Console Commands (Q1)

Console Commands are a alternative form of altering options of the game such as respective input keys and commands by using the Console, some settings can only be altered from there. Using the console is a requisite in order to use cheats.

In order to make use of these commands it's necessary to bring up the console first, most of the commands can only be used when the game is already started. Bringing up the console is simple and there are two ways for making use of it, the most simple although recommended way being going into the options menu and selecting the "goto console" option. The quicker way is by pressing the respective key located below the ESC key, if such key is not present or not working, its possible to workaround this by going over to the console from the options menu and inputing the following command: bind toggleconsole. This way you can activate the console from the desired input key.

NOTE: All commands are case-insensitive and without quotations. Some codes are exclusive to one Source port, such as the gl codes (controlling OpenGL) existing for only GLQuake.

Basic Movement:
These are used for basic movement, most of these can be changed from the menu. The use of +mlook from the console is considered a glitch and a workaround to having to press the middle mouse button in order to freelook, this is due to the fact that when Quake was originally released, mouse and similiar devices were difficult to afford. By the time that QuakeWorld was released however, the use of mouse devices began to increase. And players in turn discovered the use of the +mlook key.
 * and  - When   is active the player is firing their current weapon.
 * and  - When   is active the player is moving backwards.
 * and  - When   is active the player is moving forward.
 * and  - When   is active the player jumps.
 * and  - When   is active forward and back become lookup and lookdown.
 * and  - When   is active the player is turning left.
 * and  - When   is active the player's view is moving down.
 * and  - When   is active the player's view is moving up.
 * and  - When   is active moving the mouse forwards and backwards performs a lookup and lookdown respectively.
 * and  - When   is active the player is swimming down in a liquid.
 * and  - When   is active the player is strafing left.
 * and  - When   is active the player is strafing right.
 * and  - When   is active the player is swimming up in a liquid.
 * and  - When   is active the player is turning right.
 * and  - When   is active in Single Player mode the current level stats are shown on the status bar. In Multiplayer mode the current frags are shown on the full screen.
 * and  - +speed and -speed - When speed is active the player is running. this has no effects when always run is turned on, however due to a a glitch on the original always run movement code, strafing speed, turning and acceleration are not affected by the always run option, though not very noticeable. Using +speed from the console or by a custom config file is rather recommended.
 * and  - When strafe is active left and right function as   and   strafing in that direction.
 * and  - Completely useless in the vanilla game, deprecated   function from the days of Doom.

Cheats:

 * - setting this value to  will start a constant output of data about the level as it is rendered. Useful for finding bugs that exist in the game.
 * - displays a list of entities in the current level, showing specific coordinates and the .MDL files used.
 * - the player can fly instead of walk, the method is quite complicated as pressing the swimup and swimdown keys are required in order to go up and down respectively.
 * - give weapon number ; doesn't give corresponding ammo. For example,   will give you the Double-Barrelled Shotgun
 * - give  of  ;   can be   (Shells),   (Nails),   (Rockets),   (Cells), or   (Health).  The ammo counter can only go as high as , meaning players with more ammo will appear to have less ammo than they honestly have (it overlaps, meaning after firing at an ammo count of   it will go back to  ). If the player picks up any type of ammo dropped by an enemy, all ammo amounts will revert back to the maximum obtainable without console commands (for example, if the player has 255 nails and picks up a drop, they will have 200 nails). The player can have up to   health, afterwards their view will turn sideways and they will appear to be dead. It is still possible for the player to move around and finish the level in this angle, though if the player is injured enough to go below   their view will be immediately corrected. Note also that Health over   will only last for the duration of the level, similar to the effects of the 100 Health powerup.
 * - "kills" the player (the player can still jump and shoot, but cannot move and is lying on their side). This happens because the game reads the first letter on the setence first which is h, and then reads ealth for the value.
 * - the player becomes invincible
 * - restarts the current level by killing the player.
 * - similar to, but the player can also move through solid objects, such as walls
 * - Monsters cannot target the player

Impulses:

