3DGaming.net has updated their Quake3 performance tweak guide for those of you itching to squeeze out a few more frames.

Graeme Devine has a .plan update of mention to follow up the Q3Test release. Here's a bit of it, straight from that supercool fingershack.com page:

Also, keep in mind that this is a test, and not the final product. There's a lot in the test which is very temporary, so while we've taken great pride in putting out very solid test releases, we're still working hard on the final product and very much appreciate your feedback (q3feedback@idsoftware.com) in getting this product right for you - the players -
I get a bunch of feedback from people wanting this product to be more like Quake 1 or Quake 2, while others look for us to innovate and make something brand new. Quake 3 is arcade deathmatch, nothing more and nothing less. It's not Quake 1 nor Quake 2, but does nod it's head in the direction of the online DM version of both those products (and apparently pissing off both parties at the same time).

Because I'm such a sweetheart to you guys I've slapped together a new GameSpy filter which will show all the v1.07 servers for you guys to play on. Just hit View / Custom Tab / Import and point to the file and you'll be dandy. Have fun!

The Quake3Arena web page has been updated with word that the v1.07 Q3Test should be hitting the net shortly. Just keep checking back here and I'll have the word as well as links to the new files the moment they are available. Here is what Disruptor has to say:

I've removed the Win32 v1.06 archive from our FTP server. We should have v1.07, as well as an upgrade path from 1.06 available on our FTP site around 7pm CST barring any horiffic problems.

Oxygen Tank has posted a new Q3Test tourney map DM guide for those of you looking for a few tips on how to master the latest DM map in Q3Test which will be played at the upcoming QuakeCon event. Gotta say I completely disagree with the author on weapon choice though, to rank the shaft 3rd behind the SSG is just crazy. I'll get some demos out there to prove it. :)

joao was browsing through the Quake3 .pk3 files (use WinZip btw) and spotted an elusive.cfg file in the latest build of Q3Test. Upon further inspection the config file shows the name "Mr Elusive" in the config. Why is this news? Well Mr Elusive is a bot programmer well known for his work on the Quake2 Gladiator bot which in many eyes was the best Quake2 bot created. What's it doing in Quake3? Has id Software recruited some outside help on the Quake3 bots? I've fired off some email so maybe we'll get a response today from id.

Several people on the Quake3 messageboard noticed that with the new cheat protection stuff that id Software put in the latest 1.06 test that they goofed and overlooked demo recording. I sent in a trusty bug report to Graeme and got word back from John Cash that we can count on 1.07 to have demo recording capabilities. Thought that shack demos section was gonna be in jeapordy!

Couple of Quake3 tweak guides for you to play with this morning. The guys at 3DGaming.net bust out a lengthy article which focuses on increasing your framerate while keeping that image quality from going to poopoo. Then the second tweak guide you should check out is just balls out speed. While you are thinking about speed here is a little comparison for you looking at a Celeron clocked at 450 versus a p3-450.

A follow up .plan update from Graeme Devine says that the new Q3Test wont be coming out tonight, and also that the update will be about 3-5 megs and not a full 30+ megs. Thank goodness.

Graeme Devine has a .plan update announcing that a new build of Q3Test is in the works that fixes quite a few things that seemed to have slipped through. Also word on the Mac and Linux ports. Here is a bit of it: (Thanks Vic)

We're testing a new version of the build right now that has some new stuff in it:

- the ; key now remains bound (for all you lefties)
- the timescale exploit has been plugged (again, actually this was in the last
version of the test and a lot of people were silently using it)
- LAN servers display properly
- IPX is working
- the enabling cheat exploit has been fixed
- CPU time for servers should be nicer
- an exploit in the tourney map has been filled
- joystick support (there is no conspiracy here, but this might require more time
to fix than just tonight)

We're looking to get win32/Macintosh out there, hopefully tonight, but probably tomorrow by the time we're through checking all this out.

Since that GameSpy v1.06 filter I made yesterday was such a hit, Givens McNeill put together 3 more filters which will seperate servers for you even more. The new filters will show v1.06 servers, teamplay servers, FFA servers, and 1on1 servers in different tabs. All 4 are included in this .zip file. If you are having problems the guys on the Q3 messageboard are especially helpful.

Quake3 benchmarks abound this morning. Got a few places for you to check out. I would recommend checking out the FiringSquad article to have a look at the K7 Athlon and Dual P3's in action. Looks like the TNT2 is blowing away the V3's on the higher end systems. The guys at Ultra3D has a lengthy article which is worth reading as well.

A|Citizen of Team Abuse send word on a simple fix for those of you playing the new Q3Test under WindowsNT. Apparently footsteps are broken! Well all you have to do is type set s_mixprestep "0.1" at the console and you should be dandy. He also has some dual-cpu Quake3 benchmarks on the page while you're there if the 2 articles above arent enough for ya.

Graeme Devine has a new .plan update with word on the SOCKS proxy support now built in to the latest Q3Test. Here ya go kids:

SOCKS Proxy Support There are five cvars that control it. They are only settable from the at init time (from the OS command line).
+set net_socksEnabled 1
+set net_socksServer
+set net_socksPort
+set net_socksUsername
+set net_socksPassword
Please note that you use the address (name or IP number) of the SOCKS server (firewall machine), NOT a Q3ATEST server. The port number defaults to 1080, you should not need to change this. It supports no authentication and username/password authentication method (RFC-1929); it does NOT support GSS-API method (RFC-1961) authentication.

I put together this Version 1.06 GameSpy tab for you guys to import into GameSpy if you are having problems finding a server that is compatible with the new Q3Test that was just released after seeing people bitch on the Quake3 messageboard. Make sure and right click and "save link location" or shift-click.

It's out! Here you go a link to the mirror list. Also read the readme, the instructions, and the EULA

Well, if you check out the MOTD on the Quake3 servers as you join they are saying that the new Q3Test will be out tonight. No word on what time but I'm guessing that tonight would be a good estimate. I'll have word for you guys the moment it hits the net along with a mirror list etc. In the mean time that little preview I did and the Quake3 messageboard seems to be keeping people entertained. Also here is a .plan update from Disrupotor:

To expand some more on Graeme's .plan update, I've just sent out the release build to the mirror sites and asked them to beat on it for a while on their LANs. We don't forsee any problems with the release, but want to play it safe by getting them to beat on it for a few hours.

Tonight, we plan on releasing a Win32 version only. The Mac and Linux versions are not ready to go yet.

If all goes well with testing, I'll be giving the mirrors the go-ahead to publicly post the file on their sites around 10pm CST.

Getting a bit anxious are ya? Yeah me too, waiting pretty much sucks in general. Well at any rate check out the MOTD when joining Quake3 servers that I just spotted. It is no longer "Go to bed" but instead this cryptic message which should get your panties in a wad. "Plan for a late night..."

As the new Quake3 release gets ever-so-close to release Disruptor has this short little Q3Arena web page update just to mess with your head a little bit before all hell breaks loose.

In anticipation of a new release of the Win32 version of Q3Test, I've moved the current release to the old directory on the FTP server. So if you were trying to download Q3Test, and couldn't find it, that's why =) Stay tuned...

I've updated the Q3Test Phase4 article with a couple of new screenshots of the 1on1 tournament map made by Disruptor that will be included in the next release. I'll also post them here on the front page for you guys so you dont have to dig back through there again looking for them: