Epic is turning off Master servers for UT99 & UT2k4; UTX Announced - What To Do?

[darkbarrage99]

Epic doing what they do best:

https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/ne ... 9yUdPkKkXA

Epic is turning off online services and servers for some older games

December 14, 2022

Starting today, we will begin turning off out-of-date online services and servers for many older games in the Epic family as we move to solely support Epic Online Services with its unified friends system, voice chat features, parental controls, and parental verification features. Most titles will be playable offline, while some will no longer be playable. We apologize to the players affected by these changes.

The following titles will have all online services disabled on January 24, after which players can continue playing single or local multiplayer modes offline:

1000 Tiny Claws
Dance Central 1-3 Note: Dance Central VR online multiplayer will remain available
Green Day: Rock Band
Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess
Rock Band 1-3
Note: Rock Band 4 online multiplayer will remain available
The Beatles: Rock Band
Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars
Unreal Gold
Unreal II: The Awakening
Unreal Tournament 2003
Unreal Tournament 2004
Unreal Tournament 3 Note: We have plans to bring back online features via Epic Online Services in the future.
Unreal Tournament: Game of the Year Edition


We have started removing games that were still available from all digital storefronts and are disabling any in-game DLC purchasing as of today. We also removed the Mac and Linux versions of Hatoful Boyfriend and Hatoful Boyfriend: Holiday Star from storefronts today, as well as the mobile title DropMix. Players who already own these titles will still be able to play.

Battle Breakers will shut down and no longer be accessible to players on December 30. We will automatically refund players for any in-game purchases made via Epic direct payment 180 days prior to today. Unreal Tournament (Alpha), Rock Band Blitz, Rock Band Companion app and SingSpace will be shut down and no longer accessible to players on January 24.

Thank you to all of the players and communities who have enjoyed these titles over the years.

So what does this mean for us?

____________________________________________________________________________________

EDIT:

~ WHAT THIS MEANS FOR US ~

For those that don't want to read through the thread, the synopsis is this:

Epic's PR Team has completely dropped the ball and created a lot of chaos within the Unreal Communities at large by posting the above news, making it seem that they are erasing The Entire Unreal Franchise from the face of the internet as well as several other titles that they are no longer supporting.

As expected, they are not going to open up about this obvious attempt to sweep the colossal failure of Unreal Tournament 4 under the rug any time soon, but thanks to the communities at large and a massive social faux paw about the future status of UT3, it is not the end of Unreal Tournament.

• 1. Unreal Gold and Unreal Tournament GOTYE community master servers will continue running.
  -Gaining access to most of them requires tinkering with ini files or updating to the 469 patch available here: https://github.com/OldUnreal/UnrealTournamentPatches
  -Additional Master Servers can be added to the list via Buggie's instructions below: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=15589&sid=e4c1ac9a ... 63#p139905

• 2. Unreal Tournament 2004 official master servers will be shut down, however a Community Master Server is in the works via Openspy and currently running.
  -Follow this link for further instructions: https://ut2004serverlist.com/

• 3. Epic, in their infinite wisdom, have decided to rebrand Unreal Tournament 3, the 2nd least popular Unreal game, as "Unreal Tournament X..." Or "3 X?" - a free to play "cross platform" version of UT3. Truly a hands-on approach to being completely out of touch, but it's better than nothing. After all, it is the most modern, balanced and complete UT game to date. I say we support it!
  
  -"No microtransactions and no strings attached. This is the fully-featured, award-winning first-person shooter you fell in love with… completely free." yeah okay
  -Epic have made absolutely no announcements about doing this aside from updating the UT3 Steam page, which is currently hidden from public search engines.
  -Unreal Tournament X will be the only available Unreal game over Steam, GOG and The Epic Online Store. Release was scheduled for Spring 2023.
  https://www.theverge.com/2022/12/14/235 ... ansactions
  https://www.gamespot.com/articles/unrea ... 0-6510055/
  https://www.pcgamer.com/epic-is-delisti ... nt-3-free/
  Hopefully it can be built into something better?.. I'm trying to be positive here.
  
