diff --git a/tools/quake3/q3map2/decals.cpp b/tools/quake3/q3map2/decals.cpp
index b2c1769b..cbee2c44 100644
--- a/tools/quake3/q3map2/decals.cpp
+++ b/tools/quake3/q3map2/decals.cpp
@@ -248,34 +248,29 @@ static bool MakeTextureMatrix( decalProjector_t& dp, const Plane3f& projection,
    note: non-normalized axes will screw up the plane transform
  */
 
-static void TransformDecalProjector( decalProjector_t *in, const Vector3 (&axis)[ 3 ], const Vector3& origin, decalProjector_t *out ){
+static void TransformDecalProjector( const decalProjector_t& in, const Vector3& origin, decalProjector_t& out ){
 	/* copy misc stuff */
-	out->si = in->si;
-	out->numPlanes = in->numPlanes;
+	out.si = in.si;
+	out.numPlanes = in.numPlanes;
 
 	/* translate bounding box and sphere (note: rotated projector bounding box will be invalid!) */
-	out->minmax.mins = in->minmax.mins - origin;
-	out->minmax.maxs = in->minmax.maxs - origin;
-	out->center      = in->center - origin;
-	out->radius      = in->radius;
-	out->radius2     = in->radius2;
+	out.minmax.mins = in.minmax.mins - origin;
+	out.minmax.maxs = in.minmax.maxs - origin;
+	out.center      = in.center - origin;
+	out.radius      = in.radius;
+	out.radius2     = in.radius2;
 
 	/* translate planes */
-	for ( int i = 0; i < in->numPlanes; ++i )
+	for ( int i = 0; i < in.numPlanes; ++i )
 	{
-		out->planes[ i ].a = vector3_dot( in->planes[ i ].normal(), axis[ 0 ] );
-		out->planes[ i ].b = vector3_dot( in->planes[ i ].normal(), axis[ 1 ] );
-		out->planes[ i ].c = vector3_dot( in->planes[ i ].normal(), axis[ 2 ] );
-		out->planes[ i ].d = in->planes[ i ].dist() - vector3_dot( out->planes[ i ].normal(), origin );
+		out.planes[ i ] = plane3_translated( in.planes[ i ], -origin );
 	}
 
 	/* translate texture matrix */
 	for ( int i = 0; i < 2; ++i )
 	{
-		out->texMat[ i ][ 0 ] = vector3_dot( in->texMat[ i ].vec3(), axis[ 0 ] );
-		out->texMat[ i ][ 1 ] = vector3_dot( in->texMat[ i ].vec3(), axis[ 1 ] );
-		out->texMat[ i ][ 2 ] = vector3_dot( in->texMat[ i ].vec3(), axis[ 2 ] );
-		out->texMat[ i ][ 3 ] = vector3_dot( out->texMat[ i ].vec3(), origin ) + in->texMat[ i ][ 3 ];
+		out.texMat[ i ] = in.texMat[ i ];
+		out.texMat[ i ].w() += vector3_dot( in.texMat[ i ].vec3(), origin );
 	}
 }
 
@@ -403,10 +398,10 @@ void ProcessDecals(){
 			/* create projectors */
 			if ( distance > 0.125f ) {
 				/* tesselate the patch */
-				const mesh_t mesh = TessellatedMesh( p.mesh, IterationsForCurve( p.longestCurve, patchSubdivisions ) );
+				mesh_t mesh = TessellatedMesh( p.mesh, IterationsForCurve( p.longestCurve, patchSubdivisions ) );
 
 				/* offset by projector origin */
-				for ( bspDrawVert_t& vert : Span( mesh.verts, mesh.numVerts() ) )
+				for ( bspDrawVert_t& vert : mesh )
 					vert.xyz += e.origin;
 
 				/* iterate through the mesh quads */
@@ -447,7 +442,7 @@ void ProcessDecals(){
    projects a decal onto a winding
  */
 
-static void ProjectDecalOntoWinding( decalProjector_t& dp, const mapDrawSurface_t& ds, winding_t& w ){
+static void ProjectDecalOntoWinding( const decalProjector_t& dp, const mapDrawSurface_t& ds, winding_t& w ){
 	/* dummy check */
 	if ( w.size() < 3 ) {
 		return;
@@ -538,7 +533,7 @@ static void ProjectDecalOntoWinding( decalProjector_t& dp, const mapDrawSurface_
    projects a decal onto a brushface surface
  */
 
-static void ProjectDecalOntoFace( decalProjector_t& dp, const mapDrawSurface_t& ds ){
+static void ProjectDecalOntoFace( const decalProjector_t& dp, const mapDrawSurface_t& ds ){
 	/* dummy check */
 	if ( ds.sideRef == nullptr ) {
 		return;
@@ -563,7 +558,7 @@ static void ProjectDecalOntoFace( decalProjector_t& dp, const mapDrawSurface_t&
    projects a decal onto a patch surface
  */
 
-static void ProjectDecalOntoPatch( decalProjector_t& dp, mapDrawSurface_t& ds ){
+static void ProjectDecalOntoPatch( const decalProjector_t& dp, const mapDrawSurface_t& ds ){
 	/* backface check */
 	if ( ds.planar )
 		if ( vector3_dot( dp.planes[ 0 ].normal(), mapplanes[ ds.planeNum ].normal() ) < -0.0001f )
@@ -592,7 +587,7 @@ static void ProjectDecalOntoPatch( decalProjector_t& dp, mapDrawSurface_t& ds ){
    projects a decal onto a triangle surface
  */
 
-static void ProjectDecalOntoTriangles( decalProjector_t& dp, const mapDrawSurface_t& ds ){
+static void ProjectDecalOntoTriangles( const decalProjector_t& dp, const mapDrawSurface_t& ds ){
 