 * or  - the player receives Quad Damage
 * to  - selects the corresponding weapon.
 * or  - the player receives all weapons at full ammo, as well as both keys
 * - selects the next weapon
 * - One Rune; repeat 4 times to get all 4 runes
 * Note: If you use this code more than once, you need to exit and re-enter the console after every usage, otherwise you will always receive only 1 rune.
 * There is a glitch regarding the runes. A player can find that runes that she or he has completed an episode can disappear which means that she or he would have to redo an Episode. To avoid such a distressing replay, this code is perfect to get back those runes.
 * - selects the previous weapon

Client-side Commands:

 * - Cvar (console variable) used by server when signing into a multiplayer game. Players should use the color function as using this variable directly can result in the new colors not being recognized by the server until a refresh (such as a map change or a reconnection). This means that only the player will see the new colors if they use this command.
 * - Cvar (console variable) used by server when signing into a multiplayer game. Players should use the name function as using this variable directly can result in the new name not being recognized by the server until a refresh (such as a map change or a reconnection). This means that only the player will see the new name if they use this command.
 * - has a default of 200 when always run is turned off 400 when turned on, lowering this value slows the player's speed of movement when moving forwards. The +speed command is directly affected by this.
 * - having a default of, setting this to a lower or higher value causes the weapon bob as the player walks to become less or more noticeable respectively
 * - having a default of, this value controls the time it takes for a weapon to bob. A lower value will bob more rapidly, while a higher value will bob less frequently. While both this and   control the frequency of the bob, this controls the time and therefore works exponentially (meaning values are more extreme).
 * - having a default of, this value controls the frequency that the weapon bobs. A lower value will bob more rapidly, while a higher value will bob less frequently.
 * - has a default of 200 when always run is turned off 400 when turned on, lowering this value slows the player's speed of movement when moving forwards. The +speed command is directly affected by this.
 * - having a default of, lowering this value slows the speed that the player runs when holding down the run key. Does not control the speed of.
 * - having a default of  (meaning it is somewhat marginal), the angle that the camera tilts to when the player moves to a side. With a lower value the tilt is less extreme, with a higher value the tilt is more extreme.
 * - having a default of, lowering this value will cause the roll to appear at a lower value (  meaning the roll is always on unless the player switches to the opposite side), whilst raising will cause the roll to appear at a higher value and might make it so that the roll might not appear with a large enough value.
 * - having a default of, lowering this value slows the player's speed of movement when strafing
 * - having a default of, lowering this value slows the player's speed when using the up and down movement keys.
 * - Shortens a string of commands into a single alias command.  represents the name of the command that the player will use, simply typing this command in the future will cause the string of commands to be performed.   represents the string of commands, which must be written in quotations. Each command is separated from each other by a semicolon. To clear the command, simply type the   and command name without adding a string of commands. For example: alias weapons "impulse 9". Refer to this page for advanced usage of this command.
 * - Part of the Quake client/server protocol. When the client is ready to begin updating messages this command is sent. This command will state "Not valid from Console" if trying to run it manually.


 * - used in conjunction with a button to specify the function of the button (any previous function set for the button in the configuration menu will be eliminated to make room for the new function). You can for example, quickly swap to the Rocket Launcher by using the following command: bind q "impulse 7". Refer to this page for advanced usage of this command.
 * - clears all console messages
 * - displays the values of the target property line
 * - used with a number between  and   for various presets of the color of the player's shirt and pants.
 * - setting this value to  displays a crosshair
 * - changes the field of view, or how much the player can see to their sides, using fov 97 or fov 110 is recommended for widescreen displays.
 * - makes a prompt for the player to send a message to their team members.
 * - changes the player's name to the variables typed after the command, "name Ranger".
 * - pauses/unpauses the game.
 * - sends request packets to the server to test the connection. A bug fixed by unofficial modern engines involved the client's connection being accepted but no packets being sent to the server due to problems with NAT. In WinQuake, GLQuake, and vanilla Quake if the client encounters this they can use this command to start sending packets (which allows them to enter the server).
 * - sends a message to other players.
 * - sets the current Difficulty,  being the easiest and   being the hardest.

Demo Playback and Recording:

 * - cycles through the game Demos, which by default are the three .dem files of E1M3: the Necropolis, E1M4: the Grisly Grotto, and E1M6: The Door to Chthon loaded at startup.
 * - plays the specified demo file, like the three loaded upon startup. All demos are saved in the game folder as .dem files.
 * - records a demo which is saved as a .dem file (like the three that play on startup). The first variable after the command specifies the name of the file. The second variable specifies the map, which loads the map and is required as the game cannot demo levels already in progress.
 * - stops the recording of a demo.
 * - stops the playback of a demo.
 * - plays a demo as a test to determine the frames per second, which is shown at the end of the demo to show how fast the game is able to display images on the screen.

