Haste Power-up

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The Haste rune was created as part of the LMCTF mod, which was first released in 1998, years before the Quake II source code was released in December 2001. The mod was created by Mike "Jormungard" Scandizzo of Clan Loki's Minions. The power-up runes, including Haste, were among the many new features that LMCTF added to the original Quake 2 game, alongside the off-hand grappling hook, plasma rifle, team radio and voice sounds, custom models, custom skins, custom maps, tournament mode and observer cam options.

In Their Own Story

In the competitive scene of LMCTF, power-up runes like Haste played a role in the many tournaments organized for LMCTF clans. These tournaments included Ragnarok, Ascension, Narf!, Wargrounds, Online Gaming League (OGL) and the Free Agent Fest. The biggest was the Ragnarok and Ragnarok 2 tournaments, which started in 1998 with a second season following in 1999. The first-season winner was Harbingers of Despair [HD], and the second season Ragnarok winner was Pathetic Totally Harmless. After a revival in August 2011, organized matches and play resumed, leading to 6 mini tournaments with as many as 6 teams competing for the 'Beatdown' championship. Another revival in May 2020 resulted in the continuation of the 'Beatdown' tournament to season 7.

Reader's Guide

The Haste power-up rune is one of four runes available in LMCTF, alongside Strength, Resist and Regeneration. These runes are power-ups that players can collect during Capture the Flag matches to gain temporary advantages. In LMCTF gameplay, two teams (Red and Blue) compete to enter the other team's base, steal their flag and return it safely to their own team's flag inside their base. The team with the most flag captures at the end of the match wins. Power-up runes like Haste can be used strategically to enhance a player's effectiveness during flag runs or defensive stands. The mod featured 30 original maps in its final iteration, with additional community-made map packs (XMaps2, Lockheed's Tombs, Nachos Map Pack and the Kiukku Pack) adding another 50 maps. Players should learn the locations of rune spawns on these maps to maximize their effectiveness during matches.

Did You Know?

• The Haste power-up rune was one of five runes introduced in LMCTF, alongside Strength, Resist, Regeneration, and Invisibility.
• LMCTF was created by Mike 'Jormungard' Scandizzo of Clan Loki's Minions and was first released in 1998, years before the Quake II source code was released in December 2001.
• The mod featured a number of original maps and community map packs, but the exact count of 30 original maps plus 50 additional maps is not consistently documented in official or widely-accepted sources.
• The biggest LMCTF tournaments were Ragnarok and Ragnarok 2, which started in 1998 with a second season following in 1999.
• A revival of LMCTF in May 2020 resulted in the continuation of the 'Beatdown' tournament to season 7.