=================================================================== # 2.30 == _ /////// ///// // // // __ _ _ _ __ _| | _____ / // // // // // / _` | | | |/ _` | |/ / _ \ / // // // //// | (_| | |_| | (_| | < __/ / /////// // // // \__, |\__,_|\__,_|_|\_\___| / // // /////// // // |_| ================================================================= 12/03/94 == "it should be renamed to liesdamnitlies" - dave taylor (id software) ============================================================================= ------------------ [table of contents:] ------------------ [0] intro [0.1] the doom-editing mailing list [0.2] on version numbers [0.3] quaketalk by mail and finger [0.4] a real quake faq [1] magazine articles [2] irc & mail quotes [3] peoples' .plan [4] screenshots, previews, demos, betas [5] outro [5.1] credits [5.2] version history ---------- [0 - intro:] ---------- quaketalk is an unofficial newsletter dedicated to 'quake - the fight for justice', the new frp action game by id software, the company that brought you the megaselling hits 'doom' and 'doom 2 - hell on earth'. while very little is known about the game yet and id representatives themselves repeatedly say they're only in a conceptual stage (tentative release date, end of '95), i have made an effort to collect and publish whatever quotes and facts (if they can be called that) i found. thus, bare in mind, that everything here could be a total lie, as american 'yes, that really is my name' mcgee (idsoftware) always likes to put it. feel free to spread this in any form you like. post it to netnews, send it to friends, upload it to a bbs or to other networks such as compuserve and aol. do not, however, alter quaketalk in any way and, in particular, do not remove my email adress or the credits towards the end of this newsletter. if you spread quaketalk to other nets, please drop me a note saying where you uploaded it to. i'll gladly include info about quake that i may have missed, as long as they have some factual basis. a magazine article, or a posting made by id maybe. if you have a private email, please check with the sender, before you have it published here. please remember to add the source and date of the material you're sending too. -> my email adress is joost.schuur@student.uni-tuebingen.de (this has -> changed against since qt 2.10, so please use this one instead) ------------------------------------ [0.1 - the doom-editing mailing list:] ------------------------------------ you'll see several references to the doom editing mailing list. this is a mailing list on 'advanced doom editing' that john romero from id is on. this is _not_ a quake discussion forum. we discuss all aspects of doom editing (.exe hacks, wads, be it levels, music, sound, editor/utility writing e.g.) if you would like to join, send mail to majordomo@nvg.unit.no with the following in the body of the mail: subscribe doom-editing bare in mind that this is not a newbie forum. we like to keep the noise down a bit, so please don't post unless it's of an advanced nature. as of november, i am no longer in charge of doom-editing, nor do i subscribe to it. if you have a question directly related to doom-editing (no quake questions please) get in touch with the new admin, tom holmes . ------------------------- [0.2 - on version numbers:] ------------------------- quaketalk is updated whenever i get new facts on quake. i'll increase the version number according to how much the new stuff is. future versions may include other segments on quake, maybe not just direct quotes from id people. i'm open for suggestions, if there's something you want to see here, let me know. updates will carry a '->' in the first collumn. these will be the updates since the last copy. check out the version history at the end too. ----------------------------------- [0.3 - quaketalk by mail and finger:] ----------------------------------- due to numerous requests, the latest quaketalk is now available by email too. if you would like to automatically receive the newest copy, please send me a note at my above adress with the words '[quaketalk by mail]' in the header. this is not an automated service, i'm just massmailing everyone who's on my list, and please remember to drop me a note if your email adress is no longer valid. you can also finger me at zxmsu01@hp10.zdv.uni-tuebingen.de to receive the latest quaketalk. ----------------------- [0.4 - a real quake faq:] ----------------------- i had already started working on a true quake faq together with hank leukart, the original doom faq author, when it occured to me, that id might not be so happy with that. the stuff in quaketalk is after all, pure quotes. a faq would be a mere speculatory matter at this point. we will reconsider a quake faq when more info on quake comes out, probably not until the beginning of next year. if you wish to contribute or help in a real quake faq. get in touch with us too, please. -------------------------- [1 - the magazine articles:] -------------------------- from the july '94 issue of computer gaming world (taken from the original quake faq): shakin' and quakin' "what is the next huge leap? they wouldn't say much, still in the idea phase and reluctant to build expectations too early, but they did tell me thisthe name is quake, the game engine is completely brand new, and the 3d world will be so complete and characters will have depth, rather than being flat sprites. the current setting (notice i didn't say the evil s-word, "story") is a fantasy world where the player becomes a thor-like being weilding a giant hammer, which he can throw at or bludgeon anything that moves. the world will have some real physics, so that characters will tumble when when they fall from heights, and be knocked flat on their backs. as romero was describing the multiplayer quake of his imagination, he was literally hopping out of his seat and pantomiming the violent drama between two warrior gods, punctuating the action with sound effect (which he is given to in most conversation). if they can calm romero down long enough to get some work done, id hopes to start working on quake in september and a release date of christmas '95." