Quake 2 Manual

I felt as though this was a lost piece of the game, since not many people look around in game files, and few knew that this existed.

This is a recreation of the manual that is included with the installation of Quake 2. It includes information on the background of the story as well as vital information on the various weapons, environments, enemies, and power up's you will discover on your journey. All content herein can be located in your Quake 2 installation folder; (Steam/steamapps/common/Quake 2/docs/Manual.html)
From the manual: "HTML Manual Design: Walter "|2|" Costinak / 2 Design[www.2design.org]"

The Story

Long shadows claw desperately away from your dusty combat boots, fueled by the relentless sun of a late Texas afternoon. Shading your eyes against the glare, you squint for the thousandth time at the line of soldiers ahead of you. It stretches on endlessly across the rubble, disappearing at last into the cool shadows of a troop carrier. Soon you’ll walk up the ramp into the ship, climb into your one-man cocoon, tear through the interplanetary gateway, and smash down light-years away from the blowing sand and blasted ruins that surround the Dallas-Metro crater.

"What the hell is taking so long?!" you snarl, slamming the battered barrel of your side arm, the blaster, against your scarred palm. "I’ve waited long enough. Time to kick some Strogg ass…"

Slightly rocking back and forth under the sweltering August sun, you spit out of the side of your mouth, rub your eyes, and think back to the day when the wretched creatures first attacked. Like flaming meteors, their crafts pounded into the Earth and unbelievably, these bio-mechanical aliens… these hideous cyborgs… swarmed out while their ships still sizzled with reentry heat. They killed or captured anything that lived. We figured that the Strogg were after our planet’s resources: minerals, metals, and water: things like that. But their onboard storage facilities did little to disguise what they considered to be resources: fleshy limbs and organs for new cyborgs, and of course, food.

The line moves. And moves again. Into the cool shadows at last. The assembled armies branch off into new lines divided by corps and unit.

"I can’t deal with this ♥♥♥♥ – what’s the friggin’ hold-up?"

"Cool your jets, marine," Tokay mutters and smiles over his shoulder. "We’ll all get a few Strogg heads to take home as souvenirs. I promise you that."

"Yo, soldier, 3585." The medtech’s voice startles you. "You in or out?" Competent hands guide you into the coffin-like opening of your Mark 9A drop pod: sleek, dark, and invisible to the Stroggos defense systems. One of the techs begins to drop the reinforced pod door. "Sleep tight, soldier. You’ll see sunlight in less than six and a half hours. Not our sun, mind you…" <SLAM>

Pitch black except for the mild glow of your video readout system in front of you. You’ve done this a dozen times in the sim classes. No sweat. Just a few short hours to sleep, recharge, and then… the moment of glory. But this time it’s for real.

It’s also time to think. You recall your first official day of training, your unit commander discussing how these damn parasites made it to Earth and other nearby colonies in the first place. By employing our best satellites and long-range scanners, we learned how they traveled light years so quickly – the Strogg used these black hole-like gateways as their highway to heaven. We still don’t know if they created these rips in the fabric of space and time, or if they simply discovered them by accident. Either way… it’s just like opening the door to an all-you-can-eat restaurant for these bastards. In about two hours, we’ll be entering the same interstellar portals, to hit ‘em where it hurts… on their own turf.

You close your eyes and relish this thought. Eventually, you nod off to the low hypnotic hum of the troop carrier.

*Crackle* ... *fzzzz* ... "Greetings to the people of the Coalition. This is Flag Admiral Crockett, speaking to you from the bridge deck of Phobos. We are entering the outer orbits of Stroggos, the alien’s home system. As we had postulated, Stroggos’ atmosphere is harsh but breathable. We expect to make planetfall soon. Now is the time to switch on your debriefing panel if ya need it."

"Boomer?" the voice crackles through every soldier’s headset. "Drop X-ray squad in 30 on my mark. You copy?"

"Roger that!" In another pod, your sergeant snaps back. "OK boys and girls, you see the clock on your heads-up. Two demerits for anyone who up-chucks during bounce and roll!"

*Shthunk!!* Your drop pod is shot from the side of the carrier and hurtles downward. *Wheee-oooooo!* Incendiary atmosphere howls past the pod’s rapidly heating shell. *Ka-WHUMP! * The pod wall suddenly buckles to your right, but stays intact. Another pod must have clipped yours on its way in. ECM didn't indicate enemy fire. ♥♥♥♥. Thrusters and stabilizing gyros are fading. Based on the pings, the other pods are pulling away. Below you, the large alien city roars into focus on the screen. But where are the other pods? They were there a minute ago.

Suddenly, distorted radio chatter lights up, "Mayday! Mayday! Lost all power... shielding failed... missed dz... some kind of EMP is... kzzzt... us out. We're dropping like fli... zzzzkkkzzzt". Silence. Damn! If the Strogg have electromagnetic pulse defenses and we failed to detect them… all of us are in the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.

That HUGE blip has to be the Big Gun. You do a slow dogleg left as your navcomp finds a place to land when all of a sudden retros kick in and propel you south.

"What the...?" Before you know it you skip across the lip of a crater and slam into a structure, a good distance away from your target. Dazed and bleeding from a head cut you toggle open the labeled arsenal bins and reach for where your gear ought to be stowed. Damn. Nothing but your sidearm. Damn again.

You leap out the crushed pod door, alone, with blaster in hand, and tear off into the room with the bittersweet stench of vengeance coursing through your veins…

Goal of the Game

The goals of Quake II are divided into a series of complex missions or objectives. During the game your field computer provides you with each new objective. It is important to regularly review this information. The Intel Brief section of this manual describes general information on your missions, environment, weapons, special items, and alien profiles.

Game Structure

Quake II contains eight large units, each with a number of levels to complete in order to proceed to the next unit. It is likely you will have to go between levels several times to accomplish a particular goal. Remember that once you leave a unit you cannot return unless you reload a saved game from that unit. Therefore it is important to review your field computer to be sure you accomplished all of your goals for that unit.

* Note on Units: If you wish to play a particular unit, without working your way through all the levels preceding that unit, you can. We do not recommend that you jump into the middle of the game or skip any levels, since Quake II was designed in a progressive manner, and each level is important to the unfolding of the entire game. However, if you want to just play through a particular unit, you can 'exec' a file which will launch the level and give you the appropriate weapons and ammo to start with for that unit. To do this, simply pull down the console by pressing the tilde ( ~ ) key, and type the following command for the respective unit you wish to start:

To play	Type this command
Warehouse Unit	exec warehouse.cfg
Jail Unit	exec jail.cfg
Mine Unit	exec mine.cfg
Factory Unit	exec factory.cfg
Power Unit	exec power.cfg
Biggun Unit	exec biggun.cfg
Hangar Unit	exec hangar.cfg
City Unit	exec city.cfg
Boss Levels	exec boss.cfg

TCM INTEL BRIEF

CLASSIFIED

INCOMING MESSAGE FROM TCM MARINE COMMANDANT JAMES:

We have cleared the interplanetary gateway between Earth and Stroggos. In exactly three hours operation Alien Overlord will commence.
As I speak to you, your pods are being fueled and all systems brought online. Activate your field computers. The following intel brief will provide you with your military objectives, terrain information, arsenal and equipment details, and enemy analysis.

Never before has there been a greater challenge to life, liberty, and civilization. This is a crusade in which we will accept nothing less than victory. No matter how long it may take us to overcome the Strogg’s barbaric assault, the people of Earth in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. Today we will make very certain that this form of barbaric treachery shall never endanger us again. With confidence in you, and with the unbending determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph -- so help us God.

So go forth and kick ass, soldiers!

OPERATION ALIEN OVERLORD:

[Geography]

The core of the Stroggos civilization is the capital city of Cerberon. The highly defended complex is built into the base of an enormous crater named Crater Majoris. Between the northern plains and the southern sea of Stroggos, Cerberon contains the major defense, communication, and political controls for the Strogg civilization. At the southern tip of Majoris is a second crater called Crater Minor. Crater Minor contains the defense base complex for the city of Cerberon.

[Political Structure]

The Strogg civilization is governed through a system of Warlords. Each is given strategic locations to command and control. A single leader, called the Makron, is chosen from the Warlords. He commands Stroggos from within the palace city located at the northern end of Cerberon. Losing him would leave the Strogg confused and in turmoil as the Warlords battle internally to determine a successor. This would remove any chance Stroggos has for creating a well-organized strike or defensive position.

[Defense Systems]

Guarding Stroggos is a defense system we refer to as the Big Gun. This defense system detects and destroys any ship over a few meters in length. Also, to protect against ground assaults, a deadly laser security grid surrounds the entire capital city.

