Red Faction

Red Faction

Developers
	Volition
Mac OS (Classic)	Graphsim Entertainment
macOS (OS X)	Graphsim Entertainment
Publishers
2001-2013	THQ
2013-2020	THQ Nordic
2020-present	Deep Silver
Mac OS	Graphsim Entertainment
OS X	Graphsim Entertainment
Engines
	Geo-Mod 1.0
Release dates
Windows	September 17, 2001
Mac OS (Classic)	November 28, 2001
macOS (OS X)	January 4, 2002
Reception
Metacritic	78
IGDB	70
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Microtransactions	None
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	First-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	FPS
Vehicles	Automobile, Flight, Naval/watercraft
Art styles	Realistic
Themes	Sci-fi, Space
Series	Red Faction

Red Faction
Red Faction	2001
Red Faction II	2003
Red Faction: Guerrilla	2009
Red Faction: Armageddon	2011
Red Faction Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered	2018

Warnings

The Mac OS X version of this game does not work on Mac OS X Lion (version 10.7) or later due to the removal of support for PowerPC apps.

Red Faction is a singleplayer and multiplayer first-person FPS game in the Red Faction series.

The game suffers from severe bugs and compatibility issues, especially on modern systems, in both singleplayer and multiplayer.

The Dash Faction community-made modernization patch fixes most known bugs and virtually all known compatibility issues, and adds many new features and enhancements.

General information

Faction Files Community Discord - Active community Discord for the Red Faction games and universe, and the hub where virtually all activity within the community is organized

Red Faction Wiki

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series

GOG.com Support Page

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		2 CDs, disc 2 is used for check. OS X installer is also available alongside with an upgrade patch. Use Dash Faction to disable the disc check.
Retail		Steam key provided as part of the Red Faction Complete box set.
GOG.com
Humble Store
Steam
GamersGate (unavailable)
(unavailable)
Green Man Gaming (unavailable)

Version differences

Latest official patch for the retail version is 1.20. The Steam and GOG versions received a newer official patch 1.21, which fixed some compatibility and security issues, while also introducing a performance bug and possible crash when picking up items.

Essential improvements

Dash Faction

Dash Faction is an open source patch/launcher for Red Faction that improves stability, performance, and compatibility with modern systems. Additionally, it includes bug and security vulnerability fixes, video and graphical quality improvements/enhancements, autosaves after each level transition, and multiple other enhancements/usability improvements.

Dash Faction is only compatible with the Red Faction 1.20 North America version. If the game version is 1.00 or 1.10, the Dash installer will automatically apply the latest retail patch (1.20). For the Steam/GOG version, the Dash installer will automatically create a new game executable RF_120na.exe that is fully compatible with the launcher.

Use the -game command line argument to DashFactionLauncher.exe to launch the game immediately without displaying the launcher window.

If using the Steam version, enabling Replace the Red Faction launcher with the Dash Faction launcher in the launcher Options menu will force Steam to open the Dash Faction Launcher instead of the original Red Faction launcher.

Use the automated setup:

Download and run the Dash Faction installer. Click on Next until the Select RF.exe location screen appears. Enter the location of RF.exe in <path-to-game>. If a prompt appears about the "Detected Red Faction version is not directly supported by Dash Faction", click OK. Click Next a few times. At the Select Additional Tasks window, change default settings if desired. Click Install. Click Finish. Launcher will open now, go to the Options menu to adjust settings where desired. Launch the game from now on by first opening DashFactionLauncher.exe and then by clicking on Launch Game in the Dash Faction launcher.

Install it manually:

Download the Dash Faction ZIP archive. Extract the archive to any folder desired, doesn't have to be Red Faction installation folder. Run DashFactionLauncher.exe. Dash Faction is only compatible with the Red Faction 1.20 North America version. If a prompt appears about the "Detected Red Faction version is not directly supported by Dash Faction", download the Red Faction 1.20 North America executable, extract it and replace the game's <path-to-game>/rf.exe with it. Now the game's executable is fully compatible with Dash Faction. Most options are strictly preference, but some are required to be set for the game to work correctly. They are: Game executable (set to <path-to-game>\rf.exe) Resolution Color Depth Display Mode Rendering Cache (32 is recommended) Multiplayer Tracker (hit "Reset") Close Options menu. Click Launch Game to launch the game with all enhancements the launcher offers. Launch the game from now on by first opening DashFactionLauncher.exe and then by clicking on Launch Game in the Dash Faction launcher.

