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S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl |OT|

C

chespace

It's not actually trolling if you don't admit it
Finally installed the game last night on my Toshiba "not-made-for-hardcore-gaming" laptop.

Surprisingly, it runs the game at a decent clip, running at 30fps for the most part on "high" detail.

Graphically, the game is disappointing. Character models look gangly and move strangely, and the world looks very flat (no dynamic lighting). My game doesn't have the same textures as those screens on the last page so I'll try running it today on "max" settings. The funny thing is that the game doesn't even let me turn on dynamic lighting. :lol

I certainly like the atmosphere in the game, even if it reminds me of a sloppy eastern european game like Operation Flashpoint (another one of my all time favorites).

I'm only 10 minutes into the game -- had to crash afterwards. A few AI stalkers and I raided some enemy camp and a firefight ensued. Good times. Lots of bullets and chaos. I picked up some nice loot off of dead friendlies and enemies.

I look forward to overheating my laptop!
 
O

OatmealMu

Member
Just finished it. I got one of the bad endings:
My character wished for the Zone to disappear. So the Wish Maker made him blind. Oops! :lol

Overall, it was an enjoyable game. The AI is great, and their short lifespans really add to the game's atmosphere. Just about anyone can die and I appreciate that. The underground sections had me on edge. Those damn Bloodsuckers had me on edge, and in one level, something kept throwing buckets at me. I love how limited in number the more dangerous mutants are. It makes them feel that much more exotic.

The ending really felt rushed, though. You're given essentially zero time to properly explore
Chernobyl's
exterior. I was a bit disappointed to come across new gear so close to the end. Hell, I wasn't even able to shoot one of the two new weapons I found (everyone was already dead) and the exoskeleton did a shit job at shielding radiation. Seriously, what's the point in giving the player new stuff like that when they've nearly completed the game?

For the curious, here are some screenshots of the "final" area. My computer has a lowly Radeon 9800, so don't expect too much. That said, the atmosphere was something else. It's almost ethereal...

SPOILERS!
http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/425/ssowner032207100854l12ubn7.jpg
http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/6530/ssowner032207100913l12ufq3.jpg
 
O

OatmealMu

Member
Redbeard said:
It'll tell you anyone in the area, not just stalkers. It's useful when you're in enemy territory and you want to know how many are skulking around.

I'm absolutely loving this game so far. I just got through the first underground area which was intense. Graphics are amazing with dynamic lighting on, it's like FEAR with twice the detail.

A few early mission questions:

The mission where you're supposed to kill the imposter trader, did anyone else have the problem that he never appeared at the marker? I ended up failing that one.

And the one where you're supposed to bring back a mutant dog tail, I had two in my inventory and the trader wouldn't acknowledge it, and I failed that one as well. Is that a bug or is there some other dog tail I was supposed to have?

And is there anywhere to spend all this money I have? I want to get some new armor or something (I'm in the Garbage area).
Click to expand...

The side missions can be buggy, yeah. The imposter trader is marked on your mini-map. You'll need to look closely to see which one it is, since his dialogue isn't any different from the others. Just make sure to high-tail it outta' there after you pop him. The other Stalkers will be kind of irritated.

Money, unfortunately, is kind of useless. It does, however, effect your game's ending depending on which missions you do or do not complete.
 
B

Borys

Banned
chespace said:
Finally installed the game last night on my Toshiba "not-made-for-hardcore-gaming" laptop.

Surprisingly, it runs the game at a decent clip, running at 30fps for the most part on "high" detail.

Graphically, the game is disappointing. Character models look gangly and move strangely, and the world looks very flat (no dynamic lighting). My game doesn't have the same textures as those screens on the last page so I'll try running it today on "max" settings. The funny thing is that the game doesn't even let me turn on dynamic lighting. :lol

I certainly like the atmosphere in the game, even if it reminds me of a sloppy eastern european game like Operation Flashpoint (another one of my all time favorites).

I'm only 10 minutes into the game -- had to crash afterwards. A few AI stalkers and I raided some enemy camp and a firefight ensued. Good times. Lots of bullets and chaos. I picked up some nice loot off of dead friendlies and enemies.

I look forward to overheating my laptop!
Click to expand...

Awesome, I love it when Xbox devs commit to playing PC games :) Doesn't happen too often!
 
F

FartOfWar

Banned
FlyinJ said:
Ok, I have a question. I'm about 6 hours in at the
mobile lab. I just escorted the guy to take the "readings", and had the cinematic where an explosion happens and I end up on a bus. We fought our way back to the mobile lab, and I got the mission to find the guy's body in the swamp. The problem is, I have this crazy brown/white sparkly screen effect happening constantly. It makes everything look dull brown and somewhat bright. Is this a bug, or am I supposed to have this happening to me constantly?
.

