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STALKER Shadow of Chernobyl Mod Thread

DraQ

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Ok, the mod seems to work (after some minor adjustments), but I'm not convinced.

First it's EN version only, and it feels odd playing Slavic game in non-Slavic language, even if the VOs are Russian (BTW - it also means losing lector which was an excellent compromise between ruskie speech only and full localization).
Second, I dislike the new music.
Third, I'm somehow pissed when someone refers to weapon firing full blown rifle round (9x39mm) as fucking SMG.

Yeah, I feel your pain. Dont know what they were thinking when they opted for this.

At least they recognized it was a bad decision and are removing it from version 2.0.

For now its not really difficult to ignore it and just force branching yourself (I do this, by the way).
But I'm no filthy larper!
:rpgcodex:
 

DraQ

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Ok, I've forked my CoP into separate vanilla and misery directories and I hope I've managed to trim what I didn't like without breaking anything (thrown custom music, dialogue - both text and audio - as well as custom monster sounds the fuck out).

Unfortunately item descriptions are in to stay, because I have no alternative description trings for all the new stuff. Bah. :(
May edit the SMG part because fgsfds
 

Silva

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DraQ, what SMG in particular is bothering you ? I think it should be possible to edit some file, no ?

Going back to SoC Complete. Something very interesting happened – I was send to get a special rifle in the dark valley for a duty guy. When I get there, I cant find the rifle, and the indicator on the map changes to Agroprom institute. I think “WTF ?” and go there. Then, when I reach Agroprom, the map location indicates a place on the underground. So I enter it and start looking for the rifle until I find it in the corpse of a fucking bandit! The motherfucker robbed the rifle from dark valley and brought it to Agroprom!

Oh man, that was really cool. And a nice example of the game´s truly “live” world.

By the way, that’s something Im finding really cool in the Stalker series – the fact that it combines a somewhat simple shooter gameplay with RPG concepts of open-world and emergent gameplay, resulting in a kind of “RPG-Light” experience, managing to share some cool similarities to RPGs without the complexity/overload of stats, micro-management, etc.
 

spectre

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In before, stalker is an rpg because you play a role of a stalker and rubels are a lot like EXP.
Seriosuly though, I think the series is pretty much unrvalled when it comes to sandbox shooter gameplay.
The boomsticks are pretty enjoyable to use and you actually feel that their stats matter and they handle differently. While it's not as complex as I would like it to be, it's still leaves lots of fps games behind.
Say, compared to the recent contenstants like Far Cry 3, in which all the guns shoot identically, the difference boils down to optics and magazine capacity and exploration and scrounging resources is either nonexistant or pretty unrewarding, the old stalkers really shine.
Not to mention, the FC guys really tried, but you just can't do as much with a tropical island as you can with post-nuclear-disaster Ukraine when it comes to atmosphere.

Back on topic, I recently had another go at the series. After completing Call of Pripyat, I have to say that gameplay wise there is little reason to go for SoC and CS. SoC is playable with the complete mod, but the sandboxy part is non-existent and the gameplay is pretty shallow. It had great novelty value in its day, but apart from the story, there is little reason to play it when we have CoP.

Clear Sky used to be a buggy mess, and it pretty much still is atm. One good thing about it is that the sandboxy bit starts to feel right (still pretty rough around the edges, though), you get artifact detectors, equipment upgrades, emissions - but story wise, it is very, very poor, and the whole faction warfare shtick is very clunky.
 

DraQ

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DraQ, what SMG in particular is bothering you ? I think it should be possible to edit some file, no ?
VSK-94 you get as part of your starting gear as recon. It's referred to as "sub machine gun". It's a sniper rifle, for fucks sake, intended to be a cheaper alternative to Vintorez. It's pretty much as far from an SMG as it gets.
:x

Going back to SoC Complete. Something very interesting happened – I was send to get a special rifle in the dark valley for a duty guy. When I get there, I cant find the rifle, and the indicator on the map changes to Agroprom institute. I think “WTF ?” and go there. Then, when I reach Agroprom, the map location indicates a place on the underground. So I enter it and start looking for the rifle until I find it in the corpse of a fucking bandit! The motherfucker robbed the rifle from dark valley and brought it to Agroprom!
Actually, it was probably just the guy from DV who travelled to Agroprom. This happens a lot, NPCs generally move around.

