Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl

Tusky

When I try to install the 1.5 patch it says it cant find the game...hmm

quarryman

Is it a Steam install? Cus the program directory is pretty hidden for that...

0ubliette

can i just say, that ultra graphics mod is a load of bollocks. If by 'ultra graphics' they meant 'flickering textures over any light source and bloom so bad it looks like someone smeared vaseline all over your monitor' then yeah wow, those are some extremely ultra graphics..

quarryman

Try the Nuclear Snow mod I linked. It makes most things monochrome but gives it a nice post apocalyptic feel.

Cravez

Sorry if this is a bit off-topic. Im having trouble running Stalker under Vista 32bit and it keeps crashing during mid-game. Usually either when a) i save it or b) when i check a corpse for items.

Now i do have the graphics on object dynamic lighting or full dynamic lighting at a resolution of 1028 x 768 pixels so i know that it will use alot of RAM on top of Vista and im also aware the Vista 32bit doesn't utilise all the ram on the system (my RAM is 4gb's 1088mhz and Vista is only showing 2.75Gb's) so this is what is causing the crash. My graphics card at the mo is a 512mb Nvidia 8500 (runs the game fine graphics wise)

Iv gotten nothing really from online except 'don't use object or full dynamic lighting' but since it is more of a RAM issue than a graphical issue i don't see why i can't try and fix the problem. Iv tried using a 3GB Enabler to alter the RAM settings in Stalkers .exe file so it will allow more RAM (or should i say, the RAM thats actually on my system) to be used for Stalker but even so it hasn't seemed to produce any results.

Again sorry for this type of question, iv even contact technical support and they haven't e-mailed me back (this was a good while ago) so just wondering if anyone might have any solutions or will this 1.0006 fix any vista problems?

Cheers!

Cuddlesworth

Vista only see's 2.7gigs? First of all, the game will run fine with only 2gigs even on Vista. Second, a 32bit operating system should see 3.3gigs.

Un-install and reinstall the game, update your gfx card drivers etc. At worst re-install Windows as it sounds like you have a rather bad problem with memory allocation at the moment.

quarryman

there is an issue with Vista and quicksaves, do a google on it.

MOH

Have they fixed the respawning bad guys yet?

That's one of the things that drove me mad near the end, started the final section with very little health left, both past about the first 4 guys before I got killled. Reloaded, got shot in the back by a guy who should have been dead. Eventually worked out it was something to do with quick save/load.

Think the same might have happened earlier in the game. At both the

initial farmhouses mission and the military at the collapsed bridge

I'd killed everyone, only for them to reappear shortly afterwards.

At the time I thought it was stupid, if it was bug related then fair enough.
Was hugely disappointed with the ending too. Didn't know anything about multiple endings before then, and wasn't about to slog back through half the game, especially that last section, just to maybe get a different crap ending. Uninstalled it straight away, never looked at it again, just never got around to selling it. And I was one of those really looking forward to it, hugely disappointed in the end.

Maximilian

There's a nice tech demo of Stalker: Clear Skies here, which shows off some nifty DX10 effects. Looks good.

quarryman

looks good.

But until i see gameplay.....

Hitman Actual

Awesome game, if you persevere with it.

Here's how I'm currently playing it on a first play-through:

1. Weather Overhauled mod. Brilliant mod that really improves the atmosphere. Includes float32 and a few other graphical mods.

2. Modified the 'm_stalker.ltx' file so that stealth works at night- The other stalkers don't have that super-human vision where they can see you from 2km away in the pitch dark. It does make the game easier at night though, so it might not be for everyone.

3. Modified the minimap so that the stalker 'dots' don't appear when other stalkers are within range. And turned off the 'beep' sound that accompanies the dots. The gameplay is much better when you have no idea how many enemies are left in the area, and you can't tell if NPCs are friend or foe until you get closer to them.

4. I'm using a weapons mod so that silencers are more realistic (more silent).

These all work well for a near-vanilla play through. And I still have OL, Priboi and AMK to play through as well, so happy days.

magick

i tried to install the beta (freeplay) but couldnt get it to work ,so im gonna wait for the offical release

Dartz

Michael Cravez wrote: »

Sorry if this is a bit off-topic. Im having trouble running Stalker under Vista 32bit and it keeps crashing during mid-game. Usually either when a) i save it or b) when i check a corpse for items.

