Albeit somewhat flawed and short of its ambitions, Volition's Red Faction remains a well-known and loved shooter from the early 2000s. Whether playing it for the first time or returning for a replay, this guide compiles the enhancements made by its community and provides instructions and notes on their usage. The sections are arranged so that they go from the most crucial (the improved engine) to the most optional (recommended singleplayer campaigns).
Even though this guide is created with singleplayer in mind, you will also be able to browse and join the active multiplayer servers once you get the improved engine up and running.
Due to extensive Steam filtering, direct links are opted out of this guide. Instead, the related files and pages are mentioned in code within their sections. Simply search for the term (as exampled above) over at Faction Files or its sister site, Red Faction Wiki, to find the required...
(Alarms blare)
'MINERS! THIS IS EOS, LEADER OF THE RED FACTION. OUR TIME HAS COME!'

Reading through the digital copy of the manual is recommended: it provides detailed bios for your character Parker, as well as side characters Hendrix and Eos. The official guide provides even more lore, including the antagonists. -- Give the above logo a shot for your Steam library!

Rafalh's Dash Faction is the current community engine and a must for a hassle-free experience. Alongside fixing the original's bugs, it provides modern OS / hardware compatibility, aural / visual improvements, smoother mouse control and SP / MP enhancements.
Download the DF installer and go through the setup. Note that even though DF does not need to be installed in the game's directory, you still need to enter the correct path for rf.exe if the setup does not detect it automatically. The installer also downloads v1.20 of the said executable during the process, as the one supplied by the Steam version is not supported.
Be sure to check the option 'Replace the Red Faction launcher with the Dash Faction launcher' in the following prompt (Select Additional Tasks) to get full Steam compatibility.
Steam's Play button for Red Faction should now bring up the DF Launcher. Additional features provided by Dash Faction can be customized via the Options button within the said launcher.
Maximized settings for Display (apart from Resolution and FPS, of course), Graphics and Audio are shown above. Multiplayer Tracker is the default and active one supplied by the installer. Input, Interface and Miscellaneous settings are left to player's preferences. All the options in this screen has hover-over descriptions, while the Quick Start Quide found at the wiki goes into more detail.
Two things of note here are autosaves and overriding of game files.
Red Faction does not have any autosaves by default and only has a single quicksave slot. As a result, you are forced to start over if something goes wrong with your quicksave or you simply save at a bad moment. To prevent that kind of softlock to a certain degree, check the Autosave box to let Dash Faction save at the start of every level, overwriting it each time you step into the following one. Still, manual saving at certain spots (see 'Gameplay Notes') is recommended.
The option 'Allow overriding of game files' is for giving priority to custom .vpp files placed in the user_maps subfolder over the original ones. This box needs to be checked if the improvement and tweaking mods detailed in the following sections are to be used.

Launch the game, tweak the original's settings to your liking and hop into Glasshouse (found in Extras) for some fine tuning. Open the console (" or ~) and finalize your setup via the following variables (default values are given in brackets).
These are available only through the console -
These are on-the-fly variants of the options provided by DF Launcher -
A few extra variables / commands that may come in handy -
Once done with the fine tuning, you are ready to start the campaign as it is. For a more enhanced playthrough, it is better to check the following two sections before starting out.

UPSCALED TEXTURES, HIGHER QUALITY MUSIC & RE-CODED VIDEOS
AI Upscale Texture Pack replaces 95% of both world and model textures with ESRGAN 4x ones. As with any machine-only upscale pack, letters and fine print turn out a bit muddy, yet the overall look becomes much sharper. This being a matter of personal preference, I think the comic book tone of the upscaled textures fits within the game's world pretty well.
HD Music Mod (+Update) and 60 FPS Cinematics are, as implied by their names, straight-up upgrades. Get them to make better use of the EAX feature of Dash Faction and avoid the jarring transition to 30 FPS while watching the intro and outro videos.
Note that as long as they remain installed, the texture and music upgrades also carry over to any custom campaigns you may choose to play. (see 'Further Revolts')

REAPER BALANCE: A MORE LEVEL PLAYGROUND
Red Faction's overall combat remains flawed due to its unrealiable weapons with random spread patterns and erratic enemy behaviour. Coupled with the god-like mercenaries that steal the show in the second half, the last hour of any playthrough can quickly turn into frustration even for a seasoned shooter player.
Reaper Balance solves that to a certain degree by modifying the health, weapon and damage tables under the hood. Thus, it becomes possible to land calculated headshots and actually battle it out with the mercs (instead of relying on cheap tricks and save scumming). Honestly, I enjoyed my Reaper playthrough on Hard more than my stock playthrough on Medium.
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QUALITY OF LIFE FIXES THAT GO WELL TOGETHER
The Patch for Admin HQ (L5S4) makes the normally forced stealth section 'on demand', while the Patch for MedLabs (L8S1) prevents you from accidentally donning the lab coat by turning it to a 'use-only' item (these two sections are pictured above). The Patch for Crash Site (L18S1) corrects a miniscule spawning error on Volition's part. Get these for a more streamlined flow.
Goober's Revised Pickups modifies the meshes for health, armor and some of the ammo packs for better scaling and looks. Fixed Full Envirosuit Pickup Model does just what its name implies via modifying the envirosuit model. Likewise, Extended Riot Stick Taser Sound corrects another error on Volition's part by replacing the sound in question that is originally cut way too short. Missing Resources Error Fix is also for convenience. It simply stops the console errors due to missing files by way of placing dummies in their place (again, Volition).
While the level patches are compatible with Reaper Balance, they do not work for any mod that changes those levels (i.e., they can not be used in an RF Classic run, as mentioned below). On the other hand, the mods for the pickups and the taser also carry over to custom campaigns.

