Here at SAPPHIRE NATION we are ardent proponents of modding. It is indeed one of if not the coolest things about PC gaming! Today we will be showcasing several of the most legendary mods that became fully fledged games of their own!
Before we begin though – what is “modding”? Simply put, it is the act of modifying a game’s files or engine to change existing game content, mechanics, visuals and audio, or making wholly new and unique stuff with it. Hence the article today!
Almost all mods are free, distributed by members of their communities or modding groups. They are works of passion and are not beholden to budgets or an approaching deadline.
Counter-Strike
Let us start off with a bang! You knew this one was coming, since it is one of the most popular online games of all time! The eternal battle between the forces of good and evil, the special forces and police sworn to protect social order against the terrorists! This legend began as a mod for Half-Life way back in 1999. This mod was so popular that it became a full-fledged game a year later, after Valve hired the creators. The game, referred to as Counter-Strike 1.6, was ported to XBOX in 2003, but the franchise never achieved anywhere near the same level of popularity on consoles.
Counter-Strike gained its next version in 2004 with the release of Counter-Strike: Source, which Valve didn’t bother porting to consoles. Eight years later the legendary Counter-Strike Global Offensive launched and became a phenomenon!
The custom skins market… Valve unleashed a monster here…
Recently it got a free update and is now called Counter-Strike 2 (yeah silly naming convention). The bottom line – this is one of the most popular games in the world and perhaps the most popular Esport title in the world. Due to its PC Gaming roots, custom maps and game modes are constantly being created for it, from the famous Surf community to the Zombie or Role-play game modes! It all started as a mod and now we have mods for the mod, quite poetic.
All versions of the Counter-Strike mod for Half-Life remain available on ModDB, a true testament to the superiority and longevity of PC gaming!
For us at SAPPHIRE NATION there is one more reason why Counter Strike is so special. It’s all down to the technology. You see, it being an online game made for mass market appeal, it is not that demanding to run. However, since it is a competitive game, people want to run it at extreme framerates! That brand new Ryzen 7 9800X3D? This is where it will shine! A shiny Sapphire RX 7600 Pulse will offer a great experience for sure, and some players will demand to go up into the higher echelons and buy a monster like the 7900 XTX NITRO+ to play this awesome title with their 500+ hz displays!
Tremulous
While most people were playing Counter-Strike…including myself, I also played this game as well – Tremulous. A popular open-source first person shooter based off a modified version of the Quake 3 engine after it also became open source. From the folks at the Dark Legion Developer group, it was a mod inspired by another mod (Gloom for Quake 2) that later became a standalone, official, open-source game!
The game features a match up between human forces armed with advanced equipment such as jetpacks or powered armour, grenades, mini guns and laser rifles and an alien force that is constantly mutating to combat humanity. What is unique about the game is not only its asymmetrical loop but also the fact that players have to build up their bases and research new tiers to unlock new upgrades or weapons! This means that some players can remain in the base to develop it, place defenses or repair damage and set up traps. Or make forward outposts! On some of the bigger maps, this also means that a losing team may be able to rebound by transferring their base to a different area and slowly rebuilding their forces.
I spent so many hours in this game and I love it to death. With millions of downloads and a still active if small community, this is one for the ages!
For people interested in this series, also check out Unvanquished as well as Natural Selection 2.
The Stanley Parable
This was once a Half-Life 2 mod, and an extremely popular one at that having sold millions of copies since its launch. Valve did not acquire it at the time probably because it was considered too niche.
So how should I describe this one? It is a weird game – a super meta-adventure about free will and storytelling. Giving anymore away would actually harm the experience. Trust what me and millions of other people believe – this one is worth your time. It is an experience that in my opinion all gamers’ should try… at least once. Or twice. Or 19 times actually. Yeah, at least that many!
An expanded edition titled The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe was released on April 27, 2022. I am yet to play it, but it is stays firmly on my wish list and its time will come again!
The mod version is still available on ModDB.
This is just the beginning
The number of amazing games that started their life as modifications is impressive. We have only just begun covering them! So keep an eye out for part 2 soon!
The articles content, opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed in SAPPHIRE NATION are the authors’ own and do not necessarily represent official policy or position of SAPPHIRE Technology.
