Q3Arena.com - The Ultimate Quake III Site

id's Paul Jaquays updated his .plan file to clarify which models of the iMac work with Q3Test. Those of you who own a "RevB" or later model iMac actually CAN run Q3Test, and are encouraged to give it a shot. If you own a "RevA" model, your graphics card is incompatible with Q3Test.

A new version of QTracker is scheduled to be released this weekend. Version 2.3 beta will include support for Q3Test, as well as a new feature called "PlayerWatch", which allows you to locate your friends and clanmates while they're playing. Keep an eye on the QTracker site for the release.

Graeme Devine made a real quick .plan update to let everyone know where to find that Mac firmware update. Apparently it greatly boosts Q3Test performance on Macintosh, so much so that it's actually noticeable to the human eye. You can snag the update at http://asu.info.apple.com/swupdates.nsf/artnum/n11361.

id's John Carmack updated his .plan file with a note on some network tweak options. Here's a brief highlight:

You can force Q3 to run all clients synchronously by setting "g_synchronousClients 1" on the server. This will make Q3 behave similar to Q1 for networking. All movement will be lagged except view angles, which are still short-circuited immediately.

Some people claim to prefer synchronous movement when everyone had a very good ping, but I don't personally think it is ever a play benefit. It makes leading players a bit easier, but I think the crisp movement control of client side prediction is a much better tradeoff.

It's Q3Test release day for id Software, as they've also released the first public version of Q3Test for Linux. We'll have it very shortly on our ftp server and files section. Check out the Linux readme file once you've gotten it for more info. As always, there are alternate downloads available on id's mirrors page.

Along with the updated Win32 server comes a new version of the Mac Q3Test client. This is version 1.03, the second Q3Test Mac release. It will be available shortly in our files section. Otherwise check out id's mirrors page for alternate locations.

id Software has released a new upgraded version of the Win32 Q3Test server (no client yet). We have it available in our files section, and on our ftp server. Check out the official Q3Arena page's mirrors page for other available sites.

I saw on Blue's that a new version of the MesaQuake OpenGL drivers are available. These drivers allow Mac owners to play Q3Test on their Voodoo cards (thus not requiring an ATI card or other OpenGL-only card). Version 3.1b9 fixes a bug that would crash Q3Test when going to certain places on one of the maps.

Version 1.24 of Lithium II has been released for Linux AXP, Solaris Sparc, and Solaris x86 platforms. Lithium II is a server-side only mod which adds several new features to deathmach play, such as runes and a grappling hook (to name a few).

Mod Central has a review up of the newly released Disposable Heroes mod, from The Coven. The review covers the entire Quake II portion of the package.

I saw over on Blue's that Rorshach's Journal has a brand new Q3Arena skin up for download. There's a preview of the skin (named "Senkusha") available here.

GameSpot UK's Quake3 Week rolls on with a new Quake3 preview. It's an 8-page monstrosity, with topics ranging from botplay to deathmatch, and more.

GBPaker for Windows has been released. GBPaker is a utility that allows authors of games and TC's using the Quake, Quake2, Half Life and similar engines to distribute updates to pak files. The Windows version runs under Windows 95 and 98, but is classified as an alpha release since it has not been thoroughly tested yet. Anyone who uses it is encouraged to test it out before distributing it with their mods.

The SConfig guys have released the third Q3Test movie in their series. The first one demonstrated some of the basics (weapons, maps, etc) and the second one demonstrated online deathmatch play. The high-quality version is 3 megs, and the medium-quality version is 1.6 megs.

A new Q3Test model viewer has been released. Win32 users can download this, and then download Q3Test, and view its pak file. It includes the ability to view textured and shaded models, even in their animated poses! The full source code is also included.

The guys over at SConfig have been busy making more movies of in-game Q3Test footage. They've just released Demo 2, which shows a typical Q3Arena deathmatch game on the q3test2 map. Demo 3 is on schedule for release tomorrow, featuring q3test1. The movies require QuickTime.

Version 1.1 of King of the Server has been released. This is mainly a maintenance and bugfix version, which takes care of some of the nasty problems from the last version. They also say "Stay tuned for the next major release of KOTS, when we take the RPG idea even further by having a central database of all player data, so you keep your character no matter what server you play on."

Fishman has released Beta 2 of version 1.0 of FishDM. This is a server-side only mod which adds several enhancements to deathmatch-style play. New features to Beta 2 include 3rd person view, New Sounds for the Lithium II style Hook, random bug fixes, and more. Check out their filekey for the files.

A couple more .plan file updates have been made. John Carmack has updated his .plan file with another edition of the worklog.

