Quake2.com logo by Walter |2| Costinak


Monday, January 5, 1998
Hosted Site news (updated)
  • Quake2.com's proud to now host the GLQuake2 Primary LZ, which will always keep up to date on the latest drivers, both reference and card specific, have information on OpenGL and what it is, and help you tweak your GLQuake2 framerate. Check it out!
  • EarthQuaked has a review of the C.R. Bot up now. Thanks SkitZ.

    Slipgate

    Site Move
    Caligirls News has moved to Gamesmania, here. Thanks Prophet.

    Quake2/Quake Clan Ring
    Just recieved this mail from Gatekeeper:

    I have recently designed a Quake/Quake 2 Clan Ring. Our name is "3D Alpha's Clan Ring". We are located at http://clanring.3dalpha.com. Would you please put some news up about this as we are looking for clans to join this Clan Ring. Also please put that the Clan Ring is a ring of Quake AND Quake II Clans.
    If you are part of a clan, head on over and sign up.

    Quake2 Add-on Site
    Phantom has set up a website here for the upcoming Quake add-on, Psycotica.The site is promising to "to detail their Quake II add-on through witty narrative and screenshots - er and stuff". Thanks Prophet.

    Voodoo2 News
    There's an article on Voodoo2, the upcoming chipset from 3Dfx, over at Games.net Thanks Prophet.

    MLQ2 Open for Business
    Major League Quake2, a group dedicated to the promote and organize the gameplay of Quake2 through scheduled team matches, is now open to the public. For more information, or to sign up, visit thier     homepage.

    Jobe

    Loki's Minions CTF
    Loki's Minions CTF has released beta version 1.22 today, and it seems a newer version of the Gamespy tab designed for use with Quake 2 3.09 and higher was released on January 1st. Full details at the website.

    This wasn't posted down in the mods and utils update since that update is getting VERY large at this point.

    A Thank You
    We didn't realize till Figin (Formerly of the Quake Literary Guild, Time2Quake, and more) hit us on the head with the news that over at the Quake Women's Forum's Year in Review, we were selected as "Best NEW News site of 1997." Thanks to all of you who voted us into that!

    New Alpha AXP port
    Brian Hook's been quite the .plan man today. id was running a test server using the Alpha AXP port (which was recently released) to track down a bug in it. The bug was found, and fixed. Brian reported the possibility of a new Alpha AXP port release later tonight. Well now it is out. Grab it     here off id Software's FTP server. Here's his .plan file quoted:

    The DEC Alpha server we have here will continue to run. I think its DNS is alpha2.idsoftware.com, so stick that in your addressbooks.

    Okay, the new DEC Alpha AXP patch is up. Once again, this is only for machines with a DEC Alpha AXP processor, and it's only been tested on a 21164.

    While this is patch 3.11, there is NO patch 3.11 for x86 [Windows]!!!! So please don't ask about it. The two code bases will be unified whenever patch 3.12 comes out (and don't ask, since we don't know).
    If you run Alpha, grab the new version! And whether you run Alpha or not, hey, there's another server to fragfest on.

    Skin contest note
    Quake2.com's skin contest ends this Friday... so get your entry in by then.

    .plan-Land (updated (again))
  • Zoid updated his .plan saying that the Linux port of Quake 2 is up to version 3.10 as of today, and we can expect it to be released really soon now. He also says that Quake 2's official CTF (to be included in the point release/mission pack) is nearing completion.
  • The Brian Hook .plan update saga is finalized in the new Alpha port release, mentioned in the update above.
  • Paul Steed says Happy New Year and specifies his New Year's resolution in his .plan.
  • Disruptor warns in his .plan that 3.09 and 3.10 are not compatible, so you can only play on 3.10 servers with 3.10 currently. For reference, stroggos.quake2.com (our local server) is running 3.10 now. Also, 3.09 savegames are incompatible with 3.10 (doh!). He also made a .plan update more recently about some connection problems.

