03.07.26
11PM
I’ve been playing with my test server now for a bit and I have a good idea of what is possible, what isn’t possible, and what is a huge pain the the fucking ass to set up.
I think it’s time to figure out what I’m doing with all of this. There are already a few really great servers hosted by founded communities on the Unreal Tournament 2004 server list, I’ve played with a few, had some fun, got me ass handed to me a lot, but they aren’t doing something that I’ve always loved about this particular game, which is custom player and bot models. I understand why, the UT04 system can’t transfer a specific file-type that is required for those models to be seen by everyone, so the only way to make that work is with a community mod pack that everyone playing and the server has installed, which is clunky and requires the admin to build that pack and host it to be downloaded, then if they ever want to update it they have to host the new version and try to get everyone to download it and update their install. So, every server I played on seemed to focus on other mods that effect gameplay and maps..which is cool, but not the thing I like to tinker with.
I’ve always really liked installing character models from places like Skin City back in the day, I think it’s a big part of why I’d always just play local bot matches. Lately I’ve been interested in getting into 3D modeling that’s focused on designing characters or learning how to convert and rig VRChat models into Unreal Tournament. There are some awesome resources for modeling that I’ve stumbled up recently that I plan to write a post about soon.
https://www.nexusmods.com/profile/Xelus327
I want to create a very specific type of UT04 server that is focused on high quality player and bot models that can be played with others in a fairly casual server. I’m not a fragmaster at FPS, I like my bots somewhere between Skilled and Masterful. I’ve been impressed at the skill of a particular model creator, Xelus327 recently, and my goal is to get a server running with a lot of their models as a baseline. I also want this server to be as free as possible from toxic players. I am queer, I love creativity, and I have no problem with banning the shit outa anyone who wants to be a mean edgelord. I specifically want to make a server that is queer and furry friendly, focuses on art and creativity, and holds a standard of sportsmanship that is supportive of new or unskilled players.
I’ve been thinking about names for the server and I think I’m landing on “Skin Deep” because of the focus on aesthetics and casual play. I plan to set it up so that it functions on the server list even without the community modpack, but I’ll leave a link to my website so people who find the sever can decide to set it up if they want. This means that any custom maps or mutator mods will be hosted via the normal game download method and player/bot models will be hosted via Resilio Sync, or an installable zip file.
I’m still setting this up, but I think I have a goal and a plan now!