Quake was the id Software FPS series that came right after DOOM, all the way back in 1996. Despite its subpar reception compared to the former, the mark it left on video games as a whole is indelible.

A couple of years ago I picked it up after seeing it on sale on Steam, what followed was my steadily growing obsession that has lasted a while longer than I had prepared for. I can consider this one of my comfort games.

On this page I'd like to share some of my favorite resources and experiences related to Quake. I'll keep it Quake 1 exclusive for now as I haven't immersed myself in any of the other entries in the series yet.

How can I play Quake?

The official way to purchase any of the Quake games nowadays is through Steam, Epic Games, or any other reputable storefront, assuming you don't already have a boxed copy lying around at home.

Whichever the case (official or otherwise), what's important is that your copy's "registered" state depends on a graphic in a pak file, usually named pak1.pak for the original Quake. If you're curious you can check out this article, but it's not something crucial to know.

Source ports

There are a myriad of source ports available for Quake thanks to the shareware version of the game being open-sourced in 1999, allowing developers to adapt the game to today's standards, now targeting modern hardware for computers that very well surpass the original requirements for MS-DOS.

Importantly, different source ports exist for different purposes, tagged accordingly below. All of these should have custom maps support.

There are many more source ports than the ones I listed here, but I think these are the essential ones nowadays. For the adventurous, here's a larger list of them.

Ironwail

QuakeSpasm fork that uses modern OpenGL features for its performance enhancements. This is the one I use as it's the one that feels the most plug and play for me.

recommended

singleplayer

performance

Get the engine!

vkQuake

QuakeSpasm fork that uses Vulkan instead of OpenGL for rendering, a small handful of extremely large maps can only run here.

singleplayer

performance

Get the engine!

JoeQuake

Standard Quake speedrunning source port. Since it's based on QuakeWorld it enables techniques such as bunnyhopping and comes with some timing tools.

singleplayer

speedrunning

dzip

Get the engine!

KEX Engine

It's the engine the Quake remaster is built on and has online multiplayer support out of the box, although the game will prompt you to create a Bethesda account to access it.

singleplayer

multiplayer

remaster

Get the engine!

QuakeSpasm

The Quake engine Ironwail, vkQuake, and others are based off. It has strong compatibility and has newer features compared to older source ports.

singleplayer

Get the engine!

FTEQW

An engine that supports several games: Quake, QuakeWorld, Quake II, Quake III Arena, and Hexen II. Courtesy of this coverage it has extensive multiplayer support. In fact, it's a multipurpose engine, even capable of supporting original games derived from any of the Quake engines.

singleplayer

multiplayer

multipurpose

Get the engine!

Can I play with my friends?

Absolutely. If you and your friends own the Steam remaster of Quake, you should be able to go to the multiplayer section of the game, make a match and you're up to the races. After creating a mandatory Bethesda account in-game, that is.

Source ports usually support LAN multiplayer and pretty barebones internet play support, commonly referred to as NetQuake. Some time after Quake's release, QuakeWorld came around which supported client-side prediction, slightly modified physics, etc. This page explains it more in-depth.

I've been doing multiplayer tests with some friends for a while now, and would like to write a full guide here once I've ran enough of said tests, so look forward to that.

Custom maps for Quake

Quake 1 has a huge modding and mapping community which expands, and sometimes takes the game into a whole new direction. The following list is not exhaustive by any means as they reflect exclusively my personal preference, and I may add more entries in the future. You can check out Quaddicted and Slipseer to explore more custom content for Quake.

Recommendations

These maps and episodes are what I'd recommend to people either just finishing the base game or are coming back to it years (or even decades) later, I consider them must-play for anyone who looks to try out custom singleplayer content for Quake.

