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[JSnake]

FUCK YEAH

mock if old

GSC Game World is glad to announce a new project in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series – S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (working title) for PC.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat will become a third stand-alone game in the highly-acclaimed Survival FPS S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series.
The project is slanted for release in autumn 2009.

The events of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat unfold shortly after the end of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. Having discovered about the open path to the Zone center, the government decides to hold a large-scale military "Fairway" operation aimed to take the CNPP under control.

According to the operation's plan, the first military group is to conduct an air scouting of the territory to map out the detailed layouts of anomalous fields location. Thereafter, making use of the maps, the main military forces are to be dispatched.

Despite thorough preparations, the operation fails. Most of the avant-garde helicopters crash. In order to collect information on reasons behind the operation failure, Ukraine's Security Service send their agent into the Zone center. From now on everything depends on the player.

Key game features:

Photorealistic exclusion Zone – Pripyat town, Yanov railway station, Jupiter factory, Kopachi village and more, recreated by their true-to-life prototypes.
New story, a number of unique characters.
Extended system of side quests.
New monsters: Chimera and Burer. New behaviour and abilities for all monsters.
New A-Life system, created using the players' best-liked elements of the first two games in series.
Emissions considerably influence the world of the Zone.
Sleep function added into the game.
New player's interface.
Possibility to continue the game after completion in a freeplay mode.
The game is developed on X-Ray engine v.1.6

Huge screens:

http://stalker-game.com/en/view_frame.php?d=n&img=xr_cop_screen_002.jpg

http://stalker-game.com/en/view_frame.php?d=n&img=xr_cop_screen_001.jpg

 

[Odrion]

get out of here stalker
get out of here stalker
get out of here stalker
get out of here stalker
get out of here stalker

 

[Odrion]

in "knowing" Nicholas Cage's son complains that he never lets him play stalker

weirdest popular game series ever, it's essentially oregon trail as a fps, very looking forward to this. especially since I'm finally building a new computer!

 

[alr1ght]

Give me a console release, as my pc is shit. I'd love to play it.

 

[Durante]

FUCK YEAH

Indeed.

http://stalker-game.com/en/view_frame.php?d=n&img=xr_cop_screen_002.jpg

http://stalker-game.com/en/view_frame.php?d=n&img=xr_cop_screen_001.jpg

I don't understand these people. They're making a PC game, and then they release 1680x1050 screens without AA to promote it. They should learn from consoole devs and render it at 4 times that resolution with AA, they'd actually be closer to the settings I'll be playing at.

 

[Median]

Whelp, guess I've got two STALKER games to finish before autumn. HELL YEAH

 

[wolfmat]

Hope they finally do the things right they did wrong in the series.. Like balancing, for example.

Well, even if they did, I still wouldn't buy it because I didn't enjoy anything coming from them past the first 2 hours, but it would be cool if they finally looked at the critique and took it to heart.

 

[notsol337]

Oh god yes all over my tits, face, and back.

 

[Prime crotch]

Don't really care about the new character and stories, but improved A-Life? Awesome!

 

[andycapps]

get out of here stalker
get out of here stalker
get out of here stalker
get out of here stalker
get out of here stalker

This.

Oh god yes all over my tits, face, and back.

And this.

 

[Wollan]

Hopefully they have reworked the hit detection/impact.

 

[Blueblur1]

This has reminded me that I have a sealed copy of Clear Sky sitting in my backlog stack.

 

[Y2Kev]

Well now I build my PC. I need to play stalker.

 

[andycapps]

Give me a console release, as my pc is shit. I'd love to play it.

The first (still going through it) was pretty flawed in the shooting mechanics in that the hit detection seemed way off and a few more little quirks that I'm not sure how receptive console players would be to. But yeah, if they bring this one or any sequels to console owners, the more people that get to experience this universe, the better.

I can't tell you how much the first one scares the crap out of me when the story and atmosphere changes. The sense of isolation in this game just.. gets to me.

 

[dark10x]

The series I wanted to love so much.

I still just can't get over how awesome many of the ideas in the first game were and how bad the execution turned out to be. This has to be one of the most conflicted experiences in gaming for me.

I would be thrilled if they could really solve some of the issues (such as terrible, oversensitive AI), but there are just too many core design elements in the two original games that require much more than a simple "hot fix".

