Quake posts

id Software's free-to-play first person shooter Quake Live got a major update earlier this week, adding two more maps for players who use its paid premium service. One of the new maps are Toxicity, a Duel-based map with lots of "twisting halls and teleporters" as well as toxic pools. The other is Distant Screams, a remade version of the Christmas themed CTF map Silent Night.

The update also has some small but new features including linking your Quake Live account to Facebook (you can also upload a screenshot directly from the game to your Facebook account now). Premium and pro users can also use a new option that will allow them to "play a distinct sound when you score a kill in any mode."

Quake 4 has been the only PC game in id Software's Quake series of first person shooter that has been unavailable to download and purchase (legally at least). Today, over five years after the game was first released to retail stores, Quake 4 is now available to purchase and download via the Impulse download service.

First released back in the fall of 2005, this fourth installment of the Quake series was a collaboration between id and Raven Software and basically continued the storyline from 1997's Quake II. It was also one of the few games that used id's Doom 3 graphics engine. Originally published by Activision Quake 4 is now owned by id's current owner Bethesda Softworks. You can get the game now for $19.99.

Last month, id Software launched two optional subscription packages for its free-to-play first person shooter Quake Live. Today id announced that it is giving its players a chance to try out one of the two subscription versions of the game for free. From now until September 26, players can sign up to access the Premium level content of Quake Live. That means players can access all of the content that's free to everyone else plus 20 extra maps, the Freeze Tag mode and extended stats storage.

In addition, players who decide to purchase a year of either the Premium ($1.99 per month) or the higher priced Pro subscription ($3.99 per month) during this period will be given a token for an extra month of those plans. That token can be used by the player to extend their subscription or it can be given to a friend.

By the time this news post is read by most of you QuakeCon 2010 will be officially shut down in Dallas. However those of us who didn't get to go this year can still get a very nice deal on most of id Software's Quake games. For the next 24 hours, the Quake Pack bundle of games on Steam will be on sale for a mere $10, a whopping 75 percent price cut from its normal price.

The bundle includes the original Quake and its two expansion packs, Quake II and its two expansion packs and Quake III Arena and its expansion pack Team Arena (for some reason Quake IV and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars are not included). And one last reminder: the QuakeCon 2010 pack is still available on Steam with 27 id Software-Bethesda Softworks games for a mere $69.99. Today is the last day for that bundle

Update: Looks like id Software made the deal even cheaper; the Quake Pack is actually priced at $7.49.

As promised last week, the Steam PC game download service has put nearly all of the games in id Software's Quake first person shooter series on sale from now until Thursday. The games (Quake, Quake II and Quake 3 Arena along with all of their respective expansion packs) have had their prices cut 50 percent for the duration of the sale. That includes the Quake Collection bundle which gets you all eight games for just $14.99 during the sale (Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is not a part of the sale and Quake IV has never been made available via Steam).

In addition, the indie space strategy game AI War and its expansion pack The Zenith Remnant are also on sale via Steam for the entire week. You can get both titles for 50 percent off their normal price.

It's a bit unusual to announce a sale on Steam ahead of time but today id Software revealed on its web site plans to put (nearly) all of its Quake games on sale via Steam next week. From Monday, March 29 to Thursday, April 1 most of the Quake game catalogue on Steam will be on sale for 50 percent off their normal prices. The exception is Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. also, Quake IV has never been available on Steam. You can check out the full list of games that will be on sale below:

Quake 2007 Collection
Quake
Quake Mission Pack 1: Scourge of Armagon
Quake Mission Pack 2: Dissolution of Eternity
Quake II
Quake II Mission Pack: Ground Zero
Quake II Mission Pack: The Reckoning
Quake 3 Pack: Quake III Arena + Team Arena

Not only is today the first anniversary of the launch of Quake Live, id Software is also celebrating the 14th anniversary of the launch of QTest. It was the first public taste of the goodness that was to come later in 1996 with the full release of id's debut 3D shooter Quake.

A lot has happened in 14 years, not the least of which has been Bethesda Softworks' parent company ZeniMax Media purchasing id Software. The Bethblog site celebrates the release of QTest today with some quotes from id Software and Bethesda team members including id's co-founder John Carmack who as usual gives a highly technical look back at QTest's launch.

If you want to try out QTest for yourself, it's only 4MB and can be downloaded here.

Download QTest (4 MB)

Sometimes you just need to sit down, slide a floppy into your A: drive, and enjoy gaming retro style. We know this all too well! That's why we have a list of the best and brightest from days long gone. These are some of our favorite games of all time, and we're sure that you'll love them as much as we do, if not more. Welcome to Boot Disk, and enjoy the retro ride!

id is well known for two series of games: Doom and Quake. While we've certainly covered Doom before, and Quake's multiplayer offering, we've never really gotten to the core of the Quake franchise. Therefore, we should take a look at one of the most revolutionary games of all time. While it certainly doesn't seem like it, Quake sent shockwaves through the first-person realm that are still felt today. It's even more important than Doom, although only slightly so, and thanks to wider availability of retro games, Quake is open to those that wish to play a classic first-person shooter with high-end systems.

Welcome to a new regular feature here on Big Download! Each week we find more and more free games that do not quite fit into the freeware mold. Games that do not require a subscription fee to play, but encourage player usage of money through microtransactions or special subscription services. This is Playing For Free, a column that showcases these games.

Quake 3 is a classic of the FPS genre, and is still played today. Everyone deserves a slice of that classic gameplay pie. id knows this, and in their infinite wisdom, created the free browser port Quake Live. You might ask how good can a browser game be, and if you've played Quake Live you know the answer: incredible. There's a lot to Quake Live behind the scenes that sets it apart from the game that it is ported from. So let's take a look at this incredible port of an incredible game and just why it should absorb your time so much.

Sometimes you just need to sit down, slide a floppy into your A: drive, and enjoy gaming retro style. We know this all too well! That's why we have a list of the best and brightest from days long gone. These are some of our favorite games of all time, and we're sure that you'll love them as much as we do, if not more. Welcome to Boot Disk, and enjoy the retro ride!

It's only fair that, after giving its competitor some air time, that id's multiplayer masterpiece is covered on Boot Disk. I'm talking about Quake 3, a game that spawned a thousand debates (which is better, Quake or Unreal?!) and a thousand mods. Recently reworked for the browser through the magic of Quake Live, it's time to put a little perspective on the original. It may appear dated, but the low resolution of the textures hides a game that every first-person shooter fan should enjoy. While you may initially have trouble warming up to the weightlessness of Quake after all that time spent in Call of Duty, you'll soon lose yourself in this classic.