QUAKE INTERNET HOWTO  Summary - OR - Everything a newbie 
needs to virtualize into a blood-thirsty homicidal maniac.

For Quake EXPERTS: Section FOUR includes a good summary of 
the issues affecting internet play.. check it out.
Sections four and five are a separate document known
as QUAKE INTERNET PEFORMANCE SUMMARY.

This is Verion 1.03. Please send corrections.
Version changes mentioned at very bottom.
Send corrections and comments to : mve@texas.net


What's Here: 
-----------------
1]How to quickly get Quake running over the Internet without 
treading through techinfo.txt
2]Where to find active Quake games
3]Where to get the latest Quake news and updates
4]Performance issues
        a.  Lag, Latency, Ping times, Packet loss, Surges
        b.  The construction of the Internet
        c.  Multi-homed ISP's versus Single-homed ISP's
        d.  National ISP's versus Local/Regional ISP's
        e.  Modems, ISDN, T1'- WHATS THE TRUTH??     
        f.  CPU power and screen resolution
        g.  Summary

5]The QuakeWorld project
6]Internet backbones and tracert sites



****SECTION ONE**** [How to get playing Quake on the Net 
fast!]

In order to run Net Quake (or 'TCP/IP Quake') you must first have a 
connection  established over the Internet using Windows 95, 
with at least 16 MB of memory. It is possible to run Quake using 
pure DOS mode, but it's a rather complicated and messy procedure, 
as you must obtain a set of programs to provide you with TCP/IP. I 
do not know of a freeware or shareware source for such programs. 
Note, if you do not have adequate memory, Quake will crash upon 
execution. Quake does not run  presently under Windows NT, 
although it shall at some point in the future (see SECTION FIVE)..  
Quake will never run under Windows 3.1. If you need help
on installing Windows 95 Internet go to
http://tucows.phoenix.net/help/win95.html.

To begin Quake over the Internet, you  MUST run Q95.BAT, which 
is in your \Quake directory. You must have already logged onto the 
Internet. Also, close all other Windows 95 programs.
Quake will begin in the normal manner .. you will see the
demo start just as when playing in single-player mode. Next, you 
must find a server onto which you can log into.. Please see 
SECTION TWO in order to find lists of currently running Quake 
servers.

There are presently TWO types of servers running on the Net: 
shareware servers and registered servers.  If you are running the 
shareware version of Quake you can only log onto a server that is 
running a shareware level. Quake will terminate with an error 
message if a server is running a level  " MAP " among the 
registered levels (unless you have registered Quake.) Quake 
consists of four episodes, with   EPISODE ONE being  shareware 
Quake. Episodes two, three and four are only included with 
registered Quake. Episode maps (or missions) are called "start" and 
then  E1M1 through E1M8  among the shareware levels. That is, 
there are eight missions in episode one. Similarly, E3M5 would 
refer to episode three- map (mission) five.  Registered servers also 
run maps DM1 through DM6 and "end", the final boss-level after 
the end of Episode four of registered Quake. If you see any other 
map name outside these conventions, it's a custom level.

You should now be connected to the Internet and have the  normal 
demo running after executing Q95.BAT and have selected a Quake 
server off  a list mentioned in SECTION TWO. We must now tell 
Quake this server in order to get onto it. There are two ways of 
doing so: using the menus or using the console. 



Using Menus:
-------------------
From the Main Menu: Select 
"Multiplayer" -> "Join A Game" -> "TCP/IP" and at "Join A Game 
At:" type in the name of the server or the number of the server 
(either one). NOTE: If the name doesn't fit you must use the 
console.

Using Console:
--------------------
You lower and raise the console by hitting the tilde key "~".. it's
located on the upper left hand side of most keyboards. The console
allows one to  type commands into  Quake to exercise far greater 
control over the game then can be achieved via the menus. You 
WILL inevitably use the console. To connect to a server you type:

]connect <theserversname or number> (and hit ENTER)

Results:
----------
You will see Quake attempting to connect to a server:
Trying... (perhaps 3 times)

and  then:
CONNECTION ACCEPTED 
 -or-
NO QUAKE SERVERS FOUND
 -or-
SERVER IS FULL


At this point, if you're connected to the Internet, have run Q95.BAT, 
and typed in a server listed as active off one of the lists mentioned 
in SECTION TWO, you should be playing Quake.

