Q3Arena.com - The Ultimate Quake III Site

- Challenge Mod brings new features like voting, warm up mode and time match. Check it out.
- Team War has released WarCTF match mod. "It is a server side mod that lets you run a ctf server easily. It has similar function to the popular L-Fire CTF match mod for q2. Admins, setting up matches, etc., are all included." Check it out!
- Viz mod by Hentai is a really fun addition to the ever growing mod folder :) It contains features like bleeding, big head mode, new railgun effect, etc. You can even see your own legs! This makes a nice combination with the newly created 'Conni' model! =)

- Darkstar, the team doing the Sniper Mod has put up some cool modelling tutorials for Milkshape 3d. They're in .avi format and will teach you stuff from the basics (making models, scaling and rotating, etc), to more advanced chores (bones, faces, animating models, etc).
- Chumbalum Soft has posted a list of tutorials for Milkshape3d, their 3d modelling utility.
- Graphtallica has made their seventh texture pack, which is "Useful for an ancient temple, secluded terriorist hideout, or anything outside of the city." Check it out.
- QuakeHeads has got two new coding tutorials, "Automating Compiling and Running", which talks about compiling and running the code (duh:) and "Insane Gauntlet", which teaches you how to make the gauntlet do 500 damage =)
- HypoThermia's Quake 3 Corner has put up a tutorial on how to compile the code with Borland.

- Swampbug has made a cool Stormtrooper skin, which comes in a white, red and blue flavour ;)
- Maxer's page has been updated with a new Q3A Wallpaper and a preview trailer of his upcoming Q3A movie called "Pissed Off".
- Polycount has got a new q3a model made by id Software's Paul Steed, called 'Conni'. Check it out, it's a hot chick running around in a bikini!

The Quake3 Retreat has posted a new skin on its site called Flamearki. It is available for download from their skins section. Check it out!

- I have written an extensive Developer's FAQ that answers many common editing questions. The issues include coding, mapping, skinning, modelling, pak files, etc. Check it out.
- FvF World has put up the second part of their Q3A Programming Tutorial which teaches how to modify the Plasma Gun to return the FlameThrower to Quake III Arena.

A new mapping site has been opened at Stomped today, called the Z-Axis. It is divided into two sites, one for each of these great games. The two sites contain mapping news, reviews, links, etc. Go check it out: Z-Axis.

- The Q3A Resource has posted a Q&A with TeqSkywalker from Team Assault mod. It also contains two exclusive screenshots of their weapons. So go check it out.
- OverDrive Quake has released an interview with Genocide Spasm, the lead programmer of the upcoming mod OverDriveQuake3 (ODQ3).

- There's a new model viewing config called Bluescreen. For more info stop by at their site.
- Q3 Arena Demo Menu Enhancement is a simple ui replacement that enhances the Quake3 Demo Menu with some neat features.
- Quake 3 Zone is starting up a King of The Server Tournament. For more info stop by at their site. Thanks, Gemini.
- There is a quake domain for sale, if you're interested stop by at QuakeCorner.com

- I caught over at PlanetQuake a new version of TecArena, the Q3A launching utility which offers features like map cycling, enable/disable bots and cheats, joining servers, etc. They have also released BotPlugin v0.8 with some new features.
- There's also a new version of Q3 Offline, a setup utility for q3a. The new version adds various cool features and bug fixes.

Gamesurge has just slapped up a Quake Arena weapons guide, which can be found here. Thanks, Cerberus!

- The beta 0.3 version of the Equilibrium mod has been released and is available for download.
- Team Phatass has updated their page with some sneak preview .mp3's of their upcoming mod's music. It's quite neat, check them out!
- 3d Palette sent us a word that one of their hosted sites, Tabun was updated with a cool skinning tutorial on creating glowing eyes using shaders.
- Surren Pillay from the Nightrunner Mod updated their downloads section with a 3D Studio Max animation assistant which allows you to view the player animation sequences one at a time. It works on all platforms, 3D Studio Max 2.5 or better required.

There is a new Q3 map available called Frustration, which was designed for 4 player FFA. Go check it out.

The guys from the Gaming News Network just let us know that they have put up a strategy guide. It is a 16 page guide which covers things like General Deathmatch Strategies, 1 on 1 Strategies, and Individual Weapon Strategies and statistics. Go check it out! Thanks, Storm.

Hi there! This is my first post here at q3arena.com. My new position is clicking banner ads and getting 20 cents a click! Just kidding =) I'll be helping Bomb with the news, so if you have any newsbits, be sure to send them in !

