Quake

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JaySevenZero
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Quake

Post by JaySevenZero »

Here's where you can contribute your thoughts and opinions for Quake for potential inclusion in the forthcoming podcast.

A friendly reminder that where the feedback for the podcast is concerned, we love it - but keeping it brief is appreciated. We do want to include a breadth of opinions where appropriate, but no-one wants a discussion podcast that’s mostly reading out essays. Better to save yourself time and cut to the chase if you can.
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Superuser
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Re: 475 - Quake

Post by Superuser »

I played Quake around 2015 for the first time. It wasn't a totally fresh experience. I'm a longtime member of the open source community, which has taken the source code releases of iD's engines and made new games out of them. If you're a current or former Linux user, you've probably had a go on many games from the Q3 engine. However, these were multiplayer-focused.

I played the game mostly in multiplayer co-op with three friends, who were all familiar with the game. This was possible through the DarkPlaces 'source port'; an open source engine derived from Quake 1's 'iD Tech' engine. Please note this did ruin the challenge of the game!

There's no real story to speak of, apart from a boss fight at the end your buddies will probably spoil for you.
Firefights where enjoyable but spaced far apart. Some were very good; I remember one on a bridge in particular, which was hard but fair, even with 3 players. Quake is good at never feeling too cramped. The enemies are very bullet-spongey by today's standards, but they worked for the game.

The art style says little about the game., It's incoherent and cannot land the horror vibe it's trying for. Doom was at least calling to metal album covers. Quake is a mishmash of things that geeks found dark & edgy in the 90s.

There are very basic puzzles that don't get in the way and are intended to guide you around the level. The maps are mostly straightforward to navigate, and contained a couple of memorable elements. It is a marker of good design that they could do this without so much as a word being spoken.

A word of warning to everyone playing on a modern engine. Adding in real lighting makes some areas IMPOSSIBLE to see. There was one level we ran around in for about 30 minutes, until we found we had to go through something that looked like blackness.


I liked Quake but I also took little away from it. I believe it is a game that wowed with its fully 3D look and general level of polish, but there's not much more to say. It's only with a historian's perspective that I can recognise its brilliance. Without that context, it was a decent but forgettable experience.


Three word review: 'Had its day'
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Belmont03
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Re: 475 - Quake

Post by Belmont03 »

I've, just this evening, started Quake for the first time. I figured I'd check in here a few time during my time with the game and update how I'm feeling about it. Currently I'm two levels in on Episode 1 with the difficulty set to hard.

For a little bit of history about myself I've been a pretty heavy gamer my entire life. First game I played was Wolfenstein 3D on a DOS machine when I was 4 years old, I'm currently 32. The fact that I never picked up Quake kind of baffles me as its the only blind spot in my ID knowledge.

Early thoughts, the 3D would have blown my mind back when it came out and I had a computer that could have played it so I'm kicking myself for not giving it a go. That being said I find the monster design to be pretty flat coming after the iconic Doom enemies. I suspect I may warm to them over time.

Until next up date,
Quake noob
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Belmont03
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Re: 475 - Quake

Post by Belmont03 »

Chapter 1 finished. 10 hours in and I finally have a good rhythm with the weapons and enemies. The first 8 hours really had me wondering if I was going to enjoy playing Quake at all. Enemies were stomping the crap out of me and ammo depleted so fast. Not wanting to give up I kept pushing forward. The last two hours of the chapter, however are a different story. The game finally clicked with me. I was no longer getting smashed and ammo was never as precious too me as it had been before. Learning what weapons worked best for each enemy basically turned the game from a chore to something I'm now actively enjoying. My biggest take away from this chapter is just how much Doom Eternal may have taken from the design. Kind of leaving me wanting modern day ID to take a stab at the franchise.
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Alex79
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Re: 475 - Quake

Post by Alex79 »

THREE WORD REVIEW: Reznor soundtracked shooting.

(Not much more to add. Never played it back in the day and only came to it much later on PC. I was more in to Quake II).
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Belmont03
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Re: 475 - Quake

Post by Belmont03 »

Chapter 2 complete. I completed more that 3/4 of this chapter the day I finished chapter 1, but the last two levels really stuck it to me. Quake began to throw its bigger enemies at me more frequently and sometimes more than one of them at a time. I know that's classic ID fashion but in this game the enemies seem to hit harder and take more to vanquish, but that could be my lack of familiarity with this set of enemies. In the end, however, I found the second chapter more rewarding than the first.

