Gingerbread Man on 26/7/2004 at 01:43

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We have a forum for Unreal Tech design and mapping (though obviously fairly short in the Use department, it is there and frequented by people who are rather knowledgeable about the engine and various incarnations), but as far as a UT forum goes... what would it be like in a few months? Not a whole lot different from all the other UT forums, I'd wager. At best, a place for modding talk and game organisation, at worst a cesspit of idiot clans and in-groups and LOL PWNED STFU N00B LOL AM I RITE????.

The former is covered by the UnrealTech forum (and GenGaming, if games need arranging), the latter is a fair description of CommChat on its off-days. ;)

It's not that we only deal with RPGs -- in fact the big three (Deus Ex, System Shock, and Thief) aren't RPGs in the vaguest sense of the term. (Insert argument about whether or not slapping a few skill levels and some interactive conversations in a game constitutes an RPG)

But we do tend to focus on games that go beyond simple gaming... Which is really hard to define. One of the things all our featured games have in common (other than Flight Unlimited, I suppose) is a tremendous wealth of backstory and atmosphere -- games where developers have taken great pains to create full and consistent worlds rich with character and history. Which, incidentally, is one of my biggest disappointments with the whole of the Unreal series: There is so much that could be fleshed out, but never has been. I want to know more about the Skaarj, the Nali, the Drakk... What is the Liandri Corporation really like, and where the hell did Ne'Ban come from?

Hrhm.

Short answer: Probably never going to happen. That's not to say there's no interest in Unreal and UT on these boards... on the contrary, many of us enjoy the games. But there really isn't enough interest (or, more appropriately, enough activity) to justify a new forum. GenGaming is certainly well-equipped to deal with UT discussion.