[Energy Resources]

Bluish crystals called Steedium are the source for most of the energy that powers Stroggos. The energy gained from processing these crystals provides them with the power run their entire civilization as well as their planetary defense weapons systems (a.k.a. the Big Gun).

Military Objectives

Your primary objectives are to establish a communications uplink, destroy the planetary defense systems, disable the interplanetary gateway, and assassinate the Makron commander. Once the communication link is made, subsequent communications will guide troops to their primary targets, destroy targets of opportunity, and provide necessary ground support for the follow-up air strike.

[Communications Uplink]

Your first objective is to establish an uplink between command and the Strogg communication computers. These are in the exterior military base south of the main capital of Cerberon. This will enable continued communications, location information, and combat analysis beyond the base complex. Failure to establish this uplink is not an option. Once on the planet, the combat situation may change quickly. It is imperative that you regularly check your computer systems for updated orders.

[Destroy the Big Gun]

From the base make your way past the security systems and move north to destroy the Big Gun located on the southern outskirts of the city. Further intel will provide information to achieve this objective.

[Disable the Gateway]

Disable the interplanetary gateway between Earth and Stroggos. Shutting down the gateway will prohibit the Strogg from launching further attacks against Earth. It may be a long sleep back.

[Assassinate the Makron]

Finally, locate the Strogg commander somewhere within the capital palace.

The Stroggos Environment

The Strogg environment is in some ways like earth, but in many ways much more hostile. The Strogg use a number of standard systems for activating machines, opening doors, and using elevators. Their interface is easy to adapt to: walk to it, over it, or shoot it. Other elements of the world are much more hazardous and can be deadly.

Structural Systems

Buttons, Floorplates, and Levers: There are three ways to activate a switch. Touch it, walk on it, or shoot it.




Doors: The majority of doors on Stroggos open as you approach them. If one doesn’t open automatically, seek a button, floorplate, or key.



Secret Doors: Some secret doors conceal secret passageways or military supplies. Most secret doors open when shot. Others open by activating floorplates, buttons, or levers.




Area Doors: Specific symbols indicate the exit to a given area.





End of Unit Complex Symbol: The Strogg marked off areas to indicate a one way passage. Once you leave a unit complex you cannot return.



Secret Areas: The Strogg have concealed military supplies in different locations within the city. Recon your surroundings closely. Sometimes the slightest variation in the environment could mark the entrance of a secret area. There is no visual data available on actually where the secrets are. Use your eyes soldier!

Environmental Hazards

Explosions: Found all through the city are explosive radioactive containers. Stay clear of them in a fire fight or you’ll end up in 46 little body bags. They’re light enough to move, and short enough to jump on. Their explosive power can blow through weak areas in walls.n walls.




Water: The water on Stroggos is safe enough to enter without needing an enviro-suit, but remember to come up for air periodically. Be careful of water currents.




Slime: All over Stroggos are pools of toxic waste from their refineries. This slime eats away at your flesh unless protected by an enviro-suit.




Lava: Stroggos has large amounts of volcanic activity. Don’t go anywhere near lava unless it is absolutely necessary. An enviro-suit won’t help you much.




Traps: We know very little about the internal defense systems on Stroggos. Given their warlike nature and the importance of Cerberon to the Strogg, expect the environment to be deadly.

Arsenal

There are a variety of weapons available to you. Each has a particular advantage given the combat situation. Press a number key or use the inventory to select a weapon.


Blaster: This is the standard issue rechargeable energy side-arm. It does not require ammunition. Useful for taking down Guards as well as exploding barrels and setting off shootable buttons and secret doors. Keep one on you at all times.


Shotgun: This uses shells for ammunition. The spread of the shotgun blast makes close combat more damaging, but long range attacks easier. Perfect for the less than proficient marksman. The shotgun is effective against Strogg Guards and Flyers.



Super Shotgun: This is the uncompromising big brother to the Shotgun. Choose your shots effectively. The slow firing rate may only give you a few chances to bring down the enemy before he’s able to engage you up close. It eats more shells than the Shotgun, but the show is well worth it.




Machine Gun: Although this weapon is easy to use, its light weight allows for considerable kickback that will push your gun up. Fire in short burst until you can effectively steady your aim.




Chain Gun: The chain gun makes mince meat out of your enemy, but requires an insane amount of ammunition. The long spin up and spin down time makes the chain gun most effective for sustained attacks.



