S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Shadow of Chernobyl Discussion

[Bigjakkstaffa]

It's a bit good...

Thats all ive really got time to say, but THQ really have done a good job of actually getting GSC Gameworld to get somethign halfway decent out the door. Alright a lot of the really original scope and content has been sacrificed on the way, and there are a lot of issues with bugs and crashes, its still woth a play.

This is the sort of game that will split opinion though due to its gameplay mechanics, you will either love it or hate it. To give you a warning, this is no straight up FPS, instead you should be thinking along the lines of Oblivion with guns.

--Jakk

[kpm547]

Sounds interesting. I have been wanting to play it since it was announced...years ago. Are the graphics anything close to being top notch, or are they outdated due to the many delays?

You've compared it to Oblivion, but with guns. Is it as good as Oblivion?

[Bigjakkstaffa]

As long as you have the horses to pull the new Dynamic lighting model then it looks very pretty, theres some great texture work and the lighting is top drawer, but some of the models look a bit lacking. With the standard lighting model it doesnt look anythign all that amazing though.

its not quite up to Oblivion standard, there are some clunky elements, comabt is less than fluid, as such its not one for the straight FPS fan, similarly some of the RPG-ish elements dont come off quite right, and many of the sidequests often feel a little pointless. Still, it really is worth a look as it simply oozes atmosphere and some of its gameplay shortfalls can be forgiven for what is probably the best amalagmation of an RPG and FPS into one since Deus Ex

--Jakk:t

[RamonGTP]

I just got the game today, and like Jakk says, it definatly has a good atmosphere. Overall though, I'd say the game is pretty good, but far from great. Definatly not as good as Oblivion, not even close IMO. The game does make good use of dual core CPU's, so it's nice seeing more and more games take advantage of today's available hardware.

[Bigjakkstaffa]

Im not fully sure that STALKER does actually take advantage of multiple cores. Something i seem to recall reading tells me that it doesnt.

--Jakk:t

[CrazyCrusher]

guess it does utilize dual and quad processor's

http://www.hardocp.com/news.html?news=MjQ3ODksLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdCwsLDE=

[RamonGTP]

It does... I had my task manager running on my 2nd monitor while playing and it had both cores going. my overall CPU usage was between 65-80% with some spikes above that. However, the game IS pretty buggy, and there have been reports of the game only maxing out one core.

[CrazyCrusher]

Im thinking now if I should get this game or not, Ive been waiting for it for a long time, now I have read reviews which are good but it seems so buggy, Is it worth it or should I wait for a patch?

[Bigjakkstaffa]

It seems a bit hit and miss regarding the bugs, some people are having loads of issues. Me and my flatmate havent have hardly experienced any thus far (i got my first CTD last night).

It really is worth getting and playing IMO - i also dont think the first patch will address all that much tbh, as Vista compatibility seems to be the priority for the first patch.

--Jakk:t

[Roadhog]

It seems a bit hit and miss regarding the bugs, some people are having loads of issues. Me and my flatmate havent have hardly experienced any thus far (i got my first CTD last night).

It really is worth getting and playing IMO - i also dont think the first patch will address all that much tbh, as Vista compatibility seems to be the priority for the first patch.

--Jakk:t

Flatmate??

I had to look that one up.

I did not care too much for this game. BUT, I did not have the horses to run the Dynamic lighting either. Maybe that is part of the reason.

[Bigjakkstaffa]

Flatmate... he got hit by a steam roller, closest Americanism i can probably think of is "Roomie!"

TBH i didnt have high hopes for STALKER, but THQ have come up with the goods yet again, and it really is a cracking little game if its your cup of tea, those wishing to simply blast mutants and aliens all day long need not apply.

One thing about the Dynamic Lighting, without it STALKERS graphics look pretty bog standard if you ask me, indeed on the graphical sid eof things, other than some good texture work, theres only really Dynamic Lighting that will have your jaw flapping

--Jakk:t

[Roadhog]

Flatmate... he got hit by a steam roller, closest Americanism i can probably think of is "Roomie!"

TBH i didnt have high hopes for STALKER, but THQ have come up with the goods yet again, and it really is a cracking little game if its your cup of tea, those wishing to simply blast mutants and aliens all day long need not apply.