Also, Christian Antkow update his .plan a couple times regarding fair play in a game of Quake3. Apparently shooting people with the talk bubbles over their heads is a bad thing :)

John Carmack has made another plan update, after posting his worklog earlier. This time it's about "interpreting the lagometer", the multi-colored graph in the lower-right corner of a Q3Test screen. Here's part of the update:

The upper graph (blue/yellow) slides one pixel for every rendered frame. Blue lines below the baseline mean that the frame is interpolating between two valid snapshots. Yellow lines above the baseline mean the frame is extrapolating beyond the latest valid time. The length of the line is proportional to the time.

The lower graph (green/yellow/red) slides one pixel for every received snapshot. By default, snapshots come 20 times a second, so if you are running >20 fps, the top graph will move faster, and vice versa. A red bar means the snapshot was dropped by the network. Green and yellow bars are properly received snapshots, with the height of the bar proportional to the ping. A yellow bar indicates that the previous snapshot was intentionally supressed to stay under the rate limit.

He also talks about ways to fine-tune your connection, so check out the rest of it here.

GameSpot UK has an interview up with id Software's John Carmack, as part of their Quake3 Week feature. All week long they'll be introducing new features about Quake3, ranging from weapons and AI analysis to playtest impressions and a "Quake Lexicon" of terms.

I saw over on Blue's, that the first public release of Q3Finder for Mac has been released, from the folks that brought us QuakeFinder and UnrealFinder. Q3Finder helps Mac Q3Test players find servers to play on (duh).

A new version of Air Quake2 has been released. Version 0.8 includes a plethora of new vehicles to choose from, including new bombers, helicopters, and more. It also has some new functions and weapons added in as well.

Graeme Devine has made a plan update, commenting on some of the bug feedback that they've gotten since the release of Mac Q3Test:

Here's the most common bugs we're getting. The first two bugs account for 75% of all the bugs we're getting. After that, the texture corruption bug seems to be the most common, and then the rest are noise or install related.

Generally, unless the detail is clear, I've waited to get a bug twice before reporting it.

If you get a crash, and it's repeatable, the Macsbug app syslog would be greatly appreciated!

He then goes on to list the majority of the bug reports that they've received. You can view his entire plan file update here.

id Software's John Carmack made a plan update, swaying from his usual format of technical explainations and commentary. He's posted his worklog, harkening back to his old-school .planfile roots (to coin a phrase).

* converted cvar allocation to indexes to allow range checking
* cgame converted over to use vmCvar_t instead of cvar_t needed for interpreted cgame
* fixed server crashing string bug
* adjusted scoreboard for 8 players
* show hostname on connection screen
* fixed null model warning on startup
* more space for hostname on local servers screen
* fixed mac Open Transport memory buffer bug this was causing most of the mac crashes
* made Info_ValueForKey() case insensitive
* sv_privateClients, sv_privatePassword this allows you to reserve slots on a public server for password access while allowing most to be freely available
* "server is full" message on connect screen
* archive handicap in config file
* cheat protect r_nocurves
* byte order independent zip checksum
* removed cl_stereo, use glConfig.stereoEnabled

Those of you who are still trying to get Q3Test to work with the Mac emulator might like to know that the president of Ardi Software sent me a follow-up note. He's had a chance to try out Q3Test with their emulator ("Executor"), and says it does not work. Actually I haven't heard one success story yet, so it looks like the verdict is in, and we PC owners will just need to wait for a short while more before Q3Test for Win32 and Linux is released :)

Patrick over at Quake2.com/sconfig, has both screen shots and and a video of the Q3 test on a G3/350 Mac w/128MB running the beta OpenGL drivers from Apple.

I saw mention of this Q3Test review over on Q3Arena.net and had to post this link. It's one of the best, most non-biased, and most professional reviews I've ever seen. It's a definite must-read for anyone who's sitting there waiting eagerly for the other platform releases.

We've got a couple new additions to the site here, starting with our new Technical Writer and Tech Support Monkey, Jude. Jude has offered to do several technical documents for us, after having done some tech writing for the WinAmp crew, and others. He's already started on two seperate FAQ files, which are the other new additions to the site. The Q3Arena.com site FAQ and the Q3Arena FAQ are now up and running. Both are in their basic stages, but will be maturing as more work is done on them.

Also, Jude has graciously offered to handle all Quake3 tech support emails we get, so if you are having a problem running Q3Test when it comes out, or problems with the full game later on, you can send your questions to him (honestly I don't think he realizes what he's getting himself in to ;)

I saw over on Blue's that there's an article here which explains how to get Mac Q3Test to work with Voodoo cards. As it was released, Mac Q3Test only supports OpenGL cards, and not 3Dfx/Voodoo cards.

