An excellent map pack altogether, but of what I've played of Quake so far it also had the most instances of actual bugs and errors. I was locked in the final encounter of Obsessive Brick Disorder when a scripted monster spawn didn't trigger properly. I had to replay a large chunk of the level. Elsewhere I observed some weird shadows and texture z-fighting in a few spots. Not sure if this is a vkquake issue or not.

One of my chief complaints surrounding the original Quake is how limited its bestiary is, and what I most appreciate about Arcane Dimensions is how it rounds out the roster with a plethora of welcome additions. Now it's not just Scrags flying around in the skies.

I'm not too fond of how the new weapons are implemented though, serving as replacements upon pickup, with no way to revert. They are effectively "upgrades" but there were times I wished I had access to the replaced firearms to enable slightly more optimal ammo usage. The new powerups are also quite underwhelming.

Minor misgivings aside, this is a standout release for quake and another must-play for FPS fans. It serves well as a nice intermediary between Quake and Wrath AoR. Sharing a few map authors between the two projects, and showcasing a similar excessively large style of idTech2 mapping.

A little disappointed that I didn't love this like most people seem to but I did have a lot of fun with it! If you like Quake I don't see any reason you'll dislike this, it's basically just a beefed up version: tougher enemies, stronger weapons, and some absolutely gorgeous vistas to shoot through. The visuals are easily the best thing this mod has going for it, there's so much detail and variety in every location that it blows the sludgey look of the original out of the water.

The decision to make the shotguns fire projectiles is one I don't entirely understand the logistics behind and yet I really liked it, it made them all feel a bit more tactical and satisfying to use. The new triple shotgun and lightning gun are pretty cool but I think the arsenal still needed some more touching up. There's some enemies with crossbows that I think would've been great if you could've used, for instance.

My biggest issue with Arcane Dimensions is level design, specifically how massive some of them are. These are some of the biggest and most sprawling FPS maps I've ever seen, and while that's impressive, I don't think the game always does a good job leading you through them. Lot's of them have tons of branching paths and secrets and it's so easy to get lost and confused and spend time running in circles unsure of what to do. Really makes you wish Quake had a map, I honestly can't believe this mod didn't add one.

I also feel like the mod has a tendency to introduce cool stuff and then just forget about it. There's a cool level where you get double jump boots and I swear I never once saw them again. There's enemies too that show up in a couple levels and then just disappear. I don't know, I think the whole thing feels a little scattershot to me. I would've liked something with a bit more cohesion to it as opposed to just random levels. Finding secrets feels way less rewarding knowing you're just gonna lose all your stuff at the end of the level. And why the heck did so few levels give me the rocket launcher? It's such a staple of Quake's combat that it just made things feel tedious. Really could've used some more original music too, I'm getting sick of hearing the same tracks over and over again.

Maybe I'm just Quaked-out at this point but this mod left me feeling a bit numb. I enjoyed my time with it for the most part but it's just too much at times. More impressive then seamless.

The most exposed single player Quake mod out there by far, and also thankfully the best and coolest. Between the levels that come out of the box to the still-growing number of third- (fourth?) party maps that have been made for it (including my own: google Threat Assessment on Quaddicted dot com, and look out for Azure Anesthetics "when it's done") you have every type of Quake experience imaginable, from tight gameplay-focused maps to massive adventures where you can spend hours combing for secrets. While I'm not in love with all of the additions, the amount of added content from monsters, items, and traps to under-the-hood mapper goodies is as impressive as it gets. But to me, the single most important change is converting the shotguns to projectile weapons, which raises the skill ceiling while also subtly upping their raw power (or at least making gibs come more often?). And when I thought it couldn't get any better, the Jump Mod's jump boots were added.

Some of the best Quake out there. The quality of execution in the design, especially the level design, is so good it's kind of beyond me to meaningfully critique. Hell, I beat Foggy Bogbottom without getting lost, that's a feat of level design right there.

The main thing to remember is that each map is its own, fully supported, fully complete experience. I haven't gone through everything yet, but the half I have played are massive, intricate, and complex. Hit these things one-at-a-time when you need that Quake fix, and you'll have a good time.

Been chipping away this for the past couple months, but all the hulabaloo around Quake's 25th anniversary pushed me to finally polish off the remaining maps today... I really wanna give some of these new Quake birthday projects a go!

'Arcane' feels like the perfect descriptor for this game, in every sense of the word;

'Arcane' in the sense that it feels like dark software engineering magic that should be sealed away in an ancient vault - how did they get Quake to do all this?! Modders rule!

