the Guru 3D - review

Authors: iD Software
Website: http://www.quake3arena.com

Testing Machine:

PII 350

128mb RAM

Asus V3800 TNT2

36x CD-ROM

Windows 98 SE

DirectX 6.x

Nvidia Detonator Drivers Ver. 2.08

The new dude, Sarge

Jeez. Well, it's pretty precocious of me to attempt any kind of write up on any iD release. I mean, it's a bit like being a character reference for God isn't it? Well, all I'm going to do is list the technical changes for each version and any visible changes I've noticed during the game.

Okay technical specs first:

fixed marks fading properly in fog volumes

show weapon in fov >90, adjusting position down as needed

update scoreboard info while at intermission

print "waiting to play" for tourney spectators

fixed tied rank with 0 score and spectators

return to roaming spectator when a followed client quits or spectates

release windows cursor when running windowed and the console is down

log all client transitions, item pickups, and kills

changed joystick axis to act just like arrow keys so they can be bound in the controls menu for strafing. Yes, this does remove slow walking from joystick movement,but it makes everything a lot cleaner.

fix up PantherXL trackball support

tournement queuing of spectators to enter the game

track wins and losses as long as you stay on a tourney server

spectators are now in fly mode instead of noclip, and use teleporters

pass serverTime instead of msec for command timing, prevents timescale cheating

fixed rcon

Nice muzzle flare

Okay, now the noticable stuff:

New character Sarge (duh), a cigar-smoking ass kicker. Very nice model, although his grunts do get a bit annoying after a while.

You seem to have much control over your character in the air than in previous versions. A well-placed rocket on a jump pad as someone hits it is no longer guaranteed to bounce them into space.

The muzzle flare on the machine gun looks better and you now see the shells pouring out as you fire.

New interface when you set up your controls, with your character on the right doing each move that your busy binding a key to (looks wicked).

Well, that's it. These tests are going from strength to strength and I, for one, can't wait til the next one comes out. I don't need to mention that this game is going to kick more ass than any other game in history do I?