does quakespam have a software renderer version? can't find anything to play quake on software mode under wayland 64bit 

No.

FTE runs on Linux and has a software-ish rendering mode. If you just care about the end results rather than the tech used, this may do it for you.

Also TyrQuake got some surprise updates recently, does have a software renderer, and you can compile-it-yourself for Linux. Haven't tried that yet though. 

TyrQuake it is. Works flawlessly. Beautiful. 

I've been coming back to Q1 after playing the remake on Xbox and it has been a lot of fun. QuakeSpasm works perfectly on Linux and just runs very smoothly even on crappy old hardware on crappy old distros.

Since my singleplayer urge is starting to go down, I've been playing more online maps with friends, but the overall experience sucks. Tweaking router, opening up ports, then trying to find ourselves, get IP, etc... only to get in game and then have stuttering, lag, etc. The MP experience did not age well and there is zero nostalgia for all that crap.

Is there any engine focused on fixing those problems? Adding input prediction, lag compensation, entity interpolation? Basically, having the features that CS 1.5 has that keep it playable and enjoyable. 

You want QuakeWorld for that. The standard Quake protocol and networking are really poorly suited to internet multiplayer. 

Well, there's also the Quake remaster on Steam. 

I just found out that DarkPlaces has all those tasty features: https://github.com/DarkPlacesEngine/darkplaces/blob/bfd441930916e7a29200ea42d5d8edfcc2baa806/cl_input.c#L377

I'll be playing around with those configs to find the sweet spot. 

You will find that DP isn't the universal tool if you play mods. Sure, it should play vanilla Quake and addons just fine, but forget it with many modern entries like AD. I have stopped using it years ago. 

Further however, there are mods that require DP to run like Quake 1.5 and WolfenQ. Know what is needed for which engine you use, and you will have a good time. 

Most mods that are not DP-compatible are single-player, so, doesn't really affect much our experience. So far, DP has been a huge improvement. NAT still sucks.

How does Quake remaster handle NAT? Do they just have dedicated servers everywhere and, when lobbying with friends, it just points to an empty and available server? 

Does any engine do authentic-looking "software rendering" (so a pixel-peeping comparison between it and Winquake, of the same scene, would be the same), and also runs AD generally well?

Btw - I don't mind if it's "fake software rendering" done on the GPU, as long as it is properly emulating the way WinQuake does it with the colormap and whatnot.

I've tried a few engines that fake the software look as a sort of post-process thing (e.g. Ironwail), and it always looks wrong and gross.

I tried Mark V WinQuake but it seems to crash in AD. 

I vaguely remember FTE might do...... 

Try ChadQuake :)

https://github.com/adolfintel/ChadQuake 

Interesting - hadn't heard of that one!

Meanwhile, I've been quite pleased with how Ironwail does it.

I actually get a really nice vibe when playing in 1080p, with render scale set to 1/2, and 8-bit mode set to "balanced". Good stuff! 

It seems then that I was mistaken and Ironwail is NOT one of those "wrong and gross" solutions to the software rendering problem. Not sure which engines I was remembering but I guess it wasn't Ironwail, at least not the version I'm now using.

The more I look at Ironwail's "balanced" mode, the more I am impressed by it. It somehow, using arcane wizard magic, even gives perfect extra grit to badly-converted textures. This is my favourite way to view Quake I think. 

Haha, someone made a port of Mark V WinQuake.

Nice! 

When you're not around to take care of your own projects. :P Lesson learned, I hope? 

i was checking the progress of rbdoom3 and they got DX12 and Vulkan working through NVRHI. looks amazing, i think it is time to replay doom 3 on this thing

https://github.com/RobertBeckebans/RBDOOM-3-BFG 

DIY Quake Engine:
https://github.com/amroibrahim/DIYQuake 

quake in rust: https://github.com/cormac-obrien/richter 

does anyone remember tochris? was a badass software renderer

https://github.com/viciious/tochris 

another from scratch one in rust: https://github.com/Antiquake-rs/antiquake-rs 

ezquake antilag is pretty decent: https://github.com/QW-Group/ezquake-source/blob/e8ed7a50935e88a5c8d3c5921afb3e51d9c793b3/src/sv_world.c#L627

currently testing on inter-continental matches and pretty decent 

pretty cool quake-inspired engine: https://github.com/antopilo/Nuake 

yquake2 is adding remaster support: https://github.com/yquake2/yquake2remaster