                            Quake2 done Quick2
                            ------------------  
		       <http://PlanetQuake.com/QdQ/>

(0) Index

(1) Introduction
 (1.1) What's Quake2 done Quick2?

(2) The run
 (2.1) Installation
 (2.2) Running and viewing

(3) More details about the run
 (3.1) Timing
 (3.2) How the run was recorded
 (3.3) The bunny-hop restriction
 (3.4) Project history

(4) Statistics

(5) Credits and contact info
 (5.1) Credits
 (5.2) Utilities used
 (5.3) Contact info

----------------------------------------------------------------------------


(1) Introduction

(1.1) What's Quake2 done Quick2?

Quake2 done Quick2 (known as Q2dQ2 for short) is the first speed-run
by the Quake done Quick team through id Software's Quake2. It is a run
all the way through Quake2 on Hard skill, going through the levels as
fast as possible.

We do not worry about secrets and kills, only about completing the
primary game goals as specified in the manual and completing the game.

We didn't use bunny-hops (strafe-jumping) except to perform tricks
that couldn't be done in any other way.

The run is continuous, so that we begin each new level with the same
statistics with which we ended the previous level. In cases where we
return to a level we have already visited, the level starts in the
same state as when we left it previously. The run should therefore be
just like a single continuous run through the game, although like all
QdQ runs, it was actually recorded one level at a time.

We do not expect every demo to be completely optimised, some maps
certainly still have some room for improvements - the only certainty
in speed-running is that you can always do it faster somehow. (-:
If you think you can beat any of the demos in Q2dQ2, please get in
touch and we'll supply you with the technology needed to record a demo
that will fit into the existing run.


(2) The run

(2.1) Installation

(At the time of release, Q2dQ2 works for WinXX platforms only. Check the
download page for extra information on Linux and Mac versions.)

First you need to find your main Quake2 directory. This probably has
the name "Quake2" and will contain such items as your Quake2 executable
program (quake2.exe) and your baseq2 game subdirectory.

You should make a subdirectory of this main directory. Give it
whatever name you like; for the purposes of these instructions we will
assume you have called it "Q2dQ2". You can e.g. do this in a DOS shell
by changing to your main Quake2 directory and then typing "md Q2dQ2" at
the prompt.

You should unzip the contents of q2dq2.zip into your Q2dQ2 directory.


(2.2) Running and viewing

First, you will need the "official" version of Quake2, v3.20, in order
to watch the demos. If you aren't up-to-date, you can download what you
need from many places, including <http://planetquake.com/files/>

Now to watch the run, start Quake2 with the command-line option "+game
q2dq2". Alternatively, you can start Quake2 as normal and then enter
"game q2dq2" in the console.

The run is played from a menu interface, so that you can choose to
play the whole speed-run, or individual units, or individual runs.
Use the same keys that you use to access the Quake2 inventory menu
to move around and make selections in the menu. By default, these
will be the "[" and "]" keys to move up and down, and the "ENTER"
key to select a menu item.

If you have them available, you can toggle the inclusion of the
original id cinematics as part of playback with a menu option.

Whilst playing a demo, you can press F10 to stop and return
to the menu.

Note that if you press non-function keys in Quake2 whilst a
demo is playing, this will take you to the console. To return
to the main Q2dQ2 menu, you can press F10, or enter "menu" as
a console command.

If you are a keen player who has optimised their DeathMatch framerate
at the expense of viewing quality, you may wish to choose some
different configuration options to play back this run so that it looks
as pretty as possible. A good way to do this is to edit the
q2dq2/autoexec.cfg file. 

Is there anything else you need to know? Sorry, we'll have to blank
you - there are no Easter Egg demos in the Q2dQ2 speed-run. There
will be plenty of eggs when we make a proper movie, though.

We don't know about any playback problems in Q2dQ2, but since this
is the first time we have released something for Quake2, it is
possible that some exist. Please write and tell us if you find any
problems, so that we can fix them, and do things better next time.

As time goes on, FAQs about this release will no doubt arise.
We will try to publish answers to the common ones on our website.
When we do this, these will be available via the download page at
<http://PlanetQuake.com/QdQ/Q2dQ2.html>.


(3) More details about the run

(3.1) Timing

Just a quick explanation of why we say we completed Quake2 in 21:06.

We recorded every demo separately and then connected them together,
adding up the times for each level.

The times for individual levels are rounded down to a whole number
of seconds, ignoring any fractions of a second. This convention is
inherited from Quake1 speed-running; consistency was our main
concern. The total time for our run if the excess fractions of a
second are taken into account is 21:38.3.


