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Quake Renaissance: how to start playing original Quake todayHave your Quake and eat it too
Have your Quake and eat it too
If you had asked me aboutQuakea few years ago, I would’ve made a weird farting sound with my mouth. But that was before I realized howmessed up it wasandhow good the mods are.Today I’m here to offer you a way inside. Whether you’re a lapsed Quake fan from 1996 or a skeptical newbie from 2021, it’s never been a better time to start playing Quake.
In this guide, I go over how to download and install Quake, give advice for enjoying it, and provide curated playlists of notable mods along with some tasting notes.
Quake - Official Trailer (2021)Watch on YouTube
Quake - Official Trailer (2021)
How to download, install, and play Quake in 2021
I should note, this was writtenbeforeQuake’s new expansionand shiny new graphics updates were announced, but most of it still applies today - especially if you want to get involved in the mod side of things. One thing to keep in mind is that Quake’s tech is still from 1996, so setup is not instantaneous. But trust me, it’s worth it. If you get lost, this whole process is also covered in this handyvideo tutorial.
STEP 1. Buy Quake and install it.
Most people buy Quake fromSteamfor $5 / £4, or onGOGfor $10 / £8 which includes the expansions. During QuakeCon or a seasonal sale, it’s probably much cheaper.
STEP 2. Use Quake Starter… OR manually download and configure a Quake engine
On Windows? GetQuake Starter, a free open-source Quake tool bundle. Download it and unzip it somewhere convenient, then double-click “quakestarter.cmd” and follow the prompts. While thenew enhanced Quake re-releasehas an official updated engine, modern Quake mods might crash or run poorly on it. For maximum compatibility, use a community engine like Quakespasm.
For multiplayer Quake (QuakeWorld), use auto installernQuakeor manually installezQuake. Then visit multiplayer hubQuakeWorld.nufor more info and events.
STEP 3. Use Quake Injector… Or manually download and install mods
Get free open source toolQuake Injectorto browse, download, install, and launch custom Quake maps easily. On Windows, get the standalone"gradle" EXE versionwhich no longer requires you to install Java. On Mac or Linux, getOpenJDK 16(Java without Oracle’s bloatware) and then run theregular ZIP version.
Or download and run mods manually:
(left) Contract Revoked, (right) Subterranean Library
New to single player Quake?
Quake’s design sensibilities and traditions differ from new shooters today. Here’s some important advice, including some stuff that Quake never tells you:
Don’t stop moving.Circle strafe and run backwards a lot. Scream.
There’s no objective list, quest log, or mini-map, so embrace the wandering as part of the charm. There’s also no autosave, but forgetting to quick save is also part of the charm.
Shoot red buttons, touch the others.There’s no “interact” button. Sometimes there are secret shootable buttons in the ceiling. Hit suspicious walls with your axe to save ammo.
Ration ammo a little.Sometimes Quake is spray and pray, other times it’s survival horror. Don’t waste shotgun shells / nails on Zombies, they revive unless gibbed with explosives or quad damage. And don’t waste grenades / rockets on Shamblers, the big pale tanky lightning monsters secretly have 50% resistance against explosives. Instead, try the “shambler dance” - dodge in-and-out of close range to bait it into a melee attack.
What to play
Playlist 1: The Vanilla Quake Bible (4-6 hours)
(left) e1m5 Gloom Keep, (right) e2m1 The Installation
Quake’s original episodes are the canon every map invokes and remixes. They’re also simpler and smaller than most custom maps, an ideal way to ease into Quake’s language.
Episode 1 begins with Romero’s elegant tutorial e1m1 “Slipgate Complex” which modders have remade countless times. Willits' e1m2 “Castle of the Damned” became a popular multiplayer map, while e1m3 “TheNecropolis” and e1m5 “Gloom Keep” are common riffs among mappers. Make sure you explore e1m4 “GrislyGrotto” thoroughly to find McGee’s secret level e1m8 “Ziggurat Vertigo”, a low gravity grenade ballet andfan favorite.
Episode 2 is mostly Romero’s dark medieval (“wizard”) levels, solid consistent work that plays with platforms over water. e2m1 “The Installation” isthestandard sci-fi base map, e2m2 “OgreCitadel” is a mapper’s delight, and Romero’s personal favorite e2m5 “Wizard’s Manse” has a memorable entry gate and water trap. Also, don’t miss e2m6 “Dismal Oubliette” with its great clockwork hub and haunted elevator ending.
