* AscendedFanfic: Plenty of third-party maps made their way to ''Live'':
** The game launched with [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:203 "Blood Run"]] by Sten "ztn" Uusvali[[note]]Which also made its way to ''VideoGame/QuakeChampions''[[/note]], [[http://ws.q3df.org/map/q3wcp11/ "Industrial Accident"]] (later renamed to "[[Film/PulpFiction Pulp Friction]]") by Jason "Cornelius" Gill, and the Threewave CTF maps [[http://ws.q3df.org/map/q3w1/ "Bloodlust"]] and [[http://ws.q3df.org/map/q3w2/ "Courtyard Conundrum"]] by Dave "Zoid" Kirsch.
** Premium Pak 1: [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:2175 "Realm of Steel Rats"]] by Jens Bergensten, [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:822 "Dismemberment"]] by Mindi "Hubster" Burji, [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:1717 "Aerowalk"]][[note]]More exactly, "Aerowalk [Hubster's Remix II]"[[/note]] by Hubster and Mattias "Preacher" Konradsson, and [[http://ws.q3df.org/map/cpm24/ "Phrantic"]] by Richard "Swelt" Jacques (all of them from the Challenge Pro-Mode Arena -CPMA- mod); [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:1470 "Deep Inside"]] by J. Scott "Teddy" Drader and [[http://ws.q3df.org/map/ospdm6/ "Intervention" (formerly "Suicide")]] by Agust Atlason (both from the Orange Smoothie Productions (OSP) Tourney mod); [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:44 "Japanese Castles"]] by Mike "[=g1zm0=]" Burbidge and [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:1006 "Shinning Forces"]] by Ryan "[=Crewmaac=]" Villegas (both from the Threewave CTF mod); "Theatre of Pain" (formerly "High Noon") by Till "thefury" Merker, and [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:80 "Overkill"]] by Wiebo de Wit (both from the Rocket Arena 3 mod); [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:2043 "Battleforged"]] by Tom "[=Phantazm11=]" Perryman, [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:2077 "Dreadful Place"]] by Pawel "Shadow" Chrapka, and [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:2084 "Focal Point"]] by Simon "Sock" O'Callaghan.
** Premium Pak 2: "Thunderstruck" by thefury and [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:2158 "Somewhat Damaged"]] by Adam "Brent" Bellefeuil (both from Rocket Arena 3) and [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:2160 "Devilish"]] by Justin "[=StormShadow=]" Ingels.
** Premium Pak 3: [[http://ws.q3df.org/map/nodm16/ "Solid"]] by Swelt (from the CPMA mod) and "Window Pain" by Brent (from the Rocket Arena 3 mod).
** Premium Pak 4: [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:1841 "Evolution"]] by thefury and "Three Story" by [=g1zm0=] (both from the Rocket Arena 3 mod).
** Premium Pak 5: "Double Impact" by Shadow (from the ''VideoGame/QuakeII'' multiplayer-only {{expy}} ''VideoGame/{{Quetoo}}'').
** Premium Pak 6: "Dies Irae" by Shadow (from ''VideoGame/{{Quetoo}}''); [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:1279 "Skyward" (formerly "The Vast and Furious")]] by Brian "[=ButterB=]" Hahn and "Concrete Palace" also by Shadow.
** Premium Pak 7: "Toxicity" by Alexander Mader.
** Premium Pak 9: "Canned Heat" by thefury (from the Rocket Arena 3 mod); and "Wargrounds" by Shadow.
** Premium Pak 10: "Seams and Bolts" by Brent (from the Rocket Arena 3 mod).
** Premium Pak 11: [[http://ws.q3df.org/map/q3wcp9/ "Spider Crossings"]] by Dan "Scancode" Gold (from the Threewave CTF mod) and "Electric Head" by Brent (from the Rocket Arena 3 mod).
** Premium Pak 12: [[http://ws.q3df.org/map/q3wcp14/ "Camper Crossings"]] by Scancode (from the Threewave CTF mod).
** Premium Pak 13: [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:2190 "Windsong Keep"]] by [=Phantazm11=].
** Premium Pak 14: [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:2208 "Terminatria"]] by Russell "bst" Vint, [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:2184 "Fluorescent"]] by Ferdinand "Cityy" List, and [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:2131 "Corrosion"]] by [=Phantazm11=].
