The Q3F Manual   
$Id: q3f_README-beta.doc,v 1.0 2000/04/01 20:15:32 locki Exp $
Document feedback: locki@earthquakers.org

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Community Information
3. Hardware Requirements
4. Installation
5. Running Clients and Servers
6. Game Overview
7. Player Classes
8. Weapons Briefing
9. Grenades
10. Special Items
11. Maps
12. Map Making for Q3F
13. Command Summary
14. CVAR Summary
15. Communications
16. Scripting
17. Known Bugs and Missing Features
18. The Q3F Team and Final Notes


1. Introduction

Welcome to the BETA-1 release of Q3F!

Q3F Beta-1 has been developed by The Q3F Development Team, and is a 
modification (MOD) to the fantastic game 'Quake 3 Arena', developed by id 
Software and distributed by Activision.

Our goal with Q3F was to modify the multi-player aspects of Quake 3 to create a 
much more team-oriented experience.  We hope we've achieved this through the 
implementation of different player classes such as Soldier, Agent and Paramedic, 
all with unique weapons, strengths and abilities.

A large part of the team-play aspect comes from Q3F's support for several game-
objective possibilities, which include 'Capture the Flag', 'Command Point' and 
'Capture and Hold' styles of play.

You'll find full explanations of all the classes, weapons, maps and game styles 
contained in this documentation, as well as sections for clans and more advanced 
players such as scripting and in-game communications.

Please remember this is a beta product before making too many judgements.  A 
number of the skins and models are due to be replaced, the code will be refined, 
bugs in maps will be fixed, audio will be improved.

Q3F will get even better with your help. To provide us with feedback on both bugs 
and game-play issues with Q3F, please visit the Q3F Bugs Site at 
http://bugs.qiiiarena.com


Q3F Features List

Here's a quick, and definitely not complete, overview of Q3F's features:

- Five game-play styles including CTF, Command Point and Capture and Hold
- Six new maps including updated versions of several world famous levels
- Sixteen Weapon Types, including eleven new to Quake 3
- Ten Unique Player Classes each with specific strengths and abilities
- Eight grenade types with new special effects
- Completely redesigned Heads Up Display
- Tons of new models, artwork and sound effects
- Over 50 new commands and cvars
- $Var Communications geared to enhancing team-play
- Real-time WAV communications allowing team-wide sounds
- User Configurable Menus
- Fully documented, powerful custom and extended entities
- Q3F game-play tweaked with the support of 40 clans world-wide
- Q3F servers tested by of over 20 ISPs and Clans


2. Community Information

Though there's nothing to stop you from just joining a Q3F server and playing 
right away, if you'd like to get more involved with the community side of Q3F, 
including news, clans, tactics, player skills or even making your own map, the 
following resources should prove useful to you:

- The first place to stop for all the latest Q3F specific news and content is our 
web site at http://www.q3f.com - all official announcements (such as new 
Q3F releases) will be made there.

- We also host several online forums for clan announcements, editing and the 
general community.  You can access all of these by clicking the 'Forums' link 
on the left-hand console at our web-site.

- We've also created a new section on our site called 'Editing'.  If you're 
interested in making maps for Q3F this is the best place to start - it currently 
includes our complete Q3F Entity Documentation, a .DEF file for Q3Radiant 
and several tutorials on implementing Q3F entities in your maps.  The 'Edit' 
section is accessible from the left-hand console.

- For IRC fans (like us), we've set up a channel that you'll often find packed 
with members of the Q3F team and community.  The channel is present on 
both the Gamesnet and Quakenet IRC networks and is called #q3f.  If you're 
not familiar with IRC, great places to start are probably 
http://www.gamesnet.net and http://www.quakenet.eu.org.

- Finally there's also an excellent mailing list ran by the No.1 Q3F fan 'CitizenC'.  
As well as publishing a regular article called 'The Q3F Times', you'll find 
interviews with Q3F team members and interesting discussions on all things 
Q3F. You can add yourself to this mailing list by just visiting the web site at 
http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/q3f


3. Hardware Requirements

The absolute minimum hardware requirements remain the same as Quake 3 
Arena:

- 3-D Hardware Accelerator with full OpenGL(r) support

- Pentium(r) 233Mhz MMX(r) processor with 8 MB video card OR Pentium II 
266Mhz processor with 4 MB Video Card OR AMD(r) 350Mhz K6(r)-2 processor 
with 4 MB Video Card

- 64 MB Ram

- 50 MB of uncompressed disk space for Q3F files in addition to your existing 
Quake 3 installation

- 100% DirectX 3.0 or higher compatible sound card

In addition to the standard Quake 3 requirements, you'll also need an Internet 
connection.  It's possible to start Q3F as a non-dedicated local server and run 
around maps on your own, but unless you're learning the latest "Stun-Jump", it's 
not much fun playing a team-play mod, without a team :)


4. Installation

Your ZIP file should contain the following files:

q3f_beta_001-full.pk3	The Q3F Modification
license.txt		The Limited Use Software License Agreement
q3f_readme.doc		This file
q3f_server.cfg		Sample cfg for running a Q3F server
q3f.pst			Q3F Gamespy Tab for Q3F

You should create a directory called Q3F under your main Quake 3 directory and 
place all of these files there.  For example:

C:\program files\quake iii arena\q3f

That's it!
	
5. Running Clients and Servers

The Q3F mod can be ran as either a client, non-dedicated server or dedicated 
server.

If you have any problems connecting to Q3F servers, the following are worth 
checking/trying:

- Ensure you have no cgame.dll, game.dll or ui.dll files in your quake 3 root directory
- Ensure that the q3f_beta_001.pk3 is in the Q3F directory and not BaseQ3
- Try using +set fs_game q3f on the command line.
- For pure servers, ensure you have the same version of the point release it does


Using Gamespy

By far the easiest way to find the fastest/nearest Q3F server and just start 
playing Q3F, is to get Gamespy from http://www.gamespy.com

For those of you that already have Gamespy installed, we've included a Custom 
Gamespy Tab, that will filter all the Q3F servers. To use this just select the View 
menu in Gamespy, click Custom Tab, then click Import and the locate the file 
called Q3F.PST in your quake3\q3f directory.  Under the drop down list next to 
"only show these servers" you'll now have a Q3F option.