Graphic Commands:

 * - has a default of, only exists in the original DOS executable. To save on drawing distance, objects in the distance are more blurred by default, setting this to 0 will result in more RAM being used.
 * - Default 0, setting this to 1 will replace all textures with flat, unshaded, solid colors on every surface. Useful for analyzing geometry.
 * - setting this to  hides any models such as weapons, enemies, or doors.
 * - setting this to  allows the player to see through solid brushes, somewhat like x-ray vision.
 * - setting this to  hides the Weapon.
 * - setting this to  causes all surfaces of a level to be completely lit up
 * - Only exists in the original DOS executable. The maximum number of brush edges that can be shown. Set to a default of 2400. Can be increased to reduce graphical issues in large open areas on custom levels.
 * - Only exists in the original DOS executable. The maximum number of brush surfaces that can be shown. Set to a default of 800. Can be increased to reduce graphical issues in large open areas on custom levels.
 * - Only exists in the original DOS executable. Set by default to 0, changing this to 1 will continually report the number of edges being used and how close it is to the maximum. Useful to determine if r_maxedges needs to be increased.
 * - Only exists in the original DOS executable. Set by default to 0, changing this to 1 will continually report the number of surfaces being used and how close it is to the maximum. Useful to determine if r_maxsurfs needs to be increased.
 * - Changes the brightness to this value from the default of . Smaller numbers are brighter, larger numbers are darker. It is advisable to go down by small increments, a large change can make it difficult to see the screen. Note that brightness is broken in GLQuake and thus the gamma will not change appearance regardless of the value set.

Menu Commands:

 * - displays the customize controls menu
 * - displays the load menu
 * - displays the main menu
 * - displays the Multiplayer menu
 * - displays the options menu
 * - displays the save menu
 * - displays the Multiplayer setup menu
 * - displays the Single Player menu
 * - displays the quit menu
 * - displays the video options menu

Mouse Commands:

 * - setting this to  turns lookspring off. Lookspring causes the player to move forward or backwards with the mouse.
 * - setting this to  turns lookstrafe off. Lookstrafe causes the player to move side to side with the mouse.
 * - default is, setting this to   activates mouse smoothing.
 * - default is, lowering this makes the player move slower when moving forwards and backwards with the mouse.
 * - default is . Raising this value makes the player look up and down faster, while lowering this value makes the player look up and down slower . A negative value is used to invert.
 * - default is, lowering this makes the player move slower when strafing with the mouse.
 * - default is . Lowering this value makes the mouse slower when turning from side to side, while raising this value makes mouse turning from side to side faster.
 * - having a default value of, setting this to a lower number results in a slower turning speed of the mouse. Setting this to a higher number allows for faster turning speeds, but setting it too high can cause the player to lose their bearings. This speeds up or slows both the   and   instead of being an individual command.

Screen Commands:

 * - default is, increasing will make the console lower and rise at a faster rate, while lowering will slow the console's movement.
 * - default is, can be increased or decreased to offset the screen x-axis by this variable. Note that this value cannot be changed in Multiplayer.
 * - default is, can be increased or decreased to offset the screen y-axis by this variable. Note that this value cannot be changed in Multiplayer.
 * - default is, can be increased or decreased to offset the screen z-axis by this variable. Note that this value cannot be changed in Multiplayer.
 * - default is, increasing will make text load at a faster rate, while decreasing causes the text (such as those at the end of an episode) to be displayed slower.

