The Gamer's Quarter

[Lestrade]

This thread is for me to espouse the gushing love I have for Johns Romero and Carmack's last joint endeavour: Quake.

Though scaled back from a Daikatana-esque level of ambition, the end product released as Quake is one of my favourite games on any platform. I say this despite the fact that I have played fewer than a dozen multiplayer matches of Quake in my life (blame mid-nineties networking for that).

I completed the PC original on a P-133 laptop, burning hot from extended gaming sessions, in my lonely bachelor apartment on a quiet summer night in 1997. The laptop—a custom build from a small-name manufacturer—wouldn't play the CD soundtrack, so I missed out on a very important part of the game.

But I loved it nonetheless, and with every cry of "It's so brown!" from the gaming media I grew a little more protective and a lot more angry. Though I know (having read Masters of Doom) that the game's aesthetic is almost accidental, there is a bizarre cohesion to the experience that attracts me. Though the original design document for the game always sounded fascinating (no doubt made more so by John Romero's over-enthusiastic assurances), the fact the game is just a shooter, but an incredibly tight one, never bothered me.

Quake has a very unique "feel"—the way your avatar moves is something I've always loved, especially the way he sort of banks when you strafe, It's rather like controlling a soft, floaty tank, but it feels precise. It's one of those games I feel I have complete control over, and when playing on a PC/Mac, it's satisfying to just race around and dominate by way of the smooth and accurate input.

The reason I started this thread is, I found a very inexpensive copy of the fairly-rare Saturn port of Quake on eBay, which I quickly snatched up. It arrived yesterday, and I popped it in to great delight.



Though I don't have an analogue controller yet, even with the digital pad it's a blast to play. I'm simply amazed at the Saturn port—which, at the time, was said to have "a poor graphics engine." I'm not sure if anyone was paying attention, but to have a perfectly-playing, smooth-as-silk version of Quake run on the Saturn was doubtless no small task! Lobotomy Software deserves a lot of praise for what they managed to achieve.

But no, the poor Saturn port was practically dusted aside like an unwanted child while everyone heaped praise and glory upon the other version of Quake; the one for the N64.

The N64 version, which I've also completed, is higher-resolution, texture-smoothed (of course) and plays perfectly well thanks to great control on the N64 pad. Yet it loses a lot in translation—namely, the soundtrack, half the architecture, dynamic lighting, and a good deal of the ambiance that makes Quake what it is.

Comparing the N64 version to the Saturn port makes the latter seem even more impressive; not only does it retain the soundtrack (a function of the CD medium, of course), but its architecture is vastly more complex and far more accurate to the PC original. Compare any room, and what you'll usually end up with on the N64 is a single big box with an overuse of clashing, fake coloured lighting. The Saturn game retains most of the beams, steps, ceiling decorations and other embellishments. And while the textures on the Saturn are, like the lower-poly creature models, big and chunky, they are more varied and much more in keeping with the source material than the N64 game, which suffers from the same blown-up, repeating tiles as all N64 games do.

And yeah: on the N64, you lose all realtime lighting (which actually affects the level design in many cases, as well as being a serious mood-killer; see the descending walkway in E1M1 for an example). Rockets carry a fake transparent glow with them; on the Saturn, your gunfire splashes the walls with violent strobes of red and orange.

As I continue playing this version of the game, I'll be happy to post images, video and impressions, if anyone's interested. To me, this is a very personal, very exciting experience, so if you want me to share, just let me know.

[Mr. Mechanical]

I've never played Quake 1 multiplayer but I played the hell out of the single player when it first came out. I don't know how many times I've made the dreaded Shub-Niggurath my bitch, so let's just say "lots".

I'd love to be able to play it again, but it seems XP doesn't run Quake very well. Quake 2 is golden, but Quake 1 was my first love. Ah well.
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Mr. Mechanical

[Ethoscapade]

there's a homebrew ds port that, iirc, just hit "beta."

somebody might want to check it out? provided you have wads. everybody should have wads.

[Dracko]

I used to play Quake multiplayer all the time with friends during maths classes back in secondary school.

Quake is also how I got into music, by first discovering Nine Inch Nails.

It's still an awesome soundtrack.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

[ApM]

I run this port of Quake on my DS, which works out really well. I haven't looked at this port in a while, but when I saw the screenshot of Malice running on the DS, I seriously gasped.

[Lestrade]

"Whack, whack, there's the ammo pack!" That should be Quake's new motto. Quake was meant to be the first non-multiplayer MMO, from the sounds of it.

Oh yes, and I remember being able to play a game where the power-ups said "NIN" on them; in 1996 that was rather THE SHIT. Hell, I still get giddy!

(Off-topic P.S.: if you haven't watched already, make sure to check out TGQ Hits Akihabara!)

[Swimmy]

I've only played the N64 version, and I never cared for it. From what you describe there's a reason why. I could tell there was something wrong with it, but I just thought it was a kinda mediocre game.