 	/* triangle surfaces without shaders don't get marks by default */
 	if ( ds.type == ESurfaceType::Triangles && ds.shaderInfo->shaderText == nullptr ) {
@@ -626,7 +621,6 @@ static void ProjectDecalOntoTriangles( decalProjector_t& dp, const mapDrawSurfac
  */
 
 void MakeEntityDecals( const entity_t& e ){
-	int i, j;
 	decalProjector_t dp;
 
 
@@ -641,19 +635,18 @@ void MakeEntityDecals( const entity_t& e ){
 	Timer timer;
 
 	/* walk the list of decal projectors */
-	for ( i = 0; i < numProjectors; ++i )
+	for ( const decalProjector_t& projector : Span( projectors, numProjectors ) )
 	{
 		/* print pacifier */
 		++pacifier;
 
 		/* get projector */
-		TransformDecalProjector( &projectors[ i ], g_vector3_axes, e.origin, &dp );
+		TransformDecalProjector( projector, e.origin, dp );
 
 		/* walk the list of surfaces in the entity */
-		for ( j = e.firstDrawSurf; j < numMapDrawSurfs; ++j )
+		for ( const mapDrawSurface_t& ds : Span( mapDrawSurfs + e.firstDrawSurf, mapDrawSurfs + numMapDrawSurfs ) )
 		{
 			/* get surface */
-			mapDrawSurface_t& ds = mapDrawSurfs[ j ];
 			if ( ds.verts.empty() ) {
 				continue;
 			}
diff --git a/tools/quake3/q3map2/fog.cpp b/tools/quake3/q3map2/fog.cpp
index 7e3e037e..a51f46a3 100644
--- a/tools/quake3/q3map2/fog.cpp
+++ b/tools/quake3/q3map2/fog.cpp
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ static std::pair<std::optional<mesh_t>, std::optional<mesh_t>> SplitMeshByPlane(
 	int frontAprox, backAprox;
 
 	for ( i = 0; i < 2; ++i ) {
-		const bspDrawVert_t *dv = in.verts;
+		const bspDrawVert_t *dv = in.verts();
 		c_front = 0;
 		c_back = 0;
 		c_on = 0;
@@ -196,8 +196,6 @@ static std::pair<std::optional<mesh_t>, std::optional<mesh_t>> SplitMeshByPlane(
 		return { std::move( f ), std::move( b ) };
 	else
 		return { std::move( b ), std::move( f ) };
-
-
 }
 
 
@@ -210,7 +208,7 @@ static bool ChopPatchSurfaceByBrush( mapDrawSurface_t& ds, const brush_t *b ){
 	mesh_t      outside[MAX_BRUSH_SIDES];
 	int numOutside = 0;
 
-	mesh_t m( mesh_view_t ( ds.patchWidth, ds.patchHeight, ds.verts.data() ) );
+	mesh_t m( ds.patchWidth, ds.patchHeight, ds.verts.data() );
 
 	// only split by the top and bottom planes to avoid
 	// some messy patch clipping issues
@@ -224,13 +222,13 @@ static bool ChopPatchSurfaceByBrush( mapDrawSurface_t& ds, const brush_t *b ){
 			// nothing actually contained inside
 			return false;
 		}
-		m.swap( *back );
+		m = std::move( *back );
 
 		if ( front ) {
 			if ( numOutside == MAX_BRUSH_SIDES ) {
 				Error( "MAX_BRUSH_SIDES" );
 			}
-			outside[ numOutside ].swap( *front );
+			outside[ numOutside ] = std::move( *front );
 			numOutside++;
 		}
 	}
@@ -246,9 +244,9 @@ static bool ChopPatchSurfaceByBrush( mapDrawSurface_t& ds, const brush_t *b ){
 		/* ydnar: do this the hacky right way */
 		mapDrawSurface_t& newds = AllocDrawSurface( ESurfaceType::Patch );
 		newds = ds;
-		newds.patchWidth = outside[ i ].width;
+		newds.patchWidth  = outside[ i ].width;
 		newds.patchHeight = outside[ i ].height;
-		newds.verts.assign( outside[ i ].verts, outside[ i ].verts + outside[ i ].numVerts() );
+		newds.verts.assign( outside[ i ].begin(), outside[ i ].end() );
 	}
 
 	/* only rejigger this patch if it was chopped */
@@ -259,9 +257,9 @@ static bool ChopPatchSurfaceByBrush( mapDrawSurface_t& ds, const brush_t *b ){
 		InvertMesh( m );
 
 		/* replace ds with m */
-		ds.patchWidth = m.width;
+		ds.patchWidth  = m.width;
 		ds.patchHeight = m.height;
-		ds.verts.assign( m.verts, m.verts + m.numVerts() );
+		ds.verts.assign( m.begin(), m.end() );
 	}
 
 	return true;
diff --git a/tools/quake3/q3map2/light_bounce.cpp b/tools/quake3/q3map2/light_bounce.cpp
index 927067f9..6f3abc82 100644
--- a/tools/quake3/q3map2/light_bounce.cpp
+++ b/tools/quake3/q3map2/light_bounce.cpp
@@ -648,9 +648,9 @@ void RadLightForPatch( int num, int lightmapNum, const rawLightmap_t *lm, const
 
 	/* construct a bogus vert list with color index stuffed into color[ 0 ] */
 	mesh_t bogus( ds.patchWidth, ds.patchHeight );
-	std::copy_n( &yDrawVerts[ ds.firstVert ], ds.numVerts, bogus.verts );
+	std::copy_n( &yDrawVerts[ ds.firstVert ], ds.numVerts, bogus.verts() );
 	for ( int i = 0; i < ds.numVerts; ++i )
-		bogus.verts[ i ].color[ 0 ][ 0 ] = i;
+		bogus.verts()[ i ].color[ 0 ][ 0 ] = i;
 
