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

[Grotesque]

How many people in creative roles that worked on STALKER are now working on STALKER 2?

 

[Israfael]

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

Considering that GSC was ToddHowarding before Todd actually started to do it, press X to doubt

 

[prengle]

ok but thanks to the treasure trove of stalker leaks that have been released over the years, we not only have proof that gsc was actually trying to add most of this shit in the early 2000s and modders have been able to restore most of it, whereas afaik there isn't a single leaked alpha of any bethesda game on the internet, and if there was zenimax (and now msft) would try to nuke it and any content from it as fast as humanly possible. this is an apples and oranges situation

 

[jebsmoker]

ok but thanks to the treasure trove of stalker leaks that have been released over the years, we not only have proof that gsc was actually trying to add most of this shit in the early 2000s and modders have been able to restore most of it, whereas afaik there isn't a single leaked alpha of any bethesda game on the internet, and if there was zenimax (and now msft) would try to nuke it and any content from it as fast as humanly possible. this is an apples and oranges situation

kind of. until dean sharpe came aboard, STALKER was mostly a series of disparate tech demos. an actual game didn't materialize until 2005-2006. by then, major cuts were already taking place

 

[deuxhero]

whereas afaik there isn't a single leaked alpha of any bethesda game on the internet

Edit: There's even a mod for it (a warp menu so you can access a few inaccessible levels). Having played it, I think the combat is actually better than the real Oblivion or Skyrim (not a real accomplishment). The hitstun and z-targeting that speeds the player up create a decent dynamic.

 

[Dodo1610]

Though that game as never made by Bethesda and probably leaked by the studio who made it.

ok but thanks to the treasure trove of stalker leaks that have been released over the years, we not only have proof that gsc was actually trying to add most of this shit in the early 2000s and modders have been able to restore most of it, whereas afaik there isn't a single leaked alpha of any bethesda game on the internet, and if there was zenimax (and now msft) would try to nuke it and any content from it as fast as humanly possible. this is an apples and oranges situation

There is a lot of unfinished stuff hidden inside Skyrim's files, originally the civil war should have been a much bigger part of the game https://tcrf.net/The_Elder_Scrolls_V:_Skyrim/Civil_War and they planned to make it much more dynamic but obviously, none of that was possible on consoles so it was cut. Though there was a mod that restored it.
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/103098/ It's really sad originally the civil war should have even affected the game's economy.

 

[Tacgnol]

ok but thanks to the treasure trove of stalker leaks that have been released over the years, we not only have proof that gsc was actually trying to add most of this shit in the early 2000s and modders have been able to restore most of it, whereas afaik there isn't a single leaked alpha of any bethesda game on the internet, and if there was zenimax (and now msft) would try to nuke it and any content from it as fast as humanly possible. this is an apples and oranges situation

kind of. until dean sharpe came aboard, STALKER was mostly a series of disparate tech demos. an actual game didn't materialize until 2005-2006. by then, major cuts were already taking place

Yep, there is a persistent myth that Dean Sharpe came along and eviscerated an already almost complete build, but as you say it was mostly just a hodge podge of messy tech demos.

GSC was already making massive cuts before he came along, he just focused them more on delivering something shippable.

This video is long, but extremely interesting if anyone cares about the old builds and history. The author covers every known build and the internal situation at GSC at the time. He pretty definitively dispels the Dean Sharpe myth.

 

[prengle]

yeah gsc never actually implemented things like their initial vision of a-life, and while sharpe isn't blameless he isn't the sole reason why stalker turned out the way it did - but while the stalker community was able to salvage a good portion of it through leftover files and leaked builds, none of bethesda's shitty games have been nearly as lucky

There is a lot of unfinished stuff hidden inside Skyrim's files, originally the civil war should have been a much bigger part of the game https://tcrf.net/The_Elder_Scrolls_V:_Skyrim/Civil_War and they planned to make it much more dynamic but obviously, none of that was possible on consoles so it was cut. Though there was a mod that restored it.
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/103098/ It's really sad originally the civil war should have even affected the game's economy.

they didn't pull a bunch of shit just because of consolization, skyrim was infamously rushed to meet their epic 11/11/11 deadline and even now it fucking shows. and i forgot apollodown had everything they made reuploaded to the nexus, i wouldn't personally use them or recommend them to anyone because he's an obnoxious shithead, but that's interesting

 

[CappenVarra]

i'll take gsc over beth any day, any time

but is this new stalker being done by gsc, or is it just a marketing ploy?

 

[Tacgnol]

i'll take gsc over beth any day, any time

but is this new stalker being done by gsc, or is it just a marketing ploy?

Same company, but only a few of the original team.

 

[jebsmoker]

rehosting this on imgur since something seems to be busted:

look at this dude lmao

 

[Vexxt]

I see the argument constantly being thrown around about how without the original team the game will suck. Taken into account what we know, how is that a bad thing whatsoever?

Yes, the original team in my opinion created a brilliant gameplay loop, with incredible atmosphere, gunplay, etc. But, have you seen what the "original team" has done since leaving GSC?

