STALKER news and screens

[RomanS]

http://pc.ign.com/articles/712/712884p1.html

Our company is publishing it. I cant wait. I almost worked on it.
But almost doesnt count hehehe.

[VISTREL]

http://pc.ign.com/articles/712/712884p1.html

Our company is publishing it. I cant wait. I almost worked on it.
But almost doesnt count hehehe.

I cant wait

hook me up with free copy rofl

[Lapata999]

Omg finally early 2007 its coming !

[Hellfish]

If it ever gets released. 2003 was the original release year, right?

[RomanS]

If it ever gets released. 2003 was the original release year, right?
yeah they had problems with AI and some issues with gameplay.
But its coming.
I played it not long ago - its naaaaaaice!

[RomanS]

hook me up with free copy rofl
we get a rediculous discount though

[kaspur_eh]

i have a strange feeling that after all the hype it is going to tank like none other....

[tomcat1974]

Man in Gamming industry is almost considered a Vaporware like Duke Nukem Whenever :D

[superbuzzmetal]

yeah they had problems with AI and some issues with gameplay.
But its coming.
I played it not long ago - its naaaaaaice!

Last I heard this game lost alot of the cool things it promised: a lot less freedom, less rpg elements, you can only drive a few vehicles now, it seems it will be just another normal fps no ?

[Andyman]

I'm looking forward to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. I think the concept for the game is great and it poses a nice idea for a good online community. I actually want to go to Chernobyl and see what it is like there today. I've read articles that say the animal and plant life is flourishing in the region due to the lack of human interference. And scientists have found little mutation in the thriving species in the area. Personally I think it would be an interesting place to visit. :)

[Fargin]

What really sounded like a great innovative experience you could share with friends in coop, was too fast cut down to a bare minimum.

[RomanS]

What really sounded like a great innovative experience you could share with friends in coop, was too fast cut down to a bare minimum.
It is very hard to deliver something that can satisfy a big crowd!

[Fargin]

I know... Coop is my thing and as they had to cut it, I stopped visiting their forum. Coop takes rescources and it appeals to a small crowd. STALKER coop would have been something truely unique though.

[nullterm]

Man in Gamming industry is almost considered a Vaporware like Duke Nukem Whenever :D

DNF is closing on 10 years in development, it was announced April 27, 1997.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Nukem_Forever

It's timeline even puts Daikatana to shame (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daikatana).

[Wilco]

Last I heard this game lost alot of the cool things it promised: a lot less freedom, less rpg elements, you can only drive a few vehicles now, it seems it will be just another normal fps no ?


http://www.ggmania.com/?smsid=21705



Rumour 1. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. had been turned into corridor-like scripted shooter, while A-Life was removed.

Yes. After playing Serious Sam 2 we decided - "why should we bother implementing that A-Life" - let's add more gore and 'stiff' scripts as the player moves alongside the 'corridor'.

Just kidding. Still though, flicking through forum posts and secret 'specialists' "knowing what's happening with S.T.A.L.K.E.R." our optimism subsides - such statements can make any fan frown. On one hand it's pleasing to see such "no-staying-away" attitude, however on the other one, it's tiresome. Reacting to every such rumor means wasting valuable time. So.

This rumour is totally wrong.
Indeed, one of the initial S.T.A.L.K.E.R. concepts was a fully life simulation-driven gameplay with unobtrusive storyline. However with the very first tests it got obvious that such game can only be good in theory. Sooner or later the players were lost in the events happening around, they found the links in-between the quests vague and… 'what shall I do next' question marks raised. Creating an uncomfortable play-through and confuse the player traditionally accustomed to being 'led' is clearly not the best goal to achieve. That is why it was decided to shift the focus during the first playthrough primarily towards storyline, placed, as previously, within the A-life world. How does it work. We created complex "above A-Life" scripted superstructures, A-Life scripts, aka "Gulags" (Hereinafter - Gulags). Gulags are able to control NPC/monsters within the local space of a level. For example - a stalker camp. Gulag can 'drag' stalkers out of A-Life, designate each a role: 'you are in charge of the camp, you are a guard, you are playing guitar at campfire, you are a storyteller, and you will be merely sitting at bonfire silently guzzling vodka' and so on. Following that Gulag sends on 'errands' in accordance to priorities for this place. Should the camp participants be eliminated Gulag will first redistribute the errands, and in case of drastic lack of participants it will return to seeking stalkers/monsters passing by in A-Life to form a new camp, a lair etc (it may be another grouping, another mechanism of work). The initial population of storyline Gulags is planned in advance, the non-story one (monster lairs, ambushes, hostile grouping skirmishes etc) is A-Life-driven.

