S.T.A.L.K.E.R is an amazing game...

[zool]

OP, that's a lot of sugar coating considering that all you end up doing is shooting incompetent automatons. I can't pretend to be afraid of enemies which have 5% of human intelligence. I don't fear dying when I can load the game. I don't feel a sense of companionship from listening to some other stalkers' short fireside monologues. I don't believe it's realistic that everyone just wanders around carelessly, with lights on, getting owned by anomalies or any player with half a brain. Maybe shooters will stop sucking when the characters gain more human (rather than war-droid) features. Being sneaky, being overly cautious, shooting while panicked, hiding and trying to talk to you, etc.

Absolutely true, that's why I said the incentive to LARP was strong, which is a shame of course (I didn't need to do that in Fallout). But still, the setting is very original and the atmosphere nicely done. I don't find the AI to be that bad considering it's quite an open world - at least each area is.
To getyour dream game, you would actually need a MMO, so I'd rather play STALKER with its sometimes incompetent AI rather than having to chat with retarded kids "lol i pwned u, i get ur loot".

About the dialogues, STALKER would truly need a LGNPC-like mod. I think I've stumbled upon one once, but I haven't had the chance to try it and it seemed the guy had abandoned his project pretty quickly.

It's a great game that dared to do some things different compared to your usual FPS shlock. Doesn't that count for something?

QFT

 

[laclongquan]

Yawn!

What doings did he describe? Go there, see that, hear something? Any mutated rats nibble on his manhood while resting? Any stalker prostitute offer her ahem for food/safety/goods? Any scarcity of ammo, medical supply and food in a radioactive lands? Anything to prove that this is radioactive wasteland and not a fantastic fairy land?

Call me sceptical but it sound like anyother FPS, albeit put in a so-called radioactive environment. Superficial stuffs.

Peddle your mediocre wares elsewhere, peddler.

 

[Tycn]

I didn't read your wall of text, but yes, Stalker is p. cool.

I never could get Oblivion Lost to run properly though, is it worth giving it a shot?

Yes, if only because it fixes the ballistics so your weapons stop resembling garden hoses and start resembling guns. Every other mod is shit, even with LURK scoped assault rifles are useless by 100m. Unless it was changed, this was a while ago.

 

[Joghurt]

One of the things I hated about STALKER and all the mods is how awesome the first few hours of the game were and after that the game becomes too easy because you had shitloads of ammo and first aid kits. The first hours of STALKER are so awesome because you don't have much ammo and fist aid kids seem really expensive. It really added immersion and element of survival. You check every body and pick up everything you can carry from bodies. After a few hours you don't really have a problem with that stuff and the game becomes boring. None of the mods I've tried could fix this. You still end up with shitloads of ammo and first aid kits after a few hours of gameplay.

Still the game is a remarkable gem compared to other FPS games of that time. And that lab (X18?) with that gravitation anomalies that throw every possible crate, canister and brick at you as you pass by still makes me shit my pants every time I have to go through it.

 

[Multidirectional]

I had a lot of fun with SoC Oblivion Lost before Call of Pripyat came out, even if it had shitload of flaws, great atmosphere still made many of them seem minor to me. However, I doubt I'll ever go back to it after CoP, it has way better exploration and mission design. Although if atmosphere is something you never look for in a videogame, every STALKER installment will probably seem like shit. I'd probably be bored by this game too if it wasn't for it's atmosphere and my slight weed addiction.

 

[Tails]

Amazing? no, below medicore at best. When the atmosphere is very well done, it get's more and more broken by many issues, which were discussed here to death. I finished the game only two times, Vanilla and with Olbivion Lost to see how the free-mode is done (poor). Lost Alpha which is total conversion (see the maps list & videos of features) will be the next reason to install SoC again, thought. They should finish it this year.

 

[Phelot]

It certainly has a lot of flaws and boy do the mainstream journalists pick them apart. But the game does atmosphere and it IS challenging, sadly only at the beginning before you become God of Ammo and Medikits.

It deserves praise because it looks, feels, and plays different from the other stupid shit that is being pushed. It tried new things, some of which maybe didn't work, but that should count for something rather then the same old shit being hyped as new.

