Unreal Tournament 3 Goes High Rez With DM-Spectrum
By Dr. Evelyn Reed | November 05, 2025 | 7 min read
Budding level designer Matt Bradley is off to a good start with “DM-Spectrum,” a deathmatch map for Unreal Tournament 3 that’s unlike anything we’ve seen for the gib-laden shoot ’em up.
DM-Spectrum, writes Bradley, is designed on a concept that forces UT3 players to use the game’s spectrum of lighting to navigate and kill opponents. Disco floor lighting highlights a player’s current position, with seven cubes of lighting giving other players a global peek at where opponents are on the map.
“Each coloured cube represents a different area of the map,” Bradly writes. “When a player is in one of these areas the corresponding cube lights up notifying other players. As one [[link]] learns the map they should be able to find enemies without to much hardship.”
A trailer is after this.
[[link]]According to Bradley, DM-Spectrum also uses curved walls to prevent players from getting stuck in corners, with white track lighting indicating the borders of the level’s three platforms.
That auto-generated soundtrack you’re hearing in the trailer may not be reflective of the custom level’s audio capabilities.
“I had intended to add a REZ style layered soundtrack but was foiled by a lack of programming and UnrealEd knowledge,” Bradley says. “Maybe I will take some time to learn because I think it would have considerably added to the level. Subverting traditional playstyles further by forcing the player to use the audio to [[link]] navigate.”
Thanks to Stuart for the tip.