Q3Arena.com - The Ultimate Quake III Site

Q11, one of the regulars on GamesLink.Net IRC, sent me this article which should particularly be of interest for any developers. It's a bit legnthy, but we hope you find it useful!

The following is a call to arms to the Quake3 development community, a new feature in Quake3 that the community seems yet to notice, that will allow for easier distribution of user made addons. Basically it stems from a change to the way pk3's are handled in Q3. The majority of this can be summed up by a fairly old (and long forgotten by most) .plan Carmack made in August:

I made a simple change in the file management that I think is clearly a big win. Instead of scanning for pak0.pk3, pak1.pk3, ... pak9.pk3 in game directories, I now scan the entire directory for all .pk3 files, and add them to the search path in alphabetical order. This gives us the same needed functionality we have now -- overriding things in pak0.pk3 with updated data in pak1.pk3, but it also gives a significant benefit to the user community. There has been a lot of requests to have textures inside maps like Quake1 did, but I was not willing to do that. Having the files separate saves an immense amount of duplication, and keeps the internal architecture uniform. Now, you can just add all your new art into a pk3 (zip) file along with your map and users can just drop that single file into their quake3/baseq3 directory as a single operation. This will also be nice for custom models, which require several component parts: legs, torso, head, animations, levels of detail, and skins. So, if you are strictly ADDING media (models, textures, maps, etc), then you can just drop the pk3 files in the normal directory. If you are REPLACING data (code modules, menus, etc), you should make a new game directory and put the pk3 there. Starting up with "quake3 +set game mygame" will make all the mygame pk3 files override anything in baseq3. You could do it by just naming your pk3 file "zzzstuff.pk3", but then you wouldn't have a way to run the game without the addons. A prudent person might choose to put ALL addons into a separate directory and leave baseq3 pristine for official additions.

So this means level authors, since a map should come with a .bsp a .aas a .jpg and possibly some textures, plus the text file, can easily put everything in a simple .pk3. User made player models are made up of several .md3 files, several skins, and the text file, they can also be simply stored in 1 file. Basically everything made by the community that doesn't replace any file already in an id pk3 can be easily stored in the baseq3 directory eliminating the need for ridiculous amounts of directories and files. Also this makes deleting an unwanted addon simpler, because instead of hunting down all the files that make it up, you just delete the one file. This goes a long way to keep with the theme id has set of making this game easy to use by less than hardcore players. A couple important things to remember when making a pk3 for use in this manner, make sure the proper folder info is stored in the pk3 (i.e.. mymap.bsp would have an unzip path of maps), and feel free to compress the files to any degree you want/winzip will allow, since Quake3 supports compression (pak0.pk3 was done with max compression under winzip). Another import thing to point out is that a .pk3 is just a .zip with a different name, it is possible for developers to simply upload the pk3 and the txt file to ftps, which also means users can download mods/maps/ppms/etc straight to the baseq3 directory and turn around and run them in Quake3 without having to do any sort of work to install it. I hope to see sites like cdrom.com to have Quake3 directories filled with nothing but .pk3 and .txt files. This feature of the game is only truly realized if we can have conformity, we need everyone to obey by the same distribution method, just like everyone conformed on the use of .zip's and their distribution for Quake2.

The official Quake III: Arena FAQ has been posted up at id Software's site. It covers a variety of questions and technical information so if you have any questions about the game, take a peek.

Gamesurge has posted a guide on tweaking Quake III: Arena for your viewing pleasure. Definitely something to check out.

The DBZ: Bid For Power website has been updated with a new screenshot of their HUD as well as a progress report with news of possible releases of some of their models. To find out more, check out their site.

Paul Jaquays updated his .plan yesterday evening informing the community that the Quake III: Arena Shader Manual is available to be downloaded. The link is in the .plan, so check it out!

The Quake III Arena Shader Manual is available for download.

Yes, Q3A map and model makers, here's the Christmas present that Santa's elves hadn't quite finished yet. It's in the format of an MS word document and has some graphics nested in it, so it's a little large.

shader manual

Kenneth and I are playing around with making a simple html version of it, but that may be a little while yet.

Paul Jaquays

Carmack updated his .plan today with the topic of pings in Quake III: Arena. Here's a short clip from the update:

I have been playing a lot of Q3 on a 28.8 modem for the last several days.

Note that there have been a few different things that result in stuck at gamestate or stuck at snapshot problems. We have fixed a few of them, but there may well still be other things that we haven't found yet.

You can still have a fun game on a 28.8 modem. It is a significant disadvantage, no question about it, but you can still have a good game if you play smart. If there is someone that knows what they are doing on a server with a ping in the low 100s, there won't usually be much you can do, but a skilled modem player can still beat up on unskilled T1 players...

Make sure your modem rate is set correctly. If you have it set too high, large amounts of data can get buffered up and you can wind up with multiple seconds of screwed up delays.

Only play on servers with good pings. My connection gives me a couple dozen servers with mid 200 pings. 56k modems often see servers with sub 200 pings. If you ignore the ping and just look for your favorite map, you will probably have a crappy game.

Click here to view Carmack's entire update.