'Arcane' in the sense that it's crammed with classic unimaginable Quake bullshit. I love that the mappers all worked really hard to recreate (and enhance) the feel of classic Quake, but HUP HUP HUPing around empty cathedral halls to find the hidden ledge holding the Skull Key of the Unmaker that I need to insert into The Runepillar of Eekum Bokum on the other end of the map quite often just kills the flow and atmosphere - Trent's tracks work best as five-minute moods, not half-hour loops. I respect the hell out of the map-makers who decided to make their contributions into sagas that span the length of an episode from the original game, but I really do wish the game warned you if the slipgate you're about to pass through is a 5-minute romp or a quest across six pillars of eternity. Ironically, I think I enjoyed the maps that homaged DOOM and Quake 2 the most...

'Arcane' in the sense that this is a work of genuine quality and wonder that will never make it into the hands of most players because it requires such an esoteric computer-touching methodolgy to play. If Bethesda and Zenimax knew what was really up, they'd have a Quake sourceport and official mod support on the go for the big 2-5. This mod alone could shift some serious units! I don't need Quake Eternal - I just need more people to try this game!

AD is a testament to the skill and passion of the quake mapping community (❤️) but it's also a monument to excess.
2+ hours , 250+ enemies, and 25+ secrets per level is just too much. no map concept can survive that kind of overexposure.
for my money (lol) something like the snack pack or the 100 brush maps are better examples of quake level design: short and sweet and not as concerned with spectacle or polish.
AD is super worth playing, if for no other reason than because it's an important cultural object, but i do not enjoy it.

Necessary play for anyone who likes Quake, containing multiple of my outright favorite maps I've had the pleasure to play with so many extra additions (new weapons, new enemies, new mechanics) with maps that are given so much attention and care to not only as beautiful as this game can manage but to also make expertly designed where you know where you are a lot of the time because areas are usually fairly distinct, as well as making the pace of combat as smooth as can be. I can't even begin to express just how in awe I am of this mod. Easily the best experience I've had playing an FPS and in turn in all of gaming. I love this.

Oh, and play Tears ofthe False God. Favorite map in this mod. Probably the best map I've ever played in a shooter.

Heavy recommendation: ad_tears, ad_dm5, ad_zendar, ad_swampy, ad_magna, ad_tfuma, ad_sepulcher

If Arcane Dimensions had anything to say about it, it would knock the original Quake out of five stars. Arcane Dimensions is one of the best, most polished partial conversions that we've seen on the Quake engine.

Arcane Dimensions include a large number of new enemies throwing off the usual Quake player, this is about the same quality that you'd expect in one of the officialized mission packs, only a notch higher. Ogre, grunts, and knight come back from the original Quake base game, only in much more varied forms.

Maps are some of the best works of craftsmanship I've seen on the Quake engine so far, Arcane Adamantine and Tears of the False God was probably my favorite experience with any DOOM/Quake game so far. Enemies constantly surround the players and you never feel quite safe from bobby traps, just as a competent map should feel. Its maps are varied, yet do not break themes. Made with the newest "TrenchBroom" level editor, it pioneered the next generation of Quake level editing and kickstarted a 'Quake Renaissance.

There are a few crashes here and there, we haven't encountered that much personally, and the final game is so much unadulterated fun that the few crashes just mean you'll get to replay some of your favorite maps. We would like to see this map pack ported to Quake Remastered eventually, as we still had to run legacy Quake to play on it.

Just play Arcane Dimensions, after the base game and having finished each mission pack, up to Dimension of the Machine...
Our only regret is that Arcane Dimensions is about as good as Quake really gets, or is it...

Boomershooters are kind of outside of my wheelhouse because they TEND to veer towards complete labyrinthine spaghetti bowls of winding paths and buildings, leaving me completely seasick and lost in an impossible measure of exploration density. I'm the type to burn myself out looking for secrets on the average opening level.

Arcane Dimensions, inversely, is slap incarnate. I've never played the base Quake before this, and now I don't even know if I can. On top of being STUNNING to look at from all angles, the maps in this mod pack flow so beautifully that I never feel the time go by. I don't know what balance these games need to strike before my brain fizzles out like a catherine wheel, but Arcane Dimensions manages it with a gonzo pile of disparate ideas, excitedly and wonderfully implemented. It's a wonderful feeling to step into a new level portal and KNOW you're in for something special.