Hunter
Back in 2000/2001 I remember cracking out UT in Software rending mode on an old machine and being drawn in by the intro seen I got a load of blue pixels and never say the "precaching" message until years later.
At the time I was just getting in to computers in general and picking up games like Delta Force 2 which help start my life of online gaming. Although I was only on dial-up at the time I loved hoping in to a game in Cursed or Deck16 and being blow to pieces. I kept going back for more, the music, the gameplay and even the taughting bots had me going back for more every time.
I remember finding the Map Editor and thinking that I could easily jump in and make something as good as anything out there but kept getting bored when it took forever to load up and never did. When I did let it load I had questions and needed answers and stumbled across a massive community who loved the game and although the questions were answered I never put it in to practice.
Instead I was draw in to the community and kept coming back and playing other peoples maps and mods. I even tried my hand at hitting regular games and using the inbuilt IRC to find if anyone was playing. Unlike most I never found a clan due to playing Delta Force 2 in a squad and being actively involved in matches.
It wasn't until I got my first proper machine with a GeForce 2 that I really started playing UT and left Delta Force 2 far behind. I loved CTF-Face and finding a small perch with the sniper rifle and trying to pick people off as the ran for our flag.
The first time I got hold of the copy of UT was from a friend who lived across the road I just remember the white label with "UT" written on it. It wasn't until much later when I came across the Infogrames GOTY edition did I know I was home playing UT.