ARCHIVES:  17th October 1997 -WEDNESDAY 30th November 1997

LAST UNQLE BROADCAST OF 1997 WAS TONIGHT

However, I'm sure there will be many more in the new year!  We hope that you enjoy listening to the archived episodes, whether to see how Unqle radio has developed, or just for old times sake!

CLANLESS?   LONELY?

-The cry goes out from MAD (Tortured Souls leader) for any good CTF players or clans to consider joining them, so that they can field a full team for the UKCTFL.  This only goes for CTF though, so they must be quite content with their normal quake team.

-Another request comes in from JUD (Clan Eagle) for a special type of player:
"We're looking for players who will actually turn up to the Clan practices, and who are reasonably good.  We're more interested in competent players who turn up than stunning ones who go missing just before that important match."  Sounds a little bitter and twisted to me.

THE BIG MATCH! LIVE! - BUT LATE!

It appears the DC vs. QPD match mentioned earlier will not be going ahead on Sunday after all. The match will be rescheduled for a later date- watch for further developments here!

TIP OF THE ICEBERG

According an article in trade paper Webspace- the World Quake Champion is none other than our own dear CrystalTips! "One of the biggest coups for the [BMG] site is in having World Quake Champion CrystalTips on board to offer gaming tips,cheats,tricks and also chat with other users." Thanks Angel.

THE BIG MATCH! LIVE!

The big match you have all been waiting for is coming soon! Quake Police Dept. vs. Demonic Core will be happening on SUNDAY 30th at 3pm and 4.30pm. It will be a two leg game, with each team hosting one leg and choosing the level. Observers will be able to watch via proxy. May the best team win!

THEIR CLAN NEEDS YOU TOO!

-More recruiting news from the Rude Monkey Clan. They are members of the UKCL, MCW, UKQFFL and UKDML- making it to the UKCL playoffs, and finishing second in the UKQFFL. Begbie says "we try to focus on enthusiasm rather than playing ability". So, if you're interested, give him a mail.

-Also the mighty Terminal Gibbage are looking for a few, select players.

"Please bear in mind, that TG:
A) do not cheat
B) do not camp
C) do not replace F with PH
D) don't take it goddam life or death seriously"

If that sounds your cup of Earl Gray- mail Phaze.

THAT'S BEAUTIFUL, MAN

FragStock is going ahead!! The good news that Quake players have been waiting for is true- FragStock WILL be going ahead on the 6-7th of December. See the FragStock Web Site for more details. There are 20 places remaining- the maximum number of attendees is 140. Also there is to be NO transfer of software across the network there. Drinks are not to be brought into the hall- although there is a bar to quench your thirst. If you should want to sleep(?), bring a sleeping bag.

DC - DAMN CLEARED

It would appear that the "news" which a certain sea creature brought yesterday originated from someone who was neither a member of SPG or DC.  Thus he wasn't in a position to understand a well meaning joke which the two teams where enjoying after a match.  Thank you to Grond (SoG) for the confusing post, and sorry to any of DC or SPG who feel in any way hurt by the allegations made.   There seems to be far to many accusations of cheating flying around these days, and it would seem people have forgotten that some things just aren't 'cricket' and quake is just another game like any other, which should be enjoyed.  Thanks for the messages from the members of DC and SPG for clearing this up.  We're not entirely convinced that the comment "DC are just too good to ever need to cheat" is entirely justified, but we like life on the edge.

DOM - OUT ON A HIGH

SAL (DOM) just wanted to mention that, as he had hoped, DOM went out on a high.  They've taken the QFFL title, and I believe congratulations are due to the outstanding team.

ESCHATON MORE THAN MYTH

For those of you looking for the latest on the quake movie project, Eschaton, check out this site.  There is a competition currently being held for logo design, but check by here anyway to get the latest on the quake project which will blow you away next year.  (Don't be put off if your Greek isn't too good).

DO YOU GET THE FEELING THAT THERE AREN'T MANY GOOD MEN LEFT?

Another day, another 30 cents, and another clan member goes under.  Today the victims are a CTF (Capture the FLAG ;-) only clan.  CTF does seem very popular these days, so I'm sure this will mean a lot to many of you, rather than the little it means to the DM veterans over here.  The Assassination Squad's leader, 007.KickAss, who led them to victory in the UKCTFL (UK, CTF league) has stepped down.  In an apparent tradition this is advance notice, because the stepping down will not occur until after the UK vs. USA CTF match.  The parting commentary is:

"The reason I am stepping down is because I am now well into the final year of my PhD and will have to spend as much time as possible finishing off my research and writing up my thesis. DrChris will be the new leader of ASQ and I know that he will do an excellent job, hopefully leading us to win season 2 as well :) I have loved leading ASQ and only wish I could continue to do so.
I would also like to say that I am NOT leaving ASQ. I will still take a very active part in the clan and will attempt to play in all matches and practices as I have always done. I am still staying on as UKCTFL admin and possibly a member of the newly formed Quake Council."

