Canadian enthusiast under the pseudonym Paril published trailer for Quake II PSX – a future free mod for the Quake II remaster that will allow you to play an unusual version of the PlayStation 1 shooter on modern platforms.
Image source: ModDB
According to the author, the video was recorded on a PlayStation for authenticity. He also warned that low settings of lighting effects were used during recording, so the trailer does not reflect the quality of this component in the final version.
The mod will be released on October 5 — exactly 25 years after the North American release of Quake II on Sony’s console. Thus, the official remaster will offer all three versions of the game — for PC, Nintendo 64 (levels from this port are included in the official re-release) and PlayStation 1.
The PS1 version of id Software’s game, created by HammerHead, was significantly different from the PC version, both in terms of technical features and content. It ran on the Shadow Master shooter engine, ran at 512×240 pixels at 30 frames per second, and lacked some features such as ambient fog and a skybox (replaced by a flat sky with Gouraud shading) due to technical limitations. At the same time, the developers retained the colored lighting for levels and enemies, flashes for weapons and explosions, particle effects for visualizing blood, debris and railgun beams and other effects from the PC version, and also added glare (Lens Flare).
In addition (again, due to technical limitations), it included only 20 levels divided into 5 blocks (in the PC version – 39 levels in 10 blocks), and to speed up loading, they changed the geometry and divided the maps into smaller segments with short corridors. Some types of enemies were removed, but two new Stroggs appeared – an anthropomorphic spider-cyborg with railguns Arachnid and a bipedal boss Guardian.
Saving was only possible between levels and at checkpoints. The game supported the PlayStation Mouse, as well as split-screen multiplayer with a limit of four players. In addition, this version included 12 unique multiplayer levels.
Paril didn’t just port the PS1 version to a new engine — the modder fixed numerous shortcomings: improved enemy AI, controls, and the aforementioned monsters (Arachnid and Guardian got new weapons and mechanics), fixed serious bugs, improved some levels, and added more secrets. Despite the changes, the shooter, as the creator assures, will remain recognizable to everyone who played it on PlayStation 1.
Players highly appreciated Paril’s work. They especially praised the author for the phrase “Fight the Strogg, not the controls” used in the trailer, calling it the perfect advertising slogan for the mod.
“The year-long wait was worth it, and it was worth it,” admires Pepo_Huh. – Looks amazing.”
“My favorite version of Quake II is, confessed JakkedDog. – Can’t wait to play.”
“Forget Quake II RTX, this is what’s really cool” wrote firestarter6488.
Nightdive Studios’ Quake II remaster was released in August 2023 on PC (Steam, GOG, EGS, Microsoft Store), PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X и S, Nintendo Switch, а также в Game Pass.
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