Q3Arena.com - The Ultimate Quake III Site

John Carmack contributed a post on Slashdot's forums regarding the information that Quake III: Arena sends to id. Here's the scoop:

When the article first showed up, I thought "It IS documented in the release!". I went and looked, and unfortunately, that documentation from the previous release didn't make it into the latest release. Sigh. Our f***up. [This is still a family site]

Apropriate quote: "Never attribute to malice what can be explained by incompetence".

I remain unconvinced that we have done something morally offensive.

Yes, we could have (should have, meant to) included a notice that it was going on in the EULA, but honestly, how many people carefully read and consider every line of all the EULA's they click through? How much of a difference would that have made to people?

I dislike lengthy legal verbiage, but it is reactions exactly like these that cause them to grow. Every time someone says "Sue 'em!" over something, a lawyer proposes another paragraph in a license document.

The most upstanding thing to do would be to have explicit UI that asks on installation if you don't mind sending your data when you play multiplayer games. I would consider that justified if we were sending a detailed system spec. That is something we may want to do in the future. Data like that is helpfull in making good development decisions.

But this is just a driver string riding along with your game version. It just seems silly, like requiring you to acknowledge before leaving your house that someone might see you. I would rather have fixed a bug somewhere.

I can see that it is a slipperly slope to be on, and I can easily project it to a scenario that I would be offended by, but I just can't convince myself that knowing the reletive distribution of different OpenGL implementations is violating people's rights.

The system was set up to allow us to notify people with a one-line message when their versions are out of date. I imagine some people are offended even by that, but I consider that a positive service to the community.

Including the renderer string was an afterthought to get some good unbiased data to help make future decisions on. Every once in a while we tally up the numbers, then dump all the logs. That's it.

John Carmack

To read the actual post, click here.

Saw over at Blues that GameSpy has posted an article on the history of QuakeWorld. The article lacks several details, such as the domain wars. If you're trying to catch up on some Quake history, this is a great article!

The Sniper mod for Quake II now has a linux port available for download. The sniper mod includes cloaking devices and a super railgun, among other tidbits. Server administrators are needed, so if you're interested in having a Sniper mod server please contact the author.

The staff here at Q3Arena.com have been receiving a large amount of e-mail lately with Quake III: Test Demo bug reports along with other similar issues relating to the game. We ask that you submit bug reports to id Software, and not to us. We are *not* id Software and we cannot change anything in the game. If you have questions not relating to our site, please post them on our messageboard. The contact us page is for news submissions and website problems only. Thanks for your cooperation! :)

AEstats v4.29 has been released for download. The latest release includes support for Half-Life mods. AEstats works with many 3D shooters, and has support for many Quake II mods. AEstats is a log file analyzer that outputs stats/ranking to HTML.

Name Animation Studio v1.00 Alpha has been released as an unsupported pre-release of the full version. The alpha is for testing purposes only, so please report any bugs to ssanford@neo.rr.com. The alpha version allows you to create a short animation up to 4 frames long.

Eurogamer's coverage of the LAN Arena 3 competition currently taking place in Paris, France continues with a report on the UK Q2 Team's first game and win over French clan, Bn. Coverage includes pictures, reports and demos from the games and will be continuing through the night featuring the Q2 Teamplay challenge against the French team, and Q2 and Q3 1-on-1 competitions. Get the real deal by clicking here.

The Quake 3 modZone is a site dedicated to those who wish to gather the information they need to create modifications for Quake III: Arena and to have it showcased on their site. Currently the most useful feature of the site is the Idea Board. Check out this new site!

Stomped has posted the final Quake III: Arena character renderings which concludes the series. The last three renderings include the Gorre, Wrack and Xaero characters.

Qtracker v2.3 Beta 13 is now available for download. This version adds support for Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear, Drakan: Order of the Flame, and has bug fixes and other improvements. Qtracker is a fully-functional server browser, server launcher, MP3 streaming audio browser, and HTML server list generator. Qtracker supports TCP/IP and IPX, so it can detect games on the Internet and your LAN.