The Quake3 Center is recruiting folks to help with their Q3Arena multiplayer mod. Here's what they had to say:

If anyones interested in joining a mod development team please send me email. Plans are under way for a Quake 3 Multiplayer MOD based around a wasted city just after a viral infestation. Mappers, Artists, Coders, Modellers and Skinners I need your help so e-mail me on this ASAP.

The guys over at Clan Nexus have posted a set of pages on "bot stuff", with lots of good info. It gives a detailed rundown of each bot included with Quake3. Pretty cool!

Name Maker Studio v4.27 has been released for download. This release is an update to the interface and to the software engine, but is optional.

UMUSTDIE - Quake3 Arena Skin Supply is a site dedicated to skins for the game. It has a neat flash interface, so make sure you have the plugin!

Fragged is looking for some reviewers for its site. Their database and site is ready to go, but they just need reviewers! The basic requirements are good grammar/spelling and a decent connection.

Borderfield Software had announced the release of Q3A - Total Control v0.6. Q3A-TC has been totally redesigned in order to make the program even more user-friendly. This version contains a remote server adminstrator than can be used to send RCON commands to remote servers.

Version 1.3 (final) of the OnTheWay Quake II server utility/launcher has been released for download. This latest version adds a couple of small features and fixes a few minor bugs. This is the final release for Quake II because the development team is now working on a version for Quake III: Arena.

XtremeNetwork.com has announced the opening of ClanList.com, a site containing a comprehensive list of action, strategy, RPG and simulation clans on the internet. The site also features a resource page linking to helpful web creation pages, discussion forums for challenging other clans and a large download section for the latest patches, bug fixes and files. If you have a clan and would like to have it listed, drop by ClanList.com and submit it!

Q3Basecamp has released the SkinPak Vol. 1 for Quake III: Arena. This SkinPak is approx. 13.7 MB and contains 175 skins. Click here to download.

QuakeStarter v0.75b has been released for download. This new version adds additional features to Quake III: Arena support, and squashes some known bugs. The server browser wasn't quite ready for this release, but it is expected to be in the next version.

Stonewall sent word that he has posted a pak file for Quake III: Arena CTF that replaces the "sometimes confusing" flag captured/returned sounds. The sounds are from the Quake II Loki's Minions CTF mod. Click here to download.

The Engineering Room has posted a list of CVARs and console commands for Quake III: Arena. So far, only 57 are left to be described, which should be completed very soon. Be sure to check out these useful guides to enhance your Quake III: Arena gaming terminology!

QRec v1.00 is an automatic unlimited demo recorder for every game of the Quake series (Quake, Quake II and Quake III: Arena). With two simple binds you can record an unlimited amount of demos without using complicated and bulky scripts. QRec v1.00 is also freeware, so give it a try by clicking here.

Ryan McMillan from Quake3Center.com is currently in need of a few good people to update news, write reviews and make tutorials. Please contact him if you are interested.

EcloSiS has developed a new mod for Quake III: Arena called Robo Quake. This mod makes everyone robots and comes with sounds and new graphics. Check out the full details by clicking here.

John Carmack updated his .plan today addressing the Quake source code and cheating. Here's a short clip from the latest update:

There are a number of people upset about the Quake 1 source code release, because it is allowing cheating in existing games.

There will be a sorting out period as people figure out what directions the Quake1 world is going to go in with the new capabilities, but it will still be possible to have cheat free games after a few things get worked out.

Here's what needs to be done:

You have to assume the server is trusted. Because of the wau quake mods work, It has always been possible to have server side cheats along the lines of "if name == mine, scale damage by 75%". You have to trust the server operator.

So, the problem then becomes a matter of making sure the clients are all playing with an acceptable version before allowing them to connect to the server. You obviously can't just ask the client, because if it is hacked it can just tell you what you want to hear. Because of the nature of the GPL, you can't just have a hidden part of the code to do verification.

What needs to be done is to create two closed source programs that act as executable loaders / verifiers and communication proxies for the client and server. These would need to be produced for each platform the game runs on. Some modifications will need to be done to the open source code to allow it to (optionally) communicate with these proxies.

These programs would perform a robust binary digest of the programs they are loading and communicate with their peer in a complex encrypted protocol before allowing the game connection to start. It may be possible to bypass the proxy for normal packets to avoid adding any scheduling or latency issues, but it will need to be involved to some degree to prevent a cheater from hijacking the connection once it is created.

You may read Carmack's entire .plan by clicking here, courtesy of Q3Arena.com's very own finger service.

The staff of Q3Arena.com hopes everyone had a wonderful Christmas holiday. There were no news updates yesterday since the Q3Arena.com staff was spending time with family and friends. We are now back on schedule full time and will continue to provide you with the latest news and happenings within the Quake community. I would like to give a warm thanks to the Q3Arena.com staff and most importantly, you, the viewers, for making Q3Arena.com the success it is today! Peace. :)

The Staff of Q3Arena.com would like to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas! Peace on Earth.

Check out the latest Quake III: Arena Review:

Review at 3DActionPlanet.com

MPK Entertainment has released 2 new Quake III: Arena skins which include: Silver Surfer based on the Anarki model, and a Terminator-1000 skin that is at its liquid metal humanoid form. These two skins were created for the purpose of experimenting with the environment map shader effect to create a chrome effect.

