First off, I guess it’s good news that I am actually seeing “pro TDM” servers labeled “skill matched” in my browser (hooray). However, I don’t really appreciate that the longer weapon spawn times only apply to higher skilled players. On the positive side, this changes the dynamics of the game by promoting a higher focus on team placement, movement and total map control. On the other hand, isn’t it a bit counter-productive to have different settings for lower skilled players? I am thinking that if newer players progress to a new tier, all their practice will be worthless due to different settings and a differences in gameplay. By worthless I’m implying that it takes time to adjust to new dynamics, and having to wait another 15 seconds for weapons to spawn is definitely a factor that should be considered. What do you guys think? Is this a good move from id or not?

Lessons will be helbetween the 14th / 20th of June and Ventrilo/Teamspeak will be used!

To sign up , sign up at his website and leave a comment on this article.  The 3 players will be chosen randomly and you have 7 days to register .

stermy: an italian quaker with serious skills and mad hair

stermy: “The time is yours, feel free to ask or discuss anything Quake Live related.
Strategies, movement, positioning, how to get better, Aiming, equipment, Settings, etc..Anything really..Please have any questions ready prior the start of the lesson! “

Note from nec: Don’t ask him about what hair products he uses.

Sign up here:

Stermy Quake Live Lessons!

The first map is Siberia. It’s a brand new Capture The Flag arena crafted by designer Yan Ostretsov (you know, the dude behind “IronWorks”).  According to id: “Siberia is a medium to large map suitable for 6 to 12 players. The snow-covered scenery and distinctive architecture of Siberia combine with excellent balance to create a fun and exciting arena. We hope you enjoy playing on this week’s map as much as we do”.

Release just earlier this week, Bloodlust is another CTF map. Designed by Michael “Casey” Goodhead and Dave “Zoid” Kirsch (known collectively as “Threewave”), the map originally appeared in Q3A. id Software informs us that: “The first in this 3-pack was called Bloodlust - and now the source from which we bring you our week 3 release. In revisiting this map over the last couple of months, the team here decided to make some renovations before releasing it in QUAKE LIVE, and we’re very happy with the additions, changes, and polish we’ve been able to contribute. Bloodlust is perfectly suited for 8 to 10 players and rewards teamwork. “

id gives us a hint that since they just released back-to-back CTF maps, the next few map releases will be deathmatch-friendly. Now if we can just fast forward and finish our scholastic-fantastic projects, we might actually be able to enjoy them before the summer sun steals us away from our beloved dark computer rooms.

id Software is promising to add both new and classic maps. Round one is dedicated the old gem “Hidden Fortress”, a map that even appeared on the Sega Dreamcast version of Quake III Arena. For those of you who played it, you might remember it being one of the better arena-maps on the Dreamcast, and it’s being kept nearly identical compared to it’s old self. Originally designed by Martin Kaai Cluney for Raster Productions (the former Q3DC porting team), Martin is now a part of id’s RAGE developer team.

While new maps are good news, it still leaves us wondering: what about the promised platform updates? And what about the redone practice mode with better “rookie”-support? Seems to us like id might need to hire another developer or two to deliver within a reasonable time frame on their promises.

In addition, Marty talks about a lot of players having problems with their personal gaming development. As a result, they are completely remodelling the practice mode: ‘Training arenas and tutorials is something we’ve wanted to develop for a long time and we now have the first two - Rocket Jumping and Strafe Jumping/Running) that will be made available in this mid-May update (there will be a new section for these under the “Practice” option). These will include written tutorials explaining the basics of these skills along with videos, and demos that you can play back.‘

The Casual Quaker thinks this a great move towards making the game more accessible to inexperienced gamers. The post also hints towards that progress is being made on something we’re all looking forward to: private server functionality! The post was divided into two segments, where the second part makes brief mention of match broadcasting and community-made maps.

One thing we found pretty interesting was that there was no mention of a roadmap or milestone plan for when they are planning to take get game out of beta status. I guess all we can do is wait and see. Thanks so far Marty!

The original post can be found at the Quake Live Forum.
This piece of news is also being covered over at Slashdot.

The gauntlet killeth, but the respawn giveth life.

As seen on Penny-Arcade. Thanks Tycho & Gabe!

Trolling:

These things are real! They live in dark and damp environments (most commonly their parents' basements)

“An internet troll is someone who posts offensive, controversial, or divisive material on an Internet community. Trolls are an unfortunately common occurrence on many communities across the Internet, and there are various steps which can be taken to combat them. If you are currently struggling with an Internet troll, the best thing to do is to walk away, since trolls feed on attention, and they will usually disappear if they are ignored.” - wisegeek.com

Forums are the feeding grounds of trolls. Encounters with these beasts are not pleasant, but don’t worry: you will survive! On the other hand: If you find yourself posting off-topic, or just simply being an idiot, reconsider your participation. Nobody likes an asshole, move along!

Internet Dickwad Theory:

You can't argue with science, bitch!

After playing Unreal Tournament 2004 for what must have been eons, John Gabriel, one of the masterminds behind Penny Arcade, documented hours of incontrovertible proof that in the end led him to formulate the famous Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory.

