News: CS Promod 1.04 Reviewed

Page One - Installation, HUD, Customization
Page Two - Maps, Guns and Recoil, Spamming
Page Three - Grenades, Models, Spectating, Direct Input

Years have passed since the competitively unaccepted release of CS:Source. Promising to bring us a graphically presentable upgrade that would herald a new age in competitive Counter-Strike, the game was largely rejected by the eSports community and tournament organizations.

An idea was proposed that perhaps a solution could be found in the middle ground that lie between the purity of play found in 1.6 and the aesthetically pleasing visuals of Source. The project was dubbed Promod and like any undertaking of such scale, the journey it would take from concept to late beta saw years of delays and unexpected setbacks. A well intentioned but ultimately damaging decision to release an early beta was met with an unexpected level of criticism and scorn. The fervor of anticipation within the community plummeted and the project became a subject of ire.

Whatever your views on that ill-fated release, I can personally say with all honesty that the upcoming public release of CSPromod beta 1.04 is light years ahead of its problematic past and could very well give the 1.6 community a new lease on life. Crisp, clean and responsive, 1.04 has the potential to please sponsors, professional players and new comers to the competitive scene.

Below lies an overview by Brett Sheffield on the installation, visuals, gameplay mechanics and customization so that you might gain a greater insight into the upcoming release. If you value our game and its future I implore you to give CSPromod a fair chance with an open mind. Should your experience with it be as positive as ours have been, let your favorite leagues know and encourage your friends to give it a shot. The success or failure of Promod ultimately rests on the shoulders of this community.

Installing Promod
Have you ever bought a game on steam? You insert your information and you end up downloading it directly from steam. Promod is even easier than that. You download the installer; it automatically puts it on your currently logged in Steam account. You easily restart Steam and you are then able to play the game. This is the easiest game you will possibly ever install on your computer.

The Promod HUD
The HUD of Promod is the best HUD that I have seen to date. Most GUI's you can install for CS 1.6 or CS:S only change the color or add the background. The Promod HUD is almost fully customizable and offers the player a clear look at their information. It comes with a customizable nade section, removable "players alive" next to the round timer, and an extensive scoreboard to top it all off. The Health, Armor, and Bullets are all easily legible at a glance due to the contrast and colors used.

The scoreboard is your source for information pertaining to your play at all times. It clearly states your teammates money, who has the bomb, your score, kills, deaths, errors, and ping. It is wider than the 1.6 or CS:S scoreboard due to all of the information it provides.

The radar is much like the CS:S radar. It is smaller than the CS:S radar and shows more information. You are able to turn on teammate names to see who is where at all times.

Customization in Promod



HUD Options:
- One of the coolest features about Promod and the GUI is the "Promod" tab. This is where you can customize the game to your liking. Below we will highlight the key features:
- HUD Player Icons: Lets you choose if you see the players next to the time left.
- HUD Grenade Bar: Lets you choose if you see how many grenades you have above your HP.
- CS 1.3 Death Notification: Do you want to see the old death notifications from 1.3? Select this on or use the current messages.

Radar Options:
- Show Teammates Nickname: Choose if you want to see the players name next to the dot on the radar.
- Style: Choose between 1.6 Translucent, 1.6 Solid, or a CS:S/1.6 hybrid of translucent with an overlay

Crosshair Options:
- Crosshair Color: Choose from a dropdown menu what color you would like your crosshair to be.
- Crosshair Translucency(Alpha): Use the convinent sliding bar to set how translucent your crosshair is.
- AWP Crosshair Scope: Choose between the CS 1.6 or the CS:S crosshair scope, its all up to you!

Weapon Options:
- Weapon Side Preference: Choose which side you want the gun to be placed on.
- Switch Knife Hand: Choose if you want the knife to be on the opposite side of the gun hand.
- Weapon Model Origins(Angles): Choose between the CS 1.6 or CS:S angles.
- Viewmodel Turn Interp(Lag): Choose between the CS:Source version where 3rd person models have a 100ms delay between where they are looking and what you see, and the 1.6 version where this is all done in real time.
- Fast Switch: Choose if you want Fast Switch on all weapons, all weapons excluding nades, or off.
- Quake Style Instant Switch: One of the coolest features in the game. The delay is still there, but the guns will switch instantly with no animation.

Wall Impact Effects Options:
- Bullet Impact Particle Type: Choose the 1.6 version with darker and more visible flecks with dust, smoke and sparks. Or go with the CS:S version that is only bullet holes, flecks and dust. Alternatively, choose no bullet holes.
- CS 1.6 Effect Color Type: The smoke that comes off the wall, choose between white, black or hybrid. The hybrid choice will determine the color based on the color of the wall you are hiting.
- Bullet Impact Effect Sounds: Choose bettwen CS 1.6, CS:S or none. This will be the sound that is made when a bullet hits a wall.