Newer News
alt.games.quake2
I've just sent off the control message. Hopefully alt.games.quake2 will soon be added. Keep your eyes open, and post the first message there if you can! =)
Quake2 FAQ
I've also added a permanent (I hope) link to my Quake2 FAQ. It's up there if you hadn't noticed.
John Carmack plan update
John Carmack updated his plan file. I wish them well with the new coder, although I've never heard of him before. Here is the quoted update:
May 6:
Brian Hook has been hired as our new programmer. Brian wrote the glide API for 3dfx, worked on CosmoGL, and wrote a book on 3d programming that he is now horribly embarrased about.
More stuff from CGW
At this point I'm trying to get that CGW article, because I keep hearing about more stuff mentioned in it that I want the article so I can just get all the stuff it contains in one go. Anyways, here's the new stuff I heard. I credit Redwood with this since I found this news on his page.
Firstly, Quakeworld's network code is the foundation for multiplayer Quake 2 network code(I knew this bit from previous Carmack plan updates).
Secondly, you can merge demos into the game, allowing cut scenes that take place in the world of the game. (Why include this as standard in a GAME I don't know).
Thirdly, they merged streaming of demo and audio tracks (I don't understand, but this is supposed to allow id software to include soundtracks in a very compressed way and score them to particular parts of a demo, like a movie).
Two way exits that let you go back to a previous level? YES! Free navigation around the game is what I'm thinking that means.
Levels closely tied together, events on one level can affect what happens on another scenario wise. Also supposed to be tied together story-wise. I'm interested in seeing what they pull off.
Of course there is always bad news too: Projected release date of December 1997. That's NOT so great :).
Once again, thanks to Redwood for that bit of news.
Redwood rules
Redwood also mentioned the Fault Line in his news. Thanks man.
More IRC happenings
The IRC channel #quakeii on EFNet was commandeered (even I'm banned :) ). Come to Undernet #quake2 if you want to actually talk about Quake 2 instead of what a cool hacker the guy who took it is.
IRC update
The IRC channel on EFNet (#quakeii) has been regained. You can now go there on EFNet. #quake2 is still up and running on Undernet.
Quake 2 minimum requirements set
Quake 2's minimum requirements have been purportedly set at a Pentium 90 (90 mhz) with Windows NT or 95. I will see how true this claim is.
No shareware Quake 2
There will be no shareware release of Quake 2. This from American "Tokay" McGee. Too bad, huh?
Quake 2 possibly including MIDI support
The suggestion packet (which will soon be mailed) has more than 1 request for the ability to handle MIDIS in Quake 2 and not just CD music (like Hexen 2 is doing). American McGee recently made the following plan update:
A cry for help:
I've been banging my head against the wall
for the past few days trying to get a MIDI
interface to my sampler working. Someone
out there who *really* knows what their
doing with MIDI please send me an email
and help me out. I swear I'm not making
any RTFM mistakes... I'm probably just
being a moron. :)
---
-American McGee (american@idsoftware.com)
id Software
He later updated to ask us to stop mailing him help, he figured it out. My question is, what would American need help with MIDIS for unless they are working on something that implements them? Something tells me Quake 2 just might have MIDI support....... but of course that's just a guess :).
Thank you all for your input
I have gotten lots of input, from celebrities in the Quake community AND no-names with an opinion, and the resounding opinion is to go ahead with the Entermedia deal. I'm received mail from so many folks about this its hard to credit you all, but thanks go to DethQuake, Patrick Cupka of The Void, all my buddies on IRC #quake2 and #quake, Jeff Miller, Jeff Martel, David Ringot A.K.A. Mr. Blonde, Alan+Aldrea (?), KnightShade (thanks to him also for helping me get the page more bearable for lower resolutions), my buds Je||o and Silicon Soldier, Crash of Single Player Quake, Levelord and Giggler of Hipnotic Interactive, and everyone else (sorry guys, the list was getting long and I was tired of typing A HREF :) ). It's been an overwhelming amount of support, and I'm glad you don't mind the thought of a banner here. So I guess I will. I'm getting in touch with them (Entermedia) now. Now, what about this 3dreview.com offer? What do you guys think? E-mail me whether you think I should move there or not.
