Thoughts on the S.T.A.L.K.E.R series?

call of pripyat is the best one.

>>378836723
this

They are a difficult to get into, took me two playthroughs of SoC to really start to truly enjoy it.

It's buggy as hell and has a lot of halfbaked ideas. However, its gameworld is amazing to get immersed in and the gun fights are pretty fun (albeit full of bs).

Play SoC or CoP, not Clear Sky. CS is one you should avoid unless you play the other two and decide you are a STALKER nut and need to.

>>378836912
So far ive finished CoP and started SoC and am having quite a blast

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>>378836603
What's with the rhetorical questions lately? /v/ has had a HUGE boner for STALKER for literally a decade now!

They're scarier than many "true" horror games released in past few years.
They look prettier than some much later released multiplat titles.
They make games like Far Cry 3-4 feel like horribly dumbed down, handholding kiddie games.
They are fairly realistic, but not simulator-level. There's real bullet physics and stuff like bleeding and hunger, and one shot to the head can kill anyone.

They are VERY long lasting games. One playthrough in vanilla can last well over 25 hours at calm pace, but I've spent a good two WEEKS in all three of them on my first playthroughs. And later a lot more with numerous mods.

They're not perfect games and have their few issues, but in the end they are like "rough diamonds": totally worth investing time and effort in. They are just not afraid to kick you in the groin and call you a bitch - which is quite rare in modern games.

To get the best start with the series, Consult this Starting Guide,
then see the /vg/'s huge Stalker General for more tips and links: >>>/vg/stalker

Play in the release order. Start with no mods - only latest patch, OR get the full "Starter Pack" first; these contain bug-fixers and light visual mods that can help performance as well.
Leave big overhauls for later playthrougs. Avoid the "Complete" -mods. Always play on MASTER difficulty for best realism and atmosphere, and disable crosshair.

Don't give up in the beginning! The starting gear sucks ass and first area can be a bit boring.

>>378836723
Wrong. SoC is.
Even CS is more interesting than CoP.

>>378836969
>playing in reverse order
please...

>>378836603
A really good series.

It's challenging without being unfair (mostly), atmospheric, charming, has good music, good visuals, good level design, interesting mechanics, and it can be beaten with the fucking starting equipment, which I love in games.

COP is my favorite. I found it to be by far the most fun and fair by far, plus it avoided stupid mechanics like not being able to repair weapons and stuff and even had a free play mode and other cool missions and stuff.

SOC was good, but at many times it felt kinda bullshit in terms of difficulty. I played both games on Master and SOC was far harder, but not in a fair way. It felt like just walking around every corner could get you killed instantly unless you had god tier armor.

>>378836912
What the fuck, clear sky got me into the combat and pripyat for story the fuck is this shit are you of those bitches that needs to primary weapons or thought clear sky had terrible night vision and no bed to fast forward. FUck off little baby.

I just want Stalker 2 to happen ;_;

>>378837483
Nahh, bruh I just have taste.

>>378836603
COP has the best gameplay, so if you care about that the most, go for it.

Weapons actually seem to do damage instead of enemies seeming really tank-y.

I recall that SOC had a thing where enemies would take less and less damage from weapons if they were shot in quick succession (like with an assault rifle or something), which made them seem really tanky.

I don't think that happens in COP.

plus you can find good weapons and actually repair them, instead of having them slowly break and not being able to get another copy of it

>>378837264
CoP has more replay value and there are three big areas with only three loading screens unlike SoC which has 18 areas with 18 loading screens.

>>378836723
Fuck off shitter
>>378837264
You too outdated /vg/ guide shitter

>>378836603
I played the first one and had a bad time , installed ZRP and only fixed the head bobbing and added sleeping bag and I had alot of fun.
Then I had to reinstall Windows and I realized my save was wiped off my computer because it doesn't have cloud saving on steam. Really made me mad and sad so I stopped playing it.

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Monolith did nothing wrong

Only played CoC, because it was a mod to download. I've been told to Pirate the actual series, but I've never done it before. I'm sure it ain't difficult, just a bit overwhelmed.

>>378836603
COP>SOC>CS

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>>378836603
Comfy as fuck.

im still waiting for CoC to be updated some more. it typically crashes for me when trying to load a new level. but CoC with a couple mods is really amazing. id really like the NPP to have some more depth, a monster that only spawns around there or something...

really great game

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Alright you motherfuckers, I want to fucking know.

>Favorite game
>Favorite/most used weapon
>Favorite Armor
>Freedom of Duty

Go.

>>378836603
SoC with AMK 1.4 is the best STALKER (no arsenal bullshit). Right now I am doing a SoC vanilla + ZRP run and I am having tons of fun.
>tfw got the 5.45 Groza from Sid before leaving the Cordon for the first time

t. 800 hours in all STALKER games

>>378838604
>CoP had best gameplay
The gunplay in CoP vanilla is absolute garbage, the guns sound like shit and the voice acting is cringe. The world is big and empty, everyone is neutral towards you and Pripyat has nothing to explore.

