So two weeks to Clear Sky

[SimpleComplexity]

Oh, a metaphor, I get it. I didn't realize we were critiquing games based not off of real faults, but metaphorical faults. Thanks for your input.

Well sure. It isn't like the design of maps was basically a one big corridor right to Chernobyl NPP with a few branches. Starting with the 1st map which is a one big corridor and ending with maps in the second half of the game - the map before Prypiat even had really small passages.
But hey I can live with that really - however Stalker had lots of another shit like mad respawn, non-existent excuse for a story, boring MMORPG quests, poor area design where locations feel like GSC just decided to throw stuff in them randomly, especially Yantar factory in the middle of the forest with no roads leading to it, enemies wearing some fat armour even if it looks like a jacket (bandits can take 10 bullets to the torso and still live like nothing happened. I remember with first guns it even takes 3 headshots to put one of them down). And that's just in the beginning of the game - whereas in the end it sometimes takes 60 bullets from G36(!) to put one spetsnaz warrior down.
Add to this shitty optimization of the engine and healing sausages.
Stalker is a monument to bad design and laziness. They've spent 6 years just to make a poor alpha version of the game.

I agree on some parts. But how exactly can Stalker:Clear Sky be worse?

 

[MetalCraze]

All people who designed indoors and some of the people who designed outdoors left GSC when Stalker was finished. Apparently they were replaced by some newbies.
So bad level design may be just the first problem. Also according to comments there the game is just more of the same. So big amount of bugs and dumb respawn are still there. Not mentioning the retarded mission design. One post said that the guy joined Duty - but the main storyline quest requires you to talk to Freedom leader in order to continue playing the game. So the guy was basically stuck as everyone in Freedom was automatically hostile towards him.

 

[don_tomaso]

Choices and consequences!

 

[Wyrmlord]

I finished STALKER for the second time on Master difficulty, and I found one glaring flaw. The AI is bad.

Enemies will be staring straight at a wall or somewhere else even as you are standing at their side. They usually just keep moving back and forth on a predefined track, moving in front when they have to fire, and moving back when they have to reload. Sometimes, they won't even bother reacting when I am firing on them.

They need to work on it in Clear Sky.

 

[Fez]

Unless they too plan to make an "enhanced edition" then it is too late now for them to work on it.

Whatever happened to the final patches for STALKER anyway?

 

[Micmu]

Dumb respawn still there?

So long, suckers.

 

[Wyrmlord]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmSVPn2MNgI

First 10 minutes of the game.

 

[MetalCraze]

The intro is pretty cheap. As are the same music and of course counter-strike footsteps sound. Voice acting is traditionally shitty for Stalker. And again those shitty unfunny stalker jokes. The level design got worse which is no wonder due to reasons I wrote above. The camp feels so low on detail. Swamp design is boring as hell too. One option "dialogues" that you have to click are lol as well.
That's all I can tell from this video.

 

[Wyrmlord]

I thought they would take care of the dropping mouths from STALKER. It looks stupid, especially when compared how detailed everything else looks.

 

[MetalCraze]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOdNTQ3TpyM&NR=1

you can forward to 6:40 and see all the magic of the retarded respawn. He was fighting constantly respawning enemies for 3 minutes.
Well done GSC, you know how to make shooters not boring.
And on 8:00 he shot a crow. And how do you think a game showed a death of the crow? I lol'd.

 

[Starwars]

Unfortunately it doesn't even seem like the game has improved upon STALKER judging from a few reviews I've read. It may still be a fun game for FPS fans, but for anyone who was into STALKER because of the great atmosphere it seems to have taken a dive.

http://pc.ign.com/articles/906/906864p2.html

Maybe I'll have a look at this game if mods are released to "subdue" the game into a more slow-paced experience, but for now it looks like I'll skip it (to bad, I had been wanting to put the new computer I'm building to some use in this game as well).

 

[Argosy]

Well, damn.

 

[Kingston]

Well, fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck.

D:

 

[Major_Blackhart]

I'll still get it but I haven't read any reviews yet. I wonder if the game's atmosphere is still as good as the original. People can talk all they want, but till I actually play the game, I'll reserve my self.

 

[The Vanished One]

Judging by the IGN UK review, grenades seem to be what they are in the Oblivion Lost mod. Oh, I like when I'm forced to abandon cover, and when I'm wounded and stunned by a grenade, but way too often it's instant death. Well, perhaps I'm not hardcore enough. Also, I didn't mind the respawn is the original game too much, but even more of it doesn't sound good at all.
Perhaps I'll still get it, if good patches/mods are released.
As for the horrible NPCs and translation... Bloodlines shows us how much a game can be improved by good characters. If only STALKER had NPCs as good as those, It'd be one of the best games ever, no matter the respawn rate. But I'm just dreaming.

 

[Wyrmlord]

Why did Clear Sky have to be a bad game? Argh!

 

[The Vanished One]

That's what I thought as well

 

[St. Toxic]

When will you guys learn that killing all hope, once and for all, is the only way you'll survive the harsh gaming enviroment of tomorrowland?

 

[The Vanished One]