The Quakelaunch News Page


	NEWS

April 20 1999

Updated the file to a new build 20.04.99 including removing the default of using a proxy and also adding the Italian GIB Quakeworld master server. New file is now QL200499.EXE

Anyone having problems launching and having Quake trying to connect to 127.0.0.1 then delete the PROXY.CFG file in the Quake directory and that should sort it out!

April 10 1999

Well it's been a long time, and I never thought I'd get back to update Quakelaunch, but I thought what the Hell!, so here it is. Especially as this is likely to be the last ever version with the imminent release of Quake 3 Arena!

A new never before seen server browser from within Quakelaunch now makes it the only Quake frontend to do this with all files stored in zips to save space as well. The server browser will be pretty familiar to anyone who has used Gamespy and similar programs to it.

I've removed all the previous Quake 2 support as there are many very good Quake 2 only frontends out and I don't really want to get involved with Quake 2 as I never play it myself anyway.

This version will allow proxy support for basically any proxy or it will allow launching of any program as Quake is launched.

I've increased the Quicklaunch buttons to 12 and improved the interface slightly, also removing a lot of old DOS based stuff, as noone is likely to be using that anymore, certainly with WinQuake freely available and supported, not to mention Quakeworld and GLQuake being Windows only programs anyway.

Well let's have some feedback on this, as this being the last version it won't be improved much apart from bug fixes.

December 23 1997

Ok here it is, the big one, full QuakeWorld support, preliminary support for Quake 2, new Name Maker, Quick launch buttons, more options for Skins, teams, able to be run from within Qspy/Gamespy, categories to store maps and patches in and lots more.

Completely freeware version now, with no restrictions and no need for registering. Rewrote the helpfile in HTML, should be easier to understand as well.

No buttons on splash screen, will still ask for a password though (if one is set). Automatically ask to zip up maps if it finds them, also will create directories if needed. Able to extract patches or maps to their own directories for QuakeWorld support.

The Quake 2 support is minimal at the moment although it will allow loading of new maps, changing skins, loading saved games and multiplayer support. Also DMFLAGS options can be selected for running a Q2 server.

Not much more to say at the moment except download it now!, let me have some feedback on the new stuff and happy Quaking!

May 24 1997

Added a load of stuff to the latest version. First off the ten clicks to start has been changed to 10 seconds for unregistered. New front graphic and nice clap of thunder as it starts.:)

Now has support for both mission packs, it will check when loaded if they are there, if either of them can be seen, they must be transferred into the QUAKEC directory to work properly with Quakelaunch. When launching the appropriate list of maps will show, depending upon which has been chosen from the 'Configuration screen'. If you want to put either of the mission packs back to the original directories, the 'Misc' screen has buttons for doing so. Quakelaunch must exit after you do this as it needs to have the PAK files in the right place to run properly.

The command line options have been changed so that you can choose which version of Quake you are running. Also right clicking on the edit box will allow you to switch on and off options depending on which version you are running.

If you are using WinQuake or GLQuake the Winmem parameter will change on the main screen to Heapsize and will use the existing Winmem amount but will multiply it up to kilobytes instead.

Added the facility for each QuakeC patch to have it's own CONFIG.CFG file. If Quakelaunch sees a CUSTOM.CFG in the ZIP it will execute it as well as Quakelaunch's own CFG file.

Also added the ability to drag and drop files from explorer or the desktop into either the map or Quakec listboxes. Quakelaunch will move the file into it's own directory, the original is deleted. It will recognise a file that is not a ZIP and will not let you drop it.

The screen for loading a previously saved game now shows the filename, full map name, short map name, no. kills/total, no. secrets/total and skill level.

Added deletion of more types of files in the MAPS or QUAKEC directories, it will now delete any TXT files and also PAK's, WAD's and all subdirectories under the QUAKEC directory. So you should get less warnings about files needing to be removed or zipped. (NOTE: you still need to be careful not to leave files unzipped in the MAPS or QUAKEC directories as they could well be erased.)

The 'About' tab has been changed to 'Misc' as it now has buttons for moving the mission packs back, but it also has buttons to allow you to jump directly to some of the top Quake websites out there.:) The Ironman and Stomped servers are extremely useful as you can go to the page, save it in the QUAKE directory and then point to it on the 'Configuration screen', this way you can always get an up to date list of which Quake servers are running and connect to them using Quakelaunch.

Please anyone let me know if there are any problems with this new version, it has been beta tested quite well on the different versions of Quake it can now support, but you never know!:)

TECHNICAL

A couple of new files are now distributed in the 5.20.97 build. A QL.WAV file which is the thunder sound when Quakelaunch starts. QL2.EXE which is used to erase directories under the QUAKEC directory, and a PIF file to go with it.

The setup routine now asks whether you want to overwrite an existing file when installing, if you say no it is left in the temporary directory you unzipped the files to. Otherwise it is moved and overwrites the target file.

Nothing else really has changed with the rest of the installation, all previous INI files will still work with the new version.

March 1 1997

New version released today. Changed some graphics and all the screens are now accessed by tabs, rather than buttons to go in and out of different sections.

Added a new option on the configuration screen to allow you to record or play back demos.

