• added commands for inserting special symbols to team messages. $xx where 'xx' is a hex number can be used to insert any character (not all are allowed by QW though). This allows accessing special symbols in custom GFX.WAD-files.
• you can erase the name (and insert a shorter one) by preceding a team message with 'x$r'.
• also added a few more characters to the funny character support (see .help fun)
• %P (capital) tells the last powerup you had that has ended
• a new .quiet command can be used to hide the information the proxy prints when executing commands. A plain '.quiet' will disable any proxy printouts for about 0.5 seconds. If you have a longer script, you can use '.quiet 1' to stop printing and then '.quiet 0' to resume.
• the 'notimers' text in f_versions etc has been removed. Timers are still disabled though, but I think people know it by know without special reminders.
• fixes to f_modified (also, TF player model no longer being reported as incorrect).

24-Nov-1998
Version 2.5 now available! It really took a lot longer to get this next version up than what I expected, but here it finally is. This version is only for Windows, but a Linux version is coming in a few days. The other versions will probably take longer, no promises there.

Although the wait was long, the good news is that there are a lot of new features. But even a bigger change is something that is missing. Cheapo 2.5 has no poweruptimers. If you don't like this decision, too bad. There are alternatives to Cheapo that do include timers, and old versions will remain available, in case you can't live without them. Cheapo 2.5 reports 'notimers' in f_version and the like to remind of this. Timer related commands are ignored without an error message and %g (list soon appearing powerups) always reports 'quad'.

Of course totally removing the timers makes it pretty hard to hack them back in, but just in case somebody is really persistent I have also enhanced the cheating/hacking protections in Cheapo:

• f_modified can be used in official matches to report any models that have been changed. This works exactly as in Qizmo (the code is actually the same, courtesy of Juha Kujala) and requires that QWCL and proxy are running on Windows in the same machine, and QWCL is started by the proxy as described below:

• Cheapo can now start QWCL automatically with a command line like 'cheapo c:\quake\qwcl.exe +exec myconf.cfg'. Put Cheapo options before the qwcl.exe and qwcl options after the exe (like the +exec in the example). This is required for f_modified to work (the proxy must make sure it is checking the models from the same QWCL you are using and not from another directory). In this mode Cheapo exits automatically when you quit QWCL (you can override this with -x).

• f_version now reports an additional three letter code that is different on every server. This makes it harder to masquerade Cheapo 2.5 with another proxy.

• Enhanced f_version (like in Qizmo) can be activated by adding some text after f_version (as in 'f_version mytext'). In this mode a long checking code is calculated from the cheapo executable and the text you give (resulting a different code for each text). You can then compare that all cheapos report the same code to verify that cheapos are identical. However, since the executable is compared, this code is different for each cheapo version and os (-W is appended to code for windows version, -L for linux version).

• Color override now allows separate topcolor and bottomcolor. For example '.color 4,12 0,13' sets Red-Yellow to teammates and White-Blue to enemies (the order is topcolor,bottomcolor). And '*' works as before leaving that color untouched, except that '*,4' etc are not supported.

• Teamcolors. With '.color team 0' (the enemy color can be what you want, 0=white here) your teammates get their color from everyones setinfo variable 'teamcolor' (if such a variable is defined). So to appear as green to your teammates using this option, you would do 'setinfo teamcolor 3'. You can also specify topcolor,bottomcolor as in 'setinfo teamcolor 3,4'. With this feature each teammate (or group such as attack/defend) can have a separate color while still maintaining a single public color on the server (like when the enemy insist you all use the same color).

• Message groups. With teamcolors you could define differently looking subteams, and with message groups you can communicate between the subteams by sending messages only to particular groups. The feature is used with the new .filter command, and is best described with an example: Player 1 does '.filter #att', player 2 does '.filter #def #flag' and player 3 does '.filter #def'. After this messages with ' #att' at the end are only visible ot player 1 (like 'attack now! #att') and messages with '#def' to players 2 and 3. As in the example for player 2, you can belong to multiple groups. Howerver, a message can only be sent to a single group. Also note that the ' #att' must be at the end of the message and there must be a space before '#'. If no filters are enabled you see all messages, and of course messages with no ' #' are shown to all. And to state the obvious: It's a good idea to use short groupnames.

