Questions:
What game is this for?
Tactical Assault is a full modification for Unreal Tournament 3. This means that you will need a copy of UT3 to play but the good news is that TA will be completely free!
When is the release?
We have not yet set a definite release date since we are not yet at a stage where we can accurately estimate how long the rest of the development will take. There are many variables in the making of a mod and we cant forsee all eventualities so the best thing is to keep an eye on the news and we will keep you updated. However, we will be entering some form of Tactical Assault into the MSUC Phase 3 on May 15, 2009. This does not mean a public release will happen at that time.
Is this Counter-Strike for UT3?
Although this game is inspired by games like Counter-Strike and COD we want this to stand by itself as a game. We are influenced by what we have played before certainly and it does follow the general format of Counter-Strike but when you play it we want it to be a new experience in a familiar environment.
Will TA look graphically similar to UT3?
There are certain aspects of the underlying engine that we are not changing; however as a total conversion mod it will still look completely different to UT3. Almost all of the graphical elements of the game have been remade from scratch so it is really only the underlying code that is inherited from UT3. One big advantage of using the UT3 engine is that it is quite scalable for different computer specifications, so if you have a powerful PC then you can take advantage of the next generation detail that we are looking to offer, but even if you have a relatively modest PC then the game will still play at lower settings.
Will the game have bot support to play offline?
We are not looking to spend a large period of time developing bots for the first release as we are focusing on the core gameplay. However, once the multiplayer side of the game is running well then we are going to spend mome time developing the intelligence of the computer players since we realise that there are some players who are not able to or do not wish to play on-line.
Once the multiplayer side of the game is satisfactorily complete then we might investigate the possibility of developing some form of single player aspect of the game, however this is a long time off and we have decided to concentrate on the multiplayer side for the moment.
Will the game release for the PS3?
We are not yet entirely sure whether TA will be compatible with the PS3, however we have had a look into some of the issues and they do not look insurmountable. We will certainly work to release the game for the PS3 if it is feasibly possible since we realise that UT3 does have a substantial console audience. The new UT3 "Titan Patch" will actually increase the possibility of this happening.
Does the TA team plan to use destructible environments in the future? If so could this possibly lead to a new game type?
We discussed this issue quite early on in the development of the game and we decided that we did not want to integrate large scale destructible environments into the game. Although UT3 does have support for physics cards it would still be quite a substantial amount of work to implement and we decided that since few people have a dedicated physics cards it would be a small gain for so much work.
When is the TA team projecting to have in-game footage?
We still can't tell you yet, but we are getting closer to having some real game footage from a couple of maps to show off. You will just have to keep watching the news ;D
What makes Tactical Assault different from other FPS games?
As well as working on developing a game with good graphics we strongly believe in the importance of having good gameplay, so this is something that we will be focusing on. We will spend a lot of time beta testing the game to make sure that we have got a game that is fun but that also rewards skill. Unlike other big name games we also listen to our community and the feedback and suggestions that we get from our users to help shape the development of the game. Since we have an open release structure, over time with future releases the game will continue to evolve and improve.
How will the beta testing work?
We have decided that we are going to operate a closed beta for TA since we feel that this will allow us to most efficiently and thoroughly collect feedback prior to release. We will of course keep you updated on the developments throughout the beta process. Please do not misuse our application page to send beta requests. When we need beta testers we will make an announcement.
Will my system be able to run Tactical Assault?
We cannot give detailed specifications at this stage in the development but we know that the performance requirements will be approximately the same as UT3. If you can comfortably play UT3 then its a good bet that you will be fine with TA.
"Can Mutators be added to TA, and about how long after the release of TA will Mutators be released?"
Yes, mutators can be implemented just as they can in UT3. Traditionally mutators have always been a community effort and we feel that it should stay like this, only you know what you want. We will focus on the development of the main game if you make us some awesome mutators ;)
Cool, i allmost forgot about this mod.