Kombat03 Has Released His First Beta, Version .95B Of Quake II Warzone CTF. This Has 8 New Classes And New Weapons.  Kombat03 Is Looking For A Skin Artsit. If You Are Interested In Doing Some Skin Work For Him Contact Him Here. This Is A Very Cool Mod. You Can Download It Here. For More Info Go Here. You Need The Quake II CTF Pak File, And The VWep Pak File. A Server Running This Patch Will Be Setup Soon.
To run It Now Use The Following Command Line:
quake2 +set game komctf +disconnect +map base1

Advertising

If You Are Interesting Advertising On Big Al's Kick Ass Quake II News, Click The Link On The Left. It Is Advertsing, Under The Other Category.

DM & CTF Tournament

The DM & CTF Tournaments Will Be Held In About A Month. They Will Be At Different Times. Register Your Clan Here. Once You Have Registered Your Clan, You Are Guarenteed A Spot In The Tournament(s). Your Clan Can Register In Both Tournaments. We Are Also Looking For Some Servers. If Your Clan Has A Server Contact Big Al. This A Free Tournament.

Top 100

I Have Added A Link To The Top 100 Quake II Site's Page. Just Click The Banner Next To The Add Active Channel Button And It Will Vote For My Site. Thanks Big Al

TeamFortress Tunes

There is an .mp3 of music and sounds from TeamFortress II up on the TeamFortress News page. Say This One On Blue's News.

Quake II Mods

• Eraser Bot

Version 0.9 of the Eraser Bot has beem released the Impact Development Team page.
• Lithium II

Version 0.94 of the Lithium Mod for Quake II has been released.
• Chaos Deathmatch

Beta.1 of Chaos Deathmatch for Quake II is out, featuring a swinging grappling hook, new weapons and power-ups. Thanks Blue's News
• Q2Ring

The Q2 Ring .25b is out.
• New Eraser Launcher

EraserBot Launcher has been released called Quick Start.
• md2view Front End

A frontend to the Quake2 model viewer, md2view, has been released here. Thanks Quake2.com
• GangWars

Here Is A Large Description Of GangWars, Pormoting The Conquest:     A new Q2 DM mod has been released. It's called Gang Wars, it's a promotional mod for the mod Conquest, which is under heavy development. Gang Wars has the
    following  features.

    Up to 5 Teams
    Each player gets 1 M16 with 12 bullets
    There is one flag, the team with the flag gets points as the game progresses
    Short-range Grappling Hook
    Both hook and M16 are weapon viewable
    Map Specific Coding for team-specific doors, plats and security cameras
    Real gravity

• Stupid Bot Renamed

It is now called 3rd-Zigock Bot.
• Orange

Version 3.16 of the Orange mod for Quake II has been released.
• Oak II

Version 0.3 of the Oak II bot was released featuring VWep support and skill levels.

• The Skillz haz moved to itz new location.
• The trespasser has moved.
• There's a new Quake2 program review site up here. Thanks Quake2.com

The Quake Rally project, from Impact Development, has officially ended (for Quake 1 at least).  Quake Rally: Leftovers is what was not released previously and can now be downloaded at their web site. This new release adds some new features and requires version 1.2 of Quake Rally on your system. Thanks Ysalamiri

Epic has posted their plan for Direct3D and Unreal.

Direct3D code is in the works now (by an outside company) and it will be released if it's cool. At this point, it looks most likely that D3D support would come as a post-release patch, because of the amount of development and testing time remaining. We realize that the Riva 128, i740, and Rendition cards are cool and we'll get them supported in Unreal, though likely not in time for initial release.

For people without supported 3d hardware, Unreal's software rendering is still quite nice, especially if you have MMX. It supports colored lighting
and fog, and the 16/32 bit color rendering is quite crisp compared to other 3D games.

All that just to say they are way to far behind to waste time with little things like D3D support for nVida owners and i740 people... Thanks Ysalamiri

Nihilism

Nihilistic software (Ingar Shu, Robert Huebner, Steve Tietze and Ray Gresko, all players) has announced that Activision will be publishing their first
three games.

