v2.0: total overhaul

[Hyperseeker]

This release features a complete overhaul of the mod, streamlining its content to provide a more cohesive experience applicable to both casual players who seek an expanded variety of gunmods and gun nerds who want the most out of the attachments they carry.

Game version: 0.H stable. Make sure to also use the latest version of Core.

Also note that due to the significant restructuring of the mod's contents, as well as the fact that the base game's migration system is limited, this release introduces breaking changes and will not be compatible with saves made while using Loadout v1.0.

Highlights

• Gunmod collection has been optimized. This version does away with gunmods which add only superficial difference in either appearance or performance. Ultimately, it was a decision to balance development effort and playtesting time with a good variety of content that is grounded in reality and provides distinct options for a variety of playstyles. We want to provide an exciting experience with Frontier Mods, and if it means removing a few options to keep the rest of the items meaningful in their differences and what they represent relative to the real world, Don't fret: the items in Loadout are still kickass. Implementing all of the items accurately was a massive undertaking, and we hope you enjoy the results.
• Items have been remodeled with higher resolution. Everything in the mod is as accurate as can be, with weights and dimensions being given another pass to make each gunmod as accurate as possible. This includes attachments, standalone weapon platforms (like the M320 grenade launcher), and support equipment (like slings). The sourcing of the material has also improved, resulting in a more-real collection of items: from popular aftermarket parts to government orders, the makeups of kitted guns now represent what one would look like in a given situation more accurately.
• Military rifles now spawn with appropriate attachments. This comes from both simply providing the existing gunmods to spawns, and introducing new attachments for the specific weapon platforms, referencing official documentation and photographic evidence to provide an accurate list of attachments that were in actual use by the military over the last 30 years or so. This means that many a historical gun nerd would (hopefully) enjoy being able to build a clone-accurate Block I M4 or M110A1. (The vast civilian aftermarket will be given the same love in a future release.)
• CQBR has been fixed. There is a fix for this issue in the upcoming 0.I stable, but in 0.H, the CQBR (a short military rifle) still spawns with two upper receivers. We will revert to the 0.I implementation once the stable version lands, but for now, Loadout stands against breaking reality and in favor of the one-upper-receiver-per-rifle policy.
• Upper receivers for the AR-15 have been overhauled. This includes the common 5.56mm options, such as the M4A1 and the M16A4, as well as all of those rarer options present in the base game, such as the .450 Bushmaster ones. Their remodeling required adjusting their gunmod slots; generally, this means that many of them now require rail mounts to attach rail and underbarrel mods. This is consistent with reality: upper receivers that come with a quad Picatinny rail are rare these days. This also led to the introduction of the M16 carry handle as a detachable, Picatinny-mounted sight... which, in turn, led to the revelation about how to model front and rear iron sights separately without sacrificing fidelity or gameplay.

Going forward, the intent is to expand on these changes and provide an even deeper gun management system (though far from rebuilding a gun from constituent components just yet). This includes accurately modeling all of the gunmods which either don't exist but should (e.g. replaceable iron sights) or which do exist but aren't fleshed out yet (like stocks or bipods).

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If you like Loadout and/or any other Frontier mods, you can donate to support their development. You can do so via one of the one-time donation services we use: Ko-Fi or Buy Me a Coffee. The links are all in DONATE.md in the Core repo.

To make it a little more interesting for you and me both, I've introducer the Ladder of Benefits™: a set of donation tiers, where you can add something to any of the mods under the Frontier Mods umbrella if you donate over a certain amount. This, too, is well-described in the donation document.

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We hope you enjoy this release of Loadout! Feel free to contact the developers, leave an issue, or post to the release's discussion page if you have bug reports, suggestions, or notes about the contents of v2.0.

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This discussion was created from the release v2.0: total overhaul.