I would like everyone to give a warm welcome to Decayed, the latest addition to Q3Arena.com's staff team. He will be updating news and helping us with work behind the scenes. :)

Paul Steed from id Software sent rogue13 from Polycount some new BIP files for Character Studio. You can now make your own models dance in the footsteps of the following characters: Anarki, Biker, Bitterman, Bones, Crash, Doom, Grunt, Hunter, Keel, Klesk, Lucy, Major, Mynx, Orbb, Ranger, Razor, Sarge, Slash, Sorlag, TankJr, Uriel, Visor, and Xaero. Check out their website for more details.

To kickoff the celebration of their domain launch, QuakeIdge scored an interview with id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead. Check out the interview by clicking here.

Lilith & Eve are doing a show on Women in Gaming, and L&E hosts Stef and Vangie will be talking to two great ladies in the gaming industry. Caryn 'Hellchick' Law is the new Content Director for PlanetQuake, and was also a finalist in the L&E FFF'99 event. They will be talking to Caryn about her job, life at PQ and much more! They will also have Holly Hirzel, President of Player 1 on-hand to talk about her duties and all the new games we can expect to see coming from Player1. All this and more is coming to you live tonight at 7:00 PM EST on Lilith & Eve.

The Challenge "Pro Mode" mod for Q3A proposes to make some changes to Quake III: Arena gameplay based on "expert" input from Quake 1, 2 and 3 players. In a unique approach, the key designers are the gamers who are most likely to benefit from it.

Everyone is invited to make their own contribution to the Candidate List of potential changes (which will remain "open" for a couple more weeks). To add your suggestions, email Hoony or click here for complete details.

Mick "VerMoorD" Beard has released a new map for Quake III: Arena called Sanctum. It is a remake of his DMSanctum map for Unreal. Check it out by clicking here.

id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead updated his .plan with a little humor story. Here's what he had to say:

On my way to grab a Coke, I saw something I thought you folks might find entertaining:

As many people know, we collect articles that feature id and/or our games and have them framed to hang up around the office. We also do this with the some of the various awards the games have won that come in the form of certificates (as opposed to trophies or plates). In the break room one of the certificates is from Game Byte Magazine (aside: where are they now?). It's a "Readers' Choice" award giving DOOM "Honorable Mention" for 1993 Action/Arcade Game of the Year.

Yes, you read it right: "Honorable Mention" =) Talk about missing the mark.

I looked at it and just had to laugh. We probably put it up by mistake in the first place (since we only hang the awards we actually win, as opposed to coming in 3rd or 4th place on), and in that *very same room* are 4 other "Readers'" award certificates from PC Gamer for DOOM for 1993: Best Technical Achievement, Best Graphics, Best Arcade Game, and Best Overall Game.

Magazines going in different directions...

I just hope he didn't spew Coke all over the walls after seeing it. The world may never know. :)

Commander Keen has updated his console page with the latest commands and variables from version Q3 1.15c win-x86 Jan 13 2000 of Quake 3 Arena. The new additions are clearly marked in green while the removed items are marked red. The unchanged items are just plain white. He also welcomes your input on any commands that are missing or lacking detail. Check it out!

The Mean Arena has posted an interview with Zoid from id Software. The interview's theme is centered around CTF.

PlayNOW! has posted an interview with id Software's Paul Steed & Tim Willits, which was conducted when they were on tour last month. The interview covers a broad range of topics such as working at id, gaming interests, and more.

Clan LsD has announced the release of a two map .pk3 for Quake III: Arena CTF. The first map is an original CTF map (Forsaken Citadels), while the second map is a remake of a Quake classic (Forgotten Mines), with a few new twists thrown in. You can download the .pk3 by clicking here.

There is a new skinning tutorial at RuffSkinz for beginning skinners. It covers everything from the programs needed, saving the different file types, and using a model viewer.

4 Team CTF is looking for some mappers and coders to work on their upcoming CTF mod for Quake III: Arena. If you are interested, please check out their website.

Gamesurge has posted a strategy index for Quake III: Arena, which you can check out by clicking here. Gamesurge searches the web for strategies related to a certain game and then creates a giant list full of the results.

Webpuppy, the latest program to be released under the Webdog banner, is now available for download. In a minuscule 100KB download, Webpuppy provides up to the minute headlines from Blue's News, full customization and a swanky interface. Click here for the downloads page.