Also, for those of you who got the first replacement suit to wear:
nightvision is usable while wearing it. Press 'n' to activate it. I just stumbled across that
.
Click to expand...

If you want spoilers I can tell you where the body is. The distortion effects you're getting are part of the game and you'll learn what it is later. P.S. you can let the dude you're escorting die and it won't matter (maybe you'll get a weak reward or something, I don't know). A snork got him when I played so I took his ammo and weapons.
 
F

FartOfWar

Banned
OatmealMu said:
Just finished it. I got one of the bad endings:
My character wished for the Zone to disappear. So the Wish Maker made him blind. Oops! :lol

Overall, it was an enjoyable game. The AI is great, and their short lifespans really add to the game's atmosphere. Just about anyone can die and I appreciate that. The underground sections had me on edge. Those damn Bloodsuckers had me on edge, and in one level, something kept throwing buckets at me. I love how limited in number the more dangerous mutants are. It makes them feel that much more exotic.

The ending really felt rushed, though. You're given essentially zero time to properly explore
Chernobyl's
exterior. I was a bit disappointed to come across new gear so close to the end. Hell, I wasn't even able to shoot one of the two new weapons I found (everyone was already dead) and the exoskeleton did a shit job at shielding radiation. Seriously, what's the point in giving the player new stuff like that when they've nearly completed the game?

For the curious, here are some screenshots of the "final" area. My computer has a lowly Radeon 9800, so don't expect too much. That said, the atmosphere was something else. It's almost ethereal...

SPOILERS!
http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/425/ssowner032207100854l12ubn7.jpg
http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/6530/ssowner032207100913l12ufq3.jpg
Click to expand...


I don't consider this a spoiler but if you avoid the "false endings" there's actually a good deal more action and real estate to see beyond...where the false endings happen.
 
M

MirageDwarf

Member
Posting it again. Got last at the end of last page.

questionup4.jpg


What is this number? See the red arrow. It doesn't show this number all the time.
 
F

FlyinJ

Douchebag. Yes, me.
FartOfWar said:
The distortion effects you're getting are part of the game and you'll learn what it is later.
Click to expand...

Really? I chalked them up to being a bug. Because as soon as I zoned, the screen effect went away. When I came back to the zone, the screen effect was gone as well.
 
T

tegdf

Junior Member
MirageDwarf said:
Posting it again. Got last at the end of last page.

questionup4.jpg


What is this number? See the red arrow. It doesn't show this number all the time.
Click to expand...

someone already answered it, its the number of stalkers on your screen
 
O

OatmealMu

Member
Borys said:
So uhhh, can you spoil it even more for me cause I won't be playing this game any soon.

Is it
the radioactive core
or what? Looks surprisingly good for a 9800 BTW. I have a similiar card (be gone, Toxic Adam!) so there is still hope for me to play this with normal framerate.
Click to expand...

Yep, it's the
core. The glowing thing is reported to grant anyone who finds it a single wish...
And the framerate held up really well throughout most of the game. There was only once instance of a really bad hiccup, and a restart fixed that. It's just too bad that night doesn't really look like night on the 9800. It feels more like twilight. I would've liked some bump-mapping, too.

FartOfWar said:
I don't consider this a spoiler but if you avoid the "false endings" there's actually a good deal more action and real estate to see beyond...where the false endings happen.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I did a little reading on other forums. I can't say that I'm a fan of the PDA. It's glitchy and the mission structure's poorly organized.
 
F

FartOfWar

Banned
FlyinJ said:
Really? I chalked them up to being a bug. Because as soon as I zoned, the screen effect went away. When I came back to the zone, the screen effect was gone as well.
Click to expand...

The swamp behind the scientists bunker has some of it going on but the hilltop area to the right of it is loaded.
 
M

MirageDwarf

Member
tegdf said:
someone already answered it, its the number of stalkers on your screen
Click to expand...

My bad. I missed it. I assumed that if somebody replies, they will quote it. Was looking for quote. Will try to read better now onwards.
 
M

madmook

Member
chespace said:
Finally installed the game last night on my Toshiba "not-made-for-hardcore-gaming" laptop.
Click to expand...
Quick question: what are the specs on your lappy and what res. were you running the game in?

My laptop has a Turion 2.2ghz, 1 gig of RAM, and a 128meg radeon x700. Haven't done too much recent gaming on it, but I am a shooter fan and STALKER's premise has me mildly interested...
 
M

Magicked

Member
I'm loving this game. The AI absolutely blows me away. It really is incredibly well done.

I also love the fact that I have no targeting reticule. I have to look down the sight of my gun to take an accurate shot.
 
