Difference between revisions of "Norway"

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''The early history of Norwegian Quake, written by [[Erlend]].''
 
''The early history of Norwegian Quake, written by [[Erlend]].''
  
Quake was eagerly awaited and quickly attracted a Norwegian following after its release in June 1996. Home computers and Internet access being fairly common by those days' standards, Norway and the Nordic countries were a dominant part of the European Quake scene from day one.
+
Quake was eagerly awaited and quickly attracted a Norwegian following after its release in June 1996. Home computers and Internet access being fairly common by those days' standards, Norway was a dominant part of the European Quake scene from day one, along with Sweden, Denmark and Finland.
  
Clan matches were decided on aggregate score after two freely chosen maps. The [[TB3]]-maps DM3 and DM2 quickly became the most popular, but E1M3 was actually more common than E1M2. Other regular choices was E3M3 and E3M7, while the occasional match was played on E1M1, E1M5, E2M1, E3M2 and E3M6. E4M3 is also worth mentioning, a map Norwegian clan [[The Vicious Vikings]] made their own. Though hard to picture today, clan matches were also played on DM6 and DM4.
+
The first few years, clan matches were decided on aggregate score after two freely chosen maps. The [[TB3]]-maps DM3 and DM2 quickly became the most popular, but E1M3 was actually more common than E1M2. Other regular choices was E3M3 and E3M7, while the occasional match was played on E1M1, E1M5, E2M1, E3M2 and E3M6. E4M3 is also worth mentioning, a map Norwegian clan [[The Vicious Vikings]] made their own. Though hard to picture today, 4on4 matches were also played on DM6 and DM4 (!).
  
Connection issues and huge ping differences were not uncommon, according to early match logs. Servers were often changed at «half-time» to even out the disadvantages. Thus, winning 100-30 at home could easily be followed by losing the away map by similar figures. As the clan scene was still small, LPB clans and HPW clans regularly played each other.
+
Connection issues and huge ping differences were not uncommon, according to early match logs. Servers were often changed at «half-time» to even out the disadvantages. Thus, winning 100-30 at home could easily be followed by losing the away map by similar figures. As there were few clans, LPB and HPW teams regularly played each other, despite the unfair conditions.
  
== 1996 ==
+
=== 1996 ===
 
{| style="float:right; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px;"
 
{| style="float:right; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px;"
 
|+'''''New clans'''''
 
|+'''''New clans'''''
Line 29: Line 29:
 
* [[The Bush Wackers]]
 
* [[The Bush Wackers]]
 
|}
 
|}
The first Norwegian clan, [[The Vicious Vikings]], was formed in August 1996. [[Spawn Clan]] and [[Carnage Clan]] (known as Cyber Quakers in 1996) quickly followed. The trio established themselves as the top Norwegian clans, and Carnage Clan was soon considered as one of the best - of not the best - LPB clan in Scandinavia.
+
The first Norwegian clan, [[The Vicious Vikings]], was formed in August 1996. [[Spawn Clan]] and [[Carnage Clan]] (known as Cyber Quakers in 1996) quickly followed. The trio established themselves as the top Norwegian clans, and Carnage Clan was soon considered as one of the best - if not the best - LPB clan in Scandinavia.
  
It took a few months before the Quake scene was big enough for matches to be regularly played. The first Norwegian clan match was played October 5th between The Vicious Vikings and [[The Lost Vikings]] (the vicious ones won). Norwegian clans had to look abroad for opponents, and The Vicious Vikings and Spawn Clan played legendary clans like [[Teddy Bears]], [[Swedish Chefs]], [[Crusaders]] and [[Nasty Beasts Inc]] during the fall of 1996.  
+
It took about a month before the Quake scene was big enough for matches to be regularly played. The first Norwegian clan match was played October 5th between The Vicious Vikings and [[The Lost Vikings]] (the vicious ones won). The Norwegians often had to look abroad for opponents, and The Vicious Vikings and Spawn Clan played legendary clans like [[Teddy Bears]], [[Swedish Chefs]], [[Crusaders]] and [[Nasty Beasts Inc]] during the fall of 1996.  
  
In November 1996, the clan ranking page [[A Frag in the Darkness]] was started, which would go on to become one of the biggest Quake pages in Scandinavia the following year.
+
In November 1996, the clan ranking page [[A Frag in the Darkness]] was started, which soon became a meeting point for Nordic clans and one of the biggest Quake pages in Scandinavia for the next couple of years.
  
