Key points
- Engine is open source with modern multi-platform ports available; see Source ports.
General information
- ESReality - Community hub for competitive Quake.
- Func_Msgboard - Mapper hub, new map releases, technique improvements.
- Planet Quake - Very old hub for the Quake franchise. Has mods, guides, and news on the Quake communities.
- Quake Wiki - Wiki for the Quake franchise.
- Worldspawn Archive - Map repository.
- GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
- GOG.com Support Page
- Steam Community Discussions
Availability
- A demo is available. Can also be installed via Steam (allow Steam popup).
- A faithful higher quality icon can be found from IconArchive.
DLC and expansion packs
Name |
Notes |
|
Quake III: Team Arena |
Included with Quake III: Gold. |
|
Version differences
- Quake III: Gold includes the base game along with the Quake III: Team Arena expansion.
Vanilla
The original, closed-source versions of the game still work for online multiplayer. Many users may prefer to use more recent, improved engines based on the source code release.
id Software launched a free-to-play browser-based port of Quake III titled Quake Live, that has since migrated to Steam and is no longer free-to-play. Most players have migrated to this service to continue playing, as it adds new features and game modes, and improves compatibility with newer systems.
Essential improvements
Official patch
- Digital distribution platforms such as GOG and Steam are already have the latest version.
- The latest official patch is 1.32c, it can be downloaded from Quake 3 World.
Graphics improvements
Increase LOD (reduce pop-in)
After starting the game, open the console, write /r_subdivisions -1; r_lodbias -1
then press Enter. The first command increases world geometry detail, whereas the second command uses high-quality models regardless of the viewing distance.
- A source port is required.
- An additional mod is required for Team Arena support.
- Widescreen support is integrated. Enter the following into the console for 1920x1080 (example):
/exec res1920x1080
- You get the highest possible graphic settings with:
/exec hq
- New assets are faithful to original HUD and menus.
- All in-game textures, upscaled with Waifu2x and SFTGAN.
- Upscaled textures are faithful to the original textures.
Source ports
While the original Quake III Arena point releases still work on modern systems, the release of the engine's source code has enabled the creation of additional variants that improve upon the game but are backwards compatible for multiplayer play. These versions do not support PunkBuster anti-cheat and thus cannot connect to servers using it, though very few still exist. Which one to use is a matter of taste.
- ioquake3 is recommended for authenticity to the original; Quake3e and Spearmint is recommended for graphical enhancements and quality-of-life features.
Name |
Description |
|
ioquake3 |
A port of the engine to SDL to assist in multi-platform development of stand-alone mods for the Quake III engine. Includes an auto updater which automatically updates the software with a new version. |
|
Quake3e |
Fork of ioquake3. Adds bug fixes, security and performance improvements as well as some quality of life features for competitive play. |
|
Spearmint |
Fork of ioquake3. Update in-game menu with modern graphics settings like MSAA or anisotropic filtering, and supports XInput controllers and split screen multiplayer up to 4 players. Does not support vanilla Quake III Arena servers, mods or demos. Stopped development as of October 2018[1], with the latest update from July 2020.[2] |
|
Quake 3: Arena NT |
Designed specifically around the features of Windows 8's app packer. Adds ARM support, widescreen, XInput controllers, and DirectX 11. |
|
Mods
Quake 3 servers often use modifications in order to enhance the game in some way.
- Challenge Promode Arena (CPMA) is a modification which supports two gameplay styles (vanilla and promode) and many different game modes. It is often used for competitive play.
- Defrag (q3df) is a modification that removes the deathmatch from Quake 3 (de-fragging it), replacing it with obstacle courses for bunnyhopping, trickjumping, and surfing, to name a few.
- Secondary resource here.
Game data
In-game general settings.
Configuration file(s) location
- It's unknown whether this game follows the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux. Please fill in this information.
Save game data location
Video
Instructions[citation needed]
|
- Launch the game at least once then close it.
- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Open
q3config.cfg with a text editor.
- Change the following lines to set the resolution.
seta r_customwidth "XXXX"
seta r_customheight "XXXX"
- Change the following line to this value.
|
- FMVs may be blank and character models in the model viewer may be distorted.
