What S.T.A.L.K.E.R. to play? What about the mods?

[Kraszu]

Just finished G3, got tired of 2 minute shitty gameplay for 4 minute of boring cut scene of Mass Effect so I am looking for something new.

 

[baronjohn]

All the STALKERs are good and worth playing. The second one is kind of hard.

 

[Admiral jimbob]

First one's good. Haven't played Clear Sky. Call of Pripyat is great, it's pretty much what I hoped STALKER would be (and what it should have been) from the start; out of all of them, that's the one I'd wholeheartedly and enthusiastically recommend.

 

[Satori (original)]

If you're going for SoC the mods to use are Oblivion Lost if you want enhanced gameplay or AMK if you want atmosphere and challenge.

Play SoC and CoP, skip CS.

 

[Achilles]

Anothe vote for Call of Pripyat.

 

[RatFink]

what you might wann do is check out one of the GAZILLION threads about stalker already posted here!

i dont want to be an asshole, just saying there is everything you want to know already in them

 

[Kraszu]

what you might wann do is check out one of the GAZILLION threads about stalker already posted here!

i dont want to be an asshole, just saying there is everything you want to know already in them

I had made new topic because there could be new mods/patches released. Anyway this topic will get out from the first page soon or it will change into discussion.

 

[DraQ]

The best two are SoC and CoP, CS is comparatively weak, and rather broken.

Chronologically they go:
CS->SoC->CoP
Though it's better to play SoC before CS (unless you decide to give CS a pass).

All STALKERS barring CoP absolutely require patching.

SoC benefits from ZRP mod, but it's not strictly necessary, CS pretty much necessitates modding, CoP works well enough without mods, but given online activation, crack is recommended.

Their relative strength and weaknesses are as follow:

SoC:
+arguably coolest and most diverse artefacts
+underground labs (where numerous bricks are shat)
+least psychotic animals
+numerous dispersed anomalies
+survival aspect (since there is no repair)
+preciousness of good loot (unique armour, weapons and rare artefacts)
+stealth potential (damn hard, but possible and thus satisfactory)
+arguably most atmospheric
+coolest NV of them all
+best grenades
+best GL and SPAS aiming
+multiple endings, two of which require specific optional tasks to be completed and depend on in-game decision, the remaining ones are essentially game overs, but depend on in-game behaviour.
+cool music in the radios in camps, meshes well with the atmosphere
+firing RPG-7 is just
+nice mystery buildup for the majority of the MQ
+least resource demanding

-no repair or upgrade mechanics
-anomalies are fairly conspicuous
-AI doesn't throw grenades and often dies stupidly to environmental hazards (ZRP helps)
-artifact hunting is often trivial and doesn't involve dedicated mechanics
-broken economy
-fairly bright nights
-some enforced linearity
-endgame is fairly heavy on combat and light on the atmosphere
-no anomaly fields with additional environmental hazard
-stash mechanics doesn't reward exploration (this doesn't mean that the entire game doesn't reward exploration as many cool things can be found, only that there is no point searching for unmarked stashes)
-no free play (ZRP can fix that)
-true endings are what due to the final revelation which is what.
-shit sidequests with shit writing
-Sid's door bug (fortunately you can fix it with in-game means)
-fairly buggy
-least visually impressive

CS:
+the most lethal anomalies in the series, challenging anomaly fields with environmental hazards
+upgrade and repair mechanics
+new areas - swamp and especially Red Forest (the latter will make you shit bricks)
+more paths between areas
+spatial anomalies
+guides as a form of paid fast travel
+extensive faction mechanics
+in soviet Ukraine AI popamoles YOU
+arguably the best economy
+improved terminal ballistics (penetration and stuff)
+makes actual use of DX10 if you have it (only noticeable when it rains).
+dark nights
G
+emissions
+that one cave in RF
+Cordon MG sequence

