EXpanded MultiPlayer

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(Redirected from Unreal II eXpanded MultiPlayer)

'eXpanded MultiPlayer' (XMP) is a multiplayer expansion to Unreal 2 developed by Legend Entertainment. XMP contains just one game mode that is similar to Capture the flag but requires more sophisticated tactics.

Image:Islands in EXpanded MultiPlayer.jpg

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Development

Unreal 2: eXpanded MultiPlayer was developed by Legend Entertainment for Atari to deliver on the original promise to extend the original single player game Unreal 2 with a multiplayer functionality. The first playable version was released and made available for download on December 9, 2003. Almost nearing completion, the development of the game was suddenly halted by the unexpected close-down of Legend Entertainment on January 16th, 2004.

The game remained playable, yet flawed. Today, it is often critized for its bad graphics performance and inefficient netcode, resulting in enormous demands for system ressources. Another flaw is the lack of a working cheat protection.

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Master Server

As XMP is a pure online game living from game servers hosted over the world, it is quite dependent on a server which your XMP copy queries for online game servers. As this master server crashed often and the manufacturing company stopped support for the game, it was not easy to find online games for XMP newbies.

But here's a good message for you: a nice guy implemented his own master server, so that all people can find online servers easily again.

For more information, visit

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Gameplay

XMP is a team-based game, where the players are split into two teams, red and blue. Both teams have a base with an Artifact Node. Each Artifact Node initially contains two Artifacts. (XMP players often refer to these as "Artis".) The main objective is to steal the enemy's Artifacts and then register them at your own Artifact Node, both accomplished by running through the appropriate Artifact Node.

The game relies on some basic concepts, which make XMP unique:

Three classes: The player can play as a Ranger, a Tech or a Gunner, each with its own pros and cons,
Energy: Every action costs energy; each team has to ensure a sufficient energy level at all times,
Vehicles: Three different vehicle types enhance gameplay,
Teamplay: The team with better collaboration is more likely to win the game.

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Hacking

Some of the items in the game can be hacked to be owned by the hacking team. The two most important things to be hacked are Energy Generators and Deploy Points, but you can also hack panels of some doors and lifts. To hack an item, stand close to it, press and hold the key you have bound to "Use". A progress bar will appear. When it is full, the item belongs to your team and you will hear the announcer say something like "Your team has gained <your item here>". While you are hacking, you are an easy target for the enemy, so it is a good idea to care for some cover.

A special way of "hacking" is treating teammates. The player can always approach and "use" them. Depending on the actual player class the teammate can either be healed (Ranger), repaired (Tech) or resupplied (Gunner).

The speed of hacking items depends on the player class and the actual stamina reserve. Techs hack fastest, Gunners and Rangers take longer to hack. All three classes treat (heal, repair, or supply) teammates at the same speed. However, if the player's stamina is depleted (e.g. due to excessive use of the jump pack) hacking and treating will take significantly longer.

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Energy

What makes XMP different from typical CTF is Energy. Energy is required for almost everything in the game: weapons, vehicles and even the player movements. Mechanical weapons (so called "Deployables") consume the most energy. Without Energy you cannot register the enemy's Artifacts as your own, drop turrets and so on. Each map has a number of Generators which can be hacked by each team to provide energy. Each Generator contributes to your team's energy level at a specific rate. To register Artifacts, your team must have at least a level of 800 Energy. For every fifty from 800 down to 500 the team gains/loses a function which is announced like this: Red/blue team "item" are online/offline.

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Deploy Points

A Deploy Point is a place where you can spawn after being killed. You do not need to redeploy every time after being killed, as any other player can revive you. However, when you are revived you only have one health point.

Most Deploy Points can be hacked like Generators, except for the ones closest to either team's base. It is good to have as many Deploy Points as possible, since that will both increase your potential starting points, as well as limit those of your enemy. Every Deploy Point has a deploy time which means that you will have to wait for the countdown of the current time cycle to be able to deploy.

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Scoring

Each successful action increases the player's personal score while all negative actions decrease it. Individual scores of the team members are neither added up nor are they of any importance to win the game. however, they are a good hint to the personal performance of the team members and also the overall success of the complete team.

The individual scores can always be displayed by all players with the <F1> key. The "most valuable players" by score can always be retrieved with the <F2> key and will also be listed in the loading screen of the next map after the current game ends.

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Winning

There are two ways for your team to win the game: 1. Steal and register all four Artifacts at your Artifact Node, 2. Hack and keep all Generators until the enemy runs out of Energy.