 

[MetalCraze]

While I haven't played SoC, I loved CoP and played through it two times. Apparently, it also improves the SoC formula in every possible way, so yeah, get it.

If by improvement you mean making the absolutely unbearably shitty design and gameplay worse then yeah

I remember I was running around the map doing nothing because there was nothing else to do. Then the storm started coming and quest compass started showing me where to hide. I ran into some hangar and hid in the room. Then just a few seconds later a squad of bandits appeared out of thin air in the very same room right in front of me. I killed them then uninstalled this horrible shit to never install it again.

If this is an amazing game then there are no good, let alone mediocre games. Or parents bought you PC just 2 months ago.

 

[Sceptic]

Skyway trying too hard as usual.

The game is fucking beautiful and immensely enjoyable in terms of atmosphere and art design. Sure, the gameplay is kinda broken and the incentive to LARP is strong.

STALKER's great. I don't mind the cookie-cutter sidequests because they give me incentive to explore and look for hidden things on the map without having to resort to LARPing. I never understand people's complaints about the gameplay, high accuracy weapons will kill anything with about 5 bullets and one-hit headshots can be done if you don't expect the computer to do the aiming for you. I find the games' flaws to be relatively minor. SOC and CS are almost bug-free with the latest patches and some kind of unofficial patch (I use ZRP and SRP respectively) and COP seems to do well out of the box. I even like Clear Sky, which probably means DraQ and a few other STALKER fans will douse me with gasoline in a few seconds.

 

[Darth Roxor]

 

[RatFink]

there's no ammo god or immortal pc in AMK mod.
play it on master, and theres fuck all to loot.
if youre lucky +/- 5 rounds left in the dropped weapon of your enemy.
trade artifacts for ammo/weapons/armor/med kits and MAYBE the trader actually HAS what you need and most of the time you dont have the artifact the trader wants. so you scavenge for weapons that suit the ammo you might have and hope the condition is still good enough that it doesnt jam every 3 shots fired.

havent played in a while but im stuck in yantar with about 30 rounds for my scoped m16 and some for my groza...the snorks can take a lot if you miss the head...my exoskeleton has practically no protection anymore but i need to keep it because im carrying a lot of artifacts (for which you need cases now because they radiate you to death if not stored properly) which i couldnt carry with a normal stalker suit.

storing your stuff in stashes is basically out of the question cause other stalkers will loot the shit out of your stuff once you left the place.

its definitely NOT piss easy anymore! and it's my fourth playthrough and has taken me FOREVER to get where i am now and im about halfway through.

after rereading it actually does sound a lot like larping..but well....when youre on a roll and dont die every five steps its great fun and you feel like you accomplished something hrhrhr

 

[MetalCraze]

So you actually installed a mod which makes you spend even more time in an already shitty game where you have absolutely nothing to do but shoot infinitely respawning enemies with an intelligence of a peanut?

Geez I will never understand this.

 

[RatFink]

So you actually installed a mod which makes you spend even more time in an already shitty game where you have absolutely nothing to do but shoot infinitely respawning enemies with an intelligence of a peanut?

nah they changed all this and more

 

[Tails]

If by improvement you mean making the absolutely
unbearably shitty design and gameplay worse then yeah

Care to elaborate?

I remember I was running around the map doing nothing because there was nothing else to do.

How long after starting the game you did have nothing to do?

Then just a few seconds later a squad of bandits appeared out of thin air in the very same room right in front of me. I killed them then uninstalled this horrible shit to never install it again.

Why do you lie? NPCs cannot spawn by themselves inside blowout shelter. If this happen it could be outside, but not in your sight (but your radar can still instantly catch them). I saw this only once on 1.6.01 patch.

 

[MetalCraze]

Care to elaborate?

I elaborated quite well. In previous moneymilking episodes they at least bothered to hide spawnpoints, here they are just right in your face. Also quest compass for hiding spots and attrocious level design. Now it's just a bunch of random buildings and objects in the empty desert.

How long after starting the game you did have nothing to do?

Let's see...
Right away.

Why do you lie? NPCs cannot spawn by themselves inside blowout shelter.

