technoloG Bonus Pack mod for Unreal Tournament

I want to thank everyone that downloaded this mod and provided feedback. I also want to thank the people that stood by me during this effort and my game development endeavors.

Just remember that games are another form of art, albeit combined with many more technical aspects than any other medium. The game, itself, is the vision of a designer and any number of developers. The chosen medium is the platform, the technology, and in the case of mods, the game. Sometimes the views are timeless; while others are emotional or triggered by a current event in life.

At the same time, games are software, and are subject to solid engineering practices that ensure that the software product meets the design goals with as much quality as possible. It is this blend of art and science (engineering) that makes games so unique; and so much fun to make!

In this situation (as with most game projects), it is clear that you cannot please everyone; and that's okay! It's great to hear both the positive and negative perspectives. Nothing that I have heard or read from anyone made me feel as if the visions of the designer (me) and developer (me) were not carried out to completion. There were some gameplay tweaks, and of course, all bugs were regressed and fixed (the installation issue that was found could only be worked around because of certain cases of product installation, as detailed on the site). Overall, the development team (me) was very satisfied, as were the those dedicated players that tested and provided feedback. Of course, if all feedback was considered, the project would've been in development forever!

Regardless, the feedback showed that people were genuinely interested and the passion for debate made me feel that people cared enough to want to make it better (although the definition of "better" is subjective).

In the case of the technoloG Bonus Pack, it was a culmination of my best efforts. These efforts were a series of small mutators for Unreal Tournament - "shorts," if you will. Some were first attempts at gameplay concepts, while others were more aesthetic. A lot of them were based on things that I, or people that I played with, thought would be cool, fun, or interesting. The projects were developed over time, part-time, on and off, and in conjunction with another game type project that was never released. The concepts built off of each other or complemented each other in ways that led to not only the resulting projects, but an expanded skillset on my part.

Patriotism was an emotional reaction based on the terrorist attacks on America on September 11, 2001. I wanted to show my mourning for this country, as well as for those that suffered from those attacks. This was a way for me to show that support to my country, while letting those outside understand. It wasn't an effort to brag or call out any other country. It was just a way to "paint my emotions."

The idea was to let anyone have fun with being patriotic, not just America. The concept was to share an idea of being patriotic in-game; and I am not sorry for using my own country as an example of how to do it. Again, there's nothing political about it. If you don't like it, don't use it.

One feature that might have been overlooked is that you can also add your own flags, as mentioned on the site:
Planetunreal.com

This project was tested extensively in a private beta that consisted of quite a few dedicated Unreal Tournament players from around the community; and the end product was based on their feedback. Again, some unique situations were not going to be resolved. Not everyone's feedback could be considered.

As far as the relics, they were designed to be compatible with what Epic released only. That was a technical design decision. Catering to every mod that was out there, or any possible mod combination, was just not part of the scope of this project. Testing proved that this was acceptable. Perhaps other community members should have made their mods work around mine (or Epics)?

Regarding the installation issues, a lot of them were due to the mod installation system, not the poor installation abilities of the Bonus Pack. These issues are mentioned on the site and were alleviated by most people.

The next project was going to be a new gametype for Unreal Tournament; but it was put on hold indefinitely. My work eventually exposed me to professional developers, and I joined the original America's Army team (http://www.americasarmy.com). That was a really good experience at learning about not being able to please everyone; but understanding how passionate people can be about playing a game project. We, too, were very passionate, and the internal debates fueled many friendly arguments. Of course, we also had to work with the U.S. Army to make sure the game kept to their vision of communicating about the Army and its values. We also had to adhere to the tight deadlines that you often hear about; and we also had to make it as defect-free as possible. It's quite the challenge!

If time allows, perhaps I can port some of the more popular Bonus Pack mutators to a newer version of Unreal Tournament. Of course, a lot of that has to be re-evaluated against the newer gameplay to see if they would still fit. Or, maybe something new will be inspired?

Again, thank you all for your feedback and support. Your passion is what makes the Unreal community so strong. For those that have an idea, give it a try! Don't be afraid of the criticism. Use it to check yourself.

Most importantly, have fun.