STALKER Shadow of Chernobyl Mod Thread

[spectre]

DraQ, I think you need to play more Misery.

This. I had my ups and downs with it, but overall I concede that it gave we what I wanted from CoP.
If you can into modding and are able to tweak it a bit, it might just be heavan.
I now even forgive it crashing every few loads.

EDIT: Another scripting gem. Here I am at the Yanov, minding my business, when suddenly I hear buckshot popping right next to me. Turns out, a pack of zombies just rolled into the station. None of the guys inside react.

I even had a dilemma in my game where Garry wanted my Kolobok (a very important artifact in the short/mid-game) but I hadnt found a better healing artifact (nor another Kolobok) up til that point.

QFT. I remember healing was a real pita until I got the first kolobok. Without it, I had to go to the medic after every short excursion. I even postponed the missing stalkers quest for that very reason.
Thankfully, Bear is enough to find it and it's a guaranteed spawn in the tree nest.

It seems it's important to stroll around Zaton with your thing out (Veles, I mean), as my second Kolobok just rolled out of the grass near one of the main roads near the scar anomaly. I think it also happened in vanilla CoP.

Regarding the spawns, I always had the impression that you need to wait a few emissions so that the anomaly gets filled with low tier artifacts, until you get the good stuff and emissions only refill anomalies on the map you are on.
I may be wrong though though.

 

[DraQ]

I need to play *some* misery.

 

[Sodafish]

Going back to SoC Complete. Something very interesting happened – I was send to get a special rifle in the dark valley for a duty guy. When I get there, I cant find the rifle, and the indicator on the map changes to Agroprom institute. I think “WTF ?” and go there. Then, when I reach Agroprom, the map location indicates a place on the underground. So I enter it and start looking for the rifle until I find it in the corpse of a fucking bandit! The motherfucker robbed the rifle from dark valley and brought it to Agroprom!

This happened to me too, but I don't think it's a mistake. The brief for the mission mentioned the dark valley, but for me the destination was always set to the Agroprom. Also, it was in fact the target down in the underground, not some random dude.

 

[Sodafish]

Anyhoo, just finished SoC complete.

Spoiler

So I got a nice surprise with the ending, destroying the C-conciousness, as I totally missed this when I played it originally; at that time I got one of the "derp" endings, and didn't know any better. In fairness, it was when the game first came out and was bugged to shit, with a lot of the quests breaking etc, so I must not have been able to find the Doctor and hence the door decoder. The bit right at the end with all the teleports was a bit bloody tedious though, eh?

 

[spectre]

I need to play *some* misery.

Excuses, excuses, just do it faggit.

 

[Silva]

Anyhoo, just finished SoC complete.

So, how are you feeling after knowing the Zone is in fact

Spoiler

a result of some eggheads delusional experiments, instead of something actually related to the Chernobyl accident ?

It seems it's important to stroll around Zaton with your thing out (Veles, I mean), as my second Kolobok just rolled out of the grass near one of the main roads near the scar anomaly.

WTF ? I think Ill keep an eye out next time, then.

By the way, did someone played as sniper ? I finished it as recon the first time, and didnt like the comments about the Fatty guy (assault). So I was thinking maybe the Sniper is a good choice for when Misery 2 comes out.

 

[Sodafish]

It seems it's important to stroll around Zaton with your thing out (Veles, I mean), as my second Kolobok just rolled out of the grass near one of the main roads near the scar anomaly.

WTF ?

Anyhoo, just finished SoC complete.

So, how are you feeling after knowing the Zone is in fact

Spoiler

a result of some eggheads delusional experiments, instead of something actually related to the Chernobyl accident ?

Either explanation is just as silly really, it's just nice to have the real picture. On that topic, however: does one of the endings become canon in the later games, or do they leave it open?

 

[Silva]

Soda, dont know about Clear Sky, but in CoP Strelok is

Spoiler

alive nd still stalking the Zone. So I think the "good" ending becomes more or less canon.

And did you notice Strelok actually hesitates in its final words ? As if he still had a small doubt between destroying the consciousness and actually making his wish and giving the world a fuck ?