  EDIT: Turns out leaks have confirmed that the reasoning behind UT3X coming to fruition is because of the new features being implemented with the Epic Online Store.
  - More details provided by Ferali's post: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=15589&p=140318#p140318
  
  EDIT: Turns out there is also another Master Server that has been made via Openspy for the mean time. Google this one because I'm unsure as to what to link.
  
  
  EDIT June 5th, 2023: The Steam page for UT3X has been changed back to it's original UT3 description. No news has been shared about whether there is a new page being developed or if the project has been cancelled.
  
  351554171_216700944501238_6447953282698484378_n.jpg

• 4. Unreal Tournament Pre-Alpha/Alpha/4/Dumpsterfire is being erased from the Epic Online Store, and as of now not much is known of what will become of that community. I'll update this thread if anything changes.
  
  EDIT: The UT4 Community at UT4UU has created a new Master Server. Check out the video provided below for more details.
  

• 5. As of December 14th 2022, All Unreal titles are being taken down from online stores until further notice, but as of February 2023 the Unreal communities have created new master servers for each UT game.

[Feralidragon]

It boils down to this:

• Unreal and UT99 will only be playable online with community master servers, meaning that either players update to the latest community patches for both games, or they will have to configure those master servers themselves;
• Unreal II, UT2003 and UT2004 won't be playable online anymore, unless you know the servers location and open them directly (from your favorites, by IP/host, by an external website, etc), since it seems they don't have their own master servers;
• UT3 will be in a similar state as UT2004, however Epic plans to keep supporting it in the future, so the shut down will be temporary;
• UT4 will be completely shut down, as they strongly imply that not even offline play will be possible with that one.

So Unreal and UT99 are relatively safe, since we've been using alternate master servers for years, and they work a LOT better than Epic's master server ever did, so the community is already used to those, thus the impact will just be felt by new players or old players returning to the game.

But as for the other ones, it's pretty much the end for them, it seems.

[Dennis]

Please remember that any end is only a start of a new beginning

UT will die with US not with EPIC.

[darkbarrage99]

Please remember that any end is only a start of a new beginning

UT will die with US not with EPIC.

yeah, and I'm hoping there's some new life that can be breathed into ut2k4 considering how badly it needs some community service.

the fact they're planning on bringing back ut3 is kinda weird, but I figure that's just got something to do with contracts involving xbox live services

[darksonny]

My main language is spanish, what does this mean, the end of the ut series, ut2k4 its shutting down also?
edit: how the hell returned or new players could know where are the servers located at?

[Buggie]

ut2k4 its shutting down also?

Yes. Master server down. Buy places down. (Maybe GOG will be still alive, not sure).

how the hell returned or new players could know where are the servers located at?

Use other sources of info. GameTracker for example. Discord server. Own web server with publish direct address.

[darksonny]

ut2k4 its shutting down also?

Yes. Master server down. Buy places down. (Maybe GOG will be still alive, not sure).

how the hell returned or new players could know where are the servers located at?

Use other sources of info. GameTracker for example. Discord server. Own web server with publish direct address.

Im thinking unreal series for Epic is not an matter of first order nor even for the next years.... Okay Now I can say Fucknite

[Skillz]

I wonder if Epic will let me host the official master server.

