Stalker Call of Pripyat...

[Achilleslastand]

Got the game on the Steam sale last week and couldn't feel more like a fish out of water. Any advice for a newbies first playthrough{vanilla}?

 

[Blitzvogel]

Have you not played the other STALKER games?

It's been a LONG time since I've played CoP, but be sure to Quick-save alot and be ready to shelter yourself from emissions.

 

[Achilleslastand]

Have you not played the other STALKER games?

It's been a LONG time since I've played CoP, but be sure to Quick-save alot and be ready to shelter yourself from emissions.

No, this is my first. Seems I have gotten pretty good at dying though.

 

[brandonmatic]

Keep at it! It was my first Stalker game too and I was pretty disappointed at first and couldn't understand why people were raving about it. It seemed uninteresting and confusing. But I stuck with it and after 5-10 hours I got the hang of it and the Stalker games are now my favorite FPS of all time.

I don't have any great advice except to take it slow and carefully and really immerse yourself in the game. I played with the Complete mod, which I highly recommend.

 

[Stringjam]

One of my favorite games in life.

The combat is not like the typical FPS. You will HAVE to use cover in any firefight, and use stealth as much as possible.

Finding artifacts before you have a decent detector is dangerous and difficult. Throw a LOT of bolts and move slowly until you get a feel for the mechanic. Pay close attention to your radiation levels and indicator.

Stock up on as many bandages, health kits, and anti-rads starting out as you can.

The first thing you should do is head for Skadovsk if haven't already. Head up to the medical office and snag a bunch of supplies off the shelves (it's okay). Talk to beard and take on the mission to get the artifact in helm of the old ship. It's tricky. A good way to get some cash, ammo and possibly a few better weapons is to head to the Sawmill and pick off zombies. They're everywhere.

The game doesn't start out easy or with any kind of tutorial. It just starts out difficult and stays that way. You don't have to engage everything - especially when you don't have a lot of ammo. Pick your fights carefully.

This is the only STALKER where I don't necessarily recommend the Complete Mod (though it adds a sleeping bag, which can be invaluable). It just kills my load time, so I tend to play this one vanilla.


I introduced a friend to this game recently and let him play it for several hours. I lost count of how many times he died. He was so used to the typical FPS gameplay type where you can run in, blow everything up and be a badass. He had no idea how to be patient, peek around cover, use a knife so other NPCs wouldn't be alerted, etc.

Now he's addicted to the game because it offers something you just don't get in many FPS games.

Keep at it! It was my first Stalker game too and I was pretty disappointed at first and couldn't understand why people were raving about it. It seemed uninteresting and confusing. But I stuck with it and after 5-10 hours I got the hang of it and the Stalker games are now my favorite FPS of all time.

I had the exact same experience. Died about a half dozen times within the first few minutes of the game and was totally confused; ended up being my favorite FPS series ever. Shadow of Chernobyl is still an amazing game, IMO. I would give anything to see that game remade with a modern engine. There's just nothing else like it.

The sad thing about it is how under-realized the release was compared to the original scope. They literally cut out about half the map. Dead City, the Clear Sky Swamps, Red Forest....even the maps that didn't get cut were decreased to a fraction of their original size.

We still got an amazing game out of it though. The X-Labs were a definite improvement over the alpha builds.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

A favorite of mine. I "cheated" in the beginning of my first play through by following a walkthrough.

The Wife

 

[DefDC]

I wish my AAA game backlog wasn't so big. Now I really want to play all three again. I played them all at release and never had a chance to play with the mods. Heck, I always powered through them. I don't know if I played with any patches!

Take your time and stick with it! Such a great series! (Some better than others, but all worth playing!)

 

[Stringjam]

I wish my AAA game backlog wasn't so big. Now I really want to play all three again. I played them all at release and never had a chance to play with the mods. Heck, I always powered through them. I don't know if I played with any patches!

Take your time and stick with it! Such a great series! (Some better than others, but all worth playing!)

I'm amazed you were able to get through Clear Sky without the community patch. I was never able to even make it out of the swamp without Complete or the community patch.

Clear Sky is always considered the weakest game in the series, but I still love it. I just hate the end, and on my replays I just quit right before getting there. I don't think most people understand that Clear Sky is actually chronologically the first game in the series.

I'm do for another playthrough of the series....just have to find the time.

I also played through Lost Alpha last year. It was a mix of awe, frustration and disappointment...at least it was something new for STALKER fans, but I don't think I'll ever do it again.

 

[werepossum]

One of my favorite games in life.

The combat is not like the typical FPS. You will HAVE to use cover in any firefight, and use stealth as much as possible.

Finding artifacts before you have a decent detector is dangerous and difficult. Throw a LOT of bolts and move slowly until you get a feel for the mechanic. Pay close attention to your radiation levels and indicator.

Stock up on as many bandages, health kits, and anti-rads starting out as you can.

The first thing you should do is head for Skadovsk if haven't already. Head up to the medical office and snag a bunch of supplies off the shelves (it's okay). Talk to beard and take on the mission to get the artifact in helm of the old ship. It's tricky. A good way to get some cash, ammo and possibly a few better weapons is to head to the Sawmill and pick off zombies. They're everywhere.