I wish they had linked the series backstory with that of Roadside Picninc somehow:

The Chernobyl accident could have acted as a beacon, attracting the first "Visit". Then the first Zone is created. Then Stalker 2 could take place in Japan, in the region of this last nuclear meltdown. And Strelok would be there, more senior, just like the old Solid Snake from MGS 4, he would be looking for another "wish granting monolyth" for making the wish he opted not to in the first zone.. while fighting tentacle raping monsters and other japanese-inspired monsters.

Ok, forget. Too gonzo.

But the plot of an old greyed Strelok changing his mind and looking for the Wish Granter again would be cool, huh ?

 

[Sodafish]

Nice idea regarding the non-hentai old Strelok, but there are some problems. I thought

Spoiler

that the Monolith wasn't actually real, being either some kind of hologram (as hinted at in the final room of the secret base), or an entirely illusionary object implanted in the minds of any potential witnesses by the C-consciousness? Also, if Strelok had escaped the CNPP it could only mean he had destroyed the C-consciousness, so unless he was later struck with amnesia (yawn) he would know the whole thing was a crock, so why go back?

 

[CreamyBlood]

I've had SoC for a few years but never played more than an hour. I've just installed it with the Complete mod and am enjoying it. If anything I think the combat is easier though but that might be due to not playing at 20fps.

I do have a few issues though. The first is the mouse sensitivity in the interface (PDA, inventory, Main Menu, etc). It is slow. While playing, it is set to what I like it but I can't find a way to change it for the interface. I have to pick up and move my mouse to click around. Annoying, but I'm getting used to it so it's not a game breaker.

The major problem I'm having is with the FOV. I grew up with games like quake and on a 4:3 monitor 90 was default. Much less than that and I start getting a bit woozy after a couple of hours. I had to stop playing last night because of it.

On a wide screen 16:9 the equivilent FOV should be around 105. The max I can set it with STALKER FOV SWITCHER v1.7 is 90, which would be fine on a 4:3 monitor for me but still doesn't work for me on a widescreen. I'm not sure what the default is, something around 70 I'm guessing.

The other FOV switcher I found allows me to set the aspect ratio to a max of 1.75 (should be 1.77777 for 16:9) and a FOV of 105, but it pulls the camera back. So I'm in freaking 3rd person!

I guess my only hope is to leave it at 90 and figure out how to disable motion blur and depth of field and see if that works.

I suppose another option would be to set it to a 4:3 rez and put a 21" CRT on my desktop. Not going to happen. Or see if my monitor supports adding bars on the edges of the screen and running in some fucked up rez.


DEFAULT FOV 16:9

FOV 90 - 16:9 (FOV SWITCHER v1.7)

FOV 105 - 16:9 (stalker1fov1.3)

 

[Silva]

Nice idea regarding the non-hentai old Strelok, but there are some problems. I thought

Spoiler

that the Monolith wasn't actually real, being either some kind of hologram (as hinted at in the final room of the secret base), or an entirely illusionary object implanted in the minds of any potential witnesses by the C-consciousness? Also, if Strelok had escaped the CNPP it could only mean he had destroyed the C-consciousness, so unless he was later struck with amnesia (yawn) he would know the whole thing was a crock, so why go back?

Shit, youre right. I tripped in my own imagination and was assuming the monolyth was

Spoiler

a real rock from space or something, but youre right, its jsut a illusion, anh hologram created by the consciousness

Nah, forget it.

 

[Cowboy Moment]

Nice idea regarding the non-hentai old Strelok, but there are some problems. I thought

Spoiler

that the Monolith wasn't actually real, being either some kind of hologram (as hinted at in the final room of the secret base), or an entirely illusionary object implanted in the minds of any potential witnesses by the C-consciousness? Also, if Strelok had escaped the CNPP it could only mean he had destroyed the C-consciousness, so unless he was later struck with amnesia (yawn) he would know the whole thing was a crock, so why go back?

Shit, youre right. I tripped in my own imagination and was assuming the monolyth was

Spoiler

a real rock from space or something, but youre right, its jsut a illusion, anh hologram created by the consciousness

Nah, forget it.