You can also add the following official Q3F master servers, which should contain 
only Quake 3 servers that are running our mod:

Name:			Games Inferno
Internet Address:	master.gamesinferno.com
Port:			27950

Name:			Gameplay
Internet Address:	wp17.wireplay.net
Port:			27950

To add these, right-click the "Quake 3 Arena" tab on the left hand console, select 
"add master list" and enter the details above.  You'll now see two new entries 
under "Quake 3 Arena".  Right click each of these, select update - and you're 
done!


Using the In-Built Quake 3 Server Browser

As of the Quake 3 1.16n Point Release, you shouldn't have to specify the mod 
you wish to play on the command line.  Instead Q3 should give you the option to 
list Q3F servers, and on connection it should restart and load our mod.

Conversely, if you wish to run a local server from within Quake3, you should be 
able to select Q3F from the mods menu.


Using a Desktop Shortcut or the Command Line

If you absolutely must use the command line to connect to Q3F servers (ok, ok I 
do too-) then just do this:

To connect Q3F server:

quake3.exe +set fs_game q3f +connect <ip_address:port> +password <pass> 

Where <ip_address:port> is the server's IP address and port that you 
wish to connect to and <pass> is the password for said server.

To run a local non-dedicated server:

quake3.exe +set fs_game q3f +exec q3f_server.cfg

To run a local dedicated server:

quake3.exe +set fs_game q3f +set dedicated 1 +exec q3f_server.cfg
	
We've included a sample q3f_server.cfg file called q3f_server.cfg which should 
include everything you need including map rotations for current maps.  If you 
have any problems running a Q3F server, stop by our forums or IRC channels.


6. Game Overview

Note: You can probably skip this entire section if you're familiar with team-play
based mods and online gaming.  If you're not, read on!


A Short Introduction To Q3F

Q3F, by nature of a few special items, eight grenade types, ten different classes, 
sixteen different weapons, and what at first seem like countless different styles of 
game-play can be a little intimidating to the newbie Q3Fer.

In truth, though, it's all fairly straightforward - you choose a class, and as a 
result you get set weapons, grenades and abilities, and then you function in the 
best way you can as part of a co-operative team.

As pointed out above, you really don't need to learn any of this to have fun in 
Q3F.  You can pick pretty much any class in Q3F, and on a public server you can 
still have fun running around shooting people and doing your best to either 
defend or steal flags and/or capture points.

The part of this style of team-play based modification, that most people find 
interesting is the overall depth if you do fancy learning a bit more.  You needn't 
worry though - it's normal for most people to find one or two classes that they 
enjoy playing, and stick with them almost exclusively until they become incredible 
at those roles.

All the information you'll need while playing Q3F is presented to you via the Q3F 
Heads Up Display.  For a full visual breakdown of the Q3F HUD, please visit our 
website.

One of the things you might find a little confusing at first are the number of 
commands you can use while playing.  To make this a little easier we've added a 
menu within Quake 3 that allows you to bind keys for all useful commands.  You 
can access this menu at any time by pressing escape while playing.


Game Objectives

All games of Q3F are based around Team Objectives.  These are always 
determined by the map (2Machse or 2Night3 for example), and we've done our 
best to make the features that 'map-makers' have access to as powerful as 
possible.  The hope being that Q3F might offer some stimulating alternatives to 
the standard Capture the Flag game-style, that's so frequently played.

That said, we've kept the BETA release simple and chosen CTF themed maps for 
this release.  All of the included maps are detailed in the 'Maps Section', but here 
we'll just cover the different game-styles possible.

Split into their most fundamental groups, there are four styles of map.  These 
are:


Capture the Flag

Capture the Flag (CTF) style maps involve taking a flag from one place to another 
for points.  Usually your team needs to invade an enemy base, fight through their 
defence and then once back at your base, capture (often referred to as 'Cap') the 
enemy flag by taking it to a designated area.  For this process your team as a 
whole is often awarded 10 points.

It's also the job of you're team to ensure your own flag isn't stolen.  Each time 
your flag is 'capped' the enemy gets 10 points, and that's bad!


Command Point

Command Point maps involve taking flags from your own base and placing them 
on points at strategic positions in the map, hence the term 'command point'.


Capture and Hold

Capture and hold maps involve holding areas of the map from the other team(s). 

We say teams as there may be up to 3 other teams against whom you have to 
fight for control of an area.  You can think of 'Capture and Hold' as being the 
gang warfare side of Q3F.  If your team controls the area, your team get the 
rewards.


Player Class Summary

Some classes are more naturally inclined to defensive roles.  Good examples of 
these are the Engineer (who is able to build Autosentries and Supply Stations) 
and the Sniper (who's weapons make him ideally suited to long-range defence). 

Alternatively there are classes such as the Recon, who's speed makes him one of 
the best classes for stealing an enemy flag.

Somewhere in between these two is the Grenadier.  On the one hand he has a 
Grenade Launcher and high-explosive charges - both of which are ideal for 
offence, while conversely he also carries a Pipebomb Launcher - a weapon who's 
very design is based around the laying of traps, and so is much more suited to a 
defence role.

There's little advantage to playing any one class over another, save the situation 
at hand in-game, and so ultimately you should just play what you enjoy most and 
pay little attention to anyone who considers certain classes or roles to have a 
'stigma' attached to them.


Clans

When you've played on public servers for a while, you might start to wish that 
you were part of a group who were more focussed on team play, or perhaps had 
regular matches against other similar groups.

This is where clans come in, and the team-play MOD scene is absolutely full of 
them.  Everything from newbie-training schools (without any goals, save having 
fun) through to commercially sponsored teams (who get flown around the world 
to play in tournaments) exist online, and Q3F is unlikely to be any different.

For your first clan, there's nothing wrong at all with just asking on a public server 
if there's anyone recruiting, or asking the same of people in the Q3F IRC channels 
and forums.