Todd Hollenshead updated his .plan today announcing that the Linux version of Quake III: Arena *will* ship with the limited edition tin box. Here's the scoop:

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Great news for Linux users: I just received word that the Linux version of Q3A *will* use the limited edition tin box that everyone has been clamoring for. We should have an announcement on Monday with the expected availability date.

Click here for an archive of past .plan updates.

The entire staff of Q3Arena.com would like to wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving!

The GameSpy team has done up an interview with Dave "Zoid" Kirsch, the mastermind behind CTF and all its glorious past ThreeWave/Q2CTF incarnations. It's even got 4 or 5 spiffy new screenshots, mostly showing the level design and mood. You can read the article here.

Version 2.2.8 of the Q3Arena Server Configurator has been released. Among its list of fixes is compatibility with the new Q3Arena DemoTest. Check out their site for more info. Thanks to Blue's for the news.

The guys over at Blue's received an official press-release from Activision regarding Q3Arena going gold... here's the scoop:

November 23, 1999 - Santa Monica, Calif. - Activision today announced that Quake III Arena has gone gold. Developed by id Software, Quake III Arena is the third installment of one of the most popular computer game franchises of all time and is designed to be the final word in online multiplayer mayhem. The title, which was sent into manufacturing today, is expected to hit retail shelves on Dec. 12, 1999 at a suggested price of $49.99.

December 12th! Not too far off... come to think of it that's the exact same day as a friend's birthday. I might have to buy it for him and then "borrow" it for a bit ;)

Graeme Devine updated his .plan today with a quick blurb about the authorize server. Check it out:

Activision has asked to test the full authorize server, so it's now up and running. I can quite understand this. I'm working to get the full demo out the door as quick as possible.

Click here for past .plans from Graeme.

We now have a demo server up at Q3Arena.NetMegs.com or 209.10.76.4. It's a 550 Xeon with a full 100MBPS connection off an OC3. Have fun!

Blue has posted some renderings of characters that are in Quake III: Arena. The characters include Lucy, Biker, Anarki, Patriot, Tankjr, Razor, Stripe, Uriel, Keel, and Visor. Check them out!

Graeme Devine updated his .plan today regarding the full demo of Quake III: Arena. Apparently if you don't get the game you will have to download a new demo if you want the latest version. Here's the update:

I'm working on updating the full demo today. We'll bash on it a bit and get it out there over the next few days. Once it's out there I'll be updating the cdkey authorize server to the final version. Unfortunately this is not compatible with the demo test, so you'll need to upgrade to either the full version of Q3A (woo hoo!) or download the new demo.

Oh, and I'm going to finish Homeworld darn it.

John Carmack updated his .plan today stating he is very happy about how Quake III: Arena turned out, more so than the other games. He also goes into detail about future projects he plans to work on. Here's a short clip of the update:

Ahhhh....

I am very happy with how Q3 turned out. Probably more than any game we have done before, it's final form was very close to its initial envisioning.

I will be getting all the Q3 code we are going to release together over the next week or so. I will write some overview documentation to give a little context, and since you can do game mods without needing a commercial compiler now, I will write a brief step-by-step to modifying the game code.

I'm looking forward to what comes out of the community with Q3.

Click here for the entire update.

Three new demo editing tutorials are now available at Zarathustra Studios, bringing the total to seventeen. The new topics are: "Cut/Paste & Find/Replace (in Keygrip2)," "Packaging Your Product," and "Advanced Image Usage part 2." The latter (Tutorial 17) ends unconventionally in the form of an open challenge regarding multiple on-screen image formatting. Solving the challenge would enable such effects as widescreen format in Quake2 movies, among other uses.

Christian Antkow updated his .plan informing the community that id will be switching ISP's and will experience some downtime during the process. The amount of downtime is unknown. Here's what he had to say:

We're going to be off the net at 4am on the 23rd (read: In about 12 hours) for an ISP switchover. No ETA on how long we'll be down. Just a heads up in advance to let you know all the demotest clients will fail authentication as a result of our outage.