    "We are very excited to be working with a powerhouse publisher like
    Activision," states Ray Gresko, President and C.E.O., Nihilistic Software,
    Inc. "Their level of experience and skill in this industry matches our team
    perfectly, and we look forward to working together toward our goal of
    creating great titles in the years to come."
Thanks Ysalamiri
GameLaunch 3d reviewed

Shaithis over at Q2UTILS took a look at the beta version of GameLaunch 3d. Here is a little quote from the beginning
of the article:

Description: I've mentioned to a few people that Bastard gave me the
opportunity to review Gamelaunch before it comes out. Their first question,
more often than not, is "so is it as good as the hype?"

Yeh, it is.

<snip>

This thing is amazing. Remember Qfig? Scriptmaster is similar, but much
more full featured. It keeps track of all of your binds (even giving you a
color-coded keyboard graphic), aliases, scripts, etc. It's really quite
remarkable. It even lets you create "Fun Names" for yourself. You can then
save all of this info into a .cfg file, and then select in gamelaunch which
cfg file you want to use. This is _GREAT_ if you have separate configs
based on which mod you're playing, as I do.
Thanks Ysalamiri

• C.R.Bot

Version 1.07 of the C.R.Bot is out. I Say This On Bot Epidemic.
• Linux TagYerIt

The Linux version of TagYerIt version 1.14 is up on SteQve's No Frills Quake Mods Page.
• Entropy

Version 0.94b of the Entropy CTF mod for Quake II is out, featuring team captains, and the ability to see victims of your flame-thrower in all their blazing glory.
• Superheroes II

Beta 8 CTF of Superheroes II for Quake II is now available, featuring, as the name implies, CTF support, as well as bug fixes, a new power and a new
model.
• GangWars

GangWars, a teamplay mod that features one flag and up to five teams is up on the Conquest page. In GW, each player is armed with nothing but an M16 (with but 12 bullets) and a short range grappling hook (both 'weapons' viewable) with scoring based on time of flag possession. Thanks Bluesnews
• Q2Tetris

Quake II Tetris has been released. Sounds cool. I have always loved Tetris. Ahh now I can try my skills (which I don't have) on Q2 Tetris.
• Eraser Front-End

Version 1.8 of the Eraser Front-End has been released on the Industry News page.

• The BadMonkey's Prefabs has moved.
• The Quake2 Map Page has relocated.

Version of the day of the unofficial Heretic II FAQ is .003.

Quake Camping

This falls into the strange category...  A new website: The Camper (Quake) is up detailing great camping spots, tips, etc.  Head over there, for laughs
at least, plus it has some crazy music.  Thanks Ysalamiri

Display Doctor 6.5

The framerate enhancing program (at least for us non-GL Quakers) is out in a new version.  This program is designed to speed up your frame rate in games, so snag a trial version from Game Center. Thanks Ysalamiri
 

Interesting .Plans

Onethumb (Don MacAskill) made one, gloating about the NeXT hardware he got off ID, and talks about the best deathmatch game of all time: Doom 2.  Thanks Ysalamiri

GameLaunch 3d

From the makers of QSpy and GameSpy comes GameLaunch 3d.  Here is their explanation off their page.

How many times have you strained over all those annoying config files? How are you expected to remember what impulse 9 does that impulse 3 doesn't?
Where the heck are you supposed to stick those GL commands?

Don't you hate it when your sister waltzes over and changes all your aliases? How about whenever you run a new mod? How the heck are you going to put all of those custom controls back in?

Worry no more.

GameLaunch 3D takes the hassle out of your gaming experience. Nobody should be expected to know what all those annoying commands are...except our tireless programmers, of course.

