Urban Terror

Fun Over Realism

"Flawless" , a new Urban Terror 5v5 competition platform is now live !
This competition is based on discord. The bot Alfred manages everything on the discord server (teams, roster, signups, scheduling, etc…).

What's the goal ?
This is a brand new competition platform, our goal is to organize seasons periodically, as Clanbase did in the past and as Urban Zone still does today.
However, we wanted to add our perspective to the competitive scene, that's why our competitions will be TS + CTF.

For us, to be elected as "the best team" you have to be challenged on the game modes that represent this game the most.

Team Survivor and Capture The Flag are the DNA of Urban Terror, and that's why we want to keep them both, and don't split them into two different leagues.

Moreover, we will try to stream as many games as we can, so follow us ! (we're still looking for some streamers to join our staff).

Find us on Twitter, Twitch and Youtube

Urban Terror Championship Series - Fall 2021 is now live !
Sign up now ! [01/09 - 12/09]
Just follow the instructions on our #welcome channel to be registered and create your team on our discord server : discord.gg/DBJjn3erzz

Then you'll find a channel called "Signup" to be part of the UTCS Fall 2021 (take a look in channel #rules before signing up)

Be sure to be ready!

Flawless Crew.

The Plugin provides the necessary configuration changes to align functionality of the Engine with that of Urban Terror 5, and, a selection of custom Editor Assets (like Entities in Radiant) that provide Urban Terror 5 specific in-game features, such as, Player Spawns and CTF Flags.
A demo Level is also provided, which shows and explains the use of each of the included assets.

For mappers who take the time to start developing maps for Urban Terror 5, to a good initial standard, we will host submissions for our QA Team to test and provide feedback, and subject to approval, membership on the QA Team as a Mapper, to enable offline solo, or online group testing, while the map is being developed.

The full list of assets in this beta release includes: Door, Container, Spline, Activate Trigger, Overlap Trigger, Random Trigger, Shoot Trigger, Media Manager, Material Manager, Animation Manager, Damage Volume, Location Volume, No Drop Volume, Jump Pad, Jump Timer, Teleport, CTF Flag, Player Start, and even an AI template with AI Rat example.

Usage instructions and download link can be found on our Documentation Pages here: Mapping Plugin Documentation

Join us on the official Discord for discussion and support.

Today is the 20th of August 2021 and Quakecon 2021 is in progress.
21 years ago the Urban Terror was released on Quakecon 2000. So that means...



... that is a long time and a lot had happened.

What do you remember?

What is your best memory throughout these past years? How many people you've met online? And how many became your friends? What was the map you had the most fun on? (even from the 4.1 days)

Share your memories with us on the forum or on Discord.

...

It has been a journey too for the FrozenSand team ... over 100 hobbyists and enthusiasts contributed to UrT's development. A lot of creative and unique souls have put their heart into UrT's DNA.

Though, not just the developers contributed creatively. There are over 1 600 maps and their variants in the widely used map repository UrT.li . And the enormous number is a proof that mappers for sure had been busy as well.

One nearly might forget about all the websites for clans and tournaments. Full of great art, articles and thriving community members on the forums. Or the modified game servers and other tools like B3 or Spunky. Every clan had created something extra just for their players.

And not just creatively, many picked up the server administration related chores. Helped to create a welcoming environment for the new players. That is a very important part as well.

But, when it comes to it. The greatest joy is from seeing a full server of players just enjoying the game. So while mentioning all of the different areas where people have contributed... it is more then fair to mention all of the players which prevailed and play UrT to this day. Since that is the reason why all of the folks above actually do what they do.

...

Some players might not have been around right from the start. So the next section is for you. Prepare for 4:3 screen ratio!!

The old UrT

To really reflect UrT's origins and early 2000s we've compiled some nice videos that should illustrate what UrT looked like in the past. Since in 2021 we perceive it a bit differently. But more on that later.

Jump through the videos, ignore the 2000s music and look for small changes and details like player skins, weapon models, radio call-outs ... etc. Let the nostalgia begin!

youtube.com/watch?v=6EmnS6jtQhg
youtube.com/watch?v=CPq5wS6_TO4
youtube.com/watch?v=DDZLFv5XyUE
youtube.com/watch?v=uDg1T3SVZ2c
youtube.com/watch?v=v9NlKzV5se8
youtube.com/watch?v=uxFCtk_Le_k 😄
youtube.com/watch?v=4Eiyzbv3JlM

Also, it is interesting to listen to the original extended main menu music WHICH HAS LYRICS: reverbnation.com/markklem/song…
(the best part starts around 5:45)
🎵... remember the name ... Urban Terror ...🎵

You might think: But the videos look very similar, what exactly is the big change? Keep in mind that the first version didn't have that complex movement as we have today. The videos are probably from 2.x so it looks more familiar, but not all aspects of the movement are present even there.