The game doesn't start out easy or with any kind of tutorial. It just starts out difficult and stays that way. You don't have to engage everything - especially when you don't have a lot of ammo. Pick your fights carefully.

This is the only STALKER where I don't necessarily recommend the Complete Mod (though it adds a sleeping bag, which can be invaluable). It just kills my load time, so I tend to play this one vanilla.


I introduced a friend to this game recently and let him play it for several hours. I lost count of how many times he died. He was so used to the typical FPS gameplay type where you can run in, blow everything up and be a badass. He had no idea how to be patient, peek around cover, use a knife so other NPCs wouldn't be alerted, etc.

Now he's addicted to the game because it offers something you just don't get in many FPS games.

BTW I was really hyped about Lost Alpha, but found it an utter disappointment with pretty much no redeeming qualities. And I too found Clear Sky unplayable without patches.



I had the exact same experience. Died about a half dozen times within the first few minutes of the game and was totally confused; ended up being my favorite FPS series ever. Shadow of Chernobyl is still an amazing game, IMO. I would give anything to see that game remade with a modern engine. There's just nothing else like it.

The sad thing about it is how under-realized the release was compared to the original scope. They literally cut out about half the map. Dead City, the Clear Sky Swamps, Red Forest....even the maps that didn't get cut were decreased to a fraction of their original size.

We still got an amazing game out of it though. The X-Labs were a definite improvement over the alpha builds.

Good summation. A remake with the original scope restored would be often.

Biggest point about the Stalker games for me would be that unlike most FPS games, you don't start off as a superhero. You don't charge into a firefight or walk too far from (or too close to) cover because bullets will freakin' kill you and usually, the first party to score a hit is the one who walks away. I would also read guides (not walk throughs) because your character has no way to learn what he would normally be able to learn about the environment and its dangers. Ultimately, these are perhaps the best SP FPS series ever.

 

[RockinZ28]

This isn't your typical kiddie FPS where you can just rambo and auto heal. Probably why there are so many complaints about it being too hard and the gunz are teh suck.

Use cover, and always always always aim for the head. 1 shot kills. Once you get a scope on a rifle it's pretty easy, just have to be able to calculate your bullet drop and nail headshots. Use a shotty against mutants. Don't be trying to use a 360 controller either.

 

[Blitzvogel]

I'm amazed you were able to get through Clear Sky without the community patch. I was never able to even make it out of the swamp without Complete or the community patch.

I beat Clear Sky unmodded, on normal difficulty. It wasn't that bad.

 

[Stringjam]

I beat Clear Sky unmodded, on normal difficulty. It wasn't that bad.

I had a game-breaking bug at the old Warehouse in the swamp every time I tried it un-modded.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Install Misery Mod 1.0 (Not 2) after the first run through.

Best game I've ever played.

 

[Markbnj]

They are great, atmospheric games, but I have never been able to finish. Always run out of ammo and get torn up by anomalies. It's tough out there.

 

[thehotsung8701A]

These games are pretty hardcore, a bit too hardcore for me. I stop playing them when I couldn't find my way around the map. Also I got stuck with a bunch of rabid dogs and had no ammo lefts.

 

[marmasatt]

Just do the complete mod and be done with it. Makes it slightly easier, adds wish-granter, improves accuracy of guns, improves graphics and effects. One of the best FPS ever.

http://www.moddb.com/mods/call-of-pripyat-complete/downloads

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Just do the complete mod and be done with it. Makes it slightly easier, adds wish-granter, improves accuracy of guns, improves graphics and effects. One of the best FPS ever.

http://www.moddb.com/mods/call-of-pripyat-complete/downloads

So remove mostly everything about the game that makes it amazing.

Great mod.

 

[sandorski]

Shadow of Chernobyl was awesome, I spent so much time playing just going around checking out as much as possible. Almost finished it, but couldn't figure out how to survive the last level.

I enjoyed Clear Sky, but it just didn't draw me in like SoC did. Also came close to finishing, but just couldn't make it.

Call of Pripyat just felt so empty to me. Played it a few hours then just stopped. Perhaps one day I'll give it another go, but I suspect it might not happen.

 

[marmasatt]

So remove mostly everything about the game that makes it amazing.

Great mod.

Apparently you have a different opinion my friend. I bet asking the majority of people will tell you it is much more fun with the enhancements. If nothing else, better graphics and making it less of a learning curve...

 

[RockinZ28]

Apparently you have a different opinion my friend. I bet asking the majority of people will tell you it is much more fun with the enhancements. If nothing else, better graphics and making it less of a learning curve...

Meh, I'm all for gfx enhancements and modding games, but making things easier is pretty weaksauce.

Guess this is why FPS games are controller friendly with slow movement and auto-aim these days. And why I hardly even play them anymore.

 

[brandonmatic]

Meh, I'm all for gfx enhancements and modding games, but making things easier is pretty weaksauce.