Once a story quest (Gulag) has been accomplished, the place is filled by A-Life, while the survivors of the story quest either remain under the Gulag or quit into the A-Life. The player, while playing through the game and accomplishing story quests, releases more and more space for the purely A-Life content. I.e. ever greater part of the game becomes fully A-Life-driven. Return to any location complete a couple hours earlier to discover that the content is new there. And also different for each player. And.. a New game to play.
So, attention! All the advantages of A-Life game world and the gameplay have been preserved. You will still be able to observe the world living and breathing around, accomplish random quests. Stalkers accomplish tasks of their own and (similarly to monsters) move around levels. Leaving one level and returning there later the player will find new content, new events and naturally, will be able to participate in those.

Key change is that under the initial advancement through the game the focus is on the story (player-friendly) content. By the time the player will 'understand' the laws of the game (and the game is anything but simple), and will get a 'feel' of it the A-Life will run full-throttle.

Change 2 - Is it possible, still, for another stalker to solve the puzzle of the Zone? - No. We tried and it makes the player totally confused. He's been doing everything as proper, but suddenly everything ends. It stumps him to try figuring out where he made a mistake, and hence, loading an old Save file is not an option. Simply because it (mistake) may not have been made, it was due to one of the stalkers gaining a winning card in the simplified 'off-line' calculations of A-Life. In other words, the feature turn out absolutely non-playable. Putting it there for the sake of just having it to later find irritation of the players would be silly to do. Our goal is to have the player enjoy the game. All in all, he has been waiting it for so long. Full stop.

[Jani.R]

They thumped it down to "appeal broader audience" which is not very good, and the grafs are oldish and too candy looking.

Besides, wasn't it supposed to come out in 2003 allready?

[RomanS]

They thumped it down to "appeal broader audience" which is not very good, and the grafs are oldish and too candy looking.

Besides, wasn't it supposed to come out in 2003 allready?
Do you usually buy games for graphics?

[Jani.R]

Do you usually buy games for graphics?

No, i buy them for immersion and such which Stalker was supposed to have, but where removed as they continued to move their release date. (eating, sleeping, competision, quests, radiation, etc)

Now its nothing more than fancy FPS whit old grafs.

[RomanS]

No, i buy them for immersion and such which Stalker was supposed to have, but where removed as they continued to move their release date. (eating, sleeping, competision, quests, radiation, etc)

Now its nothing more than fancy FPS whit old grafs.

Im still gonna get it though

[ZaakM433]

I was really looking forward to it, but when they waited so that they could "work on the gameplay" and "make it appeal to a greater audience" I am no longer going to purchase this game. IF they come out with a demo and it looks extremely good AND its price is set fairly low then I may purchase it.

When will they stop realizing that the non-mainstream gaming audience is large enough to warrent the addition of more flexible play types?

[StukaJr]

When will they stop realizing that the non-mainstream gaming audience is large enough to warrent the addition of more flexible play types?


Oooooohhhhh - you'll be surprised! The difference between a niche market and a mainstream market game can be anywhere from 3 to 1 and up, in favor of the mainstream! Publishers are no longer satisfied by million copies sale - that's what the best niche audience games are able to bring in.

I have unfortunate experience of working on games side by side with my co-workers, mine just happened to be for non-mainstream gamers vs a mainstream game... The profit was literally 4 fold - not to mention the bonuses paid out to me were like a quarter...

So - no!

[ZaakM433]

Oooooohhhhh - you'll be surprised! The difference between a niche market and a mainstream market game can be anywhere from 3 to 1 and up, in favor of the mainstream! Publishers are no longer satisfied by million copies sale - that's what the best niche audience games are able to bring in.

I have unfortunate experience of working on games side by side with my co-workers, mine just happened to be for non-mainstream gamers vs a mainstream game... The profit was literally 4 fold - not to mention the bonuses paid out to me were like a quarter...

So - no!