If you're a non-Macintosh owner, who's been waiting patiently for the Win32 or Linux versions of Q3Test, you might be able to feed your addiction by checking out a whole load of Q3Test screenshots at Colossal.org. They've been taken with the Mac version (of course), and are really good shots. FYI, the 7th pic (pic7_b.jpg) is taken from the last map that I described in my Quake3 preview, for those who might've had trouble visualizing all the jump platforms and such.

Looks like this emulator thing is getting pretty popular! We got an email from the president and founder of Ardi Software, the people that make the Mac emulator. Apparently their site is getting pretty overloaded, and they asked that we pass along this link is an alternate mirror for the emulator files. He also says that he hasn't been able to try out Q3Test with the emulator yet, but once he does, he will post more info up on their site.

There's now a Quake3 Server Listing up over at id Software. They've also posted a reminder that if you plan on running a public Q3Test server, be sure you run it with the parameters +set dedicated 2, so that it will report to their master server.

id Software has released the dedicated-server-ONLY version of Q3Test for Win32 x86 platforms. You can grab a copy from id's FTP server here. It'll probably also be on our FTP server here by the time you read this. Here's the note from the Quake3Arena.com news page:

This version of the test allows you to run Win32 dedicated servers only. It does not let you play the test locally on the Win32 machine. We highly recommend Windows NT as a good stable environment for dedicated servers. Windows 95/98 will run, but will be prone to more problems.

A lot of people have asked me whether I've gotten any success stories with the Mac emulator that I mentioned earlier, and Q3Test. The vast majority of the responses were that they failed, but a lot of people are having trouble extracting the .bin file that it's packed in. Here's a pretty fair description of how it works, as sent in by Eric Williams:

You have to download a separate program to extract the .bin file, because stuff-it doesn't work.
Then with that program you can extract the .bin file.
Then you run the quake3stetup.
Go through the installation..
go to /q3test dir
click on q3test (one with icon)
act exciting while it thinks

..cuss and scream as it returns to the window without running the game

bottom-line: it doesn't work

My advice? Envy the Mac users for a day or two more, and then rejoice when the other versions of Q3Test are released ;)

I don't really know how well this actually works (if it does at all), but Evan Erwin sent us word of a Mac emulator for Windows that "DOES run the new Q3Test on a PC as long as you have an OpenGL card." You can get a free demo version of it here, from Ardi Software. As I said, I'm not sure if it works well, or at all, but those of you with a fast connection that don't mind downloading the 22 meg Mac Q3Test file might want to give it a try and see what happens. Drop me a note if you have some success with it.

Most everyone has probably figured it out by now, but I figured I'd post this for those who don't own Macs and haven't checked out the new site yet. id has re-designed the official Quake3 Arena site, Quake3Arena.com, complete with a News section, along with the files and screenshots sections.

id Software has released the first version of Quake3Test for the Mac platform. You can grab it at www.quake3arena.com. I'll try to get it on our FTP server here ASAP as well.

Update: id has found a last-minute bug and are working to fix it. A new build of the Mac Q3Test should be available shortly.

Update #2: A newer, fixed binary has been posted for the Mac version, go get it!

The Playing Fields and Dennis Publishing have announced a whiz-bang of a gaming tournament, coming up soon in the UK. Quake 2 and Unreal are being used in the regional qualifiers and Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament in the finals. The winner walks away with 10,000 pounds sterling, from the total prize value of 50,000 pounds sterling. Check out their site here for details.

Ward Six has released the public demo of their upcoming commercial Quake2 mod, "Dawn of Darkness." The file weighs in at around 11 megs and includes one of the final product's levels.

Christian Antkow over at id has made a plan file update to announce their new Q3Test messageboard. Here's a small quote from it:

I've written a message board for use in discussing the impending Q3Test releases. It's primary function will be a central place for you to post bugs so that we can quickly peruse the boards and see what some of the main problems are. It's still in development, there are a few problems that I still need to iron out, but it's mostly functional.

You can read the rest of his plan update (more messageboard details) here.

id Software's Graeme Devine made a plan file update requesting that all Q3Test questions for id be directed to him at zaphod@idsoftware.com.

He later made an update regarding the release order for Q3Test:

[snip]
The plan is to release the Macintosh version first, followed by the Linux version, followed by the Win32 version. We will release on the other platforms as soon as possible. We will rev the other platforms as we make new releases. [snip]

Finally there's a good reason to own a gaming Mac :)

So apparently our site and Netscape are just not liking each other at all. It's a rather picky design, and it seems as though when even the most miniscule change is made (like a webdog button being added, for example), Netscape hates it even more. I've decided to ask for some help: if there are any *professional* web designers out there, who might be able to help us stabilize our design a bit with Netscape (without actually losing the design), please drop me a note. Experience with PHP3 and MySQL is heavily preferred, but not required since it's mostly a design issue, and not a coding issue.