Guess this is why FPS games are controller friendly with slow movement and auto-aim these days. And why I hardly even play them anymore.

I played all the STALKER games with the Complete mods and I loved them. The difficulty was perfect for me and I still got to immerse myself in the environment. For me the STALKER series is all about atmosphere and conserving resources and having to be careful to survive. Maybe some people need a higher difficulty for that, but not me. To each his own.

 

[Zenoth]

Always good to see people discussing (and playing) the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series. While you guys do so I'd like to point at a mod called S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Chernobyl. There's a clickable "Read More" at the bottom right corner of the main page's picture to drop down on more details about the mod itself. I haven't started to play it yet, although I downloaded it just recently. I only found out about that mod's existence barely a month ago, and was pleasantly surprised that something like that had been done. I'll give it a try whenever I have more spare time (since I know myself with STALKER games, when I start I rarely stop playing until a week or more after starting a game).

However, OP, if you ever do considering playing such mods I'd still recommend that you play the vanilla game first (and even finish it that way at least for one playthrough). At least as far as CoP is concerned, that is. And later on, if you liked your experience with CoP you could surely download that mod and also experience the maps of the two previous games in the trilogy. The Complete Mods for each games of the trilogy are indeed very good, although specifically for CoP it's more of an extra than it is an essential (always a matter of opinions and preferences, but as much as I love vanilla SoC and some parts of Clear Sky, I'd say that both of them are considerably better with the Complete Mod; but CoP is just fine without it).

Anyways, enjoy your stay in The Zone!

 

[RockinZ28]

I played all the STALKER games with the Complete mods and I loved them. The difficulty was perfect for me and I still got to immerse myself in the environment. For me the STALKER series is all about atmosphere and conserving resources and having to be careful to survive. Maybe some people need a higher difficulty for that, but not me. To each his own.

If you make it easier with mods, doesn't it defeat the purpose of bolded though? Find it hard to believe the vanilla game is too hard on novice difficulty level. Master wasn't even that difficult.

 

[Stringjam]

Always good to see people discussing (and playing) the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series. While you guys do so I'd like to point at a mod called S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Chernobyl.

I must download this now.

Re: Misery. I didn't care for it. I played through it all to give it a thorough chance, but I don't really feel like it added much to the game. For one, they changed the OST, which was perfect to begin with. Pretty much ruined the dynamic weather (it's cloudy and more cloudy 90% of the time), and they desaturated the environment.

In other words, they took the thing that STALKER has always done perfectly (environment and atmosphere) and turned it into a typical survival cliche.

I didn't have any problems getting good gear, it just took a really long time to get it.

And like another poster mentioned, this mod is definitely NOT about realism.

Despite being a member of the Ukrainian Special Services, you apparently don't know how to service your own weapon (the gun jamming is pretty laughable, especially considering I've put thousands of rounds through my old AK-47 without a single jam). Apparently nobody in the Zone knows how to take care of a weapon. And what's up with the iron-sight zooming? If you play the sniper class, it's like you have bionic eyes that work like binoculars when you look down your iron-sights. There should be no zooming AT ALL when doing this....it seems like ArmA is about the only FPS that actually gets this right.

I think this mod focuses way too much on the gear instead of the game. I guess some people are into grinding away for resources. I think it's a balance - - when you take it too far, it just becomes a cheap and easy way to make the game more difficult, and not better. You make the game better with combat mechanics, artistic direction, meaningful missions, etc.

There are some things I did like about the mod. They improved the AI and gave them more behaviors (it's nice that they can actually run out of ammo and have to switch weapons).

I'd like a mod that just implemented their real gameplay improvements and left all the artificial difficulty stuff out.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

I too played through CoP and SoC (heard clear sky was terrible so skipped it). Didn't feel that they were in any way too difficult (actually fairly easy on Master, at least after getting an upgrade or two). Just have to pay attention to your surroundings, play things from the 'back side' so to speak, and use the environment to your advantage (and don't be afraid to fall back and re-engage if you start getting surrounded).

My only real complaint with the games is how, in general, money doesn't mean anything.

I remember playing through SoC and collecting weapons, running back to the starting town, collecting more weapons, running back to starting town... Kind of playing it like an RPG. In the end I don't think I spent hardly anything on *anything* except the occasional ammo restock if I found myself overusing one particular weapon.. Half the time I'd just discard that weapon for something else I found that happened to use ammo I had on-hand. Most of the weapons were easy as pie to headshot with at any mid/long range distance, so no huge incentive to upgrade those aside from whatever you stumble across. I blazed through CoP by just disregarding this aspect and using whatever I found, only took a few hours to finish it (mostly because stupid sections of the games kept getting repopulated by hordes of AK-wielding turds)

Aside from radiation effects, armor means little until very later on when you start encountering incredibly powerful enemies, but at that point you're just handed the best armor in the game so it isn't like you had to prepare for it. Always overstuffed with food, bandages, health kits, ammo of various types, weapons lying around, etc... All in all the survival aspect is pretty tame, and the enemies don't present enough of a real threat imo.

The atmosphere and dystopian sci-fi theme was top notch though!