Quake Console Command Pages Quake v1.06 This list would not have been possible without help from: Lauri Alanko who's list got me interested in the console. Juergen P. Meier for his hints on how to extract the important information out of the Quake executable. Pat Pinatiello for getting me to produce text versions of the console list. In most cases I have tried to connected related commands together with the "See also:" field. However, to keep the size down and also make that field as useful as possible, I didn't reference anything that was an action command. The description will let you know what action the command effects. If anything in this document is either incorrect, missing, or not explained well, please let me know so that I can correct it. https://www.neophi.com/home/danielr/contact.html Last updated Sep. The most recent version of this document can always be found at: https://www.neophi.com/home/danielr/quake/console.html Daniel Rinehart aka Prog. Cite this document as a source if used in another document. Disclaimer: This document is provided as is and may not be perfect. I do not guarantee the validity of any of the information in it. I will not be held liable or responsible for any damages caused from use or misuse of the information contained within this document. Key for the list: (A)=Action (C)=Command (P)=Protocol (T)=Toggle or flag (V)=Variable (X)=Other (?)=Unknown +attack / -attack (A) Syntax: +attack -attack When attack is active the player is firing their current weapon. See also: impulse +back / -back (A) Syntax: +back -back When back is active the player is moving backwards. See also: cl_backspeed +forward / -forward (A) Syntax: +forward -forward When forward is active the player is moving forward. See also: cl_forwardspeed +jump / -jump (A) Syntax: +jump -jump When jump is active the player is jumping. See also: sv_gravity +klook / -klook (A) Syntax: +klook -klook When klook is active forward and back become lookup and lookdown respectively. +left / -left (A) Syntax: +left -left When left is active the player is turning left. See also: cl_yawspeed +lookdown / -lookdown (A) Syntax: +lookdown -lookdown When lookdown is active the player's view is moving down. See also: cl_pitchspeed, centerview, force_centerview +lookup / -lookup (A) Syntax: +lookup -lookup When lookup is active the player's view is moving up. See also: cl_pitchspeed, centerview, force_centerview +mlook / -mlook (A) Syntax: +mlook -mlook When mlook is active moving the mouse forwards and backwards performs a lookup and lookdown respectively. +movedown / - movedown (A) Syntax: +movedown -movedown When movedown is active the player is swimming down in a liquid. See also: cl_upspeed +moveleft / -moveleft (A) Syntax: +moveleft -moveleft When moveleft is active the player is strafing left. See also: cl_sidespeed +moveright / -moveright (A) Syntax: +moveright -moveright When moveright is active the player is strafing right. See also: cl_sidespeed +moveup / -moveup (A) Syntax: +moveup -moveup When moveup is active the player is swimming up in a liquid. See also: cl_upspeed +right / -right (A) Syntax: +right -right When right is active the player is turning right. See also: cl_yawspeed +showscores / -showscores (A) Syntax: +showscores -showscores When showscores 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. +speed / -speed (A) Syntax: +speed -speed When speed is active the player is running. See also: cl_movespeedkey, cl_anglespeedkey +strafe / -strafe (A) Syntax: +strafe -strafe When strafe is active left and right function like moveleft and moveright, strafing in that direction. +use / -use (A) Syntax: +use -use Sets the USE flag for the player. Currently not used by Quake. Thanks to Sky Golightly for information on this command. _cl_color (V) Syntax: _cl_color Default: 0 Set the player's color. The value is SC*16+PC where SC is shirt color and PC is pants color. See also: color _cl_name (V) Syntax: _cl_name Default: Player Sets the player's name. See also: name _config_com_baud (V) Syntax: _config_com_baud Default: 57600 Sets the default baud rate for the modem. See also: com1/com2 _config_com_irq (V) Syntax: _config_com_irq Default: 4 Sets the default irq for the modem. See also: com1/com2 _config_com_modem (T) Syntax: _config_com_modem <0/1> Default: 0 This is a really weird option. If set to 1 then com1 gets the values that the _config_x commands sets. It doesn't work for com2 though. I think in general it's better just to use the com1 and com2 commands. See also: com1/com2 _config_com_port (V) Syntax: _config_com_port Default: 1016 Sets the default port for the modem. Use 0x#### to enter the number in hex. See also: com1/com2 _config_modem_clear (V) Syntax: _config_modem_clear Default: ATZ Sets the default modem reset command. See also: com1/com2 _config_modem_dialtype (V) Syntax: _config_modem_dialtype

