 by fatmanfat, AEon and blakjack | |
|---|---|
| A.k.a. | Platformer Q3A Platformer |
| Current version | v02 |
| Status | Inactive |
| Tagline | Quake 3 goes 2D! |
Description[]
Quake III Platformer is a mod that drastically changes the point of view and the game feeling of Q3, with interesting results. It's Q3A with 2D game mechanics. You will have a third-person lateral view, from distance: most of its stock maps use a "static" screen to show the whole map, like old 2D platform games - thus, it is advisable to use a not too low resolution - while one of them (aeplat07, the one that supports Capture the Flag mode) uses horizontal scrolling.
You will be able to move laterally, jump, crouch, aim up and down (you can only shoot straight in front of you, or diagonally up/forward, or diagonally down/forward -at a fixed angle-)[1] and shoot, but not to move in depth, at least directly. Many maps use multiple depth planes that you can reach only by using teleporters or moving platforms (you can hit only the players in the same depth plane as yours); if you get lost in the map[2], you can bind a key for the mods-specific "locate" command (e.g. /bind z locate will show your position when pressing the "z" key; you can do the binding from the SETUP --> CONTROLS menu, if you prefer). You will find the classic Quake 3 weapons (documentation reports weapons have been tweaked a bit) and game modes, but the gameplay will feel different! You can play against bots or human players. It is also possible to move the status bar to the upper side of the screen, if you wish.
It is advisable to read readme.txt and Whats_new.txt included files.
The mod works with specifically-designed maps. 8 maps are included in version 02. Map makers can read the build_platformer_maps.txt file to learn how to create their own Q3A Platformer maps. Mod package also included the source .map files of the existing maps. Someone even created some "DeFRaG-style" maps for Quake III Platformer!
If you wish, you can create your own Platformer maps, put them online somewhere and then add the links to download them to the "Download mirrors" or "External links" sections below in this page.
Compared with Target Quake Arena, another interesting 2D gameplay mod, this one makes the feeling more similar to an old-style platform game (although multiple depth planes were not common in that games) than to the standard Q3/OA gameplay. A notable exception, however, is that in TQA you can do much higher jumps than in Platformer (only in TQA you can jump over a standing character starting from the same height; however, Platformer maps include a good number of bounce pads).
Installation[]
Get the Q3Aplatformer_v02.zip file and extract it into your OpenArena installation folder (this should automatically create a folder named "platformer" at the same level as your "baseoa" folder).
Compatibility chart[]
| Works | Mod Version | OA Version | Notes | Operating System |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 02 | 0.8.8 | Some textures are missing, but you can play it anyway... or you may install a third-party "Q3A2OA" texture compatibility pack to fix the problem. |
Troubleshooting[]
Documentation reports that you can't run, aim up/down AND fire at the same time if you are only using the keyboard (it does not handle correctly all these keyboard buttons pressed at once). Suggested workaround: use mouse1 to fire, mouse2 to jump, and your usual movement keys (arrows, WASD) for running/aiming.
Screenshots[]
Download mirrors[]
- Quake III Platformer v02 download (8.4 MB) on Quakeunity.com (Q3Aplatformer_v02.zip)
- Mirrorservice.org
External links[]
- Quake III Platformer - Trickjumping Maps forum thread on q3df.org (a DeFRaG mod players community) - Some "defrag-style" maps for the mod there (video of at least one of them included)!
- Aeon's (mapper of the mod) current website on poweredbylasers.com - Its maps section contains also some maps for the standard Quake 3 - Note: Q3A Platformer aeplat01 ... aeplat07 maps are already included with the mod itself.
- Aeon's old website on PlanetQuake (Internet Archive)
- Q3Platformer v2 Screenshots on PlanetQuake (Internet Archive)
- Q3A2OA texture compatibility pack v4: smaller (469 KB), but very simple textures (third party)
- Q3A2OA texture compatibility pack v5: bigger (24.9 MB), but with better textures (third party) (Internet Archive)
See also[]
- ModCompat/Target Quake Arena - Another 2D gameplay mod.
Notes[]
- ↑ Aiming is not obtained by looking around with the mouse. Push up or down keys and click fire, to shoot diagonally (you don't have a crosshair, but hitting mid-air opponents is still possible). And you will always be facing the direction you are running (you cannot run backwards), thus you cannot shoot in the opposite direction than the one you are running.
- ↑ Example: some depth planes are very far from the camera, thus your character will appear small when you will be there.