Q: How much game time does Red Faction take to complete?
-Approximately 20-25 hours for average players on normal difficulty. Comparatively, Resident Evil was meant to be completed in under 3 hours, and the average player was intended to beat Metal Gear Solid in under six hours. top

Q: The environments in Red Faction are known to be varied. What sort of environments can we expect to see featured?
-A major design goal was to create levels that immerse the player in the game. This means having the levels make sense from a functional perspective, adding lots of detail and interactivity. We have a broad range of environments for the player to experience, including natural caverns/caves, mining environments, industrial areas, living quarters, administrative areas, underwater areas, surface areas and level that takes place on a space station in orbit around Mars. top

Q: How do geo-mods effect level designing and the general gameplay in that respect?
-The level designers really need to think about the fact that the player can shoot through a wall, but they have to think about where the player can go because normally in a FPS game it's very linear in terms of where you can go. To a certain extent we still have to, because our game is very story driven, but the level designers need to think about what areas are destructible, to what degree, and to how that fits into solving puzzles. So, a lot of time is spent making sure you can still progress through the game and see the story, while all the while taking advantage of a destructible environment. top

Q: Will there be forced failures?
-Yes there are forced failures, but generally the game will end only when you die or you do one of a very few really dumb things that you will have had plenty of warning not to do. top

Q: Do you get orders?
-Yes, Eos, leader of the Red Faction barks orders at you like crazy; then, Hendrix "suggests" what your next course of action might be. Of course, there is only one choice though. top

Q: Do you just wander around aimlessly?
-Of course not. There are logical tasks and objectives to be completed. top

Q: How is ammo management in levels being handled?
-This is an issue that is well tested. At the lower difficulty levels, ammo will be more plentiful. Even then, most of the ammo you find is probably going to be pried out of the cold fingers of your vanquished foes, so you'll have to earn it. The harder you make it the more conservative you should be. top

Q: How are level transitions set up?
-They are similar to those found in Half-Life. You will notice them, but they won't be very long and they'll occur in-game; the screen you see while loading will be the same one you saw just before you hit the level load point. You'll then be in the exact same screen/location when you come out of the level load. It'll be just as if the game paused for a few seconds, (which, I guess, is exactly what it's doing). The word "Loading" will appear briefly on-screen, just to let you know that the game's not locked up and all is well. We are working to make them considerably shorter to those in Half-Life and indeed expect them to be after optimizing takes place. The PS2 version is set up the same way; however, due to hardware constraints the loading times between sections there are almost 10 seconds long. top

Q: Will Red Faction support multiple level transition spots in a level for those who don't want to make a non-linear mission or campaign?
-There will only be one load point for the next level, but you'll often be able to reach that spot in different ways. You can make it so long that it stretches across the entire level so that whenever you reached this wall (as it were) from any point along it, the load would initiate and you would find yourself on the other side of the wall. Clever modders can do some pretty cool stuff with this. top

Q: Is there an "Entering New Area" warning like in Elite Force so you don't inadvertently trample back and forth through load spaces thus creating a very frustrating and slow experience?
-No, but the level designers are placing the load triggers in quiet, unpopulated areas, so that (unless you do something very unusual) you won't be in the middle of combat or another activity when you suddenly hit a level load. I can remember that happening to me a number of times in Half-Life, and it was pretty irritating. It can still get a little annoying at times though. There will be a fork in the road and you'll naturally want to explore what's down both paths, but chances are only one path will lead you to the next section while the other will contain powerups or something to that effect. Unfortunately, both paths will have level loads, so if the path you happen to choose is the one that progresses you further into the game you'll find yourself trampling back and forth between level loads to explore, which can become quite annoying, especially in the PS2 version where they last around 10 seconds. top

Q: How does the engine handle large, outdoor, open environments?
-Outdoor environments are handled sort of like the way Unreal handles them. I suppose that would be the best comparison. There are fairly wide outdoor areas, but it's not like Planetside or MechWarrior 4. The outdoor areas in RF are generally less detailed than the indoor areas. top

Q: So the engine will be able to handle large outside areas like unreal, but will these areas be really detailed?
-No, Red Faction is not being designed to handle large detailed outside areas. The engine is portal based, so it's optimized to handle interior areas very well. That being said, we will have outdoor areas, but there will not be lots of detailed geometry found there. top

Q: Will there be cameras that see the player and then sound an alarm to alert the security?
-Yes, but this is really only applicable in the stealth missions. top

Q: Will you know if the camera sees you?
-It doesn't matter except in the stealth missions, and if a camera goes off there you'll definitely know. top

Q: If you break into a security room, will you be able to use cameras in the room to see what's going on?
-Yes. top

Q: Is there a training level in the game?
-Even though you're a miner, there will still be a training level in the game that is integrated into the game's story explaining how it is that you've had weapons training. top

Q: Will there be zero-G levels, perhaps space?
-There is a mission that takes place aboard a space station here the gravity is lower, but not at a zero-G level. top

Q: How do you explain being able to venture into hostile environments like the surface of Mars?
-Characters are equipped with special enviro-suits that allow them to survive on the surface and in non-pressurized areas under the surface. top

Q: How are we going to know that there are environmental hazards around?
-There could be visual cues such greenish gas pouring out of a vent, etc. You'll know if an environment isn't exactly OSHA approved. top

Q: How will we venture between non-friendly and normal environments?
-There are airlocks in the game that define the boundaries between "outside" and "inside." You certainly won't want to get caught outside without an enviro-suit on. top

Q: Will there be objectives in Red Faction where you don't kill the person, you just injure him or her?
-When you hit them with the riot stick, you can tell yourself they're still breathing. top

Q: Do the stealth missions comprise a large portion of the game?
-No, there are only two stealth missions and it is not even necessary to play one of them in a stealth manner, and although the other puts limits on you making it prohibitive to go in guns blazing you can still of course do so if that is your wish. top

Q: Do the vehicle missions comprise a large portion of the game?
-No, they make up for very little of the total action, and a couple of them are rarely seen, though altogether they are a nice compliment to the game. top

Q: Will there be a map?
-No. The nature of the level transitions and the general linearity of the game negate the purpose of a map. top

Q: Will there be a guidebot?
-No. The nature of the level transitions and the general linearity of the game negate the purpose of a guidebot. top

Q: Will there be day and night?
-Technically the answer is yes, but realistically the answer is no, because it's all dingy cave and/or canyon type of stuff. There are clocks in the game that actually work, so that's kind of cool if you take the time to notice. top