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE

Smashed are running several types of QW server, and you can find out more details at their site, which has been enhanced for IE4 (Don't write in comments because we'll get flooded, but it was our impression that Netscape 4 was still the most popular browser for quake players).  They are hoping to have a Maliceworld server up quite soon.

DC - DAMN CHEATERS?

There are unsubstantiated rumours flying around of dubious play by Demonic Core (DC) in a match against the Special Patrol Group (SPG). Allegations include observers aiding DC, and a choice of server benefitting the Core due to Vis'd maps. There has been no comment yet from the DC camp..

PARTING IS SUCH SWEET SORROW

More news of clans splitting up.. The Riders of Telgar Weyr "has kinda ground to a halt due to the deserting of many of my best players and the fact that most of my clan don't turn up due to work or college etc which is understandable." Says Mr. Morden. He is forming a new clan (Clan MIB) with my local cyber cafe and a few members of RTW.

PREEMPTIVE STRIKE

Although it may seem a little early, Q-Tip is embarking upon a Quake II Total Conversion. He has some top UK talent on board already- but is looking for more! If  you think you are up to the job- the site is at http://brutality.com/wangka . Qualifications are a good sense of humour and reliability.

THEIR CLAN NEEDS YOU!

The Quake Marines are looking for competent Low-Ping or High-Ping players to join their number. Interested parties should contact Mr. Zip at c.s.cleaver@salford.ac.uk.

EAT THIS PINEAPPLE

PeeJ sends news from the aptly titled PeeJ's Deathmatch Pineapple that new reviewer "underscore" has started work, and they are looking for more reviewers for Deathmatch levels. So if you want to dish the dirt on the dandiest deathmatches ever- contact him at paul.james@uea.ac.uk.

ALAS, DOM IS NO MORE: PART II

Apparently Kage helped us to jump the gun a little, and actually report DOMs disintegration before the event had passed.  Sal reassures us that DOM are splitting, but not until after playing any matches left in this season's leagues.  He wished to comment on the end of DOM as follows:

"Dom are splitting because I feel that we have gone as far as we can.  Things are getting far too competitive and good players are harder to find.  Rather than slip down the ladder I thought it would be best to go out on a high note.  Various other reasons have added to it.  Servers, player attitudes, AFAIK, none of Dom are leaving Quake and we are all good friends.  I would like to thank them all for helping Dom be a great clan to lead.  Special thanks to Minos, who have been very helpful throughout, and all those kind peeps who lent us servers"

THE TIME FOR THE SUBTLE APPROACH IS OVER

Now it's simply a case of shouting from the hells that your money for Fragstock is due in NOW.   Everyone who has taken part in organising this event, as well as all those people who have already paid, are awaiting those stragglers to pay up!  If sufficient people do not pay on time the event will be cancelled, which would be a great loss for us all.   If you originally put your name down for the event, but can no longer attend, then please tell the organisers this!  I hope everyone gets their act together, and the Men from Unqle look forward to seeing you there.

THE TIME FOR THE SUBTLE APPROACH IS OVER: PART II

The Unqle site seems to be causing some of you woe, which distresses us.  Apparently its been hard for you to find the real audio and video files.  Well, we live to please, and we've attempted to make their location as obvious as possible!  Anyone missing the new "BigSquid Attention Grabber" on the front page of the site will be awarded a special UNQLES award no doubt. 

ALAS, DOM IS NO MORE

Who do you decide to trust when you get a UK quake scene exclusive?  According to Kage the following is true, but it has to be said that BF wasn't the slightest bit happy in reading it:

Well, as time goes by the seasons change and it looks like DOM is no more!  We've asked Kage about this on numerous occasions and the most we've gotten out of him is that a DOM has split, and that certain clans have offered him a place.  Apparently, he's keeping his clan choice close to his heart.  The most recent news we have is straight from Kage himself (which means the people concerned have not commented)....

-Salamander is trying for DC
-BF is taking a break (more to life than quake).
-mani is staying with HH (the ctf clan), as is BF
-Opless will "piss about"
-mrZip going to QM

We've seen Pandora and others still playing with ".dom" attached to their handles, and I certainly recall Pandora staying true to FK (Frag Kings [long live FA- sorry for that ;-)]) for a while after they split, but presumably they'll all make the change to other clans/teams.  Perhaps it's time for a FK reunion- as many of them were members of DOM.

MORE TO LIFE THAN A PRETTY WOMAN

Quake 2 may well have a female model, but as we all know quake doesn't.  Rorshach is having a female skin competition, and invites you all to have a look at his site for details if you fancy designing the perfect woman.  Apparently Laura Croft is not what he's after ;-).

WE KNOW THERE IS MORE NEWS

-You can't keep anything secret from us!  Keep sending info in, to prevent DMS from being a nosy git in IRC all day.
-I'd (DMS) like to thank the vote of thanks we've had from people for UNQLE keeping NFTF up to date.  We can only keep the news flowing with your help though!

