Q3Arena.com - The Ultimate Quake III Site

id's John Carmack has made two plan updates today, first with his worklog:

* dynamic curve level of detail r_subdivisions determines the maximum level of detail, r_lodCurveError determines how quickly polygons are pulled out with distance
* devmap sets cheats 1, map sets cheats 0
* change weapon item upscale to 1.5 instead of 2
* always toss items forward, even if looking up or down
* draw ammo in grey while weapons are reloading
* change railgun shader while reloading
* fixed head models not showing proper skin
* skip all shell eject code when cg_brassTime 0
* fixed sound memory overallocation
* profiling and rearrangement
* fixed dead spectator bug

And then about his latest experience with Linux, especially the Matrox OpenGL drivers. Here's a quick quote:

The cool part is that this driver is completely open source. I downloaded the project code, browsed through it a bit, and changed two lines of code to fix the bug. That RULES.

You can check out the rest of his plan updates here.

The Clan Network and The Hive will be doing up a pretty big Q3 tournament soon, here's the press info:

The Hive in conjunction with the Clan World Network is announcing that sign-ups have begun for the Quake III tournament! This will be online Armageddon as it will be a free for all, open ping extravaganza! No limit to the number of people that may play. Prizes will range from hardware to software. So head on over to The Hive to read the rules and sign-up.

Wanna play Q3Test demos from Windows Explorer or Zip files? Having trouble figuring out the right commands to play a demo in Q3Test? Fret no more! Grab a copy of this file and give it a try. (I should write infomercials ;)

Goliath from GameGirlz has done up a great E3 article on Q3Arena. He mentions quite a bit, including hardware performance and some words with id Software's Paul Jaquays.

Version 2.31, "quite possibly the final version", of BotJohnny has been released. They've made a whole ton of changes and improvements, way too many to list here, so check out their site for that info. Also available is the source code for BotJohnny 2.31, Profile Manager 2.31, and KeyBind 1.01 (requires Visual Basic 5 SP2).

Zaranthustra Studios has released a few new movies and tutorials lately. First is the intro movie for the AirQuake2 mod. Other updates include three new Keygrip2 tutorials, and a Statusbar Utility for help in placing on-screen images of any dimensions in Quake2.

Version 1.20 of the Quake2 Console Parser has been released. They've improved their parsing code, as well as their HTML output and team auto-selection. The source code is now available as well. Check their site for more info and for the files.

Christian "Disruptor" Antkow sent along word of an update to the official Q3Arena page. It's got some comments and things posted up there by id CEO Todd Hollenshead, as well as from Graeme Devine. Check it out!

Oh yeah, and today is *really* slow on news :

A couple new sites and Q3Arena previews have popped up lately, here's the rundown:

DarkNews is a new gaming site specializing in news.
I'm not really sure if this is old or new, or even if I've posted it before, but here's a Q3Arena preview done up by Gamespot, with several screenshots and typical preview content.

John Carmack has made another update to his worklog, the second update in as many days.

* enable scissor test properly
* archive r_lodBias
* cg_draw3dIcons 0 option
* data cheating protection
* userinfo renamed to clientinfo, added state and current server address
* don't forward commands to a server when playing demos
* fixed NULL extension on dir command
* added one more shotgun pellet
* added CG_Shutdown for cgame cleanup
* fixed jitter in rising smoke
* increase minimum time before reusing an entity slot
* soundinfo reports current background streaming file
* changed IPX separator to . from :, moved port processing to system independant code
* auto port scan wasn't updating the net_port cvar
* attack button presses reset inactivity timer now
* increased the forced respawn time from 10 to 20 seconds
* show smp on gfxinfo, slight reformat

The team over at the Linux Game Tome will be giving away the new commercial Linux Quake addon packs every Friday in June. To qualify as a winner, Happy Penguin visitors must find the "hidden turnip" somewhere within the site. Check it out for more info.

I saw over on sCary's that there's a "Quake2 to Quake3 map converter" floating around. Apparently it's legitimate, but can only convert Q2DM1 to Q3Test right now. You can grab a copy from either its original host, or this mirror site.

If there wasn't a Quake community in Hong Kong, there is now. Venom's Den is a new Q3Arena site dedicated to game news with an emphasis on the Hong Kong area. Be sure to check it out!

The Engineering Room has made updates to several of their Q3Test documents. The console command list, cvar list, and FAQ have all been updated with additional information and corrections. They're also looking for someone to help them with their cvar and console commands lists.

id's John Carmack has posted a new edition of his Q3Arena worklog for the masses.

* basic joystick controls some work still needed for advanced controlers
* r_dlightBacksides 0 option
* forced cvar_restart when version changes
* fixed some flare-in-fog problems
* fixed skin color in menus
* print obituary message even when you are the killer, so all kills get an entry in the logfile
* fixed bugs in line token parsing when quotes or commands aren't white space separated
* multiprocessor acceleration "r_smp 1"
* increase menu dimming
* increased rocket damage radius from 120 to 150 units
* check for running server in all server commands (dumpuser, etc)
* new cvar cheat setup -- by default, only archived variables can be changed when not cheating
* "cg_drawstatus 0" only removes status bar
* "cg_draw2d 0" removes all 2d

Borderfield Software has released the first public version of their "Q3A - Total Control" software. This program combines several Q3Arena essentials into one handy package, including FunName support, a config editor, and a new Q3Arena key binder.

A new beta version (beta 2) of Mesa 3.1 has been released. This new version contains some Q3Test rendering optimizations, and is proven to work well with Q3Test. Mesa is a 3D graphics library which is very similar to the standard OpenGL library, which Q3Arena makes heavy use of.

GamePost has done up a Q3Arena preview which is based on the recently released Q3Test.
GameDaily has also posted a Q3Arena preview, based mostly on Q3Test, but without the "Review" feel, as it's too early to give a fair review yet.

Looking for a cool summer job? How about one that lets you get paid for being on the computer? Well, the GameSpy folks are looking for a few good men (and women) to join their ranks. They're currently looking to fill the available "Music Content Operations Manager", "Gaming Content Operations Manager", and "Office Manager/Human Resources Director" positions. Check out their site for more info.

Version 2.0 of King of the Server has been released. This new version features "Global Data Server" (GDS) support, which allows for your game data to be saved across sessions, maps, games, and now across servers as well. This means that no matter what KotS game you join, you'll always have your player stats there with you. Pretty cool huh?

