SS2 Reimagined shotgun model

[6647e7912dacbMax_Yari]

Tags: °weapon °SS2

Hello everyone! I've made a new shotgun model that attempts to strike a balance between retaining the original feel
and looking cool. Works quite well with SS2 Tacticool Weapon Replacements.

Mod file attached, can also be downloaded from nexus: https://www.nexusmods.com/systemshock2/mods/9?tab=files

Tested on community patch Beta 4.
Please install using Blue Mod Manager.
Manual installation and/or not using community path might work as well, but haven't tested that.

On a side note: Indeed tacticool already includes its own shotgun model, and models author made a great job no doubt, nevertheless, I felt that it strayed too far from the feel of the original gun and, by a chance, I was also in the mood to do some modeling. All of that resulted in this attempt to make something that, in my opinion, fits the game better.

[6647e7912dcdcJossiRossi]

That's a really nice, loyal to the original, remodel. I'll toss that into my mod list.

[6647e7912de39voodoo47]

as soon as proper vhot positions are confirmed, we can throw this into the mods subforum. I don't think I can be bothered to register at Nexus though.

[6647e7912e1deMax_Yari]

voodoo47Ooof, I had no clue that you have to register there to just download the file, yeah, that's not really good. I'll attach the file here then. What's the deal with the expiration date of attachments though, will it just be straight-up removed after it, can it be made infinite?

Re vhots - attached is a screenshot of the thing shooting. The shell ejecting is almost never visible though since it happens to the right of the gun (which makes no sense in the first place) and the gun is moved in closer to the camera. Currently ejecting vhot is somewhat aligned to the ejection chamber, but I think I'll tweak that to see if it'll look too bad when moved.

Also attaching few screenshots of the ground model, it's very much a Frankenstein monster of the new and original but I think it looks good enough.

Update: Yea ok, I double checked how shell ejectors were on the original, they weren't even remotely aligned with a chamber (they are moved forward quite a bit just so you can see them), so I did the same and it looks fine, attached a screenshot w all vhots in action.
I will update the mod version in few hours.


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[6647e7912e311voodoo47]

yeah, that's pretty much the point, the vhot positions and numbering has to mirror the original model so mods/effects would work. if they do, then we are ready to go.

don't worry about the expiration, a moderator will take care of that once the mod is moved to the mods subforum.

[6647e7912e554Max_Yari]

voodoo47
Updated archive, also tweaked ground model to look better when hybrids are holding it. Now I think everything is in order.

[6647e7912e65dvoodoo47]

yeah, looking ok, checked with SCP b5.

[6647e7912e7bdZylonBane]

Looks good!

By the way, you're running an outdated version of 400.

[6647e7912ea43Max_Yari]

ZylonBane
Oh wow, how'd you even notice that But thanks, I'll check it.

Update: Seems I'm already using the latest, Acc_20 from here http://gaarabis.free.fr/index.php?catid=2#SHK2_400_jump

[6647e7912eb5avoodoo47]

we did update it iirc, so the latest one is here.

[6647e7912ed85Max_Yari]

voodoo47
Ah, haven't noticed file actually attached to the post, thanks!

[6647e7912ee7dZylonBane]

This place is called Shock Mod Archive, not Shock Mod Offsite Links, after all.

[6647e7912f199RocketMan]

Seeing a screenshot of the shotgun after a while reminds me of how obscenely crooked the shotgun is.  They were obviously trying to point the muzzle directly at the reticule but the longer the gun, the worse this looks.  Totally wrong perspective view.  But that's an OT discussion.  This mod is very well done.

[6647e7912f2fdJoe]

This model is lovely! Much as I love Tacticool Weapons, I always preferred the vanilla models. Have you considered remaking the pistol, and does it work with the first-person arm mod?

[6647e7912f574sarge945]

I would also like a Pistol remake, because I find the vanilla pistol looks very sleek and the Tacticool one looks rounded and silly.

I also am spoiled by the first-person arm mod It's mainly important for weapons like the fusion cannon, though, where it's really obvious.

[6647e7912f678voodoo47]

you ain't a proper nineties game protagonist if you cannot hold a feeble fusion cannon with one hand.

[6647e7912f88fsarge945]

voodoo47
I'm here to kick ass and hold fusion cannons

And I'm all out of ass

[6647e7912fab4RocketMan]

And I'm all out of ass

I hope things pick up soon...

[6647e7912fce7Max_Yari]

RocketMan Oh maybe that was the reason for making barrels expand along their length in the original, to make them look more centered, honestly I don't think that original is soo bad, apart from generally just being low-poly and having a messy texture.

[6647e79130c2dMax_Yari]

Joe Same, tacticool is cool, but vanilla just have a bit different feel, which sometimes I enjoy more.
Re left hand mod (This one? https://www.systemshock.org/index.php?topic=9436.0 ) I assume it's simply a hand model added to all of the weapon models, so in current state it's not compatible, I mean you can use them together but my shotgun will not have a hand attached to it.
Adding hand is not so hard really, it can be borrowed from the left-hand mod itself, but I got so annoyed working on this one that I don't want to even open blender for some time, so don't count on it. Also, I think the idea of the original that there's this lil module attached to the pump handle that automates pump-action so you don't actually have to use your left hand at all (possibly originally as a justification for using thief animations on hybrids and/or not making the left hand), so from that point of view adding a left hand to a shotgun doesn't make a lot of sense.

And re remaking pistol - that might be possible, I might have a mood to do some modelling again in the following few months, but on the other hand, I might also finish my playthrough at that time, so again, don't count on that too much.
Also, there's a shading issue with moving parts of guns, you can see it on the tacticool pistol model as well, it's like tringular-ish looking shadow spots appearing in some lighting conditions on the pistol slide, it will get worse on a more complicated model, and I don't even know if it's fixable or just an engine quirk (will appreciate if someone actually knows an answer to this). So until I know that this issue can be avoided - I'll def not even think about doing pistol, otherwise, it'll be a lot and a lot of hours of tweaking things around and praying that this 100ish time shading will be bearable.

[6647e79130f08PsiElite]

Great work Max Yari! Im tempted to call it perfect but I think I can dig up some nitpicks

Very true to the original. Love the added cloth part. (Im not a big fan of the tacticool mods, even tough the Wrench is awesome!)
The color of the entire backend (behind the barrel) could maybe be a bit darker color.

I feel like its maybe to high fidelity. Would love to see a clothed arm with this model aswell. But if we had one I feel like there might be to big of a contrast to the sharpness of the shotgun model.

I don't know if im seeing things but I feel like the model has a slight TF2 cartooney look. Could stick out compared to the original art. Anyone else seeing that?

[6647e7913102cJoe]

I've been yearning for a vanilla-style shotgun and pistol... would be lovely if you worked your magic for the latter! The Tacticool weapons are great, but I miss the sleekness of the vanilla pistol, for example. Is this compatible with the mod that adds the second arm on two-handed weapons?

[6647e79131182sarge945]

Yeah the Vanilla pistol has something about it that's just....special

Honestly, I would settle for the vanilla pistol model with a very slight texture upgrade (MINOR, not like some 4k ultra-high res scratched metal finish) and the hole at the top of the handle to be fixed.

[6647e791314a7PsiElite]

sarge945Have you seen "Cages pistol mod"`? https://www.systemshock.org/index.php?topic=637.msg1754#msg1754

doesn't do anything with the hand unfortunately.