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

[SpeedDMN]

Ok I got it loaded up on the rig with the below specs. BTW it is totally blowing away the performance of the E6600 + 7900GT. I must be making up for the slower single core proc with video and then some. I have a problem though. After I went and got the flash drive and tried to give it to the trader guy, when I try to "talk" to him I keep getting "search body" with "talk" flashing by too fast to click on. I tried about 100 times. I am assuming I have to talk to him to give him the flash drive, but I seem to be unable to. has anyone else had this problem? If so, anyone know of a solution? I was getting all into it and now this

[SpeedDMN]

Nevermind. I fixed it by saving the game and then reloading it. weird

[zapionics<alt>]

Thats weird, I think the game engine has a few odd bugs.

For instance I've somehow "broken" the door to the traders room in Cordon!
It wont open or shut anymore, but luckily it does swing freely. If I accidently bump it then it swings shut and it takes me ages to nudge it open again so I can get in. Weird.

btw, I'm almost back where I was before I applied the patch and restarted, and its been a lot of fun the second time around because I know how it works now and can concentrate on the game and jobs rather than the interface.

[zapionics<alt>]

Checkout this site, you can take a tour through the dead zone.
Creepy pictures from the place that the game is about.

Something we dont get from the game is the sensation of silence and stillness, the game is so much more alive than the real thing.

[SpeedDMN]

Originally Posted by zapionics<alt>

Thats weird, I think the game engine has a few odd bugs.

For instance I've somehow "broken" the door to the traders room in Cordon!
It wont open or shut anymore, but luckily it does swing freely. If I accidently bump it then it swings shut and it takes me ages to nudge it open again so I can get in. Weird.

btw, I'm almost back where I was before I applied the patch and restarted, and its been a lot of fun the second time around because I know how it works now and can concentrate on the game and jobs rather than the interface.

Huh the door worked for me and I went in and out several times trying to get the "talk" to work. I am having a little trouble with the GUI. I think I like specific ammo crates better then having to roll dead soldiers for it. It is hard for me to tell what goes to what and switching weapons is not very easy IMO. Ammo is pretty scarce as well. I am also not crazy about the weapons wearing out and having to switch them so they don't keep jamming. Not very realistic. The AK-47 and variants will shoot all day without fouling. Been playing it most of the day now and haven't completed very many missions . F6 works for quicksave so that's good. The graphics are awesome. I am happy with how well my single core (FX/57) is handling it. Again it is running much smoother then the E6600 + 7900GT rig on Vista. It is still a great gaming chip I don't care what anyone says. I am running it at 16X12 with full dynamic lighting without a bit of chop. Well.. every once in a long while it will hitch a bit, but very smooth for the most part. The huge maps are cool and the changes in weather are neat. Very realistic lightning for example. All in all I think it's a great game. I can already see it's going to last for a while too.

[zapionics<alt>]

Originally Posted by SpeedDMN

... I am having a little trouble with the GUI. I think I like specific ammo crates better then having to roll dead soldiers for it. It is hard for me to tell what goes to what and switching weapons is not very easy IMO...

Yeah, the UI could have been done better, but once you get used to it then its ok.

Originally Posted by SpeedDMN

...Ammo is pretty scarce as well. I am also not crazy about the weapons wearing out and having to switch them so they don't keep jamming. Not very realistic. The AK-47 and variants will shoot all day without fouling...

Ammo becomes less of a problem later in the game. I think the weapon damage is reasonable. I mean a lot of the weapons we found on dead NPC's or out in the wild and who knows what they've been through? Rain, shock, radiation and I dont know when they last had any maintenance. And if a weapon is damaged then it seems realistic it will jam occassionally. Very scary when in a firefight and suddenly your weapon jams! Kinda like a Darth Vader moment; "I have you now" <gun jams> "..***"??

Originally Posted by SpeedDMN

...Been playing it most of the day now and haven't completed very many missions ...

