08-07-2007, 12:22 AM
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#1 |
 Join Date: Aug 2007
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Posts: 147
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The Unofficial Steam Forums Quake 3: Arena FAQ
The Unofficial Steam Forums Quake 3: Arena FAQ by AlexMax Updated 4/8/2008 (Quake 3 PRO installer, Various updates) Quake 3: Arena In Action Not sure if you want to play Quake 3: Arena? Take a look at these videos and decide for yourself. Get Quaked 3 Claw and Order Troubleshooting Quake 3 says I'm missing a CD key! If you are getting a prompt to enter your CD key, ignore it, it's a weird glitch in Quake 3 that tends to happen when you disconnect from servers. If you can't connect to a server at all, due to an error message about an invalid CD key while trying to connect (without a prompt to enter a cd key), this is a known issue. Try uninstalling and redownloading Quake 3. If the issue persists, please submit a support ticket with Valve. I'm having trouble connecting to a server! Help! This can be due to a number of problems. Some of the more obvious ones are listed below:
I keep getting forced spectator or booted from servers! Help! This can be due to a number of problems. Some of the more obvious ones are listed below:
General Questions Does Steam Quake 3 still use Punkbuster? As mentioned above, yes. It's for all intents and purposes the exact same as Quake 3 1.32c, except launched through steam. Does Quake 3: Arena have a single player Only if you consider a series of bot matches single player. Do people still play online? Is this game worth buying for multiplayer? Heck yes! Quake 3: Arena is still quite active, with several thousand servers and hundreds of players each night. Like earlier games in the series, most serious action is coordinated through IRC. And like earlier games in the series, be prepared for a bruising if it's your first time playing However, like earlier games in the series, the community is welcoming, mature and respectful (for the most part), and would be glad to help you climb the skill curve. How do I play online? The easy way to play online is to download the Quake 3 PRO installer. The PRO installer is, hands down, the absolute best way for new players to experience Quake 3: Arena online, as it has much of the 'hard part' of downloading everything you need out of the way. First of all, download the PRO installer here. Second of all, move the PRO installer executable to where you want the game to install. If you want to install Quake 3 into its own directory, separate from Steam (recommended if you are using an external server browser), create a new directory for Quake 3: Arena under Program Files and move the installer there. Otherwise, if you simply want to install everything into the Steam version, copy it to C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\quake 3 arena\. Open the installer. If you are installing to a new directory, make sure the location of your pak0.pk3 file is in the first box. By default, it's located in C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\quake 3 arena\baseq3. If you are installing on top of your Steam version, don't bother looking for it. The second box should contain the directory you are installing to (the one you launched the installer from). Finally, select everything on the right hand side of the installer if you are installing into a fresh directory. Select everything EXCEPT Quake 3 1.32c if you installing on top of your Steam install. Click Install and grab a soda, because this is going to take a while. Once the installation finishes, you have one or two more things to get out of the way. You can launch PBSetup by clicking on the PBsetup icon in the lower right hand corner of the screen, just launch it, add game -> Quake 3, and then update. Finally, if you installed everything to a fresh directory, copy your q3key file from C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\quake 3 arena\baseq3 to the baseq3 of your freshly installed quake 3 arena. If you don't actually have a q3key file, make sure and run Quake 3 from steam once, it will appear. Maps, Mods and Addons What is a source port? A very long time ago, the source code to Quake 3 was made free under the terms of the GNU Public License. Since then, many people have made improved versions of the Quake engine which make the game look pretty and enhance its multiplayer capabilities. However, these programs are not supported by Valve Software nor id Software, so if something breaks (unlikely) you get to keep both pieces. Are source ports Steam-compatable? There is no easy way to launch a source port from inside Steam (It's possible, but not really worthwhile imho). However, you don't need to, as all a source port needs to function are the contents of C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\quake 3 arena\baseq3\. Simply install your source port of choice, and copy that directory to your source port's home directory, and you'll be good to go. Unlike Quakeworld, Quake 3's client is reasonably functional and still used by a large majority of players. In addition, if you are using a source port you will not be allowed to use Punkbuster or join Punkbuster enabled servers. If this bothers you, bug the administration of your servers of choice for them to disable Punkbuster, since it has been proven ineffective at keeping cheats out of Quake 3 and simply serves to inconvenience and lag legit players. What source ports are avalible? The following are the most popular source ports that are actively maintained. ioquake3: A source port which emphesizes compatability and bug fixes. It also runs on a great deal more platforms than the id software client, and fixes spotty sound support in Linux. Challenge Quake 3: A modification of ioquake3 by the minds that brought you Challenge Promode Arena. This source port features vastly improved mouse support, demo pausing, and a bunch of other bugfixes and small improvements. I'm not a huge fan of the internal server browser. Are there any alternatives? Several. MaxBrowse is the simplest functional server browser out, and one that gets my recomendation. QTracker and HLSW are the two more that I recommend. However, as of this writing, the steam version of Quake 3: Arena does not play nicely with server browsers. There are two ways to fix this, however.
