A patch for Gunslinger Quake 2 is now available for download. This release fixes many bugs, and completely replaces the old 1.1 patch, so you don't have to upgrade to v1.1 and then v1.2. Get the full details by clicking here. Gunslinger Quake 2 replaces the standard Quake 2 weapons with period pieces of the old west. Each weapon has two firing modes, and most only carry a small number of rounds before players have to reload.

The Quake Times has relocated to http://www.dnagames.net/tqt. They have also launched a messageboard. Please update your bookmarks!

The Coven's open source mod for Quake II, Napalm II, now has irix and BeOS ports thanks to Richard Hess at SGI. You can download the latest ports as well as the Linux, Solaris and Windows versions of the mod by clicking here. Napalm II is an open source mod for Quake II, adding secondary firing modes to all the standard weapons, giving you access to flamethrowers, fire storms, and incendiary bullets.

Not much news lately. I think the center of attention is at the Frag 3 tournament in Dallas. Coverage can be found at the Adrenaline Vault, Cached.net, and Challenge-EU. Check out NetGames USA for the complete scoreboard.

Pretty slow day for the Quake scene eh? Bomb asked me to put up some blurb for him since he's out bobbing for apples at a Halloween party. Unfortunately I seriously have no news to post, sorry :) Stay tuned though!

Name Maker Studio v4.05 is now available for download as an upgrade. This upgrade is designed for versions 1.00 and up. The upgrade fixes a few bugs and has changes for the menubar.

Saw over on Blue's that there is a page with Quake III: Arena Tour Bus Interviews on LanParty.com. The interviews include select staff from id Software, as well as anyone else in camera range. The interviews are in RealPlayer format.

Hey! We recently broke 2,000,000 hits! Pretty neat eh? Thanks to all who keep visiting, we hope you've been happy with what you've seen so far :)

LadyICE, content manager over at PlanetQuake, has picked 10 Quake2 models that she thought was the scariest. Put a little funk into your Quake2 deathmatch this Halloween. Click here to view the Top 10.

Somehow this slipped past me in the mountain of e-mail I have. Carmack updated his .plan announcing the hiring of Robert Duffy, which will be a full time employee starting in December. Here's a clip:

An announcement:

We have hired Robert Duffy as a full time employee, starting in December.

He has been maintaining the level editor since the release of Q2, but a number of things have convinced me it is time to have a full time tool-guy at id.

The original QE4 editor was my very first ever Win32 program, and while Robert has done a good job of keeping it on life support through necessary extensions and evolutions, it really is past its designated lifespan.

As usual, Carmack included other tidbits in his .plan along with the announcement. Click here to read the .plan in its entirety.

Three Clicks to a Kill is an article on Incite Games about Quake III: Arena. It has many quotes from id employees and gives an overview of the game. The article sports several screenshots, one of which is believed to be new. Thanks to sCary for sending this in.

A new version of the QuakeWorld server launcher has been released. This version is capable of starting over 45 servers in seconds. The new version fixes a number of bugs and adds support for Rocket Arena, Requiem, and Lithium. Click here to download.

A picture is worth a thousand words, you have to check this out :)

Incite Games has posted a clip of an interview with id Software's John Carmack. The interview goes into detail about the difficulties encountered making Quake III: Arena and more. Click here to check it out.

PingTool 2.6 Beta 1 is now available for download. The new release features support for additional games, bug fixes, and enhancements. There is now a Swedish version available. Click here for complete details about the new release.

As you might've guessed I'm kinda phasing myself out of posting the news... I've got a lot of other things going on so I figured it's best if I try and lighten my work-load a bit (if you can call it "work" ;). I'll be working on more "behind the scenes" stuff here as I won't be posting news much anymore, but Bomb has graciously decided to help be the interim poster until I get around to finding someone new.

In related news, our menus now work again! We've had several people send in helpful chunks of code here and there, and we finally found one we liked, and played around with it a bit more. For those who don't like the popup menus, you'll notice we've also added a table to the left here with the menu contents as well. Got comments?

Not much happening in the Quake community today. I looked around at other sources and they lacked as well. Perhaps tomorrow will be more interesting.

Riding the Rocket has announced the release of Tricks Arena - The Edge. Tricks Arena - The Edge is a recammed demo complete with soundtrack featuring many non-weapon trickjumps on q2dm1. This demo is great for beginners and advanced players alike!

Mike Carlyle from LoToH Software informed me about some changes that happened within the LoToH Software team. A few changes include the cancellation of an alliance between LoToH and The Mental Vortex, as well as the hiring of new people for LoToH Software. Click here for full details.

PlanetQuake has posted an interview they conducted with Paul Steed, id Software's modeler. The interview was conducted during a stop of the Quake III bus. The interview includes photos and screenshots. Click here to check it out!

John Carmack, id Software's lead programmer, updated his .plan today with information regarding the next demo release. Here's what he had to say:

The next release will be the full "demo" release for quake 3. It will include bots and a new, simple level that is suitable for complete beginners to play, as well as the existing q3test maps.

