s.t.a.l.k.e.r. game release!

Nick_oliveri

Oh rite, im an idiot.

5uspect

I picked up the imaginatively titled "radiation edition" the other day. (regular edition was sold out :-( )

Anyway, I like the game, but it is indeed very buggy. PDA UI is a bit unresponsive and annoying too. Any more news on that patch? I've heard news about a big patch that fixes the slow issues but nothing about a release. I'll have to try the one posted.

I can only describe this game as a mix of Oblivion (game play and size wise) and Brothers in Arms (looks wise). Its very different and thats refreshing so I think I'll stick with it.

I'm running it on low at 1042*786 with dynamic lights on a Dell 4550, 2.66GHz P4, 1 gig RAM and an AGP 6600gt. It generally runs quite well considering how rubbish my PC is with a bit of choppiness now and again. I did get a slideshow tho in the Hanger in the Garbage area tho as mentioned earlier.

shrapnel222

can anything be done about that crosshair (apart from removing completely) to make it smaller- The things about half the screen!!!!

Son Goku

This might help some people with performance issues.
Obviously make a back up of the user.ltx file before you try this.

If you go to your Stalker-SHOC folder, found at C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\STALKER-SHOC, you'll find a file called user.ltx

If you replace the appropriate sections of the file with the following:

ph_frequency 75.00000
ph_iterations 24
r1_dlights on
r1_dlights_clip 10.
r1_glows_per_frame 16
r1_lmodel_lerp 0.1
r1_pps_u -1.
r1_pps_v 0.
r1_ssa_lod_a 64.
r1_ssa_lod_b 48.
r1_tf_mipbias 0.
r2_aa off
r2_aa_break 0.800000,0.500000,0.000000
r2_aa_kernel 0.5
r2_aa_weight 0.250000,0.250000,0.000000
r2_allow_r1_lights off
r2_gi off
r2_gi_clip 0.001
r2_gi_depth 1
r2_gi_photons 16
r2_gi_refl 0.9
r2_gloss_factor 1.4
r2_ls_bloom_fast on
r2_ls_bloom_kernel_b 0.7
r2_ls_bloom_kernel_g 3.
r2_ls_bloom_kernel_scale 0.7
r2_ls_bloom_speed 100.
r2_ls_bloom_threshold 0.001
r2_ls_depth_bias -0.0003
r2_ls_depth_scale 1.00001
r2_ls_dsm_kernel 0.7
r2_ls_psm_kernel 0.7
r2_ls_squality 0.8
r2_ls_ssm_kernel 0.7
r2_mblur 1.
r2_parallax_h 0.04
r2_slight_fade 0.82
r2_ssa_lod_a 96.
r2_ssa_lod_b 64.
r2_sun on
r2_sun_depth_far_bias -0.00001
r2_sun_depth_far_scale 1.
r2_sun_depth_near_bias 0.00001
r2_sun_depth_near_scale 1.
r2_sun_details off
r2_sun_focus on
r2_sun_lumscale 1.
r2_sun_lumscale_amb 0.5
r2_sun_lumscale_hemi 1.
r2_sun_near 12.
r2_sun_near_border 0.75
r2_sun_tsm on
r2_sun_tsm_bias -0.01
r2_sun_tsm_proj 0.3
r2_tf_mipbias -3.
r2_tonemap on
r2_tonemap_adaptation 1.
r2_tonemap_amount 0.7
r2_tonemap_lowlum 0.0001
r2_tonemap_middlegray 0.6
r2_wait_sleep 0
r2_zfill off
r2_zfill_depth 0.5
r2em 2.
r__detail_density 0.2
r__geometry_lod 1.1
r__supersample 2
r__tf_aniso 9
renderer renderer_r2
rs_c_brightness 1.
rs_c_contrast 1.
rs_c_gamma 1.2
rs_fullscreen on
rs_refresh_60hz off
rs_stats off
rs_v_sync off
rs_vis_distance 1.

This gave me a good mix of performance and quality.

