killerlamse

This is a pretty big moment for all of us here at LCPDFR, especially me.  For quite some time now, LCPDFR has been a really big site with a massive community, a huge downloads database and everything else but for me at least, it's always felt like there has been a huge piece missing from the puzzle.  Now, with the release of ELS 7 right here on LCPDFR.com, it feels like we've just taken a massive step forward to the completion of that puzzle.
 
ELS ultimately embodies everything that the game modding community is all about - we see a missed opportunity, a mechanic that hasn't reached its full potential or just simply something that we all believe is wrong with the game and we do what we can to fix it.  In LCPDFR's case there has always been considerable demand for an entirely new game, something which is the complete opposite of GTA.  For years we'd waited, and for years nothing had happened.  Eventually, I just gave it a bash to see what I could do and from that point on it just grew and grew and grew.  The story for ELS, though, is a little different, seeing as there had actually been police lights in every GTA game.  The beauty of this form of modding though is non-acceptance of the status quo and an ambition to make something better.  Essentially, that's what Caine did back in 2009 with ELS, he made a simple system to enable better looking emergency lights.  While already a big accomplishment on its own, this new system opened up all new forms of possibilities, something which grew into the state we're in today where ELS cars absolutely dominate the vehicle modding scene.  Not only did Caine offer an improvement to the existing systems within the game, he also revolutionised the entire emergency vehicle modding scene - something which is often overlooked as we're simply so used to it now.
 
I'm hesitant to continue at this point, as I don't want to detract from the release of the mod or the mod itself, although this is a big moment for all of us, and I do feel as though it is an appropriate time to briefly point out Caine's contributions to the entire emergency modding community, not only here at LCPDFR.com, but also including GPM - the place where for many of us, it all began.  While many of you will only have known him as the talented guy behind ELS, DAS and DLM to name but a few of his scripts, as well as the countless models he's gifted to us over the years dating as far back as the POLC and POLP, the mods that almost everybody had in their game at the time, well before the CVPI and Charger came about, Caine was also an important person backstage at GPM and was, in my opinion, single-handedly responsible for the much talked about transition between GPM 1.0 (the phpFusion site) and GPM 2.0 (the IPB site with the famous cracked road background).  The importance of GPM 2 was that it advanced the idea of having a modding website centred around an actual community, rather than being simply a place to download mods and look at pictures.  Not only that, but Caine was also the one that pushed forward with the ideas of organisation and professionalism, an approach that put less emphasis on individual egos and instead shined the spotlight on the site in general.  From a personal perspective though, the best thing that Caine did was simply being Caine.  He was the one guy that would stand up for me, that would help me and he was ultimately the one that took me from being simply the guy that made LCPDFR to being what I am now.
 
Finally, I'd just like to point out that although ELS 7 has been uploaded to LCPDFR.com by myself, it goes without saying it goes without saying that it was developed exclusively by Lt.Caine -  I was involved with the development process only slightly, assisting with a select few features.  NIcolaiB has also been actively involved with the project from a very early stage, giving his input and advice which has shaped many of the new core features of the mod.  Understandably, Caine wishes to retain his privacy and anonymity at this point - something which may change if we can work out a way to combat the masses of messages, questions and thank yous he is likely to receive.  I think it is one of the most admirable qualities that you can have, and it's something that I do my best on, but to go to the effort of actually reading all the messages that people send you is quite a challenge when the numbers involved are staggering.  
 
I know that for most people here, this is a great moment because ELS 7 has finally arrived.  For me, though, it's genuinely an extraordinarily special moment because I've been lucky enough to be part of it and I've been fortunate enough to be the first to announce it.
 
From the man himself. "it's certainly nice to be here, this place is amazing, and it's an honor to know that I've contributed to making you feel better about it."
 
You can find ELS 7 in the Downloads section here: 
Sam.