>>378840749

>Favorite game
Call of Pripyat

>Favorite/most used weapon
Probably Streloks SGI-5k, but that's mainly because it's objectively the best assault rifle in the game, seeing as it can mount any type of add-on, and has high stats all around, especially damage.

I'm also partial to the normal hunting shotgun, because it's accuracy and speed is fucking amazing, and it can be found in the first 40 seconds of the game if you know where to look.

>Favorite armor
Bulat Armored Suit along with the tactical helmet. Pretty much the highest bullet defence in the game when together (higher than the exoskeleton I believe) whilst giving me enemy locations on the map. It's cool as fuck.

>Freedom of Duty
Freedom.

Dutyfags can die.

>>378840749
>SoC
>TRs 301 with SUSAT scope
>Monolith Suit
>Duty (I used to side with freedom, but I got bored of them)

>>378841147
I quite liked the gunplay. The guns sound fine to me, though they may have been a bit better in SOC, but as for the world being empty and stuff, I didn't feel that was any less the case over the other games. SOC just had more grass. Everything being neutral was not a problem for me at all. There was always lots to shoot, and you could totally make enemies based on your decisions.

>>378836603

Is there anyone here who liked Clear Sky the most?

Why?

good games with a great setting and excellent atmosphere. the series is testament to how much a devoted modding community can really add so much more fun to a game.

I like to kill Bloodsuckers with the knife only, it works better on them than guns anyway.

>>378840749
>CoP: Misery 1.2.1+ Les Miserables with personal edits
>Toz32 over and under
>SEVA
>Loner all the way

Finished SoC yesterday for the first time, and holy shit that whole end section starting from the stadium is just awful.
RPG fucks and helis everywhere and I must have killed at least 60 guys in the power plant alone. Loved the rest of the game though.

>>378841287
Yeah, TR301 was my favorite gun in SOC, mainly cuz they could mount everything, were good all around, and they were pletiful, so if one broke, you could just pick up another one.

Good mainstay weapon.

>>378841535
Clear Sky basically combines old good locations with some improvements like weapon repairing and upgrades, faction system and that 'open world' feel (until Limansk ofc). The thing is those were half-assed and recreated in CoP better. Personally I liked CS, but I'm not sure if it's better than SoC.

Thoughts on CoC?

>>378836723
I remember how weird it felt in CoP coming across my first bandits and they weren't hostile, same with near every NPC, the zone should not be as friendly as CoP made it.

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>>378840749
Call of Pripyat
AS Val
SEVA suit
Duty

>>378840749
>Game
Call of Chernobyl (the mod) with AO
>Weapon
Favorite is probably AUG or Saiga, most used is VSS
>Armor
Green eco suit for maximum sanics
>Freedom or Duty
Duty, but mostly because of the mission in SoC you get drafted into where you clear the army warehouses. I never realized you could ignore the mission and not have freedom as enemies, but fuck em anyways. They don't have an arena or a bar. Best faction is Ecologists.

Anyone here ever tried a no death, no save scumming, master difficulty run?

How'd it go? Which game?

Talking about vanilla here. Not interested in mods.

How's Lost Alpha? Worth a play?

What are some of the best mods for STALKER?

I constantly hear people both praising and talking about about mods like Complete, Misery, CoC, Lost Alpha, and all that shit, but I have no idea what's actually good or bad.

>>378840749
thanks doc

>>378840749
CoP
Vintar BC*
SEVA, duh
Freedom

*Akshuually my all time favourite is the Thunder S14 held by a Duty guy in SoC that uses 7.62 ammunition and is uniqe.

On my first ever playthrough, this guy died in a beast attack and I picked it up. Holy shit did the game become ezmode for hours after that. But yeah had to drop away after using it till disintegration.

>>378840749
CS
bulldog
seva
dude Freedom lmao

>>378842118
>Misery

>>378842424
bretty gud 5/5
Get Arsenal Overhaul with it.

>>378844049
I honestly cannot go back to the vanilla trading of CoP and I really enjoy Misery's features because I got gud. Also editing the games ltxs really optimised the artificial difficulty to a minimum

>>378843546
MISERY is Dark Souls: Ukraine Edition. Adds difficulty, some of it rewarding, some of it bullshit. Personally I love it.

Complete adds some QoL fixes but also makes some foolish casual-tier changes. I wouldn't recommend it.

Currently halfway through Roadside Picnic and I'm slowly wanting to play this.

>>378844380
Misery is a fucking bitch, everything is over inflated in price and anomalies don't sell for shit. It is spooky as fuck though.

>>378840189

>That random bonfire in the middle of the woods in Cordon, south of the train tracks

Now that's a truly comfy spot.

Better than Metro.

>>378838679
>You too outdated /vg/ guide shitter
it's a pureblood /v/ guide, you newfag

>>378844473
It's really very different. LOOSELY inspired.

Check out the film if you haven't yet as well.

>>378842424
Not much on it's own but great with addons.

Shadow of Chernobyl is amazing, they really nailed the atmosphere in that one. Clear Sky is so-so, and Call of Pripyat is worse than SoC, but it made up with some refinements to the gameplay.

>>378846816
Whilst SoC's atmosphere is really great, it still lacks the depth that was in the earlier builds.