Modding Community’s Swift Action on Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection
The modding community has once again demonstrated its incredible agility and skill by rapidly integrating 4K support into the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection. Despite the collection’s initial release lacking several modern features, dedicated modders have taken it upon themselves to enhance the gaming experience for fans around the world.
Modders’ Rapid Enhancements
The modding community has been hard at work, with notable contributions such as the MGSResolution patch by Sergeanur, which was released a mere 10 hours after the Master Collection’s debut on Steam. This patch addressed several UI and codec issues in MGS2, significantly improving the player experience.
Another significant mod is the MGSHDFix, a collaborative effort by Lyall, emoose, ShizCalev, and yoyossef, which brings a host of enhancements to the collection. The features added by these mods include:
- Custom resolution/ultrawide support
- Experimental 16:9 HUD option that resizes HUD/movies (MGS2/MGS3)
- Borderless/windowed mode
- Mouse cursor toggle
- Mouse sensitivity adjustment (MGS3)
- Correct gameplay/cutscene aspect ratio (MGS2/MGS3)
- Skip intro logos (MGS2/MGS3)
- Adjustable anisotropic filtering (MGS2/MGS3)
- Increased texture size limits (MG1/MG2/MGS3)
Limitations and Concerns
Despite the impressive strides made by modders, Metal Gear Solid 1 within the Master Collection still faces limitations. It remains in its original PS1 4:3 aspect ratio and 240p resolution, running through PS1 emulation rather than natively like MGS2 and MGS3. Furthermore, using a non-US or Japanese language pack can result in the game being locked to the 50hz, 25fps PAL standard—a suboptimal experience on a 60hz display.
These issues have raised concerns regarding Konami’s handling of the Master Collection, prompting questions about the publisher’s decision-making and resource allocation. The table below compares the original and modded features:
| Original Features | Modded Enhancements |
|---|---|
| Limited to original resolutions | Custom resolution/ultrawide support |
| Standard aspect ratios | Correct gameplay/cutscene aspect ratio (MGS2/MGS3) |
| Fixed texture sizes | Increased texture size limits (MG1/MG2/MGS3) |
Reflection on Modders’ Impact and Upcoming Remake Anticipation
The swift and effective modifications made by the modding community to the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection highlight a significant aspect of modern gaming culture. The ability of modders to quickly address and fix issues that a major publisher releases is both impressive and indicative of their passion and skill. This phenomenon raises questions about the reliance on community-driven fixes and the expectations from official releases.
Looking forward, there is cautious optimism mixed with concern for the anticipated Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater remake. While initial footage has been well-received, the modding community’s necessity in improving the Master Collection has left some fans wary about the potential quality of the upcoming title. The hope is that the lessons learned from the Master Collection will lead to a more polished and complete release from the outset.
