S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl

[Tacgnol]

actually they just seem to be mockups made in photoshop

Most of those do seem to be old mockups, but a couple definitely made it in to alpha and beta builds.

You can see that PDA UI at approx 31:20 in this long ass video dissecting every single build.

 

[jebsmoker]

the sons of the builds have struck again today...

"GRIGOROVICH, BITCH!!! GREETINGS FROM THE SONS OF THE BUILDS."

they don't strike often, but when they do, they strike hard and share their gains with everyone. i remember going to gameru like every day for new threads about leaked prototypes. today was a momentous day

 

[Major_Blackhart]

Been out of the stalker realm for a while. What was that?

 

[jebsmoker]

some of these are absolutely bonkers. i love it.

 

[ADL]

https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2021/01/15/stalker-2-dev-update-gameplay-teaser-new-hero/

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Development Update: a Gameplay Teaser and a New Hero

Hi everyone!

GSC Game World here.

The debut S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 trailer at the Xbox Games Showcase was all about the atmosphere. We have made quite a bit of progress since July, and we decided to go forward, sharing an in-engine gameplay teaser. That seems like a neat way to kickstart a new year, right?

Just imagine.

A long and tedious road.

The hostile and treacherous Zone.

Unbelievable treasures that might cost you everything. A blood trial, separating your old life from a new one…

It’s time for a taste of how the game actually feels. Fast-paced changes of scenery, ominous landscapes and the ever-present feeling of an inevitable danger.

You’re seeing this world through the eyes of a stalker named Skif— remember the codename, you will hear it a lot. Following the steps of its predecessors, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 introduces a completely new main protagonist. His actions will shape the new grand chapter in the history of the Zone.

The short scene takes place in the ruined school on the outskirts of the dead town of Pripyat. That’s an extremely dangerous place, and nobody would like to be here on their will. Still, the place doesn’t seem completely abandoned: there is a freshly started fire with a guitar nearby. However, Skif hardly has time to acknowledge that: he seems in a hurry. It looks like an inevitable danger is following him.

And here it is: an emission. A signature part of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, a powerful release of the anomalous energy from the center of the Zone. Emission happens from time to time and it’s extremely dangerous: it can kill you in the blink of an eye. When a stalker notices a start of emission, they should hide immediately and wait for the end of it, hoping they can get through. So that’s why Skif is in a hurry: he is certainly looking for cover in the nearby building.

The situation is far from safe, though: the building is half-ruined, and the PDA doesn’t seem to work: the signal is lost. All things considered, it’s easy not to notice someone hiding in the shadows. He does look familiar, though…

Some of our fans may recognize the hardly-distinguishable guitar motive. If this tune evokes your nostalgia feelings, that’s because it’s taken from a “Life Line” song by famous Russian rock band Splean. We found it to fit just perfectly in the scene we created. If you are hearing this tune for the first time, we recommend listening to the full version — it’s sad and moving at the same time. And extremely catchy, if you ask us.

Finally, we would like to finish this update with a development status. We’re progressing smoothly, including Xbox Series X|S versions as well. The aim is to deliver the product of the highest quality possible on every platform it’s announced for. With fast SSD, RTX support (both Series X and S) and 4K-resolution (Series X), we’re pleased to see how S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is shaping up to be the ultimate experience we’ve initially promised.

The exact release date of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is yet to be announced by GSC Game World. But you can be confident the game will come to Xbox Game Pass on day one. We’re more than excited for all the new Xbox fans to experience S.T.A.L.K.E.R. for the first time.

Thanks for your attention and have and have a truly great year! You’ve deserved it.

 

[kangaxx]

Not really too sure what to make of that...

 

[ADL]

Literally nothing new but at least they're talking about it coming along.
Scratch that. This is probably new, doesn't look like a 2021 release anymore.
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2021/01/15/2021-xbox-exclusive-games/

 

[ADL]

GSC Game World’s PR manager, who is now working on the highly awaited STALKER 2, became a guest on the podcast “Not brought in” Zakhar Bocharov provided detailed responses to several of the hosts’ questions regarding the development of STALKER 2.

Since GSC and Microsoft signed a nondisclosure agreement, Bocharov was unable to respond to every single question, but he did provide some information. One thing he ensured is that the STALKER 2 will be very stable at the release.

• GSC wanted to make a sequel on the original X-Ray engine, but it is outdated. The developers sifted through other options for the actual engines but settled on the Unreal Engine.
• GSC calls mod support a priority and will try to implement it already in the release version of the game. The modding community is very important for developers. Support for mods on Xbox is also being explored.
• Bocharov promised that STALKER 2 on release will be much more stable.

