Unreal Tournament 2004 / Game Types & Mods / Carball

Carball is a user modification (or mod, for short) for Unreal Tournament 2004 (UT2004) that introduces a new gametype involving vehicles and a giant ball in a soccer/football like competition. Players drive dune buggy like vehicles with the goal of knocking a large, indestructible, bouncing ball into a goal. These vehicles are capable of not only flipping, jumping, and other acrobatics, but also of using various power-ups to change their speed, visibility, and weaponry.

The Carball mod is unique in that it changes the game's focus from killing other players to driving, teamwork and having fun with physics. Weapons can affect other players, but are more often used on the ball. Chaos and unpredictability are common in Carball games, even ones with great team work and communication from both sides. Far more so than most mods, Carball will often make you laugh as much as it will make you jeer and cheer.

The most important thing to think of when playing is teamwork. You must work with your other teammates to set up the score just like you would in real soccer.

Game play

Gameplay is simple in theory: players use vehicles to attempt to place a ball into the goal area of an opposing team. The team that scores the most number of goals at the end of a match is the winning team. In practise, that is easier said then done and that is where the fun comes from.

Power-ups are available to enhance a vehicle's abilities. Drive over a power-up and it is added to your inventory (or in the case of the repair power-up it takes effect immediately). You may hold up to three power-ups at any time and activate them when you wish. Each power-up has a primary and an alt-fire mode.

All Carball vehicles are capable of acrobatics - they can do wheelies, jump, flip into the air, and point their nose up or down.

Power-ups

Repair Kit - This Power-Up will repair 50 points worth of damage to your vehicle.

Nitro Boost - Provides a speed boost, but reduces control. Alt-Fire causes the car to jump straight up.

Goo Pile - Drops a bunch of slime globs that causes damage. Alt-Fire lobs the slime forward. The longer you hold down the Alt-Fire button, the further the slime is lobbed.

Pocket Rocket - Fires a powerful rocket. It no longer does damage; it only knocks people around.

Invisibility - Makes your vehicle invisible.

Flip-Mine - Drops a mine which flips vehicles that drive over it.

Nuke - A large area explosion.

Portable Repulse Field Generator - Primary fire does a repulse effect only; alt-fire functions as a damage shield.

Electro-Pulse Generator - Primary fire shoots a beam of energy that can knock other vehicles around, and to a lesser extent, the ball. Alt-fire fires an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) that will shoot out from the front of your car. If a car is hit by this pulse, it will be unable to drive for several seconds.

Customization

You can customize your car with custom license plates, skins, and wheels.

Installation

Once you have installed a full retail version of UT2004 with the latest patches and other updates on your computer system, you can install Carball. Activate the UMOD or expand the ZIP archive to the root directory of your UT2004 install.

After a successful installation, Carball should appear as an entry in your "Game Type" drop down menu and can be selected just like you would select an Onslaught, Capture the Flag or an Assault game.

The community

Unreal Tournament 2004 (UT2004) has produced many user modifications (mods) that are more high profile than Carball, but very few with players as dedicated as the crowd of Carball regulars ("The Carball Community"). You will be hard pressed to find a mod for any game that inspires the use of the word "addicted" or outbursts of laughter from its players as much as Carball does.

The most important tip of all comes from a quote made by the player who goes by the handle Gruelsicle: "Don't take five minutes off of your life over Carball."