 	/* build a subdivided mesh identical to shadow facets for this patch */
 	/* this MUST MATCH FacetsForPatch() identically! */
@@ -659,7 +659,7 @@ void RadLightForPatch( int num, int lightmapNum, const rawLightmap_t *lm, const
 	/* FIXME: build interpolation table into color[ 1 ] */
 
 	/* fix up color indexes */
-	for ( bspDrawVert_t& vert : Span( mesh.verts, mesh.numVerts() ) )
+	for ( bspDrawVert_t& vert : mesh )
 	{
 		if ( vert.color[ 0 ][ 0 ] >= ds.numVerts ) {
 			vert.color[ 0 ][ 0 ] = ds.numVerts - 1;
diff --git a/tools/quake3/q3map2/map.cpp b/tools/quake3/q3map2/map.cpp
index 89941349..fb682e54 100644
--- a/tools/quake3/q3map2/map.cpp
+++ b/tools/quake3/q3map2/map.cpp
@@ -1234,7 +1234,7 @@ static void AdjustBrushesForOrigin( entity_t& ent, const Vector3& offset ){
 	/* walk patch list */
 	for ( parseMesh_t& p : ent.patches )
 	{
-		for ( bspDrawVert_t& vert : Span( p.mesh.verts, p.mesh.numVerts() ) )
+		for ( bspDrawVert_t& vert : p.mesh )
 			vert.xyz += offset;
 	}
 }
@@ -1295,7 +1295,7 @@ static void SetEntityBounds( entity_t& e ){
 	}
 	for ( const parseMesh_t& p : e.patches )
 	{
-		for ( const bspDrawVert_t& vert : Span( p.mesh.verts, p.mesh.numVerts() ) )
+		for ( const bspDrawVert_t& vert : p.mesh )
 			minmax.extend( vert.xyz );
 	}
 
diff --git a/tools/quake3/q3map2/mesh.cpp b/tools/quake3/q3map2/mesh.cpp
index cfa5a091..dc3148c4 100644
--- a/tools/quake3/q3map2/mesh.cpp
+++ b/tools/quake3/q3map2/mesh.cpp
@@ -115,11 +115,11 @@ void TransposeMesh( mesh_t& m ) {
 
 	for ( int h = 0; h < m.height; ++h ) {
 		for ( int w = 0; w < m.width; ++w ) {
-			out.verts[ w * m.height + h ] = m.verts[ h * m.width + w ];
+			out.verts()[ w * m.height + h ] = m.verts()[ h * m.width + w ];
 		}
 	}
 
-	m.swap( out );
+	m = std::move( out );
 }
 
 void InvertMesh( mesh_t& m ) {
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ void MakeMeshNormals( mesh_t& in ){
 					if ( x < 0 || x >= in.width || y < 0 || y >= in.height ) {
 						break;                  // edge of patch
 					}
-					Vector3 temp = in.verts[y * in.width + x].xyz - base;
+					Vector3 temp = in[y][x].xyz - base;
 					if ( VectorNormalize( temp ) == 0 ) {
 						continue;               // degenerate edge, get more dist
 					}
@@ -275,16 +275,17 @@ void PutMeshOnCurve( mesh_t& in ) {
  */
 mesh_t SubdivideMesh( const mesh_view_t in, float maxError, float minLength ){
 	bspDrawVert_t expand[MAX_EXPANDED_AXIS][MAX_EXPANDED_AXIS];
-	mesh_view_t out( in.width, in.height, expand[0] );
+	int width = in.width;
+	int height = in.height;
 
 	/* copy each row */
 	for ( int h = 0; h < in.height; ++h )
 		std::copy_n( in[h], in.width, expand[h] );
 
 	// horizontal subdivisions
-	for ( int i, j = 0; j + 2 < out.width; j += 2 ) {
+	for ( int i, j = 0; j + 2 < width; j += 2 ) {
 		// check subdivided midpoints against control points
-		for ( i = 0; i < out.height; ++i ) {
+		for ( i = 0; i < height; ++i ) {
 			const Vector3 prevxyz = expand[i][j + 1].xyz - expand[i][j].xyz;
 			const Vector3 nextxyz = expand[i][j + 2].xyz - expand[i][j + 1].xyz;
 			const Vector3 midxyz = ( expand[i][j].xyz + expand[i][j + 1].xyz * 2 + expand[i][j + 2].xyz ) * 0.25;
@@ -301,19 +302,19 @@ mesh_t SubdivideMesh( const mesh_view_t in, float maxError, float minLength ){
 			}
 		}
 
-		if ( out.width + 2 >= MAX_EXPANDED_AXIS ) {
+		if ( width + 2 >= MAX_EXPANDED_AXIS ) {
 			break;  // can't subdivide any more
 		}
 
-		if ( i == out.height ) {
+		if ( i == height ) {
 			continue;   // didn't need subdivision
 		}
 
 		// insert two columns and replace the peak
-		out.width += 2;
+		width += 2;
 
-		for ( i = 0; i < out.height; ++i ) {
-			for ( int k = out.width - 1; k > j + 3; --k ) {
+		for ( i = 0; i < height; ++i ) {
+			for ( int k = width - 1; k > j + 3; --k ) {
 				expand[i][k] = expand[i][k - 2];
 			}
 			expand[i][j + 3] = LerpDrawVert( expand[i][j + 1], expand[i][j + 2] );
@@ -326,9 +327,9 @@ mesh_t SubdivideMesh( const mesh_view_t in, float maxError, float minLength ){
 	}
 