Peej has released his first Quake III: Arena deathmatch map called Quake3:Addiction. It's a remake of his popular QuakeWorld map Strafin6 and is designed for 1v1 and 3-6 FFA players. Check it out here.

Beta 1.1 of Checkered Flag Goldcup has been released for download. Checkered Flag Goldcup is a Quake Rally style mod for Quake, but has more features, pure racing, and great maps.

Nechaboi from Quakeheads has posted a tutorial for compiling Quake III: Arena mods with the compiler that comes with Quake III: Arena, instead of using other software programs. Check it out here.

The folks at Thresh's Firing Squad sent John Carmack an e-mail on why GameSpy's modified server browser DLL is allowed on so-called, "pure" Quake III Arena servers. This article is definitely worth reading. Click here to find out more.

Tritin Films has released a short film titled "CTF - Comedy in Armor." The film is available for download in Windows Media's .ASF format. Tritin Films is known well in the community for its release of Quad God.

The Bullseye Crosshair site has added 5 new Quake III: Arena crosshairs and 5 new sets of HUD numbers (not for pure servers, naturally). In addition, their Half-Life section has 8 new crosshairs and 5 new sniper hairs for Counter Strike.

The DBZ: Bid For Power website has moved to its new home at http://www.bidforpower.com. To celebrate the relocation, they've planned a huge update with model renders of their Freeza character showing off his various animations including: take off, landing, charging, kicking, and his intimidating stance. Check it out!

Version 5.0 of King of the Server has been released for download. This release sports an entire showcase of new additions (so many that we can't list them all!), so head on over to the official website to see all of the neat features of this mod.

Q_Check is a highly configurable auto-away plugin for mIRC that can detect when a user joins a game server (Quake III: Arena, Unreal Tournament, Half Life, Quake2 and more) via GameSpy. The plugin will automatically set the user away and announce the name and IP address of the server. Check out the script by clicking here.

The Q3Fortress Team, developers of the Team Fortress inspired team-play based mod for Quake 3 Arena, have announced the release of 15 new screenshots from its map making team. Including previews from 4 of their new maps: 2Night3 by Wils, 2MachSE by Llama and both CBases and Crossfire by Chumble, the new screenshots are available from their website. They would also appreciate any feedback, so stop by their forums and let them know what you think.

Legowhore has informed me that he has released version 1.5 of Q3ServerKit for download. This program operates on Win32, Linux, and Solaris. It has undergone new coding, graphics, and adds more features and support. Check out the site for complete details and screenshots!

LadyICE over at PlanetQuake interviewed Steven "Massive Bitch" Irvine, skinner/sound pimp extraordinaire, and lead skinner for Polycount. In this interview, Steven talks about things such as how he got started with skinning, and also reveals whom he likes working with in the community. Check it out by clicking here.

Servarena version 1.23 has been released. This "1-1-1" release fixes a bug, adds a feature, and changes a setting. Complete details are listed on the download page.

A message board post at quake3world.com caught the attention of id Software's CEO, Todd Hollenshead. The message board post is called invisible skin wtf !!!???!!! and brings up a point about modified skin .paks many gamers are concerned about. Here's Hollenshead's response:

This stuff has been around forever. In Quake II, people made models that were a one pixel cube and tried to get people to download them. If you're afraid of getting a "cheat" skin as part of a skin pack and aren't willing to check, then you shouldn't download skin packs.

As far as whether we should "allow" this or not, we can't prevent it without preventing all custom skins. There's no way to write a program that only uses the "non-cheating" skins and disallows all of the others. If you don't want custom skins, you don't have to get them. The game ships with 89 skins and 20+ models. And you can always use cg_forcemodel if you see someone using a skin that you don't like until you can find it and delete it.

Lastly, you can always contact the skin download sites and ask them to remove skins that appear to be cheats or at least give you the option of which skins you want to download.

GameSpy has announced the release of ArenaSpy v1.0, a new in-game browser for Quake III: Arena. It sports a bunch of neat features and is available as unsupported freeware. Check it out by clicking here.

GameSpy 3D v2.19 shareware has been released for download. This version adds "fuller" support for Quake III: Arena. This new version also supports searches and sorting for Quake III: Arena modifications.

"The Decayed" has just finished the first version of his Quake III: Arena Developers' FAQ. It covers stuff from .pak files through general mod issues, coding, skinning, and miscellaneous issues, but its primary focus is mapping. Give it a peek!

