RED Brushes

BSP brushes make up the geometry of each Red Faction level. Generally, level designers will create at least the basic layout of their map with brushes before moving on to placing objects or developing scripted sequences. Level design in RED is somewhat unique in the arena FPS genre due to GeoMod technology. Because GeoMod uses the boolean carve operation, it is only possible to blow craters in level geometry - this leads to Red Faction levels generally relying far more on BSP brush geometry for tasks that other engines may turn to static meshes for. Because of this, brushwork in RED tends to be much more flexible and reliable than in some other engines, which also enables level designers to create the majority of their level in the editor itself, rather than relying on 3d editing software for much of their custom geometry as is the case in many other engines.

In short, the GeoMod engine was designed for BSP brushes to be the primary tool in creating environments.

In RED, brushes are used for the following purposes:

• Base level geometry - rooms, walkways, ramps, stairs, etc.
• Geometry within moving groups
• Structural support geometry (that isn't affected by GeoMod)
• Grating and fencing
• Breakable and bulletproof glass
• Portals

Brush Shapes

Brushes are created in Brush Mode. When creating a new brush, the first and most important decision a level designer makes is the shape of the brush. The following shapes are available:

Brush Types

Brush types are configured in the Brush Properties panel at the bottom of the Brush Mode panel view. The available options are Is Portal, Is Detail, Emits Steam, and Life. Click Update to apply the selected flags to the selected brush.

Editing Brushwork

Brushwork in RED can be edited via Brush Mode, Face Mode, and Vertex Mode. Aside from performing basic operations (move, rotate, scale) on brushes, faces, or vertices, the following RED tools can be used to edit brushwork:

• Brush Clipping
• Fuse
• Carve
• Mesh Smooth
• Bend
• Twist
• Stretch
• Jitter
• Bevel