CONTENTS System Requirements Release Notes I. The Basics of Play A. Goal of the Game B. Skill C. Moving Around D. Exploring the World E. Environmental Hazards II. Controls A. Keyboard Commands B. Main Menu C. The Console III. The Game A. The Screen B. Firepower C. Special Items D. The Enemy E. Ending A Level FAQS Known Bugs Reporting Bugs SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS In order to play with Quake II Test you will need at least the following computer system: P90 w/16mb of RAM (P133 recommended) 24mb of RAM required when running GL 40mb of HD space Latest version of Glide (2.4x) required in order to use 3Dfx with this test. The Glide drivers can be found at www.3dfx.com RELEASE NOTES This demo is not intended to represent the final state of Quake 2, but to help us uncover architectural problems. There will be another demo available before the game hits store shelves that should be an accurate representation of the final product. Some of the significant issues with the current demo are: User control. Currently, the user input is only sampled at 10hz, which means that you can miss fast button presses, and it will generally feel a little sluggish. Movement underwater and on slopes is in a temporary state. There are also some problems with the player getting stuck in certain circumstances that need to be resolved. Gameplay tuning. Most of the work remaining to us is the fine tuning of weapons and monsters for best effect. The current state is not representative of the final state. Networking. Multiplayer games are disabled in this test. We have not finished the rules or compressed the communication. Optimization. We have a few more data and code optimizations to implement that will result in some speed ups. Probably about 5% to 10% during actual gameplay. Data. In the interest of keeping the demo download size reasonable, the high quality sound files and cinematics are not included for testing. The map files have some known T junctions in them, which can cause single pixel dots to show through in places until we fix that. User extensibility. This demo is explicitly NOT user extendable. There is still a little bit of cleanup to be done before we can release the game dll source code, and the retail game will be required to use modified data. Demo loading. When starting the game it may take a while for the demo to load. During this time you might suspect that you machine has hung. This is probably not the case. I. THE BASICS OF PLAY A. GOAL OF THE GAME The basic goal in Quake II is to stay alive and complete your missions. When entering a new level your personal computer (press F1) is updated with information about the tasks you must complete in order to progress through the game. You are presented with a mission objective and instructions on how to achieve your objective(s). You are also given counters for your KILLS, GOALS, and, SECRETS. These are displayed on the personal computer. Whenever new information is added an icon will appear at the bottom of the main screen. The overall goal for the Quake II test is to establish a communication uplink to your command ship. Your instructions on how to achieve this goal will change as you progress through the levels. B. SKILL Before starting the game you may select a difficulty level from the GAME menu. EASY: This is for those of you who are slow and inept. MEDIUM: For those of you who have it somewhat together. HARD: This is how we think you should play the game. NIGHTMARE: Designed to please the masochist in all of us. SKILL SETTINGS ARE NON-FUNCTIONAL IN THE QUAKE II TEST. THEY WILL BE AVAILABLE IN FUTURE RELEASES. C. MOVING AROUND The keys listed below can be changed in the Customize Controls Menu. Walking Use the four arrow keys or the mouse. To walk steadily forward, hold down the Forward key (up arrow or left button on the mouse). Turn left or right with the left or right arrow keys, or by sliding your mouse in the desired direction. Running Hold down the left Shift key to increase your speed. If you prefer to always run during the game, open the Main Menu, then the Controls menu, and select "Always Run". Shooting Tap the CTRL key or the RIGHT mouse button to fire. Hold shoot down to keep firing. Jumping Tap the SPACE bar to jump. You jump farther if you're moving forward at the same time, and you jump higher if you're moving up a slope at the same time. You'll be surprised at the spots you can reach in a jump. You can even avoid some attacks this way. Ducking Press and hold down the "C" key to duck and crawl ("C" while moving forward). When you release the "C" key, you will return to an upright position. It is also possible to avoid rockets in this manner. Climbing Ladders When you encounter a ladder press and hold down the jump key (SPACE bar) to climb. Swimming While underwater, aim