A Chat With Epic's Ryan Gordon
March 18, 2004 | Tuncer Deniz Pages: 1 2 3



IMG: After Glenda Adams went over to Aspyr, you decided to take over the port of Unreal Tournament to Mac OS X. Why did you do this and can you give us a progress update on the port?

Gordon: Mostly, I'm a glutton for punishment. :)

No, seriously, I started working with UTPG (Unreal Tournament Preservation Group) to update UT99's Linux support. The original Unreal Tournament is still hugely popular online for various reasons, and there were a lot of exploits, cheats, and DoS attacks in the wild that needed to be closed up, so Epic got some people, UTPG, to take care of it.

Since this was turning out to be more than a collection of small fixes, and would ultimately result in breaking network compatibility, we realized we'd have to update the Mac client or leave it in the dust.

Right around this time, Glenda was moving to Aspyr, and I was concerned that there would be conflicts of interest or exclusive rights or something like that which would make continuing Mac work impossible, so I dropped her a line. It turned out pretty well, and we're able to update the Mac support in line with the PC fixes.

Ultimately, the MacOS 9 codebase is going to be in life-support mode...that is, we'll patch it enough to keep it network compatible, but otherwise won't fix any issues in it. The MacOS X port is actually based on Loki's Linux codebase, and doesn't use the Westlake UTX code at all. It's really interesting that porting Linux software to MacOS X is orders of magnitude easier than Carbonizing an OS9 app. Figure that one out.

Right now, the game is totally playable on OSX, but I'm not thrilled with the performance...ut2004, with all its significantly more complex scenes, actually performs better right now. UT99's GL renderer, which was really the King of UT renderers at one point, isn't really optimized for modern hardware. We could probably get huge performance boosts from caching static geometry and using the vertex_array_range extension, etc.

Like everything else, UTPG keeps getting backburnered (several of the members are actually Epic employees/contractors working on other things full-time, too), but we're getting close to a new release, which makes the Mac port less of a moving target. Likely I'll just have to suck it up, carve out a weekend, and finish it.

Herm I think you and Ryan Gordon are the only two that care. I can't remember the last time I played UT99. Ya gotta let it go pal. :razz: :D

hi max dont take this the wrong way mate :o
you may have lost total interest in the ut99 game and admitedly
i like some of the others use too much of our time playing the game and should get lives, BUT while the game still gets updated and the servers still run there are going to be people playing it,
yes the 2k4 version may be better but if you dont have the hardware to run it then we have to settle with the older game, i dont think its good to keep putting people down just because they are interested in things that your not. now dont get me wrong im not moaning about what you say to the others because i really dont care enough to worry about it but the way you talk its like you think the game is crap well in your opinion it maybe, but to others its just a game to play online and have a laugh, now please dont respond to this by putting me down or putting the game down more this is just me talking not stirring the s**it after all you played the game and you put a website up so it couldnt be that bad i do hope you change your mind about the game because as {FAH} or as max it was good playing you if this pisses you off in anyway then i apologise it wasnt ment to, there again this is a forum and its there for chatting and putting your point accross so F**k it say what you want its not like we all meet down the pub in the evening im probably never gonna meet most of you so why should i worry if i upset anyone :lol: :lol: no one else does

laters all i think thats enough of me wittering on about nothing

LMAO!!! Damn 1 you really took that shit to heart. I was only teasing Herm. If I had been really trying to piss off Herm or get some kind of rise out of him I wouldn't have used little smiley's after my comments. I actually think it's cool that he's keeping his Mac Brethren informed. That's what this forum is all about. I was also trying to make a point that all good things come to an end and we should just accept it. If there are that many mac folks out there still playing UT99 then it's good news that they will continue to update it.

I was just giving Herm a little ribbing. After all we do really have to look to greener pastures eventually. UT99 was a fabulous game and still is for some folks apparently. Many times I put the game down for a while and then worked my way back to it. I personally have finally lost interest in it. It still is IMHO the greatest Computer game I have ever played. UT2k4 is excellent but it is a resource hog and it doesn't break new ground like the original. I actually play it sparingly. It just doesn't have the same "something" that the original had.

Anyway I don't blame ya for thinking I was stirring the shit. I've sort of got a reputation for that now. Not sure how that happened. :twisted: :shock: And I don'tthink any differently about because you vented. If ya flipped out and cussed me out then I might have an issue with you but you made your stance and did it without being an ass. You must have gone to the same school Jarg did. he is able to do the same thing.

UT99 OwNZ! FaH dOnT no sHIte, so shut THe @*$% up.

Is that how the kids do it these days? :lol: 8)

I am of the same opinion as Max. The game is my all time favorite on the PC, and it will be hard for another game to take it's place. There has not been another game that has consumed more of my leisure time (and time that I should be doing something meaningful). I have made online friends, and had a great time.
Now the game is getting long in the tooth. I still go online, but I don't stay too long, cause it just don't have the magic that it once did. I guess that I have played it to death. When I first started playing on the deemer servers, I thought "Now this is a challenge. How do the people actually win at this so easily when I die every second? I have to learn." Now that I know most of the tricks, it no longer inspires me. Heck, most of the time I don't even play at 50% because I don't want to run people off. Every once in a while, I get a wild hair and unleash, but mostly, I just see if I can get to places that seem impossible to get to when a room is full of nukes. Also, I up my game when some of the vets enter the arena to see how I stack up.
If Max hated the game, and us as well, I am sure that there would be no wonderful site at www.redeemerinsanity.com, nor would he still check out this forum every once in a while. He just likes to keep us on our toes. Heck, I miss the pranks that he and others have played. They kept this forum lively and people talking, and helped the game. People logged on just to fight the infamous {FAH} clan and uphold the SRA name.
We need a little stirring of the pot every once in a while. Aren't you folks getting tired of my mindless posting yet. Come on {FAH}, Piggy, Vette, MetalMan! Give the people what they want and start a fire, so we can flame away!!!

P.S. APPLE COMPUTERS SUCK

I know Max. I know. It is coming to an end but it won't for another 3-4 years still. I have certainly lost the magic feeling while playing but every once in a while I get into a good nail biter with some folks and have a great time. This happened most recently on Kidcapri's server. That speeded up redeemer has something to it. I don't play nearly as much as I used to. I too am playing another game but it is an older game, one I played just before UT. It is called Warlords III Dark Lords Rising. I just figured out how to get it to run on XP so that's what I've been doing for the last several days. I also like a little remote controlled car game called "Revolt". It is a total blast and can even run on a total piece of crap PC. My PC focus has been chatting with friends lately. It's sweet to get to see people on cam so easily now. That's all for now. UT Forever!

Neo said:


I wished I had a pint of bitter about right now. The beer across the pond is soooo much better than the beer here.
I never really grasped the game of snooker though... I guess I was too pissed (drunk) to really understand at the time. 8) I kept wondering where the holes in the table went...
And you know the beer is really strong over there... How else do you explain the popularity of cricket??? :? 8)