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Is S.T.A.L.K.E.R worth visiting in 2019?

Veidt

Veidt

Member
Oct 27, 2017
511
Very much so. Take a look at some mods too. There are some that fix issues and add polish (such as the Complete mods) and others that offer a new experience, such as Misery.
 

Deleted member 2834

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
7,620
Best single player FPS campaign I've ever played ahead of Half-life 2, Crysis, Wolfenstein A New Order. Just do some research on which mods to install as vanilla Shadow of Chernobyl has some issues.
 
ray_caster

ray_caster

Member
Nov 7, 2017
664
I get the feeling that show has given the Stalker series quite the sales boost.

But to answer your question - Yes, it is worth playing, especially the first game in the series IMO.
 
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RROCKMAN

RROCKMAN

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
10,824
Blowout_soon.jpg


Go for it OP
 
OP
OP
RTX ON

RTX ON

Alt Account
Banned
Mar 25, 2019
440
Wow, overwhelming. I knew the series was meant to be good back in the day but I was expecting it to have aged enough to not be enjoyable anymore.

Is the map accurate or an approximation? and what are the essential mods to install?
 
Gernau Morat Gurgeh

Gernau Morat Gurgeh

Member
Oct 31, 2017
10,056
Yes. It remains one of the most unique experiences in gaming. Properly modded, it is phenomenal. Incredibly atmospheric and occasionally genuinley terrifying.
 
ColdSun

ColdSun

Together, we are strangers
Administrator
Oct 25, 2017
3,292
Absolutely. There's a few mods you may look into for them as well but they're fabulous experiences such as the Complete mods for each.
 
disgraciau

disgraciau

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,901
Ibiza, Balearic Islands, Spain
RTX ON said:
Wow, overwhelming. I knew the series was meant to be good back in the day but I was expecting it to have aged enough to not be enjoyable anymore.

Is the map accurate or an approximation? and what are the essential mods to install?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Approximation. Pripyat for example is a chunk of the city with the most popular buildings scattered.

About mods, Zone Reclamation Project is a must. Fixes a lot of bugs. For graphical mods, Shaders MAX if you want a small graphics bump: https://www.moddb.com/mods/stalker-shaders-max

If you want a brutal total graphical conversion with Autumn atmosphere but keeping the gameplay core intact (and ZRP bundled), Autumn Aurora 2 is a must:



Almost forgot. If you find some small bugs or problems or the camera annoys you too much (head bobbing is a bit exaggerated), take a look to the PCGamingWiki article of the game: https://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/S.T.A.L.K.E.R.:_Shadow_of_Chernobyl
 
AndrewDean84

AndrewDean84

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
11,595
Fontana, California
I think every 6 months or so, I always think to myself, "I should revisit STALKER." But never do.

The games were fantastic. Scary at night.
 
OP
OP
RTX ON

RTX ON

Alt Account
Banned
Mar 25, 2019
440
disgraciau said:
Approximation. Pripyat for example is a chunk of the city with the most popular buildings scattered.

About mods, Zone Reclamation Project is a must. Fixes a lot of bugs. For graphical mods, Shaders MAX if you want a small graphics bump: https://www.moddb.com/mods/stalker-shaders-max

If you want a brutal total graphical conversion with Autumn atmosphere but keeping the gameplay core intact (and ZRP bundled), Autumn Aurora 2 is a must:



Almost forgot. If you find some small bugs or problems or the camera annoys you too much (head bobbing is a bit exaggerated), take a look to the PCGamingWiki article of the game: https://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/S.T.A.L.K.E.R.:_Shadow_of_Chernobyl
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Thank you for this, think ill go with the shaders max and complete. Hopefully no conflictions.
 
Alastor3

Alastor3

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
8,297
Yes, if you start (and you should) with shadow of chernobyl, install the Realistic mod for the weapons, gamechanger
 
Eolz

Eolz

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
7,601
FR
Yeah for a first run, I'd recommend just fix and visual mods... (avoid gameplay mods)
 
hobblygobbly

hobblygobbly

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,573
NORDFRIESLAND, DEUTSCHLAND
the only mods you need for a vanilla SoC playthrough are:

ZRP (Zone Reclamation Project, they are bug fixes. There are some optional gameplay changes like adding a sleeping bag, but nothing significant, you don't need to select them to install). http://www.metacognix.com/stlkrsoc/
Absolute Nature & Absolute Structures (texture mods, just higher res, not different) http://absolute.crommcruac.com/shadow-of-chernobyl/

Do not install Complete for a first playthrough (or ever IMO), changes gameplay for the worst, makes dumb AI changes, etc.

