Quake: The Move to Full 3D and Client-Side Prediction

We thought Doom was the pinnacle of technology, but Quake has just arrived and made it look like a puppet show. While Doom used "2.5D" tricks (sectors with heights), Quake is a true 3D world. Every wall, every floor, and every monster is a collection of polygons in a 3D coordinate system.

The QuakeWorld Revolution

As a developer, the most fascinating part isn't the graphics-it’s the networking. The initial release of Quake was built for LANs, but "QuakeWorld" just introduced something called "Client-Side Prediction."

In most games, you move, the server receives the move, and then tells you where you are. On a slow modem, this makes the game feel like you're walking through molasses. QuakeWorld predicts your movement locally so the game feels instant, even if the server is 200ms away.

// Simplified concept of client-side prediction
player.position += player.velocity * frametime;
// Later, reconcile with the server's authoritative position
if (abs(player.position - server_position) > threshold) {
    player.position = server_position;
}

QuakeC: The First Modding Language

Quake also introduces "QuakeC," a simplified C-like language that defines the game's logic. By separating the engine (the heavy lifting of rendering and physics) from the game logic (what happens when you pick up a health pack), id Software has created the ultimate modding platform.

// Example QuakeC snippet
void() player_die =
{
    self.items = self.items - (self.items & IT_INVISIBILITY);
    self.invisible_finished = 0;
    self.invincible_finished = 0;
    PlayerDead();
};

Looking Ahead

Quake is the end of the "sprite" era for shooters. From here on out, everything is polygons and lightmaps. It’s also the birth of "e-sports" and modern online gaming. The architectural decisions Carmack made here-especially regarding the client-server model-will be studied and copied for years. If you aren't thinking about 3D math and network latency today, you aren't making games.

Aunimeda develops mobile and PC games - from casual hyper-casual titles to mid-core games with complex progression systems.

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