Clear Sky Screens.

[Illyusha]

Using the complete mod, and a new 560TI overclocked:

The game is damn fun.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

How would the game run with a 4890 XXX if it looked like that? How good can I get it to look on this hardware? That looks freaking amazing TBH.

I have had this game for a while but never bothered to get into it yet. Should I play the first one first, or just jump into CS?

 

[Dankk]

Should I play the first one first, or just jump into CS?

I'm wondering this too. The problem is that I actually own Shadow of Chernobyl, and even though I want to like it - I REALLY want to like it - I just can't. I've come to the conclusion that it's an unreasonably difficult game. Even playing it on Easy, it's way too difficult.

I haven't played Clear Sky or Call of Pripyat (yet), but SoC is basically: "Hey man, I hope you like large groups of obnoxious enemies, here's a ridiculously-inaccurate rifle that takes an entire clip to kill someone 10 yards away. Now go inside this compound full of like 30 bandits. Have fun bro."

 

[veri745]

I'm wondering this too. The problem is that I actually own Shadow of Chernobyl, and even though I want to like it - I REALLY want to like it - I just can't. I've come to the conclusion that it's an unreasonably difficult game. Even playing it on Easy, it's way too difficult.

I haven't played Clear Sky or Call of Pripyat (yet), but SoC is basically: "Hey man, I hope you like large groups of obnoxious enemies, here's a ridiculously-inaccurate rifle that takes an entire clip to kill someone 10 yards away. Now go inside this compound full of like 30 bandits. Have fun bro."

I'm currently re-playing through SoC on Master difficulty with the 2009 Complete mod, and I don't find it *too* difficult. It's definitely tough, and you can't take more than 1 shotgun blast or a couple rounds at close range, but it's challenging and fun.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

I'm wondering this too. The problem is that I actually own Shadow of Chernobyl, and even though I want to like it - I REALLY want to like it - I just can't. I've come to the conclusion that it's an unreasonably difficult game. Even playing it on Easy, it's way too difficult.

I haven't played Clear Sky or Call of Pripyat (yet), but SoC is basically: "Hey man, I hope you like large groups of obnoxious enemies, here's a ridiculously-inaccurate rifle that takes an entire clip to kill someone 10 yards away. Now go inside this compound full of like 30 bandits. Have fun bro."

Yeah this is exactly the reason I stopped playing the game after 1 hour. It wasn't 'fun' difficult, it was just frustrating and obnoxious.

 

[JSt0rm]

There is a hidden leveling system and as you get better along with your guns getting better then it becomes less frustrating. Its hard. So what? I fucking hate games that hold your hand as they move you through scripted b movie plots.

 

[MentalIlness]

Just STALKER. No mod.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

There is a hidden leveling system and as you get better along with your guns getting better then it becomes less frustrating. Its hard. So what? I fucking hate games that hold your hand as they move you through scripted b movie plots.

To each his own. I generally play games on easy-medium. I don't see the point in games where the easiest difficulty is insanely hard - that's why we have difficulty levels.

 

[Dankk]

So what? I fucking hate games that hold your hand as they move you through scripted b movie plots.

Yeah, I hate them too. That's why I play games similar to STALKER. I love the atmosphere, the openness, and the lack of cutscenes. But the only thing holding me back is just how frustratingly-difficult it is.

Edit: Oh, and I have a question for the OP. Like I said, I haven't played Clear Sky, but I heard that it's actually the worst and the buggiest out of all the STALER games. Does the Complete Mod fix most of the bugs?

 

[Harrod]

I liked the first stalker, my problem is I started clear sky killing everyone I ran into.

 

[rgallant]

STALKER COP could be the last great pc game as stalker 2 will be multi port from what I have read.
-started cop with the complete mod with 570 sli ,finished with 580sli using 1520 mb of vram @ 1920x1200 -not fit for consoles.
all together played clear sky ,then soc, then cop ,then cop w\complete mod
-the story was getting a bit thin for cop, but my gaming life was enriched by these games. problem is what to replace them with.
-played the fallout 3 ,nv same sort of sand box but stalker's makes you pay attention and sends shivers down your spine at some points. some times it only takes a distance bark late at night walking in the wild.

 

[duragezic]

I'm wondering this too. The problem is that I actually own Shadow of Chernobyl, and even though I want to like it - I REALLY want to like it - I just can't. I've come to the conclusion that it's an unreasonably difficult game. Even playing it on Easy, it's way too difficult.

I haven't played Clear Sky or Call of Pripyat (yet), but SoC is basically: "Hey man, I hope you like large groups of obnoxious enemies, here's a ridiculously-inaccurate rifle that takes an entire clip to kill someone 10 yards away. Now go inside this compound full of like 30 bandits. Have fun bro."