Spoiler

Truthfully, there was a good way to retcon SoC's true ending, by making it a double troll, a more elaborate version of the fake endings. Everything that happens after you open the locked door in CNPP would just be a huge hallucination cooked up the by the Wish Granter. It makes sense thematically, if you think about it. The Wish Granter is supposed to grant a person's biggest wish in an ironically twisted way, and what Strelok wants most is to learn the truth about the Zone's origin. So, the Wish Granter would cook up this elaborate conspiracy that explains everything and allows Strelok to move on with the belief that he had solved the mystery. Even the awkwardness of the ending would make sense then, because having the huge exposition dump at the end would be explained by the Wish Granter having to cram that shit in somewhere for Strelok's benefit.

Also, there are some inconsistencies between the games that could also be explained by the C-Consciousness reveal being fake. It is revealed in SoC that C-Consciousness causes emissions, but they still happen in CoP after they've supposedly been killed. Also, even though some Monolith soldiers have been freed from the mind control, others continue to fight and presumably take orders from someone. And so forth...

Of course, this can't work anymore after Clear Sky confirmed all the C-Consciousness shit. Pity.

 

[Surf Solar]

CreamyBlood - how did you manage to get a 3rd person camera?

---

Since Misery kept on crashing on me unfortunately and, I have to admit, is very hard for me as a STALKER newbie, I decided to postpone my CoP playthrough until Misery 2.0 is out and play SoC instead. I don't know why, but I like it better (SoC that is). It is "tighter" in terms of gameplay, everything is more fluent somehow. I discover a new map, do all the quests and hidden stashes there, get killed by anomalies that lure me in them with artifacts placed infront of them explore a bit on my own etc. It's more fun to me, and kinda more creepy too. The weapon progression seems to be better. (Pistol->AKS-74U->that H&K smg->AK-74 etc), I am missing weapon attachments or gasmasks/overlays though. I am right now in the tunnels under the Agroprom Institute after fending off the military raid and I just met my first Bloodsucker. That son of a bitch almost killed me swallowing so many rounds. oO Those tunnels are creepy as hell and I am starting to realize what people mean that the underground levels are very scary. I like it.

Is it actually worth it to loot all the bandits, take their rifles with me etc? I am always at ~60kg weight having to throw away stuff that is not worth that much, I haven't found a moneysink/trader that sells me really valuable stuff yet. But, this game is really amazing.

 

[Sodafish]

Press F3 for third person.

It's not worth it picking up loads of the common shit weapons, unless it's to unload them for the ammo. Money is definitely NOT a problem in SoC. I think I ended the game with like 160k, and that was with skipping most of the sidequests. There's rarely (if ever) a need to spend big bucks on stores items, as they can be found out and about in the world, or are given as quest rewards.

Also Surf Solar, if you think the underground tunnels are creepy, wait until you get to X18

 

[Multidirectional]

CreamyBlood - STALKER uses vertical FOV, not horizontal, 90 vertical FOV is WAY too much, i wouldn't even go over 70 if i was you. You should be getting some serious fish-eye effect with it. Generally 63 Vertical FOV is considered perfect for 16:9.

 

[spectre]

Misery is mostly hard at the very beginning, though I wouldn't recommend it if you're a CoP newbie. Knowing the lay of the land helps immensely.

I usually start by doing the following: first priority is get a better detector. In vanilla cop you could do the Missing Stalkers quest quickly and get Veles straight off the bat. However, Bears are pretty easy and cheap to get and they allow you to get Wrenched (its guaranteed to be in the hole in the ground next to the burnt farmstead you need a gasmask and/or an antidote) and Kolobok (guaranteed to be in the nest on top of the twisted tree). This takes care of healing for you which means you can now do the missing stalkers quest and get the veles, as you no longer need to rely on the medic.
Right next to the places where you find the two aforementioned artefacts you'll get a free upgraded gas mask and a sunrise suit. 3 artifact slots means you can pop in two +6 protection artefacts, allowing you to safely traverse toxic fumes, fire and electricity.
If you happen across a second kolobok, you can now heal pretty fast on your own. This effectively makes you self sufficient and able to get as much artefacts (and money) as you need for all the equipment upgrades.
The artifacts pretty much eliminate the need for meds, so I just sell all that for nice cash. Though leave a few medikits to help a stalker in need.

I recommend getting a NV upgrade for the steel helmet as soon as possible. You get one for free as a possible reward for Unreachable Stash. Without it, night excursions and caves are a pain.