BTW, there are over 5800 side missions in this game I am told...

Originally Posted by SpeedDMN

... The graphics are awesome...

Yeah, I agree, I think that if you look at the whole presentation rather than individual aspects then its extremely well done, probably reflects all those years in development. I particularly like the atmosphere it can create, with the weather, locations and creatures. Very enjoyable, especially once over the initial learning curve. And the missions get more interesting as you go along.

[SpeedDMN]

Originally Posted by zapionics<alt>

Checkout this site, you can take a tour through the dead zone.
Creepy pictures from the place that the game is about.

Something we dont get from the game is the sensation of silence and stillness, the game is so much more alive than the real thing.

Been looking at this site. Pretty interesting. I need to a moment to stop the bleeding in my eyes anyway and yes, there is nothing like automatic weapons fire to ruin a sense of stillness and silence. The buildings themselves seem to be fairly realistic though.

[alien resident]

Originally Posted by Wingit

Widescreen FOV hack posted earlier has been updated to compatibility with new patch...both unpatched and patched versions here:

Widescreen Gaming Forum :: View topic - Solution: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. [3rd]

I tried it and I like it. seems that my Shots are actually hitting my target now..! The annoyance is that this proggy has to run in the background and prior to firing up the game. and Then I still have to F2 to get it running.
I am VERY rusty on batch files. HOw would I go about having the icon on my quick launch fire up the FOV hack and then the game using a batch file. What would the batch file look like on the inside ?

[Kimbo]

what a joke.. the game "supports" widescreen, just not at all properly. could easily be fixed in next pacth. but i know for a fact it will NEVER be!!

[traveler]

Originally Posted by Kimbo

what a joke.. the game "supports" widescreen, just not at all properly. could easily be fixed in next pacth. but i know for a fact it will NEVER be!!

That's one thing that I hope does go into a patch.



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[zapionics<alt>]

Ok, I've been playing too much of this game. Yantar is pretty scary. Those zombies just freaked me a bit. This reminds me of the Half Life "They Hunger" mod a while back.

I love how the difficulty is very high in this game, makes for a real challenge. I am now closely managing my weapons and choosing the right gun for the right situation. This is adding a pleasing tactic to the game which bodes well for Crysis. I'm also having to micro-manage my ammo, which I absolutely hate. Carrying about 30 kilos of the stuff around for the different guns.

The combat AI is very, very good and the animations too. Sometimes they do silly stuff, but its better than Far Cry's merc antics. This game is much more lifelike. Certainly leaves HL2 for dead as far as challenge goes.

Rostok was a lot of fun. I played this twice, first time during the day and the second time at night (with no night vision). Night is intense fun! Kept getting turned around and losing my bearings, with enemies popping up everywhere! Couldnt see anything outside my torch circle. Very atmospheric. When the sun came up over the train yard the lighting was fantastic.

First game to make me jump in surprise/shock in a while. heh

[alien resident]

some interesting reading on the book the game is loosely based on Stalker (film - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

[traveler]

Originally Posted by zapionics<alt>

[snip]

I'm also having to micro-manage my ammo, which I absolutely hate. Carrying about 30 kilos of the stuff around for the different guns.

[snip]

Shades of Deus Ex !!!!!!!

That's great news!



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[Drufuss]

Okay, after reading your comments i think i'm going to buy the game, now that i have i rig that should be able to run the game properly.

Greetings

Dru

[zapionics<alt>]

Originally Posted by Drufuss

Okay, after reading your comments i think i'm going to buy the game, now that i have i rig that should be able to run the game properly.

Greetings

Dru

Yah, no problems with that rig. The game is pretty demanding due to the dynamic lighting, but otherwise its pretty standard. Dont get your expectations up too high, tho, the game does have flaws, but I think the good far outweighs the bad and it seems to just get better as you get deeper into it.

My advice to anyone just starting is to take your time, do some of the jobs and get experienced with it before you advance the main story.

And dont forget to patch it before you start!