Alpine Level Design

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This page is under construction. The information on this page may not yet be complete.

This page lists all major differences between normal Red Faction level design and level design for Alpine Levels, as featured in Alpine Faction.

Compatibility

Alpine Levels are playable only using Alpine Faction.

Due to features unavailable in those clients, Alpine Levels are not playable while using older client versions such as any version of Red Faction (official builds), Pure Faction, or Dash Faction.

Geometry

When constructing non-Alpine levels, faces are added to "fix ps2 tiling" when building geometry, if the texture applied to a given surface tiles many times. This does not occur when constructing Alpine Levels - you can safely tile textures as much as you like without it resulting in additional unnecessary faces being added.

Similarly, when adding brushes to moving groups during construction of non-Alpine levels, if those brushes have surfaces with textures that tile many times, the brush will be split. This also does not occur when constructing Alpine Levels - you can safely tile textures as much as you like on brushes that either are, or will eventually be, members of moving groups, without it resulting in additional unnecessary faces being added.

Lighting

Lightmaps

In Alpine Levels, the game does not apply lightmap clamping. This means that the full range of available colors is available - including fully unlit (black) areas. Put another way, the way your lightmaps look when you calculate them in the level editor is how they will look in game.

Dynamic Lights

Alpine Levels can utilize dynamic lights - configured via the "Dynamic" checkbox in light properties. Using the Anchor_Marker event (described below), you can also move dynamic lights using moving groups.

Note: Dynamic lights are far more taxing on game performance than normal (static) lights. You should keep this in mind when designing, and use dynamic lights only where necessary to achieve your desired effect.

Skyboxes

In Alpine Levels, while you can still make static skyboxes as you always could before if you wish, through the Set_Skybox event (described below) you can enhance your skyboxes. The key differences are listed below.

Note: When making an enhanced skybox, while you still do need to place a Room Effect in the room that is to be your sky room, you should not select the "Sky Room" type on the Room Effect - instead, leave "type" set to "None", or set it to "Liquid Room" if you wish to have a liquid surface in your sky room. The UID of the Room Effect is the skybox room UID you will specify in the properties of the Set_Skybox event.

Eye Anchor

When setting an enhanced skybox via the Set_Skybox event, you can specify an "eye anchor" UID. This must be the UID of an Anchor_Marker event that is inside the skybox room you are using. If you specify a valid "eye anchor" UID, this will be the position from which the sky room will be visible when projected as your skybox. You can also place the Anchor_Marker in a moving group and move it with keyframes if you wish.

Caution: Moving the "eye anchor" with keyframes can be very disorienting and take away from your level if you are not careful. In general, you should avoid quick movements.

Relative Position

When setting an enhanced skybox via the Set_Skybox event, you can turn on "use relative position" and specify a "relative position scale". If you do, players can move around "inside the sky room" as they play your map. The position of your camera in relation to the world origin (position 0,0,0) is mapped to the "eye" position in the skybox, relative to the "eye anchor" position in the sky room. The position is scaled using the scale.

• A "relative position scale" of 1.0 maps camera position relative to world origin to eye position relative to eye anchor position at a ratio of 1:1 - every 1m moved in the world is 1m moved in the skybox.
• A "relative position scale" of 0.25 however, means every 1m moved in the world is 0.25m moved in the skybox. Using this, you can make your skybox much smaller than your actual level.

Note: Relative position requires you specify a scale and an eye anchor (and of course a skyboox room UID). If you do not specify each of these, ticking the "use relative position" option will have no effect.

Triggers

In multiplayer, unlike levels made for other versions of the game, triggers in Alpine Levels can activate events directly. This includes stock game events and Alpine Events (described below).

The following events are not supported in multiplayer and will not function if triggered:

• Load_Level
• Endgame
• Defuse_Nuke
• Drop_Point_Marker
• Go_Undercover
• Win_PS2_Demo
• Play_Video
• When_Picked_Up

Items

In single player, unlike levels made for other versions of the game, Alpine Levels allow the player to pick up the Multi Super Health and Multi Super Armor items.

Events

Fixes

Outside of Alpine Levels, using the delay parameter with the following stock game events leads to that event breaking - it's effect will never apply. In Alpine Levels, the delay parameter can be used on these events without issue - just like any other event.

• Play_Sound
• Cyclic_Timer
• Make_Invulnerable
• Alarm_Siren
• Unhide

Enhanced Functionality

In Alpine Levels, some stock game events have been improved in various ways:

• Headlamp_State - If not linked to any specific entities, applies to the player. Can be used to toggle the player flashlight.
• Holster_Weapon - Could always be turned on to holster the weapon of linked entities. In Alpine Levels, can also be turned off to force those entities to unholster their weapons.
• Holster_Player_Weapon - Could always be turned on to holster the player's weapon. In Alpine Levels, can also be turned off to unholster the player's weapon.