The Oxygen Tank has posted the first details on HeadHunters 3, Tarot Games' upcoming Total Conversion for Quake 3 Arena. Included in their coverage are several new screenshots, concept artwork, an in-depth interview with Roshach and Monsto Brukes, and a lengthy IRC Chat that has been indexed with helpful links to categorized discussion. Click here to check it out!

Zarjazz, author of the BarrysWorld Q2 Admin DLL utility, has produced some precompiled Windows Game .dlls for Quake III: Arena. Just unzip them into your Quake3 directory for a possible 5-20% fps increase (depending on your system of course). They have been compiled using VC++ 6.0 and are optimized for Pentium II+ processors and speed. Click here to download.

Q3Arena.com is looking for an additional person to help with the daily news. We are looking for someone who can update between the hours 8 A.M. through 4 P.M. Eastern time. Previous experience and references are required. This is a voluntary position and will not require much time per day overall. If you are interested, contact bomb@q3arena.com for details. Only serious applicants need apply.

The official FAQ for Quake III: Arena has been updated to version 0.41, mentioning known issues with A3D. It also includes a new features/fixed bug list, which was also included in the point release.

QuakeTek is giving away several GeForce graphics cards in a contest. Click here for the entry page.

The S.A.S's Guide to Quake III: Arena has been updated to include more advanced Quake III: Arena configs, and details of the 32 player BarrysWorld Mega Game demo that can be used to give your system's FPS a test.

Graeme Devine updated his .plan with a link to some bot editing documents that have been put together, and also mentions a little about the DLL vs. VM debates.

Mr Elusive just put together some bot editing documents, the file is available on our ftp server:

ftp://ftp.idsoftware.com/idstuff/quake3/tools/Q3ABotEdit.zip

We've been following the whole DLL vs. VM debates, and id is firmly on the side of using VMs for game mods. We will be addressing the "auto swap" VM depending on which server you go to quickly (this was a bug) but I think we will be strict on saying that people should use VMs over DLL files. The next executable release will probably have a warning screen come up that you will need to agree to and click through if the game is about to load a DLL.

Q3Center.com is hosting a mapping contest open to anyone in the community. Check out the details for prize information and requirements if you're interested in participating.

Another great Quake III: Arena wallpaper from "The Maxer" can now be downloaded from Quake3.de. This is a 1280x1024 wallpaper that shows the Doom character holding a rocket launcher from Quake III: Arena. Pretty impressive!

Servarena version 1.22 has been released for download. This version has a few bug fixes and new additions, and is available either as an update or full install. Servarena is a Win32 application capable of running on any PC that supports the Win32 build of Quake III: Arena.

Just The Movies has announced the release of Road To Coma after three months of production. The movie sports music with attitude, full voice acting, loads of new models with hundreds frames of animation. Check it out!

The comprehensive list of Quake III: Arena console commands and variables at http://q3a.pcgame.com has been updated and includes the 100 new commands and variables in the retail version of the game. Each command and variable's purpose/use is explained, along with examples of how to use it. The list is available alphabetically or in categorized lists.

Matt Ownby has put together a small tutorial for using the grappling hook in Quake III: Arena, using the source code that was released a few days ago. Check it out here.

One of the new additions to the Quake III: Arena engine is a "magic" texture called Caulk. Druel from Quakeheads.com wrote to id Software's Paul Jaquays about this neat texture. Jaquays replied with an excerpt from the manual he was working on. Here's the deal:

Caulk
Location: (common/caulk)
Color: Opaque Pink
Caulk, the miracle texture. It blocks vis. It seals the world off from the void. It doesn�t draw (so it doesn�t add to polycounts). It keeps Curves from competeing with textures behind them. It looks like heck if you see it in your world. From the View menu (View=>Show=>Caulk), you can toggle on and off the display of caulk brush sides.
Design Tips: When you build a brush entity (a.k.a. b_model), mark all the brush sides that you will never see with caulk. Otherwise, the game draws every one of them. Even if you're only making a one-piece door, mark all the non-viewed sides with caulk. The same holds true for detail brushes. If you can't (or won�t ever) see a brush face on a brush that's been marked as detail, paint it with caulk. Next, whenever you build a curve, try to build the brush geometry immediately behind it out of caulk. Finally, look around your map for brush faces which you suspect are being drawn, but are never seen: door pockets, bars, underneath bridges or very low railings and so on. It may sound like work, but attention to detail like this buys you both the appearance of greater geometric detail in the map AND faster game running speed."