• %N (note the capital letter) can to hide the message from yourself to reduce message clutter. This is useful to for example hide automatic f_took and f_powerup messages (redefine those aliases with %N at the end). Note that %n %N and #group must all be at the end of the message, and only one of them is allowed.

• Soundtrigger messages are no longer shown (that was actually a bug in 2.4). Now it's also possible to have text before the soundtrigger. If trigger character is $, message 'say_team Base secure $misc/secret.wav' would print 'Base secure' and play the sound instead of the message beep. Soundtrigger must be the last thing on the message. It's advisable to use a seldom used character (like $ or &) as the trigger to avoid accidental soundtriggers.

• Preliminary Gamespy support. You must put Cheapo in the same directory as QWCL and set the QuakeWorld command line to 'cheapo c:\quake\qwcl.exe' (assuming you want no cheapo options and c:\quake is your quake directory). Then you need to disable from 'Tools | Options' the checkbox 'Network | QuakeWorld Client | Use Network Connections for QuakeWorld'. With this done clicking on a server in gamespy should start cheapo and automatically connect to that server. I have tested this with GameSpy 2.0.5, but not much :)
• A new pointing option 'enemy' can be used instead of 'player' in which case you can point through your teammates, if they have a habit of getting in the way.
• Pointing to TF classes and the war standard should now work.
• Support for dynamic ip changes (option -y). In this mode it is possible to reconnect with a dynamic ip without dropping from the proxy. Of course in this case the proxy must run in the net on a fixed ip.
• Proxy detects the deathmatch mode and in DMM3 doesn't point to weapons or report weapon took messages. You can override this with the .dmm command.
• Finally, added option -d (deny) to ban specific ip address ranges in addition to the existing -a (allow) which denys all addresses outside a given range. Multiple deny ranges are supported.

13-Nov-1998
Like you have probably heard, there is a modified version of Cheapo 2.4 that enables timers and other features regardless of serverside FPD disables. I'll try to get a new version out as soon as possible, but it'll still be next week, because I really am very busy right now (this thing really comes at the most incovenient time possible).

There is little point in releasing just the same old version with a new version number, like some have suggested.  It would just be cracked again in the same way.  Instead, if you want to avoid 2.4 in fear of being called a cheater, you can use an older version like 2.3 which has most of the features.

The next version will include the enhanced f_version and f_modified (courtesy of Perkele), which should make cracking considerably more difficult.

6-Nov-1998
I have received many queries about when the next version of Cheapo is coming. I am quite busy right now on other matters, and unfortunately haven't been able to work on Cheapo for many weeks. This should be temporary, and I expect the next version will come out later this month, although I am not making any guesses as to when exactly. It will include the f_modified features mentioned on Qizmo pages.

30-Sep-1998:
Added another version for Intel BSD based systems, the executable is compiled and tested on FreeBSD 2.7.2.

27-Sep-1998:
Added a version for Alpha Linux. Also, some late additions to Cheapo 2.4 broke many TF related features, including the new class pointing. Deathmatching works fine though :) The bugs will be fixed in the next release, but unfortunately not very soon.

22-Sep-1998:
Oops once again. The .weapon command didn't work right (.weapon best didn't work at all). All the 2.4 files have been updated with a fix.

22-Sep-1998:
Version 2.4 now available (for Win, Linux, Alpha and Sparc). In addition to squishing known bugs, this version adds to Cheapo:

• .notimer, see the chapters below this list for a description
• soundtrigger, enabled with .sound <trigger character>
• %S (your skin) and %C (your bottomcolor). Note the capital letters.
• color override (.color) to complement skin override, if you prefer using noskins.
• both skin override and color override accept * as a parameter meaning leave some skins/color untouched. For example .skin * base would put base skin to enemies, but leave teammate skins normal.
• custom weapon select impulse orders, for example .weapon 10: 6 7 would define impulse 10 to be equivalent to "impulse 6 ; wait ; impulse 7"
• .took pointed will report with f_took when you collect an item you just pointed to (like if you say 'pack at ra' and take that pack it will trigger 'took pack at ra').
• .report show is an alternative to .report sync. It is otherwise the same except that the powerup timer sync messages (Quad #1 picked up) are shown.
• .stat command should now give correct ping and packet loss values
• pointing now reports enemy class in TF (like 'enemy engineer at red base')
• automarking is enhanced. In addition to naming things upper-item and lower-item (if they are clearly such), other items are named item#. Item names are also prefixed with the color of the nearest flag (like 'red ra3') if there are flags in the map.