yourself in the direction you wish to go and press the forward key to go in that direction. Unfortunately, as in real life, you may lose your bearing while underwater. Use the jump key (SPACE bar) to kick straight up towards the surface. Once on the surface, tread water by holding down jump. To get out of the drink, swim toward the shore and you can either jump up onto the land or walk straight out if it is shallow enough. There is always a way out but you may have to submerge even deeper in order to find it. Looking Up and Down The letters "A" and "Z" allow you to look up and down, respectively. Strafing Hold down either "Alt" key while the left or right arrow key is pressed and you will side-step in that particular direction. This is perfect for avoiding incoming missiles, rockets or gun blasts from enemy Strogg. Picking Up Objects To pick up items, weapons, and power-ups, simply walk over them. If you are unable to pick something up, it means you already have the maximum possible for that object. Selecting Items in Inventory Hit the TAB key to access your inventory display. Use the square "[ ]" bracket keys to cycle through items in your inventory. Press the Enter key to use a highlighted item. D. EXPLORING THE WORLD Buttons and Floorplates Buttons on walls or posts will activate with a touch, and floorplates must be stepped on. Use your discretion - if you see a distinctive-looking button in a spot you cannot reach, it's probably a shootable one - fire at it to activate. Doors As with most places on Earth, the majority of doors here open at your approach. If one doesn't, then seek a button, floorplate, or key. Secret Doors Some doors are camouflaged. Almost all secret doors open when they are shot, so keep an eye out for these. The rest are opened by hidden pressure plates, buttons, or levers. Platforms Most platforms only go up and down, while some follow tracks around rooms or levels (i.e. horizontally). Normally, when you step onto a platform it rises to its full height and lowers when you step off (and watch your head going up!). Some platforms drop when you step atop them, and some don't work until you activate them via a button, pressure plate, or shootable target. Pressure Plates and Motion Detectors These can be invisible or visible sensors which open doors, unleash traps, warn monsters, and so forth. Uncovering Secrets Secret areas on Stroggos are hidden in various ways (those aliens are sneaky MF'ers). In order to uncover these, you might need to shoot a button, kill a cyborg, walk through a secret motion detector, etc. All secrets are indicated by clues, so don't waste your time hacking on every wall or shooting every object in the room. Use your brain, your eyes, and your ears for something odd…then act on it. E. ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS Explosions Harmful radioactive containers are scattered throughout some military bases so watch your gunfire near these. Also, make sure you're not leaning up against one during a bullet exchange with the enemy or you may end up in 46 little body bags. Keen Marines know when to use these explosives to their advantage - aim for one when aliens are around them, or a radioactive container may blow open a hole in the wall or floor as an escape route. Water The water on Stroggos is safe enough to enter without needing a bio-suit, but remember to come up for air periodically for a deep breath. Slime Toxic waste will harm you instantly and keeps on tearing at your flesh the longer you stay submerged. Unless you have a bio-suit, stay clear from the slime. Traps The Strogg may be ugly as sin, but they are not a stupid race. Their planet is full of traps, so be on the look-out for laser shooters, aliens in ambush, trapdoors, and so forth. Don't be paranoid - just be aware of their existence. II. CONTROLS A. KEYBOARD COMMANDS You can use the key configuration option from the Controls Menu (Press F4) to customize the keyboard however you like, except for the Function Keys, Escape Key, and the ~ (tidle) Key. FUNCTION KEYS Personal Computer F1 Save Game F2 Load Game F3 Key Config Menu F4 Multiplayer Menu F5 Quick Save F6 Quick Load F9 Quit To Operating System F10 Screenshot F12 WEAPONS Blaster 1 Shotgun 2 Super Shotgun 3 Machine Gun 4 Chaingun 5 NOT IN DEMO Grenade Launcher 6 Rocket Launcher 7 Hyper Blaster 8 NOT IN DEMO Rail Gun 9 NOT IN DEMO BFG 0 NOT IN DEMO ITEMS Hand Grenade g Quad Damage q Rebreather b Silencer s NOT IN DEMO Environment Suit e Invulnerability i NOT IN DEMO MOVEMENT Move / Turn Arrow Keys Jump / Swim Space Bar Run SHIFT Strafe Left , or < Strafe Right . or > Strafe * ALT Crouch C OTHER CONTROLS Inventory TAB Main Menu ESC Console ~ (tilde) Look Up A or Page Up Look Down Z or Page Down B. THE MAIN MENU Hit the ESC key to bring up the Main Menu. While in the menu, the