Let's drink to him once more. He was a good S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

Sorenson

Sp I made an interesting discovery. It appears that so long as you don't go up that staircase to the left of that open area you hit as you're going through WT from the bar, you can postpone that cutscene that is supposed to show the mercs and scientests fighting indefinetily and trigger it any time you want.

In true STALKER fashion, I made this discovery under the context of watching a group of stalkers and Dutyers being torn to shreds by burers, bloodsuckers, rats, pseudodogs, and the other spawn of a blowout earlier in the day.

God dammit I love this game.

EDIT: Incidentally, I just noticed that for all the time I've spent playing OL 2.1 over the last few days that I haven't heard the russian rapper in the bar once.

I like the russian rapper.

canemaquilus

So I just installed the smart mod manger as reccomended by the ZRP guys, but its pretty weird.
It never asked me where my stalker installation was located or anything like that, so I dont really understand how it can install the mods I put on it like ZRP.

Edit: Jesus H. Christ I fired up the game and ZRP was running. Apparently the mod manger is fueled by russian sorcery. Could someone please explain to me how that thing works? I actually find it a bit unsettling. How does it know where my game is installed to?

Edit2: I guess it must examine the registry keys, and determine it from that. Still its weird, hardly any programs Ive had experience with do that.

Stolls

Sorenson wrote: »

Sp I made an interesting discovery. It appears that so long as you don't go up that staircase to the left of that open area you hit as you're going through WT from the bar, you can postpone that cutscene that is supposed to show the mercs and scientests fighting indefinetily and trigger it any time you want.

In true STALKER fashion, I made this discovery under the context of watching a group of stalkers and Dutyers being torn to shreds by burers, bloodsuckers, rats, pseudodogs, and the other spawn of a blowout earlier in the day.

God dammit I love this game.

EDIT: Incidentally, I just noticed that for all the time I've spent playing OL 2.1 over the last few days that I haven't heard the russian rapper in the bar once.

I like the russian rapper.

Now that is pretty damn cool, I was totally unaware of that. Gunfire and an exploding helicopter have a way of attracting my attention.

And yeah, it's weird how even the static NPCs don't get much in the way of personality, but still manage to grow on you. I grew kind of attached to Yurik, the kid who gets held up by the bandits before the junkyard fight, and it was good to see him still alive late in the game. I still remember for the LP how he and a pack of other stalkers helped mop up some bandits shortly after returning from Agroprom near the end

after meeting Doctor.

Kid still had the SMG I traded him, spent the last few rounds and switched to his pistol to dust some poor sap near the gate. Just another green dot on the radar, but dammit it was a green dot I helped to survive. Felt pretty good about that.

And now I really miss my computer, because I wanna fire it up again and pick up with OL where I left off

canemaquilus

So ZRP repair option... on or off?

What do you guys think?

BlindPsychic

Stolls wrote: »

Sorenson wrote: »

Sp I made an interesting discovery. It appears that so long as you don't go up that staircase to the left of that open area you hit as you're going through WT from the bar, you can postpone that cutscene that is supposed to show the mercs and scientests fighting indefinetily and trigger it any time you want.

In true STALKER fashion, I made this discovery under the context of watching a group of stalkers and Dutyers being torn to shreds by burers, bloodsuckers, rats, pseudodogs, and the other spawn of a blowout earlier in the day.

God dammit I love this game.

EDIT: Incidentally, I just noticed that for all the time I've spent playing OL 2.1 over the last few days that I haven't heard the russian rapper in the bar once.

I like the russian rapper.

Now that is pretty damn cool, I was totally unaware of that. Gunfire and an exploding helicopter have a way of attracting my attention.

And yeah, it's weird how even the static NPCs don't get much in the way of personality, but still manage to grow on you. I grew kind of attached to Yurik, the kid who gets held up by the bandits before the junkyard fight, and it was good to see him still alive late in the game. I still remember for the LP how he and a pack of other stalkers helped mop up some bandits shortly after returning from Agroprom near the end

after meeting Doctor.