First, hand made marks are clearly superior to automarks made by a proxy. Automarking is designed to be a rescue when you have to play a map you don't usually play, or have lost your marks. Way too often I encounter players who have automarked for example DM6 or DM2. It's a lot harder to follow their messages, since the automarks are often misleading farther away from important items. Maps like these are so common, that everyone should have (or make) a good loc-file for them.

Another thing are the automatic reports. They are easily overused, since it's so easy to put something like .took all in your config. The fewer messages are sent, the better the communication usually is, because then people have time to actually read the messages. Luckily most people seem to understand this.

And finally the infamous timers. People still ask me about including item timers to Cheapo. This won't happen. Instead, I'd rather see timers disappear completely. But since powerup timers have been available in proxies for long, there is little point in removing them. People would just use an older version, or another proxy.

Games with timers are different than games without, with the former concentrating more on timed attacks just before an item appears. Originally I too preferred timers, since when learning to play they give you one less thing to worry about. However, when more experienced players play with timers enabled, the fights over a powerup turn more into a question of who lands on the appearing quad with a rocketjump, instead of who has control of the quad area. One solution to this issue will be randomizing the powerup appearing times. I believe this feature is coming to the excellent teamplay mod Kombat Teams.

Another possibility is the new feature .notimers. When you give the command .notimers 1, timers are disabled. It is only possible to change the timer mode when not connected, so if someone enters the game with timers disabled, they will stay that way. Your choice of not using timers is also shown in f_version reports, and on the .who proxy command. Nothing is perfect though. Professional Cheaters might be using a different proxy that just impersonates a notimers proxy. But they could also be using a guy with a stopwatch.

You can also use the notimers on public servers as a way to tell other people: I would rather play without timers. Of course, if some other players are using timers and powerups are enabled, you'll be at a disadvantage. But being a pioneer has never been easy :) Take it as a challenge!

Other site changes: updated the info page, which was pretty outdated in regard to all the new features, and removed some FAQ's which were no longer approriate.

30-Aug-1998:
Version 2.3 now available (for Win, Linux, Alpha and Sparc). Most important changes are:

• Works with QuakeWorld 2.3
• Pointing now works with more TF items (flags, keys, sentry guns, dispensers, detpacks)
• .report sync reports 'Quad #2 picked up.' style messages when you hear a powerup being collected. This allows exact powerup syncronization between players in the same team. It is compatible with Qizmo. Note that Cheapo filters all sync messages so you won't see them, only their effect on timers.
• .report took reports messages like 'took rl at lower-rl' messages when you collect items. The message shown is from the alias f_took which can be user defined. The objects reported can be selected with the .took command (default is RL, LG, GL and armors; note that powerups can already be reported with .report power)
• .who fps command shows approximate frame rates of all visible players, and last known rates for others.
• New message %m reports last picked item (%i) if less than 5 sec ago, nearest item otherwise
• Penta and Ring counters now display minutes instead of  ?? if time is over 99 seconds (like P1:4M)
• Rune reporting didn't work in V2.2 and I have now disabled it until it is properly fixed.
• Process priority is now higher in the Windows version. Manual adjustment of the priority on Windows NT should  no longer be necessary. This might also help if you previously had problems with lower ping when running cheapo and QuakeWorld on the same machine.
• Problems with Linux name lookup on some systems fixed (thanks Perkele)

14-Aug-1998:
Many people have encountered the 'Internal Error' message in Cheapo. This means the executable is corrupted, and this is usually caused by a virus. Most of the time the virus has been CIH, which is so new that most scanners don't yet recognize it. A program to check for the virus and clean it is available from http://www.nai.com/vinfo/cih/cih_sfscan.asp. Please try it before emailing me about the Internal Error message.

Oops again: in V2.2 the %w message reports ammo incorrectly (the best weapon message %b works correctly).