The two popular Quake II mod teams Expert Quake and Loki's Minions have announced the forming of a Quake III: Arena mod team, named Alliance. They plan to make four mods for Quake III: Arena, and also make the sounds, map and code available to other teams as well.

Quake3World has announced the winners of its Quake III: Arena giveaway. Check out their events page to see if you are one of the winners!

Ben from The Oxygen Tank informed me that they have posted an interview with id Software's CEO, Todd Hollenshead. Check it out by clicking here!

Polycount has released NPherno's MD3 Compiler, a utility that will import md2, md3 and 3DS formatted files and export to md3, will do multiple frames. Click here for more information, or here to download.

EcloSiS has created a custom .pak file containing graphics and sounds that allow you to turn your Quake III: Arena into a paintball game. Click here for more details.

Hellchick over at PlanetQuake informed me that their site has received a complete makeover. Now each Quake has its own section (Quake, Quake II and Quake III: Arena). Check out their new Quake III: Arena Guide and their latest contest! Nice work!

Borderfield Software has announced the release of Q3A-Total Control version 0.5.1. This new version mainly fixes the two major bugs that were present in version 0.5. This handy program sports features such as a server starter, server browser, config editor, key binder, and more! Click here to download the latest release.

Ben from The Oxygen Tank sent word that Jason Seip, head modeler for the Head Hunters 3 Total Conversion for Quake III Arena, sent along an exclusive shot of the R7 player model in all her glory. According to Jason, "R7 is completely animated save for the deaths and the taunt" and we can expect to see the model fully skinned by Rorshach in the not-so-distant future. Click here for the news post, or here to go straight to the shot.

Defcon-X from Team Mirage sent a correction e-mail stating the headline he passed along to us should have read that Navy Seals was being developed for the Quake III: Arena engine, and not for Quake II.

Sorry, small correction - we will develop Navy Seals for the Q3 Engine...

Sorry for any confusion this may have caused. :)

Carmack updated his .plan informing everyone that the release of the Quake III: Arena source code will be delayed. However, as a Christmas present they have released the code for Quake. Here's the latest update:

The Q3 game source code is getting pushed back a bit because we had to do some rearranging in the current codebase to facilitate the release, and we don't want to release in-progress code before the official binary point release.

We still have a Christmas present for the coders, though:

http://www.idsoftware.com/q1source/

Happy holidays!

Graeme Devine updated his .plan again, giving more detail about some bugs that are being worked on. A more complete version will be available soon according to Graeme. Here's what's up:

Here's the cliffnotes version of most of the bugs we're looking at. I'll make the actual feature database available as HTML at somepoint soon so everyone can take a look as to what issues we're addressing.

- New scoreboard.
- New team scoreboard
- Voting can change the gametype if the new map doesn't support the current gametype
- Misc icon fixes
- Team overlay tidied up
- Spectators can go through doors
- Late player start on screen score display fixed
- Re-add mouselook
- Callvote nextmap
- Extra/different pakfile disconnect bug fixed
- Packetloss on the scoreboard
- Delay deferred loading of players until after death
- Server browser remembers show full/show empty status
- Server browser will not refresh on stopped lists
- Show IP address in server browser
- Compressed sound support
- JPEG from disk support
- Cache filefind results so we do not requery the filesystem every load
- Make 10.x.x.x and other public addresses not use auth server
- Protect CD key into a different file
- Improve overall error reporting to user
- Make sure everyone can command the bots
- Load/Save config re-added
- Bots don't start kill, hitnokill, or hitnodeath chats when there are nearby enemies
- Awaiting snapshot/gamestate issues resolved

Graeme Devine updated his .plan today with information about some bugs in the Mac version of Quake III: Arena, which are now fixed. Here's the update:

While I've been out with the rest of the world trying to get a Barbie Cash Register for my daughter, I have actually been doing a bit of work!

Activision's release QA process found two bugs in the Mac build that I felt important enough to fix. One bug was in the client, and the other in the installer.

I fixed them both last night and Activision has a new master candidate.

I've heard sporadic reports that the Mac demo has problems, but I've yet to be able to repeat that issue here.

I'll update my plan file today with the [long] list of things we're addressing for the point release (yes, we've fixed the scoreboard).

Maybe if I try to get a Barbie cash register I'll be more productive as well. Just kidding, of course! ;)

Here's a list of the latest reviews for your reading pleasure. :)

Review at EuroGamer

Review at WomenGamers.com

Review at 3D Rage

The DBZ: Bid For Power website has announced that it has posted two brand new models of its characters. The models include versions of Freeza (in his final form) and of Vegetta (the prince of Saiyajins). The models are in metastream format allowing viewers to view the models in 360 degrees and in high detail. You can visit the DBZ: Bid For Power website and check them out by clicking here.

Wrynn from Quake3mods.net has acquired some Quake III: Arena import/export plugins for 3D Studio Max R3 that allows users to import/export .md3 files. However, you should, "Only download if you know what your doin." Here's some info from the readme:

I'd call them 'alpha' quality but that would be stretching it. 'Experimental' would probably be a better word. If your computer blows up i'd be suprised but not COMPLETELY suprised :)

Ben from The Oxygen Tank sent word that Kevin "Rorshach" Johnstone sent over an exclusive piece of concept artwork from the upcoming Head Hunters 3 Total Conversion for Quake III: Arena today. Check it out by clicking here.

