The Swag Pack is $150, which is an awful lot for an inflatable toy.
Also up for grabs is a QuakeCon 2018 Swag Pack, which includes the ultimate must-have accessory for the discriminating Quake fan: An inflatable rocket launcher. In that case you'll need to sign up for one of three entrance packages, ranging in price from $75 to $400.
QuakeCon is coming back in August for the 23rd time, and will be free to attend unless you want to take part in the traditional BYOC-Bring Your Own Computer-tournament. But games like Ion Maiden and Dusk have proven that shooters don't need to be built on bleeding-edge tech to be great, and I'm excited to finally find out what 3DR has cooking.
Is that logo ringing any bells? That's not a hint that I know what's up, by the way: I think it looks very vaguely Quake-like but I can't see Bethesda green-lighting a remake by anyone but id Software.
That little factoid was revealed last fall, along with absolutely no other information: No name, no release target, no platform information, no nothing. By all reports it's really good-user reviews on Steam are "overwhelmingly positive"-but what makes it interesting is the use of the Build engine, which is true retro-tech: It was used for Duke Nukem 3D and the original Shadow Warrior way back in the mid-90s, and Ion Maiden is the first game to make use of it in nearly two decades.ģD Realms is also working on a new game based on the Quake engine in partnership with 1C Company, and yes, that would be the original Quake from 1996-a Build engine contemporary. This is Quake, by the way, not whatever it is that 3D Realms is teasing now.ģD Realms, best known as the last company able to do something good with Duke Nukem, currently has a Build engine-powered shooter called Ion Maiden on Steam Early Access. Quake knew what we wanted and it delivered. Fighting him sets you up for the finale, which is another puzzle boss who can't be shot, and it's also a great capstone for the playstyle it's taught you.Īnd then at the end of the level when it's tallying your score and number of secrets you get to see Chthon's gibs squirting all over the screen. There are plenty of other things about Quake to celebrate, like the soundtrack and the multiplayer and the mods, but let's not forget Chthon. Chthon emerges from the lava and instead of standing in one spot shooting away at his health bar you keep moving, racing his fireballs to flip switches just like you do when looping through an ordinary level, only now you're lowering pylons into position then electrocuting the big jerkbag of an elder god. When you hit a boss fight it still doesn't slow down. There's often one particular key or something you need but there's also a convenient loop back through a section of the level so you can barrel around looking for things you missed, shooting suspicious patches of wall texture or swimming under bridges, during which you naturally find a secret or two before discovering that gold key or whatever.
Truly 3D levels, mouselook, a bouncy regular jump even if you weren't abusing rocket-jumps-it added up to a zippiness that felt powerful and new.Ĭlever level design solved the Sonic problem of having areas full of secrets but a character who only feels good at top speed. The first-person shooters of the 1990s were fast-paced, but Quake seemed faster than anything before it.
Great moments in PC gaming are short, bite-sized celebrations of some of our favorite gaming memories.
Registration for the BYOC action or the new "QuakeCon Done Quick" pass with priority entry to all Main Stage events and early access to the exhibit hall on Saturday, will open at 10 am ET on April 11, while general admission entry is free. QuakeCon 2019 will run July 25-28 in Dallas, Texas. As always, the show will also include panels, hands-on with various Bethesda games-maybe Wolfenstein: Youngblood will make an appearance?-redonkulous case mods, swag, and other stuff. The centerpiece will once again be the huge BYOC LAN party, but registration is being handled slightly differently this year: Instead of picking a seat when you sign up, BYOC seat selection will take place at a later, unannounced date.
"All while continuing to feature everything you already love about QuakeCon." QuakeCon 2019 "will include all-new Doom-inspired activities, events, exclusives, developer panels, hands-on demos, new information about Doom Eternal, and a few surprises we aren’t quite ready to talk about," Bethesda said. The reason is that 2019 is, somewhat loosely, the 25th anniversary of the original Doom-it was released in December 1993-and Bethesda isn't going let the "Year of Doom" go uncelebrated. This year's QuakeCon will go heavy on the Doom, the famed FPS that preceded the big bring-your-own-computer show's namesake.