LoToH Software is at it again, with a plethora of new things going on. They've all updated their own plan files with demo release information, and have posted new artwork to boot. They're still looking for a mapper to join their team (this is a paying position!), so check out their site for more info.

Clan World Network is a new site dedicated to posting clan-related news and info, covering a large variety of online games.
Belgian Q3Arena fans now have their own site to go to, called the "Quake Arena Gate." This is a brand new news site, specifically done for the Belgian Q3Arena scene.
Finally, the guys over at Frag.com have opened their very own plan/finger-tracker site, called Frag Tracker. Frag Tracker already is monitoring 25 companies with over 300 plans!

The first public version of QxAdmin has been released. This is a handy program which allows server admins to control their Quake/2/3 servers directly from their Windows workstation PC. Along with the QxAdmin program comes the full source code, with examples and other neat stuff as well. Here's a link to the readme file.

Version 0.85 of Air Quake 2 has been released. This new version ads a couple new vehicles to motor around in, as well as a new mode of play and some new maps. Check the AirQ2 site for more info and changes, as well as for the files.

A Linux port of the latest No Item Quake has been released. This brings the Linux versions up to speed with the rest of them, at v1.95. No Item Quake (NIQ) is a mod which removes all of the items from the game, thus forcing emphasis on fighting skills rather than item hoarding.

The Q3BaseCamp guys have posted a whole ton of new Q3Test skins, 26 in all. Each one is presented with a screenshot, author info, and download stats. Check 'em out!

MD3View version 1.51 has been released. This is a minor update, which includes the option to refresh a skin (instead of refreshing the entire model), and also includes a workaround fix for a display issue with the newest Voodoo drivers.

A new combination-mod package has been released, called Vision Pack. Here's the list of features and changes:

The Vision Pak is compilation of several Q3test Demo pak modifications to improve a player's vision while firing weapons. Rocket Launcher smoke trails are gone. Machine Gun and Shotgun smoke and muzzle flash are gone or greatly reduced, and in the readme file are instructions for getting rid of Plasma Gun muzzle flash, and a config for tightening RailGun tracers.

Q3Center.net has posted a Q3Test client comparison article. They review the Win32 client compared to the Linux client, and basically review the entire Q3Test release as well.

Those of you who like using themes with your Plus! addon pack might want to check out this site, which has a new Q3Test theme for Win95/98 users.

id's John Carmack has been updating his plan file with updates on his progress with adding semetric multi-processor (SMP) support to Quake3. Along with that comes this article from HardwareCentral.com on Quake3 and SMP.

id Software's benchmarking guru, Brian Hook, has made a few new planfile updates, commenting on his latest posted benchmarks. He mainly makes the usual follow-up debate, answering most of the typical questions that he gets about systems and video cards that are benchmarked (and that aren't).

The Weapon's Factory team has released the first Q3Test "mod", which simply changes the Quad effect so that it blinks from red to blue. They've released all the info on how it was done on their WF Arena Mock2 site, in order to help other mod makers get a head start.

Version 2.7b of GibStats II has been released, now offering support for Q3Test client logs and a new ranking calculation, as well as the usual bugfixes. GibStats allows you to analyze game logs, and produce HTML lists of stats and player performances on your server.

id's Brian Hook has updated his plan file with news of more new Q3Test benchmarks. Here's a quick snip:

We also have some new additions, including a Riva128ZX, Savage4, V3 2K, and a Matrox G400 MAX. We didn't test the ZX or V3 2K on the PIII/500 due to time constraints.

You can check out the entire chart of benchmarks here.

id Software's Katherine Anna Kang sent along word of a cool new contest she's sponsoring herself, here's the note:

Over the past few weeks I've seen some wonderful things created by fans anticipating Quake III Arena. Well, it got me thinking about other cool things done in the past (Doom, Q1 & Q2 days) and came up witH a fun way to await the Q3A full game release.

* Note: This is not an id sponsored thing, it's a Katherine Anna Kang sponsored thing. This is a personal endeavor and I've received permission from id to utilize my id e-mail address for this thing.

So what is it? It's a contest. I'll be the sole judge of the winner and I'll be putting up a personal valued possession as a prize. The prize is a custom made DOOM/QUAKE chess set. The chess set is pewter and electroplated gold (pewter pieces for black side and gold for white). It took over a year to get the chess set made and cost me almost a whole month's salary. It's a VERY cool chess set with character pieces from DOOM/QUAKE.

The rules are simple:

- Create the coolest thing with Quake III Arena and its logo as the topic of focus. It can be painting, food, banner, sculpture, web site, whatever (must not have been seen before) - be creative. Remember, I'll be the sole judge of what is the coolest submission. Extra points for originality. Nothing illegal or crude! Send me photos, links, recipes, etc. via e-mail or send it to me if you have the snail mail address. If you send it, I get to keep it. If you see me around, holler and show me what you've got... uhhh... no flashing please. Interesting/cool dreams about Q3A may be original but unless well written and VERY impressive and engrossing, please skip sending me those. I'll announce the winner and 5 runner-ups the day Quake III Arena is complete. Runner-ups get my Q3A paraphernalia (hat, keychain, etc.).

Katherine Anna Kang
kak@idsoftware.com

A month's salary, holy moly.

Clan SDB has begun work on a Q3Arena Clan Database, in the hopes of making game-organization a bit easier. People can add or remove their clan from the list, as well as get a full listing of every clan in their database.

From the front desk of the Q3Arena.com Weird Department comes MaXfps, a total texture-replacement program for Q3Test which aims to drastically increase framerate. Basically it replaces most textures, tweaks the game a bit, and tries to squeeze every last frame-per-second out of your machine. Here's a screenshot of it in action for the truly curious. Why someone would want to get rid of all the really cool textures and effects in Q3Test is beyond me :)

After a long six-month hiatus, Skillz has reopened. Skillz is a popular contest page, which gives specific instructions or tasks for contest participants to complete, which often require using a special skill to finish. They're now covering a whole variety of games, and have contests galore!

The SConfig team has released the source code to their Linux port. This is the source to version 3.3. Be sure to read the notes on their site about some of the Linux specific issues and such as you download!