Blaze over at The Fault Line has put up some Quake II/Quake III: Arena demos for your viewing pleasure, demonstrating some tricks and strategies to improve your game.

Trixie from Challenge-US has written an article titled, She's Got Game, which talks about the recent advances of women in LAN and online competitions as well as how they are expected to fair in Quake III: Arena. She also breaks down the top 5 women of Q3A. Here is a little snip from her article:

As the hoopla that surrounds the Q3 season commences, one thing is certain. You are going to see and hear about an unprecedented amount of women in these tournaments. Women playing first person shooters may no longer be the anomaly it was it three years ago, but considering that only 3% of the total number of people who play Quake are female, the fact that any manage to attain a competitive level of play is shocking. With multiple women entering the fold of top-level gaming, we have nothing less than a phenomenon on our hands.

You can check out the full article by clicking here.

ClanBase has posted a comprehensive Quake III: Arena FAQ, containing the most essential knowledge about the game, gathered from guides, news sites, forums and newsgroups. In addition, it contains new information that hasn't been published before.

Xian (Christian Antkow) updated his .plan today concering the creation of Rocket Arena maps. There are quite a few steps, so be sure to grab a mug of hot chocolate while you read. :)

Map Editing Stuff

I've received a few e-mails from people asking about how to go about making rocket arena maps (where everyone spawns in with all the items).

1) Create all the entities you wish the player to spawn into the world with, and make sure they are somewhere within the world (they can be hanging off in space somewhere within the confines of your world.)

2) Add a "target_give" entity somewhere in the world.

3) Create all the spawn spots you wish to be in your map.

4) Select the "target_give" entity.

5) Select an entity in the map you placed in step 1 that you wish the player to spawn in with.

6) Hit Ctrl-K in the editor to link the two items together.

7) Repeat steps 4 through 6 until the target_give is linked to all the entities you wish the player to spawn into the world with.

8) Select a spawn spot

9) Select the target_give entity

10) Hit Ctrl-K in the editor to link the two entities together.

11) Repeat steps 8 through 10 until all the spawn spots are linked to the target_give entity.

12) BSP your map

13) Set g_gametype to tournament mode and set fraglimit of 1(Sorry, I forget what the number is offhand)

14) Get a bunch of your friends to connect into your server and have fun playing a "Rocket Arena" style game =)

An alternate use of target_give is how I used it in q3dm10 to create the "power tube" that gives you health and armour. The tube has a trigger_multiple with a wait of 0.5, linked to a target_give which is linked to a small health and an armour shard.

Cheers,

-Xian

You can see past .plans from Christian Antkow by clicking here.

Bill Barron sent me additional information today regarding the Quake III League as a follow-up. Here's what he had to say:

League matches can now be entered into the database. Before a match, the players should exchange ID #'s. After the match is complete the winner should take a screen shot for some kind of proof of the match. The loser should then write down the ID# of the winner, and the final frag count. Then the loser should come to this page and click on the Enter a Match link on the right. Its a simple form, so it shouldn't be too hard to get. Once the scripts are done you will be able to come here and view the standings, but for now the database can store games.

Click here to signup, or here for matches.

Borderfield Software has released Q3A-Total Control v0.5 for download. This all-round Quake III utility has been brought up to date with the retail version of Quake III: Arena. This utility includes a server starter, integrated server browser, config editor, key binder, and much more. Check it out!

Q3Arena.Com is pleased to announce the opening of the NavCenter, the only search engine on the internet dedicated solely to Quake, Quake II, and Quake III: Arena players. With more than 700 websites in over 130 categories, the NavCenter is a bookmark that no Quake player will want to live without. Come check it out at http://NavCenter.Q3Arena.Com.

Version 1.0.6 of Servarena has been released for download. This version adds improved functionality to what is becoming a popular Quake III: Arena server tool.

CrazyButcher from Team HAVOC has finished animating a weapon; the HK Mark 23 SOCOM. The animation is available in (zipped) .avi format, and is "worth every byte." Click here to download.

Signups have begun for the Quake III League. While the site itself is not fully complete, you can still signup. Even though the site is designed for CTF, players may sign up for team and individual deathmatch. Questions should be directed towards leaguemaster@quakeiiictf.com.

The Q3Tweak website is now hosted at VoodooExtreme, and has undergone a redesign. Also on the site are some screenshots of the program (next release), which is expected to be released around Christmas.

GameHost v1.50.0001 has been released for download. This version includes bug fixes and adds command line support. GameHost allows you to easily setup, run, and manage most of your favorite network games, including Quake, QuakeWorld, Quake II, Quake III Arena, Hexen II, Half-Life, Sin and Starsiege Tribes (just to name a few!).

Multiplayer United sent word that the second Australian chat log with id Software's Tim Willits and Paul Steed was fake. This article was not posted on Q3Arena.com yesterday because I could not verify its integrity. Multiplayer United sends their apologizes to everyone. Here's what they had to say:

Unfortunately it looks like MPU was duped big time. Some losers faked the ID Chat we promoted yesterday by impersonating a reliable contact at one of our major sponsors. We are highly embarrassed by this and apologise wholeheartedly for any trouble and disappointment this has caused anyone, and will do our utmost to ensure it doesn't happen again.

