STALKER Shadow of Chernobyl Mod Thread

[Silva]

I just checked this before getting some kip, so I don't have time to reply to everything. However, I would implore you to try Misery 1 first. In terms of 'how the game should have been' type modding it's near enough a masterpiece. Vanilla COP is a fucking joke in comparison. It's why so many people are surprised that Misery 2 is kinda crappy and filled with so much junk. Seriously, don't waste your time on vanilla, even with graphics mods.

This one thousand times.

The first time I played vanilla CoP I felt hugely disappointed. The first time I played Misery 1 I had one of the most intense and atmospheric gaming experiences of my life, on par with System Shock, Deus Ex and Dark Souls.

 

[Invictus]

First of all thank you everybody for your feedback; haven't seen this sort of fellowship in the Codex but in this thread
Mmm so Misery it is then...I am guessing the 1.0 version with Patch 2 is the "good" version while 2.0 is the "why not" crapy version.
Now, I remember some post back in the first pages that some of the changes where cheap (like the zombies only beign able to ne killed by headshots) the granade damage, the health and bandages effects and the resale of weapons...should I fix those before playing and what would I need to fix those? I rather play the Misery mod with a bit less hardcore challenge
Oh and the Silva you had me at System Shock :D

 

[Rolk's Drifter]

Thanks for the awesome advice Drifter. I cant imagine someone playing Ironman in Misery, not even in version 1, worst yet in 2. I will follow your advice next time I play.

There are some things that are really putting me down on the mod though:

- artificial difficulty (mutants detect you from a half a mile, bandits behave like spetsnaz flanking and headshoting and grenade throwing with surgical accurach, etc)
- one-use repair kits (wtf ? )
- weird economy (I was ready to buy a pistol from Nimble - something I always do in Misery 1 - until I noticed he charges around 23k for it while a full quality Groza from Owl costs 29k. Whats the point of acquiring the pistol then ? )
- intense inventory micro-management because of high item granularity (there are 3 quality types for all items from medkits, stymulants, drugs, cleaning solvents, lanterns, to weapons and armor, repair kits for each specific caliber type and armor type, etc. Resulting in uber dense inventories and long times for managing it)
- questionable class decisions (snipers good with shotguns ?)
- almost useless artifacts

This is sad because I think the mod has a huge potential and has a lot of great ideas (type of ammo is much more important, self reparing is interesting, anomalies really dangerous, artifacts nerfed - though it shouldnt be almost useless as its now -, great variety in stalkers outfits, battery powered lantern, etc) . I just think right now its not so fun to play because of the points above, which can be summed up as exagerated micromanagement and artificial difficulty.

A simple example is the illumination aspect. WHY to have 2 types of lanterns ? Why not having just 1 type (the default headlamp) and give it a proper rechargeable batteries? I mean, the idea of managing your batteries is very welcome, but it looks as if the modders tried to reach for maximum "coolz realizm" while forgetting to ask if it would be a fun game that way, and so we got various kinds of lanterns adding a (in my view) questionable complexity.

One honest question for Drifter: do you really make use of all those repair kits and bloated inventory items ? Or you found a way to play ignoring these parts? I mean, are people there really having fun doing the inventory micromanagement, or they found a way to play the game circumventing it ?

Anyway, I will go back and persevere. Wish me luck.

Thanks, I started to put a guide together for Steam but that was when a lot of changes were going on so I dropped it. I'm thinking of doing an Ironman walk through/guide maybe for the next patch but I'm not sure what the rules should be. Either way Misery 2 is a bitch to get into and it's riddled with annoyances but the highs are worth it I believe. It's also a lot easier than people think. You just need to approach things a little differently is all. For example: mutant detection. Good, let them come. Why go chasing tail when it can come to you? Just be careful when going into valleys/dips which blind you. Likewise when you scout ahead (which you do right?) if you can't see anything then be wary of any dips which could be hiding beasties. However once you've got a good suit and some kevlar/artifacts only the most dangerous mutants are a threat. Once you've got an Exo, it's game over for all those bastard dogs/cats. And that feels so good