    Mod and util stuff (updated (again))
  • Deathmatch Classics has posted 5 new classic maps for Quake 2. Be sure to check them out, and read their mission statement on who they are and what they plan to do.
  • Over on PlanetQuake they have 3 screenshots of an upcoming conversion from an anonymous source. They sure look spiffy.
  • Talon's Strike has 6 new Quake and Quake 2 levels.
  • Ramshackle have a review of the Quake 2 DM map MPQ1 up.
  • Quake DevelS have added a Highlander sword tutorial (no model implemented yet though). Thanks Prophet.
  • A deathmatch pack that plans to have 39 new "great quality" levels, replacement sounds, and skins, is under construction. Check the website for information. It requires help from people, and promises that the community will help decide what maps etc. stay and go in the pack. Thanks Russ Verner.
  • A TC that plans to beat out Team Fortress and Future Vs. Fantasy is in the works, called "Future's Past." They need mappers and texture artists. Contact Stephen Jolly if interested.
  • Star Wars TC is no longer being developed for Quake, the team is now working on making it for Quake 2.
  • ServerConfigMOD has hit version 1.4, with an improved HUD, fraglogging, and the ability to pick up quads dropped by killed players who were quadded up. Thanks Patrick Stepp. Millenium's Editing Page has got 7 colorized variations on the Quake 2 male "Grunt" skin. Thanks Patrick Curry.
  • Battle of the Sexes has hit version 1.5, now introducing classes into the modification. Thanks Spinoza.
  • jawMD2 the Quake 2 modelling tool has hit version 1.2, now boasting auto texture rescaling, anti aliased lines, and an improved interface. Thanks Jawed Karim.
  • The Area 51 TC is in booming progress... swing by to check it out.
  • SteQve has released DeCamper 0.1, a mod designed to help deter camping, on his ever popular No Frills Quake Page.
  • PlanetQuake posted a GameSpy tip on how to filter servers to make sure that only servers running the version of Quake 2 you are running are being used. To do it, select Quake 2 in Gamespy, then go to the View Menu->Options->Filtering, "add" a "Rule->" that "version" (type version in manually) "does" "contain" "3.10" (if you saw the Gamespy window I'm referring to you'd understand better). Of course, change 3.10 to whatever number appropriate, depending on your version, if you are holding off on upgrading.
  • Superheroes 2 for Quake 2 (based on Superheroes for Quake, no less) is well under work according to the page.
  • Quark, the editor, has had a version update to 4.07.
  • Go here to get m2m, a utility that claims to convert any Quake 1 map to Quake 2 (saw that on Blue's).
  • Another build of QE4-Radiant has hit QuakeLab 2.

    Website stuff (updated)
  • CO2 are now up to 49 Quake 2 Digital Trading Cards.
  • Scoots Quake 2 messageboard has now moved, and now boasts full boolean search capability to help find a specific post, and it also now has the latest patches and a Quake 2 maps area. Thanks Scoots.
  • Quake 2 Filesite promises to be a source of levels, dlls, demos, cheat codes, graphics, drivers, patches, utils..... and the ever present "more."
  • Check out rust, an editing and game design site, which already has 6 editing tutorials, an Eraser bot review, and a discussion board (and the ever present "more").

    Aussie game magazine
    Hyper, an Aussie games magazine, has an 8 page review of Quake 2 along with a 4 page interview with Paul Steed and Tim Willits. Thanks to SkitZ of our hosted site EarthQuaked.

    H3D update
    Oops, guess we shouldn't have printed this.

    Cry for skins
    Calling all Quake 2 skin makers, Jeffrey Clark of     The Quake 2 File Fanatic needs male and female skins for his clan. Can you make them the super cool skins they need? Check the updates section of the website for details on how the skin should be.

    Slipgate

    Sunday, January 4, 1998
    Quake 2 version 3.10 patch (updated)
    Quake 2 patch version 3.10 has been released.

    Grab it from the following locations (these are direct links):

  • ftp.quake2.com
  • ftp.idsoftware.com
  • ftp.cdrom.com

    Please remember if your connection is rejected that ftp is a limited connection basis, so try again later instead of mailing us asking us what is going wrong.

    A big thanks to Disruptor for the heads up.

