quake-III-arena posts

There are lots of first person shooter games that use the free open source version of id Software's Quake III Arena graphics engine. One of them is Urban Terror, a modern day-themed first person shooter that started life as a mod for the game. Recently the team behind the game announced that for its next major release, Urban Terror is " ... going to ship as an official Q3 licensee, forked properly from the 1.32b Quake sources."

The release will also get a slight name change to Urban Terror HD and the first beta version is scheduled to be released sometime before Christmas. The game will still be free to play and will be released for PC, Mac and Linux.

[Via Blue's News]

Quake Live, the free-to-play shooter from developer id Software, got a new content update this week that added two new maps and other bits of content and features to the title. The two new maps are small reworked Rocket Arena 3 levels, "Evolution" and "Three Story."

Other new additions in this week's update include 20 new awards for Premium and Pro subscribers, awards for playing against id Software staff members, new server launch features and a number of changes to previously released maps. The game has also been moved to a new back-end system. Yet another content update for Quake Live is scheduled to be released on Monday

Developer id Software's free-to-play browser based first person shooter Quake Live has now been updated with some new maps that have been added for users of the game's subscription-based Premium and Pro players. Fans of the 1999-released game Quake III Arena (which Quake Live is based on) will be happy to know that a Quake Live version one of Q3A's Threewave CTF maps, Finnegan's, has been added to Quake Live.

Other new maps for the subscription players include Gothic Rage (for small duel and free-for-all matches), Solid (a 2v2 Team Deathmatch level) and Window Pain.(a small level based on a Rocket Arena 3 map). There have also been a number of changes and bug fixes for the entire game.

After letting players try out the Premium level content for free recently, id Software's browser-based shooter Quake Live has now updated the game with some new maps for those Premium users. The new maps include the gothic-based Devilish and three smaller Clan Arena levels (Fatal Instinct, Somewhat Damaged and Thunderstruck).

In addition the new version of Quake Live updates the game's skill and rankiing systems. More specific info on those updates can be found on the Quake Live web site. Also, 13 of the game's previously released maps have been updated including quite a few changes that were made to the Purgatory level.

Developer id Software launched Quake Live over a year ago but but now the free-to-play version of id's 1999 shooter Quake III Arena has finally exited the beta phase. While the game will remain free to play, id is now offering two subscriptions that add new content and features for its players.

The free Standard portion of the game will still include access to over 40 maps and five gameplay modes along with matchmaking, stats tracking, friends list and access to one clan team. The Premium subscription costs $1.99 a month (billed annually) and adds an additional 20 maps (with the promise of additional maps in the future) that are a combination of brand new levels and community-made maps from previous Quake games. It also adds the new Freeze Tag gameplay mode, premium level awards, stats that are stored for up to six months and the ability to join up to five clans or create your own.

The Pro subscription costs $3.99 a month (again billed annually) and has all of the features of the Premium mode plus the ability to start and run your own game server. You can pick the server location, set the gameplay mode and what friends you want to join in the server. You can also have up to three friends who play in the free Standard edition to play with you in any of the Premium maps. You can also join up to 10 clans in the Pro subscription, have access to pro awards and have stats stored for up to 12 months.

At the moment the QuakeLive web site is down for "maintenance" (presumably to relaunch with the new subscription services). The game has also got a new "T" rating from the ESRB.

Update: It took longer than expected but Quake Live is now back online with the new subcription plans and the new additions.

One year ago today, id Software launched their open beta of Quake Live, their browser-based multiplayer shooter based on their 1999 game Quake III Arena. While the game is still in beta the team has added a number of new features and content to Quake Live in the past year including eight new maps, support for Mac and Linux operating systems and more. Players have taken 8.9 million game hours in one year to play in 60 million ranked matches.

To celebrate the first anniversary of the launch of Quake Live, id has added a new CTF map to the list of levels titled Fallout Bunker. They also will give any player who completes one online match a "Year One" award from now until March 9.

id Software's free-to-play shooter Quake Live has been live to the public for the better part of a year now and this week the game gets all "good will toward men" with a holiday themed level and player skins. Beginning on Tuesday, you will be able to frag your friends online in a special Christmas-themed level titled (what else) Silent Night. The level is basically a remake of the Distance Screams map from Quake III: Team Arena but with lots of holiday decorations and lights.

And if you ever wanted to frag a friend looking like St. Nick, Quake Live has you covered as well. Tuesday also lets players pick a Santa Claus skin and use it in all of the game types. There's also a Vixen-themed female holiday skin for those of you of the opposite sex.

13 years ago today, id Software released Quake, the first game in a first person shooter franchise that continues to be one of the most well known in the PC gaming industry. With five full games based on the series, an number of official and unofficial expansion packs, tons of mods and total conversions and a currently running web browser online-only game, the Quake series continues to be popular even with major shift in emphasis.

On the day that the Quake series become a teenager, Big Download decided to look back at the entire game series. From it's start as a near-Doom clone to the Stroggos storyline to its multiplayer emphasis to its current incarnation as a free-to-play shooter, the series has had many different versions in a relatively short time span.

Click on the image to the right to continue reading Happy 13 Birthday Quake

id Software previously announced plans to release new maps for their recently launched free-to-play FPS Quake Live and this weekend they announced on their site that they plan to add a new map to the game every week for the next six weeks.

The first map, to be released on Monday, is actually a slightly revised version of Hidden Fortress, a level that was first created exclusively for the Sega Dreamcast version of Quake III Arena (which Quake Live is based on, of course). id promises that they will be adding a mix of classic and all new maps for Quake Live in the coming weeks.

id Software's launch of the free-to-play FPS Quake Live seems to be a success so far following a rather rocky launch period. Now that the inital launch excitement has died down, id is getting ready to launch some new updates to the game. In a new dev blog, id's Marty Stratton went into detail about their future plans.

id plans to add new servers for the game and will also host tournaments, competitions and other events in the future. They will be adding new maps, launch support for private matches, have Mac and Linux versions of the game ready to go and add training and tutorials for players to learn things like rocket jumping and strafe running/jumping. Also, leaderboards, which were taken down after the rush of new players for the Quake Live launch proved to be too much to handle them, will be back online sometime this month.