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About Quake Live

I've heard allot of people ask "what is Quake live" and "what is the difference between this and Quake 3". Basically, Quake Live is Quake 3 played in a browser with some gameplay modifications, such as new weapons, and new game modes. Another question I hear allot is "is Quake Live Java/Flash based?" No, it isn't. It is plugin based. If it were Java or Flash based, it would really suck.

The Website

With that out of the way, on to some specifics. When you first register for QL you are directed to a plugin download. Once that is installed, you will have to download extra content from the main servers. However, that is all done in the background, so you can continue surfing the site. While this download is going, you are usually busy with a few things though, like choosing a character model and some other configuration settings. Once everything is done, you have to go through a Tutorial level (see my YouTube video). After you complete that, you are then directed to the main site.

The home page of QL, after you login, is the server browser. The way this one works is a bit different than what you are probably used to. Instead of just a list of servers and names (although, I believe there is a GreaseMonkey script to convert it to one) you see a bunch of thumbnails. The thumbnails are of the current level. When you hover over them, you get to see a bunch of info about the server and players on that server such as the map, fraglimit, max players, and so forth.

One feature constantly being improved is skill matching. The servers will be labeled if they are higher than your skill level, lower, or match it. Your skill level is initially calculated during the required tutorial match, and (to my knowledge) continues to change the longer you play.

Another feature seen in other games, is a friends list. Although, its a bit more complex here and can be compared to Valve's Steam. Much like steam, you get a profile, the ability to find friends based on names and emails and from other people's friends lists. They also give you the ability to chat to your said friends. However, I'm not too sure how (or even if) messaging from ingame works. I do know that you can receive messages though (displayed like ingame chat, only with a prefix).

The last major part of the site is the raking system. Like all major games today, there are stats. This game is no exception. It records stats from your favorite map, to your average damage per shot fired, to how many achievements ("Medals") you have acquired.

For a quick tutorial of the website, have a look at this YouTube video.

The Game

As mentioned before, QL plays directly from your browser. This naturally raises concerns about the browser running in the background taking up memory. I for one don't see it as much of an issue, at least not with any newer computers. I have not run into any issues with it.

Unlike most browser-based games, QL can run full screen. You have the option to either run a lower resolution in the browser window, or run at your computer's native resolution at full screen. That means that you'll forget that you are actually playing the game through the browser. And as you may have guessed, there are practically no ingame menus. All the menus that would be in game (join server, configure controls, etc) are all handled by the website.

If you have played Quake 3, QL will look very familiar to you. That's because QL is basically Quake 3 in a browser with a few enhancements. Some of those enhancements include new game modes like Instagib, Clan Arena, and Duel (1v1), and a few new weapons like the Proximity Mine. They also kept in a bunch of other well known features like the rocket jump, and bunny hopping. And I think I heard of some sort of possible grapple on the forums, but alas, I'm banned from the forums so I can't go check.

The End

Well, that's all I feel like writing for now. I might improve/change this later, but who knows. This game looks like it can have a great life, if the developers over at id Software don't screw anything up. Currently this game is still in a closed beta stage, but they are planning on opening up the beta soon. They have been doing a bunch of work on getting the backend ready for the transition by moving to an external hosting, and I believe they are almost finished with that. Either way, keep an eye on the official Quake Live website for the open beta.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me via YouTube (until I get some sort of contact/comment system up on this site). Or just leave a comment below.

Images © id Software.