As promised earlier, id Software has released the version 1.29f Beta point release for Quake III Arena and Quake III: Team Arena. Here are local file pages (with mirrors) for the Win32 and Mac OS X updates as well as the standard and dedicated server patches for Linux users. These patches work on both Q3A and Team Arena, and contain a number of notable changes, including new weapon effects, new network code, new anti-cheating measures and lots more. Here's a brief excerpt from the readme with a couple of the more exciting additions:

- NEW id CREATED PRO MAPS - One of our newer employees, Fred Nilsson, is an avid fan tournament style game play, and is very interested in the professional gaming community. Via feedback from professional Quake 3 players, Fred has made some modifications to some of the more popular maps that shipped with Quake 3 including “The Camp Grounds”, “Lost World”, “The Proving Grounds”, and “Vertical Vengeance” You can play them in the single player game by advancing to tier 7, or run them on your server by using the map names “PRO-Q3DM6”, “PRO-Q3DM13”, “PRO-Q3TOURNEY2” and, “PRO-Q3TOURNEY4”. These are a lot of fun! Give them a try!

- NEW NETWORK CODE - There is a new compression system built into the network code of the latest point release. Essentially, this reduces the bandwidth usage of Quake 3 and Team Arena by a ratio of 5:1 over previous versions of the game. Modem players, as well as everyone else, should experience a significant improvement in internet game play because of this.

- AUTO UPDATE SYSTEM - Within this release is an Auto Update system that can be used to at any time to check for and download updates to Quake 3 and Team Arena. When you install the point release a file will be created in your Quake III Arena directory and in the Start Menu called, “Check For Quake III Arena Updates”. Running this file will check our servers for updates and notify you if there is a newer version or inform you that your files are up to date. The auto updater will create a directory on your C: where downloaded updates will be stored. It is important that you DO NOT delete this directory. If you plan to uninstall Quake III, make sure to uninstall all of the point releases as well.