[Buggie]

What need do UT99 players:
( You can check also this nice instruction: https://333networks.com/instructions/ut )

1. Open your UnrealTournament.ini, search section UBrowserAll, ensure it look like (only important options shown):

Code: Select all

[UBrowserAll]
ListFactories[0]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=utmaster.epicgames.com,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,Region=0,GameName=ut
ListFactories[1]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=master.333networks.com,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,GameName=ut
ListFactories[2]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=master.oldunreal.com,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,GameName=ut
ListFactories[3]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=master.errorist.eu,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,GameName=ut
ListFactories[4]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=master.hypercoop.tk,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,GameName=ut
ListFactories[5]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=master.openspy.net,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,GameName=ut
ListFactories[6]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=master2.oldunreal.com,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,GameName=ut
ListFactories[7]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=master.newbiesplayground.net,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,GameName=ut
ListFactories[8]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=master.gonespy.com,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,GameName=ut
ListFactories[9]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=master-uk.unrealarchive.org,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,GameName=ut
ListFactories[10]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=master-de.unrealarchive.org,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,GameName=ut
ListFactories[11]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=master.hlkclan.net,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,GameName=ut
ListFactories[12]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=master.telefragged.com,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,GameName=ut
ListFactories[13]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=master.qtracker.com,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,GameName=ut
bFallbackFactories=False

Pay attention to bFallbackFactories=False

Also check this:

Code: Select all

[UBrowser.UBrowserMainClientWindow]
bKeepMasterServer=True

2. If you use XBrowser, open XBrowser.ini find section XBrowserTabInternet, ensure it look like that:

Code: Select all

[XBrowser.XBrowserTabInternet]
bKeepMasterServer=True
bFallbackFactories=True
MasterServer[0]=XBrowser.XBrowserFactInternet,MasterServerAddress=333networks.com,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,Region=0,GameName=ut
MasterServer[1]=XBrowser.XBrowserFactInternet,MasterServerAddress=master.errorist.tk,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,Region=0,GameName=ut
MasterServer[2]=XBrowser.XBrowserFactInternet,MasterServerAddress=master.oldunreal.com,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,Region=0,GameName=ut
MasterServer[3]=XBrowser.XBrowserFactInternet,MasterServerAddress=utmaster.epicgames.com,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,Region=0,GameName=ut
MasterServer[4]=XBrowser.XBrowserFactInternet,MasterServerAddress=unreal.epicgames.com,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,Region=0,GameName=ut

3. If you host UT server, ensure in UnrealTournament.ini set registration for many master servers, like that:

Code: Select all

ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=utmaster.epicgames.com MasterServerPort=27900
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master.333networks.com MasterServerPort=27900
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master.errorist.eu MasterServerPort=27900
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master.oldunreal.com MasterServerPort=27900
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master2.oldunreal.com MasterServerPort=27900
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master.hypercoop.tk MasterServerPort=27900
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master.openspy.net MasterServerPort=27900
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master.newbiesplayground.net MasterServerPort=27900
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master.gonespy.com MasterServerPort=27900
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master-uk.unrealarchive.org MasterServerPort=27900
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master-de.unrealarchive.org MasterServerPort=27900
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master.qtracker.com MasterServerPort=27900
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master.hlkclan.net MasterServerPort=27900
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master.telefragged.com MasterServerPort=27500
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master2.qtracker.com MasterServerPort=27900

Note: Older servers v436-v451 possible can experience crash if use many UdpServerUplink. In that case you need limit it to 3-4 of them.

---

Automatically merged

I wonder if Epic will let me host the official master server.

If you talk about 2k4 - there no published master server AFAIK.
Possible it can created by some revers-engineering protocol, but doable if this be legit or allowed by EPIC.

[darkbarrage99]

What need do UT99 players:

1. Open your UnrealTournament.ini, search section UBrowserAll, ensure it look like (only important options shown):

Code: Select all

[UBrowserAll]
ListFactories[0]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=utmaster.epicgames.com,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,Region=0,GameName=ut
ListFactories[1]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=master.333networks.com,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,GameName=ut
ListFactories[2]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=master.hlkclan.net,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,GameName=ut
ListFactories[3]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=master.oldunreal.com,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,GameName=ut
ListFactories[4]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=master.errorist.eu,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,GameName=ut
ListFactories[5]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=master.hypercoop.tk,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,GameName=ut
ListFactories[6]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=master.openspy.net,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,GameName=ut
ListFactories[7]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=master.gonespy.com,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,GameName=ut
ListFactories[8]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=master.telefragged.com,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,GameName=ut
ListFactories[9]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=master.qtracker.com,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,GameName=ut
ListFactories[10]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=master.newbiesplayground.net,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,GameName=ut
ListFactories[11]=UBrowser.UBrowserGSpyFact,MasterServerAddress=master2.oldunreal.com,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,GameName=ut
bFallbackFactories=False

