Quake: Files, terminology etc.
Using .cfg files
If you use a .cfg file copy it to the ID1 directory and rename it as
autoexec.cfg: it will then be run automatically when you load Quake.
This is preferable to using config.cfg, as it keeps "your" settings
separate from those decided by the Quake program itself
(i.e. they won't get overwritten).
The registered version of Quake allows you to add extra maps (to create
these maps you'd need a map builder, but that's another story).
For example, there's a map file called TEST1.BSP which is a copy of the
first level from the "Quake Deathmatch Test". This won't be much use to
owners of registered Quake (since it already appears as the first of the
Deathmatch levels) but it does illustrate the method to be used:
- In the ID1 subdirectory (the one with CONFIG.CFG and PAK0.PAK
in it), create a MAPS subdirectory.
- Copy TEST1.BSP to this MAPS subdirectory.
- Start Quake, then from the console, type: MAP TEST1
N.B. THIS WILL NOT WORK WITH SHAREWARE v1.0 ONWARDS!
If you've got shareware v0.91 or v0.92, the TEST1.BSP map mentioned above
will work, but other user-defined maps almost certainly won't work.
In a multiplayer (Deathmatch or Team Deathmatch) game, if you kill an
opposing player you are awarded a frag. The frag scores for each player
are displayed: (a) at the end of the level, (b) whenever you are killed, or
(c) by pressing the TAB key during play.
Should you commit suicide (e.g. by falling into some lava, or by standing
too close to one of your own grenades), a frag is deducted from your score.
If you go through a slipgate and materialise on top of someone else, you
will kill them. This is known as telefragging: it is a good idea to get
well clear of a slipgate pad if you want to avoid this fate. One exception
to this rule is if you happen to have the Pentagram of Protection then you
cannot be telefragged (the other guy gets telefragged instead).
One final point: If the server has the NOEXIT parameter set, no-one is
allowed to exit the level. Players trying to jump through the exit will
find they have committed suicide instead. You Have Been Warned.
Aliases are a powerful way of assisting your gameplay: the file
techinfo.txt contains an example of an alias which will fire a rocket then
switch back to the double-barrelled shotgun, and another which allows you to
set multiplayer parameters by pressing a single key. There are plenty more aliases
for you to try out in the Playing Hints section of this document.
However, the system is not infinitely flexible. In particular, you should
avoid redefining the same alias(es) or they will eventually stop working
(or, to put it another way, the game will eventually crash).
For example, should you want to define a key that toggles between two
actions, you might decide to do it like this:
- alias hit1 "impulse 4 ; +attack ; wait ; -attack ; alias hitcycle hit2 ;"
- alias hit2 "impulse 6 ; +attack ; wait ; -attack ; alias hitcycle hit1 ;"
- alias hitcycle "hit1"
- bind y "hitcycle"
The trouble is, the above aliases will give you grief after a number of
uses, because you keep redefining the aliases. A much better idea is to
define the aliases once, then switch between them by using the bind
command instead. For example:
- alias hit1 "impulse 4 ; +attack ; wait ; -attack ; bind y hit2 ;"
- alias hit2 "impulse 6 ; +attack ; wait ; -attack ; bind y hit1 ;"
- bind y hit1
Well, you get the general idea.
You may have noticed that the multi-command aliases in the previous example
all had an extra semicolon before the closing quotes. That semicolon
ensures that the last command does actually get executed (under certain
circumstances the last command of a sequence will not execute until you do
something else: adding a semicolon means that a null command now appears
at the end of the sequence).
A related trick can be used at the beginning of a key binding. As the
documentation makes clear, if the first command of a multi-command key
binding is one of the "+" commands (e.g. +mlook, +moveleft), the
corresponding "-" command is executed when you release the key.
So, a binding such as:
- bind s "+mlook ; +speed ;"
will switch on mouse look and start you running when you press the S key,
but when you let go of the S key, mouse look will be switched off. To have
them both switched on permanently, add an extra semicolon at the start:
- bind s "; +mlook ; +speed ;"
Note also that there is a bug in some versions of Quake: the key bindings
stored in config.cfg (in the ID1 subdirectory) get an extra space added to
the end of the command every time you run Quake. So, after you've run the
program 20 times, there will be 20 extra spaces tacked onto the end of every
key binding. If this causes trouble, just edit config.cfg to remove the
excess trailing spaces (you only ever need ONE trailing space, if any).
This bug was fixed in version 1.05 of Quake.
Back to the Additions to the user manual menu
QUAKE Hints menu Main Index