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New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

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Gamesharder
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New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Gamesharder »

A couple days ago, a new Unreal Tournament beta has surfaced from a warez CD collection.
Build number is version 221 and it was compiled on Jan 17 1999!
Image

Source: https://archive.org/details/totalgames131
After downloading, you can just extract the zipped UT file with WinRar or 7ZIP and you're good to go.

Important!
You need to copy some texture files from your UT99 folder over to the beta folder.
Also, one of the files is broken, but Yrex made a quick fix for that and for one of the missing texture.
Fixes: https://mega.nz/folder/D1AnQLIZ#6sI47RZWDM3SOmhQ6DlPiw

Software rendering is the most stable video driver for it and in order to get the music to work, go into the Advanced Settings -> Audio -> put UseDigitalMusic to True and then restart.

Quick Overview:
A different menu is introduced: a moving text with a voiceover
ImageImage


The build has lots of cut content, unreleased maps, a lot of obscure and weird stuff, a new health pickup and most of the weapons are different in some ways.
Also, most of the weapons are still from Unreal. Only the Ripper, the Pulse Gun and the Redeemer (AKA. the Warhead Launcher) are new
(and the translocator ofc).
ImageImage

We finally got a beta Ripper!
Image

Some of the cut maps are straight up look like they were intended as a singleplayer map.
ImageImage

Honestly, there's a lot more to cover and to spoil.
You gotta see it for yourselves!

Yrex made some gameplay footage. If you can't try it out now or soon, I recommend them to watch:







Looks like this is the version most of the magazines were previewing back in 1999. (well, close to it)
So it's good that we've got another version from that era.

This is very exciting and I'm interested what do you guys think!
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Leo T_C_K
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Re: New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Leo T_C_K »

Btw, dom-cathode is old version of dom-bullet that ended up in bonuspack 4. just noticed while watching yrex's vid.

Also there was some other piece of trivia I wanted to say but now I forgot. I have to hurry now to a store so that overrode my thought process.

Oh yea, the stuff the minigun fires sometimes, I think those are temporary tracers that they put there for some reason, it doesn't seem to be actual dp projectiles.
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Victor Delacroix
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Re: New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Victor Delacroix »

Wow, stuff like Doria and Phraela can finally be ported to stock UT99. That's quite something.
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Leo T_C_K
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Re: New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Leo T_C_K »

Victor Delacroix wrote: Tue Sep 13, 2022 3:15 pm Wow, stuff like Doria and Phraela can finally be ported to stock UT99. That's quite something.
I'm not sure what you mean...those two maps were never found before were they?

Either way this is very close to the version that Dan Toose reviewed, it has an unused ut_health which is a crystal. I didn't get to try it, I simply asked gamesharfder to find out and i watched most of yrex's videos.

This is still later than that version as obviously some stuff in hispeed already got the new textures (as opposed to those review screenshots) but it will be likely easy to restore, let's say for ASP and such if its to continue but this beta recovery would want me to revisit that honestly, if only I wasn't as tied up as I am right now.

DM Liandri in particular...yet another version and just as i speculated some of the old screenshots belonged to it. This has the same base and outside area as the known 222 version, except those ledges on the outside are missing but it has a whole new floor and connections to it!

Like I said in the ut99 thread I made, the Cobalt level reminds me of the 1998 beta healpod...you say healpod wasn't in the 1998 beta, but I mean the one I played that was famously lost...twice or three times....

Because in that beta the healpod mover wasn't a whole piston but more like a mover like in this version.

And if you were quick enough you could reach a secret up, otherwise it also crushed players i believe.

Just putting this out there, but indeed a lot of ideas/things were reused in those early phases of ut, just like some developers indicated to me in the past. And this is just the confirmation.

Its too bad there's a map without author among this too, Ratchet...so yet another "we don't know for sure who made it" map and this is past 220 when the author started appearing in f1, there's just no excuse.

Also I laughed my ass off at the "False FalseFalse False" scrolling text in the broken tournament-ladder.

In theory now thanks to this beta the 220 botpack could be played with maps restored into a frankenbuild, too.