Thanks AGAIN to DethQuake for the space
This is an appropriate time to thank DethQuake for the Mindspring web space. Whether or not I move now, if he hadn't hooked me up I wouldn't be where I am now, in fact the Fault Line would be on Geocities! (HAR HAR) Thanks again man for hooking me up.
I should NOT procrastinate
I have been procrastinating TOO long in mentioning this article on PlanetQuake, Quake II Will Rule the Cosmos. It is pretty good.
IRC happenings
On the Undernet, visit #quake2. On EFNet, go to #quakeii. Those are the leet Quake 2 irc channels.
Quake 2 info
I will have some new Quake 2 info for you soon. For now, spooge over those screenshots :).
Please send me your opinions
I have received two offers regarding the Fault Line that, if taken, would present the Fault Line more exposure, but would also possibly mean I would profit from the Fault Line. I don't want the Fault Line to become nothing but a way for me to get money. I have been contacted by 3dreview.com for the possibility of the site being there, and I have been contacted about a 1 month promo from the EnterMedia network. Since you are my viewers, I cast my arms up and ask you what you think I should do. If you would prefer the Fault Line stays here and doesn't become commercialized, I will go with that. If you don't mind a banner on this page or me possibly getting money from it, then I will go ahead with the EnterMedia proposition (for just 1 month mind you). I am just lost on what my viewers want, so here I stand, asking my viewers. Please send me mail regarding your opinion.
Fixed screenshots page
I began my screenshots page yesterday, but instead of using thumbnails I had the images getting loaded at a smaller size. A meg download......... not wise. Better now. Actual tiny quick to receive thumbnails. Update: It turns out one of the screenshot graphic files was corrupt. Fixed.
How's the newer look?
There is a newer look now to the page. How does everyone like it? It's geared mostly at 800x600 minimum resolution but its a lot more bearable in 640x480 than the previous. I think I've settled on the layout for now.
Thanks Blue
Thanks to Blue for mentioning Tritian's and e-munch's Quake 2 pages. They are both members of our webring.
More later........
I am in the process of gathering more information. Will let you know soon. Slipgate signing off.
Computer Gaming World
Here are the two screenshots from CGW. They rock. One is of some kind of enemy, the other is of some kind of hospital.
Screenshots are gathering up
Because the number of screenshots is increasing, I've made a screenshots page with all we've got so far. This includes the 2 new ones from Computer Gaming World.
New logo!!!!
Thanks to OmegaX for the new logo to the Fault Line. This is a temporary version of the logo, the final version's not done yet. The final version will be really leet.
New members to the Quake 2 webring
The Quake 2 webring has got 7 members now. Browse around freely.
IRC channels for Quake 2
I invite you to the IRC channel #quakeii on EFNet IRC. There are three Quake 2 channels on EFNet now, #quake2, #quakeii and #quake||. Ours is the "leet" one, heh.
An-Jello Soti's Dimension Music
Check out Angelo Soti (JeLLo)'s Dimension Music site. This link is because I've known him a LOOOOOOOOOONG time. Trust me, just check it out. Interesting fact while I'm at it: I once had the nickname "Snaro". No, I will not explain.
Computer Gaming World
I received this email from KaTT...
There are mentions of some cool weapons in a news article about Q2 in CGW, id originals include Frisbee o' Death, the ominous Hellcube and the voracious Black Hole. Also mentioned are an improvement in physics,
such as that shooting a victim with a shotgun will make him "walk" back- wards, so that monsters could be pushed over ledges, also gibs wont spray omnidirectionally, instead they will spray away from the source of the blast.
Slipgate cutting in here a second. CGW also has 2 screenshots. If I can get a copy of the issue I will try and have scanned copies. Pretty soon I'll start a screenshots section.
Quake2 on E3
Also from KaTT, he mentioned that Quake2 was going to be featured at E3. Save up your pennies folks! =)
NiKoDeMoS's patches
A personal request from Slipgate, from a personal request from NiKoDeMoS... =) Go check out http://www.mindspring.com/~jayke now!
Quake 2 containing colored lighting?
This is kinda from Tritian's Quake 2 page...... he's in our webring. I didn't realize that George Broussard of 3D Realms, when claiming that Duke Forever will use many of the new Quake 2 abilities, happened to list colored lighting. Maybe....... I'll consider it as a rumor for now.
