Let's Design the next Quake

[PapaSmurf]

I saw on reddit.com/r/quake a post about Quake2World, a free game being developed by members of the community that is rooted in Quake2, but with some changes/enhancements. This got me thinking of what my ideal Quake game would be on a modern engine.

What design features would you want to see in a new Quake game?

I was thinking about what I would want if we could make a new Quake game that would garner more popularity and still be true to its roots in Quake 1.

I. Weapons:

1. Axe - same as Q1 axe but does 50 damage (haven't thought too much on the melee, so other ideas would be welcome here)
2. Q1 Shotgun - Make this the starting weapon same as in Q1
3. Super Shotgun = Q3 Shotgun - Super Shotty gets an upgrade.
4. Super Nailgun = Q1 super nailgun - 180 dps. Quake wouldn't be quake without a nailgun (well the real quake anyway).
5. Q3 Plasma Gun - 200 dps. Plasma gun does more damage than the super nailgun (20/shot instead of 18/shot), but also can inflict self damage and mini pg jumps.
6. Q1 Grenade Launcher - this thing is deadly in the right hands
7. Q1 Rocket Launcher - definitely need the q1 rocket launcher. All other RLs pale in comparison to this classic
8. Q1 Lightning Gun - 300 dps, and none of this underwater LG bs...discharging all the way. the great equalizer.

Not sure how I feel about a railgun. Never really liked that weapon to be honest...but I'm sure the masses would never be happy if it weren't included.

II. Movement and Physics:
Obviously this is NQ centric, so the movement/physics should be as close to NQ as possible. I'm not a fan of QW's movment/physics, it's like Quake on crack, which obviously ppl like, but it's a little too crazy for my tastes.

III. Netcode:
If it were at all possible I would say a client side prediction based netcode that could somehow make it feel like 10 ping NQ. That's my pipedream, and that would be ideal. The netcode is tied closely with movement, so this would have to be done to some standard, i.e. movement that closely resembles a NQ server with 0.05 sys_ticrate? 0.025 sys_ticrate? Something to discuss.

TL/DR: What are the characteristics of your perfect Quake game?

[R00k]

ive been thinking about this recently
seeingodern fps games in the making
like you said q2w has been underdev for
about 5+ years.
moving over to darkplaces would be the way to go
physics can be emulated via quakeC
and there woild be client side predicton
ie smooth as quake3
or even use fte it has qtv and voip support!

[Ebisu]

Not trying to be mean, but trying to make sequels to games made almost 20 years ago will turn out poorly 99% of the time. Especially when people who go on Reddit are involved.

[PapaSmurf]

Not trying to be mean, but trying to make sequels to games made almost 20 years ago will turn out poorly 99% of the time. Especially when people who go on Reddit are involved.

Thank you for your constructive comment, it really added to the discussion.

I think you missed the point about reddit; I referenced reddit because I learned about quake2world from reddit, which I found interesting. So, this really had nothing to do with people involved with reddit.

Thanks again for your throw away comment.

[Ebisu]

So how about that Shadow Warrior? :^)

[Zop]

If you're looking for revalued quake weapons, Smurf, there are a few mods out there, such as NewDM. Also, one of the q1 mission packs has an interesting plasma gun, as an alternate to the lightning gun.

[monoz]

Here is my contribution:


Cbuf_AddText (va("say what? ctf? \n"));

[ezzetabi]

It is intended that everything is just "in my humble opinion".


I don't like hit-scan weapons. So in Quake 2020 I'd put only nail-like weapons. I'd make even the shotguns shot pellets at subsonic speed.

Too many weapons are confusing, but I would add one or two futuristic laser weapons like the new rifle in scourge of Armagon.

According to quaddicted definition I think I like best the medium to large levels. I dislike levels so large you are pushed to save in the middle. In your favourite difficulty level you should be able to play 3-4 times and finish the level from the beginning. The theme should be as quakeish as possible: confusing, alienating buildings without fathomable purpose coming from strange nightmares. Horde arenas are seldom fun, so few levels should be like Serious Sam.


Enemies, I like original Quake monsters for many reasons, but overall because they are big. They really give a sense of oppression and of non-human; exactly what you want from a lovecraftian nightmare.
So sure, I'd love new enemies, possibly more intelligent (definitely z-aware!). But they have to be large and powerful-looking. Of course the Cyberdaemon should be back


About physics, never hardware allow pretty realistic ragdoll animations. So dismemberable ragdolls enemies and players, a la Solder of Fortune to understand, would be perfect.
A side effect is you might survive a rocket in the face, but you'll bet blown away in fairly unpredictable way. Of course, realism is not the point in this games. But rocket/grenade jumping is fairly ridiculous.

[Ebisu]

If you wanna talk about scary enemies, let's create a SUPER SHAMBLER.

[PrimalLove]

Fun fact, The Quake Guy if taken to real life scale would be around 7 feet tall.

[ezzetabi]

If you wanna talk about scary enemies, let's create a SUPER SHAMBLER.

Oh, yes... We need more LARGE bosses. It is a fact that all the videogames bosses become "yet another enemy" after a while, but still they should impressive on the first plays. In Quake we have Chthon in ep1 and the Vores in Ep3/4 and the final puzzle boss... but Lovecraft lore is plenty of good candidates.

In Quake 2020 it should be more. Painkiller has nice bosses for example, however I think puzzle bosses should be kept to minimum; the gameplay is about shooting and dodging.

In Painkiller, for example, the final boss is a joke when you understand the puzzle. I'd say it is the same in Quake.
On the other hand Ugh-Zan III in Serious Sam is a nice mix, as you have to trick him under the death ray. But also shoot as a madman.


Another thing; I kinda like some medieval-like weapon too: the Mjolnir and Buriza-do Kyanon of "A Roman Wilderness of Pain" are nice for example. Yet, as I mentioned before it is hard to make many weapons and keep them useful. There is nothing worse than developing many weapons to see that players always use one because it is the most practical.


Some pictures to continue dreaming Quake2020...
Quake monsters.
Chthton.

[Mr.Burns]

Fun fact, The Quake Guy if taken to real life scale would be around 7 feet tall.

That sounds like he would be almost as big as Jer or Wicked Lord in real life

(jk)

Ignore me... back on topic...

[Ebisu]

around 7 feet tall.

That's pretty cool. Jesus the guy must be a monster.

[ezzetabi]

That's pretty cool. Jesus the guy must be a monster.

Well, it is a guy that alone killed hundreds of monsters that would make normal people lose sanity just by glimpsing at... Probably he is not really normal too. Perhaps he was already insane to begin with?

[Enkidu]

I loved the Nehara take on the quake guy. "I'm going to count to three..."