December 17th, 1999

[10:30 AM] Quake 3 Final Demo Released: Here's What's In It by Kyle D'Addario With heavy focus on the imminent release of the final version of Quake 3 Arena, id quietly posted the final Mac demo version yesterday. All three demo version (Mac, along with Windows and Linux) are now in a "final" state. While there was no official word from id as of yet regarding the changes between the demo test (released in November) and the final demo, playing the new version shows some minor enhancements. Most notably, the interface is somewhat tweaked. Not changed, but there are more working functions and menu response is a bit more lively. Second, one will notice almost a twofold increase in available servers for internet play. The demo test allowed 256 servers, while the final demo sports over 400 servers for multi-person game play. Play response feels a bit quicker, and frame rates where slightly improved over the demo test. Also, and most notably, the entire game feels "darker" and a bit more Quake-like. This is based only on a few systems at The Mac Observer, but using the ATI Rage 128 cards standard on many newer Apple systems, the atmosphere of the game received a major overhaul. Lighting effects seem more surreal, and the demo maps certainly have a more foreboding feel. If you have been using the Quake 3 Demo Test, you should certainly update to the full Demo. Weighing in at just under 50MB, the download is formidable. However, the minor tweaks in performance and gameplay, along with an increased number of internet servers makes the download well worth while. You can find more Quake 3 information, and download sites, at the Quake 3 Arena web site. Quake 3 Arena - id