Quake Zero announced: Free browser-based Quake 3
by Ludwig Kietzmann 
{ Aug 3rd 2007 at 9:10PM }
During its QuakeCon 2007 press conference, id Software announced plans to form a second development team tasked with creating Quake Zero, an updated, possibly sugar-free version of Quake 3: Arena. The 'Zero' in the title refers to the game's price tag -- it'll be made available for free (supported by advertising dollars, natch) and playable in web browsers for PC and Mac, reports Shacknews.
Said id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead, "We appreciate what you guys have done over the years in building the popularity of [Quake 3]. "We also like 'free.'" We'll keep you informed as to when you can expect to play Quake Free, er, Zero.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
colin @ Aug 3rd 2007 9:22PM
diet quake? no thanks, i will take quake 3 arena with upgraded textures for xbla though.
eldee @ Aug 3rd 2007 9:26PM
not a huge quake3a fan, but this is a very nice gesture.
DanceMoveDestro @ Aug 3rd 2007 9:42PM
Sweet, think it's too much to hope for Wii support?
Neebs @ Aug 3rd 2007 9:51PM
Probably - It's doubtful we'll see this in flash.
Paolo @ Aug 3rd 2007 10:14PM
It'll probably be Java/OpenGL based, since que Quake2 engine already was ported to Java ( google for Jake2 ) and the webstart/jogl/lwjgl technology is pretty mature right now.
So, no Wii =(
Emceay @ Aug 3rd 2007 9:54PM
You see, we really want to sue quake zero for taste infringment. I mean, they work in an entirely different department - they're on their own floor.
mj @ Aug 3rd 2007 10:37PM
We want to sue them into the stone age.
jc @ Aug 3rd 2007 10:13PM
Did I miss something? How the hell are they going to do this? Java applet? Flash? Ajax?
My vote is AJAX. They probably used the Wolf5k engine
http://www.wolf5k.com/
Paolo @ Aug 3rd 2007 10:16PM
It's very unlikely it'll be Ajax-based, since javascript isn't exactly a speed demon =)
cybereality @ Aug 4th 2007 7:02AM
Its called activex (use google). They are basically just running the quake3 engine in a window which is wrapped inside the browser. Similar to shockwave3d, anark, wild tangent, etc.
mo @ Aug 3rd 2007 10:30PM
"It's very unlikely it'll be Ajax-based, since javascript isn't exactly a speed demon =)"
http://thrivecreations.com/Buggy%20tech%20demo.html
thats written in javascript, the terrain mesh is 60,000 triangles and runs at an okay frame rate on new laptops and slightly older desktops, however on much older computers it gets down to 3FPS...which is not good....
i dont know the details of it but theres a way to optimize javascript so it runs half as fast as running c++ natively
if it dosent load you might need the unity webplayer
http://unity3d.com/unitywebplayer.html
so i wouldn't be to shocked if this was in javascript as well, im really glad 3d games in the web browser are starting to grow
Paolo @ Aug 3rd 2007 10:46PM
Could you tell me where did you see that this was Javascript based? The site (unit3d.com) is a bit sketchy about the implementation details, but it's seemingly a -plugin- developed atop the .NET platform. No Javascript.
Paolo @ Aug 3rd 2007 10:46PM
Oh, I got it:
It supports C# and Javascript -scripting- which is a completely different ball game. The plugin/standalone engine isn't built over Javascript.
Don't get me wrong: I'm no Java junkie. For me, it still is too big and clumsy (it's been showing some interesting improvements, though), but it's a well known technology that (supposedly) can be ported to different OSes without much pain.
But then, it's confirmed for PC and Mac. Where's the Linux love? The lack of a Linux port could be a good point for the bet that Id will use something on the lines of Unity.
Well, enough boring techy talk. Bring the browser-based BFGs already!
mo @ Aug 3rd 2007 11:12PM
im just a hobbyist...i only know what ive been told.....
so thanks for explaining
Paolo @ Aug 3rd 2007 11:51PM
And thanks to pointing me to Unity, it seems to be a nifty tool =D gotta tinker with it someday...
mo @ Aug 4th 2007 3:55AM
actually i cant recommend it enough, I tried torque, lawmaker, 3D game studio, blitz basic and unity is FARRRR superior to any of them, only problem is the editor is mac only...and i hate macs.....
if you have access to a mac i highly recommend trying out the demo
cybereality @ Aug 4th 2007 7:04AM
Yeah Unity is awesome, too bad its mac only.
nintendomaniac64 @ Aug 4th 2007 12:41AM
It could be written in Shockwave like Phosphor is.
http://phosphorgame.com
DWells55 @ Aug 4th 2007 2:45AM
That is really cool, thanks for showing me that.
ThornedVenom @ Aug 4th 2007 3:04AM
I think I'm going to be all over this game. >_<
Screw you Ogames, Runescape, Adventure Quest, Tactics Arena Online and Robot Rage! PUAHAHAHAHA
Platy @ Aug 4th 2007 3:50AM
this means more people playing ! =D
awesome !
this games deserves to be next to minesweeper in the next windows
Ronald @ Aug 4th 2007 7:47AM
I hope it will support Mods like threewave (especially capturestrike) since this is wat I still play @ the office evry day :D
Nate @ Aug 4th 2007 12:57PM
sounds good to me; I'm a sniper beast in Q3 Arena...
teitoku @ Aug 4th 2007 1:48PM
Eh, call me when the superior game, Unreal Tournament, is playable in a browser. I never was interested in this Doom 2000 crap.
Abscissa @ Aug 4th 2007 2:16PM
I'm not interested in Quake 3 Arena, and I'm not interested in playing games in a browser window.
However, I AM really interested in hearing tech details about how they accomplished it. Ported to Java Applet? ActiveX? Flash 3D? DHTML? (Doing it in DHTML would be fukken uber :) )