Eternal quesiton: UT or Q3

[Bursar 0]

I'm thinking of getting one of these games, but I can't decide which one. I know both of them have a large following, but let me tell you what I'm after from the game before I ask for your opinions on which one to go for.

 

I know that they are both primarily online games, and that they have bots for offline play. I've played demos of both games, and I loved the pace at which Q3 ran at, but I think the bots in UT were better, particularly in some of the CTF scenarios.

 

I've also played them both online, and Q3 was blindingly quick, but I suffered an amazing amount of lag with UT (56k dial up in the UK).

 

Have the various patches for these games made a great difference to the way the demos played? For instance, have the physics changed? Is there less lag in UT now?

 

I like playing TFC and FireArms mods for HalfLife, so is there anything similar for either of these games?

 

My system should be more than capable of playing both games with all the eye candy, so that isn't a major problem for me.

 

Your opinions would be welcome.

 

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PIII 800EB FC-PGA

Intel D815EEA Motherboard

Intel® PRO/100 Integrated NIC

2x256MB PC 100 RAM

Maxtor 92049U6 20.4GB 7200RPM UDMA66

Maxtor 52049U4 20.4GB 7200RPM UDMA66

Hercules 3D Prophet II Ultra 64MB

AOpen 52x IDE CD-ROM

Yamaha CRW4416S SCSI CD-RW

Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer USB

Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback Pro

US Robotics Sportster Flash v90 External modem

Iiyama Vision Master Pro 17

Adaptec 2940 Ultra Wide SCSI controller

Sound Blaster Live! Value (LiveWare 3)

Windows 2000 Professional (SP1 + all updates)

[yakkob 0]

Hi Bursar,

 

I bought both games.

UT is a better ONE-Player game.

Q3 is better for online play.

 

For MODS, I recommend Q3 too.

SF (StrikeForce) MOD on UT, suffers gr8ly with lag and the engine it has to run on. Whereas MODS like WFA (Weapons Factory Arena) for Q3 run superb. Urban Terror is in process for Q3 too, but the version I tried was nowhere near complete.

 

If you liked TFC, you will love WFA http://www.captured.com/weaponsfactory/quake3

 

I think the above URL is right, I am doing it from memory (@ work at the mo, and 'GAMES' sites are blocked )

 

Another thing..

 

After I reimaged my machine this time, I didn't reinstall UT, I just put Q3 back on.

 

Maybe that means something

 

HEh, I do miss the 'FACING WORLDS' CTF Map in one player tho.

 

Might have to reinstall it when I get home.

 

;-)

Yak

 

--

[Pythagoras 0]

as engines go:

I hate the unreal engine, its preferance of glide, and only glide, its lack of portability essentially ruined Deus Ex as a graphical experience for me, while Quake is very platform independant and supports a full range of api's open gl, glide, direct 3d... The thief engine was also fairly decent.

 

gamewise:

I'd say there about even here. UT came with many more features, and lots of customization, but Quake is a definate must for raw deathmatch, and is sorta the standard. I just wish it came with team stuff.

[yakkob 0]

Your wait might be over sooner than you think.

I personally cannot wait for Q3-Team-Arena, the Official Add-on from Id.

The new textures and backdrops look amazing, and of course, the all important essential > Bots and teamplay.

 

Yak

 

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[GHackmann 0]

I've played both games extensively, and in defense of UT, I think UT is better than Q3A.

 

A lot of people have said that Q3A is better at straight deathmatch, while UT is more well-rounded, and I agree. UT has much better CTF support, and it has other game types like Assault and Domination which Q3A can't even touch.

 

Overall the mod support is better for Q3A (except with the newest beta patch, heh) but UT isn't too far behind. UT does have the advantage of having mutators, which are like mini-mods that are stackable (e.g. you can have a low-gravity mutator, and a weapons-changing mutator, and you can use both at once on top of an already-existing mod -- the Lazy Matrix mutator is terrific). AFAIK Q3A doesn't offer anything equivalent.

