Magnum, that's a great question.
First, let me answer this - all you need to install HardCORE is OP PLus 4.0 Standard - EITHER version.
FireSoul was brilliant in that for the no-models version of OP Plus, he copied the standard models into the paths that OP PLus 4.0 Standard uses for it's models.
So, installing HardCORE OP Plus 4.0 HardCORE Edition should be just fine with the no-models version.
What is HardCORE?
It's a play-balanced, no fluff, no BS shiplist. It's a shiplist that represents more accurately the ships that were available during the General Wars in SFB. Advanced Era ships, including the 1st generations, are where they should be - in Advanced Era. While FireSoul's OP Plus 4.0 Standard is a "complete" shiplist in that he wanted to include as many ships from the different Captain's Logs and Modules from SFB, OP Plus 4.0 HardCORE edition is a "production" shiplist - you pick from ships that would be actually USED in SFB. A lot of the unbalanced, cheesy stuff has been removed, so you actually have to fly strategically, instead of picking the cheesiest ship with any given BPV. It encourages building your Captaining skills, and it's especially good for Fleet training.
The coolest thing about our new installer? You install OP Plus 4.0 Standard, then HardCORE edition, and viola, you've got the COMPLETE OP PLUS 4.0 COLLECTION. Check out this screen shot of the HardCORE configurator :
Here you can see that the HardCORE configurator allows you to switch between OP PLus 4.0 Standard, HardCORE, and the STOCK shiplist. On GSA and want to play OP Plus 4.0 Standard? NO problems, just run the configurator, and BAM ! See a bunch of us XC on GSA running HardCORE and wanna see what the deal is all about? Run the HardCORE configurator and BAM! 4-5 seconds later your ready to go.
Also, another nifty thing about HardCORE is the uninstaller - OP Plus 4.0 XC HardCORE Edition is modding friendly - check out this screenshot:
As you can see, our uninstaller gives you the option to either restore OP 4.0 Standard, or the
shiplist you were using when you installed HardCORE. This means if you had a customized version of OP Plus 4.0 (perhaps you have different models or something else), you can restore those as they are backed up during the install.
It's all about the game, baby !!
So take a look and let me know what you think.
Regards,