12-Aug-1998:
Version 2.2 now available (for Win, Linux, Alpha and Sparc). Most important changes are:

• Corrected reconnection bug during level changes (now also reconnects faster)
• .fps explosion change now gives the correct sound in CTF and TF
• Possible to set client and server interface (for multihomed hosts)
• Optional password to limit proxy usage
• Centering option for poweruptimers (.line 10 center)
• Autoreport (.reply reply) no longer replies to faraway players
• New message %r reports last location you reported with %l
• Runes reported as powerups in CTF

31-Jul-1998:
Oops. The help for %-messages (.help say) has grown so large that the data packet overflows, and quakeworld disconnects you from the proxy. Just avoid that command until the next version. You can look at the list of %-commands on the Information page.

28-Jul-1998:
Version 2.1 now available (for Win, Linux, Alpha and Sparc). Most important changes are:

• The Linux version now works on older systems too (tested on RedHat 4.2 and 5.0)
• The Windows version no longer reports 'Net Error' for some peoply immediately when connecting
• New team message: %d tells where you last died, and %L, %O, %E (capitals) work like their lowercase versions except that after death they remember the dying situation for 5 seconds (so pressing '%L lost (%E enemies)' just after dying reports the situation when you died, which is what you are usually trying to do).
• Flood Protect Protect. The proxy performs flood protection so that you cannot flood the server accidentally (and so you won't get any 10 sec or longer penalty for flooding). Instead the proxy reports 'proxy: flood protect protect' if you say things too fast. This is enabled by default, use .flood 0 to disable.
• The fps command has three new parameters: Setinfo filter, Nail filter and Damage filter. Only the Damage filter is implemented, the other two are present just to keep the .fps parameters compatible with Qizmo.
• A new .cpps command can be used to limit the number of client packets per second (so for example you can set cl_maxfps 72 and .cpps 50 to get more fps without overflowing your line). Note that this command generates packet loss and can hurt the gaming experience (especially if fps is over twice the cpps limit).
• .move command can now be used to move the poweruptimer reminder (in addition to moving small centerprint messages from the server). With some viewsizes the default reminder is currently on top of the crosshair.
• Kombat Teams join command works now, and if you are kicked from a server (like when connecting to an ongoing game) you no longer drop out of the proxy, only out of the server.

22-Jul-1998:
There have been problems with Cheapo on older Linux systems (having different versions of libc than RedHat 5), and on some Windows systems (resulting in 'Net Error (disconnected)' from the proxy). These issues are known and should be resolved in the next release. It will take some time though, since there are also other projects I have to work on.

Changed the .gz files (for Linux, Alpha and Sparc) to .tar.gz since some browsers seemed to save the .gz files as text thus corrupting them. If you had problems uncompressing the old files, try the new ones.

20-Jul-1998:
Version 2.0 now available (for Win, Linux, Alpha and Sparc), and it's no longer beta. In addition to fixing minor bugs, there are two bigger fixes and one new feature:

• The LOC-file limitations are removed. You can have as many locations with as long names as you like, given you have enough memory.
• There was a tracking bug in V1.9 beta that allowed cheating. In addition to fixing the bug, 2.0 now warns about any players using Cheapo 1.9 with such settings that cheating is possible (the warning does not necessarily mean the user is cheating). To avoid being called a cheater by a stupid computer program, it's best to upgrade to 2.0. Note also that you can easily check what proxies players are using with the '.who proxy'-command (it can't detect ProxyLite, but does detect Qizmo and Cheapo).
• With new command line parameters it is now possible to limit number of users and the IP address they can come from (if you don't want everyone using your proxy)

18-Jul-1998:
I have received some minor bug reports, but the only bigger problem seems to be the large LOC-files people have that I didn't anticipate. I'll wait and see if any other bugs come up during the weekend, and release the 2.0 (nonbeta) version early next week. So don't worry, you will be able to use those huge LOCs pretty soon. Also added to Information a section on how the new %-messages can be used.

17-Jul-1998:
Reorganized these pages.

16-Jul-1998:
The first public release is 1.9 beta. It's still beta because it has been used by only a handful of people and may contain bugs.  The most severe ones will be fixed before the first real version is released (when it's done).