Jennell Jaquays (formerly Paul Jaquays) passed away last month on January 10 from complications of Guillain–Barré syndrome.

Jaquays started at id in 1997 and left in 2002, but not before designing maps that we still play today: city64, q3dm8, q3dm11, q3dm12, q3ctf2, and q3tourney4.

Rest in peace.

Links:
- Obituary
- Personal website

https://steamdb.info/app/282440/history/ shows new development activity, back in July, on the "beta" and "devel" branches for QL. The last time these branches were meaningfully touched was in 2016. Not trying to get anyone's hopes up, but it is weird considering the 2016 update was supposed to be the last.

Credit to IxLOPEZxI for spotting the change.

The QL dedicated server also shows new beta and devel branches created on the same day.

Antacid, a remix of the original Reflux with the rotating drum in the middle. Other than the powerup, the biggest change I see is that the big pipe next to the flag is now more viable because the acid is gone.

Description:

Antacid (Reflux Watered-Down Remix)
by Adam Pyle

A remix based on "Reflux", one of my original maps included in the base install of Quake Live.

Acid replaced with water.
Battle Suit replaced with Quad.

\map antacid ctf

https://wccftech.com/a-quake-reboot-development/

About time.

The original aesthetic and atmosphere are timeless and my favorite by far out of any subsequent Quake release. I hope it's adopted and respected. Id and MachineGames, who develop the new Wolfenstein games, are supposedly working together. I'll gladly welcome MachineGames over Raven. I have faith in the single player.

But the multiplayer will be a crapshoot. If QC's launch and new Doom multiplayer are anything to go by, the game will be hung in the arena FPS gallows after the last streamers hop on tomorrow's bandwagon.

Sponge and Sync, you guys are cool, but I want someone else at Id to take the multiplayer reins.

Quake players have been around long enough to not expect anything amazing, but every time this happens, I admit I always hope.

Scheduled: 09:00 CST, 11 January 2020
Schedule: Passed

The Frags is hosting a Quake Live duel cup, initiated by their subscriber Igor. The cup starts Saturday, January 11, and, if there are a lot of participants, will continue the following Sunday, January 12.

Bracket: https://challonge.com/quakelive2020



Donate: Link (Make sure to say it's for the cup)
Streams: 102, cooke, zanes
Links: Sign up, 125 FPS Discord (To find your opponent), Original announcement

Despite the additions to QC, I find it shallower than previous Quake games namely due to reduced importance of control and positioning. Here I'll address only control and only duel.

Champions restrict play styles. Never before Quake Champions would I have thought to say to a competent player, "That play style is wrong."

The solution: replace three-champion select with classic Quake--control. Champions are now items on the map that also double as spawn points. Like any other item, simply walk over the champion to exchange and become it. After each death, you choose a champion not worn by your opponent.

Champions as items solves the problem of restrictive play style, allowing players to change champions without having to give up a frag. It also solves the archaic problem of random spawns, putting the spawn decision in the hands of the player.

Secondly, abilities are "free," meaning that only time is necessary. Your opponent cannot control the readiness of your ability; he can only influence it, which is not Quake.

Once again, the solution is control. Abilities require X hourglasses to become activated. This begets a new mega item, a giant clock that immediately grants the ability.

These changes are not so drastic that they are too late to implement, yet their subtlety is enough to dramatically deepen the game.

There are implementation details I didn't cover for the sake of brevity. Regardless, the implications are exciting and dynamic. Reverting to the design roots of Quake, id can have their champions idea, and we can have our 10/15 minutes of depth back.

Even with these changes, QC still wouldn't be my cup of tea, but I would finally respect it. Discuss.