THE NOMAD GETS A LITTLE HAND FROM HIS FRIENDLY UNQLE

As you will have noticed, this hallowed source of news for the UK quake scene has been suffering a little whilst the Nomad dedicates himself to his Eschaton (the quake movie) project.  Having spoken to him on numerous occasions about Eschaton, it really sounds like something which will be sending us into orbit!  We all wish him the best, and patiently await the release!  So in order to ensure that Eschaton gets the attention it deserves, and that everyone else is getting the regular news service they enjoy, Daniel "DMS" Schütze and James "BigSquid" Golding, aka, the Men From Unqle, will be updating News From The Front, in the coming weeks.  So please continue to send in news and gossip, to the usual contact address.

UNQLE HERALDS IT'S FIRST CHAMPIONS

With Churchill, representing Cambridge, regularly fielding players such as Sujoy and Nightwing, it had to be said that they were firm favourite to take the first division, of Unqle.   More details about the season's results (including match summaries and detailed statistics) can be found on the Unqle site.

Unqle are now welcoming new teams for the upcoming season.  Teams should consist of 3+ players who are ideally linked by the institution they are part of.  This may be a company,  college, university, school, pub, or even a geographical area if there is no other excuse for banding your team together. Team entries should be submitted here.

INTERmission

INTERmission is broadcast over real audio on Sunday Nights @19:30.  This is the quake based "radio" show, with chat, music, and unique bursts of inspiration from the Unqle Crew.  Anyone with requests for music or with news they wish announced could contact this address, or they could wait till the last minute and talk to the DJ's in #unqle, which seems to be standard practice. Details, can be found on the Unqle site, under Livewire.

FRAGSTOCK NEEDS YOU, AND YOU, AND YOU TOO!

The Fragstock organisers are again pressing us to remind you to pay up sooner than soon.   We'd like to remind you, that if you haven't paid, you are not only losing a place in this remarkable event, but also jeopardising the places of all the others, because the event will be cancelled if the minimum funds cannot be obtained.

UKQFFL NEW LOOK

The UKQFFL page has undergone redesign, and ShadowCaster invites you to lend an eye.

UKTOTL IS FINALLY HERE

So what are you waiting for?  Have a look at the site.

QUAKE WARS

Mr White, tells us of his Quake TC, "Quake Wars".  Apparently, a team has been working on the TC for quite some time now, and they are looking for space to host their site, which preferably has enough resources to host the TC files for d/l.  Good level editors are also requested to lend a hand, as are any other's who would enjoy working on a quake TC.  Take a look at the current site, and send any enquiries to Mr. White.

LEVEL DESIGNER INTERVIEWS & LEVEL DESIGN CONTEST

6 of your favourite level editors (Copy, Rorshach, Danimal, Escher, FeSter, and Slayer) have been interviewed by DMP, and you're invited to read their comments.

Apparently rumours that there are wonderful prizes on offer for those competing in the DMP Level Design contest are entirely unfounded.  However, PeeJ invites "new/upcoming/unseen map authors" to check out the site, and spend Christmas beavering away on maps.

NEW TORTURED SOULS SERVER

Ever wanted to know what makes a good server?  A Pentium II (another on order) with >256Mb ram, and a 10mb link to the 'net would sound like a good start!  This is the new Tortured Souls server, which will be running a variety of patches, such as Rocket Arena and duels mods.

DON'T FEAR THE REAPER BOT

Legion, suggests you get ready to fear Omicron, the new bot which has been previewed over at Ramshackle.

SERVER PATCH

The Crystal server patch, including source code, is now available, for d/l.   This version includes the suggestion of giving players full weaponry during a level intermission.  Thank Arathranar, for that.

CLAN NEWS

Redshift mails us, to welcome a new Cambridge LPB, Ultra, to SAS.  The hope is that he'll be Ultra by name and nature.

A new clan called "The Knights Templar" is being formed.  Anyone interested in joining should mail SuperFuzz.

KNACKERED II

I know. I'm sorry.

I've suddenly been landed with about another 20 hours of work (no blame appertains to anyone, so don't ask). Hence, updates this week won't be regular.

However, here's the major news in brief. Sorry for the paucity of links- I'm in a hurry.

- JANET are clamping down on Quake servers. Doug (at Edinburgh) has been asked to shut down :), as has Bobby-2, who ran Necro's Pad and Zeta. Rumours are flying of a nationwide JANET clampdown on gaming.

- If you're going to Fragstock (see you there), you need to get your entry fees to Kelvin at

Fragstock Registration
c/o Kelvin Tooth
Shoot 'n Surf
13 New Oxford Street
London
WC1A 1BA.

by the end of the week.

- The Quake Awards are back (and I doubt I'll be getting any prizes this time...). Run by UNQLE, you can vote at http://unqle.varsitygames.co.uk .

Once again, apologies. I'm afraid that Eschaton has a higher priority at the moment in my life than NFTF, but have no fear- NFTF will return in its full glory, jsut as soon as I have the time to spare.

KNACKERED

Yes, That Movie is taking up all my time still- I just finished a 6-hour model compilation run, and the models are now almost finished, weighing in at 4.3 Mb- rather more than Quake's originals...

The good news is that the end is in sight. I'm coming to the end of the stupid amount of work I have had to do on design, with the maps hopefully being en-Paked tomorrow, and with any luck I should be able to resume daily service next week. Here's hoping.

