This is an experimental skybox mesh I created in Blender, then rigged up to Switch_Model/Swap_Texture events in RED to create a changing sky effect with a sample 8 frame 1024x island forest sky, that transitions from day to night over a 6 min time frame. The mesh is 260x260x260 but works best with a map 100x100x100 or smaller. I've also included other RFG's if you want to use just one of the skies as a classic skybox. Included are both TGA and DDS textures. The DDS and mesh are already packed in a VPP, but if you just want to use one of the skies as a classic skybox, then once your map is done, delete the TGA's from your VPP and add the DDS versions, as they are 80% smaller file size for pretty much the same quality.

The sky mesh group doesn't have to be used exactly as is. You could swap in any sky you want just by changing the file names in the Swap_Texture events. You could also change the time between sky changes by changing the times in the delay events or only use one or 2 of the skies by deleting the events for the other changes.

Advantages of a sky mesh instead of skybox:
-Dynamic skies! Can change weather, seasons, time of day, orbit around a planet, or any other texture animation you can think of.
-Can make the transitions as detailed and smooth as you want, just depends how many skies you’re willing to render out and how big of a file size you find acceptable. Eight 1024x skies in DDS = 24mb uncompressed or 14mb zipped.
-Fog works properly with sky, the map renders as the fog colour instead of just cutting off when you get beyond the Far Clip Plane you have set.
-Fog also blends with the sky, instead of the sky being perfectly clear.
-Can keyframe the sky to create interesting or trippy effects.
-Can have multiple skies in a map if your areas are far enough apart and air gapped.
-Can do anything else you can think of that you could do with any other clutter object.

Disadvantages:
-If you don't want fog, RF's limited render distance means the map can't be much bigger then 100x100 or else the corners of sky will start to disappear when you get far enough away.
-When you get near the edge you can start to see the distortion of the cube map, which kind of breaks the illusion.
-Can't change the in game lighting to match the changing sky.
-Portals/separate rooms may cause the sky to disappear when you leave the room the mesh is in. If that happens then giving each room its own mesh and link it to the Switch_Model and Swap_Textures events should fix that. It may get tricky trying to match up the sky meshes depending on level layout.

Changes for Version 1.1:

-Made the mesh full bright, so you no longer need to use the ambient light setting in the map to light the sky. If you want to set a custom sky brightness or tint the sky a certain colour using the ambient light property, then use the old version of the mesh.
-Enabled backface culling to make the mesh slightly more efficient.
-Included the GLTF file if you want to make changes in blender. Just make sure you give the mesh a new name if you make changes, so it doesn't affect any other maps that may have used the mesh.


===============================================================================================
To use:

To use the sky mesh, simply put the IACsSkyMesh1-1.rfg file in your groups folder (default C:\games\RedFaction\Red\groups ) and IslandForestDTN Sky.vpp in your single or multi folder (default C:\games\RedFaction\user_maps\multi ). Then open up RED editor and go to group mode and click "Load" then find the IACsSkyMesh1-1.rfg file. Move the Veg_Bush02 object to the very center of your map/room. Then go to texture mode and click on the wall you want to show sky then right click on it and check "show sky" or apply an invisible texture. When you're ready to release the map, make sure you manually pack the IACsSkyMesh1-1.v3m file and any textures you used, in the vpp, as RED won't pack these for you.

To use these textures just as classic skyboxes, simply put the .rfg files in your groups folder (default C:\games\RedFaction\Red\groups ) and all the TGA's in your textures folder (default C:\games\RedFaction\user_maps\textures ). Then open up RED editor and go to group mode and click "Load" then find the .rfg file for the sky you want. Move the brush and room effect somewhere outside your map. Then go to texture mode and click on the wall you want to show sky then right click on it and check "show sky" or apply and invisible texture. Now if you want to see your sky in the editor simply go to view then click "draw sky (like in game)" and build geometry (space bar) and you should see your sky. If you don't see your sky, make sure the box is not anywhere inside your main level and that the room effect is still in the skybox. The skybox should be far off not touching any part of your level.

This file hasn't been reviewed yet. Tell us what you think!

Name	Date Added	Downloads	Quick Links
IACs Sky Mesh V1.1, with Island Forest Day to Night Sky (newest)	04/07/2025	1	[Download]