Whats so great about STALKER?

One word is enough:

atmosphere.

You should probably just ignore it. Move along. Whatever you do, do not read this.giantraddish

many reasons. this game is so open ended, you can do anything, go anywhere, kill or not kill anyone, choose sides...

but there are 2 major things that prevent this game from being perfect:
1. no vehicles-terrible mistake by thq. originally there were supposed to be vehicles with petrol and stuff, but they decided to remove this feature, a thing which forced the player to walk way too much, very annoying
2. too many bugs-till the recent patches the game crashed very frequently, and even with the newest patch the game isn't perfect, and that's too bad...

imo, the potential of this game is huge and if thq would put a bit more effort on the aforementioned issues, this would've easily be one of the best games ever

Obviously the graphics are nothing specialcatlin_czirr

Yes, they are. It's one of the best lighting systems. And the overall graphic design is outstanding.

The atmoshpere. This is a title so unique that no other game can give you the same experience. I really like it.

PS bro when are we gonna play CoD4 again??

Oh I so need to crack open this game again :P I stopped playing with the intention to start again once I had upgraded (was using an AMD 3500 with an x850xt), but then Bioshock came out after I did and I forgot about it. After the performance patch and me now having a Q6600 w/ 8800GT I don't imagine I'll have too much trouble running it now.

My memories of it were that it had a really nice atmosphere, you felt like you really were just hanging out there, as opposed to like SAVE THE WORLD LOL intro which feature far too often. I felt the difficulty was just right for me, I think I was playing on an increased setting, this left me genuinely fearful of going to a bad place, as I might get slaughtered. The game world was as powerful as other memorable settings like the Fallout universe.

the graphics are pretty good with full dynamic lighting. Well I shold say that the lighting system is good, weather is nice an overall the texture work is high

But mainly the atmopshere, the eerie setting. The last few zones of stalker aren't really that great, but the rest is.

One word is enough:

atmosphere.

RK-Mara

yep, thats why I like it too.

Some other things I like about it are:

Its challenging

Its open-world/free-roaming

It has a dash of "RPG-ness" with the whole inventory system

The story is pretty neat.

Its made by a small-time company (almost mom-and-pop sort of)

And whats wrong with the graphics? other than being grainy on outdoor levels, they look amazing.

1) The Graphics

2) The Sound

3) Gameplay

4) The Atmosphere

5) It can be scary

Seriously, whoever made the sounds for the game is a genius. I think the most effective thing that can make a game atmospheric is ambient sounds when you're "in the wild". Morrowind and Stalker both have this. When you're inside dungeons/labs, you hear clanking in the distance, sneering, growling, walking etc. It's scary. Really scary. Especially outside at night and you hear a loud "moan" out in the distance. It's just cool.

1) The Graphics

2) The Sound

3) Gameplay

4) The Atmosphere

5) It can be scary

Seriously, whoever made the sounds for the game is a genius. I think the most effective thing that can make a game atmospheric is ambient sounds when you're "in the wild". Morrowind and Stalker both have this. When you're inside dungeons/labs, you hear clanking in the distance, sneering, growling, walking etc. It's scary. Really scary. Especially outside at night and you hear a loud "moan" out in the distance. It's just cool.

GodLovesDead

ya, even the barking scared the crap out of me. It'd be like:

"Bark!"
what was that *turns right*
"Bark ark! grrrr"
*turns left*
"Grrrr bark bark"
oh my god its a pack of wild dogs *bang bang bang bang* oh god theyre everywhere!
then I'd loot thier tails and sell them :)

the graphics are pretty good with full dynamic lighting. Well I shold say that the lighting system is good, weather is nice an overall the texture work is high

But mainly the atmopshere, the eerie setting. The last few zones of stalker aren't really that great, but the rest is.

nutcrackr

A new Pripyat map is in the works now. Also, the Dead City and Swamp maps are being worked on too. These were all maps either lacking or not accessable in the final product (but still in the code) so the modders are fixing it.

many reasons. this game is so open ended, you can do anything, go anywhere, kill or not kill anyone, choose sides...

but there are 2 major things that prevent this game from being perfect:
1. no vehicles-terrible mistake by thq. originally there were supposed to be vehicles with petrol and stuff, but they decided to remove this feature, a thing which forced the player to walk way too much, very annoying
2. too many bugs-till the recent patches the game crashed very frequently, and even with the newest patch the game isn't perfect, and that's too bad...

imo, the potential of this game is huge and if thq would put a bit more effort on the aforementioned issues, this would've easily be one of the best games ever

assafy

Vehicles are included in the code and several vehicle mods are available to access them now. You are right. The potential of this game is huge and that is why the mod community is still growing. This game has turned into a cult favorite already!

well, for one thing, the game incorporates a lot of rpg elements, which sets it apart from most shooters. there's a lot of dialogue, background story to explore; there are items and guns that perform differently from each other. multiple endings - which ending you get depends on which side you take, what missions you accept and reject, etc. and the items depreciate with use. there's also a weight limit on your inventory, you have to mind your stamina, and you have to eat every once in a while.

but the greatest thing about stalker is the gunplay. it's tough to explain, but they feel just right. the bullets don't just travel on a straight line as they do in other games. gravity pulls them down, so that when you shoot from a great distance, you actually have to aim the gun a little higher than you would at a short distance. the a.i. is pretty good; the enemies don't just rush at you, blazing away. they often retreat and won't get suckered into following you around the corner. you're often forced to rush at enemies to get things moving, cuz they're content to scatter over a large area, set up an ambush, and wait for you to come at them. going from cover to cover, keeping in mind where they're situated, and closing the distance and picking them off one at a time is great fun. plus, there are many types of enemies (humans and monsters alike), so it doesn't get repetitive. stalker is fast becoming one of my favorite fps of all time.

having said that, the game has some problems. the a.i., while good overall, can get a bit wonky at times. there were many times when enemies stood still or lost sight of me or were too busy doing something to take notice of me (i once came upon a bandit that was trying to flank my group, and i followed him from behind and i took a couple of shots at him, and he took the shots, didn't bother to turn around and shoot back at me but instead kept going, continuing to try and flank the group). and there's a lot of running involved, which i guess is realistic but can get quite tedious. and some of the missions or jobs you take are standard 'go there and get something or kill someone' types. and you get all this money with very few places to spend it. some kind of diablo type shop system would have been nice.

but it's well-worth the purchase. and the graphics are pretty nice.

But it's well-worth the purchase. and the graphics are pretty nice.

fireandcloud

Try this ...

http://www.thefloatingpoint.org/main/download.php?view.23

Now the graphics should be incredible, ...enjoy!

[QUOTE="fireandcloud"]

But it's well-worth the purchase. and the graphics are pretty nice.

Jeb_ster

Try this ...

http://www.thefloatingpoint.org/main/download.php?view.23

Now the graphics should be incredible, ...enjoy!

Float32 doesn't make the graphics any better, vice versa. It gives you extra performance for a small graphics loss. Of course it makes the game look better, if you couldn't max out the game before.

One word is enough:

atmosphere.

RK-Mara

What more can i say?