Things have been busy as of late, but I have managed to get a few things done on the mod since the last posting.
UI Improvements Continued
As mentioned in the last update, I was doing a lot of work on the UI to make it more complete for the mod. This process was completed with some help by the rest of the team. We now have splash screens, a main menu/front end map, gametype and map screenshots in the menus, and loading screens all completely tailored to Unreal Demolition. Although we've kept some things the same as UT3, such as the settings menus, and the in-game HUD elements, we've only kept those things that we feel fit in with the mod anyway. Overall, the mod now feels more like its own game, rather than an extension of UT3.
UT3 Patch 2.0 Fixes
UT3 Patch 2.0 brought a lot of really good changes to the table as far as mods go, but it unfortunately broke a few things with regards to the 1.3 -mod switch. These issues have all been fixed for the upcoming patch, and should result in an easier process of installation and execution of the mod for the end user. If you're having issues running the last Unreal Demolition release with 2.0, this will all be fixed in the upcoming release.
Overall, this was the biggest reason for the delay of the next release. Rather than release the next version of the mod back in January when it was more or less ready, I figured I should just wait for the new UT3 patch, and include more fixes.
New Gametype - King of the Hill
A UD fan emailed me the suggestion to include some form of King of the Hill in the next release, so that's just what I'll be doing. Basically, the mode is as follows:
- Set of "Hill Spawns" placed around the level
- A random hill spawn is chosen to be the active hill
- If you are the lone player in this zone, you gain 1 point for every 2 seconds inside the hill
- If there is more than one player in the zone, nobody gains any points, and the players must battle to gain control of the zone
- After 60 seconds, the hill will switch to a new random hill
The mode is based on the Classic Demolition ruleset, so the regular chaos of that mode will be present, just with a bit of a twist by including the KotH mechanics.
Anyhow, I'm trying to push for a final release of this version within the next week or two, so stay tuned, and feel free to email us if you have any comments or suggestions.
Dan Weiss
Producer - Unreal Demolition
