Happy 18th Birthday Quake!

[Abelian]

Ah, so people were using WASD back in 1996. I wonder when that became a standard binding. I didn't use WASD until 2008, with Fallout 3.

Somewhat different, but QWEASDZXC could be used for Golden Axe.

 

[Euronymous]

Worse are those who call it "I-Dee".

Yeah, the logo doesn't say "I.D."

Funny thing is that I got the urge a couple of days ago to reinstall Quake (and I grabbed the two expansions, which I never played before). Now I know why I felt that way. And I'm still using WinQuake.

Yeah, I never got the expansion packs until recently-- Dissolution of Eternity is the best of the two. Both of them are brilliant though, just as good as the vanilla game.

I am using Pro-WinQuake and used a modifcation so the music loops. Just check this out if you want to have the music loop too: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=113399618. The music seems minimal, but it really adds to the game.

 

[Gragt]

The Quake soundtrack kicks ass! It's a big part of the ambience and I do not know of any similar soundtrack for another game.

 

[Great Deceiver]

Yeah, the Quake soundtrack was some truly inspired stuff by NiN. I actually still listen to it from time to time to this day, doing other things.

 

[DraQ]

sensible alternatives (like TN:SFC and SS1).

I don't know man, I see big flaws in both of those.

I mentioned them as an example of games without reconfiguration or sensible alternatives to WSAD.

The Quake soundtrack kicks ass! It's a big part of the ambience and I do not know of any similar soundtrack for another game.

In before some responds with "what about Quake 2?".

 

[Excidium]

Never really cared for the soundtrack of either game

 

[Baron Dupek]

Never get into Quake1, propably because controls ("why I can't look everywhere?", solved by +mlook command) and lack of soundtrack. It's almost half of the game for me. Same with Doom.

Maybe now after enormous decline in FPS genre for years it could be good idea to try the Quake again, after these 15 years since last try...

 

[Euronymous]

In before some responds with "what about Quake 2?".

I'm one of the few people who prefers the Quake soundtrack over the Quake II soundtrack, the dark ambient music just adds to the feeling that you are actually roaming in this dark, haunted realm whereas the Quake II soundtrack gets you energetic as fuck.

Never get into Quake1, propably because controls ("why I can't look everywhere?", solved by +mlook command)

"+mlook" in your autoexec.cfg file, problem solved permanently without having to type it every time.

and lack of soundtrack.

Obtain the CD track files and take a look at that link if you want to hear the soundtrack on loop during levels.

 

[Baron Dupek]

"+mlook" in your autoexec.cfg file, problem solved permanently without having to type it every time.
Obtain the CD track files and take a look at that link if you want to hear the soundtrack on loop during levels.

I forgot to say that was in my first days with computers. So editing files was not an option. Downloading somethin in early era of internet on someone else PC is not good, like, really....
I still hate Win98 with passion since these days (easy to fuck up something, constant reainstalling, I even remember my old serial number of Win98). Which went better when I started playing with VirtualPCs. Wasn't that bad, just easly breakable in the hands of greenhorns, not geeks.

 

[DraQ]

In before some responds with "what about Quake 2?".

I'm one of the few people who prefers the Quake soundtrack over the Quake II soundtrack

"Few"?

Fun fact: when I first played Q2, I switched off the music by the end of first level because it annoyed me and got in the way (lack of music volume slider was partially to blame here).
Switching Q1 music off would be akin to blasphemy.

 

[Euronymous]

Yeah, but I mean in general a Quake fan would choose Quake II's soundtrack over Quake's.

 

[dnf]

The Quake soundtrack kicks ass! It's a big part of the ambience and I do not know of any similar soundtrack for another game.

In before some responds with "what about Quake 2?".

Why do you have to mention Q2 in every ID thread? played it 7 times?
For the record, i prefer Q2 OST. Q1 OST have 2 outstanding tracks, but the rest is just ok. And while im playing Q1 with the Epsylon mod, i wonder why only DooM 3 gets flack for its monster hiding in closet enemy design...

 

[racofer]

 

[taxalot]

I actually never did hear the Quake soundtrack. I had a pirated version the whole time before it was released on STEAM, and guess what ? This doesn't have it. Also, no soundtracks when I played Quakeworld in LANs for obvious reasons (and probably the same reason it's not available on Steam)

So that is to say the game is still fairly enjoyable without music. That's how I remember it, that's how I love it. Those dark, spooky corridors with nothing to hear but strange creature sounds. This was awesome. Absolutely awesome. A lot of games do not need music, Quake is one of these, although I have no doubt that NiN did a competent job.

 

[Gragt]

Technically the soundtrack is by Trent Reznor and not NiN, but whether Reznor is NiN or not is another point.

 

[Great Deceiver]

 

[Great Deceiver]

For me there was absolutely no comparison between Q1 and Q2 soundtracks. I switched Q2's obnoxious compressed guitar pseudo-industrial metal almost instantaneously, whereas Q1's ambient soundtrack lingered with me for a very long time.

 

[DraQ]

Main theme isn't really representative of the soundtrack as whole, though, the rest is... well, maybe not "calmer" (because 'calm' doesn't really fit anything quake), but more subdued and moody - perfect sound backdrop for those dark corridors.