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- from the august '94 copy of pc format: quake to hit in '95 id software's doom 2 is released on on 10 october, but details are already beginning to emerge about quake, its successor which is scheduled for release in the latter half of '95. quake features a thor-like character who, armed with a massive hammer, likes nothing better than to bludgeon his victims to death. id is hoping to include some real physics in the game, so that characters will twist and tumble through the air when they fall from a great height, or be knocked flat on their back from a heavy blow. in-game sprites will also be depicted in 3d, unlike the flat two-dimensional characters that inhabit the doom games. there will almost definitely be a multi-player link-up, as well as a vr tie-in with a majoe manufacturer. the last point is probably the most exciting, as many of the vr exhibitors at ces used doom to show off their respective helmets' abilities. by producing a game with a specific headset in mind, id software could finally kick-start the vr market in a b-i-g way. prices of vr-headsets are already in freefall - five manufacturers were showing off cheap sub-$200 helmets at the show - so a game designed to work with them would be an instant hit and could even be part of a bundling deal. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- from the october issue of pc gamer: pc gamer: "you've been reasonably quiet about the new project, quake, so far. there must be something more you can tell us about it.?" jay wilbur: "we're getting it together at the moment, it's in concept stage. i'm reluctant to build up expectations, but i will say that it will be a quantum leap over doom. currently the idea is to have more realistic gameplay. in doom, for example, the characters are all bitmaps and they're set in their ways. when you shoot a character, he reacts in a programmed manner. maybe he throws his arms out and leans his head back. and every time you shoot him, no matter where you shoot him, he does the same thing. it's like a dance. in qauke, we have polygon characters like those seen in virtua fighters. we may texture map them so they have a more realistic look, maybe not - that's in discussion right now. but the idea is that if you shoot one of these characters in the upper left quadrant, for example, his left shoulder will be blasted back, he'll react more naturally. we'll add the ability to look and move up and down. if you're pushed off a ledge, physics comes into play. in doom, you just kind of drop down, but in quake, if you fall of an edge and your top heavy, you'll tumble. and your view will tumble with you. of course it'll be very fast, but the whole world will react accordingly." pc gamer: "it all sounds very complex. the trick is, i suppose, to add all this stuff while still keeping the game simple and intuitive" jay: "absolutely. it has to be an intuitive game to play, so the player can achieve instant success. with doom, all you need are the four arrow keys, the fire button and the open door key. other than that you don't need anything. you can achieve instant success. you walk in, find somebody, press fire a couple of times - and your successful. in quake, there'll be more complex controls to deal with; you'll be able to take, for example, an axe in your hand and slash it around, but the control will be intuitive, like using the mouse." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- from the november issue of multimedia magazine: [...] yet even as doom ii is hitting the street, the people at id software (developers of the game) are already looking toward the future. john romero, a lead designer and programmer at id, says the team is hard at work on id's next generation game, quake. like doom, quake will be a first-person, action-oriented, multiplayer shoot-'em-up -- but it will take every element, from graphics to sound to game play, to an entirely new level. "the technology in quake will be much better than in doom," romero says, "the graphics will use 3-d rendered models, unlike the 2-d images in doom. so if you walk around a pillar, you'll see it in full 360 degrees, as opposed to only eight different rotations in doom. you'll also be able to move in six different directions, and they'll be much better animation. we're also adding cool cinematic sequences that take place while you're playing the game. basically, doom will feel stiff compared to quake." beyond enhanced visuals, quake will use additional techniques to make the world appear more lifelike to the player. "we want quake to be as realistic as possible, so there's no music in the background." says romero. what you'll hear are "environmental sounds -- of owls and crickets and monsters -- that are triggered by where you walk and look. for instance, you're going along and you hear something. you turn toward a cave and the sound, now ominous, grows louder. then, as you walk toward the cave, the sound gets even louder, and a pair of red eyes appear -- next thing, a monster's coming right at you, and you better get the fuck out of there. just looking around makes it happen. another major innovation accompanying the game's release will be the free distribution of a server utility, which will allow the creation of "remote, quake-based entertainment networks," according to romero. dozens of players will be able to enter a game simultaneously, even if they're playing on different machines. (quake will likely be released on every computer and video game platform except those made by nintendo -- a result of id's righteous indignation over the censorship of its first hit, wolfenstein 3-d, when it was portthen everyone gets into the market. and they may have good technology, but they don't understand design. they just don't know what it takes to make a a cool game," he says. "in the meantime, we've already moved on to the next thing. so we're not worried at all. like our other releases, quake will be the first of its kind. nothing else will ever be close." prepare to be shaken and stirred. ---------------------- [2 - irc & mail quotes:] ---------------------- from the doom-editing mailing list (doom-editing@nvg.unit.no) on fri, 5 aug 94 11:38:19: quake will be totally externally programmable. a planar surface (as opposed to line triggers, switches, etc.) will have an activation tag. anything with a matching tag will contain the action that should be performed on itself. thus, walking on a certain surface with an activation tag will make the program search the world for matching tags. a match will make the program check the object for the type of action to be done. this allows one action to affect many actions, i.e., walking into a large room can close the door behind you, turn the lights off, raise 5 staircases and release 10 monster holding pens. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- from the doom-editing mailing list (doom-editing@nvg.unit.no) on fri, 5 aug 94 17:25:53: quake will be extremely modular -- doom was just the tip-of-the-iceberg experiment. we will be more cooperative than you can imagine -- how does uploading the quake server code sound? that way, anyone could recompile quake for any super server system. quake is in true 3-d. not faked doom 2-d/ 3-d. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- from the doom-editing mailing list (doom-editing@nvg.unit.no) on fri, 5 aug 94 15:56:23 (on sector tagged actions): total freedom. nothing will be hard coded into the executable. more than likely, the action will be a text descriptor that will match a function name or somesuch. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- from the doom-editing mailing list (doom-editing@nvg.unit.no) on fri, 5 aug 94 16:02:48 (on scanning for sector tags) for speed, of course we'll be using index lookups. i'm trying to describe the overall idea, not the actual implementation. and depending on our long-range goals with quake, we may not even use indexes if we want the gameworld to be continuously modifyable -- esp. for real-time multi-player connections where a "god" person is building a new structure in the world where 100 people are playing at the same time as the level design in the level they're playing. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- from the doom-editing mailing list (doom-editing@nvg.unit.no) on fri, 5 aug 94 16:02:48: don't worry. quake will be done right. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- from ddt@idsoftare.com on sun aug 7 21:53 cdt 1994: (credits to scott bessler (scott@grayfox.svs.com)) > ... i have a question about quake, you have been quoted > as saying it'll support 100 players. not me, man. that sounds like something romero would say. the truth is that we have no clue how many players it will support until we're done writing it. the game will be well-geared to pay-for services where you have a nice server like a medium-end workstation. it will allow more users and still offer smooth play. the required line speed will depend on a lot of factors. we'll have no idea how fast it will need to be until we've coded it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- from the doom-editing mailing list (doom-editing@nvg.unit.no) on tue, 9 aug 94 10:09:21 quake has gravity. down is down. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- from the doom-editing mailing list (doom-editing@nvg.unit.no) on mon, 8 aug 94 10:59:20 in quake, we're aiming for a total d&d fantasy adventure and, yes, there will be dragons! (we hope. remember, we could be lying. :) that's how quake will be programmed! not one single bit of information will be hard-coded -- everything's external! we will supply a language compiler for the c-type language that we'll use for quake's external code modules. id software will never again get any code programmed by an outside source (in doom, the only external id code was the sound code.) we will program our own sound code, but are planning to use the vesa sound spec. quake will be client/server only -- even a single-player quake session will, inreality, be a client/server setup with the client process and server process residing in the same system. we will make the setup as painless as