STALKER 2 is dead

CheesecakeRecipe

The worst 7 days this has been.

RIP Stalker 2.

minirhyder

Survarium sounds kinda cool I guess.

Horrid, horrid name though.

CarbonFire

MMOFPS? From a small, independent developer with no experience in MMOs and with a history of buggy releases?

Smells like FAIL.

Why STALKER 2, WHYYYYYYY? :cry:

Spoiler:

Don't get me wrong, I love the IDEA of a survival MMOFPS, but no one (outside of maybe Planetside) has made good on the whole MMOFPS thing. And I don't expect these guys will fair any better than most.

BigDes

TheSonicRetard wrote: »

BigDes wrote: »

It's dead

https://twitter.com/#!/gscstalker/status/195183418684882944
http://www.vostokgames.com/en/page/about-us

For all those asking about kickstarter and funding etc. That is not the issue. We secured new investors. We were however unable to secure the IP rights from the owwer to continue with the Stalker franchise.

https://www.facebook.com/officialstalker

Fuck you BigDes

yes I'm shooting the messenger

You ain't gonna hit shit with that Makarov

testsubject23

Along with Mount & Blade the STALKER games are my all-time favorites... it's very sad to see the sequel canned.
I'm going to hope and hope that the MMO will be as close to the STALKER style of play as possible... while praying that they revise the bloody awful title.

Monger

My shriveled heart will never love again.

Fare thee well, dearest unspeakable horrors.

Snarkman3

I shall now wait, vodka in one hand and Makarov in another (should the worst happen) for a spiritual successor to appear.

And when it does, I shall say...

"Come in! Don't just stand there!"

Beltaine

Internet petition to release the IP?

CarbonFire

Doesn't THQ hold the rights to the Stalker IP?

Bullio

CarbonFire wrote: »

Doesn't THQ hold the rights to the Stalker IP?

If so, GSC may not have to wait long to acquire them.

mere_immortal

He was a good STALKER, let's drink to him on final time.

Spasibo GSC.

Monger

Bullio wrote: »

CarbonFire wrote: »

Doesn't THQ hold the rights to the Stalker IP?

If so, GSC may not have to wait long to acquire them.

Well, for one, GSC is gone. From that link:

Our company appeared in March 2012 in Kiev. Ten years earlier, when at GSC Game World we started developing the renowned S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game series and continued working on it until December 2011 when the studio was unexpectedly shut down and the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 project – frozen. We did not reach agreement with the rights owner regarding the use of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. brand, that’s why we made the decision to move forward as an independent studio with a new project. That day became our starting point for Vostok Games.

For two, I don't know for sure, but I don't think THQ owns the rights to STALKER. GSC jumped ship after SoC, and, given how much trouble that game's development had, it wouldn't have made sense for THQ to enter into any kind of new licensing deal with them. More than likely, GSC either already owned the name or bought it. As far as I know, we haven't had any word on what happened to GSC beyond the Ukrainian government apparently shutting them down for some reason, so I've got no idea who would own those rights now.

Echo

What the heck is there in the way of IP apart from the name? It's all from Tarkovsky's film and the original Roadside Picnic anyway.

Lanrutcon

An mmo? why?

/doom

madnessnewb

I guess Stalker finally did get out of here

madnessnewb

I guess Stalker finally got out of here

E: bah why does it sometimes takes minutes for the new post to appear, making me unsure if I clicked "Post" properly or not, so I press it again. hence the double post...

darleysam

Lanrutcon wrote: »

An mmo? why?

/doom

I don't know why you're so pessimistic. Stalker was a wonderfully-optimised, smoothly-operated experience, perfectly suited to the vast, endless possibility that comes from having thousands of different computers operating at different levels by a variety of people, all connected together into one shared experience. I see absolutely no way that any problems will ever arise in its development or execution.

Lanrutcon

darleysam wrote: »

Lanrutcon wrote: »

An mmo? why?

