"Do you think we'll see a Quake 4 test for the multiplayer before the game comes out?

Todd Hollenshead: That's a good question. I think what we'll want to do is test the networking, because we've pretty much redone all the networking and we like to get the community to test that and make sure that it's going to be solid before the game is done. We'll have to see as we get closer to completion of both the single-player and the multiplayer elements of the game as to how that's going to work out.

When you say "test," it kind of makes me think of Quake Test and QIII Test. In both those situations, it was a very early look at what the multiplayer was like. Quake III Test, I believe, came out in February, and the game came out in December, so that's nearly ten month in between. I think that one of the things that we learned from that is that we like to have all of the elements of the multiplayer done and not use it as much as a gameplay testing, but to really test the technology, so you would see a much more polished version of it if I could draw it up and have it be the way I wanted it to be."

"Quake 4 actually begins with your squad, the elite Rhino Squad, falling to the planet in landing pods. After smacking to the ground and losing consciousness for a little while, Kane wakes up to find himself in the middle of a battlefield. There's a sense of the size of the planet and gunfire can be heard in the distance. Kane grabs a weapon, talks to a few people in the area, and heads off in search of his team. Thus the experience begins. From then on, it's all about you and your squad."