openarena OpenArena 2024 Review

MootEndymion752 · May 27

Hey everyone, I hope you have a good day.

So, today I will be reviewing OpenArena, and hopefully revive it because it's kinda dead now.

What is OpenArena???

OpenArena is a free and open source (hence the name) Arena FPS based on Quake III Arena. The project started in 2005 and the last version (0.8.8) came out in late 2012. There is also an upcoming version (3.0) but the release date hasn't been found.

OpenArena's official website (it hasn't had an update since early 2016)

OpenArena's Wiki (useful for learning more)

How do I play OpenArena???

It's like playing Quake III Arena but a bit different. You go and select "Singleplayer" for the campaign or a custom game (skirmish), and "Multiplayer" to join or create a server. The players aren't the same (besides Sarge, Major and Grunt), and neither the maps are. Maybe a few are, but not all of them.

What guns/pickups does OpenArena have???

OpenArena has the same weapons and pickups as Quake III but with different looks and sounds. Same for the awards.

Is it friendly for casual gamers???

Absolutely not. Arena FPS games are very fast-paced for casual gamers. It's like CS2 where you can only play competitive, with the only difference being that you can't gamble on it.

Why is it dead???

OpenArena is dead because it's not too popular and the Arena FPS genre is dead. Fun fact: Most players are Linux users (no offense) who found it on a package manager and wanted something to play for a bit.

Does it have good graphics???

Nope. It's based on Quake III, a game from 1999, how is it supposed to have good graphics? Aside from bloom, anisotropic filtering and flares, there isn't a real improvement in graphics.

Does it support controllers?

Not really. You have to map each button to an action manually after enabling "Joystick" in the control setup and to aim you have to use joy-to-mouse. Also, to open the menu you need to map the Start button as Escape outside of the game.

How are the servers on it???

Mostly empty. There are only a handful of servers with active player bases. All the others are empty, stuck on an old mod/version of OpenArena or just dead Quake III Arena Defrag servers.

What mod(s) should I use???

If you want to use mods, I suggest you use Ratmod or a fork of it, because it gets updated and it's popular. AfterShock is also good, but doesn't get updates anymore and no one plays it. You can also use a Quake III mod because it's compatible.

Should I play it???

If you own a copy of Quake III or Quake Live, probably not. If you have never played Arena FPS games before, I suggest you play it. It's very fun and you can make a friend or two. I first played it on the Android port by Pelya (which is also an OUYA port) and only had 3 servers (all of them are gone and the port doesn't have any servers ever since) that barely had a single player online. I remember having fun, telling friends about it and even hosting some LAN parties at our houses.

Should I contribute to it???

Absolutely. It's great to contribute to it. From making a map to completely porting the game to a new platform it really helps the community.