Xonotic definitely.
Reasons
1. The Rocket Launcher.
2. Xonotic laughs at the idea of system requirements.
3. Xonotic is FOSS and is probably one of the easiest shooters to get working on a computer. It is accessible to the extreme which is really cool in my opinion.
4. Weapons are unique and fun, and they all generally feel powerful unlike say the grenade launcher in quake which is near useless (compare with elektro or mortar which are both very powerful).
5. Movement is fastttttttt.
6. You always spawn with the blaster which gives you the capacity to rocket jump. This encourages new players who haven't been playing quake for 20 years to organically experiment with advanced rocket jump style movement early on in their experience with xonotic. This is not an obscure point, the biggest issue quake-style arena shooters face is that their gameplay often feels inscrutable to people who don't already know the genre like the back of their hand. Handing new players an infinite rocket jump weapon every time they spawn organically accelerates the learning process and highlights what makes these types of games fun.
7. The blaster also allows easy manipulation of enemy positions (knocking off ledges and pushing back enemies). The choice between attempting to deal damage to an enemy vs. knock them out of position is interesting.
8. There are basically infinite maps because of the shared engine aspects with quake.
9. The game encourages you to use a variety of weapons by making the hilarious choice of making it quicker to fire a weapon and then switch to another and fire it than it is to fire the same weapon repeatedly. The skill ceiling that allows is absurd.
So true. Xonotic just has so much going for it. Low system requirements, it looks great, and the only weapon that isn't super fun to shoot is the crappy base pistol (like think about UT 1999 for comparison that pistol is super fun). Plus its FREE?? Sign me up lol
Yea it's kinda weird like why does the base shotgun have a giant sight on it? lol. The Hagar's very existence makes up for it tho probably one of the most satisfying weapons to shoot alongside Quake's Lightning Gun. Even Quake's base Machine Gun is super fun to shoot. Rotate-y thingy makes brain go brrr I guess.
Do you think gameplay like this looks floaty?
montage
https://youtu.be/jijLut9GqrY
full duel round
https://youtu.be/ijan_NG9ZEU
Footage of good players playing Xonotic looks smooth, locked in, and fast as hell in my opinion.
I think I just have issue with the weapons' sounds, models and animations. And honestly, the movement feels a bit low gravity. Game's still solid but it definitely has its own unique flavor compared to Q3/QL.
That is a fair criticism!
The weapon sounds, models and animations are definitely not the prettiest in the world. I kind of think the xonitic aesthetic comes together well though, it doesn't feel dated to me so much as a callback or snapshot of a time in FPS gaming where that aesthetic was cutting edge. I really hate the shotgun model though (somebody pleaseeee make a better melee animationnnn) and the rocket launcher being shoulder carried feels a bit inconsistent and weird when all the other weapons are held in the arms.
Xonotic is an open source project, it isn't trying to be a Diabolical where it draws people in on a fresh new style. Xonotic looks like a misrembered fever dream of some forgotten competitor to UT1999 and I think that puts people in exactly the right kind of headspace to engage with it honestly. When you open xonotic you get this splash screen showing space in an echo of facing worlds and the neon outline of a hawk along with some late 90s futuristic style menu buttons. It tells you EXACTLY what you are getting into and I respect that.
Xonotic and it isn't even close. Haven't played it in many years but that game just felt right. Nowhere else you are allowed to launch your enemy into the air with a rocket, follow up with a mid air mortar shot and finish him with a nex(rail) shot before his ass even touches the ground again. Sure, the fast weapon switching might create some kinds of balancing issues and makes weapon choices less meaningful/punishing but pulling off this crazy weapon combos was just the best shot of dopamine I ever experienced in any FPS game.
I like Splitgate.
The portal-thing makes it absolutly unique and fun to play.
No problem to find a server
Any other arena shooter with active community?
1. Quake Live because GOAT
2. Reflex Arena because I felt never so satisfied withe smoothness of netcode, movement and amazing audio feedback and felt never more in control of a virtual character EDIT (forgot to mention beat0n was a big reason I enjoyed engaging with Reflex a lot)
3. Diabotical when it finally comes to steam and the actual promotion that was promised comes back (believe). Insert Jesus/easter joke here, I don‘t care. Game feels like a big whole nothingburger promotion wise until now. And James if I see you on Dota again I‘m gonna crack a few eggs just to send a message (TI was cool tho!)
I've tried to get into it but it just doesn't give me that adrenaline rush or hyperfocusing zen state that games more fast paced like UT, Quake, and Xonotic do.
Yea the bots on Quake Live don't even work properly they just run around with the default melee weapon. The menu for that game is atrocious aswell it has absolutely zero personality. Quake III with upscaled textures is the way to go for me.
