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General discussion (archive)Mod Spotlight: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Series(88 posts)(88 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted February 06, 2014
A few breaths of fresh air in The Zone.

Cheeki Breeki, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.s! We've heard you're planning on some trespassing. With the [url=http://www.gog.com/promo/stalker_series_launch_promo_060214]S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Series DRM-Free on GOG.com for only $14.97, who could blame you? After all, The Zone calls out to all of us, promising great loot, lasting friendships, awe-inspiring views, and frequent rushes of adrenaline. The experience with all three of the games, the original Shadow of Chernobyl, the prequel Clear Sky, and the sequel Call of Pripyat is deeply immersive, enthralling, and ultimately fun. Yet, there are no things in this world that couldn't be improved, and for PC games, it's very often a matter of weeks before mods start to show up, enhancing gameplay of even the most spectacular games. Here are the most impressive modifications for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Series games, that we find well worth your time (and the little effort it takes to install them).

When a team led by a popular contemporary artist, the painter Paul Dolgov, takes on the task of updating not only the visuals, but also the inner workings of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games, good things happen. With his S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Complete set of mods, Paul has earned himself a place on GamingBolt.com's list of Call of Pripyat screenshots, or [url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/artistpavel/sets/72157608341111036/" target="_blank]Shadow of Chernobyl[/url] and [url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/artistpavel/sets/72157623299360652/" target="_blank]Clear Sky[/url] on Flikr.

Here are just some features these modifications include:

- Complete graphics overhaul with hundreds of modified textures, new high-end rendering options, such as ambient occlusion, motion blur, and depth of focus, a re-designed HUD and menus, and even a new particle system.

- Freeplay mode allowing for endless exploration of The Zone, with random, un-scripted events, after the main campaign ends.

- AI improvements giving the NPCs more realistic behavior, so they avoid dangers on their own and--on the other hand--so they don't notice the player over unrealistic distances.

- Weather and day/night cycles remastered to feature dynamically changing conditions, high-res nightsky, and wet surface simulation.

- New sound and music, including over 80 acoustic guitar arrangements that you can listen to by the campfire.

- New gameplay features, like third-person view mode, faction reset option, field repair kit, a sleeping bag and much more.

Head out to Paul's websites for [url=http://artistpavel.blogspot.no/2009/04/stalker-complete-2009.html" target="_blank]S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Complete 2009 1.4.4[/url], [url=http://artistpavel.blogspot.no/2010/01/mod-clear-sky-complete.html" target="_blank]Clear Sky Complete 1.1.3[/url], and [url=http://artistpavel.blogspot.no/2010/04/mod-call-of-pripyat-complete.html" target="_blank]Call of Pripyat Complete 1.0.2[/url] to learn more and download the mods. Just keep in mind, that those three heavily modify the game, delivering an experience that much differs from the vanilla S.T.A.L.K.E.R. This also means you won't be able to apply the mods to an existing savegame, but start your adventure over after the overhaul. Bothersome as it might be for some, those modifications will award your trouble tenfold.

Admittedly, the mods featured in this editorial, while being excellent impressive work, don't necessarily give you the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. experience that was intended by the game's creators. Luckily, there's a lot of other mods that update the game without much actual alteration. There are also those that change it even further. We invite you to share your own S.T.A.L.K.E.R. modding experiences and recommendations in the forum thread below!
Post edited February 06, 2014 by G-Doc
Posted February 07, 2014
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rice_pudding: I'd take care here. ZRP basically just changes the config and scripts so I guess it should work fine with graphics mods, but I have no experience of this. One thing to note is that if you un-install ZRP or alter its settings I think you have to start a new game.