By the way, that’s something Im finding really cool in the Stalker series – the fact that it combines a somewhat simple shooter gameplay with RPG concepts of open-world and emergent gameplay, resulting in a kind of “RPG-Light” experience, managing to share some cool similarities to RPGs without the complexity/overload of stats, micro-management, etc.
I don't consider those concepts RPG exclusive, but yeah.

Back on topic, I recently had another go at the series. After completing Call of Pripyat, I have to say that gameplay wise there is little reason to go for SoC and CS. SoC is playable with the complete mod, but the sandboxy part is non-existent and the gameplay is pretty shallow. It had great novelty value in its day, but apart from the story, there is little reason to play it when we have CoP.
Actually, there plenty such reasons. Grenades work better, GLs work correctly, anomalies are more lethal and widespread, atmosphere is better and game generally has stronger survival feel.

In CoP there is little risk to the Zone and anomalies are walk in the park.

Clear Sky used to be a buggy mess, and it pretty much still is atm. One good thing about it is that the sandboxy bit starts to feel right (still pretty rough around the edges, though), you get artifact detectors, equipment upgrades, emissions - but story wise, it is very, very poor, and the whole faction warfare shtick is very clunky.
Equipment upgrades were shit in CS, and they fucked up gameplay by making unupgraded gear too shitty to be usable (AK-74, for example barely managed to contain its spread to your FoV when you looked through the scope - in single shot mode). Ballistics of some low tier weapons was also shot, with shotgun pellets and pistol rounds simply vanishing in mid-air after travelling less than 20m (who the fuck wrote this shit??).

Still, repairs were effective money sink so the economy worked nicely, and both anomalies and enemies were deadly. Some areas (Red Forest in particular) were really cool too.

Too bad the ending was unbelievably shitty.
 

Silva

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First of all, I refuse to play any Stalker without mods. I tried CoP and SoC but in the end all of them felt too crude, bug-infested and simply ugly for me. With that out of the way..

I kind of agree with spectre here.

CoP low grenade radius, low lethality, poor ballistics, etc. are things easily corrected through mods (and there are lots out there that already do this). But no mod will correct SoC´s half-baked attempt at open-ended gameplay and non-linear narrative, or add depth to its shallow/straight gameplay through the addition of subtle sub-systems like CoP´s gear upgrades, artifact hunting, factions relations, eating/sleeping simulation, etc. Ive read a lot of reviewers saying CoP is the game SoC was meant to be but the devs didn’t have the technical expertise to implement it at the time of SoC release. You know what? The more I play SoC, the more I agree with this. SoC, at its heart, is a very linear and light/shallow “immersive shooter”, but with very original aesthetics and ideas (that were in a very sketchy phase of maturation, unfortunately). Maybe its hard to see this if you played SoC first in the series, but coming from the opposite direction like me – played CoP modded (or “corrected”, if you will) first and only then tryed SoC – this fact gets crystal clear. (that was the point of me opening this topic in the first place).

That said,

The only thing I didn’t see any CoP mod doing is replicating SoC atmosphere. I think its impossible, really, since its not only a product of SoC aesthetics, but also of its “broken” implementation of open-world concept – the very fragmentation of its world map guarantees that sometimes you get totally isolated and far away from any civilized spot, adding a lot to its sense of isolation. The only part CoP approaches this is in Pripyat, but even so, that city “emptiness”/half-baked nature makes it impossible to realize its potential and compete with SoC in this respect. Besides that, the very linearity of SoC also results in really cool scripted sequences that also adds to its atmosphere (like the first time you go underground and meet the Controller at the end), and its something CoP also lacks.

But well, Im just going to the Scorcher right now in SoC. Maybe my opinion still changes (for good or for bad) until the end ? . ;)
 

potatojohn

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Does anyone have a list of all the weapon stashes in Misery? I'm about to leave for Pripyat having completed all of Zaton and Jupiter, but I still haven't found 1/2 of the weapons listed in their PDF.
 

Silva

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Potato, did you get the Green Dragon ? Dont know if its already in the vanilla, but I heard its the most badass sniper rifle in the game.