Too many hits
You know Blue has mentioned you when you get 2000 hits in a day. Thanks Blue.
Memento Mori 3 update
Adam Williamson sent me a letter regarding my mention of Memento Mori 3 on the 27th. Here is what he had to say:
About Memento Mori 3...what I told Nite was that we weren't sure what to do it for. Names being thrown around are Quake, Quake2, Hexen 2 (note that it won't actually be called Hexen 2 on release, according to the Raven guy I talk to...they prefer to refer to it as H3, and they haven't
chosen a title yet), and even Unreal. We just aren't sure. The thing is, the Quake engine isn't ideally suited to good single play design - maps are too small, qbsp/light/vis take too long (and will take longer on Quake2, especially light). That's why Unreal looks attractive...processing is apparently done whilst editing. Plus, MM3 was never really planned that much, it was just a little thing TiC put in the text file.
--
Adam Williamson
And that's that for now.
QNN temporarily down
QNN, the site that holds the INFO page for the Quake 2 webring, is no longer holding the Webring page. I have updated the INFO link of my webring graphic.
The pictures from Dallas
In case you don't notice, one of them demonstrates Quake 2 models coming in pieces, so all players and monsters should theoretically be able to get limbs severed. I think.
How many people are viewing this page in 640x480?
Survey type thing. How many of you actually view this page in 640x480, so that we can make certain web decisions. By the way, as you can see we replaced the old stale placeholder on the lower left with a rather interesting graphic.
I'm getting lots of positive feedback
I'm getting lots of positive feedback on this page. Let me know anything else....... and of course submit news if its remotely Quake 2 related. By the way, thanks for bookmarking me Levelord :).
Quake2 pics
OK, Nite here. I've just stumbled across some Quake2 piccys which were from that Dallas news report thingy. So everyone who wasn't in the Dallas area (including me) can now see the best of those pics. The quality isn't great, as they were snatched using a TV tuner-type thing, but you can get the general idea of what's going on. Probably.
Frequently Asked Quake.
Once again I bring you another kinda-sorta-exclusive, this time it's the Quake2 FAQ (unofficial of course). It's here.
Quake 2 pictures revisited
Hi, this is Slipgate here. After Nite let me know about the pictures, he posted the news himself. Above are two of the pictures, here is the 1.3 megabyte zip file containing all the pictures. I should warn you these pictures look really unclear etc. because they are scanned copies of photos taken of a TV screen.
About the Quake 2 engine being used in Duke
Yesterday I thought that news was supremely funny and I was worried at how easily id went along with it. After all, 3D Realms now has the entire source code to their competitor's game, and who can't resist a little cut and paste? But, then I realized that id will effectively make money off Duke Nukem Forever being in the licensing agreement and all, and they don't lose any PR rep. It makes it look like the industry giant is a gentle giant helping the runner-up. Clever.
Duke Nukem 3D sequel to use Quake 2 engine
In, what is my humble opinion, the most hilarious move of all in the 3d game genre today, the Duke Nukem 3D sequel, titled Duke Nukem Forever, will be using the enhanced version of the Quake engine that Quake 2 will use. John Carmack mentions this in his plan after the 3D Realms press releases were out and mentions that they have already given the Quake codebase to 3D Realms for now until the Quake 2 codebase is done. Personally, I think handing over the Quake source code to 3D Realms is a bad idea, but here he has stated in his plan:
I'm sure you have all heard about the 3drealms / quake deal by now. It took a long time to get everything nailed down, but it should be worth it.
The "quake 2" terminology is a little confusing. They have all the quake / glquake / quakeworld stuff right now, but they will be picking up the quake 2 codebase after we finish it.
I'm quite excited about this -- it should be a very complimentary arrangement. We would never
have done a game like Duke at id, but there are many valid styles of design that are mutually
exclusive. Todd and the rest of the Duke team are hard working developers with a pretty clear
vision of what they want. It happens to be different than our vision, but the market is
plenty big enough for both of them.
Personally I still consider it a bad idea to give them all the Quake, GLQuake and even Quakeworld stuff right now. This is the ultimate funny incident in the 3d game market right now, but Id is handing over their game a little too easily....... it scares me.