Eschaton will be released on or around 7th January.

RUMOUR CONTROL

No, Quake II will not be out for the 25th November. Nor, according to Reality-X's sources, will it be out for the 5th December. All that Activision will say is that it will be out before Christmas.

CREAK...

DBS has been crashing and burning again:

"Some wise arse decided to Nuke our server on Saturday night (ts.thedbs.com) thus depriving the Quake community from using from using one of the better servers.

In hind sight it seems that whilst building the server that I forgot to protect it against this attack but I have implemented the patch for it now. So hopefully it is going to be ok for a while. God knows why some idiot wants to do this sort of thing. It's not as if the server is a government one at that.

Anyway, a new server is currently being built that will blow away all the servers in the UK. Watch this space for some groovy specs."

CLAN NEWS

- CIA ride again... Mav:

"Starting off where clan CIA left (the bottom!) a new clan, containing ex-CIA, ex-FBI, and ex-NYPD- well one of them anyway and a few new guys. The clan is Called QOD- yes thats said like "quad" not "cod" .

We are a DM and CTF clan and will hopefully be joining you in various leagues.

We are still looking for a couple of players preferable CTF/DM capable. We would be grateful if anyone can help out with a server of sort for clan matches etc.

So if you can help with any of these things or want a friendly please contact me or Droopy."

HAVEN'T I HEARD THIS BEFORE?

Nightwing on the UK Team's first- uh, third- match against Sweden:

"Thanks to all those that turned up for the practice (though I want to see more next time!!!). Anyway down to business....

There is a match against Sweden this Sunday (16th Nov) which is supposed to kickoff at 8pm GMT. I'd like to see everyone on IRC and ready to warm up by 7pm GMT.

Match will be played on Death32a, teamplay 3, deathmatch 1. We will wear skin gbr and I presume they'll be in skin sweteam. Make sure you have these!

A config of team msgs etc will be available soon.

*End Transmission --- Command And Control*"

Let's hope for some proxies and some serious team chanting in IRC? I might even try for NFTF Live! again. If you're very lucky.

FEEL THE IMPULSE

Yes, Impulse 1 is apparently back online, under the juristiction of my colleague Spike. For those of you who joined us after its untimely demise, Impulse 1 was a general Quake News site, recommended highly by Blue, amongst others. Go check it out.

LIKE INSECTS, CRAWLING ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH...

Yes, the music is now off. Sorry about that...

QUAKE II ON THE 25TH?

Morden emails me with the news that "according to Computer game shops I stalked to in America", Quake II will be released on the 25th of November. That sounds sane- here's hoping...

CLAN NEWS

- The Riders of Telgar Weir and Krush, Kill and Destroy are merging.

ESCHATON- RFA

if anyone in the Edinburgh area would like to help out on the filming of Eschaton, the Quake-based dark fantasy/horror Anime in production now, email me.

CASH!

Yesterday I was wondering how Telinco were planning to pay for their free games service. Well, TedTheDog has enlightened me...

"They are paid a fixed rate for call-time by the Telco who supply the 0845 number.For instance, if you connect to them for 60 mins they get 0.5p a minute so thats worth 30p to them. Multiply that by all the other players calling them and you can get the idea as to how this is possible. I wish them well and it should work just fine. I'll certainly try it out once they get ISDN access enabled.

Dunno how much they've negotiated per minute call-time but its all probably profit as they shouldnt be paying line rental either.

There are others planning very similar services (not me) as they should be as good as they sound for us Quakers and therefore profitable for those involved."

Cool. Get on there.

CLAN NEWS

- The Rude Monkeys have moved:

"As you may know Gatesnet have folded, and typical of the bunch of cowboys they turned out to be they gave us no warning, instead simply deleting our pages then turning off the servers. Sheesh.

Fortunately I had a backup, and our pages have now moved to

http://www.rudemonkey.telergy.com/

with a mirror site at

http://www.rudemonkey.demon.co.uk/"

- The TriggerBunnies are looking for "2-3 competant LPBs." For more information, email Angelbrain.

CLAN LIST: 100

Yes, the Clan List, maintained by your friend and mine BennyBoy, has been updated, and is now up to the big 100 Clans in the UK! Go take a look...

FREE PING!

This is something I definitely recommend to all...

""Well, it's been delayed by almost a month and a half, but we've finally sorted out all the little problems and are ready to begin beta-testing our new national local-rate access non-subscription games service. Initially, we'll just have the one server (P166, 64Mb RAM, Linux) running a number of Quakeworld servers on different ports (including CTF, TF, Painkeep, Rocket Arena, One on One and the QWComp Mod), but if the service is popular, we intend to commission more servers and host more games.

The service runs over a fast (100 Megabit) local ethernet network, with brand new, state of the art access switches which will be able to support both 56k protocols and ISDN at some point in the near future (when the various companies get around to writing the code). Our lines are fully digital right into our switch and we hope that Quakeworld ping times for dial-up gamers will be nice and low{ They are- 135 on a modem?- Nomad}.