    Update: John Carmack has updated his .plan with a list of the fixes made in this patch release (not a complete list, just in addition the bugfixes he has stated he has done in previous recent .plan updates). He also notes that the bug page will not be updated for another 24 hours with the removal of old fixed bugs and the addition of new ones found in this release, and as always e-mail Disruptor your bug reports. To read his whole .plan click here.

    Gamestats poll results
    Gamestats ran a poll based on John Carmack's question of frequent vs. infrequent patches. The results, along with comments the voters made, are being sent off to John Carmack. Saw that on Blue's.

    Hosted Site news (updated)
  • Quake2.com is proud to now host Aftermath Development. Previously makers of the Hexen Quake TC for Quake 1, they are now working on a Quake 2 project entitled 'Xenophobia'.
  • Quake2.com is also proud to now be the host of the under development Oak 2 Bot, by the authors of the original popular Oak Bot. The bot is currently under construction, but be sure to check back at the site for updates on their progress and the enventual release.
  • Quake 2 DLLs has been redesigned for 1998!
  • EarthQuaked has put up a review of the MultiGrenades 1.0 patch.
  • And finally, just a note that our hosting info page has been slightly updated.

    VRGN competition
    Thanks to my friend Robert Waring for passing along the news that     VRGN is having a competition where they boast a $1000 (in US currency) prize to the maker of the best Quake 2 level. Details are available over on the website.

    Website stuff (updated)
  • Quake Studio MAX has moved (follow the link to the new location).
  • A Dutch Quake 2 Clan has popped up and is interested in seeing other Dutch Quake 2 clans out there.
  • PlanetQuake now boasts a Quake and Quake 2 Console Site.
  • The Level Zone has opened on Telefragged. Thanks Gary Marshall.
  • The Chronos Quake 2 TC has moved to PlanetQuake, thanks go out to PlanetQuake, the Chronos guys, and Sebastian Sylvan for informing us.
  • Single Player Quake 2 Level Heaven has moved to PlanetQuake as a Quake2ified version of the original Single Player Quake Level Heaven (which is also still available).
  • And finally, Quake2.com has joined the OpenQuake Coalition.

    Hacking problem update
    Yesterday we posted some information we received about two players named Squirrelhunter and Evil Bill Gates that were joining servers and then crashing or flooding them. (To read our original post     click here).

    I e-mailed Christian "Disruptor" Antkow of id about the on the aforementioned hacking incidents, and I received the following reply from him (which I received permission to quote):

    Squirrellhunter used this crash on one of our servers last night while I was playing. I managed to talk him into telling me how he did it, and he was kind enough to pass on the information. John has fixed this and it will be available in the v3.10 patch soon.

    Thanks for passing this on nonetheless.

    - Xian
    Since yesterday's post I've received confirmations of the Squirrelhunter incidents and also news on another hacker. When I asked about Evil Bill Gates, Disruptor reported that he wasn't sure in that area but Evil Bill was probably using the same bug, so it should also get fixed in the next version.

    On a final note, posts about this and other related Quake 2 bombing stuff have hit the QuakeRally message board on pitstop.warzone.com according to two accounts I've received.

    Mod and util stuff
  • A new TC under planning is Splatterhouse: A Quake2 TC.
  • A new Quake 2 bot has been released called the C.R. Bot. It hasn't been verified safe yet, but if you are interested in trying it or hearing more about it visit the website.
  • DamageMatch is a deathmatch modification where scoring is based on damage instead of kills (so you want to be more wary of getting hit and successfully hitting back). Full details are on the website. This modification is currently in the OpenQuake verification process, so it might be best to hold off getting it until it is verified.
  • Thanks SkitZ of our hosted site EarthQuaked for letting us know that QE4-Radiant Build 31 is out on QuakeLab 2.
  • The Magnum Development Team is looking for coders and graphic designers for a vehicle related modification.
  • Talon's Strike has added several Quake and Quake 2 levels, including an interesting one by a future ION Storm employee. Thanks Prophet.
  • A new version of the WinGlide DLL by Justin Frankel has been released. This DLL (as reported before) lets you run Quake 2 in GL mode on a Voodoo 3dfx card in a window (a performance hit is involved however). Thanks Blue.
  • Finally, Francis Beaudry sent us a config for the CyberMan 2 joystick (right click on the link and save it to disk.

