Quakeweek
August 6, 1997


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Expose: Quake 2 Beta Conspiracy Revealed
Editorial by Jeff Miller


Quake 2 LogoIn an attempt to uncover the truth behind id Software's upcoming game, I have discovered a massive conspiracy to hide the existence of the Quake 2 beta on the Internet.

My suspicions were confirmed when the following text recently appeared on Slipgate's Quake2.com site:

July 30, 1997
Quake 2 test version
10:17 PM EDT


I have been getting several requests. They range from:

A) Receiving a full mailing address from someone with a request to send them the Quake 2 beta version.
B) Receving an e-mail from some one asking me to put the beta version available for download on my page, "because a lot of people want it".
C) People saying the beta is out, and when I tell them it isn't, acting all superior to me and saying "Oh yes it is!"

I don't mean to be rude to these people, and I haven't mentioned any names for their sake. Quite simply, the beta version isn't out. It hasn't even been illegally leaked. It is *not* out. Also, I do not have the beta version, so I don't have any ability of mailing it to anyone or putting it up for download (which would be illegal, by the way).


The nearly complete blackout of information on the existence of the beta along with Slipgate's open denial that he posesses it serve as irrefutable evidence that the beta does indeed exist and that Slipgate has become part of the conspiracy to hide it.

It has long been common knowledge that John Carmack tests new products by using 'leet Quakers' (webmasters of PlanetQuake, Stomped, The Void, etc.) as beta testers. However, new information reveals that id has taken extreme measures to protect the integrity of their product. No single site has a full copy of the beta, since a simple transfer, either through e-mail or a 'secret' FTP site, would not be secure. Instead, testers have been given keys that unlock pieces of the beta from sites such as Quake2.com, Redwood's, Scary's, and Blue's, just to name a few.

id SoftwareUpdates and patches, however, are a tricky matter. They cannot be 'announced' on major news sites, nor can they be communicated through e-mail. Fortunately for Quakers worldwide, I have stumbled upon the answer. I noticed that 'levels' often appear in the 'incoming' directory of cdrom.com only to mysteriously DISAPPEAR from that very same directory just a few days later. These 'levels' are often so ineptly constructed, they may as well come with a readme file that says, "I'm just a cover!"

These .BSP's obviously contain hiden patch updates to the beta which can only be extracted using the key. But how do testers know how to separate the proverbial 'wheat' from the 'chaff?' crash, Matt Sefton, and Lt. Dan are the heavies in this cabal. They place clevely hidden clues within their reviews to guide these 'initiated elites.' Witness this quote from a 'review' of the 'level' Bloodstone on crash's SPQ (interpretations are in red):

". . . this level is very dramatically and effectively lit, and the architecture is functional. . ."

Patch hidden in file corrects grey flash, vis errors; improves gameflow problems in maps.

". . . too many technical flaws in this one for my taste, though, from the identical texture on all five sides of a button brush to the visible seams between brush joinings

Bugs left unresolved; not a complete patch.

". . . the exit is also unmarked in any way. . ."

Fundamental changes in .BSP format expected.


Still, all of this secrecy does seem a bit much to protect the integrity of Quake 2 alone. The depth of the conspiracy points to much darker secrets, perhaps linked to the fact that id Software is located in the very city where JFK was assassinated.

Do not believe what id or other Quake webmasters tell you. The Quake 2 beta does in fact exist. I encourage fellow believers to continue petitioning Disruptor on Undernet's #quake2 channel until he admits the truth.