A random take away from this chapter. I really enjoy how the game tells you what has killed you, even if its yourself, in interesting ways in the top left hand corner of the screen. I should be learning the enemies names from this but for some reason they just don't seem inspired.
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The_reviewist
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Re: 475 - Quake

Post by The_reviewist »

Quake was a landmark game for me. Not only did it come out when I was at the impressionable age of 16, it was also the game that forced me to upgrade my PC that xmas, having stared at the shareware release's depressing message about needing a Floating Point Processor for months, I finally booted it up and played it around Hogmanay that year.

But the real change that Quake meant for me was that it was the game which taught me the benefits of Mouselook. Being an old hand at FPS titles by that time, I got my head into Quake pretty fast, having already learned the half lessons of verticality by playing Heretic and Hexen. I still have fond memories of speedrunning Episode 1 and having a prestdigitative control of the arrow and AZ keys that it took me years to replicate once I learned that +Mlook was the way of the future.

The game itself was uncanny looking. The 3D seemed unthinkably modern at the time, despite it being a kingdom of browns and murkiness. Still, compared to what came before I really felt like I was seeing the future.

I went on to play all the episodes of Quake, and trying out various mods over the years, but ultimately, few games have been quite as formatively lodged in my mind as the original Quake shareware campaign.
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BlueWeaselBreath
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Re: 475 - Quake

Post by BlueWeaselBreath »

My first memory of Quake was hearing all the hype for the shareware demo and downloading it on a 56K modem. It was the largest file I’d ever downloaded, weighing in at over a gigabyte—unheard of! It said the download would take two days. After a few false starts, I must have managed to successfully get it. I had some fun with it, but never the same level that I had with Doom, Wolfenstein, or even the sci-fi Wolfenstein clone Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold. I don’t know why I didn’t find Quake as memorable, but it says something that I have owned a CD-ROM of the original Quake since the mid-90s that I know I must have played, with no recollection of how I acquired it or how much I actually played it.
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Billy
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Re: 475 - Quake

Post by Billy »

How on earth did this run on the Saturn?

I remember saving up for Quake and paying for it in mostly small change (which had to be handed over to the cashier by my best friend's dad who had been summoned from the car to pay for it as I wasn't yet 15).

It was worth it. I sat there as an 11 year old just watching the slow panning main menu screen and soaking in the ominous music as I read the different level gate descriptions.

Somehow Lobotomy Software managed to get Quake running on the Sega Saturn and even though I wasn't great at the game, it was a lesson in atmosphere up there with Resident Evil that stuck with me for a long time. It was a notable step up from the shambolic Saturn port of Doom and arguably better than Exhumed or Duke Nukem 3D. Despite level design being tailored to appease the struggling Saturn hardware, there were impressive touches here too such as new coloured lighting.

You have to take your victories where you find them as a Saturn fan and I was floored by this game back then and it is still today a miraculous achievement for the console. Well done Lobotomy.
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Iain[Ian]Ianson
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Re: 475 - Quake

Post by Iain[Ian]Ianson »

The grime, the stone, the rusted metal, the toxic clouds, the shambling monsters. Sublime. I had a PC given to me by my cousin, which could barely run the game at 320x240, but it still felt so advanced.

Yeah Terminator Future Shock did mouse control first, and Duke3D had more intricate levels. But the ‘3D-ness’ of Quake was a real step up. The precision of movement, the rock-solid polygons, the Nine Inch Nails ripping through the enemies.

The pixel density of textures (where the screen-space size of the pixels of the textures remains consistent across 3D models of varying size and density) helps even further, and for me is right up there with the original Metal Gear Solid in artistically doing so much with such limited tech.

It also helps that the levels are just brilliant fun to blast your way through, and the guns all feel great.

I can barely count how many times I’ve played through that first episode.

