Before you start
Before you start, you should ensure that you have correctly installed Q3F, applied any necessary patches and removed any 3rd party DLLs. Please read the 'Installation' sub-section before attempting to run Q3F. If you experience any errors or problems while running Q3F, you should also check the 'Troubleshooting' sub-section. If you're still unable to run Q3F, stop by the 'Support Forum' on our website and we'll do what we can to help. If you believe you've found a new bug, please visit our Bugs Site.
The Q3F modification can be ran with Quake 3 Arena in one of three modes:
This section details the various methods by which you can run a Q3F client, and then connect to game servers using a Windows 98, NT, Linux or Apple Mac operating system. For detailed instructions on setting up a non-dedicated, or dedicated Q3F server, please click the 'Running Servers' link on the navigation bar at the top of this page.
Starting Q3F for the first time (Windows 98, NT, Linux or Mac)
The most important thing to do first is to ensure Q3F is installed and configured correctly. It's much easier to locate problems with things like server browsers such as Gamespy, starting Q3F from the command line or using a desktop shortcut, if you're sure first that the MOD works perfectly.
The easiest way to check this (and start playing Q3F), regardless of which operating system you are running, is from within Quake 3 itself: Simply follow these steps:
If you experience any problems while doing the above, such as:
Then this may indicate an issue with your current Quake 3 configuration. First try a couple of other servers (to ensure you're not trying to connect to a server running an old version). If you still get one of the above errors, they should be easily resolved by following the checklist in the 'Troubleshooting' sub-section of this documentation.
Configuring Gamespy
If you're using Windows 98 or NT, another easy way to find the fastest/nearest Q3F server and just start playing Q3F, is to get Gamespy. You should note that versions of Gamespy prior to 2.19 did not support Quake 3 Arena MODs correctly. Please ensure you upgrade to at least version 2.19, before trying to connect to Q3F servers through Gamespy.
For those of you that already have Gamespy 2.19 or later installed, we've included a Custom Gamespy Tab that will filter the Quake 3 server list to provide you with just Q3F ones. To use this do the following:
It's also worth adding the following Q3F master server, which should contain only Quake 3 servers that are running the Q3F mod:
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To add this Master Server to Gamespy:
Using the command line or creating a desktop shortcut
If you'd like to launch Quake 3 Arena, so that Q3F is loaded by default, you can do so by specifying the MOD on the command line.
quake3 +set fs_game q3f +connect IP_ADDRESS:PORT +password PASSWORD
Where IP_ADDRESS:PORT is the server's IP address and port that you wish to connect to and PASSWORD is the password for the server (if required).