== 1997 ==
+
=== 1997 ===
 
{| style="float:right; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px;"
 
{| style="float:right; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px;"
 
|+'''''New clans'''''
 
|+'''''New clans'''''
Line 42: Line 42:
 
* [[Zombie Wipeout]]
 
* [[Zombie Wipeout]]
 
* [[Chickenshit Commandos]]
 
* [[Chickenshit Commandos]]
 +
* [[Satanic Slayers]]
 
* [[Comrades in Arms]]
 
* [[Comrades in Arms]]
 
* [[Sitting Ducks]]
 
* [[Sitting Ducks]]
Line 49: Line 50:
 
* [[Sledge Hammers]]
 
* [[Sledge Hammers]]
 
|  
 
|  
 +
* [[Sisters in Quake]]
 
* [[The Chosen Ones]]
 
* [[The Chosen Ones]]
 
* [[Clan gRUS]]
 
* [[Clan gRUS]]
Line 59: Line 61:
 
* [[Rapid Fire]]
 
* [[Rapid Fire]]
 
|}
 
|}
This was the year clan wars became professionalized. What [[A Frag in the Darkness]] had started the previous fall, now really took off with sites like the duel ladder [[Scandinavian Mighty Ones]], the clan rating site [[Automatic for the People]] and the [[Norwegian Quake League]], a national league like in [[Swedish Quake League|Sweden]] and [[Danish Quake League|Denmark]]. News and community sites like [[FZ|FragZone]] and [http://www.bluesnews.com Blue's News] became popular. These sites spawned a lot of activity, and a lot of new players and clans joined the scene.  
+
This was the year leagues and tournaments became professionalized. What [[A Frag in the Darkness]] had started the previous fall, now really took off with sites like the duel ladder [[Scandinavian Mighty Ones]], the clan rating site [[Automatic for the People]] and the [[Norwegian Quake League]], a national league like in [[Swedish Quake League|Sweden]] and [[Danish Quake League|Denmark]]. News and community sites like [[FZ|FragZone]] and [http://www.bluesnews.com Blue's News] became popular. These sites and leagues spawned a lot of activity, and a lot of new players and clans joined the scene.  
  
The first of a series of ten [[AskerLAN]]s were held in February. These LAN-parties were a huge success and became the heart of the Norwegian Quake scene for the next couple of years. The best Norwegian players were always present, with [[Stalin]] and [[Sectopod]] battling for the title as number one.
+
The first of a series of ten [[AskerLAN]]s were held in February. These LAN-parties were a huge success and became the heart of the Norwegian Quake scene for the next couple of years. The best Norwegian players were always present, with [[Stalin]] and [[Sectopod]] battling for the title as Norway's number one.
  
1997 was also the first year for [[Norwegian National Team|national teams]], and Norway's LPB and HPW teams played against Sweden, Denmark and Finland on Death32c in the spring. The Swedes quickly conquered the title as best country.
+
1997 was also the first year for [[Norwegian National Team|national teams]]. Norway had an LPB team and a HPW team, and played against Sweden, Denmark and Finland on various occasions from early 1997 and on. The Swedes conquered the title as best country.
  
During the fall, the strange phenomenon of clans purely for fakenickers emerged. An explanation could be that several Norwegian clans had so many players there simply wasn't enough game time for everyone. Thus, clans like [[Ernie Killers]], [[Mikke Mus Klan]] and later on [[Rectum Intruders]] could have been an opportunity for players to finally get some 4on4 action.
+
Scandinavia's first all-female Quake clan, [[Sisters in Quake]], was formed during the fall. The strange phenomenon of clans purely for fakenickers also emerged this year. An explanation could be that several Norwegian clans had become so big there simply wasn't enough game time for everyone. Thus, clans like [[Ernie Killers]], [[Mikke Mus Klan]] and later on [[Rectum Intruders]] could have been an opportunity for players to finally get some 4on4 action.  
  
In November 1997 three of Norway's top clans were dissolved. It started when several of the top players of [[Carnage Clan]], [[Spawn Clan]] and [[Insomnia]] all left their clans to form the new clan [[Game Over]]. Shortly after, the players they had left behind also formed new clans, like [[The New Breed]] and [[7th Sphere]], though several of them would end up in Game Over eventually.  
+
Three of Norway's top clans were dissolved in November. It started when several of the top players of [[Carnage Clan]], [[Spawn Clan]] and [[Insomnia]] all left their clans to form the new clan [[Game Over]]. Shortly after, the players they had left behind also formed new clans, like [[The New Breed]] and [[7th Sphere]], though several of them would also end up in Game Over eventually.  
  