Remember that a lot of people who play team-based MODS do so because they 
really aren't interested in that whole free-for-all, deathmatch l33t individual skills 
thing, and not a care for anyone else attitude of unmodified FPS games.

In the main team-based clans are considerably friendlier and a lot more likely to 
help you out while you're new.  Don't worry though, the minute you get any good 
you'll have plenty of people out for your blood, or to join their clan :)


7. Player Classes

The Q3F classes are the backbone of Q3F's team-play.  They are:


The Q3F Recon

"Leaping tall buildings with a single Stun Grenade, it's super-flea!"

The reconnaissance class of Q3F, the 'Recon' is by far the fastest guy around.  
Though his weapons are more annoying than destructive, his ability to disappear 
in to the distance, while scanning for enemies in advance with his Radar Scanner, 
more than make up for his lack of raw power.

Still, his weapons are nothing to be sniffed at.  Both his Single-Barrelled Shotgun 
and his Nailgun are easily capable of bringing foe in poor health to their knees, 
while his Stun Grenades and Flashbangs make for the perfect escape.

The following class-specific command is available to the Recon:

Command		Description
Scanner		Will initiate the enemy radar scanner on your HUD


The Q3F Sniper

"You light the match, he sees the flame... You light the cigarette and he takes 
aim... You'd hear the shot, if the bullet weren't lodged in your brain." 

You *never* want to be in the cross-hairs of a good Sniper.  One-shot, one-kill 
and it's likely that you didn't even see the muzzle flash.  The sniper is by far one 
of the toughest classes to master, lending itself to that special breed of player 
with astonishing reflexes and the ability to 'make like a tree' in a split second.

Though poorly armoured, and of average speed, the sniper is armed with an 
annoyingly damaging Nailgun and the seriously lethal Rifle supporting both 
'single-shot' and 'assault' modes of operation.  He also carries both Flashbangs 
and standard-issue Hand Grenades.


The Q3F Soldier

"All you need is a fire button, a reload key and a note to work out grenades 
later..."

The backbone of any offence or defence operation, the Q3F soldier has developed 
over time to be one of the most popular classes to play.  Requiring little more 
than a fast-trigger finger to get going with, this class offers bundles of scope for 
'l33t skillz.' as your aim and timing improves.

Armed with a Single-Barrelled Shotgun, Double-Barrelled Shotgun and the all-
powerful Rocket Launcher, he's great at both close-up 'duelling', area clearing 
and providing long-range cover.  His firearms are complimented by standard-
issue Hand Grenades and the truly impressive nail bomb.


The Q3F Grenadier

"Boom! Boom! Shake the room!"

The destructive class of Q3F, that never goes out without a bang!  Touting an 
Gauntlet, Single-Barrelled Shotgun, Grenade Launcher and Pipebomb Launcher, 
he's already well armed.   Add to this his Cluster Grenades, standard-issue Hand 
Grenades and 'earth-shattering' HE Charges and you have one whole C4 box of 
fun!

To facilitate the placing of charged explosives, and the detonation of Pipebombs, 
the Grenadier has a few class-specific commands available to him:

Command		Description
charge		Used to set a Charged Explosive at your current location:
charge menu	Displays the charge menu
charge 5	Set a charged explosive for 5 seconds
charge cancel	Will cancel the attempt to set a charge
detpipe & det	Detonate placed Pipebombs laid with the Pipebomb Launcher


The Q3F Paramedic

"Hey looky there! There's a Medic... well, gimme some medical attention already! 
come on!!"

Hardly any offence unit is complete without the Paramedic.  Moderately fast, with 
an excellent combination of Single-Barrelled Shotgun, Double-Barrelled Shotgun 
and Super-Nailgun, he's already a worthy opponent to most classes in Q3F.

If you combine all that with his ability to both heal team-mates, infect enemies 
and perform incredible jumps using Stun Grenades, he's one hell of a great class 
to play.  He also carries standard-issue Hand Grenades too!


The Q3F Minigunner

"*click* Take cooooooooooooover!!!! *whir* Ratatatatatat!"

Truly the 'Big-Daddy' of Q3F.  The Minigunner carries by far the largest and most 
aggressive of all the Q3F weapons - The Minigun!  If that's not trouble enough, 
he's also armed to the teeth with the latest in Cluster Bombs, standard-issue 
Hand Grenades, a Double-Barrelled Shotgun, and for last-ditch attempts at that 
enemy that 'just wont die' a Single-Barrelled Shotgun and a Gauntlet!


The Q3F Flametrooper

"Baby won't you light my fire!"

The arsonist of Q3F!  With almost all his weapons dedicated to incinerating the 
enemy, even those that escape his immediate attack, often die from 3rd-degree 
burns within seconds.

Amongst the arsenal of equipment carried by the Flametrooper, his two main 
weapons are the Lightweight Carbon-Format Flame-Thrower and Napalm 
Launcher.  He also carries an Gauntlet, Shotgun, standard issue Hand Grenades 
and special Napalm Grenades.


The Q3F Agent

"Pay attention 007..."

The Agent is the infiltrating, back-stabbing, shadow class of Q3F.  With his ability 
to both disguise and use invisibility, he's able to sneak through, and camp in, 
heavily defended areas.

The Agent is armed with the deadly Combat Knife, rapid-fire Nailgun, Double-
Barrelled Shotgun and sleep inducing Dartgun.  He also carries standard-issue 
Hand Grenades and special hallucinogenic Gas Grenades.

The Agent also has certain class-specific commands available to him to handle 
disguising and invisibility:

Command			Description
disguise menu		displays the disguise menu
disguise class recon	will change your player model to soldier
disguise team blue	will change your team colour to blue
disguise reset		will reset your disguise to standard skin
Invisible		Shortcut to toggle invisibility mode


The Q3F Engineer

"Your Supply Station detonation may harm, you're Autosentry may maim, but the 
true crowning moment in an Engineers career can ONLY be the Wrench Murder!"

The Engineer is the true defence and support class of Q3F.  He is able to build 
Autosentries that automatically guard the team base and Supply Stations for 
team-mates to restock on ammunition and armour.

