The game program starts with an "id" splash screen, followed by two recorded demonstration videos that loop endlessly. Press any key on the computer keyboard or any mouse button to bring up the main game menu. Navigate the menu with the "up" and "down" arrow keys on the keyboard or numerical keypad and press "Enter" to select. To start a new game, the player is given the options of "easy", "medium" and "hard" skill levels. Once a skill level has been selected, the entire remainder of the game must be played at that level and cannot be changed. In the alternative, one can select one of up to 15 previously saved games with the "load" menu option.
The game designers suggest that the typical new player should start at the "medium" skill level. The Quake II Manual indicates that the "hard" level is "nearly unbeatable". The skill levels differ both in the number and toughness of opponents that one must face at each stage of the game. This walkthrough set of articles is written from the standpoint of the "medium" level, unless otherwise noted. The two demonstration videos were recorded at the "hard" level.
The game is divided into a number of units, and each unit is subdivided into levels. The player can move back and forth between levels in a unit, but once a unit has been completed and left it is not possible to return to it. This was done to keep the memory requirements for level maps to reasonable size without severely limiting the total size of the game environment.
An animated movie introduction is played (running time 3:30) when a new game is started, explaining the background story. The movie can be interrupted at any time by pressing a key on the keyboard or a mouse button, taking the player directly to the start of the first level.
Click on the "Outer Base" link in the navigation menu below to proceed with the walkthrough.