Quake 3 Arena was the first game in the series focusing only on multiplayer
Quake 3 Arena was the first game in the series focusing only on multiplayer. The game had a single player part but that was playing with bots. Bots is computer controlled opponents. It is possible to select the bot difficulty, this way the game should be suitable for the novice too. As the players skill level increases the bot difficulty level can be increased.
The game can be customized in several ways, like the field of view, texture detail and enemy model. Many professional and regular players store their own settings in a special .cfg file so it loads up every time they start the game. It can be anything from key bindings, mouse sensitivity, to advanced weapon switching macros.
Compared to the latter games in the series Quake 3 is fully 3D and thus requires a graphics card that supports OpenGL. There is no software mode in this game. Still the game is so customizable that even with low performing hardware it is possible to play the game.
In my younger days I played this game rather extensively, it didn't require much of your computer and it was fun to play with friends over LAN or the Internet. Once in a while me and my friend start up this game for a few matches, remembering the good old days. This game plays just fine on a regular MacBook !
As with the previous games ID Software released the source code in 2005 which also made it possible for us Mac users to enjoy the game! Instructions further below.
To play this game on your Mac you need to download the client from here. You also need the original data-files from your CD. It doesn't matter if the CD is for Windows because you are only copying the data-files, not the application executing them. The application starting the game is the one i provided you a link to. Now then, go get some frags !
Consider Quake Live
If you haven't heard. Quake Live is a port, or re-make of Quake 3 Arena to your web browser absolutely free. Yes that is correct, you can now play this game right in your web browser. However as of this writing the game is still in its beta testing phase. So you need to use Windows for the time being. According to the Quake Live website support for Mac and Linux users are coming soon.
I have tried this version of the game in Windows and it works remarkably well. It will be a real treat for us Mac users when we get access to it. The game is not that demanding so you can play it with a fairly low-spec computer too.
Back from Quake 3 to Mac OS X Games
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