S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2

One Vision · 17 Aug 2018 at 16:53

I dont get what people like about STALKER, i tried it and it was just another shooter with monsters. Whats so great about?

Mark A · 17 Aug 2018 at 17:39

One Vision said:
I dont get what people like about STALKER, i tried it and it was just another shooter with monsters. Whats so great about?

I have always had a fascination with Pripyat and other abandoned towns/buildings/themeparks etc. So a game being set in Pripyat and the surrounding areas, where the devs actually went there to take photos to faithfully recreate a lot of the architecture was already very interesting to me. They did a fantastic job with designing the maps and I could spend hours just exploring the zone. I have always played it with mods, so I'm not sure if Vanilla has the same level of atmosphere, but with the mods I used with updated graphics and dynamic weather/lighting, it is amazingly atmospheric when combined with the setting.

Then there is the Alife system with dynamically spawning enemies, which means every outing into the zone is different. One day there could be nothing, another there could be a pack of bloodsuckers, or a big gunfight between two rival factions taking place. In the Misery mod especially this keeps you on your toes as you can be pretty much one shotted if you play it like a normal shooter and go running everywhere guns blazing.

It's nothing like any other shooter imo, especially with a mod like Misery. There is no regenerating health, no super abilities that let you sprint everywhere full speed and powerslide into enemies while shooting. No big waypoints on the screen telling you where to go, no flashing objects you need to interact with, no grenade symbol to tell you a grenade has landed near you. I do enjoy those casual modern shooters as well when i'm in the mood for a blast'em'up, like Wolfenstein, but sometimes I am in the mood for something slower paced and more difficult and Stalker fits the bill nicely. But i can see how it's not everyones cup of tea.

arc@css · 17 Aug 2018 at 21:55

One Vision said:
I dont get what people like about STALKER, i tried it and it was just another shooter with monsters. Whats so great about?

I like it for its unrivalled atmosphere and replay value. The X-ray engine, although not without its issues, was very ambitious, and even now there are specific elements which you won't always see in other games.

As mentioned above, the modding community for it is quite brilliant. Otherwise, I probably would have latched on to something else as my mainstay a long time ago.

One Vision · 20 Aug 2018 at 00:03

What mods to do you recommend, i tried i think Misery and i died right away to a pack of dogs. No way i could defeat them, very unbalanced i found and uninstalled.

arc@css · 20 Aug 2018 at 00:40

One Vision said:
What mods to do you recommend, i tried i think Misery and i died right away to a pack of dogs. No way i could defeat them, very unbalanced i found and uninstalled.

It's not one I'd start with if you're new to it.

For Call of Pripyat, I'd start with something like the 'ABR' mod, 'SGM 2.1', 'Special Edition' or maybe 'Reloaded' (can't remember for certain how newbie friendly the last one is). You can check them out here:

ABR - https://www.moddb.com/mods/abr-mod

SGM Mods (including 2.1) - https://www.moddb.com/mods/sigerous-sgm

Special Edition - https://www.moddb.com/mods/call-of-pripyat-special-edition

One Vision · 20 Aug 2018 at 17:03

arc@css said:
It's not one I'd start with if you're new to it.

For Call of Pripyat, I'd start with something like the 'ABR' mod, 'SGM 2.1', 'Special Edition' or maybe 'Reloaded' (can't remember for certain how newbie friendly the last one is). You can check them out here:

ABR - https://www.moddb.com/mods/abr-mod

SGM Mods (including 2.1) - https://www.moddb.com/mods/sigerous-sgm

Special Edition - https://www.moddb.com/mods/call-of-pripyat-special-edition

Thanks ill give it a go

Mark A · 20 Aug 2018 at 20:51

One Vision said:
What mods to do you recommend, i tried i think Misery and i died right away to a pack of dogs. No way i could defeat them, very unbalanced i found and uninstalled.