Apparently they can. Because the first two times they've appeared out of thin air and killed me (because I fucking checked that room and it was empty every time). And during the next 2 reloads they spawned again, in the same spot, right in the same time. During the last one I just went into the room they spawn in - and voila. Out of nowhere, around me. It's a shelter on top of the hill next to ships. Looks like a hangar or a warehouse.
And gunplay is still just as awful.

This isn't even a bearable or mediocre game. It's like some cheapass C-class project in the eternal alpha stage since SoC. Even NovaLogic's corridor shit of the past decade is far more enjoyable. At least you can see that it wasn't made in 6 months and has some kind of gameplay.

 

[Fez]

I like STALKER series. It's a good choice of world to base the game in and the atmosphere goes a long way to keeping me playing when others might bore. There's quite a few mods out there too, which helps you tweak it to your own tastes. It's one of the few FPS series I've really enjoyed and went back to in recent years. There's enough random elements and variety to keep it interesting for a play through. I was entertained enough to feel like I got value for money, even if the endgame wasn't always as good as it could be (rather poor in Clear Sky). With the patches and mods the bugs are mostly dealt with, which takes away much of the frustration with the earlier releases.

The large fanbase and mod scene are big pluses. Even Clear Sky has some interesting mods in the work. Total Factional Warfare (I think V1.1 now) has potential.

I'm not much of a fan of the usual concrete corridor shooters and the WW2 games as I've played them all so many times. I get my FPS fun from these, although I'm open to trying out any others that do something different.

Edit: I'm noticing a bit of the negative feeling seems to be towards the 3rd game which I've got, but yet to play through. Have they dramatically changed it some some way I wasn't aware of?

 

[MetalCraze]

nah they changed all this and more

Last time I've checked it still sucked just as hard with AMK.
It still was a corridor shooter from the starting area right down to the NPP except now with fluff.
Respawns and awfully dumb AI that can only do "spawn at point A, move to point B, shoot everyone marked as enemy along the way" went nowhere. Shitty design "join freedom and fight every time you pass through Duty's map" went nowhere. But why would you join any of them? They are boring and have nothing to offer. Absolutely attrocious MMO-shit "kill X guys, bring Y crap" went nowhere.
There is nothing redeeming about this "game", I don't understand how anyone can have fun in it. By LARPing that you are a Stalker probably? I mean it's even worse than Just Cause

 

[Tails]

I elaborated quite well. In previous moneymilking episodes they at least bothered to hide spawnpoints, here they are just right in your face.
(..)
And during the next 2 reloads they spawned again, in the same spot, right in the same time. During the last one I just went into the room they spawn in - and voila. Out of nowhere, around me. It's a shelter on top of the hill next to ships. Looks like a hangar or a warehouse.

It seems we played different games or you just (again) exaggerate. NPC always use the same safe spots like you, never spawn into the exact place.

attrocious level design. Now it's just a bunch of random buildings and objects in the empty desert.

What expect from a person who decided to hate the series no matter what? you repeat the same stuff from Nicolai thread. Probably in your extended game session you missed underground locations and few other things. I fail a bit to see what more had maps from SoC to offer, which were smaller.

Let's see...
Right away.

That's why no one takes you seriously any more. Probably you didn't even bother to check out the side tasks, since game sucks anyway, eh?

Apparently they can. Because the first two times they've appeared out of thin air and killed me (because I fucking checked that room and it was empty every time).

On Zaton or Jupiter? I wonder who killed you, since Stalkers and Bandits are neutral to you, same with Freedom and Duty. Only Mercs from NPCs could kill you, and they cannot even suddenly spawn, since they occupy specify areas.

And gunplay is still just as awful.

Beside that it isn't realistic I can't see nothing awful about it.

This isn't even a bearable or mediocre game. It's like some cheapass C-class project in the eternal alpha stage since SoC. Even NovaLogic's corridor shit of the past decade is far more enjoyable. At least you can see that it wasn't made in 6 months and has some kind of gameplay.

Of course it is, like Oblivion is better from Assassin Creed 2 now. You are getting repetitive buddy.

 

[MetalCraze]

It seems we played different games or you just (again) exaggerate. NPC always use the same safe spots like you, never spawn into the exact place.