Are there any worthwhile maps? A good portion of the games played online are played on custom maps, which can be a little overwhelming at first. The following is a list of maps that I consider 'vital' for any Quake 3 player to have on-hand. Single Maps hub3areoq3: An author-sanctioned Quake 3 conversion of Quakeworld's Aerowalk which is every bit as awesome as the map that spawned it. ztn3tourney1: An author-made Quake 3 conversion of Quakeworld's ztndm3. The author made it, so you know it has to be good. Map Packs CPMA Map Pack: Wanna play CPMA? Let me give you a little hint, you do want to play CPMA. Therefore, you need this map pack. OSP Map Pack: I might have had less than kind words for OSP itself, however there are a number of gems contained within its map pack, especially if you play VQ3 Team Deathmatch. Be warned, OSP map packs that are named something other than this can taint your Quake 3 install. Rocket Arena 3 Map Pack: You can actually use rocket arena maps in other mods, such as CPMA. However, as far as I know, there is no separate maps-only download for RA3, so you should probably simply download the mod and then move the ra3map*.pk3 files from arena to baseq3. Threewave Map Packs 1 2 3 4 5: Do you want to play CTF? You need these maps, even if you don't actually play the actual Threewave CTF mod. You don't need these if you already have the Threewave CTF mod itself, just make sure that the map packs end up in baseq3 so you can use them in all mods. What about worthwhile modifications? Yep, in fact the game is more often played with modifications these days than without. In fact, I dare say that modifications and their maps are almost essential for playing on most servers, as they add many bits of much-needed functionality. Challenge Promode Arena: The most complete client and server mod for Quake 3. If you don't download anything else on this entire page, get the mod and associated map pack. Rocket Arena 3 1.76: The most true test of weapon skill out there. Two teams, full health and ammo, no items, and once you're out, you're out for the round. Watch out though, because this mod can become viciously addictive. It's worth noting that Challenge Promode Arena has many of the features of this mod, yet this mod still retains an active causal community, so if something like CPMA is a little too "hardcore" for you, but pubbing it up in vanilla Quake 3 is getting boring, this might be your ticket. Excessive Plus: You want carnage? Excessive Plus can give you all the carnage you want. Each weapon in this mod is tweaked to be powerful and fast-firing. However, this mod goes beyond being a simple gimmick mod by having a decent number of gametypes and variations. This mod also seems to be the go-to mod for modern freezetag as well. The best part is that you can simply join an excessive plus server without downloading the mod itself and play, although downloading the mod gives you eye candy and UI enhancements that you wouldn't otherwise have. Urban Terror: A fun tactical shooter with the crazy Quake 3's physics system. Also comes in a standalone variety which doesn't need the Quake 3 client, but you can still play it in Quake 3 if you want to. Defrag: Are you a speed freak? Actually, that's a dumb question, you're not a speed freak until you've played this mod. The objective is simple, race to get to the end of the map in the shortest amount of time possible. However, getting the absolute fastest time (or sometimes even being able to finish the level in the first place), requires great proficiency with the Quake 3 physics engine. There are also a couple of other modifications which I do NOT recommend, but are listed for completeness sake. They are listed below. OSP Tourney: This used to be the most complete tournament modification around, and in fact still enjoys a small following, with plenty of servers. However, this mod hasn't been updated in ages, and most tournaments use Challenge Promode Arena in Vanilla Quake 3 mode anyway, so there is no real reason to start playing this now unless you've been playing since 1999 and miss buggy movement that depends on your framerate. Quake3Fortress: This was a Team Fortress mod created by Splash Damage before they became their own company and made Enemy Territory and Quake Wars. However, there's no reason to play this, since Enemy Territory Fortress is the exact same thing except for a free game and more up-to-date. Threewave CTF 1.6 + 1.7 patch: An epic capture the flag mod released by Threewave Software which featured tons of extra gametypes, features, and maps. However, Threewave was never really used that much outside of its innovative Capturestrike gametype, and the community these days is tiny, down to a handful of servers, so I can't really recommend this mod. Beryllium, Excessive, F4A, NoGhost Mod, ???: I honestly have no idea what half of these mods do, since they're running outdated versions of Quake 3: Arena and are impossible for most players to connect to. With maybe one or two servers with actual players, most other servers are simply running bots to make it appear like their server is active. Avoid. How do I install maps and/or mods? Generally, maps will be distributed in .pk3 format, and mods will either have their own installation programs or will come in a .zip with the correct directory already in place. The base Quake 3 directory, and the one you will want to install modifications to, is: C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\quake 3 arena If you have any custom maps in .pk3 format, put them in: C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\quake 3 arena\baseq3 The Quake 3 Community External Links: Quake3world is a community website maintained by id Software. It's a little sparse, but the forums are a very good source of information for patches and such. ESReality is the news hub of the Quake community. There is a quite a bit of non-Quake news posted as well, as the focus of the site is competitive gaming across all platforms, but the community itself is very heavily biased towards Quake, and a lot of Quake community staples post there as well. IRC mIRC Homepage: If you don't have an IRC client already, this one is pretty much the undisputed champ of Windows IRC clients. #promode: The home of Challenge Promode on IRC #cpma.na: The home of Noobs Anonymous, a CPMA clan who specializes in helping out newer players. #uscpmpickup: A "pickup" channel for CPMA in the United States. This is where you want to go after you've had a little practice and want to hang with the big boys. Please visit their website first, so you get an idea of what maps you need and the rules you need to follow, and I would suggest watching a few matches so you get an idea of how things go before you play. Also, their ops are very friendly towards newbies. Contributors THE Nakedgun: The external server browser fix ix-ir: IRC channels, misc CPMA stuff Fleshgolem: Pointing me in the right direction of the correct version of the OSP map pack arQon: Advice Last edited by AlexMax: 04-08-2008 at 10:20 AM. |
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08-07-2007, 01:35 AM
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#2 |
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Banned
Join Date: Oct 2005
Reputation: 597
Posts: 4,146
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the reason why the external server browsers don't work is because the .exe was modified to look for steam, if you download and install the latest patch it will overwrite the existing .exe and enable external server browser support.
If you want to go back to the "steam version" right click Q3 in steam select properties click the local files tab then click verify integrity of game cache steam will then re download the .exe and make it compatible with steam again |
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08-08-2007, 03:06 AM
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#3 |
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I figured I'd add my little config guide to get newbies started on tweaking their settings.
Links to the above mentioned modifications have also been provided. ************************************************** ******* Quake III Arena Config and you! A lot of users on steam have played the Quake games, but not many have gotten to the point where they know the configs in and out. Quake III Arena has been used as the premier 1v1 tournament game in professional gaming for longer than any other game, and there's a reason for that. You can bend the game to fit you perfectly. There are tons of options and tweaks you can use to make the game more comfortable for the user. A lot of the cvars I will show you here will be for Quake III Modifications. Don't worry, I'll give you all a good list of the more popular mods and links to download. The Mods: CPMA: http://www.promode.org/ Currently accepted as the mod of choice for tournament play. The 2006 1v1 Winter season of CPL used CPMA as the mod of choice. Be sure to download the maps along with the mod, both links are to the right side of the website under "Current Releases" Rocket Arena 3 (RA3): http://rocketarena.planetquake.gamespy.com/ A fun mod, imagine team deathmatch, except you start out with Weapons, Armor and Health. Hit the Download section. You can also try Rocket Arenas 1 and 2 for both Quake, and Quake 2. Threewave (3Wave): http://www.quakeunity.com/browse=subcat&sid=37 A CTF mod, has many improvements over Quake 3's base CTF. Be sure to download both versions 1.6 and the 1.7 update. For all of these mods there are quite a few custom maps out there. Unfortunately, there are no one stop databases for maps. As such a nice google search does the trick. Now on to the actual guide: There are a lot of commands and cvars that will help you become a more efficient killing machine. Your config can be tailored just to your liking. You would be hard pressed to find another game that can be tweaked as much as Quake III. Editing the config can be slightly different from one mod to another, and I will mention the differences in the best way I can. The Commands: In the console you must add a "/" before all your commands. For example, If I mention "Sensitivity" you would have to type "/sensitivity <value>" in your Quake 3 console. If you are manually editing the config, then the slash is not necessary. sensitivity <value> Default: 5 One of the most important tweaks, you are all familiar with it, every FPS has this. Find the value you like most and stick with it. Many players take months, even years before they find their real sweet spot. As such you shouldn't be afraid to experiment. cl_mouseaccel <value> Default: 0 Sets the acceleration of your mouse. The faster you move the mouse, the more this value becomes apparent. Setting this cvar can help you get those long range sniping shots down all while allowing you to turn around on a dime if needed. Just like sensitivity, finding the sweet spot can take a very long time. I recommend using this command as it can help a lot. cg_fov <value> Default: 90 Changes the FOV of your screen. Essentially it gives you a "fish eye" view that