Exactly how low, we won't know until we've got a bunch of people fragging one another to their heart's content, which is why we're inviting you all to dial it up and have a bash. Basically, we want to see how many users the server can handle before it falls over, and we want to ensure that the access equipment and the network is performing as it should.

If you'd like to give it a try, point your web browser at http://www.telinco.net/Internet/Games/Service.stm and follow the instructions you'll find there. The phone number is a national local-rate number - all you pay for is the cost of a local call. We're not charging you at a premium rate like certain other games services. And I'll point out now that we have no intention whatsoever to take the service off the local-rate number when we launch it properly. Nor do we intend to charge any form of subscription fee. As far as you, the gamer, is concerned, this is a free service - all you have to pay for is the cost of a local call, which is what you're going to have to pay anyway if you're connecting to the Internet to play Quake through your ISP.

If you do dial up, please do remember that this is a test of the service, so don't be surprised if things don't work perfectly. One small "feature" which will be available during the beta-test, but not when the service launches, is full Internet access(!).

So, I'd like to invite you all to try out the service and send me some feedback on what you all think of both the games service and how you reckon our Internet access compares with your own ISPs. If there are any maps that you would like to see put up on the server, email me with a location from where I can download them, and I'll stick them on.

Good hunting!

Jack Gavigan"

Wow. I've no idea how these guys intend to pay for the service, but it's superb, and we should give them all the support we can.

FRAGSTOCK!

Yes, things are happening. Really. Kelvin:

"6th November 97

IMPORTANT NEWS: FragStock '97 will be held in Corby, at the Festival Halls Complex. The event will run (as certainly as we can say) for the weekend of December 6th and 7th. Many people should arrange transport in groups. Corby has good road links from London, the West Country, Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester and the North. More details soon...

The Administration team are apologetic about the level of silence recently, but there have been many unavoidable delays, again, THANK YOU all for your interest, and there will be more details when we have them. "

AMERICAN PI

Nightwing emails me this tempting offer:

"We've got an RC5 Cracking team up and running, called the Elite Alliance (remember DC's april fool?) Anyway we need as many ppl as poss to sign up, so go take a look at http://www.nightwing.u-net.com/rc5/ now.

If we do win we get $1000 prize for a cool party, as well as the added bonus of making the US Government look stupid!"

MORE PRIZES!

Rush emails me this:

"We are running a Quake skin design competition here at Reality X in conjunction with VIdeoLogic. The winner of the best skin will win an Apocalypse 5D courtesy of VideoLogic.

The skin is for Reality X's clan which are sponsored by VideoLogic. The skin must be in keeping with the Apocalypse logo and have the word Apocalypse 3Dx on it. The Apocalypse logo can be found at Videologic's homepage. All entries must be in by 30th November 1997 and sent to this email with all the entrants details including name, email and snail mail address.

UKDML: AND THEY'RE OFF...

Death.DGB emails me this news on the new UK Deathmatch League:

" The UKDML got off to an good start on the 3rd of November: we had a few problems with clans not turning up but every leader had a plausible excuse. All the other games went off without any problems. There is now a UKDML page, which I put together as quickly as I could!"

LET'S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN...

Just on an irrelevant point, the reason I didn't update on Thursday was a showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show in Edinburgh (Friday's was a readthrough of Eschaton's script and Reality-X's excellent Friday Nite Firefight). Anyway...

Uther sends me this piece of trivia:

"To celebrate the release of Quake II, myself and Rick (MINOS) have organised a re-creation of he first Clan Pendragon team match ever, but this time on Q2.

As soon as Quake II is released, MINOS will host the game, comprising as near as dammit the original teams that played (with a few additions).

Clan Pendragon (the original squad) will include Uth (Moo), Spirit (QPD), Nut (FA), Krusher (CP), Slayed (CP) and Fab(CP). MA (the original squad) have got Icemandan, Cantona, Waldorf, Chunky, Umquat, Boldlyson.

It will be a damn good laugh. If it supports spectators, you are invited to come along and giggle at the ineptitude of Quake II 'newbies'"

TEAM UK!

Nightwing emails me this announcement:

"OK here's what you've all been waiting for, the announcement of the UK Squad. Squad members will be expected to turn up for a practice on Tuesday 11th November at 7:30pm following which the team for the match against Sweden on Sunday 16th November will be selected.

Well anyway, here it is:

UK LPB Squad (vaguely randomised order)

Nightwing DC
Sujoy DC
Spirit QPD
Maddog DC
Orlith DC
Dust FA
Timber QPD
KickAss
Crystaltips DC
Cenobite QPD
Bobby-2 SPG
Coerj QPD *
dd DC *
Kage DOM
Ving QPD
FlyingRibs QL
DragonTung QL
Cheeky DOM
Psychopath XC
Danman QPD
PsychoDom FA
Chromatic FA
Strobe QL
Dibbler
Roj QPD
BastardDoug SPG
Carnage DC

Also like to hear from:

Prophet QL
Spud CP
Slowkill SPG
Trog SPG

Thanks to all those who've made an effort to help so far."