(left) e3m7 The Haunted Halls, (right) e4m7 Azure Agony
Then there’s the polarizing Episode 4. You either love or hate Sandy Petersen’s upside-down maze dungeons, full of relentless liminal hostility where every hallway feels too empty and too long. Petersen’s e4m2 “Tower of Despair” memorably fools the player into jumping down through a false pool to a room below. e4m3 “Elder God Shrine” debuts the most-hated monster in Quake, a fast-leaping blue bomb blob called a Spawn; true to its name, e4m7 “Azure Agony” contains a dozen Spawns. It’s OK to rage quit.
Lastly, not even fans defend the disappointing boss fights. It’s a shame, since the final boss has a brilliant telefrag concept. Modders often try to improve the bosses, to varying success.
Playlist 2: Copper Tone
(left) Dwell, (right) Realm of the Lost SMEJ1
The popular “refinement mod” Copper has a flagship episode Underdark Overbright (“UDOB”), a partial re-imagining of Quake with clever callbacks and possibly the best boss remakes in recent memory. Years later, The Punishment Due evokes and builds upon UDOB with its own callbacks. Then the impressive episodic mod Dwell alloys an Egyptian theme onto Copper and polishes it to a sheen. Lastly, the Realm of the Lost starts with intense puzzles and platforming, and ends with extreme slaughter map combat… those Finnish mappers don’t mess around.
NOTE: The Copper tradition is to truly support cooperative play for 2-4 players, a great way to get into Quake with a friend. Followthis video tutorialto configure your router for co-op.
Playlist 3: Arcane Sampler
(left) Horde of Zendar, (right) Forgotten Sepulcher
Each of Arcane Dimensions' levels easily demands an hour or more. Play them all. But in particular, Bal and Sock are “elders” who returned to Quake in the 2010s to craft these jewels of the renaissance. Tears of the False God’s milky arches flow effortlessly. Copper creator Lunaran says medieval city map Horde of Zendar is “the biggest, complete-est, flawless-est map I’d ever played, until Sock made even bigger ones.” Bigger ones like the Forgotten Sepulcher, a massive poisoned temple that hides secrets within secrets.
Playlist 4: Honey Underground
(left) Honey, (right) Func Map Jam 1 - Honey Theme
czg’s brilliant short episode Honey is a frequently recommended classic of the early Quake Renaissance. “Nobody really used fog much until czg made it an outright character in the game,” says Lunaran. “He used it deftly for atmosphere, basically inventing ‘silhouette as environment art’ within Quake mapping [and] now nobody forgets to consider atmospherics in their levels.” After you play the original, try out subsequent community riffs / fan distillations, with varying amounts of fog… Just don’t call it a sewer level, it’s a “cistern”!
Playlist 5: Rubicon Run
(left) Rubicon Rumble Pack, (right) Alkaline
Many look down on the “base” sci-fi theme. Sci-fi was the problem with Quake 2 andQuake 4, they remind us, and it pressures mappers to use the (boring) sci-fi monsters and textures. But then the base themed Rubicon 2 changed the conversation, Rubicon Rumble Pack (RRP) expanded it, and now Alkaline re-imagines the idea of the Quake base entirely. After that you’ll be ready 37th Relic Retrieval, a multi-hour “huge fuckoff base” with 37 secrets that rivals the Forgotten Sepulcher.
Playlist 6: Everything on Quaddicted
(left) Nyarlathotep, (right) Disconcerting Unease 2
Try theXMas Jampacks. Fight throughRaven Keepand enjoy the campyDark Soulsand Bloodborne homage. Or if you get tired of shooting, wander aroundExplore Jam 1and2. Play library themed classics likeContract RevokedandSubterranean Library. Breeze through wind tunnel takes likeAntediluvianandBacksteingotik.Nyarlathotepwill please even the most discerning flesh temple fans. Enjoy the level design pranks inJokejamand the weirdly elaborate pumpkin spice latte themedDisconcerting Unease 2… and all of this merely scratches the surface ofeverythingyou can play.
Playlist 7: Make your own damn maps
There’s never been a better time to start making Quake levels. The tools are all free, modern, and user-friendly. Grab theQuake Level Design Starter Kit,watch some ofDavid “dumptruck_ds” Spell’s video tutorials(or followAndrew Yoder’s text tutorial), and then join theQuake Mapping Discordto ask for help when you get stuck.
Still not convinced Quake is worth it? Maybe the rest of the series will change your mind: read part 1,the cursed magic of Quake, and part 2,how the mod community realized its renaissance.