Hopefully everything will have a smooth transition. We'll keep you updated on the issue.

id Software's CEO Todd Hollenshead updated his .plan today saying thanks to all of the congratulatory e-mail send to id by gamers. He also claims that they do not have a confirmed date of when Quake III: Arena will be on store shelves, but they will let everyone know. Here's the .plan:

Thanks for the mountain of congratulatory email. As of this very moment, I don't have a confirmed shelf date or availability date from 1-800 idgames. I'll post that information here just as soon as I get confirmed dates for you guys and girls. As John indicated, it may be a few extra days before we get confirmation on Linux and Mac due primarily to logistics.

You can get a complete list of his past .plan updates by clicking here.

Blaze over at the Fault Line (hey that sounds familiar :) has posted a "small but worthwile" overview of the recent Q3DemoTest release. It includes several screenshots in 1280x1024 resolution, taken on a Riva TNT2 Ultra. Check it out!

It's true! id Software skin artist Kenneth Scott updated his plan file with the way cool news:

11-21-1999
We're Gold!
I love you sweetpeach. :)

Yay! Thanks much to Steve over at the Shugashack for informing us (our plan tracker doesn't watch Ken's planfile, doh). And no, I don't know who sweetpeach is :)

Beta 1 of FireArms for Quake has been released. It features a brand new and revolutionary model system, which lets you design your own guns. FireArms is a multiplayer conversion which sports a wide range of new features and realistic gameplay. Click here to download.

sCary has posted some screenshots of the powerups in Quake III: Arena on the ShugaShack. Check them out! [Battle Suit] [Regeneration] [Invisibility] [Haste] [Medkit] [Flight]

id Software has released the Linux version of the Q3Arena Demo-Test. Check out the official site at Quake3Arena.com for links and Sandpiper download mirrors. Have fun!

QuakeStarter v0.74b has been released and is now available for download. Included in this release is support for Quake III Demo Test and bug fixes.

The ShugaShack now has more demos of animations/models sent to sCary by Paul Steed. Screenshots are provided to those who have low bandwidth available. Paul Steed had a few words to say:

Since there seems to be interest in how I did the mocap for some of the animations in the game, attached are four movies that illustrate how. Basically compare the movie of me with how it looks plugged into the characters. Notice that I did the Xaero animation slower than how it turned out. This was intentional since I wanted to make sure the motion was fluid even when I increased the playback. This is akin to doing demos with timescale variables.

Xaero: [Shot1] [Shot2] [Shot3] [Video]
Making Xaero: [Shot1] [Shot2] [Shot3] [Video]
Anarki: [Shot1] [Shot2] [Shot3] [Video]
Making Anarki: [Shot1] [Shot2] [Shot3] [Video]

Stomped has released four new screenshots of Quake III: Arena characters. The new screenshots include Razor, Tank Jr., Klesk, and Cadaver. Click here for a page with all the current listings.

Carmack posted a .plan early this morning about the release of the Linux version. Here it is in its entirety:

Linux version isn't going to make it tonight. We got too busy with other things. Sorry. Tomorrow.

* shrink zone, grow hunk
* flush memory on an error
* fixed crash pasting from clipboard
* test all compiler optimizations -- 5% speedup
* fixed major slowdown in team games with large numbers of players and location markers

Carmack updated his .plan announcing that the Mac version of the Quake III Demo Test is out. The .plan addresses other issues with the Mac such as hardware and compatibility. The update is quite legnthy so here's a clip:

The mac version is out. Go to www.quake3arena.com for links.

The mac version going out has the executable fixes that we have made in the last couple days, but most of the fixes have been in code that runs in the virtual machine, and we can't update that without making it incomptable with the pc version.

The game remains very marginal in playability on 266mhz imacs and iBooks.

A 333mhz imac should be playable for a casual gamer if the graphics options are turned down to the "fastest" setting.

There is still a lot of room for improvement on ATI's side with the RagePro drivers. Almost all the effort so far has been on the Rage128 drivers.