F

FlyinJ

Douchebag. Yes, me.
FartOfWar said:
The swamp behind the scientists bunker has some of it going on but the hilltop area to the right of it is loaded.
Click to expand...

My view had the "static-y" look to it... similar to what happens when you enter a radiation zone. However, there was also screen effect that made everything look bright and brown... throughout the whole zone after the
bus cutscene. I had this happening the entire time as I fought my way to the lab entrance. I reloaded the game to right before I started fighting into the lab entrance, and instead ran back and zoned to the east. The effect went away, and when I came back to the mobile lab/swamp/lab entrance zone it was gone for the entire zone.
 
M

Masenkame

Member
Argh, got installing problems. Just got home with the game, the DVD version. The progress bar for installing almost gets to the end, and then my computer restarts before it finishes. Already did this twice.

Maybe I should make an .iso of the disc and try to install from that. But anyone know what's up with my computer? I have enough hard drive space to install the game.
 
O

OatmealMu

Member
FlyinJ said:
My view had the "static-y" look to it... similar to what happens when you enter a radiation zone. However, there was also screen effect that made everything look bright and brown... throughout the whole zone after the
bus cutscene. I had this happening the entire time as I fought my way to the lab entrance. I reloaded the game to right before I started fighting into the lab entrance, and instead ran back and zoned to the east. The effect went away, and when I came back to the mobile lab/swamp/lab entrance zone it was gone for the entire zone.
Click to expand...

That happened to me in the Red Forest. As soon as I loaded up a new section, the effect disappeared. Strangely, my radiation level (which had been steadily increasing), stopped increasing. A blessing in disguise, as I'd almost run out of anti-rads.
 
R

RubberJohnny

Banned
I'm not really feeling this title. I got myself all psyched about it, but I've had to question how much I'm enjoying it. There isn't really one thing that stands out for me.

Combat is woolly and imprecise, the visual and audio aren't great (enough kicking them), and it just feels - quite odd. I can't seem to reconcile it to my play styles in either RPG or FPS. The PDA is awkward, the quests are just 'go fetch', I dislike the spawning enemies and the Inventory management is awkward, especially how encumberance is measured, the artifacts are underused and the radiation system is dodgy.

Looking at what I've just written, it comes off quite harsh. I don't dislike the game, I just don't think it's great.
 
D

Defcon

Banned
I have a real love and hate affair with this game. One minute I think I'm done and want to uninstall it, but the next I'm back playing and just enthralled with it. I think once a patch or two has been released to get the engine more optimized and some of the more annoying bugs fixed, it will be a great game.
 
N

neuroticphil

Member
I too am really enjoying this game despite the faults that it brings to the table. true, the pda kinda sucks, true it doesn't run the best, though the performance that i get is well within my limits of playability, and it's a bit frusterating that you can't rely on your ability to fire a gun accurately. The accuracy thing isn't so much a ding against the game, it's just something that i have to get used to.

I really want to be able to play it more, but work is getting in the way. everyone's talking about the atmosphere in the game, and i have to mimic everyone's positive sentiments. It's spectacular. the gunplay is fantastic, albiet extremely difficult, and the ai is mindblowing. It's a great game so far, and i'm looking forward to some more interesting experiences.
 
T

TemplaerDude

Member
the utilization of resources is really disappointing to me. things like the initial load time are ridiculous, a game like oblivion which looks amazing and does so much more loads 5 times faster easily. this game is looks pretty good but takes 5 - 6 minutes to load on my computer. and the performance is balls. just absolute balls.

****ing damn game is addictive though.
 
S

Sinatar

Official GAF Bottom Feeder
Are you guys approaching the firefights like Half Life or something? If you fire when stationary and using the iron sights, accuracy is perfectly fine. I just took out the entire military camp at the bridge doing headshots with a silenced pistol, no problem at all.

Do not run and gun, you'll be fine.
 
R

Ravager61

Member
I hate my computer. I just got this game thinking it would be playable since I slightly exceed the minimum requirements and I ran Oblivion ok, but it stutters too much to be playable :(

amd 2800+
geforce 6800
512mb ram

Im sure its my lack of ram thats holding me back.
 
F

FlyinJ

Douchebag. Yes, me.
Ravager61 said:
I hate my computer. I just got this game thinking it would be playable since I slightly exceed the minimum requirements and I ran Oblivion ok, but it stutters too much to be playable :(

amd 2800+
geforce 6800
512mb ram

Im sure its my lack of ram thats holding me back.
Click to expand...

Yes. Definitely. You need to stick another 1.5 in there, and it'll run fine.
 
Chiggs

Chiggs

Gold Member
If people are still having performance issues with this game, I recommend turning down grass to about 1/3rd or less. This should give you a pretty nice FPS jump.
 
D

Defcon

Banned
To turn on bloom lighting and motion blur...