(3.2) How the run was recorded

We recorded each demo separately, on skill 2 (Hard), of course without
any cheating. To time the demos, and to start with the correct stats
and entity positions that we ended the previous levels with, we used
some specially written recording options in a game modification by
Nolan Pflug called q2timer.

We recorded Quake2 as one big run because Quake2 was made to be played
all the way through, and not as separate levels. We did it by
connecting single demos together because the final product is a lot
more interesting and entertaining that way, and we could include some
very cool tricks that we couldn't do had we recorded it in one sitting.

However we wanted to be sure that the finished run worked just like a
single continuous playing session, and have worked hard on our recording
technology in order to do this. The "hub" system of levels that allows
the player to carry items between levels and re-enter levels that they
have already visited meant this was much harder to do in Quake2 than in
Quake1. If you find any continuity problems, please let us know about
them.

The details of the recording procedure are too complicated to explain
here, but in time we intend to publish them on our website.
When we do this, these will be available via the download page at
<http://PlanetQuake.com/QdQ/Q2dQ2.html>.

(3.3) The bunny-hop restriction

In Quake2, a player can increase their speed with various techniques
that are based on swiftly changing direction in combination with
jumping. The main trick is commonly known as turbo-running, although
QdQ tend to refer to it as bunny-hopping because of the similarity to
the Quake1 technique of the same name. It basically reduces to
repeatedly jumping whilst strafing and turning a little.

To proceed through Quake2 as quickly as possible, a player needs
to bunny-hop non-stop. Some people, including several of the Q2dQ2
team members, find the results unattractive. There was also a concern
that the effectiveness of the technique is frame-rate dependent, which
would have meant that in order to get the best times, a player had to
have as fast a computer system as possible. This would have introduced
undesirable unfairness to speed-running.

For this first Q2dQ2 run, we decided to restrict the use of bunny-hopping.
We bunny-hop only when it is necessary for us to do so in order to perform
some trick (more precisely, to follow a particular route through the
Quake2 environment at a certain cost of damage.) This is an arbitrary
restriction that results in slower than optimum times, but we thought
it was appropriate for this first attempt at a Quake2 speed-run.

Perhaps future QdQ runs through Quake2 will feature unrestricted
bunny-hops. This development would echo that of Quake1 speed-running,
where bunny-hops became more important as time progressed and running
techniques were refined.


(3.4) Project overview

Quake done Quick started making these sort of runs using Quake1 a couple
of years ago. There are plenty of downloads waiting for you at
<http://planetquake.com/qdq/> if you haven't seen them already.

This was our first project for Quake2, and it took a very long time to
complete - sorry to the people who have been waiting impatiently! The
details of speed-running Quake2 turn out to be much more complicated than
they were in Quake1.

A lot of new recording technology had to be written, and tuning the details
so that everything worked right took us a long time. I'd like especially to
thank Nolan Pflug and Will Marsh for their efforts in making everything work
as it should. Respect also to all the runners for putting up with all the
patches, fixes and work-arounds that we had to use whilst trying to get
things working, and to Gerald Tangent for assembling and motivating the team.

Quake2 underwent many changes relevant to gameplay post-release. We waited
for the game to stabilise (and for the baseq2 source to be released) before
starting recording on this project, since we wanted to run a single, stable
version of the game.

In both the above cases, we could have cut our losses, accepted that the
finished product wouldn't really represent a continuous run through the game,
and released something that wasn't quite right. It would probably have been
just as enjoyable to watch a run where the details don't quite work, but we
didn't want to compromise the integrity of our speed-runs, so we accepted the
delay resulting from getting the details right.

But although there are devils in those details, there is lots new to enjoy
about running this game as well.

Quake2 adds many jumping tricks to the ammunition available to runners.
Double-jumping and other varieties of ledge pull-ups were probably as
important as grenade and rocket-jumping in this run, but there are others too,
including the occasional "permitted" bunnies and circle-jumps.

The ability to carry items between maps (especially with skill 2's "only
one of any power-up at a time" restriction) adds a lot to the strategy
involved in route planning. There was a lot of discussion about which
Quads and Invulnerabilities would yield a profit over all.

The hub/unit-system makes keys and triggers interesting too. There are
actually a few places where one can carry keys between units; for example,
one could avoid using the blue key in waste3 and take it through to use in
lab.

However that minor saving was abandonned when we found a forgotten
floating trigger that let us avoid most of the Power unit altogether;
this is probably my favourite hack in the run. Other neat tricks are the
corpse and bullet door-stops in ware1 and ware2, the 10fps laser bug in
jail3, the supertank launch in jail4, the rocket+grenade in mine1, the
adrenaline grab in mine3iii, the Quad from water in hangar2, the
well-known window in the black hole generator's security in command,
and the icarus and beserker assists in city1 and city2ii.