The G3 systems run fine, but a little slower than a pc of equal mhz

The rage128 cards in the G3s are only clocked at 75mhz, so you can't run too high of a resolution, but you can get very nice image quality. I usually play with these settings:
r_mode 2 // 512*284 res
r_colorbits 32 // 32 bit color
r_texturemode gl_linear_mipmap_linear // trilinear filtering

I haven't played on one of the new iMacs or G4's but they both use the rage128 driver, which is fairly high quality now, so they should perform well.

According to Carmack, the Linux version should be out sometime tomorrow night if all goes well. Click here to read the latest .plan in its entirety.

Name Maker Studio v4.26 has been released for download. This is a bug fix to v4.25 which now actually works in the Quake3: Arena Demo Test. Name Maker Studio is a freeware fun-name creation tool with a WYSIWYG interface and supports Quake, Quake II, and much more!

Graeme Devine updated his .plan stating that he is doing some debugging on the authentication server. If it doesn't work for you then don't panic -- just get a pizza or something and try again later. Here's the update:

I'm debugging some stuff on the authorize server (and using you guys as testers on it). If you can't authorize for the next few hours please be patient!

sCary over at the ShugaShack has posted a video of the biker character from getting jiggy with it. However, he said, "It wont exactly give you any real insight into Quake3 but it will give you a close look at a new Quake3 character in animated form." Since the download is a bit hefty, he posted some screenshots of it. [shot1] [shot2] and [shot3]. You may need QuickTime to view the video. The FTP might be full, but keep trying!

The Oxygen Tank has a five-page review of the Q3 Demo Test up, which should be interesting for people who haven't downloaded it yet as well as those who have. It focuses heavily on the bots and their performance, and includes a full guide on controlling the bots in teamplay mode. Targeted at the Quake community, it covers all major changes from v1.08 of Q3Test. Check it out by clicking here.

id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead updated his .plan announcing that he received a report that over 1,000,000 copies of Quake III Demo Test have been downloaded. Here's the announcement:

We just received a report that tells us that there have already been at least 1,000,000 downloads of the demo test in less that 3 days. WOW! A tremendous thanks to the Quake III Arena (or soon to be) community.

Perhaps this explains why my connection has been really slow lately. ;) Just kidding.

Hi all. I just wanted to put up a reminder for everyone that we are not id Software. Sure we think their games are neat and we cover their news, but we are not id Software. We get a lot of email from people asking us to change things in the game. Usually we just say "hey we aren't id Software, but here's where you can reach them..." But then we get letters like this:

From: [a rabid linux "user"]
To: [one of our staff here]
Subject: linux support and your death.

I'm outraged by the lack of linux support in the coming q3.

IT will not be toleranted. Releasing a linux verison of a game after xmas, when the windows version gets release before xmas is a sin and a design to f[this is still a family site] up our market share.

IF you continue on this road of action, people will be angry with you.

IF you continue you will learn a life long enemy in me.

This is an actual letter we received today. This isn't the first letter of this kind we've received. Please PLEASE realize that if you're going to send us a letter like that, or any letter demanding that we (who are not id Software) change the game, it's just going to get deleted. Sorry for the long rant, but I hope you all can understand our frustration :)

Carmack updated his .plan in an attempt to clear up some confusion that the general-purpose flood detection has caused on the demo servers. Here's a short clip:

The demo servers have general purpose flood-protection that has caused some confusion.

Clients are only allowed to make one command a second of any kind. This prevents excessive flooding by chats, model / name changes, and any other command that could possibly be exploited. The command streams are stalled, so it doesn't have any effect on processing order or reliability.

This means that if you issue two commands immediately after one another, there will be a one second stall before the second command and all movement clears. You see this on the lagometer as yellow spiking up for a second, then dropping away.

Hitting tab for the scoreboard sends a command, so you trigger the flood protection if you bang tab a couple times. This has been fixed so that the scoreboard will never send more than one update request every two seconds, but you will need to watch out for it in the existing demo.

Click here to read the complete update.

QuakeHeads.com has a list of all the new console commands posted here.

Graeme Devine updated his .plan announcing a debug server that has been setup. Here's the details:

We've got a debug server up on 192.246.40.115, if people could connect to it and bash on it that would be great.

