Multiplayer Maps
Here's a small selection of the best deathmatch maps available for Quake. Others are available from the popular ftp sites such as ftp.cdrom.com but all of these have been checked for RISC OS compatibility and are hosted locally so you don't have to search the net for a good link!
If you have a deathmatch map you would like to see reviewed here, email me at alasdair@acornarcade.com, please do not send files without prior notice.
Making the levels work
Once downloaded, decompress the contents of the zip file to !(Arc)Quake.id1.maps. Then, load the game and if it's a single player map, go to new game then type map [mapfilename] in the console (accessed by pressing the ` key in the top left corner of the keyboard below the escape key). This should land you in the new map, do the same for multiplayer maps but make sure you go through the multiplayer options in the menus to turn off the cheats!
Speed Key
Some patches will add extensively to the amount of processing power needed to run the game at an acceptable rate. Here at Acorn Arcade, we employ a simple system for rating patches:
Red Hot Chilli Pepper Fast - doesn't make the game any slower
Borderline Blue - acceptable on a StrongARM 233 chip
Terribly Slow - far too slow, perhaps still playable with a reduced screen size
Rhapsody in Steel |
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Rhapsody In Steel is without doubt the finest Deathmatch level I have ever played. It has a good scattering of weapons (All of them) and fairly placed armour and health. The health packs are scattered within about 2 shotgun shots of each other. The ammunition is reasonably hard to come by, but you never run short if you're quite good. The 3 different armours are easy to come by. The 100 health pack can be quite tricky to get to at first, requiring a sort of side-step running jump. Warbots love this level, they are soon running around picking up the best weapons. There are no lurk spots, where you can hang around in security picking off people far below with the rocket launcher. The level has no dead ends, meaning that you can run around for hours without having to stop. This is a highly reccomended download. Performance Rhapsody runs like a dream. At it's most complex part, it gives timerefreshes of 12fps, meaning very smooth gameplay indeed. | ||||||||
85 |
Runways |
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Runways is a remarkably playable deathmatch level. It's fast, furious, and fairly well designed. The one thing it lacks is both health and cover, making the games very fast, and the frags/minute ratio very high. Bots love this level, especially the Gyro bots, as the lack of cover makes it very easy for them to pick you off at long range with the shotgun. The weapons are even, except for the lightning gun at the bottom (DO NOT LET A BOT GET THIS!) which tilts play a great deal. The design of the level means that you're only safe from it in a couple of places. Give the level a go if you like, it's certainly worth a download. | ||||||||
70 |
Soldiers of Death |
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Soldiers of Death is a very well rounded level. It generally plays quite fast, except in the lift to the rocket launcher. It contains the yellow armour (x1) and the red armour (x2), as well as all the weapons, the pentagram of protection, the +100 health and the quad damage. The level is sufficiently large to give your enemies the run around, and offer a place to have a kip for a while. The level makes one very good use of a trap. The trap is sprung from a vantage point, got to by a very long run and a teleport. It offers a superb view of the gibs created by it. It's quite nasty actually, because if your enemy comes along to get the Quad Damage, you can pelt them with rockets, forcing them to retreat down the little pit thing where the trap is located. One step to the right and there's gibs a-plenty. Performance Generally very smooth, except when you're on the lift to the Rocket Launcher, and especially when you fire off the lightning gun on 3 unsuspecting bots in the water; If you've got the pentegram and the ring of shadows it's a crawl waiting for the blood particles to settle. | ||||||
80 |