Quakestarter

A new version of Dwell has been released, not only updating its first episode extensively but also adding a whole new episode. One of the best ever Quake singleplayer releases is now better! So, of course we should update Quakestarter to get the new Dwell version into the Latest Greatest menu. This is that.

Other minor changes:

  • The vkQuake feature list in the Quake Engines chapter has been updated to reflect the newer vkQuake version. Should have done that last release!
  • Version 1.0 of Coppertone Summer Jam 2 has aged out of the legacies menu. Version 1.2 has also aged out of the Latest Greatest menu, but is still ensconced in the Next Generation episodes/hubs menu.
  • And of course, the original Dwell release has dropped into the legacies menu.



The usual how-to-use-this blurb:

This package can be used as a new installation of Quakestarter.

If you have an existing installation of Quakestarter 3.3.0 or later, autoupdate will pick up this new version within 24 hours. If you have autoupdates disabled, or don't want to wait for the next autoupdate check, you can also download this package and drag it onto your current "quakestarter.cmd" script to trigger an update.

If you have an existing installation of Quakestarter before version 3.3.0, you can update by using the extracted files from this zip to overwrite your current files.
One major part of this release is bumping the bundled vkQuake engine from version 1.20.3 to 1.22.3. This may not sound like a large difference, but check out the vkQuake changelog for the 1.22.x releases. Some cool stuff in there.

This release also adds the recent GOG release of "Quake Enhanced" to the list of sources that the auto-setup assistant will use when trying to find soundtrack files for you.

The main new addition to the installables is Twisted Christmas Jam 2022, a sort of melding of the Halloween and Xmas map jams this time. Along with appearing in the Latest Greatest menu, it has also already qualified for the Next Generation episodes/hubs menu.

Empire of Disorder has had a new version (2.4) released, with the previous version getting bumped into the legacies.

The Copper gameplay mod has also had a version update to 1.20, so new installations of Copper-dependent releases will now use that version. And Copper 1.17 has aged out of the legacies menu.

Finally, since several installables have been hovering under the ratings threshold for a while now, they get dropped into legacies: Quake Condensed, A Roman Wilderness Of Pain, Deathmatch Classics Vol. 3, 768^2, January Jump Jam 2, and In The Shadows [Demo v1.1].



The usual how-to-use-this blurb:

This package can be used as a new installation of Quakestarter.

If you have an existing installation of Quakestarter 3.3.0 or later, autoupdate will pick up this new version within 24 hours. If you have autoupdates disabled, or don't want to wait for the next autoupdate check, you can also download this package and drag it onto your current "quakestarter.cmd" script to trigger an update.

If you have an existing installation of Quakestarter before version 3.3.0, you can update by using the extracted files from this zip to overwrite your current files.
Your Quakestarter updates for November (drumroll)…
  • Add Empire of Disorder and Sewer Jam 2 in Latest Greatest; Empire of Disorder also already qualifies for being in the Next Generation episodes/hubs menu.
  • Age out Remaster Textures from Latest Greatest; it can still be found in the Next Generation episodes/hubs menu.
  • Move the Rubicondom speedmap to the legacies menu.



The usual how-to-use-this blurb:

This package can be used as a new installation of Quakestarter.

If you have an existing installation of Quakestarter 3.3.0 or later, autoupdate will pick up this new version within 24 hours. If you have autoupdates disabled, or don't want to wait for the next autoupdate check, you can also download this package and drag it onto your current "quakestarter.cmd" script to trigger an update.

If you have an existing installation of Quakestarter before version 3.3.0, you can update by using the extracted files from this zip to overwrite your current files.
Another installables update:
  • Add Quake Brutalist Jam in Latest Greatest. Prepare for concrete overload!
  • Remove aged-out entries from the legacies menu, as mentioned in the v3.5.0 release notes below.
  • Move quite a few entries to the legacies menu since their ratings have dipped below the threshold and stayed down there for a while now: The Castle of Koohoo, Biotoxin, Antediluvian, The Elder Reality, Waldsterben, and Slip Tripping.
This release also adds some basic capability for finding Quake installations from the Epic Games Store (by checking common folder names), when looking for soundtrack music files. The Auto Setup Logic chapter (under Other Topics) has been updated with those details.



The usual how-to-use-this blurb:

This package can be used as a new installation of Quakestarter.

If you have an existing installation of Quakestarter 3.3.0 or later, autoupdate will pick up this new version within 24 hours. If you have autoupdates disabled, or don't want to wait for the next autoupdate check, you can also download this package and drag it onto your current "quakestarter.cmd" script to trigger an update.

If you have an existing installation of Quakestarter before version 3.3.0, you can update by using the extracted files from this zip to overwrite your current files.
This release just updates some of the installables as described below.

One other thing to note: I've set an official policy that entries will "age out" of the legacies menu if they sit there for six months without ever bouncing back into one of the main menus. This will help us keep the legacies menu from growing too large. I won't be enforcing this policy until the next release of Quakestarter, but FYI almost all of the current legacies entries are about to get the boot.

Of course, when a mod's entry is removed from the Quakestarter menus, it doesn't affect any of your own installed mod files. But it will mean that you can no longer launch/manage that mod through the Quakestarter menu. (Fortunately there are lots of other methods to deal with your mods, as described in these docs.)

OK anyway here's the menu changes for this release:
  • Remove Waldsterben from Latest Greatest since its time is up there. It can still be found in the Next Generation menu for non-episodes, although if its ratings don't get a bit of a boost it may slide into the legacies menu next time.
  • Add Prototype Jam 3 in Latest Greatest. This large set of maps using prototype/blockout textures also includes a very cute modification for weapons, enemies, and items so that they match the theme.
  • Add Doom Tintin Jam in the Next Generation episodes/hubs. This was a map jam from 2020 that used a set of custom textures based on Doom 3.
  • Move This Onion and Arcane to the legacies menu.



The usual how-to-use-this blurb:

This package can be used as a new installation of Quakestarter.

If you have an existing installation of Quakestarter 3.3.0 or later, autoupdate will pick up this new version within 24 hours. If you have autoupdates disabled, or don't want to wait for the next autoupdate check, you can also download this package and drag it onto your current "quakestarter.cmd" script to trigger an update.

If you have an existing installation of Quakestarter before version 3.3.0, you can update by using the extracted files from this zip to overwrite your current files.
Hey let's test out that autoupdate feature! Coppertone Summer Jam 2 has had an update, so that version is now in the Latest Greatest menu and the previous (original) version is moved to legacies.

One confession to make here: I'm still learning about the best way to deal with downloads from Slipgate Sightseer. In this case, if you used Quakestarter v3.3.0 to install ctsj2 super recently, you may in fact already have gotten the updated version rather than the original. However Quakestarter will still think it's the original version that you have installed. If that happens, sorry! … but you can still keep playing what you have via the legacies menu, so no harm done I think. I've corrected this problem going forward.

Also, note that Quakestarter is designed so that it doesn't constantly spam autoupdate checks, so if you already have version 3.3.0 installed it may not autoupdate right away. But in at most 24 hours from now, when you run Quakestarter it will tell you there's a new version available. If you're in a hurry and don't want to wait, you can manually force an update by downloading a zip of this release and then dragging it onto your current "quakestarter.cmd" script.

If you are using a version of Quakestarter earlier than 3.3.0, no autoupdate for you! You'll still have to use the manual "overwrite your current files with the contents of the zip" process.