Q3Arena.com has finally opened its doors to the Quake III: Arena clan community. We have been overwhelmed with the requests for clan hosting, and we're now able to offer it! Check out our hosting section for complete details!

Eurogamer has acquired a pair of Sidewinder Dual Strike gamepads, ready to give away at two lucky individuals. For more details about this giveaway, check out their entry page. To get the specifications on the Microsoft Dual Strike gamepads, click here.

The Quake Developer's Library Site's Message Board (aka the QDeveLS Message Board) has now officially switched its focus toward Quake III: Arena and new topics have been created for the continued Quake/Quake II discussions.

The QDeveLS Message Board continues to be a place where the top coders in the community share their insights and problems with others. Its a place where new coders can steadily increase their skills as they learn from those who have come before them.

Version 2.0 Beta 53 of AirQuake for Quake II has been released for download. This edition includes bug fixes and several new additions. Check it out by clicking here.

Servarena v1.20 has been released for download. This release includes a plethora of new additions as well as some bug fixes. Servarena is a Win32 application capable of running on any PC that supports the Win32 build of Quake III Arena.

The source code for the Quake III: Arena (game .dll) is now available to be downloaded. A formal update will be on the official Quake III: Arena website most likely around Monday. Robert Duffy updated his .plan with details about this release. Check it out!

The game source is out. It should start appearing on mirrors soon. It is in idstuffquake3source and named "Q3AGameSource.exe"

There is a "How to make a mod" text file included which shows the very basics of building the source for debugging ( Win32, Visual C++ ) and building the vms for distributing mods. It also shows steps to get your mod to run with the engine.

PLEASE NOTE: The game source MUST BE INSTALLED in quake3 off of whatever drive you like. This is so the batch files and the lcc compiler can find all the right stuff for building vm's.

The tool source and video compressor will be out next week. This will include source q3data, q3map, q3asm, q3radiant, our version of lcc and the executable for the video compressor.

As always, I have mirrored a copy of the source on our anonymous FTP server here at Q3Arena.com. You can download it by clicking here.

Graeme Devine updated his .plan today addressing the issue of CD Keys and the authorization process. Here's the scoop:

Okay. I see a lot of people with "awaiting CD Key authorization" questions.

In almost all cases, this is due to the IP address of the authorize server being wrong because the hosts file on the client has somehow been altered. You can test to see if this is your problem by going to a DOS prompt and typing the following:

ping authorize.quake3arena.com

If you get the following, then your system has an invalid entry somewhere redirecting the authorize requests to the wrong IP address.

Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=32
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=32
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=32
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=32

If you�re running Windows 95/98, then in almost every case editing the file called �hosts� which resides in your c:windows (or wherever you�ve installed windows) directory and removing any lines that mention authorize.quake3arena.com can fix this.

Various cracks and CD key gen utilities (none of which actually work) appear to be the culprit, adjusting your hosts file without your knowledge or consent.

The folks at DBZ: Bid For Power website have updated with a "Designer s Journal," several different skins from their Freeza model, two new images of their Planet Namek level, and a F.A.Q. section that lists many common questions people have about the mod. Dragon Ball Z: Bid For Power is a mod for Quake III: Arena that is fast paced deathmatch action modeled specifically after the Japanese anime Dragonball Z. Bid For Power incorporates characters, levels, attacks as well as many other aspects of the TV show and reconstructs them into the Quake III engine.

With all of the Point Releases and .plan updates in the past few days, some folks may be wondering what is going on since fixes are not appearing in the latest Point Release. A post on the ShugaShack addresses the missing PL (packetloss) indicator.

We are not planning on putting a packet loss indicator in. Packet loss is actually harder to messure in terms of impact in Quake3 because of the snapshot system. In QW a lost packet meant you lost a frame (stuff wouldn't appear) but in Quake3, it'll interpolate most stuff and you won't notice a loss that much.

Packet loss is reflected in the ping as well. If you are losing some of the snapshots, your ping will go up as well (since the average round trip time goes up during that lost packet).

Also, I saw on Stomped that Lethalp1mp sent word of a Quake3World forum post addressing the lack of autodownload in Quake III: Arena, which caught the attention of id Software's Paul Jaquays. Here's one of the responses:

Some good discussion has been going on here and I think I can take a few of these to our development team. The strongest argument so far is being kicked when the map cycles to a map not on the client's local drive. I don't see us including auto-download. But I can see doing something like bringing up an informational screen.

