the game had a very strong feel to it. Sound/Music/Graphics, everything came together to fully immurse you in the game.
"get wasted alot" Wooooo! Fun!
Architectural Engineer huh? So ... your in charge of level design? lol Thats cool though, you must be familiar with the cad programs then. I messed with em once for fun. Cool stuff!


A few after thoughts:
I got into Unreal (in terms of playing) about a day or two after it was released. I have always liked FPS games, and this one looked like a winner. Boy was I glad I bought it.

When I first walked out of the prison cell and heard the monster I was like, "Ohhh man, this isnt good".
Then after walking outside the crashed ship and seeing the amazing view (yes I still think its amazing ) and the music clicking in at just the right moment. I knew this game was everything I hoped for.

The games I have moded in one way or another in the past were:
Half Life, Doom 3, Rainbow Six Rogue Spear, Age of Empires, couple others perhaps.

There seemed to be some confusion about hardcore gamer. Ive met all types of gamers in my life, and I generally fit them into 2 areas... yes you guessed it.. casual, and hardcore lol.

Casual likes to play games maybe just on weekends, or an hour or so at night, maybe toying with SDK's due to technological interest rather than actual gameplay interest. (Sounds weird, but Ive seen it)

Hardcore falls between playing almost every single day, for at least a few hours per day. That is definitly me. If Im not programming my new game, then Im playing other games, or reading about games, etc etc. Yea... Im a bit of a fanatic

Woowee! This is getting long  

[Hellkeeper]

what are these guys driven by

Coffee. Gallons of it. You can't play correctly if you're not shaking, tensed and invaded by nervous spams.
Or the fact that the editor is good, the engine powerful and the stock assets numerous. I've been mapping for now eight years and never made a texture or a mesh (actually I did some, but mesh made from BSP and solid colours textures do not count as new assets).

[Rob-Bot]

How long have you been involved in the Unreal scene?

9 years

What about Unreal interested you the most?

co-op online, used to play with my brother a lot.

Do you consider yourself a true gamer, or this title in particular grabbed your attention?

The only game I play is Unreal 1

How long have you been playing video games?

since i was 7

Do you work on Unreal part-time, full-time, weekends, etc?

Whenever I feel like it

What do you do in your spare time?

work with unrealed/play unreal and hang out with my friends

Do you work a job as well?

Yes...

If so, what do you do for a job?

I fill up food on a buffet....it's not fun at all, but i am going to a community college to do something in the building trade..

[Lachdahnan]

*Reply to Hellkeeper*
That actually did make me lol. I guess the idea of picturing somebody at the computer all hopped up on that sweet columbian goodness barely able to stay in there seat tickled my funny bone. Reminds me of Fry from Futurama.
Thats a long time to be mapping, although you kinda lost me with the BSP thing

*Reply to SnakeBit*
Co-op sounds awesome. Ive never tried it for Unreal. Is it pretty much the same as single with exceptions? Or is it only map specific due to code conflicts?

Ive never worked at an actual buffet, but I did spend a short, and I do mean short lol, amount of time doing some cater work. I didnt mind going to peoples parties and whatnot. But dealing with the actual food preparation kinda sucked. So if your doing that part only, then I think I can understand why you dont care much for it.
I also had another job too however, even shorter than the catering. Cleaning portable toilets lol. No Im not kidding. I didnt service them like with the truck, I was doing the prep work, to get them ready to be used. Talk about HOT and NASTY.
You wear thick gloves and a mask to protect you while you pour a small amount of muratic acid (stuff they use in pools) inside on the floor and use a brush to clean out the inside. If you dont wear mask, or it slips off your face from sweating and you breathe in the fumes, it burns your nose and lungs. Terrible job!!!

[TCP_Wolf]

How long have you been involved in the Unreal scene?
1999


What about Unreal interested you the most?
The atmosphere. No other game up to today ever beat it.


Do you consider yourself a true gamer, or this title in particular grabbed your attention?
Yes, yes


How long have you been playing video games?
Dunno


Do you work on Unreal part-time, full-time, weekends, etc?
Usually only on holidays when visiting people


What do you do in your spare time?
Don't have any.


Do you work a job as well?
Yes


If so, what do you do for a job?
Professional software engineer/programmer/admin.


... what company did you say you were recruiting for?

[PRIMEVAL]

How long have you been involved in the Unreal scene?
-About 10 years

What about Unreal interested you the most?
-The amazing gameplay

Do you consider yourself a true gamer, or this title in particular grabbed your attention?
-Wouldn't call myself a gamer, there's only a few select games I play, but I play them well.

