Since I've decided UT3 is way funner than I thought it would be, and most of us will be spending a great deal of hobby time enjoying it over the next couple years I thought I'd think out loud here (in the form of run-on sentences) with regard to some of the differences between 2k4 and UT3 and offer some help with the transition.
No dodge jumping:
At first I thought this was going to mess up the game but after I shut my ego up, I came to the conclusion that this evens out the game beautifully and helps make the other weapons more important. If you really think about it, 2k4 was an extremely hitscan intensive game, because if someone flak'd or shot rockets at you, you could just fly 15 feet away with a dodge jump and hit them with a lightning shot (to the FACE) OR get hit in the face when you land, because being in the air that long gave anyone with decent reflexes plenty of time to gauge where you would land. With the NICELY redesigned weapons of UT3, the absence of dodge jump, and the increase of strafe speed, average hitscanners can no longer dominate players that hold "other" weapons, especially at medium to close range.
No LG:
Again, evens things out.. and increases the importance of height advantage and map knowledge. Sniper rifle is nice, but it's no LG, and that's a good thing.
Spamfest:
Every weapon does a great deal of damage quickly. Node battles and small DM maps are no place to be unless you enjoy hearing the sound of your lifeless body slapping into the ground. Node focus and staying out of big rocket/flak/mini/bio/dual enforcer battles (yeah that's a lot of weapons, you will DIE at close range) is more important in UT3, because if your node gets orbed while you are busy getting spammed by 5 noobs, even if you take them all out you still lost the game. Elevation is your best friend, so this is probably the only time you'll ever hear this but: Get high, shoot people, don't be stupid!
Hoverboard:
They are fast, they move well, they jump high, they will end your life faster than anything else in the game. For crap sakes, don't skate toward a group of people expecting to hop off and rocket them when you get there.. you won't get there! Hug the walls, take the long route, jump off early, whatever.. just don't hop on your board expecting to fly past 10 enemies because you are faster than them.. a noob could literally hold the button down with the minigun, spin his mouse around randomly, and it would knock you off your board from 100 yards away. And don't latch on to fast vehicles in complicated maps unless you know the person is aware of you being latched. Ever played tetherball too close to a fence? Me neither, that would be ridiculous.. but that's a pretty good analogy.
THE ORB:
Cool addition, I'm liking it. Makes it tough to dominate a map. I'd like to see a recreation of arcticstronghold, I might actually like the map now. Crossfire too, and Dawn... come to think of it i want all the ONS maps back NOW.
So obviously I like the game, now a few complaints.. mostly taunt related
"EF YEAH": stupidest taunt I've ever heard.
"Take it": 2nd stupidest taunt I've ever heard.
"I don't wan that s*** in my hair": Doesn't really fit the context of the game, unless it's leisuresuit larry.. but pretty funny
Why are the majority of the taunts accompanied by a sexual gesture? Seeing a character say "you cannot defeat us" while thrusting the pelvis doesn't intimidate me, it makes me think the person behind that computer is a moron!
"I'VE GOT THE ORB": Congratulations.
Where did node numbering go? I'm not going to say "I need help at enemy prime node" over vent, screw that. maybe "help at EP" or something..... but then what do i do for EAST TANK NODE? ETN? why can't i just say a number? "Enemy incoming in a goliath with damage booster and berserk from east tank node toward enemy prime node" is there a better way to go about sharing that information with others? Takes me at least 2 minutes to say that, especially if I'm eating/playing.
Alright back to work, feel free to add to this post as I'm sure it will help make the transition easier for us all.