Graeme Devine updated his .plan announcing that the Mac demo will be released tonight. Here's the announcement:

Mac demo will be out tonight. Mac full version is also complete.

The Quake III: Arena level editing tools have been released for download. The download is approx. 4.5 MB and includes the Q3Radiant level editor.

Robert Duffy also updated his .plan with a few tidbits of information regarding the tools:

To build a map, q3map requires that 'quake' exists somewhere in the path. It uses this to derive the base path to figure out where to find things. What this means is that if you installed Quake III Arena ( and the tools ) to 'c:q3' then q3map will fail with a < SetQdirFromPath: no 'quake' in C:/Q3/baseq3/maps/unnamed.map > error. I realize this can be somewhat of a pain but it is the way the tools work ( it is also the way the tools have always worked ).

You may wonder why there has been a delay in posting this announcement, it's because Antkow updated his .plan stating the tools somehow hosed their FTP server, so it wasn't available and I would rather post when it worked again (like now!). Yay! :)

id Software has released three new ThreeWave Capture the Flag maps at Quake3World, you can find them in their files section. In celebration of the new CTF maps, they have also launched a new forum dedicated to Capture the Flag.

The Bid For Power website has been updated with a new image of their Freeza model as well as a new (updated and "much more stable") version of their weekly poll asking viewers, "Which character are you most interested in playing as?"

OnTheWayQ3A Quake 3 server utility/launcher is now available for the full version of Quake III: Arena. New features version 1.00 include a level preview window, which allows you to see a small picture of any map you select in the easy to use graphical interface, automatic level rotation, configuration of Quake 3 gameplay and server options, the ability to save multiple server profiles, and more. Check it out by clicking here.

sCary from the ShugaShack informed me that Zoid sent him 9 new screenshots of the soon to be released Quake III: Arena CTF maps. Check out the article with the screenshots by clicking here.

Dragonball Q is a Q3A mod based on Dragonball Z, and is in need of modelers. They will be starting production soon and currently have no active team members working on player models. Anyone who is interested in helping should go to their site for additional details.

Christian Antkow updated his .plan today stating that the Editing tools hosed their FTP server and things should return to normal shortly. Here's the update:

Seems the Q3 Editing tools release hosed our FTP server. I can't fix it from home, but I'll look into it in the morning.

In the meantime, I've updated http://www.quake3arena.com/news with a link to it on our webserver so you can download it via HTTP. The tools should also be available tommorow via Sandpiper as well.

The Official Linux Q3 Demo is also now available. Check http://www.quake3arena.com/demo for the link.

John Carmack updated his .plan today with a mouthful of information. Apparently Anna Kang has left id Software to found her own company, and she's also engaged to John Carmack! Also mentioned is the winner of the chess set. Check it out:

Anna Kang left Id a couple weeks ago to found her own company - Fountainhead Entertainment.

It wasn't generally discussed during her time at Id, but we had been going out when she joined the company, and we were engaged earlier this year. We are getting married next month, and honeymooning in Hawaii. At her thoughtful suggestion, we are shipping a workstation out with us, so I don't fall into some programming-deprivation state. How great is that? :-)

Now that Q3A has shipped, the official winner of her Id Software figurine chess set contest is Rowan Crawford for his prose and art.

An honorable mention goes to Reine Hogberg and Peder Hardings for their Q3A Blair Witch Project. They will receive silver Q3A medallions.

Graeme Devine updated his .plan regarding how often people authorize during peak and offpeak hours, and also includes a bit of Quake III: Arena Y2K compliance (humor). Here's a part of the update, since it's quite legnthy:

Churn time. We define "Churn" as the number of unique people that authorize in a five-minute period. At peak now we�re at around 1700 people in a five-minute period, and at off peak we�re at 500. Peak is around 5pm-11pm and off-peak is 8am until about noon. As we get more international I expect this to level out.

Click here for the full update, including the part about "Y2K compliance."

PlanetQuake is holding a Quake III: Arena skinning contest all this week. Just dress up their news guy and win some GameSpy prize gear. The contest runs until Dec. 21, so if you're interested, click here for complete details.

Christian Antkow updated his .plan today to clear up some confusion about who exactly did the background music for Quake III: Arena. Here's the update:

A frustrating part about reading reviews on Q3A, is how reviewers don't state the correct facts sometimes. 98.2% of the reviews I've read state that Sonic Mayhem did the background music for Q3A. This is only 50% true =) There are 12 background tracks in the game. 6 were indeed done by Sonic Mayhem, and the remaining 6 were done by Bill Leeb and Chris Petersen of Front Line Assembly / Delerium fame.

If you view the PAK file with WinZip under baseq3/music, you'll see 6 sonic*.wav tracks and 6 fla*.wav tracks (Some of the FLA tracks were broken up into two parts for an intro and a repeating loop part)

-Xian

Click here if you wish to see the original update by Antkow.

