_xeno_'s Journal: Unreal Tournament 2003 Under Linux

I recently got Unreal Tournament 2003, and after playing it a bit under Windows 2000, decided to try it under my Linux install. I use Gentoo Linux right now, so I can tell you that it works with Gentoo.

UT2003 comes on three mis-labeled disks, with only the Windows installer calling them by their printed names. Everything else refers to them in an off-by-one fashion. The game itself and the Linux installer consider the disc labeled "Disc One" to be the "Play Disc" and the discs labeled "Disc Two" and "Disc Three" to be "Disc One" and "Disc Two" respectively. (In other words, when the Windows version tells you to insert the "Play Disc," insert "Disc One.") The Linux installer isn't mentioned clearly on anything that I found, but is on "Disc Three" in the root directory and is called "linux_installer.sh." You'll need to install the game as root or a user that has access to mount the first CD-ROM (whatever /dev/cdrom/cdrom0 is on your system) and the directory where you intend to install it (defaults to "/usr/local/games/ut2003").

I'd suggest copying the install script to a local filesystem and then executing it because the script will try and unmount your CD-ROM drive and then re-mount it. I believe it expects /dev/cdrom/cdrom0 to mount at /mnt/cdrom by default, but am unsure of exactly how it handles the mount. I just know that it expects to handle mounting and unmounting the drive itself. Installing is fairly smooth, the install script will ask several questions at the beginning before copying files to the given distination. It will also automatically create symlinks in the directory of your choice for easy access to the UT 2003 game.

Once finished, the installer will ask for your CD-key. It warns you that the key is not verified here, so be careful to get it correct! The key is on the back of the manual, and not on the back of the "jewel case" like the Windows installer says. After the key is entered, you can begin to play! Actually running UT2003 does not require root privileges or the CD to be in the drive. I find that this makes it better than the Windows version, which also does not require administrative privileges but makes me play "find the CD" before I can just play the game.

The game itself runs quite smoothly under Linux, looking just as nice as its Windows counterpart. The only issue I had is that the gamma seemed to be turned over-bright by default and needed to be toned down. After creating my profile, I was able to get online and play a game on the LAN against my younger brother. Eventually he ran into problems with finding the server I was running, but eventually that was traced down to his copy of ZoneAlarm, letting the Linux version off the hook.

Tweaking the Graphics Settings

The graphics settings contains several settings ranging from "Very Low" to "Very High." I'd suggest keeping the Player Detail relatively low as I couldn't notice any difference with it turned all the way up while raising the Texture Detail first and then the World Detail to make the game look prettier. The "Folliage" effect is nice, but quite useless. It doesn't seem to really badly effect my frame rate, but turning it off won't really effect the look of the game in a serious way. (Foliage seems to increase the complexity of the leaves in trees and includes swaying shadows on the ground.) Finally, using "Detail Textures" can make the walls look nice up-close by adding in a "pitting" texture when they are viewed closely, which is a nice effect but not truely useful and can be shut off without creating too much of a loss of quality.

Single Player Ladder

I've found that the single player mode suffers as soon as you enter the "team" matches, as too much of the game then relies on your computer-controlled team mates. Double Domination suffers the most from this, as it is impossible to give instructions to your bot teammates towards a given "checkpoint." In other words, I'd like to be able to say "you go to checkpoint B and keep it under control" but instead am only able to say "attack" or "defend." This causes the game to almost always rely on your teammates doing something without you being around, in that you can either attempt to protect a domination point or force your teammates to do so.

Likewise, Team Deathmatch suffers in that I usually found myself running around looking for my teammates who are off somewhere else. You win or lose depending more on how well your teammates do then on how well you do. It's possible to completely dominate the other team yourself but lose due to poor teammates, and possible to just completely suck the round and win anyway because your bot teammates were having a good day. In the end, it just takes control away from the player.

However, when playing in multi-player mode with other humans, the teamplay aspect can be much more further realized and allow a much more interesting style of play other than just hoping your bot teammates will actually help you.

Bottom Line

If you're going to buy this game, make sure you do it for online play. The single-player ladder isn't really worth it. If you're a Linux user, don't worry about it under Linux - it seems to run fine, and works just as well as the Windows version. I'll give it a 8 out of 10 - execellent deathmatch and multiplayer, but suffers in the single player ladder. My score may be adjusted later depending on the eaze of setting up a dedicated server, something really required for allowing a good online gaming experience.