Area 51 Servers

Advanced unlagged Quake III Arena servers with a custom client mod. Come frag with us.

Video created by Toodles

Features

Area 51 runs unlagged Quake III Arena servers with an active community and a custom client mod that adds quality-of-life, visibility, and netcode improvements on top of the base game — all configurable down to the smallest detail.

Per-Weapon Crosshairs

Independent crosshair style, size, and color for every weapon, with decorations, hit feedback, and health-colored crosshair names.

HUD Customization

Restyle the status bar, weapon bar, scoreboard, pickup messages, and fonts to build a clean, readable HUD.

Unlagged & Prediction

Client-side unlagged for every weapon, including projectiles, with improved movement prediction for crisp, responsive online play.

Damage Feedback

Pitch-shifted hitsounds, damage numbers, kill beeps, and on-screen damage indicators so you always know what landed.

Models & Colors

Force enemy and teammate models, set custom colors, add glow or outline effects, and choose from new weapon styles and visual effects.

Team Awareness

Team overlay, teammate markers, and ping and flag markers keep your whole team's status in view at a glance.

HD & Widescreen

The game scales cleanly at any resolution — widescreen, ultrawide, and high-DPI displays all render without stretching or clipping.

Quick Connect

An in-game overlay accessible from the menu shows live status for all Area 51 servers — click any to connect instantly.

Getting Started

  1. Install Quake III Arena. Select your platform below for setup instructions.
    Windows 64-bit (mingw)Windows 32-bit (mingw)Windows arm64
    1. Extract the zip and place the executable wherever you'd like to run the game from.
    2. Create a baseq3 folder next to the executable and place your pak files inside it.
    3. Run the binary to launch the game.

    Game Data Files

    1. quake3-latest-pk3s.zipExtract the baseq3 folder from this zip and place it next to the executable.
    2. pak0.pk3Place this file inside the baseq3 folder.

    These files require a valid Quake III Arena license. Purchase on Steam if you don't already own a copy.

  2. Join an Area 51 server. Check the server list to see who is online. Click a server address to copy its /connect command to your clipboard, then drop the console with ~ and paste it in.
  3. Download the client mod. The mod is optional but recommended. Once connected to any Area 51 server:
    1. Open the console with ~.
    2. Type /cl_allowDownload 1 to enable downloads.
    3. Type /update to download and install the mod.
  4. Configure your setup. Press Escape to open the menu, then go into Advanced Setup to customize your settings.
    The Presets category has ready-to-go configurations if you want a quick starting point.

Advanced Configuration

For fine-grained control beyond the menu, refer to the Console Variables documentation — crosshairs, HUD layout, hitsounds, netcode, and more — organized by category and fully searchable.

Console Variables

Complete console variable documentation

Credits

  • Our mod exists by standing on the shoulders of giants — OpenArena, Ratmod, Unlagged by Neil Toronto, OSP, OSP2 by snems, OSP2-BE by diwoc, CPMA, and baseq3a by ec.
  • The Family — X, Toodles*A51*, champi, >DemoN<, mentat*A51*, ya!, and all of Area 51's players for testing, feedback, and keeping our servers full.
  • Church of Quake & UxMos — for keeping Quake alive through weekly pickup events.
  • id Software — for Quake III Arena.