For weapons, the honorary pmm is pretty effective vs. humans on a headshot. For mutants you need a good shotgun. Killing a bandit for should be easy and it'll allow you to eliminate snorks and bloodsuckers, which otherwise might have been dangerous.
At this point, the only monster that may cause you trouble are the zombies. For those you need a scoped, long range rifle. Abakan is good for this, so is L85, depending on your luck with ammo. You should get a few hundred 5.56x39 near the nerve gas canister, 5.56 x 54 can be bought easily.

At this point, the game remains challenging, but you are more or less set.

 

[Surf Solar]

Press F3 for third person.

Damn, I feel stupid now. Thanks!

You were definitely right, I just jumped up on my chair in those tunnels, I even let FRAPS record it. :D That level had some quite interesting design, having to shoot enemies on some different axis than I am used to.



WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THAT THING AT THE END? I first thought it was some kind of glitch...I am playing with headphones and this sharp beep almost raped my eardrums jesus christ. Are all "high tier" enemies such huge bullet sponges? Paused the game for now, it's really funny, I can play other "scary" games just fine, but this gives me the creeps..

BTW Sodafish - I am playing with Complete too and I have the same slow mouse movement in the UI. You get used to it.

Ninja-Edit - Ok, just found out, it is a "Controller". What the fuck...

 

[Sodafish]

Yeah controllers can be annoying, but one of their major weaknesses is they don't do that psychic GET OVER HERE when you're close up to them. They don't even melee you, but just try to retreat. Just sprint up to them with a shottie and unload a few rounds of buckshot. Job done.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

OH GOD THE HEAD BOBBING IN SOC, WHAT IS THIS EVIL WHY AM I PLAYING AS AN ORANGUTAN

Luckily I could disable it simply editing a TXT file in the game folder. At least they seem to have learned how nasty that was, Clear Sky didn't have that. I actually walked to the bathroom thinking I would puke

 

[Cowboy Moment]

Surf Solar, if you're finding STALKER that scary, you should definitely fraps yourself going through X18.

 

[potatojohn]

Did the devs patch repair into vanilla later or is it only in mods?

 

[DraQ]

I see that muzzle flash is off-center. :/

I also see that Controler doesn't rape you as much in Complete as in vanilla/ZRP.

And yeah,

for X18.

 

[Silva]

Getting to Agroprom now (re-started SoC with Oblivion Lost mod this time) and I have a (possibly stupid) question: How do get to the institute by NIGHT ? Is it possible to sleep in the Strelok place and get out from the manhole and infiltrate the base at night ?

(This is something I find cool about the Stalker games - the cycle day/night is not only pure aesthetics, the "ecology" acts accordingly and actually goes to sleep)

 

[Silva]

Spoiler

Truthfully, there was a good way to retcon SoC's true ending, by making it a double troll, a more elaborate version of the fake endings. Everything that happens after you open the locked door in CNPP would just be a huge hallucination cooked up the by the Wish Granter. It makes sense thematically, if you think about it. The Wish Granter is supposed to grant a person's biggest wish in an ironically twisted way, and what Strelok wants most is to learn the truth about the Zone's origin. So, the Wish Granter would cook up this elaborate conspiracy that explains everything and allows Strelok to move on with the belief that he had solved the mystery. Even the awkwardness of the ending would make sense then, because having the huge exposition dump at the end would be explained by the Wish Granter having to cram that shit in somewhere for Strelok's benefit.

Also, there are some inconsistencies between the games that could also be explained by the C-Consciousness reveal being fake. It is revealed in SoC that C-Consciousness causes emissions, but they still happen in CoP after they've supposedly been killed. Also, even though some Monolith soldiers have been freed from the mind control, others continue to fight and presumably take orders from someone. And so forth...

Of course, this can't work anymore after Clear Sky confirmed all the C-Consciousness shit. Pity.

Great ideas. It would be cool to see Stalker 2 following this line and reveal that everything was fake to begin with.

But what about the "true" Zone origins ? I think it should be

Spoiler

linked to Chernobyl disaster somehow.

Did you read Roadside Picnic ? I think they could drink more from this source.

 

[MasPingon]

Going stealth there is a pain in the ass. I managed to reach second floor unnoticed, but then NPC's started to spawn behind my back and AI seemed to go crazy