Tronyn reviews: RemakeQuake SP Demo2 by Remake Quake Team

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## Tronyn reviews: RemakeQuake SP Demo2 by Remake Quake Team

- RemakeQuake SP Demo2 by the Remake Quake Team
- Download: RemakeQuakeDemo_20101224.zip (external link)

The second Remake Quake SP demo contains the latest version of the Remake Quake mod (now with its own engine), and the map e1m6rq, “The Doors of Delusion.” I’ll start with some thoughts on the mod. The Vomitus monster is great, and surprising when it’s used. The cut-scenes throughout are very helpful. The grappling hook takes a bit of getting used to, but it is really great once you get used to it. It, and some other elements, add a cool puzzle-solving element (thankfully NEVER overdone or frustrating; this is QUAKE) which meshes well with the surprisingly functional take on e1m6 that is the map, including the traps. Still not sure about the Ogre sounds, seems a bit cheesy, but the sounds for the Fiend and especially the Scrag, are first rate. The feel of the combat is very good; both the player and monsters die easier, which adds a sense of danger to a game in which the skilled player has been feeling invincible in maps without hundreds of monsters of late. This lets the mod get more mileage out of fewer monsters, a good choice. The dying easier aspect could have been overdone but thankfully wasn’t; this is QUAKE not a realistic shooter. So overall, there are a ton of little improvements that modify the game but all, in my view, move in the right direction of making it more challenging and interesting.

Now for the map: e1m6rq is a very impressive map. The basic layout of e1m6 remains, but with quite a few extra areas. What surprised me the most, was that whereas the original id Runic/Metal maps were quite abstract, this map seems very functional and yet retains its sense of mystery. Parts of it even slightly reminded me of Quake 2, yet it is absolutely in the weird realm of Quake 1 in terms of atmosphere. There are pipes, moveable objects, traps, boilers, movement units, so that the whole thing seems like a netherworld tech complex of some (still strange) sort. Visually, the map is beautiful: coloured lighting, broken tiles and gargoyles, fallen pipes, tons of little details to add to the atmosphere. The grappling hook is fun to use, the map progression is fun and interesting, the combat is good, and the ending is spectacular. My one reservation is that I found the “your way has been lit” section really frustrating, and I’d recommend changing it. Other than that though, this is a fascinating, beautiful, powerful map surrounded by a mod that serves it very well.

Score: 18/20

22.01.2011 in Tronyn Reviews | 12 Comments »

### 12 Responses to “Tronyn reviews: RemakeQuake SP Demo2 by Remake Quake Team”

1. Tronyn Says:
   22.01.2011 18:21

   btw could I formally complain about the Q2-style logo, and the Q2 logo itself.
   A SKULL, WITH EAGLE WINGS (AND IN THIS CASE BOOTS TOO, TO SYMBOLIZE THE EVIL MILITARY), IS THAT NOT BADASS?

   much as I love this map, and the mod, could you please alter that symbol to something that more appropriately represents the mysterious lovecraftian aspects of quake’s enemies rather than those lame-ass strogg, like EVIL CYBORGS ATTAXING U OMG aspect. k /rant.

2. negke Says:
   22.01.2011 18:41

   Umm, no. The logo is from the Q1 crates.

3. Tronyn Says:
   22.01.2011 18:50

   lol
   nope!
   you still lose – and you think things out perhaps the best of any mapper – since those Q1 crates are from human bases – and it’s all well and good for humans to be macho, like haha I’m an evil nazi macho 80s action hero etc – but, these same symbols have no place on some netherworldy machinery – because if those netherworld beings are a bunch of nickelback listeners, all the eerie darkness just drops right out of the whole thing. Since I have no idea of the story elements going into RMQ I could be wrong, but with the information I have my point stands sir.

4. negke Says:
   22.01.2011 19:11

   Ah damn, the popcultural quicksand argumentation always works! Okay, fair point..

