Heya folks, following a pretty good deal, I bought S.T.A.L.K.E.R Shadow of Chernobyl off Steam. So far its looking good and interesting but I had a few questions. I know a few folks played it here so I figured I'd ask on familiar grounds.

Firstly, do the engine upgrades that come with the expansion (Clear Skies) available with the first game once installed? If they are, I might consider getting the expansion right away. Otherwise I'll wait. If they do affect, is depth-of-field blur, motion blur and similar features only available through DX10 or does it work in DX9?

Secondly, are mods supposed to work with the Steam version? I installed one mod last night which destroyed certain game-require .dlls, leaving me forced to redownload the whole bloody thing from steam. I have bandwith limits on my internet service (I refuse to pay full price when I rarely download), so I can't keep redownloading lest I pay penalties out the *** for breaking the limit.

Thirdly, why were they so retarded as to make the eye level arrive at the shoulders of other characters. I feel mighty f'ing short. XD

Depth of field works in DX9. I think motion blur does too, but I don't remember.

Clear Skies is a completely different game, and won't affect the original at all. Think 'prequel', not 'expansion'.

Next time, back up your Steam directory so you don't have to re-download.

Clear Sky is a prequel, and is a stand alone game, not an expansion. The upgrades to the engine are only for Clear Sky, however there are several mods available for SOC to make it look quite comparable to CS, including updating bump-maps, far better dynamic weather and even features like depth-of-field.

AFAIK, CS engine features like depth-of-field and some of the lighting features like god-rays work in DX9, but things like ambient occlusion and dynamic wet surfaces are DX10 only. The game can still look quite pretty in DX9.

Mods do work for the Steam version of STALKER. Most have been updated to work with the latest patch, but for some specific mods, you're required to have STALKER patched to an older version, mostly 1.0005. It used to be that Steam downloaded STALKER unpatched and allowed you to manually patch, but I think now it just downloads to the latest patch which is 1.0006, which should still be alright for a most of mods. I'm not sure how a mod could destroy any game .dll's as they're not actually used in mods.

Happy hunting, STALKER.

and stupid jlee posted while i was typing

Can you point me to a good mod website? (I've seen a few but they were rather lackluster. Most don't even tell what version you need)

And can you point me to mods that add depth-of-field blur and the like? If you know them, it'd save me time. Otherwise I'll go mods-a-hunting.

STALKER FILES is always a good place to start.

Sky4CE adds - parallax occlusion mapping, motion blur, DOF, SSAO and sun shafts.

S.W.O. is a complete weather overhall that makes the game weather look a lot more realistic. Will work with Sky4CE.

There are overhall mods like AMK and Oblivion Lost that make the gameplay feel more like what the game was initially intended to be way-back-when.

Other graphic mods are Float32, which is nice for minor visual adjustments, and PZ Creatures offers new bump maps for monsters.

There are mods like Arsenal which add new weapons to the game. Arsenal has something like 100 new guns and is pretty goddamn awesome.

Not all mods are compatible and the readme's will state what they are compatible with, and some of the larger ones sometimes offer compatibility patches. S.W.O. comes with patches for use with Oblivion Lost, AMK and a variety of other mods, Arsenal also has specific versions for use with OL and AMK. Usually, good rules to work by is that mods that are changing gameplay aren't going to work with each other. Mods changing weather aspects might not work with each other. However, visual mods (like Sky4CE, which typically involve textures and config files) will usually work with gameplay mods.

Backing up the gamedata directory that mods install to is a good way to resolve mod conflicts. You don't need to back up the entire game directory as mods will typically only be using the gamedata directory. Currently I've got six gamedata directories all with different mod configurations set up.

Looks like Weather Overhauled adds all this and more.

Yep. This is S.W.O. that I was referring to. The contrast to vanilla STALKER is quite intense. The game looks fantastic with this mod.

I'm always a tad reluctant on using user-made mods simply because I dread bugs and balancing issues. With that said, thank you for the great list you posted above.