What? It's not working? 
--------------------------------

Symptom: "MODEL  MAPS/blahblah.BSP NOT FOUND"

Explanation: You're probably running shareware Quake while the 
server is running at the moment a registered or custom level map. 
Look at the server lists again to find a server running a shareware 
map (E1M1 through E1M8, or "start"). Occasionally a map
within E1M1-E1M8 will have been modifed (e.g.,Capture the Flag or
CTF). If so, you need registered Quake to use such a server. Shareware
Quake does not permit any customizations.

Symptom: I get "CONNECTION ACCEPTED" but nothing is 
happening, what's going on?

Explanation: You will need to find another server because you're "too
far" in internet terminology from the server you've selected. Look
at the server lists again and try if you can to distinguish based on
their name where they are .. pick one that appears to be close to you.
Failing this, just keep trying a bunch of servers on the list.
See SECTION FOUR for an explanation of the issues affecting and
determining peformance of playing Quake over the Internet.

Symptom: I'm in Quake but I can barely move and there's this little 
disconnection cable icon appearing all the time, and it's very choppy.

Explanation: You're most likely "too far" from the server. 
Try other servers on the lists, trying to get one physically close to 
you (although this is not necessarily going to be the best server for 
you). See SECTION FOUR for an explanation of the issues 
affecting and determining performance of playing  Quake over the Internet.

Symptom: I get "NO QUAKE SERVERS FOUND"
Explanation: It's possible the server may have just been taken down. 
Once in a while it'll take a couple of tries to log onto a server. If you 
continue to get NO QUAKE SERVERS FOUND, try other servers 
off the lists in SECTION TWO. Again, be sure you're on the Net 
and you've run Q95.BAT. 
NOTE: If you're connected to the Internet from an office LAN, you 
may be inside what is called a "security firewall", which for too 
many reasons not worth mentioning here will prevent you from 
playing Quake.  See SECTION FIVE about the QuakeWorld 
project, which will permit playing through firewalls.


****SECTION TWO**** [Where to get lists of current Quake 
servers.]
 

In order to play Quake over the Internet you must find active 
servers. Several constantly updated lists are maintained and 
accessible through WWW browsers such as Netscape. If this is 
your first attempt to find a server, try to distinguish from the server's 
name its physical location. Try to find one in your region. Because 
of the way the Internet is constructed, the best servers are not 
necessarily going to be those which are physically closest to you, 
but it's the best place to start. Read SECTION FOUR to learn more 
on this topic.  It may take several tries to find a sever that's either 
accessible or plays well.

Lists of current servers:
-------------------------------
http://www.stomped.com/servers.html
http://quake.commonground.net/qserve/index.html
http://www.naz.com/quake/quake.html
http://ironman.planetquake.com/servers.html    ***(generally most 
comprehensive)
http://www.igs.net/~bill/cdnquake.htm             ***(Candian Quake 
servers)
http://www.dcs.napier.ac.uk/~st5029/               ***(European 
Quake servers)
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~forager/ozqs/#ozservers   
***(Australian Quake servers)

A fantastic tool for ranking all servers for YOUR particular internet 
connection:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After you've successfully gotten Net Quake to work, it's time to get 
QSPY, a Windows 95 application which downloads a list of all the 
current Quake servers in the world and ranks them from fastest to slowest.
It takes upwards of twenty minutes to do so, but when finished will show
the actual relative performance from these servers to your and only
your computer. QSPY is freeware/donar-ware.

Get it at: http://www.panix.com/~sheaslip/qspy/download.shtml


****SECTION THREE**** [Where to get the latest news and 
patches for Quake]

There are several dozen sources for the latest patches and news for 
Quake. I list only a few, but all of these pages have links for patches, clan war 
updates, editing new levels, and so forth.

NEWS:
---------
http://www.bluesnews.com (lately, most up-to-date)
http://redwood.gatsbyhouse.com
http://www.quakehole.com
http://www.frag.com
http://www.stomped.com



****SECTION FOUR**** [Performance issues for Net Quake]
A. [Preliminary stuff]
Given your present Internet connection, the best servers from you to 
other servers can be found by obtaining QSPY (see SECTION 
TWO). The ranking which QSPY returns shows the time it takes to 
get information from your computer to the server ( and vice-versa.) 
The other factor is the speed/memory of the server-computer.  It's 
possible for a server to be ranked very high by QSPY and yet be 
very slow if it has a slow CPU supporting too many players.  But 
this is an exception. 

