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Jul 25th 2003 - 09:39:14pm
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Release Date for Beta 3.0
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It finally came...the release date, that is 
Oswald announced during tonights Urban Radio show that Urban Terror Beta 3.0 will be released on Saturday August 9th 2003 at 23.00 CET (17.00 EST) 
There will be a release party in #urbanterror on ETG.
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By : [Laus]Rednex
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Jul 13th 2003 - 08:15:18pm
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.def file - Urban Terror Beta 3
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Silicon Ice Development has been working on the latest version of Urban Terror that is Beta 3. This new version will introduce some new features to the mod that gamers and level designers have been looking forward to. But for this update, we are more interested in what it is going to provide the level designers.
The release of the entities definition file marks the first chance for the level designers to get a look at some of the new features that will be available in the upcoming release. Some of the new features for levels the ability to make levels dynamic depending on game type, removing portions of the level for better game flow or increasing the size of the level. The entities func_wall and func_rotating_door make this possible. Also several entities have had a game type key added to use them when necessary or remove them when not needed (func_pendulum and target_speaker). There are also some game type specific enhancements.
Capture the Flag has some new features that allow the use of spawn rooms that cannot be camped or entered by the opposing team. In addition, we've added an entity to prevent the use of those spawn rooms as friendly flag carrier camping spots, and ensure that an enemy never survives the entrance into an enemy spawn. Normal Quake 3 func_doors have been allowed to only let a specific team trigger them, and a properly set trigger_multiple on the inside of the spawn room only will help keep players that leave the spawns from coming back in. On the slight chance that an enemy gets into your spawn room, a totally new entity called, Mr. Sentry (a self-targeting chaingun) will quickly make mince-meat of the offending player. Mr. Sentry will also help the other team, and prevent cheesing by friendly flag carriers, as it will also own anyone entering a spawn room with a flag. With a required nodrop brush in the spawn rooms, flags return immediately keeping the game going. Mr. Sentry can also be used in any game type. a little experimentation should turn up some neat uses from the community of imaginative thinkers we have.
Bomb mode has given an Urban Terror entity a new twist. Those func_breakables are now for more than just windows. You can now create breakable things the can only be destroyed by the bomb blast. Forget setting health values for this, just pick a level for the size of the secondary explosions from the breakable, and a type of breakable, and watch it go BOOM when the bomb explodes. Have fun making complete areas get destroyed when the bomb goes off! Another enhancement to func_breakable is new types. Metal and stone can now be broken, and even made breakable only by high explosive grenades and the HK69, or even as specific as the HK69 only! Wood also has the ability to become VERY strong in the same way.
In all, Urban Terror Beta 3 brings more functionality for the level designer to include in their level, than ever before. Soon after the Beta 3 release, Dragonne be creating a few simple tutorials for spawn rooms and bomb breakables, to make everyone's life a little easier when creating them. I hope everyone enjoys what we've done for the mapping scene for Urban Terror in this release. I'm looking forward to see what the community comes up with!
To download the new urbanterror.def file, right click and 'Save As' this file. Thanks to all those on SID who have finally made this new .def file happen for the upcoming release of Urban Terror. You know, this means the next release is not far behind...
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By : Pingvin
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Jul 10th 2003 - 12:00:00am
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Happy birthday !
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The [Laus] Clan wishes [Laus]Ludovika a happy birthday.
[Laus]Ludovika has become 22 years old - what a mess 
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By : [Laus]net.dk
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Jun 22nd 2003 - 10:58:19pm
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Oswald's Plan Update - What's Coming Up
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Damn, it's been nearly three months since my last update. Where did the time go? Guess that doesn't matter, but what does matter is the progress of Urban Terror 3. While there is still not a release date, the fine tuning has begun! It would also mean we are a step closer to announcing a release date and organizing our release party. Currently, we are testing version 36a, but that will probably change within a day or so, as the coders continue to knock out problems on a daily basis. Just awesome to see! I must also give props to Miles and Bladekiller, the screenshots on the web site do not accurately portray the details of the heads and skins. Just wait and see the new shots we have for you.
Heading to a LAN in July in Colorado Springs. The event is called EverLAN. I was invited last year by Everman, the organizer of the event. In the process I also met HornetOSX, Wycked, Tommy and Andrew (Everman) of GeekWearZ. Of course it was the Winter event and the first snow in Springs, just my damn luck. I am looking forward to giving a talk on mods and hanging out with all the gamers.