ESCHATON

Continued apologies for the lack of service- if you didn't know, I'm currently in "crunch time" on Eschaton, formerly the Uk Quake Movie Project. When it's finished it will be a 20+ minute anime, totally converted from Quake ( we have a few sounds, quite a lot of textures, one model and the engine from Quake in use), based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft and John Tynes, amongst other people.

It will be fantastic. Sadly, various ructions have left me with a lot more work than I anticipated, and I'm currently working 5 hours a day on finishing up various loose ends. When they're tied up and my hands are in a fit state again, normal service will be resumed.

Thanks for your patience.

UPDATE IN BRIEF

- Reality-X, organisers of The Gathering, have been working their proverbials off, and The Gathering's Website is now updated and re-vamped, at its new location: http://www.reality-x.co.uk/gathering.

- Deathmatch Pinapple now has reviews of the Da Pak, er, Pak, and the Headhunter mod up.

FRAGSTOCK!

Yes, it is still happening, and yes, there are still spaces left. I cornered Rawmeat and Kelvin on IRC, and they revealed that- well, all will be revealed. Before the end of the week.

Apparently, the network now has space for up to 200 computers, so if you haven't registered already, do so. According to Kelvin, one of those computers may well be a 500 Mhz DEC Alpha, presumably for use as a server.

For more details, check the Fragstock Webpage.

DAMMIT, JANET

Happy Samhain, everyone. Enjoy the music.

UKDML NEWS

Chemical emails me the following news on the UK Deathmatch League:

"The UKDML league is on the road to completion and nearly all the top clans have signed up. The rules were sent out to the clans and are as follows:

1) This league only plays the most popular levels. No levels will be released and clans given only a matter of days to learn them.

2) Matches will be held on a Monday or Friday from 7:00 til 9:30 depending on what division you are in.

3) A minimum of 4 players per team is allowed and a maximum of 6 players.

4) Two lpbs are allowed per team. An LPB is defined as someone who has steady pings of under 90.

5) Each match will be 30 minutes long.

6) Players must only play for one clan in the league. If a player is found playing for two clans then he will be banned for the rest of the season from the UKDML.

7) A maximum of 4 observers will be allowed. 1 of each clan, an admin and a random spectator.

8) All UKDML matches will be played on teamplay 3.

9) Before a match a clan leader from both teams will meat on the UKDML IRC channel where they will be told the server ip and depending on each clan how many members can be played.

10) If by match time a clan does not have a minimum of 4 players ready to play they forfeit the match and the opposition get a win by 50 frags.

11) At the end of a match a picture will be taken by each clan leader and sent to paultr@globalnet.co.uk.

12) If there is any contest about the validity of the scores, clans will be required to show their own screen shots as proof.

13) If there is a dispute over a player being allowed to play and an admin reaches a decision which you do not like then email a pic to zk06@dial.pipex.com about the problem you had.

14) The Ukdml page will be updated regularly therefore it's important to send pictures and any complaints to the addresses given as soon as possible.

15) If a clan fails to show up with at least 4 players 3 games in a row the clan will be suspended for a 2 week period.

The UKDML reserves the right to change any of these rules."

It looks a great idea on paper but the level choices have been questioned by a few people- as you would expect, everyone has their favourites- but it looks very well organised and has potential.

CLAN NEWS

- The Criminally Insane Assassins have folded. Droopy:

"This will be the last e-mail from clan CiA. Due to all this bollox that been happening, which I really can't be bothered with, I've decided to disband CiA. We've had some excellent times, which, unfortunately for me, have been overshadowed with a load of bollocks.

I'm not gonna pack in Quake, or the clan scene, but feel it's time for a rest."

- Most of the members of CiA are unaccounted for at present, but Hellkitten, Honeybee and Extream have all joined the Fallen Angels. Andromeda says "As a serious Clan, we welcome them with pleasure."

- Swam is looking for "kick-ass" players for Eradication On Arrival. Email him for details.

SERVER ADMINS- YOUR TIME HAS COME...

Osiris emails me the following information:

"The UK Server Admin Mailing List is now up and running. The aim of this list is to provide a method of getting important security info to all UK server admins fast. The list will also be used for discussing performance, security issues and "who has the biggest server"! If you run a UK server either permanently or semi-permanently please emai Mongrol with your name, address and which server you administrate to be added to the list."

NEW NETCAFE

Terry Pentland emails me this:

"It was suggested that we let you know of our existence.

Netplay Cafe is a multi-purpose cybercafe situated in the centre of Birmingham. We specialize in multiplayer games (hence the name-"Netplay"). We can host a 15 player game of Quake on our local network or alternatively via the Internet as we have a 64k leased line with a 2mb bandwidth.{eh?- Nomad}

Our normal charges are £5 per hour but do offer generous discounts for group bookings.

We are located at 8 Fletchers Walk, Paradise Circus , Birmingham, close to the Central Library in Birmingham and would be happy to discuss holding any clan events in the future.

For further details see http://www.netplaycafe.co.uk ."

FRAGSTOCK NEWS

Rawmeat emails me the following:

" The FragStock web page has now been updated, and moved to a new home. The address for the new web site is http://www.shootnsurf.co.uk/fragstock/.