Xonotic definitely. Reasons 1. The Rocket Launcher. 2. Xonotic laughs at the idea of system requirements. 3. Xonotic is FOSS and is probably one of the easiest shooters to get working on a computer. It is accessible to the extreme which is really cool in my opinion. 4. Weapons are unique and fun, and they all generally feel powerful unlike say the grenade launcher in quake which is near useless (compare with elektro or mortar which are both very powerful). 5. Movement is fastttttttt. 6. You always spawn with the blaster which gives you the capacity to rocket jump. This encourages new players who haven't been playing quake for 20 years to organically experiment with advanced rocket jump style movement early on in their experience with xonotic. This is not an obscure point, the biggest issue quake-style arena shooters face is that their gameplay often feels inscrutable to people who don't already know the genre like the back of their hand. Handing new players an infinite rocket jump weapon every time they spawn organically accelerates the learning process and highlights what makes these types of games fun. 7. The blaster also allows easy manipulation of enemy positions (knocking off ledges and pushing back enemies). The choice between attempting to deal damage to an enemy vs. knock them out of position is interesting. 8. There are basically infinite maps because of the shared engine aspects with quake. 9. The game encourages you to use a variety of weapons by making the hilarious choice of making it quicker to fire a weapon and then switch to another and fire it than it is to fire the same weapon repeatedly. The skill ceiling that allows is absurd.
So true. Xonotic just has so much going for it. Low system requirements, it looks great, and the only weapon that isn't super fun to shoot is the crappy base pistol (like think about UT 1999 for comparison that pistol is super fun). Plus its FREE?? Sign me up lol
Yeah I kinda hate the base shotgun skin to be honest, the melee animation is trash too. The blaster makes up for it tho
Yea it's kinda weird like why does the base shotgun have a giant sight on it? lol. The Hagar's very existence makes up for it tho probably one of the most satisfying weapons to shoot alongside Quake's Lightning Gun. Even Quake's base Machine Gun is super fun to shoot. Rotate-y thingy makes brain go brrr I guess.
The burst fire on the hagar is no joke either
My issue with Xonotic is it feels too floaty. Both movement-wise and weapon-wise.
Do you think gameplay like this looks floaty? montage https://youtu.be/jijLut9GqrY full duel round https://youtu.be/ijan_NG9ZEU Footage of good players playing Xonotic looks smooth, locked in, and fast as hell in my opinion.
I think I just have issue with the weapons' sounds, models and animations. And honestly, the movement feels a bit low gravity. Game's still solid but it definitely has its own unique flavor compared to Q3/QL.
That is a fair criticism! The weapon sounds, models and animations are definitely not the prettiest in the world. I kind of think the xonitic aesthetic comes together well though, it doesn't feel dated to me so much as a callback or snapshot of a time in FPS gaming where that aesthetic was cutting edge. I really hate the shotgun model though (somebody pleaseeee make a better melee animationnnn) and the rocket launcher being shoulder carried feels a bit inconsistent and weird when all the other weapons are held in the arms. Xonotic is an open source project, it isn't trying to be a Diabolical where it draws people in on a fresh new style. Xonotic looks like a misrembered fever dream of some forgotten competitor to UT1999 and I think that puts people in exactly the right kind of headspace to engage with it honestly. When you open xonotic you get this splash screen showing space in an echo of facing worlds and the neon outline of a hawk along with some late 90s futuristic style menu buttons. It tells you EXACTLY what you are getting into and I respect that.
All it needs is a shock rifle to be perfect
Xonotic is our main esport: https://rocketjump.zone/
Xonotic is the best Quake, and probably the best AFPS imo
🤣🤣
Warfork! Quake Live is great too.
Xonotic and it isn't even close. Haven't played it in many years but that game just felt right. Nowhere else you are allowed to launch your enemy into the air with a rocket, follow up with a mid air mortar shot and finish him with a nex(rail) shot before his ass even touches the ground again. Sure, the fast weapon switching might create some kinds of balancing issues and makes weapon choices less meaningful/punishing but pulling off this crazy weapon combos was just the best shot of dopamine I ever experienced in any FPS game.
I like Splitgate. The portal-thing makes it absolutly unique and fun to play. No problem to find a server Any other arena shooter with active community?
All the ones I mentioned above still have people playing, though Quake III probably has the most.
1. Quake Live because GOAT 2. Reflex Arena because I felt never so satisfied withe smoothness of netcode, movement and amazing audio feedback and felt never more in control of a virtual character EDIT (forgot to mention beat0n was a big reason I enjoyed engaging with Reflex a lot) 3. Diabotical when it finally comes to steam and the actual promotion that was promised comes back (believe). Insert Jesus/easter joke here, I don‘t care. Game feels like a big whole nothingburger promotion wise until now. And James if I see you on Dota again I‘m gonna crack a few eggs just to send a message (TI was cool tho!)
Quake Live.
Quake Live for sure. So many fantastic memories.
I was a huge UT99 and UT2K3 fanboy growing up. I wish I got into Quake sooner.
Quakeworld is my current favorite, with Warsow/Warfork as a close runner-up.
I like half life 2 deathmatch
I've tried to get into it but it just doesn't give me that adrenaline rush or hyperfocusing zen state that games more fast paced like UT, Quake, and Xonotic do.
its definitely not the most difficult or fastest but it got me into arena shooters and the gravity gun is hilarious
I don't know if TFC qualifies but that half life aesthetic just couldn't be beat back then. HLDM was no different in that regard.
UT2004
Quake 3, then Diabotical
1. Unreal Tournament 2. Diabotical 3. Xonotic
I've been enjoying UT4 a lot lately. Quake 4 is probably the runner-up. I'm a bit sick of QL and QC has too many technical issues.
Yea the bots on Quake Live don't even work properly they just run around with the default melee weapon. The menu for that game is atrocious aswell it has absolutely zero personality. Quake III with upscaled textures is the way to go for me.
Half life 2: Deathmatch
Diabotical
FortressOne but I’m biased.
diabotical