I could never get that Quake II in 3D thing to work. I mean, it worked, but I couldn't see it.
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"Ayn Rand fans are the old school version of Xenogears fanboys."
-seryogin

[Lestrade]

Addendum: here's a page that nicely compares the Saturn and N64 versions of Quake. Note that the screenshots of the Saturn version look extremely dark and shitty here. The real thing is much less so, I assure you!

[Cycle]

[Pijaibros]

[dessgeega]

[Winged Assassins (1984)]

We should all have a TGQ Team Fortress match or something.
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[dongle]

This thread needs more posts about QuakeC, mods, QuakeWorld, and the pre- and post-release communities.I was barely 11 when it was released so I only have strongly gushing, vague memories that would surely change if I were to look at the old pages on archive.org.

[JasonMoses]

[Scratchmonkey]

Fact: The best multiplayer mod for Quake 2 was QPong.

(Okay, the one with the ninja ropes was pretty good too.)

[Lestrade]

[somewhere_else]

[dongle]

Killer Quake! I loved that. It had, like, the detachable limbs and stuff, right? And bots?

I used to do retarded mods increasing gibs and blood and making simple custom guns.

[Lestrade]

All right! Here are some photos, as promised (late, I realise). I didn't have time to crop them, and because I was jamming on the "fire" button at the same time as trying to take photos, some of them are composed a little oddly.

The Entranceway
Note the simplified architecture (there is only one hallway, which leads to two portals for difficulty selection). This game is chunky.


Starting Off
The architecture is pretty damn impressive, especially when you consider that the N64 is missing nearly all these embellishments.


Coloured Lighting
I was trying to demonstrate the shotgun blast; it was hard to capture clearly, but you can see the remnants of it on the bulkhead on the ceiling.



First Encounter
The enemies certainly have lower poly counts compared to the PC, but they sound identical, are just as aggressive, and die with that classic echoing cry of "BLAGH!"



Missed!
I just kept hitting the "fire" button and hoping he'd walk into my line of fire. Note the elevator button in the background; elements like these have been reduced from full-poly models to textures on the Saturn (same goes for the wall-mounted nail traps).



Sweet Death
I hack away with my axe, the best non-sensical FPS default weapon I've ever seen. Look at my fist! It's like a ham encased in cling wrap!

[dongle]

The funny part is that the Saturn version of Quake is running on the PowerSlave engine

[ryan]

Ahhhh ... I enjoy this thread. I'm reminded of my love for WipEout, purchasing the Saturn and PlayStation versions so I could compare them while I played them to death. And my heart warms seeing a Saturn game in a good home. I'm tempted to get Quake for it now. Hell, now I want to hook it back up. Oh Finals, when you end, I shall celebrate with a Saturn orgy!
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Come to me, Mordel. We shall depart.

[Cycle]

I was inspired to play through episode one because of this thread last night.

Still great stuff.
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[TOLLMASTER]

I played Quake for the first time last year. Multiplayer against someone who had been playing for years, too.

It was amazing how quickly I picked up the more obvious techniques, such as "find the armor, get the armor, remember where the armor is/stay near the armor and suprise the guy before he finds the armor" and the above except with the rocket launcher. I never really appreciated the rocket launcher, despite using it quite a bit in Goldeneye and Tribes, until I played Quake. It doesn't sound like a subtle weapon at all, but when you're strafing around corners you are really afraid of self-inflicted splash damage. Unless you're rocket jumping to a map secret, I suppose.

I still feel that Tribes is THE shoot-man multiplayer game, but I can at least understand where people are coming from when they say they like Quake. Deathmatches are intense, and somehow Quake makes them even more so; it's not something that I feel has been replicated anywhere else. Duelling with discs in Tribes is intense, but there's a very simple-yet-complex brutality that its missing.

[dongle]

[Lestrade]

I was looking for an article I read years ago (and in fact downloaded just in case, I enjoyed it so much) regarding one man's Quake addiction. While doing so, I came across this:

Gender Politics of a Virtual Warrior: Masculinity and Masculine Discourse in Quake

Abstract:
In this proseminar paper I will attempt to review and analyze aspects of masculinity and masculine discourse in Quake, a popular multi-player online computer game. I will focus primarily on a) the game software: if/how the game software is gendered, and what possibilities does it afford for defining and performing gender identities, b) how the players form virtual communities and perform gender in both competitive and cooperative ways using language during the game and in the virtual spaces of the Quake subculture and c) how, and possibly why, does the Quake subculture manifest and link to other ideologies and constructions traditionally associated with masculinity and what are some of the reactions this has provoked.

Woo! Fascinating stuff!

Now, it looks like the article in question, "A Small Matter of Addiction," has been removed, but I'll dig it up and post it; it's quite a good read.

I'm re-reading Masters of Doom (my third time through) because of all this. Can't wait to get my 3D controller so I can play more Quake.

[dhex]

a better pre colon title would have been "LOLZ UR GAY:..."
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[Joe]

i was a really big fan of quake 3 arena in the times. that game has the best sniper weapon (the railgun) of all time, and some really fantastic mods.
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[Scratchmonkey]

Quake 3: Arena was one of my great gaming disappointments. After playing a ton of Quake 2, getting my hands on Arena was a really anticipated moment, only to find out that they'd 'ruined' the railgun (read: changed it) and had completely abandoned single-player for multi-player, which was pretty silly for me to get mad about because almost all the time that I'd spent with Quake II was multi-player. I still did though.