The site has been updated with some news, and graphics etc. The bulk of the news regarding venues, dates, times, etc will all be released over the next week and the website updated accordingly. The lack of updates is due to the workload of the team on the event or otherwise. The event will be worth coming to.

Please go and check your details on the website to ensure they are correct. Please also note that we need your telephone number, your email address, and forename and surname, so that if there is a problem, we can contact you easily to inform you of the problem. Most of you have supplied this but those who may not have given this we do need it. Please do not shower the email address with information, we will contact you to get this information by searching our database, however if you KNOW you have not supplied this information please do so by mailing fragstock@shootnsurf.co.uk. Your registration ID number may also have changed and there are a couple of duplicate entries in the database, if your id has changed please note the change, and everything will be error checked over the next few days.

Stay tuned to the website for more information this week and next."

SORRY...

Yes, news will be irregular again. Eschaton, formerly the UK Movie, is moving into production, and I have far too much work to complete. Sorry.

POACHING? NO.

Hakeem, formerly of the GunSharks, made the following statement about Demaul's allegation of poaching in the behalf of his and others' new Clans:

"KamiKaze asked to join XC.

Utmno then left due to the reaction of other players {in GS} to the above.

Due to a severe lack of players, I decided to try out for QL, and was accepted. No poaching took place, to my knowledge, so please do not lay blame on the Clans is question." decided to trial for QL after which I was accepted. No poaching went on (to my knowledge), so please do not lay blame on the clans in question.

BACK AGAIN

Gaelcon was cool, although I had a lot of problems running events, all of which were my own fault. Anyway...

CLAN NEWS

- Extreme has resigned as leader of The X to join CIA, in a completely amicable move on the part of both Clans.

- CIA (The Criminally Insane Assassins) have also aquired several other new members, including three female players ( CandyGirl, HoneyBee and HellKitten), leading to the South African Quake Page reporting on CIA as Hellkitten's new all-female Clan! Droopy has asked me to mention that they can't take any more players on at this time.

- The Gunsharks have disbanded, allegedly (Demaul's words) following the "poaching" of Kamikaze, Utomno and Hakeem (the first two go to Xtreme Chaos, the last to the Quake Lords). Demaul has written a tribute song to his now former Clan.

UNQLE ON AIR!

DMS emails me this, in connection with the University Quake League:

"Just to keep you up to date with the latest developments of UNQLE I thought you'd like to know that we're going to be experimenting with live audio broadcasts during matches. Ever thought you weren't seeing the whole game when watching quake? Let our expect admins fill you in on the details via the joys of Real Audio!"

Cool.

DEATHMATCH DELIGHT!

Dibbler emails me this:

"Deathmatch Delight Volume 1 has been released on the Quake Level Quality Control Centre site. It's a pack of six top quality third party levels, tested and approved by top UK Quake names such as Ettu, Nightwing and Dibbler."

I've been following the QLQCC's progress, and I expect this pack to be something special. Yes, there is a link there...

NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS...

There's been no news, or not much, up here lately. I know. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, with Gaelcon this weekend (no updates until Tuesday) and the Uk Movie coming together, I've been kinda busy. And secondly, there hasn't been much news reported to me...

So, if you want the news, make the news. See you all on Tuesday, with a Gathering report and more.

CLAN NEWS

- The Rude Monkeys are looking for players to join them in the Uk Capture The Flag League. Provided they are not playingin the UKCTFL, they will accept players from other Uk Clans. Email Begbie for more details.

- GS. Mintsauce and Rigs.McM are starting a CTF-only Clan. If you'd like to join them, whether you are in a (Deathmatch) Clan or not, email Minty.

ANOTHER LEAGUE...

OK, I'm being facetious: this does sound like a good idea. News from CoreDump:

"After discussions with Killjoy, Spirit and Adze it's been decided to try and put together a league for clans not yet in the UKCL or MCW leagues, or who are just starting out in the UK scene, and I'm the schmuck who's going to try and do it.

The rigorous structure of the UKCL and MCW can be a put of a nightmare for some of the newer clans, who may have trouble getting a team together every week - and some had to drop out of the UKCL this season. So this new league is going to have a much looser structure based on a ladder system. This means clans can join at any time, and they dont have to play at any particular time, its up to them.

The idea is for the new league to be a feeder division for the UKCL and MCW, where clans can get themselves organised and get some experience before committing to a full season in the big leagues. Hopefully leading to fewer clans dropping out mid-season, as well as giving the new clans enough experience of team games to be able to mix it with the big boys when they do join.

If clans do drop out of the UKCL or MCW during a season, it will be the clan at the top of the UKNCC ladder who will get first dibs on taking up the place, and at the beginning of new seasons of the UKCL and MCW, it will be the clans who have shown themselves organised enough in the UKNCC who will get into the major leagues.

Thats the spiel, if you want to get your clan into the UKNCC then either mail me - with clan name, email and url, or visit our homepage and fill in the membership form."

AN OPEN LETTER AND RESPONSE

Here's an example of the UK Clan League's efficiency. Pundit posted this open letter earlier today:

"The use of Proxy connections in UKCL matches.

