Thinking of buying some s.t.a.l.k.e.r. games, few questions

I was thinking of picking up some of the stalker games and had a few questions.

Is each game a standalone entity, or do you need the original stalker to install and play the later entries?

Also, are the stories intertwined, or is each one a separate?

Each game is stand alone. The stories are intertwined. Start off with Shadow of Chernobyl and then move onto Call of Prypiat. f you still have a hankering for more stalker get Clear Sky. Also, the modding community is very dedicated to stalker. If you end up getting the games it is almost pointless to play without a mod version. They fix bugs and heavily improve upon the graphics and mechanics as well as improve weapons. I personally like the "2009 Complete" mod for Shadow of Chernobyl, but other notable community favorites are "Oblivion" mod and "LURK" mod.tequilasunriser

Sounds good, thanks. I'll probably get all 3 since clear sky is only 6$.

[QUOTE="tequilasunriser"]Each game is stand alone. The stories are intertwined. Start off with Shadow of Chernobyl and then move onto Call of Prypiat. f you still have a hankering for more stalker get Clear Sky. Also, the modding community is very dedicated to stalker. If you end up getting the games it is almost pointless to play without a mod version. They fix bugs and heavily improve upon the graphics and mechanics as well as improve weapons. I personally like the "2009 Complete" mod for Shadow of Chernobyl, but other notable community favorites are "Oblivion" mod and "LURK" mod.topgunmv

Sounds good, thanks. I'll probably get all 3 since clear sky is only 6$.

Also can i ask, are they fun to play, or are they more hardcore survival horror games? Im not massively into story based games, but im getting bored of just playing multiplayer fps's :P

On a side note, you can get both Stalker SoC and CoP for 9.99 on Impulse right now. Good time to go get those two games for cheap!!

Just be sure you don't play Clear Sky first. Its story serves as backstory for Shadow of Chernobyl, and explains a huge part of the latter game's plot. It's also the one most likely to put you off. But for the rest, the stories are seperate, although related as they take place in the same place and roughly the same time, so you will find quite a few characters that appear in multiple games. My advice: start out with Shadow of Chernobyl with Complete 2009. It fixes the bugs, but also makes the game a bit more user-friendly as it adds some much-needed functions (the ability to repair items, sleeping, being able to reset your relations with a certain faction), as well as general improvements in terms of graphics, AI and sound design. It makes the experience a bit more bearable for a newcomer, without necessarily making things easier. It's perfect to start out with. Then move on to Call of Pripyat (vanilla is excellent), and if you loved both games and still want more, give Clear Sky a try.

Also can i ask, are they fun to play, or are they more hardcore survival horror games? Im not massively into story based games, but im getting bored of just playing multiplayer fps's :P

sn4k3_64

Fun is obviously subjective, but I probably never had more fun playing a shooter than when I dedicated my time to the Stalker series. When I started playing Shadow of Chernobyl about half a year ago, I barely had experience with modern first person shooters and I had just started getting into PC gaming again. So if I can derive fun from them, you should be able to do so as well. Just keep in mind this game isn't the typical linear handholding shooter. It lets you find out pretty much everything by yourself, so the first few hours can be confusing and, as a result, extremely punishing. It kind of forces you to forget everything you know about shooters. But once you get a clearer picture of what you are doing, it becomes incredibly fun and rewarding to play through the game.

dont get em those games are awful.

yes they rarely hold your hand and its really a believeable eat or be eaten environemnt.

you can try to make friends with folks.. or you can shoot up your quest givers on the block and move the story that way. they never hold your hand when it comes to the story. their is rarely any linearity to it and where there is linearity their is often a good or frustrating reason for it (the hidden grove anomaly for example i believe is what its called in CoP

it contains alot of freaky enemies and will really challenge you as a player of fps's as very often everything CAN kill you alot more effectively than you can kill it. a prime example is the little dwarf men in CoP who can disarm you and toss your gun across a room (never did find out what happened to me shotgun)

Just be sure you don't play Clear Sky first. Its story serves as backstory for Shadow of Chernobyl, and explains a huge part of the latter game's plot. It's also the one most likely to put you off. But for the rest, the stories are seperate, although related as they take place in the same place and roughly the same time, so you will find quite a few characters that appear in multiple games. My advice: start out with Shadow of Chernobyl with Complete 2009. It fixes the bugs, but also makes the game a bit more user-friendly as it adds some much-needed functions (the ability to repair items, sleeping, being able to reset your relations with a certain faction), as well as general improvements in terms of graphics, AI and sound design. It makes the experience a bit more bearable for a newcomer, without necessarily making things easier. It's perfect to start out with. Then move on to Call of Pripyat (vanilla is excellent), and if you loved both games and still want more, give Clear Sky a try.

[QUOTE="sn4k3_64"]

Also can i ask, are they fun to play, or are they more hardcore survival horror games? Im not massively into story based games, but im getting bored of just playing multiplayer fps's :P

DraugenCP

Fun is obviously subjective, but I probably never had more fun playing a shooter than when I dedicated my time to the Stalker series. When I started playing Shadow of Chernobyl about half a year ago, I barely had experience with modern first person shooters and I had just started getting into PC gaming again. So if I can derive fun from them, you should be able to do so as well. Just keep in mind this game isn't the typical linear handholding shooter. It lets you find out pretty much everything by yourself, so the first few hours can be confusing and, as a result, extremely punishing. It kind of forces you to forget everything you know about shooters. But once you get a clearer picture of what you are doing, it becomes incredibly fun and rewarding to play through the game.