/doom

I don't know why you're so pessimistic. Stalker was a wonderfully-optimised, smoothly-operated experience, perfectly suited to the vast, endless possibility that comes from having thousands of different computers operating at different levels by a variety of people, all connected together into one shared experience. I see absolutely no way that any problems will ever arise in its development or execution.

I see what you did there, you clever bastard.

Edit: LFM heroic snork den NO SNIPERZ!!!1! gear check @ red forest wp

MechMantis

darleysam wrote: »

Lanrutcon wrote: »

An mmo? why?

/doom

I don't know why you're so pessimistic. Stalker was a wonderfully-optimised, smoothly-operated experience, perfectly suited to the vast, endless possibility that comes from having thousands of different computers operating at different levels by a variety of people, all connected together into one shared experience. I see absolutely no way that any problems will ever arise in its development or execution.

See, if you're talking about Call of Pripyat I half believe you.

The other two?

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaa

darleysam

Hell, there's times playing the first Stalker that it already felt like I was playing a MMO. And not for the right reasons.

Grimthwacker

If it is the will of the Zone, then so be it. Who are we to question it?

That said, I'm behind these guys in their new venture 100%. Good luck to 'em.

Dangerbird

I dunno why, but I'm feeling cautiously optimistic.

Will this finally give me the opportunity to have a co-op experience in a Stalker-like game? Or will it be more along the lines of War Rock / Alliance of Valiant Arms? I'm hoping for the former.

Fawst

Grimthwacker, you win all the internets for your class and style which has been demonstrated by your usage of Yor. Greatest theme song ever and possibly one of the greatest film reviews ever in your sig.

Spoiler:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx-F6VnLezM

OT: I have never played Stalker. I want to, but I need a good PC to do so. Sucks that this isn't going to happen. I hate IP rights getting in the way of stuff like this. "Hey, we hold the rights to a game we didn't create, don't fully understand and have zero desire to actually use. Let's make sure the people that know what they're doing never get a chance to do anything with it!" Fucking lame.

Syngyne

Lanrutcon wrote: »

LFM heroic snork den NO SNIPERZ!!!1!

lmao vintof@gs m i rite

testsubject23

Dangerbird wrote: »

Will this finally give me the opportunity to have a co-op experience in a Stalker-like game? Or will it be more along the lines of War Rock / Alliance of Valiant Arms? I'm hoping for the former.

So much potential... and so much potential for disaster.
I would *love* to be able to wander the zone with company, but it would admittedly ruin the atmosphere of the Zone to have people spamming public chats at you the whole time. Maybe if there was only very local chat, and PMs through the PDAs? Bulletin boards in the bars? Some measure to keep the MMO part in check and preserve the majesty of the original games...

Echo

Full co-op was #1 on my wishlist for Stalker.

mere_immortal

Echo wrote: »

Full co-op was #1 on my wishlist for Stalker.

Not sure about co-op, as someone said the feeling of solitude is super powerful but maybe having a game where 5-10 people roam the entire world and you never know where they could be would be amazing.

Maybe some kind of Dark Souls type affair where you can choose to be online but you don't actually know if people join. So you could find them and work together, or just follow them to a discrete location, take them out and steal all their stuff.

Imagine going through X-18, not knowing if that noise is just the game trying to spook you or some guy waiting to leave your corpse down there with the poltergeists.

testsubject23

mere_immortal wrote: »

Not sure about co-op, as someone said the feeling of solitude is super powerful but maybe having a game where 5-10 people roam the entire world and you never know where they could be would be amazing.

Maybe some kind of Dark Souls type affair where you can choose to be online but you don't actually know if people join. So you could find them and work together, or just follow them to a discrete location, take them out and steal all their stuff.

Imagine going through X-18, not knowing if that noise is just the game trying to spook you or some guy waiting to leave your corpse down there with the poltergeists.

Massive care would need to be taken to preserve the atmosphere. If there were too many players in game it would feel like the Zone was a tourist area, instead of an abandoned and hostile wastleland. Instances, maybe, with some common areas like the bar/faction bases for larger groups to meet up? Or a mix of shared and instanced levels, so you'd have the opportunity to stumble upon other STALKERs, friendly and hostile. In faction-owned areas the NPC groups could "police" things to limit PvP, and the further one wanders from "civilization", the more risk there is of being mugged... almost like the security zones in EVE Online.
I'm genuinely interested to see how they set up the MMO.

