Playing Quetoo

Quetoo is a fast-paced, arena-style first-person shooter. This page covers the default controls, available game modes, and core mechanics.

Default Controls

Controls can be rebound in-game from the Controls settings menu.

Movement

Combat

Communication & UI

Game Modes

Deathmatch (DM)

Every player for themselves. Frag as many opponents as you can before the frag limit or time limit is reached. The server cvar g_frag_limit sets the winning score (default: 30) and g_time_limit sets the time limit in minutes (default: 20).

Team Deathmatch (TDM)

Two (or more) teams compete for the highest combined frag total. Enabled by setting g_teams 1 on the server. Team assignment is automatic unless players choose a side manually.

Capture the Flag (CTF)

Two teams — Red and Blue — each defend their own flag while attempting to capture the enemy’s flag and return it to their base. Enabled by setting g_ctf 1 on the server. The g_capture_limit cvar controls how many captures are needed to win (default: 8).

Instagib

A variant of Deathmatch or CTF where every player has a one-shot railgun. Enabled by setting g_gameplay instagib on the server.

Arena

Players or teams spawn with a full loadout of weapons, ammo and armor. Self-damage is disabled, so you can rocket jump and plasma climb to your heart’s content. Last player or team standing wins. Enabled by setting g_gameplay arena on the server.

Core Mechanics

Health and Armor

Players start with 100 health. Health pickups restore health up to 100 (small/medium/large) or briefly boost it above 100 (mega health). Armor absorbs a portion of incoming damage:

• Jacket Armor — Green, light protection
• Combat Armor — Yellow, medium protection
• Body Armor — Red, heavy protection

Weapons

Quetoo features a classic Quake II-inspired arsenal:

Movement Mechanics

• Rocket jumping: Fire a rocket at your feet while jumping to reach high areas.
• Hyper climbing: Fire the hyperblaster slightly downward along a wall to scale it and reach high areas.
• Strafe jumping: Combine forward movement with strafing and jumping to build speed.

Power-Ups

• Adrenaline: Instantly boosts your health to 100 (respawns every 30 seconds by default).
• Megahealth: Increases your health by 100 (respawns every 30 seconds by default).
• Quad Damage: Multiplies your damage output for 30 seconds (respawns every 60 seconds by default).

Connecting to a Server

From the main menu select Play → Find Servers to browse the server list. You can also connect directly from the console:

connect <ip>:<port>

The default server port is 1998.

User Data Directory

Quetoo stores your configuration, screenshots, and demos in a platform-specific directory:

Within that directory:

Migrating from an older install: If you have a legacy ~/.quetoo directory (POSIX) or Documents\My Games\Quetoo (Windows), simply move its contents to the new location before launching Quetoo.

Auto-Updates

Quetoo uses a two-tier update model:

Game content (maps, textures, and assets) is updated automatically. On every launch, the built-in updater compares your local content against the latest curated release and downloads any new or changed files in the background. You’ll always be on the current map pool without any manual steps.

Engine binaries (the executable and game libraries) are not self-updating. To get a new engine release, re-download from the Downloads page — we announce releases on the News page. For most players, checking back every few months is sufficient.

To disable update checks entirely — for example when running a custom build or testing — add +set version -1 to the command line:

quetoo +set version -1

Getting Help

Join the Discord to find games, ask questions, and connect with the community.