    Slipgate

    Saturday, January 3, 1998
    OpenQuake-eyness
    While browsing the verified mods list of OpenQuake just now, I saw that they had verified new releases of some mods as of today, including a new version of the Q2MidiMod that lets you use MIDI music along with Quake 2 level playing a la Hexen 2 and pre-Quake shooter games. Worth a browse.

    Sonic Mayhem hits it big
    Sonic Mayhem's Quake 2 soundtrack (the game soundtrack) has hit #1 over at cddb.com. Thanks Buzzfunk for the news, and congrats guys!

    Another hacker(s) possible? (updated)
    REDRUM sent us this e-mail, which we aren't sure what to make of. Judge for yourself, I guess.

    During a recent game, the text screen announced from someone identifying themselves as Squirrelhunter (as far as I could tell, he was not part of the game). He said "a bomb has been sent", and then counted down 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and then everyone overloaded and the game ended.

    Is this possibly another hacker?
    It's possible that it was merely the admin of the dedicated server shutting his server down... I don't know though. I'll refrain from any speculation on my part.

    Since originally printing this post, we've received word of 2 incidents where a player named "Evil Bill Gates" has jumped on a server and has somehow then crashed the server. He jumped on an id server, the players saw a "tick tick tick" message, and then they all pingflooded or disconnected or something of the like. Someone else reported that they were on a server and "Evil Bill Gates" came on, then he got overloaded, and when he returned Bill did also and said "Feeling overloaded?" And finally someone else found a "Squirrelhunter" via Gamespy after reading this update, joined the server, and within a minute or 2 he and 2 other people (not Squirrelhunter though) was overflowed.

    I could be naive, but maybe id should start looking into ways people could be crashing servers while on them... I can't think of any ways myself...

    BTW, the reason I don't mention said people is for anonymity...

    Website stuff (updated)
  • TeamFortress 2 News has moved, now to be hosted by our sister site Gamer's Alliance. The new URL is http://www.gagames.com/tf2.
  • And some TF2 level screenshots (levels by GrandEmperor Tan) are available here.
  • A skin site with a messageboard? Yup. Check it out.
  • Crash crashes in! Crash's awesome single player Quake reviewing site has revived for Quake 2 (yay, the hiatus is over!) with a kick-arse new format (in my opinion, anyway). I'm really glad Crash is back on the scene. Check him out here. Don't be fooled by the URL, this man was once on PlanetQuake and is the Siskel & Ebert of Quake level reviews! Er, ok, I'll calm down now. Welcome back buddy!
  • Check out the Swedish Quake 2 site Inferno.
  • bubbling.com offers a great forum for several different computer and console games.
  • Mushroom Blue Entertainment's official Area 51 TC website has opened. They are of course still looking for good help on the TC, so e-mail them if interested.
  • The German Quake 2 Archive (not the same site we mentioned before) is worth checking out.
  • Check out http://quake2.lockandload.com! :)

