[Mod Announcement] Introducing the S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: CRA Project news

Greetings, fellow stalkers.

I have something great to show you all. My progress over the past few months has been loud, heavy and might potentially want to bite me, just like the last uninvited guests of the recent mutant attack... Where was I? Oh, yes, my latest modification! Allow me to introduce all of you stalkers, bandits and everything else in between to my latest creation; the Classic Reanimated Armaments Project!

The Classic Reanimated Armaments Project (abbreviated as C.R.A.P., or in better taste, the CRA Project) is a mod that was made to be compatible with S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Chernobyl (1.4.22). As a whole, this project serves as an outlet for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. modders and fans to bring weapons from S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (including modifications based on this game) over to newer platforms such as S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Chernobyl, also including modifications based on these.

In short, this mod primarily ports first-person animations from S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl to the S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Chernobyl modification. The files used in this mod also pave the way for modders to port such animations and weapon models to other S.T.A.L.K.E.R. modifications as well as S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat.

Right out of the box, one can apply this modification to a fresh or existing vanilla installation of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Chernobyl (1.4.22) and it'll work just fine. From the moment you create your character and start up your game, you'll immediately be greeted with the first-person animation set as shown in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. While they may be basic compared to the updated versions from the later games, they do aim to give players' games that nostalgic feel. With it's aim in doing so, I strongly feel that it proudly delivers in this regard.

Take this; the option to alternate between old and new weapon sounds from the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, optional addons and a modification that serves as a modding resource as well as something for fans and modders to play with... Porting old weapon models and animations to the aforementioned newer platforms is not a step, but a large leap forward for the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. modding community. I've had the pleasure of making such a breakthrough as far back as October of 2022 when I released a tutorial on how one can port weapons from older platforms to newer ones (linked here). It was only in June/July of 2023 when things were kicked into motion after I was fortunate enough to port the AKM-74/2, complete with working animations, sounds and textures, from S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl to S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Chernobyl. Some improvisations had to be made to get some of the models, textures and animations working properly in-game and to also keep that original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. feel that we all know and love!

I worked through each and every weapon in order, starting with the AC-96/2 and finishing off with the Chaser 13, making sure to add the necessary touches to bolts, detectors and the player's knife. I've even touched up a couple of weapons that were not featured at all in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, from the RP-74 and the Eliminator to the HPSS-1m and the Hunting Shotgun. The latter two were cut from the game, but still remain in the game's files while the first two mostly have to be modded back in from scratch. I've included some screenshots of these weapons below for those who'd like to take a look, though you're more than free to check out all of the other screenshots I've included here on this mod's page.

This modification will be released on the 10/10/2023 along with any additional addons that I have ready for the release of this project.

At present, I have an addon set to be released with the base Classic Reanimated Armaments Project modification that allows players to alternate between two different models for the Eliminator shotgun. With this addon, players can change between the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat version of this weapon and the pre-release version of this weapon from the older S.T.A.L.K.E.R. builds. Players can also change between weapon sounds from S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl and those featured in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat and the S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Chernobyl modification. Furthermore, I'll be extending support on the Classic Reanimated Armaments Project page to allow users to publish their own addons for this project. Whether you want to browse whatever is available or publish a weapon that you've ported from another modification, there's bound to be something for everybody! Even if you make use of any part of the Classic Reanimated Armaments Project in your own work, you're more than free to let me know. I'd be curious to see what everyone else cooks up on their side as a result of my findings.

Just like the video above, I love making videos that showcase the mods I have created and I can also be found documenting my journey of creating mods that you guys might like. If you're up for it, you're free to pop over to my YouTube channel or Twitter page and say "hi" or ask me any questions that you may have. Aside from documenting my work to the best of my ability, I also like to keep communication platforms open, too. The necessary links can be found below.

- Modder's Playground YouTube: youtube.com/@moddersplayground

- Modder's Playground Twitter: twitter.com/ModdersPlaygro1

Thank you all so much for stopping by. I'll be sure to see you all soon once this mod releases.

Much love, Jacob_MP.