Urban Terror
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| Urban Terror | |
|---|---|
 Urban Terror's logo |
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| Developer(s) | Silicon Ice Development/Frozen Sand, LLC |
| Engine | Quake III engine |
| Latest version | 4.0 (2007-04-01) |
| Release date(s) | August 5, 2000 (Beta 1.0) |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Mature (M) USK: 18+ OFLC: MA15+ VET/SFB: 15+ SELL: 16+ ELSPA: 15+ |
| Platform(s) | Macintosh, PC (Linux/Windows) |
| Media | Digitally distributed |
Urban Terror, commonly abbreviated as UrT is a total conversion mod of id Software's first-person shooter Quake III Arena by Silicon Ice Development (hereafter referred to as Frozen Sand). It introduces many elements of the tactical shooter genre — team-driven gaming in more realistic environments.
Contents |
[edit] Gameplay
[edit] Realism
Urban Terror is focused on blending realism with the fast-paced action of shooters such as Quake III Arena and Unreal Tournament. The realism in the mod is introduced through a number of changes. The weapons available are real-life, have recoil, are less accurate when fired while moving, and require reloading after a magazine has been expended. The number of weapons and other gear that can be carried is limited. Damage is also realistic, based on dividing the player target into discrete areas. In addition to the damage system, wounds require bandaging, and wounds sustained in the legs or feet slow the player down considerably until they are bandaged. A stamina system is also present, and is depleted by activities such as sprinting or jumping; crouching down allows the stamina bar to recover faster. Depending on the map being played, external environments are more realistic too and can include weather effects such as rain or snow.
While realism is ever-present, Urban Terror breaks from traditional realism games like Rainbow Six by allowing players to perform superhuman feats. Strafe jumping is a good example, and has been featured prominently in numerous jump movies produced by the community. Damage is another key example; while damage taken depends on the part of body which is hit, damage is less severe than similar games like Counter Strike. Further breaking from reality, Urban Terror includes walljumping and ledge climbing. Walljumping allows players to literally jump off of walls, while ledge climbing allows players to grab onto certain ledges.
[edit] Game modes
Urban Terror features several game modes, though Team Survivor and Capture the Flag dominate. Available game modes are:
- Deathmatch (gaming)Free for All (FFA, DM)
- Team Deathmatch (TDM)
- Team Survivor (TS)
- Capture the Flag (CTF)
- Capture and Hold (CAH, C&H)
- Follow the Leader (FTL)
- Bomb Mode (BM)
[edit] Multiplayer
Urban Terror is designed to be an online-only game, and as such has very limited singleplayer capacity. As of November 2006, online play is limited to around 20 servers at best. Urban Terror's popularity has been in decline for some time, and can be attributed to its age, as well as relative obscurity. This can also be interpreted as a positive aspect, however, as Urban Terror is all but free of cheaters. To combat those cheaters which do exist, PunkBuster (included with Quake III Arena) is used on most servers, and especially in the competitive gaming leagues which exist for Urban Terror.
[edit] Competition
Though the Urban Terror community is undeniably shrinking, several competitive gaming leagues do exist. Notable among them are the Stronger Than All league[1], Teamwarfare[2], and Clanbase[3]. These leagues have stricter rules than most public servers in order to emphasize fair play and a positive experience for those involved.
[edit] Urban Terror 4.0
Frozen Sand released Urban Terror 4.0 on April 1, 2007. New features include "powersliding"[4], new weapons and player models, and improved hit detection. Along with the standard version that requires Quake III Arena, a stand-alone version was also released, which runs on an open source executable based on the Quake III engine. The stand-alone version is identical and fully compatible with the standard version, but it does not feature PunkBuster support. However, it does support BattlEye[5], a similar software designed to prevent cheating.
It is unknown if Frozen Sand plans to release further versions of Urban Terror after 4.0, but the developers have hinted that they are working on a separate mod that will run on the Quake 4 engine (which itself was built on the Doom III engine). It is unknown if the mod will have any relation to Urban Terror or not.
[edit] Armory
Weapons players can use include:
Items are as follows:
- Kevlar vest
- Kevlar helmet
- Laser sight
- Silencer
- Medic pack
- Extra ammo
- Night vision goggles
Players automatically spawn with a Ka-bar knife. A pistol and a primary weapon is the bare minimum. A secondary weapon can also be chosen. Finally, grenades can also be carried. Both grenades and secondary weapons remove an item slot. If both are chosen, only one item slot remains. If only one is chosen, two item slots are available. If a player chooses to carry only the bare minimum, there are three item slots available. Weapons picked up after spawning do not affect the number of items that can be carried. Similarly, holding three items does not prevent one from picking up a secondary weapon or grenades from a dead player. Two pieces of equipment - the IMI Negev and the Kevlar vest - affect stamina drain negatively.