The Engineer is no 'pea-shooter carrying weakling' though - he's armed with a 
Wrench, Double-Barrelled Shotgun, high-velocity Railgun and carries both 
standard issue Hand Grenades and special Pulse Grenades.

The Engineer also has certain class-specific commands available to him to handle 
the building, upgrading, repairing and destroying of Auto Sentries and Supply 
Stations: 

Command			Description
Build			Used initiate building of Auto Sentries and Supply Stations:	build menu		displays the build menu
build autosentry	builds an Autosentry at your current location
build supplystation	builds a supply station at your current location
Destroy			Used to remotely destroy Autosentries and Supply Stations	destroy autosentry	Remotely detonates your Autosentry
destroy supplystation	Remotely detonates your Supply Station


The Q3F Civilian

"No weapons, probably no armour, and not a chance in hell of surviving!"

Thought not present on any of the current Q3F maps, we plan to add the Civilian 
in the future to allow for greater game-play depth.

He might be the subject of a planned assassination with one team as the 
assassins and the others as his bodyguards.  Maybe a large groups of Civilians 
need to get from A to B without dying.  Sounds dull- Trust us, relying on nothing 
but your wit, your trust in your team-mates and the cover around you, can be 
surprisingly rewarding - that is, of course, if you survive.


8. Weapons Briefing

Every weapon in Q3F has its advantages and disadvantages.  Some fire faster, 
are better at long range attacks or at close-range defence.  The majority, though, 
are unique to specific classes and are balanced against that class's armour and 
speed.  Regardless of the class you play, you can be sure you need to get the job 
done.

What follows is an overview of all the Q3F weapons, and some hints on their use.


The Gauntlet
Note: to be replaced by the Battle Axe

In a recent survey, six of the ten classes in Q3F expressed a preference to the 
Gauntlet over any other hand-held melee weapon :)

Often used for an up-close pummelling attack, or in an attempt to fool your 
enemy into a false sense of security (thinking you've run out of ammunition) the 
Gauntlet is the one weapon you're rarely without.


The Syringe

Unique to the Paramedic, the Syringe is a dual-purpose offence weapon and 
support tool. In defensive mode, it has the ability to heal team-mates and cure 
their maladies. When used in the offensive mode it infects enemies and does 10 
points of damage with the first stab and an additional 5 points of damage for 
every 2 seconds the enemy remains infected.

Diseases may also be passed on to an infected enemy's team-mates.  In fact, 
without someone to cure them, it's possible to infect a large part of the enemy 
team with a well-timed stab in a room packed with the evil enemy.


The Wrench

Replacing the Gauntlet for the Engineer, this is the hand-held tool the he's never 
without.  Using the Wrench, the Engineer is able to upgrade and refill both Supply 
Stations and Autosentries.

Unfortunately for incoming enemies, an Engineer can also use this multi-purpose 
tool to increase his team-mates armour and as a last resort, as a blunt 
instrument to hit people over the head with.


The Single Barrelled Shotgun

The Single Barrel Shotgun is the ideal back-up weapon. Used by many of the 
classes in Q3F, it's both lightweight and extremely reliable. Able to hold 8 rounds 
in the clip and lacking only in accuracy, it's perfect for those last-ditch attempts 
at escape when pursued by an enemy low on health. 


The Double Barrelled Shotgun

Often referred to as the 'Super-Shotgun', and for a good reason.

The Double-Barrelled Shotgun can hold up to 16 rounds in the clip and with each 
shot firing off two shells simultaneously, it can pack quite a serious punch with an 
accurate blast at close range.


The Nailgun

Carried by the Recon, the Agent and the Sniper, the Q3F Nailgun is a fast, furious 
and lightweight weapon ideal for creating small dents in the enemy, as part of a 
big team.

Also good at distance attacks on static objects such as Autosentries when you're 
out of their range, it might not save you're life that often, but it sure as hell can 
clear a nice path through less intelligently laid out defences.


The Super Nailgun

What the Nailgun wants to be when it grows up!  Carried only by the Paramedic, 
the Super Nailgun has power that defies its weight.  Purposely built small and 
with balance being a major design factor, the Super Nailgun deals roughly twice 
the damage of the Nailgun, in only half the time!

Beware though - it can really chew through nail ammunition.  It's definitely a 
good idea to keep any eye out for the bodies of fallen enemies, salvaging what 
you can from their backpacks, before you continue on.


The Railgun

Used only by the Engineer, the Railgun accelerates nails to an incredible speed 
causing them to burst straight through organic objects and keep on going. With 
it's maximum clip load of 50 nails, fast rate of fire and zero reload time, this is 
both ideal as a close-range 'chase' weapon and for sniping stationary targets at a 
distance. 


The Dartgun

The drugging weapon of the Agent!  The Dartgun propels darts tipped with a 
tranquilliser, that penetrate all known armour, passing its secret chemical 
compound straight in to the blood stream of the target.

Though the drug does limited damage on it's own, its effects take place rapidly, 
causing the enemy's reflexes to be dulled for a good few seconds.  Just enough 
time to maim, kill or outrun the rogue.


The Rifle

No single shot from any other weapon can compete with the Rifle for accuracy, 
damage or speed.  Using the latest in soft-point ammunition technology and an 
advanced charge unit that increases velocity, it's capable of sending projectiles at 
incredible speed which then causing serious body 'trauma' as the round expands 
on hitting soft tissue.

Backed up by a switchable assault mode that makes the gun fully-automatic, it's 
able to fire off rounds at an incredible rate making it perfect for both close-range 
gun-fights and finishing off wounded enemies at a distance.


The Flamethrower

The lightweight carbine-format Flamethrower is designed solely for close combat. 
Using a pressurised napalm gel, it can cover an area of up to 9 meters. Once the 
target is hit, the gel will stick to the victim and continue to burn for up to 5 
seconds. With sufficient fuel in a dual fuel reservoir for bursts of up to 30 
seconds, the flamethrower is considered to be one of the fiercest weapons against 
lightly armoured classes. 


