Why did S.T.A.L.K.E.R. get such a huge fanbase and Boiling Point: Road to Hell did not? In many ways Boiling Point is a more ambitious and advanced game. Is it really the setting?
Both are FPSes with huge landscapes, inventory, gun upgrading, factions you can do missions for, sidequests, but Boiling Point even has vehicles with their own inventory, open world that's not divided into zones like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was supposed to have(and it came out two years before Shadows of Chernobyl), has Deus Ex-like health system, skills you can upgrade, can pilot boats and helicopters(but you have to learn how to pilot these by going to flying/boat school first), car tires have to be swapped out if shot, faction reputations, can bribe some enemies even. It is pretty much like Deus Ex/Morrowind in open world, with vehicles.
Pretty good overview and screenshots here:
http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Boiling_Point:_Road_to_Hell
It was very buggy on release, so maybe that's why. Later a huge patch was released that fixed many bugs.
Gameplay video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se6lOZ0s1MQ
>>383636929
Notice the reputation indicators, silhouette showing health(divided like in Deus Ex into head, torso, left hand, right hand, left leg, right leg).
>>383637021
Character screen.
Definitely a game you should check out if you're an FPSRPG fan.
the shooting in that video looks really rough
stalker was first and foremost a shooter with some light rpg elements
Stalker had a huge hype train for five+ years before it came out. I never even heard of this game.
Generic jungle setting vs incredibly detailed post-Chernobyl wasteland and abandoned city never done before in videogames
>>383637138
Forgot to say: this studio also did White Gold: War in Paradise and Precursors.
>>383636929
Excessive bugginess beyond STALKER; broken AI. Ran terribly on systems at the time. Increased depth not backed up by an interface.
But from the time I played it, I felt like I was never progressing. That killed it for me.
I feel like most of STALKER's fans got exposed to it through Steam sales and the word of mouth it generated. STALKER was insanely cheap those first few sales and was a pretty new and unique experience to most people who played it.
>>383637437
It also had a fair amount of bad press when it came out due to the whole HL2 asset thing.
>>383636929
modding
>>383636929
Plot maybe.
STALKER series has some nice plot, the atmosphere, lore and enviroment are awesome.
Boiling Point instead is just like a typical 90s action movie.
>>383636929
>one got a steam release
>one didnt
hmmmmmmm.... I wonder why
I played the second one. Is boiling point worth trying in that case?
>>383636929
>UN
FUCKING
>PLAYABLE
It was dropping frames when nothing was happening and looked like garbage