Can you tell me what mods (I intend on getting SWO) are must gets and will really enhance the gameplay without breaking the game or risk making feel a bit more amateur-esque?

Right now I'm considering:

SWO, Oblivion Lost and Arsenal.

AMK is my personal favourite and basically turns the game up to 11. It was made by crazy masochistic Ukranians intent on sharing punishment with you. It's a really well put together mod.
Unfortunately I can't seem to find a working URL to the mod page. I'll have to hunt that one down. It does however require the game to be patched to 1.0004 so depending on what version of the game Steam has you might encounter trouble (read: pain and anguish) trying to get it to work.

Oblivion Lost has a lot in common with AMK but I haven't played it myself. Apparently it's ridiculously awesome. You'll find it on STALKER FILES and most of the big mods have compatibility patches, so it'll work with S.W.O. and Arsenal. It also has the benefit of working with patch 1.0006 so you're pretty much good to go with Steam.

Alright awesome. Now to see what my old computer can handle

AMD X2 4800+
2GB RAM
ATI x1900xt

I'm uncertain how it'll handle the graphics upgrade, though it did seem to run the game near maxed out really well.

Another one to check out is Gnomus' Scopes. This is a really great little visual mod that changes the HUD graphics for the scopes and makes them look a lot better. It isn't self-installing and you'll have to know which texture files to replace but it's well worth it. It's also available for Clear Sky for when you inevitably buy it.

I did not see a Mosin Nagant in the Arsenal weapon list.

I am disappoint!

what

I'm pretty certain it's in the mod. And by pretty certain I mean absolutely certain.

Jep, you should be able to run S.W.O. fine. There will be some performance drop as S.W.O. is quite visually heavy but it shouldn't be major.

Oblivion lost!

Get oblivion lost!

Sweet jesus, do it man.

Maybe I found an incomplete list. I hope so!

Just import Call of Pripyat.

I never played stalker much... I played for a little bit and it pissed me off.

Installed weather overhauled. Interesting! I very much enjoy the paralax mapping, motion blur and depth-of-view blur added. I don't think I'm getting the full potential of the mod because I will with Object Dynamic Lighting instead of Full Dynamic Lighting.

The controls overall seem a tad unresponsive. I get pretty good framerate but turning is a bit sluggish. And is it normal that I gun at a dog with my pistol and after 8 rounds he's still running around. Or stabbing at the dog with the knife straight on and he doesn't seem to take a hit at all? Its so wierd. XD Kinda feels like I'm playing Morrowind again, where the sword hits go through the enemy but dont register damage.

I remember playing through STALKER and then realizing that I had stopped playing Jade Empire for that ... well, junk (just thought the setting was cool). Haven't played Jade Empire since :|

STALKER is alot more unforgiving than most FPS games, although some gameplay mechanics tend to go whacky. It's not run-and-gun material. Enjoy using that quicksave button.

Early on in STALKER most of the guns are quite inaccurate and not especially effective. I assume you've just started playing and are using the P9m pistol, which is a rotten gun. It takes a couple of hours of play before you start getting into the rifles which are more accurate and powerful. However Oblivion Lost does tighten up the accuracy and power of all the weapons making them much more effective from the get-go. STALKER is not a run-and-gun kind of game. If you plan on hitting anything you really need to stand still and crouch down. Gun fights are usually more of a slower paced, tactical affair, with lots of hiding behind cover and leaning around corners. You really want to be holding on to a shotgun for a while, too, especially early on when the pistols aren't always useful.

With OL and Arsenal, instead of slowly exposing you to better weapons as you progress through the game, enemies will carry random weapons, allowing you to collect quite a lethal load-out early on in the game. Good thing too, because OL will be throwing stronger mutants at you and in greater numbers, and you'll need to be well equiped. Not to mention the bad guys you'll be facing will have all manner of lethality pointed at you. Carry a rifle or SMG for shooting people, a shotgun for mutants.