The Rocket Launcher

Standard-issue to all Soldiers, the Rocket Launcher is one of the best weapons for 
both close range combat and laying down cover fire when crossing open areas.  
All you'll need to excel with this weapon, is good prediction and eye for keeping 
yourself out of the dead-zone

Also great for blind shots in to the likely hiding spots of enemy snipers, the 
Rocket Launcher's only down sides are it's weight (which mildly impacts on your 
speed) and it's 4 second reload time, leaving you only one hand free, with which 
to throw grenades.

When it hits though it does some serious damage!


The Napalm Launcher

Similar in build to the Rocket Launcher, though a little lighter, the Napalm 
Launcher will propel napalm coated rockets almost indefinitely till they reach a 
solid target.  Though the napalm-coating reduces rocket velocity due to a 
reduction in aerodynamics, the impact is nevertheless dramatic.

Ammunition cases are designed so that the front section compacts, splashing all 
local targets with Napalm before the resulting explosion set's them alight.  From a 
distance you can hardly tell the Napalm Launcher and Rocket Launcher apart, bar 
the red trail the napalm rocket leaves behind as the casing starts to ignite.


The Grenade Launcher

One of two similar weapons carried by the Q3F Grenadier, the Grenade Launcher 
holds 6 artillery-style grenades in the clip, and can be reloaded in under 4 
seconds.

Only slightly less powerful than a standard-issue hand grenade, a Grenadier 
emptying his Grenade Launcher in a closed area is likely to leave nothing 
standing.


The Pipebomb Launcher

A more defensive version of the Grenade Launcher, the Pipebomb launcher allows 
the Grenadier to litter an area with pipebombs, while a small catch on the side of 
the weapon allows remote detonation from any location.

Because of their low-profile shape, Pipebombs are ideal for placing in the path of 
likely incoming.  Before his eyes have even got you in focus, he'll probably be 
gibbage!
 

The Minigun

The big-daddy weapon of Q3F, requiring great strength to wield, is used by the 
Minigunner alone. With its ability to tear through armour and health at an 
astounding rate, it's a fearsome firearm indeed. It's only downside being the 0.7 
seconds spin-up time and the need for both your feet to be planted solidly on the 
floor.


9. Grenades

Though almost all Q3F classes are supplied with up to four standard-issue 
grenades, many of them carry a unique grenade type that supports their ideal 
function in a team.

All of these grenades, their function and classes who depend on their use most, 
are detailed in the following table:

Grenade Type		Issued To			Primary Function
Hand Grenade		All classes except Recon	Standard issue military 
							grenade

Flashbang Grenade	Recon and Sniper		Blinds enemy temporarily, 
							limited splash damage

Stun Grenade		Recon and Paramedic		Interferes with enemy 
							balancing, causing dizziness 
							and nausea

Nail Bomb		Soldier				Sends out a stream of small 
							metal spikes ripping shreds 
							through any enemies within 
							range

Cluster Bomb		Grenadier and Minigunner	Heavy grenade pack holding 
							a cluster of sub-grenades

Napalm Grenade		Flametrooper			Incendiary explosive device, 
							causing local area to burn 
							at an intense heat level

Gas Grenade		Agent				Spawns a cloud of 
							hallucinogenic gas

Pulse Grenade		Engineer			Interferes on an electro-
							magnetic level with all local 
							ammunition, causing it to 
							detonate. 


10. Special Items

Special items are placed or built by specific classes, and generally perform special 
functions.  The Special Items in Q3F are:

Item			Class				Primary Function
Autosentry		Engineer			Defends area where placed, 
							firing on any visible 
							enemies with shells and 
							rockets

Supply Station		Engineer			Supplies armour and 
							ammunition to team mates

Heavy Explosive Charge	Grenadier			Timed explosive, causing a 
							massive explosion that kills 
							most if not all local hostiles


11. Maps

Maps are the actual levels upon which Q3F is played.  They are the environment 
within which you support, defend, attack and often die, in Q3F.

The following maps are all included within Q3F.  Additional maps will be available 
from Q3F community sites and included with future Q3F releases.

2Mach - Special Edition

Short Name:	q3f_2machse
Team Sizes:	6-8 players per team
Authors:	Llama/RR2DO2
Game-style:	CTF

Overview:	Originally a boundary breaking remake of 2Mach for Quakeworld, 
2MachSE is the Q3F version remade by Q3F, with permission from 
its original author, Kyle 'Someone' Graehl.

Objective:	Capture the enemy team's flag on the platform your own flag sits 
on.


2Night3 - The Morning After

Short Name:	q3f_2night3
Team Sizes:	8-10 players per team
Author:		Wils
Game-style:	CTF

Overview:	This is the long awaited sequel to 2Night2 Midnight Rumble - one of 
the most popular Team Fortress maps in Europe, with this 
progressive update made by the original author.

Objective:	Steal the enemy flag from their flagroom and capture it in the side 
room in your team's ramp room for 10 team points.
Now with added mallard :)


cBases

Short Name:	q3f_cbases
Team Sizes:	6-8 players per team
Author:		MrChumble
Game-style:	CTF

Overview:	A faithful remake of the popular Bases map, we've done our best to 
implement some of the architectural style that would have so 
perfectly fitted the original, were it not limited by the QW engine 
when playing on maps such as this with larger open outside areas.

Objective:	Invade the enemy base, battle your way into their control room 
and steal their flag! Return it to your own control room for 10 team 
points.


Chaos 3

Short Name:	q3f_chaos3
Team Sizes:	4-6 players per team
Author:		Wils
Game-style:	CTF/Command Point

Overview:	A remake of Chaos98, which, for those of you who haven't played 
it, was an official port of Chaos1.1. Ideal for small team sizes, 
Chaos was always one of those maps that had both great game-
play and balanced use of classes. With this version, we hope to 
capture all of these excellent qualities for Q3F.

Objective:	Get into the enemy base, get the flag, get out. Nothing to it... 
Apart from the enemy, at least.  Take the flag back to the capture 
pad in your base's upper floor for 10 points.  If your team is in 
control of the central command point when you do so, you'll get 20 
points.