Cowboy, backing to SoC, I decided to make a lot of sidequests before going to the scorcher. So it will take a time before I meet the "snipers in Pripyat". But I will try to remember that. ;)
 

potatojohn

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I found it but it doesn't seem too useful. Its handling stat is so low you might as well wield it as a club and beat mutants to death.

Overall I find the Abakan is still the best general gun. It's available early and it's cheap. Upgraded, it has sniper-rifle accuracy, and good stats overall. It's very light (4.7kg loaded, with GL, scope and suppressor), and mounts the targeting computer scope (which you can only get with calibration tools on other guns).

Some of the AI changes are pretty interesting in Misery, which I forgot to mention. For example, if you pull out a gun around neutrals (but not friends) they will eventually start shooting you. If a NPC in a group goes down and you try to loot him while others are still around, they'll start shooting you as well. Also, you can ask friendly NPCs to join you, although I've never tried it.
 

Zewp

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Codex 2013
Call Of Pripyat makes both other games in series obsolete, simple as that. The most fun I had with SoC was with Oblivion Lost mod, because of crazy randomness it creates. But really, CoP is the only good one in series. Don't even think of trying Clear Sky, it's absolutely terrible.

The maps and locations in CoP were really boring compared to SoC.
 

Utgard-Loki

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i think that "loot a dude while his friends are still alive" thing is bugged. because the only ones who attack me if i do it are bandits.

the green dragon pretty much sucks since its ammunition type is expensive (the hawaiian only sells armor piercing rounds), and it's bolt action. i prefer my marksmen rifles of a more cereb- utilitarian nature. i would have gone with the abakan like potatojohn, but i found a g36 on a merc.

edit:

Ive read a lot of reviewers saying CoP is the game SoC was meant to be but the devs didn’t have the technical expertise to implement it at the time of SoC release.
if i remember correctly: actually thq sent some producer dude over to speed up development. lots of things were axed, which is the reason shadow of chernobyl is the barebones (tiny maps, no vehicles, static anomalies) of what was shown in previous e3s and other presentations. dumbfuck was also responsible for the pda bullshit.
 

Silva

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Potato, I found this on gamefaqs, dont know how accurate it is though:

The secret weapons of Misery:
Zaton:
FAR-15: In the room where you help the bandits deal with the mercs, insid the third of the furnaces towards the opposite end.
PPSH 41: Iron forest, inside a small building in the south west corner
Obrez: Very well hidden, on top of stage in a crack in Izumrudnove
OC-33: On one of the mercs in waste processing

Jupiter:
Green Dragon: Bridge east of cement factory, its wedged under the bridge towards the south.
M4A1: Right by Streloks stash in Jupiter plant, on the back of the yellow digger.
Kar 98k: Outside of Jupiter plant by Concrete bath, facing south. Go over the hill and turn left by the bandit camp, when you come to water, turn left. The Kar98k is on top of that rubble pile.
G43: Volkhav AA complex, behind a piece of scrap metal by the back window, NPC's will take this so you might have to look around.
FN FAL: Train tunnel north east of Kopachy, inside the room with the tesla anomoly.
UMP 45: South western part of Kopachy, in a small shelter.

Pripyat:
No secret weapons in Pripyat, surprsingly.
 

Silva

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Updating to say Im on the way to Pripyat in SoC, and that the way into the Scorcher (fighting hordes of monolyths) and out of it (fighting hordes of monolyths) was one of the most irritating and horribly scripted sequences Ive seen in a game, with enemies spawning in my back without any respect for logic or plausibility.

Oh man, these scripted parts are damaging the overall game experience for me. At first they were cool as hell (Agroprom underground) but now its getting a chore. Because of that, Im already longing for the game to end, something Ive never felt in my CoP Misery playthrough. :(
 

Silva

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Updating again to say that..

Pripyat is amazingly fun! Its one of the better parts of the game for making tangible its "live world"/open-world premise, with different groups advancing from different sectors, Freedom from east, militaries from west, free stalkers in the center, monolyth resisting in the north, etc. Its such a big and dynamic and "live" urban warfare. Fucking great level. (I had to lower the difficulty for getting through the one-shot-kill monolyth snipers though :) )

Going to CNPP right now.
 