Carmack updated his .plan with a bunch of techno blab as well as issues with the game and the latest fixes. Here's a short clip:

The way vertex lighting is working in the existing demos is that only two pass shaders (lightmap * texture) were collapsed to a single pass, all other shaders stayed the same.

Xian added some chrome and energy effects to parts of q3tourney2, which changed them from two pass to three pass shaders. We felt that that 50% increase on those polygons was justified in normal play, but as people have pointed out, when you are playing with vertex lighting, that three passes stays three passes instead of collapsing to a single pass, resulting in a 300% increase on those polygons over the way it was before. Still faster than lightmap mode, but a large variance over other parts of the level.

Today I wrote new code to address that, and improve on top of it.

Now when r_vertexlight is on, I force every single shader to a single pass. In the cases where it isn't a simple light*texture case, I try and intelligently pick the most representative pass and do some fixups on the shader modulations.

Click here for the full .plan update.

id Software's Christian Antkow recently updated his .plan addressing the status of the authorization and master servers:

Yes. We know there are problems with the Q3Demo authorization and masters servers at the moment. We're working on the issues and should hopefully have things resolved later this evening.

Please do not send further e-mails on the matter. We are well aware of the problems.

Q3Arena.com will keep you updated on the latest status of the authorization and master servers.

I have compiled a short list of FTP mirrors that have the Quake III Test Demo. The list is derived from e-mails I have received as well as other sources. We have mirred the file locally and is accessible by anonymous FTP. Currently only the Win32 version is available. Here's the list:

Virtual Reality Games Network
FilePlanet.com
3dgamers.com
Gameaholic.com
Gamesworld

Don't get discouraged if you can't get into a mirror at first, it might take a few tries. Hope this helps!

Christian Antkow gave word in his .plan update that the DNS issues are being worked on and resolved. Here's the update:

Got about 50 e-mails over night with various insights into possible DNS resolution issues with authorize.quake3arena.com. I just made a few changes to the DNS records, Tim restarted the nameserver, and lets see if this doesn't get better in the next 24 hours or so.

As always you can check out the entire .plan (and an older archive) courtesy of our finger service.

Stomped has posted some new Q3A character renderings, which makes 10 of 29. These renderings feature characters that have not been seen yet, but will appear in the demo. These renderings are of Daemia, Grunt, and Stripe.

3dfx Gamers has posted a handful of Quake III: Arena screenshots on their site that include motion blur & anti-aliasing technology. Check them out here.

A new version of Name Maker Studio is now available for download. This release fixes all known bugs for the program, and has support for Quake, Quake II, and much more! Also added is the feature to export your name as a bitmap for use in imaging and graphics. Name Maker Studio is a freeware WYSIWYG fun-name creation tool.

Christian Antkow updated his .plan regarding bugs found in the test demo. Here's the scoop:

* Server browser is fux0red. Will look into that tommorow
* Problems binding and using the mousewheel
* Can't resolve authorize.quake3arena.com. God only knows why. I've been losing my mind over this. Some people can resolve it fine, others can't. If someone can e-mail me with a definitive reason why this isn't resolving for some people, I'll be ever so greatfull. I've done digs off of various nameservers and most can resolve this just fine. *sigh*

The preliminary test demo to the "official" Quake III: Arena demo has been released! We will mirror the file on our site later today, but in the meantime, you can download it from www.quake3arena.com and FilePlanet.com

Christian Antkow updated his .plan regarding mirror information for the Test Demo of Quake III: Arena. Here's what he had to say:

We're doing final testing now. Sandpiper has been called and they are aware that we're planning on a release tonight. The file will simultaneously be made available on our FTP site (heh) and Sandpipers distribution network through www.quake3arena.com.

Ok Quake Community... Lets show Sandpiper what we're made of and really stress out their network =)

"soon"

Todd Hollenshead updated his .plan reiterating that the next demo release is preliminary to the "official" demo. He also mentions the release date is "when it's done!" and to stay away from the speculation.

