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Originally Published: Wednesday, 8 November 2000 Author: Jeff Mrochuk
Published to: enhance_articles_games/General Page: 1/1 - [Std View]

QuakeForge!

Jeff Mrochuk brings us another fantastic piece from the Games section of Linux.com. Feeling a bit nostalgic? Want to get together with your friends and blow them to bits? QuakeForge might be exactly what you're looking for.

Quake was a revolutionary game. It was the first true 3D gaming engine, and it created the world of online first person shooters. Now in the time of Quake 3: Arena and Unreal Tournament, Quake is still holding its own. It still has a strong online community featuring many great mods and maps. Now when you feel like going back to your roots, to when the Rocket Launcher was all that mattered, and the gibs flew as far as you could see, you can. The best way to Quake on a Linux system is undoubtedly QuakeForge.

What is it?

QuakeForge is a source modification of ID Software's Quake/QuakeWorld engine. It is designed with cheat-protection in mind, but also features many improvements over QuakeWorld's original client.

It has currently been split into two trees.

  • QuakeForge: Newtree is compatible with QuakeWorld clients and server.
  • QuakeForge: NUQ is the single player version; it is not compatible with QuakeWorld.

    It works with Quake Shareware or Quake. You can get the shareware for free (link at the bottom), but you can probably find Quake in a bargain bin for $10.

    Features

  • New Gamma code -- doesn't wash out colors
  • New Particle effects
  • Colored explosions and other effects
  • ALSA Support (0.5 and up)
  • Client for almost every configuration
  • Too many other things to be listed here

    What do I need to play it?
    QuakeForge has very similar requirements to the original Quake

  • A processor (x86 tested; other processors should/might work, but are untested)
  • 3D cards supported, but not required
  • A sound card is reccommended (OSS or ALSA 0.5 and higher)
  • An installation of Quake (shareware or full version)

    Where do I get it?

    You can always get the newest build at http://www.quakeforge.net. At the time of this writing, the newest version was Beta 4.1 of the QuakeWorld-Compatible tree.

    You can get QuakeForge: NewTree at http://download.sourceforge.net/quake/quakeforge-0.2.99beta4.1.tar.gz.

    You can get the single player version, QuakeForge: NUQ at http://www.quakeforge.net/files/nuq-current.tar.gz. This is updated daily.

    How do I install QuakeForge: Newtree

    Untar the newest release.

    Note: Here's where you want to pick a client. You might want to try a few to check which runs the best on your system, and it never hurts to build them all.

    For some client support you'll want to install libsdl. Get it from http://www.libsdl.org. I personally found the sdl clients to be the easiest.

    Figure out which build you need using the following guidelines.

    After you've established which build you'll be using, you can run the configure script and compile.
    ./configure --with-clients=(list) --without-server
    (unless you plan on running servers)
    make
    You can also compile all the clients; just drop the --with-clients.
    Finally, change to superuser and install.
    make install
    How do I run QuakeForge: Newtree?

    Simple: change to your Quake directory and run:

    qf-client-(build name)
    There you are. It's running; now you just need to connect to a server with the /connect command. I reccomend using a program like XQF to find servers for you.

    How do I install QuakeForge: NUQ?

    This is very similar to building NewTree. You'll need to grab the NUQ source from above. Untar the builds and enter the nuq directory. The builds described above are the same for NUQ.

    ./bootstrap
    ./configure --with-clients=(list)
    make
    Then change to superuser and install.
    make install
    How do I run QuakeForge: NUQ?

    Change to your Quake directory and run:

    nuq-(build name)
    Some Notes:

    Both of these clients are in development, so there can be some problems. Occasionally they will not build or have other problems, so use at your own risk. Overall, they are much nicer than ID's squake and qwcl for Linux. Remember, if you're having problems, you can always take a look at http://www.quakeforge.net which features mailing lists, a bug tracker and other information.

    These clients are very customizable and have many variables and features that are beyond the scope of this document. Here are a few tips:
    If you want to run in fullscreen mode, add to your command line:

    +set vid_fullscreen 1
    Gamma is now handled with
    /brightness (value)
    in the console. This is much nicer and faster than Quake's /gamma, as it does not wash out the colors.

    Also, QuakeForge supports /etc/quakeforge.conf
    Example:

    set fs_sharepath /usr/local/share/games/qf
    set fs_userpath ~/.qf
    set vid_width 320
    set vid_height 240
    "fs_sharepath" is for shared data and mods among multiple users, and "fs_userpath" is where personal Quake data and configs are stored. You can add other console variables to this file, "set brightness 1.5" for example, that will affect all users and builds.

    I hope this helped you get QuakeForge up and running on your machine.

    Time to get on to some old fashioned gibbing. See you on the business end of my rocket launcher.

    Quake Shareware: http://www.quakeforge.net/files/quake-shareware.tar.gz

    A big thanks to #quakeforge on irc.openprojects.net.


    judecca@linux.com is Jeff Mrochuk, an occasional writer for Linux.com. When Jeff's not busy filling you with information, he's filling you with rockets.


    • Originally published on Linux.com. Released under the Open Content License unless otherwise stated. Notify Gareth Watts of any errors or copyright violations.