How long have you been playing video games?
-All my life

Do you work on Unreal part-time, full-time, weekends, etc?
-Work on it? I'm just working on a DM map a little, less than part-time really.

What do you do in your spare time?
-Write music.

Do you work a job as well?
-Planning on getting one at my college.

If so, what do you do for a job?
-Hoping to be a VisCom student assistant.

[[§Ŕ] ŤhěxĐâŕkśîđěŕ]

How long have you been involved in the Unreal scene?
Since 2008.

What about Unreal interested you the most?
First I played it because it was the only game among those I had that ran flawlessly on my then-PC (~ 1999). Then I didn't play it in a long time, and when I found the CD again and got nostalgic, I started playing it again (~ 2008) and discovered the customizability and OldUnreal. Note: I wasn't a part of any online community until the end of 2008 because until that I had dial-up in this hell hole and I guess whole world except me had a connection that you don't pay by connection length... -_-

Do you consider yourself a true gamer, or this title in particular grabbed your attention?
I'm not a gamer lol, I barely play anything nowadays, except Unreal and Sauerbraten sometimes.

How long have you been playing video games?
Since I got my first PC around the age of 3. I learnt numbers from 0 to 100 when I was around 2 and I made my own numbering system that could cover them all, only by simple finger positions. Gotta brag a bit. lol

Do you work on Unreal part-time, full-time, weekends, etc?
More like sometimes. lol

What do you do in your spare time?
If spare time is everything that's not school and sleeping, then I program and make music. Also started with electronics recently.

Do you work a job as well?
I'm 15 so I formally don't do any job.

If so, what do you do for a job?
All that I do is what I said I do in my spare time, and when I'm 18 I'll develop Linux (well lol I already am but not formally, etc.) and other free software, also continue making music (cause I'm talented at it) and fix stuff (computers and other electronic devices) for free, for those people who deserve it. For those who don't, get someone else to reinstall your winblows for $500. lolol

[Shivaxi]

*Reply to Shivaxi* (Cool name BTW, sounds like greek mythology)
Gaming since 3! You beat me by 1 year lol. Thats awesome thought So you go to school as well. Thats cool, what are you taking? You actually are a DJ for a radio station, or you just play music for them, Im curious about that one.

lol thanx. I'm in high school right now, so just the usual classes....civics...english....everything I have to take anyway =P

I'm a DJ for an internet radio station, here:   www.torrentech.org

Some of my recorded sets on the radio:  http://shivaxi.webs.com/music.htm

[Pyro]

Can i participate here too? thanks!

im here cus i love unreal and how it works. im developping SGU and still learning new stuff, i totally understand the system of bones now and it rocks. unreal forever!

[GreatEmerald]

*Reply to Hellkeeper*
Haha , yea I guess my information gathering tactics are a little odd. I saw this site, and its STILL up to date. It just made me wonder, what are these guys driven by, what do they like about Unreal so much to continue working on it. Etc etc.

*Reply to GreatEmerald*
Yea I know what you mean about some games being tough to mod. I have tried my own mods on some games in the past, some went smooth, others not so much.
I remember reading a Fallout 2 mod log and hearing about how they hard coded so much of the game that they had to spoof thier way past so many little bumps and memory ranges in order to add their own content.
Sounded like a real nightmare, poor guy had been working on it for (over 7 years I think?) and ended up stopping before completion. Was sad to see that
May I ask what your learning about in school? Video game development perhaps???

The games I have moded in one way or another in the past were:
Half Life, Doom 3, Rainbow Six Rogue Spear, Age of Empires, couple others perhaps. 

This thread is quite fun since it gives some background information about many of the forum members here

Nah, during IT lessons all we do is learn how to use Excel... Although last year and one before that we did some programming in Pascal. But since it's so easy and boring to learn Excel, I usually just code in UnrealScript for UT1, since that's the most those PCs can handle (and actually, with the recent PC upgrades there I can get around 80 FPS in UT demo fullscreen 10**x7** (don't remember exact numbers and too lazy to check ) in D3D, while earlier it could only go on 800x600 windowed in Software rendering...).

Modding Age of Empires? I never thought about that... Would be awesome to actually make instant action possible to complete in AoE1 and 2, since if you leave at least 1 villager alive, it will rebuild his whole city :\

[Hellkeeper]

Modding Age of Empires? I never thought about that... Would be awesome to actually make instant action possible to complete in AoE1 and 2, since if you leave at least 1 villager alive, it will rebuild his whole city :\

That's what cavalry's made for !
As for MODDING AoE, there was a lot going on in the days (ah, the good old days), with new units, new buildings etc... (I only remember it for the second, not sure about AoE and RoR). I made some maps when I was (a little) younger but never made anything worth playing.