Also if saved games are found then a screen will popup allowing you to choose one to load up, it will also tell you the name of the map that it was saved under.

Fixed the bug that would delete zip files if their long filenames were in lowercase.

Also thanks to Qdeath, Link and Bluesky for permission to use some animated cursors from their great Quake theme as animated buttons.

You can find their theme at http://www.anet-stl.com/~sword/

January 22 1997

New version has now been released (1.21.97), This version has now changed so that the setup routine will only allow you to install into the Quake directory.

The Splash screen's graphic has been updated. The Main screen now allows you to type in the number you want for the WINMEM parameter. Also added an option for mouse look and also a startup Video mode.

The config screen now allows you to put in the Quake command to start, so anyone who runs VQUAKE or any different version can now do so. Added a new button to edit the Q95.BAT file.

I have also changed the unzipping routine so you can point to WINZIP to extract files instead of PKUNZIP if you wish. A few other minor modifications have also been done.

When started it will also check that all it's relevant files are in the current directory and it will not delete any maps/patches it sees without having an appropriate ZIP file to go with it, a warning will show if any are seen.

TECHNICAL

Quakelaunch was previously written in Visual Basic, and I had used the Installshield utility to package the application. But considering the amount of mail I've had regarding the cockups that the setup made I decided to rewrite in Delphi 2.

The previous VB version used the Jet database engine to store details of map/patch info, and so a lot of extra libraries were needed. When I did the new version I used the Borland Database Engine to store the info in a Paradox table, but I could see that problems could arise from installation of the BDE. Therefore I changed it so that the info is stored in a plain ASCII file and the program now needs no libraries at all to run.

In fact distributed in the ZIP there is now only a handful of files, here is an explanation of each:

QL.EXE: Main executable file (about 500K in size)

QL.HLP: Help file (on this site) F1 at any time will bring this up

QL.INI: Settings for the various checkboxes/buttons/path details etc. are stored in here

QL_M.INI: Settings for the Multiuser options

QL_P.INI: Password file (encrypted)

QL_1.DAT: File that holds the data about the QuakeC patches

QL_2.DAT: File that holds the data about the Maps

These files are installed into the Quake directory, there are also other files that are created in this directory as Quake is launched, these are:

QL.BAT: Batch file to run Quake with various parameters

QL.CFG: Quake CFG file for adding key bindings, Player info and COM port info.

As each map or patch is run the appropriate files are also unzipped into the corresponding directories. As Quakelaunch exits when Quake is run it does not delete these files until it is run again. As you click the OK button on the Splash screen it then finds any files left from the previous launch and then deletes them. No long filenames are used because Quake is still a DOS based game and would probably get confused.

The SETUP.EXE file in the ZIP is used just for copying the files to the correct directories, but it also copies a few other files to various places:

QUAKE___.TTF: Is a public domain TrueType font that is copied into the WINDOWS\FONTS directory, so that Quakelaunch can use this font for its titles.

QL.PIF and PKUNZIP.PIF: These are both copied into the WINDOWS\PIF directory, these just tell the DOS processes how to behave when they are run.

If files are copied successfully to the Quake directory they are then removed from the temporary directory.

No external OCX's or DLL's are used to run Quakelaunch, I found that this way there is less likelihood of anything going wrong with installation or running as the files can just be copied back if anything goes wrong. This new version has not been tested all that much yet, so if any bugs are located mail me and I shall endeavour to fix them and update this site as soon as possible.

January 14 1997

Please make sure when you are installing that all your maps and patches are zipped up first, otherwise Quakelaunch will think they have been left from last time it ran and attempt to delete them all!, you have been warned!

January 12 1997

Quakelaunch has now been rewritten in Delphi 2.

I have had a lot of mail from people having problems with the install routine in the previous version. I have made sure in the new version that this will not happen. (Basically because I have written one myself.)

The new installation routine doesn't muck about with registry settings or anything else it just copies the files to the appropriate directories.

Anyone who has installed the previous version must uninstall from the Control Panel - Add/Remove programs first. Otherwise it could get screwed up, If you have tried installing the old version and it has not worked, try to remove as much as you can before installing the new one.

The new version is also considerably smaller, and it does not install a load of drivers and libraries. The Help file has also be rewritten and has been split into separate sections. The configuration screen has now got a new box for choosing the drives for both Quake and Pkunzip.

I have had a few people also complaining about the slowness of downloading from here, but unfortunately there is not much I can do about that as my ISP has restricted bandwidth to users homepages. Although now that the file size has dropped from 1.8 meg to 423K it should improve matters considerably. I am though attempting to find a permanent FTP site, I will put an announcement here as soon as I have this organised.

Very few people have mailed me with any suggestions for improvement!, don't be shy, I want to produce the ultimate launching utility and I can't do that without feedback from you.

In fact I have added a password option on loadup (good suggestion from Keith Soltys) press the delete key on the splash screen to enter a new password.

I have also added a new feature whereby the QuakeC patches can have a full directory tree stored in the ZIP and it is expanded on launching and then removed when Quakelaunch Starts up again.

Please mail me with any bugs you find in this new version, as it hasn't been tested all that much yet, If anyone finds a new bug I don't know about they may well get a free registration!

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