I suppose the thing that bothered me the most is that the design of the game directly conflicts with the type of world they've created. What seems like a desolate, lonely world is massively over populated with annoying enemies. Engaging in combat was terrible and the AI response to the player was even worse. When a single enemy spots you and every enemy within a half mile suddenly activates and comes gunning for you, something is wrong. I want to explore and sneak around this world, not face entire armies of enemies. It's so bad that, even when using one of those "vest mods" that allows you to become almost invincible, I still became frustrated. It pisses me off just thinking about the sounds of all those enemies coming down on you. It was no fun at all. To make matters worse, loading a quicksave caused your character to drop down just enough to make a sound that would immediately alert everything in the area. Stealth was impossible, as a result. You simply could not quietly make your way through any location.

 

[Splatt]

Hopefully, it's much better than the turd known as Clear Sky.

 

[EviLore]

Speculative console port talk in PC gaming threads remains banned, stay on topic.

 

[vandalvideo]

I think we should all volunteer to beta the game so we don't get bugs this time around.

 

[andycapps]

The series I wanted to love so much.

I still just can't get over how awesome many of the ideas in the first game were and how bad the execution turned out to be. This has to be one of the most conflicted experiences in gaming for me.

I would be thrilled if they could really solve some of the issues (such as terrible, oversensitive AI), but there are just too many core design elements in the two original games that require much more than a simple "hot fix".

I suppose the thing that bothered me the most is that the design of the game directly conflicts with the type of world they've created. What seems like a desolate, lonely world is massively over populated with annoying enemies. Engaging in combat was terrible and the AI response to the player was even worse. When a single enemy spots you and every enemy within a half mile suddenly activates and comes gunning for you, something is wrong. I want to explore and sneak around this world, not face entire armies of enemies. It's so bad that, even when using one of those "vest mods" that allows you to become almost invincible, I still became frustrated. It pisses me off just thinking about the sounds of all those enemies coming down on you. It was no fun at all. To make matters worse, loading a quicksave caused your character to drop down just enough to make a sound that would immediately alert everything in the area. Stealth was impossible, as a result. You simply could not quietly make your way through any location.

I've never played it as a stealth game, but I do see how you'd be frustrated if you tried to do so. Because it seems like the enemies can see you from a half mile away if you're mostly obscured by grass and crouching through the grass.

The first thing I did was to get the merc vest that's in that opening area where the guys are chilling around the campfire. If you get that, it makes your first missions much, much easier.

 

[Truant]

I hope it's better than Clear Sky.

The original was fantastic, and CS improved on it in every aspect but the actual story experience.

 

[Aselith]

get out of here stalker
get out of here stalker
get out of here stalker
get out of here stalker
get out of here stalker

He haunts my dreams.

 

[AgentOtaku]

I've never even finished STALKER proper and skipped Clear sky entirely ....but yet I'm still excited about this!

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Wow, this is really awesome, I hope it's good. I still have to beat clear sky though.

 

[kuYuri]

Whelp, guess I've got two STALKER games to finish before autumn. HELL YEAH

Same. Well, I still need to get Clear Sky, but I've been seeing it on sale lately so it's only a matter of time.

 

[thaOwner]

Nice. Still haven't played the first one but I am so picking it up over this summer.

 

[dLMN8R]

As much as I loved Shadow of Chernobyl, and as much as Clear Sky failed to live up to my hopes and expectations, I can't fucking wait for this.

Played both games to completion multiple times. There's just something so satisfying about the gunplay and so absorbing in the atmosphere.

 

[firex]

maybe if I wind up liking STALKER and Clear Sky (after getting them for a combined $8) I can buy this one full price...

 

[eXistor]

Wow, great news! The original STALKER is one of my favorite games ever and CS was still a good experience (though much more flawed than SoC). Bring on the third I say.

 

[Blizzard]

I've had Clear Sky bought on Steam for a while, and I've only played the start of STALKER, none of Clear Sky. But it's still great to hear they're making a sequel. I don't like the idea of sleep and weapons that can't be repaired, though I don't necessarily mind "realistic" shooting. I hope they fix side-to-side bobbing a bit.

It makes me sad to hear you can't play STALKER as a stealth game though, even with quicksaves. This was never fixed in a patch? I've probably heard lots of complaints about STALKER, but I don't think I had heard the "facing armies of enemies at once" one before. Even though the first mission that I played had several enemies, they mostly stayed in their base or hid behind cover, with only a few of the closer ones creeping after me. I was actually rather impressed by the AI, and I liked that I got to play the role of "Not the leader, but just a random guy who's helping a team led by SOMEONE ELSE." It's rather rare in the games I've played.

 

[Diseased Yak]

OMG, I can't wait! One of my favorite series, even though Clear Sky didn't live up to my expectations. Let's hope they iron out the rough spots (there were many) in the first one, and have a more compelling story than CS.

Day 1, for sure.

 

[dark10x]

I've never played it as a stealth game, but I do see how you'd be frustrated if you tried to do so. Because it seems like the enemies can see you from a half mile away if you're mostly obscured by grass and crouching through the grass.