Once you get a feel for how the game plays and how to make use of all the different weapons, amunitions and equipment I think you'll find it can be quite an engrossing experience, especially with a mod like OL that expands apon the game even further.

the weapons in stalker are impossibly weak and inaccurate... it gives you the impression you're shooting at things with a damn bbgun and stabbing them with one of those toy knives with the retractable blade

Lurk does look very interesting. How does it compare to Oblivion Lost and the like?

GET OUT OF HERE STALKER

LURK does a few things right, like the shotguns. But frankly it's impossible to hit anything at a hundred yards with an AK and you can just sit there and watch bullets ping harmlessly around you. Biggest problem for me.

Also bloodsuckers in Cordon.

AMK, AMK Arsenal and PLR's Realistic Weapons was the happy medium I found. You fired your gun, people fell down. People fire their guns, you fall down.

Makes me think of the old X-COM Apocalypse posters: DON'T GET HURT.

Played through all the STALKER games / expansions.

Thought them to be somewhat mediocre, I don't know. The atmosphere never felt quite right to me.

Yeah, kinda sucks mag-dumping on someone, watching a dozen or two rounds hit, and they keep firing at you..

Thanks to mods I have never dealt with that, 9 mil takes 3 or hits on an unarmoured, .45 takes 2, nato takes 3 or 4, and same with mospact.

Damnit Oblivion Lost + Weather Overhauled seem to crash

Did you merge it youself? Look for an OL+SWO+Arsenal Mod, Or just go get the SMP mod (It's bloody giant and still in dev though).

I might have to play again, then - the .45 is worthless in the regular game.

Well I didn't really enjoy OL. I thought it added some crappy things (some of the retextures are god aweful). I didn't enjoy the day-night cycle, I felt the game lost a lot of its creepiness.

I do however miss the raised eye level (you feel like a midget in the original game)

I'm honestly not very good at this game. I die constantly and I'm only playing Stalker difficulty. I really feel the pathetic firepower of the starter guns, and its hard to strive beyond them. Even with OL they were pathetically weak, and I saw none of that "Increased accuracy" they were claiming. I tried out Arsenal but really, some of the weapons and textures are terrible.

So far the only mod I've enjoyed it SkyACE Graphic upgrade with the motion blur and depth of field view. Weather Overhauled again killed the creepiness of the game even if it made it a little more pretty.

Is there any mod out there that focuses solely on raising the eye level of the character?

Is there any mod that adds more firepower to the game without adding a ton more features?

I've been playing STALKER (the first one) the last couple of days, and overall I'd say it's fun and a worthwhile investment.

Some comments:

Weapons: They do start out weak, and you are easily outmatched, but as time goes by you get access to more powerful weapons that make a huge difference. Once you start getting upgraded rifles, and scopes and grenade launchers to attach to them, things go a lot more smoothly.

The guns aren't really underpowered, its just that the enemies with armor seem to be overpowered in terms of protection from their armor. If you're close enough to get consistent head shots, you can over come this though.

Also, there seems to be a bug, whereby if you hit an enemy with a shot that causes damage, as they real from the impact of the bullet and react to it, further shots don't seem to cause any damage until the "realing" animation is finished and the NPC returns their attention to you. Anyone else notice this?

Also, the plot is kind of incoherent. I'm still not sure what the point of the game is, after having played it for 3 or 4 hours. I like having such a huge area to explore though, and the weather effects are cool as well.

I just bought it off Steam, too. Once I got past the insane head bob I started to enjoy it. Too bad it fried my computer. I'll play it vanilla first before doing any mods, once I get my computer back running.

Do so, The 1.1 of Lurk mod (Which as the team says, will put the mod out of beta and make it final) is due out at the end of the month (Maybe, we all know mods...).
It will be awesome, I can't wait.

I seem to remember that AP ammunition was bloody effective on stronger armour.

Don't neglect your ammo types.