DraQ

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Updating again to say that..

Pripyat is amazingly fun! Its one of the better parts of the game for making tangible its "live world"/open-world premise, with different groups advancing from different sectors, Freedom from east, militaries from west, free stalkers in the center, monolyth resisting in the north, etc. Its such a big and dynamic and "live" urban warfare. Fucking great level. (I had to lower the difficulty for getting through the one-shot-kill monolyth snipers though :) )

I didn't like Pripyat, because the game swinged too much into full combat mode, but the environment wasn't bad, and combat was indeed fun and demanding.

Also: sissy.
Going to CNPP right now.
Warning - point of no return.

I don't know about complete, but ZRP allows post-ending free play depending on your endgame choices. Vanilla does not.
 

Silva

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I give up.

Dont know if its a bug or if Im such a poor player, but the CNPP is simply impossible to finish. Lots of monolyths with gauss from everywhere, crowding the corridors, and even spawning around me (I have a save where 2 monolyths spawn immediately in front of me when the game loads). Its ridiculous. I even lowered the difficulty to "rookie", activated crosshairs, all the shit. And nothing. Its nonsensically insane.

Dont know if its the Complete mods fault, or some bug from vanilla that the mod didnt correct. But right now the game is unfinishable.

If someone has any idea, Im all ears.
 

DraQ

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I give up.

Dont know if its a bug or if Im such a poor player, but the CNPP is simply impossible to finish. Lots of monolyths with gauss from everywhere, crowding the corridors, and even spawning around me (I have a save where 2 monolyths spawn immediately in front of me when the game loads). Its ridiculous. I even lowered the difficulty to "rookie", activated crosshairs, all the shit. And nothing. Its nonsensically insane.

Dont know if its the Complete mods fault, or some bug from vanilla that the mod didnt correct. But right now the game is unfinishable.

If someone has any idea, Im all ears.
Haven't played with complete. Vanilla or ZRP was tough, but perfectly manageable.
 

Cowboy Moment

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I completed it on Master with Complete and it wasn't really hard, just a bit tedious. Save a lot and try to engage from maximum range possible, leaning from behind cover. I mean, it's basically Call of Duty at that point, there's no special philosophy to it.

Or, well, if you're having trouble with this, then maybe you should settle for one of the fake endings, since the final sequence will make you smash your monitor in frustration.
 

Sodafish

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This has peaked my interest. I played SoC way back when it was first released, but haven't tried any of the sequels. Would you guys recommend vanilla CoP, misery mod or some other for a first playthrough?
 

Silva

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Sodafish,

I woud say it depends on your playstyle. I found vanilla CoP too easy and "straight shooter" for me (besides being ugly), so it didnt picked my interest at all. Only when I tried Misery the game shined, since it turns it into a kind of "soldier sim" with a strong emphasis on immersion and survival (damn, CoP Misery may very well be the first true "Survival Sim" Ive seen), besides the graphics getting much better. Also, Misery dont change the game plots structure at all.


MEANWHILE IN SHADOW OF CHERNOBYL..

Thats it. Finished SoC now.

I still dont know what to think of its ending (right now Im tending to the lame side), but the overall experience is really memorable, if only because of its great ideas and imagery. Its a great shooter certainly, but I dont know if its a great "something else" as I was expecting. Im still diggesting the experience. Later I will comment more.

And I managed to pass through the CNPP part with a heavy dose of savescumming and because I discovered thats possible to shoot lights out in this game Splinter Cell-style. Then, voilá, it was a matter of creeping in the dark with my silenced AS Val. The enemies didnt know what hit them. ;) But there is this part in CNPP thats bugged for sure, with a spawn ratio too harsh for that context.
 

Trash

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Just want to give my appreciation to this thread. It inspired me to play through SoC with the complete mod. Awesome game. Going to wait for misery 2.0 to give CoP a try.
 
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Going to wait for misery 2.0 to give CoP a try.

Misery is meant mostly for players already familiar with CoP though, it's the "maximum rape" version. I wouldn't recommend it for first time myself, but that's just me.
 

Cowboy Moment

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It's fine to start with Misery as long as you don't approach the game as if it was Call of Duty or Far Cry.
 

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