I saw over on sCary's that a couple of new Q3Test tutorials are available. One of them discusses exploring .PK3 files, and the other one talks about changing and editing your Q3Test HUD graphics.

Oh yeah, today is probably one of the slowest Quake news days I've ever experienced. blah.

A new version of Generations for Quake2 has been released. Version 0.98 now offers the long-awaited chance to play as the DOOM and Wolfenstein characters, in addition to the Quake and Quake2 soldiers. Check out their site for more info on the classes and extra additions. Source: Blue's.

Word over on the MatchMod site is that version 1.02b has been approved for public release, after extensive beta testing on their servers. New features include player name protection (via passwords), fully operational CTF match play, new runes and weapons, and more!

Well they aren't *new*, but they're still pretty darned impressive. Sharky Extreme has posted a couple of screenshots from Q3Test running under the Matrox G400MAX in 2048x1536 resolution (!). They look extremely impressive if I may say so myself.

The Engineering Room has word of a few new Q3Test server utilities out. Among them is GameHost version 1.02, which now has added in support for Q3Arena.

QuakeMatch will be holding a free online tournament this weekend (May 22-23). They're limiting it to 50 players, with the first place winner getting US$50 in prize money. The matches will be held in triple-elimination fashion, with z-bot protection and referee-monitored Quake2 deathmatches. Check their site for more info!

John Carmack has updated his plan file with word on a few new changes to Q3Test, including cheat protection and other enhancements. Here's a quick quote:

I finally got around to implementing dual processor acceleration today. I still have a couple issues to resolve and some more rearranging to do, but it is giving 20%+ speedup right now in a worst-case situation for it.

When completed, I expect the average speedup to be in the 40% to 80% range, depending on what is going on and the video configuration. Scenes with lots of dynamic lighting and lots of sounds and other client processing going will show the largest speedups. It helps the slow scenes more than the fast scenes, which is basically what you want.

He also notes that he'll be sending out the bounty to all of those hax0rs who have discovered a "crashtest" bug. :)

Version 0.70b of QuakeStarter has been released, with the most notable of its improvements being support for Q3Arena. You can use it to start a Q3Test map (found in the .pk3 file), customize your character, and set several server variables.

I saw over on Blue's that a new version of Q3go (a Linux server browser) has been released. Version 0.7 has a couple bugfixes in it, including a workaround for the server refresh bug, and a few others. Check their site for more info.

Version 0.9.4 of Q2Java has been released. This new version features an improved printing system, as well as a bucketload of other changes. Q2Java is an ongoing project which aims to let people develop their Quake2 mods in Java, instead of C/C++.

King of the Server has relocated to a new host, and has a new version out and available. KOTS is a server-side only mod which actively tracks a player's statistics through each game, and keeps a running total of each person's info, even if they leave and rejoin a game. The person with the best stats is, of course, the King of the Server. They also have a web-based interface thing on their site where you can go and view the "Reigning KOTS Immortals."

Thanks to ACE for passing along this GameCenter link to an E3 interview with John Carmack. Here's a quick quote:

GC: Who makes the fastest 3D card today?

J. C.: The fastest 3D card today is the [RIVA] TNT 2. I don't think anybody will even question that. You'd be hard-pressed to find an ATI or a 3dfx engineer who, if you really got them into a corner, wouldn't admit that.

It's a 2 page interview, mostly covering the latest trends and future advancements in the 3D accelerator universe.

A couple of Q3Test reviews have hit the web, here's the rundown:

Q3Center.com has an article up with screen shots that "mentions some of the nifty features of Q3Test's deathmatch, like gibs sinking into the floor and smoke trails from rockets."
TotalPC.net has posted their Q3Test impressions, which are done primarily from a Quake2 player's perspective.
The Falcon MachV Fan Page also has a review up of Q3Test as well.
And finally, F3D.net has their own review of Q3Test up.

Jeroen Toutenhoofd sent in this quick-hack tip on how to (hopefully) get Q3Test to work with a 3Dfx card on an AMD machine with an ALi chipset.

Hi, this is something to let a Monster 3D work with Q3TEST. Note: Machine is AMD WITH ALi Chipset.

Instructions:

- Install the newest Diamond drivers(1600).
- Copy 3dfxogl.dll (From the Q3TEST "compatible" drivers) to C:Q3TEST and rename it to opengl32.dll. (NetGuy's note: id Software does NOT recommend playing musical files with your 3D drivers, so do this at your own risk.)
- Start the game. (The menu looks weird).
- Go to "Sytem Configuration" and choose "Graphics options".
- Disable OpenGL support.
- Apply. (The menu should look normal now)
- You can now start the game and play.
- Enjoy.

As I said in my note, this is not an official or supported "fix" by any means, so do this at your own risk.

Yet another Q3Test FunNames editor has been released. This time it's Q3NameThing, from pfgSoft. This utility has a few unique additions to it, including full access to the Quake3 character set, automated Q3Test name configuration, automated fix for using GameSpy with Q3Test FunNames, and more!

After my post the other day where I advised everyone to stay away from the 3Dfx "Quake3 Compatible" Voodoo2 drivers, I got several emails from people wondering what was happening and why they should avoid them, so I thought I'd let you know what had happened and a possible fix that someone suggested.

Basically the drivers themselves installed fine (I have a Monster3D II card), and Q3Test played great. The problem was that if I tried to play Q3Test again (after already playing it), or if I tried to play any 3Dfx game for that matter, my machine would do one of two things: lock up solid, or the screen would go black and the machine would just reboot its self. Needless to say, rebooting after playing a 3Dfx game gets annoying pretty fast :)

For those of you with the same problem, there is a workaround fix, but it won't make Brian Hook very happy. It was suggested to me that I install the latest *stable* drivers for my card, which I got from Diamond. Once that was done, I could copy the 3DfxOGL.dll file from the "Quake3 Compatible" drivers into c:q3test and rename it to opengl32.dll. I tried this and it worked like a charm. However doing it this way means that if newer, more stable versions of the drivers are released, I'll still be running the older copy, which is a bad thing. So if you choose to use this workaround tip, use it at your own discretion, and don't email id Software (or me for that matter) if things break down the road. :)

Ack! Looks like our newsletter script had a little heartburn or something last night, and sent out a slightly larger email than it should have :) We're sorry about that, and I'm pretty sure that the error has been found and fixed. Again, I hope it didn't cause anyone any problems. (Just be glad you aren't in my shoes, all the bounced and returned emails came back to me, with the 74k newsletter attached :)

Version 1.01a r2 of the Over the Top TC has been released. This new release has a ton of bugfixes, and another ton of new features added in. Check their site for more info, as well as for a Linux port expected to be out sometime in the next day or two.

