Install Game Mods (Gaming)
Multiply the fun by adding new dimensions of gameplay to an existing game!
Play the same game again and again and you’ll master it, but then what? This: give it a new lease on life by installing “mods” (short for modifications) that are easily available for download off the Web. Mods are software alterations to game data files such as sounds, graphics, and animations, and even characters, models, enemies, textures, levels, maps, and other aspects.
In certain cases, mods can be entirely new games on their own—the best example is Counter-Strike, which is a mod for Half-Life.
More often than not, you will find mods for first person shooter (FPS), role-playing (RPG) and real-time strategy (RTS) games. We’ll tell you here about the best mods for the most popular games in these genres, and how to install them.
Before you begin installing the mods, make sure you’ve done the following:
1. Defragged your hard drive partition
2. Made sure the original game is installed (duh!)
3. Installed WinRAR (our recommendation, but WinZip or others should do as well) to decompress ZIP or RAR files.
4. Backed up your game files
5. Register yourself at www.moddb.com so you can download the mod files.
Although most mods are really easy to install, a little negligence might cause your game to stop working, or even cause repetitive computer crashes when you try to run the game.
Counter-Strike
Mod: Zombie Horde
Here, you and your team have to survive against the bots playing as zombies eager to make mincemeat of your team. You’ll have to deal with different classes of zombies that carry different powers. It’s an exceedingly challenging co-op shooter. Players can even join the server and lead the zombie hordes via radio commands. Zombie Horde is not exactly a mod but a server plugin, but it rocks! Just install it on a system, create a server and enjoy. To install:
1. Unzip zhplugin-1.1.zip to a separate folder of your CS game directory.
2. Ensure that your CS game directory has a file named server.cfg. Rename the server.cfg-recommended file to server.cfg and place it in the game directory.
3. In the folder named cstrike\addons of the CS directory, rename the file zhplugin.vdf.RENAME_ME_IF_NOT_USING_SMM to zhplugin.vdf.
4. Make sure you have the latest zh_info.txt, or download it from http://tinyurl.com/345qvk.
If your CS server crashes, refer to INSTALL-ZH.TXT and READ-ME.TXT in the ZIP package.
Download URL: http://tinyurl.com/29hwvu
Max Payne 2
Mod: Elements of Style
The much-awaited sequel to Max Payne just didn’t woo fans, but well, the Elements of Style mod enables exciting gun-play, using which you can perform cinematic kills. Also bundled is Super Kung Fu, which allows cool combat moves, dodges, and even launching enemies into the air. To install it:
1. Unrar the contents (.mp2m) of the Elements-Of-Style-Version-1.5.rar file into the Max Payne 2 directory.
2. Right-click the Max Payne 2 game icon on the Desktop, and in the Target box, add -developer -developerkeys. This will enable console, cheats, and most importantly, using the Super Kung Fu combat moves.
Download URL: http://tinyurl.com/39cwan
DOOM 3
Mod: Last Man Standing Co-op
The idea is to survive as a team when faced with swarms of demons. You can play on both normal Doom 3 maps or even on Doom 3: Resurrection Of Evil maps.
Just download the LMS installer / ZIP file to your Doom 3 directory, and double-click the EXE. You can just unzip the contents of the EXE directly to the Doom 3 game directory as well.
To play, launch LMS from the single-player menu, or just join an LMS Mod server to play custom LMS Mod maps. There are three basic types of maps—Killfest, where you kill as many monsters as you can and try to be the last man standing; Progression, where your goal is to complete a level; and Defense, where you hold off enemies for as long as possible while protecting an area or VIP—or just waiting for the timer!
Download URL: http://tinyurl.com/yvetrj
Half-Life 2
Mod: Hidden Source
One of the best-known HL2 mods. You can choose to play as the invisible killer, Subject 617, or as a member of an Intercept squad, IRIS, sent to capture him. Subject 617 is only visible in the form of a silhouette, and can move very fast. IRIS members need to work as a team to catch him. If a player kills the “Hidden” (Subject 617), he takes over and becomes the Hidden. You’ll need to update Steam to the latest version first. Then, to install the server package:
1. Install HSB4b-full.exe to the HL2 directory. If you want to run a dedicated server, unzip HSB4a-serverfull.zip to the HL2 folder.
2. Install hidden-beta4b1-server.zip to patch the issues of the sonic alarm sound effect and the missing heads of the IRIS team members.
Download URL: http://tinyurl.com/35cxra
Dedicated Server: http://tinyurl.com/2ym4az
Server Fix: http://tinyurl.com/2jzwku
Unreal Tournament 2004
Mod: Killing Floor
The Killing Floor mod will convert UT 2004 into a game where you play as a marine squad working to survive against hordes of bloodthirsty monsters. You must use each bullet wisely, and you move slower when you’re hurt. The stream of monsters is never-ending! To install it:
1. Ensure that you’ve installed the latest patch for UT 2004. If not, download it: ut2004-winpatch3369.exe to the game directory.
2. Install the Editors Choice Edition Bonus Pack in the game directory from http://tinyurl.com/4sbnc.
3. Apply the ut2004-winpatch3369 again and run UT to ensure whether it runs correctly. Then exit the game.
4. Unzip the contents of KF20.zip to the UT2004 directory. Make sure to replace the UT files with the KF2.0 files.
5. Apply the patch from http://tinyurl.com/3659q8
Download URL: http://tinyurl.com/2khtps
Community Patch: http://tinyurl.com/2fkjp8
UT 2004 Patch: http://tinyurl.com/y5lee9
Quake III Arena
Mods: Orange Smoothie Productions (OSP), Rocket Arena 3, DeFRaGxxx
Quake III Arena is the most popular LAN game at Digit, and with good reason—it runs on almost any system. We’ve listed some of our favourite mods here for you to enjoy.
OSP Tourney enables competitive and flexible match-play. The latest version has Challenge Pro Mode capabilities inbuilt, which makes the game faster and more exciting. With OSP you can connect as a spectator and watch from different camera settings and angles.
The Rocket Arena 3 mod is meant mainly for one-on-one matches; it takes away all the power-ups, gives both players full health and armour, then lets the better player win.
DeFRaG is a basic training module. Learn, practise, and master the meanest tricks of the game—radical trick jumping, shooting, circle strafing, and every other aspect of game.
1. Unzip all the ZIP files and install all the EXE files to the game directory in separate folders.
2. Start quake3.exe and choose the Mods option to load the mod.
Download URLs
Rocket Arena 3 Installer: http://tinyurl.com/25uall
OSP Installer: http://tinyurl.com/3c398m
DeFRaG Installer: http://tinyurl.com/3c398m
There are literally thousands of mods for scores of popular games available online. Browse through that old game collection, then look for mods on ModDB.com—you’re sure to love some of them!