Server Commands:
Used for server configuration.
 * - the default value of  gives the player a small amount of autoaim. Setting the value to   eliminates the autoaim, while lowering the value allows for more autoaim.
 * - the default is, setting this lower causes the player to have less gravity.   is similar to what is found in E1M8: Ziggurat Vertigo
 * - having a default value of, lowering this value causes the player to have a slower movement speed. Increasing this value causes the player to move at a faster rate.
 * - having a default value of, lowering this value causes the player to have a slower movement speed like  . Unlike the aforementioned command, lowering this value will also decrease the speed of all projectiles.
 * - setting this to  causes the player to not be able to climb stairs
 * - default is, lowering causes the player to slide more whilst increasing allows the player to stop moving immediately.
 * - changes the level to the specified map, similar to the  command. Unlike the latter, the player preserves their state (such as health and weapons).
 * - setting this value to  and restarting or changing the level will result in the game switching to deathmatch mode.
 * - having a default of, lowering this value will cause less friction to exist on edges (meaning it is easier to walk off a surface to a lower level) while raising this value will make it harder to walk off edges.
 * - determines the amount of kills necessary to win a deathmatch game.
 * - the current level can be changed to the map typed, but unlike the  command the player is reverted to the default state of 100 health and only an Axe and Shotgun.
 * - default is, setting this to   will cause any player that tries to step into a Level Exit to get killed with the death message - "Player" tried to leave. Setting this to   will cause similar results to  , with the main difference being the ability to leave Introduction.
 * - default is, setting this to   forbids players from pausing the game
 * - setting this to  causes the level to restart upon attempting to leave the level.
 * - sets the current Difficulty,  being the easiest and   being the hardest.
 * - default is, setting this variable to   will allow players on the same team to not injure each other. Teams are decided by the color of the pants, meaning both players must have the same color pants to be considered to be part of the same team.
 * - default is, setting this variable higher will specify the amount of time the players have until the level is completed.

Sound options:

 * - Default value is . Lowering this decreases the volume of ambient sounds.
 * - default is, setting this lower causes the volume of the music to decrease.   is muted.
 * - Turns on music system after using  command. Note that music will not start playing again until a track is requested.
 * - Shuts off music system.
 * - States the currently playing track, the number of tracks on the CD, and the volume.
 * - Similar to, this loops the specified track so that it will continue playing until stopped or changed.
 * - Plays a specified track (by track number).
 * - Restarts music
 * - Stops a track.
 * - setting this to  eliminates all sounds besides ambient noises.
 * - setting this to  causes the number of sounds being played to be displayed and updated constantly.
 * - Various information about sound is displayed including if a stereo output is being used, information about the samples, the playback speed, and the address for the DMA buffer which is used to bypass the CPU for real-time applications.
 * - raising this value to  will put the game at maximum volume, lowering this value to be between   and   will lower the volume, whilst   will mute the game.
 * - realigns the player's viewing angle to the default, unlike  this can be used even with   present.

Video Commands:

 * - displays the current resolution and color depth.
 * - gives a list of the different display resolutions in the console.
 * - changes the resolution to a defined preset. Note that GLQuake requires the resolution specified via the target line, meaning this will do nothing in said source port.
 * - displays the number of different display resolutions that exist.
 * - default is . Allows the player to set the exact size of the screen they wish, larger increases (hides the HUD) while smaller decreases.

Misc/Advanced

 * - causes a background flash, the effect used when an item is picked up.
 * - realigns the view of the player to the center of the screen. Does not work with, instead   must be used.
 * - when used a text value, will say said value in the Console. This can be useful with bound keys or aliases that might otherwise lack a visible change to say said action had occurred.
 * - displays a list of entities in the current level, showing specific coordinates and the .MDL files used.
 * - when used with the name of a script file, the file will be run by Quake. This causes an effect similar to the  file, which can be created to preload commands instead of needing to use the   command each time the game is started.
 * - realigns the player's viewing angle to the default, unlike  this can be used even with   present.
 * - displays the help menu
 * - loads a  file based on the value after the command
 * - displays in the console the folder paths being used by the game, ID1 is always loaded whilst extra pak0 files might be loaded if playing a mod.
 * - exits the game.
 * - setting this to  causes the shareware version of Quake to behave like registered. This will allow the doors to Episodes 2, 3 and 4 to open as they do in the full version of the game, yet stepping onto the Slipgates will cause the game to crash because the level data for these Episodes are missing.
 * - similar to but without a suicide message.
 * - saves an .sav file based on the value given after the command.
 * - Takes a screenshot of the current screen, it's recommended to bind a key to this action, otherwise the console will be also taken along with the screen.
 * - having a default value of, setting this to   will hide the pause box from being displayed when the game is paused.
 * - having a default value of, setting this to   will display a turtle icon when the game drops below 10 FPS.
 * - Decreases the size of the screen.
 * - Increases the size of the screen.
 * - displays a list of currently accessible servers.
 * - displays server information such as players, map, hostname, and frags.
 * - sends a whisper to a specific player, the name is specified by the first variable. The second variable is simply the message itself. For example,  would send a whisper to Player saying "Player Hi"
 * - Toggles the console on or off.
 * - Toggles the main menu on or off. Note this will not work if the user is in the console, meaning it needs to be bound to a key.
 * - used in conjunction with a button to get rid of key bindings.
 * - used to immediately get rid of any key bindings besides the escape key.
 * - default is . The lower the number the less the player's view moves vertically after shot, while the higher the number the more displaced the player will be upon injury.
 * - default is . The lower the number the less the player's view moves horizontally after shot, while the higher the number the more displaced the player will be upon injury.
 * - default is . The lower the number the less time the player's view is moved by   and  . The higher the number the greater the time.
 * - gives the date and version number of the .exe file.

