Does anyone know if this game has a decent single-player mode? I get too intimidated going out on open battlefields - and am usually killed within several minutes. I enjoyed Quake 4 for the Intel Mac and would like to just play against enemy bots. Some of these multiplayer-centered games provide only a limited number of maps (BF2142, for instance) and limited options/features for single player campaigns.
Quake Wars can play ALL the maps (12) and campaigns (4) offline with bot allies and opponents. You can customize the bots too: combat skill vs. strategy skill, number on each side (need not be balanced) etc. And if you want to complete all objectives yourself, you can set it so bots won't complete objectives, they'll just support you. Lastly, pointing at any bot in-game and hitting V brings up some quick orders you can give that bot.
It's a great game and I highly recommend it (no demo yet, but we can hope). I have the Mac version. Note that the single-player component has very little story though: you don't even have to play the maps in order. It's not a game like Quake 4, though you may spot some familiar Strogg vehicles! QW is really the same game offline as online--and the bots are very smart (and about to get smarter with the 1.5 patch). I play on some servers with a mix of humans and bots, and it's not always obvious to me which are which!
Also, I recommend going online: don't be intimidated, just die and learn and help the team any little way you can. Two tips:
* Play Training Mode offline first. A voiceover will teach you the basic ropes. Then in multiplayer, there is some voice guidance as well unless you turn off "Tooltip Sounds."
* Try being a GDF Medic. Run around clicking fallen bodies (ones that are "twitching") with your Use key (F, or you can assign a mouse button). You'll be doing good: clicking a friend revives them, clicking a foe makes them unrevivable. And clicking a glowing "host" body with the metal spines destroys an enemy spawnpoint. (If you feel like shooting, just aim at people with a red arrow (or no arrow) over their heads. Green or white is a friend.) That's all you really NEED to know to help your team.
Before long you'll see your team is better off with you than without you, and even if you die a lot you may still have fun!
I HATE playing most games online, except with people I know. I know just what you mean. But for some reason I feel the opposite with Quake Wars. For one thing, the community seems a little more mature than say, UT2004--but it's easy to ignore the jerks anyway.
I found Quake Wars immediately addictive--and I totally expected to have a really tough, not-fun learning curve first. Well, I was right about the curve, but it was fun right from the start.
