(be constructive, be constructive, be constructive, don't rant)

Okay I'm ready.

I have to admit a bit of dissapointment over the selection of custom models for DOD:S. The ones that have been released are, how do I say this nicely - not nearly as good as the defaults. Still more have tried to add slings or such. These usually look like "nice try, but no cigar" (A word of advice- animating slings realistically is really difficult). Other ones, which looked VERY promising, and I looked forward to immensely, seemed to never really have gotten finished. (What happened to the BAR w/bipod? The FG42?).

Honestly, and I mean this with every ounce of honesty, the default models are the most perfect re-creations of the actual weapons I have seen in ANY WW2 game. Period. And yeah I do have the knowledge to back that statement up. As Colbert says: "A tip 'o the hat to Molotov Billy".

So where are all the "different" models? Like the afformentioned FG42? I'm thinking that it must just boil down to animators. There aren't enough of 'em. Whish there were though. There are dozens of replacement candidates for the default weapons

M1 Garand =
- Johnson M1941 Rifle

STG44 =
- G43, automatic version (yes there was one) with 25 round clip (there was one of those too);
- FG42 (was started, finished??),
- Volksgewehr (Very crappy end-of-war construction)

M1A1 Thompson =
- Thompson M1928/A1 (somebody tried this already :rolleyes: )
- M3 greasgun
- M2 Carbine

BAR =
- M41 Johnson LMG

P38 =
- P08 Luger (duh. I know, obvious),
- PPK

MP40 = MP38, MP41, MP34, MPE and the extremely rare (there are only 2 left) MP36

M1 Carbine = Reising Model 50 (it was crappy, and generally thrown away, but was real and issued to troops none-the-less)


Ahhhh, I could go on and on. You get the idea.

The FG42 is modeled and skinned by Sproily. Over at CDG it was animated for CS:S, but never for DOD:S.... To bad though, would be a kick-ass StG44 replacement :(

A lot of the great custom modellers left MSA with Source for some of the following reasons:

1) Higher detail on models requirers higher skill in modelling/skinning. They could cut it in the lower poly HL1 engine world but couldn't raise the Bar for Source.

2) The time needed to make a model properly was longer and they couldn't dedicate the time or effort.

3) XSI was the only available supported modelling tool and it was too steep a learning curve and they were unwilling or unable to get to grips with it. By the time other options came around, they'd gone.

4) In the case of player models, the consistency check killed it. No-one will make a model that no-one can use (thats the reason I stopped making stuff for DoD and which was partly responsible for losing my interest in the game).

5) Pack mentality - if you've watched MSA over the years people form little cliques of modellers and skinners who work together. When one leaves, the friends follow.


They may sound like odd reasons but their certainly true to some extent.