[QUOTE="DraugenCP"]

Just be sure you don't play Clear Sky first. Its story serves as backstory for Shadow of Chernobyl, and explains a huge part of the latter game's plot. It's also the one most likely to put you off. But for the rest, the stories are seperate, although related as they take place in the same place and roughly the same time, so you will find quite a few characters that appear in multiple games. My advice: start out with Shadow of Chernobyl with Complete 2009. It fixes the bugs, but also makes the game a bit more user-friendly as it adds some much-needed functions (the ability to repair items, sleeping, being able to reset your relations with a certain faction), as well as general improvements in terms of graphics, AI and sound design. It makes the experience a bit more bearable for a newcomer, without necessarily making things easier. It's perfect to start out with. Then move on to Call of Pripyat (vanilla is excellent), and if you loved both games and still want more, give Clear Sky a try.

[QUOTE="sn4k3_64"]

Also can i ask, are they fun to play, or are they more hardcore survival horror games? Im not massively into story based games, but im getting bored of just playing multiplayer fps's :P

sn4k3_64

Fun is obviously subjective, but I probably never had more fun playing a shooter than when I dedicated my time to the Stalker series. When I started playing Shadow of Chernobyl about half a year ago, I barely had experience with modern first person shooters and I had just started getting into PC gaming again. So if I can derive fun from them, you should be able to do so as well. Just keep in mind this game isn't the typical linear handholding shooter. It lets you find out pretty much everything by yourself, so the first few hours can be confusing and, as a result, extremely punishing. It kind of forces you to forget everything you know about shooters. But once you get a clearer picture of what you are doing, it becomes incredibly fun and rewarding to play through the game.

well idk if you can kill your quest givers and can be tossed across a room in the time it takes you to reload id say yeah pretty hardcore.. let alone the mechanics of an rpg are buried in stalker (status ailments, the need to repair armor/weapons, the need to eat/sleep etc.)

btw as a word of advice:

1) the bolt is always right

2) when in doubt see rule 1

[QUOTE="sn4k3_64"][QUOTE="DraugenCP"]

Fun is obviously subjective, but I probably never had more fun playing a shooter than when I dedicated my time to the Stalker series. When I started playing Shadow of Chernobyl about half a year ago, I barely had experience with modern first person shooters and I had just started getting into PC gaming again. So if I can derive fun from them, you should be able to do so as well. Just keep in mind this game isn't the typical linear handholding shooter. It lets you find out pretty much everything by yourself, so the first few hours can be confusing and, as a result, extremely punishing. It kind of forces you to forget everything you know about shooters. But once you get a clearer picture of what you are doing, it becomes incredibly fun and rewarding to play through the game.

ionusX

well idk if you can kill your quest givers and can be tossed across a room in the time it takes you to reload id say yeah pretty hardcore.. let alone the mechanics of an rpg are buried in stalker (status ailments, the need to repair armor/weapons, the need to eat/sleep etc.)

btw as a word of advice:

1) the bolt is always right

2) when in doubt see rule 1

Just ordered all 3 from amazon this morning and downloaded the complete mods for the first two. It sounds like a series I'll be able to get lost in for a long time (in a good way).

Just ordered all 3 from amazon this morning and downloaded the complete mods for the first two. It sounds like a series I'll be able to get lost in for a long time (in a good way).

topgunmv

I think Stalker CoL and SoC were on special on impulse for like 10 bucks.... I havent played stalker myself but that sounds like a good deal... you guys think Steam will beat it on the coming sales?CoolSkAGuy

[QUOTE="topgunmv"]

Just ordered all 3 from amazon this morning and downloaded the complete mods for the first two. It sounds like a series I'll be able to get lost in for a long time (in a good way).

tequilasunriser

Shadow of Chernobyl with Complete 2009 mod is one of the greatest games I've ever played. But be aware it's also very hard because you won't only be fighting enemies but also many other hazards like radiation so I guess one could say the game is pretty hardcore. Call of Pripyat is also very addictive and has even better story than SoC. Clear Sky I never played so I can't comment on it.

[QUOTE="tequilasunriser"][QUOTE="topgunmv"]

Just ordered all 3 from amazon this morning and downloaded the complete mods for the first two. It sounds like a series I'll be able to get lost in for a long time (in a good way).

SF_KiLLaMaN

Just read this thread as it mentioned stalker and now I have to butt in with a question. Several posts talk about mods, and mention mods fixing graphics and bugs. I remember when I first played SoC I had more than enough PC for the recommended reqs, and I had to turn graphics way down. Reviews stated at the time that the engine had some flaws with memory management on the graphics side or some such. Do any of these mods make the game run smoother and maybe help fix the firefight stutter problem that pops up once in a while?

Also, never got my hands on CoP. Is it a shorter game like CS, or will it keep me going for a while like SoC?

Just read this thread as it mentioned stalker and now I have to butt in with a question. Several posts talk about mods, and mention mods fixing graphics and bugs. I remember when I first played SoC I had more than enough PC for the recommended reqs, and I had to turn graphics way down. Reviews stated at the time that the engine had some flaws with memory management on the graphics side or some such. Do any of these mods make the game run smoother and maybe help fix the firefight stutter problem that pops up once in a while?

Also, never got my hands on CoP. Is it a shorter game like CS, or will it keep me going for a while like SoC?

baleforge

dont get em those games are awful.

Darksonic666

Did you really just say that with a Sonic avatar?