In retrospect, the biggest change of 1997 was QuakeWorld. Though released in December 1996, it wasn't until the summer before the majority started to make the transition to QW.
+
In retrospect, the biggest change of 1997 was [[QuakeWorld]]. Though released in December 1996, it wasn't until the summer before the majority started to make the transition to QW.
  
== 1998 ==
+
=== 1998 ===
 
{| style="float:right; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px;"
 
{| style="float:right; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px;"
 
|+'''''New clans'''''
 
|+'''''New clans'''''
Line 89: Line 91:
 
* [[Brutal Cavemen]]
 
* [[Brutal Cavemen]]
 
|}
 
|}
[[Norwegian Clan League]]
+
Quake II was released in February, but ended up as a disappointment, unable to match the gameplay experience of its predecessor. Other FPS games like Half-Life and Unreal also tried, and failed, to push Quake from its throne as the number one online game. QuakeWorld, which had really taken off the previous fall, was developed with new features like [[Kombat Teams]], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_Arena Rocket Arena], new [[spawn modes]] and the [[Qizmo]]-proxy.
  
[[North-European Clan League]]
+
The new «super clan» [[Game Over]] dominated the Norwegian scene, including the new [[Norwegian Clan League]] and existing leagues like [[AFITD]] and [[AFTP]]. Previous attempts at making a Nordic league had been unsuccessful due to high ping and connection issues between boarders, but with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_Services_Digital_Network ISDN] replacing more and more modems, it was possible for former HPWs to get pings close to 100 on servers abroad. During the summer of 1998, plans for a Nordic league was in the making.
  
Heroes?
+
[[North-European Clan League]] began in October. NECL was the biggest tournament this year, featuring all the best North-European clans. The top division was won by [[Image:flag_fi.gif]] [[Clan Z]], but the Norwegians did good, with [[Image:flag_no.gif]] [[Game Over]] and [[Image:flag_no.gif]] [[The Vicious Vikings]] finishing 2nd and 3rd - beating clans like [[Image:flag_se.gif]] [[Orkney Clan]], [[Image:flag_de.gif]] [[Schroet Kommando|Schröet Kommando]], [[Image:flag_dk.gif]] [[Nasty Beasts Inc]], [[Image:flag_se.gif]] [[Medieval Spawns]], [[Image:flag_uk.gif]] [[Demonic Core]], [[Image:flag_se.gif]] [[Teddy Bears]] and [[Image:flag_se.gif]] [[Wrecking Crew]].
  
Quake 2 released February
+
Another big league, [[Heroes]], was also started this year, with Nordic clans only, and won by [[Image:flag_fi.gif]] [[Clan Z]]. It is unknown if this was a successor or predecessor to [[NECL]].
  
June: Announced that Quake 3 will be dropped, instead Quake 3 Arena, multiplayer only. This announcement seems to shock the gaming world, according Methos.
+
=== 1999 ===
 
 
''More to follow...''
 
 
 
== 1999 ==
 
 
{| style="float:right; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px;"
 
{| style="float:right; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px;"
 
|+'''''New clans'''''
 
|+'''''New clans'''''
Line 108: Line 106:
 
* [[Lumbago]]
 
* [[Lumbago]]
 
* [[Whatever]]
 
* [[Whatever]]
 +
* Evil Destruction
 +
|
 +
* Ultra Lamers
 +
* Dark Side
 +
* The Overlords
 +
* The Blitz
 
|}
 
|}
 +
The final big year of Quake. Even though the game was almost three years old, and constantly being challenged by other releases, the Nordic QuakeWorld scene was still thriving in the first half of 1999.
  
Few new clans, but still very active year
+
The biggest competition of the year, and probably only matched by the legendary [[Image:flag_se.gif]] [[Clan 9]] vs. [[Image:flag_us.gif]] [[Death Row]] matches in European Quake history, was [[True Gamers Invitational]] in Gothenburg. The tournament gathered the best duel player from all over the world, and Norwegian star player [[Image:flag_no.gif]] [[Sectopod]] ended up 3rd. The final between [[Image:flag_se.gif]] [[LakermaN]] and [[Image:flag_de.gif]] [[Kane]] is legendary and probably the most exciting and intense duel ever played, given the circumstances.
 
 
[[True Gamers Invitational]]
 
 
 
[[Villains]]
 
 
 
Quake III Arena test-released in May. Methos: Downloading of the most anticipated game since Quake, slows the internet to a crawl for days to come.
 