Download it here, GameLaunch is currently in version .99 beta. Thanks Ysalamiri

• Battle of the Sexes

Version 2.9 of the Battle of the Sexes mod has been released on Spinoza's Quake 2 Mods Page, some nifty features include: "radio" messages that allow you to trigger audio communications to your teammates.
• Eraser Front-End

Version 1.7a of the Eraser Front-End has been released on Industry News.
• SlabCTF4

The Newest Version Of SlabCTF4 is on The Weapons Factory.
• Orange

Version 3.15 of The Orange Mod for Quake II was released on the Orange Development page.
• StroggCTF

The StroggCTF pack is now available, featuring six new CTF maps.
• Qstatlist

Version 2.4 of Qstatlist, the web-based server tracking package is out.
• GSLogMod II

Version 1.3 of GSLogMod II, the mod that allows standardized log output (so logs ban be processed by a program like GibStats), is out.
Thanks Bluesnews

    Version .001 of the Unofficial Heretic II FAQ is up at: http://members.xoom.com/SoulTaker/faq.htm. Thanks Ysalamiri

    First Heretic II screenshot up already, showing the main character doing some magic thing, and it looks great. Thanks Ysalamiri

    Hexen II
    Praevus (the Hexen II mission pack) will be shipping on Tuesday, March 31.  This according to Activision's Steve Stringer. Thanks Ysalamiri

     MP Screenshots

    HexenWorld has a Heretic II screenshot that looks very cool and a Portal of Praevus screenshot showing a Gyagk. Thanks Redwoods

Foreign Quake II

In Japan, they just showed off a special 333mgz PII running the arcade
version of Quake II. 

Graphic Cards And Stuff

        Voodoo 2 Review
        Here are my results in Quake/Quake2: "no tweaks" on a P-200MMX  w/64megs EDO, IDE hard drives:
        First number is Orchid Righteous3D at 640x480, Second number is  Voodoo2 at 800x600

        Quake: Timedemo demo1     34 fps           58 fps
        Quake2: map demo1.dm2     24 fps           45 fps
        <the Voodooo Review, 03-10-98> Thanks Ysalamiri

        3D Mayhem
        The 3D Mayhem is a feature on the 3Dfx Zone that tries to address the issue of what 3D accelerator to buy (or hold out for) in this time
        of seemingly daily announcements of new products and features. Simiilarly, The Alternative Voodoo Lounge at CeBIT is a
        Next Generation article by our buddy Sharky from VE that looks at upcoming Voodoo2 offerings that should be hitting the market soon.
        Thanks Bluesnews

        GamePen's preview of the Real 3d StarFighter, using Intel's i740 chipset
 
        CPU GL Quake fps (gibs.dem) Quake 2 fps (demo1) Quake 2 fps (demo2)
        P2-233 19.80                           16.00                         16.10
 
        P2-266 21.90                           16.20                         16.50
 
        P2-300 23.50                           17.10                         17.20
 
        No Competition For Voodoo2 here, Looks Like Voodoo 1 Framerate. Thanks Discostue

Quake II Sites

• The Quake2 Bot Challenge is online.
• Coast 2 Coast, a QuakeWorld deathmatch tournament, is looking for some West Coast teams to fill out that bracket.
• The VWep page has word that TEN is adopting the visible weapons patch for their network. The revamped page (new logo by Chris "Red2" Lucas) also boasts a new support section for technical questions about the patch. Thanks Ben_Dover.
• The Anarchy TC Homepage has relocated.  Thanks Bluesnews

    Blood 2
        Six new Blood 2 screenshots are up on Blood2.com.  These are taken in "a very early stage of development", and so I guess it is supposed
        to look like more than the moderately successful cheap Quake knock off searching for identity that it is. Although the fact that in one of the
        pictures the creature shown has as hadow is intriguing. Thanks Ysalamiri

    ION Storm's release dates...
        Dominion: Storm Over GIFT 3: 2nd quarter, 1998
        Daikatana: 4th quarter, 1998
        Anachronox: 1st quarter, 1999
        Warren Spector's as-yet-untitled-even-though-it's-being-tentatively -called-Shooter-but-that-probably-won't-be-its-title-title: 2nd quarter, 1999.
        Thanks Ysalamiri

The Clan Match-Up Is Going Awesome, It Is Doing Better Then I Thought. We Have Recieved Our 50th Clan Registration Today.

