"Removing the suck from Deus Ex." It's an odd slogan, but that's what Shifter does, what little of it there is. In my opinion anyway. A little mod that started off as an effort to get the damn laser sight to turn on automatically now includes additional augmentations, unique weapons, new game mechanics, bugfixes, restored game content, and even a complete and working alt-fire option for almost every weapon. All of this, seamlessly integrated into the existing game, capable of running simultaneously with almost any other Deus Ex mod. Play your favorite mod, then play it again, "Shifter-ized".

For those of you who are sticklers for actual, quantifiable advantages, here are a few features which Shifter brings to Deus Ex:

  • "Replacable" Augmentations: Find a new aug you just have to have? Now you can replace an existing augmentation with one found in an augmentation canister. Just use a medical bot to install it, like you would with any other augmentation.

  • New/Better Augmentations: In unmodified Deus Ex, many of the augmentations were of limited to no value, or only useful in very specific situations. Shifter attempts to rectify this by modifying how some of these augs work (like Microfibral Muscle) or by replacing them completely with new, superior augs. (like Electrostatic Discharge)

  • Alt-Fire: Long since overdue, most weapons in Deus Ex now have alt-fire modes, accessed through a separate alt-fire key. Now you can unleash a napalm bomb from your Flamethrower, or throw those ever-so-common Combat Knives at unsuspecting NPCs. For weapons without alt-fire, the button doubles as a scope toggle key.

  • Unique Weapons: Scattered throughout the game in key locations are new and ever-so-deadly weapons. These weapons are unique, and only appear in that one location, nowhere else, to balance their power.

  • Random NPC Inventory: In a realistic setting one would never be able to say for certain what a random passerby on the street might have on them. Shifter incorporates this into Deus Ex, giving NPCs hostile, neutral and friendly alike randomly determined items. Perhaps nothing more than some extra credits, perhaps some food or cigarettes, but maybe even a contraband substance or weapon.

  • Additional Skill System: It seems somewhat unfair that a player is not rewarded with skill points for some acts of true skill, feats like defeating a room full of MiBs, or perhaps walking within just a few feet of them without being detected. Either way, combat or stealth, players are now rewarded for their feats of skill.

  • Deadlier NPCs: Many of the additions made to Shifter would seem to shift the balance of power almost exclusively to the player. To counteract this, NPC AI and skill has been upgraded. Enemies shoot better, aim quicker, and dodge faster. Never underestimate a Shifter NPC. (Well, when I finish all the AI tweaks, anyway. :P)

I've spent far more time on this mod than any other project I've ever undertaken, and I don't see myself stopping anytime soon. I may get distracted from time to time, or be mostly happy with a release only to find a few flaws in it several months down the road, but I will never abandon the mod. The day I stop maintaining Shifter is the day after the Deus Ex modding community officially dies.

For those of you who are brave, check out my Savefile Project Folder from time to time. It's where I store various "snapshot" builds of Shifter as I add features between releases. You'll get to play with new goodies between the official releases, at the slight cost of having to deal with possible bugs, crash-tacular errors, and other beta-esque things.

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Choices, choices.... Watch your step... Fun with Combat Knives
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0 comments by Y|yukichigai on Nov 2nd, 2009 digg this super bookmark


Okay, so the whole "Demo Version" issue is something which quite eludes me.  I'm not sure why my code - which works on most installs, by the way - randomly doesn't work, but there it is.  After trying a few alternatives I've decided to give up on that feature.  I'm releasing the result as v1.8.3.

This version is free of the game-stopping bug where it tells you to buy the full version, despite the fact that you are already playing it.  As a consequence anybody who tries to install this on a Demo version of the game won't be able to play it "Shifter-ized" without some extra work and typing things in via the console.  If any of you who this applies to can't figure it out, feel free to talk to me and I'll walk you through it.

Anyway, while ModDB approves the file you can download v1.8.3 from here.

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Shifter v1.8.3

Shifter v1.8.3

Nov 02, 2009 Full Version 1 comment

Mostly the same as v1.8.2: At least 80% support for The Nameless Mod, plus a few other bugfixes and some minor features compared to v1.8.1. The only difference...

Comments  (70 - 80 of 125)
themesmith
themesmith Apr 27 2008, 2:10am says:

This mod is friggen awesome. I hope you keep up the good work.

+2 votes     reply to comment
solientgreen2
solientgreen2 Feb 28 2008, 5:17pm says:

lol, complete and utter lack of appreciation from some troll

There's so much "broke" in Deus Ex, that any attempt to fix it will still have bugs. There's bugs in the input, there's bugs in the old renderer, there's bugs in the new renderer, and there's bugs in the sound engine. Omg bug in Shifter.