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\STALKER-SHOC

open user.tlx

r2_ls_bloom_fast on

r2_mblur 1
 
D

Danne-Danger

Member
g0dQHf.jpg


Great game, although i think i got the shittiest ending...
I go to the "wish thing" and say "I want to be rich!" (out of nowhere btw) and the whole thing collapses ontop of me while giving me the illusion that money is falling from the sky...
This time around I'll try to locate that Strelok guy... ^^
 
C

chespace

It's not actually trolling if you don't admit it
Magicked said:
I'm loving this game. The AI absolutely blows me away. It really is incredibly well done.

I also love the fact that I have no targeting reticule. I have to look down the sight of my gun to take an accurate shot.
Click to expand...

Can't wait to really start playing it tonight.

One thing though is that I definitely have a targeting reticule -- what are you talking about?

Also, you got any good AI stories? I love AI in games and love reading about all the sandbox stuff they can do. :)
 
Chiggs

Chiggs

Gold Member
God help us if the events from the film Red Dawn ever take place, because America is ****ed. None of you little crybabies can shoot! Hate to break it to you, but the guns in this game are pretty ****ing close to real life. This game has pretty damn good ballistics.
 
T

TemplaerDude

Member
battlefield 2 taught me that in order to defeat the enemy, you must stare him in the face, jump in the air, go prone and shoot like a nutter.
 
D

Danne-Danger

Member
Avalon said:
Got a couple of question regarding radiation...

How do you get it in the first place?
When you walk into an area and you hear a... and you hear some "noise" (a "clackering", if that's a word), means that you are recieving a dose of radiation, the louder the "clacker" the larger the dose.

Anyone to get rid of it without using food and other healing items?
You can use Artifacts that has -radiation attributes, that ticks it away.

Do those little accessories you get increase the rate of radiation?
Some do, you need to balance it out with the artifacts that reduce radiation.
Click to expand...
.
 
Chiggs

Chiggs

Gold Member
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. has the best texture work I've ever seen in a game. Hands down. The further I progress in this game, the more the whole mediocre visuals argument makes me laugh.

Take a gander!









 
S

Splash Wave

Member
I'm having some really weird performance issues. Whenever I start the game it runs at a slideshow framerate, but if I adjust the settings it runs alright. Usually keeping 40-45 FPS until I look at something I haven't seen before and it bogs down again. After a few seconds of that, it''ll smooth out again. I'm mostly concerned with it not really playing at all most of the time.



I'm running a radeon 9700 pro, 1 gig of ram, and an Athlon 3000
 
S

satterfield

BIGTIME TV MOGUL
madmook said:
Quick question: what are the specs on your lappy and what res. were you running the game in?

My laptop has a Turion 2.2ghz, 1 gig of RAM, and a 128meg radeon x700. Haven't done too much recent gaming on it, but I am a shooter fan and STALKER's premise has me mildly interested...
Click to expand...

I have a 3.2ghz with a gig of RAM and an ATI X700 with 256on-board. It basically won't run unless you turn off dynamic lighting completely. Then i get about 30 fps. This engine is a mess and playing this game has reminded me of why I feel Pc gaming is a pain in the ass.
 
EviLore

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
satterfield said:
I have a 3.2ghz with a gig of RAM and an ATI X700 with 256on-board. It basically won't run unless you turn off dynamic lighting completely. Then i get about 30 fps. This engine is a mess and playing this game has reminded me of why I feel Pc gaming is a pain in the ass.
Click to expand...

Try PC gaming with a real computer, might alleviate some of your woes.
 
V

Victrix

*beard*
satterfield said:
I have a 3.2ghz with a gig of RAM and an ATI X700 with 256on-board. It basically won't run unless you turn off dynamic lighting completely. Then i get about 30 fps. This engine is a mess and playing this game has reminded me of why I feel Pc gaming is a pain in the ass.
Click to expand...

I have an Xbox

It runs 360 games poorly :(
 
C

chespace

It's not actually trolling if you don't admit it
Wow, 3am. Must sleep.

STALKER rules.

One of the most intense shooters I've played in recent years, if not the most intense.

The AI in this game is off the hook.

Damn those Resident Evil dogs.

The atmosphere, the firearms, the paranoia, the variable weather, day/night cycles, loot collecting and ironsights aiming all come together to create one helluv an immersive mind****.

Best of all, I'm running with all settings to max except AF, AA and dynamic lighting on my piece of shit Toshiba Satellite laptop (actually I love this laptop for everything except games). Smooth framerates, nice textures, etc. I have to take a little sacrifice though and run the game at 800x600. Still looks good! :lol

And yes, I'm playing on a pot of cold water. It feels as if this laptop is going to melt.

Can't wait to do more STALKER this weekend.
 
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