Æon's Unreal News Archive Page

Welcome to the News Archive Page
All the News on the main page that becomes outdated will be collected and archived here. Most of the time all the News will emmidiately be sorted into the appropriate pages, alas I may well not have to time to do this updating all the time. In other words the Old News on this page may well be still relevant :)...

Page start: Thursday, August 6th 17:44 1998
Last updated on Wednesday, November 4th 10:07 1998

Friday, October 2nd 11:29 1998

AEus - Latest
As you can see on the Stats page, my parser is coming along nicely. Yesterday I finished the Ranking Matrix and Diff Matrix Part of Real Ranking. The Real Ranking calculations are done too. I hope to have done the Ranking this Sunday. The Best of Page will take a while longer.

AEus - Help Wanted
If you are a admin out there who is interested in AEus, you could really collect some bonus points with me if you or anyone else knowledgeable in Unreal Script could help me out.

I have written a small Unreal Script Module called "AEonsDMmod" that shadows parts of the normal "Death Match" game. Once installed one can call it per menu and hence a plethora of data (important for Ranking) is dumped into Unreal's log file. This extra Data can then be parsed by AEus. This worked with 2.09. Alas Unreal 2.17 has changed a *lot* of the Unreal Script Code so that my module will no longer work. Furthermore the "Export All" button in UnrealEd crashes and thereby will *not* output all the "Unreal Script Source" to let me update my mod.

So if you'd like to help me out... send in an email.

Tuesday, September 29th 11:28 1998

Unreal Update - Beta 2.17
For a local copy of the latest Unreal Patch get: UnrealBeta217.zip (1.9 MB). Install it into your Unreal\System\ drawer.

Here is a list bug fixes:

  - Fixed ESC in intro level crashing games in the software renderer on some machines.
  - Eliminated chance of server crashing when player limit is exceeded.
  - Disabled CD check, which was causing problems for some users.
  - Fixed problems with 3dfx Voodoo Rush cards under some versions of Glide.
  - Fixed volumetric lighting ranbow effects on 3DNow!

Server - Down
Well... hmmm... Eraser tried to update the Server to 2.16... It crashed his machine so badly that he no longer is willing to put up the server. Soo... we are server-less :(. Thanx go to Eraser for putting it up at all... but I have had this feeling all along, if I am not the one in charge and the one setting up the machine it won't work properly... I'll try and find a new one somewhere... If you have suggestions send me an email.

AEus - More Previews
I have been working on the Player stats pages... Players sorted by Name, Players sorted by Netto %. Click on a name to get Player Stats. Note I have just begun with the Player Stats... lots more to come...

Wednesday, September 23th 0:06 1998

Unreal Update - 2.16
For a local copy of the latest Unreal Patch get: UnrealBeta216.zip (1.9 MB). Install it into your Unreal\System\ drawer.

Here is a list of some of more the interesting (to me ;) improvements:

  Networking
    - Improved play on low-bandwidth connections

  General
    - Shaved a couple megs off the memory usage
    - Further improved the loading time
    - If Unreal is already running in the background, clicking on a web browser
      link now redirects the existing copy of Unreal rather than launching a
      new one.
      Bug fixes: Server memory leak when switching levels, sporadic dynamic
      lighting crash, sporadic file loading crash on low-memory machines.

  Server
    - New server querying interface.
    - Server now runs quietly in the background by default (a tray icon)
    - Far lower memory usage (over 2X less memory in typical levels)

  UnrealScript
    - C style 'continue' keyword
    - Java style "new" function for creating new objects
    - Improved TcpLink, UdpLink support for Internet mods

  UnrealEd
    - Faster loading time
    - Significantly lower memory usage
    - Misc UnrealEd improvements from Mark Poesch @ Legend Entertainment
    - Improved "undo" support

AEon's Collage - On Planet Unreal
My little Unreal collage finally made it onto Planet Unreal... shot of the day :))))... "freu freu freu" ;)

AEus - Status
Alas these last days I was forced to slow down the development of my Unreal parser. I was simply too tired. But fear not we are getting there ;)... I have tons of ideas about the player specific info... Weapon Usage, Alternate Weapon usage, Frags per hour and map, FPH development from map to map, avagerage heath, Item usage... and lots more.