While poking around on SunFreeware.com (I am a GNU kinda guy), I noticed that they had just added something called Lxrun to the page. What Lxrun does is allow users of Solaris 7 to run Linux programs. So feeling kind of adventurous, I figured I would try setting up a solaris dedicated q3test server. I knew that asking to run the graphical part of the game was probably a bit too much but that I might pull off a server. Well, my hunch payed off, q3test seems to run without a hitch in dedicated mode on my test box. I will give a quick outline of my setup and the steps used.

PII running Solaris 7 i386

Second drive setup with 5.2 Red Hat and Q3Test Installed

lxrun

ext2fs mount for solaris

1) Follow the directions for installing Lxrun with the exception of do not bother downloading or installing the linux libraries the way they describe, we will come to that later ;)

2) Install ext2fs for Solaris so you can mount your Red Hat drive.

3) Install Red Hat drive in Solaris i386 box.

4) edit /etc/vfstab on your solaris box to automount the linux drive on /usr/local/linux . Since this is the default directory that Lxrun looks at, it is not needed that you install the libraries since mounting the drive in this way takes care of that.

5) Make sure you have the file PATHMAP from lxrun located in /usr/local/lxrun.

6) Copy your etc/ld.so.cache from the linux drive to your Solaris /etc directory.

7) cd /usr/local/linux/usr/local/games/q3test and run linuxquake3 in dedicated mode.

Of course this was all done on Intel not Sparc. Please do not email me on this, the lxrun site contains a ton of info. I posted this mainly to inform others that it can be done, not to provide an exact tutorial or support on doing so.

Chris Warren sent along the following tip on how you and your friends can play Q3Test in Teamplay mode:

It's pretty simple to start a teamplay deathmatch in Q3Test. Start the server on the map you want to play. Go to the console on the server and type 'teamflags 1'. Each player must then type one of the following:

team red - Join the red team
team free - Join the 'free' team
team blue - Join the blue team
team spectator - Become a spectator.
If it's all worked propertly, showing the scores should show you the team scores. The rules operate on a +1 frag for killing a member of the enemy team, -1 frags for killing someone from your own team.

Pretty neat, although I haven't been able to try it yet myself. Which reminds me, have I let you all know to run away as fast as you can from 3Dfx's "Quake3 Compatible" Voodoo2 drivers? I wish someone had told me, not that I'm bitter :)

A nifty custom frag-tracking system for Quake2 is now available, here's the press release:

Toast of Clan Rubicon (http://www.markh.com/rubicon) announced the public release of version 1.0 of RubiTrak, a high-speed, real time frag tracking system for Quake 2 servers running under Linux. This system uses a MySQL database backend, and a web front end to provide statistics and rankings for any DM mod which use the GSLog Standard.

Rubitrak provides player rankings, long-term tracking of player statistics, as well as nifty features like automatically updated MOTDs, which include the top two players from the previous maps and their ratings, plus rotating MOTD messages the server admin can customize.

The system has been used for three months on the Clan Rubicon servers (http://rubicon.franklin.uga.edu/rubitrak.html), and has managed to log 3,500 unique players, and over 450,000 frags in that time

Check their site for more info!

BorderField Software has released the first version of Q3 Control. This program is a wizard with a user-friendly interface that allows the user to create his or her custom q3config.cfg files. Q3Control is ideal for tweaking the graphics, adjusting the railgun settings and more.

Flagship Engineering has updated their Q3Test documents again, including nearly 100 new CVARs added. They currently have a list of CVARS and commands, as well as a FAQ.

The X11Spy team has released a new version of their Linux server/browser. Version 0.06 now has master-server support. It will update the list from the master servers that you select, and you may also add new master servers to the list. In the next release X11Spy will save the master servers that you add to the list.

Not real satisfied with your current Q3Test crosshair? Check out these new crosshairs from BullsEye Crosshairs. They've got a bunch of new Q3Test crosshair replacements available, complete with previews. Check 'em out!

Wow, not even a week after it's release and there's already a Q3Test Expansion Pack. While it doens't feature any true "editing", it does enable the BFG and Grenade Launcher weapons, and includes both original Q3Test maps with the new weapons inserted into them.

After you've downloaded the expansion pack, check out two deathmatch servers running the new maps, compliments of SPLAT (Students Pushing the Limits of Advanced Technologies). 128.198.1.60 is running q3test3, and 128.198.1.45 is running q3test4.

id's Brian Hook has updated his plan file with Q3Test 3D card benchmarks, here's the stats:

Test machine was an Intel PIII/500 w/ 128MB of RAM. Sound was disabled. We want to run the tests on an AMD K7, but our test unit has some reliability problems.

Adapter Res FPS Comment

3Dfx Voodoo3 3000 640x480x16bpp 51.6
NVidia RivaTNT2 640x480x16bpp 48.4
3Dfx Voodoo2 640x480x16bpp 46.9
NVidia RivaTNT 640x480x16bpp 46.6
ATI Rage128 640x480x16bpp 46.2
3Dfx Voodoo Banshee 640x480x16bpp 37.6
NVidia Riva128 640x480x16bpp 31.0
S3 Savage3D 640x480x16bpp 25.7
S3 Savage3D 640x480x16bpp 25.6 r_picmip 0
Intel i740 640x480x16bpp 25.0
Matrox G200 640x480x16bpp 23.1
ATI Rage Pro 640x480x16bpp 20.1
3Dfx Voodoo 1 640x480x16bpp 16.8 r_picmip 2
Rendition V2200 640x480x16bpp 15.9

