I just got a new computer, and it runs like a dream. I can finally run it. I installed a few mods, mostly cosmetic, except for sans armor degradation.
But it does stall a bit while loading new areas. Which brings me to a question that might be dumb, but I'm clueless to this sort of stuff. In my current computer I have 2 GB DDR2 800 RAM. In my old computer I have one gig of DDR2 533 RAM. Can I put this in my new computer without it blowing up?
Yeah sure as long as it's paired up but that slower RAM will reduce performance for your current RAM I think.
I have to admit, when I first picked up Stalker, I wasn't sure what to expect. After struggling with awkward scripting, choppy framerates and punishing difficulty for a few hours, I became convinced the game was actively trying to dissuade me from playing further. With the multitude of bugs and engine issues, it's not hard to envision ways it could've been done a lot better, and I honestly can't blame someone for not chomping at the bit to give this sucker a go, or giving up after the first hour or so.
And yet... something about it flat-out entranced me, kept my attention like few games before. The gunplay felt legitimately challenging, and the game had a way of making me feel empowered and yet frail at the same time. The transition from open-ended exploration to claustrophobic dungeon-crawling was extremely well done, and I was genuinely scared and disturbed by what I found in the old labs and tunnel systems. Just getting from one place to another was an adventure in and of itself, and if I quicksaved and then quickloaded five minutes later, the next five minutes wouldn't always play out exactly the same as it had before. Sometimes it's the scripted moments, be it helping the Agroprom Stalkers or breaking through Pripyat, and sometimes it's just open-ended chaos, such as Chernobyl itself, but it's quality atmosphere the whole way through.
It seems clear they wanted to do more with the plot, which is on the threadbare side and by itself isn't particularly compelling. Obviously the bits of personality I tried to inject into the Marked One aren't present in the game itself; I've long thought that if you're going the amnesiac route, and that if they've lost their personality along with their memories, then that lack of personality could become a personality unto itself. What that ultimately means is up in the air; in this case it means the Marked One is, practically speaking, no longer Strelok, and is now just a confused normal guy trying to figure out what happened to him. Yeah, it's a common fiction trope, but it can be done well, thought I don't know if it would work in the context of the game.
It's funny, because some of my favorite games are what I consider flawed classics - Arcanum, Anachronox, Vampire: Bloodlines; stuff that has a really cool concept and a great presentation behind it, but is brought low by bad coding, technical limitations or a rushed deadline. I am amazingly forgiving when it comes to a neat idea, something that shows me it's not just another game. It wasn't until I was on my second playthrough that I could forgive Stalker's flaws, but I have to admit it kept me playing even at its worst. As I said in the OP, it's not big enough to be Oblivion with guns and it's not smart enough to be Deus Ex, but it brings a unique adventure to the table, something special that no other game in my collection offers.
This thread's for those who Stalked with me, those who didn't, and those who couldn't. Hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did, and thanks for joining in! This wouldn't have been nearly as fun without you all
It's funny, because some of my favorite games are what I consider flawed classics - Arcanum, Anachronox, Vampire: Bloodlines; stuff that has a really cool concept and a great presentation behind it, but is brought low by bad coding, technical limitations or a rushed deadline.
Good thread, Stolls, but I have to ask you about this comment. I've been acquiring old games and Arcanum and Bloodlines are on my todo list, so I'm excited that you liked them because I hope our tasts are similar. I haven't really considered Anacrhonox and I remember being a little bored with the demo years ago. Is it really worth playing?
Anachronox is a wonderful game (though you have to like/be fine with Final Fantasy style combat systems), great humor, great story, but an ending that will leave you screaming at your TV knowing that there will be no sequel to finish the story. The end does wrap up some important plot details but leaves a major one wide open.
steejee on
The Great DAMNED STEAM SALES AND WII/U Backlog Just Finished: Borderlands (waste of $7)/Mario Brothers U/The Last Story/Tropico 4 Currently Playing: NS2/ZombiU/PlanetSide 2/Ys/Dota2/Xenoblade Chronicles On Hold: Prince of Persia: Warrior Within/GW2/Scribblenauts Coming Next: Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones/X-Com Classic
Honestly, I don't think Anachronox is worth playing. I absolutely hate the gameplay. Luckily you can download a collection of the game's cutscenes in the style of a movie here. I find this much more enjoyable.
