Warnings
- The macOS (OS X) version of this game does not work on macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later due to the removal of support for 32-bit-only apps.
Key points
- The game does not properly recognize the available VRAM on modern graphics cards, and as such forces the game to use lower image quality settings. Use Quake 4 Tweaker to resolve.
General information
- Quake Wiki - A detailed wiki for every Quake game made.
- Planet Quake
- GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
- GOG.com Support Page
- Steam Community Discussions
Availability
- A free client provided by id allows Quake 4 to be played natively on Linux machines. It requires either a full retail copy or the demo to use it. Details can be found on the GamingOnLinux article.
- A faithful higher quality icon can be found from IconArchive.
Essential improvements
Patches
- Patch 1.4.2 (2007) is the latest version. GOG.com and Steam versions are already patched.
- Patch 1.3.0 (2006)
- Patch 1.2.0 (2006)
- Patch 1.1.0 (2006. Bugged widescreen feature. Add support for multi core CPUs)
Delay corpses despawning
Skip intro videos
or you can simply add "+disconnect" (minus the quotes) to the game's launch parameter.
To do this, right click the desktop shortcut, select 'Properties' and edit the 'Target' box. Leave a space after 'Quake4.exe' before inserting '+disconnect'.
Game data
In-game general settings.
Configuration file(s) location
- This game does not follow the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.
Save game data location
System |
Location |
Windows |
<path-to-game>\q4base\savegames\[Note 1] |
macOS (OS X) |
~/Library/Containers/com.aspyr.quake4appstore/Data/Library/Application Support/Quake 4/q4base/savegames |
Linux |
|
Steam Play (Linux) |
<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/2210/pfx/[Note 2] |
Video settings
In-game general video/audio settings.
In-game advanced video settings.
Template:Video settings
Set custom anisotropic filtering[citation needed]
|
- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Create and open
autoexec.cfg .
- Add
seta image_anisotropy 16 for the highest quality.
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Input settings
In-game key map settings.
Template:Input settings
Audio settings
In-game advanced audio settings.
Template:Audio settings
Localizations
Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
English |
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Czech |
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Only available in the European local retail release. |
French |
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Italian |
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Polish |
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Only available in Polish retail release. |
Russian |
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Only available in Russian retail release. |
Spanish |
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VR support
Network
Multiplayer types
Connection types
Ports
Protocol |
Port(s) and/or port range(s) |
TCP |
27650 |
UDP |
27650 |
- Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.
Issues fixed
Poor image quality on modern systems
- The game does not properly recognize the available VRAM on modern graphics cards, and as such forces the game to use lower image quality settings.
Force high image quality[citation needed]
|
- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Create and open
autoexec.cfg .
- Add the following and save.
seta image_downSize "0"
seta image_downSizeBump "0"
seta image_downSizeSpecular "0"
seta image_filter "GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_LINEAR"
seta image_ignoreHighQuality "0"
seta image_roundDown "0"
seta image_useCompression "0"
seta image_useNormalCompression "0"
seta image_anisotropy "16"
seta image_lodbias "0"
seta r_renderer "best"
seta com_allowConsole "1"
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Steam Overlay doesn't work
Run the Steam client as administrator[3]
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Add registry key[4]
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- Go to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Layers .
- Right-click → New → String Value.
- Put the full path to
Quake4.exe in the name, e.g. C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Quake 4\Quake4.exe .
- Open your newly created string and type in
RUNASINVOKER and confirm it.
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Sluggish mouse view
Use raw input[5]
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- Open
<path-to-game>\q4base\autoexec.cfg .
- Add the line
in_mouse 2
- Save the changes.
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ReShade overlay inaccessible to mouse
Bypass the game's mouse bind[6]
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- Open
<path-to-game>\q4base\Quake4Config.cfg .
- Search the line
seta com_allowConsole and set the value to "1".
- Start the game.
- Press Alt+Tab ↹ to switch into windowed mode
- Press ~ to open the console
- Access the ReShade GUI
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Microstutter
Instructions[7]
|
- Open
<path-to-game>\q4base\autoexec.cfg .
- Add the following lines.
seta r_swapInterval "1"
seta com_fixedTic "1"
Notes
- This solution may cause speech lipsync to go out of sync, but gameplay should be unaffected.
r_swapinterval controls VSync.
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Slow reloading when immediately retrying a level after being killed
Make it faster by increasing the graphics cache size.
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- Open
<path-to-game>\q4base\Quake4Config.cfg .
- Search the line
seta image_cacheMegs "100" and increase the value (100 per default. 500 is OK for a computer having 4 GB RAM).
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Resolution setting is missing for my screen
Example to add it manually for a laptop (1366x768):
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- Open
<path-to-game>\q4base\Quake4Config.cfg .
- Search the line
seta r_customHeight , replace with seta r_customHeight "768"
- Search the line
seta r_customWidth , replace with seta r_customWidth "1366"
- Search the line
seta r_mode , replace with seta r_mode "-1"
- Search the line
seta r_aspectRatio , replace with seta r_aspectRatio "1" (1 = 16/9 ratio).
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Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
OpenGL |
2.0 |
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Executable | PPC |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows | |
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macOS (OS X) | | |
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32-bit only.[8] |
Linux | | |
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Middleware
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Middleware |
Notes |
Audio |
OpenAL |
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Anti-cheat |
PunkBuster |
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Modifications
Sikkmod
- Sikkmod is a mod that was ported from Doom 3, which adds such effects as bloom, color grading, HDR and FXAA, and is easily configurable via the in-game menu.
- The game's multi-core rendering may cause problems with this mod, disable that setting if there are graphical glitches.
False Dawn
- False Dawn is a non-linear, multiple-goal mission with up-to-date graphics (powered by Sikkmod).
System requirements
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
2000 |
XP |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Pentium 4 2.0 GHz AMD Athlon XP 2000+ | |
System memory (RAM) |
256 MB |
512 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
3.2 GB | |
Video card (GPU) |
ATI Radeon 9700 Nvidia GeForce3 Ti 64 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0c compatible
| ATI Radeon X1800 XL Nvidia GeForce 7800 GT 512 MB of VRAM |
- Windows 98 has been tested to work with Quake 4, but this is not officially supported.
macOS (OS X) |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
10.6.8 | |
Processor (CPU) |
2.4 GHz
| 2.6 GHz |
System memory (RAM) |
2 GB |
4 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
3.5 GB | |
Video card (GPU) |
ATI Radeon HD 2600 Nvidia GeForce 8800 512 MB of VRAM
| 512 MB of VRAM |
Linux |
|
Minimum |
Operating system (OS) |
Kernel 2.4.x, Kernel 2.6.x |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Pentium 4 2.0 GHz AMD Athlon XP 2000+ |
System memory (RAM) |
512 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
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- Supported ATI chipsets: Radeon 9700 series, Radeon 9800 series, Radeon X300 series, Radeon X550 series, Radeon X600 series, Radeon X700 series, Radeon X800 series, Radeon X850 series
- Supported Nvidia chipsets: GeForce 3/Ti series, GeForce 4/Ti series, GeForce FX series, GeForce 6 series, GeForce 7 series
Notes
References