Released in June 1996, Quake had to navigate significant shifts in technology, particularly with the rise of 3D hardware accelerators, the expansion of the Internet, and a transition to Windows 95 and Windows NT from MS-DOS. While some developers like Blizzard North embraced Windows 95, id Software opted to create a single executable, quake.exe, that could run on both DOS and Windows. This decision involved using a GCC port called djgpp for cross-compilation, which allowed Quake to utilize a DOS extender to enable 32-bit addressing, sidestepping the limitations of DOS’s 16-bit architecture. Quake's multiplayer capabilities were noteworthy, supporting various protocols like IPX and TCP/IP. Under DOS, players could only access IPX multiplayer with the help of a TSR called PDIPX.EXE, while TCP/IP was rarely used due to the complexity and high cost of the necessary stack. In contrast, running quake.exe under Windows 95 was straightforward, benefitting from the operating system’s virtualized environment. Though it required 16 MiB of RAM, which was more than the 8 MiB Quake needed, it eliminated the need for manual configuration of drivers or environment variables. A unique aspect of running Quake was the q95.bat script, which connected the game to Winsock, enabling TCP/IP functionality through a tunnel created by Mpath Interactive. Mpath was instrumental in developing online gaming during the mid-90s, offering a service that allowed players to connect and find games easily. Their platform, known as Mplayer, allowed gamers to browse and join multiplayer sessions seamlessly, a feature that was not common in many games at the time. This integration highlighted the growing importance of online multiplayer experiences in the gaming industry.