Urban Terror

Fun Over Realism

It's been one hell of a year, and in these times the team is incredibly grateful to share in this experience together, to channel our focus into creating UrT 5, and to find joy in playing and speaking with you, the Urban Terror community.

All of us at FrozenSand want to wish you the very best for 2021. A huge thanks to you, for your continued support, engagement and patience. And to our incredible QA testers, we send our love and appreciation for your invaluable help over the past year!

2020 - a blessing and a curse

Whilst quarantines undoubtedly suck, for UrT it was a blessing in disguise! With many of us suddenly presented with an abundance of free time, we've managed to grow the team, create regular updates and have made significant development progress on UrT5.

Today marks the 1 year anniversary of UrT5's private alpha launch! This year, with the help of the QA team, we are proud to say that we've done 16 QA releases with over 580 updates, including 249 bug fixes and 168 new additions. We hope this progress gives assurance to the ongoing hard work we are all giving to push UrT towards an eventual public alpha.



We currently have a staggering 14 maps in active development - recreations of classics such as Turnpike, Uptown and Orbital, as well as brand new maps such as 'Skylines'. The game has full jump-map support, and in our conversion testing, is nearly identically playable on imports of 4.3 maps.

UE4 presents a massive step in the ease of map creation, we have developed new tools this year enabling time-trial mode, and with expanded movement mechanics, UrT5 is looking to be an incredibly exciting step for all of you jumpers and map creators!



Great progress has also been made across the board - the optimisation of netcode, new weapon and player models, game optimisations, improvements in animations and core audio logic, further development and testing of our 3rd party mapping tools, and the optimisation of essential code for things like the player movement system.

2021 - LOOKING AHEAD

Next year, we will share more insight into the development process with you all. Expect to see live streams from our Twitch channel (go follow us!) by different members of FS, showcasing dev work on models, maps and audio. Further more, look forward to seeing an updated video of a populated alpha play-session, showcasing real, visceral, up-to-date UrT5 gameplay in action!

We often receive messages asking when the next round of QA testers will be accepted. At our current development stage, the feedback we receive from a small, focused group of testers is incredibly valuable and best suited for our current needs. However, over the next year, you can expect us to accept more alpha testers into this small group. Once core game-issues are ironed out, we will begin to expand into a much larger testing group to iterate on netcode, balance gameplay and gain more general feedback. When exactly this will happen is entirely dependant on the needs of our development process as the year progresses, but rest assured we will keep you all fully in the loop when positions open up.

We have high hopes for the upcoming year - the game is in a good stage of development, our momentum is high and the team is in a great place. However, as UrT is developed for free by volunteers, we rely entirely on the hard work of the team and the support of you the community. If you want to help bring UrT closer to public alpha, please consider supporting us to help cover development costs, or, if you or someone you know would like to join FS! we are always seeking new talent, and have numerous roles currently open, so don't be shy to get in touch.

That's all from us. Keep an eye out in the new year for the second round of Q&A answers!

So long 2020 - don't let the door hit you on the way out

The winter season is with us, and it is time for an update on the team as well as the first instalment of the long awaited Q&A feedback.




Recently we welcomed two additional members to the team!

We're delighted to welcome Clear into the team. A talented programmer and previous FS member who is in the process of completing a Computer Engineering degree. Clearskies has joined our team to help develop, improve and add to our core gameplay programming, and is currently hard at work refining our movement system.

In addition, give a warm UrT welcome to our new Sound Designer, JHyde. Jack recently completed an MSc in Sound Design, and has incredible experience creating interactive soundscapes, experimental ambience and working in post production. Jack is working on the in-game map audio, currently focused on creating a new soundscape for the beloved map Orbital.




While the Development Team have been working away behind the scenes, bringing Urban Terror 5 ever closer to public release, and the community members on the QA Team have been busy bug reporting and providing valuable gameplay feedback, we have taken the time to review over eighty questions submitted by the community to our Q&A posts; the original intention was to select a few good questions to answer, however, it was difficult to choose just a few, so the team have provided answers to almost all of them; we will post these in batches over the coming months, starting with the first set below, keep an eye on the News Board for the next set in a few weeks!

Thank you for your patience, we hope you find these answers informative...

What have you accomplished in the past year?
In the past year we have progressed from having a working backbone of the game with a few characters, weapons and two or three of work-in-progress maps being tested by the developers, to having a QA Team of approximately thirty community members, a more robust and reliable game, more developed characters and weapons, and seven almost complete maps; in fact, so many things! Because of (or thanks to?) the COVID-19 lockdown earlier this year, we've been able to dedicate a lot more time to the game than usual. We are currently preparing our 15th private alpha release, with each one being comprised of several dozens of bug fixes and improvements, as well as many changes thanks to the testers' feedback. The use of Steam and continuous build and deployment really helped us speed up the development of the game.

Will crouching mid-air continue to increase accuracy?
With regard to Urban Terror 4 movement bugs that became quirks of gameplay, and whether those quirks will be reproduced; Our policy so far has been that we only reimplement bugs as features if they are either: required to recreate the feeling of Urban Terror, for Jump map compatibility, or because it is fun by itself and does not cause other negative effects. This particular quirk doesn't really fall into those groups.

Will it have a spectacle UI; stream ; OVERLAY; function for see every player?
There will be a basic spectator UI and over time we will build on it.

Will you provide a tutorial or a video for newbie? Like how to move, simple mechanic?
There will very likely be a few “how to get started videos”, we also have a Jump tutorial map almost finished.

Will we implement matchmaking, ladder rank, division rank, etc?
Regarding Matchmaking, leagues, rankings and alike; it is too early in the development of the game to make any firm decisions on these supporting features, so it is not possible to say what will or will not be available at release or at a later date, however, some discussion has started and we have a team member looking at options; the picture will be clearer as we head into the next year, and as that happens, community feedback will add to the decision process regarding the finer details of what the supporting services will include.