640x480x32bpp

NVidia RivaTNT2 640x480x32bpp 46.5
Nvidia RivaTNT 640x480x32bpp 40.8
ATI Rage128 640x480x32bpp 40.6
Matrox G200 640x480x32bpp 23.1
S3 Savage3D 640x480x32bpp 16.4
3Dfx Voodoo3 640x480x32bpp N/A 32-bit rendering not supported
3Dfx Voodoo2 640x480x32bpp N/A 32-bit rendering not supported
3Dfx Voodoo Banshee 640x480x32bpp N/A 32-bit rendering not supported
3Dfx Voodoo 1 640x480x32bpp N/A 32-bit rendering not supported
NVidia Riva128 640x480x32bpp N/A 32-bit rendering not supported
Intel i740 640x480x32bpp N/A 32-bit rendering not supported
ATI Rage Pro 640x480x32bpp N/A 32-bit rendering not supported
Rendition V2200 640x480x32bpp N/A didn't bother running the test

1280x1024x16bpp

3Dfx Voodoo3 1280x1024x16bpp 23.1
NVidia RivaTNT2 1280x1024x16bpp 21.7
ATI Rage128 1280x1024x16bpp 18.1
NVidia RivaTNT 1280x1024x16bpp 15.7
Voodoo Banshee 1280x1024x16bpp 11.9
Matrox G200 1280x1024x16bpp 8.5
S3 Savage3D 1280x1024x16bpp 6.9
3Dfx Voodoo2 1280x1024x16bpp N/A not enough framebuffer RAM
NVidia Riva 128 1280x1024x16bpp N/A not enough framebuffer RAM
ATI Rage Pro 1280x1024x16bpp N/A not enough framebuffer RAM
3Dfx Voodoo 1 1280x1024x16bpp N/A not enough framebuffer RAM
Rendition V2200 1280x1024x16bpp N/A not enough framebuffer RAM

1280x1024x32bpp (older generation accelerators not added)

NVidia RivaTNT2 1280x1024x32bpp 13.1
ATI Rage128 1280x1024x32bpp 13.0
NVidia RivaTNT 1280x1024x32bpp 8.2
Matrox G200 1280x1024x32bpp 6.1

You can check out his other comments here.

A new Q3Arena site has joined the pack, Q3Center.net. They've got news, game info, and more up there, so check 'em out.

id's Brian Hook made a plan update with some troubleshooting tips for 3Dfx/Voodoo card owners:

IF you can't get graphics to work on your system, please do the following: - if you have a Voodoo Graphics, Voodoo Banshee, Voodoo 2, or Voodoo Rush: 1.) download the VERY latest Quake3-certified drivers from www.3dfx.com and install them. Please be very careful that you don't have any files like 3DFXVGL.DLL or OPENGL32.DLL residing in your Quake3 directory.

- if you have a regular 2D/3D accelerator under Win9x, either download the latest drivers from your respective hardware vendor's Web site, OR download GLSETUP that will autodetect your hardware and install up to date drivers. GLSETUP will be much larger, but if you don't know what hardware you have, it will simplify things for you immensely.

- if you are running Windows NT, download the latest drivers from your hardware vendor's Web site and install them.

In ALL cases please make sure that you do not have any extraneous OPENGL32.DLL or 3DFXVGL.DLL files residing in your system search path. They should ONLY be in /windows/system, not in /quake3!

The Engineering Room has the list of server cvars for Q3Test up and available. They are constantly adding and modifying the list, and expect it to be totally complete sometime this weekend. Check it out if you're looking to customize your Q3Test server!

The guys over at Goigoi.com have released a small "QuickGuide" for Q3Test. The guide covers basically all of the Q3Test key-bindings, and is supplied in PDF format (get the Acrobat PDF reader at Adobe).

As a quick follow-up to the "you can't change your Q3test crosshair size" comment that I made the other day, apparently I was wrong. A whole ton of people sent me this command to type into the console: crosshairsize XX where XX is the size you want it to be. Default size is 24, supplying a smaller number for XX decreases the size. Sorry :)

Yet another FunName utility has been released, here's the author's description:

"Portable NameCaddy" is a java applet that helps in creating fun names for Q3test. The main advatage is that it is operating system independant. Users only need to have a Java capable browser. Since it's an applet, that means, no installation required, and they are always using the most current version.

Check out Portable Name Caddy here.

A new version of X11Spy, the server-browser utility for Unix, has been released. Version 0.04 includes many features new from the original 0.01 release, including finding servers, inserting servers manually, deleting servers, changing the path to q3test, and some bug fixes.

John Carmack has made a pre-E3 plan update to talk about two new crashtest bugs that have been found, as well as to update his worklog:

* fixed crashtest 4
* fixed crashtest 3
* fixed jumping-over-item pickup prediction error
* made "Couldn't load sound" a developer only warning
* fixed demo recording not including portal surface entities
* precache grenade bounce sounds

Planet Riva has posted some cool new Q3Test screenshots which display the new "volumetric shadows" effect. Check 'em out!

Das Mensch sent along some instructions to us that walk through recording and playing back a demo in Q3Test. Here's the rundown:

1. Use winzip to unzip pak0.pk3 into c:q3testbaseq3
2. Rename or erase the c:q3testdemoq3
3. Run q3test.
4. Load up q3test1 or q3test2 whichever one you want.
5. Type g_syncronous 1 in the console
6. Type record fubar
7. Jump, shoot, die, etc...
8. Type stopdemo in console.
9. Type demo fubar in console.
10. Enjoy!

Of course unzipping your pak0.pk3 file might overwrite some other files, so proceed with caution.

Looks like everyone's starting to get back into the fun names craze, including a couple fun names tool developers.

BorderField has released a new version of their FunNames program, which now sports support for two different fonts, the Q3Test font, and one that looks like the Classic Quake font.
Honest Rico's Q3Arena Name Colorizer is a new addition to the list of name-modifying tools.
Q3A NameMaker is yet another new funname tool.

Borderfield Software has released the first FunNames tool for Q3Test. This utility allows you to make your own FunNames for Q3A without having to type in your own code and escape characters. Those of you who don't like doing things the hard way will definitely want to check this out ;)

Just a quick reminder to all of you who are sending me bug reports: I don't work for id Software :) However they have setup a special email address at q3feedback@idsoftware.com specifically for Q3Test-related bug reports and feedback. If you find a bug or something that you think isn't right, that's the place to send them to (be sure to include your system type, hardware, and any other pertinent information).

id's Graeme Devine updated his plan with a bit of info on some of the biggest and most common issues and game feedback that they're getting so far. Here's a snip:

3Dfx drivers seem to be pretty darn difficult. (NetGuy's note: Amen!) About 50% of the emails comprise of 3Dfx issues including BSOD on NT, crashing during level changes, and crashing due to in game mode changes. We're working with 3Dfx on this.

