CATEGORY: Tech

CustomTF is the QuakeWorld mod where alongside the standard 9 TF classes, players are presented with the option to build a custom class, purchasing its weapons and specialities with a fixed amount of credits they are initially granted. It offers one of the most alive pub scenes in Quake, and is still being maintained by one of the few most prolific developers of its three-decades-long history, along with a FuhQuake-based dedicated client called “Prozac”.

Quake 2, some people’s favorite in the series, has never had a playable Fortress mod, let alone being blessed with their variety as Quake 1/QW is. Although there is evidence that a Quake 2 Fortress development had started and died back in the day, the mod Quake 2 is remembered by has always been Action Quake 2, the spiritual predecessor of Counter-Strike. However, for more than a year now, CustomTF is being developed for Quake 2, and is weekly getting beta-tested. The playtests were given a break during spring, but recently took off again, and is happening at Kilam’s server, quake.kesselle.org, every Thursday at 8 PM EST. Join the Prozac CustomTF Discord server for instructions on how to get the client and connect.

I think the Quake 2 engine usage for this mod really improves the experience. I invite everyone to play with us on Thursdays, even if it’s still in beta stage. It’s fun! – OfteN, Developer

The original CustomTF on QW has 15 class-building menus, each presenting 7 purchasable weapons or specialities. OfteN reports that 75% of the weapons are implemented, and overall 90% of the whole mod. They are still lacking stuff like class models, but everything will come around eventually. Join up on Thursdays to be a part of the latest Fortress expansion.

Deathmatch Classic (DMC) is the tribute of Valve to id Software’s Quake, initially released as a free mod of Half-Life, and is essentially a remake of Quake in the GoldSrc engine. CoaXion (games) has just shared devlog #6, the first progress update after two years, of their DMC remake, called DMC: Refragged. You can either read about it on their web post, supported by screen shots and videos, or watch the full video version below.

While DMC:R isn’t the most popular of Coaxion’s projects, it’s gained a small consistent fanbase that I appreciate the support of. This game will likely never be very popular or have a consistent player count on Steam, but it’s not being built with player count in mind. It’s meant to be like a sort of game you play on a game night, which is exactly what we plan to do weekly or bi-weekly once it releases. If there are servers with consistent players, that’d be a cool bonus too. – MTD, Project Lead

DMC:R is currently in a closed alpha state, and is accepting new playtesters whose free time works with DMC:R’s playtesting times. You can fill out the related application form linked on the dmcr-faq channel of their Discord server. There is more to find there, as CoaXion is also the developer of the highly-anticipated TF2 mod called Lambda Fortress, which brings the TF2 classes into the Half-Life 2 campaign for a co-op experience.

You can watch below the latest DMC:R gameplay video, shared together with the devlog. If you are hungry for more, aside from applying to be a playtester, you can also follow the GoldSrc Saturdays platform to catch an old-school DMC event.

There is a new surge in FF’s development. Two relatively new members of the community rolled up their sleeves to exhaust the long-standing to-do list of the game’s backend, while bringing a fresh feel to it.

Fortress Forever’s community exists in two different spheres: pubs (casual play) and PuGs (pick-up play). Hlieb and I aim to refine FF’s game design and balancing in a way that satisfies these two sides of the community, strikes a balance between the older and newer versions of FF, and makes the game feel more familiar to fans of other TF games. With each change, we hope to address an issue that has been pointed out by players or noticed by us, and we have also added some new content to the game such as dynamic lights for grenades and Demo’s pipes. The best example of our work would be what we did to the Pyro, who was given a jetpack that was reinvented to have a pause before replenishing fuel and a rebalanced IC that fits his combo-focused playstyle better. There are challenges in rebalancing FF, as some topics are hotly debated or argued over between ourselves or the other players we consult on potential changes to the game. I would also like to mention that we host playtests, and I’m very open to any community feedback on the changes we’ve made to this classic and amazing game. – hi there

They also note that WizWard, LucasTheRenegade and FF’s official developer BreakingBenny are part of the playtests, almost every day.

That same Lucas mentioned above and his brother Ben are also the minds behind a new event which can be considered as the final chapter of the efforts that were carried out since the end of last year. First, the Pub Weekends which have been a consistent call to arms every week; then, the peaking, one-time event of Classic Revival Week. The after effects of those have been increased pub and PuG activity in FF. A/D Saturdays at 3PM Eastern Time (21:00 in Central Europe) concentrate that interest to a single day and time and get the best out of it.

There’s plenty of talk about updates and changes, I see a lot of ideas thrown around and I have played many TF games. But to me the reason I stuck around was because each game was different, each game had their own little thing to it. Updates and discussion are good, but if no one is gonna remind people what we came to TF to do, then I guess I gotta do it, y’know? Always gotta remember the fight. – LucasTheRenegade

You can react and comment under this post, join the FF Discord server, say hi, and join the games on Saturday to show your love and support for these guys who are not giving up on this Fortress title yet.