Send your Quake 3 Tips and please note your Mac System, OS version, Graphics Card/drivers, etc.. Thanks!

Quake3 Screenshots (Rage128) Here are a few screens I grabbed from my B&W G3:

Despite the warnings in the Q3Test ReadMe file that you needed a fast net connection or lan for best results, after I installed Q3Test Sunday on my B&W G3 I played on one of the ID servers (luckily all 6 players had pings in the 700-900 range). It had been well over a year since I'd played online and I actually did OK - I was 2nd of 6 players on frag count before having to exit. It was surprisingly playable overall, with some pauses but much better than I expected via modem with the pings we were getting. If you missed the Weekend News there was reader feedback from RagePro owners that seemed pleased with performance too.

DeathMatch Pix: I played again Monday night, apparently the sole Modem player (I had a ping as high as 999, other players were in the 200-300+ range) in this particular game. I had to use one of the servers on the URL below as I could not connect to the original ID servers. Amazing, using the keyboard only , I actually had the highest score when I bailed after the stalls were becoming too frequent (very frustrating). Below are some screenshots from the game:

Mesa3Dfx PLUGIN for Apple OpenGL: [6/29/99] (*NOTE* This is no longer needed for 3dfx Mac graphics cards since the later Voodoo2, Voodoo3, Voodoo4/5 drivers had their own OpenGL extensions.)
Get the same Mesa3DFXengine plugin I used for my Rage128 vs GameRocket 3dfx comparison (see Quake3 page or yesterday's news below) at the The Mesa Mac OpenGL Download Page. Current version is 3.1B1 (500KB download).

MesaQuake for 3Dfx owners: MesaQuake is an Opengl for 3dfx card owners that allows playing Quake3test. The latest version and instructions are at the MesaQuake page, which also has important setup/performance tips for 3Dfx card owners running Quake3Test. 've mirrored the file on my mac server as well - download the appx 450KB Sit file from my server by clicking here

3Dfx Q3Test Tips and Tricks: Byron Franek posted some tips in my Forum and I wrote to ask for the files mentioned and more information. Here is his reply:

" Hi Mike,
The graphics you wanted are attached. The smokepuffragepro really only works well with MesaQuake3.1b11. Rename it to smokepuff.tga to make it work with Apple 3dfxOpenGL The Flare.tga is the "hotter" yellow.

Also included are some sky graphics that I like to use. They show less banding and generally contrast better with the other textures.

The new Apple 3dfxOpenGL uses a different blending function which works better with a white RGB layer.

Colorizing the RGB layer tends to accentuate the dithering in the rocket smoke with 16bit Voodoo cards so I am not using the custom smoke with the new engine.

seta r_flaresize "10" produces a better looking rocketflare IMHO

I've attached a few screenshots to illustrate the differences.

Please contact me If there is anything else I can do to contribute to your excellent site.
Byron Franek (aka Snickelfritz) "

Thanks Byron.

Byron also noted other tips (from yesterday's 3D Game News page)

" r_mapoverbrightbits "1"
This command will turn on the light emitting textures with the MESA/Voodoo2 (I think the reason this happens is that the MESAlib tries to mimic the ragepro-optimised settings) It defaults to r_mapoverbrightbits "2" and the light emmitted from the jumppads, sunlight and other various lightsources is cancelled or obscured by the texturemap colors. The jump pads emit a glow around their edges, the sunlight casts strong shadows and the flourescents by the red armor on Q3test2 cast light onto the ramp in front of them. Generally, the lighting just looks more realistic.

The difference is really quite remarkable, especially if you have seen screenies from the 32bit cards and wished that your Voodoo2 would do those nice lighting effects. It will. Also, I have a smokepuff.TGA that looks much better than the one supplied with the game; it does not show any banding and looks very smoke-poofy on a Voodoo2. I gave it a very slightly blue cast to make it look more like smoke and a rocket flare that is a warmer yellow that looks "hotter" Together, they look very impressive. I even got a " wow, that looks good" from a Pentium2/RivaTNT/32bit user! "

Mesa3Dfx PLUGIN for Apple OpenGL: Get the same Mesa3DFXengine plugin I used for my Rage128 vs GameRocket 3dfx comparison (see Quake3 page or yesterday's news below) at the The Mesa Mac OpenGL Download Page. Current version is 3.1B1 (500KB download).