The next biggest problem is that people run the game without running GLSETUP to update their drivers. Arrgh. Arrgh.

Do id a favor and check out the rest of his plan update *before* you send in your bug report, chances are it might already have been reported.

John Carmack has updated his plan file with some comments on Q3Test as well as a new worklog:

You can bias the level of detail lower than allowed in the menu with "r_lodbias 2", which will force all models to the lowest lod. The view weapon will look very ugly.

Another little speedup option that isn't offered in the menus is: "cg_simpleitems 1" this removes the extra rings and spheres around some items.

You can also turn off all the gibs with "cg_gibs 0".

* clear game memory at init, which fixes the stuck-at-intermission problem on mac servers
* fixed mismatched free / Z_Free in demo menu
* removed unused reference to sprites/plama.md3
* automatically get sounds from model name
* scale sensitivity by zoom
* immediately archive changes to latched cvars
* cheat protect r_portalonly
* don't print "XXX connected" on level restarts
* fixed "give item" on levels where 0,0,0 is in solid
* fixed timedemo
* don't play pain falling sound if dead
* fixed falling damage sound not snd specific
* fixed crashtest 2
* fixed crashtest 1
* q3map_backshader
* q3map_globaltexture

ChemicalX has released a new set of colored Q3Test crosshairs. Unfortunately you can't change the shape or size of the crosshair in Q3Test, but he has made it a bit easier to aim by coloring them. He's also offered to do custom colors for people who might be interested in using those. Check the ChemicalX site for more info.

A couple of sites have been redesigned, created, or are on the move lately, here's a rundown:

The official Q3Arena Servers List has moved to a new location (still at id Software).
PlanetQ3.com has been re-designed again, now at "version 8.0".
The Q3 Basecamp is a new site devoted to Q3Test entities, already with a couple skins available to download.

The Over the Top TC has finally been released, after months and months of development. It's got a whole ton of new additions, including 18 new weapons, 4 new ammo types, 5 new powerups, and *loads* more. Check the OTT site for the complete list of features and for the files.

John Carmack has also updated his plan file with a short outline of their plan for future Q3Test releases.

Now that the first win32 test is out, here is The Plan for going forward:

All future releases should be same-day for all architectures.

There may be an exe-only update to the current distributions if there are significant problems, but it isn't scheduled.

The next major test release will include a new one on one map designed for tournement play, and new executables with server and game modifications, but will not require downloading a new pak0.pk3.

The release after that will introduce various teamplay rules on the original two maps. This version will likely be another full download, because I know that I still have a couple things to change in the map format. This will probably be the first test running with the virtual machine.

The final major test release will introduce the single player game with bots and ranks.

After any bugs are shaken out of that, it will be the "Q3 Demo" instead of the "Q3 Test", and we should be ready to release the full game to stores.

In an ideal world, people that aren't prepared to deal with in-development software would wait until then to form an opinion of the product.

So basically here's a short rundown on the three files that were released. q3test_1_05.exe is obviously Q3Test 1.05 for Win32 clients. But what might be confusing some are the GLSetup.exe and GLBug.exe files as well. These are files that are designed to automatically check your video card for the proper drivers, and update them if needed. Quite ingenious eh? GLSetup does the checking, and GLBug is provided for bug reports, for if GLSetup does not work properly (it's a beta product). For more information on the two GL programs, check out their official site at www.glsetup.com. They also have a list of chipsets that are compatible with GLSetup on the site, so check it out before you download!

All you bugtesting hax0rs out there might be interested in this offer from John Carmack (made in his plan file:

I am offering a bounty for server crashing bugs. Q2 had several releases forced out because of malicious attacks on all the public servers, so I want to try and flush out what I can during Q3's testing phase.

There is a server running in the debugger here at crashtest.idsoftware.com (192.246.40.68). Anyone that can repeatably hang or crash this system can have a $100 prize and some misc bit of Q3A paraphenalia that I can dig up.

Operating system level attacks don't count -- only things that I can actually fix or protect against in my code.

Denial of service attacks don't count if they require upkeep, but if there is a fire-and-forget DOS attack, it will still count.

Any actions you can perform with the released client are fair game. Crashing the client isn't good for a bounty, but I would still like to know about it.

Custom attack programs are also fair game. These are actually what I am most concerned about -- malicious programs that goes through and crash all listed servers.

Ideally, you would practice on a private server under your control and only hit crashtest when you think you can repeat it.

If you find one, email me the instructions so I can reproduce it. Include "CRASHTEST" in the subject so I won't miss it.

First come, first served, one bounty per bug. I will update crashtest with our internal builds, so it will certainly be possible that an attack on the released servers no longer functions on crashtest.

Good luck :)

Well if you haven't figured it out by now, id has released the Win32 client for Q3Test, version 1.05, as well as a couple graphics tools along with it. I'm working on getting these on to our ftp server here as I write this, but for now you should check out the list of official mirrors. I'll update this once we have it on our server here as well.

After messing around with others on the server till the wee hours of the morning :), I have noticed a few comments about the new test that keep coming out. Most people have remarked on the new portals and how sharp they look. On the opposite end, they seem to dislike the new sounds. One problem that I and one other person noticed were missing sound files, the test seemed to be trying to access files that did not exist. Beyond that, things ran pretty smooth on my linux box.

Looking for something to do while you download your new Linux or Mac Q3Test version? Try passing the time by nuking your older Q3Test directory, per id Software's request :) Here's Graeme Devine's latest plan update:

IMPORTANT!

You must completely nuke your old Q3TEST install before installing the update. The config files from the old build are BAD voodoo.

You can also type "exec democycle" to watch a bunch of id people play the map.

Still no word on Q3Test's release yet.

Also, a ton of people have emailed me asking why they can't log in to our ftp server. Basically it's because we're being royally hammered by everyone trying to get in, so our server's having to put in a little overtime to keep serving those files. Your best bet is to wait until early in the morning, or tomorrow during the day. Of course if you just can't wait, there's not going to be a lot that I can say to persuade you otherwise :)

We've gotten the newest Q3Test releases up (all except the Win32 release of course), in the files section and on the ftp server. We'll have the Win32 client up as well, as soon as it's available.

id Software's Graeme Devine updated his plan file to announce the completion and impending releases of Q3Test v1.05:

Q3Test 1.05 is DONE!

