Create a Game

This menu lets you play the game and gives you the choice to select which map you want to play on, the skill level for the bots, the number of super-powered bots you want to play with and allows you to change the various settings of the game. Or you can use it to create a server for people on the internet or LAN to play on.

Starting Your Own Server

There are two types of servers you can run in Quake III Arena: "dedicated" and "listen". A listen server allows you to play the game while you also host it; a dedicated server means that you cannot play on it on the same computer and only others can join the server.

A dedicated server is usually ideal since it uses less resources and you can run other game servers on one system at the same time. Setting up a dedicated server in SuperHeroes Arena, however, is no small task. Fortunately all the variables you need to set are right in the server setup menu. And the only difference between setting up a dedicated server and a listen server is that you choose to set it as a LAN or Internet dedicated server.

Above is an image of the server setup screen. On the left, you're given a map list that contains all the maps, organized by gametype, which is listed above. Choose the gametype you want the server to run and a map from the list.

To the right, you'll have an option to put bots on the server. By clicking on the names, you can cycle through to choose a bot or a random bot , or even choose the option of closing the slot to limit the number of players on the server. You can also change the name of the red and blue teams, in the team gametypes.

In the middle of the screen are all the variables you'll need to set to start a server. Most of these will default to the most common options, but you may want to change these for your own server. Here's a list of each option and what it does.

Frag/Capture/Point Limit: this sets the frag, capture or point limit for the server, letting the server know when the game is over.

Time Limit: you can choose a time limit in minutes to allow the game to run. The game will end when either the frag/capture or time limit has been reached, whichever is sooner.

Friendly Fire: by disabling this option (the default), you'll be able to shoot your teammates and not have to worry about damaging or killing them.

Pure Server: the pure server option is a measure of protection against cheating; players connecting must have the same *.pk3 files that you have in order to connect. The cherry icon will tell you the server is not pure.

Dedicated: Choosing "no" in this option means that you can play on your computer while others connect to you to play. Choosing "LAN" or "Internet" makes it a dedicated server, meaning that it'll run in the background and you won't be able to play on it at the same time.

Host Name: Enter a name for your server here. 

Auto Download: if this option is enabled, it allows connecting players to download a map or other SHA file you might be running that they don't have.

Enable Voting: this option allows players to call votes for map changes, restarting games, and other options.

Maximum Players: limits the number of players.

Minimum/Maximum Ping: these two options will allow you to create a server optimized for low-ping or high-ping players, something very useful as the two are often two completely different groups of players. The number entered is in milliseconds -- less than 100 is generally considered low ping.

Force Join: this would force a player on entry to the game to join whichever team has the fewest number of players. If this option is off, the player joins as a spectator and is allowed to choose the team she wants to play on. This option also works in single player games, to give you the chance to choose your powers.

Even Teams: this option prevents a game from starting until each team has the same amount of players.

Do Warmup/Warmup Time: "Do Warmup" enables a countdown before the game starts, and "Warmup Time" is how many seconds the warmup should run for.

Syncronous Client: this option "syncs" the server with the client so that they essentially run at the same framerate. Server admins usually set this option if players want to record a demo of the match. However, enabling the option tends to cause more lag for players with a higher ping.

Require Password/Password: You can enable a password on your server with this option, and enter it in the option below.

Cheats Allowed: Lets players cheat, cheating isn't advised though, so it's usually off.

Catch the Chicken gametype only options:

Scoring Period (secs): The amount of seconds a player needs holding the chicken to score a point. Typically this is 10 seconds.

Chicken Respawn Time (secs): The amount of time in seconds necessary for the chicken to be lying around without being picked up before the game decides to respawn it to another place on the game map. Typically 120 seconds.

Score On Kills: This option allows a player to score a point if they frag the chicken carrier. You may want to disable this, if you want the scores to only reflect the time a player has been holding the chicken.

Can't Drop Chicken: With the 'Drop Chicken' key, the player can remove himself of the chicken. This option enables/disables this.

Once you've entered all the variables you want, simply click the bottom right button to start the server and you're off and running.

Once you've had enough playing against super-powered bots, you may want to go online to play against real, live, human players. You can either use the in-game browser to search for a SuperHeroes Arena server or try one of the many bits of software which make the job of searching and joining game servers easy such as GameSpy.

The In-Game Browser

To find servers with the in-game browser, choose "Find a Game" from the main menu. You'll see the screen shown in the image above. Here's a quick guide to what you're looking at.

Source: Choose from the options to see Internet, Local, Favorites, or MPlayer listings.

Filter: This will filter the servers according to the game you're looking for. Choose "SuperHeroes Arena", "Quake III", "Team Arena". The "All" filter will show you all available servers with no filter.

Get New List/Refresh List: "Get New List" will check the master server list that id Software maintains to add any new servers that have been added; refresh will simply recheck the servers currently listed and update their info.

View Empty/Full: These options will help you filter out empty and full servers, since you likely don't want to play on an emtpy one and can't play on a full one.

Password: if you want to play on a password-protected server and you know the password, enter it here to get access.

New Favorite: You can enter the IP of a server directly in this window to add it to your list of favorites.

Add Favorite: Click this button to add the currently selected server to your Favorites list.

Server Info: This brings up a dialogue box listing all the server's gory details.

Find Friend: If you play with someone and want to find the server they're currently on, enter their gaming name here to do a search.

The server list itself can be sorted according to the server name, the map name, the number of players, and the ping; just click the appropriate tab to sort.

Once you've found the server you want, simply click the bottom right button to enter and away you go.