About Promod 4: An interview with Carlisle

Following the recent release of Promod 4, a modified version of Ryan "raf1" Palmer's Promod for Call of Duty 4, I caught up with Jaymie "carlisle" Clifford to discuss the current state of the scene, DAMN:MW, the changes in Promod 4 compared to 3.0 and the reasoning behind these subtle changes.

To download Promod 4, click (here).


Hey Jaymie, thanks for joining me. Let’s start off with the recent release of Promod 4, a modified version of raf’s Promod 3. What made and you and JUSZN decide to start this project in the first place and what are the intentions with mod?

I had been thinking about it for quite a while actually, long before DAMN:MW release. But there were a lot of LANs at the time. So I decided to leave it for the time being. Time went on and soon after DAMN was released. I played on a bit, at face value, it was quite enjoyable, but playing games on it things were not as rosey.

So I decided to ask for support the way I know how, tek9! And while I was looking for a server to test it on, JUZSN said he would like to help. I would be foolish not to accept. I currently have no future plans for the mod. I will just see what suggestions pop up and take it from there.

Compared to Promod 3.0, you have stated to have made subtle changes. Could you explain the changes you made?

Firstly grenades were changed. I thought that the game would be much better off without 'Atomic grenades'. As did a lot of the community. So rather than fiddling with damage and radius and such, me and juszn both decided for the time being to turn cooking off.

Secondly the range of the AK74u was lowered to make a proper close range gun. Ever since the games release this gun has been the centre of much controversy. Many attempt have been made at making the damage more suitable, but it has never been enough. Again since myself and a great deal of the community decided that the problem was you could 'snipe' with it.

So me and JUSZN changed it so at long range you may need up to anywhere up to 10 shots to kill the enemy. but at close range it remains the power house it should be. 1 or two more hits are needed at medium range.

Thirdly the sniper rifles accuracy at your hip was increased. This is because, although snipers are a long range gun, they had little chance at close quarters. With all the other guns there aren't any major changes in effectiveness depending on how ever far away you are. However it has not become the Call of Duty 2 unscope prowess, but just enough to give those sniper a chance against people running with automatics.

In what way do these changes impact the game? Do you expect it to change the style of play?

The whole point in the adjustments is to tweak the game play, not to change it entirely. The game doesn't need that. These changes provides exactly what the games needs, ironing out the small creases which makes the game less enjoyable. I am getting a lot of feedback of people saying 'It's the same', that is and was the plan. The game doesn’t need all the stuff that damn mod does.

I don't really expect the style of play to change other than a few revised tacnades and thinking twice about rushing a sniper.

According to you, what are the downsides to DAMN and what makes Promod 4 more appealing for the community?

I think damn is a great mod, do not get me wrong. However, it hits you with a massive barrage of huge changes, a lot of them unnecessary. It is coming too late in the games timeline, especially with a ropey community such as CoD4's. It wouldn't take much to break it.

If this mod came out a few months after Call of Duty 4's release there isn’t a single doubt in my mind that we would all be wearing DAMN:MW baseball hats right now. Fact of the matter is it changes the game entirely. Which I personally think, it doesn't need. Especially when we are all set in our ways.

One of the reasons I think Promod 4 is more appealing is brand loyalty, and I can only thank raf for that. DAMN is new, uncharted territory, Promod is warm, friendly and familiar. What I have done to help it make very small changes that you can barley notice. So people will find it easier to settle into.

Do you feel Promod 4 is the middle ground between Promod 3.0 and DAMN:MW?

In one word: yes.

The North American scene seems to have embraced DAMN:MW as the new competitive mod for Call of Duty 4. In the European scene however there are mixed feelings; some like it, others feel the changes are too major or simply prefer another mod. Do you expect both scenes to adopt a universal ruleset and competitive mod any time soon?

I honestly don't know. I suppose time will tell. However, I do think we need a unified ruleset. This isn't like the old 'Deep Impact' and 'Reddot sights', Promod4 and DAMN are entirely different games. With LAN’s that will taunt Europeans over to America and visa versa, a solution is going to need to be met.

The problem is there is no definite way to say 'Use this Mod/Ruleset’, just the influence of LAN hosters and tournament organisers. The best we can hope for is collaboration between the big LAN’s.

There have been people who have started to question whether sticking to Promod 3.0 would have been the best solution and the new mods have only divided the community. What is your take on this?

I agree with those people, we wouldn't be in such a state if it wasn't for all the different and very real options to take in the future. The fact of the matter is, that option in its self is creating another divide. People have had a taste of new mods, and they want more, they want change.

It is because of my personal view on damn mod I made Promod4. Which probably isn’t a good point to start a mod on, but what I want is in sync with what a lot of people I have come across want. And we need an alternative to damn, because it is so controversial.

It’s too late to stick to Promod3 now, we need to make the choice, and this isn’t going to be easy.

How will you handle future changes to the mod?

Me and JUSZN plan on very few changes, unless there is a huge following behind it. The plan is to have people put ideas forward to us, if they seem viable, we put them forward to the community in the form of a poll.

Depending on how many options there are a certain percent of people will need vote for a particular option, if it is a large enough victory, it will get put in.

There will be no more elitism in the ruleset we play, the changes made are what the masses want, if any!

In just a couple of keywords, what do you feel the competitive CoD4 community needs or is lacking right now?

A real leader to make decisions.

Thanks for your time Jayme, any last words?

Keep Cod4 alive! MERRY CHRISTMAS.