Underdark Overbright

Made by Lunaran & Scampie

Seven-map episode that comes bundled in with the Copper mod and the Quake remaster as a free addon, showcasing some of its gameplay enhancements accompanied by stellar level design. Download episode

Honey

Made by czg

Classic episode with large organic architecture over pretty simple but fun gameplay. Comes with a few new mechanics. If you've purchased the Quake remaster, it should be available as a free addon within the game. Download episode

Cerulean Tears

Made by FifthElephant

Short and sweet episode 4 themed map, reminiscent of the original campaign's level style. Download map

Ritual

Made by Zothique & Sock

Lengthy old-school episode that remains very faithful to the original campaign with rock solid gameplay, made with the original MS-DOS Quake in mind! Download episode

Ceremonial Circles

Made by czg

Old-school wizard-themed map, pretty large for its distant year 2001, considered a classic by many due to its dynamic routing and fun combat. Download map

Rubicon 2

Made by czg & metlslime

Old-school wizard-themed map, pretty large for its distant year 2001, considered a classic by many due to its dynamic routing and fun combat. Download mod

Arcane Dimensions

Made by Sock, Bal, EricW, FifthElephant, Giftmacher, Lunaran, Preach, PulSaR, Scampie, ionous, mfx & necros

In my opinion, the definitive Quake mod, comes with a lot of new monsters and weapons packed in a huge campaign filled with really high-quality maps. To play the map shown in the screenshot, look for 'Tears of the False God' in the hub map. Download mod

Alkaline

Made by Greenwood, bmFbr, Khreathor, Shamblernaut, Alekswithak, Kebby, ptoing, aDaya, Bal, Bloodshit, Fairweather, JCR, Kell, Markie, plaw & more!

Currently, the most complete Quake base mod: building on top of Rubicon 2, Rubicon Rumble Pack, and more in a huge mod and map pack filled with content mainly for but not limited to base-themed maps. The maps offer a very long and fun campaign as well. Download mod

Crack in the Sky

Made by 1600frogs

Nicely interconnected map with a very nice flow and fun combat, beware of spawn-in monsters! The secrets might take you some time as well. Download map

The Trickster's Domain

Made by plaw

Large map with fun combat and clever secrets, enjoyed it especially on Nightmare difficulty. Looks great too. Download map

Koshta Belorn

Made by Tronyn

A pretty large map with horde-based combat while still feeling like vanilla Quake. This map is included in func_mapjam2 alongside other maps which are also great. Download map jam

High Noon In Akhetaten

Made by ZetaByt

Very large non-linear outdoor map filled with monsters, offering intense open horde-based battles. Any Serious Sam fan should feel right at home with this map. Download map

Templum Exsilli

Made by Tonhao

Structured like an older map but with colored lighting for a more modern look, compact but effective map design. Download map

Rubicon Rumble Pack

Made by Hrimfaxi, ijed & mfx

A set of four base maps based on Rubicon 2, while it may sound a small amount, the scale of the maps and new content added on top of Rubicon 2 makes up for it. Extremely fun. Download map pack

Dwell

Made by Fairweather, Alekswithak, Bal, bmFbr, Danz, Greenwood, h4724, JCR, Juzley, Khreathor, Makkon, Markie, Mazu, Pinchy, PoolboyQ, ptoing, Shamblernaut & VoidForce

Currently two-episode campaign that offers extremely intricate and complex maps with new weapons and monsters, each with very well defined themes and enemies on top of, of course, eyecandy level architecture that I wouldn't be surprised if it's considered a staple in current-era Quake singleplayer content. Download mod

Mjölnir

Made by Tronyn, Qmaster, Hrimfaxi, Ironliȥard, madfox, mfx, Shadesmaster, Tintin & more!

While I think the mod this episode runs on might be too bloated (and broken) for a Quake campaign, I think it still does a wonderful job at building worlds within its fantasy setting. Episode 4: The Stair Of Grief is my favorite Quake episode overall. It's the one I recommend playing if trying this mod at all, that is if your source port can handle the gargantuan maps within it. Download mod

Have you made any custom maps?

I have! None of them are available for download currently, though. They are still very rough around the edges and I'd like to gather some more experience before committing to release something. Nevertheless, whenever I complete something I'm happy with I'll make sure to host the downloadable files right on this page.

Screenshot #1 of a custom Quake map made by roaming97

Screenshot #2 of a custom Quake map made by roaming97

Screenshot #3 of a custom Quake map made by roaming97

Screenshot #4 of a custom Quake map made by roaming97

Screenshot #5 of a custom Quake map made by roaming97

Screenshot #6 of a custom Quake map made by roaming97

What I release might be an entire episode, not just a single map. Who knows?