• The life simulation system A-life has become “more meticulous and more detailed.” All interactions between factions, monsters, NPCs will take place even while the player does not see it. “A-life 2.0 is a different level of performance. We’ll pay enough attention to it closer to release. It’s a wildly cool system that works really well and there will be something to show. “Bocharov gave an example of a fight between wild boars, the consequences of which the player can see. He did not disclose what would really work “at a new level”.
• The open world of the Zone will offer a “non-linear storyline with a huge number of branches and different endings.” It is promised that the Zone will match the scale of history. The single-player mode is the main one in STALKER 2.

https://gamingsym.in/stalker-2-supp...ccording-to-the-pr-manager-of-gsc-game-world/

 

[OctavianRomulus]

You just know they're gonna dumb it down somehow.

 

[Spacer's Nugget]

If somehow they manage to release something (anything, really) that's a win in my eyes. With a few exceptions, most of the dev team seems underexperienced and underskilled for such an overambitious project such as this (I mean, "one of the biggest, seamless open-worlds to date"? Non-linear story featuring C&C, branching and multiple endings? An improved A-Life system? Get out of here, stalker!). If LinkedIn is anything to go by, GSC is also understaffed in many areas. No wonder the Metro series book writer is always roasting/mocking them any chance he gets.

 

[HoboForEternity]

If somehow they manage to release something (anything, really) that's a win in my eyes. With a few exceptions, most of the dev team seems underexperienced and underskilled for such an overambitious project such as this (I mean, "one of the biggest, seamless open-worlds to date"? Non-linear story featuring C&C, branching and multiple endings? An improved A-Life system? Get out of here, stalker!). If LinkedIn is anything to go by, GSC is also understaffed in many areas. No wonder the Metro series book writer is always roasting/mocking them any chance he gets.

Call of pripyat has new vegas like endings instead of like SoC which is either pick one out of several endings <_>

Maybe they can pull it off

 

[Spacer's Nugget]

Call of pripyat has new vegas like endings instead of like SoC which is either pick one out of several endings <_>

That's a bit unfair IMO: https://stalker.fandom.com/wiki/S.T.A.L.K.E.R.:_Shadow_of_Chernobyl_endings

Maybe they can pull it off

I don't know how far into development they are, but it kinda feels like they've jumped the gun too soon in making these bold promises. They should learn from the Cyberpunk 2077 clusterfuck.

 

[Spacer's Nugget]

Hell, CDPR had the advantage of having an up and running studio, housing some of the best talent available, that had access to state-of-the-art technology (including their own), a big fat budget, etc.

If GSC is not careful, they could get carried away, and I doubt they have the safety nets CDPR has.

 

[Invictus]

Suspicious calling X Engine outdated; the version used in Anomaly looks way more advanced that most modern engines by far

 

[OctavianRomulus]

If somehow they manage to release something (anything, really) that's a win in my eyes. With a few exceptions, most of the dev team seems underexperienced and underskilled for such an overambitious project such as this (I mean, "one of the biggest, seamless open-worlds to date"? Non-linear story featuring C&C, branching and multiple endings? An improved A-Life system? Get out of here, stalker!). If LinkedIn is anything to go by, GSC is also understaffed in many areas. No wonder the Metro series book writer is always roasting/mocking them any chance he gets.

Yeah, this smells exactly like Gothic 3. With that size, there is no way they will be able to deliver complexity and probably not even a stable game.

 

[Tacgnol]

Suspicious calling X Engine outdated; the version used in Anomaly looks way more advanced that most modern engines by far

To be fair to GSC, those open sourced developed versions of X-Ray have had the benefit of several years additional development by the community.

I do agree though that they could have modernised the X-Ray engine if they were really fixed in that direction.

 

[GrafvonMoltke]

Удачной охоты, сталкер.

 

[Invictus]

Suspicious calling X Engine outdated; the version used in Anomaly looks way more advanced that most modern engines by far

To be fair to GSC, those open sourced developed versions of X-Ray have had the benefit of several years additional development by the community.

I do agree though that they could have modernised the X-Ray engine if they were really fixed in that direction.

You think that if GSC had approached a mod team like Anomaly to ask for the updated code or even recruit some of the modders to program for next official Stalker game they would have refused?
Nah they did it because Unreal is port ready for consoles and they could even get an Epic Exclusive... it saddens me but all the signs are there this will be a cash grab

 

[OctavianRomulus]

Suspicious calling X Engine outdated; the version used in Anomaly looks way more advanced that most modern engines by far

To be fair to GSC, those open sourced developed versions of X-Ray have had the benefit of several years additional development by the community.

