What are your thoughts on the "Revision" mod? (for Deus Ex: GOTY)

[u/RankedFarting]

I see a lot of talk that its is controversial but i dont really know why? besides the added music that i turn off anyway it seems like a good way to experience the game in a modernized way.

[u/DeusExMarina]

I think it changes the game so much that it's not really the original Deus Ex anymore, so I can't recommend it for a first playthrough. Good for replayability, though.

It's also really useful as a sort of all-in-one essentials bundle. You can install it directly from Steam with its own launcher and everything, and it includes necessary stuff like the Direct3D 9 renderer, high resolution support and UI scaling, along with a ton of optional quality of life updates, HDTP and New Vision, and even mods like Shifter, Biomod and Lay D Denton.

Since you can turn all of it off and basically play vanilla inside Revision, with as few or as many changes as you want, it's arguably the most approachable way to play the game. Basically the closest thing we have to a remaster.

[u/MycologistOk2882]

I like some areas of the revision maps, like hong kong and new york, but i kinda disliked how the dragons tooth sword is no longer a one shot sword, i feel like playing revision with the maps, the gameplay, and the soundtrack set to vanilla in revision is a good way to experience deus ex because it contains visual upgrades (hdtp and new vision) and you can disable them if you want the old look, and also a modern renderer and widescreen support.

[u/DeusBlackheart]

I like it.

[u/cravex12]

It is not controversal, just not recommended for first playthroughs since it changes the level design massively

[u/YCCCM7]

There's a very loud group of people who hate Revision. Ugly community history involved, but that group has generally gotten smaller over time, in tandem with the mod improving over time, so it's not as pronounced as it used to be. Still saw someone this past week accuse Revision of paying off GOG to not list other mods for Deus Ex on their system lol, so it's not like it's gone, but it depends what sector you hang out in.

Recently (last year or so) did my first full playthrough of Revision, albeit with my own mod's gameplay slapped into the frame. There are things I can nitpick about maps and music, but on the whole it's pretty inoffensive. I consider it about as enjoyable as the original map set for my own tastes, although with notable tradeoffs and relying upon different strengths.

Not a huge fan of their paris' gameplay, and m05 got made too chaotic, but otherwise pretty good. I really like new york and certain sections of hong kong. Ocean lab felt like a big upgrade in routing options. Bonus shout out to the m09 hidden section, wish it had more things like that.

[u/WaterOcelot → u/YCCCM7]

The hate was because the creator marketed it as the definite way to play Deus Ex, instead of it being a Deus Ex Re-imagining.

Also it used to have penises drawn on unatco whiteboards and porn on computer terminals.

[u/YCCCM7 → u/WaterOcelot]

Should probably add a /s if shitposting.

Revision has never claimed to have a single creator, nor have I ever seen (nor know anybody who can find any) promotional material claiming it's definitive. But if you want a single author claiming their mod is the definitive way to play deus ex, GMDX would fit the bill nicely.

I only know people who've played 1.0 release and onwards, but the porn and penises thing is not true at least from that point on. I've never heard of this otherwise, so it's safe to say this is unrelated to people's gripes with the mod, even assuming it's true.

[u/NamekianWeed]

Revision is overhated. It's pretty good and highly modular. You play it however you want. I personally don't mind the new maps, they've grown on me a lot. I play it with biomod and the original soundtrack.

[u/-Kiarty-]

Considering you can set it up all the way you want to play standart vanilla or vanilla with some tweaks and qol features it's a convinient way to launch and play Deus Ex theese days. And with revisioned maps it's a good way to experience the story for the second time. 

I believe the controversity comes from the times when there were no option to switch to vanilla maps so the mod with its heavily revisioned expirience was not a perfect choice for the first playthrough that should be as original as possible.

[u/Emergency-Gift-6773]

Godsend. Just as the Total Conversion mods. With Revision you can plan our the craziest conditions for you to complete the game you are playing for more than 20 years.

Good for a first experience? Oh no, not even a question there. But it never intended to replace the original, it is really for the vets to never get bored out of perfection just because they saw everything already.

[u/E3ek1el07]

I play Revision in the Steam Deck. But set everyrhing to vanilla, so nothing (except some minor qol things) is changed

[u/Mindless-Berry-1913]

I like it

[u/ImpulsiveApe07]

As someone else said here, Revision is not controversial, it's just not recommended for first timers.

Personally I've been a fan of it for years - it's got a lot of great QoL fixes, many of which are optional, and I really love the way the all the various modifier mods have been crammed into it to make it easier to customise how you want to play the game.

I still enjoy the og without mods sometimes if I fancy a classic speedrun, but Revision is my go to now for extended gameplay sessions when I just wanna immerse myself in the game and enjoy it with all the QoL additions and the best possible graphical fidelity :)

[u/xdragonwarzx]

Turn on vanilla maps and music and shifter, a d its a very good addition.

[u/Janus_Prospero]

I think it's a good mod that tries to be as optional and modular as possible and has tried to be a good community team player. For example they worked to make their mod compatible with the female Denton mod before integrating it directly.

A lot of the hate is misguided IMO. Initial releases were wonkier but the team has tried to listen to feedback.

[u/Is_It_A_Throwaway]

The mod has gotten less hate over time. Why? Because over time it's become less of what it started being (a fan made remix / remaster) in order to become a soft, easy modern launcher that can get every single addition of the mod toggled off. That fact alone should tell you everything you need to know about Revision, in my personal opinion. People have warmed up to it... because the mod can turn itself off.

If it's features aren't off, you're playing an overdecorated, bad redesign of the original. It just fails utterly at what it set out to do, unfortunately. GMDX, even in it's first iteration, was better and had a clearer vision, regardless of how much of an ass the original dev was. The latest and like 3 mod authors down the line version, Augmented Edition, is miles better.

edit: even in this thread, like 80% of the comments highlighting how you can turn it all off, it's crazy, I've never seen this with another mod ever. I assume this is because yeah, people were mean and caused a flame war about Revision vs GMDX 9.0, and back then the swing tilted hard towards GMDX; now that some time has passed, people feel like they need to swing it the other direction to be balanced or to counteract the overwhelming negativity. So much so that they feel like they need to downvote a comment like this, that gives a tempered negative opinion about it, because it is mine and the OP asked for it, while contextualizing it on the overal history of the mod. Well, social feelings aside, you can play the two and compare. And Revision is still ass in it's own terms, if you ask me.

[u/Radigan0]

It can be played as a first-timer (if you set everything to vanilla), and the new maps/gameplay can be fun if you have already become familiar with the vanilla game

[u/Blo0dJar]

My first Deus Ex 1 playthrough was with this mod. Never looked... er, can't say "back" as I've tried GOTY for only half an hour, but you get me. Also, Revision's music is criminally underrated

[u/goosefromtopgun88]

Fine but the new redesigned levels are terrible. Also don't mess with the music... Luckily they are optional. But still... games are art and Deus Ex is the Mona Lisa.

[u/-DeadHead-]

If you want to get an idea why it's "controversial", you can go on moddb and check the very numerous reviews that gave it 1/10 trying to bring it down. None of the people who gave this score played the mod, they're all internet fighters white-knighting against a supposed Steam-only sellout mod or something, and they just plain say it in their reviews.

The mod isn't actually controversial to anyone with a functioning brain. It's not perfect, some maps modifications didn't work with me (some - very few - overly large, quite empty maps), but it's overall pretty good, better graphics overall than just the graphics mods it's made of, very nice work on the atmosphere especially in some maps like the Ocean Lab.