Having some kind of informational screen become available regarding the contents of the map cycle script would be good.

Rather than id making a download site (I can't see that happening), a server side modification that would allow hot linking to download sites of the server op's choosing. One of the problems with this is that not every map maker has a stabile web page. They come and go.

PlanetQuake has posted a seven-part tutorial on bot building, called Bot-Building 101. Check out this great resource by clicking here.

K9 Sports has announced their upcoming gaming event, K9-Con 2000! K9-Con 2000 will be held in San Jose, California at the San Jose Convention Center, from August 24th through the 27th. With over 30,000 Square feet of space, there is room for 2,000 gamers, making this the largest LAN Gaming event on the U.S. west coast. Click here for the press release and additional details.

Requiem, a Quake mod, has been ported for Quake II, serving the Win32 and Linux platforms. This port has many of the same features you've come to love and expect from Quake, such as the jumpslide and the hook, not to mention the most efficiently balanced runes around. While this new port is still in beta testing and development, it is close enough to completion for others to enjoy. Click here to check out their site for additional details.

The Point Release beta 2 patch for Quake III: Arena has been released, along with the first for the Mac. The source code for the PC release should be available soon. Here's a few changes in the Point Release beta 2 for the PC, as mentioned in Robert Duffy's .plan:

Changes:

-Control menu works properly
-Pure server connection notification
-2D Armor icon appears properly
-.arena files are accumulated properly across pk3 files
-A few other smallish fixes

We have the files available to you on our anonymous FTP server. Click here for the PC release, or here for the Mac point release.

Team Reaction is announcing its release of Gloom version 1.2 tonight at 10:00pm EST (assuming all goes well). They will be hosting an IRC release party on Inside3D.net (thepeel.inside3d.net) tonight at about 10:00pm EST. Gloom 1.2 adds 2 new classes to the game, the Wraith and the Biotech Medic. It also includes several cheat and bug fixes, and also a more balanced gameplay. Seven new official maps are also included in the package. They are Streetfight and Minesgloom by Vedacon, Homeworld by Sul, the 2 Bugports maps by Bidmix, and Derelict Special Edition by Lifer. Click here to visit the website for more complete details.

3D Palette and Skindom are having a Quake III: Arena skinning competition. The goal is to create the most attractive, creative, and imaginative skin possible for id Software's Quake III: Arena. Each of the top 3 skin artists will walk away with a brand new Razer Boomslang 1000 mouse and an official Razer mousepad. Runners up won't walk away empty handed though, Razer will offer T-shirts, hats and other assorted official Razer apparrel. Click here for complete details.

GameSpy 3D v2.19 has been released today for registered users. This edition includes full Quake III: Arena support and has many new additional features. You can download your copy from FilePlanet.com

Version 1.0.31 Beta of Quake 3 Control is now available for download. This is a remote admin tool for Quake III: Arena, with many additions and bug fixes in this edition.

The Savage UK - Quake TV website has announced the release of Quake TV, a set of programs that allows people to view Quake II & Quake III: Arena matches live as they are played. This program is useful for competitions and tournaments, and should have a demonstration sometime next week.

Snow Dog has released version 1.1.2 of Servarena today, which fixes a bug that caused the previous version of the program to crash under certain conditions. Go and grab a new copy by clicking here.

id Software released the final Win32 Point Release for Quake III: Arena, which is now available for download on our anonymous FTP server. Robert Duffy updated his .plan with the changes.

The Point Release ( Win32 version ) is out. It should start appearing on mirrors soon.

The three primary fixes in this version over the 2nd beta are:

-crash when bots chat on dedicated servers
-crash when bots chat under linux
-bots no longer "keep" trying to score after they respawn if they died carrying the flag

Quake3Zone.net is a new site with single player DM, team DM, and clan CTF tournaments. Prizes range from a TNT2 AGP card to a Quake III: Arena jersey. Job openings are also available, so contact Gemini if you're interested.

Q3Fortress.com has launched its site for their new mod, based on the original Team Fortress modification for Quake but developed for Quake III: Arena. It will utilize all new original maps, graphics and sound, and also will still use the classes, weapons, and in-game abilities that made TF1 such a success.