Default: T Sets the default dailing mode to Touch Tone (T) or Pulse (P). See also: com1/com2 _config_modem_hangup (V) Syntax: _config_modem_hangup Default: AT H Sets the default hangup string for the modem. See also: com1/com2 _config_modem_init (V) Syntax: _config_modem_init Default: (none) Sets the default modem init string. See also: com1/com2 _vid_default_mode (V) Syntax: _vid_default_mode Default: 0 Sets the default video mode that Quake uses. See also: menu_video _vid_wait_override (T) Syntax: _vid_wait_override <0/1> Default: 0 From techinfo.txt: can be used to force wait for vertical sync in all modes. When _vid_wait_override is set to 0, the type of waiting, if any, for each video mode that's set thereafter is automatically set to that appears to be the fastest safe state. However, it is possible in some cases that automatic setting may result in some screen glitching, and it is also true that shear can be eliminated by waiting for vertical sync (although at a cost in performance), so it may be desirable in some cases to override the automatic wait selection and always wait for vertical sync. This can be done by setting _vid_wait_override to 1. Once set, this remains in effect through all succeeding mode sets, even when Quake is exited and re-entered; the only way to keep Quake from waiting for vertical sync once _vid_wait_override is set to 1 is to set _vid_wait_override to 0. Note that changing _vid_wait_override doesn't affect the current mode, but rather takes effect on the next mode set. alias (C) Syntax: alias [command] Using alias without the [command] option will erase the alias specified in . From techinfo.txt: The alias command is used to create a reference to a command or list of commands. When aliasing multiple commands, or commands that contain multiple words (such as "fraglimit 50"), you must enclose all the commands in quotation marks and separate each command with a semi-colon. Example of an alias that changes some Deathmatch server parameters: alias net_game "hostname my_server ; fraglimit 15 ; timelimit 15" bind INS net_game See also: bind ambient_fade (V) Syntax: ambient_fade Default: 100 How quickly ambient sounds fade in/out. Higher values make the sound fade quicker. See also: ambient_level ambient_level (V) Syntax: ambient_level Default: 0.3 How loud ambient sounds are. This includes wind, water, and other ambient sounds. See also: ambient_fade auxlook (T) Syntax: auxlook <0/1> Default: 1 Toggle the camera angle control for use with an auxiliary controller (eg. SpaceTec & SpaceOrb). Thanks to Sky Golightly for the info. See also: toggle_auxlook ban (C) Syntax: ban [mask] At long last you can ban those troublesome players. Just get their ip with the status command and enter it in. However, don't get your hopes up that much at this point. It is a quick hack and can only current handle one banned ip address. It also supports higher order domain banning to make it easy to ban players from a particular ISP or site. Once you have declared at least one banned site typing ban without an ip address will list the current sites that are being banned. To use the higher order domain banning the format is: ban xxx.xxx.0.0 xxx.xxx.0.0 (yes you have to type twice) Once banning has been turned on you can turn it off by using the command: ban off Thanks to Daniel A. Sill for getting the low-down on this command. See also: status begin (P) Syntax: begin This command reports "Not valid from console" when run. It is part of the Quake client/server protocol. Sent by a client to a server after the client has processed the entity spawn messages and the client is ready to begin rendering and processing game update messages. Not for use by mortals. Thanks to Sky Golightly for information on this command. See also: prespawn, spawn bf (C) Syntax: bf Background flash, used when you pick up an item. bgmbuffer (V) Syntax: bgmbuffer Default: 4096 Amount of memory allocated for the background music buffer, used when playing from a cd. See also: bgmvolume, cd bgmvolume (V) Syntax: bgmvolume Default: 1.0 Volume of background cd music. See also: cd, bgmbuffer bind (C) Syntax: bind [command] Used to bind a set of commands to a key. To bind multiple command enclose the entire command in quotes and separate the commands with semicolons: bind q "impulse 7; +attack; wait; -attack; impulse 