CDKeyKeeper v1.0 has been released and is available for download. CDKeyKeeper is a program that allows you to publish your config files without revealing the CD-Key of your game. Great program to ensure you don't forget to remove your CD-Key if you decide to send your configurations to others. This program is brought to you by The Quake Times.

Quake3Mods.net has undergone a redesign and are now looking for some mods to host. Along with the redesign, they have an interview with Darren Pattenden, the famed author of the Reaper Model for Quake III: Arena & artist for Bullfrog Productions.

The Quake 3 Shack is looking for a few good folks interested in posting daily news, writing strategy columns, writing humor articles, and writing interesting Quake stories. All applicants should be fluent with HTML. Click here to apply.

Quake3World has posted online an edited chat log of the Paul Steed and Tim Willits IRC chat hosted by PlayNOW Australia which took place earlier. Click here to check it out!

Risk Development is looking for modelers, skinners, coders, musicians, and texture artists to be a part of their team. If you are interested in helping out with a design position, please send in GIF or JPG examples as a zipped file (no larger than 1MB) titled "samples.zip" to risk@quake3mods.net.

PingTool 2.6 has been released for download, and is now freeware! PingTool was acquired by BroadJump, Inc., a broadband software company, which now offers this server browsing tool free of charge to the community.

Version 1.2.1 of the Java MD3 Model Viewer has been released for download. This version includes a full featured .PK3 file browser, TGA and JPG texture support, advanced inspection of model properties, complete support for the Quake 3 animation system, and more. The Java MD3 Model Viewer is a windowed Java program that uses OpenGL to display Quake 3 .md3 model files.

Q3Arena.com has added an additional server to GamesLink.Net, accessible via pointing your IRC client to q3arena.gameslink.net. We currently serve ports 6661-7001. Popular clients for the PC include mIRC and XiRCON, while Mac users can download Ircle. We invite you to come and chat with us on our new server!

The CTF Survival Guide has been updated with a massive amount of new content. Included in this update is a complete section dedicated to Quake III: Arena, complete with information on weapons, ammo, powerups, and maps. The site also has sections about other games as well, so check it out!

Carmack updated his .plan addressing the need for more people to get involved in the OpenGL community, especially in the Linux area. Here's a clip:

WANTED: Independant OpenGL conformance nazi

I think there is a strong need for a proactive, vendor-neutral OpenGL watchdog, or even a small group, especially in the linux space.

I have been working on the utah-GLX team for quite a while now, and while I have been very pleased with the results, I would like to see more effort spent on doing things as right as possible. Because the developers (me included) are basically just doing the work in their spare time, testing usually only consists of running their favorite OpenGL application, and a few of the mesa demos, or some of the xscreensaver hacks.

Recently I did the initial bringup of a RagePro driver on linux, and I was much more conscious of the large untested feature space, and the tunnel vision I was using to get it to the point of running Q3.

What we need is someone, or a group of someones, who can really exercise different implementations through all corners of the OpenGL specification and provide detailed lists of faults with minimal test cases to reproduce the behavior.

In most cases, the bugs could then be fixed, but even if it is decided that the incorrect behavior is going to stay (to avoid a software fallback in a common accelerated case), there would be clear documentation of it.

I consider performance on the matrox driver right now to be "good enough". There is definately more performance oriented work going on, but given a choice of tasks to work on, I would rather improve quality and coverage instead of kicking a few more fps out of Q3.

One of Alex St. John's valid points was that "The drivers are always broken". There are a lot of factors that contribute to it, including fierce benchmarking competition causing driver writers to do some debatable things and diminish focus on quality. With open source drivers, some of those factors go away. Sure, it is nice to beat windows drivers on some benchmarks, but I wouldn't let pursuit of that goal introduce dumb things into the code.

Click here to read the complete update.

Servarena is a new server launcher for Quake III: Arena, which will easily configure a server with a few mouse clicks. This is a free program so give it a try by clicking here to download it.

Jude's already got a ton of applications for FAQ helpers, so he asked me to post a little follow-up note/reminder. All applications must be received before 12pm EST Sunday (that's today). Everyone who applies will receive a bulk-email sometime Monday afternoon regarding the position. Thanks!

Paul Jaquays updated his .plan today addressing some "lost" things in older screenshots of Quake III: Arena but not in the game. The .plan is quite detailed so check it out by clicking here.

Like Quake3? Wanna help us become an authority on all things Quake3? Well, we're looking for people to help our head tech editor, Jude, maintain our Q3Arena FAQ. He's looking for 2 or 3 people who are willing to put in a couple hours or so helping him gather and organize bits and pieces of Quake3 info. You'll get your name in lights as we add you to the credits list of our FAQ, plus your own @q3arena.com email address. Please email Jude directly if you're interested, by clicking here.

The FaultLine has posted a log of an IRC encounter Blaze had with Dave "Zoid" Kirsch. They touch on some of the Q3CTF maps, as well as the development tools. Check it out!

Hellchick informed me that PlanetQuake has conducted an interview with Graeme Devine on the subject of CD-Keys and authentication. This is an interesting interview that outlines how id wants to stop piracy and more.

Graeme Devine updated his .plan today shedding some light on tools to make modifications, as well as addressing issues with CD-Keys. Here's the update:

Okay. I'm now officially overloaded on email.