ZTN (Sten Uusvali) spoke on Cached.net about the ethics of converting his maps, and also about if he plans to convert his current maps to work with Quake III: Arena. Here's a clip:

And to answer the numerous questions I receive daily: I WILL make Q3 versions of my old maps...totally rebuilt, tuned for Q3 gameplay. No bulk conversions. I can assure you, they will look and play much- much better than any of the 3rd party conversions. The maps I'm planning to convert, include: ztndm3- Blood Run, ztndm5 - Painkiller, ztndm6 - The Vomitorium, ztn2dm2 - The Killing machine, ztn2dm3 -The Rage. Blood Run is already shaping up, I'll post some screenshot's today.

Many people have directed me to a post on Slashdot where John Carmack posts anonymously clearing up some issues about Powerplay. The post claims that he (Carmack) is on his honeymoon in Hawaii, which is why the post is anonymous. I cannot verify if this is truly Carmack, but it's worth a peek.

No way do I intend to rewrite the linux TCP/IP stack.

I had mentioned to Yahn that it would be an interesting experiment to yank all the networking code (TCP/IP + PPP + serial driver) into user space so some cross-boundary optimization experiments can be made. I doubt there is any apreciable latency in the TCP/IP stack, but there might be some scheduling losses somewhere through PPP and the serial driver. Even if a send packet call goes syncronously all the way to the serial ring buffer, giving no real potential for latency reduction, there are still lots of possible experiments with making decisions based on normally hidden data.

Just like the GLX driver work is Good For Me as a graphics programmer, going through all the guts of the networking stack would be Good For Me as a netowrking programmer. I may pursue this, and I may collect some interesting data, but I seriously doubt it would be any contribution to the standard network stacks.

I had a long talk with a couple people from Valve about the PowerPlay initiative, but they couldn't give me enough specific technical details for me to endorse it. I'm all for improvements in networking infrastructure, but at this point, there isn't anything actually there, just an intention to improve gaming. They need to tell me SPECIFICALLY what I am supposed to be endorsing. At some point, bits have to go into packets and routers need to make decisions on them. Changes at that level is what I want to hear about, not strategic company relationships.

Q3ServerKit is a new graphical utility intended to make monitoring and administrating a Quake III: Arena server as easy as possible. The Q3ServerKit allows you to keep track of the current game by listing all player statistics in real time. Server controls such as adding bots, changing maps, and modifying server variables are all enabled through a clean interface. Go and grab your copy by clicking here.

The development team for Risk Invasion (a Quake III: Arena Total Conversion) is looking for some modelers that are interested in helping. If you would like to help them out, check out their site by clicking here.

sCary from the Shugashack sent word that he got a response from Valve's Gabe Newell on why id hasn't joined up with other companies endorsing Powerplay. Here's a snip:

Yahn's been talking with John quite a bit about this. John told Yahn he wants to take a stab at rewriting the Linux IP stack and a soft modem driver to see how much latency he can remove, and use that to pressure Microsoft into cleaning up the Windows stack. That would be really useful data to have.

Our list of things and John's list of things are pretty much identical, but John passed this time around on being part of the public announcement. Yahn's take was that John was just tired of answering questions from the press...

Certainly with everything John has done already (e.g. OpenGL) he's paid his dues into the next century, so if thinks it's other peoples' turn to carry the flag for a bit, that's totally justified.

Click here to check out the article.

Version 1.1.1 of Servarena has been released for download. This version includes additional features such as:

Added auto-bots, a feature that will automatically add/kick bots as real players join your server.
Added a 'disable bot chat' check box - when selected the bots will stop chatting
Support for multiple master servers, you can now enter up to four additional servers to report to.
Servarena will now scan your baseq3maps folder (if it exists) for custom maps.
Support for N-O-P, the server statistics utility.

Go and grab your copy by clicking here.

Neil McLachlan has put together a comprehensive tool for Quake III: Arena that configures client settings, launches dedicated servers, does benchmarking, bots, and a whole lot more. Click here to check it out.

Quake3mods.net has announced the release of a new mod for Quake III: Arena called Stealth Forces. This mod allows players to take the role of a navy seal-type character. The mod team is also in need of a programmer, so if you're interested be sure to contact them.

Despite all the problems at id today, we were still able to get the new Beta Point Release patch for Quake III: Arena. Here's a few words from Graeme Devine about it:

We've decided to make the point release beta, but public, because there's nothing like a few million beta testers! When running servers using this release we highly suggest running them as non-pure servers so that older clients can connect to them without problems. Please read the enclosed FAQ for a detailed list of which bugs and UI features we've addressed with this point release. If all goes well we'll go with a final version of the point release very soon. The Macintosh and Linux builds of the point release BETA will be out hopefully today as well.