Enjoy the run! Especially, ah, hangar1ii...

- Anthony, 1999.06.28


(4) Statistics

============================================
Map       (Level Name)        Time  Player
============================================
base1     (Outer Base)        0:12  Toxy    
base2     (Installation)      0:18  Fredrik
base3     (Comm Center)       0:44  Fredrik
base2ii   (Installation)      0:20  Fredrik
--------------------------------------------
 unit1     (Base)             1:34
--------------------------------------------
bunk1     (Ammo Depot)        0:25  Fredrik
ware1     (Supply Station)    0:33  Toxy
bunk1ii   (Ammo Depot)        0:26  NancyBoy
ware2     (Warehouse)         0:48  Fredrik
--------------------------------------------
 unit2     (Warehouse)        2:12
--------------------------------------------
jail1     (Main Gate)         0:31  NancyBoy
jail2     (Detention Center)  0:28  Optic
jail3     (Security Complex)  0:11  NancyBoy
jail5     (Guard House)       0:58  Toxy
jail3ii   (Security Complex)  0:12  NancyBoy
jail4     (Torture Chambers)  0:24  MrJ
jail3iii  (Security Complex)  0:19  Fredrik
security  (Grid Control)      0:41  NancyBoy
--------------------------------------------
 unit3     (Jail)             3:44
--------------------------------------------
mintro    (Mine Entrance)     0:25  MrJ
mine1     (Upper Mines)       0:26  Toxy
mine2     (Bore Hole)         0:04  Ajare
mine3     (Drilling Area)     0:28  NancyBoy
mine2ii   (Bore Hole)         0:03  Mattias
mine3ii   (Drilling Area)     0:22  Mattias
mine4     (Lower Mines)       0:25  MrJ
mine3iii  (Drilling Area)     0:06  Fredrik
--------------------------------------------
 unit4     (Mines)            2:19
--------------------------------------------
fact1     (Receiving Center)  0:08  Ajare
fact2     (Processing Plant)  0:58  Toxy
fact1ii   (Receiving Center)  0:09  Fredrik
--------------------------------------------
 unit5     (Factory)          1:15
--------------------------------------------
power1    (Power Plant)       0:15  Fredrik
power2    (The Reactor)       0:40  Hatti
--------------------------------------------
 unit6     (Power)            0:55
--------------------------------------------
biggun    (Big Gun)           0:30  Fredrik
--------------------------------------------
 unit7     (Big Gun)          0:30
--------------------------------------------
hangar1   (Outer Hangar)      0:08  Ajare
lab       (Research Lab)      1:46  Toxy
hangar1ii (Outer Hangar)      0:06  Anthony
hangar2   (Inner Hangar)      1:00  Ajare
command   (Launch Command)    0:23  Fredrik
strike    (Outlands)          0:56  Ajare
--------------------------------------------
 unit8     (Hangar)           4:19
--------------------------------------------
city1     (Outer Courts)      0:59  Fredrik
city2     (Lower Palace)      0:44  Optic
city3     (Upper Palace)      0:23  Ajare
city2ii   (Lower Palace)      0:39  Ajare
city3ii   (Upper Palace)      0:30  Ajare
--------------------------------------------
 unit9     (City)             3:15
--------------------------------------------
boss1     (Inner Chamber)     0:36  Ajare
boss2     (Final Showdown)    0:27  Fredrik
--------------------------------------------
 unit10    (Boss)             1:03 
============================================
  Quake2 done Quick2         21:06 
============================================


(5) Credits and contact info

(5.1) Credits

Q2dQ2 features demos recorded by the following people:

Fredrik "[+]RZA" Arvidsson
Anthony "They let me do a very easy one, bless them" Bailey
Mattias Berggren
Sean "NancyBoy" Crooks
Robert "Toxy" Duncan
David "Mr-J[!!]" Eva 
Justin "Optic" Fleck
Will "Ajare" Marsh
Simon "Hatti" Nordberg

Other people also recorded demos that did not feature in the final run,
invented tricks and routes, wrote tools that made this release possible,
took care of admin matters, and so forth:

Vincent "ColdFusion" Aber
MacKenzie "Chino" Anderson
"BlacK_OuT"
Simon Broadhead
"BurninSun"
Dugan Chen
Yonatan "Zem" Donner
Ben "Slayer" Douglass
Kaj "s8n" Haffenden
Thomas Lim
Chris Longden
Jesper "Avalanche" Lund
Kyle Monson
Anthony "Airon" Oetzmann
Nolan "Radix" Pflug
Roman "WarKosign" Priborkin
Aivars R
Stefan Schwoon
Andrew Smith
Gerald "Tangent" Tan
Zoltan "Predator4" Torok

Thanks also to David "crt" Wright for the menu mod and to mad dasher Colin
Moore for the cue to grab that city3 Quad.


