Seriously, the more I play this game, the more awesome I think it is.
So many subtle, interesting graphical effects, a cool world with interesting NPC interactions, interesting story-line.
Sure, its buggy as hell, but like Fallout, once you get past its instability, you find a real gem... one of those rare classics that really absorbs you into its world.
Oh, and I can personally vouch for just how much more immersive the game world is when you have dynamic lighting enabled... those underground networks become alive with shifting shadows!
Forget all the reviews, this is a classic that any FPS or adventure gamer should own.
I've got to say, this is all kinds of difficult. I'm playing it on Veteran at the moment, but it's involving a heck of a lot of insta-death and reloading - especially frustrating as the quickload/save doesn't seem to work. I might pussy out and restart on Stalker.
I'm trying to get to the Bar, but the route seems to be blocked by Duty. How do I get them to let me pass?
Just got this. I'm playing on Stalker, because I heard Veteran was hard as fuck, and this isn't too hard. I got it running pretty smoothly on my system eventually, with static lighting and medium everything else on 800x600. I should be upgrading soon, though, so that'll be good.
Well, my difficulty level is Stalker, so presumably it's in there. I went through the menus and everything and none of them said anything about quicksaving, though.
Well, my difficulty level is Stalker, so presumably it's in there. I went through the menus and everything and none of them said anything about quicksaving, though.
From what I understand it was quite a late addition to the game. The Eurogamers review said it wasn't in their review build but was subsequently added for release. Might also explain the problems people have using it.
I couldn't wait. I borrowed a friend's copy and I'm seeing like... a hall of mirrors effect for the sky. These aren't my screenshots, but it's pretty much what I'm seeing.
Anyone else seeing these? My gfx card is a 6600 Go and I put it on minimum graphics and it still doesn't change.
Me, i've got it not keeping my graphics settings or keybinds. It's keeping some, but not others. Might that be because i'm playing it on an account that doesn't have admin privileges, so for whatever reason it can't write to the file it needs? I say this because when the console pops up when i quit, it has a message in red about access being denied to some file. edit: hah! it is, i just loaded it up and tried making changes on my admin account, and it kept them fine. Oh well.
Also, my framerate keeps dropping when i get into firefights, which is a bit of a shame:( I'm guessing this is more of a processor issue, so i might start looking what background processes are running (loads, so poorly optimised), and see what i can kill.
Anyone else enjoy starting fights between groups? Currently, i've got the military from the Outpost near the start, invading the village area where you start.
I know this is a crazy action,survival game, but how much of it is horror like F.E.A.R. or RE?
To me, it feels really different. You're in a much larger, free-roaming world in this game. Even if the events are actually scripted, to me they don't feel that way. Plus, it takes place in the context of a more established backdrop that's actually inhabited by people. You're not the only one around, being led down a single hallway, waiting for the boarded up window to burst with zombies. You can encounter horror just wandering around on your own - Horror that's just minding its own business, and you stumble upon it.
It's much more immersive, and I think, much more creepy. But I'm not very far into the game yet, so the experience may change.
I couldn't wait. I borrowed a friend's copy and I'm seeing like... a hall of mirrors effect for the sky.
[...]
Anyone else seeing these? My gfx card is a 6600 Go and I put it on minimum graphics and it still doesn't change.
Apparently some other people who have had this very problem have solved it by updating their drivers.
I really wish this game would not run like shit when you look off in the distance towards insignificant areas. Yes, because looking at a wall outside should cause my framerate to drop to 3.
I can play it with everything jacked up on object dynamic lighting in 1280x1024 but the only thing is...jaggies, and I have everything jacked. Is this common?
I can play it with everything jacked up on object dynamic lighting in 1280x1024 but the only thing is...jaggies, and I have everything jacked. Is this common?
If you're using Full Dynamic Lighting, I don't think it's possible to play with true AA on.
I can play it with everything jacked up on object dynamic lighting in 1280x1024 but the only thing is...jaggies, and I have everything jacked. Is this common?
If you're using Full Dynamic Lighting, I don't think it's possible to play with true AA on.
But I'm not on full, just object dynamic lighting. They're two seperate things in my menu.
CrimsonKing on
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TetraNitroCubaneThe DjinneratorAt the bottom of a bottleRegistered Userregular
I can play it with everything jacked up on object dynamic lighting in 1280x1024 but the only thing is...jaggies, and I have everything jacked. Is this common?
If you're using Full Dynamic Lighting, I don't think it's possible to play with true AA on.