Bandits.. yeah they are crazy good. Especially with grenades/boom-tubes. The most dangerous distance to be is mid-range. As Ivar said getting close is good but so is keeping your distance if you can. Or you can grenade them first which is even more fun. Seriously everyone I watch play, never uses them but you should. They can really turn encounters, even trivialising them. Pseudogiants for example have explosives as a weakness. I know you say the Iron Forest is hard but try again with a heap of grenades at the ready. You might be surprised at the difference. Please don't just think of them as stuff to sell. They sell for less than a loaf of bread! (yeah that crazy economy urgh) They should be a valued and consistent part of your arsenal. Once you've blown up an entire pack of zombies you'll know why.

I agree with the economy and micro-management. A repair kit that costs more than the pistol itself? Crazy. But there was a time when you could make nice profits by repairing the more expensive guns. No more alas. I do keep some top up items, the best being the 75% ones because if you need that kit, you probably really need it. They can also save you alot of money instead of using Cardan/Nitro. I think this is maybe why some struggle with money. Repairs are even more insanely priced than repair kits. But in the end, you don't really need money. The worst mistake I think people can make is probably buying average suits. I just wait until I get either the Exo or Seva. Early on drugs can see you through the necessary places. One other thing about repairing stuff. It seems to reset the weather. So if you get stuck somewhere in miserable fog considering repairing your weapon even if it's just for a couple of percent. It's kind of cheap but hey, so's Misery.

Class stuff and artifacts.. yup. Artifacts are a big issue for me but like a lot of my grievances, if you can just accept it for now, then there is still a great game in there. But it could be so much better. Urgh. I don't know what's going on with the lights either. Maybe they wanted a light source as back up. As someone who ran out of batteries at the Jupiter Plant (repair kits also take an hour game time - oops) and had to find my way back in a pitch black zone, I do sometimes consider keeping my torch. But recently I've been playing without battery drain, there's just too much shit to carry and I want a break from the resource stuff. I can't fathom what's gone on. Misery 1 was so impressive in terms of restraint and now it's gone to shit. It's like some Catholic school girl turned to whoring or something.

I do use repair kits, though I wish there weren't so many. You will learn what you need eventually. In time you can even navigate the merchant lists of doom but most of it is unnecessary. There is a lot to complain about but once you've done the Black Road, gotten a Colt 1911 and charged down the Iron forest coked out your head while most players are still sleeping the annoyances pale into insignificance. Or starting as a normal Recon, then going straight for the underground tunnels at the Merc camp and having the fight for life trying to kill a few with a 9mm then hoping their loot will be enough to get the next couple of heavily-armed bastards.. I dunno I just love it. It's more like a puzzle to me than an FPS. I play areas over and over trying out different methods, different equipment. The best was in 2.01. You could go from Black Road straight to Yanov, pick up a Saiga and Strelok's rifle in under 30 minutes. That was a sweet run but they took away the Saiga and nerfed it just for good measure. God damn that was a beautiful weapon

 

[Rolk's Drifter]

First of all thank you everybody for your feedback; haven't seen this sort of fellowship in the Codex but in this thread
Mmm so Misery it is then...I am guessing the 1.0 version with Patch 2 is the "good" version while 2.0 is the "why not" crapy version.
Now, I remember some post back in the first pages that some of the changes where cheap (like the zombies only beign able to ne killed by headshots) the granade damage, the health and bandages effects and the resale of weapons...should I fix those before playing and what would I need to fix those? I rather play the Misery mod with a bit less hardcore challenge
Oh and the Silva you had me at System Shock :D

The Stalker community as a whole is pretty great imho. If ever you're bored I recommend browsing youtube for let's plays or just random stuff. You can learn a lot from them and even the comments too. It was actually potatojohn's LP that got me into Misery in the first place. Like Silva I was deeply unimpressed by vanilla COP. I only played a couple of hours never to return. If you do get into Misery, I suggest once you're done, just before you uninstall, check out vanilla for a while. The difference is staggering. But please don't do it first or you might be put off!