Epic's - Backdrops
At www.Unreal.com there are 3 very nicely done backdrop .bmp files for download. For a local copy grab: ud_dm.zip (62.8 KB), ud_merc.zip (71.2 KB), or ud_nali.zip (77.8 KB).

Wednesday, September 23th 0:06 1998

Major Design Update
These past days serveral things habe been happening. I have continued to rewrite my Unreal server parser AEus. All the basic stuff is finished. And the first page with global info is almost done. For those of you who want a sneak preview check out the Stats-beta page. I will have player info up soon. Ranking should be working by the end of the week.

This page now has Shockwave navigation. [M7] has put tons of work into the Shockwave menues... thanx a LOT :). If you have not installed the shockwave plugins for your browser yet get it here:

Saturday, September 12th 22:10 1998

AEon's Unreal Server - UP :)
Finally I have an Unreal Server up and running. It is already using the AEonsDMmod, this means that the frags are logged and will then appear on the upcoming stats page. For more info see above Server table. Note the Connect! link. It will connect you to the Server right away.

This is the very first test... so if it lags from time to time this is a known problem. It will get better soon, I promise :)

AEus - Working on it
I am working on the Unreal Stats all the time. Hope to have a first version next week sometime. Alas since I am rewriting a lot of the original AEqs code, it will take longer. But fear not your frags will not be lost :))

Wednesday, September 9th 11:13 1998

AEon's DM Mod - Extended Log/Frag Information
Finally I got Unreal to accept and *use* the script code I have been editing. At present you can choose a new type of game called AEonsDMmod, this will add frag information to Unreal's log file that can then be parsed by my Unreal Log Parser AEus (AE)on's (u)nreal (s)tats. At this point I already have more meaningful information for parsing multi-player happenings than I did under Q².

Just to keep you on your toes. Not only will there be stats on weapons that where used by the "Fraggers" but also about those the "Victims" had (done).

In planning... Time and Date of each Frag, Amour(type), and Items used ("Quad" etc.). This will allow a much more thorough analysis of in-game action. Furthermore Map names will be logged. Also in planning FPH (Frags Per Hour) info.

The AEonsDMmod will at first only have enhanced log functionality. But I have seen several examples of new HUDs and it seem to be quite simple to do. So expect an enhanced HUD as well.

New Pages Coming Soon - AEus & Mod
I will soon prepare a page that wraps up want going on with my Unreal Ranking parser. And I'll have a Mod page up then, that explains in detail what my Mod will do. It is my hope that it will work together with other mods to make Ranking for them possible as well. But that's still to be seen.

Sunday, September 6th 18:31 1998

Unreal Projects
So I have finally and completely kicked anything that has to do with Quake II. I have lot of time for Unreal now :)). There are quite a few things developping:

  1. I will be testing and helping out JFMiller with his new tool to configure
     Unreal (for Admins at first...).

  2. [M7] working on a Shockwave based design update of this page.

  3. I am diving into Unreal Script... ideas:
      - Add Frag, Player Join/Leave info to the log file. (done)
      - Change the 3 lines BroadcastMessage() in DM to match those of Lithium II
        (Q² Mod)
      - Turn off all the "picked up xyz" messages to reduce message flooding.
      - When frags have any relation to the player. Highlight his name in the
        message when *he* frags and Highlight the oponents name if the player
        dies.
      - Highlight say() messages... to make it easier to spot incoming talk.
      - There is still tons of other stuff I would like to see in the log to be
        able to parse it and create an Unreal Ranking.

  4. I mention the above, because I am planning to adapt my Quake II log parser
     with HTML output to create Ranking and other Statistics for Unreal!
     (AEqs: AEonsQ2Code,
     source in ANSI C)

  5. The Tutorial for UnrealEd will continue, since Semmel is back from vacation.

  6. I might even start an Unreal Script Section...

  7. AEon's Unreal Server... I and a few folks I know are looking into this...
     alas it's difficult to find a place where one can set up a server here in
     Germany. The PC is not the problem, it's finding a place with acceptable
     bandwidth. I am thinking along the lines of 10Mbit/s or something.

If you are a seasoned Unreal Script programmer and would like to start a Death Match Mod (sort of like the Quake II Lithium II mod), or if you know of a DM Mod project then please send me an email.

Any feedback is appreciated! Let's finally get Unreal off the ground :)

Thursday, August 27th 21:35 1998

Design - Update
I have been playing around with javascript... now all the buttons on this site react as soon as you move the mouse pointer over them :)... makes browsing the subpages so much more fun 8-).