Q3Test 1.05 Performance - Rage128 vs 3DFx Banshee:

(The following is taken from my Railgun G3/466 ZIF review:)

Thankfully OpenGL does show some headroom with the Rage128 in the Blue and White G3. Performance did scale up a bit with the Railgun running at 500MHz vs the 400MHz CPU.

Note that the Rage128 in 32-bit mode outperformed the 3Dfx banshee card (IXMicro Game Rocket) with both running in the 66MHz slot of the B&W G3/400. The sky textures did look better on the 3Dfx card, even in 32-Bit mode the sky looked dithered badly on the Rage128. Other parts of the game looked great and it was noticeably faster than the 3Dfx card. Settings were FullScreen, Lightmap lighting, texture detail high, Geometric detail high, texture detail 2nd notch down from max, texture filter set to bilinear. The Rage128 was set to 32-bit color (game and desktop), 3Dfx Banshee (IXMicro Game Rocket) ran 16-bit color (game and desktop) since it does not support 32-bit mode games.

Note the above framerates were not from a simple timerrefresh command - but a full run of a demo map playback which is a far more accurate indication of actual gameplay performance. Some say the Timedemo is 'broken' - but I'm not saying the fps are 100% accurate literally but that they are useful for comparisons - and simply watching the two run you can clearly see the Rage128 is significantly faster - noticably so.(In fact, Thresh himself uses Q3test timedemo as a video card benchmark and says 'the timedemo function is a repeatable process which gives consistent scores' in Q3test.) I was using a new 3dfx Opengl extension but framerates were the same as the previous MesaQuake b11 with the GameRocket running MesaQuake instead.

New Quake3Test Version: Quake3 Test 1.05 has been released {a complete list of download sites are at: http://www.quake3arena.com/q3test/mac.html). ID says you must completely nuke your old Q3TEST install before installing the update. The config files from the old build are BAD voodoo.

Todd Eddie sent his Q3Test Framerates from the following system:

MesaQuake3.1b11, noted in yesterday's main site news is now available at my software mirror (updated last night). Click here to download it. Version B11 fixes a bug in Voodoo-2's glide that caused Quake3 to render light flares incorrectly, and it also caused bad screenshots the author said. B11 added a workaround for this. If you want to know more about using it - check the MesaQuake home page. Also check the 3D Game News for daily comments and updates. [5/8/99]

[From 5/6/99 3D Game News page]

Quake III Arena test Voodoo II benchmarks : Recently (see below) we showed you the performance you can expect running Q3AT with different settings on a B&W G3/300/512k -ATI 128. Here is a sample of the performance with a Voodoo II card in beige G3/280/512k (almost identical CPU performance)

Hi Frank! I did a little testing with my 12 MB voodoo2. Here's the system info:

hardware: Beige G3/233 overclocked to 280, 512k L2, 192M RAM software: US 8.6, 3DfxGlideLib2.x v. 2.53r6, MesaQuake b10, 100M RAM allocated to Q3

I added one Preference setting:

4 = Everything enabled and high detail sky

I made sure to stand exactly centered over the quad spot, facing right out towards the center of the level. I also did see to it to always have the default machine gun in my hand and no quad, two other factors which affects framerate. Although I didn't include any numbers I found the new MesaQuake b10 to be between 1 and 3 fps faster than b9. I just LOVE that guy! I skipped a number of settings used with the ATI 128 as there is no actual difference between 32 and 16 bit on the voodoo2 (although I switched them up to 32 just to SET them the same). [The Voodoo2 cannot do 32-bit color mode-Mike] Going higher than 800x600 doesn't work properly either....[Only dual Voodoo2's (SLI Mode) can do 1024x768 (the only exception is the PC only Metrabyte Wicked3D 12MB voodoo2's special drivers that allow higher res than 800x600 with a single card)-Mike]


There are two FPS columns as I get REALLY different framerates with the settings used at startup as compared to applying settings from within the game (even if I change back to the startup settings I get much lower framerates).[ Odd indeed. If you provide scores, please indicate how the fps were measured] I don't get as low scores as 6.6 with highest texture detail, but there is something weird going on here. I think id software knows this, because when you choose the default "High Quality" everything maxes out EXCEPT texture detail which stops at 1st medium! Also, I haven't seen this mentioned yet, but the Q3 v. 1.03 did wonders for me. See how framerates almost triples with otherwise identical settings.