When you provide a perfectly normal person with an audience as well as total anonymity, factored with various catalysts, they transform into a total dickwad. Complaining about your opponents skill, luck and ping, using foul language and mind games, the dickwad acts the way he/she does simply because it’s a chance to be heard. It’s been speculated that the dickwad has a need for recognition, regardless of whether or not it’s positive or negative (it’s mostly negative, but you probably figured as much).

Engrish/Memes/Spelling:

“Engrish: A form of English characterized by bad translation from another language by someone who is decent at translating vocabulary but has a poor grasp of English grammar. Tends to be a word-by-word literal translation with humorous results for native English speakers. Engrish is most common in old video games and anime subtitles.” - Urbandictionary.com

Shinsoku: master troll, supposed retired pro-gamer, and creator of epic lolz

We’re not into making fun of people, but don’t take it too far. How do I shot web? Seriously.

How do I shot web?

Take into account that your behavior shouldn’t have to change when you leave the forum to join a game. If you’re familiar with Tourettes syndrome, you might you what we’re hinting forwards. In closing, there are lots and lots of things you should consider when surfing around the tubes. In fact, there are so many things that we didn’t really bother to cover them all. The final video is a short recap of what we’ve been talking about, narrated by some funny-sounding English chaps from Videojug. Enjoy:

How To Behave On A Forum - The funniest home videos are here

Quakeliver - Gone for good?

Suffering what appeared to be a pretty nasty virus infection or hacker attack some time ago, one of the oldest Quake Live fan communities, Quakeliver.com, remained defaced. The lack of intervention from the site creators caused many to fear that the site was history and that it wouldn’t be repaired and brought back.  We now have information from sources close to the site creators that the site is in fact dead, and won’t be coming back.

The site hosted one of the biggest and most active  Quake Live forums, and had hundreds of registered members that had been around since the early beta. It seems likely that their users will now migrate to the Holysh1t.net forums, which is far more active than the silent forums over at the very blog-centric Quake Life.

Note that have been unable to get in touch with Quakeliver’s site admin, dreamache, and we will update this post when / if we do.

Sad news indeed! Were you a Quakeliver-user? Where will you be going now? What do you think is the best Quake Live forum?

Update:

Shortly after we published this article, the front page of Quakeliver.com was cleaned up and the porn spam removed. The forum is still crippled by the spam threads, but it is possible that something is going on behind the scenes to clean the site up and get it back to it’s former glory.

Evolution of the Quake railgun

The railgun was introduced to the Quake universe in 1997 with the release of Quake 2, where it added a completely new element of skill and aim, and had a huge impact on gameplay. Able to deliver instant punishment over unlimited distances, balanced by a second-long railgun trail revealing the location of the shooter, it was the perfect addition to a finely tuned game.

The railgun has changed little since it’s introduction in 1997. The damage has been tweaked a little, and is still a hotly debated topic in Quake Live. Basically, some argue that a higher railgun damage makes Quake Live a less newbie-friendly game. We’re not going to go into that here. Apart from the damage values, the changes have been purely cosmetic. It is still a single shot “sniper” style weapon that deals massive damage. Fun fact -  if you’re killed by the railgun, the death animation is calculated before the actual railgun trail, meaning that you’ll literally never see what hit you.

Real Life Railguns

The first railguns weren't exactly handheld

Real life railguns are a bit bigger than the handheld gun we know from the game. The term “railgun” was first used to describe railway guns during the american civil war and later the second world war. They were basically huge howitzers mounted on railroad carriages to make them more mobile.

The idea of electricity-powered railguns have been floating around the realm of science fiction for quite some time, an interesting example below from a 1932 Modern Mechanics magazine. The French inventor Louis Octave Fauchon-Villeplee came up with the idea of an electric cannon patented as an “Electric Apparatus for Propelling Projectiles” in 1922.

His idea was revived during World War 2 by Joachim Hänsler, who wanted to build an electric anti-aircraft gun. Long story short, plans were developed, but the weapon was never realized. When the details surfaced after the war, it generated much interest, and a more detailed study was carried out. The conclusion was that yeah - sure it could be done, but each gun would need enough power to “illuminate half of Chicago”.

This is universally recognized as the "f*ck off"-gesture"

Railgun Theory

A railgun consists of two parallel metal rails (hence the name) connected to an electrical power supply. When a conductive projectile is inserted between the rails (from the end connected to the power supply), it completes the circuit. Electrons flow from the negative terminal of the power supply up the negative rail, across the projectile, and down the positive rail, back to the power supply.

This current makes the railgun behave similar to an electromagnet, creating a powerful magnetic field in the region of the rails up to the position of the projectile.

Easy, right? Check out the Wikipedia-entry if you want to go more in detail.

The Modern Railgun

Railguns are currently in development by the US Navy for use aboard ships. The weapon design still draws huge amounts of electricity, the latest test hitting a record 10 megajoules. The main advantage of the railgun, in addition to tremendous muzzle velocity, is that the risk of gun failure and on-board explosions is greatily reduced. The current design fires 5-inch projectiles, and has a potential capacity of 32 megajoules. For the technically illiterate - that’s an insane amount of energy. Enough energy, in fact, to fire projectiles at mach 5 - without the risk of blowing yourself up. Neat!

Conclusion: Railguns are awesome!

We’re going to round up this article with a video of one of the best railgun players in the world - Cypher, beating star player Zero4 on his favorite map. Enjoy!