 	// vertical subdivisions
-	for ( int i, j = 0; j + 2 < out.height; j += 2 ) {
+	for ( int i, j = 0; j + 2 < height; j += 2 ) {
 		// check subdivided midpoints against control points
-		for ( i = 0; i < out.width; ++i ) {
+		for ( i = 0; i < width; ++i ) {
 			const Vector3 prevxyz = expand[j + 1][i].xyz - expand[j][i].xyz;
 			const Vector3 nextxyz = expand[j + 2][i].xyz - expand[j + 1][i].xyz;
 			const Vector3 midxyz = ( expand[j][i].xyz + expand[j + 1][i].xyz * 2 + expand[j + 2][i].xyz ) * 0.25;
@@ -344,19 +345,19 @@ mesh_t SubdivideMesh( const mesh_view_t in, float maxError, float minLength ){
 			}
 		}
 
-		if ( out.height + 2 >= MAX_EXPANDED_AXIS ) {
+		if ( height + 2 >= MAX_EXPANDED_AXIS ) {
 			break;  // can't subdivide any more
 		}
 
-		if ( i == out.width ) {
+		if ( i == width ) {
 			continue;   // didn't need subdivision
 		}
 
 		// insert two columns and replace the peak
-		out.height += 2;
+		height += 2;
 
-		for ( i = 0; i < out.width; ++i ) {
-			for ( int k = out.height - 1; k > j + 3; --k ) {
+		for ( i = 0; i < width; ++i ) {
+			for ( int k = height - 1; k > j + 3; --k ) {
 				expand[k][i] = expand[k - 2][i];
 			}
 			expand[j + 3][i] = LerpDrawVert( expand[j + 1][i], expand[j + 2][i] );
@@ -370,11 +371,11 @@ mesh_t SubdivideMesh( const mesh_view_t in, float maxError, float minLength ){
 
 	// collapse the verts
 
-	for ( int i = 1; i < out.height; ++i ) {
-		memmove( out[i], expand[i], out.width * sizeof( bspDrawVert_t ) );
+	for ( int i = 1; i < height; ++i ) {
+		memmove( expand[0] + width * i, expand[i], width * sizeof( bspDrawVert_t ) );
 	}
 
-	return mesh_t( out );
+	return mesh_t( width, height, expand[0] );
 }
 
 
@@ -410,7 +411,8 @@ int IterationsForCurve( float len, int subdivisions ){
 
 mesh_t SubdivideMesh2( const mesh_view_t in, int iterations ){
 	bspDrawVert_t expand[ MAX_EXPANDED_AXIS ][ MAX_EXPANDED_AXIS ];
-	mesh_view_t out( in.width, in.height, expand[0] );
+	int width = in.width;
+	int height = in.height;
 
 	/* copy each row */
 	for ( int h = 0; h < in.height; ++h )
@@ -420,18 +422,18 @@ mesh_t SubdivideMesh2( const mesh_view_t in, int iterations ){
 	for ( ; iterations > 0; --iterations )
 	{
 		/* horizontal subdivisions */
-		for ( int j = 0; j + 2 < out.width; j += 4 )
+		for ( int j = 0; j + 2 < width; j += 4 )
 		{
 			/* check size limit */
-			if ( out.width + 2 >= MAX_EXPANDED_AXIS ) {
+			if ( width + 2 >= MAX_EXPANDED_AXIS ) {
 				break;
 			}
 
 			/* insert two columns and replace the peak */
-			out.width += 2;
-			for ( int i = 0; i < out.height; ++i )
+			width += 2;
+			for ( int i = 0; i < height; ++i )
 			{
-				for ( int k = out.width - 1; k > j + 3; --k )
+				for ( int k = width - 1; k > j + 3; --k )
 					expand [ i ][ k ] = expand[ i ][ k - 2 ];
 
 				expand[ i ][ j + 3 ] = LerpDrawVert( expand[ i ][ j + 1 ], expand[ i ][ j + 2 ] );
@@ -441,18 +443,18 @@ mesh_t SubdivideMesh2( const mesh_view_t in, int iterations ){
 		}
 
 		/* vertical subdivisions */
-		for ( int j = 0; j + 2 < out.height; j += 4 )
+		for ( int j = 0; j + 2 < height; j += 4 )
 		{
 			/* check size limit */
-			if ( out.height + 2 >= MAX_EXPANDED_AXIS ) {
+			if ( height + 2 >= MAX_EXPANDED_AXIS ) {
 				break;
 			}
 
 			/* insert two columns and replace the peak */
-			out.height += 2;
-			for ( int i = 0; i < out.width; ++i )
+			height += 2;
+			for ( int i = 0; i < width; ++i )
 			{
-				for ( int k = out.height - 1; k > j + 3; --k )
+				for ( int k = height - 1; k > j + 3; --k )
 					expand[ k ][ i ] = expand[ k - 2 ][ i ];
 
 				expand[ j + 3 ][ i ] = LerpDrawVert( expand[ j + 1 ][ i ], expand[ j + 2 ][ i ] );
@@ -463,11 +465,11 @@ mesh_t SubdivideMesh2( const mesh_view_t in, int iterations ){
 	}
 
 	/* collapse the verts */
-	for ( int i = 1; i < out.height; ++i )
-		memmove( out[ i ], expand[ i ], out.width * sizeof( bspDrawVert_t ) );
+	for ( int i = 1; i < height; ++i )
+		memmove( expand[0] + width * i, expand[ i ], width * sizeof( bspDrawVert_t ) );
 
 	/* return to sender */
-	return mesh_t( out );
+	return mesh_t( width, height, expand[0] );
 }
 