If interested in the 3D Realms press releases, there are two of concern: This one (it will happen) and this one (why they don't use Prey engine instead?).
Remember what to do visitor 1000
Take a screenshot!
Giggler interview
After rereading my Giggler interview from long ago, I decided to post it despite my message of yesterday. However, I have an AP Test in a week (see why I'm out of the loop) but I will get it up at some time then.
I'm BACK...... sorta
I am very sorry to have not updated in the past week. Firstly, it is not because nothing related to Quake 2 happened this last week (far from it, as you will see) but because I have had a complex set of personal engagements and other things I had to do, so I had to leave the page alone for a while. Here comes "more" bad news...... I am still out of the loop. By May 6 I will be able to make a comeback. Until then, Nite will update the page if anything Quake 2 newsworthy occurs.
Quake 2 on TV!
Now, for the news that was missed: Disruptor made a series of plan updates promising a blurb on Quake 2 on Dallas Channel 11 that would occur at 10 pm on the 25th (two days ago). I'm not in Dallas, nor is Nite, so anyone who can tell me anything about this blurb is appreciated...... On second thought, tell Nite, I am still out of the loop for now.
When doesn't Carmack surprise us?
Carmack has made plan updates mentioning a surprise in the next GLQuake release, as well as talking about bringing GLQuake and Quakeworld together, and he's getting closer to finishing a consolidated Quake.exe with Quakeworld, V or GL or normal, regular Quake, etc., all together instead of needing lots of Quake.exe's. This is partly going towards Quake 2 and partly towards Quake. Also, he has developed a newer QBSP that helps handle even more complicated maps because Hexen 2 needed it, and Quake 2 probably will also (Can you say cool?). I'm personally still waiting for the time he promised QBSP to be split into three less memory hoggy utilities. The man is very busy..... in a few months we'll finally see what he's been up to :).
The Dochter Hipnotist
Mark Dochtermann updated his plan asking folks what resolution settings and color depth etc. we would be most interested in seeing. (Can you say 24 bit???)
Quake 2 webring
Last I checked, all the members of our Quake 2 webring except one had put the special html code on their pages, so that's good. Hopefully the last guy will get it in so you can circle about the best Quake 2 news sites. Before you ask, we will try and cooperate (no ugly Hexen 2 scenario thank you).
Suggestion standoff
Due to the volume of suggestions I got and the variety of mediums I received them in, as well as personal engagements, I will have to delay. This was supposed to be the day to organize and mail off the first suggestion packet, but that won't happen today after all. Later..... how much later I don't know yet. Sorry. By no means does this mean I don't want your suggestions if you have some.
/Me is sloppy today
Oh yeah, first let me apologize for not providing plan links and not quoting the plans in this update....... see, I'm out of the loop and this is a rushed update....... I by all means will still include links and quote fingers. Just not today. On a final note, as I mentioned a long time back I had interviewed Giggler (much like my Paradox interview, asking him what he had seen about Quake 2 and some rotating stuff and etc. For the Paradox interview, check the Old News.)....... It's just been so long since I did that "interview" that its just kind of too late for it to be meaningful (I still haven't gotten it up on the page). So I'm dropping it for now, sorry. Unless I receive lots of mail from people asking to see it, it's kind of dead before it was born. Sorry guys.
Memento Mori 3 may be delayed
Interesting tidbit here. Adam Williamson of the Memento Mori team that brought Memento Mori 1 and 2 to Doom 2 and was going to bring Memento Mori 3 to Quake may told Nite that they would apparently wait for Quake 2 or Hexen 2 to bring Memento Mori 3 about, instead of doing it for Quake like originally planned. This isn't necessarily true, just a "heard" thing.
Spnxwalk.zip indeed!
Final final final note: Last update I mentioned a level made by Preacher on EFNet IRC. Well, I have had a chance to check this level out and I recommend it. It rocks for DM and it looks (IMHO) very cool and very real. You can get it with the link in the April 20th news or from ftp.cdrom.com. (Yes, that's how rushed this update is).
When I hit 1000 hits
I'm almost at the 1000-hits mark. Whoever is number 1000 to read this page, please send me a screenshot :).
Older News
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