If neither of the two options is achieved when the game time runs out, no team wins according to the original game rules. In some leagues however, a custom rule is enforced so possessing more Artifacts than the enemy will also win the game.

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Communication

There are several possibilities how you can talk to other players in a match. Most important (because available to all players) is the in-game-chat. Standard key for typing chat messages to be seen by all players is 'T'. If you want to type messages only to be read by your teammates, the standard key is 'Y'. Key bindings for that can be changed either in Options menu of the game or manually in the MyUser.ini file. If team messages are sent, the player's current location on the map is displayed after the player's name and before the actual message.

XMP also supports voice messages which can be bound to any key. There are 39 possible voice messages which are spoken during a match by your avatar. Each player class has its own voice, so a gunner sounds different from a ranger or a tech. It's possible to let all players hear (and read) a message or only the players of your team. Additionally to the speaking, your avatar also sends out a chat message. The voice messages can also be invoked from console with either the command 'speech <number>' '(for sending it to all players) or 'teamspeech <number>' (for sending only to your team). Those commands are the same that can be put in the MyUser.ini file. The following commands are implemented (starting with the number):

1. "All clear."
2. "Get in the vehicle."
3. "I've got an artifact!"
4. "I need backup!"
5. "We need defense!"
6. "We need more deploy points!"
7. "We need energy!"
8. "I need a medic!"
9. "I need repairs!"
10. "I need supplies!"
11. "No problem."
12. "Sorry."
13. "Thanks."
14. "Incoming!"
15. "Wait up!"
16. "Affirmative!"
17. "Negative."
18. "Nice shot!"
19. "On my way."
20. "Same team!"
21. "At the base."
22. "At the generator."
23. "I'm on defense."
24. "I'm on offense."
25. "Cover me."
26. "Follow me."
27. "I need a ride."
28. "I need health."
29. "Someone revive me!"
30. "<--- I'm hacking this."
31. "<--- We now own this."
32. "Get rid of those deployables!"
33. "Hack their DeployPoints!"
34. "We need more automated defenses!"
35. "Enemy in our base!"
36. "I've dropped an artifact!"
37. "<--- I've heavily mined this area!"
38. "<--- There's a live Juggernaut here."

XMP does not come with a built-in support for communication through a headset (Voice over IP). But it is of course possible to use external programs like TeamSpeak, Roger Wilco, Ventrilo or GameComm to establish that during a game.

Communication during a match can be vital for the outgoing of a game. Your team mates can react on certain messages immediately. E.g., if an artifact has been stolen and you see the artifact carrier, a very important thing is to tell your teammates about that, either through team chat or a headset.

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Classes

In XMP, players can choose to spawn as one of three character classes. The classes have several different attributes, such as speed, armor and weapons. All three character classes have the same amount of health (100).

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Ranger

The Ranger is XMP's lightest class and therefore the fastest; however he has the lowest amount of Shield (100).

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Weapons

Image:Bm sniper.jpg

The Ranger has the following weapons:

Sniper Rifle with zoom function,
Pistol,
Grenade Launcher (light impact or smoke grenades).
Shock Lance (best used to destroy deployables e.g. turrets).

This player class doesn't carry any mechanical Deployables.

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Skills

The Ranger can heal teammates by approaching and "using" them. If there is sufficient Energy he can also throw Health Packs which can be picked up by any player (including the enemy team!).

A special ability of the Ranger is the option to "KO-wn" enemies which have been killed and are waiting for revival by a teammate. Those enemy players can be recognized by a skull symbol hovering over their twitching body. To KO-wn an enemy, approach him until you can see the progress bar, then press the "Use" key. KO-wning disallows the enemy player to be revived by friendly Medics or watch his surroundings, and forces him to redeploy at one of his team's current Deploy Points.

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Tech

The Tech is a middle-weight class with medium amounts of Shield (300) and speed.

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Weapons

The Tech has the following weapons:

Assault Rifle,
Shotgun,
Grenade Launcher (EMP or toxic gas grenades).

Depending on his team's actual energy level he can also deploy Auto Turrets, Rocket Turrets, and Force Walls (electric fences). Those Deployables consume a lot of the team's Energy, so it has to be ensured there is always enough of it by hacking and holding Generators.

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Skills

Techs can repair the shield of his teammates by approaching and "using" them. If there is sufficient Energy he can also throw Shield Packs which can be picked up by any player (also those of the enemy team).

