Quake 3 came out 1 week after Unreal Tournament did in 1999.
Quake 3 had a better engine, but Unreal Touranment had more creative weapons, sound cues, and level design. (Assault mode!)
Quake 3 had better balanced levels for purely deathmatch, which turned out to be the part that was the purest distillment of what people would want to play.
So, yes, I do think you're right that I am underselling Quake 3. I was always a UT fan from day 1, and never understood why Quake 3 took over. But that's personal preference, and I undervalue it's impact to the industry.
It also shows I guess that since Romero previously did all the level designs, Carmack was able to replace him. But Romero was never able to replace Carmack.
Quake 3 had a better engine, but Unreal Touranment had more creative weapons, sound cues, and level design. (Assault mode!)
Quake 3 had better balanced levels for purely deathmatch, which turned out to be the part that was the purest distillment of what people would want to play.
So, yes, I do think you're right that I am underselling Quake 3. I was always a UT fan from day 1, and never understood why Quake 3 took over. But that's personal preference, and I undervalue it's impact to the industry.
It also shows I guess that since Romero previously did all the level designs, Carmack was able to replace him. But Romero was never able to replace Carmack.