I still haven't found any mod that approached the majesty of QPong.

[dhex]

at the time i really loved the quake 2 single player, because there really hadn't been many fps games that tried something different, especially within the context of find key -- kill monsters -- exit idsoft style games.
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[Cycle]

I thought the Quake 2 single-player was a bit boring, even when it first came out. It just lacked the oomph of Quake 1 and just wasn't as interesting level, weapon, enemy, world, music, sound design. I also kinda wish you could sequence break the game. It would be awesome if the put in some Metroid stuff in there.

Also, FUCK the rail gun. I fucking hate twitch shooters with any kind of sniper rifle. I'm glad they toned it down in Quake 3 but it still sucked. I have a whole article sitting on my computer about the issue, but I never submitted it anywhere due to the frequent use of the word "fuck" but I also refuse to remove any.
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[dhex]

eh, quake 1 sp was a little too doom-ish, though it is fun until you get to the more ridiculous later levels.

also you should submit that article.
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[Winged Assassins (1984)]

I loved Quake II because Matrix and Dirty Deathmatch (which I preferred to Action Quake) made it badass. I've had so much fun with those two mods it's almost criminal.
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[Cycle]

I think Action Quake is what made me start hating sniper rifles. I managed to fight back somewhat with a kevlar helmet that pissed snipers off, but then they just aimed for the rest of me which just meant a slower death.
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[Winged Assassins (1984)]

I kept falling off ladders and killing myself until I started to take things slow which isn't my idea of an action film.

I found this standalone version sometime back and also Reaction which is kind of Action Quake for Quake III.
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[Lestrade]

Okay, here's that article! It looks like long ago when I saved it there was an error with the file. I know it only cut off about half a paragraph, so the gist of everything is still there.

Read on! A Small Matter of Addiction

[dessgeega]

how's masters of doom? i bet i should read it.

playing doom gba has put me in the mood to play some quake.
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[dessgeega]

i can't get sound to work in quake in dosbox ;_;
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[ryan]

Aw suck! I tried the Quake shareware to see if I could get it to run, but it won't work at all for me. Damn.

Masters of Doom is a fun read. Romero comes off as kind of a dick, Carmack more of an eccentric but decent fellow, and the rest are just tossed around with some interesting stories. There is a really great part where it talks about how they initially got this house on a bayou, had Super Nintendos and workstations downstairs, slept upstairs, and would mess around in the bayou near them, watch movies, code, design, and basically hang out, then walk out to their mailbox to pick up their daily checks. It really is an exciting read in that sense - sky is the limit, having a blast and making a living with friends, just the sheer amount of possibilities during that time - and it was fun to read about stuff I hadn't thought about in ages, like DWANGO.
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Come to me, Mordel. We shall depart.

[Harveyjames]

Mastars of Doom is definitely worth reading. I read the whole thing in one sitting one day in my university library. It's a page-turner!

I was in a Quakeworld clan when I was 14. Fond memories. Used to love watching stuff like Quake Done Quick, too. They really served to illustrate how cleverly put together the levels in Quake were...

When we had LAN parties we played Action Quake a LOT. LAN parties seem like something from a distant and forgotten age now. We'd all pack up our bulky PCs into car boots and drive to Tom's house in the next village over, set them up on the table in his garage and then play Action Quake until like 8am. That's no way to live your life.

[Winged Assassins (1984)]

[Lestrade]

I found that Quake article. I guess there was some kind of saving error years ago when I downloaded it, so there's about half a paragraph missing (I left in the weird formatting error). Still, it's an interesting read; something that would be great as a TGQ article. I wonder if the original author would let us publish it...?

[dessgeega]

[silentmatt]

This thread made me replay Quake all the way through... and DAMN, am I happy I did. That is one great game.

As far as running it on XP, I used ZQUAKE and it runs perfect & looks nice too.
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PSN: Twitch_City ||| Wii: 8083 5371 5767 6700
"Jadis, si je me souviens bien, ma vie était un festin où s'ouvraient tous les coeurs, où tous les vins coulaient."

[Lestrade]

That people are replaying the game because of this thread makes me happy. :-)

Anyone ever play that brilliant Evil Dead map?

[Cycle]

Yes! It is great.
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[ryan]

[dessgeega]

there are a bunch of videos of the saturn port on youtube. it looks pretty good! (well, for quake. ha ha!)

also i read that essay on performing gender in quake a few days ago and it's pretty great.
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[ryan]

I enjoyed the other one, regarding obsession, too. It's a shame it was cut off. Then again, I think I'm just a sucker for nostalgia and enjoy anything like that - see: dhex's thread where he links a super rad Daggerfall thread.
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Come to me, Mordel. We shall depart.

[Winged Assassins (1984)]

Hey dudes, who here ever played Slide?

Slide was bitchin' fun.

EDIT: It's probably better to get it from QuakeOne since you get all the maps in one easy installer.
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[Lestrade]