If you want to know  in general terms how your performance 
presently stacks up against others, what the affect of high speed 
modems and other technologies would be, and what to look  for in 
finding a better ISP, then read on. A word of caution though: 
unfortunately, a lot on the Internet is "it depends." There are many 
different factors which are responsible for the quality of your 
gameplay. I try to cover them all, but can only do so in general 
terms. Regardless, there's a lot of meaty interesting things to know 
to bring your game to the top.

So what are the primary concerns here? LAG AND LATENCY.  
"Latency" is actually a technical term meaning the time it takes to 
get a packet (a unit of information on the Internet) from your 
computer to another computer and back. "Lag " is a more common 
sense term referring to the sense of time- slowness - you're 
experiencing in a game. Lag for example depends on the server's 
speed as well. A slow server computer will give you a lot of "lag" 
even though strictly its latency isn't bad.

How do we measure latency? In Quake you can see everyone's 
latency to the server by typing PING in the console. You get to the 
console by hitting the tilde key "~". QSPY ranks servers by 
measuring PING TIME from your computer to each Quake server. 
Those who have a lower ping time are typically getting better game 
play than you (although a player's CPU power has just as much 
effect too!)

Generally, on servers that one might consider "good" or at least 
"normal" these are the times for the type of connection a ping in 
Quake would return:
MODEM: 240-500 
ISDN:  110-240
T1:    70-150
(again-- these are generalizations!)

Another factor is PACKET LOSS. When a packet loss occurs your  
game "freezes" or "halts" for a split-second.  If you get several 
packet losses in a row you won't be able to move, and a disconnect 
icon will appear.  Packet loss occurs much more for modem users, 
due to line noise, although it can  also occur sometimes on the
Internet as a whole, typically at "exchange points" (keep reading..)

SURGES of packets wherein the game freezes and then suddenly 
bolts forward trying to "catch up" in time is caused by  buffering 
problems between your computer and the server. This occurs almost 
exclusively with modem users.  Sometimes  INSUFFICIENT 
BANDWIDTH, especially on 14.4k modems, or on level E1M7, 
causes surges; however, they happen for other reasons too. When 
these occur, if you type PING, you'll see it's in the THOUSANDS.

STEADINESS of packets is critical too. Even if all packets are 
arriving, if the latency time from one packet to the next is very 
different (e.g, 100ms..220ms..150ms..270..etc), your game will be 
choppy. A game with solid 300-350ms packets will be  a lot nicer 
than one with 70ms packets but that vary by 100% or more from 
one to the next. You can ping multiple times in a DOS box by:

c:\> ping -n 50 <servername> // will ping server 50 times

**NOTE: the ping returned in DOS is LOWER than that returned 
in by ping inside the Quake console. Because your computer is very 
busy when running Quake,  latency is raised by about 100% over 
what you get from the ping returned in DOS.

B. [Internet backbones: how it all works]
The Internet is actually composed of (just speaking of the USA 
now) about 12 to 15 BACKBONES or upstream providers. These 
are actually *separate* distinct networks, but they all agree one way  
or another to exchange information with one another. Your ISP in 
turn connects to one or more of these backbone networks. The 
largest  backbones are MCI, UU.NET (Alter.Net), and Sprint. Other 
backbones include AGIS (Net99), PSI, ANS, CRL, Good, Digex, PSI, 
BBNPlanet, and Netcom. How your ISP connects to the Internet 
greatly affects your PING time. Why? If your packets can stay 
within any PARTICULAR backbone from your computer to the 
server, your latency will be much lower (25-100ms lower) than if it 
must cross an exchange point to enter another backbone to reach the 
server. There are basically two major "public" exchange points in 
the US: Mae-East in Washington DC and Mae-West in San Jose. 
Some of the larger backbones (like MCI and Sprint) have a couple 
of their own private exchanges (much better.)
This is why a server  in your own home town might be 
"slow as hell." For example, if your ISP is on backbone X and that 
server in your own town is on an ISP on backbone Y, quite often 
your packets (information) must travel all the way on X's backbone 
to Mae-East (or West), cross the public exchange, and then come 
back down backbone Y! This adds latency and potential packet 
loss.  More regional exchange points are under construction to help 
alleviate these inefficiencies. If you live within a couple hundred 
miles of Chicago, see if your ISP connects to the Ameritech-NAP 
(Network Access Point), probably the best regional exchange in the 
USA.