I included Pref 4 to show that running with everything "maxed out" (except tex detail) is very much playable :) Thanks for all your work with the best Mac gaming site out there! - Johan (aka Cynips when fragging along)

Quake III arena test benchmarks : In order to clarify the scores people are obtaining when running the timerefresh FPS measurement , and to make sure we compare the right things together, we thought to post the table below. I suggest you use this guide to compae scores obtained on your system. The reference system used for the test was a B&W G3, 300 Mhz, 512k-ATI 128, 128 MB RAM, 100 MB dedicated to Q3.

Preference settings:

1 = Marks on walls, dynamic lights, light flares all disabled, high speed sky
2 = light flares on
3 = Marks on walls, dynamic lights, light flares all disabled, high detail sky

Location for the measurement: All tests were run at the quad-damage spot on Q3Test1, it seems to have all of the map elements present. A big thanks to David Gindelberger for sending us these scores !

Here are a few observations :

• In yellow : Comparison between Thousand and millions of colors : Big surprise...until now, the ATI 128 card did not show ANY performance hit when running games in millions of colors vs Thousands (Unreal for example). But look here the 23 fps hit (85 vs 62 fps)
• in Blue: this setting is still not the best looking setting you could get ( light flares On and high detail sky would be the best) but look the performance hit (6.6 fps). I suspect this must be an error since the setting just below (tex detail=1st medium) still gives a respectable 42 fps. Anyone can confirm ?

Please submit obtained with identical settings using your Voodoo I , Voodoo II or Banshee card using the MesaQuake OpenGL drivers. [Table from our 3D Game News page]

Performance Tips: A reader sent a tip for those having problems running the latest Q3Test update and some tips for smoother play:

"The new version of Q3test will run if you delete the preference file from the older version. I too have a very similar configuration, and had the same problem. It is much improved over the first release.

Mesa b9 comes with it's own Q3config; use it.

Run the game in FULL SCREEN YES mode; your framerates will be smoother and higher. Character animations in battles on the net are very choppy in FULL SCREEN NO mode.

Use 3/4 textures and 800x600; 40fps with a 315mhz G3 and Voodoo2. Full textures will cause problems with the game running out of texture space on the card, resulting in missing graphics in the menus and stuttering in the quad room in the test1 map.. Compressed textures/bilinear filtering will run smoother on the net, and don't look any different, at least to my eyes.
Byron Franek "

Thanks Byron!

RagePro Screenshots:

" Mike,
I jumped to conclusions! I hadn't set the graphics quality high enough before- attached are screenshots with Rage Pro graphics (note the light flare!) at a very playable frame rate of about 20 fps. It looks great! Just imagine if you were to play it on a Rage 128!- Andy Watters "

RagePro Screenshots

Quake3Test/MacMagic:

"Working fine on an OLD Mac! Running extremely nicely on a PowerCenter 150 (150MHz 604), 48MB RAM, MacOS 7.5.5, 8MB Voodoo I (MacMagic), 28.8 modem, Kensington mouse...I think even wall scarring has been ok when I accidentally left it on...and I haven't needed to trash my prefs each time so I don't lose my custom controls! Quite stable, able to quit & re-launch several times with no problems. I'll have to guess I'm getting between 20-30fps, though I have set most options to their lowest levels (still looks darn good though).

640x480 - I went to the middle of the arena (where I'd get the lowest fps) & did a timerefresh...16fps.

