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I LOVE QUAKE.

Now Quake2 is one sexy bitch, but I don't love her...

The majority of players I have asked the question : "Does Quake2 do it for you ?" have responded less than enthusiastically. This article attempts to examine the reasons why.

But first lets go back..

Way way back to the birth of Quakeworld...

WEAPON BALANCE, It's the mantra of the frustrated Quaker.

DEATHMATCH MODE 3, Mode 3 (AKA "weapons stay") seemed to become the de-facto standard upon the release of QuakeWorld. To my knowledge, Mode 3 was intended to deter the emerging camping epidemic.

"Camping" is the turdly practice of loitering
with heavy weapons...Campers call it "tactics".

Artist: Tek Homepage: CO2 design
Image courtesy of Braindead's Quake Art

It seemed to work perfectly, players no longer had to wait for a juicy weapon to appear because it would always be there. Henceforth the game became A LOT faster and heavier, with everyone armed to the teeth within seconds of spawning.

However in retrospect, I believe that Mode 3 inadvertently created the weapon balance issue. The problem it was trying to solve was that of camping, but what happened was the instant devaluation of almost every weapon below gun 6 (the grenade launcher).

Under Mode 1, you may have had an experience like this : You're close to death, running towards the RL with a bogey right behind you. The weapon spawns right under your feet.

You spin round and create an instant flesh firework.

WOOF ! VICTORY ! VINDICATION !

That kind of thing just didn't happen after Mode 3.

It's either Gun 7 or the spacebar baby...

Artist: Johan Stribeck Homepage: http://hem.passagen.se/stritech
Image courtesy of Braindead's Quake Art

After mode 3 it went : get the RL and the GL, and if the level is crowded then just keep your finger on the trigger.

While it couldn't really have been anticipated, the weapon balance phenomena grew and grew until it became a bonifide issue.

I guess we could go to extremes and look at the proverbial "doomsday device". A weapon so powerful that it kills everyone in the level except the wielder instantly, with no escape possible. Very UNBALANCED. That would suck right ?

Lets go to the other extreme - total weapon balance. Both players have exactly the same weapon(s), ammo, health, and most importantly - environment. A perfect example is the superb Quake mod, Rocket Arena. At its most pure state, RA has two players, equally armed, in an open arena.

Why is environment so important ? Well lets use an extreme example again : If you are at the bottom of a well with no escape, and I'm at the top looking down.... who's gonna be frag bait ?

Weapon Balance has just got a lot more complicated ! Since we generally play on LEVELS not arenas, the "equally armed players" theory goes out the window. We've now arrived at the problem faced by development teams when designing their weapon systems.

You just can't plan everything beforehand. Weapon balance HAS to be tweaked and tested again and again if deathmatching experience is a high priority ! And like Quake's "mode 3", the needs of the users will probably force further changes after the game is released.

Well for me, it is the Rocket Launcher. Like it or hate it, the rocket launcher embodies the very spirit of Classic Quake. What makes it so compelling for me is the exaggerated physics employed in Quake's engine. Getting hit with a rocket usually smacks you into orbit. (if you're not gibbed already :).

As the months passed after the release of Quake, avid gamers began to get past the initial buzz and thrill of the multiplayer 3D experience, and move on to begin to appreciate the subtleties of the game. Slowly but surely every nuance of the Quake environment was absorbed, and players began to feel "the zone". I'm talking about the point a player reaches when elements such as velocity, trajectory, and kickback force become second nature. At this point we feel "in tune" with the environment. We "know it", and the deathmatch experience just gets even better.

Quake's physics were pretty exaggerated. Shoot a guy in the feet with the RL, and if you were good enough you could slap them around like a rubber ball until they lost cohesion.

Now I think exaggeration is a GOOD THING. Used in film, television, stage and even literature, it is a often used device for provoking a reaction.

The Quake Dude

The "Quake Dude" was the closest thing
to a branded character Quake had,
and literally put a face
on the game.

the Shambler

Of all the Quake-Art I reviewed
for this article, the majority
featured either "the Quake dude"
or "the Shambler". People must
REALLY love this monster ;)

"If I may use an analogy: Imagine you're in love with your girl friend (OK, this is a guy thing ... sorry ladies), but you've got your eye on this new girl. She's beautiful, enticing and supposed to be a great date. But when you take her out, you recognize that while she's nearly everything she promised she would be, what you really wanted was your old girl friend with a makeover and new dress.

And trust me, Quake 2 isn't your old girl friend. It's a new thing."

Plan archive courtesy of QuakeFinger, view the original .plan in it's entirety here.