I remember playing with oblivion lost installed (a very good alternative overhaul), got half way through the game and it crashed. That was caused by part of the ZRP being left installed. Luckily on that occasion the crash log identified the offending file, and after deleting it I was able to continue, and finish the game.
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nickaepi: Hokey Dokey. I'll do some good ol' internet research. I didn't realize this was such a popular game. Tons of good info out there. Thanks for the tips!
The starter pack includes ZRP, as well as graphical mods. So it should work.
Posted February 07, 2014
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tritone: I own the original STALKER and Clear Sky, but not the Pripyat expansion. I partially played both games a number of years ago, giving up after just a level or two. For some reason, when I original bought the game, I had the impression that it was going to be all spooky and scary, like hunting monsters inside the old Chernobyl nuke plant. The game was nothing like that. I think the early trailers were misleading in that sense, or the ones I saw anyway.

It sure looked great, and this is such a great deal... it would even be worth $15 to buy the entire set just to get the 3rd game I never bought! (That's one of the great "values" of GOG, where the low price includes extras/expansions you don't own yet). But I could never get past the extreme difficulty nor the sense of just wandering aimlessly, killing pigs from towers and watching dogs spin in a vortex. I wonder what I could do/learn to get me back to the game? Some kind of godmode might help. :)
SoC and CoP tend to get freakier later on. The SoC sections were you explore underground labs filled with freaky monsters and with snorks (or whatever they are called) shuffling round outside ramps up the atmosphere tenfold. Give it time and it becomes a much more weird and eerie game. Also just be handy with that quick save on all three games.
Posted February 09, 2014
Well dang. I just noticed this was on sale and MISSED it. Thats what i get for sleeping.
Posted February 09, 2014
This should attach its gamecard page or subforum section.
Posted February 10, 2014
I do not recommend playing with the Complete series. In my own experience, they introduce several new bugs and makes AI more easier. So I decided to stick to vanilla game play (with some little mods, mostly the weight mod).
Posted February 10, 2014
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jcaceresw: I do not recommend playing with the Complete series. In my own experience, they introduce several new bugs and makes AI more easier. So I decided to stick to vanilla game play (with some little mods, mostly the weight mod).
I'm running with ZRP (keeping modifier options as vanilla as possible), Absolute Textures/Structures and weather overhaul 2.22. Amazing, thus far. Considering bumping up carry weight by a few Kg's?

Please direct me if there is a "difficulty level" thread already, sorry to get off topic but:

I am REALLY struggling on what difficulty level to stick to. I tried Master and it seemed the AI would not die no matter how many times I shot it (all my NPC buddies also get slaughtered on the 1st bandit raid mission and I'm being surrounded by 5 or 6 guys with shottys). On Stalker, it feels more balanced but I feel like I'm getting way too much loot and they go down easier. I dunno. I guess Veteran would be the simple solution to that?

From what I understand, is that difficulty level only increases "chance to hit" for AI? I swear it felt like they had higher "armor" or health than they did on Stalker level. I don't mind the challenge of limited loot, increased AI accuracy but I can't stand if they get health buffs. Can anyone truly clarify this? I've gotten' so many different answers on this. I'm not that far into the game yet, so maybe things get a lot more difficult on Stalker level, or possibly easier on Master. Without spoilers, can someone point me in the right direction?
Posted February 10, 2014
In my own experience, I like to play vanilla STALKER with just the weight mod (and the latest official patches).

About the difficulties, I only play in STALKER difficulty and even so I die a lot. Complete series makes the AI so dumb that the game feels too easy.

I haven´t tried ZRP, but I find out ZRP is part of the Complete series along a long list of mods.

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jcaceresw: I do not recommend playing with the Complete series. In my own experience, they introduce several new bugs and makes AI more easier. So I decided to stick to vanilla game play (with some little mods, mostly the weight mod).
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nickaepi: I'm running with ZRP (keeping modifier options as vanilla as possible), Absolute Textures/Structures and weather overhaul 2.22. Amazing, thus far. Considering bumping up carry weight by a few Kg's?

Please direct me if there is a "difficulty level" thread already, sorry to get off topic but:

I am REALLY struggling on what difficulty level to stick to. I tried Master and it seemed the AI would not die no matter how many times I shot it (all my NPC buddies also get slaughtered on the 1st bandit raid mission and I'm being surrounded by 5 or 6 guys with shottys). On Stalker, it feels more balanced but I feel like I'm getting way too much loot and they go down easier. I dunno. I guess Veteran would be the simple solution to that?