New Linux/Mac versions are going up right now, and we're finishing up the installer for the Win32 version.

If all goes well, the Win32 version will follow in a few hours (few == six or so).

We'll have the files mirrored here as soon as possible, and I'll update this news item when we get them.

John Carmack has updated his plan file, bringing word of Q3Test's progress, as well as a very-possible release tonight!

A good day of work. I just finished a long test game with all three architectures, and everything looks solid.

As far as I can tell, these are ready to go after making installers and such, but everyone else has an oportunity to find bugs while I sleep...

We won't hold up for minor gameplay issues, but if anyone turns up a repeatable crasher I will rebuild everything.

Barring problems, we should start rolling the releases out tonight.

He's also posted a brand new worklog (that I haven't put up here in order to keep this item from being a mile long), which mentions several new and cool things like demo recording and "corpses sinking into the ground."

Version 1.68 of OSP Tourney DM has been released from Orange Smoothie Productions. This new release has several new features, including total Gladiator Bot integration, server config voting, and high-score tracking (to name a few).

A new Q3Test skin has been released over at Skinden. This is their first release for Quake3, and is a replacement skin for the Visor model. Check out their site for a preview of it before you download.

The Skynet Project has updated their website with a new design as well as news of a possible game switch. They're debating moving from Quake2 over to Half-Life, but say that if they do make the jump, they'll most likely release a "SkynetTEST" for Quake2 to hold everyone over until the Half-Life version. Check their site for more info.

Graeme Devine has updated his plan file to say that it's looking like we'll see Q3Test tomorrow, instead of tonight as was originally planned.

We're getting closer, but I think it'll be tomorrow before we're out.

Internally we're bashing on the new maps, code, servers, and clients. There is a /lot/ of new stuff in there and we want to bang on it for a bit before we release.

We are building installers, pak files, and so forth, so our confidence level is good, but since it's only been 15 minutes since the last bug fix (which was a doozy of a find BTW) and the new maps are still being bsp'd. All of this makes a release tonight seem like a bit of a risk.

If all goes well we will bash on it tonight and tomorrow, and once John gets in tomorrow we'll be ready to go.

Version 2.1 shareware of GameSpy was released today, with the addition of support for Q3Test. Registered and un-registered users alike are welcome to grab it from their downloads page.

Beta 3 of FishDM has been released, offering several more enhancements to a Q2 deathmatch game. New features in Beta 3 include GibStats support, Top Ten Scores, and "PowerCubes" (Runes). Also, the FishDM site has been translated in English (was only in Spanish), and carries news of a plan to release future versions of FishDM in both English and Spanish.

The official Quake2 2 Player site has opened up. It contains up to date news on Quake 2 2 player as well as Mod support, future features and more. Quake2 2 Player is a mod which allows two people to play Quake2 against each other on the very same machine.

We'd like to wish a happy Mother's Day to all of those Quaker moms out there, and we'd also like to remind their Quaker kids that today IS Mother's Day, so take some time today to spend with mommy dearest :) There's no doubt that Q3Test would be a great Mother's Day gift.

id's John Carmack made a plan update to bring everyone up to speed on Q3Test's progress, including mention that tonight's Win32 client release is looking a bit premature. Here's a quote:

We would up making tweaks to both maps today, so the data didn't reach final form until a few hours ago.

I just finished making release candidates for all three architectures, but I already found a couple problems that need to be fixed.

If everything goes perfectly (ha), and I nail these problems immediately when I wake up, then we might make it out tonight, but it is looking a bit doubtful

You can check out the rest of his plan file here.

The Croatian Quake3Arena Scene has posted up a new section called "User Benchmarks". They say it aims to help the user become wiser as they search to create the "Ultimate Gaming Rig". Check it out!

Dennis "Thresh" Fong has done up a review of Q3Test as it runs on a Macintosh. As they say: "We cover everything from weapons to fighting dynamics all the way down to our experiences with a Mac G3!"

3Dfx has released their new Voodoo3 Windows9x drivers, which they say are "Quake3 Compatible". As was mentioned in an earlier id Software plan update, 3Dfx were possibly going to be releasing Q3Test-compliant drivers before its scheduled release tomorrow.

John Carmack has updated his plan file to include a new worklog as well as some comments on the status of Q3Test.

* fixed give item bug
* new first snapshot timing
* moved sun drawing outside of sky shader to fix showtris
* r_drawSun
* handle all shader tesselations in q3map with tjunc fixups
* different flatness epsilons for edge vs border grids
* reorganize sound directories
* removed footsteps on non-metalic and non-water surfaces
* fixed bug with multiple looping sounds
* client side predict teleporters, go to "hyperspace"
* precache remaining liquid sounds
* don't fire jumppad events if upward velocity

Check the link above for his comments about Q3Test's progress.

Brian Hook made a plan update to make a quick run-down on the current list of "acceptable" cards for Q3Test:

3Dfx Voodoo Graphics
3Dfx Voodoo2
3Dfx Voodoo2 SLI
3Dfx Voodoo3 *
3Dfx Voodoo Rush (tested out of house, but supposedly stable)
3Dfx Voodoo Banshee
3DLabs Permedia 2 (ugly, some serious visual artifacts)
ATI Rage Pro (4MB and 8MB)
ATI Rage128 *!&
Intel i740
Matrox G200 &
NVidia Riva128
NVidia RivaTNT *!&
NVidia RivaTNT2 *!&
Rendition V2x00 (not very fast, but it works)
S3 Savage3 &

* high performance
! supports stencil volume shadows
& 32-bit rendering

id's Brian Hook updated his plan file to clarify a rumor that was circulating around which said that the first Win32 Q3Test release will not support 3Dfx. Apparently this is not true.

In a nutshell, Q3TEST/Win32 WILL support 3Dfx! There was some internal confusion about the matter as we've been wrestling with driver stability and distribution issues (across all chipsets, not just 3Dfx). 3Dfx, especially Marty Franz and Rob Wheeler, have been highly responsive to our needs when it comes to driver robustness, performance, and availability.

