This is the dark, bitter side of playing old games. You have to deal with the knowledge that your appreciation for a particular title isn't going to be shared by the vast majority of gamers, and that it's likely to only get worse. This is especially difficult when it's an obscure game, and one that you really love. AvP Classic 2000 is probably one of my top 10 favorite games of all time. But it has such a small community that finding multiplayer games is all but impossible. It really saddens me...literally...to know that it's only a matter of time before nobody is playing the game. The servers will shut down...the old hands will move on with their lives...and that will be that.
But, I do have good news, OP. Unreal isn't a dead game. I only played it for the first time a year or so ago, and it quickly became one of my favorites. I have a current SP game going right now, as a matter of fact. It has an active modding community that puts out regular fan-made patches (
http://www.oldunreal.com/). And yes... the multiplayer is dead. But that's only because everyone is over at Unreal Tournament 1999, which is basically the exact same multiplayer, but better. In fact, UT99 is probably one of the more populated old multiplayer games I've ever found. So, no need to be sad! There's still plenty of love for Unreal.
No... save your mourning for AvP...
:(