can allow the user to see with a slightly wider field of view. Experiment with this. Although it takes some getting used to, often enough you will come to enjoy this feature a lot. Some common values are: 110, 120, and sometimes you'll see people with 120-145. com_maxfps <value> Default: 60/80 The most commonly accepted value for maxfps is 125. Setting this to 125 will often help you gain speed when strafejumping (think bunnyhopping). Slightly increases jump height and speed. rate <value> Default : 3000 (I think?) For anyone on high speed you should use 25000. Really no discussion here. This helps in online performance. snaps <value> Default: 20 Not too sure what this does exactly, although setting the value from 40-60 is a big help in smoothing out online play. If you have a high speed connection (most people do really) then set this value up. cl_timenudge <value> Default: 0 This command can be used to add client side prediction of other player's movements in an online game. In other words it can help reduce the "Delay" when shooting. Client side prediction is rather accurate up to 30-50. Do not go higher than these values since the game will have trouble accurately predicting the enemies movements. The most recommended value is -30. Please use negative values, if you forget that minus, then you'll just be adding to your delay. cg_nudge <value> Default: 0 (!!!CPMA ONLY!!!) Same use as cl_timenudge. Works in a slightly different way than cl_timenudge. Some good values are -12 or -20. Predicts with pinpoint accuracy up to those values, any higher and you may suffer some slight inaccuracies. cg_laghax <value> Default: Not sure (!!!CPMA ONLY!!!) The most common setting for this for anyone with high speed is -1. cg_crosshairsize <value> Default: 20 Changes the crosshair's size. Tweak to your liking. You may also change the crosshair type in the options menu in Quake III. cg_crosshaircolor <value> Default: 7 Changes the crosshair's color. Please note that you must use a value from 0-9. The default (7) is white. r_displayrefresh <value> Default: 0 Setting this the same as your com_maxfps will help a lot. For those with LCD monitors, a lower value such as 85 is called for. Experiment with this value, there are varying results. This does have a rather noticeable effect on gameplay. cl_maxpackets <value> Default: 30 Setting this higher can help a lot in smoothing out the game. In all cases try to set cl_maxpackets to equal your average framerate or your com_maxfps. Can help smooth out gameplay in multiplayer. cg_enemymodel <model name/skin name> Default: N/A Sets the enemy model and skin of all your enemies ingame. Teammates will be unaffected. In the more popular Quake 3 mods, you should set the skin to "pm" for promode. Promode skins allow you to manually change the enemy's skin color to a value that you like. For example, if you want all your enemies to show as keel with a custom skin color then use "cg_enemymodel keel/pm." cg_enemycolors <wtfbbqlol> Default: N/A This one is a doozy. Each mod is different so I'll explain a bit for each. CPMA: The most common colors are white and neon green. For neon green use "iiii". This is a matter of personal preference, experiment with colors. Using things like "qqqq" and "aaaa" wield different results. RA3: RA3 uses the Hex values for enemy colors. Here's how it works. cg_enemycolors <HEAD|TORSO|LEGS>. Each part of the body has an RGB (Red Green Blue) value. For example "cg_enemycolors "00FF00 00FF00 00FF00" sets the enemy colors to neon green. You must have "r_customcolors" set to "1" for this to work. 3Wave: Threewave actually uses "red" "green" and "blue". I also believe it accepts "iiii" and hex code as well. To enable custom colors just go into Setup>>Game Options>>Objects. Set "Use promode skins" to "on" and set "Force player models" to "on" r_picmip <value> Default "1" Sets the visual quality of the textures ingame. The higher the value, the more blurry textures will be rendered. Setting this to "10 or 12" will make most textures a single solid color. Some people may find setting this up easier on the eyes. Please note that if you want the best quality, set this to "0". NOTE!: In your console just type "/cvarlist <cvar value> (leaving the value empty gives you a whole list of all the Quake III commands). You can search for specific types of cvars, for example use "/cvarlist *cg_" this will show you all the commands that start with the "cg_" prefix. You may also search "/cvarlist *rocket" to display commands that have to do with rockets. This isn't always accurate since the command must have "rocket" in it. That's all for now. There are a lot more tweaks that can be set, although I've covered the most important. Please note that the CPMA mod has a LOT MORE commands that the user can tweak. Don't be afraid to ask questions. I hope you found this guide useful. I may eventually add upon this guide with more specific tweaks and info. Have a nice day! -Cheers ************************************************** *************** If you want some action, then there are a few places to hang out on IRC. Server: irc.enterthegame.com Ports: 6667-6669 #ctfpickup The premier place to find some good pickup games with some good players. Novice players should shy away though, but don't be afraid to join in a game and spectate. There's no better way to learn then to watch. #duel An online league for 1v1 play. Produels tournaments took place just before the CPL winter games. This happened when all the best were in the US, lots of good matches happened. Lots of Quake III clans and teams have IRC channels of their own. If you find a cool clan that you enjoy playing with, then you should idle their IRC channels. Last edited by SuperFriendBFG: 09-08-2007 at 03:38 AM. |
