Mutators - where are they?
The mutator section is so empty and needs some love.
In UT2004 it is flowing over even if you only have stock UT2004 with the patches installed and there is a lot of stuff in there that makes little to no sense (Big Heads anyone?) or even kills the gameplay for some people (low gravity!?).
Because that's what mutators do: They mutate the game.
If people don't like them they can play on regular servers and if there are enough sickos out there to fill a mutated server, who is to deny them their fun?
If you are relatively bored by the game (UT2004) you can just browse the mutators section, select some crazy stuff that changes enough to breath new life into the game but not enough to change it completely so its still your beloved game. Just slightly altered.
In RO the mutator section is almost empty, which is a shame because mutators are a great concept in my opinion.
How many cool suggestions have been killed off because some folks didn't like it?
Some examples:
1. Jamming - some people didn't like the random factor that makes the game supposedly less skill-based.
2. Getting rid of the scoreboard - too much of a change so it can't easily be changed by the devs because they might provoke some competetive folks to leave and complain.
3. Bleeding and Bandaging - not realistic, but it would add a cool new factor to the game. It works fairly well in mods like Urban Terror, which is extremely fast-paced but it didn't hurt the game. It also works great in Day of Defeat, but because its not realistic it can't be in RO.
4. The Gears of War quick-reload system. Too "artificial" for some folks that seem to prefer to press "R" to reload, because that's less artificial. Irony aside: It would be a cool new concept to play around with but of course not everyone is going to like it.
5. ppsh recoil lessened - Some say its unrealistic but it has to be that way for balance, others say its realistic already and some simply want the recoil lessened for whatever reason, even if its as profund a reason as ease-of-use.
In most threads we get the obligatory "include it as a server option" post on the third page. Sometimes sooner.
But server options aren't cool because they are too much a part of the game!
Mutators however are minimods of questionable usability that are bound to unbalance things, screw things, offend some people and cause fun for a small crowd of other people.
That's the nature of a mutator in UT2004 and that's how players see them. Mutators aren't taken serious. It doesn't matter too much whether they are made by a pickly red-head nerd in his garage or by the devs of the game because there is little difference there to begin with except that their garage looks more impressive.
Nah, what I'm trying to say is, that the "riskier" changes that could be made to the game could easily be made as a mutator and if people like it - fine. If people don't like it - fine too.
Just like Low Gravity in UT2004. If UT3 was "low grav" the community would start to bite their keyboards in anger. But the mutator will be there and people will play it and no one is going to complain about its presence. That's what the "standard servers" checkbox can be ticked for.
So, @Tripwire: Take the game serious because that's what makes us love it but if there are ideas that could technically be done and would probably be cool to have but would probably provoke an uproar in the community, add them as a mutator.
Examples would be Jamming; Bandaging; Scoreboard changes (one that removes it, one that adds a kill/death ratio, one that leaves only the score of the whole team, etc.); a mutator that does away with the new sniper kill-icon; a mutator that adds 3d sounds for the voice commands; a mutator that changes the capzones so more people have to be inside it to cap it like in the mod days; one that decreases the muzzle climg of the ppsh; one that gives the 'nades a bigger blast radius like it was in the mod; one that removes the mg tracers; one that adds an "Onslaught"-like minimap to a corner of the screen, its not much more unrealistic than the current mini map you can open and run on like in Doom95; one that makes the names of the teammates visible all the time; one where every player has a set amount of lives; one where the reinforcements of every team are cut to 25% of their real amount; one that disallows the use of iron sights for hipshooting training rounds; etc. pp.
All of these are either realistic or realistic in some people's point of view or realistic on paper but in practice or not realistic but usefull or neiher realistic nor usefull for fun for some. Adding them as a server option discredits you as a serious developer of a supposedly realistic game.
But adding them as a mutator won't !!!
The mutator section is so empty and needs some love.
In UT2004 it is flowing over even if you only have stock UT2004 with the patches installed and there is a lot of stuff in there that makes little to no sense (Big Heads anyone?) or even kills the gameplay for some people (low gravity!?).
Because that's what mutators do: They mutate the game.
If people don't like them they can play on regular servers and if there are enough sickos out there to fill a mutated server, who is to deny them their fun?
If you are relatively bored by the game (UT2004) you can just browse the mutators section, select some crazy stuff that changes enough to breath new life into the game but not enough to change it completely so its still your beloved game. Just slightly altered.
In RO the mutator section is almost empty, which is a shame because mutators are a great concept in my opinion.
How many cool suggestions have been killed off because some folks didn't like it?
Some examples:
1. Jamming - some people didn't like the random factor that makes the game supposedly less skill-based.
2. Getting rid of the scoreboard - too much of a change so it can't easily be changed by the devs because they might provoke some competetive folks to leave and complain.
3. Bleeding and Bandaging - not realistic, but it would add a cool new factor to the game. It works fairly well in mods like Urban Terror, which is extremely fast-paced but it didn't hurt the game. It also works great in Day of Defeat, but because its not realistic it can't be in RO.
4. The Gears of War quick-reload system. Too "artificial" for some folks that seem to prefer to press "R" to reload, because that's less artificial. Irony aside: It would be a cool new concept to play around with but of course not everyone is going to like it.
5. ppsh recoil lessened - Some say its unrealistic but it has to be that way for balance, others say its realistic already and some simply want the recoil lessened for whatever reason, even if its as profund a reason as ease-of-use.
In most threads we get the obligatory "include it as a server option" post on the third page. Sometimes sooner.
But server options aren't cool because they are too much a part of the game!
Mutators however are minimods of questionable usability that are bound to unbalance things, screw things, offend some people and cause fun for a small crowd of other people.
That's the nature of a mutator in UT2004 and that's how players see them. Mutators aren't taken serious. It doesn't matter too much whether they are made by a pickly red-head nerd in his garage or by the devs of the game because there is little difference there to begin with except that their garage looks more impressive.
Nah, what I'm trying to say is, that the "riskier" changes that could be made to the game could easily be made as a mutator and if people like it - fine. If people don't like it - fine too.
Just like Low Gravity in UT2004. If UT3 was "low grav" the community would start to bite their keyboards in anger. But the mutator will be there and people will play it and no one is going to complain about its presence. That's what the "standard servers" checkbox can be ticked for.
So, @Tripwire: Take the game serious because that's what makes us love it but if there are ideas that could technically be done and would probably be cool to have but would probably provoke an uproar in the community, add them as a mutator.
Examples would be Jamming; Bandaging; Scoreboard changes (one that removes it, one that adds a kill/death ratio, one that leaves only the score of the whole team, etc.); a mutator that does away with the new sniper kill-icon; a mutator that adds 3d sounds for the voice commands; a mutator that changes the capzones so more people have to be inside it to cap it like in the mod days; one that decreases the muzzle climg of the ppsh; one that gives the 'nades a bigger blast radius like it was in the mod; one that removes the mg tracers; one that adds an "Onslaught"-like minimap to a corner of the screen, its not much more unrealistic than the current mini map you can open and run on like in Doom95; one that makes the names of the teammates visible all the time; one where every player has a set amount of lives; one where the reinforcements of every team are cut to 25% of their real amount; one that disallows the use of iron sights for hipshooting training rounds; etc. pp.
All of these are either realistic or realistic in some people's point of view or realistic on paper but in practice or not realistic but usefull or neiher realistic nor usefull for fun for some. Adding them as a server option discredits you as a serious developer of a supposedly realistic game.
But adding them as a mutator won't !!!