 

Performance-wise Q3A has a higher FPS rate but UT looks better IMO. Plus with Loki's OpenGL patch the performance gap is a little smaller now.

 

I think the UT lag problem has been fixed, as they have tweaked network stuff a lot in the last few patches. UT's physics haven't changed, but Q3A's physics changed in the newest beta patch, and they will change again in the release patch.

 

UT doesn't offer a TFC equivalent yet (Unreal Fortess, UT's TFC clone, hasn't been released yet) whereas Q3A does (Weapons Factory). I don't know about FireArms clones specifically, but if you're looking for so-called "realism" mods, then UT has several (Infiltration, Strike Force, etc.), and I don't know about Q3A, but none of them are even close to the undisputed king of realism mods, Counter-Strike. [bows in homage] Both also have Excessive Overkill, which is a great mod if you haven't tried it yet.

 

Are you sure you can only have one? In a lot of places, UT has hit the bargain bin, and I'm sure the price will be low especially now that the Game Of The Year edition (nothing special, just a few mods included that you can download seperately) is on shelves, so maybe you can have your cake and eat it too.

[loki 0]

try tactical ops for ut, its amazing. I can't get enough of it.

[tristan777 0]

weapons factory? hmm... is that a team fortress mod? what about q3 fortress? hehehe. it's got a couple of old skool TFC maps, as well as some new ones. the graphics are nice, and the SG's look real cool ,but i still like TFC better. especially the netcode. which is damn cool. since i got dial up, hl is the only game i can play effectively, other than UO(which is only semmi-effective depending on which character i play)

 

UT has been treeting me like **** ever since i got my A7V, so i would have to go with Q3 at this point. it's funny because until about 2 months ago i thought Q3 was ****. until i sat down and played it. alot. nothing beats a quake dm, and it runs real fast so i like it.

 

i like the way UT plays better, but it really sucks that it used to run better on my old K6 3 450 than it does on my Tbird 800. it makes my head hurt. hehe

[yakkob 0]

I have tried Q3F, but IMO, pales in comparison to WFA. If you think the SG's are cool in Q3F, you really need to check them in WFA. The Engineer, has a grapplehook, therefore enabling him to stick the sg's virtually anywhere. You even have alarms that you set up, to warn of incoming. The next beta will also enable you to postion cameras, at arious strategic points so your team-mates can check them.

 

And don't forget the FLying Recon.

 

Oh, and I don't work for WFA or have anything to do with them, but credit where credits due. It's a fantastic mod.

 

Sorry for going on

 

Yak

 

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[Bursar 0]

The reason I said I was going to get one of them is basically down to time.

 

How games can you play at once?

 

I don't think there'd be a huge amount of point in me getting both games.

 

I was hoping that I'd be able to pick up one of them for less than full retail price now as they've both been out for a while.

 

I had a look around one or two of the mod sites that have been mentioned, and whilst WFA looks quite smart, I think Q3 Fortress looks slightly better. But I'd probably try both of them.

 

If I can pick them up for a bargain price, then maybe I'll get both.

 

I was going to say that I was leaning towards Q3, but I've just checked out the Tactical Ops for UT website and it looks like a cross between CounterStrike and FireArms.

 

How does it play? Do players keep respawning, or do you have to hang around once you're dead until the map changes?

[Down8 0]

From the research I've done, Q3A is still like $40, while UT can be gotten for a bit cheaper.

 

Reasons I play Q3A: I just wanna get my frag on. I play Q3A when I just want to slaughter bots like mad. My friends and I are big fans of cooperative team modes [capture the flag, etc.], and we've mastered Q3A on Nightmare, so it's just a frag fest. Because of this, I usually play Q3A alone, to improve my own DM skills.

