Qwrookie

Welcome to QuakeWorld, rookie!

This page summarizes some crucial information to get you playing online, considering you landed on QuakeWorld now for some reason. Come chat with us at Discord.

QuakeWorld is a modification for Quake that was developed with internet multiplayer in mind back in 1997. QuakeWorld today has advanced features that didn't exist in 1997, because iD Software released the original source code in 1999 and ever since the community improved the game. This is the reason because there are so many different clients and servers. The information on this page is for QuakeWorld. If you are interested into regular Quake, visit Steam's forums and QuakeOne instead.

Download

To make our lives easier, there's some all-in-one packages you can download that include everything you need to start playing QuakeWorld with features that you will normally see in today's games. Choose your flavour: nQuake for a more advanced experience, recommended for experienced first person shooter players, or classicQ, a simpler, more classic approach to online play (Steam link). There's also AfterQuake for a much more feature rich client, but also much more complex.
All thse packages don't include the paid component of Quake: a file under id1\ folder called pak1.pak. You need to buy Quake to have it. Get it on Steam, or GoG. It is not required to start playing, but it is highly recommended.

Once you download one of the packages, time to start playing. Each package includes a different client (or sourceports or executables). nQuake ships with ezQuake, classicQ ships with FodQuake and AfterQuake with FTE. All these different clients have specific documentation, its a matter of choosing one that suites your likings. You can also have multiple clients in the same Quake folder, so you can fiddle around with them using the same game assets (but you can also have them in different folders , this is not uncommon, for example, to have a casual Quake folder with all the graphic enhancements, and a competition Quake folder with a minimal install for optimum performance.)
Once you run the client, a menu will appear. you can bring down the console at any time pressing the key above <tab>. The console is where you write commands, either to the client or to the server you are connected. You can use the menus to change settings, but the console is much more powerful. If you're looking for a command to type in the console, cvarlist <keyword> is your best friend.

Connecting to a server

QuakeWorld is a multiplayer game. It relies on a client-server architecture. You install on your computer the client, which is used to connect to servers running on the internet.
You can connect to a server either using the client's inbuilt server browser, or using the console. You can check QuakeServers.net to know the server's ip and ports (use the filters on the left to find servers). Using the console you can connect to a server by typing
/connect nl.besmella.com:28501
There are hundreds of servers to choose. Around 90% of all QuakeWorld servers run the modification known as KTX. Others modifications like FFA and Cooperative you just join and play!

Using a KTX server

After connecting to a KTX server you can do the stuff described in this section.
A KTX server enables a plethora of gamemodes. In most servers, the default gamemode is 2on2, which is a "match mode". in a match mode, every connected player needs to type /ready on the console for the game to start. Meanwhile, you can shoot and do tricks on the map. It's called prewar. To choose a different mode, simply type it at the console. For example:
/1on1
/4on4
/ffa
Each gamemode has default rules, which are the recommended settings. for example 1on1 gamemode has defaulted 10 minutes, weapons stay, no powerups, etc.

To choose a different map, simply type the map's name at the console. For example:
/aerowalk
/ztndm6
To view which maps the server has, type /maps. A list of maps will be printed at the console.

To readyup for a match, simply type /ready at the console. When every player is ready, a countdown will start.
To stop the countdown, or vote to stop a match after it has started, type /break at the console.

Using the serveMe bots

When you connect to a server, a spectator called ServeMe may join. This is a bot. It is used to broadcast messages to QuakeWorld players, using QuakeWorld servers, IRC and Discord. It is mainly used to get you opponents. The usage is simple, type on the console:
.qw rookie here, need opponent
if the broadcast is sucessful, it will print something like:
Sent to 65 channels, 271 unique users. And to 21 Players, 9 Servers.
These bots are available on IRC too. You need to be op (channel operator or @) to use them. You can use them in #qwrookie channel on Quakenet IRC. Apply the same principle, use it only for Quakeworld games.

Basic movement

There's no double jumps in QuakeWorld or other fancy jumps. There's only one, speedjump aka Bunnyhop, along with a unique air control.Here's a video tutorial explaining how to do it. It's hard at first, and hard to master. But once you get how it's done, you will realize that it is very enjoyable, with a very flexible air strafe. It has a natural feeling to it and you will fell in love with it. Some more advanced examples.

Observing games

Everyone can connect to a server in spectator mode. To do so, type /observe <server ip:port> at the console. You can also toggle between spectator and player while connected to a server, by using /observe and /join commands respectively.
But in official games, QuakeTV (link) must be used to spectate games. To do so, you can connect to the stream by launching directly the client from your browser, using the QuakeTV website. If you're unable to, you can connect to the stream using your client. Get the stream URL from the QuakeTV website (copy link address) and launch your client. Next type in the console /qtvplay <stream url> command:
/qtvplay 1@qtv.besmella.com:28000/qtvplay
And enjoy the show! Sometimes there's TeamSpeak or Mumble commentary, look on irc or Discord. Most likely there's a Twitch stream also.

What do I do now?

• Register on QuakeWorld.nu and introduce yourself on the forum
  
• Forum for rookies check the Stickies, MUST READ
  
• Guides section on QuakeWorld.nu and Help section on the forum
  
• QuakeWorld Terminology
• Quake community on Steam.
• Any questions, Either join our Discord server or join Quakenet IRC and ask there. The community is very helful and friendly!

Resources

• The most helpful resource is QuakeWorld.nu portal. It has lots of subsites (look at the top bar), good content on the forum and blogs. There's 99% chance that the information you are looking for is there.
  
• This wiki! Check the resources links on the bottom
• Some QuakeWorld clients include ezQuake, FTE, FodQuake, and FTEDroid for Android
  
• QuakeWorld servers mods include KTX (which includes the gamemodes Race, Bloodfest Survival mode, all pure deathmatch modes, Clan Arena, CTF...), Cooperative modes, and soon a revived Team Fortress (Classic Fortress)
  
• Steam Quake guides, most about Quake, not QuakeWorld
  
• Need a file? It's here

Follow QuakeWorld

• http://twitter.com/qw_tips
  
• http://www.reddit.com/r/arenafps
  
• https://www.reddit.com/r/quake/
  
• https://www.facebook.com/groups (search for QuakeWorld groups)
  
• Links for Video Content

Note to Quake 3, Quake Live players

There's many Quake 3 maps (and even Quake 2) ported to Quake. Check this forum thread and look for q1q3* maps on the servers. There's even dedicated servers for them.