C. [Multi-backboned ISP's STRONGLY preferred!]
Thus, what is the solution? Get an ISP on multiple backbones, 
preferably MCI, UU.NET(Alter.Net), and/or Sprint. What you want 
is to keep YOUR PACKETS within ONE BACKBONE. 
Unfortunately, most ISP's are on only one backbone. If they're on 
only one, MCI or UU.NET are the best (the most connected, with 
the most exchanges.) Especially if you're not physically close to one 
of the two major exchanges, you especially need to look for one the 
three big backbones in an ISP.

In order to see the path your packets take from your computer to any 
other computer type (in Win95 DOS box):

c:\> tracert <servername or ipaddress>

This will show you a path. You'll be able to see what backbone 
your ISP is connected to (tracert a bunch of servers.. you'll see if 
you're on multiple backbones), and the cities, exchanges, and 
backbones passed onto its final destination.

At the bottom of this page is more info on backbones and tracert's.

D. [National ISP's versus Local ISP's]
National ISP's are generally not a good choice for Quake, as they 
tend to force their packets through one or two points for their whole 
network. Thus, in the case of AT&T for example, which uses 
Alter.Net for much of its traffic, even if there's a server in your home 
town on Alter.Net, packets must go up to AT&T's gateway before 
re-entering the Alter.Net system yet a second time. Very bad.  
Netcom has its own private backbone, but there are  no Quake 
servers on the Netcom backbone, for it's used almost exclusively by 
dialup users. Thus, anyone on Netcom must get forced through 
Mae-East or Mae-West.  At least if one's ISP  is on MCI, Sprint, or 
UU.NET (Alter.Net), there will be a bunch of servers with better
times due to packets staying with a single network
(better: be on all three 8-)!).


E. Modems, ISDN, and T1's

The ping time from your computer to your ISP is often the largest 
portion of your overall latency, especially for modem users. A 
modem has a MINIMUM latency to your ISP's router (that's the 
first computer your computer talks to) of 110ms (range is 110-
150ms.) If you're getting higher latency than this, you need to find a 
way to turn off compression on your modem, or it's possible your 
ISP's router is overloaded. The router is the VERY first address 
you're going to see whenever you do a TRACERT. If PINGing your 
router shows wild variations in times (120ms, then 250ms,etc), it's caused 
by one of the two previous things just mentioned. The latency is 
caused mostly by the time it takes to convert signals from digital 
to analog and back. 
Line noise during this conversion sometimes causes a loss of information 
(packet loss), which is extremely rare with ISDN, due to being pure digital.
An ISDN terminal adapter has a minimum latency of 25ms (range 
is 25-60ms) to your ISP. Most internal ISDN adapters will return a 
ping time of around 30ms. An external adapter connected to a serial 
port (Motorola Bit Surfer Pro) will return a time of 50-60ms.
A T1 line, if you can afford one, has latency of about 5-10ms to an 
ISP.

Regarding bandwidth, a 14.4k modem can be used on a server with 
about 6 players total. After this, you'll get huge lag and surges. 
28.8k can basically support any 16 player game except for E1M7, 
because everyone can see everyone else, which not only overloads most
server's CPU, but also increases bandwidth utilization.

So how much better is ISDN over modem? Well, that depends. If 
you're on a good ISP using a modem there should be a handful of 
servers that give you a STEADY Quake ping time of less than 
300ms (with DOS ping showing around 160ms.) In terms of 
graphics flow, you won't see much difference with ISDN, but you'll 
feel a difference somewhat in control. (Again, this is if you're on a 
STEADY flow of packets from your ISP.)  It won't be earth-shaking 
however. Just as you acclimated to the "walking-on-ice" type of feeling
of modem play, you'll see that with ISDN you're, at least on your 
best servers, back closer to something of a LAN type control. It 
certainly won't make you a Quake superstar though.