Kid still had the SMG I traded him, spent the last few rounds and switched to his pistol to dust some poor sap near the gate. Just another green dot on the radar, but dammit it was a green dot I helped to survive. Felt pretty good about that.

And now I really miss my computer, because I wanna fire it up again and pick up with OL where I left off

I've never managed to save him, I usually just chuck a nade over the car as soon as the level loads

Stolls

BlindPsychic wrote: »

Stolls wrote: »

Sorenson wrote: »

Sp I made an interesting discovery. It appears that so long as you don't go up that staircase to the left of that open area you hit as you're going through WT from the bar, you can postpone that cutscene that is supposed to show the mercs and scientests fighting indefinetily and trigger it any time you want.

In true STALKER fashion, I made this discovery under the context of watching a group of stalkers and Dutyers being torn to shreds by burers, bloodsuckers, rats, pseudodogs, and the other spawn of a blowout earlier in the day.

God dammit I love this game.

EDIT: Incidentally, I just noticed that for all the time I've spent playing OL 2.1 over the last few days that I haven't heard the russian rapper in the bar once.

I like the russian rapper.

Now that is pretty damn cool, I was totally unaware of that. Gunfire and an exploding helicopter have a way of attracting my attention.

And yeah, it's weird how even the static NPCs don't get much in the way of personality, but still manage to grow on you. I grew kind of attached to Yurik, the kid who gets held up by the bandits before the junkyard fight, and it was good to see him still alive late in the game. I still remember for the LP how he and a pack of other stalkers helped mop up some bandits shortly after returning from Agroprom near the end

after meeting Doctor.

Kid still had the SMG I traded him, spent the last few rounds and switched to his pistol to dust some poor sap near the gate. Just another green dot on the radar, but dammit it was a green dot I helped to survive. Felt pretty good about that.

And now I really miss my computer, because I wanna fire it up again and pick up with OL where I left off

I've never managed to save him, I usually just chuck a nade over the car as soon as the level loads

It's not impossible, but you gotta be quick and a little lucky. Line up two of the bandits with a shotgun or SMG; kid might get winged, but he should live and might even put down the third bandit himself. Tends to be more trouble than he's worth, but he's an extra gun (or target) for the junkyard fight and not bad with an SMG.

IceBurner

I finally put into action a fiendish plan I had brewing in my mind. When you enter the old army warehouses, those Duty members always check the same bodies over, and over. Not sure if it's a bug or not but it's persisted my whole game. Eventually I realized they always go to the actual bodies and not just a predetermined spot ... but the bodes can be dragged.

So tonight I dragged the corpses behind an electric anomaly. It was long distance, but it worked! I got some their loot and stashes marked, but that was boring...

I thought a more interesting location would be the middle of the Bloodsucker Village. 3 heavily armed Duty members in exosuits with Grozas can't be bad as backup, especially with (as I've finally realized) a guaranteed Controller respawn after a certain point of the game.

The last location I thought of was the middle of the Freedom base, heheheheheh ...

Morninglord

Whats the little number under my radar mean. It keeps changing and beeping for no reason.

Also does the red indicator bar that goes up when I, for example, swing a knife, mean people have noticed me, or that I'm making a sound. It seems that when I get seen by an enemy it's a white bar.

BlindPsychic

One bar is for sound, one is when people notice you, which goes up and stays on alert until the guys don't notice you anymore. The number indicator is for possible enemies in your minimap range I think? OL doesn't have it anymore.

Giga Gopher

In OL 2.1.1 is there a way to remove hunger?

This happens regularly: I am wounded, it's night time but I'm in a safe place. I decide to sleep till for five hours so I can set off at seven in the morning. I have the little green spoon and fork symbol flashing on my screen so I eat a tourist's delight and a piece of bread before turning in. Upon waking up I find myself... dead of hunger?

It's just really stupid is all I'm saying and it's a feature I could definitely do without.

meatflower

Morninglord wrote: »

Whats the little number under my radar mean. It keeps changing and beeping for no reason.