Crucial settings:
virtual memory (to 96MB), MesaQuake 3.1b9, Apple's Appearance Extension 1.0.2 (apparently needed for Quake on pre-OS 8.x), DrawSprocket 1.1.3 (latest version requires OS 7.6.1 or better), InputSprocket 1.3 (latest version requires OS 7.6.1 or better)
JK "

Quake3 32-Bit Color Screenshots:

" Mike,
I don't know if you'd be interested or not, but I took 4 screenshots of Quake 3 running at 1280x960 with all the graphics options maxed out. The files are very large [505KB to 638KB] but beautiful. You can find them at the following address:

http://www.west.net/~robgrab/shots/

While they look beautiful for the most part, I can't figure out what's going on with the sky texture. I don't know if it's a Rage 128 problem or what. The sky texture is set to high quality and the color depth is set to 32 bit. I had a similar color problems while running Unreal. BTW these shots were taken from my 400Mhz Yosemite based G3. The "teleport.jpg" is an especially beautiful shot. If you can use them then go ahead and take them.
Rob Grabendike "

[The next few items are from the 3D Game news page of 5/2/98]

Quake III Arena on original Powerbooks G3 : id Software- Paul Jaquays's .plan file indicated it is possible

The following anecdotal (meaning it worked for this guy, but may not be a general rule to live by) evidence suggests that even more Mac owners have access to Q3Test play. Josh Lewis writes:

"I recently downloaded Q3Test for my PowerBook G3. The PowerBook is a first generation model and therefore has a Rage IIc graphics chip, which you identify as incompatible (it is also the chip in the Rev. A iMac). However, I was able to install Apple's latest OpenGL drivers, which claim support for the Rage IIc, and run the Q3Test demo. Performance was unacceptable except at 400x300 and lower, but I was able to enable high detail geometry and a few other features without significant performance degragation at that resolution. The one flaw in the setup is that even on a CRT monitor, 400x300 is a small box and does not fill the screen. Otherwise it is a *very* playable version (I have a PC w/TNT too, so it's not a delusional Mac user "playable" statement). My PowerBook has a 250MHz G3 processor with 1MB of L2 cache, 160 MB of RAM, latest ATI drivers, and Mac OS 8.5.1."Thanks Josh.

Anyone out there make a RevA iMac work with the test yet? "

Quake III Arena on his 292 Mhz (tweaked 233) G3-Rage IIC Mac:

"Hi , I have a g3 292 (overclocked from 233) with the ATI RAGE II chipset.. I've upgraded the Vram to 6MB and, for my suprise, I COULD PLAY Q3 QUITE WELL: [ I guess this is really subjective. In my case here anything less than 16-18 fps is annoying !:-)-Frank]

at 320x200, 12 fps
at 640x480, 6 fps

but with all options on max... i mean, image quality is pretty fine... i am sending some screen shots....... only one glitch : i couldn't user lightmap lightning... only vertex...strange...[ lightmap lighting needs probably a Rage PRO or better-Frank]

A new site called MacArena is now up with , tons of screenshots from Quake III Arena test. Check out also the Rogue Gallery for more screenshots.

Quake III Arena tricks: See Q3A test tips

John Carmack's [id Software lead programmer] plan file has also been updated.

ID Comments on Q3Test Problem Reports: Bruno Blondeau sent a URL to Graeme Devine's (ID Software) plan file with comments on reported Quake3Test problems. Included is the often reported 'not enough memory' video card error and more. Note this Tidbit on a VOODOO3 card in the Mac!

" I have both an ATI Rage 128 and a Voodoo3 plugged in to my system for development work. If the V3 is in the 66Mhz slot and the ATI in any other PCI slot, Quake3 will fire up on the ATI just fine.

However, if the ATI is in the 66Mhz slot and the Voodoo3 in a PCI slot, I get an error message that says "Could not initialize OpenGL". This appears to happen after the video mode change."

I posted a note last month that the latest guess is summer for the Mac Voodoo3 cards to be available - good to know they are already working in a Mac.

Pre-OS 8 User's Tip: Andrew Lindsay sent a note to Mac owners running OS versions prior to 8.x. the Appearance extension is required to prevent a Type 3 error at startup. He's running it fine on OS 7.6.1 after discovering this solution.