From what I understand, is that difficulty level only increases "chance to hit" for AI? I swear it felt like they had higher "armor" or health than they did on Stalker level. I don't mind the challenge of limited loot, increased AI accuracy but I can't stand if they get health buffs. Can anyone truly clarify this? I've gotten' so many different answers on this. I'm not that far into the game yet, so maybe things get a lot more difficult on Stalker level, or possibly easier on Master. Without spoilers, can someone point me in the right direction?
Posted February 10, 2014
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nickaepi: Please direct me if there is a "difficulty level" thread already, sorry to get off topic but:

I am REALLY struggling on what difficulty level to stick to. I tried Master and it seemed the AI would not die no matter how many times I shot it (all my NPC buddies also get slaughtered on the 1st bandit raid mission and I'm being surrounded by 5 or 6 guys with shottys). On Stalker, it feels more balanced but I feel like I'm getting way too much loot and they go down easier. I dunno. I guess Veteran would be the simple solution to that?

From what I understand, is that difficulty level only increases "chance to hit" for AI? I swear it felt like they had higher "armor" or health than they did on Stalker level. I don't mind the challenge of limited loot, increased AI accuracy but I can't stand if they get health buffs. Can anyone truly clarify this? I've gotten' so many different answers on this. I'm not that far into the game yet, so maybe things get a lot more difficult on Stalker level, or possibly easier on Master. Without spoilers, can someone point me in the right direction?
From the STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl Tweak Guide:

"The higher the setting, the fewer useful objects can be found in the game world, and the greater the probability that the enemy will hit you when firing on you. For example at Novice level, the enemy only have a 20% chance of hitting you, while at Master they have a 50% chance of hitting you with each shot. You can also adjust the difficulty on the fly, so if you find a particular area too hard then turn down the difficulty temporarily."

I'm playing SoC for the first time and Veteran difficulty seems to work for me so far, mostly. Some missions are challenging (as they should be, at least that's my taste) and required some retries, which I like. In some situations I've run out of items where I'd have needed them, but overall - again, for my preference - I'm almost finding a little bit too much loot everywhere. Seems like an acceptable balance up to now though. I might switch to Master, just to see how I'll like that.
Posted February 10, 2014
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jcaceresw: In my own experience, I like to play vanilla STALKER with just the weight mod (and the latest official patches).

About the difficulties, I only play in STALKER difficulty and even so I die a lot. Complete series makes the AI so dumb that the game feels too easy.

I haven´t tried ZRP, but I find out ZRP is part of the Complete series along a long list of mods.

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nickaepi: I'm running with ZRP (keeping modifier options as vanilla as possible), Absolute Textures/Structures and weather overhaul 2.22. Amazing, thus far. Considering bumping up carry weight by a few Kg's?

Please direct me if there is a "difficulty level" thread already, sorry to get off topic but:

I am REALLY struggling on what difficulty level to stick to. I tried Master and it seemed the AI would not die no matter how many times I shot it (all my NPC buddies also get slaughtered on the 1st bandit raid mission and I'm being surrounded by 5 or 6 guys with shottys). On Stalker, it feels more balanced but I feel like I'm getting way too much loot and they go down easier. I dunno. I guess Veteran would be the simple solution to that?

From what I understand, is that difficulty level only increases "chance to hit" for AI? I swear it felt like they had higher "armor" or health than they did on Stalker level. I don't mind the challenge of limited loot, increased AI accuracy but I can't stand if they get health buffs. Can anyone truly clarify this? I've gotten' so many different answers on this. I'm not that far into the game yet, so maybe things get a lot more difficult on Stalker level, or possibly easier on Master. Without spoilers, can someone point me in the right direction?
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jcaceresw:
I just use ZRP for the bug fixes. I tweak all the modifiers to Vanilla CFG. gameplay. I could possibly see how playing Stalker level you would almost have to increase the weight limit because you can get so much stuff, due to much bigger loot drops. Otherwise I could see the game becoming an inventory management chore, which I don't like to do.

