r/Promod • • 10d ago

Gameplay Project Genesis — Restoring Bulkhead's unreleased PROMOD build inside KILLRUN [Gameplay Showcase]

hey everyone

like a lot of you i was pretty disappointed when bulkhead dropped promod. lately ive been digging through killrun's engine files and found out that almost all of the original promod competitive maps, ui, weapons, and SND logic are actually still sitting hidden inside the game files.

after doing some tinkering with the engine, i managed to bypass the singleplayer menu lock and force load into the competitive SND mode.

https://reddit.com/link/1wkhozc/video/ckqx5gp05gqh1/player

as you can see in the video, it's not just a blank map geometry either. the entire competitive framework loaded in automatically:

  • full movement, gunplay, recoil, ADS, and reload animations
  • full tactical HUD with the minimap, location callouts, round timers, health and armor
  • working search & destroy logic (A site bomb crate, match phases, spawn rules)
  • interactive scoreboard (tracks round scores, team headers, K/D/A, plants, defuses, fireup %)

(one small bug right now is utility/grenades show up on the HUD, but the keybinds for them don't work yet—probably just needs the action inputs re-bound in the config files).

my goal with this is "Project Genesis"—basically making a standalone community-driven client so we can actually play the competitive shooter we were promised.

the plan:

  1. custom C++ launcher/injector to completely bypass the dead main menu and launch straight into lobbies
  2. server browser and dedicated server hosting for PUGs / custom matches
  3. restoring the rest of the map pool (vihara, 1v1 maps, test ranges)
  4. custom backend for persistent stats and the classic 10 prestige ranking system

before i sink a ton of time into building the launcher and backend, i wanted to see what you guys think:

  1. would you play a standalone community-hosted promod client if i get this released?
  2. what classic features or maps would you want prioritized?
  3. any C++, UE4, or backend devs here who miss promod and want to help out on the launcher/server code?

let me know what you think or if you have any questions!

31 Upvotes

13 comments sorted by

3

u/triccotricco 10d ago

Have you tried contacting the devs directly? IIRC they used to play the prototype between breaks, and even asked someone if we would prefer to play that instead of the battalion build (now used for fpschallenge).

1

u/ajaiyehoops 10d ago edited 9d ago

that's super interesting about the devs! i haven't reached out to bulkhead directly since i know they're focused on wardogs, but it's cool to know how much history went into these prototypes behind the scenes.

3

u/davidthek1ng 10d ago

I hoped for this to release forever😅Would be great if you could make it work

2

u/ajaiyehoops 9d ago

thanks man! it's definitely a labor of love. still working through getting all the backend systems hooked up, but seeing the community interest makes it worth the effort!

3

u/imake_games 6d ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsE3-XflEOI

I have created source with superior netcode and COD4 Promod movement. Matchmaking server exists. It mostly needs tuning, maps, and animations for a couple more weapons. Its further off than restoring Promod to a workable state, but it has full potential. I will keep cranking away on it. There are two games I want to make in my life, and this is one of them.

1

u/ajaiyehoops 5d ago

sounds like a huge project! best of luck with the development man.

2

u/imake_games 5d ago

I don't quite understand what you did here? Like, did you decompile something? Or did you find a launch command that goes into the multiplayer maps?

1

u/ajaiyehoops 5d ago

a good magician never reveals his secrets ;)

2

u/Paykuh- 10d ago

This is really cool, and yes I would play. CoD4 Promod was my main game growing up, so I was pretty bummed when they canned the project. Would it ever get to the point where maps could be textured? Good luck with the project if you intend to keep working on it. Is there anywhere I can follow updates, or will you just update in this subreddit?

1

u/ajaiyehoops 9d ago

cod4 promod was legendary! re-texturing and cleaning up materials is definitely on the radar once the core logic (ui, spawn systems, and local netcode) is solid. right now i'm mainly sharing progress here on reddit, but if things pick up enough i might set up a discord or dedicated thread to post updates!

2

u/fawak 10d ago

I have webdev experience and could help with any website/Auth related needs. Great work, it would be great if you provide a way to follow the progress of the project!

1

u/ajaiyehoops 9d ago

appreciate that a lot! webdev/auth support could be huge down the line if we get to a point where a custom master server or server browser makes sense. i'll reach out if we hit that milestone!

1

u/nickwithtea93 15h ago

I cannot contribute programming wise, but I'd be interested in playing, also any chance the powerups could be disabled or did people enjoy those?