But I'm not on full, just object dynamic lighting. They're two seperate things in my menu.
Huh. Do you have your control panel set to force AA? I've heard the game doesn't get along well with that, and that it should be set to application control.
If that fails, you can try to use the user file posted earlier in the thread. It gives mid-range quality, but you should be able to crank up the AA after that. The original thread that tweak was posted in said something about the AA enabled via the slider not being 'true' AA, but just a blur effect.
Just back up your user file first in case it's not what you want.
I can play it with everything jacked up on object dynamic lighting in 1280x1024 but the only thing is...jaggies, and I have everything jacked. Is this common?
If you're using Full Dynamic Lighting, I don't think it's possible to play with true AA on.
But I'm not on full, just object dynamic lighting. They're two seperate things in my menu.
I can play it with everything jacked up on object dynamic lighting in 1280x1024 but the only thing is...jaggies, and I have everything jacked. Is this common?
If you're using Full Dynamic Lighting, I don't think it's possible to play with true AA on.
But I'm not on full, just object dynamic lighting. They're two seperate things in my menu.
Potentially patronising question here.
Hve you gone into the advanced section of the graphics menu to turn up AA?
I can play it with everything jacked up on object dynamic lighting in 1280x1024 but the only thing is...jaggies, and I have everything jacked. Is this common?
If you're using Full Dynamic Lighting, I don't think it's possible to play with true AA on.
But I'm not on full, just object dynamic lighting. They're two seperate things in my menu.
What's the big difference between the two?
Well on my comp, object dynamic lighting lets the game run fine, but full dynamic lighting kills it.
I can play it with everything jacked up on object dynamic lighting in 1280x1024 but the only thing is...jaggies, and I have everything jacked. Is this common?
If you're using Full Dynamic Lighting, I don't think it's possible to play with true AA on.
But I'm not on full, just object dynamic lighting. They're two seperate things in my menu.
Potentially patronising question here.
Hve you gone into the advanced section of the graphics menu to turn up AA?
Me, i've got it not keeping my graphics settings or keybinds. It's keeping some, but not others. Might that be because i'm playing it on an account that doesn't have admin privileges, so for whatever reason it can't write to the file it needs? I say this because when the console pops up when i quit, it has a message in red about access being denied to some file. edit: hah! it is, i just loaded it up and tried making changes on my admin account, and it kept them fine. Oh well.
You need power user or admin rights because the user config file is stored under c:\documents and settings\all users\documents\STALKER-SHOC. If you grant your limited user account "modify" permissions to that folder you should have no problems in the future.
I can play it with everything jacked up on object dynamic lighting in 1280x1024 but the only thing is...jaggies, and I have everything jacked. Is this common?
If you're using Full Dynamic Lighting, I don't think it's possible to play with true AA on.
But I'm not on full, just object dynamic lighting. They're two seperate things in my menu.
I'm using Full Dynamic Lighting with the ini tweak back on page 28 and my AA is on and working (I turned it down a notch from the ini setting, but I can see that it's still active). Nvidia 7800GS, 91.31 drivers in XP.
So, I have to go down this manhole to find Strelok's Stash. So here I am, creeping through the dark with the typical inadequate video-game flashlight, when I spot a box of stuff. Rooting through it for more ammo, I hear something make this ungodly screech behind me. Panicking because I was in the middle of going through my inventory, I bolt to the other side of the room I'm in, in the process passing an open doorway. As I run by, I suddenly see a light come on, and a couple red dots blink on my minimap. Oh snap! Enemy soldiers! They start firing... not at me, but at a wavy, predator-like shape back where I was before. I ran into a corner and finally got my AK reloaded, but I guess one of the soldiers saw me run past because they turned to start shooting at me. Fortunately, the doorway was a perfect bottleneck so I started gunning them down as they stepped out. When suddenly... RAR! this thing starts clawing at my side! I jumped up and now I'm frantically running in circles, trying to shoot this tentacle-faced thing while at the same time there's soldiers shooting at both me and it. I manage to kill the bloodsucker thing, and run back to my corner where I'm able to finish off the last of the soldiers. I guess the firefight managed to get the attention of everyone down here, because after that the way to Strelok's stash was completely clear.
Plot item get!
Fast-firing AK get!
With that out of the way, time to head out. There's more soldiers in the tunnels, but nothing I can't handle. I clear them out, and all that's left is this last section of tunnel. So I'm running forward and ohgodsomethingappearedbehindmeandnowmyscreensallwavyanditsmakingthesehorriblescreams.
