Getting Started

Thanks to Quake's ease of use playing your first game of Teamfortress isn't too hard. Before you play Teamfortress it is a good idea to get used to the way Quake works, you need to know how to use the Quake Console and how to use it to bind keys. The picture below shows the Quake console

It is accessed by pressing the key which is directly below the 'Escape' or 'Esc' key at the top left of your keyboard. The Quake console in many ways acts like DOS. It is possible to enter commands that Quake uses for example if you type map e2m3, Quake will take you straight to Episode 2, Map 3. The next thing that you need to know before starting playing is how to bind keys. Binding a key is just simply attaching a command to a key, for example :

bind m "map e2m3"

If you were to type this into the console it would bind the command map e2m3 to the m key on your keyboard so each time you press m quake will take you to episode 2, map 3.

Moving away from the Quake console now you need to know how to load a Quake modfication. Quake modifications or mods for short (They can also be referred to as TCs or PC which stand for Total conversion and Partial conversion respectively) are basically just changes to Quake for example a new map, a new weapon, new graphics or maybe even all of these together. Quake mods are generally free with a few exeptions such as Malice, X-Men etc. which can be purchased commercialy (But although these Mods are good they are exploiting Quake so don't get them - support the freeware market). To start a Quake mod you first have to install it, most mods usually come in a .zip file. A Quake mod must be installed or unzipped to a subdirectory of the Quake directory and the name of the directory must be no longer than 8 characters. Here is an example Quake directory :

Using the above Quake directory example to run Quake with the Navy seals patch I would have to type at the DOS prompt :

quake -game seals

You now know the basics of Quake : how to use the console and how to load a Quake mod. The next thing you need to know is how to connect to an internet game. The first thing you need is a Dial-Up-Networking connection to the internet. The next thing you will probably need is QuakeWorld, though not all servers use Quakeworld, Quakeworld prevents too much slowing down of the game (This is known as lag). The latest version of Quakeworld comes with the latest version of Gamespy built in (We'll discuss Gamespy in a minute). Click here to download it. Once you have downloaded it install it by simply double clicking on it and then follow the instructions.

Each computer, even yours has it's own individual IP address. An IP address is a bit like a telephone number as you can use it, once you have dialled up to your ISP using your Dial-Up-Networking connection you can use an IP address to connect to another computer to share resources on each computer. This is how a Quake server works, all a Quake server is is a fast computer with an extremely fast modem or ISDN line. When you load up Quake you can then go to the console and type, connect <IP_address_of_server_goes_here>. For example :

connect 195.80.543.163

This will then connect yo to the server with that IP address (Note: That IP address is made up I don't know whose it is). Now you know how to connect to a server you're probably thinking "How do I find an IP address of a Server ?". Well this is where Gamespy comes in. If you used the above link to download Quakeworld it will come with Gamespy. Load up Gamespy and you should be presented with a screen something like this :

Well this is where you get your IP addresses from. To find a server you want the first thing you need to do is chose a master server which is one of those on the left bar. If you are in the UK I suggest you use UK Minos but otherwise chose the one that most suits you by clicking on it. Now what you need to do is click the Gamespy menu at the top then click "Update This source". You will now need to wait for the master server to update your list of servers in gamespy. When it is done You will now see all the servers, you now need to choose a server from the list. You need a server with a low ping but I recommend having at least 3 players on the server. You also need to check what is in the "Game" column of each server. The game column shows the Game directory that the server is using e.g. If the game directory is seals. The game is probably using the Navy seals mod if you want to play normal Quake deathmatch look for a server that either has id1 in it's game directory or is blank.

Now you know everything you need to to play Quake over the internet. The aim of this page though is to help you get started playing TeamFortress so here goes :

The first thing you need (Which is fairly obvious) is Teamfortress. You can either visit the Teamfortress homepage or click here to download it. Once downloaded install it by running the downloaded file then follow the on screen instructions. Now everything is set and you are ready to play. In Gamespy click "Update This source" in the Gamespy menu again and it will update to give you the most recent list of server. If you want to play Teamfortress then find a server with "fortress" in the "Game" column. Now right click the server name and from the menu that appears click "Launch  Game". That's it you're now ready to play Teamfortress on the net with other Teamfortress players. Now I have got you started it is up to you to learn the ability of each character and find out which one you prefer and which one you're best with. Before I leave you to do this though here are some quick tips :

Remember what I told you about bindings up above ?. Well here are some things I suggest you bind from the console when playing Teamfortress (Note: Once you have binded a key it saves it, you do not need to bind it every time) :