Quake II Mods:

• Entropy CTF

Version 0.84b of Entropy CTF is now available for download.
• Famke Bot

Version 4.34 of The Famkebot has been released.
• Eraser Front-End

Version 1.7 of the Eraser Front-End was released on Industry News.
• Kali

Old-timers will remember Kali, the front-end that made Internet Doom possible (well, that and a T1). Now a QuakeWorld/Quake II compatible Kali is being tested. You can get the beta here. Thanks Bluesnews

    DirectX 6 Schedule
    Microsoft's schedule for releasing DirectX 6.0 to the public is discussed in this ZDNet article as due as being due as a Win95 upgrade when
    Win98 ships. I also received mail from Madjuan [IM] who passed along the following message from MS to DirectX partners:

        ...In order to alleviate any uncertainty, we have taken a hard look at our development schedule and feature set over the past month in an
        effort to set a target date which we could stand behind unequivocally, without compromising the quality of the final deliverable....

        ...Based on these projections, DirectX 6.0 for Windows 95 and Windows 98 will be released in July, 1998.

        Furthermore, we expect to release the general beta of DirectX 6.0 at Microsoft's Seminar Day at CGDC, on May 9, 1998, within a one
        week margin of error. Clearly, this deliverable will depend on our ability to converge on a very high-quality release, as this will be our only
        general beta.
        Thanks Bluesnews

Quake/Quake II Editing

• Linux QStudio

A Linux port of the QStudio Quake map editor is up on Epicenter.
• Decoy Tutorial

A player Decoy tutorial is up on Quake DeveLS.
• Ravages Tutorial

The sixth tutorial is up on Ravages of Radiant, dealing with Edge Manipulation.

• The Official Home of AutoBot has moved.
• The Quake³ Scene has relocated to a new scene.

Quake II Mods:
Quite A Few Today, But Not As Much As Yesterday !!
 

• Atlas

Version 1.02 of the Atlas Quake II map launch/rating utility has been released on the Atlas Phase1 page. This Is An Update From Yesterday.
• Linux Vanilla CTF

The Linux version of Vanilla CTF for Quake II has been released.
• Fields of War

Version 0.7 of Fields of War, a class based  mod for Quake II has been released. If you like TF check out this mod.
• Highscore

Version 0.3 of the Highscore Quake II Mod has been released, with VWep support, and the ability to store and display a separate high score for every level.
• HotLaunch

The Quake II Bot Utility, Hot Launch 1.4b is out.
• Retribution

A new Quake2 Mod is in development, Retribution. Check it out, should be cool. They also need a texture artist, modeler and coder to help move this thing along. Thanks Quake2.com
• Quake II Java

Version 0.2 of the Quake II Java .dll is now out.
• Final Eraser Bot

The Team Impact web page has an update concerning the final release of the Eraser Bot possibly: "Here's the deal. I'm putting the final touches on what will be a "final candidate" release. So I'm getting close to considering the current code "complete", as far as pre v1.0 Eraser goes. I've made a lot of fixes and amendments since the last release, with huge speed improvements on large maps (like the CTF maps), and some more CTF and Teamplay AI tweaks. Thanks sCary's
• Weapons Factory

The Q2 Mod - Weapons Factory CTF 1.06 has been released, and it includes VWep support as well.
 

• Activision's Reckoning page is online.
• The Lithium II Mod for Quake II has moved.
• The Cool Mods Page - Spinoza's Quake 2 Mods Page, home of BotS, has moved. Check This Out The BotS Mod Is Awesome.
• The Doom LEGACY Web Site has moved.
• The Quake 2 - Oop Conversion Project has moved.
• The Quake II Java has moved to OpenQuake.
• The Tsunami Quake 2 MOD team, currently working on a random map generator, has also moved.
• The Quake2 Multiplayer Manual has moved

    Quantam
    The  24 MB single board SLI Obsidian 990-0805 with TV-out listed for $599.00 on Quantum 3D's online order form has been removed from the
    list, and some of the prices originally listed have been raised. Damn That Sucks. Now The Highest Is A 16 MB - Weak, Well Not Really,
    Just A Tad Better Then My 2 MB ATI Rage II + Graphics.