While not as influential or as full of ‘flavour’ as Doom, it’s still an absolute classic.
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Alex79
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Re: 475 - Quake

Post by Alex79 »

World of Warcraft is close to 20 years old at this point :lol:
HaloFandango
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Re: 475 - Quake

Post by HaloFandango »

Quake - now this is one heck of a game. I actually only started to play this recently via LadyHavoc's Darkplaces mod and the game is so much fun. I love the dark, grimy, lovecraftian vibe that the game has and similar to DOOM, the game has a 'ripped out of an industrial metal album' feel to it, something like a Fear Factory or Rammstein album cover. The awesome, ominous Nine Inch Nails soundtrack fits the game to a t.

The weapons are awesome fun, with tool of choice being the Super Nailgun. It never gets boring filling enemies full of nails.

The enemy designs were also grotesquely detailed and each enemy you encountered felt like a proper battle - whether it be between Death Knights, Ogres or the fiendish Shamblers!

Quake is for my money one of the most important games of all time (even after having played it fairly recently). If you would like to know more (I'm sure the host of the Quake show has already seen this), check out the legendary John Linneman's DF Retro on Quake:

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TheAcademic
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Re: 475 - Quake

Post by TheAcademic »

I still remember buying a magazine for the shareware Quake on the cover disk. That summer it was in heavy rotation with Duke Nukem 3D. At the time the non-sensical mish-mash of gothic and sci-fi didn't even strike us as odd, we were too engaged in the fully 3D shooting.

The gameplay is excellent, with fluid movement and aiming, you always feel in control. It also has that excellent id quality of having enemies with varied speeds and attack styles. This leads to incredible variety in encounters, as managing the space around you becomes far more important than taking cover and aiming. You end up in a dance with enemies, as you try to avoid damage while manoeuvring in close for a devastating punish with the super shotgun.

Upon revisiting more recently, the game feels very patchwork. Some levels are more puzzle like, whereas others are straight up run and gun labyrinths. I found the best way for me to enjoy it was as a series of independent levels and not worry about any consistent story or style. However one consistent thing throughout the game is the atmosphere, the excellent soundtrack and muddy visuals give the game a consistently grimy feel. It's like 90s teenage angst in videogame form.

On the whole I would recommend it. The gameplay is still top notch, and offers a refreshing change to modern CoD style shooters. I feel like the level design gradually gets worse through the game, and there is a noticeable drop in polish with the two expansion packs. I would say start from the beginning and stop when you get bored, it's not like there is some story you are missing out on.
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T-BirD
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Re: 475 - Quake

Post by T-BirD »

It was fall of 1996, and I had just started college with my first computer since the commodore64 - an off-the-shelf Pentium 166. For school work, obviously. One of the first people I had gotten to know on campus introduced me to this game called Quake. He suggested we play online.

I wasn't unfamiliar with first person shooters - Doom and Doom II had gotten a fair play by me, but - with the exception of a single direct dial session - as strictly single player experiences.

Quake, a technical marvel at the time with a great soundtrack, was fun and interesting in single player, but once I discovered that I could EASILY connect to servers around the entire planet....

Everything changed.

After initial weeks in deathmatch games with various minor mods, I discovered capture the flag (CTF), and finally 3wave CTF, and my fate for the next several years was sealed. Nothing compared to the high speed action, teamwork, and excitement in these matches. While we weren't actively shooting at each other, we hung out before and after rounds, messing about and chatting. I made many friends in Quake - some of whom I met in real life, and several I still have contact with today.

I got involved with a long-lived clans, even taking over the leadership of one by mid 1997 and we remained active until mid 2000. By then, I had been the lead organizer of two successful online tournaments. I learned to code html for the clan's site, learned to upgrade, repair and build PCs because of Quake, and even tried my hand at mapmaking with the Worldcraft editor. All of these skills have been useful to various degrees throughout my life since, even if the maps are best forgotten. I had lived a sheltered life until college. Quake allowed me to blossom in ways I hadn't expected.

No online fps before or since has compared to my Quake experience. None has felt so "cracking good" as netquake (not quakeworld) did. Even today, it's the source of a large percentage of my favorite gaming memories.

It wasn't until 2013 that I finished the single player.