5. Tronyn Says:
   22.01.2011 19:35

   heh
   I guess this is the right point to admit I was making too big a deal out of a small detail, and that abstract ideas about an abstract fictional world shouldn’t be such a big deal. I don’t dislike the functional take on e1m6 I think it’s brilliant (in the real sense of that term not the slacker UK sense). Nehahra made a good reason for e1m6 too. What makes Quake a myth is that such interpretations are possible.

6. gb Says:
   22.01.2011 23:25

   Thanks for the review Tronyn.

   That texture is from a q1 crate as neggers pointed out, but I’ve been thinking of replacing it with a skull or something even weirder. Dunno.

   Yeah, it’s still Quake – interpreted with a twist. It’s like asking if something is still punk – if it has three chords and an attitude, of course it’s still punk.

   RMQ is like an album with cover versions of classic, genre defining songs… I find rock songs and shooter levels have a lot in common. A few factors really helped with this map:

   The original e1m6 is just a kickass map, even though it’s very small. My own tendencies towards the realism and puzzle and cutscenes stuff are usually kept in check and balanced by the team as a whole – I built the scenery, but it owes its unholy life to the hive mind. The boss fight was largely designed by Supa, while the Chthon model is by ijed. The oldogre model is by Madfox, the vomitus (c) ijed. The randomizing code is by Lardarse. And finally, the map was playtested excessively, by the core team and the dedicated playtesters – mostly otp and negke – as well as commented on by third parties during development. It was criticized to bits throughout its development cycle which was really helpful.

   More mileage out of less monsters, while true, doesn’t mean that RMQ has no horde combat :-) mh already did a 400 knight testmap after we discussed certain things. There will be 400 knight battles in future maps, definitely :-)

   We intend to include more new monsters, actually this map only shows off a subset of RMQ’s features and the monster lineup (and only one way to interpret Quake). Future demos might still contain surprises.

   I’d like to point out that the mod is intended as a mapping toolkit, ie for use by anyone who wants to give it a twirl. The source is open as well, which will hopefully encourage and empower derivative mods. Keeping stuff for yourself is the death of a community – sharing innovations is something that drives things into the future. Both necros’ and PM’s source releases, Chapters and NSOE/Drake, were inspirations for us, not to mention Carmack and Romero’s.

   The engine’s purpose is quite clearly to serve as an example implementation. Hopefully one day all Quake engines will have RMQ support – QSB (Quake Standard Base) is one idea that seems vaguely connected.

   I kinda regret that the new rotating entities don’t feature prominently in this release. Oh well.

7. mh Says:
   23.01.2011 13:46

   I tend to view the boilers in this as being similar to the crates in e*m2; i.e. humanity has been here and has set up some of their stuff, but they ain’t here anymore! This theme is consistent throughout ID Quake, and all of the m2 maps do have crates at the start. So it’s largely OK to continue the theme.

8. New engine release « The Realm of Blog Magic Says:
   27.01.2011 00:39

   [...] Demo 2 has been awarded 18 of 20 points at Quaddicted.com (Review by Tronyn). We feel warm and fuzzy due to this. This entry was posted on Thursday, January 27th, 2011 at [...]

9. Tronyn Says:
   28.01.2011 07:24

   re: mh, and also in general
   bit late but I should say that the symbol is fine, and I was pretty intoxicated/fanatical with my original post. plus mh’s justification makes total sense in the Quake world. I like gb’s explanation of RMQ, although it does imply that linear progress is possible (which it is, or at least was from 1996-2011 in games, but it may not be in music really). Anyway I see the analogy, and I think it is a good one. I’m just happy as hell that a bunch of people as talented and organized as you guys are making this. Support coop if you can, I’d love to play RMQ as a whole with friends who played the original Quake with me coop.

10. Post demo release syndrome « spawnhost Says:
    03.02.2011 18:16

    [...] the critically acclaimed second singleplayer demo release, RMQ is off the leash: there seems to be a real urge to push out a [...]

11. Ron Says:
    14.02.2011 14:08

    A demo …
    Isn’t that the same as a spoiler for things to come ?

12. dfsp_spirit Says:
    19.02.2011 21:36

    Depends. Some people call it a spoiler, some a teaser.

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