Update: I've restored a backup copy of our index file which works fine in Netscape. Unfortunately I've had to remove the Webdog button, and their custom HTML tags for now, hopefully this will be fixed soon. We're still looking for that help of course :)

Weapons Factory version 4.2 has been released. This is a rather important upgrade for those that run WF servers, and for those who want to play against the Weapons Factory Eraser Bots (available on the WF webpage). Improvements include new admin features, as well as new clan game features.

I saw over on Blue's that a new version of Quake2 Paintball has been released. Beta 5.5includes some brand new maps, as well as better quality sounds. This is a client-side only release.

...for the lack of news today. I'm actually out of town until tomorrow, so access to an internet-ready machine has been pretty limited. I'll try to get a few items up before midnight though.

A new version of the Weapons Factory mod has been released. Version 4.2 contains a large number of changes for server admin and clan match referees. They have versions for Win32, Linux, and Solaris currently available on their site.

A couple of sites have setup messageboards or forums for discussion about the relationship that video games and some of these tragic high school attacks have had:

The Internet Campaign Against Violence is a website which has been founded to "promote awareness of the tragic school shootings and other forms of violence that are tearing our nation apart." They've got a messageboard and guestbook up for public view.

Also, Doom Nation has opened up a messageboard dedicated to the discussion of the video game violence "paranoia", and is welcoming everybody with a voice to come share it.

Version 1.02 of GameCam has been released. GameCam is a plug-in camera module for Quake II (server side mod only). It can add a client camera (spectator mode) to *any* (well-behaved) game module. Binaries are available for win32, linux (glibc), linux (libc5) and Solaris (sparc).

"Future Wars" is a new Quake2 teamplay mod that is rapidly approaching its first beta release. They're looking for mappers willing to contribute some of their work to help them out. Check out their site for more details if you're interested.

QuakeCity's Coding site has posted up a real short interview with John Carmack. The questions are aimed at coding for Q3Arena, and may be of some interest to budding mod developers.

Sign-ups for the annual uber-fragfest, UberFest, have begun. The event is a yearly LAN party, held in Atlanta (or "AtLANta" as they put it), and draws nearly 200 people. This year's UberFest sponsors include 3Dfx, Interplay, Kali, Activision, and more. Check their site for more info.

The word from Ward Six is that a demo of their new commercial mod, Dawn of Darkness, is due out soon (possibly even before the weekend is over). Be sure to keep an eye on their site for the release.

Also, while you're waiting, check out this interview with one of the WardSix team members, Jason McIntosh.

Version 2.39 of Quick Start, the Eraser Bot Wizard, has been released. This is mainly a bugfix and maintenance release. Check their site for the files, or check Team Impact for the Eraser Bot.

I saw over on Blue's that a new version of QStat has been released. Version 2.3a comes with a couple new templates, as well as the usual bugfixes and tweaks. QStat is a little program that can create a webpage for your server, complete with stats and usage information.

King of the Server version 1.0 has been released. This mod aims to turn Quake2 into an RPG, with no client downloading required. It's a totally server-side mod, with deathmatch type play.

The split-screen Quake2 2-Player mod has been updated again, with several bugs fixed and other features added. If you haven't already, you'll need to download v1.2 before you can apply this upgrade patch. They also have added several seperate downloads which add support for Eraserbot v1.01, Q2 Powerball, Gladiator bot v0.91, Q2 Basketball, and Catch the Chicken.

A new version of the Gloom mod is now available. Version 1.1d tweaks and adds a few server options, including flood protection and server stability. I saw that on Blue's.

Gladiator Bot v0.92 has been released. It includes advances in their AI (both teamplay and CTF), the ability to order around your teammates, and more.

Version 0.69b of QuakeStarter has been released. New features include Lithium II support, TerrorQ2 support (both bots and other options), smarter TC compression, and several bugfixes. They've also made preparations to support Q3Arena, so you'll want to keep an eye on them after the game comes out as well.

id Software's Anna Kang sent along a note on the immensely successful registration for this year's QuakeCon event. Check it out:

Response to QuakeCon 99 has been spectacular! I believe we may have hit some record with this year's registration. The registration limit of 1000 was reached within 16 hours. Thank you for you assistance in keeping readers informed. We expect an incredibly fun event.

QuakeCon 99 will be accepting registrations for the "waiting list". As we go through the process of validating the registrations, there is a fairly good possibility that spots will open up. Details will be announced at QuakeCon's site http://www.quakecon.org/.

So if you weren't able to register, you might still be able to get on the waiting list and keep your fingers crossed.

