The LibreQuake project aims to create a complete, free content first-person shooter game, but LibreQuake by itself is just the raw material for a game. It must be paired with a compatible engine to be played.
There is a massive back catalogue, spanning over two decades, containing thousands of Quake levels and other modifications (“mods”) made by fans of the game. LibreQuake aims to be compatible with these and allows most to be played without the need to use non-free software.
The engine uses a directory called id1/, within that directory there are two archives called pak0.pak and pak1.pak, these archives contain all the game data except the soundtrack. While the Quake engine source code is free, you would usually still need one of the proprietary data files from id Software to play Quake. LibreQuake aims to create a free alternative: combined with the GPL-licensed Quake source code, this results in a completely free game.
LibreQuakes Website librequake.queer.sh.
Since LibreQuake is only the game data, you will still need to download an engine (or source port). One particularly recommended by the LibreQuake project is FTEQW This engine offers great support for both singleplayer multiplayer and the majority of mods created for both Quake and LibreQuake. QuakeSpasmSpiked and Ironwail are also good options. For even more options, see the Quake Wiki.
Once you have downloaded an engine, paste the downloaded id1 (or lq1) folder in the same directory you put the engine executable. This is the executable you will run to start LibreQuake.
If you would like to set up a LAN deathmatch game, see docs/deathmatch-setup-guide.txt for more information.
When we speak of free content or software, we refer to the movement in which your freedom to use, copy, modify, and study a work is not infringed. For example, you may freely use LibreQuake for any purpose you see fit, you may redistribute it to anyone without needing to ask for permission, you may modify it (provided you keep the license intact, see COPYING), and you may study it. You may read more about free software at the GNU and Free Software Foundation websites.
LibreQuake is made up of submissions from many people all over the globe. All of them, including you, deserve credit! Please do not forget to provide your name and email when submitting resources.
You can also commit on a clone of the LibreQuake repository, although this is a technical task and it is okay to let other LibreQuake maintainers to do it instead: that is our normal mode of operation. However, pull requests are much appreciated and you may submit them in any manner you wish, with GitHub’s direct pull requests being the simplest, but by far not the only means.
LibreQuake uses the commit message style commonly seen in distributed version control systems, adopted by projects such as Linux and Git. For an explanation of this style, see How to Write a Git Commit Message.
