Part 5 - Mod Introduction |
The good people at id software were some of the first in the computer game industry to realize that to have any lasting survival, a game must be able to evolve and change. After you've beat the 20 or so levels in Quake 2 what's left to do? That's where multiplay, and the topic of this section, modifications, comes in.
Id, unlike most game companies, wants its users to have the ability to modify their games to their hearts content. They freely, and publicly, release portions of the Quake 2 source code so programmers (amateur and experienced alike) can hack around with the physics and playability of the game. Users can also modify or create their own Quake 2 levels with the assistance of a wide variety of editors available on the net.
These modifications, or "mods" as they are known, add exciting new features to multiplay as well as single play in Quake 2. Once you start to get bored with regular deathmatching there's no shortage of variations on deathmatch available to us. Here's some of the most popular mods:
Capture
The Flag
The most popular Quake 2 mod out there right now. Originally
developed for Quake, CTF (capture the flag) has become very
popular in all sorts of Internet games. The premise is simple:
there are two teams (red and blue) and each team attempts to
steal the other teams flag and return it to their base. I'll be
covering CTF in depth in the next few pages.
Jailbreak
A sort of variation on CTF. There are two teams, but instead of
trying to capture a flag you just try to kill members of the
other team. Once you're killed you are transported into a jail
cell on the opposing team's side. While also trying to get kills,
your teammates will be searching for a button in the other team's
base that will free you from the jail. Once an entire teams is in
jail they are all executed, giving the winning team a ton of
frags! Learn more at the Jail Break web site.
Team
Fortress
Another popular mod that got its start on Quake, Team Fortress
will soon be available for Quake 2. Team fortress takes teamplay
in Quake to new levels. Besides working on teams together,
players can have different "classes" of abilities in
the game. For example one person could be an engineer, the other
a spy, and so forth. Each class has its own unique advantages.
Besides trying to kill the other team, each team in TF (Team
Fortress) has a unique "quest" that they must
accomplish to win. Very popular. Learn more at the Team Fortress web site.
Battle of
the Sexes
Another CTF type mod with TF influences. Battle of the sexes
divides teams by sex, of course. Players also have the ability to
take on special roles. For instance, you could elect to be a
fighter, a medic, a sniper, etc. Another goal in BOTS (Battle of
the Sexes) is to kill the opposing team's captain. You can learn
more that the BOTS web site.
Of course the mods listed here are
by no means the only ones available. Explore the Internet and see
what cool things mod authors are up to! Now, I'll get you up and
running with the most popular Quake 2 mod today - Capture The
Flag!