The timing just didn't work out right for another test before we complete the game.

We plan on releasing the demo after code freeze, when the entire game is in final testing, which will give us a few days time to fix any last minute problems that show up before golden master.

No, I don't have an actual date when that will be.

'S.A.S's Guide to CTF', and his guide to 'Tribes' has moved to http://www.barrysworld.com/guides/. The new address is also the home of the newly opened Barrysworld Guides which is interested in hearing from gamers who may have articles that they would like to share with the Quake2, Quake3, and Tribes gaming communities. Also if there are any gamers out there who want to create a guide to a game then S.A.S would like to hear from you.

Version 1.63 of The Game Name Builder is now available for download. This version includes addons for new games as well as additional bug fixes. The Game Name Builder is a program that allows you to create custom names in most of the games available today.

Slashdot has posted an interview with id programmer John Carmack, where he answers some of the questions that people sent in. Topics range from his childhood, to his cars, to Quake (and all points inbetween). Very nifty article, and well worth a read.

id CEO Todd Hollenshead updated his plan file (see the link) to clear up some soundtrack rumors:

To put this rumor quickly to rest, we don't have any tracks from Nine Inch Nails in the current Q3A soundtrack. Trent spent most of his time this year completing his latest album (you can still call them that, right?), and is now preparing for touring, if he's not already doing it. As far as what is really in the soundtrack, I'm going to wait until it's finalized to go into details, but we have some great music from names many people will recognize.

Team Reaction, creators of Jailbreak, Qpong and Gloom modifications for Quake 2 (among others) are in search of a new skinner. They are looking for someone adept at being able to not only skin character models, but weapon models too. Texture and 2d work is a big plus. This position is completely voluntary. Anyone interested should submit their work to dolby@planetquake.com.

Name Maker Studio G2 v4.00 has been released. G2 (Generation 2) uses an all new advanced engine. You can now edit your name fully in a WYSIWYG enviroment instead of just displaying your name. Name Maker Studio is freeware. You can download the latest copy by clicking here.

John Carmack updated his .plan today with the latest fixes on Quake III: Arena. Check it out:

* make sure video is shutfown for errors on startup
* automatic fallback to vm if dll load fails
* compressed jump tables for qvm
* removed common qfiles.h and surfaceflags.h from utils and game
* don't load qvm symbols if not running with developer
* "quake3 safe" will run the game without loading q3config.cfg
* ignore network packets when in single player mode
* dedicated server memory optimizations. Tips:
    com_hunkMegs 4
    sv_maxclients 3
    bot_enable 0
* fixed logfile on mac
* new time drifting code
* fixed file handle leak with compressed pk3 files
* q3data changed to remove shader references from player models
* throw a fatal error if drop errors are streaming in
* fixed com_hunkMegs as command line parm
* spawn spectators at intermission point (info_spectator_start has been removed)
* new sound channel for local sounds
* fixed follow toggle on bots
* don't write to games.log in single player
* fixed improper case sensitivity in S_FindName

Version 0.3.0 of the XaniA Quake II Proxy has just been released. It has features to stregnthen teamplay, prevent cheating, and more. Click here for the downloads page.

Hey! Quake2 news isn't dead yet! There's a new single-player mission pack available, called "The Armageddon Device". Check out that site for more info, and if you dig their new mission pack, you might want to check out their old one, "Window of Retaliation". Neat eh?

AEstats is a log file parser that generates stats/rankings into HTML. It supports an array of 3D shooters and mods, such as Quake II. Click here to download the latest release.

John Carmack has updated his .plan today with the latest bug fixes and progress on the game. Here's the latest update on the game's progress:

* handle window close events properly
* enable r_displayRefresh selection and feedback on mac
* avoid AGEN_IDENTITY when CGEN_DIFFUSE_LIGHTING
* colorized railgun muzzle flash, impact flash, and mark
* exactly synced animating textures with waveforms and collapsed all explosion sequences into single shaders
* removed unneeded black pass on hell skies
* fixed grenades sticking to steep slopes
* scan for next highest fullscreen resolution when exact mode fails (fixes SGI flat panel failing to init)
* all cgame cvars now have a cg_ prefix (crosshair, fov, etc)
* clear clientinfo before parsing configstring
* make all feedback voiceovers share the same channel
* fixed nodraw curves
* fixed obits from shooter entities
* fixed chat char issue
* separate gentity_t fields into sharedEntity_t
* reintegrated q_mathsys with q_math
* cg_forcemodel also forces player sounds
* unknown cmd commands don't chat
* fixed strip order on text quads

Gunslinger Quake version 1.0 is now available. The new version introduces 2 new playmodes (The Big Heist and Last Man Standing), a new from-scratch menu system, kinder network code, artifact timeouts, bullet holes, MatchMod BotCrusher bot detection, optimized bullet code, VWEP support for Shotgun Messiah, plus new scoreboards, graphics, icons, light entities, breakable map items, sounds, match statistics, and recoil effects. The pack also includes two Gunslinger Quake maps: Bloodbath Town and Dodge City. Click here to download the latest version.

