Proto:Quake (PC)/Qtest1

Qtest1 is a Quake prototype dated February 24, 1996, about four months before the game was released. It was designed to serve as a test for the game's multiplayer component, but since the full game has been out for decades, it now exists as a time capsule for those interested in the game's development.

This build has a lot of material that was either changed or scrapped, making it a very interesting development snapshot in the history of Quake.

Download Qtest1 (Quake Prototype) File: Quake-Qtest1-proto.zip (4.12MB) (info)

Sub-Pages

Graphics Changed gib models, unused sprites, and other fun stuff.

Monsters Changed monster skins EVERYWHERE.

Weapons Most of the behavior is similar, but the weapons look way different.

Levels The levels included are very similar to a few multiplayer levels in the final, but there are a few differences.

Items

None of the powerups in the final game exist. In addition, the regular health boxes (not Megahealth) use the weaker (15 health) boxes sound, no matter what type is picked up.

Ammo

Nails are called Flechetes when picked up, but the model name still uses Nails. In addition, the player can only hold 99 Nails at once, instead of the final's 200 and Shells are limited to 99 as well.

Sounds

Qtest1 has a ton of unused sounds. All of the sounds are higher quality than the ones in the final release, but the most of the ones that did make it into the release had their quality cut down in order to save disk space.

Player

Nearly every sound related to the player is different in Qtest1.

Sound ID	Qtest1	Final Release	Description
Changed Sounds
plyrjump8.wav			id Software probably wanted the player to sound more deeper to accommodate the fast paced action.

Sound ID	Qtest1	Description
Extra Sounds
plyrht01.wav		A very out-of-place exclaim of the player getting hurt. Several of these sounds exist in the game files and only 6 (but changed) exist within the release.
plyrht02.wav
plyrht03.wav		This track is merely almost a duplicate of plyrht02.wav, but the duration is slightly longer than that one.
plyrht04.wav
plyrht10.wav
plyrht14.wav
plyrht15.wav
plyrht16.wav
plyrht18.wav
plyrht19.wav
plyrht20.wav
plyrht21.wav
plyrdth3.wav		A sound of the player dying.
breath5.wav		Can be found in /sounds/nin(yes, THAT NIN)/new. It isn't seen in either the later prototype (Beta3) or the final release, and there doesn't seem to be any place where it'd fit.
r_cough.wav		Someone faking a cough that can be found in sound/romero/. Knowing Romero, it's probably part of an inside joke since there's no place it could fit in the game.
r_yell.wav		From the same folder; this is probably just another red herring.

Weapons

Sound ID	Qtest1	Final Release	Description
Changed Sounds
cock4.wav		(No known equivalent)	A sound of a weapon being racked, be found in /sound/halo/player.
cock5.wav		(No known equivalent)	Another sound of a weapon being racked, but can be found in /sound/american. It isn't used in Qtest1 and can't be found in either Beta3 or the final.
lock4.wav			A weapon or item being picked up. The Qtest1 sound is more higher in quality and is in a format of 22050hz instead of the release's 11025hz, which will be a common trend with the other sound effects as stated earlier.
guncock.wav			The Shotgun, which once again was changed in quality within the release.
tink1.wav			A sound of a nail hitting a wall.
tink2.wav		(No known equivalent)	An unused second variant of tink1.wav.
spike2.wav			The Super Nailgun being shot. The sound from the prototype sounds similar to a door opening in Doom 64.
rocket1i.wav			A rocket being shot.

Monsters

Several different variations of evilhrt(x).wav exist, which "evil" might be referring to placeholder monsters.

Sound ID	Qtest1	Description
evilhrtd.wav		A very out-of-place exclaim of a monster getting hurt. These might be placeholders considering the nature of these sounds being closer to the player's. Several of these sounds exist in the game files as well.
evilhrte.wav
evilhrtf.wav
evilhrtg.wav
evilhrti.wav
evilhrtj.wav
evilhrtk.wav
evilhrtl.wav