DPI
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Two of the most iconic guns of the game as far as box art and promotional material is concerned; the M8A1 (DPI CM-82) and KAP-40 (DPI CAP-19C).
Personally my favorite rifle and pistol combo just because they were based on real weapons, but updated, and upgraded for the versions we have in the game. My team and I do have others on the way, but we wanted to start with these two. They made the most sense, in terms of visibility, design, nostalgia, and just pure curiosity to see what we could accomplish. Now we had to conceptualize what we were going to do, and how we were going to do it.
So, we started with the M8A1. Just by the name and looks is a clear reference to the H&K XM8 that the US was testing for adoption during the ACR trials. If you look closely, it’s very easy to tell, but there are some very distinct differences that made this a perfect candidate for a custom kit over just making a regular XM8 kit. So we studied the gun from various angles and played the game a bit (for professional reasons) to get the look and feel of the gun. It was a good time, and we got some good insights and useful information. A major point was made about the design and theoretical history of the gun. It’s the M8 “A1” meaning it’s no longer experimental, and is an updated iteration of a previous model. So here we saw a theoretical game history and real-life history tie-in. The M8 must’ve been the version, in game, that made it through the trials and was probably very similar to the original xm8, but with reliability upgrades like more heat resistant plastics to combat the melting issue. Then, the M8A1 came after as an upgrade in a universe where the G36 didn’t exist and the modern features that were used for the G36 were instead used on the M8. Instead of getting pcaps mounting, proprietary receiver design, integrated rear optic, and thinner carry handle, you get picatinny rails, adjustable sights, a robust carry handle with top rail, and a very g36-like receiver. That last one sealed the deal, it made it just that much more possible to bring it to life. Aside from a noticeable scallop that was on the receiver and rear carry handle section and lack of folding stock, the receiver was a g36 receiver. This was perfect from a design standpoint. We decided to use our GHK/ARES G36 and a base and design around it, and add a few upgrades while we were at it.
We made the kit to look very close to the game version with some of our own special design cues, and previously mentioned upgrades. It took a few iterations due to us misunderstanding the translation of the in-game version to real life when it came to the rear of the carry handle. That messed things up a bit but we got it in the end. The stock was a nice upgrade in a few ways to the in-game version, the first being that it can fold utilizing the features already present on a g36, the second being it has four positions, and the third being that it can lock in while folded regardless if it’s extended or collapsed. The foregrip is also a bit different but a close design. It can be mounted by a screw or simply snapped into place, which leads us to another upgrade. The handguard has full rails, but can also be customized using mlok type mounting points and 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positions. The foregrip snaps into some of the rear slots at 6 and 9 o’clock at the rear and holds positively but can be fastened with a nut and bolt if so desired. We wanted to make this feel like something that the future military might actually use as their standard issue carbine and pack as many usable features into it as possible. I think we accomplished that fairly well.
The KAP-40 was based off of the prototype KRISS KARD, which was a proof of concept for the Super-V system to be used in a compact package, paving the way for the success of the KRISS Vector. The KARD was a small batch, if not one-off, prototype chambered in .45ACP and the KAP-40 also follows this feature. I don’t really know much else about the KARD, but from the looks of it, it never went into full production. It seems like it served its purpose and was shelved. But, from what we can see from it, it was barebones and didn’t have many features of than, gun, square, and pistol. The version in the game changes this by adding 12, 3, 6, and 9 picatinny rails, integrated rail sights, a selector switch, which we regretfully had to omit for complexities sake, and ergonomic changes like scallops on the end of the grip and texturing on the charging handle.
Now, while we did finish our CAP-19C (KAP-40) first for obvious reasons, we started the CM-82 (M8A1) earlier. We wanted to finish both at the same time, but it was a way longer process to finish the latter. In addition, the CAP-19C was a lot easier for us to do as we had a majority of the measurements and framework done for the pistol we were going to use as the base. We used an Elite Force G19 because that’s what we had on hand for a previous project that we had done, the Militech Lexington (DPI CLX-10) from the game Cyberpunk 2077. The only real challenge we had with the design was with the question; how could we make it look as close to the reference, while still functioning, held together properly, and still be decently simple to print? Pretty common question when designing this sort of thing, but it wasn’t immediately evident I’ll tell you that much. Now after lots of brainstorming we came up with a brilliant idea to make the entire gun assembly out of only three parts, not including side rails or charging handle. Those three parts would be locked into place and further strengthened by 4-5 bolts and nuts depending on preference. It was quite genius how simple yet effective it was, and how robust the finished product felt. We are very proud of these two creations, and can’t wait to finish the others for at least, an October release date, fingers crossed!
I hope you enjoy this read, and hope to get some sort of feedback. I’ll see you next time!
-Punch