I don't think mere coop would wreck the solitude too much - throughout the games most of the NPCs run in packs, and it always seemed weird to me that the player character was entirely off on his own (though the narratives of the games make it plausible/necessary, plot-wise). Having a couple buddies to sit around a campfire and drink vodka with would be pretty rad.
The Zone is strange and terrible enough to maintain the sense of constant forboding even if you've got a couple of stalwart companions in tow...

Darlan

I actually support the F2P model for MMOs over the insane $15 bucks a month model (seriously, you can get a whole new game every month for $15 if you keep on eye on Steam sales and such), but I have zero confidence these guys will be the ones who finally crack the FPS MMO nut.

testsubject23

The only time I can really deal with F2P is as an alternative to a subscription model. For any other type of game is just seems like an open-ended way to get at your money by giving you tiny chunks of a game at a time and overcharging for them...
As a trend, it's upsetting, and I tend to avoid games with that model now, with the exception of MMORPGs, Airmech, and (the jury's still out on this one) Tribes: Ascend.

Echo

Repair your weapon, two dollars

Monger

testsubject23 wrote: »

mere_immortal wrote: »

Not sure about co-op, as someone said the feeling of solitude is super powerful but maybe having a game where 5-10 people roam the entire world and you never know where they could be would be amazing.

Maybe some kind of Dark Souls type affair where you can choose to be online but you don't actually know if people join. So you could find them and work together, or just follow them to a discrete location, take them out and steal all their stuff.

Imagine going through X-18, not knowing if that noise is just the game trying to spook you or some guy waiting to leave your corpse down there with the poltergeists.

Massive care would need to be taken to preserve the atmosphere. If there were too many players in game it would feel like the Zone was a tourist area, instead of an abandoned and hostile wastleland. Instances, maybe, with some common areas like the bar/faction bases for larger groups to meet up? Or a mix of shared and instanced levels, so you'd have the opportunity to stumble upon other STALKERs, friendly and hostile. In faction-owned areas the NPC groups could "police" things to limit PvP, and the further one wanders from "civilization", the more risk there is of being mugged... almost like the security zones in EVE Online.
I'm genuinely interested to see how they set up the MMO.

I don't think mere coop would wreck the solitude too much - throughout the games most of the NPCs run in packs, and it always seemed weird to me that the player character was entirely off on his own (though the narratives of the games make it plausible/necessary, plot-wise). Having a couple buddies to sit around a campfire and drink vodka with would be pretty rad.
The Zone is strange and terrible enough to maintain the sense of constant forboding even if you've got a couple of stalwart companions in tow...

Something like Journey would probably be the best approach. When making area transitions, you'd have a small chance of entering someone else's instance for murder and/or jolly co-operation (praise the sun), with a minimum and maximum on how many people should be in the same instance simultaneously. Actually, thinking about Dark Souls, the blood stain mechanic would be pretty fitting. On death, your body could persist in the world for other people to find. And possibly loot. You could handle stashes sort of the same way. It'd be neat of you were never given any kind of permanent item storage, so anything you didn't have room to carry would have to be dropped down in some kind of crafty place in the world. When an instance is created, you might pull one or two stashes from the list, and, if you happen to stumble onto them, you steal those items. Looting a person's body could pull their stash locations, marking them and that player to appear in your instance until all the stashes are recovered by one of you. With relatively strict limits on good gear, you could end up with a pretty fantastic dog-eat-dog-gets-eaten-by-bloodsucker system.

Of course, I don't like or play MMOs, so I might not be the best person to be making design suggestions.

Syngyne wrote: »

Lanrutcon wrote: »

LFM heroic snork den NO SNIPERZ!!!1!

lmao vintof@gs m i rite

Waka Laka wrote: »

On the thought of a STALKER MMO, I could imagine what the chat log would look like.