Now i do have the graphics on object dynamic lighting or full dynamic lighting at a resolution of 1028 x 768 pixels so i know that it will use alot of RAM on top of Vista and im also aware the Vista 32bit doesn't utilise all the ram on the system (my RAM is 4gb's 1088mhz and Vista is only showing 2.75Gb's) so this is what is causing the crash. My graphics card at the mo is a 512mb Nvidia 8500 (runs the game fine graphics wise)

Iv gotten nothing really from online except 'don't use object or full dynamic lighting' but since it is more of a RAM issue than a graphical issue i don't see why i can't try and fix the problem. Iv tried using a 3GB Enabler to alter the RAM settings in Stalkers .exe file so it will allow more RAM (or should i say, the RAM thats actually on my system) to be used for Stalker but even so it hasn't seemed to produce any results.

Again sorry for this type of question, iv even contact technical support and they haven't e-mailed me back (this was a good while ago) so just wondering if anyone might have any solutions or will this 1.0006 fix any vista problems?

Cheers!

I have this exact issue on my laptop, running Vista. It is caused by Vista not allowing the game access to certain parts of memory, as you said. there is a fix...

I cannot get the link to you right now, as I am at work, but navigate to

http://stalker.heroesradio.com

this is the Zone Survival Guide. There is a forum there. Somebody should know how to fix it.

I'll double post the fix up on here tonight if you want to wait.

Ross_Mahon

I'm actually currently playing stalker, theres a horrible glitch thats annoying me, i keep dying of hunger at certain parts, i even eat food and 2 mins later i die. The game is certainly different than your average FPS, it seems very cheaply made but somehow interesting to play? i like the realism and survival element of the game, i was expecting much better graphics and effects? but its the game play that keeps me going.

Dartz

The X-ray engine is quite old, relatively. It was designed a few years ago, for the technology of a few years ago, and was right on the cusp of being out of date when the game was released.

X-ray 1.5 in Clear Sky though.... now that looks promising. Hopefully, it runs as good as the current one does on my laptop...

Most bugs that happen, happen absolutely randomly, and are usually caused by something getting tweked somewhere or other...Dying of hunger despite eating is a strange one. It might have something to do with another glitch, that leaves you permanently irradiated, if you cross an area barrier while irradiated.

Ross_Mahon

The dying of hunger thing usually resorts to me going on a killing spree just to search bodies for tins of food, like a mad man that hasn't eaten in a week. It happens mostly when i have to get kill a stalker, when i get close it happens.

Dartz

Dartz wrote: »

I have this exact issue on my laptop, running Vista. It is caused by Vista not allowing the game access to certain parts of memory, as you said. there is a fix...

I cannot get the link to you right now, as I am at work, but navigate to

http://stalker.heroesradio.com

this is the Zone Survival Guide. There is a forum there. Somebody should know how to fix it.

I'll double post the fix up on here tonight if you want to wait.

FOUND IT...


You need to run command prompt as administrator. Just type:

bcdedit /Set IncreaseUserVa 3072

And that should be it. It fixed it for me anyway.

uglyjohn

installed it last night and had a go on vanilla. im really enjoying it so far but there are a few changes i want to make so tonight im going to start modding.

first on the list is dark nights. i stayed up all night according to my pda and was really disappointed when it never got darker than a twilight.

Hitman Actual

uglyjohn wrote: »

installed it last night and had a go on vanilla. im really enjoying it so far but there are a few changes i want to make so tonight im going to start modding.

first on the list is dark nights. i stayed up all night according to my pda and was really disappointed when it never got darker than a twilight.

For this, I installed "S.T.A.L.K.E.R.Weather_Overhauled Mod by Trojanuch", which has a big thread over on the GSC Stalker Mods forum. Night times are much darker, and you actually have a use for night-vision. Also, if you alter a couple of other files, you can make stealth work much better at night.

The only thing is there are loads of other mods included with this which you might not want, or which your PC might not be able to handle. And of course it overhauls the whole weather/day-night sequencing and effects (but these are much better, and the effects are great). So you might want to look for something much leaner.

Another mod I advise installing is the Annoying Audio Fix. There are some really annoying dialogs as you go along.

Edit to add: for the Weather Overhauled mod, there is a Lite version which just does weather/day-night sequencing, and includes darker nights, but doesn't have all the other mods. That might suit.

uglyjohn

Thanks, i'll give that a go.

am i right in saying its included in the oblivion lost mod? i read a bit about that and it sounds good.

Hitman Actual

uglyjohn wrote: »

Thanks, i'll give that a go.

am i right in saying its included in the oblivion lost mod? i read a bit about that and it sounds good.

Yep, as far as I know it's either included in the finished OL, or there's a separate OL version with it included (if that makes sense!). Also, I think OL does darker nights anyway even without the weather mod. Although, OL is quite a big difference to vanilla as far as I know, so it might change too much in one go for you.

uglyjohn

i've only played a few hours of vanilla so far, im happy enough to completely change it now at the start before i get used to it in vanilla.