old post i know, ive come a little late to it, but i dont frequent the forums so often anymore, however, the S.T.A.L.K.E.R series is my most favourite game ever, and i never have a pc/laptop without a various selection of versions on it/them.
i try to keep up to date as alot of the older great mods, such as oblivion lost, AMK and complete, have been superceded,
all the opinions are of course my own, and everybody differs. but anyone wanting to play any type of stalker is ok with me.
i currently have installed:
SHADOW OF CHERNOBYL versions:
OGSE 0.6.9.3 final standalone patch 2.10R, -
This is probably my favourite version of SHOC, a great mod, with alot of content, but good stuff not just needless rubbish, its like an augmented vanilla, but augmented with awesomness, a much better version of OL if you like.
SHOC Starter 2017 -
This is basically an up to date version of a true vanilla experience, just updated with things such as : ZRP 1.07 , photorealistic zone (better than absolute textures) stalker weather overhaul, Original weapons overhaul 3, shaders max. i would say this is the "go to" for a "vanilla" playthrough of SHOC, infinitely more than complete, which is now horrendously outdated. this has all the bugfixes you need, all the texture updates you need, no additional content you dont need.
LOST ALPHA Directors cut:
this has mixed reviews, google can help you here, it has pros and cons to be fair. When i play it, i dont get a feel for the original vibe of the early builds and stuff, and they added a pretty rubbish plot, but looks wise, its very good, and there is a selection of content that isnt bad.
STALKERSOUP:
again, pros and cons, both this and lost alpha are what id cal "versions" of stalker, not really canon, but still give you the feel... id followed this one since it started, adds a literal ton of stuff, maps, content etc, and is worth having if youre a completionist, but its not necessary. the collector freeplay is fun, not quite like call of chernobyl but its good.it gets a lot of negative coverage, mainly from people who are more "narodnaya solyanka" purists, and alot of what technobacon does is a bit of a vanity project but its worth a go.
Oblivion lost remake 2,5:
this is interesting, this is basically much much closer to the original builds and demos we saw alot of in 2003/2004, more so than any of the other mods claiming to be like the "original concept" of the game, like lost alpha, oblivion lost etc,
graphically, sub par, even on full dynamic lighting, and surprisingly taxing on the system, if you turn certain things too far up, like grass density etc, but good enough to play, and does seem like the builds we saw early on. good to have. the translation is poor (english) but apparently there is a version 3 coming out soon, which will improve on this. ive not got too far into it, but it does seem to give you that "original" stalker feel.
Narodnaya Solyanka Joint Pak 2 /w Patch 2.09 Fix 2 and translation 1.03 by achillesdave
now, this is more for the guys that arent into stalkersoup, and want to give one of the best narodnaya solyanka supermod versions a go, very clean mod, runs well, few ctd's considering the content, lots of good additions, the early game is HARD, and the cave section is unskippable (you can skip it in stalkersoup) it can get a little ridiculous later on, with some outrageous spawn numbers etc, but still good to give it a shot, not necessarily a must have, but good to give a go at least once.
CALL OF PRIPYAT Versions
I Work Alone. 1.2
Excellent mod,an older one for sure, in fact its the precursor to Misery, and although COP itself is fine for vanilla playthroughs, unlike its brother SHOC, what this mod is, is basically a way of improving vanilla, without being an overly invasive overhaul mod, therefore this is how i play COP if i want a close to vanilla game, but with desired improvements. its based on Ceanos call from pripyat i believe, which was one of the first sort of overhaul/tweak mods, i tried for COP.
Misery 2.1.1-
must have in a way, but only for someone after a pretty unforgivable experience. i use it with the addons : misery scope mod, the armed zone and absolute nature 4. .......perfect
Call of chernobyl version 1.4.22 with Roadside Picnic Addons Pack by 0x29a v0.7
This.....i saved the best for last. call of chernobyl itself is a masterpiece........the roadside picnic addon merely makes it ....dare i say it, perfect..? this is my go to stalker game i play most, OGSE comes a close second when im after a shadow of chernobyl vibe, but this one...this one is my world. ill even provide a link for this one, because, well im a fan. if you have any love of the lore, of not only the games, but the literature, roadside picnic etc and the stalker film, this addon is what you need.....
http://www.moddb.com/mods/call-of-chernobyl/addons/roadside-picnic-addons-pack-by-0x29a-v01-1422 google will give you more, this is merely a taster, for yourself or anyone else after something a bit more up to date, or another possibility youve not heard of before. Im afraid i dont play Clear sky, as ....well its crap, and all the maps are in call of chernobyl anyway.
final note, theres a new mod out this year, called "wind of time" for COP, looks interesting, i may try that one soon. with the HD character models, it looks amazing.
http://www.moddb.com/mods/wind-of-time This article has some useful and interesting opinion also, basically about the stuff ive talked about, but a different view:
https://levelskip.com/first-person-shooters/stalker-mods Adam