 
@@ -495,36 +497,37 @@ inline Vector3 ProjectPointOntoVector( const Vector3& point, const Vector3& vSta
  */
 mesh_t RemoveLinearMeshColumnsRows( const mesh_t& in ) {
 	bspDrawVert_t expand[MAX_EXPANDED_AXIS][MAX_EXPANDED_AXIS];
-	mesh_view_t out( in.width, in.height, expand[0] );
+	int width = in.width;
+	int height = in.height;
 
 	/* copy each row */
 	for ( int h = 0; h < in.height; ++h )
 		std::copy_n( in[h], in.width, expand[h] );
 
-	for ( int j = 1; j < out.width - 1; ++j ) {
+	for ( int j = 1; j < width - 1; ++j ) {
 		double maxLength = 0;
-		for ( int i = 0; i < out.height; ++i ) {
+		for ( int i = 0; i < height; ++i ) {
 			value_maximize( maxLength, vector3_length( expand[i][j].xyz - ProjectPointOntoVector( expand[i][j].xyz, expand[i][j - 1].xyz, expand[i][j + 1].xyz ) ) );
 		}
 		if ( maxLength < 0.1 ) {
-			out.width--;
-			for ( int i = 0; i < out.height; ++i ) {
-				for ( int k = j; k < out.width; ++k ) {
+			width--;
+			for ( int i = 0; i < height; ++i ) {
+				for ( int k = j; k < width; ++k ) {
 					expand[i][k] = expand[i][k + 1];
 				}
 			}
 			j--;
 		}
 	}
-	for ( int j = 1; j < out.height - 1; ++j ) {
+	for ( int j = 1; j < height - 1; ++j ) {
 		double maxLength = 0;
-		for ( int i = 0; i < out.width; ++i ) {
+		for ( int i = 0; i < width; ++i ) {
 			value_maximize( maxLength, vector3_length( expand[j][i].xyz - ProjectPointOntoVector( expand[j][i].xyz, expand[j - 1][i].xyz, expand[j + 1][i].xyz ) ) );
 		}
 		if ( maxLength < 0.1 ) {
-			out.height--;
-			for ( int i = 0; i < out.width; ++i ) {
-				for ( int k = j; k < out.height; ++k ) {
+			height--;
+			for ( int i = 0; i < width; ++i ) {
+				for ( int k = j; k < height; ++k ) {
 					expand[k][i] = expand[k + 1][i];
 				}
 			}
@@ -532,11 +535,11 @@ mesh_t RemoveLinearMeshColumnsRows( const mesh_t& in ) {
 		}
 	}
 	// collapse the verts
-	for ( int i = 1; i < out.height; ++i ) {
-		memmove( out[i], expand[i], out.width * sizeof( bspDrawVert_t ) );
+	for ( int i = 1; i < height; ++i ) {
+		memmove( expand[0] + width * i, expand[i], width * sizeof( bspDrawVert_t ) );
 	}
 
-	return mesh_t( out );
+	return mesh_t( width, height, expand[0] );
 }
 
 
@@ -561,7 +564,8 @@ mesh_t TessellatedMesh( const mesh_view_t in, int iterations ){
 static mesh_t SubdivideMeshQuads( const mesh_view_t in, float minLength, int maxsize, int *widthtable, int *heighttable ){
 	int i, j, k, w, h, maxsubdivisions, subdivisions;
 	bspDrawVert_t expand[MAX_EXPANDED_AXIS][MAX_EXPANDED_AXIS];
-	mesh_view_t out( in.width, in.height, expand[0] );
+	int width = in.width;
+	int height = in.height;
 
 	/* copy each row */
 	for ( int h = 0; h < in.height; ++h )
@@ -577,7 +581,7 @@ static mesh_t SubdivideMeshQuads( const mesh_view_t in, float minLength, int max
 
 	for ( w = 0, j = 0; w < in.width - 1; ++w, j += subdivisions + 1 ) {
 		double maxLength = 0;
-		for ( i = 0; i < out.height; ++i ) {
+		for ( i = 0; i < height; ++i ) {
 			value_maximize( maxLength, vector3_length( expand[i][j + 1].xyz - expand[i][j].xyz ) );
 		}
 
@@ -588,10 +592,10 @@ static mesh_t SubdivideMeshQuads( const mesh_view_t in, float minLength, int max
 			continue;
 		}
 
-		out.width += subdivisions;
+		width += subdivisions;
 
-		for ( i = 0; i < out.height; ++i ) {
-			for ( k = out.width - 1; k > j + subdivisions; --k ) {
+		for ( i = 0; i < height; ++i ) {
+			for ( k = width - 1; k > j + subdivisions; --k ) {
 				expand[i][k] = expand[i][k - subdivisions];
 			}
 			for ( k = 1; k <= subdivisions; ++k )
@@ -606,7 +610,7 @@ static mesh_t SubdivideMeshQuads( const mesh_view_t in, float minLength, int max
 
 	for ( h = 0, j = 0; h < in.height - 1; ++h, j += subdivisions + 1 ) {
 		double maxLength = 0;
-		for ( i = 0; i < out.width; ++i ) {
+		for ( i = 0; i < width; ++i ) {
 			value_maximize( maxLength, vector3_length( expand[j + 1][i].xyz - expand[j][i].xyz ) );
 		}
 
@@ -617,10 +621,10 @@ static mesh_t SubdivideMeshQuads( const mesh_view_t in, float minLength, int max
 			continue;
 		}
 
-		out.height += subdivisions;
+		height += subdivisions;
 
-		for ( i = 0; i < out.width; ++i ) {
-			for ( k = out.height - 1; k > j + subdivisions; --k ) {
+		for ( i = 0; i < width; ++i ) {
+			for ( k = height - 1; k > j + subdivisions; --k ) {
 				expand[k][i] = expand[k - subdivisions][i];
 			}
 			for ( k = 1; k <= subdivisions; ++k )
@@ -632,9 +636,9 @@ static mesh_t SubdivideMeshQuads( const mesh_view_t in, float minLength, int max
 	}
 
