Which Deus Ex improvement mod(s) should I use?

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U10
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Which Deus Ex improvement mod(s) should I use?

Post by U10 »

(HDTP, New Vision and probably Ultra High Quality and Precipitation aside -- whether the latter two are talked about much here or not -- since they're just cosmetic/aesthetic mods)

Hi everyone. I'm technically new, and this is my first post here, but I really only made this account just to ask my question, since it's one that's been bugging me for a while -- considering all the love and support the game's getting/gotten, long after official support from Eidos/Ion Storm had been discontinued.

First off, I have yet to actually play Deus Ex, but I plan on first playing the [retail] vanilla version of the game (patched with 1.112fm, and using one particular GOTY file), so I can get a good "feel" of the game as a whole (but mainly to just generally have a good time with it's rather "true"/"pure" RPG-like/Choose Your Adventure-like "freedom" system, which highly interests me). Afterwards, I planned on using an improvement mod which generally improves on everything Deus Ex has to offer while keeping the core "soul" of the game intact.

Which leads to my question: The problem is, there are so many different Deus Ex improvement mods out there -- some "complete", most still in progress -- that seem to have their own unique features, with, in my mind, no true "unified" mod that contains all of their said features (Does "unifiedDeusEx" really fill that role? And to what extent?).

So, what exactly is the generally accepted improvement mod(s) for Deus Ex (and on that note, how many/which ones are cross-compatible without issues)? Y|yukichigai's well-known Shifter mod? The unofficial 2.0 patch by the same guy, as well as a few others? Biomod? Smoke's Mod? Enhanced Version? "Modern-ish Combat"?? "DXStats"?? The aforementioned unifiedDeusEx???? (I guess the upcoming "Revision" counts too?)

So I was wondering whether you all could settle this matter once and for all: Which improvement(s) and/or enhancement(s) would you all generally recommend to me in terms of "an improved and extended Deus Ex"? I really don't know which one(s) to pick.

Thanks in advance.
Cybernetic pig
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Re: Which Deus Ex improvement mod(s) should I use?

Post by Cybernetic pig »

Large scale mods:

New Vision.
HDTP*

Smaller:

Deus Ex Enhanced*

Bug Fixes:

Deus Ex Map Patch
Human Renovation*
Deus Ex 2.0*

*Modifies DeusEx.u and is therefore incompatible with any other mod of this type. Note: most mods modify DeusEx.u

These are the mods you are looking for, the very few that build upon the original work without straying too far. I may be missing some smaller ones.

I claim my mod improves the design whilst remaining very conservative, and others have agreed, but it is for veteran players only (at least two playthroughs of experience) and is not yet complete. Easy mode still exists in the mod but I couldn't say how suitable that is for inexperienced players. The majority of challenges you face in the game are tougher, in addition to thousands of other changes not related to difficulty that are intended to take Deus Ex's design to the next level whilst remaining true to the core design principles.

For now/after your first playthrough I recommend just grabbing New Vision, HDTP and the Deus Ex Map Patch and getting on with it.
Plenty mods are worth playing, few are conservative like you rightfully request. Try Deus Ex TCs also such as The Nameless Mod, Project 2027, Nihilhum and so on. All TC's that I have played have been very high quality, worth playing over the majority of modern 'AAA' titles, which is just great because they are free, being mods/TCs.
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Re: Which Deus Ex improvement mod(s) should I use?

Post by bjorn98009_91 »

Don't forget to grab a new renderer like D3D9 and update to the latest version of Kentie's launcher (the one included in NV is outdated).

There are a lot of mods out there and I wish they would just all be more compatible, it would be nice if all bugfixes from Human Renovation was backported into DeusExv2 so those that just want pure bugfixing could use that, Human Renovation is then a bit more about rebalancing as it does change a few stats and augs/skills. Then if Shifter also contained said bugfixes then those that want more/something else then Human Renovation can use that and still have the same amount of bugfixes. Then everything should be compatible with HDTP.

Sadly this isn't true and the majority of bugfixing lies in Human Renovation. Some of these mods haven't had a proper update either for a while.

Anyway, the precipitation package you mentioned is not a mod in itself, its a modder asset that modders can use to add rain to their maps. It does not simply add rain by itself.