The UrbanCTF team has released a bugfix update for the preview version on their homepage. People who are running clients and servers are strongly recommended to upgrade to this new version, as it takes care of several bugs, and adds/removes a few features from the original preview release.

The first public version of MatchMod (or "//atchMod" actually) has been released. Here's how it's described on their site:

MatchMod is a server-side mod, adding tons of options to Quake2. Designed for Match Play, it has standard Match Play and DM FFA configs preloaded and literary hundreds of possible configurations for when your server isn't hosting a Match.

You can see a full list of features here.

I saw on a couple of sites that The Arena has an interview up with id Software's newest employee, Graeme Devine. They talk about his position at id, and how Q3Arena is coming along.

The Skynet Project website has been udpated with some new screenshots, showing the progress that the mod has made. They mention that a possible release is near after VWep support is added, so be sure to keep an eye on their site for more info.

I saw over on Blue's that a new version of Rocket Arena 2 has been released. There are no new changes to the actual mod its self, but instead a whole new group of maps are included, with 57 new arenas in all. They have both a full-version (41 megs) and a smaller upgrade-version (14 megs) available.

Blackmoon Development has released version 1.2 of their splitscreen mod, Quake2 2-Player. It now includes its own graphical interface to help with setting it up and starting games. Quake2 2-Player is an ingenious mod which allows 2 people to play Quake2 against each other on the same computer.

Version 0.9.3 of Q2Java, the server port that allows mods to be developed in Java, has been released. This new version is basically a clean-up and polishing of their current Q2Java packages.

A preview version of UrbanCTF is now available up on the Urban page. It weighs in at around 6 megs without any maps, as the preview version supports the Quake2 CTF maps (q2ctf*).

Demoplay version 2.3 has been released, and is now shareware (older versions were freeware). New features include a new options layout, fast-forward support for Quake2 demos, automatic mod detection for Classic Quake, and more.

Due to popular demand, the WebDog software team has re-opened their website and has released a brand new version to boot. They call WebDog v1.06 one of their "finest releases ever made." WebDog is a program that tracks news updates like gaming news webpages, plan files, and more.

Version 1.10 of the Quake2 Console Parser has been released. Console Parser reads in either log files or demo files produced by Quake II for analysis in an easy to use interface. Stats can also be outputted to HTML formatted tables. New features include chat logging, PureDM, Lithium and Battleground support, and filtering results across multiple maps.

The SP3D Quake II Level Design Contest has extended its deadline from today to Saturday, April 24. All entries must be in by midnight on the 24th. Check their site for details.

A new non-IE-required version of the Terror Quake2 manual is now online. It's available for viewing with other non-IE browsers, as well as for download.

After being delayed a week due to hardware problems, general and tournament registration for QuakeCon '99 is now up and public. QuakeCon is an annual Quake mega-convention held in August, in Mesquite, Texas, with an attendance of over 1,000 gamers. This year's QuakeCon features the "Official Quake3 Arena Tournament", as well as other LAN gaming and workshops put on by industry heavyweights.

GameOn UK is having another LAN party, this time in Manchester (UK). The date is set for May 1st and 2nd (the UK Bank Holiday), and will be having gaming all day and all night, running through that Sunday. Check their site for more info.

The Terror Quake2 team has posted a bugfix .dll replacement file for the mod. This quick patch fixes the "dupe" bug that's been showing up in some games of TerrorQ2.

Nine scanned images out of the newest PC Gaming World UK issue have been posted over at AlchemyZone. They're scanned straight from the magazine, so quality and size isn't the greatest, but they're still viewable. Also, I don't know whether this was done with permission from PCGW-UK or id Software, so if they get taken offline later or something don't blame me :)

King of the Server is a mod which aims to turn Quake2 into an online RPG-type game. They've just recently put up a new "KOTS IMMORTALS" page, which takes data from the local server and prints a table of statistics for each player on the server. They are also currently running Beta 2 of their mod, which has several new additions including a new "super power", max health when joining, and more. They have a list of both of their servers up on their site, so check 'em out there.

The Rob The Strogg mod team is looking for people to host their mod on a server or two. Their current server is under heavy load and usually full, so they'd like to find someone else willing to run their mod. Check the Twisted Matrix site for more info.

I saw over on Blue's that GameSpot TV's Quake3 Preview has a version of the old Q3Arena video from a long time ago at the MacWorld Expo up in RealVideo format. Those of you hungry for Quake3 info might want to check it out.

Lithium II, version 1.24 for Quake2 has been released. Some bugs are fixed (v1.23 servers can be crashed), and it's finally based on the Quake II v3.20 game source. The source to the ZbotCheck algorithm is also available for those interested. Check the Lithium site for more info.

