14 DAY TRIAL // As you’ve surely heard, Quake Live has left its closed beta days behind and is now available for the open public. Back in those good old days, I wrote a behind-the-scenes article about Quake Live, with detailed screenshots of the beta website and game. But as I came to find out, a lot of things have changed in a very short period of time. So, if you’ve been missing out on the action, feel free to have a look at the first article and get a better understanding of what’s ahead (although I’m sure you’ll find the picture gallery even more appealing than the article itself). On the other hand, if you’ve already read the previous article and you’re anxious to find out what has changed, keep on reading, because you’re in for quite a few surprises.
Let’s start with the beginning (what else?): whether you’re new with the whole Quake Live experience or a beta-tester coming back for more… unfortunately you’ll still have to stay in line each time you wish to play. And, by God, it was a looooong one! I was number 7000 and number 50000, but that was last week. Now you'll be happy to hear that staying in line is no longer that annoying.
But if indeed this is the first time you’re playing QuakeLive on your computer, you’d better have some extra time on your hands, because making contact takes a while. And here’s why. Before waiting in line, make sure you install this addon first. Or else what, you might ask. Or else you’re waiting in line just to install that addon and after it’s installed you might need to restart your browser and guess what, again, stay in line.
The first time you enter the QuakeLive world, online action will still be out of reach. The game requires all players to enter a skill placement match to evaluate their experience and skills. But more details about this will follow in the next paragraph. After finishing the skill placement match, you might find yourself once again waiting in line, but rest assured, the real thing awaits this time. Also, don’t worry about this queue, the team behind QuakeLive is working hard to remove it as soon as possible.
Installing the addon and playing this practice match are actions required only on your first encounter with the online game: once you have access to the online action, your online foes will be the only ones testing your skills. The offline practice match will always be available if you want to ‘fool around’ with Crash.
If you’re thinking the path will be the same as in the beta stage, you’re in for your first surprise. Since you’re once again starting from scratch, you’ll have to go through the skill placement stage one more time. As I was saying, you’ll be surprised to find out that a few important changes have been made. Therefore, accessing the practice match against Crash will require you to choose a portal: the beginner portal (that doesn’t require any effort), the intermediate portal (that requires jumping on a pole), the advanced portal (that requires the synchronizing of a jump with shooting a rocket in the ground) and the expert portal (that requires strafe-jumping). Another change for those who read my previous article or had a beta account is Crash’s skills. If you’ve managed your way to the higher portals, fragging Crash will no longer be a point-and-kill game in the beginning. That’s why it wouldn’t be a good idea to try and cheat your way up, or else playing with the “big fishes” won’t be as pleasant as you‘d think or hope.
Now that you’re in, if it’s the first time you’ve entered the QuakeLive portal, it would be a very good idea to have a look around before playing. A good place to start would be the Game Settings area of course, but you can also have a look at the Game Manual, as it provides useful information, for novice and experienced users alike. Here you’ll find basic game information, but you’ll also see what new stuff QuakeLive has to offer that you won’t find in Quake III. Of course, some of the new stuff isn’t actually new if you’ve played Team Arena in the past; if not, you’ll notice the new weapons (like the chain gun, nail gun and proxy launcher), the new maps (Almost Lost, Furious Heights, Ironworks, Asylum and Trinity), the new game types, the team power-ups and carried items.
If awards were not available in the closed beta stage, you’ll surely notice them now “pilling up” along your statistics. Visiting your profile will provide a more detailed perspective. Currently there are 91 medals divided into 5 categories: Career Milestones, Experience, Mad Skillz, Social Life and Sweet Success.
To wrap things up, QuakeLive’s future seems very bright: the problems reported in my previous article are nowhere to be seen and the all-existing inconveniences will soon be part of the past. It’s just a matter of time, or so the id Software team promises in the news section of the portal, but, as I’m sure you do, I have total confidence in them.