On subsequent playthroughs you can use overhaul mods like the excellent Autumn Aurora.

Shadow of Chernobyl is an excellent game, cult franchise, in my top 5. The only issue with it I've always had is sometimes you need to adjust difficulty, at certain points of the game (it'll be subjective) because some balancing can be off with enemy hitpoints. Fortunately this is simple to do, only takes a few seconds. That and the fact that NPCs detect you a bit too well in the dark. Nothing major. Have fun. It's the most atmospheric game I have ever played.

I followed SoC in particular so long before they released it, the game was always so ambitious and they never delivered on all the promises, but we still got a great game. It can be "janky" at times, it's not some perfect game, but it does some things that make it stand out and be such a cult game, such as the excellent horror atmosphere (even though it is not specifically a "scare you" horror game).
 
ProstatePuncher

ProstatePuncher

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
5,800
Excellent games. Always play on Master difficulty. It ups the damage you take but also the damage enemies take, so it becomes much more fun. Easy difficulty means everything is a big dumb bullet sponge and it isn't enjoyable in ANY way.
 
ProstatePuncher

ProstatePuncher

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
5,800
Thinking back on Clear Sky, it isn't really worth playing. Feels much more "Call of Duty" than SoC, as the devs took feedback and tried to improve the game, and one complaint people had was that enemies couldn't throw grenades. Clear Sky, they gave them the ability to do so and enemies absolutely rain them down on you. Mods will probably fix it, but SoC and CoP are absolute core experiences.
 
VaporSnake

VaporSnake

Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,603
Honestly yes, I say this as someone who got into the first one SoC a few years ago, I never actually finished it unfortunately but despite being so old...there's something about the atmosphere about that game, unrivaled in many ways... It's a very unique experience.
 
Chivalry

Chivalry

Chicken Chaser
Banned
Nov 22, 2018
3,894
Not really, even with mods. It's way too janky, the combat sucks, and the world is not particularly interesting to explore.
 

Phantom88

Banned
Jan 7, 2018
726
RTX ON said:
Wow, overwhelming. I knew the series was meant to be good back in the day but I was expecting it to have aged enough to not be enjoyable anymore.

Is the map accurate or an approximation? and what are the essential mods to install?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...


There's nothing to age if you nail everything from the start and every competitor puts out inferior products.

Stalker will play just as briliantly in another 12 years.

Pc games dont really age in my opinion, once you get to around 1995 and the control scheme is the same as it is now and the gamedesign has always been sophisticated
 
super-famicom

super-famicom

Avenger
Oct 26, 2017
25,208
The game is great. Like others said I'd avoid the Complete Mod on a first play through. I'd just install the HD texture pack and the weather effects one. It's been a few years so I don't remember the names of those mods.
 
OP
OP
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RTX ON

Alt Account
Banned
Mar 25, 2019
440
I just bought SoC and CoP. gonna give CS a miss for now. £9 for both games. Gonna play for a few hours and report back :)

I'll give all mods a pass until my first playthrough is done and ive been advised to quick save almost every 30 seconds.........
 
exodus

exodus

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,951
STALKER is still one of the best shooters ever made. I put it up there with Half-Life 2.

One word of advice: play on Master difficulty, or find a mod that removes bullet miss chance. On any difficulty below master, your bullets have a chance to simply never register even if you're on target. It's kind of dumb. Enemies die faster on Master as a result.
 
Grimminski

Grimminski

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,136
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Do not install the complete mods
Do not install the complete mods
Do not install the complete mods
Do not install the complete mods
Do not install the complete mods

They are buggy, broken, and outdated. They also make the games significantly easier.

Ideally, play Shadow of Chernobyl with the unofficial patch, but you can use Autumn Aurora 2 if you want a full overhaul.

You can skip Clear Sky since it's a prequel, and outside of the outdated Faction Wars mod, it isn't worth playing.

For Call of Pripyat, use Arsenal Overhaul 3, which overhauls the weapons and adds new ones. it also includes patched versions of Atmosfear (weather/lighting overhaul) and Absolute Nature (Hi resolution environment textures).
 
Cryoteck

Cryoteck

Member
Nov 2, 2017
1,028
exodus said:
STALKER is still one of the best shooters ever made. I put it up there with Half-Life 2.