 
 
17th May: First Norwegian Q3A match, GO vs VV
 
 
 
Quake 3: Arena released worldwide on December 5th, 1999
 
 
 
VV arguably 3rd best clan in Northern Europe
 
  
Lot of players moving on to CS and Q3A
+
Another big happening was the invitation-only tournament [[Rapture 99]] in Scotland in July, where eight selected players from North America and Europe clashed in a continental battle.
  
NECL 2nd season canceled. QW scene in decline.
+
As many as 60 clans, including most of Europe's best clans, were signed up and waiting for the second [[NECL]] season. The first season had finished in January, with Norwegian clans [[Game Over]] and [[The Vicious Vikings]] being arguably the 2nd and 3rd best clan in Northern Europe. The second season was supposed to start in February, but never came, as it was delayed and delayed until it was too late; the QW scene had started its rapid decline.  
  
Rapture 99: July 26th, 1999, Scotland. Duel: 1 Kane DE, 2. Timber UK, 3 Nikodemus SE, 4. Griff DE. TDM: 1. Euro Selects (Kane, DOOMer, Blitzer, Cable) 2. North America (Batch, Pure, Gemini, Genocide)
+
Looking back, it's hard to define what suddenly lured players away from QW. The beta release of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quake_III_Arena Quake III Arena] in April probably played a big part, as Q3A was a big step forward compared to the disappointing Q2. Norway's first official Q3A clan match was played May 17th 1997 between [[The Vicious Vikings]] and [[Game Over]], which the latter won. Quake and QuakeWorld also faced competition from new games like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreal_Tournament Unreal Tournament] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-Strike Counter-Strike], of which especially the latter would go on to dominate online gaming.
  
''More to follow...''
+
Naturally, few new clans were started compared to previous years. Many existing ones were dissolved or moved on to other games, but were leaving players who still wanted to play QW behind, and most of them ended up in [[Game Over]] and [[The Vicious Vikings]], two of the few Norwegian clans still active in the fall of 1999.
  
== 2000s ==
+
=== 2000s ===
 
{| style="float:right; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px;"
 
{| style="float:right; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px;"
 
|+'''''New clans'''''
 
|+'''''New clans'''''
Line 144: Line 137:
 
* 2007: [[Kuve]]
 
* 2007: [[Kuve]]
 
* 2007: [[Naim]]
 
* 2007: [[Naim]]
* 2008: [[The Axe Men]] 2.0
+
* 2013: [[The Norse]]
 
|}
 
|}
Feb 2001: For the first time in almost five years, neither Quake, QW, Quake2 or Q3A is the top online game. The Half-Life add-on called Counter-Strike is the number 1. It's popularity will continue to grow.
+
The QW scene is still in decline. I February 2001, for the first time in almost five years, a Quake game is not the top online game in the world. Counter-Strike has taken over the throne, and its popularity will continue to grow.
 
 
Norwegian scene consists of [[The Chosen One]] & ex-Game Over's
 
 
 
2008: [[The Axe Men]] 2.0
 
 
 
[[European Quake League]]
 
  
[[Challenge Smackdown]] (2000)
+
The few Norwegian players who want to keep on playing QW, get together to resurrect clans like [[Game Over]] and [[Dead Presidents]], who both had few - if any - members left in the early 2000s.
  
[[Duelmania]] (2001)
+
Looking at the clans formed during the 2000s, a pattern emerges: A lot of players are jumping from clan to clan or being members in several clans at once. For example, Norwegian player [[The Chosen One]] seems to have been a member of every Norwegian clan active from late 1999 to 2003. Players like [[PreMorteM]], [[TiMMi]] and [[Pusling]] also have most of the Norwegian clans this decade clans on their CVs, and the same goes for several other players. In other words, it seems almost every Norwegian clan during the 2000s was a spin-off of a predecessing clan, and that only two or three clans have actually been active simultaneously. A small bunch of around 15-20 players seem to be behind most of the activity. Another pattern from the 2000s are few new people. Most of the Norwegian players this decade were active also in the 90s, and had either played continuously or made comebacks.
  
 +
There seem to have been a drop in activity between 2003 and 2007. The return to QW in the second half of the decade - marked by the comebacks of Norwegian players [[Rikoll]] and [[Trygve]] - is probably closely connected to [[European Quake League]] starting up in the fall of 2005. EQL was a huge success and attracted a lot of activity, among them a lot of old school clans, and, it seems, several old school Norwegians who resurrected the clan [[The Axe Men]] in 2008. As of 2014, EQL is running its 18th season. Other notable competitions this decade was [[Challenge Smackdown]] (2000) and [[Duelmania]] (2001).
  
