Note: what follows is only a very basic explanation of the use of configuration files in Quake and Quake2.

Basically, any command that can be entered at the console can also be placed in a configuration file.

In your \Quake2\BaseQ2 (or \Quake\id1 for Quake1) directory, you already have a config.cfg file. You can view the contents of that file to check your syntax, but you should probably avoid making edits directly to that file.

Instead, create a text file called autoexec.cfg. Quake or Quake2 will automatically execute any commands or settings placed in that file every time you launch the game. Whatever console command you want to execute will need to be preceded by the word "set" and the variable will need to be encapsulated in quotation marks.

For instance, v1k_waterwarp 0 entered at the console would disable the warping effect that occurs underwater in VQuake2. That same command in an autoexec.cfg file would be set v1k_waterwarp "0". Get the idea?

One more thing. You can make separate config files with any name ending in ".cfg". You can then call those config files from inside your autoexec.cfg or directly from the console by using "exec <filename>". (The syntax is the same inside a config file or at the console). For instance, suppose I have internet tweeks in an internet.cfg file. I could run the game normally and when I want to enable the tweeks, I can pull down the console and enter exec internet.cfg. Of course, all these config files need to be in your \Quake2\BaseQ2 directory for Quake2 or in your \Quake\id1 directory for Quake1.