The first thing I did was to get the merc vest that's in that opening area where the guys are chilling around the campfire. If you get that, it makes your first missions much, much easier.

That's the thing, I had to abandon hopes to play it quietly early on but I still found myself extremely irritated by the insane numbers of enemies populating the world. As I said, I really think it completely betrays the world they've created.

It makes me sad to hear you can't play STALKER as a stealth game though, even with quicksaves. This was never fixed in a patch? I've probably heard lots of complaints about STALKER, but I don't think I had heard the "facing armies of enemies at once" one before.

Any major area seemed to be filled with them. I was never able to make it further than the town with the bar, however. I've tried so many times, but I just hate playing it. There's too much combat and the combat is terrible.

 

[CiSTM]

GREAT NEWS ! I really love Stalker series and I'm really looking forward to this.

 

[Minotauro]

Any major area seemed to be filled with them. I was never able to make it further than the town with the bar, however. I've tried so many times, but I just hate playing it. There's too much combat and the combat is terrible.

Man, I'd really intended to play this game once I clear a few other things first but your impressions are giving me pause. Tell me, would you say it's more or less irritating than Far Cry 2? I've heard similar complaints about it and both are currently on my to-play stack...

 

[zon]

Go GSC!

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

Seems very unimpressive graphically. Oh well that just means that my PC can push it to the max.

 

[Doytch]

get out of here stalker
get out of here stalker
get out of here stalker
get out of here stalker
get out of here stalker

I SAID COME IN DON'T JUST STAND THERE
I SAID COME IN DON'T JUST STAND THERE

 

[ChoklitReign]

Key game features:

Photorealistic exclusion Zone – Pripyat town, Yanov railway station, Jupiter factory, Kopachi village and more, recreated by their true-to-life prototypes.
New story, a number of unique characters.
Extended system of side quests.
New monsters: Chimera and Burer. New behaviour and abilities for all monsters.
New A-Life system, created using the players' best-liked elements of the first two games in series.
Emissions considerably influence the world of the Zone.
Sleep function added into the game.
New player's interface.
Possibility to continue the game after completion in a freeplay mode.
The game is developed on X-Ray engine v.1.6

It's just like Oblivion Lost! Woohoo!

 

[Nemo]

Good. I just got Stalker. Awesome game so far. What are those blurry random places that make you freak out though? Radiation?

 

[EviLore]

Man, I'd really intended to play this game once I clear a few other things first but your impressions are giving me pause. Tell me, would you say it's more or less irritating than Far Cry 2? I've heard similar complaints about it and both are currently on my to-play stack...

Far Cry 2's garbage & doesn't compare to Stalker at all. And don't let dark10x's extremely vocal opinion about good games he doesn't like keep you away from this one, or anything else.

 

[dark10x]

Far Cry 2's garbage & doesn't compare to Stalker at all. And don't let dark10x's extremely vocal opinion about good games he doesn't like keep you away from this one, or anything else.

I don't think anyone should stay away from it. Many people have enjoyed the game. I'm only venting as this was one of the biggest disappointments of the past decade for me (gaming wise).

I suppose the problem was that I love urban exploration in real life and a place like Chernobyl appeals very much. Furthermore, I also expected a Deus Ex/Vampire Bloodlines type of experience on a larger scale. Combine those expectations and it's easy to see why it let me down. It does so much right, but its problems completely ruined those positive aspects for me.

I thought FC2 was worse, however. FC2 was far more repetitive and boring. The two games are completely different.

 

[andycapps]

Man, I'd really intended to play this game once I clear a few other things first but your impressions are giving me pause. Tell me, would you say it's more or less irritating than Far Cry 2? I've heard similar complaints about it and both are currently on my to-play stack...

I'm not saying the combat is perfect as it could use improvement, but Stalker is such a good game despite the issues that it has. To me it's just really fresh and unlike what I'd played before. Plus, for the price that you can get it at now, you really can't go wrong.

I don't really get the complaints that the combat is horrible. Quirky? Yes.

 

[Blizzard]

Far Cry 2's garbage & doesn't compare to Stalker at all. And don't let dark10x's extremely vocal opinion about good games he doesn't like keep you away from this one, or anything else.

For my own benefit, once I get back to this game, what's the best way to take out "armies" of enemies if I encounter them later in the open? Or is that exaggerated?

Also, for the guy asking about blurry areas, they're anomalies. They should have mentioned them ingame. You throw bolts at them to make sure you avoid them. You might check the ingame tutorial. Just stay away from them until later.

 

[Tom Penny]

I loved the first one. Was the last one any good? I heard it wasn't as good as the first so I passed on it.