Also wanna give a shout out to Roger at Planetquake3.net for the interview we did on Saturday, June 21. Unfortunately, due to server issues it was not live, but you can go to UrbanTerror.net or PQ3 to download the 30 minute interview.
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By : Pingvin
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Jun 18th 2003 - 12:00:00am
Jun 17th 2003 - 05:50:43pm
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Game Mode: Bomb/Defuse
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One of the most anticipated features for Urban Terror 3 is the implementation of the Bomb/Defuse game mode. This is a feature that has been discussed going back to the Beta 2 development cycle. Unfortunately, during that time we just did not have the resources to support the game mode.
Like other games that feature a bomb mode, the basic rules will be similar in Urban Terror. The Red Team will always be the attacking team with the bomb, while the Blue Team will try to prevent the Red Team from accomplishing their objective. When the round begins, the bomb will randomly spawn with a Red Team player. Provided they are able to accomplish the objective, they will keep the bomb. If they die or pass it to another team mate, they'll start spawning with it or another player will be selected. This way, if a team has a designated bomb carrier, they'll only have to "pass" the bomb at the spawn if thei carrier did not make the plant in the previous round. If bomb mode is being played outside of 'match mode' then the teams will automatically swap sides at the midpoint of the map time.
Each level will have two plant points (Bomb Site A & B), designated by a pulsating, red bulls eye on the ground. As the bomb carrier approaches the site, they will need to select the bomb from inventory and move near the marker and press the fire key in order to arm the bomb. Once the bomb is armed, it is automatically dropped, with a message on the screen alerting gamers of that fact.
By default, the bomb will explode in 45 seconds if not defused by the Blue Team. Once a defensive player approaches the bomb it will take 15 seconds to disarm the bomb and avert the impending explosion. While defusing the bomb, a defuse bar will show your progress, as there are also tone changes as the bomb gets closer to exploding, followed by an onscreen countdown from three seconds. Both of these times are recommended defaults by Silicon Ice Development, but they can be changed by the server admin through a server side cvar.
Bomb mode features all new code and animations, including a massive explosion, fire and shock wave effect, if the bomb is detonated. The bomb sites are also located on the mini map as red, pulsating markers. Many of the current Urban Terror levels have been updated in order to allow for game play. Some of the levels that will support this new game mode are, Village2, Revolution, Sanctuary, Crenshaw and Druglord3. There have also been updates to levels like Abbey and Casa so you can play Bomb/Defuse.
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By : [Laus]Freshman
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Source : Urban Terror
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Jun 11th 2003 - 09:07:13am
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Urban Terror Server Directory
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Silicon Ice Development proudly re-introduces our Online Server Directory for Urban Terror, located at servers.urbanterror.net. This application is actually a series of components working together to bring you this powerful web-based utility. The directory allows gamers to quickly and easily find a game server that meets their fragging requirements. The server list is sortable and can be filtered by several different attributes including gametype, empty/full, and Punkbuster support -- just like the ingame server browser but no refresh is required! Click a server in the list to see its current settings and LIVE status. There's even a graph that illustrates the server's overall activity level!
The Play Now! button allows gamers to connect directly to the game server from the web browser. Current support is included for Win32 and Linux clients. Click the help link below the Play Now! button for instructions on configuring your PC to work with this cool feature.
Perhaps the most powerful feature of the online directory is the player search. Click the Find Players link and enter your search string -- the application will show you a list of matching players currently gaming! This feature is great for clanners -- simply enter your clan tag to find all of your teammates.
Behind the scenes are a couple of applications which make this all possible. A scanning utility checks the status of each Urban Terror server every 3 minutes. The information this application collects is added to the database that drives the server directory. If you run a server and cannot find it in the list, then you are probably not reporting to our master server. Add "master.urbanterror.net" to your server's configuration and within minutes you should find your server in our directory.
Long time Urban Terror gamers might remember a similar application called TerrorStrike that BASiLiSK worked on before joining the development team. This is that same application with new enhancements and features. Check it out! For problems and questions please go to the Website Support & Questions Forum. This link will take you to the thread that has been created to deal with problems client run into.
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By : Pingvin
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Source : Urban Terror
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Jun 4th 2003 - 09:31:16am
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Beta 3 Weapon: IMI Negev
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By now many are aware of the new weapon that is being implemented in Beta 3 called the IMI Negev, a 5.56mm NATO, belt-fed (150 rounds) light machine gun. In Urban Terror, the weapon will probably be used as a defensive weapon, in order to chew up and spit out enemy opponents.