 
== Demos ==
 
== Demos ==

Latest revision as of 02:46, 22 February 2014

History

The early history of Norwegian Quake, written by Erlend.

Quake was eagerly awaited and quickly attracted a Norwegian following after its release in June 1996. Home computers and Internet access being fairly common by those days' standards, Norway was a dominant part of the European Quake scene from day one, along with Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

The first few years, clan matches were decided on aggregate score after two freely chosen maps. The TB3-maps DM3 and DM2 quickly became the most popular, but E1M3 was actually more common than E1M2. Other regular choices was E3M3 and E3M7, while the occasional match was played on E1M1, E1M5, E2M1, E3M2 and E3M6. E4M3 is also worth mentioning, a map Norwegian clan The Vicious Vikings made their own. Though hard to picture today, 4on4 matches were also played on DM6 and DM4 (!).

Connection issues and huge ping differences were not uncommon, according to early match logs. Servers were often changed at «half-time» to even out the disadvantages. Thus, winning 100-30 at home could easily be followed by losing the away map by similar figures. As there were few clans, LPB and HPW teams regularly played each other, despite the unfair conditions.

1996

New clans

The first Norwegian clan, The Vicious Vikings, was formed in August 1996. Spawn Clan and Carnage Clan (known as Cyber Quakers in 1996) quickly followed. The trio established themselves as the top Norwegian clans, and Carnage Clan was soon considered as one of the best - if not the best - LPB clan in Scandinavia.

It took about a month before the Quake scene was big enough for matches to be regularly played. The first Norwegian clan match was played October 5th between The Vicious Vikings and The Lost Vikings (the vicious ones won). The Norwegians often had to look abroad for opponents, and The Vicious Vikings and Spawn Clan played legendary clans like Teddy Bears, Swedish Chefs, Crusaders and Nasty Beasts Inc during the fall of 1996.

In November 1996, the clan ranking page A Frag in the Darkness was started, which soon became a meeting point for Nordic clans and one of the biggest Quake pages in Scandinavia for the next couple of years.

1997

New clans

This was the year leagues and tournaments became professionalized. What A Frag in the Darkness had started the previous fall, now really took off with sites like the duel ladder Scandinavian Mighty Ones, the clan rating site Automatic for the People and the Norwegian Quake League, a national league like in Sweden and Denmark. News and community sites like FragZone and Blue's News became popular. These sites and leagues spawned a lot of activity, and a lot of new players and clans joined the scene.

The first of a series of ten AskerLANs were held in February. These LAN-parties were a huge success and became the heart of the Norwegian Quake scene for the next couple of years. The best Norwegian players were always present, with Stalin and Sectopod battling for the title as Norway's number one.

1997 was also the first year for national teams. Norway had an LPB team and a HPW team, and played against Sweden, Denmark and Finland on various occasions from early 1997 and on. The Swedes conquered the title as best country.

Scandinavia's first all-female Quake clan, Sisters in Quake, was formed during the fall. The strange phenomenon of clans purely for fakenickers also emerged this year. An explanation could be that several Norwegian clans had become so big there simply wasn't enough game time for everyone. Thus, clans like Ernie Killers, Mikke Mus Klan and later on Rectum Intruders could have been an opportunity for players to finally get some 4on4 action.

Three of Norway's top clans were dissolved in November. It started when several of the top players of Carnage Clan, Spawn Clan and Insomnia all left their clans to form the new clan Game Over. Shortly after, the players they had left behind also formed new clans, like The New Breed and 7th Sphere, though several of them would also end up in Game Over eventually.

In retrospect, the biggest change of 1997 was QuakeWorld. Though released in December 1996, it wasn't until the summer before the majority started to make the transition to QW.

1998

New clans

Quake II was released in February, but ended up as a disappointment, unable to match the gameplay experience of its predecessor. Other FPS games like Half-Life and Unreal also tried, and failed, to push Quake from its throne as the number one online game. QuakeWorld, which had really taken off the previous fall, was developed with new features like Kombat Teams, Rocket Arena, new spawn modes and the Qizmo-proxy.

The new «super clan» Game Over dominated the Norwegian scene, including the new Norwegian Clan League and existing leagues like AFITD and AFTP. Previous attempts at making a Nordic league had been unsuccessful due to high ping and connection issues between boarders, but with ISDN replacing more and more modems, it was possible for former HPWs to get pings close to 100 on servers abroad. During the summer of 1998, plans for a Nordic league was in the making.