** Premium Pak 15: [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:2121 "Left Behind"]] by Cityy.
** Premium Pak 16: [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:32 "Wicked"]] and [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:2213 "Use and Abuse"]], both by [=FxR/jude=] (50chickens), and [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:1508 "Foolish Legacy"]] by Swelt (all of them from the CPMA mod).
** Premium Pak 19: [[http://ws.q3df.org/map/q3wcp18/ "Future Crossings"]], [[http://ws.q3df.org/map/q3w5/ "Gospel Crossings"]] and [[http://ws.q3df.org/map/q3wxs1/ "Railyard"]] (formerly "Silly Railings") all of them by Scancode (all of them from the Threewave CTF mod).
** Premium Pak 20: [[http://ws.q3df.org/map/q3w7/ "City Crossings"]] by Scancode (from the Threewave CTF mod); "Shaken Not Stirred" by Brent, and "Monastery" by [=g1zm0=] (both from the Rocket Arena 3 mod).
** Premium Pak 21: "Hen House" by thefury, "Dead and Gone" by David "[=SgtGhost=]" Levesque (from the Rocket Arena 3 mod); and [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:2287 "McSarge's"]] by Cityy.
** Premium Pak 22: [[http://ws.q3df.org/map/q3wcp15/ "Industrial Revolution"]] by Joel "Johnny Law" Baxter (from the Threewave CTF mod); "Castle Deathstalker" by H. Scott "Deathstalker" Maclean, "Death or Glory" by [=SgtGhost=], "Drunken Mummy" by thefury (all of them from the Rocket Arena 3 mod); and [[https://lvlworld.com/review/id:1017 "Bitter Embrace"]] by Todd "Mr. Clean" Rose, and [[http://ws.q3df.org/map/phantq3dm5_mav4/ "Solarium"]] by [=Phantazm11=].
* CanonName: The game finally gives the HeroicMime {{player character}}s of every past game a proper (nick)name:
** ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' and ''Doom II'': Doom
** ''VideoGame/{{Quake|I}}'': Ranger
** ''VideoGame/QuakeII'': Bitterman
* DevelopmentGag:
** All of the bots in the game are based on bots from the [[http://mrelusive.com/oldprojects/gladiator/gladiator.html Gladiator bot]] AI mod for ''VideoGame/QuakeII''. Mr. Elusive, the creator of the mod, was hired by Id to port his work to the game.
** The in-game HUD of ''Team Arena'' is very similar to [[https://tcrf.net/Proto:Quake/Qtest1/Graphics the original HUD]] for ''VideoGame/{{Quake|I}}''.
** Major appears as a statue in the first map, "Arena Gate". She is the opponent in the Q3 demo version of that map.
* DuelingWorks: With ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament'', which came out two days before it. Ultimately, ''UT'' was the immediate winner, selling slightly better and rating a little higher among critics, but ''Quake III'' pulled ahead in the long term due to its greater longevity among [[TournamentPlay the competitive scene]] and more lasting influence that games on its engine or derivatives had over the next decade.
* DummiedOut:
** Two unused music tracks by Sonic Mayhem, unused announcer voices, a test map and more. More info [[https://tcrf.net/Quake_III_Arena here]].
** The GrapplingHookPistol in ''Arena'', accessible via cheating. It was modelled and works as it should, but its functionality was incomplete. A functional version was eventually added to Quake Live and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZp5G4V9yNU it’s a prominent feature of Arena CTF game mode]].
** An incomplete usable item, a Portal Device, exists in the code of ''Team Arena''. Like the Grapple, it's modelled, but its functionality is incomplete, and there's no model, sprite or effect for it, leading it to be a weird GameBreaker if added to a map. Should it have been completed with the functionality finished, it would have predated games such as ''VideoGame/NarbacularDrop'' and ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}''.
** Some bot chatlines in ''Team Arena'' were commented out, such as Angel's reactions when she gets killed by a player or kills with a [[SuicideAttack Kamikaze]]. They're a real thing for Fritzkrieg and Pi, however.
* GodCreatedCanonForeigner:
** Although inspired by Doom himself, Phobos and Crash don't appear in the ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' games.