Also change texture_lod 1 to texture_lod 2, if it isn't already. This probably gives the largest performance boost.


Also if anybody wants to turn on bloom and motion blur, the respective commands are:
Change r2_ls_bloom_fast off to r2_ls_bloom_fast on.
Change r2_mblur 0. to r2_mblur 1.

It really helped me, so hopefully it will help some people here.

Branoic

shrapnel222 wrote:

can anything be done about that crosshair (apart from removing completely) to make it smaller- The things about half the screen!!!!

Turn off "dynamic crosshair" - does that just leave it regular sized?

RE the patch - worked fine for me. I can't understand the general net outrage about the fact that you lose your save games. Yes, I can understand it sucks if you're far in the game and want to patch - but it was to be expected. The game was shipped with fairly major bugs, and some of those bugs were related to the save system, so any patch which address save game bugs will more than likely invalidate previous saves. Its not like the first patch in history to have done so.

Now, if version 1.002 invalidates previous saves, THEN there'd be an issue!

5uspect

Thanks Son, I'll try that with the patch and let ye know how it goes.

mmm, not much of an improvement, tho I might turn some settings down further,

mewso

The thing about save games is that all they need to do is save the state in the game at that time. The problems people were having was with the game crashing when saving. Now it's feasible to consider the new patch changes slightly the way information is saved in the save game file but what they also could do is program a work around so the game recognises the existing save game files and if necessary corrects them to the new format. Its lazy programming and I know they needed a patch fast but it's not worth waiting for if thats the cost.

shrapnel222

this is ridiculous, it's crashing every 2 minutes, and also resetting my desktop to a lower res!!! i haven't got THAT bad a system: AMD 3500, 1 gig ram and an X1950PRO- I can't believe they've got the nerve to make everyone wait 4 years for this and then sell this unstable piece of crap!!!!!

hopeful

I feel very lucky indeed.
Still not had a single crash or lockup in several hours of play. Still unpatched also as I cannot face starting from the start again.

qwertz

Just finished it. Anybody else done with it?

0ubliette

jesus christ, i was running this at 1280 x 1024, every setting on maximum but with dynamic lights off, and got a great framerate ( > 60), until i got to the inderground part. ****s sake, now im back to about 10 fps, its a god damn joke. This is INDOORS, theres no bloody draw distance, no grass to render, only some light effects that are absolutley NOTHING compared to doom 3's lighting so why am i suddenly playing a slideshow again??
I really like this game, but by god its in a bad state. Still not as bad as ArmA tho. ArmA makes stalker look like the most polished fps since half life 2.

SeantheMan

bizmark wrote:

Jesus after the patch my fps droped from 45 to 16

Command for displaying FPS ? or do you use FRAPS ?
If you have the command that would be sweet

Havent got back into playin it since my original post, still not convinced to buy it yet either.
Hopefully C&C will be good, the demo is awesome:D

Loobz

Love this game. Runs smooth on my spec
AMD x2 3800
3 gig ddr ram
256 x1800xt

I originally had 1 gig ram, and it was quite choppy. I stuck in an extra 2 gig and bobs ur uncle. Ram is the key methinks.

koneko

Use the console, "rs_stats on" can be used to show the FPS. It doesn't show only the FPS though, so you're better off using FRAPS.

hopeful

koneko wrote:

Use the console, "rs_stats on" can be used to show the FPS. It doesn't show only the FPS though, so you're better off using FRAPS.

ATI Tray Tools will just show the FPS also...handy little program.

projectmayhem

got the game today, installed (along with c&c3) and it won't start. i'll install the patch and see what happens... never ever had this with a new game before, and i got armed assault!

edit: patch did zilch. bah!

Dooom

Think I must have gotten a lucky copy...haven't had a single problem with it yet. Waiting for a better patch before I install one though.
D'you get an error when you try and start it mayhem?

