Interview: Unreal II XMP

Back in July this year, a few eyebrows were raised when Epic vice president Mark Rein revealed that Unreal II developer Legend Entertainment had resurrected its original multiplayer designs for the first-person shooter.

A pleasant surprise to be sure, but when Rein went on to explain that XMP, as the multiplayer component is known, was to be released for free, we almost broke out into spontaneous applause. Well, we are British after-all. You know, "reserve" and all that. Anyone for a cup o'tea...

Legend Entertainment is currently buried deep in Unreal II XMP's on-going beta test, but lead designer Scott Dalton kindly agreed to extract himself for a few moments to give us the heads-up on the multiplayer bonus.

It was always your intention to develop a multiplayer component for Unreal II, wasn't it... ?

Dalton: The idea behind XMP goes way back to the origins of Unreal II. It was something that many of us had always wanted to see done, but it wasn't in the cards for Unreal II. I'm really a multiplayer-oriented person, and I think many on the team were looking forward to it as much as I was.

Once Unreal II was out, I made it a personal mission to see XMP through. We were able to get approval from Atari to have a small team to work on it as a free add-on.

So we started from scratch and created it within a number of months. We literally had only three or four people working on it for about half of the project and only three times that at its peak. It's been a labour of love for all those involved, so it's nice to be able to get it out there. I'm very happy with what the team has created.

What mode(s) of play is/are being included in Unreal II XMP? Could you go into a little detail about the mode(s)?

Dalton: XMP is a class-based team game. Teams fight for control of energy, deployment points, and ultimately, four artefacts required to win each match.

Energy sources in the world power the war machine, so control is vital. Teams try to hack control over energy sources to supply their team with access to technology and power their defences while trying to deny the enemy of them the same.

Deployment points are group spawn points in the world where players can deploy from if they have been killed. Hacking control of these points gives your team access to advantageous areas.

Control of four artefacts is accomplished by stealing them from your enemy and registering them at your own base. You must have control of all four artefacts to win the match.

Teams are comprised of three classes, which are all deadly and versatile. Through teamwork, their complimentary skills are at their most powerful. All classes have access to certain skills, but they are not all equally capable at performing them. While all classes can hack, the 'Tech' is much faster than the other two classes.

All classes can also revive fallen comrades, but only the 'Ranger' is capable of healing them once they are revived. Jump-jets and sprinting further augment the already powerful capabilities of each soldier, each custom suited to the class.

Three types of vehicles are at the player's disposal along with a wide variety of powerful man-able turrets. Each vehicle has a turbo capability to allow it to gain a sudden burst of speed.

As you can tell it's not a straight out Deathmatch sort of game, and the scoring reflects that. Scoring is allotted through points with modifiers rather than straight frags. Characters performing support functions, defence and aid, are rewarded for their actions and players are given special bonuses for skilful manoeuvres.

What led you to choose the mode(s) for inclusion in Unreal II XMP? Were there any modes that you considered but then discarded?

Dalton: XMP was what we wanted to make as far as a new multiplayer game type - plain and simple. It's our take on fast-paced class teamplay within the Unreal II universe. Most of the elements in the game are designed around encouraging and rewarding teamplay and accentuating the various strengths and weaknesses of the classes.

We specifically avoided including modes that have been done a thousand times before. Those modes would have fragmented the players between game types that have been rehashed too many times already and would have detracted from the game overall.

We wanted to create something that has elements you're familiar with, but adds a lot of new components and uses old ones in new ways.

Can you tell us about the maps that are being included - types of environment, number of players supported, that sort of thing?

Dalton: There are eight maps being included in the PC release. They feature a variety of different environments, most of which are entirely new. These include swampy lowlands, gigantic caves, a windblown desert canyon, war-torn valleys, and even an asteroid field in open space.

While the game can support up to 32 players, we generally limit games to 24 to 26 players based on how furious the games get at that number.

There are not map-specific objectives, but as I've noted above, general objectives to take control of energy and deployment points run across all maps in addition to obtaining all the artefacts. Aside from the physical layout of the maps, the number and placements of energy sources and deployment points changes the feel of the mechanics in each map.

Looking at Unreal II XMP overall, what issues have you had to overcome in terms of ensuring that gameplay is balanced?

Dalton: Naturally in a class-based game you've got more balancing to do then in a game where everyone is on an equal footing. Of course, it's not about making all the classes always equally powerful, but about making them all have situational strengths and weaknesses that balance out.

We've worked to make the classes have this sort of rock-paper-scissors combination in a variety of situations, where different characters will be good or bad versus others depending on the circumstances.

One tricky part has been getting the right balance of energy regardless of the number of players in the game. Since a variety of elements in the game rely on energy, and some of those items are going to see higher numbers in large games, hitting the right balance can be tricky.

Keeping a good tension to keeping hold of energy while not allowing too much or giving too little required a lot of different play situations to get a good feel for.

Vehicles featuring in Unreal II XMP include the Raptor, Harbinger and Juggernaut. Are these unique to XMP or are some or all to feature in Unreal Tournament 2004? Any other vehicles you're considering adding?

Dalton: They're all unique to XMP. We tossed around a few other vehicle types that would be fun to make, but we don't have any plans to add additional vehicles at this time.

How are these vehicles best utilised during gameplay?

Dalton: All of the vehicles are also designed around teamplay and combat. They've got very powerful weaponry and, like the player classes, fill different roles on the battlefield.

The Raptor is a two-man fast attack vehicle, with powerful front grinders to dispose of enemy pedestrians, returning them to the environment as a chunky red mist. The passenger-controlled auto-cannon reorganises flesh targets into small, manageable chunks quite nicely as well, and it's not half bad versus other vehicles. It's great for quick assaults or getaways and can pull off some crazy stunts.