Also does the red indicator bar that goes up when I, for example, swing a knife, mean people have noticed me, or that I'm making a sound. It seems that when I get seen by an enemy it's a white bar.

The beeping is when a new contact enters radar range. Pretty useful actually, can help avoid a nasty surprise.

Iriah

The whole sound mechanic is broken as hell. Or it was in the original release.

admanb

meatflower wrote: »

Morninglord wrote: »

Whats the little number under my radar mean. It keeps changing and beeping for no reason.

Also does the red indicator bar that goes up when I, for example, swing a knife, mean people have noticed me, or that I'm making a sound. It seems that when I get seen by an enemy it's a white bar.

The beeping is when a new contact enters radar range. Pretty useful actually, can help avoid a nasty surprise.

There's also a beep for anomalies and a tick for radiation. -.- It's somewhat confusing.

Morninglord

The anomalies and radiation sounds are distinct enough for me to work them out, but I was curious about the beep that just happens apparently randomly. Now that I know what it is, I've noticed it's got quite a wide range too. Useful to know.

I got up to the bar today. This game is awesome. I don't really like tense games, I have enough stress...but this one is just so free, I guess you could call it a great big scary adventure. Once I got to the bar and did a mission from there and came back I realised just how open this game is, since I took a mission to the north instead of going to the place the story wanted me to go.

Had to assasinate a dude, which would get me a night flower, which would get me some grenades from the barman. I found him just north of the bar map, along with some other dudes and wolf.

Well I took a saunter around their little camp, decided I'd seen everything of interest, then pulled out the knife and did a huge running secondary stab into the guys back, checked his corpse and ran like hell as the guys in the camp opened fire. I hope wolf doesn't hate me now.
Oh well I got my grenades.

You can store stuff in the bars blue box right?

Loathing

That you can. I've been stashing back-up weapons, ammo, med kits and a whole load of other goodies in there for future use.

I found a sort of 'glitch' with OL a few days ago. With the random blowouts, all the NPC's run for cover, mainly indoors somewhere, in the most protected area. Right as I was leaving the Bar a blowout start so I booked it back into the actual bar. Everyone was huddled in a little group in the corner, guns pointed at the hallway/stairs leading outside.

I looked at the radar and saw one of the little yellow dots, a bit away from me just going nuts. Turns out that guy that says "Don't just stand there, come in!" can't get out of his little cage, and he was going absolutely nuts.

I watched him try to...do something to the door for a good minute, until he literally exploded. His rifle went flying at light speed through the fucking bars and down the hall, while his body bounced around a bit inside the cage before settling down. And I just stood there with a big look on me.

Xtarath

Echo wrote: »

...why did Wolf end up in a burning barrel at Army Warehouses anyway?

One day I hope I will find out...

Sorenson

Yeah, I found Zhurik face-down with one hand still gripping the door after my first blowout in the bar. Between him and the guy that tells you to get out of there, I'm running out of people to greet me to wherever I am.

One thing that I noticed STALKER and perhaps Clear Sky is in good need of is a decent AI looting system. In PVP-heavy areas like the Garbage and Wild Territory you'll eventually have so many guns sitting around that it gets silly, and the AI just walks past and over them without so much as batting an eyelash - I'd like to see a setup where after the dust has settled the AI will begin to pick through the remains and pick up whatever stuff has fallen and then drag the bodies off to the side or the firepit, and once everything's accounted for they swap over to using whatever equipment they looted if it's better than what they've already got and then run off to the trader to sell the excess or, depending on the equipment being used by other nearby stalkers and what they themselves looted, they could cut out the middleman and trade amongst themselves for much profit.

EDIT: Heh heh. Another blowout hit while I was in the bar, and a controller spawned right afterwards just outside so everybody's running up to take it ou, Snitch included - who after catching just a single glimpse of the thing goes running off whimpering like a cowardly dog.

EDIT: Not far enough, apparently.

admanb

Sorenson wrote: »

Yeah, I found Zhurik face-down with one hand still gripping the door after my first blowout in the bar. Between him and the guy that tells you to get out of there, I'm running out of people to greet me to wherever I am.