Mouse input, will that be different or the same?
All mouse input is raw and uses identical settings to Quake. Mouse acceleration is not yet implemented but probably will be at some point, and at the very least provide a Quake compatibility mode.

Will "funstuff" feature in the game? if so, how will it be accessible?
We like funstuffs! There are some crazy ones out there. We'll probably start fresh and gradually add more to the game, and surely get a user friendly in-game User Interface. Adding community-submitted content is not out of the question.

Will there be knife throwing?
Knife throwing is a feature we are planning to include.

Will the Bleeding system be the same?
The bleeding system will be pretty much the same as the current system.

Will we be able to choose what protection we want to use?
The idea of choosing what protection to use (Kevlar, leg protection + helmet protection + arms protection) has been a thought but no real discussion. Right now we’re sticking with helmet and Kevlar.

What new features are there compared to UrT 4?
We've hinted some new features in the past months, especially on the official UrT Discord where we post a lot of WIP screenshots and videos. Among them, vaulting, wall running, piercing bullets, jump mode ghosts, loadouts and more…

Will there be an option to lower the graphics effects so people with less powerful PCs can enjoy the game?
There will be several graphics settings, from Low to Ultra, as well as the range of screen resolutions, both of which will make a big difference in terms of FPS and map effects. We're trying to optimize for low-end hardware, but that low end might not reach the 20 years old Q3A levels.

Will there be an Anti-Cheat system?
Initially we will be using Valve's Anti-Cheat (VAC) solution; players caught by VAC will have their Steam accounts banned by Valve. We have also just added 'IP Blocking'.

Will the game have things to purchase?
Having things to purchase in-game like player skins and weapons skins is absolutely something that we'd like to do eventually, but it is very far down our list of priorities for the game!

What vision/plan for the future does Frozen Sand have for Urban Terror?
Regarding a vision the developers have for Urban Terror; Since we are a team of volunteers that frequently changes, there is no single unifying vision. We all love the gameplay of Urban Terror. We love how accessible it is for new players, but we also love how deep and rewarding its competitive side is. There is not a single "right" way to play Urban Terror, and we'll continuously refine and improve every aspect of it so that no matter what part of it appeals most to you, you can always have a good time.

Will you play your game?
You betcha we will be playing the game, we're already enjoying playing it every day. :)

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

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

Wishing you all well, Team FS.

Just a little teaser of our plans to include seasonal changes in the Urban Terror 5: Resurgence main menu, and maybe even in-game!



Don't forget, you can join us on the official Urban Terror Discord.

As the leaves start turning red again and summer comes to an end, it is time for some competitive Urban Terror again, with the Urban Zone FallCup season, starting with the Fun FallCup.

We hope you have stayed safe this summer and are ready, recharged and focused, to compete for the chance to claim the right of calling yourselves the best team around.
This time there will be a total of 24 teams battling it out and only a few spots are left, so be sure to head on over to urban-zone.org/index.php?name=Content&mid=901 and sign your team up!

The rules, as well as the game modes will stay the same as previous Cups, but if you’re in need of a quick refresh, they are listed on the cups page.

The 2020 FallCup season will start on Monday, October 12th.
We hope to see you compete for the crown.

FS BladeKiller: It's been a while since my last blog so I thought I would show you how the first of the Asian characters is coming along. Her name is Jade. She is named for the beautiful snow-capped mountain that stands guard over her home town of Lijiang in Yunnan, China. Lijiang was an economic and transportation hub along the Ancient Tea Horse Road and its intricate system of waterways, as well as its location […]

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As some of you might have noticed on the official Urban Terror Discord, we have been adding a few people over the last few weeks to the blue group.




In our latest Q&A post we already announced Neon as our new QA manager, but he wasn’t the only one to make the step from the Quality Assurance team to FrozenSand.

Joining us from Italy is Markinho, a long time player who some might already be familiar with from his jump maps he created, most notably as part of the duo which made 'Moria'. First part of the QA team, now has joined the devteam to help us create props, which will be a big help to get many of the placeholders out of the way.





Alongside them, a French programmer by the name of Holycrap has just signed his paperwork to join us. Living abroad in the US at the moment to get a PhD in aerospace engineering, with a drive to help the team where needed.
In the UrT space he was part of the moderation team for the French community forums and has now returned to the game after taking a break for his studies.




Returning to FrozenSand after a hiatus is another programmer, Zenity. He has used his time away from the game to work on other projects and is coming back to us with a renewed passion and drive to push Urban Terror 5 to a state in which we can invite all of you to try the game out yourselves!
During his first time with the team, he focused mainly on the movement implementation, as well as the guns and their behavior, something he will be picking up again.
If you would like to find out more about his work, feel free to have a look at his devblog posts.

Please take a moment to welcome them all to our team, committing their free time to help develop Urban Terror 5 for you to play for free!

FS Barbatos: I can't believe it's been 5 years since my last blog post!  Reading my past posts and watching the associated videos really made me realize how much we have achieved in the past few years. Urban Terror 5 is starting to look and feel better than we could have hoped back in 2014 when we scrapped the Urban Terror HD project, switched to Unreal Engine 4 and started everything from scratch.  This yea […]

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FS Chump: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Chump is back bringing you all a spicy new audio update.  ‹video›  Today we're going to run, jump and slide through the backstreets of Pennsylvania to visit a community favourite - Turnpike! Sit back, grab yourself an age-appropriate beverage, and enjoy listening to our latest video. Let's take a dive into the audio progress of UrT 5!TURNPIKE in 2020:Tu […]

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