Cherrn on
All creature will die and all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai.
Yeah, Anachronox is basically a console RPG with PC RPG writing, if you'll pardon the simplified descriptions. It plays like a watered down FF7 clone and runs on a heavily modified Quake 2 engine, so it looks seriously dated by now, but it has some of the sharpest writing and cutscene direction I've seen in an RPG to date. The script is funny, the story doesn't take itself too seriously, and the acting is spot on. There are problems, of course; steejee mentioned the ending, but there are also some problematic minigames and a few bugs ('unofficial' patches correct the worst of it, thankfully).
Still, it's nothing if not memorable and entertaining. The movies were ripped end-to-end for Machinima, and stand pretty well on their own. Consider giving them a watch if you don't feel up to tracking down the full game.
Edit: Gah, beaten. But yeah, the writing and cutscenes are great stuff all the way.
God, I just reached the part where you have to kill the bandits along with Bes, but whenever I kill them all, he won't go out of combat so I can't finish the mission.
What a fuckload. It wouldn't be a problem if the game just allowed you to talk to characters during combat. Is there a way to reset the NPCs? It's pretty ridiculous that this shit hasn't been solved over the course of 4 patches.
Cherrn on
All creature will die and all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai.
God, I just reached the part where you have to kill the bandits along with Bes, but whenever I kill them all, he won't go out of combat so I can't finish the mission.
What a fuckload. It wouldn't be a problem if the game just allowed you to talk to characters during combat. Is there a way to reset the NPCs? It's pretty ridiculous that this shit hasn't been solved over the course of 4 patches.
In general, quicksaving then quickloading should unjam NPCs. In this particular case, there are an additional five other bandits in a camp further to the west that sometimes cause Bes and his men to stay hostile. Kill them and he should stand down.
The Great DAMNED STEAM SALES AND WII/U Backlog Just Finished: Borderlands (waste of $7)/Mario Brothers U/The Last Story/Tropico 4 Currently Playing: NS2/ZombiU/PlanetSide 2/Ys/Dota2/Xenoblade Chronicles On Hold: Prince of Persia: Warrior Within/GW2/Scribblenauts Coming Next: Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones/X-Com Classic
Motherf.... figures, just when I think I'm out, they pull me back in. Between 1.0005 and the ZRP fixes I may have to give it another playthrough. Like, right now.
Motherf.... figures, just when I think I'm out, they pull me back in. Between 1.0005 and the ZRP fixes I may have to give it another playthrough. Like, right now.
No, seriously. It will force you to use iron sights, which will in turn force you to proceed about everything slower and use cover more. Also, iron sights = very very accurate.
I was dropping bandits with the starter pistol no problem.
Still no free play in the latest patch? Ah well, engine optimisations are still fine with me.
The patch 1.1 will be released in Spring 2008, possibly together with Clear Sky which according to the developers will be the Stalker they wanted to make in the first place. I only hope GSC keeps their promises this one time.
Still no free play in the latest patch? Ah well, engine optimisations are still fine with me.
The patch 1.1 will be released in Spring 2008, possibly together with Clear Sky which according to the developers will be the Stalker they wanted to make in the first place. I only hope GSC keeps their promises this one time.
I hope this last 000000005 patch fixes all the fucking frame rate bugs.
Still no free play in the latest patch? Ah well, engine optimisations are still fine with me.
The patch 1.1 will be released in Spring 2008, possibly together with Clear Sky which according to the developers will be the Stalker they wanted to make in the first place. I only hope GSC keeps their promises this one time.
Ah right OK. The wait is still a bit longer.No problems, must have misread the information about freeplay.
So who's seen the movie based on the same source material? Or the original book itself.
Funny review on there from a guy that watched it just because of the game. He said it was boring. I'm confident enough that I can suspend disbelief and sit through a boring, moody movie, but maybe just through Netflix.
So who's seen the movie based on the same source material? Or the original book itself.
