Site  -News  -News Archive  -Submit News  -Poll Archives  -Articles Red Faction  -Codes/Tips  -Concept Art  -Description  -Downloads  -FAQ  -PC Screenshots  -PS2 Screenshots  -Story  -Vehicles  -Weapons Hosted  -Get Hosted  -Dark Chrome  -Freespace: FPS  -Hive MOD  -Onward to     Victory  -Red-Maps  -SiX Editing  -Level Editor Community  -Links  -Interviews  -IGN RF BB  -Volition BB  -V Watch BB Staff  -Alphakiller  -Brando  -Cece  -Chmee  -Dynamo  -IceFire  -Orange  -Remora Network  -Archives  -FreeSpace     Watch  -Summoner     Watch  -Volition Watch Volition, Inc THQ Telefragged	This will be a compilation of all the information we can gather on the Red Faction Level Editor. When we get our hands on said level editor, hopefully this will turn into something much more. Something good preferably. Screenshots: FAQ/Information: - Questions from Voodoo Extreme's Mike Kulas Q/A: VE: Your very own, Scott Blinn, has been ranting and rambling about the new level editing tools for Red Faction over the past few weeks. What makes them so special, and can you talk about them in general (such as some of their features, etc.)? MK: We've had a guy working on it full-time for a long time and he has worked closely with the level designers to give them what they want. On many projects, the editor is an orphan program that no one wants to work on. We made it a very high priority. With new technology for the level designers, such as geomods, it's crucial that our editor be extremely powerful. As to specifics -- you should ask Scott. He's got the editor religion. VE: What sort of support are you planning on offering modification makers, if any? Will the level editing tools, as well as other editing tools, be released to the public when Red Faction ships? MK: We're a big believer in the mod community. I can't say for sure whether the editor will ship with the title, though that is our hope. Our history shows that we love to get tools in the players' hands and I see no reason this should be different. - Voodoo Extreme's Interview with Scott Blinn - Heavily covers the level editor and just generally making levels for Red Faction. What is the Editor called? Its currently called RED, but whether or not that's the final name is unknown right now. How easy is RED to use? Matt Boynton: IMO, Red will be easier to learn than WC and UnrealEd (I have used them both over the years) but you will have to judge for yourself of course. Our interface is text driven (not wacky icons like some other editors) and uses a lot of hot keys. While it may take a little time to memorize hot keys they are infinitely faster then clicking on buttons or pull down menus. Red is based on every editor and 3D program any of the designers has used. We have all had input on it so while shares some similarities with other editors, it is much better than any of them. But that's just my opinion and I'm biased. You will have to judge for yourself. Do you cut into the world, ala UnrealED, or do you add to the world, ala Quake based engines? Matt Boynton: Red is more like UnrealEd in the fact that you start with a solid world and carve out of it. To me, this is inherently faster and more intuitive than additive CSG editors. You also don't have to worry about those nasty leaks that you can get in Quake based engines. But you can still do additive CSG (make solid brushes) just as easily. The editor/engine doesn't care. Once the level is compiled, it's basically one big brush. Do Geo-Mods have a big effect on how easy it is to design levels? Matt Boynton: Geo-mods do not make building levels any more difficult than any other editor. Where you can geo-mod is determined by what we call a "geo-region". It has nothing to do with textures or materials. A geo-region is just an arbitrarily sized bounding box or sphere that has certain properties. If you want to geo-mod in an area, you just slap a geo-region in, set the properties and that's it. The rest is handled by the engine. There are special brushes (detail brushes) that are not affected by geo-mods. You can use detail brushes for things like door frames and metal supports so they won't be affected by geo-mods. Red Faction Watch is copyrighted 2000 of Volition Watch Network except where Volition, THQ, or respective authors may apply. Design work done by Chris Haskett and coding by Ben Dekarske.