Custom Shaders

Warfork uses a Q3-derived shader system. Shader scripts define visual properties for surfaces, models, and particle effects. Stock shaders live in:

Shader scripts live in [assets/data0_21pure/scripts/](https://github.com/TeamForbiddenLLC/warfork-qfusion/tree/master/assets/data0_21pure/scripts)

Shader Script Format

A shader definition is a named block. The name is the shader identifier: not the filename.

shader/name
{
    // Global directives
    cull disable            // Face culling: disable, back, front
    nopicmip                // Ignore picmip quality reduction
    entityMergable          // Allow sprite batching
    softParticle            // Soft particle depth blending

    {
        // Stage (one texture pass)
        map path/to/texture.png             // Static texture
        clampmap path/to/texture.png        // Clamped (no UV repeat)
        animmap fps frame1 frame2 ...       // Animated texture sequence

        blendfunc blend                     // Shorthand: src_alpha / one_minus_src_alpha
        blendfunc GL_SRC_ALPHA GL_ONE_MINUS_SRC_ALPHA
        blendfunc add                       // Additive blending

        rgbGen vertex       // Color from vertex colors
        alphaGen vertex     // Alpha from vertex colors
        rgbGen entity       // Color from entity (team color, etc.)
        alphaGen entity
    }
}

A shader can have multiple stages. Stages are blended in order.

Common Use Cases

Player Visibility Shaders

Replace player model textures with flat fullbright colors for competitive visibility. Team colors are controlled by cg_teamALPHAcolor and cg_teamBETAcolor, but custom shaders can override individual model skins directly.

See the fullbright pattern below.

Effect Shaders

Dash burst effects, smoke puffs, and projectile trails are defined in effects.shader. Effect shaders typically use additive blending and animated textures. Source path: gfx/dash/ for dash-related effects.

Map Geometry Shaders

Surface properties: slick floors, nodraw faces, clip brushes, trigger volumes: are defined in solidfake.shader and in per-map .shader files. These shaders control physics and visibility independently.

Sky Shaders

Skybox definitions use the sky global directive. Defined in sky.shader.

Shader Search Path

The engine loads shaders from:

basewf/scripts/

Custom shaders can be placed loose in that directory or packaged inside a .pk3 file under scripts/. The .shader filename does not matter: shader names come from the block headers.

If two shaders share the same name, load order determines which wins. PK3 files loaded later take precedence over earlier ones.

Fullbright / Visibility Shaders

For competitive play, a common pattern renders a model as a flat unlit color, ignoring map lighting entirely:

models/players/mymodel/skin
{
    {
        map $whiteimage
        rgbGen entity
    }
}

$whiteimage is a built-in 1x1 white texture. rgbGen entity pulls the color from the entity’s assigned shader color: in practice, the team color set by the client. This produces a solid, fully lit silhouette regardless of map lighting.

Combined with cg_forceMyTeamAlpha, cg_outlinePlayers, and team color cvars, this is the basis of competitive visibility setups in Warfork.

See Also

• Getting Started: client setup and graphics settings
• Console: cvar reference for cg_teamALPHAcolor, cg_teamBETAcolor, cg_outlinePlayers