Fix the In-Game Server Browser — RTCW / ET / Q3 Server List

This page is for players whose in-game "Internet" server browser shows few or no servers. It's a one-line change to a file on your own PC — no game settings, no config, and it works even if you've never touched a console command. Running a server instead? See adding master servers.

This whole page is written for RTCW / Enemy Territory, whose client defaults to wolfmaster.idsoftware.com — that's the specific hostname redirected below. Fixing this for Quake 3 Arena instead? Its client defaults to a different hostname, master.quake3arena.com — use that one in the hosts-file line, not wolfmaster.idsoftware.com, or nothing will change. For OpenArena or other Q3A-engine source ports, the default master varies by build; check your own game's sv_master1 setting (type it at the console) to find which hostname your client is actually asking, then redirect that one.

Why the browser is empty

The game's built-in server browser asks a "master server" for the current list of active servers. For RTCW/ET, that's wolfmaster.idsoftware.com by default — the official id Software master, which has been unreliable and is currently down. Servers are still up (this website lists them), but your game is asking a master that isn't answering right now, so the browser comes back empty.

The fix: redirect that hostname on your PC

Your computer has a hosts file that lets you override where a hostname points, before DNS is even consulted. Adding one line there makes wolfmaster.idsoftware.com resolve to this project's own master instead — which combines the official list (when it's up) with every community master we track, so it's the most complete single source there is. Your game keeps using its normal default setting; it just reaches a server that actually answers.

Add this line to your hosts file:

65.75.201.60 wolfmaster.idsoftware.com

Editing the hosts file

Open the Start menu, search for Notepad, right-click it and choose Run as administrator.
In Notepad, go to File → Open, and paste this path into the filename box:
```
C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
```
(You'll need to change the file-type filter to "All Files" to see it.)
Add the line from above on its own line at the end of the file, then save.
Optional, to make sure Windows drops any cached lookup: open Command Prompt and run ipconfig /flushdns.

Open a terminal.
Run: sudo nano /etc/hosts (or your preferred editor) and enter your password when asked.
Add the line from above on its own line at the end of the file, then save.
No cache flush is normally needed — most Linux systems don't cache hosts-file lookups. If you run systemd-resolved and it still doesn't take effect, run sudo resolvectl flush-caches.

Check it worked

Open a terminal/Command Prompt and run ping wolfmaster.idsoftware.com. It should now show 65.75.201.60 instead of timing out. Then launch the game and open the Internet server browser — it should populate.

Undoing this later

Open the hosts file the same way as above and delete the line you added (or put a # at the start of it to disable it without deleting), then save. Your game goes back to using whatever wolfmaster.idsoftware.com actually resolves to.

A hosts-file entry applies system-wide, not just to the game — anything on your PC that looks up wolfmaster.idsoftware.com will get this redirect. In practice nothing outside idTech3-family games (Quake3, RTCW, Enemy Territory) uses that hostname, so this is low-risk, but it's worth knowing it isn't scoped to just this one game.