Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl

quarryman

Been playing this game on and off the last few weeks and it really is one of the best I've ever played. So atmospheric it will scare the crap out of you.

I played it last night on a projector with the lights off about a 1/3 of the way through the game <spoiler>getting the X16 documents from the underground lab</spoiler> and it absolutely scared the bejaysus out of me. I was playing the level in that I-don't-like-this-and-just-want-to-get-to-the-exit-asap kinda way.

Sure its got bugs and its a real pity its not free-roaming without load-screens but the positives far outweigh the negatives in my opinion.

Hope to get it finished before the next one is out!

ionapaul

It's cheap at the moment and although I still haven't finished COD4 and bought Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butchers Bay last week (supposed to rock as well), I just know I'll get STALKER to feed my FPS addiction! How do the graphics compare to HL2? Or COD4?

SeantheMan

I have it but could never really get into it :eek:

I thought the AI were useless..and the sneak feature never really worked.

However....i may give it another shot as im lookin for some single player action to pass the time . Crysis was crap, and i dont wanna play C&C3 atm, COD4 is my multiplayer...so i need a break

Ill reinstall it and give it another go

Sarky

Stalker. It's the most atmospheric game I've played in donkey's years. It's got its fair share of bugs, but if you're willing to scratch that little bit deeper it's just a damn fine game underneath it.

L31mr0d

i've been giving it a wide birth to allow for most of the bugs to be caught and patched.

Also, ionapaul, I played Butcher Bay for the first time just a couple of months back and it still looks great even now. The gameplay in it is second to none also. I wasn't expecting much from it but it ranks up there with HL2 imo.

MooseJam

ionapaul wrote: »

How do the graphics compare to HL2? Or COD4?

very favourably - the outside scenes are great - very realistic, i'd compare it to oblivion if anything, you needn't worry about that department

Stev_o

Its really worth going back on if you download some of the mods out there, Priobi Story was a great experience and the Vanilla mod makes the original game so much better

AntiVirus

Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butchers Bay is a far better game than stalker imo

Creature

I love this game. I hadn't been sucked into a game like I was with STALKER for a very long time. I also found the AI to be quite good, especially on those damn mutated dogs. You hit a few of them and the pack scatters. Great in theory, not so great when you're mission is to kill them and you have to run after them

There's a prequel called clear Sky coming out sometime this year. Hopefully it'll be as good as the original was except without the crappy bugs this time.

Steez

Stalker helped me stay clean and sober for 9 months!
Not really, but it's a fantastic game. Check out the GSC Stalker forums, there's some chap on there who's spent like 3000 hours or something in the game.
That's not right, but it's something like that, and the amount of crazy stuff that's happened on his vanilla version.
My chocolate version has a few mods installed...but nothing major, clean most of the way!

Some complaints a while back were that the A-life engine didn't do enough in terms of "woah" moments. I learned recently that if you give it some time to start working properly, it adds a dose more to the whole game.

Christ I think i'm in love with a game. Creepy.

quarryman

Steez wrote: »

Some complaints a while back were that the A-life engine didn't do enough in terms of "woah" moments. I learned recently that if you give it some time to start working properly, it adds a dose more to the whole game.

A-life? what's all that about?

Branoic

A-life was the system the developers used to determine the behavioral patterns of the creatures in the game. Its capabilities were originally way over-hyped and the version in the final game was pretty striped down and linear compared to what was expected from previews years before the game release.

I played this on release as it was one of my most anticipated games, but I couldn't get very far in it due to performance-crippling bugs.

Have most issues been ironed out? I may look at installing it again and giving it another go.

0ubliette

now that i have a PC finally able to run stalker on max settings, im thoroughly enjoying it. Its definitely one of my favourite games on the PC. Only came across on game breaking bug so far, where an event didnt trigger so i couldnt go any further, lost hours of gameplay thank to it tho. But aside fromt hat ive no problems at all with the games performance, and at times it really is an amazing looking game *points to signature pimping stalker blog*

ToughyIRE

Was a huge, huge fan of Stalker, followed its development for 4 years, and i just want to say it is easily by far one of the worst games I have ever played.
When you have to get a mod to actually have fun while playing a game, then that just says it all.

L31mr0d

Stev_o wrote: »

Vanilla mod makes the original game so much better

What is the vanilla mod? I've tried searching for it and can't find anything? Doesn't vanilla usually mean the unmodded release?

Also, anyone playing it, are you using the float32 patch? If so have you noticed any graphical improvements (version 2.0 of the patch was released last month)

po0k

Steam or DVD-install versions?

Tusky

Can someone tell me what patches and or mods I need installed to get the best out of Stalker ? My pc plays it on max settings no problem so thats not an issue.

Stev_o

L31mr0d wrote: »

What is the vanilla mod? I've tried searching for it and can't find anything? Doesn't vanilla usually mean the unmodded release?

Also, anyone playing it, are you using the float32 patch? If so have you noticed any graphical improvements (version 2.0 of the patch was released last month)

Doh my bad wasnt thinking yesterday. I was thinking of a mod called Oblivion Lost http://stalker.filefront.com/file/Oblivion_Lost;86329.

Personally the graphics in this game didnt bother me, i completed it with no mods on a really sh*t PC and i actually thought it was better since it was even more dark and drabby. This game isnt about Crysis graphics, the graphics there are mostly atmospheric wait till you get your first blow out on one of these mods and you ll know then

quarryman

Can someone tell me what patches and or mods I need installed to get the best out of Stalker ? My pc plays it on max settings no problem so thats not an issue.

patch it to the latest anyway then:

This one might be worth a try:

Ultra Graphics


I had this one and LOVED it but had issues after I patched but plan to go back

Nuclear Snow

When you have to get a mod to actually have fun while playing a game, then that just says it all.

Modding IMPROVES the game, I'm half-way through with no mods installed and its brilliant.

Was a huge, huge fan of Stalker, followed its development for 4 years, and i just want to say it is easily by far one of the worst games I have ever played.

How far in did you get? I found it rough round the edges starting off but it really grew on me.

Steez

I'd suggest to people that they at least play the game through once on vanilla, give it a chance!

Plus I did notice a jump in framerate when I started playing with no mods. I think Float's installed, but either way it's better.

Tusky: There's a dozen hi-res texture mods, and I'd recommend the Better Headlamp mod personally. Tbh mod's are personal choice, take a look through the Stalker Filefront list of em, or in the mod section on the GSC forums.

Tusky

Cheers for the replies. Maybe I'll just patch it and give it a go without mods. Do I need to download & Install each patch separately or can I just download the latest ?

quarryman

Just get the 1.005 patch, I think its cumulative.

Definately go play the game without mods first. See it as it was meant to be played, and report back!

1.0005 patch

L31mr0d

Steez wrote: »

I'd suggest to people that they at least play the game through once on vanilla, give it a chance!

but the thing is most people WON'T play through it a second time. I know I won't anyway. I only found out about all the hi-res textures for Res4 after i'd nearly completed the game, but even though that game was excellent i'll never play through it again.

I'd like to get stalker looking the best before I play through it the first time.

So on my list so far is:

- 1.0006 Patch
- Float32 v2.0
- Ultra Graphics Mode


Anything else? What difference does the headlamp mod make?

uglyjohn

are they doing a 1.06? i didnt check but i kinda assumed they would stop with 1.005. what does the float 32 mod do?


i installed it a few weeks back just after i got my new graphics card. it ran well (with everything on max i think). then i patched to 1.05 and the game turned into a slideshow. I dont know if it was the patch or something else but the game started to run incredibly slowely and the hard disk was working flat out the whole time. a few days later windows stopped booting and i had to reformat and reinstall everything.
something royally f_cked up the hard disk to an extent where i couldnt boot using a linux cd or access the data by hooking the hard drive up to another pc. im not saying it was stalker, in fact it probably wasnt....but im going to buy an external hard drive and back up all my files before i put it back on.#


but yeah, i want to play it and will prob mod it before playing.

SeantheMan

So as i said i would..i reinstalled the game to give it another go

I patched up to 1.004 or something, not sure.

Went to do the first mission..kill load of lads at some garage or place. :rolleyes:..happy days i thought

1. How many feckin bullets does it take to kill someone ? the pistol doesnt seem anyway effective. Its so stupid its ridiculous

2. Does sneaking actually work ? i tried, and its like the enemy had wallhacks

I basically turned the game off after 7 mins as i tried both methods and died. Not that i was really tryin..but i just wanted to see which way the game works. And if they werent gonna die after 5 bullets to the chest...i wasnt gonna play the whole game.

Installed and uninstalled within 30mins.

Back to COD4

Tar.Aldarion

Good fun game. Got pissed off at the first ending I got, couldn't go back, had to start it all again. Never played it after.

quarryman

So as i said i would..i reinstalled the game to give it another go

I patched up to 1.004 or something, not sure.

