Program: Quake Frontend. Author : Danie Barnardo E-mail : danielj@iafrica.com Qfront homepage : http://mickey.iafrica.com/~jeandre/qfront/ Requirements: Win95 Quake Readme Index: 1) Update/New Features 2) Intoduction 3) Front 2.95 features 4) Installing 5) Legal stuff 6) Common Solutions and Examples a) Adding a Patch-Category b) Installing a Patch c) Binding keys d) Installing Custom Maplists for a Quake ADD-On like Mission pak 1 e) Using Custom Settings for a patch f) Using some "custom" settings for Quake? g) Using Wingman Warrior Joystick h) Running WinQuake i) Using Quake on Another machine j) Listing Maps and Demos in Quake k) Installing Sound Flavours l) Changing a Sound Flavour 7) Trouble Shooting 8) To do 9) Authors notes ========================================================================== 1) Update/New Features: Qfront ver 2.5 to ver 2.6: This version fixes a bug where if quake isnt installed in \quake or \games\quake\ Qfront version 2.5 would report an error and wont allow you to continue... Qfront ver 2.6 to ver 2.7: -Added a new feature: Custom bindings, aliases and definitions may now be added to a patch. -Impulse bindings are displayed on the Patch page. -Refresh button added to patch page. Qfront ver 2.7 to ver 2.7a: -Fixed modem bug. Qfront ver 2.7 to ver 2.8: -Fixed modem bug (again). -Added an Alarm option. Qfront ver 2.8 to ver 2.9: -Fixed horrible CTF-bot bug -Added Dedicated server option to server options Qfront ver 2.8 to ver 2.9b: -Added Directlink server/client options to Modemsetup and "RUN QUAKE" page -Fixed small bugs here and there Qfront ver 2.9b to ver 2.93: -Added support for textfiles larger than 32kb -Added a "launch external Qc-editor" function to the MaintainPatch page. -Added a enable/Disable joystick support to Setup page -Improved Bindkey option. -Fixed more minor annoyances Qfront ver 2.93 to 2.94: -Changed the Bind-Impulse once again -Ipx/Tcp and tellephonenumbers are now recorded on a pull down list -Small changes here and there Qfront ver 2.94 to 2.95: -Double click on patches,maps,etc to launch appropriate options -Rightclick for full option list -more Small changes here and there -QFront is now a multi user proggy. Each user's settings and preferences are stored. -Import/Export users. You may export a user to 1.44 MB floppy, and import it into QFront at work :) -Quake Anywhere. I used to hate playing on any other machine but my own (I have some interesting and complex bindings and mouse settings). More over, i hated playing on machines without QFront (of course). Thanx to QFront my "Other Computer"-phobia is at an end. It writes out your user settings and a batch file which will launch quake on ANY machine with your user settings. -Long patch names. So many people asked for this one, i just had to do something about it. -Patch categories, when you install a patch you can now add it under a category, eg. weapons, teamplay or whatever you choose to define. Organize your patches ! -I store a bit of info on each patch, eg. times used, date installed, last date used etc. and i decided... "wtf, why not", so now stats on patch usage are represented on a graph. See what you dont use and whack 'em. -Patches are sorted according to Times used,Total Time used or Alpha. -List demos and maps from within Qfront -View zipfiles before installing a map/patch or demo -ADD files to a previously installed patch! -Some new sounds -Modem and Tcp address and names are now stored in a lookup list after use. ========================================================================== 2) Introduction: When quake was released I started building my patch file collection, now I'm stuck with a major problem! What do I have? Where did I put that patch... What Impulse did what? Well out of pure frustration I wrote this little program that'll pick up what you have called patman. While in betatesting I had many ppl ask me to expand on patman's functionality and... a month after patman Qfront was born.... ========================================================================== 3) QFront Features a) QFront 2.95 Main features Run Quake from ANY machine with your settings! Multi user profiles preserve QFront/Quake settings Write out a batchfile with settings instead of running Quake. Organise your patches in categories Maintain Patches, Maps and Demos Zip Recorded demos to disk. Sort patches according to Total time used, Times used or Alpha. View Stats on patches. List maps and demo's from within Quake Install Qfront Sound-Flavours! b) Front 2.95 feature list Patch files Automatically finds all patches, and makes keybindings a breeze by finding all impulses mentioned in its documentation. Custom settings (eg: Capture the head requires deathmatch 3) can also be assigned. Patches can be devided into logical categories, and statistics are kept of the number of times a patch is played and the hours played. Installing, deleting, renaming are quick and easy. Patch source files can be compiled, or call an external QC editor. Maps Find all maps and manages them. Any external map editor, like DeathmatchMaker, can be launched. Keys Assign all Quake keys, create custom bindings and alias settings. Run Quake Set server options