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April Fools: id reveals World of Quake Live
Imagine our surprise today when we tried to log into Quake Live for our usual 10 a.m. session of noob-fraggin' therapy, only to discover the image above. id has decided to do away with rocket jumping and replace it with epic mount riding, as it has revealed World of Quake Live. Much like the game of a similar name, this title promises epic mounts with up to four weapon slots (you can stack them with four BFGs!), as well as a new leveling system. Oh, and Aspir from Ludicrous Speed calls this the "best game evar." You should listen. Dude totally knows what he's talking about.
id pushing hard for Quake Live on the Mac
Our good friends at Joystiq recently spoke to id games' John Carmack (the man behind games like Quake and Doom, and fervent supporter of Mac gaming), and heard that id's new product, Quake Live, is headed to our OS just as soon as they can get it there. Quake Live is a free, browser-based, multiplayer-only version of the popular first-person shooter, and it's Windows-only at the moment and packed -- I've tried to play, but have been locked out by thousands of people ahead of me in server queues. Even some of the developers at id are having issues. One of them (a Mac user, apparently) complains that even he has to jump into Boot Camp just to play his own game.A little more significantly, Carmack says he recognizes that while there are lots of other choices for PC gamers, a game like Quake Live could make a much bigger splash on Mac and Linux, where there aren't as many other developers and titles grabbing for attention. We've heard that before -- while developers claim there's not a big enough base for them on OS X and Linux, the truth is that some of your best and most loyal customers will use Macs.Good to see that Carmack recognizes there's an audience here who want to shoot each other online, too. Hopefully we'll see Quake Live running on our machines sooner rather than later.
Carmack: Quake Live on Mac, Linux 'high on my priority list'
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/linux_unix/Carmack_Quake_Live_on_Mac_Linux_high_on_my_priority_list'; Don't worry Mac and Linux gamers: Though the public beta of Quake Live that opened its doors yesterday only supports Windows, id Software's John Carmack tells Joystiq that "it's pretty high on my priority list to have the Mac and Linux support." To that end, an external contractor is working on just that "right now" but Carmack acknowledges that Quake Live compatibility "is going to be a much bigger factor in [the Mac and Linux markets] for people wanting to play the game than it is on the Win32 market where you have so many more options." Carmack was even hopeful that, with enough popularity and some special attention from Apple, the could get "maybe a handful of milliseconds better [on Mac OS] than you can actually get on Windows."So, that's operating systems, but what about browsers? Sure, most of us are using Internet Explorer or Firefox but what about Google's Chrome? Quake Live producer Marty Stratton tells us that, while "it officially doesn't support Chrome" it "does actually work ... with some glitchiness." We didn't ask about that other WebKit-based browser, Apple's Safari, but Stratton said that while Mac and Linux support are the priorities, "I suspect we will get Chrome supported as well."Promising news for Mac gamers, to be sure, and with many id insiders using Macs – Quake Live's own Marty Stratton said, "Right now I have to switch over to Boot Camp to play it in Windows" and John Carmack famously debuted the id Tech 5 engine at an Apple keynote – we're inclined to believe it's the high priority they say it is. Check back later today for our full interview with id's John Carmack and Marty Stratton.
Easy Headline Alert: Quake Live public beta is live!
Alright, enough. Stop. You can lay off the F5 button and cease your (frankly) childish refreshing of www.quakelive.com. The public beta of Quake Live – promised to be available today – is finally live and, unless you live somewhere not in the vicinity of Dallas-based id's timezone, it's still today and not tomorrow yet. Our advice to the Windows gamers reading this, in bullet point format for easy skimmability. Stop reading this post. Register for a Quake Live account. Return to this post and share your username in the comments. RAILGUN THE CRAP OUT OF EVERYONE ON JOYSTIQ! Make sure you did Step 4 in Quake Live and not in real life. Just a reminder, not really a step. [Update: Get in line ... yeah, there's a queue folks. Good things come to those who wait, right?]
Quake Live public beta coming Feb. 24
Open betas are all the rage, and next week, id Software's free, browser-based FPS, Quake Live, is getting in on the trend. First announced as Quake Zero in August 2007, the game is derived from the classic Quake III Arena. The official site has been updated with a countdown (so in), wallpapers and the February 24 date. Quake Live is ad-supported, with levels containing prominently placed billboards. The game is currently a Windows-only affair, with id promising that Mac and Linux versions are in the works. While everyone is welcome to join the open beta, we're betting on the registration servers having a little trouble come next Tuesday. F5 keys at the ready![Via Big Download]
The Best of Big Download: January 5-11
The first full week of 2009 got Big Download back in full steam with lots of news, downloads and features to make it a pretty busy week. Let's check out the highlights from the last seven days:Exclusive features Console games that should be PC games: We give our picks on which 2008 console exclusive games should come to the PC and which 2009 console titles should do the same. Even more Black Ops PC games: We head to the secret well to get some info on the PC games that are under development that you may not know about. 10 Comics we want to see made into games: There's lots of comic books that would be perfect for games; we just picked 10 of them. Quake Live preview: We go hands-on with id Software's upcoming free version of Quake III Arena. Rise of the Argonauts review: We review this recent action-RPG from Liquid Entertainment and Codemasters. Mac Monday: Our weekly Macintosh column takes a look at the sim game Floating Kingdoms. Big Ideas: Our weekly look at game themes takes a gander at body types in games. Indie Showcase: Our weekly look at indie games is something special: Our picks for the best independent games released in 2008. Big Iron: Our weekly hardware column returns with a look ahead to the next year. Freeware Friday: Our look at free games this week offers up the sandbox-like sci-fi title Transcendence. Virtual Bargain Bin: Our cheap games column returns with a look at the 1998 shooter SiN and its 2006 sequel SiN Episiodes: Emergence.
Quake Live accepting beta sign-ups
As much as years of consuming have taught us to love purchasing goods and services, we have to admit that we still love free stuff just a skosh more. If you share in our gratis glee, you may be interested to hear that id, developer of web-based Quake III port Quake Live (formerly known as Quake Zero) is currently accepting sign-ups for the beta program. There's not much else on the site at this point, you're basically just firing your email address off into the inky blackness of the internet and hoping for the best. Of course, there's not really anything you can do about that. The dark side of free stuff is that you lose your most powerful asset: The ability to complain about anything.
GDC08: Quake Zero becomes Quake Live
It's been a while since we've heard anything about Quake Zero, id Software's free-to-play variation of Quake 3. For starters, it's not going by that old name anymore. From now on, you can call it Quake Live. Secondly, gone are any doubts about the financial efficacy of their business model: in-game advertising acronym addicts IGA Worldwide has announced a partnership with id Software to convert your roaming gaze into cold, hard cash.Quake Live will be available, cleverly enough, at www.quakelive.com, along with an assortment of features like stats, matchmaking, and of course, the game itself. And no, we still don't know when it (or the XBLA version) is scheduled to be release. Regardless, coupled with EA's free-to-play Battlefield Heroes, our trend-sensors are ringing off the charts.[Via GameDaily BIZ]
Quake Zero announced: Free browser-based Quake 3
During its QuakeCon 2007 press conference, id Software announced plans to form a second development team tasked with creating Quake Zero, an updated, possibly sugar-free version of Quake 3: Arena. The 'Zero' in the title refers to the game's price tag -- it'll be made available for free (supported by advertising dollars, natch) and playable in web browsers for PC and Mac, reports Shacknews. Said id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead, "We appreciate what you guys have done over the years in building the popularity of [Quake 3]. "We also like 'free.'" We'll keep you informed as to when you can expect to play Quake Free, er, Zero.
