Skaarj Fest - a mod for UT2004 by Fraghouse (http://fraghouse.beyondunreal.com)
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1. Installation

Here is a root structure displaying where each file should go.
.. UT2004 folder

--- Animations
	SkaarjFestAnims.ukx

--- System
	SkaarjFest.u
	SkaarjFest.ucl
	SkaarjFest.int
	SkaarjFest.ini
	Skaarj Fest.txt
	Skaarj Fest Monster Modding.txt


Run UT2004, and select the Skaarj Fest mutator (plus optional extra monster mutators), then choose a map to play on. Please note that I cannot guarantee compatability with certain mutators that may replace/alter players or items dramatically. It is best not to use any weapon or player-extending mutators.

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2. What's it about then?

Skaarj Fest is one hell of a fun gametype. You begin as a Skaarj Warrior with claw melee attacks and projectile laser attacks. However, you can extend the capability of your Skaarj player by picking up the Fire and Fury powerups.

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Fury - Primary makes your Skaarj do a fast series of claw slashes. Secondary does a killing dive, but you have to get close to an enemy for it to work.

Fire - Primary fires a Fire variant of the standard Skaarj laser. Secondary releases a firebomb that leaves behind a small trail of fire when it explodes. If people step in this fire they lose health rapidly.
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IMPORTANT BIT BELOW THIS TEXT, READ PLEASE:

The real feature of this mod, though, is that you can morph into tons of other Unreal monsters besides the Skaarj Warrior. You can do this via PowerUp Pickups which replace various weapons and shield packs. When you pick up a PowerUp, you will see the weapon name that follows a format as follows:

Monster Name / Monster Name

The Monster name on the left is what you will morph into if you use primary fire. The Monster name on the right is what you will morph into if you use secondary fire. Once you have morphed, you will have a unique monster attack (primary) and a melee attack for getting in close (secondary).

END MESSAGE OF EXTREME IMPORTANCE.

In the controls menu, you will find two bindable options - Morph and Growl. It is advised that you at least bind Morph. When you hit the bound key, you will morph back to a Skaarj Warrior from the monster you morphed into. The Growl bind will make your player make a unique monster signature sound depending on which monster you are.

Another thing worth noting is that I have implemented some new flying code which allows you to use jump/duck to move up/down. Movement in netplay should also be smoother.

Finally, the Fire Ring replaces the UDamage and when picked up blesses the player with a ring of fire that will last for 30 seconds. When you collide with other players, it will do damage to them as long as you keep it colliding with them.

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3. Which monsters can I become, then?

Here's a full list detailing the primary fire for each monster too (secondary is always a melee) and any individual traits.

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Brute - Slow homing rockets which are very powerful.

Warlord - Slow flier, has normal rockets.

Nalicow - Dumps explosive poop that when stepped in instantly kills the victim.

Gasbag - Fires Gasbag belches.

Krall - Fires Krall bolts that have a short collision radius but do a lot of damage.

Trooper - Fires Tarydium rockets that pierce air.

Mercenary - Has a hitscan machine gun. Also dances when you are idle.

Slith - Shoots thick gloop with a medium rate of fire.

Titan - Chucks rocks that are very painful for those on the receiving end. Also, secondary melee throws nearby players up into the air.

Queen - Fires very fast and very powerful homing Skaarj orbes. If there's a Queen about, you'll have to gang up to beat it.

Manta - Drops goop traps that when stepped in deal out 25 damage to a player's health.

Nali - Teleports wherever you point the crosshair, but you can only teleport on the same height level that you are currently on! If you collide with players when teleporting, you will telefrag them. Charges for teleporting recharge every 5 seconds.

Fly - Shoots its nuclear sting and dies - the sting then explodes, killing anyone in the vicinity.

Nali Rabbit - Aww, isn't it cute!? Until you hit either primary or secondary to detonate it, that is..

Pupae - Shoots pupae gloop - its size is its real advantage.