Went to do the first mission..kill load of lads at some garage or place. ..happy days i thought

1. How many feckin bullets does it take to kill someone ? the pistol doesnt seem anyway effective. Its so stupid its ridiculous

2. Does sneaking actually work ? i tried, and its like the enemy had wallhacks

I basically turned the game off after 7 mins as i tried both methods and died. Not that i was really tryin..but i just wanted to see which way the game works. And if they werent gonna die after 5 bullets to the chest...i wasnt gonna play the whole game.

Installed and uninstalled within 30mins.

Back to COD4

heh, you have been brain-washed by HL2 and COD4.

1.

The garage is a STEEP learning curve. You only get a pistol and will be killed a LOT unless you take it slow. Let your buddies do most of the killing.
It will take headshots with the pistol.

After that you go back and collect your reward. Pick up some armour. Do some of the minor missions and get a bit more kitted out.

After that you can hit the main missions.

Its not an FPS in the traditional sense. You have to improve your character before you can progress. In time you get automatic weapons, then attachments such as scopes etc.

If you are used to having a maxed out character at the start of a game relying only on better weapons you find, and aren't willing to experiment with a different type of game then Stalker isn't for you.

A pity you have uninstalled really as I would say give it 2 - 3 hours before you give up.

2.

I never sneak. I should try it. Can't help you there.

L31mr0d

uglyjohn wrote: »

are they doing a 1.06? i didnt check but i kinda assumed they would stop with 1.005. what does the float 32 mod do?

1.0006 was released last wednesday

the float32 mod just optimizes the game and allows for graphical improvements without any loss in FPS.

SeantheMan

quarryman wrote: »

heh, you have been brain-washed by HL2 and COD4.

Wouldnt say brainwashed...but...in most FPS games that i have...the baddies go down easier :P

As i said...i "reinstalled" it..which means i had played it before. And got the automatic weapons and scopes and bits of rock that give ye perks etc.

Just was so long since id played it and needed something to get me away from online for a bit, unfortunately Stalker wasnt it.

Crysis is crap too, that was a waste of money....basically a fancy crapper version of Far Cry.

UT3 is just muck, same with Quake 4

Maybe ill reinstall Painkiller..that was a laugh :rolleyes: ...any other good FPS's or games out there that ppl can reccomend. I dont want something to take my life away :P...just to keep me occupied for an hour or 2 now and again till my clanmates come on at night for COD4

magick

id i agreed with the op anymore id burst into flames, 100% right, Stalker was a brillant game truly sucked you into the gritty depressing world of the zone, only other game ive ever played that had this effect on me was Clive Barkers Undying.

Anyone see the Stalker movie?

Azza

GSC are working on patch 1.1 (there is also a leaked beta floating around the net) that introduces freeplay into the game.
I just robbed this from there forums.

In patch 1.1 we are implementing Freeplay.

Here is how it will work:
After passing the game with one of the good endings, a Freeplay mode will become available in the menu, as well as the Extreme difficulty level.

What it will look like:
Usually, we start at the dealer's, but... no. We are no longer the Marked One, and we are not going into the heart of the Zone. The player is now a newbie stalker and gets to live a regular stalker's life, without the past heroics.

Main innovations:
- The world of the game is completely under control of life simulation.
- Parameters of the simulation have been balanced for Freeplay.
- There will be no storyline missions in Freeplay.
- All levels up to and including Pripjat' will be available.
- All smart terrain has been unblocked! The simulation is no longer bound by any storyline scenes.
- The missions in the Freeplay mode are based on the mechanics of secondary quests from the regular game, but with new types of quests.
- Some new dialogs have been added.
- New types of quests are given by various factions - Stalkers, Freedom, Duty, Military, and characters - Dealer, Barman, Saharov.
- The game is for ratings, which are given out by the aforementioned factions and characters. There will be 7 ratings from each quest giver.
- Each new rating will be rewarded. Unique items will be among the rewards.
- New unique items and weapons have been added.
- The "top 100" rating has a new algorithm. Rating of all stalkers changes during the whole duration of the game. It is valuable now.
- PDA has expanded statistics - the number of enemies and monsters killed, weapons and ammo used, shooting efficiency, time spent in locations, artifacts found, items used, unique items found, and much more.

In other words, Freeplay mode is for those who wanted to walk around the Zone after passing the game once or twice. Not to run around, completing mission quests, but to just live inside the Zone. To get the rank of the rich man of the Zone from the dealer, to collect all artifacts for the scientists, or do some of many other possible things. Simulation will be different, more life-like, now that all limitations have been removed. It will be rebalanced specifically for Freeplay, and a number of shortcomings we learned about after the release will be fixed.