5uspect

@Mayhem
It could be soomething to do with write access to the shared documents folder in windows. I had a similar problem with FEAR.

projectmayhem

Spike wrote:

D'you get an error when you try and start it mayhem?

i wasn't getting an error at all no. google tells me it's a common problem. there were a few fixes (moving certain files around, using no-dvd crack, etc.)...

5uspect wrote:

@Mayhem
It could be soomething to do with write access to the shared documents folder in windows. I had a similar problem with FEAR.

not that. i got it working after 2 re-installs. i don't actually know what was wrong, or how it was fixed. i do know it's quite common, and from what i read, the issue resolves itself. i would imagine the disc just isn't unpacking some important files, or something along those lines.

anyway, so far the game is quite good. i'm not a huge RPG fan, so this might get me into them. combat is solid enough. the graphics are lush... it was running ok, but a bit choppy in parts, so i had to turn off HDR, which bothers me a little.

this and ArmA have been awfully coded games, i hope to god this isn't a new trend in PC games, because right now they have a 360 and PS3 to compete with

Naikon

Just got it loaded on my Machine.
It runs pretty poorly and the page file is being thrashed big time considering the hard drive activity is pretty high at the moment.
I might add another Gigabyte of Ram to my machine.
15-35 fps range on my machine which usually deviates towards single digits:(
My card is a 7600gt running at 1280x1024 at 75hz(native res)
Anyone have similer problems?

5uspect

I set lighting to static lights (Dx-8) and the resolution to 1024*768 on my 6600gt and upped the advanced settings for pretty much everything except AA.
Runs smoothly now with a minimun fps of 30, with the ocasional jitter which i suspect is loading new areas.

From what I've seen on other forums the game isn't too much prettier with higher settings a TBH I found bloom a little annoying in this game so I'm happy for now.

Naikon

Thanks, works quite well now at 1280x1024;)

madrab

just got the game there the other day & i still cant get into the zone, that fecking bandit camp/outpost that you have to get past before the Garbage, is ther another way round? is there a way to fool them? can i get other stalkers to help me? why is the feckin trader closed, i need to buy stuff!

mewso

5uspect wrote:

From what I've seen on other forums the game isn't too much prettier with higher settings a TBH I found bloom a little annoying in this game so I'm happy for now.

Just built my new machine. 6600 core duo and 2 Gig ram with same GFX (x1950XT) and the dynamic lighting works without crashes. I'm convinced now it's the 2 Gig ram that stops it crashing. The game looks amazing with dynamic lighting. I played it for a while on static and it's a world of difference.

Tar.Aldarion

This is great fun so far, i love the gun fights. That first one was excellent. Just plaing it on STALKER difficulty yet.

5uspect

musician wrote:

Just built my new machine. 6600 core duo and 2 Gig ram with same GFX (x1950XT) and the dynamic lighting works without crashes. I'm convinced now it's the 2 Gig ram that stops it crashing. The game looks amazing with dynamic lighting. I played it for a while on static and it's a world of difference.

I also heard on the gamespot forums that they're working on a patch to improve dynamic lighting so maybe I'll get to enjoy that soon. When I did use dynamic lights it was cool indoors with the flashlight alright but just too damn choppy.

Maybe post some screenshots to make us drool!

Lemming

playing the game at the moment (well, not _right_ now obviously) and jebus is it the wee. My first lightning storm at night was stunning to behold. I've not had much issue with frame rates - the occasional jerk but nothing too bad. I've had one CTD though :-/

I'm running it on an AMD64 3500 with 1Gb DDR ram (2-3-3-5), and a GeForce 7900GT gfx card.

kaimera

Now I need my fix again. Bah. Where the hell is my housemate and his machine so I can play it?!

Dooom

I quit after that annoying scientist chap told me to go into the X16 lab in Yantar. Give me ten bloodsuckers over a snork any day, those things freak the bejesus out of me (except their name).

c0y0te

I'm absolutely loving this game, it's so refreshing to play something so different from the usual FPS mode. I've been playing for a few nights now and can't say I've ever had a crash or issue.

My initial impressions: http://www.avalon5.com/index.php/games/stalker-first-impressions/