Want to play NetQuake? Can't find a server? Now you can!
Let's face it: it's more fun killing real humans than computer generated creatures. The problem with this is it that some people would object to your actions if you went around town with a shotgun blasting everyone in site. The solution? Quake... only this time, choose the multiplayer option. No doubt many of you have already tried this out and perhaps even played a few net games of Quake, but finding a good server can be a major hassle. Scott Kevill's long awaited QuakeFinder solves this dilemma and comes through in flying colors.
QuakeFinder is a Quake server search engine that will not only give the IPs for every Quake server available, but will also tell you how many players are playing on that server and the average response time. New in version 1.5, QuakeFinder with also tell you who is playing on the server, their scores, how long they've been playing, and the rules of the server. This was a sorely missed feature that despite taking a while to be implemented is nevertheless greatly appreciated.
QuakeFinder is also cleverly broken up into a number of sub groups. Feel like playing a game of Capture the Flag? No problem, just open up the CTF folder you're presented with a list of Flag servers. There's even a Favorites folder when you can add your most popular servers.
QuakeFinder obtains the statistics for the servers by "refreshing" them. That is, connecting to the server and finding out all the necessary information. As you can imagine, if you refresh the full list of servers, which numbers in the hundreds, that will take a fair bit of time however, once you've developed a small list of your favorite servers you can refresh that list (or any individual server you choose). QuakeFinder also contains a feature which will connect you to the latest full list of Quake servers, ensuring that you always have access to the most up to date servers.
As it's name implies, QuakeFinder uses the standard MacOS Finder's interface. Windows are in the style of an ordinary "view as list" format, complete with the easy to read guide lines and the spinning circular arrows that represents a server in the process of being refreshed.
After giving QuakeFinder a presitigious 4.5 stars the first time, I thought about that rating and realized that it was considerably inflated. A 3.5 would been more accurate, but with version 1.5 QuakeFinder truly deserves all those stars. It's an elegant application that no Quaker should be without, and the added features, particularly being able to see who is on the server, makes it worth every bit of the $15 shareware fee.
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 Shareware Fee: $15 (through Kagi) |