Urban Terror News

Official news channel

Continuing from the first instalment of Q&A feedback, we hope you find the second instalment just as informative...

What maps are being worked on?
When the game is released to the community, it will include a mix of original Urban Terror maps that have been re-made, and some maps that are completely new to Urban Terror 5.
The official maps that are being re-made will, in most cases, have layouts as close to original as possible, though some may have been changed slightly based on feedback from play testing; the layout may also be different depending on the game mode.
At the moment there are actually a lot of maps being worked on! It's crazy how a little team of mappers and modelers together can produce so many maps of high quality so fast. 18 maps are currently being worked on by the FS artists.

Have there been any weapon balance changes?
Weapon balance and loadout have not been finalized, but it is likely they will be mixed-up quite a bit compared to Urban Terror 4; community feedback during beta testing will influence this.

Will there be more character diversity and inclusivity?
With regard to character identity, we have plans to include iconic locales from around the globe, and character diversity of colour, ethnicity, and gender.
At this stage, we have not made a decision to add user customizable characters and/or clothing, but it is an interesting option that we will consider at a later date.
In general, game development is based more on community feedback as to desirable game enhancements over internal and subjective decisions.

When do you think we'll be able to play a kind of Beta/Alpha?
When do we think you will be able to play a beta/alpha, well, we are continuously bringing more people into the private alpha testing team. The current stress tests have shown some weaknesses in the game optimization that we need to address before allowing a huge amount of players to try it out. The last thing we want is another 4.2.001-like release with servers crashing all over the place!
It is fairly reasonable to assume that we will be able to do a public release of the game during 2021. No promises, but it is our target!

Did the wall running mechanic make it to the private Alpha? If so what was the general consensus?
We still plan to include 'wall running' in the final release, it took some time for a few testers to get used to it, but overall the feedback is extremely positive; it might still be tweaked further before the game goes public, but so far so good. However, it is a material option along with grabbing and climbing that can be turned on or off, so it will be the map creator who will decide if wall running will be included in their map and which surfaces it will be applied to.

Will there be a Pinging system like in Apex?
We did not have plans for a pinging system, but the question started a discussion internally, we really like the idea. We have already included the 'enemy spotted' radio call, pinging of some kind may make a nice addition.

Will we get events like retro UrT maps?
Regarding events like retro maps and seasonal content, the ability to frequently update the game seamlessly will allow us to do such thing, yes. :) We cannot wait to do that kind of thing to be honest, they are very cool to do.

Will the game be available on streaming services?
Streaming streaming services like Google Stadia and Nvidia GeForce Now are great for a lot of things, but not really for fast paced multiplayer 'twitch shooters'; For this reason we do not currently plan to use those services.

What about servers, how will that work?
There will be a server system where anyone can create a server, similar to now. The server won’t need graphics requirements as it only runs the core game to coordinate the attached clients. RAM, CPU and network connection speed will be the key elements.

Can you bind/macro like UrT 4?
We have planned to add something like the existing bind/macro feature at some point in the future.

Can we still disable/enable visual pollution?
Being able to disable/enable fire/smoke impact, show zero visual pollution; this is to be determined, but visibility is important to us. Ideally all players are on an equal playing field with few visual distractions.

Will it still have an Auth system?
Initially the authentication system (Auth) will be provided through Steam, this may change or be added to in the future.

Will it have a 'ranked' system?
Ranked systems are planned, but might not happen for the initial release.

Do you plan to update your website?
We do plan to update our website; By the way, we are looking for a website developer… let us know if you know one!

Will the interface have a report bug/idea function?
It is unlikely the interface will have a bug reporting system, we considered the possibility to implement this feature for the private alpha but the idea didn't gain much traction internally. From experience we believe that it encourages low effort/low value feedback. The Discord and Forum are an easier place to report issues and we will open up our GitLab issue tracker to the public where you will be free (and encouraged!) to report bugs and to discuss ideas.

You can find the original question threads here;
> Forums
> Reddit

Stay tuned for the next set of answers in the coming weeks!