** Likewise, Ranger's counterpart, Wrack, is nowhere to be seen in ''VideoGame/{{Quake|I}}''.
** Although Bitterman is the PlayerCharacter and Grunt the default selectable skin, Stripe is also nowhere to be seen in ''VideoGame/QuakeII''.
** The ''Team Arena'' expansion gives us Fritzkrieg, who seems to have been inspired by the ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein}}'' series on account of being made up of different soldiers who died during World War II. While Fritzkrieg himself never appeared in ''Wolfenstein'', the German soldiers that became him might have been among the hundreds that B.J. Blazkowicz killed during that series.
* HeyItsThatSound:
** The game recycles several sounds from ''VideoGame/QuakeII'', namely the "Quad Damage activation" sound, the "Invulnerability wearing off" sound for every other temporal item, the "Invulnerability activation sound" for the Battle Suit and the "BFG firing sound" (that one which it does after charging) for the BFG shot.
** ''Team Arena'' has some of VideoGame/QuakeI's menu sounds.
** The hit sound itself is a system sound from Windows 95 slowed down.
* OfficialFanSubmittedContent: The maps that compose the "Premium" packs for ''Live'' are divided between [[AscendedFanfic converted Q3 maps]] and maps created by the community. Some maps were also included in the base game.
** Base Game: "Blood Run" by Sten "ztn" Uusvali
** Premium Pak 1: "Aerowalk" by Mindi "Hubster" Burji and Mattias "Preacher" Konradsson.
** Premium Pak 5: "Tornado" by Richard "Swelt" Jacques.
** Premium Pak 8: "Revolver" by Wiebo de Wit; "Sorrow" by Pawel "[=ShadoW=]" Chrapka.
** Premium Pak 13: "Infinity" by Ferdinand "cityy" List; "Limbus" by Mike "Yellack" Schreiber and Gary "akm" Turner; "Silence" by cityy; "Terminus" by akm and Timo "frs" Laakso.
** Premium Pak 14: "Sinister" by Yellack and akm.
** Premium Pak 15: "Cold Cathode" by cityy and Tom "[=Phantazm11=]" Perryman.
** Premium Pak 17: "Arcane Citadel" by Yellack and atm; "Cure" by cityy
** Premium Pak 18: "Delirium" by Russell "bst" Vint; "Fuse" by cityy.
** Premium Pak 21: "Arkinholm" by Richard "noctis" Gansterer and Chad "Despair" Younger; "New Cerberon" by [=EmeraldTiger=].
** Premium Pak 22: "Ragnarok" by cityy and frs; "Refinery" and "Satanic", both by Justin "[=StormShadow=]" Ingels.
** Premium Pak 23: "Electrocution" by Colin "[=Q50=]" Dodd; "Lost Paradise" by Despair; "Servitude" by Todd "Mr. Clean" Rose.
* RefittedForSequel: The original game had a Grappling Hook coded, but it wasn't added to the final game, not even in released patches nor ''Team Arena''. ''Quake Live'' makes it functional and an integral part of its Arena CTF gamemode.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** Early versions of ''III'' had a {{Chain|sawGood}}[[VideoGame/{{Doom}} saw]]. It was replaced by the Gauntlet.
** A flamethrower weapon was planned to be part of the arsenal. [[VideoGameFlamethrowersSuck For gameplay reasons]], it was cut.
** There were [[CharacterClassSystem weight classes]] (the usual FragileSpeedster, JackOfAllStats and MightyGlacier, though), but were cut.
** Mojang suggested that a game of ''Quake'' against Bethesda should be how they decided the ''[[VideoGame/CallersBane Scrolls]]'' v. ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' trademark dispute. Bethesda never responded, unfortunately.
** There was also a Portal item in ''Team Arena'' which never got to be finished.
** ''Quake Arena Arcade'' began development as just a port of ''Quake III: Team Arena''.
** A UsefulNotes/NintendoDS version called ''Quake Arena DS'' was in development but ended up being cancelled.
** The playable characters in ''Revolution'' had voice clips ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9oKCHOaREo Doom's quotes]]), though they were cut. This appears to have been a late decision, as all of the characters were also dubbed in French and Italian.
** Hunter was supposed to be a playable character in ''Revolution'''s single-player mode. Her unused skins and voice lines can be seen [[https://tcrf.net/Quake_III:_Revolution#Unused_Skins here]].
* WorkingTitle: ''Live'' started development as ''Quake Zero''.
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