Dash Faction

Additionally, the following events had functionality added in Dash Faction 1.5.0. This functionality is not specific to Alpine Levels - it is available on any levels when using Dash Faction 1.5.0+ or any version of Alpine Faction. On other client versions (including all official client versions), although levels that rely on this functionality can be loaded, the functionality of these events will be restricted to only their stock game behaviour, which could lead to undesirable behaviour.

• Set_Liquid_Depth - Had no effect in the stock game. Can now be used to smoothly change the depth of a liquid room.
• Switch_Model - Used to swap the mesh used by linked clutter objects to a specified file. Could be used in stock game as long as the specified mesh file was a stock game file. Can now be used to specify custom meshes distributed with levels.

Alpine Events

The following Alpine Events are completely new and are only available for use in Alpine Levels:

AF_Catalysts

AF_When_Dead Upgraded version of the stock "When_Dead" event. Does not require a slot in the savegame file, so there is no limit on the number of "AF_When_Dead" events that you can use in a single map. Also supports repeated activations unlike the stock version. On Response None Off Response None Parameters any_dead: (boolean, "Activate When Any Dead") If true, this event sends an on message each time a linked entity or clutter dies. If false, this event only sends a single on message at the time that all linked entities/clutter are dead.

When_Picked_Up Fires a message to all linked triggers, movers, and events whenever a linked item is picked up by the player. Works in single player only. On Response None Off Response None Parameters No additional parameters.

AF_Flow

Sequence Each activation of this event routes the message to the next link in sequential order. After the last link, the cycle resets and the first link is called. Note the order of links is determined by the order in which you add them. On Response Send an on signal to the next link in the sequence. Off Response None Parameters last_link_index: (int, hidden) Stores the last activated link index. When processing a received on signal, the next index in the links array after this is used.

Difficulty_Gate Tests if the game is set to the specified difficulty and forwards messages only if true. On Response Forward on signal to all links, if the game is set to the specified difficulty. Off Response None Parameters difficulty: (int, "Life") Set the difficulty to test against. 0 = easy, 1 = medium, 2 = hard, 3 = impossible

Valid_Gate Tests if the specified UID is a valid object and forwards messages only if true. In the case of objects that have life values (ie. clutter and entities), "valid" means alive. On Response Forward on signal to all links, if the specified object is valid. Off Response None Parameters check_uid: (int, "Life") Object UID to be checked.

Inside_Gate Tests if an object (default: the player who activated the event) is in a specified area of the map. Forwards messages if true. On Response Forward on signal to all links if test passes. Off Response None Parameters check_uid: (int, "Life") Region to be checked. Can be a trigger UID or a room UID (Room Effect). test_uid: (int, hidden) Object to be checked. Defaults to the player who activated the event.

Gametype_Gate Performs a test on the gametype of the game. Forwards message to links only if test passes. Works only in multiplayer (test will always fail in single player) On Response Perform test and forward message if passed. Off Response None Parameters gametype: (string, "Goal To Set") Specify the test to run. Must be one of the below, specified exactly. dm tdm ctf

Switch_Random Randomly select one of this event's links and send an on signal to it. On Response Send an on signal to a randomly selected link. Off Response None Parameters No additional parameters.

Fixed_Delay Identical to the normal Delay event, but cannot be retriggered. Will forward a message to all links after the specified delay. Messages sent to this event while a message is queued are ignored. On Response Queue a message to be forwarded after the configured delay. Off Response None Parameters No additional parameters.

Goal_Gate Performs a test on a specified goal (integer variable). Forwards message to links only if test passes. On Response Perform test and forward message if passed. Off Response None Parameters value: (int, first "Texture Num") Specify the value to use for the test. goal: (string, first "Filename") Specify the goal name to test. value2: (int, second "Texture Num") Specify the second value to use for the test, if a second value is needed (currently only applies to between). test_type: (string, second "Filename") Specify the test to run. Must be one of the below, specified exactly. equal - Goal count equals value. nequal - Goal count does not equal value. gt - Goal count is greater than value. lt - Goal count is less than value. geq - Goal count is greater than or equal to value. leq - Goal count is less than or equal to value. between - Goal count is between value and value2 (inclusive). odd - Goal count is an odd number. even - Goal count is an even number. divisible - Goal count is divisible by value. ltinit - Goal count is less than its initial value. gtinit - Goal count is greater than its initial value. leinit - Goal count is less than or equal to its initial value. geinit - Goal count is greater than or equal to its initial value. eqinit - Goal count is equal to its initial value.

Environment_Gate Performs a test on the environment of the game. Forwards message to links only if test passes. On Response Perform test and forward message if passed. Off Response None Parameters environment: (string, "Goal To Set") Specify the test to run. Must be one of the below, specified exactly. multi - Event is running in multiplayer. single - Event is running in single player. server - Event is running on a server (listen or dedicated). dedicated - Event is running on a dedicated server. client - Event is running on a client.

