Gold: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

[TQ]

Read like a good review to me. I was hoping for more of an RPG feel from the game and the previews I've been reading for the last couple of years led me to believe that would be the case.
Still, it sounds interesting. While I won't jump on it the day it's available (still too many games I haven't yet played on my system) it's likely I'll get around to it.

[zapionics<alt>]

Here's one of their more favourable reviews

(And if you think I shouldn't be expecting S.T.A.L.K.E.R. to be as good as Far Cry, for example, then think again because I always expect new and highly hyped games to be at least as good as past highly hyped games...

But maybe they've made a mistake, (which they sometimes do), and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. will be as good as Far Cry. I hope so.

[edit] here's another one. Notice the gushy description. Notice how any defects are considered "minor" and overuled by all the good points. This is a good review.
Notice the "Editors Choice" on both these reviews. This is what I was hoping for in S.T.A.L.K.E.R., otherwise its just another game. Dont forget how long this game has been in development and all the hype!

But as I said, I dont mean to give the impression they didnt say some favourable things about the game.

[Drufuss]

I think i won't play that game on my system, but i'm sure i have to buy it once i have a system powerfull enough to handle it (if it is still available then).

I've been waiting for a game that is "on par with such classics as Deus Ex and System Shock" and has "its visuals are on par with Half-Life 2".

Greetings

Dru

[WhiteEclipse]

I'm with TQ, I have so many good games waiting already. And shivering isles is about to come out. what to do, what to do....

[TQ]

I'm swamped with games right now. About the only thing I'll drop everything for is Hellgate: London.
Well...that and Bioshock, but it's not due 'till fall.

[blizz]

S.T.A.L.K.E.R is definitely a game I will purchase this weekend. Although I must agree the graphics are a bit dated as stated before the game play is just to good to pass up.

[polonyc2]

Originally Posted by zapionics<alt>

Here's one of their more favourable reviews

(And if you think I shouldn't be expecting S.T.A.L.K.E.R. to be as good as Far Cry, for example, then think again because I always expect new and highly hyped games to be at least as good as past highly hyped games...

But maybe they've made a mistake, (which they sometimes do), and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. will be as good as Far Cry. I hope so.

[edit] here's another one. Notice the gushy description. Notice how any defects are considered "minor" and overuled by all the good points. This is a good review.
Notice the "Editors Choice" on both these reviews. This is what I was hoping for in S.T.A.L.K.E.R., otherwise its just another game. Dont forget how long this game has been in development and all the hype!

But as I said, I dont mean to give the impression they didnt say some favourable things about the game.

I'm not understanding your point...sounds like you want S.T.A.L.K.E.R or any other new "highly hyped" game to be perfect in every way...a game does not have to beat its predecessor to be considedered a great game in my eyes...if S.T.A.L.K.E.R is worse then Far Cry so be it as long as the game as a whole is enjoyable and unique in some way...and the review from GameSpot gave it an 85, meaning they are taking the flaws into consideration...their reviews are pretty accurate in my opinion most of the time...and those 2 links of reviews for Riddick and Far Cry seem very fair to me....they gave the game pretty accurate scores

I hope ST.A.L.K.E.R is half way as good as that review made it seem, if so I know I'm going to enjoy it a lot

[traveler]

STALK ........... ER, ..................... STALK ........... ER, ..................... STALK ........... ER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!






__________________

Visit and chat with the Buds at the #ABxZone channel on EFnet Internet Relay Chat
If you don't have it then download mIRC from www.mIRC.com

[zapionics<alt>]

Wow, ok where do I start? Long installation time, about 5 mins and about 6 gig.

Very choppy performance, looks unoptimised, FSAA doesnt appear to work at all and sound is not properly in synch with the characters lips... It locked up my system! A hard lock, task manager failed displaying a message from Windows...

rebooting...

[edit] man! ok got a little further, almost outside, frame rate seemed a little better after I turned off world dynamic lighting, nup -just as I was about to get outside, BAM, 'nother hard lockup.

rebooting again...

[edit] ok, the problem is dynamic lighting, it has to be completely off. Must be a driver issue... i'm now getting a good framerate, can max out most of the sliders and turn on FSAA, (i'm at 1024x768), but still expirementing.

The UI is NOT intuitive... but seems clean. Will take a little while to learn it.

So far the world seems detailed and interesting if not confusing. Anomalies are everywhere - beware!

I'll report back once I've played around with it for a while.

[SpeedDMN]

What are you playing that on Zap (sys/OS)? I think I remember a dual core being recommended I have been waiting for a good new game forever. I am getting this one ASAP. I thought it wasn't being released until Friday.

[alien resident]

hey Guys.

I cant even get into the game. I keep crashing on the first load up screen . its an X-ray engine error ??!! what the heck do I do.

[zapionics<alt>]

Originally Posted by alien resident

hey Guys.

I cant even get into the game. I keep crashing on the first load up screen . its an X-ray engine error ??!! what the heck do I do.

Before u go into the game, go into options and turn off dynamic lighting, use static lighting instead. Its in the video/advanced section I think. This will force Dx8 instead of Dx9. I think this is a driver issue, I will try upgrading my vid drivers later on.

Originally Posted by SpeedDMN

What are you playing that on Zap (sys/OS)? I think I remember a dual core being recommended

Northy 3.2Ghz with 1GB DDR and an X1950Pro 256MB.
It runs pretty smooth, but I havent seen much in the way of particle effects yet, I'm just exploring and getting to know the UI. I'm running in Dx8 (static lighting) because of an issue with extremely choppy framerate and crashes in Dx9 mode.

[zapionics<alt>]

Ok, some initial impressions of the game (not related to frame rate):

No pop up, you can literally see for miles! Huge environment.

There is some Russian speech by NPC's that is not subtitled, a bummer because they sound like they are telling some good jokes!

Lonngg load times (~1 or 2 mins)

Things are happening in the world even tho I'm not there to see em! (As promised). Going back to somewhere u came from and the situation can be very different from when you left it.

Not much story, I assume first part is training for us.

PS: I'm not ready to say if I like the game or not yet, need to spend some more time there.

[Wingit]

Just installed this one...running at 1680 x 1050 with dynamic lighting and unmodified other settings...just beginning tuning process. Game looks very nice, but I can feel the choppiness a bit, my OC EVGA 7800GT is only 256 and i will no doubt be turning a few things down as I go...got to the goal area of first mission with no crash..but was promptly cut down by a shotgun blast after killing just one of the opposition...forget rambo tactics, lol. Very immersive atmosphere...sense of tension is quite pervasive. Trying on Veteran difficulty...we'll see. EB store purchase included multiplayer map perk that I have seen touted.

[polonyc2]

just picked up the game at my local Best Buy for $39.99...will fire it up later tonight...

good to see you around Wingit...I remember your posts from an earlier S.T.A.L.K.E.R thread from a few years back and how high you were on the game back then....until the delays came along and dampened your enthusiasm somewhat for what could have been a groundbreaking game