We're looking to get the tools out there very soon for creating Q3A modifications. We'll probably do a point release on the product before we release anything, and we've been busy writing (gosh) documentation for the editor, shaders, etc. I'm really looking forward to seeing what you guys do with Q3A!

We're now cracking down on people using key generators. We stop accepting input for a period of time from addresses that spam different keys to the authentication server. I see a lot of people running key generators right now; I've yet to see a single one make a correct key.

We will also probably alter the key generation scheme on subsequent runs of the product so we can verify mistyped keys within the client. This remains our biggest issue and if we can cure it right at the input step, then we'll go a long way towards easing this up.

SharkyExtreme has posted some benchmarks of Quake III Arena on an NVIDIA Quadro and an AMD 1GHz. The results are quite interesting.

Todd Hollenshead updated his .plan announcing a new CTF server. Here's the scoop:

An update that doesn't relate to CD Keys!

We have a CTF server up and running here. The address is:

192.246.40.48:27960

I'm going to make a point of playing a bit every night for the next few days. So if you want to jump on and lobby me for having the grapple on Q3CTF4, feel free! Probably won't do much good, but you can always try ;-)

And also feel free to jump on and just play, since having fun is really the whole point of it anyway.

Tim Willits updated his .plan regarding the e-mails he has received. The .plan is legnthy so here's the beginning:

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the positive comments I have received concerning Quake 3. Every morning my inbox is full of great positive emails. I would like to address a couple of issues that have come up in emails.

Click here to read the entire update.

The Quake Times have released version 1.1 of NameKeeper. This release features new additions to the program as well as bug fixes and tweaks. Download your copy by clicking here.

PlayNOW! has organized a huge Quake III: Arena hosted chat session for next week, including Paul Steed and Tim Willits from id Software. They will be on hand to answer questions and enlighten attendees about Quake III: Arena. The chat will be held on the 14th of December at 8 PM (AEDT - Sydney time) and will run for about an hour. Click here for more details.

Word on the street is that one of our readers has received their Linux copy from Loki. Thanks for the news Moses!

/me paces about and waits for his Linux copy

Todd Hollenshead, id's CEO, posted the following .plan:

Be smart. Do NOT send your CD Key to anyone. We will NOT contact you EVER asking for you to send us your key without you contacting us first. You should treat your CD Key like a credit card or your social security number and keep it private.

What is beginning to bother me about this issue, is how long will it be before exploits are released that email peoples CD Keys to a central source? These keys can make it pretty tempting for others to want to break into your PC. Just my two cents :)

Graeme Devine updated his .plan with a warning:

Cracked servers are no longer listed through the master. We're tracking these servers. We know your IP address, so if you have one running, I strongly suggest you take it down immediately.

We now have a full version DM server up at Chaos.Q3Arena.com. It is a Dual PIII 500 running Linux on an OC3. Frag someone for me :)

id's Todd Hollenshead has been visiting the Quake3World forums lately. His most recent post is pretty lengthy concerning his opinion on Q3CTF. It's an interesting read for those of you who would like an id-type's views on the CTF changes they've made.

EELinux.com has posted a new player log parser for Linux Q3Arena. Qplog3 is written in perl, and can do HTML output or send the results to a remote server. Thanks to Blue's for the news.

Quake 3 Center has partnered with the Clan World Network to provide the best Quake 3 Ladders. Win products from nVidia, Won.net, Razer, 3dfx, and more! Check out Q3Center's info and rules page for more details.

Blaze over at the FaultLine sent word that they've officially opened. They've got some Quake2 and Quake3 demos for you to check out, as well as "a speedy Q3 config".

Graeme Devine updated his .plan addressing CD keys. Here's the update:

Okay. Hacker attempts with invalid keys are outnumbering real keys by a factor of 2:1 or so.

Obviously this is somewhat validating the use of CD keys.

So far I've seen issues with the servers being able to see the auth server and clients using IP forwarding not having the correct setup on the IP forwarding server. If it's a Linux IP forwarding machine use something like:

modprobe ip_masq_quake ports=26000,27000,27910,27960,27950,27951,27952

Modulating characters within a key sequence will not work. It appears to work because when you've validated your IP with an authentic CD key you've "leased" that IP address for a period of time. Even if you enter a junk string, that will work because your IP address is still valid.

The actual algorithm is a 64 bit DES key encryption method open to a very small window. The chances of coming up with a real valid key is in the range of billions and billions to one. A random pass through the available keys shows no sign of repeating sequences, it looks like good old chaos (in fact, statisical math proves this).

The client has no idea if your key is really valid or not, it just checks on the correct characters being entered.

Bustanut has written up an article titled "Quake3Arena Review From a Professional Gamer's Point of View" available on Challenge-US. This is a very lengthy review that breaks down each weapon, item and map. The fact that the review is done from the point of view of a professional gamer brings out the little details in the game that have been overlooked. Click here to read the article.

The Bid For Power website has been updated with a new Attack List Section. This section displays the moves each individual character will be able to use in the game. Each character is given a list of their moves along with a brief description of each attack. DBZ: Bid For Power is currently looking to fill several positions including Modeler, Animator, Texture Artist and Level Designer. If you are interested in filling a position please visit the website for details.