I would stick with Misery 1 for now. You won't won't be missing out at all. I'll probably be playing that mod for years to come even if there is a Misery 3, 4 or 5. Plus the knowledge of the zone will come in handy for Misery 2. I have a feeling it will take a long time to get Misery 2 right so no need to rush. Just think of them as separate games rather than 1 being less than 2. If anything the difference between the two is a bit like a great music producer who takes raw promise and makes into something special (Misery 1) but then goes onto making their own music and finding it's not quite the same. Remember the reason people talk about Misery 2 is because of Misery 1. It's not a lesser mod or a more primitive mod. It's the reason people care in the first place so you should have a good time.

As for "MUTANT PLATOON"s lol, yeah it can be a hell of a shock. Usually it's not too bad (once all I had was a single poltergheist) but sometimes the respawn rate gets bugged and just keeps pumping out the muties. 4 controllers, ~20 zombies, 3/4 burers and a Chimera was my record. I was left a nervous wreck sat on top of the chopper with a busted AK and about 30 rounds of ammo. I had to quit in the end and wouldn't go near that place for ages. I can't be certain but I think it has to do will reloading. It's best to do it in one clean sweep if you can *cough* back of the truck *cough* and get out asap. The worst though is when you clear it out and it becomes a Merc base. Respawning Mercs with exoskeletons and infinite granades.. oh man that's a bitch. Profitable if you can escape but.. god damn.

Sorry if I've gone on but I'd like to give one example of why I'm forgiving of Misery 2. I can't defend it's flaws but I was doing the Scientist missions in Yanov. Topol's group had been decimated by mutant attacks (thanks Misery 2) and they were down to two people. Topol himself was long dead but a guy called Mace was promoted I guess to his place. The mission was where you go to the Fen and defend the group from waves of mutant attacks while one of them scans an anomaly. This mission was set up in vanilla for a group of 4 or 5 stalkers to help you out. I now had two and one of them would be doing the readings. Not perfect.. but doable. But Misery 2 wasn't finished yet. When we teleported to the Fen a group of mutants also spawned in at the same time. There was something like 2 boars, 2 snorks, a pack of between 6-10 dogs (hard to count in the chaos) and a pseudogiant. A fucking pseudogiant. And they all spawned in right next to the two stalkers. One of whom had to be kept alive to complete the mission.

If this was any other game I wouldn't have even attempted this mission but as of now, it's probably the most fun I've had in a game that I can remember. The thing I've found is unless you're facing down Chimeras in open ground, no situation is without hope. The good news was that a lot of these mutants hated each other and would, if I got lucky, ignore us lowly Stalkers. After a couple of tries I just tried to disperse the crowd rather than focus on killing them. I don't know if it worked or I got lucky but eventually most of them just ran off in various directions leaving just enough to kill only one Stalker. Great! The only problem then was I had only accounted for the normal mutant waves when deciding how much ammo to take. Oh joy. So after seeing off the horde from hell I was soon down to nothing. Not even a knife. My only option was to hope the muties would chase me while the last stalker shot them. That wasn't likely to happen. Thankfully though some Stalkers wandered past, just ever so slightly off in the distance but close enough to attract the few remaining mutants. Fuck knows how but they did it. They saved me. I managed to complete the mission from the most unthinkable of positions. Of course I found Mace dead by a couple of dogs bodies a few days later but hey! That's the Zone right?

There's no way I could stomach stuff like that all the time. Or even if it was scripted, I'd just think it was ridiculous. But every so often great things happen. Things I couldn't imagine in other games. It's mad, it's not right but I love it. And the good news is I recorded it!. I'll try not to spam any more. I think I've said all I can really. After the initial chaos there's not much to watch except for the gradual loss of ammunition and youtubes processing doesn't play nice with the helmet hud. Still it shows how you can eventually start soaking damage. Only a Seva with a few artifacts but it did the job.