Wednesday, August 26th 13:59 1998

Unreal Server - But where ?
Recent events on the Quake II side of gaming have made me shut down my servers there. Alas this also means that I will not be able to run an Unreal server here either.

So if you have the bandwidth (here in Germany) and a (w95/w98/(NT)) PC at hand and would like to run an Unreal server with my help, then please send me an email. I would try to prepare a Death Match Unreal.ini file along with a startup batch file, that would set up and run an Unreal server. My hope is that most previous (very unsatisfactory) tests with Unreal servers where due to older versions (before 2.09) of Unreal and that the admins did not set/change several crucial internet gaming (bandwidth) parameters that have now been recommended by Epic. If you want to read up on these parameters look around on the Config page.

Turorials - Semmel is back
Due to too much gaming I have to reduce the time I spend on web pages ect ;)... so updates will take a bit longer now... Semmel is continuing work on his *german* UnrealEd tutorial... redesigning his page etc... as soon as his page is ready I will post it here. And as new tutorials become available I'll continue work on translating them...

If you are eager to learn and use UnrealEd then I can recommend the UnrealEd.com site, that has an extensive tutorial section...

Unreal Music on this Site
At the top of the page you may have noticed the gadget to play music from Unreal, converted down to Mono and a lower sampling frequency to reduce the files size. At present I use the HTML command embed, this works fine for Internet Explorer 4.0 and Netscape 4.0. Alas it does not work with Netscape 3.0... If you know how to fix this (the HTML code) then send me an email please.

Saturday, August 16th 21:54 1998

UnrealEd - Tutorial Part 2
More UnrealEd tutorials by Semmel translated to english: Light, Water & Sky...

Saturday, August 15th 1:28 1998

UnrealEd - Tutorial Part 1
I just finished translating Semmel's first tutorial page: 1st Room. Enjoy ;)...

Thursday, August 13th 23:35 1998

UnrealEd - Update
I have added a shortcut Keys section on the Tools page. There is also a tentative Intro page and some other small design improvements.

Tuesday, August 13th 0:13 1998

New Project - UnrealEd Tutorial
2-3 days ago I had a conversation with Semmel... he had read my Unreal page and confused my site with another one offering to write an UnrealEd turtorial in german. I found this very interesting since I was a bit bored and did not know what to do next. He has been creating serveral pages, and they look great... Since I love working with graphics and love english :), I am "translating" his tutorials. Whereas translation is not only language but also design. In the end we should have put together a tutorial in german and english 8-).

So here is the first part I "translated"... the UnrealEd Tools page. This page will tell you about the very basic things you should be aware of when editing maps with UnrealEd. Navigation in 2D and 3D views, Movement of "Objects", finally an extensive section on UnrealEd's Toolbar.

The fun thing for me is that I can not only build new pages, with lots of graphics, I will also be learning how to use UnrealEd.

Tuesday, August 11th 11:30 1998

12 New DM Maps Tested
I have split the old maps page into 2 pages... into the Maps page that sports, the Map of the Level Loop in detail, Screen Shot Tips and Install info. The Map Archive page on the onther hand lists *all* maps I have tested along with screen shots, download links, comments, and rating.

Sunday, August 9th 12:04 1998

On Planet Unreal's News
Cool :)... my little email to Planet Unreal made it into the news section there :)))))))

        8.8.98 23:29 » Elsewhere on the Web
        German Unreal Server
        AEon's Unreal Page has some info on perhaps one of the only publically
        running Unreal server in Germany, as well as a detailed analysis of the
        unreal.ini file on the Unreal Config Page.

You got to hand it to joost... "instantanious" news updates... "freu" :)

Download Page - Updated
I just updated Download page... fixes for UnrealEd, a Server side patch, example Server.ini file...

When will the Server Be Up and Running ?
We are getting new hardware... the hardware should have been ordered by now... but it's not clear when we will actually get the new Pentium IIs... in a week or so I hope... I am preparing all the server stuff, so that I should be able to start the server as soon as NT is installed.

Saturday, August 8th 15:36 1998

Config Page Update
So finally... puhhh ;)... I have finished the Config page... You will find an extensive editing section, that should get you off to a running start to your personal :) Server.ini config.
Possible admins of my server will be interested in the Remote Admin section. There is also a quick summery on Client Downloading of Files.

