SMOD: Tactical Version 1.0 Progress Update news

We have lots of news to give in this update!

First, it has been decided that Delta 6 will now be known as Version 1.0 for a number of reasons. Since Delta 6 has such massive changes and has taken so long to develop, calling it Delta 6 increasingly felt like it grossly understated the amount of work that has gone into this new version. Another reason was that many user-created weapons, maps and especially scripts made for Delta 5.56 will not be fully compatible with the new version. We still intend to greatly support our modding community, and it is planned to include modding documentation within the release to help modders make high quality content easier.

Below are several screenshots of new maps along with a few old favorites from Delta 5.56. Even though the need to have Half-Life 2: Deathmatch was removed as a requirement for Version 1.0, we are able to include several community-made DM maps that do not need textures or models from the HL2:DM files. Including DM_Motel from older versions of Tactical and newcomer DM_Gasworks.

Also below are community-made maps CS_Meridian, CS_Pariah and DE_NVBase_B4. All of which are new maps in Version 1.0 of SMOD: Tactical. Our images section has even more new screenshots to look at. Also featured is the new community-made USP Tactical weapon, which has a sound suppressor for stealth missions.

Sorry, no gameplay video for this update.

For those wanting to know exactly what has been changed in the new version, here's some choice lines lifted from the changelog:

GAMEPLAY/SCRIPTS
-Added SMOD Menu System. Removed Config Map.
-Added Bandage System. A more immersive form of Health Regeneration.
-Reordered weapon category system. You can now carry one Pistol, one "Close-Range" weapon (SMG, PDW or Shotgun), one Assault or Battle Rifle, and one "Special Purpose" weapon (Sniper Rifle, RPG, LMG or Grenade Launcher).
-Lowered mouse sensitivity by 30% when using the ironsights for better handling of the zoomed 3D scopes.

WEAPONS
-Crowbar, Suit Pick-Up Hands and Gravity Gun now have proper CSS Hands (thanks to modderfreak).
-Added proper, working World Models for all weapons. Fixed a number of issues with those that were in before.
-Fixed a number of issues with dead frames in animations. Changed animation speeds on weapons to better balance them.
-Raised AI's ability to hear gunshot sounds from SMOD Tactical's weapons.
-Edited Shotgun reload animations to not obstruct the player's view as much.
-Precached 3D Scoped weapons, greatly reducing crashes with them.
-Removed shrapnal from grenades due to unreliable beheavior and crash issues. Increased damage and radius to compensate.

MAPS
-Made new maps selectable through the chapter menu.
-Removed several ill-fitting SMOD 40 events from the HL2 campaign (prison mine puzzle, coast_04 puzzle, no antlion assistance in prison map, plot-stopping explo_justaway in trainstation_05).
-Raised Alyx's health in the prison and city maps.
-9mm, 5.7 and 5.56 ammo now uses the best fitting ammo types already present in the HL2 campaign for better compatibility (models reskinned/replaced where appropriate).
-Gave player batteries in the instant-actions maps so players can use the flashlight/night vision in them.

GRAPHICS/MODELS
-Disabled buggy and ugly View Model Depth of Field effect.
-Added proper HUD icons for the weapons.
-Fixed a number of scale and hitbox issues on CSS NPC models.
-Added SMOD Outbreak zombie2 NPC models and animations.
-Removed tracer/certain spark effects for a more gritty-looking battlefield.

SOUNDS
-Replaced most gunfire sounds. Removing low-quality live-fire recordings and stock gunfire sounds in favor of remixed, high-quality sounds.
-All gunfire sounds now have distance sounds for NPC's.
-Replaced HL2's bullet whiz sounds with supersonic bullet cracks.
-Fixed CSS/HL2DM maps not having any soundscapes loaded.

Of course, those are far from the only changes done. The full changelog will be released with Version 1.0. Which is on-track for release this summer.

See you next time!