 

[praetor]

anybody tried any of the other cool (SoC or CoP), like AlternativA (from what i understand, it's a complete story overhaul, where you can choose roles or something of the sort) or RMA (old story restoration. iirc, half a dozen "new" maps fully populated, more sidequests and similar, so in a way it's vanilla 1.1 i guess), Zone of Alienation (i think it's kinda AMK 1.5 but the latest version is supposedly quite buggy), or Secret Trails 2 (dunno )? usually all people discuss is of Misery, LURK, SMP or stalkersoup while many other (potentially great) mods seem more ignored

EDIT: i also recall seeing somewhere a Misery1SO merge.. anybody tried that?

btw, i doubt there'll be significant AI improvements in Misery 2 since the main AI coder (Alundaio) has left 'cause the mod leader (Trojanuch) is a major cunt (drogg or -qwinn in disguise? ). a pity... (hopefully he continues to tweak/improve his AI mod so people can merge it with others, but i doubt it)

 

[Baron Dupek]

Story overhaul?
I've played in some of them, like DIMA (not sure if it's story based), Monolith Path (don't remember name, where we play as Monolith member) or Priboy story. Kinda cool but I was tired of this game so didn't bother to play more.
I remember it was cool mod.
Also- the most significant problem with story based mods is (was?) a language (no English/potato translation). So when translation comes (if ever appear) you lost any interest playing it.

Maybe people doesn't want to play them because wandering on the same zone (with more guns, higher difficult and effects+graphic) is better?

 

[skacky]

Zone of Alienation is my favorite mod for SoC. It's buggy as hell but goddamn it's awesome.

 

[Invictus]

I am definetly replaying SoC when the Lost Alpha mod is released; that looks just superb

 

[Silva]

Drifter, do you know if its possible to..

1) use Mis 2 hud textures (gás mask, helmets, etc) in Mis 1 ?
2) increase the anomalies "aura" damage in Mis 1 just like in Mis 2 ?
3) decrease the overall speed of the protagonists in Mis 1 just like in Mis 2 ?

There's no way I could stomach stuff like that all the time. Or even if it was scripted, I'd just think it was ridiculous. But every so often great things happen. Things I couldn't imagine in other games. It's mad, it's not right but I love it. And the good news is I recorded it!. I'll try not to spam any more. I think I've said all I can really. After the initial chaos there's not much to watch except for the gradual loss of ammunition and youtubes processing doesn't play nice with the helmet hud. Still it shows how you can eventually start soaking damage. Only a Seva with a few artifacts but it did the job.

I wish I had your skills.

 

[Invictus]

So today was a non working day in Mexico and I got to play some CoP with Misery 1.e and it was quite a revelation; my first load landed me right in the middle of this fog covered spooky ass forest, instead0 of the vanilla sunny D picnic site.
I went right ahead and tried to find my way arround to the crash site, but I do have some issues with the damage in the game; I ran into groups of bandits and the complety slaughtered me with pinpoint accuracy and they actualy flanked me. I didn't like how they could kill me in 3 or 4 shots but they took on average 5 to kill, which mean that for more than 3 bandits I was toast. Dogs where a bit overpowered too, with each taking 4 shot easy and their charging attacks would somehow knock my weapon or stop me from firing...
All in all I can't see myself going vanilla with these gorgeous graphics and moody atmospeheric effects but I just wish the combat was a bit more fair. Even though the game still has the diffculty setting I have the idea that it doesn't work for the mod and you only get the "run mutherfaka" current game dificulty.
Oh and is it true that the guys behind the series are going to do a stalker like mmo?
Blasphemy

 

[sexbad?]

Just play it vanilla. No mod is worth it if all it can do is artificially increase the difficulty like that. I remember LURK for SoC having the same problem, and the lead retard behind it disregarded all criticism as unable 2 handle the 2 hardcore gameplay.

CoP is the best in the trilogy, and it works fine for me without having to sift through someone else's shit mod collection that tries to fix problems that weren't there in the first place and ends up making new ones.

 

[skacky]

I remember LURK having botched script files that made you permanently mentally ill with blurred vision if you entered a psy-field of any kind, and you had to edit the files yourself to either remove it or make it decrease over time. That and of course remove the absolutely puke-inducing bloom everywhere in the latest version. God that was horrible.