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Gunner

The Gunner is a slow player if you count out concussionjumping and lasertripminejumping, but with the highest amount of shield (500).

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Weapons

The Gunny has the following weapons:

Rocket Launcher,
Flamethrower,
Grenade Launcher (incinerary or concussion grenades).

Depending on his team's actual energy level he can also deploy Laser Trip Mines and Land Mines. Those Deployables consume a lot of the team's Energy, so it has to be ensured there is always enough of it by hacking and holding Generators.

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Skills

Gunnys can repair the supply teammates by approaching and "using" them. If there is sufficient Energy he can also throw Supply Packs which can be picked up by any player (also those of the enemy team).

Due to a bug in the game a teammate revived by a Gunner starts with full ammo, instead of the amount he died with.

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Vehicles

XMP has three vehicles: Raptor, Harbinger and Juggernaut. Like the player classes, each vehicle type has specific advantages and disadvantages over the other ones, like speed, armor and weaponry. Vehicles do not need to be hacked to be available to one of the two teams and cannot be repaired. After they are destroyed they will respawn at their original spawn points.

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Viewing Angles

While sitting on the driver's seat the perspective can be switched between 1st and 3rd person with the <F11> key. In 3rd person view the Vehicle is shown from the perspective of a camera hovering somewhat over and behind the vehicle. Using the mouse the camera direction can be tilt in a 180 degree angle.

Image:Transporting.jpg

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Raptor

Image:Raptor-boosting.jpg

The Raptor ("Rap") is a small and speedy buggy with a gun turret on top. The downside is that it has the weakest armor of all three vehicles. The Raptor's center of gravity is towards the rear, allowing for some tight turns.

Example: To do a sharp turn to the left or the right, the <Down> and <Left> or <Right> keys can be pressed simultanuously.

Depending on the consistency of the ground hard turns into one direction can make the Raptor oversteer, resulting in a few pretty doughnuts.

The Raptor has its own stamina reserve. Depending on the available amount of stamina a speed boost can be triggered by pressing the "Sprint"-key (usually <Alt>). During the boost fires will shoot out of the exhausters to the left and the right of the car. The boost is also needed for the "Special Honk".

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Gutblowing

The Raptor has two meat grinders attached to the front. Hitting enemies with them results in a "gutblow", instantly killing the player and making him incapable of being revived.

Note that teammates can't be gutblown. However, hitting them with the Raptor can also teamkill them.

Because of the uneven terrain of certain maps it may be possible to avoid a gutblow by crouching

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Honking

To warn teammates and enemy players the Raptor has a built-in horn, which can be triggered by the driver with the left mousebutton. Pressing the button immediately after speed boosting with full stamina reserve results in a "Special Honk": the first 12 notes of "Dixie", similar to the General Lee from The Dukes of Hazzard.

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Harbinger

The Harbinger ("Harby") has medium armor and speed and fits three people: one driver, one who operates the rocket launcher on top, and one who operates the rear-mounted EMP cannon. Its high center of gravity means it has a tendency to topple over at high speeds.

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Honking

The Harby has a powerful, deep horn to warn all pedestrians. It can be triggered with the left mouse button.

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Juggernaut

The Juggernaut is XMP's tank and the most heavily armoured vehicle, but also the slowest. The Juggernaut has spots for two people: one driver and one gunner who operates the very powerful top-mounted cannon. The driver has also access to a flamethrower which can be used to kill opponents at close range.

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Weapons

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Deployables

Deployables can be deployed by a Tech or a Gunner. The Tech can place Auto Turrets, Rocket Turrets and Force Walls. The Gunner can place Laser Trip Mines or Land Mines. Land mines explode when someone steps on, or close to them. They can also be detonated by other weapons, e.g. by a toxic gas cloud of a Tech. Laser trip mines explode when someone breaks the laser beam.

While Deployables can greatly assist in defence, overreliance on them often leads to defeat. Turrets, for example, react not fast enough to harm an experienced Ranger. All Deployables drain a lot of energy, so each team has to balance the amount of Deployables and energy gained by the Generators held by them.

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eXpanded MultiPlayer lives on

In April of 2004, several key eXpanded MultiPlayer community members and ex-Legend Entertainment coders formed Free Monkey Interactive, announcing their plans to port Unreal 2: eXpanded MultiPlayer to Unreal Tournament 2004 in the form of a total conversion. The project is called Unreal Tournament: Expanded Multiplayer. They have released several videos and beta releases showcasing their work so far.

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