Quake was certainly important for its 3D engine (also the basis for Half-Life) but in my opinion, the revolution it brought to multiplayer was far more influential. Clan gaming and E-Sports exist because of Quake. The ease of modding Quake is the basis for many popular mods and games today, the best known is probably the Team Fortress franchise. Gaming websites, such as BluesNews, Shacknews, that are still around today, got their start because of Quake. Gamespy (via Planet Quake) existed because of Quake. Even Machinima got its start in Quake (google "Diary of a Camper" by the Ranger Clan - afaik the first machinima ever).

Finally, Quake 1 has the best Rocket Launcher to this day.

3 word review: "Changed my life"
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Steve Arran
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Re: Our next podcast recording (30.6.21): 475 - Quake

Post by Steve Arran »

Quake well may be the game that informed my wider cultural tastes more than any other piece of interactive media. I played it when I was ridiculously young -probably 7 or 8 - and it immediately captured my imagination. I can remember drawing the characters in art books for pleasure, writing ‘fan fiction’ about it for school English assignments; I even made a twelve page comic book of Quake Guy being chased by an unrelenting ogre which I still have - and surprises me in its quality given it was made by an eight year old. So needless to say I have fond memories.

I think it was just a perfect storm of design that would imprint itself on a young gamers mind. For a start, it was almost unimaginably violent and so that made it almost forbidden or taboo. The very first level where you gun down viscous Rottweilers by shooting them in their blood covered maw lets you know this is gonna be a full on experience. But then the setting changes and you’re thrust into a dark fantasy world. It’s almost as if you are playing through a dream, where real world logic does not apply and the landscape itself - including the boiling sky- is out to kill you. And try to kill you this world does: not even doom was as unrelenting in its aggressiveness. Quake was the first game to include monsters I ran away from (the Hell Knights) and was legitimately terrified of (the lightning fast blood splattered Fiends) and those that were almost too overwhelming in their ferocity to handle (the Shambler). But it was also the first game where I would conquer my fear, learn the best tactics to take them on, and eventually know how to mow through them like a proper bad ass. In this sense I can definitely follow the line of my preferences all the way to my present affinity for dark souls and it’s ilk- the nightmare worlds, the dream logic, the terrifying bad guys. In many ways I think the relatively low polygon count of the enemies, along with the low res textures, really work in the games favour when it comes to inducing horror in the player; every detail of the monsters is obscured, suggested, marred beyond recognition due to the blood and gore caked over their flesh. Try to think of the features of the aforementioned Fiend and it’s literally just a claret smudged blur of claws: nightmarish stuff.

The game also brands it’s mark into the brain with its immediately recognisable sound design -nothing makes the same noise as those bouncing grenades, the gasping sighs of the Scrags, the moaning zombies. These ear worms stay long in the brain after the PC has been switched off. I can still here them almost 30 years after i first played.

The legacy of Quake looms large in my life, and whilst I did enjoy its immediate sequel, the original fantasy setting will always be a firm favourite in my handing library.
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T-BirD
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Re: Quake

Post by T-BirD »

If there is any interest in reliving multiplayer Quake, now is a great opportunity to do just that! The new Quake Remaster (free for existing owners) has online multiplayer support (server browser seems to only work on windows 10) with an active player base not just composed of experts anymore. The main downside is that it's deathmatch-only at the moment on only the small included deathmatch levels; I always preferred playing on the regular campaign stages.
It does say that all mods that worked with the original release should work in the remaster as well, though.

Going back to Quake multiplayer really puts into stark contrast how frenetic Quake was/is compared to almost all multiplayer FPS games that came after.

The remaster also adds an all new episode 6 "Dimension of the Machine" and restored cut content of at least one single player level - which explains why, as I was playing E2M6: The Dismal Oubliette, I was very confused about not remembering the first third of the stage.
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DeadpoolNegative
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Re: Quake

Post by DeadpoolNegative »

I've been playing some of the remaster on GamePass and it's a fascinating, fun artifact. The signs of the troubled development are all over the place: I'm a Doomguy in a big brown castle? Did the Lords of the Fallen devs play this game?

--Dan
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dezm0nd
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Re: Quake

Post by dezm0nd »

I've been co-oping the expansion packs with forum members Suits and they're a bit esoteric.

Definitely what expansion packs used to be before Half Life changed tbe rules
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Re: Quake

Post by duskvstweak »

I only just found out about the remaster, my finger has been a bit far from the pulse. It might be worth checking out since I've never played!
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