-2 votes     reply to comment
solientgreen2
solientgreen2 Mar 10 2008, 1:22am replied:

There you have it. More people would rather replay the game the game up until the raid at the 'Ton than just the first 15 minutes.

gg, me

0 votes     reply to comment
Zip_Lightning
Zip_Lightning Feb 29 2008, 6:36pm replied:

Original Deus Ex never had any game stopping bugs, not for me anyway.

Troll? Pfffft hardly, just somebody with an opinion (better than being a mod-fan-boy) :-p

0 votes     reply to comment
solientgreen2
solientgreen2 Feb 29 2008, 8:54pm replied:

If the renderer fails to load or the sound engine fails to load, that's a game stopping error. If I have to restart because the mouse is miscalibrated, that's a game stopping error. If something steals focus and the game crashes, that even worse because I lose progress. If I try to jump over a fence and inexplicably die, that's just pitiful. Yes, acting like Shifter is a waste of time is trolling.

+1 vote     reply to comment
TheUnbeholden
TheUnbeholden Mar 1 2008, 5:06am replied:

game stopping bug as in all equipment in inventory gone.. that to me sounds like a game stopping bug. If you've gone so far intot he game with out everything you've gotten its game over. so he's right when he says that.

And about the skil points..makes a valid point. it dosent make sense to loose "skill" by killing someone friendly.. in real life killing anyone will make more efficient killer. Though of course you might make enemies and might be sent to jail. so of course theres problems, shifter dosent really do that instead makes you loose skill for doing so.. I dont like it and I agree you have a point there. But shifter fixes so many things with the game its incredible . Deus ex was a piece of crap compared to what the mod does. One little thing like that is hardly enough to call this mod a waste of time..

+1 vote     reply to comment
JC_Fenix
JC_Fenix Mar 1 2008, 5:37pm replied:

In Yuki's defense, it was a fairly new glitch, one that he thought he fixed, and one that's very rare given the related Shifter feature. The glitch only really has a chance of happening in two areas: The beginning, and after you get captured. After you've picked up a few items, and sorted out your toolbar, the glitch is effectively squashed.

I suppose he could have looked over the code a little, and he could have tested it, or reported that he fixed it so I'd test it :P. Anyway, it's one glitch that's hard to get, and he tried to fix.... Hardly reason to call the whole mod "buggy"

As for allies thing... I guess it's too bad that Yuki can't create some sort of Karma system. Like maybe if you're good, nice, and moral you'd get a giant crossbow unique weapon about half way through the game; and if you went around killing innocents, and allies you'd get some sort of Uber assault rifle instead. He already did something like this with the Blackjack/explosive ammo thing, and well... something like that is probably one of the only ways I think he'd get rid of the deductions. IMO of course.

+1 vote     reply to comment
Y|yukichigai
Y|yukichigai Feb 28 2008, 7:41pm replied:

Oh dammit, I just released v1.8.1 and here's a reasonably severe glitch to be fixed. :P

FYI, if you use the change ammo key you can cycle between lockpicks and multitools. Most Shifter players devote only one slot to lockpicks/multitools and switch accordingly. It's probably why nobody's noticed that issue before.

I'll issue a v1.8.2 with that fixed eventually. I'd do it right now but since I'm already gonna fix another bug I may as well wait for any others that pop up.

+1 vote     reply to comment
JC_Fenix
JC_Fenix Feb 28 2008, 7:10pm replied:

Nah, I just blocked the door, you don't need a grenade but a prox mine helps to block the door. Then all you have to do is open the case, but don't touch the mag-rail. Finally, go up kill the scientist, then get the Mag-rail(Takes a while since he has so much health.). Nothing special from it, but I think when I manged to get the mag-rail and then kill him Lin May said it was too late. Oh, and both factions give aug cannisters later, though I think you only actually get one.

As for the bug, it is actually one of the first ones I reported for the 1.8 betas:
Boards.gamefaqs.com
I got it in the MJ12 lab though, and you mentioned your inventory "disappearing" so I didn't make the connection. I guess it didn't seem like much of a big deal since you can cycle LP/MT in Shifter, so not many people would have lock picks, and multiools in two slots. Maybe now that two people have reported it, Yuki will look into it. ;)

+1 vote     reply to comment
Y|yukichigai
Y|yukichigai Feb 28 2008, 7:44pm replied:

I thought I'd fixed it actually, but there's a second bit of code which does the same thing that I'd overlooked. I've fixed it now but... bleh, why couldn't I have discovered this two days ago? :P

+1 vote     reply to comment
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