This is an abhorrent practice, which, had we been aware of it, we would have objected to strongly. As it is, we are now aware of it, and are objecting strongly to its continued use.

The UKCL was changed to teams fielding 3 lpb, and 2 hpb so that modem players got a chance to play in UKCL matches. It was not set up so that 5 lpbs could play, with two of them pretending to be hpbs by the use of a proxy that gives them a connection so far removed from that of a real modem player as to be on another planet.

We are requesting that proxies be immediately banned from use in the UKCL, in the same way that they are banned from use in the MCW. Failing that, we would request that any team who intends to use proxies in a UKCL match against us, inform us of this fact, and we will then field an equal number of proxy players against you.

Other than that, we will continue to abide by the rules and spirit of the UKCL, and field 3 lpbs, and two hpb (modem) players at each match. Clans are not short of modem players, and we feel it is ludicrous to introduce a practice that totally flies in the face of the spirit of the 3 lpb, 2 hpb rule.

All this will do is make it harder for the smaller clans who are not necessarily blessed with 5 or more lpbs, to be able to compete on anything approaching a level playing field. Skill gets thrown right out the window when things like proxies are allowed to be used. The variations of ping seen by the real modemer never happen to the proxy lpb. They have a smooth connection with no danger of their ping suddenly shooting up to 300, 400, 500 or more.

When all these factors are combined, we feel that the continued use of proxied players to be totally inappropriate to the spirit of the UKCL, and to the spirit of fair play for all, rather than for the favoured few."

Four hours later, Killjoy responded:

"Right, just to stop this so that I don't get 30 million mails about it.

it was'nt me who actually allowed to people in the UKCL to start using the proxy: I have just kept it going as part of the 'taking over' of the UKCL, and as I won't be doing the UKCL after this season, I personally dont really care.

However, so as not to be seen opposing positive comments all the time, I will go with Pundit here: from week 11 onwards until the end of this season, you are not allowed to use the PROXY to manipulate your connection.

The people who use this connection know who they are and so will be watched very closely now - Iwill get some ppl to check the connects so there is no 'I was'nt using it, honestly' comments."

Congratulations to Kill for his swift response.

Q2: FOR YOU AND YOU AND YOU...

Yes, it's out. QuakeIItest. Sorry, that should read

IT'S OUT! QUAKE II DEMO IS OUT! OUT! OUT! GET IT NOW!

The bad news is that it doesn't seem to have made it to Sunsite yet, and all the major links are knackered with demand. The link above should work( or try FTP: // 130.209.48.19) - otherwise, wait, or beg, borrow or steal a Janet connect...

OTHER NEWS

Hah! Yeah, right, like I have the time to waste on other news when Quake II is out!

Ahem. Yeah, OK, I do have the wait induced by a 10 Mb download...

- MNK Corporation is offering half-price Web design to Quake-related pages.

INITIAL COMMENTS: QUAKE II

And here's the buzz on IRC:

-"Quake II is MAD!"

- "It's like DooM II, but with MLook."

- "It feels like Duke Nukem 3D"

And what do I think? I'll let you know...

APOLOGY

Ok, I've been in a dreadful mood for the past two days (my RSI is playing up, and that tends to cause this). However, I still shouldn't have put the Dark Priests Of Sin down yesterday.

For the record, my negative feelings weren't directed at the Clan, but purely at the name. I'm sure that they are all nice guys- indeed, I know Flyingribs is. Apologies.

NEW LEAGUE

Kranium emails me the following news of a new Clan League starting up in the near future:

"It's starting in a couple of weeks. It's called the UKDML (UK Deathmatch Map League), and will consist of only four maps: DM2 and 3, and UKCLDM2 and 4.

If you want your clan to sign up, then e-mail Badboy-DBG."

PLAYER NEWS

- Twinkletoes would like me to print the following:

"i would just like to say I apologise for being an idiot online, and that although I found it funny maybe I did go over the top and upset some peeps ,I would like all those that I offended to know I'm sorry."

IRISH QUAKE NEWS

Brian Davey sends me the following email:

"My name is Brian 'Helghast' Davey and as the Irish Newsman I decided to let you know the following:

The Irish News site (which I worked on) closed - but now myself and 2 others have opened the Irish Quake Post at a temporary address.

I remeber PlanetQuake mentioned the Irish Quakefest news , etc was all to be found on Zero's News - thats the site I worked with and this is the replacement.

Also , the QuakeLords '97 competition is starting this weekend, and as an offical of the competition (Mindphuck runs it... [any relation, Phord?- Nomad]) we will be covering the whole competition, as well as having the demos available for download..."

SMELLING

And we won't be misspelling "Thursday" again...

BABY KRUNCH!

Pionir emails me the following glad news:

"QUTA:Krunch-X now has a baby Krunch-X, and apparently Quake training is the first thing she'll be doing after she learns to walk!"

CLAN NEWS

- There's a new Clan on the scene, called (sigh) the "Dark Priests Of Sin". Go, challenge, play, join, whatever.

- If you're at any of the Manchester Universities, email Hakeem.