One word of advice: play on Master difficulty, or find a mod that removes bullet miss chance. On any difficulty below master, your bullets have a chance to simply never register even if you're on target. It's kind of dumb. Enemies die faster on Master as a result.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I'll have to revisit SoC with this info. I figured higher difficulty meant more bullet sponge.
 

Phantom88

Banned
Jan 7, 2018
726
Chivalry said:
Not really, even with mods. It's way too janky, the combat sucks, and the world is not particularly interesting to explore.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...


The combat is the best combat you will encounter in a shooter so far. The weapons have so many characteristics, the ballistics are amazing. The combat scenarios, everything is so different than anything else i can see how some people would be shocked at the first exposure and not proceed further.

The map in Call of Pripyat is the best usage of open space in any game. Its the benchmark open world games should adhere to. Its exactly the perfect size. Every piece of land is unique and hand made. Every location has something to offer and doesnt exist just to pad the game. The area itself is dangerous, you have anomalies that hurt you. You have factions that can be your enemies or your allies. There are bandits in the land. NPC's have relations with one another and can fight independent of you. Animals and mutants roam the land and can attack you, can attack npc's. Its an actual living world that exists besides you.

Stalker Call of Pripyat is one of the very best achievements in gaming, and i mean of actual quality, not artificially inflated how so many "classics" are. An absolute rarest of gems
 
ProstatePuncher

ProstatePuncher

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
5,800
Cryoteck said:
I'll have to revisit SoC with this info. I figured higher difficulty meant more bullet sponge.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Difficulty is a bit wacky. Its basically a lethality measure for both you and the enemies gunfire. Master makes the game play much more tense, like Rainbow Six Siege style combat. Two or three shots and you're out of business.
 
Veidt

Veidt

Member
Oct 27, 2017
511
hobblygobbly said:
the only mods you need for a vanilla SoC playthrough are:

ZRP (Zone Reclamation Project, they are bug fixes. There are some optional gameplay changes like adding a sleeping bag, but nothing significant, you don't need to select them to install). http://www.metacognix.com/stlkrsoc/
Absolute Nature & Absolute Structures (texture mods, just higher res, not different) http://absolute.crommcruac.com/shadow-of-chernobyl/

Do not install Complete for a first playthrough (or ever IMO), changes gameplay for the worst, makes dumb AI changes, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Did they change how Complete works? Before you could pick what you wanted to install, so you could just select the visual improvements and bug fixes.
 
Sinder

Sinder

Banned
Jul 24, 2018
7,576
Autumn Aurora was unstable as hell last time I tried it. No other more recent graphics overhaul mods? And what makes call of Pripyat look the best? ABR mod?
 
DaciaJC

DaciaJC

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
6,685
When you've gotten comfortable with the mechanics, try out MISERY for Call of Pripyat. One of the best survival game experiences out there.
 
Bryo4321

Bryo4321

Member
Nov 20, 2017
1,513
For those who have finished the games. Call of Chernobyl or it's standalone mod packs like anomaly combine the maps from all the games into one big world map you can travel around and play like a big exclusion zone sandbox. It's brilliant.
 
Oreoleo

Oreoleo

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
1,958
Ohio
RTX ON said:
I just bought SoC and CoP. gonna give CS a miss for now. £9 for both games. Gonna play for a few hours and report back :)

I'll give all mods a pass until my first playthrough is done and ive been advised to quick save almost every 30 seconds.........
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
There is really no downside to installing Zone Reclamation Project. But if you'd rather deal with the bugs that it fixes, go for it I guess lol

Edit: And IIRC you should be manually saving, instead of overwriting the autosave again and again but I could be misremembering.
 

Kadath

Member
Oct 25, 2017
621
There's very little reason to go back to the original games when mods have pushed the engine and the content A LOT further.

The current mods compile all three games into one sandbox, so all the content is there.

One of the better known and more complete is Anomaly: https://www.moddb.com/mods/stalker-anomaly

The only problem jumping into this is that these mods are usually very hard and not welcoming newbies. But with a little effort one can slowly get into the mechanics.
 
OP
OP
RTX ON

RTX ON

Alt Account
Banned
Mar 25, 2019
440
I decided to install Autumn Aurora 2.1, took longer to extract than to download. :p

Visually the game is beautiful, only seen brief glimpses, (opening sequence, helicopter flying over, radioactive anomaly....that killed me lol)

Had all the settings as high as they would go, locked 60 with occasional stutters, a lot better than I was expecting with win 10s notorious compatibility issues.

Can't wait to delve deeper :)

Thanks for the info everyone, much appreciated.
 
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