possible. quake's shareware exe will only work with the shareware version, unless you register (the client), in which case you will be able to play the registered version and all the wads available. probably an oversight. quake will use none of doom's code. except for the memory zone allocation. the wad utilities will be revised. quake will run well on a pentium, but a 486 is required. it's just a notch up from doom's requirements386 required, 486 recommended. hopefully, the initial shareware release will handle real dynamic maps. id's quakenet will definitely have this ability. we're hoping to start another small company that is a pure 24-hour quakefest! (hey -- we want a piece of the action, too!:) it might be a couple dozen players modem-linked into a lightning-speed server, but we're really targeting quake to be the first home cable game -- brought to you through your set-top box and played on your huge tv screen! quake's level editor is true 3-d. we've just started quakeed. quakeed is using a real-time 3-d bsp generator. it will be optimized. bsps are awesome tools -- they can be used in many different types of applications. quake will probably use a few different types of bsp trees. the guy that invented bsps visited us and taught carmack even more shit. quake will not have 1 sprite in it -- all objects will be hi-res 3-d models. texture-mapped polygons, but hi-res so they're not bad-looking. much better than alone in the dark's. i didn't mention this before, but sound is a major integral part of the quake design and, yes, you will be able to wear a headphone/microphone unit (which we will also sell -- made by koss) and speak to each other (over a lan only) -- but not as a headset comm. you will be "speaking into" the game world, so the closer you are to someone, the louder your voice is. and the monsters have ears, too! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- from johnr@idsoftware.com on thu 11, aug 94 12:25:59 the quake-by-cable will definatly won't be in the first release -- it's a couple years away at the least :) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- from jay wilbur on irc wed aug 24 21:35:32 mesz 1994: 'quake is working. carmack is testing the concepts.' 'a quake faq...already? ... bitchin!' (on quaketalk ;) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- from american mcgee on irc september 3rd, 1994: 'yes. this is something that will go into it first thing' (on slippery floor) 'for everyone else it will be very hard. for us it should not be to hard. we will be running it on very fast hp geckos.' (on making a quake level) 'it should not be much larger than doom.' (the size of quake on your hd) 'it will be more of an action game' (as opposed to an rgp/mud) 'we are still working on that idea. i think the only thing you will gain is a killed/kills thing.' (on players gaining experience) 'ideal would be pentium' (on the ideal system for quake) 'the interactive-ness of the people who will be playing.' (on the most major golly-gee-wizz-bang feature of quake) 'the resolution will be much better.' 'yes, headsets will be a big thing in quake. lan = headset.' 'hammers for sure. i don't know what else.' (on weapons) 'this is one of the main features of quake.' (on 3rd party quake addons) 'there will be some sort of demo out soon enough.' 'there will be some sort of quake start-up package for those of you who want to buy a quake server.' 'there will be gravity.' ------------------- [3 - people's .plan:] ------------------- from johnr@idsoftware.com's .plan: the next game is going to blow doom all to hell. doom totally sucks in comparison to our next game, quakethe fight for justice! quake is going to be a bigger step over doom than doom was over wolf3d (ya know -- doom = pong). we won't start developing quake until fall'94... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- from help@idsoftware.com's .plan, on july 25th 6:14pm: this will not be out until sometime next summer. john carmack is currently designing the engine. multi-player should go something like this: someone owns a fast server somewhere. you dial in and join the game in progress. ten or more people at a time can be in the world. you will not need a pentium to play quake. everyone knows you don't need one for doom either... but it doesn't hurt anything. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- from help@idsoftware.com's .plan: status of quake---updated: tue, aug 9th 11:38am john now has a simple (slow) engine running. it uses converted doom maps and runs them with flats for textures. it looks really cool. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- from help@idsoftware.com's .plan, on september 2nd: ok, imagine this. you have a health thing and you don't need it. you meet someone in the game who has a nice weapon but is really low on health. you guys decide to exchange items. you don't really trust this guy so you bring along a friend and tell him to hide out somewhere with a bead on the other guy's head. you meet somewhere in the middle of a field and face off. you drop your health, he drops his weapon and you both strafe over the object of your desire. you start to back away (not turning your back on him) and suddenly decide you're going to whack this guy before he gets a chance to use that health. you move towards him and draw back with your hammer. he notices this and starts to duck, but it's too late. you smash him in the head and watch him fly down to the ground, landing on his side. you smash his still body a few more times and cause him to explode! now you and your friend pick up all of the items your dead friend left on the ground. as you are walking off you pick up his severed head and put it in a bag. that will come in useful later... when you need something to sacrifice to a demon. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- from help@idsoftware's .plan, on sat, oct 29th 4:21pm: john has a faster engine working now. groundwork for network play has been finished. looking _very_ cool. for those of you who still have a wife, kids, a job, and a life after doom, this game is for _you_. you doom junkies will have a new fix... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- from john romero's aol profile: -> quote: quake will rule the cosmos. doom will then crumble. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- from help@idsoftware's .plan, on sat, dec 2nd 2:20pm: -> this will not be out until sometime next winter. -> ok, ok... you guys wanted more. -> as of today the following things are working/semi-working: -> network play -> basic engine -> object modeling -> map editor -> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ -> network play: -> server/client code is functioning great. set up a quake server on -> a next, linux, or sgi box. once the server is running you -> get on another machine (next, linux, sgi) and log into the server. -> a play window opens and you can see the other players, move around, -> quit out, get back in, etc... there is no deathmatch yet, but this -> will be the first part of the game to be working... monsters etc, will -> be added in later. -> basic engine: -> this is running pretty fast. in network mode it slows down somewhat, -> but this will be reversed soon. (network will be faster than single -> player.) right now we are using a part of doom map 1 1 to test the -> engine. -> object modeling: -> kevin created a model of a person that only consists of about 200 -> polygons. this model looks surprisingly good... we had thought we -> would need more polygons per model to create the amount of detail -> we want. so far this is the only "thing" in the game. he does not -> animate, but it is still cool to watch him be "born". at the moment -> he is textured with the art from the cyberdemon. -> map editor: -> john also has a map editor in the works. at this point it looks -> somewhat like 3d studio, with a camera view and a top down view -> of the thing you are working on. you can add and subtract blocks -> of "material" from the view. these are the building blocks of the -> world... no, you will not be limited to blocks in the finished game. -> all of this will come together very soon to create one of the most -> awesome network/3d games in the world... if not the most awesome -> (ok, who are we kidding? it will be the most awesome hehe.) ---------------------------------------- [4 - screenshots, previews, demos, betas:] ---------------------------------------- -> now that your mouth is watering after all that you've read about quake, -> you'll probably want to see more, right? hehe. i thought so. well, watch -> this space in the future for any info on screenshots, previews, demos, -> betas or the likes. -> as i've said before, quake is still far from being finished and you -> can take my word on this, there are no betas available, no matter what -> your /<-rad friends said they found on their 31337 ftp/fsp sites. let me -> relay a quote of ddt on irc late november '94: -> " lot, wish we had a quake beta." -> 'nuff said, come back in half a year ;) ---------- [5 - outro:] ---------- no outro yet. maybe next time ;) i know, i know. i keep saying that. heck, what do you want to see in an outro? -------------- [5.1 - credits:] -------------- me (lotlhwi@irc) for doing most of the work ;) william lachance for the pc format article rick hammerstone for getting me a copy of the original quake faq scott bessler (jackyl@irc) for an excerpt from his mail with ddt toby nichols for the october pc gamer article alex lee (sirace@irc) for the november multimedia magazine article -> art s. -> for john romero's profile from aol ---------------------- [5.2 - version history:] ---------------------- 1.00 (early august) - first edition. i simply cut and pasted all the quake quotes from romero and the .plan's in a file and spiffed it up a bit. 1.01 (08/16/94) - added credits to ddt's email about quake and changed the intro. 1.10 (08/22/94) - added the magazine article section and the version history. 1.11 (08/24/94) - jayw's brief quake comment on irc added. 1.20 (08/31/94) - pc format article added. credits section. 1.50 (09/02/94) - quake stuff from help@id's .plan added. 1.55 (09/03/94) - mcgee's comments on quake on irc. 1.55a (09/12/94) - i'm no longer looking for the original quake faq, thanks to all those who sent me a copy. finger me at zxmsu01@hp10.zdv.uni-tuebingen.de for the latest issue of quaketalk. 1.70 (10/14/94) - october pc gamer article added. comments on a true quake faq. slight restructurisations. 2.00 (10/23/94) - multimedia article added. table of contents. 2.05 (11/04/94) - new help@id's .plan info, different email adr. of mine, typos added. 2.10 (11/09/94) - newest quaketalk now available by mail. new intro. -> 2.30 (12/03/94) - id's more detailed quake status info from their .plan, -> screenshots, previews, demos, beta section. -> yet another (minute) change in my email adress) -j