CoP vanilla is very stable and cool to play right off the bat (though it's ugly as sin without the Absolute packs). SoC on the other hand is riddled with bugs and it's better to play with Zone Reclamation Project and some visual enhancements. These two don't change things too much and I know for a fact you can configure ZRP the way you like. Now I really like SGM for CoP that adds a lot more quests and content, which is always welcome.

 

[Silva]

So today was a non working day in Mexico and I got to play some CoP with Misery 1.e and it was quite a revelation; my first load landed me right in the middle of this fog covered spooky ass forest, instead0 of the vanilla sunny D picnic site.
I went right ahead and tried to find my way arround to the crash site, but I do have some issues with the damage in the game; I ran into groups of bandits and the complety slaughtered me with pinpoint accuracy and they actualy flanked me. I didn't like how they could kill me in 3 or 4 shots but they took on average 5 to kill, which mean that for more than 3 bandits I was toast. Dogs where a bit overpowered too, with each taking 4 shot easy and their charging attacks would somehow knock my weapon or stop me from firing...
All in all I can't see myself going vanilla with these gorgeous graphics and moody atmospeheric effects but I just wish the combat was a bit more fair. Even though the game still has the diffculty setting I have the idea that it doesn't work for the mod and you only get the "run mutherfaka" current game dificulty.
Oh and is it true that the guys behind the series are going to do a stalker like mmo?
Blasphemy

lol, the game´s difficulty may be a bit off for some. As Drifter said above, the mod requires that you plan ahead your moves. Look at the map, see your goal, scout ahead with binoculars, avoid going out at night, and always take notice of shelters for tactical retreats from creatures and emissions (the Shevshenko crew has saved my ass a lot of times, as have the mercs from the workshop). I also found Misery 1.x extremely frustrating the first time. But when I learned to play it, I couldnt go back to the ugly and piece of cake CoP.

One suggestion is editing the bandits and stalkers FOV and Dispersion values in the m_stalkers/m_bandits .ltx files in the folder /gamedata/creatures/ .This way bandits/stalkers will miss more shots and have more difficulty in detecting you. Also, I strongly suggest you nerf these values for Zombified stalkers too, since they are really fucked up (I ALWAYS do this). And dont forget headshots take everyone with one bullet, so use it.

Also, try the Recon specialty, since it makes you run like Usain Bolt and make the most out of meds and drugs potentially increasing your survivability in the early game.

 

[Invictus]

Your sugestion sounds good Silva could you tell me how to fix the enemy values? I see the have a number right next to each category but I don't have the faintest idea of how to fix that, do I just double all their dispersion damage and switch their FOV to 90? Is there some way to make my char a bit more resistant too?
...if you have already modified your files could you somehow upload those? I like some pain (big time Souls fan here) but my mad gamer skillz for FPS don't translate as well

 

[Silva]

Yes Invictus, its exactly that. I would try cutting the stalkers/bandits FOV to around 90 or 120 (the default is 160), and doubling Dispersion. Dont forget to do that for the Zombies too. Then, If you feel they got too nerfed, try adjusting to your like.

Mine values are these ones right now. Notice I have already adjusted them, since I also considered the defaults too harsh. ALso, have in mind I m not a good FPS players either, so my style of play is "Recon´n´Run" - I never confront enemies or creatures, except if they have their backs to me and I need to cross their positions. (TIP: order a Tide from Nimble as soon as possible, since its the best mid-range sniper weapon in the game and comes with a built-in supressor, allowing you to pick targets safely from a distance without revealing your position)


M_STALKER

;---FIRE DISPERSIONS--------------------------------------------------
disp_walk_stand = 10 ;5 ;8
disp_walk_crouch = 8 ;4 ;6
disp_run_stand = 16 ;7 ;14
disp_run_crouch = 14 ;6 ;8
disp_stand_stand = 10 ;5 ;6
disp_stand_crouch = 6 ;4 ;4
disp_stand_stand_zoom = 4 ;3 ;3.5
disp_stand_crouch_zoom = 3 ;3.25 ;3

;---VISIBILITY--------------------------------------------------------
vision_danger_section = stalker_vision_danger
vision_free_section = stalker_vision_free
eye_fov = 160 ;110;120
eye_range = 100
far_plane_factor = 1.0
fog_density_factor = 0.05


M_ZOMBIFIED_STALKER

;---FIRE DISPERSIONS--------------------------------------------------
disp_walk_stand = 62
disp_walk_crouch = 57
disp_run_stand = 54
disp_run_crouch = 49
disp_stand_stand = 46 ; 36
disp_stand_crouch = 40 ; 36
disp_stand_stand_zoom = 32.5
disp_stand_crouch_zoom = 31.5

;---VISIBILITY--------------------------------------------------------
vision_danger_section = stalker_zombied_vision_danger
vision_free_section = stalker_zombied_vision_free
eye_fov = 100 ;stalkers = 180
eye_range = 35 ;stalkers = 100
far_plane_factor = 1.0
fog_density_factor = 0.05

 

[Invictus]

Awright Silva thank you so much for these when I get back I'll set em up and see how it goes!

 

[Invictus]

Ok so I modificed the values as you recommended and they game is really fun again, I still can get killed by flanking enemies and poor judgment on my part (like attacking more than 3 enemies at a time) but so far it is looking good. I also tweaked the health bonuses from food and medkits (they still heal real low but they last a bit longer) and it is both realistic and fun; it basicaly removes the game breaking instant superhealing but allows you to get patched up and ready to go with not much fuss after a big fight. The monsters still do as much damage but at least the humans are more managable too...granades are as annoying as ever with their mini nuke blast radius but at least it works both ways.
Trying to not watch potatojohn's excelent playthrough and having a blast!

 

[Rolk's Drifter]

Invictus

Good to hear you're enjoying it at last! I notepadded a long reply with advice on early equipment/artifacts etc but since you're having fun I won't spoil anything.

Silva

Glad to see another Recon fan! Just watched the beginning of someone LP M2. Seems a nice guy but it was hard to listen to him talk about how there's no reason for anyone to ever play as Recon. I almost succumbed to the Google+ thing just to reply. In my mind, if you understand the Recon, you understand Misery.

Haha thank you kind Sir but I'm not really skilled, just well equipped. If you want to see something genuinely impressive you should check out some videos by a guy on youtube called Gen Ohmni. He's come up with something he calls the 'Danger Close' technique. He's also part of a loose collaberation that do 'Zone Sportsmanship Challenges' or ZRCs. They are also worth watching and maybe even trying. Or if you can think of a good one, give them a shout as they are pretty open to suggestions. Not that anyone tried my Strelok Run

Still, he's the guy who came up with the Ironman challenge I did. His videos are actually edited, commented and much more daring/fun to watch than mine. I'll embed his first video of the challenge and if it doesn't start at the right place skip to 18:17. I think it's better if I don't give anything away. Except that if you think the AI is good with grenades, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Spoiler

As for using M2 stuff I'm sorry but I really don't know much about modding. Can't say for sure but I believe speed difference is down to the creatures being faster rather than Major Deggles being slower. I really wish there was a central knowledge/turorial base for all things Stalker modding. Suppose that's why Stalker gets Misery while Western games get Furry dongs because the chaff like me gets weeded out. Not that I'm suggesting that's what I'd mod! Hope you work it out though because they would be really nice additions to M1.

Also going back to what you asked about Nimble's weapons... personally I think most of them are no longer worth it. Having a pistol isn't necessary but I like to keep one around. And Nimble's pistols are probably still the best. Although the camouflaged versions run them very close. My personal favourite is a camo 1911. If a Burer pulls your main weapon away or if you don't have time to reload, switching to a pistol can come in handy. The sniper rifles will, lucky drop not forthcoming, be the best available until you're into Pripyat. I'd stick with an assault rifle but some might prefer a sniper. If you haven't already got a UMP and have the money to do so, check out Nimble's mp5 called Frasier/Cutter. For me, that's the hidden gem. Especially if you're Recon. At 40k it's quite pricey but considering how fast it can kill enemies, you'll earn that money back soon enough. With 37 rounds of Hydroshock or DU, full auto and manageable recoil you'll probably be having too much fun to care anyway

