Mod News: It's Brainy
Zombies. I like 'em. Well, I've never actually met one, so I can't be one hundred per cent sure I'd like them in person, so to speak. But I like how often the act as a catalyst for interesting fiction. This means that news from zombie mods tends to get me a bit excited, especially if it isn't the same old dull FPS again and again. Read on to find out what in the great goodness I'm talking about.
NEWS
Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts mod ZombieMod! That's what I was talking about! It's looking quite interesting, despite being yet another zombie mod. It puts you in the shoes of a military commander, rather than a survivor, and the game takes place a while after the infections originally took place, meaning society has had chance to regroup somewhat. A nice concept - and, to go along with it, the developer has released a bunch of new character profiles and suchlike. It's all worth a look if you like the sound of it.
Meanwhile, Jurassic Life is still making some moves towards completion, which makes me a very happy man. This is the Jurassic Park-themed HL2 mod that's been looking awesome for a few years now. There's some new news, and some new images of a very new T-Rex, up on the official website. Can't wait to see how this one turns out.
Project Reality, the popular Battlefield 2 mod, has been experimentin'. Specifically, the developers have been seeing if they can remove the supposedly hard-coded 64-player limit, and up it to 128. They've been running tests and keeping the community posted on the forums. You can read all about it here.
And, oh, for the sake of it, let's shoehorn in a bit of Black Mesa non-news. A little while ago, someone from the dev team dropped a hint that the game would be out of the door in the next few months. But the mod's lead developer has now suggested otherwise on the forums. Referring to a post he made last year, in which he said the current rate of progress would equate to a June 2011 release at the latest, he said: "We weren't able to continue to hit milestones at that rate of progress. So who's to say, really?"
So, yeah. I mean, it always did strike me that there was a weird juxtaposition in the Black Mesa PR, where the team's been chanting "done when it's done" for half a decade, while at the same time continuing to tease release windows, failing to meet them, then going completely silent when they're asked why. It would be really, really nice if someone would consider replying to my emails, too. Anyone on Black Mesa reading? Call me, baby.
RELEASES
This week has technically seen an update to Vetron's Loadout Mod, rather than its initial release. But since I missed that a couple of weeks ago, here we are: there exists a Mass Effect 2 mod that allows you to use any weapons you want with any character you want. The idea, says the dev, is that your abilities should be restricted by your skill points, but that anyone should be able to pick up any gun. This week's update beefs up the friendly NPCs a bit, giving them recharging shields and the like. It's on ModDB for your downloading.
UPDATES
Call of Pripyat Reloaded has reacher version 0.7. Additions include side effects of medication, nasty NPCs who mug you, new sniper rifle scopes, and some more stuff. There are also some additional bug fixes. There's a trailer below, and here's a link to where you can download the mod.
There's also Steam Defense, a Half-Life 2 FPS/tower defense mod. This one's still in very early alpha, but a new version of it has been released, allegedly fixing a load of bugs and tightening the server stability. I haven't tried this one yet, but I fully intend to when I get a moment. Grab it here.
And even Sven Co-op has been updated this week, with a pair of new official maps. There's also a low-def models pack, for anyone who's been struggling with low framerates in the latest version. Which is lovely. This is a 12-year-old mod, and the team is still catering for those whose systems are slow enough to struggle. That shows real dedication to your fanbase (although technically, I believe, the models pack is an unofficial one).
AND THE REST
Just the one this week, and it's another roundup for delightful RPS tribute site PC Gamer. There, Tom's been rounding up the best StarCraft II mods for everyone's perusal. The big ol' list is here.
And that's about it for this week. 'Til next time, humans.