The IMI Negev has some special characterisitics that are unqiue if selected. First, stamina burn is quicker than if you load out with any other weapon. This is the only weapon in the Urban Terror arsenal that has an encumberance penalty. Second, if you select the IMI Negev as your primary weapon, you will not be able to carry or pick up a secondary weapon. This weapon also comes with an extra 150 round belt. That's a whole lot of spammage!
Initially for Beta 3 we planned on including two other weapons for release, including the Remington m870 shotgun and the FN P90 sub-machine gun. Since we moved up the date on the release of Beta 3, regretably neither of these weapons will be available in the next release. Both weapons are modelled and skinned, but not yet animated or tested for game play. These weapons will be included in a future patch released by Silicon Ice Development.
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By : Pingvin
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Source : Urban Terror
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Jun 1st 2003 - 02:29:02pm
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Dick Dastardly . Plan Update
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Hi all,
Well, I thought it was time I let you all know what I've been up to since joining SID: Firstly, I've released a couple of early versions of my new map ut_nimrod to the QA team. As you may have read elsewhere, this map is (very loosely) based on the storming of the Iranian embassy in London by the SAS back in 1980, although the action takes place in a hotel rather than an embassy. This map contains a few suprises which I think you're going to like and I'm really pleased with the way it plays, but I still need to add quite a bit more detail and new textures.
The three screenshots below show some of the areas which are closest to being final, although there are still some temporary textures in them. The first shows one of the hotel bedrooms (which contains what I think I'm right in saying is Urban Terror's first trouser press); the second shows part of the library and includes some of the new sofa and chair models I've been working on; and the third was taken in the TV room, and again shows some more new furniture.
I've also been lucky enough to have a chance to update one of my favourite maps, ut_casa, for beta 3. (Although as |NV|S pointed out, given the map's popularity, people are likely to show up at my door with pitchforks and lanterns if I screw it up, so I've been spending a lot of time on it). The new version supports all gametypes (including the new bomb mode) and also features new routes and quite a few minor graphical tweaks. Thanks to the new func_walls entity, the layout changes depending on the gametype, enabling me to keep the map's great TS play whilst opening up some new areas for CTF.
In the first shot below, you can see the red flag and the exits from the new CTF spawn rooms; the second shot shows part of one of the new routes; and the final picture is a view from near the fountain in which you can see the distant rooftops are now being drawn properly (no more flickering in and out of sight). N.B. The skybox in these shots is still very much a work in progress.
Anyway, that's about it from me, I'll just close by saying you have a real treat in store with beta 3.0 - the whole team have been working their asses off to bring you great new gameplay, features, weapons, sounds, skins and maps, and if you enjoy playing it even half as much as I do, you'll have a hell of a good time.
Cheers,
DD
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By : Pingvin
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May 30th 2003 - 10:11:21pm
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Get Wet & Wired
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One level designer who has not received much attention recently has been WetWired. For those new to Urban Terror you might remember some of his Action Quake 2 levels, for example beer and nobeer. After some persuasion during the early years of Urban Terror, he was asked to join the development team and lend his talents to the mod.
His release of ut_revolution, at the time of Beta 2 was the "flagship" level for our release. Unfortunately, with some changes in development the level never really got the credit it deserved. The level was meant to be played in a game mode form, for example an attack/defend type of scenario. Since that was not included in Beta 2, the level received some bad publicity and really just faded away.
For Beta 3 WetWired's level, ut_precinct will be making its Urban Terror debut. By far one of the better all around levels that will be release. One thing WetWired can do is take all the aspects of level design into account and release a damn fine level. Revolution is a testament to that, except the timing was off.
There has not been much mentioned about Precinct from the band of testers helping Silicon Ice Development play test the build before it is released. The level is comparable to that of ut_swim by NRGizeR. How's that you ask? Well, first off it is a completely indoor level, with narrow hallways, stairwells, offices and an elevator. Snipers will tend to shy away from this level as it is probably going to feel a be "tight" to them. This is a true shotgun level! At last check, the level was set up for Team Survivor, Capture & Hold and CTF.
SID has not decided on the full complement of levels to be included in the distribution...yet. This list will be made public shortly. I mentioned this on the Urban Terror web site. Right now, there are MANY levels being tested, tweaked and updated. Probably more than should have. But nonetheless, the entire level design team has really come together and are working collectively as a group, it's awesome to see. Props to Dragonne, BladeKiller, RabidCow, Dick Dastardly, SweetnutZ, Bar-B-Q, INVIS, with help from thnom and QueenBee.
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By : Pingvin
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