like gravity, speed, velocity, friction.... Set skill levels, run a standard Quake, internet or IPX or modem server (listen or dedicated, DM, 1, 2, Co-Op, Teamplay, 1, 2, servername, time and or frag limit, number of players), internet client (all your favourite IP's), IPX client (host names), modem client (telephone numbers), serial server and client, and bot server. Setup Setup for direct and modem gameplay. Change the FX and CD volume, brightness, screensize, video type, keyboard and mouse speed and sensitivity......... Demos Playback demos either normal or timed, record your own (possibly with patches), install new ones, manage old ones, zip it up to save space or distribute. Screenshots View and manage your photo album, arranged by patch. Multi-user Setup QFront for more than one user, import/export your settings for use on another machine with QFront. Quake Anywhere - launch with your settings on any machine, without QFront. ========================================================================== 4) Installing: Just unzip this file in any directory and create a shortcut on your desktop to Qfront.exe. That's it. I did NOT include an installation program, besides the fact that it looks great and very professional, it doubles the size of the final package, so there. ========================================================================== 5) Legal stuff: This is freeware, but hey, feel free to send money, women, gifts etc. (Especially money, I need to upgrade my pc and playing quake on my 286 is murder). Just make sure you don't remove my name from any of these documents. I've worked hard on this and think I deserve a little credit. If you find this program usefull you may send me $10 as a sign of your appreciation or simply drop me some email saying it's cool, or it sux, or whatever. ========================================================================== 6) Common Solutions and Examples a) Adding a Patch-Category On the Patch-page, right click on the Category-list. Select "Maintain-Category" from the menu. Here you may add/delete/rename categories. NOTE: new categories will NOT be displayed in the category list on the patch page if there arent any patches installed in that category!! b) Installing a Patch On the Patch page, Right-click on the patchlist and select "install" from the menu. Select the zip file containing the patch you want to install. A list of all the files in this zip archive will be displayed. You may read the textfile now. Click on "install all" to install the patch. Next you will be asked to enter a name for the patch and select a Category the patch will belong to. If this is a new type of patch and no category exists for this patch yet, simply type in the new category name in the category input-box. This name will be added to the list. When you are done, hit "OK". The new patch and category should appear in the respective lists. c) Binding keys Most patches have extra functions, called "impulses" to activate new weapons etc. For you to use these functions while playing Quake, you need to assign key's to them. This process is done with the "Bind Keys" option on the Patch-page. NOTE: for this function to work properly, the Patch-Description MUST contain a reference or some description of the impulses used! QFront uses this description to automaticly find the impulses used. On the bindkey-form, use the "Next impulse"/"Prev. Impulse" buttons to cycle through all the availible impulses. Once you found an impulse you need, enter a key you want to assign to this function in the "KEY to bind" inputbox. Hit add. Repeat untill all keys have been bound then hit OK. d) Installing Custom Maplists for a Quake ADD-On like Mission pak 1 I have had a few ppl mail me asking "how do i run the Hipnotic add on with Qfront?". The problem is that the Maps are included in the PAK file, and therefore cant be seen unless they get extracted. QFront allows the user to type in a map name rather than selecting it from a list, but this is still to limmiting. I have now added an "Install Addon" function that installs a special map list for a specific addon. If you have an Addon (like Hipnotic's Mission pack1), download the correct Maplist from the QFront homepage and follow these instructions: 1 In QFront, goto the Patch page (click on the "Patch" button). 2 Click on "Inst Addon". 3 Select the Patch that you have installed previously from the list of Patches. 4 Click on "Install special maps" 5 Select the Maplist you have downloaded. 