@ Stalker players

Roeg1

Roeg1

Roeg1

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2 Nov 2007
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551
Hi guys I've never played stalker or even really saw it in action. After being bored and scanning through the Hi Res screen shot thread for a new game to play, well i really like the look of stalker:eek: I heard a lot in the past that it was buggy etc and this is probley the main reason why I skipped it.

Couple of questions
1/I see there's a few versions of this guess there expansion packs and need the original to play the game..

2/Is it still very buggy and will i pull my hair out trying to get it to play ?

3/What version of the game does everyone recommend i play i hear the name clear skys a lot, shall i just get this version :confused:

System specs if that matters are vista 64 q6600 with a few Oc'ed setting saved 3ghz and 3.2 depending on what i need 8800GTX 4 ghz of pc6400
and i game at 1920x1200
 
Hi,
I've had a bash through Stalker in the past - It's a good length game, as long as you dont mind wandering around a bit and treat is as much as an RPG as a first person shooter.

I think the original is actually now less buggy from what I've heard, at patch 1.0000000006 or later (ok zero overload there.... my bad) - probably best to go with that, so you get the feel if you like the type of game it is or not.

8800GTX should be fine for it, my 8800GT handles it smoothly with most stuff maxed at 1440x900 so perhaps a few tweaks or a little less AA than I use would be good for you.

Feel free to ask more and i'll see if i can advise.
 
Tell me about the mix of RPG and FPS this is what put me off at first never been a RPG fan, not that I've played many its the concept it doesn't really appeal to me.

Not that im saying I couldn't get into it as I wouldn't mind the thought of building a character through a fps game. Its just how much of it is RPG based is there a lot of FPS action ??? will i be wondering round for hours on end looking for a magic wand :o or will it draw me in

Setting wise i never really play above 2x AA at 1920x1200 its not really needed on FPS IMHO apart from loads of AA will i be able to max it as its the high res screens that first caught my eye:D
 
Shadow of Chernobyl was the first game, Clear Sky is the prequel.

1.0005 for Shadow
1.5.07 for Clear Sky
 
Calling it an RPG is a stretch. You don't develop your character in any way beyond the differing story paths you can take. It's not remotely beardy :) More of an FPS with a good plot.

I played Shadows of Chernobyl (the first one) and then Clear Skies. Personally, I felt CS was a bit of a let down. It doesn't add much to the story, and it's certainly the more buggy of the two (although the modding community is working on this all the time). Go for SoC first.

Hardware-wise, you won't have any problems.

Have a good read of the official forums. This will tell you all you will need to know and might point you in the direction of some of the very good mods available. Don't mod it too much for your first play-through, some of them can alter the game fairly significantly.
 
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MoratJG said:
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Mind recommending some mods to start with?? Might grab this off steam the weekend they have it for £13.99 i think..
Or would i be missing out not playing it un modded from the off.. Is this a game i will play more than once all the way through ??
 
I haven't played for a while so any mods I *might* be able to remember will probably have died or been superseded. The reason I mention the mods is that they can tweak the game to your preferences; you won't miss anything by playing the vanilla.

I've played it through a few times, and it is good to go back to after a while but it's not a game that has loads of ways to play. Some people don't like it much so, naturally, they won't want to re-play. I liked it, and still dig it out every year or so.
 
First time through just play with the graphics mods, like SHARPER and some others, don't bother with stuff like Oblivion Lost the first time. Be careful with the weather overhauls as some of them can make the nights pitch black, which is realistic but it's not much fun running around in total darkness.

A 'mod' to increase the amount you can carry is also worth using, can be a pain later trying to manage your inventory.
 
This thread just inspired me to re-install. I bought clear sky on release day then stopped playing after the second patch borked all game saves from previous versions. I'm hoping it should be more stable now.
 
Loved SoC and haven't installed for a while. Reckon I'll be sticking back on tonight after reading this thread.

Deffo go for the inventory mod as it is a right pain in the ass later in the game when your only carrying 3 items but cant carry anything else.

The game gets rock hard as well later on if I remember correctly.
 
Yeah the RPG thing is only really relevant in terms of how much stuff you carry, and the armour/food situation and that kinda thing - It's a good development on the normal FPS thing, and something I'd like to see a lot more of in games.

Normally its either

1) superhuman who carries loads of guns

2) 2 guns only - a la COD series and to a lesser extent Crysis. Much prefer Crysis with a mod to remove weapon carrying limits!

Both of which are a bit naff - I like the trading off of loadouts, more ammo vs different guns etc. I like keeping a sawn-off handy for those "close in" moments :p
 
Squark said:
"I like to keep this handy, 'CHIK-CHIK' for close encounters" :D
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Heh, sounds about right! (Hicks) Cant beat 2 barrels of sawn-off to the face... especially loaded with solid shot.

STALKER has one of the best shotty's for feel and sound... bearing in mind i've put a good few thousand 12G shells down range at clay pigeons - never from sawn offs though, they're kinda illegal.
 
I loved both stalker games. SOC is one of my fave games of all time.

As already mentioned, make sure you're fully patched on both before you start. They were a mess on release, but the vast majority of issues were patched. Try some texture mods on first play through, rather than something like Oblivion Lost which completely changes the way the game plays.

The only other advice i'd give to the first time player is not to get too put off in the first 5-6hrs by the fact your equipment and weapons are absolute rubbish. The game is about survival as much as anything else, and you'll be really struggling to stay alive early on. Accept that and don't go in all guns blazing all the time at the start like you would in other shooters - you'll get your ass kicked. Sometimes you just need to avoid enemies rather than take them on.

Once you get a bit further into the game you'll start to have more money and better weapons. There are some amazing guns that'll make you a serious threat to any enemy.

If you're worried about the RPG element, it's not that major. It's more inventory management than anything else - there's not any real levelling up or stats to worry about.
 
The thing that always got to me in CS was just how hard it was to get any money together and also how expensive things were to buy, even if they were very common items like bandages. Was this intentional?
 
I only really found that an issue in the early stages of the game. Once you start seeing lots of Freedom and Duty guys about it was fine. The faction wars meant there were always plenty of weapons etc on corpses to loot and sell on. I'd just keep all the bandages and med kits i'd find and flog everything else.

Also, it's important to do as many of the side quests for the memory sticks as you can. Most of them pay pretty well.

And there's a bit where you lose all your equipment and money. You can get your equipment back but not the cash. So it's important to invest all your money in upgrades on a decent suit and weapon prior to that point in the game so you don't really lose much when it happens.
 
tedmaul said:
I only really found that an issue in the early stages of the game. Once you start seeing lots of Freedom and Duty guys about it was fine. The faction wars meant there were always plenty of weapons etc on corpses to loot and sell on. I'd just keep all the bandages and med kits i'd find and flog everything else.

Also, it's important to do as many of the side quests for the memory sticks as you can. Most of them pay pretty well.

And there's a bit where you lose all your equipment and money. You can get your equipment back but not the cash. So it's important to invest all your money in upgrades on a decent suit and weapon prior to that point in the game so you don't really lose much when it happens.
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Is that on CS?
 
I played SOC last year, I left it so long after when I originally bought it at release date so patches were plenty and I experienced almost no bugs. Best gaming experience for me during 2008 (yeah an 07 release I know).
Imo play SOC patched and if you enjoy it enough get Clear Sky.
 
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