Hello, everyone!
It's that time of the year again. 2022 has certainly been a rocky year, though before we can focus on the future, allow me to quickly delve into the past.
2012. Chernobyl, Ukraine. An unidentified stalker under the alias of "Marked One" had appeared in the Cordon. No one seemed to know who he was or where he came from. The game I am referencing, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, was brought to us back in 2007, despite its rocky development. I've been playing this and the other two original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games (Clear Sky and Call of Pripyat, in that order) for over a decade, being introduced to the series towards the start of 2011.
Since the passing of Xmas, I've released a video to showcase the S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Universal Golden Weapons mod in action during one of my latest playthroughs on S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. I have to say that while these weapon textures do not have any benefits to stalkers in combat scenarios, they certainly do breathe some new life into a game that is almost 16 years old (or over 20 years old, if you count its rocky development)!
A little earlier than this, I also had the pleasure of playing through S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat with this mod installed, too. We all have our favourites, though I was keen on taking the Eliminator shotgun, the AC-96/2 assault rifle and the Martha pistol into battle whenever I could. Realistically, a texture mod like this would be best suited in extreme moderation. Perhaps one or two unique weapons can have golden textures added to them instead; yes, this mod allows you to easily copy and paste parts of it into other S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games and their many mods. I also did a similar playthrough through the eyes of Scar in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, though I've made sure to elaborate upon this here.
For those who haven't been in the loop, I've also uploaded a patch here for anyone who wishes to give their binoculars a shiny golden texture. As minor of an addition as this may be, it's still entirely optional and can be a pleasure to look at in contrast to the gloomy horrors of the Zone (even though the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games look beautiful in their own way). The textures in this mod can work with other mods as long as one takes care to only copy and paste the texture files (the ones with the .dds extension) into the relevant folders. Feel free to ask for help if needed; you'll usually have to look for the files that must be placed within "gamedata/textures/wpn".
Yes, troubleshooting may be required, though that's life in a moddable world! I've also got a few new projects coming up, but they'll only be announced once they're ready. I've had some extra time to work on these; some are for the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games and others are for games that I've not covered yet. It's just as they say; so many ideas, but such little time! Nonetheless, I really do appreciate anyone who's made it this far and those who have been able to check out my work. You guys are legends! 2023 is just around the corner, and the modding scene is bigger and better than ever, so why don't we keep it up through 2023?
Well, what are you waiting for? Get out of here, stalkers!
Much love, Jacob_MP.
