Don't install the Complete mods. They make the games way easier.
Explore everything, there are tons of artifcats to find, tons of loot, better guns, and such strewn around the world.
Conserve ammo and travel light. Minimize what you carry around with you in the Zone. And only fire your gun in 1-3 round bursts at the head of enemy soldiers. Soldiers with exo skeletons can take 30 rounds to the chest and will insta kill you.
Play on hardest difficulty, it makes every gun do more damage. Except you're smarter than the AI so it benefits you much more.
Here are references and more detailed FAQ's than what is here
http://pastebin.com/xFTwR2Ui
http://pastebin.com/FUPEbLiv
-Start with SoC (of course!). Try without big mods first! Look for mods later. Proper play order is SoC > (CS) > CoP.
-ZRP (Zone Reclamation Project) is a fine mod for 1st timers, as it does not change gameplay or graphics, only fixes errors in the game.
-For Clear Sky there's SRP (Sky Reclamation Project). Both ZRP and SRP can be found in Starter Packs!
-AMK 1.4 for challenge, atmosphere and more content. LURK for total overhaul. ZoA if you found even AMK too easy!
-Play on a high difficulty. Master is the best. Improves AI and gun-damage, to both ways.
-Disable crosshair. Trust me, you don't need it, you don't want to hip-fire unless targets are just a few meters away from you.
-Check your other Options and key-bindings! Read the Manual! These can teach you more than you'd imagine.
-In the beginning, choose to get "Brainwashed", this gives you a short tutorial.
-Read your in-game PDA often!
-In fights, always use cover. Stay low. Aim with your weapons. Set automatic guns to semi- or burst-mode for more accuracy.
-Aim for the head. From long distance aim to center mass.
-Select your ammo-type according the enemy. AP-rounds against most humans, regular ammo against mutants or less armored personnel.
-Don't hoard too much stuff with you. Vodka and food weigh a ton, so don't have too much with you. Only loot what you need, or what you can sell quickly for some nice cash. Drop extra stuff to some stash to await your return.
-Explore! You may find tons of free items, alternative routes and interesting things. Just remember to save often!
>The Zone Manual: Every Mod You'll Ever Need for the True Ukranian Experience
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=12112540
AMK and ZRP DO NOT MIX! Graphics mods in the Starter Pack can be merged with other mods but read instructions first.
>Removing Headbob/Head Bob/Head Bobbing/Shakey-Brakey Camera/Wake Up Spinning
Type "cam_inert 0.1" or "cam_inert 0" in the console to reduce or remove the camera inertia, which keeps the player moving, turning or swaying after the keyboard/mouse motion input has stopped.
If that's not enough: While the player is moving, the headbob motion is controlled by run_amplitude, walk_amplitude and maybe limp_amplitude under the [bobbing_effector] section in gamedata\config\misc\effectors.ltx. This file is included in many mods. Set those to zero to remove the head bobbing/swaying when moving, or just reduce them. ZRP has Modifier option for this.
The famous TweakGuides guide to STALKER SoC:
http://www.tweakguides.com/STALKER_1.html
Advanced tweaking starts here:
http://www.tweakguides.com/STALKER_7.html
The -noprefetch command line tweak is on page 10.
Guide for Clear Sky:
http://www.tweakguides.com/ClearSky_1.html
>measuring FPS
You can see fps-counter and other stats by typing this to console:
rs_stats 1
>Performance tips:
The in-game AA slider DOES NOT WORK in SoC. You gotta force AA on through GPU's control panel. Avoid anything above 2x for minimal performance hit!
In CS and CoP, if you use ENHANCED FULL DYNAMIC -mode, set its three specific settings (SSAO, Sun Quality, Sun-shafts) to LOW. You won't notice quality difference, but your performance will skyrocket!
Another easy way to improve visuals and reduce random stuttering is to lower Vision- and Lighting distance, plus Object-Quality bar to around 50%. Again quality difference is minimal, but fps improves.
Reducing the Grass Density a point or two also may help stuttering outdoors. Some stuttering is just the game switching stuff online.
Steam players: Disable compatibility mode on the Steam launcher and on the STALKER game. Check to see if your antivirus is being a little too helpful. Turn off Xfire. More info at Steam STALKER sub-forum.
Sometimes Steam has two user file locations, but it uses the one shown on the first line in fsgame.ltx in your STALKER install folder. That tells the game where to find user files like user.ltx, saves and log files.
Done with vanilla/ZRP ? Want some extra challenge and features?
Then try out the "defining" Stalker mod, AMK1.4:
http://www.mediafire.com/?8wm243dsc0dlwm7
First run Amk 1.4 setup, then AMK EN patch final.
Next paste the gamedata folder of the 1.0005 fix into the stalker folder, if needed.
Install AMK Retranslated last.
If you're playing on Steam / 1.0005 patch, you also need to do couple manual tweaks:
-First, locate a file called "xrs_grenade.script" in the gamedata/scripts, and delete it.
-Next, you need to add a sound-file names "groza_silenced.ogg" into gamedata/sounds/weapons. Either rip it from any other mod, or simply copy ANY soundfile and rename it.
You can use same graphical mods found in STARTER PACK with AMK. In case of SWO 2.2, remember to apply its own AMK-patch last, or your game will crash!
[#FDL] = Full Dynamic Lighting, [#SL] = Static Lighting.
ZRP controller kill function for AMK/ZoA
http://pastebin.com/9iZmEfym
Why Complete Sucks Ass
- All weapons have their accuracy increased by 10-20.
- Damage done to everybody is decreased by various percentages.
- Weight limit is increased by 10kg, the maximum being 70kg. In vanilla, the Exo-suit enabled up to 80kg!
- Limits NPC's eye sight distance so they can't spot you from beyond ~100 meters. Said to remove enemies skill to spot you from "unrealistic distances," but really means you always see them first every time.
- Sound radius of the knife and other critical sounds such as death cries, falling dead bodies, night-vision goggles, grass, and footsteps are greatly reduced.
- scientific suits with 90% rad protection now feature an anti-rad injection system.
- Bandages auto-apply at 10% health.
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