Barely 24 hours after releasing the first version of Quake2 2 Player, Blackmoon Development has totally rewritten their graphics and communications code, and has released version 1.1. The new code changes have increased the performance of the 2nd player's screen by a good 75%, and other improvements have been made as well. Quake2 2 Player is a mod which allows for 2 people to play Quake2 on the same computer, with windowed screens. Check their site for more info.

Graeme Devine over at id Software has updated his .plan file on the status of Q3Test. Here's part of it:

[snip]
At this point, we still have no release date on the test. We're testing builds here and at Activision and continuing to go through cycles. As soon as feedback from both internal testing and our testers at Activision dies down, we'll be ready, but while this is providing heavy reports, as it still is today, we're still not ready to come out with the public test.

There will be two maps in the test; these maps will also be in the final product. The feedback we're looking for is specific to the technology in the test. We're pretty happy with the design, and feedback on things like weapon switch times, models, gibs, and so forth are not things we'll pay as much attention to as real issues with the technology. We're looking closely at modem, ISDN, and cable play to see how our new network code works, and how that works when a bunch of different connections are playing together on the same server. We're anxious to gauge server load and use with the maps we have to see how the server works under heavy use, and to make sure we've got a lot of the new client/server communication working reliably and securely.
[snip]

He also mentions that when Q3Test is released, it will be available on all three supported platforms: Win32, Linux, and Mac.

The Terror Quake2 team has released another of many updates to Beta 5 of their mod. I seriously don't understand how a group that releases like 3 mod updates in a week can have a changelog this long, but they must be working like mad because this new update has tons of new changes and fixes. As always, check the TerrorQ2 site for the files and info.

Black Moon Development is looking for a few new team members. Specifically they are in need of two level editors, a texture artist, and a 3D animator. Drop 'em a line if you're interested.

QuakeItalia.com is holding a big Q3Arena/Voodoo3 giveaway contest. They have 15 copies of Quake3, and 1 Voodoo3 3500 card to give away, starting a week from this Friday. Each Friday, one lucky Italian will get a reserved copy of Quake3 (shipped when the game comes out), and the last week they'll choose one person to win the Voodoo3 card. This contest is for Italians only, check their site for more info.

BMD has released the first public version of a little project they've been doing, which is a pretty cool idea. The mod, "Quake2 2 Player", allows two people to play Quake2 deathmatch on the same machine at the same time, with windowed Quake2. They're also offering other mod makers the ability to add this mod's abilities into their own. Check out the BMD site for more info.

Ward Six has posted a geographical map of their "Dawn of Darkness" universe. It shows the locations of the places mentioned in the game, and should help establish geographical relationships between them. Check it out here.

I saw over on Blue's that AVault has obtained some court documents regarding the case of the shooting victim parents vs. the world. Here's the section that mentions id (and many others):

According to court documents obtained by the Adrenaline Vault, the defendants include Apogee Software, id Software, GT Interactive, Sega of America, Atari Corporation, Acclaim Entertainment, Interplay Productions, Midway Home Entertainment, Nintendo of America, Activision, Sony Computer Entertainment, Capcom Entertainment, Eidos Interactive and Squaresoft. The complaint contends these companies produced and supplied games that made the violence �pleasurable and attractive� and disconnected the savageness from natural consequences. In addition, the plaintiffs claim the games taught Carneal to point and shoot in a fashion that made him an �extraordinarily effective killer.�

Blue also mentions that id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead has said that they haven't been officially served yet, and if they are, they won't be able to talk about it anyway.

Version 1.1 of Q2Admin has been released. Q2Admin allows for better control over Quake2 games (including other mods), with features like nick passwords and Z-Bot detection. Check the Q2Admin site for the files and full list of features.

A couple of sites have posted links to this Yahoo news item, naming the defendants in a shooting lawsuit. Apparently the parents of the 14-year old attacker blame (among others) id Software and their "violent video games" for their son's mental stress. I guess parenting has nothing to do with the disturbed trigger-happy teen's shooting spree.

"We intend to hurt Hollywood. We intend to hurt the video game industry. We intend to hurt sex porn sites" on the Internet, said Jack Thompson, one of the parents' lawyers.

The lawsuit claims that confessed shooter Michael Carneal, a 14-year-old freshman at Heath High School at the time of the Dec. 1, 1997, shootings, was influenced by the violence in "The Basketball Diaries" and by several violent computer games such as "Doom," "Quake," and "Mortal Combat."

No official word yet from id Software on their position in the lawsuit.

Well kinda. I saw over on Blue's that the QFL has released their server-side only mod, "King of the Server." After creating an account on your server, it will track your information and stats so that it can be used again whenever you join a new game.

