Tell me about the STALKER games.

[Zombra]

A buddy of mine just gifted me Shadow of Chernobyl, Clear Sky, and Call of Pripyat.

This series has always been on the periphery of my perception, and the Codex always mentions it in hushed, reverential tones, like the time a young Sophia Loren sucked cocaine syrup off their dicks. I don't really believe it happened, but if I have the chance to have the same thing maybe I should check it out ...

So: are these games worth playing now? Bearing in mind that I don't have a lot of patience for crappy old UIs, clunky inventory systems, busywork, and bad design generally, do I want to actually play one or more of these in current year?

If so, which should I start with and why?

Thanks in advance for sharing your relevant opinions and experience.

 

[jebsmoker]

start with shadow of chernobyl. apply this community patch:

http://www.metacognix.com/files/stlkrsoc/index.html

i really don't want to spoil anything, so all i'm going to say is go into soc with a fresh mind and experience it. there's a reason why people go back to it despite its rough edges

 

[Viata]

I have not played the second game, the third game had some cool stuff(weapon modifications), but the first game was my favorite. What a game. The less you know about the game before playing it, the better it is.

 

[jebsmoker]

i concur. don't look up anything, just go in after you install the patch

 

[JDR13]

I don't recommend vanilla. Get one of the basic mods that adds some bells & whistles without changing the gameplay or story.

 

[Ghulgothas]

For Clear Sky, install this patch, none of the opt-in optional features at the end are necessary. Call of Pripyat is remarkably stable out of the box, and doesn't demand you install a community patch like the other two games.

So: are these games worth playing now? Bearing in mind that I don't have a lot of patience for crappy old UIs, clunky inventory systems, busywork, and bad design generally, do I want to actually play one or more of these in current year?

Yes, they absolutely are. They are forever timeless. They all share some design trends that develop as time went on, but each one is markedly unique in or more aspects. YMMV, but Clear Sky is the most experimental, and Call of Pripyat is the most refined. Keep in mind, these games are big on the sim side of things, so some jank is expected even with the best of patches; it's a result of ambition that shines through for the most part.

If so, which should I start with and why?

Order of release is advisable. Shadow of Chernobyl, Clear Sky, then Call of Pripyat. If for whatever reason the first two bounce you off, try Pripyat. It was the last of the trilogy, and is by far the most polished and in my opinion, the most well-realized and self-contained.

 

[ADL]

The campaigns are good. Vanilla SoC hasn't aged particularly well and it's been a while since I've played the campaigns so I don't know what mods you should get. Order of release is recommended. If you really like what they call the "A-Life system" download https://www.moddb.com/mods/stalker-anomaly (standalone) which combines all three game's levels and turns it into a massive sandbox full of emergent gameplay that you can spend thousands of hours in.

A-Life is the brain behind everything that happens within the fictional zone of alienation, which is a term used for the Chernobyl exclusion zone within the game and in real life. It controls how things happen and how things react around the player’s actions. There is a limit to this, however, and this is labelled as offline and online A-Life as a way to save from performance issues.

Actions carried out by the player cause ripples through the actions of the AI, updating as the player traverses the world. The idea behind the simulation is to make it seem like AI between loading zones are moving and active. It works extremely well even though to some degree it is just smoke and mirrors from GSC Game World—a convincing simulation of how a human would react if put into the shoes of an NPC.
https://blackshellmedia.com/2017/08/12/a-life-an-insight-into-ambitious-ai/

Just to be clear I don't recommend Anomaly to newcomers as the first thing you play but if you're gravitating towards fucking around with the A-Life system and that's more fun to you than the story progression, why not just play Anomaly?

 

[normie]

this is an analmeme-free zone

 

[jebsmoker]

yeah please don't ever recommend coc forks to anyone who is new to the series. that'll just throw someone off and make them possibly unaware of the wacky world of russian total conversions

 

[Zombra]

Thanks bros.

For the Zone Reclamation Patch, I see many optional features. While I recognize there are going to be a lot of personal preferences here, should I generally leave it set to the patch team defaults?