One thing that I noticed STALKER and perhaps Clear Sky is in good need of is a decent AI looting system. In PVP-heavy areas like the Garbage and Wild Territory you'll eventually have so many guns sitting around that it gets silly, and the AI just walks past and over them without so much as batting an eyelash - I'd like to see a setup where after the dust has settled the AI will begin to pick through the remains and pick up whatever stuff has fallen and then drag the bodies off to the side or the firepit, and once everything's accounted for they swap over to using whatever equipment they looted if it's better than what they've already got and then run off to the trader to sell the excess or, depending on the equipment being used by other nearby stalkers and what they themselves looted, they could cut out the middleman and trade amongst themselves for much profit.

This. Definitely.

Morninglord

Sorenson wrote: »

Yeah, I found Zhurik face-down with one hand still gripping the door after my first blowout in the bar. Between him and the guy that tells you to get out of there, I'm running out of people to greet me to wherever I am.

One thing that I noticed STALKER and perhaps Clear Sky is in good need of is a decent AI looting system. In PVP-heavy areas like the Garbage and Wild Territory you'll eventually have so many guns sitting around that it gets silly, and the AI just walks past and over them without so much as batting an eyelash - I'd like to see a setup where after the dust has settled the AI will begin to pick through the remains and pick up whatever stuff has fallen and then drag the bodies off to the side or the firepit, and once everything's accounted for they swap over to using whatever equipment they looted if it's better than what they've already got and then run off to the trader to sell the excess or, depending on the equipment being used by other nearby stalkers and what they themselves looted, they could cut out the middleman and trade amongst themselves for much profit.

EDIT: Heh heh. Another blowout hit while I was in the bar, and a controller spawned right afterwards just outside so everybody's running up to take it ou, Snitch included - who after catching just a single glimpse of the thing goes running off whimpering like a cowardly dog.

EDIT: Not far enough, apparently.

How does it do this when the player isn't on the screen? I was under the impression things don't happen unless you happen to be on the map at least. Just make loot dissappear, increase AI loot, move bodies. Viola, you have the effect without any complicated AI coding.
They're too busy wanting to chat to you if you are near.

Frosty

Does anyone know the code (or at least where to get the code) for the door in Red Forest near the road to Pripyiat? Is there even anything in there?

Demitri Omni

I still need to figure out how to install some of these mods. What do I absolutely NEED (i.e. what would be best), and how do I get anything and everything working together?

The links in the OP aren't helpful at all, I can't figure out what to install without making the game crash.

admanb

Demitri Omni wrote: »

I still need to figure out how to install some of these mods. What do I absolutely NEED (i.e. what would be best), and how do I get anything and everything working together?

The links in the OP aren't helpful at all, I can't figure out what to install without making the game crash.

Unless you want a total game re-design, I'd go with either the ZRP or Stolls pack ("The Stalker Mod Compilation"). Stoll's pack has three different possible sets, which one to choose is up to you (there's a fairly in-depth readme) but they all have the same core mods.

Basically it's a matter of how far you're willing to go from the base design to get a (usually) better and better experience. In order that would be ZRP > Stoll's core > Stoll's partial > Stoll's full. Full is the only one with any chance of making the game unstable, I think, and even that seems unlikely. I'm using Stoll's partial for my first playthrough.

If you do want a complete re-design, just install Oblivion Lost.

BlindPsychic

Frosty one of those doors is just there for show.

Demitri Omni

admanb wrote: »

Demitri Omni wrote: »

I still need to figure out how to install some of these mods. What do I absolutely NEED (i.e. what would be best), and how do I get anything and everything working together?

The links in the OP aren't helpful at all, I can't figure out what to install without making the game crash.

Unless you want a total game re-design, I'd go with either the ZRP or Stolls pack ("The Stalker Mod Compilation"). Stoll's pack has three different possible sets, which one to choose is up to you (there's a fairly in-depth readme) but they all have the same core mods.