I like the idea of really deciding what I "NEED" to keep to survive (food, bandages, weapons, ammo, etc.) and what I can sell but it seems pointless to play on Stalker level if you only have a 50kg weight limit. You get so much stuff just from exploring the game world. I'm thinking maybe keep default weight limit and increase difficulty to Vet or Master. I dunno..these are my life issues. lol. Hooray for OCD.
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nickaepi: Please direct me if there is a "difficulty level" thread already, sorry to get off topic but:

I am REALLY struggling on what difficulty level to stick to. I tried Master and it seemed the AI would not die no matter how many times I shot it (all my NPC buddies also get slaughtered on the 1st bandit raid mission and I'm being surrounded by 5 or 6 guys with shottys). On Stalker, it feels more balanced but I feel like I'm getting way too much loot and they go down easier. I dunno. I guess Veteran would be the simple solution to that?

From what I understand, is that difficulty level only increases "chance to hit" for AI? I swear it felt like they had higher "armor" or health than they did on Stalker level. I don't mind the challenge of limited loot, increased AI accuracy but I can't stand if they get health buffs. Can anyone truly clarify this? I've gotten' so many different answers on this. I'm not that far into the game yet, so maybe things get a lot more difficult on Stalker level, or possibly easier on Master. Without spoilers, can someone point me in the right direction?
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chevkoch: From the STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl Tweak Guide:

"The higher the setting, the fewer useful objects can be found in the game world, and the greater the probability that the enemy will hit you when firing on you. For example at Novice level, the enemy only have a 20% chance of hitting you, while at Master they have a 50% chance of hitting you with each shot. You can also adjust the difficulty on the fly, so if you find a particular area too hard then turn down the difficulty temporarily."

I'm playing SoC for the first time and Veteran difficulty seems to work for me so far, mostly. Some missions are challenging (as they should be, at least that's my taste) and required some retries, which I like. In some situations I've run out of items where I'd have needed them, but overall - again, for my preference - I'm almost finding a little bit too much loot everywhere. Seems like an acceptable balance up to now though. I might switch to Master, just to see how I'll like that.
I too am playing SoC for the 1st time. Everything you just said is what is on my mind right now. I just need to pick a difficulty level and stick to it. I think Veteran might be the way to go. I like challenge but not have to reload 50 times to get past a certain level.
Post edited February 10, 2014 by nickaepi
Posted February 10, 2014
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nickaepi: I'm running with ZRP (keeping modifier options as vanilla as possible), Absolute Textures/Structures and weather overhaul 2.22.
Excuse me for asking, this weather overhaul, is this version 2.22 better then 3.1?
Posted February 10, 2014
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nickaepi: I'm running with ZRP (keeping modifier options as vanilla as possible), Absolute Textures/Structures and weather overhaul 2.22.
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Madmate: Excuse me for asking, this weather overhaul, is this version 2.22 better then 3.1?
I don't know. I'm still new to the series. I just wanted to start playing because I was getting too bogged down with Mod stuff. I'm happy with this version, though. Someone else can probably give better Mod advice than I.
Posted February 10, 2014
Does anybody still have a copy of the trader mod V1.1? Yes, I'm a cheap bastard who doesn't want to wait for items to be available in certain levels haha.
Posted February 11, 2014
Looking for a GOG gift key of the complete series . I can pay via PayPal or in GOG games .
Posted February 12, 2014
Hey!

Does some of the STALKER games support ENB ? What games does so ? And where can we download ENB series for these games ?

Thanks!
Posted February 12, 2014
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henriquejr: Hey!

Does some of the STALKER games support ENB ? What games does so ? And where can we download ENB series for these games ?

Thanks!
Yes, but only for SOC. Look here h*ttp://enbdev.com/mod_stalker_v0176.htm.
With the right enbprepasseffect.fx and palette it looks really good. I think I will post about it on the stalker subforums and show some screenshots anytime soon.
Post edited February 14, 2014 by russellskanne
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussion (archive)Mod Spotlight: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Series(88 posts)(88 posts)
(88 posts)