Quake really wasn't playable over the internet until the QuakeWorld "extension" came along.
It used prediction and delta codes, and actually ran the server and client (and still runs) at 72 fps, no other online multiplayer game that I know of has done it ever since. This means if you have ping 14 milliseconds, you really have ping 14 milliseconds.
If you've played Quakeworld with solid 72 fps (this only really became possible many many years after its release) and a good mouse, monitor and decent internet connection, all other games after that feel like clunky puppet shows where you can only vaguely affect the end result. That's the reason why it's still being played. It really feels like you're on the server.
The game also enables amazing moves that can be pulled off by sufficiently skilled players - there is no roof for domination abilities, There can be tens of levels of players that can crush anyone below them easily. This also means that it can be pretty newbie hostile at the same time. But it's pure bliss when dueling with someone your own level.
The game companies assumed (probably correctly) that the average consumer never pays attention to good control or stratospheric skill potential, and rather pays for the resolution, level of detail and nice colors as well as newbie entry easiness.
So, Quakeworld was and probably will always be a one off with no peers, a raw formula one in the world of soft SUV:s.
The gameplay is brutal. You have to put things in context. At the time Quake was designed rocket jumping was an unknown concept. Using the mouse was a controversial and new idea (you had to enable +mlook!). As such the game doesn't fit the mold of a refined and balanced FPS. Everything is raw and frenetic. You have to master rockets and lightning gun, you have to exercise strong map control, you have to aim and fire faster than any other FPS before or since. There's no weapon balance to allow for specialists, or forgiving maps to let you stage a comeback. They'll never make another game like it.
Fully agreed. I was hooked on expert mod ctf (with the offhand grappling hook) for quite a while. I've never found another game that approaches that pace of gameplay.
Valve's Source engine (and GoldSrc, HL1), which itself is heavily based on the Quake 3 engine, uses delta compression and prediction as well. This is part of what made Counter-Strike such a popular game, and still is today. Especially in the competitive gaming world.
Valve licensed Quake code from id, and GoldSrc/Source are descended from that. There is no Quake2 or Quake3 code, the improvements over Quake are pure Valve.
QW is the Starcraft of first-person shooters. It's so much fun to duel (or 2on2 or 4on4) that pro players for other games still enjoy coming back to qw, where many of them started. I would say it's a beautiful game.
It also has a ton of fanatical players/mappers/coders hacking on weekends, making their own custom additions to the game.
It used prediction and delta codes, and actually ran the server and client (and still runs) at 72 fps, no other online multiplayer game that I know of has done it ever since. This means if you have ping 14 milliseconds, you really have ping 14 milliseconds.
If you've played Quakeworld with solid 72 fps (this only really became possible many many years after its release) and a good mouse, monitor and decent internet connection, all other games after that feel like clunky puppet shows where you can only vaguely affect the end result. That's the reason why it's still being played. It really feels like you're on the server.
The game also enables amazing moves that can be pulled off by sufficiently skilled players - there is no roof for domination abilities, There can be tens of levels of players that can crush anyone below them easily. This also means that it can be pretty newbie hostile at the same time. But it's pure bliss when dueling with someone your own level.
The game companies assumed (probably correctly) that the average consumer never pays attention to good control or stratospheric skill potential, and rather pays for the resolution, level of detail and nice colors as well as newbie entry easiness.
So, Quakeworld was and probably will always be a one off with no peers, a raw formula one in the world of soft SUV:s.