Basically it's a matter of how far you're willing to go from the base design to get a (usually) better and better experience. In order that would be ZRP > Stoll's core > Stoll's partial > Stoll's full. Full is the only one with any chance of making the game unstable, I think, and even that seems unlikely. I'm using Stoll's partial for my first playthrough.

If you do want a complete re-design, just install Oblivion Lost.

Generally, I know I want Oblivion Lost. I just want to know how to install the visual mods (i.e. the compilation thing) without having a shitton of conflicts.

Frosty

BlindPsychic wrote: »

Frosty one of those doors is just there for show.

Man that is frustrating as hell, they should have made it so you couldnt use the keypad. I was checking corpses like crazy trying to find some diary entry or something that would have the code :x

Morninglord

Where is the repair guy that stolls includes, adds? Also can I modify options in the ZRP program and not start a new game? Like is that what that is for, or do I need a new game for every change even using that program?

BlindPsychic

There's like a 90% chance that starting a new game is necessary for any changes you make.

Morninglord

Might spoiler these questions.

So the repair guy is in the freedom camp. Do I need to be friends with them to use him. If I join freedom how do I get back through the bar? I like the bar, will I get shot on sight? But I want the repair dude. Grrrr.

Sorenson

You mean

Skinflint? No, I stayed independent and he still does work for me, though I imagine joining might decrease his rates.

And I'm pretty sure that

joining Freedom WOULD put you on the shitlist of about half the bar's populace, though the people inside the bar itself might not give two shits either way.

Anyway, I answered you, now someone answer me: have any of you OL 2.1 users been able to get the victim to cough up dough in exchange for not killing them during those "kill the stalker" missions? How much do they fork over? And what affect does it have on your standing and reputation and whatnot?

Stolls

Demitri - In general, the further down the list you go, the more you change. My mod packages all include the ZRP, for instance, and both can pretty much be dumped right in the root Stalker directory with zero problems. Oblivion Lost, however, is much bigger and broader, and for all its changes to work properly it must be added last. Most of it will overwrite the SMC stuff anyway.

Frosty - Regarding the Scorcher facility doors,

as I understand it they either intended the facility to be bigger at some point, or wanted to give simply the appearance of size. There are even code locks on doors that are stuck open, and far as I know only one door - leading to a small ammo cache - actually has a code. I'm not 100% sure, but I think the code can be found on the exosuit Monolith trooper guarding the northeast bunker in the forest. I'm almost certain one of the guards there has the code.

Morninglord - The ZRP gives the option to have Screw at the Freedom camp be the repairman; Axe's mod in the full compilation adds repair options to both Sidorovich and the Barman. Screw should repair regardless of your affiliation, long as you haven't pissed off Freedom in the process - and (in vanilla/+ZRP at least) it is possible to be friends with both Duty and Freedom if you're careful in which missions you do for them, and how you do them.

As soon as I get my computer fixed I'm going to try and decouple the repair component and add it to the core or partial packages. That and stripping out the MP5 upgrade are on the to-do list. I'm open to any recommendations as well

Demitri Omni

Stolls wrote: »

Demitri - In general, the further down the list you go, the more you change. My mod packages all include the ZRP, for instance, and both can pretty much be dumped right in the root Stalker directory with zero problems. Oblivion Lost, however, is much bigger and broader, and for all its changes to work properly it must be added last. Most of it will overwrite the SMC stuff anyway.

Well here's what I want to do. ZRP, OL, and the russian speech with english subtitles.

CAN WE BUILD IT?

admanb

Stolls wrote: »

Demitri - In general, the further down the list you go, the more you change. My mod packages all include the ZRP, for instance, and both can pretty much be dumped right in the root Stalker directory with zero problems. Oblivion Lost, however, is much bigger and broader, and for all its changes to work properly it must be added last. Most of it will overwrite the SMC stuff anyway.

Frosty - Regarding the Scorcher facility doors,

as I understand it they either intended the facility to be bigger at some point, or wanted to give simply the appearance of size. There are even code locks on doors that are stuck open, and far as I know only one door - leading to a small ammo cache - actually has a code. I'm not 100% sure, but I think the code can be found on the exosuit Monolith trooper guarding the northeast bunker in the forest. I'm almost certain one of the guards there has the code.