As for the 1****7** it's probably 1024*768

[Lachdahnan]

*Reply to TCP_Wolf*
I agree, something about the atmosphere is very capturing. The feeling of being in another world (even though its virtual) is still very mysterious and exciting. I suppose since we can explore past Earth IRL for the moment, this is the next best thing

And NO Im not recruiting!  ... Well, unless you work for free that is lol


*Reply to PRIMEVAL*
10 years with Unreal, but dont play many other games. Unreal must have really captured you, thats cool, also says a lot about Unreal
What is a VisCom student?


*Reply to [§[ch340]] [ch356]h[ch283]x[ch272]â[ch341]k[ch347]î[ch273][ch283][ch341]*
Dial up!!! You poor man, somebody get this man some more intanets!! After I went to the sexy coaxal, I swore I would never go back lol.

"Gotta brag a bit." Hey thats okay, sounds like you are really in tune with your problem solving portion of your brain. Wish I was lol.
"and make music" Your like the 4th person to be involved in music here.. how interesting. I LOVE listening to music, but I never seemed to have any desire to create it. Guess Im just more of an appreciator


*Reply to Shivaxi*
High school, that brings back memories lol. Im listening to your 8CD track ATM, its very interesting. It really reminds me of MSX FM from Grand Theft Auto 3. Quality is good too, nicely done man


*Reply to Pyronious*
Thats fine with me! What is SGU? I would imagine its something to do with 3D models/animation since you mentioned  'bones'.


*Reply to GreatEmerald*
EXACTLY! See by just asking some simple questions how much you can learn about the people around you? That was my main goal, Im into the video game scene hardcore, and I love to talk to others about video games and whatnot as well.
Ive never used Pascal but Ive heard its pretty low level. I had to learn Excel at my time at ITT Tech, boring!! So you play/program Unreal at school? That sounds sneaky... and fun!!!! Unless of course they dont care lol.

Ya, Age of Empires had some serious attention back in the day. Was good times. I used to keep 1 'jerk' (I call them Villajerks rather than Villagers, I dunno why ) in a boat off the main land incase I had a wipe out lol.


*My thoughts*
Its really great to see so many replys and learn about you guys. Nice to have a common interest with people.

BTW- I have a song, its a remix based on the original Unreal. I dont know who made it, theres no info about the artist or anything, but if theres anybody I would like to share it with, its you guys. I got it around 2000, so its pretty old, but sounds pretty good imo.

I can post a link to download it, but only if its ok with the mods

[Buster]

I just popped in at home during lunch. I really want to read all of this topic, and all its post. Great questions, and nice of those you responded in such detail. After work I'll toss in my tidbit, too. Later.

[GreatEmerald]

That's what cavalry's made for !
As for MODDING AoE, there was a lot going on in the days (ah, the good old days), with new units, new buildings etc... (I only remember it for the second, not sure about AoE and RoR). I made some maps when I was (a little) younger but never made anything worth playing.

As for the 1****7** it's probably 1024*768

Well, I play on such big maps and defensively that the enemy manages to build an army of villagers spread all over the continent hiding in the fog of war :\

I made some maps too, even made a campaign about the history of Lithuania (with one cool battle map, where you lose if you don't do anything, but if you retreat and come in again after healing, the enemy troops get separated and you can assassinate them a few at a time - exactly how the Battle of Gruenwald was!).

Dial up!!! You poor man, somebody get this man some more intanets!! After I went to the sexy coaxal, I swore I would never go back lol.

"and make music" Your like the 4th person to be involved in music here.. how interesting. I LOVE listening to music, but I never seemed to have any desire to create it. Guess Im just more of an appreciator

*Reply to GreatEmerald*
EXACTLY! See by just asking some simple questions how much you can learn about the people around you? That was my main goal, Im into the video game scene hardcore, and I love to talk to others about video games and whatnot as well.
Ive never used Pascal but Ive heard its pretty low level. I had to learn Excel at my time at ITT Tech, boring!! So you play/program Unreal at school? That sounds sneaky... and fun!!!! Unless of course they dont care lol.

Ya, Age of Empires had some serious attention back in the day. Was good times. I used to keep 1 'jerk' (I call them Villajerks rather than Villagers, I dunno why ) in a boat off the main land incase I had a wipe out lol.

