Status Update #4 news - The Zone's Call mod for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky

Ok, so I'm a bit early with this update, but things have been looking up.

Firstly, work has eased up ALOT, to the point where I'm not coming home completely frustrated or burnt out, and our mega uber project that was supposed to take 2 months tops to finish (I think this is like the 5-6th month we've been working on it now) looks like it might be completed this side of Christmas :D, in addition to everything else that has been completed at long last. I think there are only a few projects left, but my part of getting them finished shouldn't take too long, now that I know what to do, and have a manual/checklist for them.

What this means is my evenings are no longer spent generally moping about, and I have some more spare time (and more importantly energy) to spend modding, and getting this finished (or somewhere around there). In either case, I can now move its status

I had a look at pulling out the various features and the like, but after half a dozen gamedata folders, It was easier said than done, not to mention the poor end person who had to try and merge them back together if they wanted to use a mix of them, and some of them really didn't sit well on their own without 1 or 2 of the others merged with them, which kinda defeats the whole 'separate them out into content packs' idea I had. Again, easier said than done.

So I plan on doing the mod slightly differently: I'll take what I have, and wrap it around the vanilla game, going for an overhaul mod rather than a total conversion. What this means is, instead of me spending a lot of time and effort trying to make a whole new game, I'll expand upon the existing Clear Sky storyline. This greatly reduces the amount of work I'll need to do, making it a much more manageable project, considering I'm going at it more or less solo right now. I might be able to get some extra help from 828 Studios later on once their current project is done.
Now, I can hear a few panicked cries out there about the new levels, don't worry, the 3 I have currently in will stay in, and all the others I had planned will be added in at a later date. I'm also going to modify some main and side storylines to fit the new levels, in addition to adding a few new ones, and removing some of the existing side missions that chew up save space and cause corrupted saves. And I plan on doing an overhaul of the faction war system to fix some of the major gripes that I have with it, mainly so it doesn't turn into a 4 way stand in an elevator (hopefully you'll get my meaning here if you've even seen it stagnate, which you should of)

I still plan on doing an upload around Christmas which may or may not be the full version. Depending on how much (or little) there is left do do will determine if I release Christmas or New Years.

Now, if you'll excuse me, there is a rather long line of Clear Sky fighters standing outside Grey's shack who want up upgrade their gear so they can go take back the Swamps from the Renegades, and Grey can't cause I haven't supplied him with updated upgrade schematics, so I'm going to go do that now.
* scurries off and jumps into teleporter *