Hand Grenade: Twist the grenade to activate the fuse timer. The longer you hold an active grenade, the farther you’ll throw it. Just remember to throw at some point. Throwing the hand grenade does not make a sound. Therefore the aliens can’t easily trace it back to you.



Grenade Launcher: The grenade launcher is useful for delivering firepower into hard to reach areas or clearing out potential ambushes. We do not recommend using the grenade launcher in confined areas.





Rocket Launcher: The rocket launcher delivers heavy fire power to your target. Be careful not use this weapon in close combat.




Hyper Blaster: A hyper blaster is an energy chain gun with no spin up delay. Its high rate of fire is incredibly effective at destroying the enemy and depleting your energy cells.




Rail Gun: The Rail Gun fires depleted uranium slugs at super high velocities. Take note of the distinctive blue corkscrew trail of smoke caused by the projectile – or better yet, see how many scumbag Stroggs it goes through before it hits concrete.




BFG: Big, uh, freakin’ gun. This weapon redefines the word "wallpaper." Simply fire the BFG into a small room of unsuspecting Strogg and observe the new red paint job.

Military Supplies

Pick up these helpful items whenever possible. Some items take effect when picked up. You must select and use other items before taking effect.

Shells, Cells, Bullets, Grenades, and Rockets

Ammo:

There are five major ammo types: shells, cells, bullets, grenades, and rockets. Except for the blaster, you must have ammunition to use a weapon. Each ammo type has a maximum you can carry.

Flak Jacket, Combat Suit, and Body Armor

Armor:

There are three armor types: Flak Jacket, Combat Suit, and Body Armor. Each one provides a certain amount of protection against both normal attacks and energy weapon attacks. If you take enough hits, your armor strength depletes down to nothing. So seek out unused breast plates. Pick up and salvage armor that is not as good as your current armor to improve your armor health.

Armor Shards:

Special remnant of armors, which add a bit more durability to your existing protection.

Energy Armor:

This provides improved protection against energy weapons. While it is being used, it drains energy from your cells when damaged.

Silencer:

This silences the discharge of any weapon.

First Aid and Medkit

Health:

There are two types of standard health kits: First Aid and Medkits

Stimpacks:

These provide an additional boost to your health.

Bandoleer:

Increases your carrying capacity for all ammunition except grenades and rockets.

Heavy Pack:

This allows you to carry more ammo on your back.

Underwater Breather:

This provides oxygen when submerged in liquids.

Enviro-Suit:

This protects you against damage from hazardous liquids, such as Slime.

Quad Damage:

The quad temporarily multiplies all your weapon’s strengths by four times. Let the gibbing begin!

Mega-Health:

This provides a temporary but significant boost to your health. This will wear off after a minute or so.

Invulnerability:

The invulnerability item renders you temporarily indestructible. Super-Adrenaline: This slightly increases your health permanently.

Enemy Profiles

Barracuda Shark

Description: The only creatures indigenous to water on Stroggos. Their blade-like teeth and spiked tail are capable of disemboweling you.

Defense/Weapon Analysis: Medium

Comments: They attack in packs, but generally go down easy. Just don’t become too occupied with them that you forget to take a breath.

Berserker

Description: He has a metal spike as one arm, a hammer as another, and moves very quickly.

Defense/Weapon Analysis: Medium

Comments: This bald mutha is one deadly freak. He may hit the dirt easy, but he’ll get up and is relentless in his pursuits.

Brains

Description: A vicious cyborg abomination with life-stealing tentacles protruding from its chest during attack.

Defense/Weapon Analysis: Medium/Hard

Comments: Stay out of range of his dangerous tentacle attack.

Enforcer

Description: Strong, muscle-bound warrior who dishes out chain gun speed damage.

Defense/Weapon Analysis: Medium

Comments: These bullies have one objective in mind, marine – to fill your body with as much lead in the least amount of time. They can take a beating, and are effective at ducking your ammo. Also watch out for post-mortem spray from their chain gun caused by a spasm in their arm. Split once you see one fall to its knees.

Flyer

Description: A small two-winged monster, comprised of a controlling brain and a cyborg body that allows it to levitate.

Defense/Weapon Analysis: Medium/Hard

Comments: The Flyer moves fairly quickly, travels in packs, and each wing is a laser blaster.

