You've probably noticed my other thread in which I suggested some great mods which overhaul the graphics and gameplay of Q1. Now I decided to take one more trip to the past and installed Q3 Arena. Yup, the multiplayer mostly game from 2000. 
I was wandering whether there are people still playing it. The game servers are filled mostly with bots unfortunately, but I'll give it a try on the weekend and I'm pretty sure that I'll find some people still playing this game in 2020.
Q3 aged worse than its predecessor. Blurry textures are worse than pixelated ones, so of course I decided to find some mods. There are two ways to mod Q3, but only one allows to play on the most of available servers. You can download ioQuake3 engine and mod it with new, shiny icons and textures which don't interfere with online play. Basically with these mods you'll have access to almost all Q3 servers that are still working.
There's also another way with the use of Q3 Spearmint engine (which is based on ioQuake3 and that's why the mod page states that it's ioQuake3). It overhauls the game textures even more and has some improvements regarding widescreen support (bigger weapons for example). The only problem with this version is that it requires the servers to be modded with it as well. As of now the server browser found only one available server, but you can always create a custom one by yourself. Single player part works with this mod without any problems.
The game is fun even with bots. The player movement, pace of the game and level design are of top notch. It's a true continuer of Quake heritage (unlike Q2). It has dark, atmospheric maps which clearly draw from Q1 style. If anyone here has the game than I'm of course interested in mutual play, but bare in mind that I'm living in CEST time zone and sometimes have wacky work shifts.
Would I recommend the game these days? Yes and no. It's a multiplayer mostly title and there's only a few people playing it these days. Single player part is fun, but it's not the same as a multiplayer skirmish. If you desperately need some title that draws directly from Q1 heritage and want to explore some fantastic arena maps, you can give it a try. If you're already bored by Wrath: Aeon of Ruin that is.
I was wandering whether there are people still playing it. The game servers are filled mostly with bots unfortunately, but I'll give it a try on the weekend and I'm pretty sure that I'll find some people still playing this game in 2020.Q3 aged worse than its predecessor. Blurry textures are worse than pixelated ones, so of course I decided to find some mods. There are two ways to mod Q3, but only one allows to play on the most of available servers. You can download ioQuake3 engine and mod it with new, shiny icons and textures which don't interfere with online play. Basically with these mods you'll have access to almost all Q3 servers that are still working.
There's also another way with the use of Q3 Spearmint engine (which is based on ioQuake3 and that's why the mod page states that it's ioQuake3). It overhauls the game textures even more and has some improvements regarding widescreen support (bigger weapons for example). The only problem with this version is that it requires the servers to be modded with it as well. As of now the server browser found only one available server, but you can always create a custom one by yourself. Single player part works with this mod without any problems.
The game is fun even with bots. The player movement, pace of the game and level design are of top notch. It's a true continuer of Quake heritage (unlike Q2). It has dark, atmospheric maps which clearly draw from Q1 style. If anyone here has the game than I'm of course interested in mutual play, but bare in mind that I'm living in CEST time zone and sometimes have wacky work shifts.
Would I recommend the game these days? Yes and no. It's a multiplayer mostly title and there's only a few people playing it these days. Single player part is fun, but it's not the same as a multiplayer skirmish. If you desperately need some title that draws directly from Q1 heritage and want to explore some fantastic arena maps, you can give it a try. If you're already bored by Wrath: Aeon of Ruin that is.
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