Qrawl (Quake Rocket Arena War Ladder) is a new Quake II - Rocket Arena 2 demo analyzer which keeps track player scores. You can make a demo when playing a clan war or any other time to compare yourself with the other players. Qrawl can show you which clan was the best in a clan war. Get the full details by clicking here.

The official 5.0 beta of Weapons Factory for Quake II has been released and is available for download. Check out the Weapons Factory homepage for more information, and the address of a test server.

LadyICE over at PlanetQuake put together screenshots from every DM and Tourney level, categorized by Tier. Click here to check it out! Please note that there are no shots of the CTF maps.

Those of you wanting the Linux edition before Christmas can pre-order it from Loki Software here. It seems that they will be shipping the CD first via Fed Ex and the tin box and manual later via parcel post. This will guarantee all the little penguins a Merry Christmas!

Graeme updated his .plan in regards to server/client issues. Here's the latest update:

Why do I get booted back to the main menu?

It's because you've got a 1.11 client and you're trying to join a 1.09 (demo test) pure server. Since the protocol # is exactly the same, you see all the 1.09 servers in the browser, but when you try and join the game you get booted because you aren't "pure".

We'll switch off support for 1.09 listings in the browser once 1.11 demo is out for the Mac and Linux. Meanwhile there's not much I can do since I can't tell from the client side if you're a 1.09 or 1.11 client asking for list of available servers.

Graeme Devine updated his .plan addressing a problem with the CD-Keys that players have been experiencing. Here's the update:

IMPORTANT!!!!!

You MUST enter your CD key in lower case letters. If you do this through the menu it's automatic, but if you set it from the console, upper case letters will not work.

IMPORTANT!!!!!

Bullfrog Productions has announced the release of the first Quake III: Arena player model - the Dungeon Keeper 2 Horned Reaper. Downloadable by clicking here. Created by Darren Pattenden with animation help from id Software's Paul Steed. This does not work with the Quake III: Arena demo.

To follow up on all of the level screenshots, sCary at the ShugaShack has posted images of every single character in the game. Check them out by clicking here.

Zarathustra Studios has released the 18th tutorial in their demo-editing series, entitled: "Packetentities Galore!" It features a complete breakdown of the parameters of a packetentities message in a Quake2 demo file. Also, briefly reviewed are the entries from the recent open challenge on a demo-editing stumper - and the result is wide-screen format in Quake2 demos and movies. Click here to access the tutorials.

Q3Center's Q3 Ladder Tournament is starting very soon. They will be giving away some great prizes to the players who are in places 1-5 when the ladder closes at 12:00PM EST on February 15, 2000. Click here for complete details.

The BQ3T crew is proud to announce the official launch of the Belgian Quake3 Trophy (BQ3T). Three times a year Belgian Q3A clans will compete for the honour and the 'Trophy' in a 4on4, 2on2 and duel league. Along with news concerning the Trophy and Quake, the BQ3T site will feature a weekly interview with a well-known Quake player. This week Xenon from Clan 9 expresses his opinion on Quake3. Be sure to check out the new site!

Christian "Disruptor" Antkow at id made an important planfile update regarding your CD-key security, check it out:

On another note, I thought it important to address a security issue with your Quake 3 config files for the commercial release.

When you enter your CD Key, we store it in q3config.cfg in the cl_cdkey cvar. Unencrypted. Please treat your retail config files as you would the alarm code to your house, or the PIN number on your bank card. If you must send your configs to someone, please make sure to edit out the "set cl_cdkey xxx..." line.

It was brought to my attention that there was a scam with Half-Life CD Keys a while back where people were asked to e-mail their configs to HLSupport@hotmail.com or something to that effect, and I'd hate to see an innocent customer unknowingly succumb to a similar scam with Q3A.

Be sure to remember that when you send out your configs to friends or whoever, otherwise you might find yourself unable to play online.

The official Quake3 Demo has been released! You can grab it straight from the official Q3Arena site or from the following list of mirrors:

Enjoy!

I apologize for the late update, but I've had lots of work to do today and many issues came up. I promise a more earlier update tomorrow! Todd Hollenshead updated his .plan mentioning that we can see Quake III: Arena in stores as early as tomorrow (the Windows edition). Folks that pre-ordered the game take priority, but stores should have them very soon. Here's the update:

Shelf date update (Windows version only)!

Q3A was shipped today and you should expect Babbages and EB to have it as early as tomorrow (I think they may have paid extra for expedited shipping). Please understand that not all of these stores may actuall stock the game on shelves tomorrow and some of them may already be "sold out" due to the huge pre-order response (in fact, Q3A is #1 for these stores before even hitting the shelves). CompUSA, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, etc. are all getting copies as well, but they probably won't show up on shelves before the "official" US date of December 5th.

Just like with Quake II, we won't have any copies for sale from 1-800 idgames before the retailers (retail outlets are our first priority for shipping). I'll let everyone know once we get some here so you can order direct from us.

UPDATE: Linux Shelf Date

We have just announced with Loki Software (our Linux distributor) that we should be on shelves by December 27th in the limited edition tin box.

Hang in there, Linux users. :) To view an archive of Todd Hollenshead's .plans, click here