Quake 4 Tweak Guide

[Page 4] Patches Maps & Mods



Official Patch


At the moment most user feedback indicates that Quake 4 appears quite polished and not in dire need of a patch. However because there will eventually arise a range of gameplay balance issues for Quake 4 multiplayer, and as more people provide Raven with feedback on compatibility issues and glitches, there is no doubt at least one patch will be released for Quake 4, if not several over its life. If anything even if there are no problems with the game, hopefully we will receive new features and maps in future patches.


To make sure that you're running the latest version of Quake 4, make sure you have an active Internet connection and click on the Updates item at the bottom of the game's main menu screen on a regular basis. If an update is found, you will be told and you can install it to keep your game up to date. Alternatively, you can keep an eye on the Quake 4 sections of FileShack or FilePlanet for new patches and download them from there.


If you run Linux, the Quake 4 Linux Binaries have been released. This is not for the Windows version of Quake 4, and if you don't run Linux then you don't need to download it.


I will provide further details of any new patches here as soon as they come out, so keep an eye on this section.


Click to enlarge

No-CD Patch


Quake 4 has a protection system based primarily on a CD Key check - you must have a valid CD Key to install and play Quake 4 online. Quake 4 also checks to make sure you don't have certain drive emulation or CD copying software installed. Software like Alcohol, Daemon Tools and CloneCD can and will cause problems when attempting to install/run Quake 4, so if necessary uninstall/disable this software to ensure Quake 4 runs without any problems.


Finally, Quake 4 also has a CD check, whereby you must have the game CD in your CD/DVD drive to launch the game. I really find this objectionable, given the game relies on a CD Key to protect the game from illegal users playing online, which is where the bulk of Quake 4's playability comes from. However while there are No-CD patches, and methods like the use of virtual images which can circumvent this, I can't cover these here as usual for legal reasons. Please don't email me asking for these. Just be aware they exist, and they work, and hopefully Raven will remove the CD check in a future patch.


Maps and Mods


It is absolutely guaranteed that Quake 4 will have a range of user-made maps and mods created for it in the fine tradition of both the earlier Quake series, and the highly modifiable Doom 3 engine upon which it is based. The full Quake 4 Editing Tools have not yet been released, but when they are I will link to them here. For the moment you can use the Editor, EditFX and ModView console commands (See the Advanced Tweaking section) to load up the Quake 4 Level Editor, FX Editor and Model Viewer respectively.


A range of maps and mods are already starting to appear. For starters, check out the following: Quake 4 Mods, Quake 4 MP Maps, RavenGames, Quake 4 Editing Forums and Quake4X Mod. These sites and many others will provide you with links to user-made maps and mods in the coming months. An interesting mod to try is this Quake 4 Parallax Mapping Mod, which can greatly improve the appearance and realism of surfaces in Quake 4.


Keep in mind that the Quake series has spawned so many mods and maps, and has so much fan interest, that there will be literally hundreds of user-made maps and mods out eventually. I will try to post the most prominent ones here as I become aware of them.



The next section of the guide covers In-Game Settings for Quake 4.