Revision comes with a slightly modified version of Human Renovation that rolls back some things like the Swimming -> Athletics skill change. Also added is HDTP support (with the ability to turn off char models) and unifiedDX's 1x/2x GUI. We will also supply a version based on Shifter and one based on BioMod with the same stuff (HDTP and GUI). We also include some bugfixes that non of the other mods currently have, such as the lamp fix posted in the HDTP thread.

Revision is not meant for first time players, we do want you to play with vanilla maps and music first before trying our mod.
Producer and Quality Assurance Manager for Deus Ex: Revision.
Cybernetic pig
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Re: Which Deus Ex improvement mod(s) should I use?

Post by Cybernetic pig »

bjorn98009_91 wrote:We also include some bugfixes that non of the other mods currently have, such as the lamp fix posted in the HDTP thread..
I've got that in GMDX ;) It doesn't seem to work all of the time though, and the lighting is a little off for those that do work. The free clinic (first visit) the fix doesn't seem to work at all, but otherwise it is a nice fix.
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bjorn98009_91
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Re: Which Deus Ex improvement mod(s) should I use?

Post by bjorn98009_91 »

Oh yeah, so you do.

Yup, there is still something weird about lamps though.

This is how it looks initially: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/421 ... 0state.jpg

This it how it looks after being toggled on and off: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/421 ... oggled.jpg
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U10
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Re: Which Deus Ex improvement mod(s) should I use?

Post by U10 »

Cybernetic pig wrote:These are the mods you are looking for, the very few that build upon the original work without straying too far.

I claim my mod improves the design whilst remaining very conservative, and others have agreed, but it is for veteran players only (at least two playthroughs of experience) and is not yet complete. Easy mode still exists in the mod but I couldn't say how suitable that is for inexperienced players. The majority of challenges you face in the game are tougher, in addition to thousands of other changes not related to difficulty that are intended to take Deus Ex's design to the next level whilst remaining true to the core design principles.
bjorn98009_91 wrote:Revision comes with a slightly modified version of Human Renovation that rolls back some things like the Swimming -> Athletics skill change.
I think I should've made myself more clear: I wanted a mod that would improve upon the original Deus Ex in great lengths (whether by significantly altering a majority of the mechanics or not), all while keeping the overall "core"/"soul" of the game (story, atmosphere, graphics, maps, overall gameplay, etc.) intact. As an example: I'd really like to see stuff like new or improved augmentations alongside adjusted weapons (tear gas being non-lethal, being able to throw knives, etc.), firing options (alt-tab, though not sure if I'd use it all too much), "Thief-style" ledge climbing, and the like.

So, I guess what I'm looking for is a combination (or something close) of all/most of the Deus Ex improvement mods and their features (including the aforementioned GMDX mod by Cybernetic Pig) but with a LOT more to it, while somehow distinctively keeping it true to Deus Ex as possible -- not necessarily a "conservative" or "bugfixes-only" mod/patch per se. Sorry for the confusion, as well as if I come off as "picky" and "not very descriptive".
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Re: Which Deus Ex improvement mod(s) should I use?

Post by Cybernetic pig »

U10 wrote:(including the aforementioned GMDX mod by Cybernetic Pig) but with a LOT more to it,
:/ Haven't you seen the huge feature list? By now it is probably the most content filled gameplay mod (though it's not just a gameplay mod), and everyday it is growing larger.

Anyway, sounds like you want Unified DX. Personally I disagree with a whole lot of changes made in Bio-Shift (hence part of the reason GMDX exists), but unified DX does offer compatibility with HDTP, DX Enhanced & Revision in addition to giving you the option to disable some of "the suck" introduced in Bio-Shift (Biomod & Shifter) such as but certainly not limited to "skills for kills" and flushing toilets for xp.

Try my mod when it is complete and you have a number of playthroughs under your belt. For now if you want a heavily modified DX then unified will give you that, but be warned, it makes no consideration for the majority of the legendary Looking Glass design principles that define Deus Ex.
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Re: Which Deus Ex improvement mod(s) should I use?

Post by rolatis »

Can you give a few examples of what you dislike about unifiedDeusEx?
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Re: Which Deus Ex improvement mod(s) should I use?

Post by Cybernetic pig »

rolatis wrote:Can you give a few examples of what you dislike about unifiedDeusEx?
It's BioShift I am not keen on. Unified just merges mods and makes a few changes in the process.
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