    Hosted Site/sister site news (updated AGAIN)
  • As mentioned yesterday, Quake 2 DLLs has revised its DLL documentation and posted bot tutorial number 4.
  • EarthQuaked has posted a review of Ridah's Eraser bot. Also they have other reviews up of other mods (it's a site for downloading mods and reading reviews of them, ya know?) and they've started a webring for q2 patches out there.
  • Famkebot version 2.2 has been re-released, this time with NT support definitely fixed. Also, a skin of Famke Jannsen to go along with the bot has been released over on the website.
  • WHaCK has identified a problem in the launcher and posted a workaround, along with a blurb about people experiencing lockups when using the railgrenades.
  • Illuminati TC have released a very cool homing rockets patch gettable from their files section to bide us over as we await the TC.
  • RMD Software has started to post some teasers on their upcoming secret project :P.
  • AWOQ 2 has so far posted some level reviews up... they also have recently in their news mentioned other q2 review sites out there, such as Lt. Dan's new Quake 2 gig and the aforementioned revival of Crash's pages, among other sites.
  • Capture^2 had some screenshots of a Quake 2 conversion of the CTF level "Forgotten Mines" being done by Entity, but they've now archived their news and I can't seem to find that update again.... they also mentioned a lot of tourneys being set up around the globe with links (CTF tourneys I presume given the nature of the site). I've noticed Quake2CTF.com popping up in both their and other CTF site's news sections several times now so they may be worth checking out :).
  • The Quake 2 Modeling Studio is looking for a review of SoftImage to be contributed (they have reviews on various modeling tools up among their other content, which includes tutorials).
  • Here's a tidbit for you editing types: Saw on Quake Workshop 2 that Jim Lowell released a util to compute string values of colors (um, I won't pretend to be an expert on the topic.. perhaps you should go there). Also it seems the QOOLE authors released versions of the Q2 map compiling utils that don't require opengl32.dll.
  • 666 Skins has put up a Quake 2 Photoshop swatches palette in their files section.
  • Our sister site Trinity: Your Time has Come has posted their first article, "Success or Failure", about whether or not Trinity will in fact be the greatest game of all time.

    Mod and util stuff (updated)
  • Saw on Blue's that COOP+ has hit version 0.9. COOP+ is a mod that adds a cooperative mod to Quake 2. Grab it at its website.
  • Headhunters 2 version 0.3 has been released.
  • A new level is out on MarTim Team's website (hosted by Inside 3D).
  • QTracker hits version 1.42.
  • Avatar has released a new version of his 10 map DM pak, this time with issues and bugs fixed and 2 levels cut out (making it 8 maps now). You can grab the new version (and read up on the changes and the reasons behind them) over at Avatar's website (of all places...).
  • QHost hits version 5.0. QHost lets server admins remotely admin their Quake 2 servers, and it supports Quake etc. as well.
  • QuakeProxy is another proxy available to get for Quake, QuakeWorld and Quake 2.
  • Although reported yesterday, just for completeness in reporting the Condemned TC needs coders.
  • Ikka Keranen of (soon to be anyways) ION Storm has put up mystery screenshots of his next project, which may be for Quake 2. Thanks Prophet.
  • Someone of Someone's Team Fortress is working on a Quake 2 Team Fortress 2 level... a screenshot is available on the site. Thanks Prophet. Anyone have any word on the release date of TF2?
  • Battle of the Sexes has reached version 1.4. Details on what's changed are over on the website.
  • QGraph version 2.0 has been released. Thanks Hanif.
  • We reported the release of Loki's Minions CTF version 1.21 before. What we missed on is that there's a new Gamespy tab for it, as well as a number of modifications in this version update.
    <Personal observation>
    It seems as though since Quake 2 (unlike Quakeworld) does not automatically set the "game" directory to the name of the game directory of the server, that Gamespy tabs will become popular again. Quakespy tabs were popular in Quake 1 until QuakeWorld made them basically unecessary, now with Quake 2 it looks as if they'll hit prime again.
    </Personal observation>
  • qED2 (a Quake, Hexen 2, X-Men TC, and Quake 2 level editor) has hit free public beta. Thanks James Shiflett.
  • There's a Quake 2 missile defense system mod soon to be released (by the author of a similar Quake 1 mod).
  • crt of Rocket Arena has released a Tourney Maker utility that proves rather handy. Saw that on Blue's.
  • Justin Frankel has released a dll that lets Voodoo 3dfx players play Quake 2 in GL mode in a window. It should be known that since Voodoo cannot actually perform in a window, what's really happening is the fullscreen GL frame gets rendered and then "thrown to" your 2d card. There's quite a performance hit involved, but its still nifty. Get it here. Saw that on the mighty Blue's News.

    Mailbag?
    I realize the mailbag hasn't been done in the "longest time" and I apologize. Let's just say that all the letters that have been pouring in are going to form the basis of a HUGE new year's edition coming out VERY soon.... Satanic was unavailable for some time... but now...

    I just thought I'd clarify that the mailbag is meant for your questions (not news@quake2.com) as well as feedback on the site, etc. Its (except for this hiatus) weekly updated with the mail that's been coming in.

