FOATW closes for good - some highlights from dec97-apr98

mewso

I have decided to close Foatw for good and in the spirit of the current look back at Irish Gaming's past here is a selection of highlights from Foatw98 which can be found at:-
http://hosted.quake.ie/foatw98/

Let's begin with the Q2 patches saga:-



Tuesday 30/12/97

QUAKE2

Two bugfixes for Q2 are out. Patching up to Version 3.07 is sufficient but Version 3.08 is also available. Both can be downloaded at Bluesnews. Blue has also added a Quake2 tips section including links to pages on the console commands as well as conversions of various DM maps from Quake and all the new mods that are appearing. Meanwhile I'm just finishing up with single-player meself so I'll put local links here as soon as I have defeated the Strogg Leader. I have also noticed that Quake2 reports the GI server as being the wrong version so I hope they sort that out soon.


3/1/98

QUAKE2 VERSION 3.09 + GAMESPY 1.52

Yes just as I told you of versions 3.07 and 3.08 I discovered version 3.09 was out. Again you can get this at Bluesnews or iD. Also released was Gamespy version 1.52 hot on the heels of the pulled verison 1.51 which contained a bug.


10/1/98

QUAKE2 VER 3.10

Here we go again. I for one don't like these constant patches. I want to play DM and not have to download a patch every week to do so. Anyway enough of my whinging, go get it at Bluesnews.

....interrupted by....

THURSDAY 19/2/98

FURY OF A TANGLED WEB

Well I have been offline for around 5 weeks because of Telecom. Thats it, it's that simple and that bloody annoying. Slow good for nothing etc. I got back on to find bags of e-mail, that I had been listed as a member of the Fenians (didn't mind that), and that not much has happened in the Quake world. Internationally that is. The Irish scene seems to be happening. This clan league is up and running which is good and basically things have been ticking along fine without me. Damn!

FRIDAY 27/2/98

MORE QUAKE2 RELEASES

Yeah ye bloody lose count after a while. Anyway the following has been released:-
Q2 (ver 3.13) - Complete (9M) - Upgrade from ver 3.12 to 3.13 (535K)
Q2 CTF (ver 1.01) - Ver 1.0 (7M) - Upgrade patch from 1.00 to 1.01 (269K) - both required obviously.
Q2 64 player levels (7M) ---- All of these files are located on the Quake.ie ftp server.

TUESDAY 3/3/98

MORE PATCHES AND WHAT NOT

I'm saying nothing just pointing you in the right direction.
Q2 3.14 patch for Windows95 (536K)
Q2 CTF 1.02 upgrade (271K)
Q2 CTF 1.02 full install (5.5M)

Then there was the Messageboard scandals. Oh how I miss them!

TUESDAY 3/3/98IQCL CONTROVERSY

Complaints have arisen over the choice of levels for the Irish Quake Clan League (yes folks not everyone will know what it stands for) which first came to my notice on Zero's news page. By the way Zero. keep it up. I don't give a ****e how biased you are in your news report. It's a bit more interesting that way. Anyway it seems a few players think that the choice of levels is a bit unfair given that UKCLDM levels have been chosen and are well known by some. On the other hand I read with interest Mouserat's (of GI) article on why he considers it a good idea to use different levels. Some very valid points are raised on both sides. The begrudgers argue that some will have too big an advantage over others by knowing a level inside-out which is of course true but I like the idea of using different levels otherwise it gets a bit tedious. That said clans like ours are on a hiding to nothing going in against the likes of say GI on UKCLDM4 for example. To put it simply even though we might lose no matter what level it is one thing is for sure I couldn't see the point of even trying on UKCLDM4. Might as well give them a walkover. Mouserat says that any clan who spends some time looking over the levels in the days before the match will be able to decide simple strategies once they know where everything is. Fine but just one little thing. Alot of players are limited to the time they can spend on the internet. Even me, a 9-5er, has to limit it. So the suggestion is that I update my site every day, surf the WWW for what I want that day, play some Quake for the pure pleasure of it and then spend an hour say with the Fens looking a level over and getting used to where everything is all reliant on the fact that the whole team can be there for that particular hour and for at least a couple of days if not more. Why at least that? Well it's what I think. I just played UKCLDM4 for an hour for the first time and I might know the room with the R/L in it but don't ask me how to get it. Not for at least a week of playing on it anyway. It was a bit boring too.
Well I've already said I like the idea of playing different levels but I beg the Question why UKCLDM. Can I have some PainKeep or Zerstorer because I don't know them that well either but guess what no-one will (safe bet I hope). I'm not setting out to annoy anyone. As I said everything I read on the issue has valids points to support it. Even after all the above conditions are satisfied for training with your Clan how many of us can log into a server and call up any level we want? Not me anyhoo. This is Kent Brockman with my two cents!