F. [CPU and resolution]

Your CPU power and screen resolution affect your Quake ping time 
by as much as 50%. Obviously, the lower the resolution, the lower 
your ping time shall be.



G. Summary

What one ideally needs is the clearest channel one can get from 
your computer to the Quake server. If any one of the following 
stages has a serious deficiency, your game play will suffer 
accordingly:
1) You need a decent computer for Quake to begin with.
2) A modem giving you <150ms to your first router (ISDN better 
obviously!)
3) A router or router(s) at your ISP that are not overloaded.
4) A T1 line or higher from your ISP to one or more internet 
backbones that are not overloaded.
5) Preferably, a  Quake server on the same backbone as your ISP, or 
an exchange that's well connected (un-clogged, not loosing packets)  
to whichever backbone your packets are crossing into.
6) Good routers at the Quake server's site.
7) A server which has enough CPU/memory to support the player 
limit it has.

If anyone of these are out of kink you'll get more latency, lag, packet 
loss, surges, and unsteady arrival times of packets. That's it.


****SECTION FIVE****

QuakeWorld is a  project being undertaken by Idsoftware to 
improvement Internet play as well as add new features such as 
global player rankings with persistent accounts and dynamic data 
loading. It will be an UNSUPPORTED project however, and will 
be released and expanded upon as they wish to do so. QW will 
improve play by changing the networking code so as minimize 
some of the negative uncertain affects which the Internet introduces 
in the long distances through many different computers which each 
packet must travel. Quake is the first truly interactive real-time 
3D game playable over the Internet with 16 players, and so the 
methods to achieve consistent play are still somewhat in development. 
It's amazing that Net Quake is as good as it is. But QW should be 
even better. Regardless, ALL the issues covered in SECTION FOUR 
will continute to be important. If your ISP has bad or overloaded
equipment, or if any of the seven stages of a 'clear- channel' are
mucked up, all the programming in the world won't  help you.

QuakeWorld is planned to run under Windows 95 and Windows 
NT only using DirectX  (no DOS version.)


***INTERNET BACKBONES***

tracert page:
-------------
http://www.pcslink.com/cgi-bin/trace

Backbone MAPS:
----------------
[Just because a backbone shows a link through your city doesn't
mean you're connected to it on that point. There are just a handful
of exchanges where packets cross networks.]

Alter.net/UU.net
http://www.alter.net/intlmap/index.shtml

MCI
http://www.mci.net/bipp96.html

PSI
http://www.psi.net/psi-tech/networkmap.html

ANS
http://www.ans.net/ANS/ANSnet.html

AGIS/Net99
http://www.agis.net/backbone.htm

Digex
http://www.digex.net/profile/network.html

BBNPlanet
http://www.bbnplanet.com/backbone.htm

CRL
http://www.crl.com/tech.html

Netcom
http://www.netcomi.com/business/netmap.htm

Good
http://www.good.net/map.html

MAE-EXCHANGES!
http://www.mfst.com/MAE/index.html

Istar.ca (Canada)
http//www.istar.ca/images/map.gif

Some regional (as well as national and
internal) exchages.
http://www.isi.edu:80/div7/ra/naps.html

Sprint (no map.. but has exchange info)
http://www.sprintlink.net/SPLK/HB21.html#2.2

Large list of Tracert sites!!
http://www.boardwatch.com/isp/trace.htm

Updates v1.01
--------------
Corrected a few typos
Added link to Windows 95 tcp/ip setup info
Added Good.Net national backbone 
Noted that shareware Quake wont work with CTF maps
Changed CRL WWW address for their network map


Updates V1.02
--------------
Changed ANS topology map link
Updated Qspy http link 
Added Istar.Ca map and Sprint -(thx monk)
Lowered range of exchange hit to (25-100ms)
 in consideration of private exchange efficiency.
Added Copyright/Trademark information
Added new regional/national/intl exchange www page
Split Performance area into separate document 

Updates V1.03
--------------
Added Boardwatch TRACERT page ! Major list!
Updated Redwood's link

Copyright (C) 1996 Maurice Van Emburgh. You may not
change this document without permission of the author.
This document maybe reproduced and distributed by any means
so long as no changes are made. If you feel there are any
substantive changes needed please email mve@texas.net and if
included you will receive recognition in a subsequent issue.

Quake is a registered trademark of Id Software, Inc.

                                     