In a complete panic I climb up the first ladder and oh crap! It's blocked off! So I jump down and run for the far end of the tunnel when the brain-thing does its "pull the screen towards it" thing again. So now my screen's wobbling all over the place, and I try to grab onto the ladder like three or four times before I finally get it. I scramble up and out of that damn tunnel.... Right into an occupied army facility. Even though I don't think it did anything, I dropped a grenade back down the hole I crawled out of.
Also, I think I've really lucked out on finding artifacts. I've got three full "sets" I can use depending on the situation. I've got a bunch of Meat Chunks and a Soul to make my health regenerate super fast, a bunch of Fireballs and an Urchin which combined with my Stalker Suit makes me nearly immune to radiation. And lastly, I came across some super-rare ones that up my endurance recovery as well as one that gives me +5 bullet protection with no other drawbacks. The endurance ones I picked off some bandits in the place East of the Garbage, while the last one was just sitting on the ground the second time I visited that area. It wasn't there before, but when I left to sell stuff and came back, there it was right in front of me.
So, I finished it. What a disappointment after all these years. Had I waited for the shit ton of patches this game desperately needs before playing, maybe I'd have been better off.
So much of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is horrifiyingly unfinished. For a concept based entirely around the idea that The Zone is full of rare and expensive artifacts, you think there'd be more than three merchants that actually carry anything. You'd think money was a valuable commodity. Unfortunately, in the world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R., currency is utterly worthless and nobody sells anything of use.
Then you've got the respawns. Waves and waves of endless bandits and military men. Kill off 20 of them, walk around a corner, and they're back again. Careful where you quicksave, the game still processes time while you're loading!
Exploration! That's got to be a blast, right? It is until you realize that any hidden stash you find without first discovering the PDA revealing its location is otherwise inexplicably empty.
See that little blue bar on your HUD? That's your armor. Notice it doesn't go down? The developers failed to remove it even though it serves absolutely no purpose.
Bugs. Lord almighty, the bugs. Crashes, memory leaks, unoptimized code, and broken quest triggers. I was forced into getting the worst ending simply because a couple of quest triggers refused to complete early on. Don't ask for support from the official forums though, because the official response is "our game is in better shape than Half-Life 2 was!" Bang-up job there, chaps.
The game is beautiful. Privyat and the reactor itself are stunningly realized and incredibly accurate. It's a shame then that the game itself could have been so much more. Here's hoping that the community takes the opportunity to mend what is otherwise broken.
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Yes, it's right after Garbage. Don't worry about hoarding too much stuff, by the end of the game you'll have more money than you know what to do with.
So many subtle, interesting graphical effects, a cool world with interesting NPC interactions, interesting story-line.
Sure, its buggy as hell, but like Fallout, once you get past its instability, you find a real gem... one of those rare classics that really absorbs you into its world.
Oh, and I can personally vouch for just how much more immersive the game world is when you have dynamic lighting enabled... those underground networks become alive with shifting shadows!
Forget all the reviews, this is a classic that any FPS or adventure gamer should own.
Definitely bad.
Michael Jackson bad.
Mad Max bad.
You probably just put that in there for the inevitable outrage but...
Man, what?
Bad as in good. Michael Jackson and Mad Max both wore leather jackets. And they were totally bad dudes because of it.
Ain't no one ever harming you, Max.
I'm trying to get to the Bar, but the route seems to be blocked by Duty. How do I get them to let me pass?
Now, how the fuck do I quicksave?
Also, F6 is autosave and F7 is autoload, however there is a problem with this if your campaign name has a space in it.
From what I understand it was quite a late addition to the game. The Eurogamers review said it wasn't in their review build but was subsequently added for release. Might also explain the problems people have using it.
Anyone else seeing these? My gfx card is a 6600 Go and I put it on minimum graphics and it still doesn't change.
Me, i've got it not keeping my graphics settings or keybinds. It's keeping some, but not others. Might that be because i'm playing it on an account that doesn't have admin privileges, so for whatever reason it can't write to the file it needs? I say this because when the console pops up when i quit, it has a message in red about access being denied to some file.
edit: hah! it is, i just loaded it up and tried making changes on my admin account, and it kept them fine. Oh well.
Also, my framerate keeps dropping when i get into firefights, which is a bit of a shame:( I'm guessing this is more of a processor issue, so i might start looking what background processes are running (loads, so poorly optimised), and see what i can kill.
Anyone else enjoy starting fights between groups? Currently, i've got the military from the Outpost near the start, invading the village area where you start.