The "ladder" there was very different so I wouldn't mind actually getting to try this, the menu partially worked just the maps didn't get loaded, but with this well that's different now.
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Leo T_C_K
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Re: New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Leo T_C_K »

ctf-crucible is great btw

also finally eternalcave is the version that was on the screenshot of the 222 beta lol. this is actually the better and more fair version. In the later versions the blue team is at advantage as the flag is at the end of a narrow ledge that's easy to shoot someone down on it
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Leo T_C_K
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Re: New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Leo T_C_K »

I still wanted to edit my last post:

I wanted to remind of this old video


cathode is shown here, but it had different lights in the tunnel as this is an older version.
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Leo T_C_K
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Re: New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Leo T_C_K »

Since Alcapowned asked me about the vocaltranslator, I thought I might explain why it is there. While I didn't inspect the files of the 221 version, I did so with the 220 version and the ctf tutorial for example needs to be opened with the proper gametype which is botpack.trainingctf so open it with like open ctf-tutorial?game=botpack.trainingctf

and it should display the translator with the voice over, the vocaltranslator gets spawned here.

That is why nothing plays if you open it via the botmatch menu.
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Gamesharder
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Re: New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Gamesharder »

Ah, so that's why.
Interesting, thanks for sharing! I certainly didn't know that. ;D
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Darkman 4
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Re: New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Darkman 4 »

Running into out of memory errors when trying to run several maps, such as Dorian. Any way to fix this?
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Gamesharder
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Re: New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Gamesharder »

Did you download the two fixed files and put them into their right folders?
I also had the memory issue, I think it's the textures. You basically just copy what's missing and do not overwrite the existing ones in the beta Textures folder.
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Leo T_C_K
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Re: New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Leo T_C_K »

also it is best to use the textures from the 222 version where possible, because some might have been indeed saved by later version, in which case the out of memory errors occur (which is one of the most stupid things ever if you ask me)
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Leo T_C_K
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Re: New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Leo T_C_K »

either way...

I still wanted to say that perhaps really the twilight music that was used in return to na pali for the first level was really meant (as it was already confirmed the music was created for the original level pack) for twilight of even earlier, possibly singleplayer version.


"Information

You can no longer edit or delete that post.
"

well i fell asleep for a bit before i did so and was writing it was still fine
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Leo T_C_K
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Re: New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Leo T_C_K »

I asked Inoxx some questions about a few of his beta maps from either version. I also asked him if he knows who made ratchet.
Hi,
Dom Metaldream was supposed to have a crashed spaceship on the seafloor
connected to the rig by a lift but that didn't play well with too much time
spend going back and forth. Face had a lift initially but it also took too
much time and slowed the gameplay too much. Don't remember ratchet sorry.
I sent a screenshot from the video and he said this
Doesn't ring a bell. Maybe Alan Willard's?
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Victor Delacroix
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Re: New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Victor Delacroix »

Even textures from 222 aren't always a surefire bet. Attempting to play Assault, CTF or Domination leads to an inevitable crash because it not only doesn't want to read SoldierSkins.utx (crashes editor) but also looks for textures that ain't in it (such as T_Red or T_Blue). Here's a quick fix.

https://pixeldrain.com/u/2jHXQ8XD
Matsilagi
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Re: New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Matsilagi »

Really interesting beta! After digging through the web, i managed to find the 222 Beta, grab its textures, and make it run.

With that said, no harm intended, i made a Google Drive mirror for it

Its a ready to play build 221. It comes with the patches by Yrex, the recent patch on SoldierSkins.utx, Beta 222 textures, dgVoodoo2 (so it works on modern systems with the Glide driver), and a 3DFX Filter (from ReShade) for that old feeling on modern OSes.

If you are running it on an era-accurate machine, remove dxgi.dll, Glide.dll and Glide2x.dll, then run the game.

Besides that, not much extras, thanks everyone for the fixes so far and for preserving this interesting piece of UT History.
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Gamesharder
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Re: New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Gamesharder »

Awesome! ;D
Thanks for putting the whole thing into one, it's easier for people to play it.
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Leo T_C_K
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Re: New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Leo T_C_K »

I received some extra fix yesterday night from yrex, because apparently the tutorial stuff kept crashing when bots were spawned, but somehow i only received it on one end and my volny adress swallowed it. So maybe it was still wise to wait with the frankenstein version.

Maybe it was the same issue (with soldierskins), I didn't look at the contents. (apparently yes he also made a fixed soldierskins, delacroix's version is bigger though so yea you can keep using that no need to repack the frankenstein version)

I suppose he didn't run into it as he didn't play with bots in his videos on those gametypes.

