In case you missed it
Originally released on 28 February 2023, Sudden Quake scales up the futuristic war against the alien Strogg race (as shown in the games Quake 2 and Quake 4) in the real time tactics genre using the Sudden Strike 3 engine.
Sudden Strike 3 (originally a WW2 RTT title) has no population limit and it handles huge amounts of destruction and craters, and this is carried through into Sudden Quake. That means enormous battles between thousands of marines and monstrous cyborgs, with no limit to the scale of destruction.
The Sudden Quake mod takes advantage of Sudden Strike 3’s ability to show large scale destruction to even paint the battlefields red with the blood and gore of destroyed armies, fitting with the remorseless violence of the Quake games.
Huge improvements in Version 2
Sudden Quake Version 2, the latest file for the Sudden Quake mod, includes a broad range of fixes addressing problems in the hastily released Version 1.
As well as aesthetic changes enhancing the GUI and other features, bugs are removed from hovertank unit movement and two unique new units are introduced (including a long lost Marine hovertank that appeared only as a wreck in Quake 4). The behaviour of some Strogg infantry units is enhanced for better performance in combat, and 5 new custom missions with unique features are added.
You can find a complete changelog in the install instructions file.
Let’s talk about the new custom missions
The single player experience is a lot better in Version 2. While some minor corrections have been made to the two campaigns of the original mod, 5 new maps bring the total number of standalone custom single player missions to 6. Each of these introduces its own dramatic battle in the war with the Strogg.
“Canyon Chase”
This is a mission with limited cover, so both sides receive mechanical heavy infantry. Finally, you get to command a good number of Marines using their iconic stomping combat walkers against the Strogg in a mountainous area. This whole battle takes place in a series of canyons, with the side controlling the key junctions getting surprise reinforcement bonuses while the losing side’s reinforcements decrease.
“Defense Web”
Here, the Strogg have formed a concentric defense around a control tower. They are manufacturing their horrific harvesters at a factory built into the rock. Although the Marine forces can win the battle instantly by securing the control tower, their reinforcements may be just too weak unless they can capture the nearby tram station and secure another perimeter checkpoint to bring in heavier weapons.
“Soldier Factories”
The horrors of the Strogg Medical Facilities have returned, this time in a big jailbreak by captured marines who just refused to go down without a fight. Can they save themselves from being butchered in these alien slaughterhouses and fight their way through the Stroyent facility to escape? Will they go out of their way to rescue other marines first? What about the captured female marines being transformed into Strogg iron maidens? You’ll have to plan and carry out this daring escape, one way or another, and decide who gets left behind.
“Castles of Doom”
A scenario with playable Strogg forces, Castles of Doom takes place in a grim reddish twilight and portrays a relief effort against the relentless Marine siege of a Strogg stronghold. You will not only have to get to the comm center to take control from the hopeless weaklings who hold these fortifications, but you will have to break the siege and capture the staging areas that the Marines are coming from.
“Machine City”
This mission takes you right into one of the industrial wastelands seen so often in the background art of Quake 4. In the surreal-looking mechanical surroundings, mounds of slag and polluted terrain, you will control a group of relentless Strogg harvesters as they destroy human intruders and provoke more Marine forces into joining a huge slaughter as the Strogg are fuelled by the blood of their enemy.
The original custom mission released with Version 1, Hovertank Cruise, has also been made a little more challenging if you dare.
The download link to Version 1 is now fully replaced by the link to Version 2, and no longer accessible. You are not missing anything, and you will get a lot more out of the current download.
EDIT: a broken objective in Operation: Advantage has been rewritten on 25 June to help complete the mission. Download the file again!
This looks good! 😺