MANUAL SAVES
Even though Dash Faction's autosave and your own quicksaves get the job done for tackling the rather short campaign, it is still a good idea to keep a manual save at hand along the way. Above are four points that can be messed up, thus it is recommended to save manually before -
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BREAKING THE 4TH WALL
The game's first half features a handful of secrets that makes use of its then unique GeoMod tech. Though most of them are rather uneventful, one of them feels kind of special due to its going against the tone and granting an early shot at the most devastating piece in its arsenal.
Midway through L9S3: The Arfitact (as in pursuit of Capek), you are assaulted by a couple of reapers amidst the cracks that periodically blow out hot steam. Deal with them first.
In the following section, you should see a small hole to the right of the dead guard. Blast your way in there to find a hidden cave on the other side. Jump onto the pillar in the middle to get full health and envirosuit armor, as well as a Fusion RL... out of nowhere. Handy against Capek!
Curious about the other secrets? MysticaL-AceR's guide covers all of them -
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NOT THAT GRAND
Despite all the improvements to the default engine, the ATV still does not get on well with the terrain (it becomes even more noticeable in custom campaigns). Extra care should be taken with quicksaves in L12S1: Grand Canyon (right after the Capek fight) as your miner buddy is prone to getting stuck in circles or outright stopping for good.
Speaking of the ATV, no, it is not possible to directly switch between the driver's seat and the gunner's. You first need to get off the vehicle everytime you want to change roles.
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BITS AND PIECES
> Red Faction does not have looping music (which is a shame). As a workaround, know that quicksaving / quickloading as soon as a track ends -mostly- forces it to play once more.
> Bullets and rails do damage the vehicles and the personal shields. Try HMG'ing those pesky Aesirs assisting the mercs. In fact, RD / HMG combo is probably your best bet in the last third.
> The Tank Bot can not be destroyed by normal means. Rocket it some while waiting for a tip from Hendrix. Once he calls in, lure the bot to the nearby incinerator and activate the controls.
> As a cover against Capek's homing attacks, the pillar to the right of door works great.
> For Masako, utilize the containers within the hangar as cover and try to keep your distance.
> As for bomb defusal, try using the arrow keys on your keyboard instead of your mouse.

KAVA: A RED FACTION PREQUEL CAMPAIGN
Inspired by Blue Beck's top-down Red Faction Mobile, Goober's Kava sees you as Kava Xarel, another member of Red Faction, on a mission that takes place just before the miners' revolt. It features a total of 16 levels that are significantly more larger and detailed than the original's.
Now that Volition is long gone and the series already took a different turn by the second game, this lovingly crafted prequel may be the closest thing to official RF1 content. With its diverse environments, quality storytelling coupled with good voice acting and overall adventurous, explorative vibe that thoroughly utilizes the game's features, Kava tops the base campaign on more than one level. Offers around 3 hours of additional gameplay. -- Highly Recommended
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RED FACTION: N-GAGE REMAKE (+ PROMO CAMPAIGN)
The original and somewhat rare N-Gage port is basically 'John Romero's Red Faction'. Staying within the limitations of the handheld device and the design principles of 90s, Monkeystone opted to create a corridor shooter out of Volition's storyline fit for short bursts of fun (or rage).
Enter MysticaL-AceR's N-Gage Remake, a faithful recreation of its 23 level long campaign in all its crude glory (yet tastefully touched up where applicable). Even though the source material is pretty limited, the care taken with the mod is apparent. Enjoyable in its simplistic, Wolf3D-like ways. Offers around 1-1.5 hours of additional gameplay. -- Recommended
Mikelice's N-Gage Promo Campaign acts as a DLC to the remake in question - an extra campaign of 10 original maps inspired by Romero's then beta shots that featured levels that didn't make it into the N-Gage port. Offers around an hour of additional gameplay following the style of the remake, albeit with slightly more breathing space. If installed, access it from the wall-button that gets placed in the already interesting N-Gage Museum found under 'Extras'. -- Recommended
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RED FACTION CLASSIC
HeyItsDuke's RF Classic aims for console authenticity by sourcing all of the base campaign as well as multiplayer levels from the PS2 version, also reverting any changes that were made for the PC version along the way, such as the menu design, HUD colors and various sounds.
I have not noticed any major differences from the PC version as far as singleplayer goes, apart from a tonal difference in lighting in the opening chapters and of course, the level Marooned, which replaces Glasshouse as GeoMod showcase. Your choice of cosmetics then. -- Optional
For the record, all of the base campaign screenshots used in this guide (apart from the four in the 'Manual Saves' subsection) were taken during my Red Faction Classic playthrough.
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LOOKING FOR MORE?
More maps / campaigns can be found over at Faction Files' 'Maps - Single Player' and 'Mods - Total Conversion' categories. As long as a mod uses the stock enemy and weapon rosters, you can theoretically make it work with Reaper Balance. Just place RB's base .vpp file to the mod's directory before launching - or the mod's .vpp files to the ReaperBalance's, for that matter.

I hope this guide adds to the your overall enjoyment of the game and your understanding of the tech / file system behind it. A simple list of 'Even Further Recommendations' can be compiled and added in later if I can spare the time for playing through the others on offer over at Faction Files.
Updates to Dash Faction or any of the enhancement packs mentioned, as well as any other kind of lore-friendly enhancement that may come up will definitely be reflected.
Feel free to drop by the comments section for further assistance if need be, or to direct me to stuff that I may have missed... and get a hold of Dan Wentz's brilliant soundtrack one way or another, if you haven't up to this day already (seriously, the in-game mix does not do it justice).
* Eos fan art featured as the branding image is courtesy of Vagiz-Ahm.[www.deviantart.com]
'You are a hero, Parker. Relax! Enjoy yourself, start dating... Maybe look for a new job?'