Forts

Short Name:	q3f_forts
Team-Sizes:	8-10 players per team
Author:		Cyber
Game-style:	CTF

Overview:	In q3f_forts, we've attempted to recreate the familiar map layout, 
while implementing a lot of the new features that the Quake 3 
engine provides

Objective:	Steal the enemy flag from the basement of the opposing team's 
base, and take it to the battlement of your own base for 10 team 
points.


2Stag2

Short Name:	q3f_2stag2
Team-Sizes:	4-8 players per team
Author:	JM|Leon and JM|aVis
Game-style:	Tournament

Overview:	The first third-party map ever made for Q3F, 2stag2 by JM|Leon 
and JM|aVis is a redesigned update to the original lanparty map 
they created in December 1999 for QWTF 

Objective:	Capture the enemy team's flag on the pentagram over the slime in 
your team's base for 10 team points.


12. Map Making For Q3F

Because of the nature of editing, with constant new releases to tools and utilities, 
all information about Q3F map-making is kept live on our site at 
http://www.q3f.com.

If you're interested in making your own Q3F maps then this is the very best place 
to start.  You'll find complete Q3F Entity Documentation, tutorials on using our 
custom entities and even some of the tools you'll need, such as a .def file for 
Q3Radiant.  All of this is available from the Editing section on our site.

We also host a forum dedicated to editing for Q3F - it's also accessible from the 
left-hand console on our site under the forums section.


13. Command Summary

Q3F commands may be entered in the console within Quake 3, bound to keys on 
your keyboard or used in your own scripts.  They are roughly split in to two 
groups - those that are available globally (detailed below), and commands which 
can only be used by certain classes (detailed under each class in Q3F Classes 
Section).

While entering commands in to the Quake 3 console, you should proceed them all 
with the character \, otherwise they will not execute and instead be displayed to 
all players as a text message.


Player Commands

These commands may be used by all classes:

PRIMEONE	Prime a grenade of Type 1 as defined by selected class
PRIMETWO	Prime a grenade of Type 2 as defined by selected class

THROWGREN	Throw primed grenade

+GREN1		Prime a grenade of type one when the bound key is pressed, throw when 
		released.
+GREN2		Prime a grenade of type two when the bound key is pressed, throw when 
		released.

TOGGLEONE	Prime a grenade of type one, or throw if already primed (so you must press 
		the key twice to throw)
TOGGLETWO	Prime a grenade of type two, or throw if already primed (so you must press 
		the key twice to throw)

	
SPECIAL	Performs specific functions dependant on class: 

	If Class:		Performs Function:

	Recon			toggles the scanner
	Sniper			adjusts zoom scope
	Soldier			reloads rocket launcher
	Grenadier		detonates all placed pipebombs
	Minigunner		toggles between assault cannon and shotgun
	Flametrooper		toggles between flamethrower and napalm launcher
	Engineer		displays the build menu
	Agent			displays the disguise menu
	
INVENTORY	Displays your current inventory of ammunition and grenades in text format
	
RELOAD		Reload the ammunition clip for your currently selected weapon

DISCARD		Discard any ammunition that you can't use with your class-assigned weapons

CHANGECLASS	Brings up the Class Selection Menu
	
DUMPLOC		Command reserved for Mapmakers to dump location co-ordinates to a file
	
SAVEME		Used to shout for the attention of a Paramedic to heal you 

ARMORME		Used to shout for the attention of an Engineer to increase your armour


Getting In-Game Information

The following command will be useful if you'd like to ascertain the status of your 
team's flag/objectives.

FLAGINFO	Displays information on flag status


14. CVAR Summary

CVAR stands for 'console variable' and is used to store settings that configure 
how your Q3F client acts in certain situations.   We've added six special Q3F 
CVARs to allow you to personalise your Q3F experience.

When you use a CVAR you can chose to only use it for that session with the SET 
command, or you may set it permanently with the SETA command.

To set a CVAR in the console for the current game only (until you exit from Quake 
3) type:

\SET <cvar name> <value>

Here's the complete list of Q3F specific CVARs available to normal players:


cg_sniperDotScale

The Sniper dot in Q3F scales depending on your distance from the object that 
you're infra-red is striking.  You can adjust this feature by using the following (or 
values in between):


CVAR			Description
cg_sniperDotScale 0.4	Scaling dot
cg_sniperDotScale -4	Non-scaling dot


cg_impactVibration

When a grenade goes off near you, or similarly if a rocket strikes an object in 
your location Q3F has an effect that causes your display to shake in a realistic 
way.  You can enable and disable this feature like this:

CVAR			Description
Cg_impactVibration 1	enables the impact vibration effect
Cg_impactVibration 0	disables the impact vibration effect


cg_sniperDotColors	

In Q3F, when a Sniper pulls the trigger on his Rifle, an infra-red dot is cast on 
any object he's currently aiming at until he releases the key/button and fires the 
round.  By default this dot is shown in the team colour of the Sniper - for 
example a red dot for a red team member and a blue one for a blue team 
member.

If you would prefer all sniper dots to appear in a singular colour, you can do so 
with the cg_SniperDotColors command as follows:

CVAR			Description
cg_sniperDotColors 1	enables team-coloured sniper dots
cg_sniperDotColors 0	disables team-coloured sniper dots


cg_execClassConfigs

Have you thought that it might be convenient to write a different script for each 
class-  Maybe you use the arrow keys for movement - but you'd like 'shift' to be 
reload when soldier, but zoom when sniper-  This is exactly what 
cg_execClassConfigs is used for.

If you create a class script file for each class that you wish - for example 
agent.cfg, flametrooper.cfg and engineer.cfg, all you need do is place these in the 
Q3F directory and then set the CVAR value as required:

CVAR			Description
cg_execClassConfigs 1	automatically execute class CFGs
cg_execClassConfigs 0	don't automatically execute class CFGs

If enabled when you join a server, or change class, the relevant CFG will be 
automatically executed.


cg_lowEffects

Certain special effects in Q3F (for example the smoke the Minigun creates) can 
make visibility very difficult on certain video cards.  If your machine suffers from 
this (or you'd just like clearer vision at the expense of special effects) use the 
cg_lowEffects CVAR as follows:

CVAR			Description
cg_lowEffects 1		enable low effects mode
cg_lowEffects 0		Use normal Q3F effects


g_suicideDelay

The g_suicideDelay variable effects how long a player stays dead after using the 
\kill command.  Setting this variable will define the number of seconds prior to 
respawn.  The default is 7 seconds and it is set as follows:


CVAR			Description
g_suicideDelay 0	no suicide delay
g_suicideDelay 20	players must wait 20 seconds before respawn


15. Communications

Q3F communication features allow you to more accurately communicate 
information to team-mates, such as your current location or health.

