HARDCORE22 - Realistic Combat Overhaul - 2.0.1 BETA READYYYY COME GET IT

BEFORE WE START: 

1.5 HARDCORE22 BETA CHANGES:  
- Changes to how armor works - this was needed because of the changes made behind the scenes. Basically now NO clothing item affords you armor protection. If you want armor you HAVE to assign armadillo to it. This will raise the protection of each item by ~80. This can stack very quickly so if you are dying too easy or want a full on assault outfit, you can definitely make that happen. But you have to MAKE it happen now. 
- Weapons rebalanced - I just rounded off some rough edges, SMGs rip now. Snipers do damage no matter the distance, headshots are truly deadly (might beef up the rifles a bit more). 

This mod makes big changes to your save. so BACK THEM UP. in fact - BACK UP YOUR SAVES REGULARLY ANYWAY. (they are completely reverted after uninstalling the mod, but you know what? Better safe than sorry)

ALSO - NOTE - THIS ONLY WORKS ON THE VERY HARD DIFFICULTY.

Now that's out of the way. 

THE REASON YOU'RE HERE. 

If you're like me you think a 12 gauge buckshot to the chest should put someone to sleep. You think an AR round to the dome should shut them off. You think a mag of SMG to the mid section should send the packing. You think a grenade should turn them to fairy dust. 

If you're like me when you shoot someone you want them to die, and if you're like me you also think you should die if being shot.

That's right, this isn't just a "people die easier" mod.  because if youre high enough level that is the case anyway, and you're basically invincible (the RPG curse). 

So what I've done is limited EVERYONE (besides bosses and some other baddies) health to 100. Your health, their health, everyone's health (besides the bosses) and made the guns do viable damage based on class. 

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? 

That means when you get into a firefight, you might die very easily, so you better invest in some good armor and play smart. Cover is now your friend. 
That means your enemies might die very easily. But they might not.  there are some bad dudes out there with some big guns and they might have more cyberware than you, they might have better armor. Better think about that before hopping in and getting your chest turned to mesh. 

HOW DOES IT WORK? 

Well, this might be the part where some of you say "nope"

What I have done is leveled the guns out. Guns are guns.  they SOMETIMES come in dope versions but for the most part the guns are the guns you get and you need to upgrade them if you want them to be great (making upgrading actually useful) don’t worry, they still slay. One of my least favorite things about this game is that I will find a gun, and fall in love with it and within a few hours I have leveled out of it and it is no longer viable. I want to get an arsenal that is MINE. Not just toss it because the stats are off. 

Another thing I have done is removed health with level up.   That's right YOU GET 100 HEALTH. Period. The end. Unless of course you get some synaptic signal optimizer cyberware or eat something you are going to have the same health the entire game...well thats certainly gonna change things up a bit won't it?

I see complaints about combat being "too easy" and some peoples resolution for that is to just turn everyone into a bullet sponge. For me there are two solutions to this, throw more enemies at the player (Doom Eternal anyone?) or EVEN THE PLAYING FIELD. Enemies should be dangerous. There should be no bullet sponges, including you. 

HERE COME THE COMPLAINTS 

"this is an RPG, if you dont like RPGs then don't play it" - The issue isn't the RPG aspects, the issue is the contrast between a realistic world with realistic interactions and a combat system that takes its cues from tabletop style RPGs. For me personally it doesnt translate well into the game I want, and really that is what mods are all about: Making the game YOUR way. No harm no foul with how you choose to change up your experience.  And I am not going to miss out on a game that is this magnificent because of one aspect. I am going to change that aspect to fit my feelings on the game. 
"I dont think they seem bulletspongey" - I shot a guy in the head 6 times with a shotgun and he didnt die. That was the moment I decided to make this mod.
"i dont like this mod, it doesnt fit my playstyle" the simple answer to that is don't use it.  This is for people who want to have a more challenging game, and also remove the need to empty two mags into the average street kid. We all have different tastes and want different challenges, if the mod is not for you that is fine choom. We all like different stuff. 

HOW TO INSTALL. 

-BACKUP YOUR SAVES!
-YOU ONLY NEED ONE FILE. ALWAYS GRAB THE MOST RECENT. 
-Drop this folder into steamapps\common\Cyberpunk 2077\archive\pc\mod (happy now?)
-Start your game (and watch the entire intro video because its the best thing ever). 
(NOTE - THIS ONLY WORKS ON THE VERY HARD DIFFICULTY)

TROUBLESHOOTING:

If this mod doesnt work: dont come to the page and tell other people it doesnt work. I didnt release a mod I didn't test. It has worked with every patch  have testing it with. 
-first thing, remove all your mods besides cosmetics and this one. Run it. if it works then there is an issue with your load order and a mod is conflicting. straight up. That is on you to figure out (sounds rude, but I only run this and cosmetic mods, so I wont know how to troubleshoot). 
-Verify installation on steam. 
-Reinstall the game. 
-IF YOU ARE RUNNING THIS MOD AND STILL EXPERIENCING BULLET SPONGE AFTER ACT 1 TRY THIS - user XXLPeanuts reported back and said "I think I managed to fix my issue, not sure how as like you I only have cosmetic mods other than this one. But I renamed the package with a "1_" at the beginning, essentially so its the first mod in alphabetic order in my mod folder." so try this, change the file name to "1_basegame_REALISM.archive" and let me know if that resolves the issue. 

Again, this mod works flawlessly for me and I have just been playing the game with patches. Nothing crazy. So something is conflicting somewhere or the installation process was not followed. 

- KNOWN ISSUES 
-Quickhacks are SUPER strong. - fix here  QUICKHACK FIX BY FLYING SQUID MAN
-Takedowns. Cant do takedowns in the current version. Working to resolve. 
-Weapons say you can’t equip. Yes you can. Just equip them like normal. If you run into issues let me know. 
-Bosses are easier. Working to resolve. 
(the nature of this games convoluted damage system, mixed with the implementation I’ve done it’s hard to circumnavigate power level while still making sure the player kicks ass and does proper damage and that the game respects your level. It’s hard to explain but I’m working on workarounds) 



WHATS IN THE FUTURE?

Hopefully as more powerful tools come out we can get things done from a different angle. I'd like to make it so animals and some other heavy hitters like militech and stuff are hard to kill because they have top notch gear or are super modded. stuff like that. Would love to add ricochet off of highly modded people too. More robust armor system and make upgrading more accessible. But right now this will do and really made my game more fun to play. Picking fights is now a real choice and i like that. I hope you do too :)

NOTE NOTE NOTE NOTE READ THIS NOTE NOTE NOTE

Be mindful, this is a beta. I have yet to run into any issues (two full playthroughs, and i REALLY take my time) but this game is MASSIVE, and I am unsure if there are bigger implications down the line. Who knows, it may render some missions unplayable because of the need for high health.  It might break some quests. SO FAR it seems fine to me and i am willing to release it in confidence.  You can always uninstall and it seems to go back to normal. So give it a shot but be sure to back up your stuff just in case anything goes wrong. 

If you have any (reasonable) suggestions drop them in the comments and ill see what i can do. for the most part this will be a mod I work on regularly as I play the game and will release new versions as I get them done. It will be to my own taste which is as realistic and fun as possible. 

Thanks! Let me know what you think!