I do agree though that they could have modernised the X-Ray engine if they were really fixed in that direction.

You think that if GSC had approached a mod team like Anomaly to ask for the updated code or even recruit some of the modders to program for next official Stalker game they would have refused?
Nah they did it because Unreal is port ready for consoles and they could even get an Epic Exclusive... it saddens me but all the signs are there this will be a cash grab

That sounds like an obvious choice but it might have legal issues. Who knows, maybe some modder worked on this years ago and he does not agree with sharing the code for whatever reason. This probably works best when there is a single guy or a very small team or like-minded people.

Hiring them would have been a good idea though,

 

[Tacgnol]

Suspicious calling X Engine outdated; the version used in Anomaly looks way more advanced that most modern engines by far

To be fair to GSC, those open sourced developed versions of X-Ray have had the benefit of several years additional development by the community.

I do agree though that they could have modernised the X-Ray engine if they were really fixed in that direction.

You think that if GSC had approached a mod team like Anomaly to ask for the updated code or even recruit some of the modders to program for next official Stalker game they would have refused?
Nah they did it because Unreal is port ready for consoles and they could even get an Epic Exclusive... it saddens me but all the signs are there this will be a cash grab

That sounds like an obvious choice but it might have legal issues. Who knows, maybe some modder worked on this years ago and he does not agree with sharing the code for whatever reason. This probably works best when there is a single guy or a very small team or like-minded people.

Hiring them would have been a good idea though,

Yeah no dev is gonna use a fan enhanced version of one of their old engines for a commercial AA title.

The legal issues alone from god knows what middleware and libraries the community has duct taped in over the years. A lot of them may be free and legal for non-commercial use (or not), but not commercial use.

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

That sounds like an obvious choice but it might have legal issues.

Or X-Ray Engine might be a tangled and poorly-documented mess under the hood and trying to detangle it while bringing new people on the team up to speed will cost much more than switching to a different engine.

 

[thesecret1]

I mean, people say you should dream big, and the promises sure sound nice, but there's no way they can actually pull it all off, not when they're basically building the whole thing from the ground up again.

 

[Tacgnol]

I mean, people say you should dream big, and the promises sure sound nice, but there's no way they can actually pull it all off, not when they're basically building the whole thing from the ground up again.

I'm surprised they're going down this path, especially with how much they had to cut back the original due to overambition.

I guess Sergiy is not a man to learn from his past mistakes.

 

[DeepOcean]

GSC Game World’s PR manager, who is now working on the highly awaited STALKER 2, became a guest on the podcast “Not brought in” Zakhar Bocharov provided detailed responses to several of the hosts’ questions regarding the development of STALKER 2.

Since GSC and Microsoft signed a nondisclosure agreement, Bocharov was unable to respond to every single question, but he did provide some information. One thing he ensured is that the STALKER 2 will be very stable at the release.

• GSC wanted to make a sequel on the original X-Ray engine, but it is outdated. The developers sifted through other options for the actual engines but settled on the Unreal Engine.
• GSC calls mod support a priority and will try to implement it already in the release version of the game. The modding community is very important for developers. Support for mods on Xbox is also being explored.
• Bocharov promised that STALKER 2 on release will be much more stable.

• The life simulation system A-life has become “more meticulous and more detailed.” All interactions between factions, monsters, NPCs will take place even while the player does not see it. “A-life 2.0 is a different level of performance. We’ll pay enough attention to it closer to release. It’s a wildly cool system that works really well and there will be something to show. “Bocharov gave an example of a fight between wild boars, the consequences of which the player can see. He did not disclose what would really work “at a new level”.
• The open world of the Zone will offer a “non-linear storyline with a huge number of branches and different endings.” It is promised that the Zone will match the scale of history. The single-player mode is the main one in STALKER 2.

https://gamingsym.in/stalker-2-supp...ccording-to-the-pr-manager-of-gsc-game-world/

Sorry, but all of this sounds like: "sorry guys, we ran out of budget so we are only delivering 30% of what we promised".

 

[CappenVarra]

not wasting your top-tier devs maintaining an in-house engine can be a good move if it frees those top-tier devs to work on other aspects of the game besides rendering a rock 100 meters away being hit by a bullet (presuming an off-the-shelf engine is available that does a good job of rendering a rock 100 meters away being hit by a bullet)

of course, the above has yet to happen - because inevitably it turns into "we don't need top-tier devs anymore, it's not like we're building our own engine or anything right?" - cue budget cuts and a smaller team consisting entirely of mid-tier devs; a console release is just one step further down into the sewers from there...