Yea, I had coaxial internet too, it was awesome (you can download a few GB worth of data in only a few minutes! But only if the server is also in Lithuania). Right now I don't have it, since I moved into another house, but I'll probably request it after a while.

Me too, I like listening to music (mostly soundtracks), but I'm not good at creating it.

Yea, that's what I feel about talking to other game devs, such as those that were part of Legend etc.

Yeap, Pascal is old and low level. Though I'd say it's friendlier than C, which is limited to no end... Yea, I do some UScripting at school. The teacher doesn't really care, as long as he receives the finished project works.

That's exactly what I do in Red Alert games, create a MCV, add into an Amphibious Transport and send it far away. But in AoE it didn't really work since I usually spend all my resources the moment I get them, so it's never enough to rebuild the city centre.
Also, thinking about that, AoE uses MIDI music, and wile the original sounds kinda meh, with a SoundBlaster card the music quality skyrockets due to hardware MIDI support and SoundFonts. All MIDI music in my collection sound a lot better now

[Lachdahnan]

*Reply to GreatEmerald*"
AoE uses MIDI music, and wile the original sounds kinda meh, with a SoundBlaster card the music quality skyrockets due to hardware MIDI support and SoundFonts"

Erm.. you might not know this, but AoE has 2 entirely separate music albulms. 1 built into the game (midi), then another high quality one directly on the CD, you can even pop it your CD player and jam out to some AoE! Ok.. maybe not jam... but you get my point

[GreatEmerald]

Ooh, never knew that! Cool! Have to try it some time.

[Hellkeeper]

I made some maps too, even made a campaign about the history of Lithuania (with one cool battle map, where you lose if you don't do anything, but if you retreat and come in again after healing, the enemy troops get separated and you can assassinate them a few at a time - exactly how the Battle of Gruenwald was!).

Ok, you're surely much better to AoE than I am (never managed to beat the single player campaigns in easy mode and never won a deathmatch above easy mode), but as someone who loves eastern-Europe history and Age of Empires, THIS sounds so AWESOME that I want it NOW ! Send me a link !

I've sometimes thought about making a single player campaign in AoE2 about the christianisation of the slavs by Cyrill and Methode, but never had the motivation to start.

[Lachdahnan]

I made some maps too, even made a campaign about the history of Lithuania (with one cool battle map, where you lose if you don't do anything, but if you retreat and come in again after healing, the enemy troops get separated and you can assassinate them a few at a time - exactly how the Battle of Gruenwald was!).

Ok, you're surely much better to AoE than I am (never managed to beat the single player campaigns in easy mode and never won a deathmatch above easy mode), but as someone who loves eastern-Europe history and Age of Empires, THIS sounds so AWESOME that I want it NOW ! Send me a link !

QUICK! Get this man a link!

[Rob-Bot]

Co-op is playing single player maps with other people. Usually we just go through maps and kill monsters, sometimes just sit around and socialize, and some even roleplay which can be pretty cool.

[Vulpine-Vixen]

How long have you been involved in the Unreal scene?

I picked up a second hand copy of Unreal for £1. Seemed a good deal to me so bought it.

What about Unreal interested you the most?

It looked retro. I have a soft spot for retro PC/console/arcade games.

Do you consider yourself a true gamer, or this title in particular grabbed your attention?

Yes I am a "true" gamer. Though I did start off playing 8-bit platform games. (Forgive me, I was a child.) I've been playing computer games since I was 5. My mother had her own games consoles and used to let us play hers. It wasn't until I was older that I started to play PC games though. The first PC games that hooked me was Krazy Ivan. A Windows 95 FPS. It had robots and shooting, thought it wasn't a taxing game to play. Currently (from 22-24) I've played Halo, Beyond Divinity, Devistation and Delta Force. There are a few others but I can't recall them.

How long have you been playing video games?

Since I was 5-6. So around 18-19 years.

Do you work on Unreal part-time, full-time, weekends, etc?

I don't. I don't normally play online, but found this forum when trying to find current servers for the game. I still haven't found one and other sourced information as been a little poor. Hence why I am here... Though I fear looking like a "n00b" if I ask for advice. *Grumbles something about ports and not being able to find a server.*

What do you do in your spare time?

I read. When I am done reading I write. Typical things really.

Do you work a job as well? Nope, student. Though will be working in the next few months...Graduation and all...

If so, what do you do for a job? (Again, not trying to be nosey, so just pass if you dont want to answer )
I don't work, though I'd quite like to work in IT.