Version 1.0 of the new Fishman DM mod is now available. This is a server-side only Spanish Quake2 mod, with enhancements to regular deathmatch play like the grappling hook, flashlight, lasermines, and more. All of the control panels and text are in Spanish.

The guys over at Pa-Hom.com have done up an interview with id Software's Todd Hollenshead. They have versions of the interview up in both Spanish and English.

I finally got around to "fixing" the image view script Netscape problem in the screenshots section. Unfortunately I had to dumb down the design on the image script quite a bit, but I can virtually guarantee that it's 100% compatible with every browser out there now ;) Just head on over to the screenshots section and click on a file's name to view it.

This is pretty darned neat. I saw on Blue's that a new version of the Gaz Mod has been released. This is a mod which allows the linking of multiple Quake2 servers via special portals in game maps. When a player walks through one of the portals he is transferred to one of the networked servers. Check out the Gaz page for more detailed information as well as for the files.

MapZone, one of the first sites featuring Q3Arena maps, is sporting a new redesign.

As they strive to set a new world's record for the most mod updates released in a single week, the Terror Quake2 team has released yet another update to Beta 5. The changelog is a mile long, so it's definitely one that TerrorQ2 fans will want to snag. Also available to snag off their site is the newly released Linux port.

The guys over at QuakeFiles have set up a nifty notification system for when Q3Test is released. Simply head on over to their signup page to submit your email address. I'm sure we'll have a letter sent out to our mailing list as well when Q3Test is released.

The LoToH Software site has been updated with new info about their mod, Devil's Domain. Updates to their weapons and monsters sections have been made.

A new mod news and previews site called ModSquad is now up and public. They currently cover new up and coming mods for both Q3Arena and Half-Life.

An online manual for the Terror Quake2 mod is now available. The manual currently requires Internet Explorer, and IE version 4.0+ is recommended. Head on over to the TerrorQ2 site to download your copy.

Word up on the QuakeCon site is that registration (originally planned to open today) has been delayed for one week due to hardware problems. General tournament registration will now take place on Friday, April 16th at 9:00pm EST (one week from today).

The QuakeCon team has also posted the list of 32 confirmed Press Tournament Registrants, and has closed registration for that event.

Plans for the world's first all-female Quake2 tournament, "Female Frag Fest '99" are in the works. Sponsored by Lilith and Eve, the tournament will take place over Heat.net's online gaming service.

Are you a female Quake II player? How does an all-expense paid trip to New York, complete with a trip to the spa, a Broadway show, a seat in the upcoming East Coast Cyberathlete Professional League event, and a chance to win even more great prizes and games sound? Female fraggers grab a rocket launcher and take aim!

Keep watching the Female Frag Fest website (coming soon) for more info.

After a long hiatus, the 3D BodyShop has been re-launched. They've re-focused their efforts to "provide the online gaming community with goodies to spice up their multiplayer experiences." They're now offering Half-Life and Quake 2 player models, player model previews, skins, decals, tools, tutorials and more.

An effort to bring more dedicated server ports to the Solaris platform has spawned an online survey to petition for that cause. Details about the survey can be found on the Solar Eclipse website.

The Skynet Project website has been updated with four new screenshots of new maps they've put into the mod. They're also looking for a VWep animator, so be sure to check out their site for that info and the screens.

Well I got the green light from id on my Quake3 Feature, so check it out. It's about a page long and kind of runs through what happened at the visit, instead of just concentrating on the game for the whole article. Drop me a note with your comments.

And what proud family wouldn't enjoy watching their young ones play Quake3 with a naked female model, complete with a complimentary skin and all? That's the end result of a new contest brewing between id Software's Paul Steed and Ritual's Murphy Michaels (well, the model is anyway, dunno about the family fun). A challenge from LamingInsider has pitted the two in a competition to see who can make the best low-polygon female model (round 1), and then animate it in a short 90 frame film (round 2). Paul Steed has already pledged that if he loses, he will "convert, animate, and deliver the winner's model as a Q3:A md3 before the game ships." Note that the winning model won't ship with the actual game. Check out LamingInsider for the details and rules.

Lots of new files are available over at the Holy Wars mod site. New versions of Holy Wars for QuakeWorld and the Holy Wars Frogbot for Classic Quake are now availalbe, as well as the Holy Wars server software for Solaris machines running Quake2. Check their site for all of these heavenly downloads.

PC Zone UK has posted their own Quake3 extravaganza. It's a couple pages long and contains some pretty informative stuff, including several side-interviews with some of the id Software employees. Registration with PC Zone UK is required to read it.

