How To Adjust The Mapcycle For Your Quake 3 Arena Server

By default, base Quake 3 Arena doesn’t support a map cycle file, however you can do a workaround to get the same effect with scripting.

It’s worth noting that some mods such as OSP will automatically add all the maps from the server that support your current game mode.

How To Modify the Map Cycle

FIrst you need to create the file baseq3/levels.cfg.

You can change what map config it reads by going to your server, Startup Parameters and changing Exec/Gamemode. If you leave this as levels and load a mod, it will use this map list. We suggest removing levels.cfg from Exec/Gamemode and using some configs inbuilt with your mod (for example OSP will select all the maps for that game mod) or creating your own custom map list based on the mode you’re playing.

The default file looks like this.

set map1 "map q3ctf4; set nextmap vstr map2"
set map2 "map q3ctf3; set nextmap vstr map3"
set map3 "map q3ctf2; set nextmap vstr map4"
set map4 "map q3ctf1; set nextmap vstr map1"
vstr map1

How Does It Work?

Setting Up Steps: Think of each set command as a step in a set of instructions. It’s like saying, “First, do this, then do that.”

For example:

set map1 "map q3ctf4; set nextmap vstr map2"

This is like saying, “Step 1: Play the game on the ‘q3ctf4’ map. After that, move to Step 2”. Looping at the end of our steps, we tell it to go back to the start. This way, the game keeps cycling through the maps without stopping. In short, this script is like a playlist for game maps.

Here is an example the ffa maps q3ctf4, q3ctf3, q3ctf2, q3ctf1. It will cycle through the list until it hits the end.

set map1 "map q3dm1; set nextmap vstr map2"
set map2 "map q3dm2; set nextmap vstr map3"
set map3 "map q3dm3; set nextmap vstr map4"
set map4 "map q3dm4; set nextmap vstr map5"
set map5 "map q3dm5; set nextmap vstr map6"
set map6 "map q3dm6; set nextmap vstr map7"
set map7 "map q3dm7; set nextmap vstr map8"
set map8 "map q3dm8; set nextmap vstr map9"
set map9 "map q3dm9; set nextmap vstr map10"
set map10 "map q3dm10; set nextmap vstr map11"
set map11 "map q3dm11; set nextmap vstr map12"
set map12 "map q3dm12; set nextmap vstr map13"
set map13 "map q3dm13; set nextmap vstr map14"
set map14 "map q3dm14; set nextmap vstr map15"
set map15 "map q3dm15; set nextmap vstr map16"
set map16 "map q3dm16; set nextmap vstr map17"
set map17 "map q3dm17; set nextmap vstr map18"
set map18 "map q3dm18; set nextmap vstr map19"
set map19 "map q3dm19; set nextmap vstr map1"
vstr map1

Full Quake 3 Arena Map List

Here is a list of all the default map names, so you can create your own custom levels.cfg

q3dm0 - Introduction
q3dm1 - Arena Gate
q3dm2 - House of Pain
q3dm3 - Arena of Death
q3dm4 - The Place of Many Deaths
q3dm5 - The Forgotten Place
q3dm6 - The Camping Grounds
q3dm7 - Temple of Retribution
q3dm8 - Brimstone Abbey
q3dm9 - Hero’s Keep
q3dm10 - The Nameless Place
q3dm11 - Deva Station
q3dm12 - The Dredwerkz
q3dm13 - Lost World
q3dm14 - Grim Dungeons
q3dm15 - Demon Keep
q3dm16 - The Bouncy Map
q3dm17 - The Longest Yard
q3dm18 - Space Chamber
q3dm19 - Apocalypse Void
q3tourney1 - Powerstation 0218
q3tourney2 - The Proving Grounds
q3tourney3 - Hell’s Gate
q3tourney4 - Vertical Vengeance
q3tourney5 - Fatal Instinct
q3tourney6 - The Very End of You
q3ctf1 - Dueling Keeps
q3ctf2 - Troubled Waters
q3ctf3 - The Stronghold
q3ctf4 - Speedtrap