STALKER Shadow of Chernobyl Mod Thread

[skacky]

To be honest I like variation when it's well done, because X18 becomes a game of hunting Poltergeists with your shotgun in vanilla/ZRP. I was afraid the whole time in AA2 since I didn't know what could appear.

Spoiler

You see the Burers before you encounter the zombies, which happens more or less a floor under the entrance to the lab.

 

[Junmarko]

From what I've experienced so far, it's defiantly the most polished SoC overhaul mod out there - bug/optimization wise anyway. I like the nods to Tarkovsky's film as well.

 

[Invictus]

So far I am liking what I read about AA2
I haven't played it much because I am still finishing up Misery but it definetly looks cool and the additions the skacky mentions sound cool to me
You are turning into an angry old man DraQ

 

[Junmarko]

Ehhh okay, the mod adds some surprises later on.

Spoiler

I just completed X18 and it's crowded with zombies. Not to mention the 3 additional Burers roaming one of the floors. I shat my pants on video.

I managed to find a M110 SASS (a semi-auto sniper rifle used in Iraq and Afghanistan by the US) and it's one of the best weapons I've ever seen in a STALKER mod. The shotguns are ridiculously awesome to use too.

What difficulty have you been playing on? I'm on Master atm, might drop it down though. Man, I'm not sure if this this is what Stalker was always like (it's been a long time since I played vanilla) but why can enemies spot you so damn easily? It's pretty ridiculous. Sneaking is useless, and they also seem to see through walls - infuriating. Is there a mod to fix this?

 

[skacky]

STALKER was always like that, but AA2 makes stealth more worthwhile. I'm playing on Master and I've been able to sneak quite a lot so far, but you have to do it during foggy weather or by night and walk by crouching very low (shift+crouch). It's true some dudes are able to see you from far away, however, especially the Mercs in Rostok.

 

[Junmarko]

STALKER was always like that, but AA2 makes stealth more worthwhile. I'm playing on Master and I've been able to sneak quite a lot so far, but you have to do it during foggy weather or by night and walk by crouching very low (shift+crouch). It's true some dudes are able to see you from far away, however, especially the Mercs in Rostok.

Ah ok. That's good to know the weather actually does help. Also, the animations for my anomaly detector's don't work - not flashing etc. You getting that too?

 

[skacky]

Yes, that's "normal". It's impossible to do on SoC. The Bear detector works in a completely different manner than in Call of Pripyat for example, but in a cool way.

 

[Invictus]

This is by far the best thread in the Codex, I am actualy kind of shocked how friendly and helpful the posts are here.
The constant information on new mods, tactics and that great potatojohn Misery walkthrough are the best.
Wish I knew how to bro fist!

 

[Junmarko]

Yes, that's "normal". It's impossible to do on SoC. The Bear detector works in a completely different manner than in Call of Pripyat for example, but in a cool way.

Ah ok. Yeah, it is a lot more fun when they aren't in plain sight. Any idea what new weapons they've added?

 

[skacky]

So far I've found a M110 SASS and a TOZ-194, and both are absolutely devastating weapons. I've seen someone say that they found a Saiga too.

 

[Silva]

This is by far the best thread in the Codex, I am actualy kind of shocked how friendly and helpful the posts are here.
The constant information on new mods, tactics and that great potatojohn Misery walkthrough are the best.
Wish I knew how to bro fist!

huh.. you know Potatojohn is bot, dont you ?

 

[Invictus]

Huh? A bot as in a FPS bot?

 

[Echo Mirage]

Speaking of devastating weapons. It seems that SGM 2.2's weapons progression hinges almost entirely on dealing with the random and often annoying Alpha squad attacks. Much of the base game has standard vanilla weapons with a few modded versions but Alpha squad have weapons above and beyond anything that I could even imagine. No sooner then buying a FN2000 from Nimble did Alpha squad start dropping Ak47's,FN Fal, HK g36 compact assault rifles, M14's and bizarrely barrett m82 .50 cal sniper rifles which deal a almost one shot kill of 200 damage. Also farming them is the only method of getting standard sniper rifle ammo which is the only ammo that can't be purchased anywhere.

 

[Junmarko]

Anyone noticed the texture for the ft-200m is either missing or just plain dull? Not sure how to revert that particular texture to vanilla. Everytime I delete the specific mesh, the game just crashes.

 

[Surf Solar]

Wow, they don't fuck around with the difficulty in AA2 mod. I get my ass handed by pretty much everyone. I don't remember STALKER being that hard, or rather, the AI laserbeaming me across 100 metres. :S

Also noticed they have used some sound files for weapons from Battlefield 3. :D

 

[Baron Dupek]

Welcome in the world of STALKER mods with wallhacking autoaim enemies and anomalies everywhere. No rest for the weak.

 

[DraQ]

Sneaking is useless, and they also seem to see through walls - infuriating. Is there a mod to fix this?

Actually enemies seemed to get a momentary wallhack in vanilla on load.

ZRP fixes that.

Obviously.

 

[skacky]

So I got to Yantar and the place is almost unrecognizable now. It has a lot more vegetation and uses Yanov's music in Call of Pripyat (I dug through the music files the mod uses and there's Pripyat's day theme as well). I also completed X16. It wasn't as bad as X18 in terms of nope, but it was still quite difficult.

Spoiler

Three Burers were added as well. One in the first room after you come down the elevator shaft, and two others in the emitter room. These were a lot harder to kill cause the place is huge and doesn't have a lot of cover. The controller was also particularly nasty this time around. Good thing I found an SSP-99 Ecologist Suit with good psy resistance.

 

[Invictus]

Surf Solar
You cab tweak those values a bit the same as with Misery to tailor the experience more to you liking...although what is is with these "you gotta be hardcore" mods?

 

[DraQ]

You are turning into an angry old man DraQ

Turning? Turning!?

 

[Surf Solar]

Surf Solar
You cab tweak those values a bit the same as with Misery to tailor the experience more to you liking...although what is is with these "you gotta be hardcore" mods?

Where would I tweak these settings if I would want to adjust the enemy difficulty a bit? For the record I have nothing against difficulty in games, but getting instakills from across the map all the time is not my kind of fun.

 

[Invictus]

Give a couple of hours to tweak them and I'll upload the files for you they are mainly in the config directory

 

[Invictus]

Ok here it is since I haven't played AA2 much and I don't want to unbalance stuff that was ok I just adjusted the FOV of the human enemies which was up to 180 in some cases but now is mostly 90 with 120 on special cases
https://www.mediafire.com/?xwoa5trggpxhwii
Unpack that folder in the gamedata folder, but before that make a backup of your config file in case you don't like my changes and overwrite the config file with this one and let me see if it is ok.
If you think now the game is too easy I can tweak it some more but is should be good; enemies will have it harder both to spot you and to aim at you but the damage from all weapons will be the same as in the AA2 mod

 

[Rolk's Drifter]

Skacky, you sir deserve a custom tag! Also you said you shat your pants on video, any chance we could watch? Not so much the defecation but your play would be nice. I tried AA2 for a bit but I need a break from playing Stalker and I had mixed feelings about it. I'd still like to see how it play though.

Invictus, have you finished Misery then? How have you found it?

 

[Invictus]

I have not finished it yet because I went away for the weekend but what I have played I have really enjoyed; I did tweak things a bit to my liking on the suggestions from Silva to adjust the enemy FOV and damage resistance plus some tweaks to healing items and a few prices
Right now it feel very rewarding when I can take a camp with 5 or 6 enemies with good planning, carefull hide and seek tactics...it makes the game feel less as a FPS and more like a FPSurvival Simulator; I can't even imagine going back to vanilla CoP
After I am done with Misery I plan on going straight to AA2; that should hold me up till the release of Lost Alpha, or perhaps give Clear Skies a try
BTW I am playing the 1.0 misery with the 2 patch...no way I am touching the 2.02 or newer versions; those changes sound like overcomplicating things too much, Misery 1 feels like an upgraded vanilla and it is good enough for me