5" When using actions commands in a bind (ie +attack or +left) the first action will automatically be stopped when the key is released. To prevent this, start the command with a semicolon: bind q ";+mlook" (This will keep mlook on until a -mlook is executed.) From techinfo.txt: Where is a valid key control and [command] is a valid Quake command. Example: To bind the j key to the 'jump' command, you would type: bind j +jump and press enter. Non-printable keys such as 'page up' and buttons from the mouse/joystick are bound in the same manner as printable characters. Example: To bind the page up key to the 'jump' command, you would type: bind pageup +jump and press enter. To bind the right mouse button to the attack command, you would type: bind mouse2 +attack and press enter. The following keys can be bound: A-Z 0-9 *F1-F12 *TAB ENTER SPACE BACKSPACE UPARROW DOWNARROW LEFTARROW RIGHTARROW ALT CTRL SHIFT INSDEL PGDN PGUP HOME END PAUSE SEMICOLON MOUSE1 (mouse button 1) MOUSE2 (mouse button 2) MOUSE3 (mouse button 3) *~ (tilde) * Can only be bound on the command line or in a .cfg file. The ESC key cannot be bound. See also: alias, unbind, unbindall cd (C) Syntax: cd [command] Used to control the cd player. From techinfo.txt: cd on Re-enables the CD audio system after a "cd off" command. cd off Shuts down the CD audio system. No more music will be played unless it is re-enabled. cd reset Causes the CD audio to re-initialize. This is useful if you change CDs or insert the CD after you've already run Quake. cd play Plays the specified track one time. cd loop Plays the specified track. It will be repeated until either it is manually stopped or another track is started. cd stop Stops the currently playing track. cd resume Will resume playback of a stopped track. cd eject This is for CD players that do not have a manual eject button. cd remap ... Allows you to switch what tracks are played. This is especially useful if you want to play music other than that on the Quake CD. If the CD audio system is told to play track 1, it will instead play the 1st track you specified. For example: assuming a CD with 1 data track and 8 music tracks, the command "cd remap 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2" would leave the data alone and play the audio tracks as if they had been placed on the CD in the opposite order. cd info Reports information such as the number and types of tracks on the current CD, what track (if any) is currently playing, and the playback volume. See also: bgmvolume, bgmbuffer centerview (C) Syntax: centerview Moves player's view back to straight ahead after a +lookup or +lookdown action. See also: v_centerspeed, force_centerview changelevel (C) Syntax: changelevel Switch game play to selected level. Use this command instead of map when you are running a server. Unlike the command map, changelevel won't disconnect all of the clients before loading the next level. Thanks to Howard Ship for the command clarification. See also: map cl_anglespeedkey (V) Syntax: cl_anglespeedkey Default: 1.5 Sets multiplier for how fast you turn when running. See also: cl_yawspeed cl_backspeed (V) Syntax: cl_backspeed Default: 400 Sets backward movement rate. See also: sv_maxspeed, cl_movespeedkey cl_bob (V) Syntax: cl_bob Default: 0.02 Sets how much your weapon moves up and down when walking. See also: cl_bobcycle, cl_bobup cl_bobcycle (V) Syntax: cl_bobcycle Default: 0.6 Sets how quickly your weapon moves up and down when walking. See also: cl_bob, cl_bobup cl_bobup (V) Syntax: cl_bobup Default: 0.5 Sets how long your weapon stays up before cycling when walking. See also: cl_bob, cl_bob_cycle cl_forwardspeed (V) Syntax: cl_forwardspeed Default: 200 Sets forward movement rate. See also: sv_maxspeed, cl_movespeedkey cl_movespeedkey (V) Syntax: cl_movespeedkey Default: 2.0 Set multiplier for how fast you move when running. See also: cl_backspeed, cl_forwardspeed, sv_maxspeed cl_nolerp (T) Syntax: cl_nolerp <0/1> Default: 0 The default 0 has the following effect on game play. Normally in a netgame, when you are playing Quake plays for a bit, then check for the other players TCP/IP packets. This causes smooth play with the occasional jerk as it loads positions. Setting it to 1 changes the behavior. This causes the game to only display 1 frame per loading of positions, so it loads a positions in, displays a frame then loads positions, displays a frame, etc. Thanks to Stephen Cakebread for this information. cl_pitchspeed (V) Syntax: cl_pitchspeed Default: 150 Sets how fast you lookup and lookdown. cl_rollangle (V) Syntax: cl_rollangle