Morninglord - The ZRP gives the option to have Screw at the Freedom camp be the repairman; Axe's mod in the full compilation adds repair options to both Sidorovich and the Barman. Screw should repair regardless of your affiliation, long as you haven't pissed off Freedom in the process - and (in vanilla/+ZRP at least) it is possible to be friends with both Duty and Freedom if you're careful in which missions you do for them, and how you do them.

As soon as I get my computer fixed I'm going to try and decouple the repair component and add it to the core or partial packages. That and stripping out the MP5 upgrade are on the to-do list. I'm open to any recommendations as well

Now that I think about it, the readme says that Axe's mod removes the three-day quest timers, but when I started my game with the full package the timers were still in. I had to change them in the ZRP.

Morninglord

It turned out I'd enabled him and the guy in question isn't inside the armory like I thought so I don't need to touch either duty or freedom. For now.

Stolls

Demitri Omni wrote: »

Stolls wrote: »

Demitri - In general, the further down the list you go, the more you change. My mod packages all include the ZRP, for instance, and both can pretty much be dumped right in the root Stalker directory with zero problems. Oblivion Lost, however, is much bigger and broader, and for all its changes to work properly it must be added last. Most of it will overwrite the SMC stuff anyway.

Well here's what I want to do. ZRP, OL, and the russian speech with english subtitles.

CAN WE BUILD IT?

Kinda-sorta. OL will happily install right over the ZRP. Subtitles are harder, as that mod conflicts with the OL mod forcing the Russian dialog; English lines and effects are still subbed, but the Russian speech overwrites some of the NPCs' subs: Wolf, the bar megaphone, etc.

It should be possible to coerce the mod to work by merging the files (or failing that, just copy-pasting text from one to the other - probably in a specific way), but I lack a rig to test this at the moment. I do want to get this done, however, because it seems like it'd be a logical use of the closed captioning.

admanb - That's the other thing I'm worried about, as some of the ZRP stuff reactivates things otherwise modded out by Axe's and others that I didn't catch. Fortunately, that one's easy enough to fix in the next release just through the modifier. Thanks for letting me know, though; don't always have time to test as thoroughly as I'd like.

Demitri Omni

Stolls wrote: »

Demitri Omni wrote: »

Stolls wrote: »

Demitri - In general, the further down the list you go, the more you change. My mod packages all include the ZRP, for instance, and both can pretty much be dumped right in the root Stalker directory with zero problems. Oblivion Lost, however, is much bigger and broader, and for all its changes to work properly it must be added last. Most of it will overwrite the SMC stuff anyway.

Well here's what I want to do. ZRP, OL, and the russian speech with english subtitles.

CAN WE BUILD IT?

Kinda-sorta. OL will happily install right over the ZRP. Subtitles are harder, as that mod conflicts with the OL mod forcing the Russian dialog; English lines and effects are still subbed, but the Russian speech overwrites some of the NPCs' subs: Wolf, the bar megaphone, etc.

It should be possible to coerce the mod to work by merging the files (or failing that, just copy-pasting text from one to the other - probably in a specific way), but I lack a rig to test this at the moment. I do want to get this done, however, because it seems like it'd be a logical use of the closed captioning.

admanb - That's the other thing I'm worried about, as some of the ZRP stuff reactivates things otherwise modded out by Axe's and others that I didn't catch. Fortunately, that one's easy enough to fix in the next release just through the modifier. Thanks for letting me know, though; don't always have time to test as thoroughly as I'd like.

Alright, disregard the PM, then.

Stolls

Demitri Omni wrote: »

Stolls wrote: »

Demitri Omni wrote: »

Stolls wrote: »

Demitri - In general, the further down the list you go, the more you change. My mod packages all include the ZRP, for instance, and both can pretty much be dumped right in the root Stalker directory with zero problems. Oblivion Lost, however, is much bigger and broader, and for all its changes to work properly it must be added last. Most of it will overwrite the SMC stuff anyway.

