How to Make Quake Live Look Black & White

Some Quake III Arena engine forks include a greyscale option (often referenced as r_mapGreyScale). In Quake Live there isn’t a direct equivalent, but bloom/post-process cvars can be used to push the scene saturation down and get a near black-and-white look.

Enable post-process + bloom

• r_enablePostProcess 1 — enables post-processing (needed for bloom-related effects).
• r_enableBloom 1 — enables bloom (works with post-process enabled).
• vid_restart — restarts the renderer so the change applies cleanly.

Make the scene desaturated

The main “black & white” part is:

• r_bloomSceneSaturation "0" — reduces scene saturation; higher values bring back color.

Other values below let you tune how strong the bloom effect is and how it looks:

• r_bloomBlurRadius — bloom blur size/radius. Higher values make the bloom blur wider/stronger.
• r_bloomBrightThreshold — brightness threshold for what “blooms”; lower values make more of the scene trigger bloom.
• r_bloomIntensity — bloom brightness intensity; higher values make the glow brighter/stronger.
• r_bloomSaturation — saturation of the bloom effect itself (the glow).
• r_bloomSceneIntensity — brightness intensity applied to the non-bloomed scene; use it to make the base image darker/brighter without only boosting the glow.

Here’s an example set of commands and values that will make Quake Live look black and white:

Optional: brighter enemy models

If you’re running a low-saturation / near black-and-white look, forcing a bright enemy model color can help opponents stand out more: