I have been playing Q4 Multiplayer since it's release. I also agree that it was tacked on and rushed out once the single player was ready to go. There are some obvious bugs that should of been corrected if it really had gone through quality control. I'm convinced that Q4 MP was the victim of a deadline, release now and patch later mentality that seems to be the norm now for some games. I remember watching a video from the QuakeCon showing of Q4 & Tim Willits was asked by a attendee about a Q4test, Tim basically said that Activision quality control was more that enough & a public release wasnt needed.. Well, we all know now that was not true.

I'm confident that most if not all the issues with Q4 MP will be addressed with upcoming patches. My guess is that some of the backlash stems from players that come from a very polished game that Q3 is now and expected some of the standards it set were not followed in Q4 MP. Stuff like being able to set forcemodel, enemymodel, teammodel, colored skins. These are just some of the basic stuff that should of been on the list of standard for Q4 MP.

The most personal change for me that I hope makes it into the next patch is singlelight. I'm sure most if not all of you are aware of this command that basically removes all lights/shadows & can give a huge boost to fps. I am also aware that singlelight was used to test maps and was never meant as a user controlled option. I really hope id/raven software really considers implementing this for Multiplayer use. Currently I have to drop down to 1024x768 to achieve 40-60fps on the quality I like (high quality textures). With singlelight I can do 1680x1050 High Quality @ 60fps steady all over the edge. That is a huge boost in fps with that resolution.

Without SingleLight - http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/4900/q47jz.jpg

With SingleLight - http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/3404/q426xh.jpg

My Monitor - Dell 2005FPW 20.1" (16:10)
My Video Card - eVGA 6800 128MB

As you can see from the images above, the difference in fps and visibility are huge for Muliplayer & is the way I would love to play Quake 4. It would also help lower end graphic cards reach a playable fps with eye candy. The option to give the end user control of the way they like to play can only be a good thing & make alot Quake 4 fans (such as myself) happy. In the end I'm sure thats what all developers want.

That all said, I am very pleased with Quake 4 & congratulate raven on doing a great job on Quake 4 Singleplayer. I'm sure with a few patches the multiplayer is going to be the game they invisioned it being from the start. The base multiplayer of Quake 4 is fun & it can only get better from here on out, with support from both id/raven & the quake community.

Some of my favorite things in Q4 MP.

* Maps - Over the Edge & The Lost Fleet (lost fleet seems to be the most popular duel map currently, has a good flow to it).

* New Feature - Whoever came up with the tourney mode should get a gold star, because its one of those features that you wonder why didnt anyone else come up with it for past quake games.  

* Gun Models - The nail gun model is my favorite followed by the rail gun. I love how the rail gun discharges & resets.

* The whole menu system is smooth and neat, from main nenu, graphic setup, player setup etc. I like the GUI alot, Really well done.

There are huge problems with the GUI though - have you tried adding custom maps? If you have more than a handful, the lack of scrolling menu means that you lose the ability to select a large selection. Something thats so easy to have implemented and was very poor in being overlooked.
As for tourney mode - that was included in Q3A :P - unless you mean that new version of CTF?

Yes its bad when the gamers standards a lil higher than devs and game reviewers...

Bugs withstanding, I just meant the overall feel & look of the menu system was nice, of couse the bugs/flaws will need to be addressed in the upcoming patch to make it that much better.

Some multiplayer things that I hope makes it into the next patch:

* singlelight option(one light that lights the MP maps).
* forcemodel, teammodel, enemymodel, team & enemy color, the current way you choose rail color should be applied to enemy/team models armor/skin.
* more diverse models to choose from in MP & well as unique sounds for each (footsteps, grunts, death sound etc.)
* have a loser bracket in the new tourney mode.
* add an icon in scoreboard to see who has/hasnt readied up.
* lower MG sound.
* add the option to choose white rail beam in menu. (currently you have to do this in console -> ui_hitscanTint "0 0 1")

I have my fingers crossed that the next patch will be "the one" that brings peace to the Quake world.