if you don't have this mod you don't have this issue
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Author notes
it's just a bug fix, so i can't really claim it
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For the longest time I didn't know what caused this, but I always suspected it was AWKCR, and I just found out how to fix it.
This mod fixes an annoying thing AWKCR does where for whatever reason, the institute rifle uses the player's firing sound. It's annoying because the player's laser rifle firing sound is in stereo, whereas all NPC firing sounds are mono. So when this sound comes from NPCs, it's difficult to tell which direction it's coming from, as this sound will play in both channels and just get louder as you get closer to the source.
To fix it, this mod edits one (1) form that tells the weapon to use this sound, given the weapon has a specific keyword, mainly the one associated with semi-automatic barrels. This form in the original mod replaces the one made by UFO4P which solves it correctly, since it meets the same conditions but is always (or should be) further down in the load order than UFO4P. Don't worry, it's an ESP marked ESL.
I'm hoping others who are also bothered by this issue get some use out of it if they didn't know what it was until now.