Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

No Next Q3Test

Posted by Hemos on from the gonna-have-to-wait dept.

Jacek Fedorynski writes "The Quake god recently interviewed on Slashdot, John Carmack, updated his .plan with word that there will be no next version of Q3Test - the next release will be a full demo with bot support and one more map (for beginners). The date of the release hasn't been set yet. Carmack also comments on the new Macintoshes. "

6 of 144 comments (clear)

  1. Does it really matter? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3
    Why exactly are so many people excited about the release of a game alpha?

    Sure, it's id stuff and John Carmack's eye-pleasing work. But it's Quake, and for all you can say about the franchise you really can't say that the game itself has changed:

    • Single-player viewpoint
    • Small to moderate-sized indoor levels
    • 8-12 mostly-balanced (yawn) weapons, 1 being some kind of minigun and at least 1 being a shotgun
    • Gorgeous graphics which really don't improve gameplay
    • id's promises that often-requested features not included in the baseline "could be designed by mod authors" (monkeys? ass? flying? what?)
    I've been a big fan of id since the Doom I days, but when I see other titles with essentially the same features with excellent graphics (Unreal Tournament, for example) or clever games that actually bring tactics into play (instead of "just run around and shoot") such as Tribes...well, I gotta wonder how much is fanboy hype when info like this hits the Net press.

    Besides the curved surfaces, what really is going to make Quake III any different than Quake II?

    Steel Maelstrom

  2. Apple - Stuck in the middle with the iBook by fuerstma · · Score: 3

    Well, here's the deal with the iBooks. Apple's entire goal with the oft-used "four squares on a table napkin" theory is that there is total differentiation between the available products. If you are a student, on a limited budget and want a laptop (assuming you are Apple centric to begin with) there is no choice, it's a no brainer. You want an iBook. If you want a no-compromise machine (since an iBook is really just a Powerbook with some compromises) then you purchase a Powerbook. But, Apple wants to avoid at all costs someone having to wonder what machine is for them.

    In the past this really has caused some additional painful decisions. For example, how much would it have cost to add FireWire onto say the second (266 MHz) or third (333 MHz) generation of iMacs. Very little actually, and it would have sold a lot more machines (a digital video editing solution for $1299 a year ago would've been nifty). However, it would have caused people to have that momentary pause. If I am a "not so informed" digital video producer or the joe moron guy in HR that orders my computers, I sit and wonder, which machine, a G3 or a iMac do I order? By not adding Firewire, the choice is simple. If I need digital video input, I buy a G3. No question.

    I see the same thing happening with the iBook. The video chip is only a 4 MB AGP chip (one or two year old technology) but is more than suffecient for most web surfing/e-mailing/word processing needs. The water gets a little murkier considering the audience of the machines being in the market for games, but I think Apple made the right choice...

    --
    www.jackasscritics.com
  3. Re:sweet by Score+Whore · · Score: 3
    what does he plan to sell?


    Theoretically the demo will not use third party maps. Plus it would be safe to assume that there will be very few of the bot players (for single player mode) included.

    However, id doesn't have the best track record with decisions in this area. Take the Q2Demo for example. If you install the demo, then install the Q2 3.20 patch you end up with a small DM only game that works with the "official" servers and such. The only problem is that one of the maps uses a different sky than the others and you end up with some real psychodelic visuals on that map. A simple copy and then you have a fully functional DM client (you can play Q2DM1-8.) Download and install the various PGL/OGL maps and you'd be ready to play just about anywhere.

    Looking at the current q3test we find that it supposedly is running in "restricted demo mode" but a simple rename of the demoq3 directory to baseq3 and you have the "unrestricted" mode. This allows you to install the various hacked and reverse engineered maps that are available on the net.

    Given id's record, it's hard to reconcile their official statements (ie. "no reverse engineering", etc.) with their observed actions.

    -sw
  4. I'll buy the full one by Enroth · · Score: 3
    The simplest answer as to what to sell is new, and better bots. Chances are that any bots put into the game at this stage of development will be very poorly implemented, and in a few weeks, those of us with out the major net connections needed to use certain weapons well online will be tired of camping bots with infinite accuracy. Also, new maps will alo be a selling point. The vast majority of homemade maps really are inferior. The Id team's experience in making maps really is a major factor.

    Perhaps more important though, many people will purchase a full copy for these reasons. a: Gratitude. Id has allowed us to be involved in the devlopment and testing of this game, and I for one, have gotten well more than 40 or 50 bucks worth of fun out of just q3test. I'll shell out that amount just out of appreciation of the effort that the Id crew has put into the game. b: Server compatibilty. The same people who will buy the game out of gratitude tend to be the same people who run dedicated servers for other's enjoyment. If you'll remember Q2, the demo was incompatible in a multiplayer with the full version, or at least I never could get it to run. So, I went out and bought a copy of Q2, just so everyone else with the full copy could smear me across the Edge. If that same incompatbility exists here, thousands will purchase the full version of Q3A, just so they can get out to try to shave their neighbor with a rail slug.

    In short, Id, by letting the demo out, in near full version, will actually increase their sales, by giving everyone that intoxicating taste of success. Then, everyone rushes out to buy it, so that they can have more fun fragging their friends, who are running that silly full version of the game out of respect for the people who made it.

    --
    Effort can temper a man's body, but only experience can temper his soul.
  5. ATI needs a whack by jafac · · Score: 4

    You scoffed when I said Apple needed to slap that ATI bitch around some.

    But now an "industry authority figure" like Carmack comes up and says it: ATI's drivers on Mac OS suck suck suck (sic). Mac is a huge market for ATI, and they still get no respect. They act as if Mac users should be happy to get a driver period.

    Well, until Jobs can go up and slap that ATI bitch ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H negotiate briskly with them, Macintosh will continue to be a second-rate gaming platform. And to all the Mac lovers out there; I am not trying to dis Macintosh by saying this; I'm trying to state that there is something that needs to be done, and one of Apple's "partners" is letting them down, and preventing them from executing a MAJOR task in their grand business plan.

    "The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."

    --

    These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
  6. Anybody heard of the command `finger`? by NP · · Score: 4

    Thoose of you who haven't can check out John Carmacks latest plan at http://w3.informatik.gu.se/~niklas/joh nc.txt