Well here's what I want to do. ZRP, OL, and the russian speech with english subtitles.

CAN WE BUILD IT?

Kinda-sorta. OL will happily install right over the ZRP. Subtitles are harder, as that mod conflicts with the OL mod forcing the Russian dialog; English lines and effects are still subbed, but the Russian speech overwrites some of the NPCs' subs: Wolf, the bar megaphone, etc.

It should be possible to coerce the mod to work by merging the files (or failing that, just copy-pasting text from one to the other - probably in a specific way), but I lack a rig to test this at the moment. I do want to get this done, however, because it seems like it'd be a logical use of the closed captioning.

admanb - That's the other thing I'm worried about, as some of the ZRP stuff reactivates things otherwise modded out by Axe's and others that I didn't catch. Fortunately, that one's easy enough to fix in the next release just through the modifier. Thanks for letting me know, though; don't always have time to test as thoroughly as I'd like.

Alright, disregard the PM, then.

No prob, but the second I'm back up I'll be on the job. It shouldn't be that hard, just time consuming; lots of trial-and-error, that kind of thing.

IceBurner

I love this game.

I started a new file this morning. I had all the gear I need to beat the game about an hour ago.

Started by wiping out a lot of bandits single-handed. The silenced pistol handled the factory, and an MP5 solved the garbage problem. Found a Fort-12 someplace in between. After this I nabbed the 9x18 MP5 and went to Agroprom.

I had an Abakan from wiping the floor with the Spetznaz (along with everyone else) at the east facility and simply nabbed the documents without going into the underground. I went straight to the Bar & the Warehouses to pick up the Vintorez, a Z-M LR 300 and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. suit. Only then did I go for the underground stash.

Entering via the west hatch resulted in an immediate Controller showdown, followed by only 4 army because the two bloodsuckers downstairs killed the rest. Nabbed the goodies, and went my merry way.

Next I helped Kruglev, picked up an RPG, found the family rifle, said hi to Gordon, and got the SEVA suit. Now I'm set for the game.

Incidentally, on my first foray into the Old Army Warehouses, Skull's entire group had been mutually killed by two wild boar. I got 2 flawless Grozas and a lot of good ammo out of that. I was always tempted to do that mission for Lukash, but this time I didn't have to get my hands dirty or anything .

Demitri Omni

So. I severely underestimated OL.

Leaving the starting camp after going through the mission stuff, I proceed to run into a group of 8 dogs. They nearly make mincemeat of me, I use up nearly all of my pistol ammo, and since i didn't even scavenge around the camp, I didn't have any bandages. I sprint back to the camp, try to buy some bandages, only to remember you don't get any starting cash.

I die from blood loss by way of an orange bleed-o-meter.

The second file was better, but a fire anomaly (i forget the names) spawns right next to the entrance to the Trader's place (which i notice without it killing me, but it scares the hell out of me at first).

I get an AKS7U pretty quickly, though, so I have a much easier time this time through. I was sad that the dogs got to that first guy you save before I could, though.

Xtarath

So I just met the people who sell you the "Gauss" in DT.

After he told me he had none, I walked 'round the back and threw 2 grenades into the windows. Killed the two extra guards, took everyone's stuff. And head shotted the survivors. Then I just strolled back to Cordon.

Edit: Can someone tell me where to find a Vintorez? I'm just about to head to X16 and then sniper in me is angry at me for not having as many head shots.

Sorenson

Uh-oh. Main story questions:

As far as I understand you're technically not able to really break the main story chain, right? Even if everybody you're supposed to meet dies (as tends to happen in Hell OL) you can just nick their PDAs and follow the paper trail from one point to another. Thing is, I did all of that up until X16, but after searching Ghost's body I didn't get the task to meet with Guide like I did before. Is this some sort of bug with the latest versions of OL?

Xtarath: depending on what mods you've got and which stashes you've learned of, IIRC there's one in an electrical box in the elevator shaft near the start, like the second level down.