Except they do spawn by the will of the trigger.
There is no life in that world, just a bunch of sand-in-the-eyes triggers.

What expect from a person who decided to hate the series no matter what? you repeat the same stuff from Nicolai thread.

Tells that nothing has changed since SoC huh?
If I decided to hate series so much why did I give CoP a try? In fact after reading all fapping of the Codex members about how CoP is totally different and gut I thought - may be I'm indeed too critical? Maybe I should give a game a try (just like with Ass Creed 2). Then I launched it and was FFFFUUUU. Now I know better than to trust faggots who came here past Failout 3 release date.

Probably in your extended game session you missed underground locations and few other things. I fail a bit to see what more had maps from SoC to offer, which were smaller.

They were far more detailed and that's all. Underground locations make the absolutely dead and boring world better how?

That's why no one takes you seriously any more. Probably you didn't even bother to check out the side tasks, since game sucks anyway, eh?

Probably because side tasks are all about shitty FedEx?

I wonder who killed you, since Stalkers and Bandits are neutral to you, same with Freedom and Duty. Only Mercs from NPCs could kill you, and they cannot even suddenly spawn, since they occupy specify areas.

I robbed a few bandits beforehand on the bridge.

Beside that it isn't realistic I can't see nothing awful about it.

Let's see. Guns are shit - all of them. They can't deal any real damage to unarmoured targets (7-10 bullets to put down a guy in the leather jacket, are you kidding me?), they can't hit for shit. Bullets are flying everywhere but where I aim. The effective range of AK is about 50 meters (compared to 400m IRL). Of course it isn't realistic, it's just crap.

Of course it is, like Oblivion is better from Assassin Creed 2 now. You are getting repetitive buddy.

No how about you'll post what's so good about Stalker instead? There wasn't a single argument from people in this thread besides "durr hurr" and "I can LARP that I'm in the ZONE immershun". You can fight the decline.

 

[entertainer]

 

[Multidirectional]

I sometimes feel sorry for the guy, I think he feels an actual physical pain whenever someone likes something he doesn't. That's gotta be tough.

 

[Darth Roxor]

I thought - may be I'm indeed too critical?

Just who are you trying to fool? All you posted here is absolute and utter bullshit, you're not even *TRYING* to form a proper argument anymore. I bet you didn't play CoP for longer than 5 minutes (if any) and checked some 3 or 4 videos on jewtube before passing your 'verdict'.

 

[Konjad]

the only stalker i liked was first one, because it had good atmosphere, unlike sequels

 

[Twinkle]

Edit: I'm noticing a bit of the negative feeling seems to be towards the 3rd game which I've got, but yet to play through. Have they dramatically changed it some some way I wasn't aware of?

They've toned down enemy numbers and respawn rate. You can travel through half of the map without firing a single shot. CoP has more focus on exploration compared to previous stalkers.

I've never witnessed in-your-face respawn Metalcraze described.

Let's see. Guns are shit - all of them. They can't deal any real damage to unarmoured targets (7-10 bullets to put down a guy in the leather jacket, are you kidding me?), they can't hit for shit. Bullets are flying everywhere but where I aim. The effective range of AK is about 50 meters (compared to 400m IRL). Of course it isn't realistic, it's just crap.

That's a valid complaint. You'll need to fully upgrade the gun to see it behave more or less like it should. Fuck that RPG shit in my shooters, seriously.

 

[StrangeCase]

I never witnessed bots spawning right in front of me.

It can happen occasionally. One mission in particular has you guarding some guys while they measure anomalies. There's a spawn point about ten feet away from them, and people frequently run into magically appearing (usually unfriendly) Stalkers there.

That said, random bandits never spawn hostile by default. Killing several of them wouldn't make any difference unless modded to do so. I don't know what happened in Skyway's case.

 

[Wyrmlord]

I thought the last level with the portals was amazing. (An alternative end level, if you make extra effort)

It's rare - that sense of urgency while also having to slowly make your way through hundreds of heavily armed fanatics armoured from head to toe scatterred everywhere.

I personally remember those mindless ruthless drones of the Monolith as being a truly freaky thing to see in a videogame.