game is paused. Use the arrow keys to move the Quake II icon up and down the menu. Place the icon at the desired option and hit the Enter Key. To return to a previous menu, hit the ESC key again. To exit back to the game from the Main Menu, hit ESC. GAME Allows you to set difficulty, start a new game, load a previously saved game, save the current game, and start or join a network game. DIFFICULTY Allows you to choose EASY, MEDIUM, HARD or NIGHTMARE skill level. THIS FEATURE IS DISABLED IN THE DEMO. START GAME Starts a new game on the first level. LOAD This will bring up a list of currently saved game. Highlight the game you wish to play and hit the ENTER key. SAVE This will bring up a list of currently saved games. Highlight a slot and hit the ENTER key. Your game will be saved into this slot. You cannot save your game if you are dead. NETWORK OPTIONS ARE DISABLED IN THE QUAKE II TEST. THEY WILL BE AVAILABLE IN FUTURE RELEASES. VIDEO DRIVER The video menu currently allows you to select one of four rendering subsystems: software, system OpenGL, 3Dfx OpenGL, and PowerVR OpenGL. The software driver is available on all systems. The system OpenGL driver allows Quake2 to render scenes using the default OpenGL driver installed in the system. Typically this will be selected under Windows NT when using a 2D/3D accelerator such as an Intergraph Realizm or accelerators based on the Nvidia RIVA128, ATI Rage Pro, and Rendition V2200. It is not recommended to use the OpenGL subsystem on systems that do not have hardware acceleration of OpenGL installed. The 3Dfx OpenGL driver should be used on systems that possess a 3Dfx Voodoo and Voodoo Rush accelerator, including the Canopus Pure3D, Diamond Monster3D, Orchid Righteous 3D, and the Hercules Stingray 128. The PowerVR OpenGL subsystem should be used on those systems that are running Win95 with a PowerVR PCX2 board installed, such as the Matrox M3D. Future versions of Quake2 may support other rendering subsystems. At this time Quake2 does not support the Microsoft Direct3D proprietary API. VIDEO MODE Quake2 supports the following video modes: * 320x240 * 400x300 * 512x384 * 640x480 * 800x600 * 960x720 * 1024x768 * 1152x864 * 1280x960 * 1600x1200 Availability of video modes will be limited by the type of graphics adapter installed and available system and video RAM. For example, boards based on the 3Dfx Voodoo chipset typically only support video modes of 512x384 and 640x480. SCREEN SIZE The screen size slider controls the size of the visible area on the screen. Reducing the screen size will usually result in higher performance. BRIGHTNESS The brightness slider controls the brightness of the screen. Its effects are immediate in the software driver, but do not take effect until "Apply" is selected when using any of the OpenGL subsystems. FULLSCREEN This selects fullscreen vs. windowed rendering. On 3Dfx Voodoo graphics rendering to a window is not supported. Fullscreen mode availability is dependent upon the type of graphics adapter installed. On many graphics adapters, modes such as 400x300 and 512x384 are not available with fullscreen rendering. Fullscreen software rendering requires the presence of Microsoft DirectX. With the OpenGL subsystem fullscreen rendering will use whatever color depth the desktop is currently set to. TEXTURE QUALITY (OpenGL ONLY) The texture quality slider determines the overall crispness of textures with OpenGL renderers. Better quality often results in lower performance. 8-Bit TEXTURES (Open GL ONLY) Support for 8-bit paletted textures is available on some graphics chipsets such as the 3Dfx Voodoo. Enabling 8-bit textures results in a slight loss of visual quality in exchange for better overall performance. STIPPLE ALPHA (SOFTWARE ONLY) Enabling stipple alpha results in faster performance when rendering transparent surfaces such as windows, water, and lava, but also results in reduced image quality when rendering transparent surfaces. APPLY Selecting this option "applies" the given video configuration, which means that the selected options are made current if possible. A NOTE ABOUT VIDEO OPTIONS Some video options available in Quake II are not supported by your particular hardware. If you select an unsupported video option Quake II will return to the previous video settings or a default software mode and drop down the console to report the error. AUDIO This menu will allow you to adjust the volume of the in game sound effects, set the quality of the sound effects, and turn CD music on or off. THE QUAKE II DEMO DOES NOT INCLUDE HIGH QUALITY SOUNDS. CONTROLS Here you can adjust your mouse options, customize your keyboard settings, and restore all your control settings to their defaults. MOUSE SPEED Allows you to adjust your mouse movement speed. The higher you set this the faster your character