 

[Invictus]

Thanks Rolk's Drifter
I played all afternoon mostly getting comfortable with the Misery system and did further tweaks to the config files.
As it stands the enemies have a bit higher FOV than vanilla but not as lethal as Misery, and I tweaked a bit further the damage from weapons to humans and zombies. I also tweaked the healing kits to be faster, not as to actualy be used in combat for but for allowing your character to fight and heal to a safe level for the next encounter. I also adjusted so that bandages heal you a bit and food heals too; both instances don't heal enough to replace a proper health kit but they are a bit more realistic in giving you a slight increase in case you got hit by one shot instead of using the kit in case you where used for target practice.
Lastly I tweaked the selling of items to 65 per cent...I would have loved to find which file handdles repairs to make them a bit more manageable but this way things are a bit more balanced for my tastes; items and weapons are a bit more effective but services and item prices remain the same to ensure balance

All in all it is quite great abalance between easy vanilla and punishing Misery...keeping the beautiful ambiance and graphics with a bit more balanced gameplay.
I still run as a scared rabbit when the sky turns red :D
Oh and btw I can share my tweaks in a file I packed; it only for the Recon class so far but I belive you can just full the appropiate item, vendor & monster files

 

[HumanTotemPole]

I must confess that, as a long time S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series fan (we're talking since the SHOC-as-vapourware years here), Misery has never really done it for me and I consider it to be desperately overrated by the community. It's always come across being a bit 'try-hard' in both aesthetic presentation and gameplay.

The hype train leading up to the 2.0 release was pretty distasteful as well - I'm always suspicious of mod makers' intentions when they opt for a mass media exposure approach (which applies to any mod for any game). The time and energy used to produce promotional materials and articles to pimp your mod to legions of undiscerning morons could be better spent developing it, so why bother unless the adulation of said undiscerning morons is what you really seek when you set out to make your mod?

I realise that my views probably run contrary to those of many here - as an example I will always prefer SHOC to COP. I can only apologise in advance for any jimmies rustled.

 

[Silva]

No hard feelings, bro. With all the mods and vanillas, and books and movies, theres enough stalker to please everyone.




And btw, I heard the original Roadside Picnic was going to be made a movie. Anyone else heard it?

 

[Invictus]

Yup Silva I have a friend who works in Guy Richie's production company and he is said to be a huge fan of the original book so there is a possibility he might do it.

Thanks for the opinion HumanTotemPole I myself prefer SoC best but the great thing about these games is that you can even modify the mods to fit your playstyle as I have done with Misery; it all depends on what you consider fair and most of all fun
I also felt that the hype train over 2.0 was quite a lot of fuzz, but remeber that thse guys are not being paid for their efforts and perhaps it could lead to a job in the industry...and then they might get paid by good old bethesda or EA to implement some love in the radioactive trenches if you know what I mean

I personaly love both games equaly and enjoy my moded misery :D some of its punishing aspects, especialy them radioactive storms, and the overall mood in Misery is very much what a wasteland scenario would be like. After some pretty good advice from the users of this thread I went with Misery 1.patch and I don't regret it a bit.

The Metro series adds many more human elements to that apocaliptic scenario and it is also superb, it is much more of a straight shooter but it pulls your strings with human elements of suffering to create a more believable experience...that is until the strippers and can can routines...
One can only dream of the Stalker series running on the Metro engine...

 

[Baron Dupek]

I heard about it few years ago. It was abandoned or made as fanmade short film that's not distributed beyond russia.

Also - played SGM 2.2 for CoP, finished early stage (completly new missions etc.), went to Zaton and lost any will to play more.
I feel somewhat burned.

Will try Zone Alienation for SoC, and maybe Faction Wars for CS. Maybe it will be better catch.

 

[Silva]

This is the concept art I stumble upon just yesterday. Thinking again, it seems odd that the stalker suits are so hi-tech, and that both concepts carry weapons.

 

[Invictus]

Whoa! Screw the movie I want those suits to play with in the games...especially the thir stalker suit looks oh so sweet