Funny review on there from a guy that watched it just because of the game. He said it was boring. I'm confident enough that I can suspend disbelief and sit through a boring, moody movie, but maybe just through Netflix.
The movie is amazing and that guy should go die in a fire.
So who's seen the movie based on the same source material? Or the original book itself.
Funny review on there from a guy that watched it just because of the game. He said it was boring. I'm confident enough that I can suspend disbelief and sit through a boring, moody movie, but maybe just through Netflix.
The movie is amazing and that guy should go die in a fire.
I hope that guy gets punched in the face by someone with AIDS. The original film was haunting and fantastic, definately more fresh than anything that was out at the time.
As fas as I could see from the patch notes it's all about multiplayer, the kind of fix needed 6 months ago when people were still playing it online.
[EDIT]: Just lurked a bit on the official forums and there seems to be a problem with the new patch. Even though it changed only the multiplayer side of the game it can cause crashes when talking to certain NPCs when having mods installed:
the crash is caused by the dialog_manager.script. The new formatting of the script isn't compatible with the older (1.0004) version used by mods. So, all mods that have a modified dialog_manager.script and/or task_manager.script won't work with the new patch...
So you either need to wait for a new version of your mods to come out or revert to patch 1.0004 if you play singleplayer only.
I still think the movie is worth a view to anyone who likes slower more contemplative films with great atmosphere. If you go in expecting these bleak landscapes with intense shootouts, it's a tad disappointing. If you go in expecting something more in the vein of the original Solaris or 2001, then it's right up your alley.
I love it though, I found it on sale for like eighteen dollars at my local record store and got it and a few Miike films. I have to say I enjoyed Stalker more than Gozu or Sabu.
BornToHula on
Origin is the exact same as my Steam, in case you're needing a Support or Assault in BF3.
Posts
Yeah sure as long as it's paired up but that slower RAM will reduce performance for your current RAM I think.
I have to admit, when I first picked up Stalker, I wasn't sure what to expect. After struggling with awkward scripting, choppy framerates and punishing difficulty for a few hours, I became convinced the game was actively trying to dissuade me from playing further. With the multitude of bugs and engine issues, it's not hard to envision ways it could've been done a lot better, and I honestly can't blame someone for not chomping at the bit to give this sucker a go, or giving up after the first hour or so.
And yet... something about it flat-out entranced me, kept my attention like few games before. The gunplay felt legitimately challenging, and the game had a way of making me feel empowered and yet frail at the same time. The transition from open-ended exploration to claustrophobic dungeon-crawling was extremely well done, and I was genuinely scared and disturbed by what I found in the old labs and tunnel systems. Just getting from one place to another was an adventure in and of itself, and if I quicksaved and then quickloaded five minutes later, the next five minutes wouldn't always play out exactly the same as it had before. Sometimes it's the scripted moments, be it helping the Agroprom Stalkers or breaking through Pripyat, and sometimes it's just open-ended chaos, such as Chernobyl itself, but it's quality atmosphere the whole way through.
It seems clear they wanted to do more with the plot, which is on the threadbare side and by itself isn't particularly compelling. Obviously the bits of personality I tried to inject into the Marked One aren't present in the game itself; I've long thought that if you're going the amnesiac route, and that if they've lost their personality along with their memories, then that lack of personality could become a personality unto itself. What that ultimately means is up in the air; in this case it means the Marked One is, practically speaking, no longer Strelok, and is now just a confused normal guy trying to figure out what happened to him. Yeah, it's a common fiction trope, but it can be done well, thought I don't know if it would work in the context of the game.
It's funny, because some of my favorite games are what I consider flawed classics - Arcanum, Anachronox, Vampire: Bloodlines; stuff that has a really cool concept and a great presentation behind it, but is brought low by bad coding, technical limitations or a rushed deadline. I am amazingly forgiving when it comes to a neat idea, something that shows me it's not just another game. It wasn't until I was on my second playthrough that I could forgive Stalker's flaws, but I have to admit it kept me playing even at its worst. As I said in the OP, it's not big enough to be Oblivion with guns and it's not smart enough to be Deus Ex, but it brings a unique adventure to the table, something special that no other game in my collection offers.