will turn in relation to mouse movement. ALWAYS RUN You can set this to YES if you do not want to hold down the RUN button in order to move quickly. INVERT MOUSE This gives your mouse "airplane-style" controls. This means that pushing the mouse forward "noses down", and pulling it back "noses up". Some people prefer this control technique. LOOKSPRING Returns your view immediately to straight ahead when you release the look up / down key. Otherwise, you must move forward for a step or two before your view snaps back. Lookspring does not work while you are underwater. LOOKSTRAFE If you are using the look up / down key, then this option causes you to sidestep instead of turn when you try to move left or right. FREELOOK With this option enabled you no longer have to press the MLOOK key to look up and down while using the mouse. C. CONSOLE Tap the ~ (tilde) key to bring down the console. As with the Main Menu, when the console is down, a single player game is paused. A wide variety of esoteric commands can be entered at the console. III. THE GAME A. THE SCREEN The large top part of the screen is the view area, in which you see monsters and architecture. You can enlarge the viewing area by hitting the + key. The - key shrinks the view area. Health Display This displays the amount of life you have remaining. It also shows a picture of your face which can give you a rough idea of how much damage you have sustained. Your face can also indicate the direction from which damage is being inflicted. Ammo Display The type and amount of ammo remaining is displayed here. Armor Display The amount of armor you have remaining is displayed here. The armor type is represented by an icon to the side of this Display. If you are completely out of armor this display will disappear. Selected Item Display This displays the item that is ready to be used. Use the bracket keys to move through the list and press the ENTER key to activate it. Active Power Up Display If you select a power up that has a duration Quake II will display it on the screen with a count down to show the time remaining. Personal Computer When your personal computer receives new information an icon will appear at the bottom center of the game screen. Press the F1 key to pull up your personal computer. It will display your current mission objectives, secondary objective and your current kills, secrets, and objectives solved. Some levels will require you to leave and then re-enter in order to attain all kills, secrets, and goals. Inventory Press the tab key to pull down your inventory screen. Use the bracket keys to navigate through the list and press the ENTER key to active the currently selected item. The inventory displays the item name, the hot key for using it, and the amounts you have of each item. B. FIREPOWER Blaster The common rechargeable energy side-arm as used on Earth. As you know, the Blaster is not much, but it's good enough to gore a guard or tickle a tank. Shotgun This mighty sprayer carries a lot of ammo but is virtually useless at a distance. If possible, get in nice and close to use the Shotgun instead of your Blaster to add some lead freckles on the Strogg's ugly faces. Remember, it requires shells and takes some time to reload. Super Shotgun This is the uncompromising big brother to the Shotgun, intended for a close encounter of the dangerous kind. It eats more shells than the Shotgun, but the show is well worth the price of admission. Machine Gun Perfect for putting guards in their place - in hell. Although this effective weapon is easy to use, its light weight causes considerable kickback and it may force your gun up, ruining your aim. Grenade Launcher Fast, easy-to-aim explosives designed for long-range use in mind. Not recommended for smaller, confined areas or you may also blow up 'real good'. Hand Grenade Just twist open the cap and toss it. Treat this like a really dangerous baseball, and lob it in the direction you choose. Just remember to let go at some point. The longer you hold down the fire key, the further you will toss the grenade. Rocket Launcher A slow but deliciously lethal weapon of choice. Period. C. SPECIAL ITEMS Ammo There are four major ammo types: shells, bullets, grenades, and rockets. With the exception of the laser blaster, you must have ammunition to use a weapon. Each ammo type has a maximum you can carry. Armor There are three armor types: Flak Jacket, Combat Suit, and Body Armor. Each one provides a certain amount of protection against both normal attacks and energy weapon attacks. Your current armor type will be displayed on your status bar. If you take enough hits, your armor strength will deplete down to nothing, so seek out unused breast plates. If you pick up armor that is as good as or worse than your current armor, it is salvaged to improve your current