    Diamond Viper 330 drivers
    New release candidate drivers for the RIVA 128-based Viper 330 are up on Diamond's website incorporating the beta RIVA OpenGL support.
    Final drivers are promised soon. Thanks Bluesnews
 

Quake/Quake II Real Audio

The SmokeBreak Broadcast is another new Quake RealAudio show. Thanks Bluesnews

Heretic 2 Announced

Heres a Heretic 2 Screen Shot:

Dan Freed has announced that Heretic2 has been under production for a while now and will be shown at this years E3:

    3/24/98
    The time has come at long last for the unveiling. We have already made an official announcement about our new title so here it is...

    We are currently working on a game called HERETIC II. Yes that’s right HERETIC II. The character from the original Heretic is back for more action. We are using the
    Quake II engine and it is going to be played from the third person perspective. This way the character (Corvus is his name currently but we reserve the right to
    change that if need be) can climb up ledges, jump to ledges and grab them, climb ropes, and various other really cool stuff.

    I don’t want to get too specific yet, so just stay tuned. We will be showing the game at E3 so those of you that make it there can see it, and it is definitely worth seeing.
    Watch for a new .plan file for Corvus. This will contain journals from his adventures that took place between the end of Heretic and the start of Heretic II.

    I’ll keep updating this. Also I will be adding a Heretic II section to my web page at Geocities. This will contain information and the like about the game and story and
    anything I feel like posting there (and anything I am allowed to post). So keep your eyes open!!!

Go Here To Vote.

Here Are The Current Rankings*.

1.  Battle of the sexes v2.5  -   446
2.  Lithium II v0.93  -   309
3.  Superheroes II beta 7 -   187
4.  PowerBall 2 v1.5  -  181
5.  Loki Minions Capture The Flag v2.01 -  70
6.  Quake 2 CTF -  56
7.  Holy Wars v2.0b6 -  26
8.  JailBreak v1.5 -   25
9.  FamkeBot v2.1  - 24
10.  Eraser Bot v0.85BETA   - 13
11.  Head Hunters v0.8  -  12
12.  Future vs. Fantasy 4.0  -  10
13.  Orange v3.1  - 6
14.  MDS (Missile Defense System) -   4
15.  Rocket Arena -  4
16.  ServerConfigMod v1.2 -   3
17.  C.R. bot v1.0   - 3
18.  King of the Hill v1.0  -  2
19.  Viking DM v0.63 -   2
20.  Fight till finish  - 0
21.  Wake CTF  - 0
22.  BackTag  - 0
23.  Hot Potato CTF v1.5 -  0
24.  Expert Q2 Server v1.1  -   0
25.  Fields of War -  0
26.  Ionic Teamplay v1.5beta   -  0
27.  Weapons of Destruction v5.0 -  0

* Rankings As Of Wed. Mar. 25, 1998 8:20 PM

Active Channel

Hey All You IE 4 Users, I Have Added A Active Channel Feature. (Active Channels - The Things That Are In The Channels Window. Use The Channels Button At The Top Of IE 4) To Add Big Al's Kick Ass Quake II News Active Channel Just Click The Add "Active Channel Button", Which Is Below The .plan Updates.

Clan Match-Up

I Am Thinking About The Possibilty Of Have A Quake II Clan Tourney, Using The Clans From The Clan Match-Up. Dr. Jones Is Helping Me Design The Contest And Rules.
So Far The Tournaments Will Be Two Tournaments. One For DM And One For CTF.
If You Have Any Comments, Suggestions, Or Advice For The Tournaments E-mail Big Al.

Quake II Mods:
Tons Of Bots Today !!!

• Botster

Version 1.8 of Botster, A Bot Utility Has Been Released.
• Weapons Factory

Version 1.06 Of Weapons Factory CTF has been released, and now includes VWep support.
• Atlas

Atlas Phase1 is a map launcher in progress that ambitiously plans to allow you to keep track of how often you've played Quake II maps, and rate the maps in a database. Phase 1, which is now ready serves the Map launcher function as a test of the code, with the database features to be added later.
• Eraser Front-End

Version 1.6 Of Eraser Front-End Has Been Released.
• World Craft 1.6

The World Craft 1.6a Patch Is Now Ready For Download. Download wc16aupgrade.exe (1716K - Stomped)
• FamkeBot

Version 4.1 Of FamkeBot Has Been Released On Bot Epedemic.
• Hot Launch

Version 1.2b Has Been Released On The HotLaunch Page.

