As you may have gathered by this point, I’m a sucker for a cool Cyberpunk 2077 mod. Hence, when I saw that the modder behind some of the RPG’s most unique custom vehicles had dug up some of CD Projekt’s abandoned models to bring to life a flying police interceptor that never made it into full game, you best believe I stuck that on my must cover list. It’s called an and they’ve also put together a short quest to unlock it.
This weaponised gunship, which modder Oranje3’s dubbed the NCPD Night Hunter, showed up centre stage in the original teaser trailer CD Projekt put out for Cyberpunk all the way back in 2013 (embedded above). At that time, the RPG looked like it might be going all in Bladerunner-esque flying transports, rather than simply having a few airbourne craft streak between the skyscrapers as the majority of folks commute by regular roads below. Naturally, once the game was out, modders were quick to stick some thrusters on its ground-dwelling rides.
While the Night Hunter’s far from Cyberpunk’s first flying ride mod, I’d argue it’s the coolest yet. First of all, it isn’t reliant on established car flight mods, and second it’s tricked out with a bunch of custom features to help make it feel distinct. It’s got its own HUD, animations, and an array of weapons that includes front-mounted machine guns, a missile launcher, and EMP countermeasures. If that’s not enough, it’ll set people on fire if you hover over them. Sure, this can also result in any passengers who sit in the back of it also catching fire, but that’s a necessary sacrifice.
To start the quest to unlock it, you’ll need to head out to the abandoned town of Rocky Ridge in the Badlands, there, you’ll get a text from a bloke called OJ and need to head on a shard treasure hunt across Night City. Once that’s done, the Night Hunter won’t be summonable via the car menu, but instead always spawns at various points around the map.
Honestly, I find it bonkers that Cyberpunk modders are still seemingly unearthing stuff in its files they can turn into working mods. Though, it sounds like Oranje3’s had to put in plenty of work here, so the AV wasn’t just waiting in the wings 90% finished. Nothing a modder who’s previously turned Johnny Silverhand’s Porsche into a tricycle and made a wacky motorbike with one big wheel couldn’t handle, through.
Because of the quest, if you fancy giving this mod a go, you’ll need to grab the following: Cyber Engine Tweaks, RED4ext, ArchiveXL, TweakXL, and Redscript. The Phantom Liberty DLC’s also a must-have.