WEDNESDAY 4/3/98

LEVEL ROW UPDATE

Mouserat sent a reply to the comments made so far, which is up on Zero's News and as I said already he's basically correct. It's worth reading his posting on quake.ie message board which, again as I said yesterday (just forgot to link to it), makes some very good points. Also it's worth stating for the record that I don't believe for one minute that there was any plot, on GI or anyone else's part, to make life easy for themselves. I accept that the levels are random and just feel inclined to recognise the frustration that players, including myself, might feel at the thoughts of trying to come up with tactics for an unknown level. I could make plans and e-mail my team-mates but all in the vain hope that they have checked it out themselves. In the end that comes down to being a local problem for the Clans themselves so I'm off in a bit to e-mail some stern instructions to my team Captain to tell all players to get the map and look it over. They'll surely listen to their Captain.......

FOATW moves to quake.ie

SATURDAY 14/3/98

NEW HOME

FOATW came in from the cold today. Quake.ie begged and begged and finally I relented. So here we are in our nice new abode. With the move has come a few departmental changes. I had been toying with the idea of doing some tutorials on Level Editing so I hope with your help to devote a large section to just this. If budding level designers send in their bsps I'll review them and offer them for download. I'll include the usual sections - tutorials, tips (from me and you) etc. so stay tuned as they say. Other changes are - Rant has been replaced by comment which will include my witerings and your letters or whatever. Consider it the anything goes section and don't believe a word of it. Misc. will be where I'll put all sorts of things that maybe don't deserve a huge section - game reviews etc., my feeble advice and tips on whatever. So with any luck it'll be worth comin' back - Who Knows?
Finally thanks to John Breslin and all at Quake.ie for having me here.

(imagine way back then i asked for map submissions and to date received = 0)

more scandal....

TUESDAY 17/3/98

INC ROW

A row has been going on for a while now on the Quake.ie WWWMessageBoard about members of INC using Tinet's offices to play matches for IQCL. MP of INC has written an article on Qamex in response. So make your own mind up.

MONDAY 23/3/98

SCANDAL AND THEN NO SCANDAL

Things really erupted today on the WWWMessageBoard when Cloud Warrior posted a message saying he had discovered that Zero and Overlord played for X-Com in their match against the GI's. Before evening had arrived it was settled and the dust went with it. No matter what happened nobody was admitting to it so I 'aint sparing it a second thought. Have a look yourself. There's no shortage of drama unfolding and then folding again.
Other message board titbits were a humourous take on Trainspotting as well as a resurfacing of the spectators talking during clan matches problem. An interesting issue thrown to one side by the emergence of the above non-scandal.

TUESDAY 31/3/98

MORE WWWMESSAGEBOARD ****E

Yeah the scandal (yawn) goes on over at the wwwmboard. CD accused of being all LPB's before it was prooved by Cloud Warrior (would'nt have bothered my *****mate). Mind you there will still be people who complain that they were LPB's anyway, having all been in a Cyber Cafe. Yeah right and my scrotum is a dead match for Bill Clinton. Besides this we had the usual childish goings on from Reaper. CT have withdrawn from the IQCL because said non-muppet Reaper thinks it's a bit of a sham etc. blah, blah. I have more time for people with complaints who stay involved and try to sort them. Then he goes and strengthens his mature stance by calling another CT man an Arab ****wit. Oh Well.

THURSDAY 9/4/98

MORE BICKERING

Yeah the complaints about INCARNATE, ZERO's NEWS, IRC.QUAKE.IE and anything you care to mention go on on the WWW Message Board. Boring, boring and bloody boring. Doesn't even warrant a section in my news but I just had to say it was boring in case I forgot. ****ing boring people.


And then Zero left....

SATURDAY 11/4/98

ZERO LEAVES

ZERO has left the Quake scene for partures new and varied. I'm sorry to see you go Zero (Quakelord) but I hope to see you back sometime and maybe even have a pint with ye some day.

Hehe - wasn't I a nice guy (most of the time). Anyway it was fun but not anymore it 'aint. FOATW thanks all it's readers over it's 2 years of existence.

Musician

Cloud

Ahhhh!

More nice memories ;-)

Clan Squirrel!

J.
--

earthworm_jim

Cheers Muso!