This thread's for those who Stalked with me, those who didn't, and those who couldn't. Hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did, and thanks for joining in! This wouldn't have been nearly as fun without you all
Now playing: Teardown and Baldur's Gate 3 (co-op)
Sunday Spotlight: Horror Tales: The Wine
Just Finished: Borderlands (waste of $7)/Mario Brothers U/The Last Story/Tropico 4
Currently Playing: NS2/ZombiU/PlanetSide 2/Ys/Dota2/Xenoblade Chronicles
On Hold: Prince of Persia: Warrior Within/GW2/Scribblenauts
Coming Next: Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones/X-Com Classic
Still, it's nothing if not memorable and entertaining. The movies were ripped end-to-end for Machinima, and stand pretty well on their own. Consider giving them a watch if you don't feel up to tracking down the full game.
Edit: Gah, beaten. But yeah, the writing and cutscenes are great stuff all the way.
Now playing: Teardown and Baldur's Gate 3 (co-op)
Sunday Spotlight: Horror Tales: The Wine
What a fuckload. It wouldn't be a problem if the game just allowed you to talk to characters during combat. Is there a way to reset the NPCs? It's pretty ridiculous that this shit hasn't been solved over the course of 4 patches.
In general, quicksaving then quickloading should unjam NPCs. In this particular case, there are an additional five other bandits in a camp further to the west that sometimes cause Bes and his men to stay hostile. Kill them and he should stand down.
Now playing: Teardown and Baldur's Gate 3 (co-op)
Sunday Spotlight: Horror Tales: The Wine
I hope you do another one sometime.
Just Finished: Borderlands (waste of $7)/Mario Brothers U/The Last Story/Tropico 4
Currently Playing: NS2/ZombiU/PlanetSide 2/Ys/Dota2/Xenoblade Chronicles
On Hold: Prince of Persia: Warrior Within/GW2/Scribblenauts
Coming Next: Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones/X-Com Classic
I'm a weak, weak little man.
Now playing: Teardown and Baldur's Gate 3 (co-op)
Sunday Spotlight: Horror Tales: The Wine
I downloaded the Anachronox demo and remember it now. I may have to pass on it, we'll see.
Also for the millionth time great LP Stolls, sad to end but hey, theres always Clear Sky right?
Tumblr
My thoughts exactly.
damn
BTW, CRYSIS WOOOOOOOO
360 Gamertag: Baronskatenbass Steam: BaronVonSnakPak HgL: AnsonLuap
Turn off visible cross hairs.
No, seriously. It will force you to use iron sights, which will in turn force you to proceed about everything slower and use cover more. Also, iron sights = very very accurate.
I was dropping bandits with the starter pistol no problem.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
The patch 1.1 will be released in Spring 2008, possibly together with Clear Sky which according to the developers will be the Stalker they wanted to make in the first place. I only hope GSC keeps their promises this one time.
I hope this last 000000005 patch fixes all the fucking frame rate bugs.
But at least we're getting moar patches.
Ah right OK. The wait is still a bit longer.No problems, must have misread the information about freeplay.
Tumblr
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
Funny review on there from a guy that watched it just because of the game. He said it was boring. I'm confident enough that I can suspend disbelief and sit through a boring, moody movie, but maybe just through Netflix.
The movie is amazing and that guy should go die in a fire.
[Let's Read] Roadside Picnic
Grflgrflgrflgrfl
I hope that guy gets punched in the face by someone with AIDS. The original film was haunting and fantastic, definately more fresh than anything that was out at the time.
Tumblr
The story is pretty good, though
I'm sure the Travolta movie will be a withered piece of pseudodog shit
SCIENTLOLOGY!
[EDIT]: Just lurked a bit on the official forums and there seems to be a problem with the new patch. Even though it changed only the multiplayer side of the game it can cause crashes when talking to certain NPCs when having mods installed:
So you either need to wait for a new version of your mods to come out or revert to patch 1.0004 if you play singleplayer only.
I love it though, I found it on sale for like eighteen dollars at my local record store and got it and a few Miike films. I have to say I enjoyed Stalker more than Gozu or Sabu.
Origin is the exact same as my Steam, in case you're needing a Support or Assault in BF3.