Urban Terror 4.X

The videos from the older version show how UrT felt and played.

Compare it to this:
youtube.com/watch?v=tsaJPycHbFw

Noticeably the players on this video have more tendency to move and this reflects how the UrT gameplay is like. The interesting part is that even a "little" features like wall jumping might change the way how players play the game.

Roughly throughout the first 10 years of UrT's existence, it was enhanced with sprinting, ledge climbing, wall jumping and sliding. These iconic moves weren't in the game right from the start.

And this trend continues to this day with the upcoming UrT 5 and its new features which enhance the UrT's movement formula. So to put it into other words... UrT is about adaptation and it always has been.

Wrapping it up...

To summarize this nostalgia rabbit hole, the past 21 years are telling a story about a long sprint rather than a race. It's a story about the legendary developers and the legendary community.

We are glad to be a part of this 21-year-old journey and we are looking forward to how the future will unveil.

Happy 21 y.o. 🎉 Don't drink too much.

FS.

PS: Check back tomorrow to find a special news post, we got a surprise for all mappers!

The forth and final instalment of Q&A feedback, happy reading...

Will maps from previous versions of URT be convertible to the new version?
Maps from previous versions or Urban Terror will not be compatible with Urban Terror 5: Resurgence, however, there is a process that community mappers can use to convert their previous work into Unreal format which can be used as a base to build on; this process requires a lot of work, but does allow for layouts to be converted one to one.

Will we be able to create our own maps and release them?
Members of the community will be able to continue creating their own maps for Urban Terror, a few examples of work-in-progress have been seen on the Discord #urt5-mapping thread, tools for creating maps are freely available, for example Blender and Unreal Engine.
We've been working on a Mapping Plugin for Unreal Engine 4 which will provide all of the Urban Terror specific assets and features required for the map to function (spawns, flags, etc.), and it is currently being tested by the private alpha participants. A few of them are already working on custom maps for UrT5!

Will smoke nades work the same as in UrT4.3 with the gun flashes visible?
Smoke nades will work the same as they do in Urban Terror 4.3.

What updates are planned for the game, like innovation / gameplay / game mode?
We are experimenting with innovations in movement, and discussing options for new or altered game modes, but at this stage it is only ideas as we need to prioritize completing the base game first.
Once the game is out, we plan to keep on improving it with regular releases. Thanks to Steam, the update mechanism for both servers and players will be extremely simple and will allow us to push updates frequently.

What is planned for the radio system?
The radio system voices / commands will be the same as those in Urban Terror 4 initially, but we plan on adding new voices in the future; the system is also being reviewed to make it both higher quality and more streamlined.

Do you plan to do competitive things like UZ/NC
As a development team, we will not be organising competitive leagues, though we will continue to support community organisation of leagues and events as we have done for the existing game over the years.

Will we get a stats function when the map ends and on a website?
We do want to implement some stats tracking in the future. We're currently focusing on the core game mechanisms, but it is definitely in our long-term to-do list.

Will there be a Linux version released at the same time as the Windows version?
The private alpha participants are already play-testing the Linux builds of the game, and we have game servers running on both Windows and Linux dedicated servers, so yes, a Linux version will be released at the same time as the Windows version :D

How will urt5 stand in terms of server mods, will this still be a thing?
With regard to server mods, the code modifications seen in the current version will not be available, though we might expose more features to server bots that allow some extra modifications.

What is the requirement configuration for playing urt 5?
The hardware requirements have not been finalized, one of the later process is optimizing the game and maps, but for now, if you are able to run Fortnite then you’re good to go.

Will there be bots? Will they have AI with brain?
We do plan to have bots and other AI, although we’re still looking for an AI programmer. If you are among those beats, please reach out to us!

Will there be a permanent ban from the game, and will the old ban-list be continued?
Server admins will be able to ban by Steam ID; it is also likely that the current IP ban list will be carried over.

I would like to buy the rights of this game, for what price are you willing to sell?
The rights to the game are not for sale.

What will differentiate between urt 5 & urt 4, like cvars or sensitivity?
Everything is different by default between UrT 4 & UrT 5, but we strive to implement compatible features and settings wherever it matters most (e.g. mouse sensitivity).