Default: 2.0 Sets how much your screen tilts when strafing. See also: cl_rollspeed cl_rollspeed (V) Syntax: cl_rollspeed Default: 200 Sets how quickly you straighten out after strafing. See also: cl_rollangle cl_shownet (T) Syntax: cl_shownet <0/1> Default: 0 Toggle the display of current net status (Doesn't mean much to me.) Example output: 98 98 120 120 98 cl_sidespeed (V) Syntax: cl_sidespeed Default: 350 Sets how quickly you strafe. cl_upspeed (V) Syntax: cl_upspeed Default: 200 Effects how quickly you moveup and movedown in liquids. Kind of strange that upspeed also effects your downspeed? cl_yawspeed (V) Syntax: cl_yawspeed Default: 140 Sets how quickly you turn left or right. See also: cl_anglespeedkey clear (C) Syntax: clear Clears the console screen. cmd (C) Syntax: cmd This command, when issued from the client, forwards the remaining command arguments to the server for execution. For example: 'cmd sv_gravity -100', or 'cmd deathmatch 0', when issued at a connected client's console, will be sent to and processed by the server as if issued from the server's console. Note: as of 1.06, the server ignores such commands. Thanks Sky Golightly for this information. color (C) Syntax: color Sets the player's colors. If just the shirt color is used the pants color will be the same. See also: _cl_color com1 / com2 (C) Syntax: com1 [command] com2 [command] Control the com ports on your computer. From techinfo.txt: enable | disable "enable" means that your configuration is complete and you want to use the COM port. "disable" is used to turn off a COM port, usually to change its settings. The default (initial) state is disabled. modem | direct Use one of these two to let Quake know if you are using a modem or a direct connection (also called a null modem.) Quake uses this to know if it needs to handles modem initialization strings, dialing sequences, and hangup procedures. reset This will reset the COM port to its default settings and state. port irq These are used to set the I/O Port and IRQ that your serial port uses. The default values are: port=3f8 irq=4 for COM1 and port=2f8 irq=3 for COM2. Note that the port number is displayed in hexadecimal; to enter it you would use something like "COM2 port 0x2f8"; the "0x" preceding the "2f8" indicates that you are giving the value in hexadecimal otherwise decimal is assumed. baud Sets the baud rate. Valid values for are: 9600, 14400, 28800, 57600, and 115200. 57600 is the default. Please note that this is the baud rate used for the uart, not your modem. It is perfectly valid to use 57600 on a COM port that is connected to a 28.8 modem. 8250 | 16550 Specifies the type of uart chip in your system. Normally this is automatically detected, one of these need only be used if your chip is incorrectly detected. clear startup shutdown This allows you to specify the clear, startup, and shutdown strings needed for a modem for playing Quake. If you've found values that previously worked with Doom, use them here. If you are playing over a null modem cable, leave these blank. -cts | +cts -dsr | +dsr -cd | +cd These determine if certain serial control lines should be honored or ignored. The "-" means you want that line ignored, the "+" means to honor it. "cts" is an abbreviation for "clear to send", "dsr" for "data set ready", and "cd" for "carrier detect". Do not change these values unless you are absolutely positive you need to. The default is to ignore all 3 lines. Quake always uses no parity, 8 data bits, and 1 stop bit; these values can not be changed. The baud, port, irq, and uart type can not be changed on an enabled port, you must disable it first. ---------------------- Configuration examples Example1: You have a machine with two serial ports you are going to use as a Quake server. COM1 will be using a null modem cable and COM2 will be connected to a 14.4 modem. You would use commands similar (the startup string would almost certainly be different) to these: COM1 baud 57600 enable COM2 baud 14400 modem startup AT\N0%C0B8 enable Example2: You are going to use your machine to connect to a dial-up Quake server with your 28.8 modem connected to COM2. You would use a command something like this: COM2 baud 57600 modem startup AT\N0%C0B8 enable Note the baud rate is not the same as the modem speed. This allows the modem-to-uart communications to occur at a higher rate than the modem-to-modem communications. See also: _config_com_baud, _config_com_irq, _config_com_modem, _config_com_port, _config_modem_clear, _config_modem_dialtype, _config_modem_hangup, _config_modem_init con_notifytime (V) Syntax: con_notifytime