So to reiterate: there will be support for 3Dfx, and I believe 3Dfx will be posting Q3TEST compliant drivers on their Web site over the weekend in anticipation of Q3TEST's release

As was stated earlier, id has set a (tentative) release date of this Sunday evening for the Win32 Q3Test, as well as for upgraded versions of the Mac and Linux releases!

Feeling a little lost when you read over John Carmack's latest worklog? Welcome to the club :) Q3Center has posted "translations" of the worklogs, which makes them completely easy to understand for the every day "lay-person". Check 'em out!

id Software's Graeme Devine updated his plan file with an update on Q3Test's progress, including a chance of a Sunday night release for the Win32 version!

We're looking to release Q3Test for Win32 on May 19th.

Just kidding.

We're approaching what we consider a good build on Q3Test for Win32, and our current estimate, barring any problems, is that we will release it on Sunday evening. We will release Q3Test updates for Mac and Linux a few hours before Win32 to check for any bonehead issues.

There will be completely new data for this version of the test, old versions will not be compatible with the new version, and old and new servers do not mix.

If things change I'll let you all know. But this is the current plan

QuakeFiles has posted an interview with QERadiant author Robert Duffy.

Mav: Will plugins still be involved in the release? Support for other id Engine based games?

RD: Yes I hope so. Work is underway in that area already.

Q3Radiant supports old plugins and some new goodies are in the works.

Work on Q3Arena continues to progress, as evident in the latest version of John Carmack's worklog:

* changed grabbed items to SVF_NOCLIENT instead of EF_NODRAW now that the pickup event is on the player
* clear event flags with event on reset
* move playerstate to netfield bit communication
* fixed configstring delta sequencing issue after initial gamestate
* extended the netgraph: short red lines are missing client to server packets (need to drop 3 in a row)
* extended cg_debugevents
* increased cl_maxpackets to 30
* fixed bug with console field not getting drawwidth set
* fastsky implies noportals
* changed fastsky color
* q3map now fixes tjunctions at fog boundaries
* build optimized tree with visible hulls of sides
* adjusted plane culling to avoid some cracks
* r_facePlaneCull
* fixed too-lax colinear collapse to avoid some cracks

Some of his older worklogs are still available in his plan file.

Next Generation Online has posted their Q3Test thoughts (aka. Q3Arena Preview). No new info, but they do critique it a bit, as they wonder if it will end up being "more of the same". Check it out.

X11Spy, a front-end for Linux Q3Test, has been released. This handy tool will read a list of servers from id Software's main list, and then sort them. It acts much like GameSpy, even allowing users to start a Linux Q3Test game simply by double-clicking on a server.

ShadowFactor Software has released version 1.2 of BattleCom, their voice-over-internet gaming communications software. New features include "Great new low-bandwidth, low complexity voice compression technology, integration with ICQ! Connect with other players simply by selecting BattleCom from ICQ's Internet Telephony/Games menu!", support for Windows NT 4.0, and more. Check the ShadowFactor site for more info.

I saw over on Blue's that an authorized server-only port of Q3Test for MacOS X has been released by The Omni Group. Apparently they've also received authorization from id Software to port a client version of Q3Test to MacOS X, which they expect to release sometime soon.

Version 2.20.10 BETA of QuakeIt has been released. QuakeIt is kind of a swiss-army-knife of Quake game launchers, with custom launch options, as well as its own server browser, called "QuakeExplorer."

I've gotten quite a bit of feedback on the Carmack worklog question, the vast majority are all for it being posted here, so that's what I'll continue to do. Thanks to all who responded :)

Also, it was brought to my attention that some viewers using Netscape have had problems with the "Daily Newsletter" subscription box to the left overlapping into the news on the right. I've decreased the size of the subscription field from a value of 15 to 10, hopefully that will fix the problem (although apparently it's a rather rare issue).

A couple of new websites have either opened, or re-opened after short hiatuses (or is it hiati?) The 3D Scene has re-opened with a 14 page 3Dfx MiniGL vs. Glide extravaganza.

Also, the Quake Arena File House is now open to the public, offering "essential files, mods, bots, and whatever else for Quake Arena when it is released."

Q3ACenter.com has posted an interview with id Software's own Paul Jaquays. They ask some technical mapping questions, as well as the mandatory off-subject stuff as well. Check it out here.

Mental Vortex has released a new version of their Q3Arena model viewer, MD3View. New improvements include tag based model attachment so you can view the entire player model, custom skin viewing, and smooth, interpolated animation. The source code is included.

In related news, LoToH Software and the Mental Vortex team have made up some kind of alliance where LoToH will be beta testing MV's various software projects, and will be using them to create their new Q3Arena based mod, "Devil's Domain" (which was recently discontinued for Quake2, in favor of Quake3). Check the LoToH and Mental Vortex sites for more info.

The QDevels, masters of the mod scene, have released MultiDLL, their new year-long Quake2 enhancement mod. Here's a quote from their press release:

Over a year in the making, this mod allows players that develop their modifications with the provided framework to add commands, items, monsters and generally change the game in unprecedented ways at run time. Multiple mods may be added to create your own custom game. The mods are added by adding a line to an .ini file that is read on game startup.

Full source code is provided, as well as the Win32 DLL file. A Linux port is expected soon as well.

John Carmack has posted another worklog of changes:

* client side predict item pickups running over items was one of the few remaining locally perceived signs of lag
* new pont-in-patch test code
* fixed pathname errors when mac users had slashes in their paths: "B/W mac". sigh.

Just as a side question, do you guys want me to continue posting his worklog every day (assuming he writes a new one every day), or would you rather just check it out yourselves? Drop me a note with your feedback.

id's John Carmack has posted his newest worklog:

* seeded random numbers differently on tourney restarts
* fixed events on initial snapshots
* removed g_maxentities configuration, set by G_ENTITY_BITS
* cl_motd 0 to allow never sending request packets
* fixed map cache clearing bug
* cg_drawFPS 1 for running fps counter in corner
* remove all teleport destination pads
* moved checkmap out of cgame
* moved time positioning out of cgame
* made usercmd overrun freeze in place instead of snapping back
* slightly increased shotgun spread
* protected against using a cleared clientinfo
* use snapped origin from players for linking to prevent slight prediction errors during player collisions

Just think, Win32 users who have been patiently waiting for Q3Test have all of those bugfixes and changes to look forward to ;)