With the release of the new Unreal Tournament III Titan pack for PlayStation 3 and PC, we thought it would be a good idea to enquire with EPIC the finer details of the new download content and the game in general.
GamesRelay: It has been just over a year since the European PS3 release of Unreal Tournament III. Why has it been decided to release such an impressive update after such a time frame?
Steve Polge: We've always supported our Unreal Tournament games long after release with updates and bonus content. The Unreal game community is one of the cornerstones of this franchise, and the user content they generate keeps our games fresh and alive long after release. We continue to update our game to thank and to support our community, and to attract new players to Unreal Tournament.
GamesRelay: How long has Epic Games been developing the Titan Pack?
Steve Polge: We've been working on some parts of it since we originally shipped UT3.
GamesRelay: With the release of the Titan pack and such a great amount of free content. What can we expect to come in the future, any more plans for downloadable content?
Steve Polge: We don't have plans for additional official Epic content to announce. However, we'll be continuing to review and add to the PS3 mod browser the best maps and mods being made by the community, so there's no shortage of great free content still coming.
GamesRelay: If so... Are there any plans to bring Game Modes from previous titles, I know that the Community has done a great job Modding classic games like UT-DOM and UT-BOM, but what can we expect from Epic? Assault maybe?
Steve Polge: You're right; the mod community has done a great job drawing from previous UT game modes. We wanted to introduce some completely new experiences with the Titan Pack, so there's nothing else to announce on that front right now.
GamesRelay: With the Titan pack being a free update, if there are any issues found, can we expect these to be updated?
Steve Polge: We plan to continue our policy of supporting our games long after they ship. We'll shortly begin testing a PC patch to address a handful of issues found on the PC with the UT3 2.0 patch and the Titan pack.
GamesRelay: Epic had previously stated that it was impossible to patch split-screen support into the PS3 version of Unreal Tournament III, yet it was added in the 2.00 patch. Why was it an impossibility then, and a reality now?
Steve Polge: It wasn't easy. :) It's always something we really wanted to add, but it was a substantial development effort.
GamesRelay: How do you see the response from the Console Gaming Community has been in comparison to the PC Version?
Steve Polge: Response to the Titan pack has been great from both PC and console gamers. I think it's particularly impressive for console gamers because they don't have as much experience with companies like Epic Games continuing to add features and content long after release. This is something that wasn't really possible before hard drives became standard features on modern consoles like the PS3.
GamesRelay: Which of the maps or modifications that have been released by the community are you really impressed with?
Steve Polge: We certainly had a lot of impressive entries in Phase 2 of the $1,000,000 Intel Make Something Unreal Contest, and there's a lot to pick from in the winners at http://www.makesomethingunreal.com/. My favorites are the three top finishers in the mod category - Prometheus, The Haunted, and The Ball.
GamesRelay: UT3 was first released on the PC in November 2007. The game still stands up to most modern shooters gameplay and graphics wise, but surely you must be working on a sequel? Can we get any juicy tid bits of information on this, or if there will or will not be a sequel? We hope so, even if Gears of War is your biggest franchise.
Steve Polge: Sorry, we can't make any other announcements at this time!
GamesRelay: Are you guys Imperials or part of the Rebel alliance and traitors?
Steve Polge: Officially, we are, as always, loyal subjects of the Galactic Empire. But - don't tell anyone - we are secretly working with the Rebel Alliance to bring freedom to the galaxy.
Thanks to Steve at EPIC Games for taking the time to answer our questions.
You can read our earlier preview of the Titan pack here.