 	// collapse the verts
-	for ( i = 1; i < out.height; ++i ) {
-		memmove( out[i], expand[i], out.width * sizeof( bspDrawVert_t ) );
+	for ( i = 1; i < height; ++i ) {
+		memmove( expand[0] + width * i, expand[i], width * sizeof( bspDrawVert_t ) );
 	}
 
-	return mesh_t( out );
+	return mesh_t( width, height, expand[0] );
 }
diff --git a/tools/quake3/q3map2/patch.cpp b/tools/quake3/q3map2/patch.cpp
index 780724f1..29666e0b 100644
--- a/tools/quake3/q3map2/patch.cpp
+++ b/tools/quake3/q3map2/patch.cpp
@@ -258,7 +258,7 @@ void ParsePatch( bool onlyLights, entity_t& mapEnt, int mapPrimitiveNum ){
 	/* find first valid vector */
 	for ( int i = 1; i < numVerts && delta[ 3 ] == 0; ++i )
 	{
-		delta.vec3() = m.verts[ 0 ].xyz - m.verts[ i ].xyz;
+		delta.vec3() = m.verts()[ 0 ].xyz - m.verts()[ i ].xyz;
 		delta[ 3 ] = VectorNormalize( delta.vec3() );
 	}
 
@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ void ParsePatch( bool onlyLights, entity_t& mapEnt, int mapPrimitiveNum ){
 		/* if all vectors match this or are zero, then this is a degenerate patch */
 		for ( int i = 1; i < numVerts && degenerate; ++i )
 		{
-			Vector4 delta2( m.verts[ 0 ].xyz - m.verts[ i ].xyz, 0 );
+			Vector4 delta2( m.verts()[ 0 ].xyz - m.verts()[ i ].xyz, 0 );
 			delta2[ 3 ] = VectorNormalize( delta2.vec3() );
 			if ( delta2[ 3 ] != 0 ) {
 				/* create inverse vector */
@@ -317,7 +317,7 @@ void ParsePatch( bool onlyLights, entity_t& mapEnt, int mapPrimitiveNum ){
 	pm.shaderInfo = &ShaderInfoForShader( shader );
 
 	/* set mesh */
-	pm.mesh.swap( m );
+	pm.mesh = std::move( m );
 
 	/* set longest curve */
 	pm.longestCurve = longestCurve;
@@ -396,8 +396,8 @@ void PatchMapDrawSurfs( entity_t& e ){
 
 			meshes[m1].bordering[m2] =
 			meshes[m2].bordering[m1] =
-				std::ranges::any_of( Span( mesh1.verts, mesh1.numVerts() ), [mesh2]( const bspDrawVert_t& v1 ){
-					return std::ranges::any_of( Span( mesh2.verts, mesh2.numVerts() ), [v1]( const bspDrawVert_t& v2 ){
+				std::ranges::any_of( mesh1, [mesh2]( const bspDrawVert_t& v1 ){
+					return std::ranges::any_of( mesh2, [v1]( const bspDrawVert_t& v2 ){
 						return vector3_equal_epsilon( v1.xyz, v2.xyz, 1.f );
 					} );
 				} );
@@ -424,8 +424,8 @@ void PatchMapDrawSurfs( entity_t& e ){
 		{
 			if ( m.group ) {
 				m.grouped = true;
-				for( const bspDrawVert_t& v : Span( m.mesh.mesh.verts, m.mesh.mesh.numVerts() ) )
-					bounds.extend( v.xyz );;
+				for( const bspDrawVert_t& v : m.mesh.mesh )
+					bounds.extend( v.xyz );
 			}
 		}
 
diff --git a/tools/quake3/q3map2/q3map2.h b/tools/quake3/q3map2/q3map2.h
index 8936871d..862020e6 100644
--- a/tools/quake3/q3map2/q3map2.h
+++ b/tools/quake3/q3map2/q3map2.h
@@ -760,46 +760,58 @@ struct fog_t
 
 struct mesh_view_t
 {
-	int width, height;
-	bspDrawVert_t       *verts;
+	const int width, height;
+	const bspDrawVert_t * const verts;
 
-	mesh_view_t( int width, int height, bspDrawVert_t *verts ) : width( width ), height( height ), verts( verts ){
+	mesh_view_t( int width, int height, const bspDrawVert_t *verts ) : width( width ), height( height ), verts( verts ){
 	}
-	size_t numVerts() const {
-		return width * height;
-	}
-	bspDrawVert_t* operator[]( int h ){
-		return verts + width * h;
-	}
-	const bspDrawVert_t* operator[]( int h ) const {
-		return verts + width * h;
+	const bspDrawVert_t* operator[]( int row ) const {
+		return verts + width * row;
 	}
 };
 