I have uploaded a copy to our anonymous FTP server. You can download it by clicking here. Keep in mind our FTP servers generate a great deal of traffic, so you might have to try again if it's full.

Christian Antkow updated his .plan(s) today with the status of id's network and those of the ISP's as well. Apparently someone or a group of people took part in a denial of service (DoS) attack. The network is back up, but for the record here was the original .plan from earlier, in case anyone is contemplating why the servers were down earlier at id headquarters.

Connectivity Problems with Q3A

To be blunt, we are currently the target of a major denial of service attack which was started at 3pm CST this afternoon.

The perpetrators of this denial of service are saturating two full DS3's coming into Dallas, and are affecting all Savvis, UUNet, and Sprint connections locally.

To combat this attack, Savvis, UUNet, and Sprint have implemented access filters blocking certain traffic to our entire class C, and are blocking our DNS server entirely.

Savvis will be monitoring the situation throughout the evening, and I'm expecting a wakeup call at 8am from the morning tech crew at Savvis for an update. I will be calling the FBI in the morning to proceed legally on this attack.

I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this is causing you. Believe me, we are as frustrated as you are.

The Engineering Room has almost completed its CVAR list for Quake III: Arena, and could use any help from the community they could get, so if you're interested please check it out!

ModScene.com has posted a very brief interview with id Software's Graeme Devine. Click here to check it out!

QuakeIIICTF.com has started a league for individuals as well as DM and CTF clans. Player rankings are posted on the website. Signup to get your ID and to start playing matches.

Along with last night's interview on PlanetQ3.com, Quad God was also released. You can download this exciting film by clicking here to visit the Tritin Films website.

PlanetQ3.com has posted an interview with Quad God creator Joe Goss, discussing the project and the future of Tritin Films. Check out the interview by clicking here.

The DBZ: Bid For Power website has been updated with the first screenshots of the Planet Namek level showing off the game in Quake III. They have also released their newest version of the Bid For Power HUD. Check out their site for complete details!

A new version of QBind Free Edition has just been released with support for Quake III Arena Final Retail and Demo, fixing several small bugs. Also included on the website are screenshots of the upcoming QBind Pro Edition. Check them out by clicking here. QBind is an advanced config/binding/scripting editor for Quake and Quake engine games.

Dr.Gibbs informed me of a guide on Quake III: Arena that he has posted up, and so far he's gotten very positive feedback on it. Give it a try by clicking here

Zarathustra Studios, home of Father Frags Best, award-winning Quake2 recams, and comprehensive Keygrip2 tutorials, has relocated to http://www.Z-Studios.com/.

Stealth Systems - new site dedicated to bot development

UMUSTDIE Quake3 Arena Skin Supply now has a new home at Quake3World.com

Digital Clips has posted a comprehensive 9-page review of Quake III: Arena. It covers aspects of the game such as graphics, sound, weapons, and more.

Version 1.1.0 of Servarena has been released for download. Servarena is a Win32 application capable of running on any PC that supports the Win32 build of Quake III Arena.

Q3Arena.com is proud to announce to the Quake III: Arena community that we are now providing hosting services. If you have a site that needs a home, and think you have what it takes, check out our hosting section for complete details.

Freeform Interactive LLC has announced the opening of the official Future versus Fantasy (FvF) site, FvFworld.com, with information on FvF 2 Quake 3 Arena total conversion. The official Press Release is below.

- FREEFORM ANNOUNCES FVFWORLD.COM -
San Diego, California, January 2, 2000 - Freeform Interactive LLC announces the opening of the official Future versus Fantasy (FvF) site, FvFworld.com, with information on FvF 2 Quake 3 Arena total conversion.

FvFworld.com addresses problems with FvF 2 in Quake 3, including short snippets of email between Hap, FvF designer, and John Carmack regarding the model limits which affects the maximum numbers of classes and weapons FvF 2 will have.

Additionally FvFworld.com offers free hosting for FvF clans, including original FvF clans, FvF QuakeWorld clans, and FvF 2 clans. We are currently seeking new clans to host. Please contact hap@freeforminteractive.com for more information.

- ABOUT -
Freeform Interactive LLC is the freelance multimedia company. Freeform owns and operates a network of gaming sites including Ingava.com and Freegamesweb.com. Freeform also develops computer games such as Laserage, G-Sector, and FvF.