Collage by AEon
Since I was bored about having to write articles for this page today I watched some sit-coms on TV and fired up Paint Shop Pro and put together this Collage... I'll continue work on articles later in the day. Notice the flying dragon... it never made it into Unreal... there you have it again... previews and screen shots for games that have not been released yet are completely misleading and useless...

Out of the Eon...
The idea for this news section was slightly "ripped off" from Blue's page ;)... here I'll comment on things that go through my mind... sort of 8-9

Well on the Links page I did some site testing for Unreal Modules/Modifications... the thing I noticed is that Unreal does not seem to be as porpular as for instance Quake II. For most of the Quakers this may be trivial, but I thought that things really where happening for Unreal. Alas most of the Modules are not ready, only very few have downloadable files as of now... so we will have to wait till things get a going. In favour of Unreal I have to mention that the ideas presented on those pages are rather creative... a lot more than anything I have seen elsewhere...

The other thing that surprised me is the quality of DM maps... as it always is... many maps suck ;)... but those few that don't I found really impressive and I have to admit that I liked them *better* than those that came with Unreal. Something I have not encountered under Quake II yet... the other thing I really dig is that the better maps can be played with Bots... lots of fun in the map testing phase :))

Friday, August 7th 13:59 1998

More Shots
I have added a few more shots: Planet Unreal Shots of the Day...

Friday, August 7th 1:48 1998

Configuring Your Server
I have put together a Config Page that gives you detailed info on how to Launch your own dedicated Unreal Server and on how to edit and put together a Server.ini configuration file (manipulate \Unreal\System\Unreal.ini!), that will then control your server. Remote admin, Death Match Level Loops, ...

This page is still in the making... I did about one third of what is still to come...

News Archive
In preparation for lots and lots of News on this site, I created a News Archive Page where all the outdated news on this main page will be "dumped" ;).

Tuesday, August 4th 17:32 1998

Server Adminning ;)
I'm reading up on Unreal servers... Starting off I have added a Connect! link to the Server table above. This might come in handy. Note that the Connect Link will only ork properly with Internet Explorer 3.0 and 4.0, not with earlier versions or with crummy Netscape ;).

Console Page
I updated the Console Commands Page... it now has info on key Bindings and key Aliases.

Monday, August 3rd 14:13 1998

Bot Shots
Since I don't seem to be able to upload any of this, I'll keep on building, updating and enhancing the pages here. See the latest Bot Shots.

Links Page
Finally I have started a collection of links on the new Unreal Links page. Lots of room for more :)

Download Page
Now there is a Download page. It's not that much yet... this page is meant to be "container" ;) for future stuff.

Maps Page
I put together a Maps page. 9 new socalled Death Match Custom Maps with download links, text files, screen shots, rating, comments, install info, tips on screen shots, list of tested "not so great maps"... enjoy...

This is in preparation for my DM server... these maps and some others will be running in a level loop on that machine. The DM maps that come with Unreal are ok, but from my 5-6 bot matches, the latter already get on my nerves, so I am looking for new custom maps.

Sunday, August 2nd 15:26 1998

Console Command Page
I have sort of ripped the Unreal Console Commands from Planet Unreal who in turn ripped the data from Epic's Unreal Technical Information site. I edited the page to make it a bit more AEonic ;)... Here the sections in detail:
Command Line Parameters, C++ Console Commands, Unrealscript Console Commands, Map List, Actor List, Console Configuration Commands...

I will do some reading on that page soon... to ensure a running server once the hardware is out 8-9.

Links Section
Tentatively I am starting an Unreal related Links section... I am still wildly checking these sites myself to find out what been going on since Unreal has been released.

YOU... yes you ;) can help me out here if you like... send me an email with tips & tricks, links, files that might be useful etc... (credits will be handed out generously :)).

Saturday, August 1st 12:06 1998

Page Initiation
First day of this page. Some Quakers out there will have to be brave a bit ;)... Above server IP will probably be the right one, as soon as we get the new hardware. I will try and put together a comprehensive list of things you will need for Unreal gaming. Update patches, new custom Maps, and other neat stuff I come accross like FAQs :)

Screen Shots Page
Here is a list of Screen Shots I made running through Unreal in single player mode. Some shots I found in the Net and a 1 minute movie... Have fun :))