Exactly what the title says. My initial thoughts are to use only the Zone Reclamation Project and Shaders MAX as seen on PCGamingWiki:

[url=http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/S.T.A.L.K.E.R.:_Shadow_of_Chernobyl]http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/S.T.A.L.K.E.R.:_Shadow_of_Chernobyl[/url]

STALKER Complete 2009 sounds great, but not really vanilla. The 2 listed above sound like they're only bugfixes and visual enhancements, but I'd love to hear from others who know more about these games than me (which is probably just about everybody). Thanks in advance everybody!

I think about my first playthrough. too.
Modded or vanilla?

Yeah, same question as the others. Which mods are best for a first playthrough? I've heard good things elsewhere about the Complete 2009 mod with its Realistic Weapons sub-mod, but I don't know if I should go for that on a first playthrough.

The consensus seems to be the Zone Reclamation Project...but then again I'm new to the game as well so I'm not exactly the most trustworthy authority.

Get Zone Reclamation Project. Fixes most bugs in the game without altering gameplay. It also includes minor improvements such as improved interface.

Complete makes the game easier and includes other changes. You really should try playing the game without mods first.

Ya I went ahead and did that along with Shaders MAX (just a visual/performance enhancement), very fun so far.

Yes. Yesyesyesyesyes. Yes.

Use ZRP ONLY[ for a first playthrough. Stay away from Complete for your first time.

If you absolutely need an easier "prettier" Shadow of Chernobyl, you can switch to Complete. But at least try the "real" game first.

http://www.gog.com/forum/stalker_series/recommended_mods/post22 It's probably a bad idea to play vanilla, because of all the bugs and technical issues. That's why ZRP is so nice. It fixes bugs and provides some enhanced features, but lets you pick and choose what changes you want to make. To my knowledge, it's the best way to experience vanilla SoC without having to deal with vanilla SoC, if you know what I mean :P

Complete mod isn't as bad as everyone says. If it makes the game more fun for you then there is nothing wrong with it.

ZRP if you want the vanilla game without the vanilla bugs, otherwise I use Complete with the weapons mod (SoC + CS) and AtmosFear for CoP.

SoC Complete is more than just a few touch ups, and I would argue that at certain points it actually breaks the game (once you start getting scoped weaponry, it's easy to stay out of the reduced enemy view range and pick them off as they run around like confused hens, unable to return fire). Some of the things that make SoC unique in the STALKER series are taken away by Complete (especially if you also install the Realistic Weapons mod). I'm not saying any of this is bad, just that you're missing content if you never try STALKER without Complete.

Sure, if it makes SoC more fun for you, there's nothing wrong with that. But I think people should at least give the original experience a try first, and not install Complete by default.

Exactly.

Now that I'm almost done with my first playthrough of SoC, I'd like to sing the praises of the ZRP. It's really a great mod/tool for a first-time player, I think. You can do a heckuva lot with it, and I would caution against going too far in making changes if you haven't played the game before, but it's still a nice companion for a newbie.

I agree with you guys about the Complete mod, too. It looks like there's lots to like about that project, but not for a first-timer. It obviously changes the game in significant ways.

I think one of the best parts of ZRP is how easily it lets you tweak the game. So, for instance, if you happen to really dislike the base game's weapon accuracy (just a random example :D), you can tweak that. Or if you're like me, and hate the hit probability modifiers for enemy shots, you can easily turn them off. Plus, it lets you pick and choose what features and changes you want. Which, if you ask me, is a necessary part of any "fix it" mod. One man's flaw is another man's feature, after all.

Yes, exactly. When I looked through it I found out I could slow down the speed of the day/night cycle. That made a huge difference even though it was a small tweak.