Surfaces

Introduction

Each face of a brush has its own parameters to define the type of surface. The game uses it to play correct sound and effects when walking on/shooting at something. Some special attributes allow the texture to use an alpha parameter (transparency) or project white light.

In Kingpin Radiant the Surface Inspector would look like this:

QERadiant Surface Inspector (Kingpin)

In other Map Editors flag names can be missing for example in the Q2 Radiant:

QERadiant Surface Inspector (Quake 2)

But sometimes you still can add the correct flag if you know the correct hex value.

Surfaces Flags

Value	Hex	Flag	Description
1	0x1	Light	Emit light from the surface, brightness is specified in the 'value' field"
2	0x2	Slick	The surface is slippery
4	0x4	Sky	The surface is sky, the texture will not be drawn, but the background sky box is used instead
8	0x8	Wrap	The surface warps (like water textures do)
16	0x10	Trans33	The surface is 33% transparent
32	0x20	Trans66	The surface is 66% transparent
64	0x40	Flowing	The texture wraps in a downward 'flowing' pattern (warp must also be set)
128	0x80	NoDraw	Used for non-fixed-size brush triggers and clip brushes
256	0x100	Hint	Make a primary bsp splitter
512	0x200	Skip	Completely ignore, allowing non-closed brushes
1024	0x400	Specular	In ref_gl.dll change something with light? Unclear what it actually does. Does not work when gl_specular is not 0. In SDK says: Shows specular lighting from light flares Used for some maps in Xatrix Kingpin.
2048	0x800	Diffuse	In ref_gl.dll change something with light? Unclear what it actually does. In SDK says: Used with specular lighting, makes it bigger and less intense. Used for some maps in Xatrix Kingpin.
4096	0x1000	Alpha	Alpha texture, texture needs to have a alpha channel.
8192	0x2000	Mirror	? Does not look it's in ref_gl.dll? Does not do anything? Not used in any Kingpin maps.
16384	0x4000	Wndw33	Reflect sky 33%, Uses *winrefl.tga sky texture. Only visible if room is not to bright. Brush need to be Solid.
32768	0x8000	Wndw66	Reflect sky 66%, Uses *winrefl.tga sky texture. Only visible if room is not to bright. Brush need to be Solid.
65536	0x10000	10000	?
131072	0x20000	20000	?
262144	0x40000	40000	?
524288	0x80000	Water	Water sound, Plays sound for example sound\actors\player\step water\
1048576	0x100000	Concrete	Concrete sound (default), Plays sound for example sound\actors\player\step pavement\
2097152	0x200000	Fabric	Fabric sound, Plays sound for example sound\actors\player\step rug\
4194304	0x400000	Gravel	Gravel sound, Plays sound for example sound\actors\player\step gravel\
8388608	0x800000	Metal	Metal sound, Plays sound for example sound\actors\player\step metal heavy\
16777216	0x1000000	Metal Lite	Metal light sound, Plays sound for example sound\actors\player\step metal light\
33554432	0x2000000	Tin	Tin sound (called snow in SDK), Plays sound for example sound\actors\player\step tin\
67108864	0x4000000	Tile	Tile sound, Plays sound for example sound\actors\player\step marble\
134217728	0x8000000	Wood	Wood sound, Plays sound for example sound\actors\player\step wood\
268435456	0x10000000	Reflect Fake	Only in KP Demo ref_gl.dll says in SDK: Uses fast (fake) reflections Not used in any Kingpin maps. Unclear what it actually does.
536870912	0x20000000	Reflect Light	Only in KP Demo ref_gl.dll says in SDK: Only reflects SURF_LIGHT surfaces. Not used in any Kingpin maps. Unclear what it actually does.
1073741824	0x40000000	40000000	In ref_gl.dll change light of round shapes? (Removes shadows?) Used mostly for round shapes in Xatrix Kingpin maps
2147483648	0x80000000	80000000	In kprad.exe as maxium lights? Used mostly for round shapes in Xatrix Kingpin maps

Contents Flags

Value	Hex	Flag	Description
1	0x1	Solid	Solid (default)
2	0x2	Window	The brush cannot "close" an area, surfaces back-culling. Light can pass through.
4	0x4	Aux	Unused by the engine. Some compilers, such as ericw-tools, treat it as an alias for a combination of Mist and Window.
8	0x8	Lava	The brush is lava
16	0x10	Slime	The brush is slime
32	0x20	Water	The brush is water
64	0x40	Mist	The brush is non-solid
128	0x80	Fence	The brush cannot "close" an area, render both sides of each surface
256	0x100	100	?
512	0x200	200	?
1024	0x400	400	?
2048	0x800	800	?
4096	0x1000	1000	?
8192	0x2000	2000	?
16384	0x4000	4000	?
32768	0x8000	8000	? Used mostly for func_areaportal in Xatrix Kingpin [maps].
65536	0x10000	Player Clip	Player cannot pass through the brush (other things can)
131072	0x20000	Monster Clip	NPC cannot pass through the brush (player and other things can)
262144	0x40000	current_0	Brush has a current in direction of 0 degrees. Works with WATER, Lava and Slime pushes you in a direction.
524288	0x80000	current_90	Brush has a current in direction of 90 degrees. Works with WATER, Lava and Slime pushes you in a direction.
1048576	0x100000	current_180	Brush has a current in direction of 180 degrees. Works with WATER, Lava and Slime pushes you in a direction.
2097152	0x200000	current_270	Brush has a current in direction of 270 degrees. Works with WATER, Lava and Slime pushes you in a direction.
4194304	0x400000	current_up	Brush has a current in the up direction. Works with WATER, Lava and Slime pushes you in a direction.
8388608	0x800000	current_down	Brush has a current in the down direction. Works with WATER, Lava and Slime pushes you in a direction.
16777216	0x1000000	origin	Special brush used for specifying origin of rotation for rotating brushes. Used by func_door_rotating, func_rotating and func_train_rotating.
33554432	0x2000000	monster	Give brush monster/cast/ai flag. Better not to use
67108864	0x4000000	corpse	Give brush dead monster/cast/ai flag. Better not to use
134217728	0x8000000	detail	This brush WILL subdivide the BSP surface tree but will NOT affect VIS processing
268435456	0x10000000	translucent	Use for opaque water that does not block vis
536870912	0x20000000	Ladder	Brushes with this flag allow a player to move up and down a vertical surface
1073741824	0x40000000	40000000	?
2147483648	0x80000000	80000000	?