Connected Player "Waka Laka" to server - The Den.
Connected.
Welcome to the Den.

(Trade) HUMMER557 - WTS Atrifact +5 Rad res +2 Rupture PST : )
(Local) Cockweasel - OMFG Tarox how the fuck did you hit me.
Bandit whispers - HEY WAKA!
You whisper Bandit - Hey.
(Local) Taroximation (HRST) - My bullets are gay seeking, and you are a faggot, stop being a faggot and
they'll stop hitting you.
(Local) Cockweasel - asshole, I know you're hacking.
(Trade)qkdkanfksk - WELCOME TO STALKTRADE!!! THE ONLY WEBSITE THAT GUARANTEES BEST VALUE STALKER MONEY ON THE WEB - BEST PRICED ARTIFACTS! 24/7 DELIVERY! WWW.GOLD4GOLD.COM/STALKERGOLD/default.htm
(Trade)(ZONE) Grudge - WTS AK47 with scope, Fired twice, dropped once - 1400r
(Local) Taroximation (HRST) - OMFG LRN 2 STALK FAG. IMA CHARGIN MAH FAG GRENADES
Bandit whispers - Want to raid X105 with me?
You whisper Bandit - Nah, dude you always tell me to raid with you and then when I want to raid you're like "Oh my dog died or my auntie is sick" So no, go ask someone else.
(Local) (R.A.D) Argh, fucking respawning dogs, I was looting and they all spawned around me!
(Trade) Monkeyfarts - Too expensive Grudge
You whisper Bandit - Technically your Auntie has died 4 times in the last 2 months, I'm wondering if she's a zombie or some shit. Say hi to your goldfish, cos I think he might be on the way out when I ask you to raid the Sarcophagus
Bandit whispers - Fag you're out of the guild
(You have been removed from your guild)
(LFG) Baxter Stockman - LF2M, prefered Medic, Heavy and/or Robber LVL 18-21
Buttseckz whispers - Can you make me some bread and vodka?
(Local) You wrote - Fuck the lot of ya!
(Local) Taroximation - Ask Cockweasel, he does alot of fucking. Like cocks and dicks and stuff
(You disconnect)

Beltaine

It's funny because it's true.

Lanrutcon

Fake chatlog is awesome!

Syngyne

Lanrutcon wrote: »

Fake chatlog is awesome!

.

Yougottawanna

I've decided - mostly arbitrarily - to be cautiously optimistic about this new game. The concept sounds kind of cool. And "MMOFPS" could mean just about anything. I remember one poster suggested a Stalker-like game with Dark Souls-like multiplayer mechanics. That could be awesome...

Yougottawanna

Relevant: an RPS article about the new game: rockpapershotgun.com/2012/04/26/survarium-is-stalker-ideas-next-evolutionary-step/#more-105880

Apparently the IP is owned by one Sergiy Grygorovych, founder of GSC. Wish I knew more about what happened...

Morninglord

This is going to be the buggiest mmo in the history of mmo's. They have absolutely no idea what kind of horrors await their feeble quality assurance skills. I'm actually looking forward to how horrible it will be and I'm considering signing up just to watch all the whack shit unfold. Just so I can say in any other mmo "Hah. You guys never played the Stalker MMO. This is nothing."

Monger

Syngyne wrote: »

Lanrutcon wrote: »

Fake chatlog is awesome!

.

If the monstrously expansive cluster of STALKER thread OPs might die, then the chatlog must live on in every other tangentially related thread. So it has been written. So it must be done.

Yougottawanna wrote: »

I've decided - mostly arbitrarily - to be cautiously optimistic about this new game. The concept sounds kind of cool. And "MMOFPS" could mean just about anything. I remember one poster suggested a Stalker-like game with Dark Souls-like multiplayer mechanics. That could be awesome...

To be fair, you can improve just about anything by making it more like Dark Souls. Tuna, for example. Or fission. I don't think I need to explain why.

MrDelish

at least the thread title is accurate again