 

Reasons I play UT: When I want to play a game that I haven't quite mastered yet. My friends and I are moving up the ladder, but we're only around Masterful/God-like, so we haven't topped it out yet. This one takes more skill though, as the AI is better. the graphics are arguably better, and I do seem to get a bit better frame rate in UT.

 

My little bit of input,

-bZj

[ThC 129 0]

from the view of someone pirating the game:

 

i would buy Q3A since it has a CD-key and Pirate UT because it doesnt. If you have to buy one then i would say hmmm UT. I do like UT more than Quake 3 and IMO Team Fortress has went down hill ever since it came off the quake engine.

[Down8 0]

Ahhh... If you play on your own network, then you can pirate both... CD key or not.

 

Not that I would.

 

-bZj

 

Tony Hawk 2 Rules!

[Bursar 0]

Hmmm, useful points to bear in mind.

 

However, I'm looking to play online so a CD key for Q3 would be required.

 

I am looking to buy the games though rather than obtain them from 'other sources'.

[tristan777 0]

i am still leaning toward q3a. it runs better, and UT favors 3dfx. if u don't got glide u take a huge performance hit. also ut crashes more on my system. i think it's a D3D problem but it's still an annoyance.

 

Q3 is the better DM game by far IMHO. quake has always been the better DM game.

 

UT is a better team based game, with a good CTF and Assault(which i really like) and everything.

 

weapons factory sounds like a cool mod. i'm definately gonna check it out, but it sounds like it's more of it's own thing than it is TF. i still think TFC is the best team fortress mod, maybe with the exception of the original, but not many people play that anymore.

[ledzeppel 0]

Don't waste your hard earned dollars on either one of those pieces of crap. Get yourself the real deal, the #1 online game PERIOD: Counter-strike!

[ThC 129 0]

ive heard UT is a lot better with the new 7.xxx drivers from nvidia and DX 8

[tristan777 0]

how much u wanna bet Ledzeppel either:

 

A)has never played Q3A or UT

 

or

 

B)works for the CS development team

 

i swear, everytime Quake3 or UT comes up, he always has to say "Counter-strike is the best game ever." he already said he plays half-life ok? jeez...

 

note: i'm not saying counterstrike is bad, just that i find ledzeppel annoying.

[bobbinbrisco 0]

i've got to say, quake3 and counter-strike are a thousand times better than UT, although UT has heaps good ping times when i'm playing online compared to the other 2

 

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2 Computers (networked)both have :

 

Intel SE440BX2

Pentium III 700Mhz (100)

LS-120 120 Mb (100MHz)

Fujitsu 17.3 GB Ultra DMA 66/10.2 GB Ultra DMA 66

Mitsubihi 50X IDE

Creative Vibra PCI 128bit

Matrox Millenium G400 16Mb AGP/Diamond Viper V770 Ultra 32MB AGP

Bay Netgear 10/100PCI

Medium ATX Tower case

120W Multimedia

MS Internet KB (PS2)

MS Win2000 Pro

[Bursar 0]

Thanks for the thoughts.

 

I've erm, err, 'acquired' UT, and have been playing the bots with it. It's smart. Just need to get some decent mods once I've got some practice in.

 

I've got one ot two slight graphical glitches, but that is probably down to my copy rather than anything else.

 

Some of the sounds are a bit messed up as well (particularly in the CTF tutorial when the womans voice goes at about 20x normal speed).

 

I'm sure if I get the proper version, those problems will vanish.

[ledzeppel 0]

tristan777,

 

Annoying? Get a grip, get a clue. Your annoying.

 

I own both Quake III and UT. Here's my little history with those too. Both of those games need to have better physics. I played both of them for about a month until Counter-Strike (NOT Half-life, I said CS!!) hit me. Counter-Strike (again NOT HL!), has the best physics and weapon dynamics of any game I've ever seen. Also, the kinematics in the game feels more real than any other. Those other games are just cartoons. The only thing that will keep them alive is their Counter-strike copy-cats in the MOD community for both UT and QIII.