Note that I will probably only play the game once, and while I recognize the virtue of the "vanilla experience", I am not a "purist" and am happy to take advantage of quality of life improvements for the best experience.

Patch elements grouped by "on" or "off" default

Non-optional:
* bardak's "Patch 1.0004 bug fix attempt" (the mod's foundation)
* Respawner Control (NatVac)
* Widescreen inventory tweak (nandersen)
* Dynamically-added Level Changers (NatVac from bardak/IG2007)
* PSZ-7 soldier outfit support (ZaGaR and Storm Shadow State)
* Bug-fix parts of jrmy's New Weapon Positions (jrmy, MrSeyker)

Optional, enabled by default:
* Autosaves are now renamed or copied for each level (NatVac)
* EggChen's revamped particles.xr (remove if you want to use his
Particle Enhancement mod)
* GP37 (G36) with grenade and silencer support (SiriusStarr)
* The Zone Is Open, with free play (NatVac with TSL16b dialogs)
* Intra-level Teleport (NatVac)
* HUD Time-of-day (NatVac)
* Better Inventory/Trade/Search Screens (NatVac) -- more below
* Longer Quest Time Limits, Etc. (NatVac)
* NPC Chatter Control (NatVac)
* Show Reward Mini Mod v1.03 for ZRP (onionradish)
* Unwanted Side Task Rejection (NatVac)
* WideScreen Inventory Size (Raw)

Optional, not enabled by default:
* Stalkers Are Not Blind (Red75, with NatVac tweaks)
* Dunin Ammo Aggregation (IG2007)
* Screw (Freedom) Repair (NatVac from Shebuka idea)
* Captain Ivantsov (Duty) Repair (NatVac/Mr. Fusion from BobBQ
solution to a motiv-8 suggestion)
* Explosives Carry (NatVac from NoMore info)
* Fire Dynamic Lighting Support (EggChen)
* Freedom Vs. Duty (MrSeyker)
* Real Gun Names (MrSeyker)
* Quest Overhaul (Decane with NatVac update), with icon image
* The MonoMartyrs Seek Revenge (NatVac)
* Artifact Swap (NatVac)
* Outfit Protection Info (NatVac)
* MP5 retexture, for a special weapon (Warpig)
* No Head-Bobbing (PiIsARational via Paddywak)
* Sleeping Bag (Speed/Ab@dDon/fatrap/NatVac)
* AIPack (xStream tweaked by ZaGar, NatVac, BobBQ)
* xStream's Grenadier (adapted by ZaGaR)
* Rulix (Bak) AI Additions (adapted by NatVac/BobBQ)
* Trade/Search Screen improvements (NatVac, fitzroy_doll)
* ZRP Debug (NatVac)
* ZRP Support Utilities (NatVac)

 

[jebsmoker]

just curate what sounds good and what doesnt

 

[Ivan]

one of the best survival horror/FPS experiences that can be had. play on Master difficulty, lethal gunplay both ways.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

obviously vanilla:
1) masterpiece despite its issues
2) meh
3) retarded trash

 

[Tacgnol]

I've never enjoyed Clear Sky a great deal, even with unofficial patches and fixes. It really feels like the red headed step child of the trilogy.

Both SHOC and Call of Pripyat are great. I remember many Codexers pointing out, over a decade ago infact, that COP actually had more C&C and reactivity than a lot of the RPGs of the day (not that the bar was amazingly high back in 2009.)

As for ZRP, I'd probably just go with the defaults for the first playthrough. If you want some eyecandy upgrades then use the absolute texture upgrade series of mods, they are fully compat with ZRP:

http://www.absolute.crommcruac.com/shadow-of-chernobyl/ (the nature pack, there is an absolute structure pack for buildings as well)

 

[wishbonetail]

Call of Pripyat rivals fallouts in my library, the vibe is there and it is real. FalloutNV feels like kindergarten stage performance in comparison. More on the rpg/simulation side than fps (i finished it with starting HonoraryPMM pistol on master difficulty). Open world, quests, rewards, resourse management. GoG release is polished enough without silly mods.

