Quake 3 Preview Part 1

Introduction

If you're anything like me, you're probably all tired of reading the same ol' glorifying previews of Quake 3:Arena. While they may contain useful, new information, most of the previews really didn't contain anything of substance as far as providing constructive suggestions on how to improve the game. We all know it's going to be an awesome game... you don't need to read a preview to know that. id Software has proven itself time and time again that it belongs at the highest rung of the game development ladder, and this time should be no different. We just want to know to what degree its greatness is going to be, and why.

What bothers me is that people portray and hype the game to the point where you'd think id was ready to ship the game tomorrow. Is there nothing unbalanced or unfair in the gameplay? How are the levels? Do the weapons need to be tweaked? Is it already the "ultimate" game of the century when it's not even 75% complete?

I think this kind of portrayal of the game really clouds people's judgment. It makes it appear as if since everything is all fine and dandy, id's not going to listen to what people have to say. This leads to immature attempts at spamming some of the id employees, which certainly doesn't work. What the id guys need is some constructive criticism. Lay out your thoughts and reasons in an organized fashion, with some facts to back it up... and they'll listen.

Actually, they'll do more than listen. They have worked very closely with the few players that were invited to betatest. We've sat down to discuss everything from movement speed to weapon uses/damages to level design to teamplay. They are listening -- All we, as hardcore gamers, need to do is remember one thing: Their intended audience is not us. They want to make everything fun and fair for us and give us the best competitive experience, but they at the same time have another 2.99 million gamers to cater to. Are the changes going to be as fun for the casual gamer as the hardcore? Stronger rockets are great, but will that make the game less fun for others?

With that said, I'm going to jump straight into the meat of the game and lay out some of the weapons id has planned, what I thought about them, and some suggestions I've come up with after I've had time to mull over the game.