To me, it feels really different. You're in a much larger, free-roaming world in this game. Even if the events are actually scripted, to me they don't feel that way. Plus, it takes place in the context of a more established backdrop that's actually inhabited by people. You're not the only one around, being led down a single hallway, waiting for the boarded up window to burst with zombies. You can encounter horror just wandering around on your own - Horror that's just minding its own business, and you stumble upon it.
It's much more immersive, and I think, much more creepy. But I'm not very far into the game yet, so the experience may change.
T-Nation blog
I think a lot of people in general have nVidia cards though.
If you're using Full Dynamic Lighting, I don't think it's possible to play with true AA on.
But I'm not on full, just object dynamic lighting. They're two seperate things in my menu.
Huh. Do you have your control panel set to force AA? I've heard the game doesn't get along well with that, and that it should be set to application control.
If that fails, you can try to use the user file posted earlier in the thread. It gives mid-range quality, but you should be able to crank up the AA after that. The original thread that tweak was posted in said something about the AA enabled via the slider not being 'true' AA, but just a blur effect.
Just back up your user file first in case it's not what you want.
What's the big difference between the two?
Potentially patronising question here.
Hve you gone into the advanced section of the graphics menu to turn up AA?
Well on my comp, object dynamic lighting lets the game run fine, but full dynamic lighting kills it.
Yea, everything is all the way up.
You need power user or admin rights because the user config file is stored under c:\documents and settings\all users\documents\STALKER-SHOC. If you grant your limited user account "modify" permissions to that folder you should have no problems in the future.
I'm using Full Dynamic Lighting with the ini tweak back on page 28 and my AA is on and working (I turned it down a notch from the ini setting, but I can see that it's still active). Nvidia 7800GS, 91.31 drivers in XP.
Plot item get!
Fast-firing AK get!
With that out of the way, time to head out. There's more soldiers in the tunnels, but nothing I can't handle. I clear them out, and all that's left is this last section of tunnel. So I'm running forward and ohgodsomethingappearedbehindmeandnowmyscreensallwavyanditsmakingthesehorriblescreams.
In a complete panic I climb up the first ladder and oh crap! It's blocked off! So I jump down and run for the far end of the tunnel when the brain-thing does its "pull the screen towards it" thing again. So now my screen's wobbling all over the place, and I try to grab onto the ladder like three or four times before I finally get it. I scramble up and out of that damn tunnel.... Right into an occupied army facility. Even though I don't think it did anything, I dropped a grenade back down the hole I crawled out of.
Also, I think I've really lucked out on finding artifacts. I've got three full "sets" I can use depending on the situation. I've got a bunch of Meat Chunks and a Soul to make my health regenerate super fast, a bunch of Fireballs and an Urchin which combined with my Stalker Suit makes me nearly immune to radiation. And lastly, I came across some super-rare ones that up my endurance recovery as well as one that gives me +5 bullet protection with no other drawbacks. The endurance ones I picked off some bandits in the place East of the Garbage, while the last one was just sitting on the ground the second time I visited that area. It wasn't there before, but when I left to sell stuff and came back, there it was right in front of me.
I thought everyone got pissed and ran up to him and stabbed him in the head.
So much of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is horrifiyingly unfinished. For a concept based entirely around the idea that The Zone is full of rare and expensive artifacts, you think there'd be more than three merchants that actually carry anything. You'd think money was a valuable commodity. Unfortunately, in the world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R., currency is utterly worthless and nobody sells anything of use.
Then you've got the respawns. Waves and waves of endless bandits and military men. Kill off 20 of them, walk around a corner, and they're back again. Careful where you quicksave, the game still processes time while you're loading!
Exploration! That's got to be a blast, right? It is until you realize that any hidden stash you find without first discovering the PDA revealing its location is otherwise inexplicably empty.
See that little blue bar on your HUD? That's your armor. Notice it doesn't go down? The developers failed to remove it even though it serves absolutely no purpose.
Bugs. Lord almighty, the bugs. Crashes, memory leaks, unoptimized code, and broken quest triggers. I was forced into getting the worst ending simply because a couple of quest triggers refused to complete early on. Don't ask for support from the official forums though, because the official response is "our game is in better shape than Half-Life 2 was!" Bang-up job there, chaps.
The game is beautiful. Privyat and the reactor itself are stunningly realized and incredibly accurate. It's a shame then that the game itself could have been so much more. Here's hoping that the community takes the opportunity to mend what is otherwise broken.
T-Nation blog