    Reviews
  • Games Galore has posted a Quake 2 review.
  • Our hosted site EarthQuaked reviewed Ridah's Eraser bot, as detailed in the above "Hosted sites news" update.

    Are mods we announce safe??
    With how Quake 2 mods can be rather insecure if they involve a DLL, its of course an issue of concern whether the mods we announce here are safe or not. I've received e-mail on the topic, so I thought I'd use this space if you will to expound on the matter.

    I don't see a problem with announcing modifications in planning that for example need assistance in the form of a new coder or a new modeller, etc. I don't feel that its "insecure" if there's no DLL to download (since the DLL is the "unsafe thing"). So I have no problem (nor does any of the other staff here) with for example posting announcements from the oft-heard from Mushroom Blue Entertainment and so forth.

    Mods that are RELEASED that we announce is a slightly different story. Modifications that are acheiving a following that are played by people out there and are known at this point to be safe, we don't have a problem with. For example, at this point we're not worried about security concerns with     Loki's Minions CTF or The Famkebot. Then there are things such as Ridah's Eraser bot, where we feel the individual is well enough known that he/she can be trusted, or in the very least the news that it was unsafe and should not be played gets out just as quickly as the news of the mod's release. There are mods of course that "we don't know about" in terms of safety. I'm a little careful about downloading and trying any old Quake 2 mod... but the ones that have hit several versions and seem to be liked by people I reason to be safe. Recently we mentioned a "Battle of the Sexes" mod. That was one of the closest stretches we did, what I did in that mod's case is I downloaded it and played it before reporting it. It has since had a lot of version updates and seems to have an at least moderate following, so I gather it is "safe." We should clarify that although we announce many mods each day, we come nowhere close to mentioning every mod we're mailed about... not just because we get deluged in the mail :) but also because we are a little reserved on what we should be mentioning. If a mod has been verified by OpenQuake we don't hesitate to mention news on its behalf. OpenQuake's important not just because it verifies mods but because it is third party and has no vested interests in the mods (i.e. its not authoring them) that it would "massage" its work. Not to make them sound like they are only in self-interest, just saying I'm glad they aren't.

    ICQ mailing list?
    I find this concept curious, but Scott Kroll e-mailed me this tidbit of news:

    I've started a Quake2 ICQ Mailing List. It's UIN is 6733834. Just add it to your contact list, and post messages to it. Everything worth going through will be relayed to everyone on the list. It's alot better than to get 80000 messages in your email.
    .plan-Land
  • John Carmack updated his .plan extolling Wired magazine for checking facts before printing a story. He also asks a question of us and mentions something about the Linux Expo. Update: He has since posted a list of what else he has fixed today, and some expounding on some problems he has not resolved. Check it here.
  • Brian Hook has made some commentary on the Cyberathlete situation, as a response to sCary's response to onethumb's .plan update (there's a mouthful). In addition (in a slightly older update) he had a response to Corrine Yu of ION Storm's .plan... they are discussing improvements to the Quake 2 engine... but I'll be the first to admit it is over my head. Read the whole shebang. Update: this has been followed by more CA vs. PGL commentary (which I'm going to stay clear of) and the following clarifications:
    - "win_noalttab" is supported under WinNT _and_ Win95, it's just implemented differently since the OSes require different mechanisms to disable the various magic system key combinations.

    - go to http://www.bjorn3d.com for more info on overclocking the V2x00. DO NOT ASK ME HOW TO DO IT, SINCE I DON'T KNOW (and if I did, I wouldn't put myself in the position of advocating overclocking anyway).

    - the fourth button on the Logitech MouseMan+ is bound to a KEYBOARD KEY within Mouse Properties (Settings | Control Panel | Mouse) when you have MouseWare installed. You should bind that to something like "Ctrl", then within Quake2 bind "Ctrl" to whatever function you'd like it to use.

    Slipgate

    Qoole 2.30 Final Released
    Right on the tails of QERadiant, Qoole has ended it's short beta period with the release of WinQoole and GLQoole 2.30 Final (which supports Quake2 maps). Visit     Qoole to download this awesome map editor.

    Jobe

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