Edit the configuration file[citation needed]
|
- Launch the game at least once then close it.
- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Open
q3config.cfg with a text editor.
- Change the following line to the desired value.
Notes
- Changing FOV affects the weapon viewmodel.
|
Input
In-game control settings.
Audio
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
|
|
Surround sound |
|
ioquake3 supports up to 7.0 output through OpenAL. |
Subtitles |
|
|
Closed captions |
|
|
Mute on focus lost |
|
|
EAX support |
|
A3D 2.0[2] only[3]
Broken since one of the first patches[4] (possibly 1.17)[5] 1.25 point release beta is the last version with A3D support. |
- ioquake3 supports OpenAL Soft for binaural HRTF mixing.[6] Unlike A3D 2.0, it does not support elevation HRTF effects.
Localizations
VR support
Network
Multiplayer types
- All official maps are designed for at most 16 players. However, dedicated servers can be set to have no max player limit.
Connection types
Ports
Protocol |
Port(s) and/or port range(s) |
TCP |
27950, 27952, 27960, 27965 |
UDP |
27950, 27952, 27960, 27965 |
- Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.
Issues fixed
Game crashes on exit
Game Crashes Upon Exit[citation needed]
|
- Right-click the game in your Steam library.
- Click Properties.
- Uncheck "Enable Steam Community In-Game".
|
Random FPS drops
Edit a line in config: r_finish 0 [7]
|
Invalid CDKey
- Write the CD-Key in lowercase
Other information
API
Executable | PPC | 16-bit |
32-bit |
64-bit | ARM |
Notes |
Windows | | |
|
| |
A source port is required for native 64-bit and ARM. See Source ports. |
macOS (OS X) | | | |
| |
The original version of the game on OS X only supported PowerPC. A source port is required for Intel 64-bit support to work on OS X 10.7 and later. See Source ports. |
Linux | | | |
| |
A source port is required for native 64-bit. See Source ports. An alternate source port supports PowerPC. |
Mac OS (Classic) | | | |
|
|
|
Middleware
|
Middleware |
Notes |
Audio |
DirectSound |
|
Anti-cheat |
PunkBuster |
[citation needed] |
Brightness issues
- By default, Quake III Arena has brightness issues and may appear very dark.
Edit the configuration file[citation needed]
|
- Go to
<path-to-game>\baseq3\
- Open
q3config.cfg with a text editor.
- Find the line r_overBrightBits 2.
- Set the value to 0.
seta r_overBrightBits "0"
Notes
- You can change the gamma level by finding the line
r_gamma 1 and increasing it to brighten the screen or lowering it to darken the screen.
-
r_intensity can also be set to a value above 1 to multiply texture intensity, making them appear brighter.
|
View bob
- By default, Quake III Arena has view bob that may cause motion sickness.
Edit the configuration file[citation needed]
|
- Go to
<path-to-game>\baseq3\
- Open
q3config.cfg with a text editor.
- Find these three lines: cg_bobup 0.005, cg_bobpitch 0.002 and cg_bobroll 0.002.
- Set their values to 0.
seta cg_bobup "0.000"
seta cg_bobpitch "0.000"
seta cg_bobroll "0.000"
|
System requirements
Windows | Mac OS (Classic) | macOS (OS X) | Linux |
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
95, NT 4.0 |
98, ME, 2000, XP |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Pentium MMX 233 MHz Intel Pentium II 300 MHz AMD K6-2 350 MHz AMD Athlon 500 MHz |
Intel Pentium III 600 MHz AMD Athlon 600 MHz |
System memory (RAM) |
64 MB | |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
25 MB |
500 MB |
Video card (GPU) |
8 MB of VRAM OpenGL 1.1 compatible DirectX 7 compatible | |
Linux |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
Any distribution (ports of the engine available in most distros' package repositories) | |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Pentium 233 MHz / Pentium II 300 MHz or AMD K6-2 350 MHz / Athlon. Also suitable are CPUs exceeding 400 MHz of any ISA | |
System memory (RAM) |
64 MB | |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
25 MB |
500 MB |
Video card (GPU) |
8 MB of VRAM | |
Notes
References