Since there is no real single player to speak of, the id team has the whole time to work on DM maps. Tim Willits said a while ago, "Before, we made DeathMatch maps during the weekends and during our spare time. They took the least amount of time to build, but they have probably been played more than any other maps." But since DM maps are the only kind available, you can be sure that they will be focused on pure bloodbaths. They have to be good, since these maps are going to be the only ones played. The first difference that you might notice is the change in names. DeathMatch boards are now called Arenas, and each one will have a substantial feel to it, with a bit more diversity than in the past. Of course, for hardcore players, there will be a few geared for them too. These will be small, tight maps, with few camping spots, and have a "circular" flow to them… which should keep everyone moving.

But what will the boards be based on? Some will be recreations from id's older games. Yep, that means your old favorites from Quake will be back. With the addition of curved surfaces into the engine, id is now doing what was never possible before, and expect the maps to be drenched with curves everywhere. Sewers, castles, and spaceships will all appear in Q3A, with "hints of demonic presence," which only id can do right. Also expect there to be a good number of CTF maps to be included in Q3A. Other types of gameplay are yet unknown. And how about making your own maps? A working map editor will also be included in the final shipping product.

So what will it take to run this massive game? Although details are still sketchy, it will take almost double the horsepower that Quake II needed… meaning about a P2-233 to run acceptably. But one thing is for sure… a 3D accelerator will be required this time around. Running solely in OpenGL, a Voodoo-class accelerator is the minimum acceptable for Quake III, and a Voodoo 2 is highly recommended. Without one, the large textures and complex scenes will slow the game down to a crawl. People with slower computers will need to turn down some of the graphic options such as curved surfaces to get the game running well.

With all the new graphical improvements, id has repeatedly expressed the need of 32-bit color in 3D accelerators. At the time of this writing, only the Nvidia Riva TNT and the ATI Rage 128 support this feature. Although it has yet to be seen just how the lack of 32-bit color affects Quake III, having it wouldn't hurt. There won't be a software renderer this time around either, so get a 3D accelerator or get left behind. But since deathmatching requites fast framerates, the fastest processor available is also highly recommended.

What about support for other technologies? Information is limited, but things look bright. 3Dnow! support should make it in, helping AMD users to get the most out of Quake III, as well as KNI support for the shiny new Pentium 3's just hitting the market. 3D sound is also becoming popular, and id plans to support the A3D format for Quake III. It is unknown whether A3D 1.x or 2.0 will be implemented, but either way expect some form of 3D sound to be included. id has not mentioned EAX support so far.