Game data

In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Volition\Red Faction <path-to-game>\players.cfg
Mac OS (Classic)	<path-to-game>/players.cfg
macOS (OS X)	<path-to-game>/players_osx.cfg
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/20530/pfx/

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\savegame\
Mac OS (Classic)	<path-to-game>/savegame/
macOS (OS X)	<path-to-game>/savegame/
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/20530/pfx/

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud

Video

Launcher video settings.

In-game video settings.

Graphics feature	State	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution			Max supported resolution is 1280x1024. Use Dash Faction for high/widescreen resolutions.
Multi-monitor			Use Dash Faction.
Ultra-widescreen			Use Dash Faction.
4K Ultra HD			Use Dash Faction. Additionally, since DF 1.5.0, an option has been available to use a properly-scaled HUD for high resolutions.
Field of view (FOV)		Default FOV is 90° for 4:3. See Field of view (FOV).
Windowed		Use Dash Faction.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		Use Dash Faction.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		Use Dash Faction.
Anti-aliasing (AA)		Use Dash Faction for up to 8x MSAA. Nvidia users can enhance to SGSSAA.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS
120+ FPS		Exceeding 60 FPS introduces crippling bugs. Use Dash Faction to allow for frame rates above 60 without crippling issues, and for configurable frame rate cap (up to 240 FPS).
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Field of view (FOV)

Dash Faction by default automatically scales FOV for other aspect ratios based on the standard of 90° at 4:3.

Custom FOV with Dash Faction
Install Dash Faction. Open the console. Use the fov <value> command to change world FOV. Use fpgun_fov_scale <value> to change viewmodel FOV.

Input

In-game control settings.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity		Install Dash Faction to set via numeric values (in console via ms # command). Base game allows you to edit mouse sensitivity only via slider.
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support

Controller types

Audio

Launcher audio settings.

In-game audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Install Dash Faction to control level ambient sound volume separate from other sound effects.
Surround sound		Up to 7.0 output with Dash Faction and DirectSound3D restoration software.
Subtitles		Subtitles for PA announcements and character speech are not presented, despite existing in data files. Only direct radio is displayed. Subtitles show on high resolutions only with Dash Faction.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support		EAX 2.0.

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
French				Retail only; download for digital versions.
German				Retail and GOG.com only; download for Steam version.
Russian				Distributed via bootleg distributions, primarily within Russia.
Spanish				Fan translation, download.
Persian				Fan translation of in-game signage, download.

Network

Launcher network settings.

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
LAN play		32
Online play		32

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting		See dedicated_server.txt in the installation folder. Using Dash Faction is strongly recommended due to crippling bugs and critical security vulnerabilities present in servers using the base unpatched game.
Direct IP		Use Add Server button in server browser. Install Dash Faction to allow usage of rf://IP:PORT protocol handler.

Ports

Protocol	Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP	7755
UDP	7755

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status can be hacked for this game: Dash Faction installation is required.

Issues fixed

Game does not launch

Many potential causes exist for this issue. Some causes were fixed by patch 1.21 (GOG/Steam version), while others remain. The fix provided below resolves all known causes.

Install Dash Faction

At least 8 MB of video memory is required error

Encountered when launching the retail version on a computer with > 2GiB available video memory. Was fixed in patch 1.21 (Steam/GOG version.)

Install Dash Faction

Unable to initialize DirectX 8.0 error

Install Dash Faction

Stuttering/glitching/crashing

Install Dash Faction

Submarine explodes when it hits water

A bug that occurs at frame rates above 60, which causes the submarine to explode when being dropped by the crane, immediately after destroying the Geothermal Power Plant.

