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

[polonyc2]

Originally Posted by WhiteEclipse

Polonyc, let us know if you get this game because it will be interesting to see what other fans of the first game think. You could tell that both of those two reviewers really liked the original, but were "crushingly" disappointed with the prequel.

I wasn't a huge fan of the original as some other ABX members were (zapionics<alt>, shaihulud and johnrr6 come to mind)..I stopped and re-started the game about 3-4 times before finally getting through it

I thought the original was a very flawed game that required a big learning curve to enjoy...had the potential to be a lot better but overall fell short of greatness...the atmosphere, environment etc were top notch but gameplay was flawed...I enjoyed it but did not love it...I will definitely be getting Clear Sky and I had hoped that this prequel would fix a lot of the original's shortcomings but I now doubt this

[zapionics<alt>]

...well, I'll be playing it in 2 days... then we'll know one way or the other...

[johnrr6]

The original DID require a big learning curve----but oh baby----after that WOW!!

It just kept getting BETTER and BETTER as you played it....

and I guess I learned the right settings----and the right drivers----because I had very few crashes after a bit of tinkering---with superb graphics and atmosphere!

I guess -----of all of them----it ranks as my favorite as it's the only game I have replayed over two times......

Can't wait for the sequel!!!!

[WhiteEclipse]

Originally Posted by johnrr6

and I guess I learned the right settings----and the right drivers----because I had very few crashes after a bit of tinkering---with superb graphics and atmosphere!

One thing, I did not get crashes -- but I also played after all the patches came out.

[WhiteEclipse]

PC Gamer UK review:

Review: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky - ComputerAndVideoGames.com

"Perhaps the worst thing, however, was that GSC seem to have broken the delicate balance of atmosphere that made the original game so intense and grim."

"This means constant, gruelling combat - combat which is made all the more frustrating by the fact that enemies are now armed with grenades which are tough to avoid and often result in instantaneous death. Clear Sky rapidly devolves into savegame attrition as you desperately try to push on through to the next thing that might just be interesting. "

Sounds pretty much like the other reviews. Broke the atmosphere that everyone loved, but made the constant deaths even more constant.

[polonyc2]

it's weird that all these reviews keep mentioning that the new artifact system is a tedious, difficult affair...I actually was happy to read about the new system being implemented in the new game as I thought the artifacts were too easily strewn around in the previous game...I thought the extra challenge of finding and obtaining them would make the game more realistic and make the artifacts even more special

also seems like they went a bit overboard trying to correct the money situation from the previous game...money meant nothing in the first game as you could find all the armor/weapons you needed from the loot of dead stalkers or after completing a side mission...seems like this time around they made money extrememly rare to obtain thus making it near impossible to get the proper weapons/mods/suits...geez did they really mess the game up this badly??

[polonyc2]

for anyone interested here is the first 25 minutes of gameplay (me personally I didn't watch but a few seconds of the video)

GameVideos - S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky 'First 25 Min.' gameplay Video

**from early reviews is seems the first 25 minutes are the best 25 minutes in the entire game

[johnrr6]

Well---I'm going to play it no matter what......

Just reserved my copy at the local Game Stop....

I was a huge fan of the first version....

Hopefully it will not be a large dissappointment.

Sometimes, game reviewers don't spend enough time with a game----and Stalker has a HUGE learning curve....possibly it will "grow" on people like the first version did.....

Let's hope anyway....

If not----well, there is always FarCry 2!!!

Hey----just call me the eternal optomist!!!

[polonyc2]

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky Patch 1.01

The first patch is now available for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, updating GSC Game World's first-person shooter prequel to version 1.01. There is one patch for the retail edition of the game and another for the digital download edition

The patch optimizes the performance of Clear Sky approximately 5 %. In addition to that the patch improves the overall stability of the game and fixes potential load/save issues. Further the balancing of the multiplayer mode has been changed

Stalker: Clear Sky

EDIT: to view the patch from the link above you must first input your date of birth (or any fake date of birth which shows you as being over 18 years of age), then the page loads but the patch listing is not visible...you must close the page and click on the link again at which time the patch page shows up

[WhiteEclipse]

These "day zero" patches really bug me. It is not just stalker either. They know that game is not finished, but just say "f&@$ it, who cares. We'll patch later."

I'm not asking for perfect games, but if the patch was released this quickly, they knew about the problems before they went gold.

[polonyc2]

Originally Posted by WhiteEclipse

These "day zero" patches really bug me. It is not just stalker either. They know that game is not finished, but just say "f&@$ it, who cares. We'll patch later."

I'm not asking for perfect games, but if the patch was released this quickly, they knew about the problems before they went gold.

I believe the game was released in Russia a few weeks back so maybe they patched the game after people started experiencing issues...I doubt that to be the case and believe like you do that they knew of issues beforehand but I just wanted to play devil's advocate

[polonyc2]

Early version of S.T.A.L.K.E.R released

this is pretty cool...

GSC announced today that it has released an early, but playable build of the original STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl for fans of the series who want to take a look at how the game might have been.

The original STALKER was long stuck in development hell and went through many, many different iterations and versions, with the final release being more simplified and scaled down compared to the original vision. The initial idea was for the world of STALKER to be a much more open, free-roaming world, but many areas were cut from the game at the last minute.

While the full game was released in 2007, this build released by GSC today is from October, 2004 and is listed at Build 1935. It includes some areas that weren't seen in the final game, as well as some features that were culled from the released version.

You can download the game from the GSC forums, but the developer is providing no support for the game at all...

GSC Game World - Official Site

[traveler]

Thanks for the info.

Have you played any of it yet? Seen anything new?



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[zapionics<alt>]

2004? Just imagine all the scripting errors and desktop crashes that await the intrepid player...

[johnrr6]

Oh my gosh....

and I was just playing clear sky last night and was marveling at the scale of all the maps----and the TOTAL complexity of the game----as it is----right now....

Now with "Faction Wars" to add even more to the variables.....

A so called scaled back version.....???

I CAN'T IMAGINE anything more complex.......

The more I play this game series----the more I am convinced----bar none----It is the BEST shooter series........EVER!

Even with some of the little bugginess that creeps up now and then (FAR less in Clear Sky!)