Ok, as some of you know, I have been talking about getting a big-morass Quake2 party going to rock the casbah all summer long. Anyway, now is the time to start it. I would’ve done this earlier, but the last two times I tried to write this thread I lost the text one way or the other, so this one may be shorter than originally intended.
Anyway, for those REALLY in the dark about Quake2, here’s some info. Quake2 is a rather old first-person shooter, like Doom or Half-Life. But, because of its age there are some definite advantages that come from this. For one, it can probably run on virtually all your machines. All you really need is probably a 56k modem and a video card in terms of requirements. The game is small too (after you delete the install zip the game will only take up 400-450 megs of space). And lastly, it’s a hell of a lot of fun, both the deathmatch and capture-the-flag modes are great and Quake2 was also the first game to get really good bots developed for it so that will even be an option. Lastly, and maybe most importantly, id Software has released its source code, which removes any qualms I might otherwise have about giving you the game for free.
That’s right, whether you have Quake2 or not you can still play. As I said, all you need is a 56k+ connection and a medium to low-range computer. The main way to get the game will be from me, I’m going to be running an fserv too as much as I can to help facilitate the downloading. Plus, I’m hoping that once you download the zip file, and if you have like a dsl or cable line, it’d be really appreciated if you helped distribute it too, it will help spread the game around.
The guys who I’ve already hooked up in one degree or another, Xelo, Zero, Ez, Epic, TD, and Kero, I hope you guys will help distribute it too. But, I’m making a few changes to the zip so please get the latest files (changedfiles.zip) and update your zip before you distribute it to anyone else, it will help make things move smoother. Also for those who previously got it from me, check out steps 12-15, they apply to you still.
Anyway, here are the detailed install instructions for getting the game. As said, please make sure you have at least a 56k connection and a computer with like an exceedingly average setup, StarCraft-level specs-wise I’m guessing. You’ll also have to likely connect to the chat to get it, so I recommend mIRC or another chat client too. Don’t worry, these instructions aren’t as tough as their length might suggest. I mean, TD could install it 
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<b>So You Want To Play Quake2?</b>
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Connect to the chat room, and first ask if anyone else has my Quake2 zip. If they do and are willing to transfer, please get it from them to help keep the queue at my f-serv down.
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If no one has or is able to send you the zip, type /join #rpgc in your chat window, this will move you to a different unofficial-RPGC channel. It’s also where we put F-Servs for those who have them.
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Now, if you didn’t know, an F-Serv stands for file-server, basically it’s a program that makes facilitating file transfers much more seamless than regular DCC, the default way of transferring files over IRC. Look to see if a user named PrometheusBound[F-S] is in #rpgc, that’s my file-sharing self. If he’s not there then most likely I can’t make him available (like if my family needs the connection), but check back later. This weekend I can leave it on almost 24/7 though, so you’ll have a good chance within the next couple of days.
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If Prometheus is hanging out in #rpgc, type: !quake2, and then accept the dcc chat request. That will activate my Fserv and bring you into a new chat window. Say hello to Prometheus if you want, and then type: get quake2stuff.zip
This will begin the download of the quake2 zip file. You’ll need about 1 gig or so of space between the zip download and installing the files.
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Presuming you downloaded the file successfully; unzip everything into a temp folder or something. If you don’t have a lot of hard drive space you can delete the zip file after unzipping, but I don’t recommend doing that until you make sure everything is working right.
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Run “Nero_Burning_Rom_V5.5.1.8_+_Crack.exe” and install both Nero and the program crack for it.
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After you do, there should be something in the program file group (ahead Software) about installing “Nero ImageDrive”. Do that and then reboot after it’s done.
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Now open Nero ImageDrive (same program file group as in step 7) and click the “…” button to choose “quake2.nrg” from where you unpacked the zip archive, there will be an extra cd drive icon in My Computer after that, open that drive.
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Doing that should open up the .nrg file as if it was a CD-ROM folder. Run “setup.exe” to install Quake2, I strongly recommend the maximum size install (400 something megs). I don’t know if it will work otherwise.
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Run the “q2-3.20-x86-full-ctf.exe” file now. This will patch your version of Quake2 to the latest version and install the capture-the-flag mod for Quake2. Be sure to install it where you installed Quake2!
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Run the “eraser101_full.exe” file, and install it where you installed Quake2. This is the Eraser Bot (computer AI) mod for Quake2.
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Rename the “eraser” folder that is made from running that .exe file to “eraserctf”. Then, copy the pak0.pak file in the “c:\whereverq2is\ctf” folder to the “eraserctf” folder. This will let bots play the CTF maps if you want them to.
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Run the “eraser101_full.exe” file again, and install it where you installed Quake2. This is so the bots can play deathmatch too.
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The other steps are optional, but highly recommended. If you want to allow the ability to use microphones while we play to chat over during the game, install the “battlecomclient.exe” file, you can set up the program how you like later after it’s installed.
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Don’t bother installing the “battlecomserver.exe” file unless you want to run a dedicated BattleCom server. You can host with the client version so the server one isn’t recommended unless you plan on hosting the mic-server a good deal. Keep in mind you have to install the battlecomclient.exe file even if you installed the server one (so that you can connect to your own server).
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Run Quake2, make sure it works and configure your controls and video settings. I recommend enabling “freelook” in the controls (so that you can use the mouse to aim with), and changing you move layout so the four move keys are move up+move down+strafe left+strafe right instead of the default move up+move down+look left+look right that Q2 sets up by default.
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You may also want to start a new game, then go into the console by pressing the ~ key. Once there type [ bind X “use grapple” ] (without the bracets) where X is whatever mouse or keyboard button you want so you can operate the grappling hook, which is an extra feature in CTF-mode only. I recommend picking a button you can access easily but don’t normally use for any other FPS functions, since it’s not used in deathmatch mode. If you want to use the right-mouse button (like I do) type [ bind mouse2 “use grapple” ] (without the brackets).
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Get some practice in , I’m pretty decent at this game
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Playing multiplayer is pretty easy to set up, and I’ll even be running a dedicated server when I can, so stay tuned in that regard. For now worry about getting and installing the game, bring up any problems or questions here. And get fraggin’!
-Merlin
your best chances at getting it is basically most anytime except the late evening EST, Prometheus should be up most of the time other than that. On weekends it’s a bit more sporadic. During the regular week though I generally have it off from midnightish-8, sorry, not much I can do about that for the time being.
CURRENT FILES IN THE FSERV AND WHAT THEY DO
quake2stuff.zip --> Has everything you need if you don’t own Quake2.
quake2stuffnogame.zip --> Has everything you need EXCEPT the game itself; this is if you already own Quake2
changedstuff.zip --> If I had given you the game before this thread was made, download this zip and update your zip with the new files and follow steps 12-15 in the install instructions.
eraserfolders.zip --> If you are having a Win32 application error while installing the Eraser program, download this and unzip the contents into your quake2 directory; ignore the other installing/configuration directions in the Install Guide listed here.