(5.2) Utilities used

The utilities we used included:

Q2timer by Nolan Pflug <http://PlanetQuake.com/QdQ/q2timer.html> for
timing runs, allowing recordings to follow-on from previous runs,
and logging information needed for other demo processing.

D2relise by Will Marsh (unreleased) in order to maintain continuity
of the later demos when improvements were made to earlier demos in
the run.

LMPC by Uwe Girlich <http://PlanetQuake.com/demospecs/> for
decompiling & recompiling demos so we could use the convenient LS format.
Also Uwe's DM2 specs were very useful for us in creating our own tools.

Dm2Tool by Stefan Schwoon <http://PlanetQuake.com/QdQ/Dm2Tool.html>.
A variety of other tools also made use of his skeleton code for
parsing demos.

MenuMod by David Wright <http://PlanetQuake.com/Arena/> for the code
used to implement the menus from which demos are accessed.


(5.3) Contact info

For QdQ news and future projects check our page at
<http://PlanetQuake.com/QdQ/>
At the time of writing, the next should be:
"The Rabbit Run" (tRR), a movie of the quickest ever Skill 0 Quake1 run.

For questions and comments (even if you just want to say you liked the
demo), email <qdq-q2dq2@list.gamespy.com>. For general comments to
QdQ, email <QdQ@PlanetQuake.com>

If a FAQ, patches or extensions are developed for this release, they will
be available via the download page at <http://PlanetQuake.com/QdQ/Q2dQ2.html>.

To contact individual members of the team:

Vincent "ColdFusion" Aber
mailto:vaber@peaks.teton.com

MacKenzie "Chino" Anderson
mailto:chino@nildram.co.uk

Fredrik "[+]RZA" Arvidsson
mailto:fredrik.arvidsson@swipnet.se

Anthony Bailey
mailto:anthony@planetquake.com

Mattias Berggren
mailto:mattias.berggren@mail.bktv.se

"BlacK_OuT"
mailto:nwise@megsinet.net

Simon Broadhead
mailto:simonb@kwic.com

"BurninSun"
mailto:burninsun@aol.com

Dugan Chen
mailto:wingman@infoserve.net

Sean "NancyBoy" Crooks
mailto:sean@prcn.org

Yonatan "Zem" Donner
mailto:zem@planetquake.com
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/4704/

Ben "Slayer" Douglass
mailto:bendoug@yahoo.com

Robert "Toxy" Duncan
mailto:toxy@planetquake.com

David "Mr-J[!!]" Eva 
mailto:moksha@dial.pipex.com

Justin "Optic" Fleck
mailto:rjfleck@earthlink.net

Kaj "s8n" Haffenden
mailto:s8n@tsunamitech.com
http://www.g-a-m-e.org/rtr/

Thomas Lim
mailto:tom@connect.ab.ca
http://www.ualberta.ca/~tmlim

Chris Longden
mailto:chrisl@gamespy.com

Jesper "Avalanche" Lund
mailto:jeppelund@hotmail.com

Will "Ajare" Marsh
mailto:w.t.marsh@sms.ed.ac.uk
http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Geyser/2599/

Kyle Monson
mailto:elm@televar.com

Simon "Hatti" Nordberg
mailto:simon@planetquake.com

Anthony "Airon" Oetzmann
mailto:aronchce@sp.zrz.tu-berlin.de
http://www.scene.org/phd/

Nolan "Radix" Pflug
mailto:radix@planetquake.com
http://www.planetquake.com/sda/

Roman "WarKosign" Priborkin
mailto:warkosign@intertaxi.co.il
http://www.planetquake.com/remaic/

Aivars R
mailto:aar@shiznat.com

Stefan Schwoon
mailto:schwoon@informatik.uni-hildesheim.de

Andrew Smith
mailto:andrew@amorph.demon.co.uk
http://www.amorph.demon.co.uk/

Gerald "Tangent" Tan
mailto:tangent@cyberway.com.sg
http://www.planetquake.com/sda/

Zoltan "Predator4" Torok
mailto:pred4@freemail.c3.hu


DISCLAIMER: NO MARINES WERE HURT DURING THE MAKING OF THIS MOVIE...
            WELL OK...
            MAYBE A COUPLE.. :)


Enjoy Quake2 done Quick2!