One thing about the Dynamic Lighting, without it STALKERS graphics look pretty bog standard if you ask me, indeed on the graphical sid eof things, other than some good texture work, theres only really Dynamic Lighting that will have your jaw flapping

--Jakk:t

Jakk

I have the processor (e6400), but not the video cart (x800xt) to run the dynamic lighting. I notice they have the bushes waving back and forth, I am sure that takes some processing/gpu power.

What processor/video card you running it with?

[tasty danish]

Jakk

I have the processor (e6400), but not the video cart (x800xt) to run the dynamic lighting. I notice they have the bushes waving back and forth, I am sure that takes some processing/gpu power.

What processor/video card you running it with?

see his sig.

i haven't picked it up yet. funny as jakk, you were pretty grim on the game and i think i was the only member on sysopt still excited about it after the 3 or so year delay :x

i have read all the reviews and they've really kind of put me off. yes i'll get it and play it for atmousphere but the game was supposed to be this 50-60 hour romp through a huge and mysterious world, they explicitly promised not the break up the action with load times, etc etc.

it just kills me that we wait 3 years (this was slated as an fx5900 showcase mind you) and then they don't deliver on any of the promises that made the game sound sweet in the first place (all the sidequests are pointless, AI interaction is shallow, lame story, etc, etc).

i'll pick it up, and i'll probably enjoy the poo out of it but, did anyone ever play gun? that's the feeling i'm getting here. my synopsis of both games is that there better be a sequel coming out some actually worthwhile plot diversions.

[Roadhog]

see his sig.

i haven't picked it up yet. funny as jakk, you were pretty grim on the game and i think i was the only member on sysopt still excited about it after the 3 or so year delay :x

i have read all the reviews and they've really kind of put me off. yes i'll get it and play it for atmousphere but the game was supposed to be this 50-60 hour romp through a huge and mysterious world, they explicitly promised not the break up the action with load times, etc etc.

it just kills me that we wait 3 years (this was slated as an fx5900 showcase mind you) and then they don't deliver on any of the promises that made the game sound sweet in the first place (all the sidequests are pointless, AI interaction is shallow, lame story, etc, etc).

i'll pick it up, and i'll probably enjoy the poo out of it but, did anyone ever play gun? that's the feeling i'm getting here. my synopsis of both games is that there better be a sequel coming out some actually worthwhile plot diversions.

Maybe I need to tweak the game settings as Jak's 7800GT does not look much better then my x800xt:
http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.html

Tasty, you may enjoy the game very much. It seems (to me) it mixes in a little adventure game with the fps. I did not play it long enough to give a decent review. I may try it again though, but lately just too much going on at the home front.

[tasty danish]

i know i will, i'm really NOT picky about games. well, i guess i am but when it comes to FPS's i'm cheaper than a call girl, and i used to be a complete RPG geek till i got bored and jumped ship to shooters to wake me up a bit!

my problem is, that i've been super keen to stalker since it was an fx5900 tech demo. ever since i heard about the premise i've thought, "oh dude, this will be my game. this is gonna be that underdog that flies under the radar but trumps everything out (think system shock 2)." i've never been that excited about a video game concept, ever, compared to the original promises made by stalker.

originally when it was delayed i was like, that's cool, HL2 was also so, just like HL2, they're just polishing it. then it got delayed years after HL2 and i've noticed a trend, after a game gets delayed so long there is no way it'll be good, or at least, exemplary.

look at what's come out recently, all the behemoths. Doom 3 was AMAZING for the first 1/2, then became a complete snore/teleport fest the next. quake 4 was excellent but couldnt stay interesting because it was mindless. prey was sensational and lasted 30 minutes. I don't know why people rave about far cry, because the AI was HORRID. they either had spidey sense or i could tap dance right infront of them. As good as HL2 was the physics and interactivity weren't as mind blowing as hyped up to be (when did i get to flip cars on zombies with grenades and blow up water towers?). honestly the only game that hasn't let me down at all recently has been fear, but it's not as ambitious as most.

i guess i just thought, and hoped, for all this time, that stalker would be that one that really knocked her out of the ballpark, that didn't fall flat on any expectations. the premise just seemed TOO dag-gum cool. but it looks like it'll be just another shooter.

[Roadhog]

i know i will, i'm really NOT picky about games. well, i guess i am but when it comes to FPS's i'm cheaper than a call girl, and i used to be a complete RPG geek till i got bored and jumped ship to shooters to wake me up a bit!

my problem is, that i've been super keen to stalker since it was an fx5900 tech demo. ever since i heard about the premise i've thought, "oh dude, this will be my game. this is gonna be that underdog that flies under the radar but trumps everything out (think system shock 2)." i've never been that excited about a video game concept, ever, compared to the original promises made by stalker.

originally when it was delayed i was like, that's cool, HL2 was also so, just like HL2, they're just polishing it. then it got delayed years after HL2 and i've noticed a trend, after a game gets delayed so long there is no way it'll be good, or at least, exemplary.

look at what's come out recently, all the behemoths. Doom 3 was AMAZING for the first 1/2, then became a complete snore/teleport fest the next. quake 4 was excellent but couldnt stay interesting because it was mindless. prey was sensational and lasted 30 minutes. I don't know why people rave about far cry, because the AI was HORRID. they either had spidey sense or i could tap dance right infront of them. As good as HL2 was the physics and interactivity weren't as mind blowing as hyped up to be (when did i get to flip cars on zombies with grenades and blow up water towers?). honestly the only game that hasn't let me down at all recently has been fear, but it's not as ambitious as most.

i guess i just thought, and hoped, for all this time, that stalker would be that one that really knocked her out of the ballpark, that didn't fall flat on any expectations. the premise just seemed TOO dag-gum cool. but it looks like it'll be just another shooter.


Sounds like you have played a lot of games, much more them me.

Commets on the ones I like that you have mentioned.

Far Cry: I like this game a lot-graphics great.
HL2: Same comments as Far Cry I got Silver package so plenty of online play games.
Fear: Pretty neat, good graphics (even with my current card). I could use a better graphics card with this one.,
Stalker: Not bad, but I need a better graphics card for this one alsol.

I have not played the other games you mentioned as of yet.


The one I am waiting for "Crysis"

[Bigjakkstaffa]

To be honest, on the basis of the Alphas and MP beta, i i thought they had royally screwed it up - but, they've (or rather THQ have) done a very decent job of getting a decent product out onto the shelves, although the lack of the genre-breaking features originally taunted by GSC Gameworld is very noticeable.

There's a first patch just been released fixing a number of issues, unfortunatley it'll trash your save games from the original release though :(

Roadhog, the X800 range is roughly equal to the Geforce 6800 series of cards, so youre about one product cycle behing my 7800GT

--Jakk:t

[Roadhog]

To be honest, on the basis of the Alphas and MP beta, i i thought they had royally screwed it up - but, they've (or rather THQ have) done a very decent job of getting a decent product out onto the shelves, although the lack of the genre-breaking features originally taunted by GSC Gameworld is very noticeable.

There's a first patch just been released fixing a number of issues, unfortunatley it'll trash your save games from the original release though :(

Roadhog, the X800 range is roughly equal to the Geforce 6800 series of cards, so youre about one product cycle behing my 7800GT

--Jakk:t


Yea jack, I posted the toms hardware link and your card looks to be 10% faster (so I would guess at average 35-40 fps would mean 3-4 fps more them myself).

With the dyanimic lighting enabled, it was not playable for me. (I noticed also that I have pc3200 ram but only 1 gig). My guess after looking at your specs is this may be one of those games that needs more ram (most of all if dyn light is enabled).

Since I have

e6400 core2 duo2
1 gig pc3200 ram
x800xt

The only stat that sticks out at me now is the 1.5 gig vs my 1 gig. I can not see your 7800 card making more then 3-4 fps frame difference.

Just my opinion and a guess on my part.

[Roadhog]

To Tasty

I have my doubts on if you will be able to play Stalker with that video card?? May be time for an upgrade.

You may want to check into that before you buy the game. Places around here where I live in the US will not take a game back after the seal is broke. They will exchance, but for the same product only.

