Q1 SP views and articles: 24/07/01:

The very basic 101 of Quake single player.

Introduction:
Amazing as it seems, there are still a few gamers who haven't experienced the fun of Quake single player - perhaps they've only got into gaming recently, and have never even tried it. There's such a wealth of options and addons, it can be hard to know where to begin (though PlanetQuake's Quake section can be useful). So, this is a very basic guide to getting started with Quake single player, in the simplest terms to make it accessible to everyone. You want Quake single player?? Let's go...

1. Buy Quake.
If you don't have a copy of Quake tucked away somewhere, you'll need to buy one. Despite it's age, it is still a retail game, but you can buy it very cheap, either on it's own or as part of a Quake + Mission Packs package, such as The Offering. Quake can, unfortunately, be a bit difficult to find, so I've searched around and found a few sites you can order it from:
Cdmag.com
Cdromshop.com
Pcsoftwaregames.com
Ebay.com Auctions

2. Buy the Mission Packs.
If you're keen to get more Quake in two easy packages, you should buy Mission Pack 1: Scourge of Armagon (A great all round pack, both for addons and innovative levels) and Mission Pack 2: Dissolution of Eternity (Lots of good and interestingly themed levels, though some unexceptional addons). You'll need a retail copy of Quake to play the mission packs, of course. Again, both packs will be very cheap, but are also hard to find for sale - a few sites to try:
Player's choice at Digitalriver.com (both), SOA, DOE
Amazon.co.uk (DOE)
Ebay.com Auctions

3. Get Quake set up right.
It should be easy to install Quake, and similar to installing any other game. The same applies to chosing an in-game keyboard/mouse config, nothing unusual here. To get Quake to work with your 3D graphics card needs a bit more tweaking: You'll need to download GLQuake (400 k), which allows 3D acceleration in Quake, and Idgamma (120 k), which allows you to tweak the brightness and colours of GLQuake to match the richness of software Quake. To use higher resolutions in GLQuake, you'll need to run it from a DOS prompt or shortcut, with an altered command line like C:\QUAKE\glquake.exe -width (your width here) -bpp (your desktop colour BPP here) - there are instructions in GLQuake telling you how to do this, but if you get stuck an excellent source of help is Frib's phat GLQuake guide.

4. Learn how to play Quake.
Quake is a simple, direct, pure action game, where learning it's subtleties and honing your skills will bring the most satisfaction. The simple controls and gameplay might make it easy to get used to, but the hardcore visceral action is worth practising for. Expect nasty ambushes, combats where you have to move fast and think later, and monsters that dish out a whole lot of pain when they get close - fight hard and you'll have the most fun. BTW, the skill settings only affect monster numbers, except the hidden Nightmare skill which only affects monster behaviour.

5. Download some custom single player levels.
This is where the fun begins, once you've completed the full game (and mission packs). There's hundreds of good - or great - custom made levels that enhance Quake with new enviroments, exciting architecture, and diverse action. The one place you need to visit is TEAMShambler, which has informative reviews of every good level released in the last 3 years AND recommendations of every older good level.

6. Choose your Q1 SP levels.
With so many good levels, it might be hard to know where to begin. There's no rating system at TEAMShambler (numbers are a hopelessly inadequate way to sum up a level's qualities), so you should read the reviews and decide what appeals to you most. But there's also PlanetQuake's Level of the Week, which highlights all the best levels, and is a good place to start choosing classic levels. And of course, you can always email me and ask for suggestions: Simply tell me what sort of level you're after (e.g. futuristic or medieval, simple or complex, tactical or straight action), and I'll give you suggestions straight away.

7. Get playing your chosen levels.
The same tips for playing Quake itself also apply to custom levels, except that custom levels are often a bit harder (as you will have picked up some skills by now). To get your levels installed, simply refer to the instructions on the TEAMShambler Help page. If you have any problems with downloads or levels, that same Help page also contains lots of advice and solutions. Once you're playing custom levels, keep going until your eyes fall out and your fingers seize up!

8. What now....coop?
Now you've played Quake, the mission packs, and a few hundred single player levels, there's still more fun to be had. You could try playing some cooperative Quake, where you link up with one or more friends, via LAN (preferably) or online, and kick the shit out of some monsters as a team. For more information about how to start playing coop and general coop advice, see the latter section of the TEAMShambler article In praise of coop gameplay.

9. What now....custom mods and engines?
Another way to enhance your Quake single player fun is to experiment with using either mods which change weapons, monsters, or even the basic gameplay, or custom Quake engines which have many hi-tech enhancements such as coloured lighting, fog, smoother animations and a lot more. Some custom maps include these features already, but you can play almost any map in several mods and engines. Good places to start looking would be: Inside3D, Quakemods, and QuakeSG.

10. What now....watch some speedrun demos?
After all this playing, you might want to put your feet up and let someone else do the work... One aspect of Quake single player which always amazes players is speedrunning, where highly skilled players run through a level as quickly as possible, avoiding monsters and using special tricks like rocket jumping and bunny hopping to take major shortcuts and save time. The quickest times are recorded in demos, which can be easily played back and watched by any player, and due to the extreme playing involved, they're often very entertaining. The two main sites to visit are Quake Done Quick, home of the astonishing QdQwav demo, where the entire Quake game is completed in 13 minutes (!!!), and Speed Demos Archive which hosts all runs on individual levels, including custom levels.