Freeplay in patch 1.1 is only the first step, the tip of the iceberg of changes we are making to the game for the next installment. But, more about that after E3.

Many changes in gameplay and fixes are not described here. In the next portion of news I will tell you about the new difficulty level - Extreme.

However the patch is not expected to see the light of day until after Clear Sky is released (hopefully in better condition). It won't matter if you play clear sky first as the game is a prequel.

Tusky

When I try to install the 1.5 patch it says it cant find the game...hmm

quarryman

Is it a Steam install? Cus the program directory is pretty hidden for that...

0ubliette

can i just say, that ultra graphics mod is a load of bollocks. If by 'ultra graphics' they meant 'flickering textures over any light source and bloom so bad it looks like someone smeared vaseline all over your monitor' then yeah wow, those are some extremely ultra graphics..

quarryman

Try the Nuclear Snow mod I linked. It makes most things monochrome but gives it a nice post apocalyptic feel.

Cravez

Sorry if this is a bit off-topic. Im having trouble running Stalker under Vista 32bit and it keeps crashing during mid-game. Usually either when a) i save it or b) when i check a corpse for items.

Now i do have the graphics on object dynamic lighting or full dynamic lighting at a resolution of 1028 x 768 pixels so i know that it will use alot of RAM on top of Vista and im also aware the Vista 32bit doesn't utilise all the ram on the system (my RAM is 4gb's 1088mhz and Vista is only showing 2.75Gb's) so this is what is causing the crash. My graphics card at the mo is a 512mb Nvidia 8500 (runs the game fine graphics wise)

Iv gotten nothing really from online except 'don't use object or full dynamic lighting' but since it is more of a RAM issue than a graphical issue i don't see why i can't try and fix the problem. Iv tried using a 3GB Enabler to alter the RAM settings in Stalkers .exe file so it will allow more RAM (or should i say, the RAM thats actually on my system) to be used for Stalker but even so it hasn't seemed to produce any results.

Again sorry for this type of question, iv even contact technical support and they haven't e-mailed me back (this was a good while ago) so just wondering if anyone might have any solutions or will this 1.0006 fix any vista problems?

Cheers!

Cuddlesworth

Vista only see's 2.7gigs? First of all, the game will run fine with only 2gigs even on Vista. Second, a 32bit operating system should see 3.3gigs.

Un-install and reinstall the game, update your gfx card drivers etc. At worst re-install Windows as it sounds like you have a rather bad problem with memory allocation at the moment.

quarryman

there is an issue with Vista and quicksaves, do a google on it.

MOH

Have they fixed the respawning bad guys yet?

That's one of the things that drove me mad near the end, started the final section with very little health left, both past about the first 4 guys before I got killled. Reloaded, got shot in the back by a guy who should have been dead. Eventually worked out it was something to do with quick save/load.

Think the same might have happened earlier in the game. At both the

initial farmhouses mission and the military at the collapsed bridge

I'd killed everyone, only for them to reappear shortly afterwards.

At the time I thought it was stupid, if it was bug related then fair enough.
Was hugely disappointed with the ending too. Didn't know anything about multiple endings before then, and wasn't about to slog back through half the game, especially that last section, just to maybe get a different crap ending. Uninstalled it straight away, never looked at it again, just never got around to selling it. And I was one of those really looking forward to it, hugely disappointed in the end.

Maximilian

There's a nice tech demo of Stalker: Clear Skies here, which shows off some nifty DX10 effects. Looks good.

quarryman

looks good.

But until i see gameplay.....

Hitman Actual

Awesome game, if you persevere with it.

Here's how I'm currently playing it on a first play-through:

1. Weather Overhauled mod. Brilliant mod that really improves the atmosphere. Includes float32 and a few other graphical mods.

2. Modified the 'm_stalker.ltx' file so that stealth works at night- The other stalkers don't have that super-human vision where they can see you from 2km away in the pitch dark. It does make the game easier at night though, so it might not be for everyone.

3. Modified the minimap so that the stalker 'dots' don't appear when other stalkers are within range. And turned off the 'beep' sound that accompanies the dots. The gameplay is much better when you have no idea how many enemies are left in the area, and you can't tell if NPCs are friend or foe until you get closer to them.

4. I'm using a weapons mod so that silencers are more realistic (more silent).

These all work well for a near-vanilla play through. And I still have OL, Priboi and AMK to play through as well, so happy days.

magick

i tried to install the beta (freeplay) but couldnt get it to work ,so im gonna wait for the offical release

Dartz

Michael Cravez wrote: »

Sorry if this is a bit off-topic. Im having trouble running Stalker under Vista 32bit and it keeps crashing during mid-game. Usually either when a) i save it or b) when i check a corpse for items.