Pay attention to bFallbackFactories=False

2. If you use XBrowser, open XBrowser.ini find section XBrowserTabInternet, ensure it look like that:

Code: Select all

[XBrowser.XBrowserTabInternet]
bKeepMasterServer=True
bFallbackFactories=True
MasterServer[0]=XBrowser.XBrowserFactInternet,MasterServerAddress=333networks.com,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,Region=0,GameName=ut
MasterServer[1]=XBrowser.XBrowserFactInternet,MasterServerAddress=master.errorist.tk,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,Region=0,GameName=ut
MasterServer[2]=XBrowser.XBrowserFactInternet,MasterServerAddress=master.oldunreal.com,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,Region=0,GameName=ut
MasterServer[3]=XBrowser.XBrowserFactInternet,MasterServerAddress=utmaster.epicgames.com,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,Region=0,GameName=ut
MasterServer[4]=XBrowser.XBrowserFactInternet,MasterServerAddress=unreal.epicgames.com,MasterServerTCPPort=28900,Region=0,GameName=ut

3. If you host UT server, ensure in UnrealTournament.ini set registration for many master servers, like that:

Code: Select all

ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=utmaster.epicgames.com MasterServerPort=27900
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master.333networks.com MasterServerPort=27900
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master.qtracker.com MasterServerPort=27900
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master.telefragged.com MasterServerPort=27500
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master.errorist.eu MasterServerPort=27900
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master.hlkclan.net MasterServerPort=27900
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master.oldunreal.com MasterServerPort=27900
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master2.oldunreal.com MasterServerPort=27900
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master.hypercoop.tk MasterServerPort=27900
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master.openspy.net MasterServerPort=27900
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master.newbiesplayground.net MasterServerPort=27900
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master.gonespy.com MasterServerPort=27900

---

Automatically merged

I wonder if Epic will let me host the official master server.

If you talk about 2k4 - there no published master server AFAIK.
Possible it can created by some revers-engineering protocol, but doable if this be legit or allowed by EPIC.

This is already included with the 469 patch, correct?

[Buggie]

Not all of it. Post above is my setup. v469 contain not all of these master servers. At least for v469c. Maybe for v469d it expands more.
But in general v469c come with enough good setup so not need change anything.

But XBrowser not part of patch or stock game. So if you use it, you need check settings.

Also patch itself not touch your ini files. It is only replace defaults. This mean you better check it. Since your screwed settings from old version can override good defaults from patch.

About server setup - it is always custom stuff. Also it easy for check.

[darksonny]

https://www.pcgamer.com/epic-is-delisti ... nt-3-free/

[Dr.Flay]

I have contacted Epic and GOG about the situation on behalf of 333networks, so I should have some news to share at some point.
I am also pushing for the allowance of supporting UT2004, but that is more of a technical issue.

[darksonny]

I have contacted Epic and GOG about the situation on behalf of 333networks, so I should have some news to share at some point.
I am also pushing for the allowance of supporting UT2004, but that is more of a technical issue.

what will happen to the people who are developing ut469c patch with these negative news?

[The_Cowboy]

I have contacted Epic and GOG about the situation on behalf of 333networks, so I should have some news to share at some point.
I am also pushing for the allowance of supporting UT2004, but that is more of a technical issue.

what will happen to the people who are developing ut469c patch with these negative news?

One, actually two, words Open Source!

It be the only way forwards, in my POV!