AF_General

Clone_Entity Creates a clone of the linked entity with the same properties and settings as its source. On Response Create a clone at the event's position. Off Response None Parameters No additional parameters.

Set_Player_World_Collide Control whether the player collides with level geometry. On Response Collision = true (default) Off Response Collision = false Parameters No additional parameters.

Set_Level_Hardness Set the hardness for the loaded level (size of geo craters). On Response Set hardness to the specified value. Off Response None Parameters hardness: (int, "Life") The hardness value to set.

Set_Difficulty Set the difficulty level of the game. On Response Set difficulty to the specified value. Off Response None Parameters difficulty: (int, "Life") Set the difficulty to test against. 0 = easy, 1 = medium, 2 = hard, 3 = impossible

Set_Skybox Set the room to project as skybox. On Response Set skybox information as configured. Off Response None Parameters Skybox room UID: (int1) Specify the room UID (by Room Effect) to set as the sky room. Eye anchor UID: (int2) Specify the Anchor_Marker event to use as the eye position inside the sky room. Use relative position: (bool1) If true, apply relative position mapping camera position in world space to eye position in the sky room. Relative position scale: (float1) Scale/ratio to apply to relative position camera mapping.

HUD_Message Display a green HUD message in the bottom middle of the screen (like the helper text when you pick up items). On Response Display the HUD message for the configured duration. Off Response None Parameters message: (string, "Goal To Set") The message to display. duration: (int, hidden) Duration (in ms) the message will be displayed. If not specified, defaults to 5000 (5 seconds).

Play_Video Play a .bik format video. On Response Play the video specified. Off Response None Parameters filename: (string, "Goal To Set") The filename of the video to play.

Force_Unhide Force unhide/hide an object with no conditions. Virtually identical to the stock "Unhide" event, except this one will do it regardless of player line of sight or any other factors. On Response Unhide linked objects. Off Response Hide linked objects. Parameters No additional parameters.

Set_Fog_Far_Clip Sets the far clip plane used for distance fog. On Response Set far clip plane to specified value (in metres). Off Response None Parameters far_clip: (int, "Life") Far clip plane distance.

AF_Utility

SetVar Reconfigure a variable on linked events. Only supports new Alpine Faction events. Supports "delay" (float) as a variable name to set event delay. Other variable names are as indicated on this page. Specify the name of the variable to be set in the script name for SetVar using this scripe name format: "SetVar_VARNAME" where "VARNAME" is the variable name. On Response Set var_name to var_value on all linked events. Off Response None Parameters var_name: (string, set via script name) The name of the variable to be set. var_value: (string, "Goal To Set") The value to set var_name to. You must ensure you are providing a valid value for the type of the variable you are setting. If not specified, defaults to a blank string.

Remove_Link Used to remove links. If "remove_all" is turned off (default), removes links between objects this event is linked to. If "remove_all" is turned on, remove all links between every object this event is linked to and any other objects. On Response Remove links. Off Response None Parameters remove_all: (boolean, "Run") Turn on "remove_all".

Goal_Math Used to perform math operations on goals (integer variables). Applies the operation to any level (non-persistent) goals, as well as any persistent goals that are loaded. On Response Apply the operation. Off Response None Parameters value: (int, first "Texture Num") Specify the value to use for the operation. goal: (string, first "Filename") Specify the goal name to which the operation will apply. value2: (int, second "Texture Num") Specify the second value to use for the operation, if a second value is needed (currently only applies to clamp). operation: (string, second "Filename") Specify the operation to apply. Must be one of the below, specified exactly. add - Add value to goal count. sub - Subtract value from goal count. mul - Multiply goal count by value. div - Divide goal count by value. rdiv - Divide value by goal count. set - Set goal count explicitly to value. mod - Return modulus of goal count divided by value. pow - Raise goal count to the power of value. neg - Set goal count negative. abs - Set goal count positive (absolute value). clamp - Clamp goal count between value and value2. max - Set goal count to the highest between goal count and value. min - Set goal count to the lowest between goal count and value. reset - Set goal count to its initial value.

Clear_Queued Clears queued message (if any) on all linked events. Queued messages are messages that are queued per a configured delay value on that event. On Response Clear queued messages. Off Response None Parameters No additional parameters.

Add_Link Adds links from the first link in the link array to each other link in the array. Link array is ordered based on the order in which you linked this event to other objects. On Response Add links. Off Response None Parameters No additional parameters.

Anchor_Marker Used to "drag along" some object types that can't normally be added to moving groups. Simply add the Anchor Marker to the moving group, then link the Anchor_Marker to the objects you want to bring. That object/those objects will have their position locked to the position of the Anchor_Marker event as it travels with the mover. Supports Lights (Dynamic only), Particle Emitters, and Push Regions On Response None Off Response None Parameters No additional parameters.