Target Properties
Note that it is possible to use any console command as a target property by adding a  before the console command. This section shall therefore focus on the values specific to the target property line, these can often be determined by the necessary usage of  before the target command.


 * - Allows the player to use direct input for their mouse. Note that this tends to cause problems with the mousewheel.
 * - Used in combination with a folder name to load the files within the folder, used with Add-ons.
 * - Setting this to  will deactivate the music
 * - Setting this to  will deactivate the mouse
 * - Setting this to  will deactivate all sounds
 * - Specifies the specific port that the game should be run on instead of the default *
 * - Allows a specific amount of memory to be allowed for general gameplay.
 * - Allows a specific amount of memory to be allowed to console scripts.

Console

 * - By default set to, setting this to   deactivates the textures autocorrecting on models (which is done to fix persective) and increases performance.
 * - By default set to, setting to   makes this setting like the software mode. GLQuake had difficulty rendering eyes in comparison to the software engine and tried to fix the problem by doubling the size of the eyes.
 * - By default set to . Setting it to   causes a   to be added after each frame, which basically requires the cpu to wait for the gpu to prevent lag.
 * - By default set to  for performance, altering this changes how dynamic lights are rendered. Setting this to   sets it to be similar to the software mode, which many individuals believe is better. The new mode creates a bright sphere around the environment based on the color of the light instead of trying to light the world around it. Setting this to   makes it so the light only appears when the center of the light is visible.
 * - By default set to  for better performance, setting to   increases the number of vertices that can exist on the same plane and gets rid of a few blinking pixels that might be seen on the screen.
 * - By default set to  for best quality. This controls the rendering quality of the maps, with   to   getting progressively more blurry but also giving better performance.
 * - By default set to  for best quality. This controls the rendering quality of the player models, with   to   getting progressively more blurry but also giving better performance.
 * - The default texture mode is .   is used to optimize performance, while   uses interlopation to improve textures. Each has two different types of ,   and  , that try to increase the look of faraway objects.   attempts to do this by washing out textures to eliminate pixels, while   tries to keep the quality of the pixels and render them from far distances.
 * - By default set to . Set to   to deactivate triple buffering, which might not be compatible with older graphics cards.
 * - By default set to . The Z buffer, used to determine spacial relativity, is prevented from being refreshed by being buffered. By setting it to   it turns off this buffer, which can be useful for hardware that causes the status bar and console to flash every other second.
 * - setting this to  deactivates dynamic lights such as flickering lights.
 * - default is, lowering this value allows glass to reflect the image of the player. This also tends to cause sound problems in various maps, most notably E1M5.
 * - default is, setting this to   allows the world to be pre-rendered instead of being rendered in real time. In the base game this is rarely noticeable, with the greatest change being that it is required to see through liquids. If   is activated the Water becomes transparent but until   is set to   the player will not be able to see what is beyond the water (such as brushes or objects).
 * - setting this to  renders shadows underneath actors
 * - having a default value of, lowering this value to a decimal allows Water and other liquids to appear transparent.

Target

 * - Height of the console, status bar, text, weapon display, and HUD.
 * - Width of the console, status bar, text, weapon display, and HUD.
 * - Allows a specific amount of memory to be allowed for general gameplay.
 * - Height of the display resolution.
 * - Width of the display resolution.