But the expense of adding additional gameplay modes onto a nerfed game like stalker to cater to the niche audience would be worth it.

I just hope they dont ruin OFP2

[RomanS]

Oooooohhhhh - you'll be surprised! The difference between a niche market and a mainstream market game can be anywhere from 3 to 1 and up, in favor of the mainstream! Publishers are no longer satisfied by million copies sale - that's what the best niche audience games are able to bring in.

I have unfortunate experience of working on games side by side with my co-workers, mine just happened to be for non-mainstream gamers vs a mainstream game... The profit was literally 4 fold - not to mention the bonuses paid out to me were like a quarter...

So - no!

You worked on Zoldner and ButtOps 2
stop lying

[StukaJr]

But the expense of adding additional gameplay modes onto a nerfed game like stalker to cater to the niche audience would be worth it.

I just hope they dont ruin OFP2

"additional" would be an understatement - the gameplay needs to be there to begin with for something to be added to it :D The project's delay is caused because what was originally promised was not delivered.


You worked on Zoldner and ButtOps 2
stop lying

and "Logrider Reacharound 2"

[GazB]

Changing gameplay to meet the market reminds me of LOMAC. Imagine all the whining they could have missed out on if they had just called it Flanker 3. Instead they called it Lock on Modern Air Combat and got endless whining about how there were more commie planes to fly than American... hahahaha.

[UkrainianAmerican]

The story for STalker seems great theres a lot of clever and innovative stuff the designers could do for it. I saw the movie, and plot options are limitless. Interesting how its gonna play out in the end.

[GazB]

The story for STalker seems great theres a lot of clever and innovative stuff the designers could do for it. I saw the movie, and plot options are limitless. Interesting how its gonna play out in the end.

I particularly like the idea that the creatures there have their own agenda, and that a storm passes through the zone every few days shifting around all the artifacts... it rewards those that play alot rather than those that read the cheats in magazines and go straight for uber weapons.

Of course my interest in Soviet weapons also makes the game interesting too...

[Sierra_Tango69]

I bet the company is hoping for a hit! Otherwise they surely would have ceased to work on it for almost over 4 years!

[PeterG]

I actually want to go to Chernobyl and see what it is like there today. I've read articles that say the animal and plant life is flourishing in the region due to the lack of human interference. And scientists have found little mutation in the thriving species in the area. Personally I think it would be an interesting place to visit. :)

Read 'Wolves Eat Dogs' by Martin Cruz Smith? - Wonderful book, as are ALL the 'Renko' novels. Much of it takes place in 'the zone'.

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/martin-cruz-smith/wolves-eat-dogs.htm

[VISTREL]

I saw the movie, and plot options are limitless.

Is it really good ? Im thinking of leeching that.

[UkrainianAmerican]

Is it really good ? Im thinking of leeching that.
Yea its good, but keep in mind its mostly philosophical, as opposed to character development or a deep scifi story.

[Chuckie]

Is it really good ? Im thinking of leeching that.
I didn't think the movie was that great. I kept thinking something somewhat exciting would happen, especially towards the end but it just never did. It's probably worth watching though, but don't expect too much.

I've been meaning to read the book Roadside Picnic, which is very similar.

http://www.sfsite.com/11b/rp93.htm

[ZaakM433]

"additional" would be an understatement - the gameplay needs to be there to begin with for something to be added to it :D


Well from the sounds that ive heard about stalker - It was there and they worked to take it out.

[StukaJr]

Well from the sounds that ive heard about stalker - It was there and they worked to take it out.

Considering that I've seen the enemy AI following pre-set spline paths for scripted movement and using sectors for free movements like attacking - that is some outdated method that's already been outdated for good five years or even more. I haven't seen anything groundbreaking in Stalker AI. If there is to be anything groundbreaking about Stalker - then it's been added now as part of the re-design.

The game has certainly missed the window where it would have been in-time, even with its lengthy development cycle... There is also the time when THQ stopped paying the bills for a prolonged period of time - that only happens when the develope continuously fails to deliver what's been promised.

I'm "waiting" for Stalker like any other player, just understand that the delay/re-work is similar to what happened with Half-Life when the Beta was leaked... The game was nowhere near completion and nowhere near the marketing hoopla - home Stalker team follows in example to eating some humble pie and getting their A game on...