The Quake community continues its prolific output of custom content with the release of Quake Rooftops Jam, a collection of 19 new maps centered around the rarely explored theme of rooftops within id Software's 1996 FPS.
This latest map pack arrives after a year of significant fan contributions, including the large-scale Quake Brutalist Jam 3, numerous maps celebrating Quake's 30th anniversary, and the official campaign Dawn of the Machine. The Rooftops Jam presents a unique challenge for Quake's signature corridor-shooter design, pushing creators to devise gameplay spaces that seldom feature in the original game.
The 19 custom maps offer diverse interpretations of the rooftop theme. Robert Yang's "Mermaids in the Basement" features a Mediterranean village partially submerged in water, while "Once, But No More" presents a multi-architectural cityscape with platforming elements. "City of Traitors" offers a maze of gothic spires within a misty purple void.
Players can download Quake Rooftops Jam from Slipseer. The pack requires a Quake sourceport such as Ironwail or vkQuake. To install, extract the jam files into a new folder named 'qrtjam' within your Quake directory. Players will then need to create a shortcut to their sourceport with the command line argument "-game qrtjam" to launch the new levels.
While the classic Quake continues to thrive through fan creations, the future of the broader series remains uncertain. Rumors of a potential "Quake 6" have not materialized, with Machine Games reportedly focusing on a new Wolfenstein title. Meanwhile, the multiplayer spin-off Quake Champions recently concluded its live-service updates, though it remains available as a paid title.