For me there was absolutely no comparison between Q1 and Q2 soundtracks. I switched Q2's obnoxious compressed guitar pseudo-industrial metal almost instantaneously, whereas Q1's ambient soundtrack lingered with me for a very long time.

Massive .

 

[dunno lah]

I've always liked the track for the 4th level of an episode the most. The screams always cause the hairs on my back to stand.

 

[skacky]

My favorite is the one used in the secret levels. Love that sound.

 

[Gragt]

[…] i wonder why only DooM 3 gets flack for its monster hiding in closet enemy design...

Doom I & II and Quake have a very different attitude than Doom 3 when it comes to level design (and other things). Earlier id levels do not pretend to be more than just challenges you need to beat to reach the next one, so the military bases, fortresses, temples, labs, power stations, or cities, do not feel at all like the thing they are supposed to be. And since they do not try to make you think otherwise from the very start, there is no reason to see them that way. In that context it is hardly jarring to have a wall open behind you and unleash monsters when you pick up a piece of armour—Serious Sam did something similar by teleporting waves of monsters when you pick up some bonus. Doom got very creative with stuff like that, often going beyond the "closet" scope and ending up changing the layout of a level by picking up stuff or pushing buttons, usually unleashing monsters in the process. It simply fit the action gameplay based on mobility.

Doom 3 on the other hand tries to have realistic environments, which is something the earlier versions of Doom tried to do and that was then scraped because apparently having more realistic levels did not end up to be fun. It's something you can already see a bit in Quake 2, where the environments are still based on the action gameplay but try to make more sense from a realistic point of view, so you still get monster closets but nothing that radically alter the level. It doesn't offend in Quake 2 but since Doom 3 tries to be believable, the fact that most walls open behind your back or your sides to unleash monsters feels out of place and doesn't make sense from the perspective of a real place. But much worse than making sense or not, that kind of thing does little for the gameplay. At much getting ambushed by a couple of monsters at a time is a mere annoyance and that's it. Again in Doom, and in a certain measure in Quake 1, moving walls and changing levels is a defining feature of the gameplay and a reason why people still make maps for these games today—and they got tougher with time!

Unlike apparently many, I never got a problem with Doom 3 trying to do something different than its predecessors, but my issue with it is that it was kind of half-hearted when it came to the gameplay, trying to be a bit of a throwback to the old style while appealing to modern sensibilities but not succeeding at any of these. It's still a good game, with great visuals and sound and decent action, but that's what it is: good, not great. Coming from the guys who basically defined the genre with Doom, which is still in a category of its own, and Quake 1, that's a bit disapointing.

For me there was absolutely no comparison between Q1 and Q2 soundtracks. I switched Q2's obnoxious compressed guitar pseudo-industrial metal almost instantaneously, whereas Q1's ambient soundtrack lingered with me for a very long time.

I initially disliked the Quake 2 soundtrack but it grew on me over time. It's more suited for the action gameplay of Quake 2 that is more about dealing with the enemies than the level itself like Doom or Quake 1, but in turn it doesn't feel as unique as the Quake soundtrack. It's ok for that purpose but is certainly less haunting. Reminds me of the soundtrack for Painkiller, which does the same by accompanying the action but being pretty forgettable outside of the game.

Main theme isn't really representative of the soundtrack as whole, though, the rest is... well, maybe not "calmer" (because 'calm' doesn't really fit anything quake), but more subdued and moody - perfect sound backdrop for those dark corridors.

The track goes more in line with the rest of the soundtrack after the initial minute. Still, that part sounds great and fitting for when it is played, mainly for when the game is started and when you complete an episode. It has a nice gritty and foreboding sound to it for these few occasions.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Quake 2's soundtrack was far from "forgettable". I can still play most of it in my head. That doesn't happen often.

 

[Excidium]

I remember most of Redneck Rampage soundtrack, not because it is memorable but because I just played it a whole damn lot

 

[dnf]

Quake 2 OST is catchier, i agree. This is my favorite sound of Quake 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUfLJsujcjY

I think Quake 1 OST is too high brow for it's own good, maybe it was more fitting in a survival horror, as a poor's man Akira Yamaoka

I can't make a connection between the OST and the game, unless i play it with darkplaces.

There is also a custom soundtrack, from the epsilon mod : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4QgheRWArs&list=PL2J4i8NkUxjXslt6jynYbTLHCkK-_eKg3

I also like Quake 4 OST as far as movie theme ost goes

 

[glasnost]

I remember all sorts of things I hate, probably more clearly than their opposites.

I think the idea that 'action' needs 'exciting' music to accompany it is a pernicious one that I wish we'd collectively move on from. It's usually uninspired, substituting volume and tempo for an ear for aesthetics of any sort (either technical or compositional)--it is a way of trying to dictate emotions to the player ("this is an action sequence! feel the tension!") rather than evoking them (via challenging gameplay).

I played Q2 with the Reznor soundtrack in my cd drive, which I think enhanced the mood--particurlarly in the prison levels. I always mute 'combat music' if I'm given the option in settings, or I delete the battle playlists or individual files if that doesn't work. I prefer my killing to be more contemplative, but that's probably a function of hypertension and a fondness for sedatives.

The soundtracks for Diablo I & II were good at emphasizing atmosphere even in the middle of constant combat, and at no detriment to those games (whatever their other failings), although I think games in general could stand to do with less, but better, music overall.