Demo Test notes:

As Graeme indicated, this is a preliminary release. We are retaining the prohibition on physical media distribution until we release the final or "gold" demo. That means that magazines will NOT be allowed to distribute this version of the demo on coverdisks. This is marked all over the test, however I would appreciate it if all of the Quake 3 and game site webmasters that are mirroring or covering the release would lend me a hand and make sure our friendly neighborhood game and computer magazines understand this.

Rest assured, we will allow physical media distribution of the final demo, once it is released, but not yet.

Second, although the 1-800-idgames number is on the screen, we (id) aren't accepting orders yet. Also, please remember that number is not for technical support for Quake III Arena, the demo test, or any other id game. Feedback, bugs, etc., in the demo test should still be sent to feedback@quake3arena.com

Finally, before the crazy speculation starts, we aren't done with the game yet. We will be finished "when it's done!" Again, anyone besides id claiming to have the official release date is just pulling your chain.

Enjoy!

Graeme Devine updated his plan informing us that the Quake III: Arena Test Demo should be released tonight. Here's the details:

Quake 3 Arena demo test should be out tonight. Watch the skies!

Just so we�re all sure. This isn�t the general demo. If all goes well we�ll upload the general demo in a few days.

The demo contains four maps (q3dm1, q3dm7 (q3test1), q3dm17 (q3test2)& q3tourney2 (q3tourney) and six characters (Sarge, Visor, Major, Grunt, Daemia, & Stripe). Bots are in there on five difficulty settings (from "I can win!" to "nightmare!").

Stay tuned to Q3Arena.com for further details!

Carmack updated his .plan with the latest additions and modifications, as well as a blurb about when the test demo will be released. Check it out:

The demo test is built. It should go up in a couple hours if nothing explodes.

Mac and linux builds won't be out tonight.

* clear SVF_BOT when exiting follow mode
* render temp memory
* new mac GL initialization code
* no zone memory use in music thread
* added check for trash past zone block
* explicitly flush journal data file after a write
* added FS_Flush

LadyICE over at PlanetQuake has posted an interview with the Sniper-Quake2 mod's creator, qor, in which he answers questions about himself, his mod and whom he'd like to snipe the most. You can check out this interview here, and you can also check out an in-depth review of the Sniper-Quake2 mod here.

The Night Light Mod for Quake II has been released for download. The mod features night/day cycling, as well as modifications to a few weapons. Also included on the site are tips, benchmarks, and more.

Not much for Quake news today except for Carmack's latest worklog. Check out the latest fixes and modifications:

* graphic for defer
* don't set any systeminfo vars from demos
* A3D fix
* spectator follow clients that disconnect
* stop follow mode before going to intermission so you can ready
* use (fullbright) vertex lighting if the bsp file doesn't have lightmaps
* auto set demo keyword on servers
* finished cd key authorization
* fixed symbol table loading for interpreter
* reconnect command
* removed limit on number of completed commands
* changed default name to "UnnamedPlayer"
* awards over people's heads in multiplayer
* fixed global powerup announcements

The FiringSquad has posted an article about some beta testing done at id Software a few weeks ago. The article is very detailed and has many screenshots. Check it out here!

Carmack updated his worklog today with the latest progress for Quake III: Arena. Check it out!

* teamplay menu comment
* shrank and moved "RECORDING demo:" text
* identified and worked around Apple input queue issue
* properly send configstring resets on map_restart
* don't clip sound buffer on file writes
* don't draw scoreboard during warmup
* auto load added bots in single player
* swapped order of map_restart and warmup configstring
* disable dynamic lights on riva128 due to lack of blend mode
* put frags left warning back in all gametypes
* removed joystick button debug prints

Carmack keeps rolling out fixes for Quake III: Arena. Here's the latest fixes in the game:

* fixed spinning barrel on respawn issue
* clear eflags before intermission
* shutdown menu on starting a cinematic
* mask name colors to 0-7 range
* fixed jpeg loading alpha channel
* try for not-nearest spawn twice instead of once
* made unzoomed exactly identity mouse modifier
* cl_debugmove [1/2]
* m_filter
* fixed time warnings
* allow timelimits to hit with only a single player
* filter local games with different protocol versions
* fixed bad arg 0 after sysinfo configstring
* removed unneeded svc_servercommand at start of command strings
* fixed redundantly loaded level bug
* fixed journal playback from demo build
* removed background image from viewlog window

To view past worklogs, click here.