-struct mesh_t : public mesh_view_t
+struct mesh_t
 {
-	mesh_t() : mesh_view_t( 0, 0, nullptr ) {
+	const int width, height;
+private:
+	bspDrawVert_t *m_verts;
+public:
+	mesh_t() : width( 0 ), height( 0 ), m_verts( nullptr ) {
 	}
-	mesh_t( int width, int height ) : mesh_view_t( width, height, new bspDrawVert_t[ width * height ] ){
+	mesh_t( int width, int height ) : width( width ), height( height ), m_verts( new bspDrawVert_t[ width * height ] ) {
 	}
-	explicit mesh_t( const mesh_view_t& view ) : mesh_view_t( view.width, view.height, new bspDrawVert_t[ view.width * view.height ] ) {
-		std::copy_n( view.verts, numVerts(), verts );
+	mesh_t( int width, int height, const bspDrawVert_t *verts ) : mesh_t( width, height ) {
+		std::copy_n( verts, numVerts(), m_verts );
 	}
-	explicit mesh_t( const mesh_t& other ) : mesh_view_t( other.width, other.height, new bspDrawVert_t[ other.width * other.height ] ) {
-		std::copy_n( other.verts, numVerts(), verts );
+	explicit mesh_t( const mesh_view_t& view ) : mesh_t( view.width, view.height, view.verts ) {
 	}
-	mesh_t( mesh_t&& other ) noexcept : mesh_view_t( other.width, other.height, std::exchange( other.verts, nullptr ) ) {
+	operator mesh_view_t() const {
+		return { width, height, m_verts };
+	}
+	explicit mesh_t( const mesh_t& other ) : mesh_t( other.width, other.height, other.m_verts ) {
+	}
+	mesh_t( mesh_t&& other ) noexcept : width( other.width ), height( other.height ), m_verts( std::exchange( other.m_verts, nullptr ) ) {
 	}
 	mesh_t& operator=( const mesh_t& ) = delete;
-	mesh_t& operator=( mesh_t&& ) noexcept = delete;
+	mesh_t& operator=( mesh_t&& other ) noexcept {
+		std::destroy_at( this );
+		std::construct_at( this, std::move( other ) );
+		return *this;
+	};
 	~mesh_t(){
-		delete[] verts;
+		delete[] m_verts;
 	}
-	void swap( mesh_t& other ){
-		std::swap( width, other.width );
-		std::swap( height, other.height );
-		std::swap( verts, other.verts );
+	int numVerts() const {
+		return width * height;
 	}
+	const bspDrawVert_t* operator[]( int row ) const { return m_verts + width * row; }
+	      bspDrawVert_t* operator[]( int row )       { return m_verts + width * row; }
+	const bspDrawVert_t* verts() const { return m_verts; }
+	      bspDrawVert_t* verts()       { return m_verts; }
+	const bspDrawVert_t* begin() const { return m_verts; }
+	      bspDrawVert_t* begin()       { return m_verts; }
+	const bspDrawVert_t* end() const { return m_verts + numVerts(); }
+	      bspDrawVert_t* end()       { return m_verts + numVerts(); }
 };
 
 
@@ -1728,7 +1740,7 @@ void                        Fur( mapDrawSurface_t& src );
 
 
 /* surface_foliage.c */
-void                        Foliage( mapDrawSurface_t& src, entity_t& entity );
+void                        Foliage( const mapDrawSurface_t& src, entity_t& entity );
 
 
 /* ydnar: surface_meta.c */
diff --git a/tools/quake3/q3map2/surface.cpp b/tools/quake3/q3map2/surface.cpp
index a5a5dabf..265558df 100644
--- a/tools/quake3/q3map2/surface.cpp
+++ b/tools/quake3/q3map2/surface.cpp
@@ -797,7 +797,7 @@ mapDrawSurface_t *DrawSurfaceForMesh( const entity_t& e, parseMesh_t& p ){
 	/* store off the original (potentially bad) normals */
 	MakeMeshNormals( copy );
 	for ( int i = 0; i < numVerts; ++i )
-		mesh.verts[ i ].normal = copy.verts[ i ].normal;
+		mesh.verts()[ i ].normal = copy.verts()[ i ].normal;
 
 	/* put the mesh on the curve */
 	PutMeshOnCurve( copy );
@@ -807,8 +807,8 @@ mapDrawSurface_t *DrawSurfaceForMesh( const entity_t& e, parseMesh_t& p ){
 	for ( int i = 0; i < numVerts; ++i )
 	{
 		/* ydnar: only copy normals that are significantly different from the originals */
-		if ( vector3_dot( copy.verts[ i ].normal, mesh.verts[ i ].normal ) < 0.75f ) {
-			mesh.verts[ i ].normal = copy.verts[ i ].normal;
+		if ( vector3_dot( copy.verts()[ i ].normal, mesh.verts()[ i ].normal ) < 0.75f ) {
+			mesh.verts()[ i ].normal = copy.verts()[ i ].normal;
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -818,7 +818,7 @@ mapDrawSurface_t *DrawSurfaceForMesh( const entity_t& e, parseMesh_t& p ){
 		/* get shader indexes for each point */
 		for ( int i = 0; i < numVerts; ++i )
 		{
-			shaderIndexes[ i ] = GetShaderIndexForPoint( *p.im, p.eMinmax, mesh.verts[ i ].xyz );
+			shaderIndexes[ i ] = GetShaderIndexForPoint( *p.im, p.eMinmax, mesh.verts()[ i ].xyz );
 			offsets[ i ] = p.im->offsets[ shaderIndexes[ i ] ];
 		}
 
@@ -830,27 +830,27 @@ mapDrawSurface_t *DrawSurfaceForMesh( const entity_t& e, parseMesh_t& p ){
 
 	/* ydnar: gs mods */
 	mapDrawSurface_t& ds = AllocDrawSurface( ESurfaceType::Patch );
-	ds.entityNum = p.entityNum;
-	ds.castShadows = p.castShadows;
-	ds.recvShadows = p.recvShadows;
+	ds.entityNum    = p.entityNum;
+	ds.castShadows  = p.castShadows;
+	ds.recvShadows  = p.recvShadows;
 
 	ds.shaderInfo = si;
-	ds.sampleSize = p.lightmapSampleSize;
+	ds.sampleSize    = p.lightmapSampleSize;
 	ds.lightmapScale = p.lightmapScale;   /* ydnar */
-	ds.ambientColor = p.ambientColor;
-	ds.patchWidth = mesh.width;
+	ds.ambientColor  = p.ambientColor;
+	ds.patchWidth  = mesh.width;
 	ds.patchHeight = mesh.height;
-	ds.verts.assign( mesh.verts, mesh.verts + numVerts );
+	ds.verts.assign( mesh.begin(), mesh.end() );
 
 	ds.fogNum = FOG_INVALID;
 	ds.planeNum = -1;
 