The Harbinger is a three-man transport with a top-mounted multi-rocket turret and a defensive rear shock cannon. It is a powerful anti-vehicle/turret killer that can often be most dangerous when it's on the run. Other vehicles won't last for long against its rapid-fire weaponry.

The Juggernaut is a two-man battle tank with antipersonnel flamethrower and powerful Cannon turret. It may be relatively slow moving next to the other vehicles, but it has heavy armour and its cannon will obliterate most targets.

All of the vehicles have a turbo-burst capability that allows them to gain a sudden speed boost. It allows you to pull off a variety of cool manoeuvres, nail unsuspecting targets, or make a quick getaway - and it's just a lot of fun.

Of course you can also honk their horns if you get stuck in a jam, but they don't have airbags, so when you send one ramming head-on into another vehicle, be sure to bail out.

What weapons and items of equipment are being included in Unreal II XMP?

Dalton: All of the Terran weaponry from the single-player portion of Unreal II has been carried over into XMP, and several additional weapons have been added.

Of course, we've tweaked and balanced all of the weapons for multiplayer. The weapons deal out a variety of damage types, which are more effective against some targets than others. For example, EMP and shock-based weaponry is more effective versus electronics, vehicles, and shields.

The Ranger carries a 'widowmaker' sniper rifle, a .50 cal pistol, a shock lance, and frag and smoke grenades. He can also drop health supply packs for himself or team-mates. His weaponry may require precise aim, but it is devastating in the hands of a skilled player.

The Tech carries a duster combat assault rifle, a combat shotgun, EMP and toxic grenades, and can deploy auto-turrets, rocket-turrets, and field generators. He can also drop shield supply packs. His weaponry is good over medium and short ranges against both electrical and flesh targets.

The Gunner carries a rocket launcher, flamethrower, incendiary and concussion grenades, and can place mines and laser trip-mines. He can also drop ammo supply packs. His weaponry is very powerful at short and medium ranges, but he lacks very effective long-range weaponry.

In addition to these weapons, there are also man-able turrets throughout the levels. Like the player-carried weapons, some are designed to be powerful versus vehicles while others are antipersonnel weapons.

You've mentioned that teams in Unreal II XMP are class-based, with Ranger, Tech and Gunner available. Could you give us a few more details on these classes and, similar to the above question, tell us how they are best utilised during gameplay?

Dalton: We went after three multifunctional classes because we wanted them to all feel completely different, but not be so specialised that they're worthless beyond that single function.

Paradoxically, the Ranger is both the assassin and the medic of any squad. Their primary purpose is infiltration, assassination, and medical aid. Equipped with deadly precision weaponry, they wear armour that is built for speed and concealment.

The Ranger is the fastest of the classes, and can jump to greater heights due to its lightweight, but their light armour provides little protection from heavy weaponry.

The Tech class is the engineer of the battlefield. They are trained electrical and mechanical engineers who can not only repair armour and quickly hack into electronic equipment, but also deploy turrets and defences in the field.

They wear medium grade armour that gives them moderate protection from small arms fire and good mobility. Techs can deploy equipment in the field, such as field generators and turrets.

The Gunner class is the heavy combat unit. They specialise in close assault, high power weaponry and demolitions. They wear heavy powered armour, offering the most protection available in combat. Unfortunately, it is also the slowest moving battle armour around. Given their size and strength they are capable of carrying additional supplies for the entire squad.

Again, any ideas for classes that you had that you eventually threw out?

Dalton: We had some additional designs on paper for more elements on the tech tree, which we decided not to include in the game. They would have ended up making the game more cumbersome and slower paced, so they were better left on paper.

I think there's always far more ideas than time to do them all well.

Unreal II XMP is currently going through beta testing - what's the response been like so far from beta testers?

Dalton: Yes, we've been in a beta test cycle, which has been wonderful. It's been an invaluable part of the development process of XMP for us.

I think the response has been really great. We've had thousands of players pounding on it for a couple of months now. It's good to hear during a beta that it has become their favourite game even while there are still bugs being worked out.

There's also a community map pack in the works by a number of the beta testers, which is quite cool to see. They've been great to work with and receive feedback from as well as just play with. The only thing I'm worried about is that our beta testers are going to give everyone else a schooling for a while once it is released.

Are you looking to add more content to Unreal II XMP once it's out - if so, any ideas you can reveal? - or will you leave it up to the mod community to expand on your foundation?

Dalton: We certainly hope people will get into creating mods, maps, and so forth for XMP. We have put in all the functionality to support it, and a number of mutators and maps have already been created in the beta test program.

We'd also like to continue to add maps if we can. A few of us here have been able to put together two additional maps in our spare time, which weren't in the original schedule but are now part of the release. I hope we can continue that and find time to create a new official map from time to time.

We also have had a lot of ideas for mutators which would make nice diversions but don't really fit into the normal game. We may put out some of those as time goes on.

Finally, what's been your most exciting/enjoyable experience so far while playing Unreal II XMP?

Dalton: That's hard to narrow down; there are a lot of parts that I find to be really great.

I take a horrible guilty pleasure in gut-blowing people with the Raptor... That's when you ram into them with the spinning grinders on the front and are rewarded with fountains of gore spewing out the side blowers.

I almost fell out of my chair laughing a few days ago when Aaron [Aaron Leiby, senior programmer at Legend Entertainment] hit three enemies all in a row for a nearly unheard of triple-gut-blow.

Some of my favourite overall matches have been the ones where the enemy becomes really entrenched at a particular deploy point or defensive chokepoint.

You start seeing some amazing teamplay on both sides as strike teams form to try to take them out, and everyone is manning turrets, driving in vehicles together, placing down defences, and backing each other up with by reviving, healing, and supplying each other.

Stuart Bishop