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Ok do i just need to download both of the patches to play open arena?  O0

yes download them both. then unzip to where ever you want oa saved to. I just put it on my desktop. Then take the 8.5 folder and open it. inside is a folder that say openarena-0.8.1 drag that over to the 8.1 folder and drop. if done right it should prompt you if you want to copy and replace. click this option. then open it and find openarena.exe and open that and the game should run  :D

No you don't "need" to do it, most people just recommend it. Most of the servers are still 081.

@others, no and not another discussion about upgrading or not and why. I'm just saying that you don't NEED to though ofcourse you can if you like to...

0.8.5 FTW!

It always takes a while for servers to update

isnt it easier to just upgrade because you will have to eventually?

isnt it easier to just go dead because you will have to eventually :)
oh well i said i'm not gonna participate in this discussion

no that is to different things. life is a journey. downloading oa is a destination, meaning you want to have the game to play so it is less hasle to download now and not have to in a few months

Let's stop blaming RMF only because he likes a previous version.
There is even a web site that says "Because newer is not always better (http://www.oldversion.com/)"...

Gig, I think the reason that many OA Veterans (not talking about Thoushaltdie as he seems new) dislike RMF's stance on sticking with 0.8.1 is twofold:

First, he's always mentioning it which I am sure does not make leloil and the other developers happy.  They just toiled to produce 0.8.5 and here's this renegade (btw I like RMF) who is possibly influencing some ppl to stay on an older version.

Second, OA is just overcoming a deep rift.  Previous versions resulted in several different incompatible protocols being played simultaneously which caused considerable fragmentation of OA.  I believe I read somewhere that 0.8.5 was sticking with the same protocol as 0.8.1 so as not to have those experiences again.  And, I am sure that leloil and company will continue that with 0.8.6 and hopefully 0.9.

However, this is not to say that RMF is wrong.  I personally think that 0.8.5 could have used some more polishing.  Beast and my servers still operate under 0.8.1, although we are very keen to upgrade to 0.8.6.  I don't really care too much about OA pushing the technology envelope.  Leave that to the Mods.  I just want a stable engine, a well planned road map, and a decent menu system.

First I am not a veteran but I am hardly new. I have been playing since 7.0 so... what 3 years 4 years? The thing is I am just now starting to get into the open arena community and post here :)

Secound I can understand staying with an older version if it has better features that you like. For example I dont like the physics change and fixed framemate that came with 8.5 MY whole point about upgrading is that it is easiest for someone who is just installing the game for the first time to upgrade all the way. He doesnt have any reason to stay with 8.0 and if he upgrades he wont be unable to 8.5 servers  :D

OH and I can still play 7.0 on some servers apparently  ;D or maybe its that there are still some 7.0 servers out there

lol i should try 0.7.0 then, maybe its better a 0.8.1! XD

Sure new versions have improvements, but it can happen that those don't make up for the disadvantages. IMO that's what happened with 085.
Also the TS asked if it was needed/required to upgrade, which it just is not. Though if someone likes to or want to play 085 servers, sure dl it and have fun. I won't bother you.
You know, i have it installed too and i like it for certain things, just not for everyday play.

If I really bug you though, i can also just keep my mouth or maybe even promote 085..

Oh and @ the reply to my prev post, ofcourse it isn't completely rubbish (you get what i wanna say with the used example), but it wasn't that serious.

lol i do like the older machinegun and hit sounds from 7.0 and the map suction is definatly my fav map EVER!! and you shoudnt change your views on 8.0 just because someone doesnt agree.  ;)

you should try oaUnofficial (as its called atm, topic running for name). There is another mg and hitsound :)
evilarena.de, forum, scroll down a little, u'll see

Not digichalk 0.8.5, we got that updated within a few days of the release of 0.8.5. 'cause we're cool like that.

lol..smartass

Here's a similar question I'm curious about using Arch, Debian, and Windows:

Can I play on a 0.8.5 server from a 0.8.1 client, or vice-versa?  Unfortunately, Debian has yet to get the memo that there is in fact an 0.8.5 out.

I believe the answer is yes, but you won't be able to use any new maps that 0.8.5 has to offer, such as the redesign of oa_minia.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong...

Probably, if you have autodownload enabled, it will autodownload pak6-patch085.pk3 to your user's "application data" folder. It will take some time since autodownloading is slow... and it could cause some problems anyway, I guess, since it downloads the new maps and textures, but the executable program (openarena.exe) will still remain 0.8.1 version...

In short... it's better to avoid this...

It's not wise to trust the auto download process for patches and MODs, all kinds of problems show up...
It's only good for maps. :P

If you connect to an 0.8.5 server using 0.8.1, it will try to autodownload the pak6-patch085.pk3. This will take ages.

The quick solution is to download the patch and drop pak6-patch085.pk3 into your .openarena folder by hand. The older binary will work just fine.

This is what I'm doing, anyway.

Why don't you just manually update to 0.8.5? I'm not a Linux user, but I guess you should simply download the patch (http://openarena.ws/download.php?view.3) and unpack the zip inside your current OpenArena installation folder. Thus, it will update both the executable and the pk3... and you will have a complete OA 0.8.5 then.

0.8.5 can join 0.8.1, 0.8.1 can't join 0.8.5, it will cause troubles while playing.
Sometimes autodownload makes the update successful and its all fine, sometimes you have to move yourself the pk3 to the right destination, for some reason I missed. (I wasnt experiencing these problems myself).
In no case 0.8.5 binaries/.exe are necessary and you can stick to 0.8.1 ones, but it's better to update them.
On ROFL servers I normally put the patch085 on some http website, so the download should go pretty quick, but most servers don't do that. Since some guys had problems with autoupdate, I have hesitated to remove it, but I think I'll keep it.

Note: people who have trouble either didn't update, or did update but also have some other .PK3 with an older QVM which conflicts.

Because Linux doesn't put programs into "installation folders", it puts all executables together, all libraries together, all artwork together, etc., for a number of reasons.

Generally, each distribution has a package manager which takes care of all that. Randomly replacing binaries in system directories is a bad bad bad idea.

The best solution is to either build a package for your distro, or to bug the official maintainer to do so. The second best solution is to simply drop the latest .pk3 into your .openarena directory. You'll miss some minor code changes, but it works. It's also the only way to upgrade on a Mac, AFAIK.

this is one of like 2 reasons i like windows better ;)

How often do you reinstall?  ;)

btw there are a couple of servers where only the 'real' 085 works (our server and there were some others which i dont remember), when you autodled it, you can usually spectate but not join.

You can always choose to uninstall the version the package manager supplies, download the big zip + patch manually and install them wherever you want (that's the way I do it). Of course you'll have to check for OA updates yourself after that since you've taken away control from the package manager.

If someone wants to update DO NOT LINK[/b]) h t t p s : / / openarena . wikia . com/wiki/LinuxInstall]this page (http://([b)... I see in some parts it talks about 0.7.0... I suppose that page may be a bit out-of-date...

I have updated the Other linux distributions / alternative installation section.  I have no idea what distributions have an up to date OA version (but I guess few).

Thank you!

That did the trick, thanks!

Say, should this impromptu patch be put in the wiki article?  It would work for Debian, as well as any other distro with an old version.