y0w. Sorry about the lack of updates... there really hasn't been much of anything in my mailbox lately. Pretty dead weekend for the Quake scene I suppose. I still feel guilty when the newsletter goes out empty though :

John Carmack has updated his .plan documenting the progress of the upcoming game, Quake III: Arena. Here's what he had to say:

* r_primitives 3 path for non-vertex array testing
* specify sex in model animation.cfg file
* proper dropping of failed bot inits
* removed identical pain sounds
* serverTime strictly increasing across levels
* added GL_DECAL multitexture collapse
* windowed mouse on mac
* fixed byte order issue with curve clipping on mac
* made com_defaultextension buffer safe
* fixed levelshot and added antialiasing to image
* don't clear bot names before kick message
* made servercommand sequences strictly increasing across level changes
* unpause on vid_restart

The Clan World Network wants everyone to know that they've expanded their news coverage. They're now accepting "top of the line clan news." They'll gladly post any news as long as it's clan related, ie. about new clans, clan battles, etc. They've also added a mailbag section to their site, so be sure to check that out too!

Rocket Arena 2.25 is now available as a server-side only upgrade. This server-side upgrade features improved competition mode, new damage scoring options, and selectable arena.cfg files. Grab the latest release by clicking here.

The Name Maker Studio website has gotten a facelift, and is ready for everyone to drop by and check it out. While you're there, grab a copy of NMS v3.60 which was just recently released!

TrueGamers has an article up about the pros and cons of the possible "Pro-Mode" for Q3Arena. You can view it here, the result of a recent interview that John Carmack did with the FiringSquad.

John Carmack has done up another worklog for the world to see, here ya go:

* fixed steady snapshot test
* fixed incorrect 0 ping if past client messages
* fixed loser-disconnecting-at-tourney-intermission sorting problem
* general purpose flood protection, limiting all user commands to one a second by stalling the client, so the commands don't actually get dropped, but are delayed as needed
* replace headnode overflow with lastCluster
* fixed bad extrapolation on unpausing
* fixed player twitch on unpausing
* print client names on loading screen

The Gunslinger Quake2 team writes in that version 1.0 should be available within a week or so. They're planning on putting up a beta server on Wednesday, so anybody who's interested in helping them beta-test the mod, stop by their site.

Version 1.4 of Rock, Paper, Scissors (RPS) has been released. New features are a capturelimit, an id command, autotext, and a rock, paper, scissors game-within-a-game. Stop by their site for more info.

id's John Carmack has posted yet another edition of his worklog. Check it out to keep up to speed with his latest Q3Arena changes and additions.

Those of you around New York will be glad to know that there's an upcoming LAN party in that area. It runs from November 12th thru the 14th, at the Holiday Inn, in Binghamton, NY. The registration fee is $20, email them here for more info.

So it looks like our banner-ad code is inserting some wacky javascript which is causing the whole menu problem. I think we're going to try and weed out the bad ads (ie. the javascript ones) to see if that fixes the problem.

Thanks to all who have sent us suggestions and ideas :)

Name Maker Studio version 3.58 beta has been released. This fixes a few bugs that would cause NMS to display the name incorrectly, or even lock up. Users are definitely encouraged to upgrade.

Version 2.16 of GameSpy shareware has been released. The version for registered users has been available for a couple days, but now the public can download and take advantage of its new features. Check out their site for more info.

Been wondering what's up with the classic Jailbreak mod for Quake2? Well, LadyICE over at PlanetQuake has written up an article about the current status, and future, of Jailbreak. She's hoping this article will help "squelch the rumors that Jailbreak is dead!"

I've gotten a couple emails now about the menus popping up behind the banner ad graphic. I've gotta say, that's really weird. I've sent an email off to Blitz, our main man, to see if he can sniff out the problem. Hopefully they'll be working again soon.

Just a reminder to you all that sCary's post-Q3Test 1.09 review is up at the Shugashack. His server went down yesterday like 10 minutes after he posted it, but it's up there now for all the world to see.

The Firing Squad has done up an interview with John Carmack. Here's a quick quote:

FS: Many people wrote in about racing someone to a weapon and hearing the pickup, only to find that the client-side predict was off by a fraction of a second, so they actually didn't pick it up. This never happened on any other id game, and we experience it regularly even on LAN. Is this something that can be fixed?

JC: I added a "cg_predictItems 0" option if you don't want predicted pickups, but I like them when playing online.

Thanks to Blue's/Loony's for the news.

I saw over on Blues that to compliment his own Q3Test 1.09 impressions, Redwood has included a couple new Q3Arena screenshots. Apparently they are of a brand spanking new DM level by Paul Jaquays.

John Carmack has updated his plan file with yet another new worklog. There's a lot of interesting new stuff in there, so be sure to check it out. The coolest thing that caught my attention definitely had to be the use of encryption on game packets.

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