armor level. Armor Shards Special remnant of armors, which add a bit more durability to your existing protection. Health There are two types of standard health kits to ingest: First Aid and Medkits. Stimpacks These provide an additional boost to your health. Bandolier Also increases potential inventory for each ammo type, except for explosives such as grenades and rockets. Underwater Breather Provides oxygen when submerged in liquids. Quad Damage Temporarily multiplies all your weapon's strengths by four times. Let the gibbing begin! Adrenaline Pack This adds an additional two health to your overall achievable health level. D. THE ENEMY Name: Light Guard Description: Weakest of the three processed humans, armed solely with a simple blaster. Name: Shotgun Guard Description: These loyal troops are equipped with an automatic scatter gun prosthetic. Name: Machine-gun Guard Description: Bigger, meaner, and deadlier than above…with a machine-gun for a right arm. Name: Enforcer Description: Strong, muscle-bound warrior who dishes out chain gun speed damage. If he gets close enough he will try to whack you over the head with his gun. Name: Gunner Description: The fighting elite for the Strogg, outfitted with a powerful machine gun and an automatic grenade launcher. Name: Berserker Description: He has a metal spike as one arm, a hammer as another, plus two crazy-fast legs. Name: Parasite Description: Four-legged beast with a weapon on its back. Once fired, it attaches itself and literally sucks the life from you. Name: Flyer Description: A small two-winged monster, comprised of a controlling brain and a cyborg body that allows it to levitate. Name: Tank Description: Tanks are armed with three weapons that they use at random: an arm-mounted machine gun, an arm-mounted laser blaster, a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher. E. ENDING A LEVEL Once you finish a level, you'll find an elevator or passageway that takes you to the next level. You start the next level with the same armor, ammo, health, and weapons you had at the end of the previous one. If you were using a power-up as you ended the previous level it will now be deactivated. In some cases you can return to a previous level. FAQs Q. I'm stuck. How do I get through the level? A. Take a stroll around and look for a place you haven't been yet. Sometimes you have to kill a particular monster in order to progress, so exterminate them all! Q. How can I find all the secrets? A. Don't worry about it. You never have to find a secret to finish a level. Also, some secrets are intentionally hard to find. Q. I've cleared out the whole level, but my monster kill score isn't 100%. Where are they hiding? A. Some monsters hide inside secrets, or are released by them. You won't be able to kill those monsters until you find their secrets. You also may have to leave the level and then return to release all the monsters. Q. Did I really see two monsters fighting each other? A. Probably. Some monsters hate one another almost as much as they hate you. You can use this to your advantage (exercise left up to the reader). KNOWN BUGS Occasionally your character may become stuck in a wall. Go to the console by hitting the ~ (tilde) key and type NOCLIP. Move away from the wall and type NOCLIP again. Monster AI is still in development. Some monsters may seem to be ignoring you until you actually shoot them. This is because as small aliens they refused to eat their humans and as a result suffered brain damage. We will be taking measures to ensure that all aliens receive a proper diet before the final release. Door and plat sounds may malfunction occasionally. Some areas may cause you to get a "packet overflow" message. Auto-restart load games sometimes load you one level back from the level you should be started on. A quick saved game can only be loaded from the quick load menu. A normal saved game can only be loaded from the normal load game menu. The in-game demo will only play one time and then end in an error. REPORTING BUGS Bug Reporting for Quake II Compatibility Test: We have prepared a form to make submitting bugs easy for the player. This will ensure that we get the information we need to accurately identify and fix these problems. To submit a bug report, just point your web browser to: http://www.idsoftware.com/contact/q2feedback.html or http://www.activision.com/games/action/quake2/q2feedback.html or http://www.stomped.com/q2feedback.html or http://www.bluesnews.com/ or http://www.gamecenter.com/Quake2/q2feedback.html Once there, all you have to do is fill in the blanks and hit the button at the bottom of the page to submit your report. Please be as thorough as possible in filling out the form. Also, please note that someone may contact you for more information if needed. Thanks for your help! id Software