-that one cave in RF
-Cordon MG sequence
-broken in flight ballistics
-most action-centric
-no NPC incapacitation
-invulnerable bloodsuckers
-nerfed grenades
-AI being able to hit you with several of those nerfed grenades directly from half a map away even if you're sitting on a tree top
-broken NV
-broken pistol aiming
-broken GL aiming (with the exception of FN2000 and RG6)
-broken SPAS aiming
-no interesting 'dungeons'
-being able to break your game in one spot by exploring too much
-upgrade mechanics offering little freedom
-endgame clearly made by one person pulling an all-nighter with a laptop and a bottle of vodka, seriously, it's disjointed, linear and alpha version/poor mod bad.
-stash mechanics doesn't reward exploration
-broken AI behaviour making achieving some objectives frustrating
-auto-holster mechanics in camps making achieving some objectives frustrating when broken AI behaviour forces you to go solo
-CTD causing bugs and conditions necessitating reload of often a much earlier save
-buggy, often gamebreakingly
-no requirement to eat
-no unique weapons
-protagonist has a face you'd instinctively shoot

CoP:
+ealborate diverse anomaly fields, often pretty breath taking
+good quests with a lot of nonlinearity and C&C
+least focus on combat, especially with NPCs
+situational perks masquerading as achievements
+polish and attention to detail (Marked by Zone achievement and soundtrack, for example)
+extremely rewarding exploration
+diverse mutant behaviour
+good upgrade mechanics with unrestrictive upgrade trees
+refined and realistic fast travel system using random NPCs and involving cost
+ability to sleep
+separate helmets
+the best artifact hunting (but see the minuses)
+unique weapons are back
+incapacitation is back
+new items including weapons, meds, and different scopes
+decent NV
+dark nights
+free play
+Fallout style ending depending on choices you've made and those you didn't
+atmospheric locations and atmosphere of desolation in Pripyat
+you need to eat again
+the best writing in the series
+emissions
+medics
+the best NPC interaction in the series
+fairly non-buggy
+makes actual use of DX10 if you have it (again, you will only notice it during the rain)

-least lethal anomalies and hazards
-almost complete lack of dispersed anomalies
-stealthy missions with stealth scripted to fail at some point
-GL (with the exception of FN2000 and RG6) and SPAS aiming still broken
-grenades still nerfed (but not as much)
-fairly short (discounting free play)
-few dungeons, not particularly scary
-unfinished Pripyat with artifical restrictions
-economy is broken

All:
-mirrored weapon models, .45 desert eagle
-daily sun movement is seriously fuck up man

 

[Sceptic]

Eh, I'll make the same recommendations as usual.

Clear Sky: not as good as the others, severely lacking in atmospheric labs, but the most difficult and does have some fun to be squeezed out. Use Sky Reclamation Project 1.0 as the only mod.

SoC: the best one atmosphere wise, though a bit broken in some ways. Use with the latest Zone Reclamation Project.

CoP: the best one overall. Works well without any mods.

Play in that order if you want the in-game chronological order.
Ninja: in after DraQ humongous post
Note that the vast majority of bugs/broken stuff DraQ mentioned is fixed by SRP/ZRP.

 

[JrK]

SoC with Complete mod. You don't want anything else.

 

[praetor]

-daily sun movement is seriously fuck up man

this will be fixed (in CoP, at least) when cromm cruac releases the next version of his Atmosfear weather mod (he already posted screenshots with the correct sun position, iirc)

 

[Quilty]

CoP is great, go for that one.

 

[DraQ]

-daily sun movement is seriously fuck up man

this will be fixed (in CoP, at least) when cromm cruac releases the next version of his Atmosfear weather mod (he already posted screenshots with the correct sun position, iirc)

Well, it's pretty minor thing, but inexplicable and therefore derp.

 

[Frau Bishop]

Greetings, oddly Stalker SOC experts!
Is there a way to prevent the HUD from stretching really ugly in 16:9? The 3d world looks ok... but it's still pretty distracting.

 

[lisac2k]

Greetings, oddly Stalker SOC experts!
Is there a way to prevent the HUD from stretching really ugly in 16:9? The 3d world looks ok... but it's still pretty distracting.

SoC: Complete Mod fixes rifles scopes, AFAIK, not sure about other HUD elements.

Complete Mods by Artist Pavel are my general recommendation for any serious, bug-ridden stalking. Currently, there are two of those released, for SoC and CS.