When you send or receive a message in Q3F you can also designate the group of 
people it's destined for (or become a member of a specific receiving group) by 
using a special command called 'channel'.  Think of this like the channel on a 
radio.

The channel command can be used to set, add, remove and clear channels that 
you're currently receiving. If you give no command, your current list of channels 
will be shown:

	\channel
	> Now listening on all channels.
	\channel set #offence #defence
	\channel add #command
	\channel rem #defence
	\channel
	> Now listening on: #offence #command.
	\channel clear
	> Now listening on all channels.

To send a channel message you simply prefix it with the channel name (including 
# symbol). For example somebody sending:

	say_team "#offence Regroup at $L."

Will be seen by you because you're a member of the #off channel, and 
additionally anyone else that has used the command 'channel set #offense'.

Wondering what that '$L' is- It's just like Nitro, Cheapo and Qizmo - it prints your 
current location! Other '$' strings include:

	$H Health
	$A Armour
	$L Location (returns 'unknown location' if unable to work it out)
	$D Location of last death.
	$R Last reported location (i.e. identical to last $L)
	$T Team name (e.g. "Red Team", "Blue Team" etc.)
	$C Team colour (e.g. red, blue etc.)
	$G Disguise (returns 'not disguised' if not wearing a disguise)
	$S Current Class (e.g. "Soldier")
	$N Name (player name / entity groupname (or one of them)
	$E State (e.g. "active", "carried" etc.)

See the scripting section for a complete communications example script using $ 
variables for offence and defence.

You can also make use of a special Q3F feature which allows you to play a wav 
sound file to all team-mates.  The wav you wish to play must exist on all listening 
clients.

The syntax is as follows:

say_team #channel &sample message

Where:

#channel	is the channel to play the sound on (players with no channel selected will 		also get the message).

&sample	is the sample to play, from amongst the set included in the mod (only if the server 
permits team chat sounds to be played).


16. Scripting

Customising Q3F with your own scripts can be one of the most complicated, yet 
in the long-term, timesaving aspects of team-based online gaming.

With Q3F's ability to automate many of the things you may find cumbersome in 
the heat of battle, you'll only find your enjoyment heightened when you don't for 
example, have to worry about pressing several keys just to build an Auto Sentry.

Giving examples of more than a small fraction of the possibilities of scripting in 
this manual is impossible.  As such we've chosen to cover three specific Q3F 
features - grenades/firing, team communications, and the user menu.


Automating Grenades and Firing

Because Quake 3 didn't have the ability to use a '+alias' command, we've 
implemented one ourselves.

It's a little bit more complicated to set-up than in Quakeworld, but yields exactly 
the same results. For example:

	\set charge5down charge 5
	\set charge5up charge cancel
	\bind X +alias cha5

Will set-up a +alias so that when you press X, the charge5down command is 
vstr'd, and when you let go the charge5up command is executed. To get +gren1 
and +gren2 commands to work just do this:

	\set gren1down primeone
	\set gren1up throwgren
	\bind [ +alias gren1
	\set gren2down primetwo
	\set gren2up throwgren
	\bind ] +alias gren2

Where "[" and "]" are the keys you'd like to bind to +gren1 and +gren2. You can 
also use the +alias command to provide functionality for autoswitch/fire - for 
example to make a key that selects the Rocket Launcher and fires:

	\set f7down "weapon 7; +attack"
	\set f7up "-attack"
	\bind mouse2 +alias f7


Automating Communications

Here's an example script that you might use to make use of the $ 
communications variables:

//Offence

bind <key> "say_team Enemy flag - $l"
bind <key> "say_team Enemy flag - $d" // Use this after dying when you died near flag
bind <key> "say_team Enemy flag outgoing - $l"
bind <key> "say_team Position - $l [$hH $aA]"
bind <key> "say_team Where is the enemy flag-"

//Defence

bind <key> "say_team Our flag - $l"
bind <key> "say_team Our flag outgoing - $l"
bind <key> "say_team Incoming - $l"
bind <key> "say_team Where is our flag-"

//Misc

bind <key> "say_team Yes/OK!"
bind <key> "say_team Cancel that!"
bind <key> "say_team Can't help!"
bind <key> "say_team ^1NEED HELP!!! - $l [$hH $aA]"
bind <key> "say_team Need health/armor/ammo - $l [$hH $aA];saveme"


The Q3F User Configurable Menu

With the \usermenu command, you can bring up your own customised menus. This 
is mainly useful for communications, but can be used for any commands the 
server processed (rather than commands the client processes, so weapon 
switches or connections to different servers are not possible). Menu definitions 
are stored in /q3f/usermenu.txt, and have the following format:

Menu {
	Id;	Title;	Command
};

Where Menu is the name of the menu (always include a main menu, since this is 
the menu shown if none is specified after the \usermenu command), Id is title, or 
a number from 1 to 10 (matching your keyboard buttons), Title is the text shown 
in the menu, and Command is (optionally) the actual command executed when 
pressing the button. For example:

main {
	title;	Main Menu
	1;	^4Communications				// ^4 is a colour code
	2;	General;	usermenu general		// General comms
	3;	Offence;	usermenu offence		// Offence comms
	4;	Defence;	usermenu defence		// Defence comms
	5;	^4Channels
	6;	All channels;	channel clear
	7;	Offence only;	channel set #off
	8;	Defence only;	channel set #def


17. Known Bugs and Missing Features

Being a Beta product, Q3F is full of bugs and missing features :)

This section covers all bugs and missing features that we're aware of.  We expect 
to have resolved all of these issues by the time we reach Beta-2.