6 Back on the Patch-Page, double click on the Patch to launch it, you will now be able to select all your normal maps and the extra maps! Note: If you want support for any addon, simply email me the list of map names and i will prepare a maplist for the ADDon. Simple as that :) e) Using Custom Settings for a patch some patches require you to execute a custom cfg file. The problem is that this file might alter some of your settings permanetly! To prevent this, select the patch on the Patch-page. Click on the "CUSTOM" button and load the cfg file. All other settings that ONLY apply to this patch must be entered here! f) Using some "custom" settings for Quake? I like to play with +mlook (this command allows you to use the mouse to look around... Very cool) and a few other bindings.... To do this in QFront, goto the KEY-page and click on "Custom". Enter or load your custom settings here. This is exactly like the patch "custom" settings, only it aplies to ALL games, patches etc. g) Using Wingman Warrior Joystick: Mike (ASLAN CLAN QUAK-E-LOT) sent this very informative piece of advice: I'm using the Wingman Warrior Joystick, and it works with this frontend just dandy! If anyone asks, they need to download the Quake driver from Logitech follow the instructions then enter: WWLAUNCH.EXE QUAKE (with NO OTHER extentions) at the File to Run field in the Qfront config window, and put the WARRIOR.CFG list in custom bindings. h) Running WinQuake To run Winquake instead of Quake.exe, goto the Config-page by clicking on the CONFIG button. Change the "File to run" option from "Quake.exe" to "Winquake.exe". If you want to use Winquake for internet as well, change the "File to use for internet" from "Q95.bat" to "Winqauke.exe". i) Using Quake on Another machine This is how you run Quake on any machine with YOUR settings. Dont you just HATE playing quake on another machine? Miss your bindings? Piss your buddy off by changing his settings? Well, to the rescue comes QFront 2.95! As you know, QFront 2.95 is a multiuser programme (you didnt?), upon startup you login and your settings are saved. NOW (pay attention, this is the good bit) use "Quake Anywhere" to export your user settings to disk. With this disk, you may 1.Launch Quake from any machine by simply typing in your username. No, you dont need QFront. 2.If you HAVE QFront on the other machine (wtf is a computer with quake doing without QFront anyway?!), simply run "Quake Anywhere" and import your user settings. j) Listing Maps and Demos in Quake On the key-page, click on "Custom" and add these two lines of code: bind m "exec maplist.cfg" bind n "exec demolist.cfg" After launching quake, you can now press m to retrieve a list of all the maps on your system. Press n for a list demo's. You may change m and n to any key that suites your needs. k) Installing Sound Flavours After Downloading a sound Flavour, click on Config. Then make sure sounds are turned on. Click on the "Flavour" button. On the Flavour-form select "Install Flavour" adn indicate where the flavour zip file is you downloaded. To use the new flavour, double click on it and hit ok. l) Changing a Sound Flavour Click on Config. Then make sure sounds are turned on. Click on the "Flavour" button. On the Flavour-form select the flavour you wish to use and hit ok. ========================================================================== 7) Trouble Shooting: As with any wide-scope program, there are a number of possible problems that may occur. Here is a list of the most comon problems and their solutions. Problem 1: On the setup page, I enable the crosshair setting, but after every game it resets to disabled. Solution: You are probably running Quake version 1.01. This version of Quake does not support the crosshair setting properly, upgrade to version 1.06. (The upgrade is freely availible on the internet) Problem 2: My keys and other settings keep getting reset after each game. Solution: If you are executing another file with key bindings or any other settings in it, it will override Qfront's settings and change Quake's settings. The solution's simple: If it is a patch you are running, click on the "custom" button on the Patch-page, and load the cfg file. When running quake via Qfront, dont execute the extra file. This holds ESPCIALLY true if the Patch contains a config.cfg file. Problem 3: I need to define spicific keys for a patch... how do i do it? Solution: Use the "Custom" button on the Patch-page. If all else fails: 1) Check the QFront Newspage to make sure there isnt a fix availible yet. 2) Mail me details on the problem, telling me how you recreate the error and what the error is. ========================================================================== 8) To Do 1) Support for Qhunter, this will allow you to list internet servers from with in quake. I'm just waiting for some more feedback from Sky. 2) Map and Demo listing will be more integrated and "nice" in the next version. ========================================================================== 9) Authors notes: I would not have been able to give you a reasonably bug free program if it wasn't for those ppl who helped me find the bugs and (almost) drove me over the edge with nearly impossible demands... but it's mostly done now, In particular I'd like to thank Jim Strider, this is one amazing dude! He gave me detailed reviews almost faster than I could whip out new versions. He helped to shape Qfront to what we have today. Ivan "Tank" Avilla suggested most of the "new" features in ver 2.11, so... eh, thanx for keeping me busy for a whole weekend :) I should also just mention Kirk Heyde (aka Snakeye), who helped with the debugging of the Directlink option. There were many other Beta-testers: $$_K][Quaker (Scott Sayers), Hst (Andre),J23 (Jeandr_),Fragnstien (Daniel Hughes), Benito Vergara, Daniel Lafleur,Smash John A. DeWitt, Carnage (David Smith), to all involved, thanx again.