 

[Sceptic]

ZRP also fixes the scopes and ironsights in widescreen, as well as other HUD elements IIRC. I prefer it to complete because it just fixes stuff without introducing anything major, and I feel Complete changes too many things (unless they've made it more modular since).

 

[Gerrard]

Complete Mods by Artist Pavel are my general recommendation for any serious, bug-ridden stalking. Currently, there are two of those released, for SoC and CS.

Not a fan of the CS one, too many changes that go beyond simple improvements (like changing the shotgun reload animations to the stupid movie-like ones that take 3 times as long to perform, even if they are well made).

 

[Frau Bishop]

Installed Complete and it includes ZRP now. HUD still messed up, damn. I'll check if keeps on bothering me after 1-2 hours of play.

What kind of changes do you guys mean? Is there something really bad or annoying in Complete? If yes, what parts would be worth to deactivate manually?

 

[Frau Bishop]

Yep, didn't care about the HUD after some hours.

The nights with Complete are nice, or more spooky that is. And the teleport that comes with ZRP is handy.
But... hell, so much shooter. And not very much anything else. No skills, no exp, no nothing? What am I supposed to do after I max out the equiment? Just kill everyone and finish the damn game?

 

[Jaesun]

First one's good. Haven't played Clear Sky. Call of Pripyat is great, it's pretty much what I hoped STALKER would be (and what it should have been) from the start; out of all of them, that's the one I'd wholeheartedly and enthusiastically recommend.

This. If it only had really fucking cool areas like the Radio Tower and the underground labs as found in the first Stalker (CoP) it would have been orgasmic.

 

[bhlaab]

Call of Pripyat is the best one, but Shadows of Chernobyl has a superior sense of atmosphere that makes it a better introduction to the series.

 

[Jaesun]

Call of Pripyat is the best one, but Shadows of Chernobyl has a superior sense of atmosphere that makes it a better introduction to the series.

Agreed. THAT they did so fucking well in the first one. Hopefully they can re-capture that again in the next title.

 

[xemous]

First one's good. Haven't played Clear Sky. Call of Pripyat is great, it's pretty much what I hoped STALKER would be (and what it should have been) from the start; out of all of them, that's the one I'd wholeheartedly and enthusiastically recommend.

HE'S RIGHT GUYS stalker COP is indeed the best stalker there is. avoid clear sky but

BUT

STALKER SOC HAS SOME OF THE BEST AMBIENT MOMENTS IN ANY VIDEO GAME

COP IS MORE 'FUN'

BUT SOC HAS MORE ATMOSPHERE
I CANT STRESS THAT ENOUGH YOU NEED TO PLAY BOTH


AVOID CLEAR SKY AT ALL COSTS

 

[DraQ]

Call of Pripyat is the best one, but Shadows of Chernobyl has a superior sense of atmosphere that makes it a better introduction to the series.

Agreed. THAT they did so fucking well in the first one. Hopefully they can re-capture that again in the next title.

THIS.

SoC is mandatory as an introduction to the series, introduction to CoP, and atmosphere feast.

Also, SoC had the best artifacts that had varied side effects rather than just artifacts that soak-up radiation and artifacts that do something useful, but radiate. Plus, some of the artifacts could only be found in specific conditions:

Spoiler

Electro artifacts only spawned between midnight and dawn.

Yep, didn't care about the HUD after some hours.

The nights with Complete are nice, or more spooky that is. And the teleport that comes with ZRP is handy.
But... hell, so much shooter. And not very much anything else. No skills, no exp, no nothing? What am I supposed to do after I max out the equiment? Just kill everyone and finish the damn game?

Would grindan add any more sense to playing it in free play mode (added by ZRP) after completing the storyline? Do the MQ, and play as long as you can enjoy it. Also, explore.

AVOID CLEAR SKY AT ALL COSTS

Not really, but unless you really craved more action in SoC, there is little point to playing it, apart from swamp and awesome new part of Red Forest, that can get pretty scary. I suppose that true codexian might also want to play it to experience being on the other end of popamole.

Ending looks more like loosely connected series of alpha conceptual mockups than actual end battle.

 

[JarlFrank]

So, CoP is generally considered to be the best, CS is the least awesome and more linear than the rest, and SoC is the most atmospheric and, while not as good as CoP, still p. awesome?