Survarium - Trash F2P cash grab that they lied about over and over to try to keep the STALKER community engaged, but left promises unfulfilled.
Metro Series - Incredibly atmospheric games but with lackluster gunplay that NEVER seems to evolve. (no lean, floaty movement, etc)

Now I say this as a Metro fan, but aside form larger environments and some incredible art direction Exodus brought nothing worthwhile to the table.

It's time for new blood. I'd PREFER a brand new team that grew up playing the STALKER series take a stab at recapturing the magic of the original trilogy.

 

[Curratum]

I don't understand why people can't seem to let go of the idea that their favorite franchise from 10-15-20 years ago will magically get a repeat installment JUST like the old one but better, and JUST like they want it.

This has never happened in the history of gaming and it never will, both because of how things change in terms of devs, tech and markets and because of nostalgia goggles.

 

[thesecret1]

This has never happened in the history of gaming

I mean, Rance Series by Alicesoft has been going unbroken and strong since 1989...

 

[Israfael]

whereas afaik there isn't a single leaked alpha of any bethesda game on the internet

There's actually the semi-workable remains of AI packages in Oblivion data files (the thing with the lady and the dog, for example), also the Radiant AI is actually present, it's just it's inactive for the tiles that are far away from the player. You can program NPC schedules and it will work as long as you look at them . That's why there's weird "NPCs suddenly stand up / start doing weird shit" when you enter the tile / building all over the game. Not sure what was cut and left in Skyrim, never played it. So in my view, the amount of BS is very comparable. Also, for me as a player it really does not matter whether their tried to implement proper A-life, seamless levels, cars, better weapons ballistics (that I would never believe, though, ) - it was promised (and you had to fork a pretty sum of roubles to see that video in the days it was released) and never delivered. Modders spent several years trying to recreate some of the "lost alpha" which is almost on par with how much time Cleve spent on making the golden baby fly

 

[deuxhero]

I don't understand why people can't seem to let go of the idea that their favorite franchise from 10-15-20 years ago will magically get a repeat installment JUST like the old one but better, and JUST like they want it.

This has never happened in the history of gaming and it never will, both because of how things change in terms of devs, tech and markets and because of nostalgia goggles.

Off the top of my head: Mount and Blade (exactly 10), Donkey Kong Country, Punch Out, classic Mega Man, Alice, Gunstar Heroes, Guardian Heroes.
Not as good but still within reason: Streets of Rage

 

[Spacer's Nugget]

I see the argument constantly being thrown around about how without the original team the game will suck. Taken into account what we know, how is that a bad thing whatsoever?

Yes, the original team in my opinion created a brilliant gameplay loop, with incredible atmosphere, gunplay, etc. But, have you seen what the "original team" has done since leaving GSC?

Survarium - Trash F2P cash grab that they lied about over and over to try to keep the STALKER community engaged, but left promises unfulfilled.
Metro Series - Incredibly atmospheric games but with lackluster gunplay that NEVER seems to evolve. (no lean, floaty movement, etc)

Now I say this as a Metro fan, but aside form larger environments and some incredible art direction Exodus brought nothing worthwhile to the table.

It's time for new blood. I'd PREFER a brand new team that grew up playing the STALKER series take a stab at recapturing the magic of the original trilogy.

The funny thing is Vostok Games is working on a story-driven FPS "based on a world-known IP" (for what it's worth). Also on UE4. I wouldn't be surprised if the studio is co-developing S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (even if only at a support capacity).

 

[Gastrick]

Glad to be getting a sequel, looks like it's going to be great.

 

[prengle]

whereas afaik there isn't a single leaked alpha of any bethesda game on the internet

i remember when this got leaked and dumped and uploaded to youtube and shit and zenimax immediately pulled the video and everything else off the internet like it was a fucking allergic reaction on their part, but after a while they seemed to stop caring? fucking weird. also oblivion psp was developed by climax (which has had god knows how much shit leaked over the years) not bethesda B)

I see the argument constantly being thrown around about how without the original team the game will suck. Taken into account what we know, how is that a bad thing whatsoever?

it stands to reason that a team of new hires with absolutely no prior experience and good intentions will end up producing complete and utter shit, although tbf shadow of chernobyl has always been my favorite game in the series so i've always found it weird that i've never really given a shit about metro - it is true that a team of people that made something great in the past won't automatically make something good in the future, and the games industry has shown time and time again that this is an objective truth

 

[jebsmoker]

part of me believes that the new guard at GSC's dev team is partially composed of modding scene veterans that were regulars at sites like ap-pro.ru and the gamineator forums, but i could be wrong

 

[Cyberarmy]

look at this dude lmao

Lacks trigger discipline, decline

 

[robinox]

please be good.

 

[Spacer's Nugget]

https://vk.com/wall-172977273_97147

 

[ADL]

I don't get why there's such an emphasis on discussing the team here as if there isn't precedent for this. The teams between SoC, Clear Sky and CoP were all wildly different as the original team split up five different ways at once. It's a miracle the original three games ended up being as good as they were.

 

[Spacer's Nugget]

https://vk.com/wall-172977273_97147

Same place, different time of day.