Welcome to Gem Feeder! This is a gametype for Unreal Tournament 2004, created by Third Helix. The object of the game is to gather up all the gems and place them on your team's altars. However, you'll have to fight tooth and nail for your gems, and you also have the fearsome Altar Bomb to contend with!

In order to run a network server, you'll need to place the line "ServerPackages=GemGame" in your System\UT2004.INI file, in the [Engine.GameEngine] section. Additionally, in order to create Gem Feeder maps, you'll need the line "EditPackages=GemGame" in the same file, under the [Editor.EditorEngine] section.

After selecting the Gem Feeder gametype from the menu, click the Game Rules tab. You'll see a subsection labeled "Gem Feeder" containing five different settings:

• Allow Punting: Toggles punting on and off. See below.
• Use A-Bomb: Uncheck this to remove Altar Bombs from the game. See below for details.
• Use Gem Launcher: Toggles the Gem Launcher on and off. See below.
• A-Bomb Timer: Specifies how long (in seconds) an A-Bomb will occupy an enemy altar before detonating.
• Time Between Rounds: Specifies how long (in seconds) after one team scores before the round resets.

Once you've setup the game rules to your liking, just pick a map and go!

This is a gem. The object of Gem Feeder is to collect these and place them on your team's altars. When you have a gem on each of your team's altars, your team scores a point. There are usually three of these in a map, but some maps may have four or more. Note that you can only carry one gem at a time. To pick up a gem, simply run over it.

This is the Altar Bomb. It works a lot like a gem, but you have to place it on an enemy altar. The bomb will sit on that altar for a while (configured in Game Rules, "A-Bomb Timer"), disabling it and effectively preventing the enemy team from scoring. Once the timer expires, the A-Bomb will explode, killing nearby enemies (and you, if you stick around) and blasting their gems free of their altars. As with gems, you can only carry one A-Bomb at a time. You cannot carry an A-Bomb if you already have a gem, and vice-versa.

This is an altar. Not all altars look the same; the surrounding geometry will differ from map to map. However, the team-colored glowing effect is standard, and that's what you should be looking for. To place a gem on an altar, just run over the altar (while holding a gem, of course). You can only place gems on your own team's altars, and you can only place A-Bombs on the enemy team's altars. You can also throw gems and A-Bombs onto altars using the Gem Launcher (see below).

Gem Feeder provides a couple of additions to the HUD. At the top, just under the team scores, you'll see the Team Gems display. These two numbers indicate how many gems each team has in possession on their altars. This does not take into account gems carried by members of that team. Near the bottom of the HUD, you'll see a large gem or A-Bomb icon when you are carrying one or the other.

Gems are physical objects, and as such, they are affected by the laws of physics. Dropped gems can be knocked all over the place by weapons fire. Doing this in a controlled manner is referred to as punting. You can use any weapon except the Shield Gun to punt gems and A-Bombs, but some are more effective than others. Punting is an important skill to master and comes in handy in situations where you're already carrying a gem, and you've just stumbled across another and there are no friendly players nearby. In this case, you can simply punt the gem back into friendly territory.

Another technique related to punting is called Link Drawing. By using the Link Gun's alternate fire, you can pull a gem toward you. This can be very useful if a gem has fallen into a hard-to-reach location, or if an enemy is about to grab a gem and you can't beat him to it. Link Drawing is also a good alternative to normal punting if you've managed to get a gem stuck in a corner and you can't get into a good position for another punt. Punting must be enabled by the server admin in order for Link Drawing to work. Also, you can't Link Draw gems off their spawn bases.

Another use for Link Drawing is referred to as the Link Steal. This is when you Link Draw a gem off of an enemy altar. In certain maps, you may be able to execute a Link Steal without exposing yourself to danger. Use your environment!

The Gem Launcher is a special tool used for throwing gems. The caveat is that the launcher must be charged up in order to launch a gem. It's often faster to hit a dropped gem with a well-aimed flak bomb than to charge the launcher enough to achieve equivalent speed and distance. However, the launcher can be considerably more accurate. Additionally, if you are moving when you fire it, your movement will affect the speed and direction of the throw, allowing you to execute a hook shot, fake out an opponent, or squeeze just a little more distance out of the throw. And to top it off, if you're accurate enough, you can launch gems onto altars from afar. The Gem Launcher also works with A-Bombs. It sits in the same inventory slots as your Translocator, and can be accessed using the key you have bound to that weapon.

As mentioned before, you can only carry one gem or A-Bomb at a time, and you can't carry one if you already have the other. However, you have some options. You can always use the Gem Launcher to get rid of what you're carrying; or, if you've come across a gem or A-Bomb you want to pick up, you can simply press the Use key while touching it in order to swap. You can swap a gem for an A-Bomb and vice-versa.

Swapping also works if you want to steal an enemy gem. Altar Swapping is a cruel, yet effective tactic. To execute, simply acquire an A-Bomb, move into the enemy base, and touch an altar that contains a gem you want to steal. Press the Use key, and you'll steal the gem and place the A-Bomb in one swift motion!

In order to create Gem Feeder maps, you'll need to make sure that the line "EditPackages=GemGame" exists in your System\UT2004.INI file, in the [Editor.EditorEngine] section. The relevant actors for Gem Feeder are listed directly under Actors in the Actor Browser. Under GemAltar, you'll find the placeable classes RedGemAltar and BlueGemAltar, which define the altars for Red and Blue teams, respectively. GemSpawn defines the spawn base for gems, while ABombSpawn defines the spawn base for A-Bombs.

In the Properties page of the RedGemAltar and BlueGemAltar you'll find the same options. Under the GemAltar rollout, you'll find DefenseScriptTags and Team. DefenseScriptTags should indicate the Tag name of any UnrealScriptedSequences you want the AI to use as defense points for this altar. Team is the relevant team number: 0 for Red, 1 for Blue. You shouldn't need to change this value.

There are a few things to note when creating Gem Feeder maps. First, gem spawns and altars are not directly connected to the AI path network. We were experiencing a lot of strange AI bugs when doing this. In order to facilitate proper bot play, simply place navigation points around these actors such that the AI could directly reach them, as if the spawn/altar was in fact a navigation point itself. The bots will have no problems pathing to your spawns/altars as long as the path network goes somewhere in the general vicinity. Do not attempt to place any kind of navigation point directly on top of a spawn or altar.

Also, note that the RedGemAltar and BlueGemAltar actors only produce a corona and emitter effect in-game. If you want some kind of world geometry to indicate an altar (which I highly recommend doing), you'll have to build that yourself in UnrealEd using BSP, static meshes, or whatever. When doing so, make sure that a player can move to and through the GemAltar actor you've placed. In other words, try to keep the immediate area around the altar actor sufficiently free of collisions. If you don't, bots may have trouble getting to the altars, and you might even prevent human players from being able to score.

One final note: we're always on the lookout for great new Gem Feeder maps. If you've created something worth showing, post a link in the Gem Feeder forum at http://www.third-helix.com/forums/index.php or email invicticide with a link to the map. Do not send the map file as an email attachment, or it will be immediately discarded! If we like your map, we'll host it on our site. Additionally, Third Helix will be generating post-release map packs for Gem Feeder, and we may invite community mappers to make contributions to these packs.

DEVELOPED BY THIRD HELIX

Josh Sutphin, "invicticide":
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Adam Price, "raider":
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Erik Exeter, "faterik":
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Gem Feeder and associated content is copyright (c) 2004 Third Helix.