The very beginning of the game is probably the hardest part. Stalker and especially Misery gets a lot easier the more geared you get, as soon as you have a half decent semi auto shotgun/assault rifle/sniper rifle and something like the sunrise bodysuit, the game will feel a lot more balanced. If you choose the sniper class then the sawn off shotgun you start with is actually pretty decent for killing dogs and other mutants, but if there is a pack it can be difficult. If I spawn in and there's a pack of dogs near by I'll just crouch and try and retreat in the opposite direction. Or run to a rock, or something else high up and pick them off as they come close. It's easily doable, but only if you approach the game differently than the usual run in guns blazing games.

One mod I would recommend using over the top of Misery (if you ever play it again) is the latest absolute nature. I personally think the green or autumn presets looks far better than the default Misery preset and still retain the same atmosphere. There is also a mod in the works called 'the armed zone' which will add tons of new weapons and attachments to the Misery mod. Misery already has a ton of new weapons added but more is always better. Its not out yet, but the guys are still working on it.

I found the ABR mod way too easy, but it does look good and was very stable. I haven't tried the other two, but they sound good for a first playthrough.

shamus21 · 21 Aug 2018 at 08:09

Reading this thread again is making me want to load up stalker clear sky for a few hours.

AthlonXP1800 · 18 Oct 2018 at 17:35

Official S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. teaser trailer

Think I will start to play S.T.A.L.K.E.R. again.

Cant wait to play S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. hopefully with RTX ray tracing and DLSS.

Bishie · 18 Oct 2018 at 18:07

The jury is still out on whether or not it's an official trailer. The channel does not belong to GSC, and they haven't shown it via any of their social media platforms.

AthlonXP1800 · 18 Oct 2018 at 18:45

Bishie said:
The jury is still out on whether or not it's an official trailer. The channel does not belong to GSC, and they haven't shown it via any of their social media platforms.

I found the trailer after read Guru3D news.

https://www.guru3d.com/news-story/s-t-a-l-k-e-r-2-official-cinematic-teaser-trailer.html

TonyM19 · 18 Oct 2018 at 20:17

A bit lame, but I last played this about 3/4 years ago with a mod that meant that I actually hit what I was aiming at (a particular bugbear for me). Can't remember what the mod was called now (or find it).

arc@css · 18 Oct 2018 at 21:06

There's a lot of dislikes on that video though I've not seen that before, so I still enjoyed it.

UltraDad · 19 Oct 2018 at 07:24

Stalker Soup, the biggest mod of them all http://www.tecnobacon.com/. Pushes the engine to the edge

arc@css · 19 Oct 2018 at 10:10

UltraDad said:
Stalker Soup, the biggest mod of them all http://www.tecnobacon.com/. Pushes the engine to the edge

I haven't played that mod in ages, I'll have to give it a whirl over the weekend. I hope it's more stable than when I last played.

Amraam · 19 Oct 2018 at 15:09

STALKER 2 simply won't happen now. I refuse to believe any hype whatsoever until I actually see it released.

Admiral Huddy · 19 Oct 2018 at 15:10

One Vision said:
I dont get what people like about STALKER, i tried it and it was just another shooter with monsters. Whats so great about?

I loved it's open play which as the time was quite a unique feature.. Then the final assault. Great game so a further version would be must..

Diddums · 19 Oct 2018 at 16:59

I need to reinstall this and have another go with all the mods (only ever played vanilla). Bacl when it was new I often had a beer or two to calm the nerves as some of the areas had me ******** myself.

Anyone know if it'll run all modded up on my 2500k with 8gb and R9 290?

arc@css · 19 Oct 2018 at 18:20

Diddums said:
Anyone know if it'll run all modded up on my 2500k with 8gb and R9 290?

For the most part, you should be fine with pretty much any mod. If your fps start to tank, try lowering things like grass detail/density. That usually makes a fair bit of difference.

Diddums · 20 Oct 2018 at 19:02

arc@css said:
For the most part, you should be fine with pretty much any mod. If your fps start to tank, try lowering things like grass detail/density. That usually makes a fair bit of difference.

Thanks

I need to upgrade but I don't think I game enough to justify the cost. Then again if I upgrade I'll probably play more...

I need to stop myself now. This train of thought always ends in DAVID! WHAT THE **** DID YOU BUY AT OVERCLOCKERS FOR THREE GRAND???