 

[EviLore]

For my own benefit, once I get back to this game, what's the best way to take out "armies" of enemies if I encounter them later in the open? Or is that exaggerated

The higher end scoped rifles you'll get as you approach the harder areas will even things out. It's not really anything to worry yourself about, I don't think.

 

[Minotauro]

Far Cry 2's garbage & doesn't compare to Stalker at all. And don't let dark10x's extremely vocal opinion about good games he doesn't like keep you away from this one, or anything else.

Oh, no worries. I was just curious regarding his thoughts as my tastes seem to align with his fairly often. For instance, I too favor exploration in games like Stalker and I can see how it would be irritating to have to constantly deal with dull gun battles. That said, I do still plan to give both games a chance. I mean, I already own them. It's just a matter of getting around to it. I was just hoping to get some help prioritizing...

 

[thaOwner]

I'm not saying the combat is perfect as it could use improvement, but Stalker is such a good gamedespite the issues that it has. To me it's just really fresh and unlike what I'd played before. Plus, for the price that you can get it at now, you really can't go wrong.

I don't really get the complaints that the combat is horrible. Quirky? Yes.

Want to elaborate further on those bolded points please ? After that horrible experience Far Cry 2 left me, am skeptical about open world games like this.

How is the gun play ? and based on what dax10 was talking about, does the game's supposedly 'quirkyness' make it too hard to shoot enemies or what ?

 

[dark10x]

For my own benefit, once I get back to this game, what's the best way to take out "armies" of enemies if I encounter them later in the open? Or is that exaggerated?

Also, for the guy asking about blurry areas, they're anomalies. They should have mentioned them ingame. You throw bolts at them to make sure you avoid them. You might check the ingame tutorial. Just stay away from them until later.

It's not all that difficult, but you feel like you are under attack all the time at points. Areas that would be great for exploration become warzones. When I say "armies", I mean an abandoned looking series of buildings might contain 10-20 enemies rather than a more reasonable and expected number. It's their number combined with the AI behavior that frustrated me.

If anyone has any tips for getting "into" the game, I'd appreciate it. It's still one of those games that lurks in the back of my head as something I really want to enjoy.

For instance, I too favor exploration in games like Stalker and I can see how it would be irritating to have to constantly deal with dull gun battles.

Yeah, I could see you disliking it as well, but still, do give it a shot.

I'll sum up things that bothered me for you...

1) Lack of exploration due to a constant stream of combat with the excitement of an MMORPG. :\

2) Quick discovery of artificial barriers reveal smaller areas than first expected - all densely populated with enemies or NPCs (again, feels more like an MMORPG world than what I had hoped)

3) Little personality or interesting dialog - One of the best things about something like Vampire Bloodlines was the quality of the writing and the scenarios presented. The story and characters in STALKER were all extremely uninteresting to me.

Honestly, I'm really curious to hear what you have to say about the game when you get around to playing it. It's such a strange game that seems to leave a different impression on everyone that plays it.

 

[dorkimoe]

wish i could get into the first one

something about the combat seems cheap

 

[Confidence Man]

Want to elaborate further on those bolded points please ? After that horrible experience Far Cry 2 left me, am skeptical about open world games like this.

How is the gun play ? and based on what dax10 was talking about, does the game's supposedly 'quirkyness' make it too hard to shoot enemies or what ?

It's not really an open world game. It's a series of large-ish interconnected zones.

They were going for realism with the gunplay, so weapons don't have the usual videogame accuracy; they also jam occasionally and degrade with use.

 

[Diseased Yak]

If anyone has any tips for getting "into" the game, I'd appreciate it. It's still one of those games that lurks in the back of my head as something I really want to enjoy.

Well, I can only speak to my way of playing, but for me it was learning to not rush in. I actually put the original Stalker down when I first got it because not soon after leaving the starting camp I just kept getting raped, mainly because I was trying to run and gun. I, too, couldn't get it out of my head so I eventually went back and settled in to try and love it, and finally it clicked.

It really just boils down to putting up with the game's quirks. The weird inventory system, the way stats on weapons don't seem to make sense sometimes, etc. For pockets of enemies, I'd just make sure to save often, and make them come to me usually, going for headshots and picking them off.

Like EviLore said above, the scoped rifles you start getting halfway through the game really make a big difference, as do the better protective suits. The game really is worth it imo. The sense of danger, of just overall wrongness, is nearly unmatched. Some of the moments in the game freaked me out so much I'd have to stop playing it after a while, and the ending was just phenomenal in my opinion.

Definitely give it a go again, at least until you start getting to the first underground Labs. That's where it really kicks into gear.