Now i do have the graphics on object dynamic lighting or full dynamic lighting at a resolution of 1028 x 768 pixels so i know that it will use alot of RAM on top of Vista and im also aware the Vista 32bit doesn't utilise all the ram on the system (my RAM is 4gb's 1088mhz and Vista is only showing 2.75Gb's) so this is what is causing the crash. My graphics card at the mo is a 512mb Nvidia 8500 (runs the game fine graphics wise)

Iv gotten nothing really from online except 'don't use object or full dynamic lighting' but since it is more of a RAM issue than a graphical issue i don't see why i can't try and fix the problem. Iv tried using a 3GB Enabler to alter the RAM settings in Stalkers .exe file so it will allow more RAM (or should i say, the RAM thats actually on my system) to be used for Stalker but even so it hasn't seemed to produce any results.

Again sorry for this type of question, iv even contact technical support and they haven't e-mailed me back (this was a good while ago) so just wondering if anyone might have any solutions or will this 1.0006 fix any vista problems?

Cheers!

I have this exact issue on my laptop, running Vista. It is caused by Vista not allowing the game access to certain parts of memory, as you said. there is a fix...

I cannot get the link to you right now, as I am at work, but navigate to

http://stalker.heroesradio.com

this is the Zone Survival Guide. There is a forum there. Somebody should know how to fix it.

I'll double post the fix up on here tonight if you want to wait.

Ross_Mahon

I'm actually currently playing stalker, theres a horrible glitch thats annoying me, i keep dying of hunger at certain parts, i even eat food and 2 mins later i die. The game is certainly different than your average FPS, it seems very cheaply made but somehow interesting to play? i like the realism and survival element of the game, i was expecting much better graphics and effects? but its the game play that keeps me going.

Dartz

The X-ray engine is quite old, relatively. It was designed a few years ago, for the technology of a few years ago, and was right on the cusp of being out of date when the game was released.

X-ray 1.5 in Clear Sky though.... now that looks promising. Hopefully, it runs as good as the current one does on my laptop...

Most bugs that happen, happen absolutely randomly, and are usually caused by something getting tweked somewhere or other...Dying of hunger despite eating is a strange one. It might have something to do with another glitch, that leaves you permanently irradiated, if you cross an area barrier while irradiated.

Ross_Mahon

The dying of hunger thing usually resorts to me going on a killing spree just to search bodies for tins of food, like a mad man that hasn't eaten in a week. It happens mostly when i have to get kill a stalker, when i get close it happens.

Dartz

Dartz wrote: »

I have this exact issue on my laptop, running Vista. It is caused by Vista not allowing the game access to certain parts of memory, as you said. there is a fix...

I cannot get the link to you right now, as I am at work, but navigate to

http://stalker.heroesradio.com

this is the Zone Survival Guide. There is a forum there. Somebody should know how to fix it.

I'll double post the fix up on here tonight if you want to wait.

FOUND IT...


You need to run command prompt as administrator. Just type:

bcdedit /Set IncreaseUserVa 3072

And that should be it. It fixed it for me anyway.

uglyjohn

installed it last night and had a go on vanilla. im really enjoying it so far but there are a few changes i want to make so tonight im going to start modding.

first on the list is dark nights. i stayed up all night according to my pda and was really disappointed when it never got darker than a twilight.

Hitman Actual

uglyjohn wrote: »

installed it last night and had a go on vanilla. im really enjoying it so far but there are a few changes i want to make so tonight im going to start modding.

first on the list is dark nights. i stayed up all night according to my pda and was really disappointed when it never got darker than a twilight.

For this, I installed "S.T.A.L.K.E.R.Weather_Overhauled Mod by Trojanuch", which has a big thread over on the GSC Stalker Mods forum. Night times are much darker, and you actually have a use for night-vision. Also, if you alter a couple of other files, you can make stealth work much better at night.

The only thing is there are loads of other mods included with this which you might not want, or which your PC might not be able to handle. And of course it overhauls the whole weather/day-night sequencing and effects (but these are much better, and the effects are great). So you might want to look for something much leaner.

Another mod I advise installing is the Annoying Audio Fix. There are some really annoying dialogs as you go along.

Edit to add: for the Weather Overhauled mod, there is a Lite version which just does weather/day-night sequencing, and includes darker nights, but doesn't have all the other mods. That might suit.

uglyjohn

Thanks, i'll give that a go.

am i right in saying its included in the oblivion lost mod? i read a bit about that and it sounds good.