[Roadhog]

You wrote here:

" i'm cheaper than a call girl"


I have to ask--are you female and are you available :D

I kid -- I kid :D

[tasty danish]

if you talking about the fx5900, i wouldn't run one if you payed me. i'm simply saying that the original photos of stalker were to show "how awesome dx9 can be on the fx5900." that's how long i've been waiting.

and if an x800 Platinum can't play it, they need to call it quits on gaming altogether. i don't expect to hit it with all the super lighting fun and such, but if it don't play, let's just say i've killed for less. so long as i can play on 1280x720 on my 100" projector i'll be happy.

and sorry, all sausage fest here. my lady friend is crazy sorts of adorable though.

[Roadhog]

if you talking about the fx5900, i wouldn't run one if you payed me. i'm simply saying that the original photos of stalker were to show "how awesome dx9 can be on the fx5900." that's how long i've been waiting.

and if an x800 Platinum can't play it, they need to call it quits on gaming altogether. i don't expect to hit it with all the super lighting fun and such, but if it don't play, let's just say i've killed for less. so long as i can play on 1280x720 on my 100" projector i'll be happy.

and sorry, all sausage fest here. my lady friend is crazy sorts of adorable though.

Tasty

It runs smooth on my x800xt with out the dynamic lighting. I forget the other settings, but most were pretty much set to high.

[CrazyCrusher]

Well How grand is my wife, she was out at target and saw Stalker and figured hmm thats something the hubby might want, and what do you know she bought it for me, shes a great old thing so she is, anyways I havent had a chanced to play it, Waiting on my 8800 to come as I had to RMA my other, which will be in the mail this week prolly the 4th, I have two 7600 in there now but notice it gets choppy when i ramp up some stuff so im going to hang on and wait for my 8800 so I can really wack them up. Great when your wife knows you that well she can tell what games you into, or is that just plain old scarey eh lol.

[Rabbitrunner51]

I really do want this gamwe, but i'll be darned if i am going to spend fifty bucks or better for it, at this point. I can wait down the road, and hopefully get it for cheap. LOL

[CrazyCrusher]

My wife picket it up at Target for $32.99

[Rabbitrunner51]

Thats not too bad.... seems like if its at that price from the get go, then more than likely the price will keep falling.
I know we are talking about the game.. and i enjoy reading you guys reviews on this, so sorry for talking price. I just have to watch what i spend, and mostly any monies for computer related are going to HW additions, and not games.

Thks CC for the heads up mate..LOL

[CrazyCrusher]

got the game, been playing it for a few days, and boy is that sucker hard eh, and it is buggy especially when it rains, it looks like sheets of cut paper some times, i did get the patch and installed it, which didn't make all that difference, is there any other fixes coming out soon? Great game to by the way very hard but I like it like that.

[sgtjeep]

I am running my game useing modded files obtained over on the Arstechnica site..games forum. The trader mod is quite usefull in my opinion, it gives you more equipment to play with right from the beginning. Most of the files that I am useing from Arstechnica help to make my ageing sys run more stable..it's not perfect..but much more enjoyable than the files released by THQ. If you are a purist..then don't use the trader mod ect..but do get the stability files. The Stalker thread over on Arstechnica is quite large, so you will have to wade through lots of useless banter..heh. I hope this post helps some of you here..and that the Moderators don't mind me mentioning the Arstechnica site. This game needed some help big time, and I am glad the mod community came through this time. Enjoy.

[Rabbitrunner51]

This is why i always wait to purchase a game for fifty bucks or more, which by the way is not very often at all. Its also kind of disheartening to find that if there are as many bugs as all of you discribe, that the game makers have had plenty enough time to fix these, BEFORE the game was released.
If one were to make a game, seems this fact of issues galore would hurt game sales.. kind of not looking ahed it seems... Patches in any game are inevidible.

Some times i think all of you guys , and noone in particlular ( so sorry to the sterotyping ),go run out and buy anything that comes along.. may it be HW or games or whatever.

There is only like two games i know will be great and those i'll buy.. One is Crysis.., and the other might be Bioshock... LOL

[Bigjakkstaffa]

Be aware that the first patch will break savegames from the original 1.0 release, aparently GSC Gameworld are workign on a savegame convertor though - huzzah

--Jakk:t