Install Dash Faction

Unresponsive, and always on top

A bug that occurs if you click on another window after launching Red Faction but before the game screen appears.

Install Dash Faction to prevent this issue from occurring

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	8	Stock game is Direct3D 8, Direct3D 9 is supported (and default) in standard Dash Faction patch as of version 1.6.0.
OpenGL	1.2.1	Mac OS and OS X only.

Executable	PPC	16-bit	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Mac OS (Classic)

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Cutscenes	Bink Video	1.0x

Mods

Faction Files community file hosting site containing a huge number of mods. A small selection of these mods are listed below

Please note that many mods will expect you to have the Dash Faction patch installed, and likely will not function correctly without it.

Single Player Campaigns

Kava: a Red Faction Prequel

Full-length expansion campaign. Prequel to the main game storyline.

Red Faction N-Gage Remake

Recreation of the entire Red Faction N-Gage campaign.

Bearskinner

Custom campaign inspired by a German fairy tale.

Red Faction Fighter

Prequel mini campaign to the main game storyline.

PS2 Demo

Port of the mini campaign in the Red Faction PS2 demo. Contains levels cut from the final release of the game.

Total Conversion Mods

Red Faction Classic

Mod that aims to make Red Faction PC play and look as close to the original PS2 version as possible (plus minor improvements).

All Geo

Mod that removes limitations on where Geo-Mod can be used, allowing for full destruction of all levels.

Iron Sun Mod: Complete Edition

Arcade realism-focused multiplayer mod inspired by Counter-Strike.

Snow'd Out 2: Out Cold Edition

Wintery snowball fight multiplayer mod.

AQuest Speedrun Edition

Epic fantasy/RPG-style single player mod.

Enhancements

Goober's RF Retexturing Project Pack 01

Project to recreate Red Faction textures from scratch, resulting in higher quality assets than the AI Upscale Textures. Currently in it's infancy so only contains some wall decals.

60 FPS Cinematics

60 FPS versions of in-game cinematics (e.g. the campaign intro video).

HD Music Mod

High quality 44KHz versions of most music tracks played throughout the game.

HD Music Mod Update

Addon for HD Music Mod that contains high quality 44KHz of the rest of the music tracks in the game. (Use this alongside the HD Music Mod)

Improved Health Pack and Armor

High Poly versions of the health and envirosuit pickups.

Map Packs

PS2 Map Ports

Map pack containing authentic ports of all multiplayer maps from the PS2 version of Red Faction.

N-Gage Map Ports

Map pack containing faithful recreations of all multiplayer maps from the N-Gage version of Red Faction, included in the N-Gage Remake campaign.

Red Faction Unite Map Packs

All editions of the Red Faction Unite community level design project.

RF Game Night Map Packs

Multiplayer map packs for biweekly Red Faction Game Night events.

System requirements

Windows

Mac OS (Classic)

macOS (OS X)

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	95	98SE, ME, 2000, XP
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium II 400 MHz AMD K6-2 400 MHz	Intel Pentium III 500 MHz AMD K6-2 500 MHz
System memory (RAM)	64 MB	128 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	1.02 GB	1.2 GB
Video card (GPU)	8 MB of VRAM DirectX 8.0 compatible	32 MB of VRAM DirectX 8.0 compatible
Other	4x CD-ROM drive

Mac OS
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	8.6	9.2.2
Processor (CPU)	300 MHz PowerPC G3 300 MHz PowerPC G4	400 MHz PowerPC G3 400 MHz PowerPC G4
System memory (RAM)	64 MB	128 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	1.02	1.2 GB
Video card (GPU)	ATI Rage Pro/128 ATI Radeon 7000 series Nvidia GeForce2 series 6 MB of VRAM OpenGL 1.2.1 compatible	ATI Rage Pro/128 ATI Radeon 7000 series Nvidia GeForce2 series 16 MB of VRAM OpenGL 1.2.1 compatible
Other	8x CD-ROM drive or DVD drive