I have one more reply regarding ctf-face from inoxx, because I asked about some actors in the void and such that was even in the 222 version.

I did reply now that I would have preferred that version lol.
Yeah I think I had one or 2 extra rooms in there but it didn't play well,
too many places to hide

This was my previous reply (so it makes sense in the context)
> Possible, it does look a bit like cybrosisII from the bonuspack after all,
> the new sections added to it, maybe he even reused brushes from ratchet.
>
> Either way, the old metaldream sounded interesting, it would be good as a
> singleplayer map even if the spaceship got restored.
>
> But apart from the lift was there anything else inside Face from previous
> versions? There were some light actors and such in the void inside the
> geometry so that would suggest there was something once.
>
> If you don't recall, nevermind. I do think it made sense for there to be
> lift though even though I guess for the released UT which is much more
> faster paced, it made sense to add those teleporters around.
>
> Thanks for your answers they were really interesting and it does help fill
> the gaps.
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Re: New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Matsilagi »

Leo T_C_K wrote: Thu Sep 15, 2022 9:47 am I received some extra fix yesterday night from yrex, because apparently the tutorial stuff kept crashing when bots were spawned, but somehow i only received it on one end and my volny adress swallowed it. So maybe it was still wise to wait with the frankenstein version.

Maybe it was the same issue (with soldierskins), I didn't look at the contents. (apparently yes he also made a fixed soldierskins, delacroix's version is bigger though so yea you can keep using that no need to repack the frankenstein version)

I suppose he didn't run into it as he didn't play with bots in his videos on those gametypes.

I have one more reply regarding ctf-face from inoxx, because I asked about some actors in the void and such that was even in the 222 version.

I did reply now that I would have preferred that version lol.
Yeah I think I had one or 2 extra rooms in there but it didn't play well,
too many places to hide

This was my previous reply (so it makes sense in the context)
> Possible, it does look a bit like cybrosisII from the bonuspack after all,
> the new sections added to it, maybe he even reused brushes from ratchet.
>
> Either way, the old metaldream sounded interesting, it would be good as a
> singleplayer map even if the spaceship got restored.
>
> But apart from the lift was there anything else inside Face from previous
> versions? There were some light actors and such in the void inside the
> geometry so that would suggest there was something once.
>
> If you don't recall, nevermind. I do think it made sense for there to be
> lift though even though I guess for the released UT which is much more
> faster paced, it made sense to add those teleporters around.
>
> Thanks for your answers they were really interesting and it does help fill
> the gaps.
Don't you worry! I'll do my best to keep the Frankenstein build up-to-date with the patches here, nothing will be lost or changed.
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Leo T_C_K
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Re: New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Leo T_C_K »

thanks. I just wish I could also actively participate in this but i don't have the files transfered let alone my content that has been waiting for a month due to our unusual setup over here and it all fell to pieces when my partner got ill and got disabled completely or nearly completely for almost a month
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Gamesharder
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Re: New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Gamesharder »

Oh, the Franken-Build. I can't wait! U_Off

Inoxx's comment on the DOM-MetalDream sounds really cool... shame we haven't seen that.

Also, Yrex made another video on the Tutorial levels

I honestly like the little arrows lol

Btw, what's the Filer.exe in the folder? Is that something we've recovered before or ?
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Victor Delacroix
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Re: New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Victor Delacroix »

That's what eventually became Setup.exe in versions 224+.
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Gamesharder
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Re: New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Gamesharder »

Ah, I see. Thanks!
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Leo T_C_K
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Re: New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Leo T_C_K »

Its surprising that the text doesn't actually appear on the translator though, in the 220 test I tried it does, but I guess it must be whatever change they did to the hud since. The little arrows were already a thing in the 220 version.
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Leo T_C_K
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Re: New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Leo T_C_K »

The map from Dan Toose's review, it seems to be an earlier version of Eternal Cave btw, the red base looked different back then. Instead now we got the version that was in the 222 screenshot lol.

I had gamesharder check the geometry and it seems to match.
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Gamesharder
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Re: New Unreal Tournament Beta Version From Early 1999 (Build 221)

Post by Gamesharder »

Image

Yep, indeed the same.
Even that torch on the left is still there.
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