Linux - GamesThis forum is for all discussion relating to gaming in Linux.
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
i am trying to creat a q3 arena server setup but am totally newblost. i was finally able to install and get q3arena to play on my ubuntu 6.06.1 successfully and now want to try a server for it. how do you do this? what i've read talks about creatingn config fils and saving them in the baseq3 folder. how do you do that (create and name the config files especially)? i've read several instructions on makeing and starting the server but nothing about creating the config files themselves. even found one that talked about wma (or wfa?) files? and what or where are the *.pk3 files? i copied the pak0.pk3 files to the baseq3 folder so the game works fine. but when i try the *.pk3 i get an error "no such file or directory". any advice and help would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.
it's been a while since I've had a q3a install going, but I'll try to get you started at least...
I'm not sure why you ask what and where pk3 files are when your next sentence explains how you copied them...
if you rename pak0.pk3 to pak0.zip, you should be able to open it up and look inside - there's a series of example server configs in there, find them (I think, but like I said, it's been a while, they will have a .cfg extension - it should be obvious which files they are when you see them), save a copy of one somewhere outside the pak file so you can edit it to your heart's content. Make sure not to alter the contents of the pk3 file, and don't forget to rename it back to .pk3. (alternatively you could use a program like Pakscape, but I don't know if that run on linux)
planetquake has what looks like a nice server config guide, and there are many others out there to be found. Guides for other games based on q3 will probably also apply to q3a, but probably not 100%.
basically though, once you setup your config, you just have to run quake with the appropriate command line options (something like this, but the example is for windows: "C:\Quake III Arena\Quake3.exe" +set dedicated 2 +set net_port 27970 +com_hunkMegs 50 +exec ffa.cfg), and your server will start up.
If everything is working, you should now be able to execute the game-running quake command(as opposed the server running command) and join the server you're running. Sorry for the complete lack of detail, it's been years since I did any of this.
sorry, i meant i know where the pk3 files were, i just didn't know where the config files were. all the instructions i found online stated 'cp pak*.pk3 to the baseq folder'. those were what i was confused about. but if the config files are there, then i should be able to adjust them to my flavor. or can i use gedit to create my own and save that one to the baseq folder? i think the talking about the config files is what confused me the most. thanks for the help.
but if the config files are there, then i should be able to adjust them to my flavor. or can i use gedit to create my own and save that one to the baseq folder?
I'm pretty sure you can do either, or both, but I would copy the example configs(edit: out of the pak file and in) to baseq3 and edit them to suit my needs.
i believe i got the cfg files figured out with gedit. i used an example i found online. just to test. but, how do stop the server and how do i find the server on my own machine. i started one, closed that window, started quake3 but did not see the server i made. think i'm gonna browse the cd and see what i can see. and double check the links ya'll gave me. also, wonder if it matters that it is a windows cd i used an d not the linux quake version. i know these questions seem stupid but it seems after i ask them then i find the answer on my own. all input is greatly appreciated and wanted. thanks so much for all the help.
i started one, closed that window, started quake3 but did not see the server i made.
you have to leave the window that opens up running - that's the server. Start it up and leave it running, and then start up the actual game as well. If you have setup a LAN server(as opposed to a public server that reports to the master), you should be able to go into the in-game server browser, set it to find LAN games, and then you should see your server in that list (probably the only thing there).
If this is a public server, I guess you'll have to sort by name(in the server browser) and look for the name you gave it, or connect directly by IP without using the browser. There may be other ways to pick out your public server in the browser list, but like I said before, it's been a while(maybe 127.0.0.1 would work if you're trying to connect to a server running on the same computer - but that's an unsubstantiated wild guess).
I just took a look at my q3a cd, and there is some info on server configs right on it. it's at /extras/help/Dedicated Server.htm
While I was at it I copied pak0.pk3 so I could rename it to .zip and look inside - the example configs are all in the root folder of that archive. ctf.config, ffa.config, tourney.config, and teamplay.config are the files I was talking about earlier, and if you look at gamecycle.config (in the same place), you will get an excellent example of how to setup a sequence of maps to load (actually the example configs appear to have similar examples of setting up a sequence of maps too, but gamecycle.config has an example consisting of all the q3a maps).
The examples are well commented, you'll probably learn more about what the options are from reading those (and editing them) than from most guides, that planetquake guide isn't terrible, but it's not all-encompassing either.
It doesn't matter that you used a windows q3a CD, the game data is the same, and if you've got it running on linux I'd say you've already dealt with that issue (using a win quake cd to install on linux). Hope that helps and that I haven't rambled on too much about nothing consequential.
no, you're not rambling. i appreciate all that you've done. didn't know you had to leave the window open you start. i do know that when i looked for it with another game started, the game was all jiggy and jumpy. chalk that up to my computer itself or just a bad config attempt. now i have what i need to work with and play with. you have been more than helpful. thank you so much.
If your computer is newer than quake3, it should be enough to run a server and client at the same time without too many performance issues.
you could try different settings for com_hunkmegs (I think that's it) which I believe is the option that defines how much ram to devote to the server.. the right google will probably provide lots of links with info on different settings that affect performance.
i've been googling and have gotten more info from you than anywhere else. i did find the config files after some searching so that helped my understanding alot. i know now that my config file was wrong the first time i tried it. i've got a computer at work i will play with 'til i git it right. the memory will require more research but when i get a setting i like i'll stick to it and devote that computer to the server. other than that, just more reading and searching. next on my to do list is a file server shared in a small windows workgroup but that's another thread and for another day too. thanks again for your help.
I guess q3a isn't the hot ticket anymore... back when I was looking into this stuff there was tons of info out there. I'll see if I can't find some good links(no promises though, my memory is total ass), there must be some good info out there somewhere.
thanks for all your help. i believe i have all the info i need for the moment. i can't really do anything more untill i get to my test machine at work. that won't be untill next week though. i know quake3 is an old game but i like it and enjoy playing it. i never was really into games but this fps has got me hooked. you've done more than enough and beyond to help. so don't stress on it. i'm not anymore since talking to you. i'll keep you posted on this thread of course. thanks again.
i have another question since we're on the subject of quake. on my linux machine, i don't see the servers i play on on my windows machine at work. why? my windows quake will show 200 some odd servers and my linux squake will show 15oo some odd servers. how weird is that and does that mean linux sees linux and windows sees windows? just thought i'd throw these extra questions out there and see the response.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.