-	ds.longestCurve = p.longestCurve;
+	ds.longestCurve  = p.longestCurve;
 	ds.maxIterations = p.maxIterations;
 
 	/* construct a plane from the first vert */
-	plane.normal() = mesh.verts[ 0 ].normal;
-	plane.dist() = vector3_dot( mesh.verts[ 0 ].xyz, plane.normal() );
+	plane.normal() = mesh.verts()[ 0 ].normal;
+	plane.dist() = vector3_dot( mesh.verts()[ 0 ].xyz, plane.normal() );
 
 	/* spew forth errors */
 	if ( vector3_length( plane.normal() ) < 0.001f ) {
@@ -858,7 +858,7 @@ mapDrawSurface_t *DrawSurfaceForMesh( const entity_t& e, parseMesh_t& p ){
 	}
 
 	/* test each vert */
-	const bool planar = std::ranges::none_of( Span( mesh.verts, numVerts ), [&plane]( const bspDrawVert_t& vert ){
+	const bool planar = std::ranges::none_of( mesh, [&plane]( const bspDrawVert_t& vert ){
 			/* normal test */
 		return !VectorCompare( plane.normal(), vert.normal )
 			/* point-plane test */
@@ -868,7 +868,7 @@ mapDrawSurface_t *DrawSurfaceForMesh( const entity_t& e, parseMesh_t& p ){
 	/* add a map plane */
 	if ( planar ) {
 		/* make a map plane */
-		ds.planeNum = FindFloatPlane( plane, Span( &mesh.verts[ 0 ].xyz, 1 ) );
+		ds.planeNum = FindFloatPlane( plane, Span( &mesh.verts()[ 0 ].xyz, 1 ) );
 		ds.lightmapVecs[ 2 ] = plane.normal();
 
 		/* push this normal to all verts (ydnar 2003-02-14: bad idea, small patches get screwed up) */
@@ -2641,7 +2641,7 @@ static void BiasSurfaceTextures( mapDrawSurface_t& ds ){
    adds models to a specified triangle, returns the number of models added
  */
 
-static int AddSurfaceModelsToTriangle_r( mapDrawSurface_t& ds, const surfaceModel_t& model, const TriRef& tri, entity_t& entity ){
+static int AddSurfaceModelsToTriangle_r( const mapDrawSurface_t& ds, const surfaceModel_t& model, const TriRef& tri, entity_t& entity ){
 	int max, n, localNumSurfaceModels;
 
 
@@ -2779,7 +2779,7 @@ static int AddSurfaceModelsToTriangle_r( mapDrawSurface_t& ds, const surfaceMode
    adds a surface's shader models to the surface
  */
 
-static int AddSurfaceModels( mapDrawSurface_t& ds, entity_t& entity ){
+static int AddSurfaceModels( const mapDrawSurface_t& ds, entity_t& entity ){
 	/* dummy check */
 	if ( ds.shaderInfo == nullptr || ds.shaderInfo->surfaceModels.empty() ) {
 		return 0;
diff --git a/tools/quake3/q3map2/surface_foliage.cpp b/tools/quake3/q3map2/surface_foliage.cpp
index 019e3b93..01d22eb0 100644
--- a/tools/quake3/q3map2/surface_foliage.cpp
+++ b/tools/quake3/q3map2/surface_foliage.cpp
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ static void SubdivideFoliageTriangle_r( const foliage_t& foliage, const TriRef&
    generates a foliage file for a bsp
  */
 
-void Foliage( mapDrawSurface_t& src, entity_t& entity ){
+void Foliage( const mapDrawSurface_t& src, entity_t& entity ){
 	/* get shader */
 	shaderInfo_t *si = src.shaderInfo;
 	if ( si == nullptr || si->foliage.empty() ) {
diff --git a/tools/quake3/q3map2/surface_meta.cpp b/tools/quake3/q3map2/surface_meta.cpp
index 871b8b60..f269cf0d 100644
--- a/tools/quake3/q3map2/surface_meta.cpp
+++ b/tools/quake3/q3map2/surface_meta.cpp
@@ -372,7 +372,7 @@ static void TriangulatePatchSurface( const entity_t& e, mapDrawSurface_t& ds ){
 	dsNew.indexes.reserve( ( mesh.width - 1 ) * ( mesh.height - 1 ) * 6 );
 
 	/* copy the verts in */
-	dsNew.verts.assign( mesh.verts, mesh.verts + mesh.numVerts() );
+	dsNew.verts.assign( mesh.begin(), mesh.end() );
 
 	/* iterate through the mesh quads */
 	for( MeshQuadIterator it( mesh ); it; ++it ){
diff --git a/tools/quake3/q3map2/writebsp.cpp b/tools/quake3/q3map2/writebsp.cpp
index 0e5b469e..9f1bc67b 100644
--- a/tools/quake3/q3map2/writebsp.cpp
+++ b/tools/quake3/q3map2/writebsp.cpp
@@ -484,7 +484,7 @@ void BeginModel( const entity_t& e ){
 	/* bound patches */
 	for ( const parseMesh_t& p : e.patches )
 	{
-		for ( const bspDrawVert_t& vert : Span( p.mesh.verts, p.mesh.numVerts() ) )
+		for ( const bspDrawVert_t& vert : p.mesh )
 			minmax.extend( vert.xyz );
 	}