Gladiator

Description: With two massively mechanized legs and one shoulder-mounted railgun, the Gladiator is the daddy of all the adapted humanoids.

Defense/Weapon Analysis: Medium/Hard

Comments: Once targeted, you have less than a second to sidestep or you’re toast. Also watch for his lethal left-handed clamp grip

Gunner

Description: The fighting elite for the Strogg, outfitted with a powerful machine gun and an automatic grenade launcher.

Defense/Weapon Analysis: Medium

Comments: This cybernetic terror eats Mutants for breakfast before coming to work - on you. He does have one weakness, though. It takes a second for his hand to open up into the machine gun so take advantage of the brief delay.

Icarus

Description: Relies on a huge jet packed attached to its back, with laser blasters mounted into his shoulders.

Defense/Weapon Analysis: Medium/Hard

Comments: With its durable shell, swift maneuverability, and insatiable appetite for destruction, the Icarus is an aerial nightmare.

Iron Maiden

Description: Equally as powerful as the Gunner, this femme fatale has both an arm-mounted rocket launcher and flesh tearing claws.

Defense/Weapon Analysis: Medium

Comments: The cyber-♥♥♥♥♥ from hell…not the kind of girl to take home to mom.

Light Guard

Description: Weakest of the three processed humans, armed solely with a simple blaster.

Defense/Weapon Analysis: Easy

Comments: Although their weapons may only sting, they may attack in packs or summon help from the big dogs.

Machine-gun Guard

Description: Bigger, meaner, and deadlier than above…with a machine-gun for a right arm.

Defense/Weapon Analysis: Easy

Comments: They tend to charge in droves and have a sharp eye.

Medic

Description: As the name suggests, this threatening organism has the ability to awaken dead Strogg from eternal sleep.

Defense/Weapon Analysis: Medium

Comments: When he is not healing, the Medic moves about on two hydraulic legs, and is armed with a laser blaster that shoots at hyper speeds.

Mutant

Description: The Strogg refineries have spewed toxins into the ecosystem for untold decades causing this once docile creature to mutate into a fierce, fast, flesh tearing beast.

Defense/Weapon Analysis: Medium/Hard

Comments: Run.

Parasite

Description: Four-legged beast with a probe on its back. Once fired, it attaches itself and literally sucks the life from you.

Defense/Weapon Analysis: Medium

Comments: The Parasite makes Cujo look like Lassie on Prozac

Shotgun Guard

Description: These loyal troops have an automatic scatter gun prosthetic.

Defense/Weapon Analysis: Easy

Comments: He goes down easy, but packs a punch.

Tank

Description: Tanks have three weapons they use at random: an arm-mounted machine gun, an arm-mounted laser blaster, and a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher.

Defense/Weapon Analysis: Hard

Comments: Get in, take your shot, and get out…repeat as often as necessary. These metallic beasts can endure massive gunfire.

Tank Commander

Description: These Tanks are a special class, designed to secure the Inner City from infiltrators.

Defense/Weapon Analysis: Hard

Comments: Consider planning your means of attack beforehand, rather than running into their view with your weapons blasting.

Technician

Description: An almost completely robotic brute, controlled by a brain that floats around inside it’s metal body in a red preserving fluid. This creature moves about by hovering on four jets that sit under its body and is equipped with three weapons: a shocking prod, a flesh-ripping claw, and a laser blaster. Use energy armor if you’ve got any.

Defense/Weapon Analysis: Medium

Comments: The Technician is easy to hit, but takes a lot of damage. A good slap from your super shotgun at close range will make him keep his distance.

[Drug Cyborg, FBI]

Thanks for assembling this into a format everyone can see!

[kiwi]

Actually have a copy of this somewhere.

[Kazvall]

Thank you!

[Panic]

Thanks for creating this

[DemonAlchemist]

@Boyar It's spelled "Bandoleer" in the official manual, which is why it's spelled that way here.

[Butane]

DuskyBatman: This is what we've got now in 2020: http://tastyspleen.net/

[DuskyBatman]

Great job. I wish we still had MSN Gaming Zone and the stats website to check player ranking.

[Boyar]

Bandoleer? Dude it's bandolier https://quake.fandom.com/wiki/Bandolier

[KoreRat]

Mad Mav, all of this was taken directly from the games files, the Makron was kept out of that to build the suspense.

[Mad Mav]

Forgot the Makron, good sir.