Unreal Tournament - Status

[webcd]

Which version of the PC server are you using?

I've tried multiple versions but mainly 413 which was released shortly after the Dreamcast game was released.

UT for DC came out in Nov '99 and was in dev several months prior to that. The server was so old when it first came out that the multiplayer console 'pause' text command would freeze up an entire gameplay for everyone on a server until it was later patched in 2002, I believe. This bug was a problem in most of 2001 as far as I remember, maybe discovered / rare in 2000. It stopped becoming a problem for online play eventually late 2001 / early 2002.

The other thing is the maps have to be 100% identical across client and server. There are item placement issues, as well as things that don't even exist or need to be called for (asset / dependency like checks) like the Redeemer. CTF Face is different, teleporter images are different and may load different filenames. For that, the maps from the GDrom need to be copied to the server.

Mutators and checks the server "sends" to a client should be disabled or removed completely.

[Nico0020]

The other thing is the maps have to be 100% identical across client and server. There are item placement issues, as well as things that don't even exist or need to be called for (asset / dependency like checks) like the Redeemer. CTF Face is different, teleporter images are different and may load different filenames. For that, the maps from the GDrom need to be copied to the server.

That was a problem years and years ago for Challenge Mode crossplay between PC and Dreamcast on PSO. The quest for C11 on the Dreamcast version and the PC were off by like one item on the last area of the mission. You eventually got to a door switch, if the DC player pushed it, then all PC players crashed and vice versa. Apparently there was one rock added to the PC version of the quest map, so the number of map assets got off at that point. Finally got fixed by replacing the quest files to have the the PC version load the DC map.

Man I want to play some Challenge mode again....

[SMiTH]

What if you create a cdi using the smallest map from the original demo pc version of ut99..
Replace every map on the cdi with this one.
Keep the original names of maps on disk but use the demo map instead.
Unless the server calls for different map names than the dc version does then rename accordingly.

Then any server side files related to maps are all replaced with this one map as well.
Test early builds of the server and see what happens?

If this fails, maybe try removing maps or any assets by loading 0 byte files and see if players can even load in a blank environment.
0 byte the server files that relate to maps or assets and do the same with the cdi.
idk?

Or replace server files with dc maps?

Also where are you guys finding the ut99 early server builds?
It would be good to document any tests and what was done to try to connect.

[Scrivani]

If I am not wrong, is not just about the map beeing identical, but how is loaded. PC version is entire load map, but Dreamcast server and client work with pieces of map, loaded by parts, something related to the RAM limitation.

[Jenkins]

UT for DC came out in Nov '99 and was in dev several months prior to that. [...]

It's a black labeled DC game. So it must have been released after Shenmue (which came out in fall 2000). Unreal Tournament (Dreamcast) must be a 2001 game. I dont have access to my game collection atm. Otherwise I could check the back side of the cd case. The PC version was released back in Nov '99.

[SMiTH]

keep in mind i've not even looked at any of the files (dc ut, pc ut, pc ut server)
just spitballing more ideas here..

Map out each port used by ut on dc, do the same with pc server.
Try every version of ut99 pc server up to 413?
Packet log everything.

Try the map ideas or anything else you can think of.
Document anything you find.
Create a thread about what was found.
I know of a few tests that have been done in the past.
Even if it goes nowhere, at the very least others will have more info about these tests.

[SMiTH]

is ucc.exe the server?
if so, the earliest version is included in the ut pc demo.

or is this for unreal script stuff? idk i'm a noob to unreal tournament.
some1 chime in on this?

i have yet to look at the dc data.
i've been told the dc maps are a different format using pvr.

the idea would be to use ut pc demo data etc with a modded cdi
and see if it at least it does something lol

doubt any of this matters.

[SMiTH]

currently i've looked at the pc full version, pc demo version, and dc version.
obviously there are different file types, downgraded maps, different settings between each version.
I still have yet to find an actual pc ut server, unless its just configuring an inf file and loading ucc.exe with a batch script. <---

the plan is to make different modded sd iso versions of ut.
then create a thread with stuff for others to test.
you can load ut via sd iso simply by skipping the browser bs and loading the game binary on its own.
this will make testing easier since theres no need to burn a cdr for each ut mod etc.

there might be some stuff to find? who knows?

[Bob Dobbs]

This would be cool to find out atleast more info on the Holy Grail of the online experience for Dreamcast. Sad note, people would play it, then less than a month later they will be on to other things. 10 years ago, this would have been a different story but the online Dreamcast player base is ultra light. Even PSO is hit or miss with Dreamcast players, notably since the GameCube and Xbox versions were back online.

The only exception is the Quake 3 player base who most likely would start an UT night lead by Mechanic (USA) and Holsten (Europe) who have kept Quake 3 alive and interesting.

[cee416]

Which version of the PC server are you using?

I've tried multiple versions but mainly 413 which was released shortly after the Dreamcast game was released.

UT for DC came out in Nov '99 and was in dev several months prior to that. The server was so old when it first came out that the multiplayer console 'pause' text command would freeze up an entire gameplay for everyone on a server until it was later patched in 2002, I believe. This bug was a problem in most of 2001 as far as I remember, maybe discovered / rare in 2000. It stopped becoming a problem for online play eventually late 2001 / early 2002.

I used to play UT non-stop back then. One day I was fucking around alone in a server trying to type with my feet while playing with the controller (I wanted to type something mid air while dueling in lowgrav instagib). I accidentally discovered you could open the "(>say" prompt and then hold escape and type another key to erase the word "say" and just leave the "(>" command prompt. Once I did this I tried typing in "(> name whatever name" this changed my name which meant you could indeed input commands, something players weren't meant to do. Afterwards a player I knew name Bug JBI joined and I shared my discovery. He found a list of commands and we spent hours trying them out.

The pause command was no server bug it was just a normal command that wasn't locked out from clients using on servers by default. It obviously got out and caused a lot of problems. Eventually the servers moderator hal9000 got around to disabling the pause function on all servers. Afterwards people would ruin games by binding a stack of suicide commands to a key and spamming multiple suicides at once endlessly, this would cause everyone's frame rates to drop to unplayable levels.

The commands also had lots of cool functions like allowing mouse users to play with AA and auto lock, switching teams without leaving the game, adding more bots beyond the player limit, and loading ctf and Dom maps in dm. You could also use the connect command but I don't know if you could ever be on the same network as another DC to connect to and you couldn't connect to the master server from offline games. I hope one day maybe this helps in us getting back online but I don't know anything about how the game engine works.

After years of playing other console fps games I feel like the UT and Q3 ports are the best PC to console ports of all FPS games and really gave the players a lot in comparison to later console fps (excluding the new quake remasters). I mean UT had it's own dedicated server client, which is really the holy grail for getting the game online again if it ever turns up.

Thank you for making it to the end of my rant