Hi,

I just wanted to share my favorite mods and would also like to know which ones you recommend.

1. Abyss of Pandemonium (Single Player)
It adds not only a campaign but also new enemies and weapons. I especially like the end boss. Was once a retail expansion, but seems to be free now. Also works well with quake epsilon it you want better graphics.
Download: https://www.quaddicted.com/reviews/aopfm_v2.html

2. Zerstörer (Single Player)
Extremely well made fan mod. Also adds a new campaign. Hey, you get a chainsaw as a weapon in the first level! The atmosphere is one of the best.
Download: https://www.quaddicted.com/reviews/zer.html

So, what mods can you recommend?

So many great third-party maps to recommend. You can't easily go wrong just by heading to Quaddicted and looking for recent and/or high-rated stuff. Keep an eye out for which authors you like and then find more of their stuff!

***** Make sure to pay attention to the readme file for engine requirements and/or command-line arguments. Note that most recent releases will NOT work with the original Quake engines; you need something more recent like Quakespasm etc. *****

I'll mention a few more of the episodes, mods, or other unusual releases (besides the two mentioned in the OP):

- "Honey" is a recent release by one of my favorite mappers (); also check out his earlier episode [url=https://www.quaddicted.com/reviews/terra.html]"Terra" or the "Insomnia" map set .

- "Travail" for a complete new two episodes. New monsters, interesting and beautiful maps, just a solid release all around.

- "In the Shadows" for a stealth-ish spin on Quake. Also, gorgeous. This is by sock so check out his various individual map releases if you like the look of things in this mod.

- "Rubicon Rumble Pack" or "Something Wicked This Way Comes" if you want to see GIGANTIC maps. Fun new stuff included too (weapons, monsters, other tricks). Look for other maps by (like the [url=https://www.quaddicted.com/reviews/arcanum.html]"Arcanum" episode), or perhaps "Warpspasm" by ijed, if this sort of thing floats your boat.

- "Altar of Storms" too, not quite as huge as those two above, but perhaps even more inventive.

- "Beyond Belief" for a very classic-feel episode. Nice return to some of the original visuals, combat, and even silly Quake-style traps after you've binged on some of the variant stuff.

http://www.zerogravity.com.au/portfolio0601.php

I mentioned this another thread - but no joke - in 1997 or so, WizardWorks released an officially licensed X-Men total conversion where you play as some dude with a gun, running around shooting evil clones of the X-Men. The original author has released it for free. It doesn't play too well, truth be told, but it's quite a curiosity.

There's also Malice, another commercial TC from back in Quake's heyday, set in a cyberpunk-ish setting that had some very neat ideas and features - but it still hasn't been released as freeware. If you inexplicably run across a copy for a reasonable price, then by all means, get it.

In the realm of more earnest, non-commercial mods, I recommend anything by Neil Manke. That guy's stuff for Quake and Half-Life was pretty nice (and even in a market saturated with zombie games, I still wait for They Hunger: Lost Souls like a dog for his long-dead owner.)

It is now unsupported unfortunately, but SMC is another great mod:

Small Mod Compilation.

It is meant to be played with existing maps and changes the game in many ways, all of them optional.


VisPatch, not really a mod per se, but it allows to enjoy transparent water in maps that were created without support for it. Including, all the official maps.
VisPatch.

Be warned though, SMC is a resource hog on low end machines.

The Altar of Storms
https://www.quaddicted.com/reviews/ne_ruins.html

(Sorry, already mentioned)

Nehahra

A perfect mod and a perfect unofficial continuation of Quake's story. I suggest watching Seal of Nehahra to understand the whole thing. (Note, the movie is 4 HOURS LONG but it's worth it!). As for the mod, i suggest running through the GLQuake it comes with, as the mod uses special effects for it, although Darkplaces supports it (But with some issues).

The Castle of Koohoo
A spooky realm of ruins and swamps. It uses green and grass textures, but they are dingy and dark giving an oppressing feeling. It is one of my favorite maps ever and it includes also a boss!

Dry Sorrow
The ultimate proof that small can be beautiful, this little map is one of the best challenges ever.

I personally got stuck in a bug, the map was missing the silver key in all difficulty levels a part of Easy. Try finishing the map in Easy first before playing other difficulty levels, so if you get stuck for the bug you know it is not your fault.

The Masque of Red Death
Tired to be the good guy? Large map with horde combat where you play as a specter of pestilence.

Abandon
Not a good map set honestly, but still very interesting for the challenge. The map are weird and abstract and will challenge your sense of direction; on the polar opposite of The Masque of Red Death here the challenge is not the large amount of monster, but the insane layout.


Abyss of Pandemonium is a great III episode, but the free available version misses the music. If you want the music, you can find it on the Internet. PM me if you got problems.

Oh man, speaking of weird abstract maps, "The Anomaly 2: Water" by Digs is one of the ultimates in that category. Kind of like those wacky "gravity anomaly" tourist attractions that angle walls and floors to mess with your sense of orientation. Some of Digs' other maps have similar tomfoolery but IMO this one's the best.

Unforgiven
Three huge maps with quite a bit of action, new weapons, and ideas.

Now that we've all got a thirst for Quake again, you should try out (or at least have a look at) a HD remake of it...

http://quakehdremix.blogspot.com.au/

The updated texture packs/screenshots bring this game forward at least 15 years! :)

Blue Hell
Cute small maps, great for a quick play.

A Roman Wilderness Of Pain
Three large levels with quite a bit of action, new monsters, and new items. A nice blending of exploration and horde combat.
If you manage to finish any level at Hell difficulty level, please record. I am curious.

dmsp
Play any deathmatch map in single player!

Interestingly the way monster are spawned is always the same, so it does kinda play like single player map. However, since deathmatch maps have no exit you have to kill everything.

In my experience also the stock deathmatch maps (a part of dm2) works fairly well.

This is superb! Thank you for mentioning this!

As for some suggestions these are for Quake 2.

1964 complete. A multiple mission pack with some custom textures and sound, gorgeous level design and a good level of challenge.
Small Pile of Gibs. Probably the best single player Quake 2 map I've played. Huge, intricate and with a brilliant level of challenge.
Citizen Able series. Some nice variety of locations and play styles, solid design and satisfying.
Love Story a Prince of Stroggos. Introduces some nifty ideas, interesting Persian style architecture with a techno gothic slant and a solid and satisfying difficulty curve.