Below are the design processes that went into these sounds. Originally this entire essay was the description, but I felt it would be far too long and annoying to read, especially with the installation instructions at the bottom, so I decided to put them here for the sake of archiving.

Starting off with the Combat Shotgun (the sounds of which I actually made after the Chaingun's), I was very underwhelmed by its shooting sounds, especially after 2016's Combat Shotgun. It is one of the quietest weapon sounds, drowned out easily by the impact sounds of its pellets, even against enemies. Its pumping sound, while distinct, is barely audible in combat, which can be said for the rest of the weapon's sounds outside of the Sticky Bombs mod. Full Auto's sounds are very weak as well, which I think greatly contributes to its underwhelming nature. Makes sense that it would sound so weak, basically being the game's equivalent of a starting pistol much like in the original Quake, but its status should not be an excuse for sounds that leave so much to be desired.

Overall, I found the Combat Shotgun too hollow and quiet sounding, and much in need of an improvement... though, I took a liking to its auditory style. The loud boom of its firing sound, while too quiet for my liking, sounded very similar to the classic Shotgun, and its pumping sound's distinctness stuck with me a lot.

Using the firing sounds of a louder vanilla Eternal Combat Shotgun, the 2016 rendition, and the 2016 Rocket Launcher, I set out to make a more powerful, metallic, and explosive sounding weapon that won't easily be drowned out by the heat of combat while still retaining its identity and fitting in with Eternal's sound design. Full Auto and the pumping/Sticky Bomb reloading sounds (made with 2016's, Eternal's, and 1993's pumping sounds), received much-needed improvements, sounding much more powerful and satisfying to use. Now, the Combat Shotgun can stand up to the likes of the Super Shotgun, Rocket Launcher, and Chaingun in battle... the last of which received a similar treatment.

The Chaingun is a much different story in comparison to the anemic Combat Shotgun. Being an upsized version of 2016's starting Pistol, Eternal's M220 Chaingun is essentially a hybrid between a railgun and a Gatling gun, using electromagnetic acceleration and presumably energy gel contained within its rounds to provide maximum firepower. I and many others love the sound of the vanilla Chaingun due to its distinctness and satisfying sound, especially in Mobile Turret's case, but I felt that more could be done with its theme.

The Chaingun by default is similarly too quiet for my tastes: if any weapon in Eternal should sound loud and distinct, it's the Chaingun, much like its fellow "super" variants (Ballista, SSG, BFG and Unmaykr). Using a boosted vanilla sound, the 2016 Chaingun, the 2016 Pistol, and a lot of subtle ambience (like the motor spinning, casings falling, etc.), I tried my best to make the Chaingun sound much heavier, punchier, and more powerful, worthy of being mounted on a small mech or an aircraft. Two alternative versions not shown in the video with, respectively, a more pronounced motor and a more pronounced 2016 firing sound are available.

Unfortunately, the Chaingun too suffers from the Heavy Cannon's sound bug (which also affects the Combat Shotgun's pumping sound, though this is not as noticeable), and so I instead replaced the cut Pistol's sound effects to achieve the result I wanted. This meant that the Chaingun had to lose its dynamic "revving up" sound, wherein it sounds like it's getting close to overheating in the vanilla variant, most noticeable when using Mobile Turret. While I tried to make the sounds satisfying enough to sound good while using the turret, I understand that the appeal of the original is hard to top, so versions of the mod without Mobile Turret replacements will be available.

Hopefully these sounds are enjoyable and fun to use. I'm not sure if I will do the rest of the weapons, as I am mostly happy with the rest (with the exception of the Super Shotgun, but that will have to wait for quite a while).