Tentacle - Flies up towards the ceiling when you morph into it. From here, you can fire Tarydium darts at players.

Spinner - Shoots energy bolts that - like the Krall bolt - have a limited collision radius but do a lot of damage.

Predator - Fires Predator spit that does not lose momentum.

Ictus (Mutator) - A flying Skaarj that fires extremely fast rockets. Found in FHI and is a very annoying enemy.

Guardian (Mutator) - The Guardian from FHI equipped with a standard rocket launcher.

Skaarj Officer (Mutator) - The Officer from Unreal with a powerful Razorjack!

Rhagjar (Mutator) - A big mechanical killing spider. Primary is weak, but secondary is a chargeable two-mortar firing device.
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There is also an easter egg monster, but you'll have to find it yourself. ;)

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4. Moddability and addon monsters/mutators.

For this version, the way I recoded the monster system means that addon monsters are incredibly easy to create. In fact, I've supplied anyone who fancies having a go with two examples - two mutators - that give you 4 new monsters when the mutators are activated.

How it works is that it spawns the morph pickups for the monsters randomly around the map. So, for example, the Ictus/Guardian pickup appears twice in random locations when that mutator is activated.

Monsters themselves are easy-peasy to create too - if you fancy having a go at making some of your own monsters, look at Skaarj Fest Monster Modding.txt.

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5. Running it on a server.

I've tried to make running a Skaarj Fest as easy and as configurable as possible. By default, the tips are on and display every 90 seconds.
If you wish to disable these, log in to your server as an admin and use "mutate TipsOff" without quotes. If you wish to enable them, use "mutate TipsOn".

To run Skaarj Fest on a server, firstly open up your UT2004.ini file in the System folder and find the following:

[Engine.GameEngine]
...

Find the lines with ServerPackages= in front of them. If you have other mods in the ServerPackages lines, it's advised you take them out if you're not using them. Add to the bottom of the list:

ServerPackages=SkaarjFest

From here, you can either launch a server via UCC or use UT2004's in-game GUI.

UCC
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Open the command prompt, navigate to your UT2004 System folder and use the following command:

ucc server DM-Deck17?mutator=SkaarjFest.MutSkaarjFest


In-Game GUI
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Open up UT2004, click Host Game and select one of the Skaarj Fest gametypes. From here you can either launch a listen server or a dedicated server.


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6. Is there any bot support, or am I lumbered with having to stick it out online?

Certainly! Bots will happily hack you to pieces if they're a Skaarj, or they will pick up a morph PowerUp, use it and whip your ass with whichever monster they turned into. The only problem I've noticed with them is that they occasionally get stuck on the weapon pickup bases, but apart from this the bots work in tip-top shape.

However, I do heartily recommend giving this a try online. Throughout the various testing stages, it has always been a lot of fun with 4 or 5 other people. The whole purpose of this mod is to have fun, and maximum fun can be had when this is played online.

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7. Final credits, and.. who made this again?


Well, Parser from Fraghouse (that's http://fraghouse.beyondunreal.com if you missed it above) coded this, ripped the models out of Unreal and imported them into UT2004, and came up with most of the ideas. However, I'd like to give a BIG (and that would be bigger if I could use font formatting) thanks to the following:

Mazza - for testing it right from the start.

Underscore - see above. :)

SlayerDragon - for testing, and also for giving me a clue about how to improve the flying code.

Hyrulian - for testing the mod.

Da Wrecka - for the coding help and for helping me understand some finer points of what I was working on.

SolidSnake - for helping me with the new HUD (the text in the top right hand corner dictating which monster you are).

If I missed you out, sorry, and from the Fraghouse team, we hope you enjoy the mod. :)


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8. Obligatory copyright stuff

Please don't use any code from here without my permission or I'll feed your balls to the rottweilers. Anything else (models, textures) I don't really care about, since they belong to Epic. :)