North-European Clan League began in October. NECL was the biggest tournament this year, featuring all the best North-European clans. The top division was won by Flag fi.gif Clan Z, but the Norwegians did good, with Flag no.gif Game Over and Flag no.gif The Vicious Vikings finishing 2nd and 3rd - beating clans like Flag se.gif Orkney Clan, Flag de.gif Schröet Kommando, Flag dk.gif Nasty Beasts Inc, Flag se.gif Medieval Spawns, Flag uk.gif Demonic Core, Flag se.gif Teddy Bears and Flag se.gif Wrecking Crew.

Another big league, Heroes, was also started this year, with Nordic clans only, and won by Flag fi.gif Clan Z. It is unknown if this was a successor or predecessor to NECL.

1999

New clans
  • Ultra Lamers
  • Dark Side
  • The Overlords
  • The Blitz

The final big year of Quake. Even though the game was almost three years old, and constantly being challenged by other releases, the Nordic QuakeWorld scene was still thriving in the first half of 1999.

The biggest competition of the year, and probably only matched by the legendary Flag se.gif Clan 9 vs. Flag us.gif Death Row matches in European Quake history, was True Gamers Invitational in Gothenburg. The tournament gathered the best duel player from all over the world, and Norwegian star player Flag no.gif Sectopod ended up 3rd. The final between Flag se.gif LakermaN and Flag de.gif Kane is legendary and probably the most exciting and intense duel ever played, given the circumstances.

Another big happening was the invitation-only tournament Rapture 99 in Scotland in July, where eight selected players from North America and Europe clashed in a continental battle.

As many as 60 clans, including most of Europe's best clans, were signed up and waiting for the second NECL season. The first season had finished in January, with Norwegian clans Game Over and The Vicious Vikings being arguably the 2nd and 3rd best clan in Northern Europe. The second season was supposed to start in February, but never came, as it was delayed and delayed until it was too late; the QW scene had started its rapid decline.

Looking back, it's hard to define what suddenly lured players away from QW. The beta release of Quake III Arena in April probably played a big part, as Q3A was a big step forward compared to the disappointing Q2. Norway's first official Q3A clan match was played May 17th 1997 between The Vicious Vikings and Game Over, which the latter won. Quake and QuakeWorld also faced competition from new games like Unreal Tournament and Counter-Strike, of which especially the latter would go on to dominate online gaming.

Naturally, few new clans were started compared to previous years. Many existing ones were dissolved or moved on to other games, but were leaving players who still wanted to play QW behind, and most of them ended up in Game Over and The Vicious Vikings, two of the few Norwegian clans still active in the fall of 1999.

2000s

New clans

The QW scene is still in decline. I February 2001, for the first time in almost five years, a Quake game is not the top online game in the world. Counter-Strike has taken over the throne, and its popularity will continue to grow.

The few Norwegian players who want to keep on playing QW, get together to resurrect clans like Game Over and Dead Presidents, who both had few - if any - members left in the early 2000s.

Looking at the clans formed during the 2000s, a pattern emerges: A lot of players are jumping from clan to clan or being members in several clans at once. For example, Norwegian player The Chosen One seems to have been a member of every Norwegian clan active from late 1999 to 2003. Players like PreMorteM, TiMMi and Pusling also have most of the Norwegian clans this decade clans on their CVs, and the same goes for several other players. In other words, it seems almost every Norwegian clan during the 2000s was a spin-off of a predecessing clan, and that only two or three clans have actually been active simultaneously. A small bunch of around 15-20 players seem to be behind most of the activity. Another pattern from the 2000s are few new people. Most of the Norwegian players this decade were active also in the 90s, and had either played continuously or made comebacks.

There seem to have been a drop in activity between 2003 and 2007. The return to QW in the second half of the decade - marked by the comebacks of Norwegian players Rikoll and Trygve - is probably closely connected to European Quake League starting up in the fall of 2005. EQL was a huge success and attracted a lot of activity, among them a lot of old school clans, and, it seems, several old school Norwegians who resurrected the clan The Axe Men in 2008. As of 2014, EQL is running its 18th season. Other notable competitions this decade was Challenge Smackdown (2000) and Duelmania (2001).

Demos

Achievements

Servers

Qizmo

  • Catch-Gamer Qizmo - 193.69.8.153:27500 (32 slots)

IRC-channels