Bugs

- System crashes or locks up sometimes, particularly on TNT cards
(possibly not a Q3F specific problem though)
- Flags sometimes fail to return, although the message is printed.
- Sound is extremely broken - many sounds don't play on first call, and
others get cut off.
- Mapinfo flickers while selecting team/class.
- Team/class info will vanish if you do a vid_restart (or change display
settings) - Manually set \team <colour>, \<classname> if this
happens.
- Agent disguise 'jams' sometimes.
- Vanishing Autosentry (rare).


Missing Art, Models and Animations

- Axe model/skin to be added
- Nailgun skin to be replaced
- Super-Nailgun to be added (currently Q3 Machine gun)
- Dartgun to be added (currently single shotgun)
- Hand animation (idle, put away and attack) not functioning correctly
- Rifle skin to be added (current is a placeholder)


Pure considerations

If sv_pure is set to 1, clients will be unable to use the usermenu.txt
file for their own menus, or use their own communications sounds. Also, any third
party maps on the server must be downloaded to the client before they
can connect (which makes keeping a 'library' of maps problematical).
Conversely, of course, having sv_pure 0 means opening your server to
cheats.

We are looking in to ways to resolve this issue, with the help of id Software.


Miscellany

The map entities have _not_ been extensively tested - expect them to
break horribly when making maps.

Ensure sv_floodProtect is OFF (i.e. '0'), or players will be lagged out when
they use any commands (e.g. grenade throwing, sentry building,
pipebomb detonation). This is only relevant for server admins.

There is (custom) flood protection on chats, but currently can't be
adjusted by the server admin. If they're spamming the chat with
audio, try g_teamChatSounds 0 (possibly wise on public servers
anyway).

The server has a noticeably higher load than standard Q3A servers - the
mod hasn't been profiled or optimised _at all_ yet.

Please visit our bugs site at http://bugs.qiiiarena.com for a live list of new 
known bugs and missing features.


18. The Q3F Team and Final Notes


Project Leadership

Locki			Project Leader	locki@earthquakers.org
Hotwire			Project Leader	davidM@soundtracs.com

The Coding Team

Golliwog		Lead Coder		golliwog@dial.pipex.com
RR2D02			Coding/Levels/Art	rr2do2@planethalflife.com
Falcon			Coding/Founder		falcon@planethalflife.com
MrTickle		Coding			jules@netsitepro.co.uk
Phiber			Coding			jm@lostbytes.com

The Level Design Team

Wils			Lead Level Designer	wils@earthquakers.org
MrChumble		Level Design		mrchumble@hotmail.com
Rocket8			Level Design		surjit@barrysworld.co.uk
Llama			Level Design		llama@barrysworld.com
Cyber			Level Design		kkolk@accn.org
Jeeves			Level Design		

The Modelling Team

Happy			Lead Modeller		happy@men.org.uk
Hezza			Modelling		hezza@btinternet.com
Hoffa			Modelling		azza@techno.net.au
Naz			Modelling		naz_nds@hotmail.com
ImpaQT			Modelling		impaqt@online.no

The Art Team

Fluffy Gimp		Lead Artist		fluffy_gimp@hotmail.com
Nightwolf		Art			qlz@swipnet.se
Snoop			Art			
Lead			Art			lead@chello.se
Fussell			Art

The Audio Team

GBH			Lead Audio		gbh@maitland.demon.co.uk
Tala			Music			tala@maitland.demon.co.uk
Enyak			Music			enyak@numonium.de
MrCollins		Voices			
Stu			Sound FX		smf2@techie.com

Quality Assurance

Russellm		QA			russellm@qiiiarena.com


Special Thanks To

We would like to express gratitude to The Barrysworld Network 
(www.barrysworld.com) for giving us a stonking alpha test platform (Dual P3-
550!) upon which we have been able to collaboratively test our mod.

We are also indebted to Russell Mein (Deathace) of Deathace Incorporated 
(www.deathace.net) for the provision of a number of services upon which the 
development of this entire MOD has been managed and FTP mirrors during our 
alpha/beta development.

We also received excellent support from Games Inferno, Gameplay/Wireplay, 
Demon Internet (UK and NL) and Netgames UK who have all dedicated hardware 
to run Q3F Alpha Servers.

Over 40 clans from around the world have helped tremendously by extensively 
testing our mod during alpha, running Q3F Alpha Servers and providing excellent 
feedback on bugs and game-play.  We'd like to thank all the clans involved who 
were:
 
AR, BH, BTEG, CE, CIX, DJEDI, DON, DV, ELD, EQ, FOLD, FWD, GB, GMBH, GP, 
GT, HT, Im12, JM, KIN, LOL, LUV, M, N, MEN, MF, MP, N, NULL, PlanB, R3M, SAS, 
SG, SOF, SW, TF, TN, WK and WN.

Additional thanks to:

Khaile for giving us the source code to his mod 'qwFix' as a point of reference for 
our experimentation with Quakeworld physics in a Quake 3 environment and also 
providing our ladder code.  Kyle 'Someone' Graehl for giving us permission to port 
2Mach to Q3F.  Jim "Sgt Thundercok" Kaufman for releasing his .map files and 
giving us permission to port his maps.  Septik for additional textures.  Myth, 
Horus and Rauper for unadulterated printed-pimpage.  Marauder for additional 
Sound FX and Tritin Films for their offer to produce our intro-movie free!

id Software for producing the best FPS games in existence, providing us, the 
community with the tools to enhance them even more, and then still finding the 
time to respond to our endless e-mails with particularly dull technical queries :)

Without the support of all of these individuals, organisations and clans we would 
be many weeks behind schedule, if in fact we'd been able to develop the MOD at 
all.

Most of all we'd like to thank all of you that continue to hang out in our forums, 
chat on our IRC channels, offer us servers and commit your clans to playing our 
mod.  You've been the real motivation behind the 2000 odd man-hours that have 
already gone into Q3F, and the many 1000's hours we hope to continue investing.

We hope you enjoy Q3F as much as we've enjoyed making it!

Locki
Project Leader
The Q3F Team - http://www.q3f.com