Will there be cosmetic customisation options?
Custom cosmetic things like clan tag, weapons, dance, emote and so on, are absolutely something that we'd like to do eventually, but it is very far down our list of priorities for the game!

Will the new version have new administration features?
For administration, we believe that the rcon system is extremely useful on a day-to-day basis, so we've ported it to UrT 5 and we plan to gradually improve it over time. Third party bots will still be able to fetch live information from the game too.

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

We hope you have found these questions and answers informative!

Please join us on our Discord

The third and penultimate instalment of Q&A feedback, happy reading...

Which maps are planned to be available on release?
The actual list of maps that will be included when the game is officially released is not fixed, and will depend on what we have complete when the core game itself is ready; we currently have several Urban Terror 5 maps that are nearing completion and being tested by the private alpha participants: Algiers, Mykonos, Orbital, Skylines, Tohunga, Turnpike, Uptown and Uranus. There are also other maps being worked on which we will announce in due course!
Both official and third party map development will be an ongoing process and hopefully there will be many new maps over the coming years!

Will there be any new weapons?
New weapons will and are being created in addition to the original set, the final selection for the public release will also depend on community feedback. Names of weapons are 'made-up' to avoid copyright issues, if you have ideas for alternative names, feel free to post them on our Discord.

Would it be possible to publish a development roadmap?
We do not have a fixed roadmap for development, as a team we know what we are aiming for, and as volunteers we work on our specific areas at different times, so the various aspects of the project are not always aligned. We are also flexible with features as we try new ideas or take feedback from the community.

When will it be possible to add to the Steam Wishlist?
Steam's 'add to wish list' feature is something we will look at when we are at the right stage in development; a key requirement to kickstart a Steam page for a game is to release a gameplay trailer. We currently think that we need a bit more development and testing time to be able to create a satisfying trailer truly showing the game's potential. We are getting closer though! In the meantime, if you have some video editing skills or know the phone number of Mr Spielberg, please let us know. :)

Will it still be possible to jump with the back against a wall?
It will absolutely still be possible to jump with the players back against a wall without the need to press the back key. You can see it in action in our Jump gameplay video: youtube.com/watch?v=NOMZdfRbsRI

Will there be vocal chat?
We do want to implement voice chat in the future (at least for matchmode / matchmaking), and there are a number of options for it, but we haven't discussed that subject enough to give you an answer at the moment; we'll assess the possibilities in the coming months. We do already have working Discord integration to display game activity, that may provide one option for voice chat amongst others.

Will there be a 2v2 mode?
It will be possible to have a 2v2 mode, it will be up to the server admin to specify.

Do you have any plans for reaching new players with UrT5?
Reaching new players and 'getting the word out' will happen a lot by word of mouth; "A 20 year old game created by volunteers releases major new version" is quite a story which should have potential to reach many new players. The community can help a great deal by spreading that story :)

What about features that are realized with mods at the moment?
Features that are currently realized with mods in UrT 4.3, for example infinite stamina and player count will be available for sure; Zombie mode is a larger special case, that will probably make it eventually but we cannot say for sure at this stage.

Can we still personalize the color of team identification using RGB?
Personalizing the colors of team identification using RGB color will not be possible, but pre-sets similar to the current options will probably be included later in development.

Is the bullet spray pattern the same as urt 4?
The style of recoil and bullet spread will remain almost identical to 4.x, the details and exact values might differ a little.

How will hit detection work, something like tickrate?
How hit detection will work is a complex question, tickrate is only a tiny factor that goes into hit detection in a game like CS:GO. Initially hit detection will be client side with server side verification, and we'll probably rework the netcode and hit detection entirely at some point after open beta.

Will it have anti-toxicity?
The best way to combat toxicity is to foster a positive environment; beyond that, we'll certainly aim to provide every possible tool to shield users from toxicity (e.g. muting players, disabling chat, and so on).

Will it have an honour system?
There are no plans for an honour system at the moment, but once we have our own supporting framework in place behind the game itself, features like this will certainly be explored.

Will language translations be available
We've not discussed the language translation subject too much internally, but it'd be nice. Our team is quite diversified and we speak quite a few different languages. It'd be a huge task to keep the translations up to date with frequent releases though, but, the Unreal Engine does provide some assistance with localisation.

Will you have different types of grenades?
There are no specific plans regarding things like smoke grenade/vision, nocturne / flash grenade, decoy grenade etc. yet. Urban Terror is not a tactical shooter so this is not likely to be a priority, but we are always open to experiment with new features (and maybe provide them as options for custom servers).

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

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

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