Cooller and rapha talking it: link

Gameplay
- rapha doesn't like current QC duel but likes sacrifice. Fast champs are too viable, especially in sacrifice. They can rush in without being punished. Good position doesn't mean much anymore.
- Duel is about (1) who can rush first and hit the first rocket or (2) play far rail game. Cooller argues Clutch + defensive play is the counter to the rush style.
- Use MG more against Clutch.
- Most of the game is fine, but LG nerf is ineffective against the fast champions
- rapha suggests raising the health for all champions, even if that means going over 200/200. Lighter champs having more health and armour makes for longer fights, and people will be willing to take more engagements since they have more health to fall back on.
- Would like to see a format change (e.g., lives, time limit). There isn't enough incentive to fight
- Rounds are either 40 seconds or all five minutes; there is no back-and-forth feel to the game
- Sacrifice is fun to play, although it's still difficult to spectate

The future
- Both Cooller and Rapha are unsure about QC's future. Id says they will support the game, but there has yet to be any plan.
- Community needs support each other, especially with new players. Pros should come up with instructional content. Quake is more fun when you know what you're doing. New player can be discouraged when they see other players flying around the map and have no idea how to do that.
- Realistically speaking, Quake won't ever get to CS level. Quake's too hard, but it can have its own place.

Misc
- rapha isn't discouraged about his comparatively low placings in QC tournies. Just needs more consistent play, though he says he's currently playing better in sacrifice than in duel
- NA sacrifice scene is good practice. NA duel is not.
- Even if you have strong positioning, Raisy will attack through bad angles and use his speed to eventually end up in a good position. Consider at all times that he might fully engage you. Players will eventually adapt, forcing Raisy to play a little smarter
- At QC, Evil told rapha that he's having some technical problems at home. After playing some warmup games with Evil, rapha noticed that Evil's still using his QL style of position and pressure. Evil hasn't adapted to QC's game flow, especially since the new health/armour spawn times means that players can quickly stack back up in comparison to QL. Evil's aim is still excellent.
- Cooller points out that Evil took 1-2 years in QL to become a top player. Might be the same case here
- rapha and Dahang are resigning with Team Liquid. He's happy with them. If they need better practice in EU, Team Liquid will fly them out there.

I especially like rapha's suggestion for increasing health and armour pools across the board. If they were increased to the point that they overcame abilities' importance, abilities would be more tools than cruxes and would put more of the Quake back in Quake Champions.

Also glad there's some word out on how Evil's been doing.

http://www.twitch.tv/h41_/v/36802050?t=3h7m25s

Saw H41 streaming yesterday and popped in. People asked a few questions about LG, so I asked the most basic question, and H41 went above and beyond in answering. In the video he covers the concept of short-range LG, the technique he uses to train his teammates, and even points his camera down to show his arm/wrist movement. I've summarized everything below.


Don't focus on your percentage. It means nothing since it always changes depending on the situation. If you really want an accurate representation of your raw accuracy, use Eye to Eye.

Learn to use LG with two stages of training: close-range, then medium-range. Practice each stage for at least two weeks to develop a good feeling/grip of your mouse movement and dodge. For short-range LG, practice on the bridge in Asylum or in Trinity's tunnel because it forces short dodging patterns and something H41 calls K aiming. K aiming uses left/right strafing with some +forward mixed in. After 8-9 days of practice, you'll develop a sense of using the movement pattern to aim for you. Now begin using your wrist--not your arm--to make micro corrections in line with your opponent's dodging. Doing this will teach you to hook your opponent.

In this first step, train only 1v1 CA, not 2v2, not public CA games, et cetera since in these modes you spend too little time actually using LG. In the video, he plays one round with K aiming only (hits 51%), then plays the rest with micro corrections added (hits 63-66%). Against players with a good dodge, H41 hits 50-55%, and he considers 45-55% a good result at the end of your training.

In the second step of training, you'll learn to move in larger spaces. On Thunderstruck or Drunken Mummy, train with 2v2's, not 1v1's, so that you learn to learn to hit your opponent while he is not watching. From this you will learn positions in which to place yourself. In another stream, he'll explain more this second stage of training.

This is Red Bull's first dedicated QL article after focusing on SC2, LoL, and Dota2 for so long. Looking forward to seeing more.

http://www.redbull.com/en/esports/stories/133...duels-ever

2GD's planning a community Q&A over at TeamLiquid. If you have questions, especially about Quake and Reborn, now's the ideal chance. Be quick to get your questions in; it takes place tomorrow.

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=428216