• The TPWM mod team is looking for an experienced QuakeC programmer. Yes that's QuakeC, from Classic Quake.
• CTF Central is looking for someone to update their news on a regular basis. The person must have good writing skills, be very friendly and of course reliable.

I moved over the web and ftp services over to a new machine Saturday afternoon and changed the DNS entries appropriately. If anyone is having problems connecting to our site, it's probably because the root DNS servers haven't recieved our changes yet. Things should straighten themselves out within the next 24 hours hopefully.

The new IP's are;

192.246.40.185 == www.idsoftware.com / ftp.idsoftware.com
192.246.40.142 == www.quake3arena.com / www.quakearena.com
192.246.40.35 == www.glsetup.com

And yes, for those reading between the lines, I moved over to a new server in order to prepare for our next test release (No, I don't have a date other than "soon".) Our old server got completely hammered last release, so we went and got a beefier machine just to house web and ftp traffic.

Some of the features in JailBreak 2.5:

- 28 total maps, 14 new never before seen, 14 remakes/bug fixes of maps from all previous JailBreak versions!
- Team Radio Sounds
- New team-based scoring system
- Clan Competition Mode
- Map Voting
- In-Jail Game (don't get bored, win your freedom)
- Over 100 bug fixes and minor additions

JailBreak is an exciting team deathmatch variant, in which your dead teammates end up in Jail and your goal becomes freeing them.

There will be a release party held on 3DNet (www.3dnet.net) channel #jailbreak on Friday June 25th, from 6PM CST until "The time after release parties when there are only 3 people left and they are all idle"

We had the Ion Storm guys over last week to play a little deathmatch, and while I wonRt say who won between Romero and Killcreek, I can tell you it wasnRt the male of the species. But boy, can those Ion guys talk smack.

The reason we asked them over was to have them check in on the status of our tournament map, which we hope to get out there soon with the next version of the test (to give you all time to practice on it before QuakeCon, you are going to QuakeCon right?). WeRre also looking at a /lot/ of bug fixes, changes, and tweaks so weRre gearing up for your feedback. IRll let Chris Hecker speak for glsetup, but weRre looking to get that updated and support for 3Dfx in there.

Soon can be defined as soon. And thatRs probably not this week.

Just wanted to send a correction regarding what I've been reading on the Internet about the id guys playing in this tournament. No id guy from this office even knows about this tourney. Past id guys maybe? Dunno. In any case, no current id employee is aware of anyone joining the tournament.

If there are any questions regarding id related claims, feel free to contact me and I'll be more than happy to do a fact check.

So you've read all the reviews, downloaded Q3Test, and decided you want to be the next Thresh, only to find out that you're frag bait to more experienced players. Well, fear not, there's always room for improvement. With some practice and a good strategy, you should be able keep up with the leaders. That's what this page is for. After much experience with Quake, QW, and Q2, I've found that the key to winning doesn't always rely on skill. Knowing what to do when you spawn, the proper routes to take, and when to attack are more important.

Version 2.0 is a MAJOR upgrade and now has an entirely new level of integration never before seen in a Quake II mod, competition based or otherwise.

The wait is over. The public release of Q3test is out. For fans of the 3D-shooter genre, it couldn't have been released sooner. Quake 3 is supposed to be the king of 3D-shooters, created by iD Software, the makers Doom, Quake, and Quake2. How does Q3test fair? Well, considering it's only a test version, one that is released for testing hardware and compatibilty, it fairs pretty well. There are some issues that should be given proper attention.

"Verant is the perfect place for me. I'm a huge fan of their games, and the opportunity to work on Verant's future titles is just too good to pass up," said Brian Hook. "I strongly believe in Verant's commitment to making the best Massively Multiplayer games out there, and I'm excited to be able to contribute to a product line that will be the benchmark against which all other Massive Multiplayer games are judged. People are going to be blown away when they see what Verant is working on."

Hook will be involved with programming and technology in both current and future Verant projects.

• New vmsg and vmsg_team client to server and server to client command. This is the same as say and say_team, except it takes the name of a sound file to play along with the message.
• Major additions to the client menu system for new team messaging menus for pre-recorded model sayings. The menu system stuffs vmsg commands to perform its work.
• Fixed it so that a player is only killed when switching teams, not to/from spectator mode.
• CTF team spawn points are in, team_CTF_redplayer and team_CTF_blueplayer. They are only used at game start, subsequent spawns are in deathmatch starts. Plans to have team only bits on dm starts as well?
• Added two new system functions, Sys_DefaultCDPath() and Sys_DefaultBasePath(). These establish the default base and cd path directories. Under Windows, they are both set to current dir by default. In Unix, they are set to argv[0]'s path and $HOME/.q3a/ respectively. This allows storing the q3config.cfg in $HOME/.q3a/baseq3 under Unix for per-user execution and settings.
• If a double signal fault occurs in Linux, exit immediately.
• stubs for Linux SMP.
• Reworked the Linux sound drivers based on recommendations by the 4Front guys. Added support for 48KHz output and reorganized the sound driver setup and initialization sequence.
• added NET_Sleep(msec) call in server code to allow proper CPU throttling. Wakes up on packet or stdin under Unix