I know everyone is all about the Stalker Complete mods, but to me they add a bunch of graphics things that don't matter to me or my computer isn't good enough to run the vanilla game with high details.

So what I really like is the "faiakes mod" v2.4. I'm not sure if there's any releases for Clear Sky or CoP. Faiakes makes a number of cool changes that make the game much easier. In fact it says something like it's made to be played on Master but even the less difficult ones still have a challenge but are enjoyable. Especially at the start. Later on you could turn the difficulty up.

- buy almost anything from traders
- weapons or armor don't degrade
- options to carry a heavier load (like 50-300kg selectable)
- many fixed quests
- side quest time limit removed
- some rifles fit handgun slot (so like mp5 in handgun slot, rifle in other slot)
- silencers and scopes can now be attached to nearly all weapons


And there's a bunch more but a few of those changes above are huge and make the game much easier at the start. Follow the little Guide.txt included with the mod, at least through the first few steps till you have the MP5 or a lower end assault rifle, and you should be fine.

 

[Gibsons]

STALKER COP could be the last great pc game as stalker 2 will be multi port from what I have read.
-started cop with the complete mod with 570 sli ,finished with 580sli using 1520 mb of vram @ 1920x1200 -not fit for consoles.
all together played clear sky ,then soc, then cop ,then cop w\complete mod
-the story was getting a bit thin for cop, but my gaming life was enriched by these games. problem is what to replace them with.
-played the fallout 3 ,nv same sort of sand box but stalker's makes you pay attention and sends shivers down your spine at some points. some times it only takes a distance bark late at night walking in the wild.

I read a Q&A with one of the devs who said stalker 2 would be made primarily as a PC game, then ported to console. So... maybe there's hope.

For those talking about the difficulty, I struggled with it too in the beginning, probably died 10x times on the first mission in SoC, partly because I insisted on doing it solo. But things change a great deal as you upgrade your weapons and armor suit.

Use cover, take a shot or two, maybe til you get that guy dead, then MOVE to a new place. The AI will come after your last known location and often try to encircle. If you aren't where they expect, you can catch a guy from the side, have some time to aim a little more and get a headshot.

 

[Illyusha]

Clear Sky was difficult at the beginning, but once I got into it a little more and started hunting artifacts and upgrading armor and guns it became much more fun. 🙂

 

[GoodRevrnd]

There is a hidden leveling system and as you get better along with your guns getting better then it becomes less frustrating. Its hard. So what? I fucking hate games that hold your hand as they move you through scripted b movie plots.

So do I, but I find having to empty entire mags into enemies to kill them incredibly annoying. If they want to ramp up the difficulty I think you should just die easier.

 

[dust]

So do I, but I find having to empty entire mags into enemies to kill them incredibly annoying.

Heh, for some reason I remembered the Kevlar t-shirts the mercenaries were having in Farcry2.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

So do I, but I find having to empty entire mags into enemies to kill them incredibly annoying. If they want to ramp up the difficulty I think you should just die easier.

Aim for the head. You use shitty guns. Many enemies have tough armor. They are no stronger than you are unless you're on easy, which then you are somewhat stronger then them. Headshots are always one hit kills. I love the difficulty. It really makes you feel like you're a Stalker.

Stalker is one of my top 3 games this generation. The atmosphere and gameplay are unmatched. And even the story is damn good. The entire thing with C-Consciousness, the creation of the zone, and other things is one of the most intriguing things that I have ever seen.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Heh, for some reason I remembered the Kevlar t-shirts the mercenaries were having in Farcry2.

ha that reminds me of the cyberpunk rpg

 

[kamikazekyle]

ha that reminds me of the cyberpunk rpg

Shadowrun? I still try to run 2nd Edition of that, if I could find a group to GM.

Frankly, I never found Stalker frustratingly difficult unless I was doing somthing stupid. The beginning area is probably the toughest, and that's only if you don't play smart. Usually my allies got wiped out on the first go, so I'd hide away, pop one enemy, then relocate. By the time the others responded to where I was, I'd be in another hiding spot. Pop and repeat. I even took out that checkpoint under the railroad bridge with nothing but an unmodified starter pistol. Once you started getting good gear, the game became a cakewalk.

If you want to get some good gear at the start, you can lure the patrol at the beginning of the game into the Stalker camp. Go from house to house while the NPCs duke it out and take out the military. Net result is you get some good gear without too much effort.

I think, to ease the difficulty of the start, you almost have to play stealth-like. You don't have the gear to really go gung-ho, and if you try to play it like a traditional FPS you'll just get rolled.

EDIT: Damn, now I want to play Stalker again. And I never got the expansions.