Brian Hook made a lengthy .plan update which discusses the possibility of using the .ZIP format of all things in Quake3 instead of the current .pak format being used in Quake1 and Quake2. Thanks sCary's

Video & Graphics Cards

• Matrox Voodoo 2

An article on bootNET, and a preview, describes Matrox's renewed efforts to make the same splash in the 3D world as they
have in 2D with their upcoming MGA-200, described as a Voodoo2 killer, that also boasts double the Matrox Millennium II's outstanding
2D performance.
• Obsidian

 toh points out that Quantum 3D has an order form up on their website for their Obsidian Uber-Voodoo/Voodoo2 boards. Considering the 
 features, and Q3D's pricing on the first line of Obsidians, some of these prices are surprisingly low (for example a 24 MB single board
 SLI Obsidian 990-0805 with TV-out for $599.00).
• 3Dfx Biz Buzz

A couple of articles on NASDAQ's site noting 3Dfx's successes: Voodoo2 Dominates Independent 3D PC Accelerator Tests, and
Report Shows 3Dfx Interactive Achieved Over 85 Percent Market Share For 3D-Only Graphics Acceleration.
• ATI GL Comparison

Here's a page with side-by-side comparisons of GLQuake/Quake II on 3Dfx hardware, with the same scenes on the ATI Rage Pro using
that card's new GL drivers.
Thanks Bluesnews  

• Hot Launch

Version 1.0b, beta. of Hot Launch is now out on the Hot Launch Web Site.
• DEMentED 2

Version 2.5 Of The Level Editor DEMentED 2 Has Been Realesed.
• Tectonic

Version 0.94 of Tectonic was released, now with updated C.R.Bot support.
• Battle Of The Sexes

Version 2.8.3 Is Now Out On Spinoz'a Quake II Mods Page. This Is A Really Cool Mod, Be Sure To Get The Map Packs, And VWEP Patch.
• HD3

A fixed set of fonts that are more readable in 3D with H3D glasses is up on XLER8 in H3D. Thanks Bluesnews
• ServerConfigMOD

PR-2 Of The ServerConfigMOD Has Been Released.
• Quake II Name Maker

Version 0.1 of Q2NM is out, featuring support for Quake "fun names" through the use of the Viking server-side mod. The goal is to make the Viking code a standard that other mod authors plug into their project (like the widespread adoption of the VWep patch). Finally A Q2NM Is Out, God I Loved That Thing In Quake. Thanks Bluesnews
• Eraser Front-End

Version 1.5 Of Eraser Front-End Is Out On The Industry News Page.

The Old News Section Has Been Redone. It Is Now Set-Up Into Sections. Divided Into Weeks.

Meter

There Has Been A Clan Match-Up Meter Added To The Left. This Meter Tells How Many Clans Have Registered.
Currently As Of This Update There Are 44 Clans.

Clan Match-Up

If You Are Wondering How To Use The Clan Match-Up Read Below:

First Click The Link "Clan Match-Up" To The Left Or Click Here. Then Fill Out The Simple Form And Press Submit On The Clan Match-Up Page. Your Clan Will Be Added In A Few Hours, Once Another Clan Registers Fitting Your Requirments, You & The Other Clan Will Be E-mailed To Set-Up The
Match.

Quake WinAmp Skins
For WinAmp fans, a TeamFortress skin for WinAmp 1.8x  was mentioned on the Shout RealAudio show the other day, but couldn't find it. Thanks to Korb for pointing the way to this page a Layer3.org where you can find the TeamFortress WinAmp skin, as well as a classic Quake skin, and this page that has both a Quake II skin, and a Sonic Mayhem (authors of most of the Quake II soundtrack) skin, and this page that has another WinAmp skin for Classic Quake. Thanks Again Bluesnews