True Gamers has posted an interview with Frag3 Tournament 3rd place winner Johnathan 'Fatality' Wendel. The interview goes into depth about Frag3, his hobbies, future goals, how he got his nickname, and more.

Loonygames has posted a screenshot of the Klesk model that will be in the upcoming release of Quake III: Arena. The screenshot was also taken in an upcoming level that will be available when the game is released. Check it out here.

John Carmack updated his worklog late last night with the latest progress on Quake III: Arena. It's a bit legnthy so here's a short clip:

* check for bad weapon number in non-3d ammo icon on death
* fixed plane catagorization
* error command does an ERR_DROP if given a parm
* don't load high LOD models if r_lodbias
* nobots/nohumans options for player spawn spots
* prevent voice rewards on frag that enters intermission
* dissallow native dll loading if sv_pure
* loaddefered cgame command, issued on addbot
* drop the weapon you are changing TO if you only had a MG or gauntlet
* fixed bounce pad event prediction for all angles
* allow empty tokens in map files
* fixed infos exceeded warning on bot parse
* warning on mismatched mipmap/picmip/wrapclamp image reuse
* fixed pain echo sound after predicted falling damage
* move sound to hunk
* move vm to hunk

To view the entire worklog, click here.

Stomped.com has posted 2 new Quake III: Arena character sketches. The two new sketches are of Sarge and Slash, and has views from all sides. These are from a series of 29 that will be available soon. Check it out!

Name Maker Studio v4.15 has been released. The new version fixes the image map bug where the right 3 columns of character didn't display in the preview bar. The latest release also fixes the toolbar and makes it a bit cleaner. Click here to download.

The makers of AirQuake 2 have released a new public beta, version 2.0 beta 39. This new release contains bots, crash landings, LQM (Little Quake Men) that can eject, and much more! Get your copy by visiting their downloads page.

The other day, GameSpy v2.17 was released to registered users only. It is now available as the shareware version. The new version has support for games such as Nerf ArenaBlast and Wheel of Time. Click here to download the shareware version.

sCary over at the ShugaShack has posted a list of Questions and Answers covering an array of topics ranging from Quake III: Arena gameplay to if Aunt Jemima is a real person. Definitely worth reading!

id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead updated his .plan today regarding the official release date of Quake III: Arena. While retailers claim the release date is the end of the month, the official release date is "when it's done!" Also included in the .plan is a blurb about the limited edition of the game that is shipped in tin boxes. Here's a clip regarding the release date:

The release date for Quake III Arena is, as you know, "When it's done!" Retailers are notorious for posting "official" release dates, but unless it comes directly from id, it's just speculation.

As always, you can always check out the full .plan in its entirety by clicking here.

True Gamers has posted a recap of the 3on3 Invitational Quake 3 Teamplay Tourney held at Frag3 written by Wiseguy from his point of view as organizer of the competition and member of Abuse, one of the top teams. It deals with the problems that can occur when you hold a tourney which depends on players that are at the same time competing in another one (ie the Frag3 official Q3Test duel competition), the lessons he has learned from it, and commentary on the various brackets and matches.

Name Maker Studio v4.13 is now available for download. The new version adds many new features such as GameSpy support and better support for configuration files and *.nms files. Name Maker Studio is a freeware "funname" creation tool that allows you to create the "funnames" in a WYSIWYG format.

