It's been a long journey, but the project is finally complete, and we are proud to present to you Version 1.0, which entered the design phase of development back in May 2008. Since then, we have worked hard as a team of just 5 individuals (and without a programmer!) to create a unique and entertaining, full conversion mod of Unreal 3. We hope now, on the night of release, you can enjoy the finished product as much as we have enjoyed creating it.
For those new to the IP, Cheeks of Steel is a 3D Platform game, set in an abstract city known as Capture. Your role? To play as Tick and Harry, a flea and hamster forced to work together through unlikely circumstances, battling through ‘themed cages' to save Harry's love, and the rest of the hamster race. The game itself revolves around a HUB level where you must collect Hamster Tubes in order to unlock new levels, and escape Capture once and for all. This has all been broken up into 5 levels, offering hours of gameplay.
Upon full download of the compressed file, you will notice several files, including an installation guide and the full mod folder. One thing we would quickly like to point out at this time is that the mod actually runs on a version 1.3 of Unreal, not the latest (2.0) version which many people may have already. If this is the case, then in order to play the mod at its full capacity, you must regress Unreal back down to 1.3. You can re-download patch 1.3 here: Gamershell.com
For those unprepared to do so, do not worry. We are already working on the first patch which allows full compatibility with version 2.0, and will be available for download in the next couple of weeks. For all other information on Version 2, please stay tuned to any updates on the site over the next couple of weeks, or ‘watch' us for free notifications.
At Underdog Games, Cheeks of Steel has played a large part within each of our lives, and we pride ourselves on the increasing quality of our product to give everyone as much as possible. Therefore, if you notice any bugs/problems within the game, or even know how to fix it yourself, please let us know and we will do everything we can to improve the experience both for you and others.
From left to right:
Simon White (Lead Artist and Sound), Ross Wilding (Lead Designer, Level Design and Cinematics), Steven Sadler (Level Design), Jamie Eden (Team Leader and Producer) and
Sam Penn (Lead Level Design)
Finally, we would like to thank everyone for their support, from the community who have provided encouraging feedback and comments, to all those who have stood by us, supported us, and gave us the strength to go on. Without you, Cheeks of Steel could not exist.
So where next? There'll be LOTS of new content over the coming weeks, as well as further work on making Cheeks of Steel the best it can be. So without further ado, I present – Tick and Harry's Cheeks of Steel!
Apologies for the delay in uploading this, I originally did start to upload the Mod at 10pm British time on the 26th, but the upload took a lot longer than I expected, possibly due to this: Moddb.com and myself being located in the EU.
I also uploaded a patch with our customchar folder that is required for install but was forgotten off the initial RAR upload, and with the time it took to upload, I figured it would be best to just add as a single download.
Either way, please enjoy playing the mod, as much as we have in creating it! And leave any comments, critiscism or feedback here.
EDIT: CLEARER INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1: If you have Unreal Tournament installed, please ensure it is patched to v1.3: Gamershell.com
The mod will NOT work on UT3 2.0 / 1.4. If you are using Patch 1.4 / 2.0, then there will an update covering this in the coming weeks.
Step 2: Download both files in our download section -
Download it here on ModDB | Custom char update
Step 3: Extract the contents of both .RAR files to somewhere accessible, such as your Desktop.
Step 4: Copy the folder "CheeksOfSteel" to My Documents > My Games > Unreal Tournament 3
Step 5: Copy the folder "CustomChar" to My Documents > My Games > Unreal Tournament 3 > UTGame > Published > CookedPC
Step 6: Play the game! There is a shotcut for Windows XP / Vista and Windows Vista 64-bit in the CheeksOfSteel folder. If you have any issues relating to your download directory, make a copy of your Unreal Tournament 3 Shortcut and add -mod/CheeksOfSteel/config to the shortcut command line
Once again, apologies to those who are having trouble installing the folder. In the next release we aim to be patched to 2.0 and have a self installing extracter.
this is great, ive been looking at this mod for quite a while now, and its one of the best ones I've seen in a while ^_-
the second guy on the right inspired the character modeler? ;)
Great to see so many different mods in the competition. This is refreshingly different, and I must say the final verdict for overall winner of MSUC this time will be hard to make.
That would be me, the second guy on the right - and that's why I voice the main character :P
Thanks for the comments :)
you need to make a proper installer, I gave up halfway through and compared to the other mods it's too much work. I know this is supposed to be part of the modding idea, but when everyone else gives me a full installer, why should I check for Unreal Version and look for character folders, etc?
We currently have no official programmer, I simply picked up where someone else left off and have had to compile the mod myself. Due to deadlines at University and full-time work, we have not had chance to patch the mod to v2.0.