A quick bugfix for Terror Quake2, version beta 5, has been released. This patches up the "grunt bug" as well as a few others that snuck in to the release. Smaller upgrade versions are available for those who don't want to re-download the entire 22 meg player pack.

The UrbanCTF site has been updated with news of their preview release, which is set to come out on April 15th. They've also started looking for people to host dedicated UrbanCTF servers, so they can be ready for the release. Drop by their site for the news, and for instructions on how to host a server (only cable modem connections and faster need apply).

QuakeCity has opened a brand new forum, with several discussion areas, including General Topics, Hosted Site Discussions, Game Development, Quake III Arena, Web Tech, and Non-gaming. This replaces their old, slower messageboard.

The Coven has posted a guide to their new ArmourBack mod. The guide is intended to help beginners get into the game, and for more advanced users to make the most of their BattleSuits and weapons, with tips and tricks from the mod's lead coder and The Coven's President.

GameLinks is having a new Q3Arena giveaway contest. Two lucky winners will get a copy each of Quake3 Arena when it comes out. Check their site for how to enter, and what to do.

I've written up my Quake3 preview feature and forwarded it off to id Software for approval. It ended up being about a page long, and I think it turned out pretty well. Hopefully it'll be up and public sometime tomorrow.

I've also gotten several mails on the subject of Paul Steed's "Strooth" verbage. Apparently it's a curse word in Australia, slang for "it's the trooth (truth)", and has a few other meanings in Europe as well. My money's on "it's the truth" though ;)

ShadowFactor Software has announced the release of BattleCom version 1.2 beta 4. BattleCom is a real-time voice communication package designed for use with multiplayer games over the Internet or a LAN. Version 1.2 beta 4 extends the free beta period until May 5, 1999, and adds support for ICQ. Users can now use ICQ's Internet Telephony/Games menu to connect to their friends using BattleCom.

Yeah, I know our news rules say that if it's not Quake related, there's a 99.9999% chance that it won't get to the front page, but I guess Team Fortress was once related to Quake, so close enough ;) Anyway, Team Fortress Classic for Half-Life was just released today, with two versions available (depending on what version you're running now). Check out Planet Half Life, HalfLife.net, or any other Half Life news site for the files.

..."suck it up and tough it out." Wise words from id Software's Paul Steed, who made a brief post to sCary's shack.quake3 messageboard. Here's the quote:

Hey, you guys suck it up and tough it out. The wait will be well worth it. To give you some perspective, the changes we've implemented in the past 48 hours are more profound than in the las 48 days. That's how this biz works. 2 days worth of brainstorming can make that big of a difference in the game you get your grubby little paws on. We are all stoked about the game and the progress and quality jumps are indicative. Just hang in there a little while longer and you WILL get the big pay-off. Strooth.

Like sCary, I have no idea what "Strooth" means either.

Mortal Funk has announced the winners of this year's Quake Easter Egg Hunt. A full list of scores and a description of scoring adjustments can be found on the Easter Egg Hunt webpage.

A few new Quake3: Arena screenshots have been released, compliments of the folks at Activision. You can check them out in our screenshots section, which still isn't working properly with Netscape, fixing it is on my agenda this week. Here are the descriptions of each of the three shots (thanks to sCary):

shot0932.jpg - The Doom Marine (collapsed on the floor) has just been decimated by the female warrior wielding the triple damage force (the blue glowing effect signifies triple damage effect). As the female warrior moves into combat, the Quake Marine shoots from above (on top of stairs).

shot1053.jpg - The female warrior blasts into head-to-head combat with the Quake Marine. While the Quake Marine yields the deadly triple damage power-up, the female warrior has a no-miss shot to the head.

shot2697.jpg - Light shines from above as the Doom Marine blazes munitions at his adversaries.

Enjoy!

Yeah :) I'm back from my vacation to Dallas, and had a great time while I was down there. The Dallas area is amazing, and the weather was great too. As I mentioned before, I got a chance to visit id Software's offices Thursday morning and previewed Quake3 for quite a while. I won't be writing a conventional review, but I'll probably have some kind of quick note about it up sometime tomorrow. Much thanks to Bomb for keeping the news up to speed while I was gone.

id Software's Anna Kang sent us notification that there are two new topics on the messageboard for QuakeCon 99. The two topics are: Need a Ride? / Want a Ride? and General Discussion. This year the messageboards are hosted by sCary's ShugaShack.

QuakeFiles.com is a new site that offers a new and unique system for downloading files and more using a QuakeKey, which is "a dynamically generated unique file identifier which is used by our proprietary search engine to catalog and track Quake, Quake2, QuakeWorld, and Q3: Arena Downloads all across the World Wide Web..." It also makes it easy for news authors to link to lists of mirrors, descriptions, versions, reviews, install instructions, and more.