Shadow is more of an fps. Still open world, nice exploration, thick atmosphere. Devolves into non stop action towatds the end, so I never finished it. This one is Not polished and should be modded (at least the perpetual bandit respawns).

Clear sky is a straight linear shooter. Ignore it if you dont have mad fps skillz.

Tldr Stalker CoP is the one and only Stalker game.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

Bearing in mind that I don't have a lot of patience for crappy old UIs, clunky inventory systems, busywork, and bad design generally,

But... but that's like our whole thing.

 

[Nigromancer]

Stalker encapsulated in one picture:

Don't start on stalker. Once you play it , so many other games will be banal shit boring, and you'll forever be cursed with higher standards.

 

[Gostak]

Man, STALKER is awesomecakes.
Roadside Picnic and the Stalker movie are as well. When SoC was in development / nearing in completion and the gaming mags
full of stuff on it, I knew good shit was coming to me once I would have a rig able to run it (I had a lot of patience, though as a good cheapskate).

I recommend Stalkersoup. http://www.tecnobacon.com/ https://stalkersoup.forumotion.com/
Warning: It's for real men. :D

Spoiler

From what I played of Oblivion Lost Remake 2.5 it also kept the atmosphere good.

Spoiler

Anonther obligatory meme:

 

[Tacgnol]

I recommend Stalkersoup.

Definitely not for a first playthrough.

 

[Starwars]

Call of Pripyat is probably the best one objectively speaking but there is something about the first game that is just sublime. Broken and disappointing though it was on release. Looking back on it, man, I had some really fun and tense times with that game when it came out.
I replayed it a couple of years back and it was still very much worth playing then. It's just really fun and unique to play despite its problems, and the setting is just out of this world. Dripping with atmosphere.

Clear Sky wasn't for me at all.

I really liked Call of Pripyat when I played it and I was going to replay it after I did my Shadow of Chernobyl replay, but for some reason I had a hard time getting it to run on the computer I had at the time. Should give it a go again, it's been a while and I don't remember much of it.

 

[Impressive Organ]

SoC has jankiness so endearing you'll never forget it. I still think about the guy who never stops saying "Get out of here Stalker" almost every day.

 

[normie]

SoC is the best; CoP is too loosey goosey, undirected, uncurated, and its handling of anomalies with its puzzle fields is too much in the direction of Ubisoft's free worlds - the overall vibe is too gamified and makes it lack in immersiveness compared to SoC. The act of killing itself lacks the heft I feel it has in SoC.

CS has the swamp map, though, which is the best map in the series, but the problem with the swamp map is that it's in Clear Sky.

 

[Riskbreaker]

Particularly annoying thing about Clear Sky is that its original locations, especially the swamps, are actually really good as locations. It's what they are used for that is the problem so much so that in the end they are the least Stalkery parts of the whole thing. The start in the swamps, the area that would've been perfect for slow, lonely exploration, is an active, messy battlefield between two factions. The last portion of the game, from the battle at the bridge to Limansk onwards, plays like a standard 00s setpiece FPS.

 

[robinox]

SoC is the best; CoP is too loosey goosey, undirected, uncurated, and its handling of anomalies with its puzzle fields is too much in the direction of Ubisoft's free worlds - the overall vibe is too gamified it and makes it lack in immersiveness compared to SoC. The act of killing itself lacks the heft I feel it has in SoC.

I agree. Also I very much preferred SoC locations.

 

[HumanTotemPole]

SoC is the best; CoP is too loosey goosey, undirected, uncurated, and its handling of anomalies with its puzzle fields is too much in the direction of Ubisoft's free worlds - the overall vibe is too gamified it and makes it lack in immersiveness compared to SoC. The act of killing itself lacks the heft I feel it has in SoC.

Absolutely. CoP is still very good. The best locations are excellent but it suffers from the themeparkitis now pathognomonic of open world design.