The character folder issue is maybe partly due to the 2.0 switch, but I based the install ZIP file of Prometheus, so all you should have to do is put our CheeksOfSteel folder in your MyDocuments > UTGame, then the custom Char folder in UTGame > Published > Cooked PC
We released it as is due to thinking most of the ModDB community are quite computer literate and wouldn't mind pasting 2 folders into new locations.
I will endeavour to create a full EXE installer for the next release. Or if anyone has any tips on how to create one, please let me know. So I apologise for the fact it's not as good on the install as some other mods out there are, but I'm sure they have extremely competent programmers :)
well, I would pass them into locations, if they were on my computer, but a) I have a) German system and b) the tutorial doesn't work, because one of the folders you want me to paste to isn't there (and it doesn't work, if I simply create it). It might have gone lost during my own work while briefly modding with Unreal, before.
However, if something like that doesn't work at the first try I am very unwilling to go back into trying it again, unless I expect something finished to show. Since yours is just another beta release I will wait for the final release, hence. And I bet that is how 85% of the people react. The others my belong in the category of running an English System, havin one system drive and pasting two folders into the folders they can actually find at the location you specified.
I might also add that all other Unreal Mods I installed work, so far.
Firstly, are you using Unreal Tournament v1.3 patch, not 2.0? This should easily be noticeable due to the Red background on 1.3 and Black backgrounds and menus on 2.0.
At this moment, the first release only covers patch 1.3 as we've not had time currently to update to 2.0 and make the necessary changes, due to a deadline at University and working full-time.
If you're on 2.0 it won't work, end of. So unfortunately you'll have to wait for the update.
If however you're on patch 1.3 (or patching to 1.3) and it's relating to the install itself and the installation guide I'll attempt to do what I can... As you mention, it may be something lost in translation, and I apologise for that.
Step 1: The first file "Cheeks of Steel v1 (1.3)", extract this with WinRAR as you will already have done, then the folder "CheeksOfSteel" goes in My Documents > My Games > Unreal Tournament 3. The same place your UTGame folder is.
Step 2: The second download, "CustomChar" needs to go in My Documents > My Games > UTGame > Published > CookedPC. Merge the contents of this with your existing CustomChar folder if you have one from modding.
Step 3: Play the game using the Shortcut in the CheeksOfSteel folder. There are 2 shortcuts, one for Vista 64 Bit and one for XP / Vista.
Once again, I apologise for the oversight on foreign languages and the fact some minor changes were made to the filenames last night, which may have knocked the Installation Guide out of sync.
If these instructions work, please can you let me know and I will edit in some clearer instructions on the main ModDB page, or alert everyone to their presence on the Download pages.
Thank you, and sorry for the trouble caused. I hope you will attempt to install the mod again, and for future releases I will include your feedback.
was going to download but not going to looks like a lot of work i will download when you guys can get a installer.
I have updated the main release article to show the installation steps. Providing you are patched to Unreal Tournament 3 patch 1.3, it is a case of copying 2 folders to specified locations.
Hopefully you will download and install the mod, then have a play :)
Fix it for 2.0.
Then we'll see. Some of us have Steam version and can't downgrade.
Fair point. Will get it updated ASAP. This release was a version for people with 1.3 (or those willing to update to that) to get it early.
the only thing more amazing then the outstanding animation is the title, I will live on to tell the tale of how I was a wee little laddy when something as amazing as this came out.
hehe I remember this mod when it was first put up on ModDB. Congrats on getting it all released and done ;).
Arrgh! Why don't I own Unreal Tournament III?
I think I'm going to buy it - just so I can play all the wondrous mods out there!
Help! :S ive installed the game correctly and it starts up fine but as soon as the screen that says "waiting for match to begin", it crashes.
Where exactly does this happen? On the main menu where it says "Press Enter To Begin", level select menu where it lists all the levels or at the beginning of a specific level?
If you have custom skins, mods will normally crash upon starting the map
Have never had this happen before on 10+ different installs on machines.
To clarify, are you running Unreal Tournament 3 v 1.3, and where is this happening?
I was waiting for this release but looks like I'll wait a little more. I have steam verison of UT3, so I always have the latest version. I've never thought that could be bad sometimes :D
From Scourged_Wolf on our summary page.
"Also guys, just set up a basic forum for the game. This will continue to expand over the next couple of weeks, but there are some basic categories for everyone in case you have anything to say. Please, if you find any bugs, let us in know in there and we'll do everything we can to get fixed as quickly as possible. Enjoy the game guys, and I'll see you in the forums!"
Just re-posted this as a guide so everyone can comment on bugs with the game, ask questions or just have a general discussion. To get there click the forum tab under the cheeks of steel banner at the top of the page :)