The original Unreal game

benskia · 8 Oct 2011 at 23:39

Hey,

Anyone played this recently?
I remember being blown away by it when I first played it around 10 years ago.
Dont think I ever actually finished it though.

I just checked out some gameplay videos on youtube, and even though the textures are obviously well out of date, it still looks like it has great atmosphere.

Why cant new games capture this anymore? Maybe the graphics are too realistic? Or the worlds are too open?

arc@css · 8 Oct 2011 at 23:40

Great game, has aged well imo. I quite recently completed this and the smaller, second sequel.

Mint_Sauce · 9 Oct 2011 at 00:09

I remember coming out of the ship at the start and being BLOWN away by the graphics. I think I probably sat and watched the waterfall for a good minute in awe before going off and blowing stuff up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdoCdvLPEH4

d_brennen · 9 Oct 2011 at 00:13

Awesome game, refreshing change from modern games that hand you achievements on a plate. The latest build runs fine on Windows 7 afaik, and it don't look as old as it really should!

Wouldn't rate it that highly in my all time best games but it does have a special place in my heart

Rroff · 9 Oct 2011 at 00:15

It still has some epic level design, bluff eversmoking and the sunspire are stand out levels that few games have come close to since.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYoRsG59igc

arc@css · 9 Oct 2011 at 00:23

I just love to soak up the atmosphere with this one, the sound of the wild life and the whole artistic theme make for a great experience. There's something about the game that has that 'organic' feel to it, like Stalker for example, though of course they are quite different games. Great engine.

Even to this day I still enjoy looking at the water and sky - which is still of a decent quality imo, sky tends to be one of the aspects in a game where the least effort seems to be put in.

d_brennen · 9 Oct 2011 at 00:27

^ Organic is a good word to describe it. Lots of games more recently seem somewhat "clinical"

BahBah · 9 Oct 2011 at 02:05

Unreal1 was my introduction to online gaming. Still haven't found anything to rival it.

BahBah · 9 Oct 2011 at 02:06

And the map editor was ******* awesome

OldComputerGuy7 · 9 Oct 2011 at 05:28

Is a great game, seemed so immersive to me back when I first played it the art style and the level design was great.
I remember reading all the hype about it in the magazines when it was being made and when I first got it I was blown away by the way everything looked a real step forward which you don't seem to see much these days.

Going on what was achieved in 1998 and how awesome it looked back then i kinda expected that by now I would be gaming with near real quality worlds and have a real VR helmet for full immersion in gaming. When you think of all the work that goes into making these 3D worlds and we still look at them through a tiny 2d window

.

Also if you are going to replay unreal there are some S3TC Hi Res textures which combined with a updated DX10 Renderer make it look a lot better, there is also some extreme quality textures which are meant to be even higher than the S3TC textures.
Link to Renderer
http://kentie.net/article/d3d10drv/
I think this site has most of what else you would need.
http://www.oldunreal.com/

V F · 9 Oct 2011 at 05:34

Brings back memories. http://www.moddb.com/mods/unreal-fortress

Jsbeer · 9 Oct 2011 at 10:05

Actually loved the 'pure' FPS nature of this game much more than Half Life........

iamtheoneneo · 9 Oct 2011 at 10:10

Sorry it wasnt really a good game, nice tech but shallow gameplay and some pretty crappy level design does nt make a great game.

KNiVES · 9 Oct 2011 at 10:15

Does it still have that issue where it speeds itself up randomly on dual/quad cores?

HNR1 · 9 Oct 2011 at 10:16

Loved UT but loved halflife more.

HangTime · 9 Oct 2011 at 10:22

I'd disagree with "crappy level design":

-The first level has no combat at all, it is effectively an interactive introduction as you learn about your world, reading diaries, hearing somebody be eviscerated by a Skaarj behind a closed door. Six months before Halflife won all the plaudits for an interative introduction level....
-The second level sees you step outside the spaceship into a massive open world, giving you a hint as to the scale of the game
-The third level has a fabulous set piece I remember to this day... you walk down a corridor, only to find your way blocked. Then suddenly the lights start clicking off one-by-one, so you backtrack the way you came to stay in the light. But your way back has been sealed also. All the lights are off. You hear a roar and chuck down a couple of flares as panic starts to set in. Then out steps your first ever Skaarj to fight from a cubbyhole. Genius.
-As mentioned by Rroff, Bluff Eversmoking is very well designed

Of course there are a few ropey levels in there but in a game this size (34 levels or something like that isn't it?) that is hardly surprising.

In terms of graphics I think the Unreal engine has aged extremely well. I last played it in 2007 and thought it still looked fine although obviously there is some blocking texturing in places.

dazzerd · 9 Oct 2011 at 10:34

Probably the best FPS I have ever played. Awesome level design but it's the atmosphere that sets it apart. The combination of the artwork with the awesome music and sound fx really set it apart from your average frak.

It makes you feel your in a different place, very immersive.

Andy__C · 9 Oct 2011 at 11:10

I remember my PC not being able to run this when it came out.... I may have to revisit!

Old Wino · 9 Oct 2011 at 11:17

Jokester · 9 Oct 2011 at 11:20

Just gave it a whirl and there was still serious slow down with the software renderer. Is it possible to get it to work using 3dfx Glide, PowerVR works but only in a teeny weeny window and is massively sped up.