* ignore cl_maxpackets on LAN
* changed cl_packetdup to 1 by default, and archived
* defaulted com_maxfps to 100 and archived, automatically disabling during timedemo. It was possible to lag out some client connections on ultra fast systems even with cl_maxpackets set fairly low due to a huge number of individual commands being created
* 250 msec minimum time between landing and jumping again I hate having players bouncing around all the time...
* fixed bug with large r_picmip values (white shotgun sight bug)
* new lightning and rail beam drawing
* player torso twitches with pain sounds
* r_drawstrips changed to r_primitives and archived, with changes: default "0" uses glDrawElements if compiled vertex arrays are present, or strips of glArrayElement if not. "1" forces strips, "2" forces drawElements, "-1" skips drawing
* increased rocket speed to 900 from 800 decreased direct hit damage from 120 to 100 splash damage same as 1.05
* removed sound-in-use dialog, auto skip after second try
* made userinfo persistant on server across level changes
* allow different servers to respond to a challenge, allowing redirecting server proxies
* notice bad ip addresses for connection: 192.1234.123.122
* removed neck length pivot to prevent view poking into low subdivided curves. Also make aiming when looking up or down more precise.

Brian is leaving, and I just want to wish him well. He shall be missed. We're not going to be bringing anyone else in during Quake3 development.

I'm a bit behind on feedback email and it's all Lilith and Eve's fault. I went to watch their show over the weekend and Realplayer said I needed to upgrade, so I did, and since then I've been toast. I'm sure it's not Realnetwork's fault, there's simply too much beta about my Windows install to make it safe for things like DLL files.

Since then I've shifted to Linux (RedHat 6.0) as my major desktop. No more Win32!

Final, June 1, 1999
-------------------

Egads, how rumors fly so quickly and brazenly. And how scary that they are often so close to the truth and yet so far. :-)

To make a long story short, I'm leaving id.

My work at id has been a pivotal and important part of my life. I've learned a lot about programming, team work, and dealing with being in a position of high visibility. Even better, I've made some really good friends. The owners here have given me a great opportunity to advance myself both professionally and personally and they've rewarded me far better than expected in the process. This is a once in a lifetime gig, and will mark one of the most significant periods in my life.

For all these things and more I am hugely appreciative to Kevin, John, and Adrian. I cannot emphasize enough what kind of a privilege and learning experience it has been working here and, specifically, working with John. The type of talent, genius, and hard work he has demonstrated is the kind of thing you see once in a generation, and I feel privileged to have been able to work with someone of his caliber.

The team here consists of some of the most talented people I have ever worked with, and it was one hell of a ride working with so many people that simply will not accept anything but the best from you or them. These guys have done a stellar job with Quake2 and Quake3 -- which will OWN the first person deathmatch market -- and going forward, I expect even bigger and better things from this crew.

And of course -- the fans. You guys and gals rock. I may have had my disagreements with some of you in the past, but most of all, if you're flaming at me, it's because you care, and I'd much rather have you folks argue with me than not give a damn.

Crap, I'm getting all teary eyed and shit, so instead of turning this into some James Cameron acceptance speech, let me wrap up.

I will probably remain here another week or two cleaning up loose odds and ends, getting things transfered over cleanly, and saying my goodbyes. For business stuff, if you are an IHV your interim point of contact will be Graeme (zaphod@idsoftware.com). I expect that I will continue to receive e-mail here for a bit, so I will start forwarding relevant e-mails to the appropriate parties.

There is no sinister reason for my departure, it's actually an age old story: I got an offer from another company that, quite simply, I could not refuse. Later this week a press release will be issued announcing my new position, and I'm sure some of you will not be surprised when you see where I've ended up. :-)

Signing off,

Brian Hook

• Loki's Missions is a new site from the Loki's Minions team (creators of the very cool LMCTF Q2 mod), which concentrates on bringing you some of the best single player adventures for Quake2 and Half-Life. They've already released a 15-map Half-Life mission, as well as a preview of their upcoming Quake2 mission, "Escape".
• The Locator, the multiplayer weblist for Quake, Quake 2, Quake 3, and Half-Life has a new look, and will be turning 1 year old in June. All clans, tournaments, rings, and league are welcome to join with them!