S.T.A.L.K.E.R. build 1935 released for free download

[CalvinHobbes]

Due to popular demand, GSC Game World has released an old version of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl - 'xrCore' build 1935, Oct 18 2004.

Originally announced in November 2001 for a 2003 release, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (or S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Oblivion Lost as it was known then) was renowned for its long development cycle and frequent delays.

GSC Game World has released a build from 2004 which utilised a completely different physics engine than the one used in the final retail version. This build is fully playable and contains all of the original levels as well as those that were cut such as Dead City, Swamp and Generators.

 

[AVP]

http://files.gsc-game.com:3128/oldbuild/

GSC Game World have issued a disclaimer where they cannot guarantee stability, so bugs and crashes will occur. They have also said that they will not provide technical assistance.

 

[AstroManLuca]

That's pretty bad considering how buggy S.T.A.L.K.E.R. already is.

 

[zerocool84]

They should just have released those extra levels as downloads which I'm sure is the only reason people wanted this out.

 

[SunnyD]

Interesting... I wonder how different the game is between then and now.

 

[JSt0rm]

pretty cool they did this. I think the world might be more open ended in the early builds. I think the publisher came in and was like ok lets get this done.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

it might be worth waiting for the community to attempt some fixes before installing

 

[dust]

Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler
it might be worth waiting for the community to attempt some fixes before installing

Agreed. I gave it a try already and it won't even start. Others on the GSC forum are complaining about various issues during play. I'll wait for a few months and then give it a try.

The first time I tried the vanilla there was only one patch available and the game broke in Wild Territory, it made me throw it away and didn't attempt to play it for another year or so. The game is the best IMO and I wouldn't want to hate this build just because of the bugs.

 

[JSt0rm]

bugs aside the first stalker was a great pc game. It gave me that tingle I haven't had in years aside from killing clowns online.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

fwiw, this will be much faster than the gsc download:

http://www.gameru.net/download.html

 

[FirewolfX]

How how how.....did we end up with the turd that is vanilla Stalker when they had this?

I just explored Cordon and it blows retail Stalker away. (not Oblivion Lost mod though)

 

[Zenoth]

I also gave it a try, I had time to explore Cordon as well, for about twenty minutes until it crashed due to a render-related issue. Then I tried again and after five minutes it crashed, that time due to a failure in a script, that was to be expected however. In terms of level design I must say that the Cordon I've seen in that build is significantly bigger than the one from the final version, but there's not much to explore, of course, it's a beta build. But if they would have kept that same basic level size and filled it over time until the final build with much more content then it would have made one heck of a difference.

There's one thing I noticed right away, about the A.I. During my exploration I encountered a Blind Dog, and not only does the visual effect is better in that build when you look at them directly than in the final version, but the thing actually followed me literally up to the third floor of a nearby building, even taking the stairs behind me as I tried to escape. I did that because I know that in the final version there's no mutants whatsoever capable of following you and taking stairs and literally going anywhere you can be just to kill you, mostly due to the very restrictive nature of their "designated" areas.

If that build wouldn't have been cut from most of its content and features after THQ took "charge" of the game I'm pretty certain that we would have ended up with a better Shadow of Chernobyl, at least in terms of the Zone's actual size and perhaps in terms of A.I capabilities as well. I must say however that I still like the final version. But that build just shows us how much things can change from the early days of development of a game to the moment it goes Gold, that's for sure. And, additionally, I can now understand better why GSC said that Clear Sky is closer to their original visions of Shadow of Chernobyl than the Shadow of Chernobyl we current know, that beta build is almost a proof of concept for Clear Sky.

 

[dust]

Originally posted by: Zenoth
I also gave it a try, I had time to explore Cordon as well, for about twenty minutes until it crashed due to a render-related issue. Then I tried again and after five minutes it crashed, that time due to a failure in a script, that was to be expected however. In terms of level design I must say that the Cordon I've seen in that build is significantly bigger than the one from the final version, but there's not much to explore, of course, it's a beta build. But if they would have kept that same basic level size and filled it over time until the final build with much more content then it would have made one heck of a difference.

There's one thing I noticed right away, about the A.I. During my exploration I encountered a Blind Dog, and not only does the visual effect is better in that build when you look at them directly than in the final version, but the thing actually followed me literally up to the third floor of a nearby building, even taking the stairs behind me as I tried to escape. I did that because I know that in the final version there's no mutants whatsoever capable of following you and taking stairs and literally going anywhere you can be just to kill you, mostly due to the very restrictive nature of their "designated" areas.

If that build wouldn't have been cut from most of its content and features after THQ took "charge" of the game I'm pretty certain that we would have ended up with a better Shadow of Chernobyl, at least in terms of the Zone's actual size and perhaps in terms of A.I capabilities as well. I must say however that I still like the final version. But that build just shows us how much things can change from the early days of development of a game to the moment it goes Gold, that's for sure. And, additionally, I can now understand better why GSC said that Clear Sky is closer to their original visions of Shadow of Chernobyl than the Shadow of Chernobyl we current know, that beta build is almost a proof of concept for Clear Sky.

:laugh: Stop tempting me!!!!!

 

[marmasatt]

I trust anything Zenoth says with regards to Stalker. He is the afficianado. Stalker was one of the best games I've ever played to date. Actually, I have Clear Sky sitting here on my desk sealed (kind of a delayed gratification thing) that tempts me every few weeks. I just have to get through some other games. I'll be downloading this beta game for sure and playing in a month or two afte the fixes.....

 

[dingleberrydorkbutt]

Originally posted by: JSt0rm01
pretty cool they did this....

Yes it is.

Reminds me of when Enemy Territory was released for free when the single player portion wasn't up to their standards. I wish I had a nickel for every hour I spent playing that game.

Now this probably won't be up to ET proportions, but it's still nice of them to release it for free. Never look a gift horse in the mouth.

 

[KeypoX]

getting 9.2KB/s ...

 

[JSt0rm]

Originally posted by: dingleberrydorkbutt

Originally posted by: JSt0rm01
pretty cool they did this....

Yes it is.

Reminds me of when Enemy Territory was released for free when the single player portion wasn't up to their standards. I wish I had a nickel for every hour I spent playing that game.

Now this probably won't be up to ET proportions, but it's still nice of them to release it for free. Never look a gift horse in the mouth.

I used to close my eyes and see my rtcw screen burned into my eyelids after a night of playing