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08-08-2007, 12:26 PM
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#4 |
 Join Date: Nov 2004
Reputation: 0
Posts: 26
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http://www.the-yarn.net/config/config.php
Look up Q3 Configs on google and that's your first hit. /proud 
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08-08-2007, 05:06 PM
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#5 |
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Guest
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IRC:
The Quake 3 community uses the IRC network to chat and get games. You'll need to download an IRC client such as MIRC. Join a Quakenet server. Useful channels include: #cpma.na - this is a channel for new players offering help with starting including settings, configs and training, it's also a good place to get games when you're starting out. #promode - the main CPMA channel, people here can also help with setting up. #cpmpickup - a good place to get games against more experienced players. #cpm.1v1 - duel games for players of all skill levels. Demos and configs: Go to www.challenge-tv.com for demos and configs for CPMA and a range of other games. If you need any help feel free to contact me on Quakenet, my nick there is also ix-ir. Last edited by ix-ir: 08-08-2007 at 05:12 PM. |
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08-13-2007, 12:52 AM
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#6 | ||
 Join Date: Sep 2003
Reputation: 28
Posts: 1,536
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Quote:
Quote:
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08-13-2007, 01:13 AM
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#7 |
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Guest
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If you're looking for trickjump maps (Defrag) check out this site.
http://www.funender.com/defragmaps/index.php Every map you can think of is in that database. They are (for the most part) trickjump maps and not meant for normal gameplay. |
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08-13-2007, 02:21 PM
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#8 |
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Guest
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cd key not recognised
im getting a cd key error on quake team arena i dont get it for quake arena but team arena i do ive looked for a cd key and cant find one feel abit ripped off tbh
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09-22-2007, 07:30 AM
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#9 |
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Reputation: 39
Posts: 2,490
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i'd like to mention that All Seeing Eye is a GREAT quake3 server browser
lets you search for RA3, CPMA, 3wave ctf, and baseq3 servers, along with many other mods for Q3 extremely flexible as well, as you can join as a spectator or player, multiple config launching options as well, etc etc. |
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09-24-2007, 03:50 PM
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#10 | |
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Reputation: 13
Posts: 147
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Quote:
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02-20-2008, 07:34 AM
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#11 |
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I have my own q3a cd-key but STEAM wouldn't allow people like myself to put in mine.
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07-27-2008, 05:51 PM
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#12 |
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Guest
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I can't get CPMA to work. I'm following the instructions on the CPMA Wiki page, here: http://www.promode.org/wiki/index.php/Installing_CPMA except for number 2.1, because it says: Check that your Q3
executable is in the correct place and that every file in the baseq3 directory is present and readable. |
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10-04-2008, 12:50 AM
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#13 |
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Reputation: 170
Posts: 1,028
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If you delete your q3key file from your Steam installation of Quake 3, do you get a fresh key inside your new q3key file or is it the same key as the one you deleted?
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10-04-2008, 10:29 AM
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#14 |
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Guest
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Effay: try running it and paste your entire console log if it crashes at www.pastebin.org
Any more specific details on how it doesn't work? What happens when you try to use it? |
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01-29-2010, 01:00 PM
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#15 |
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Join Date: Nov 2009
Reputation: 11
Posts: 61
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Thx for this faq very good.
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