Mike Wardwell of the CPL gave sCary the final 8 demos from Frag3 to post on the ShugaShack. Click here to access the download page with the demos.

sCary posted some new screenshots from Quake III: Arena that were provided to a gaming magazine company by Activision. The company had no current plans on featuring the screenshots in any magazine articles so they have been released. Check them out! [shot1] [shot2] [shot3] [shot4]

If you pre-order Quake III: Arena from GameStop.com tomorrow before 11:00PM they will enter your name in a drawing in which five winners will get their screen names and keyboard configurations burned into the final version of Quake III: Arena. Here's the official wording:

Achieve a piece of gaming immortality! Become a part of Quake III! Quake III is nearing completion, and to celebrate, Gamestop has arranged an exclusive offer with id Software. Preorder Quake III at our Gamestop.com store before 11/4/99 at 11:00PM, and we'll automatically enter your name into a special drawing. Five lucky winners will get their screen names and keyboard configurations burned into the final version of Quake III! You'll be able to brag, lord it over your friends, and generally look down on the unwashed deathmatch masses. Could there be anything better?

Apparently not, because I struggle to keep up with all the new worklogs and .plan updates! Check out today's worklog:

* cd check in single player
* removed drop shadow on console input line
* swapped mynx pain sounds
* fixed cleared music buffer on track loop again
* force skins on spectators in team games to prevent having a default waste memory
* only defer to a model with same team skin
* fixed grenade-disappearing-at-floor bug when about to explode
* draw reward medals during gameplay
* added "humiliation" feedback for gauntlet kills
* spread respawn times to prevent pattern running:
   #define RESPAWN_ARMOR 25
   #define RESPAWN_TEAM_WEAPON 30
   #define RESPAWN_HEALTH 35
   #define RESPAWN_AMMO 40
   #define RESPAWN_HOLDABLE 60
   #define RESPAWN_MEGAHEALTH 120
   #define RESPAWN_POWERUP 120

For more .plans of id Software staff, please check out Q3Arena.com's finger service.

Version 2.17 of the popular server browsing tool, GameSpy, is now available for download to registered users. This release adds support for games such as Nerf ArenaBlast and Wheel of Time. GameSpy is shareware and has a one-time $20 registration fee.

Carmack updated his .plan today with the latest progress on squashing bugs and adding fixes in Quake III: Arena. Here's the latest worklog:

* remove grapple from give all
* fixed pick-up-two-healths-even-if-you-don't-need-the-second bug
* moved wrap/clamp to image generation function and added to imagelist fixed an improper clamp on macs
* different menuback for ragepro
* fixed mac button problems with OS9 and wheel mice
* teamplay rule mods:
   less MG damage (5 instead of 7)
   weapons always have a full load of ammo
   don't drop powerups
* changed low detail r_subdivisions to 25 to prevent poke through
* removed warning on empty servercommand when systeminfo changes
* g_debugDamage
* when a vote is tied with all votes in, immediately fail it
* haste smoke puffs

To view this .plan and an archive of others, click here.

Graeme Devine updated his .plan today addressing the status of the MOTD and master server. Here's what he had to say:

The MOTD server and master server will be up and down over the next few days, if you don't get a response that's probably the reason why.

To view today's .plan and others, click here.

Kenn over at the FiringSquad posted a quick chat that he had with John Carmack via e-mail. The chat covers topics such as bugs in the game and addresses issues such as footsteps in Quake III: Arena. Check it out by clicking here.

Gamecenter has posted an update on this past weekend's Frag3 tournament. The article contains many details about the event such as who attended, what took place at the tournament, sponsors, prizes and more. Click here to check it out!

The Quake 3 Shack is a new site that includes resources and other tidbits for id Software's upcoming game, Quake III: Arena. To celebrate their site opening, they are having a tournament where winners can receive some really neat prize packages. To learn more about the tournament and prizes, click here.

John Carmack updated his .plan today with the latest bug fixes and adjustments for Quake III: Arena. Here's a short clip of the worklog:

* play chat sound during votes
* draw 2D icon for ammo if cg_draw3dicons 0
* fixed losing input on menu vid_restart
* made "vote" and "callvote" completable
* remove mac about dialog
* fixed demos skipping inital time due to loading
* fixed timing on timedemo startup
* don't flash attacker when damaging self
* display capturelimit instead of fraglimit on score tabs in ctf
* recursive mirror/portal changed to a developer warning
* fixed bug with follow mode spectators

To view the full .plan, click here.