STALKER SoC
STALKER Clear Sky
STALKER CoP
Metro 2033
Metro Last Light
Metro Exodus
Escape from Tarkov
Chernobylite
Mutant Year Zero
Encased
Into the Radius
Desolate
Fear The Wolves
Survarium
Dusk was meant to be another STALKER clone until he realized how overdone it was so he made STALKER in Pennsylvania instead
that's probably not even scratching the surface
Stalker is the original.
It's like saying that Jimi Hendrix is derivative.
Stalker is an adaptation of a movie that was a rough adaptation of a book.
Don't try to pull one over on me, p*le. I used my mandatory cross-culture classes in university on slavic sci-fi and fantasy.
Fallout is a derivative of Mad Max and other, better, post apoc fiction.
The Roadside Picnic/STALKER setting is very suitable for a video game which is why it gets used often. Basically a setting framework that you can then develop into your own thing. It's a modern/near-future equivalent of exploring the old cursed castle or the mysterious dungeon, an isolated exotic location with treasures and dangers. It also works as an excuse to have a fantastical, lawless area, where you can engage in violent adventures, but with modern trappings in regards to equipment and so on.
This is also a key reason why post-apocalyptic setting is popular, because one of the biggest hurdles of basing an RPG/RPG-ish shooter in a modern setting is the fact that most of the stuff you are expected to do in an RPG/open-world FPS would get you very quickly arrested in any real modern day setting, and ignoring that fact would break suspension of disbelief. By having a game take place in a seemingly distant past, fantasy world, etc., you can create enough of a distance from reality that this lack of law becomes acceptable, and you can also do the same by having a post-apocalypse/isolated zone setting. The fact that VTMB is one of the only tiny handful of RPG/FPS with a modern setting highlights this, and they even went to the trouble of having a police system, and they had the excuse of you being a vampire that is only active in the dead of night.
Started playing Stalker SoC for the first time this afternoon. I did download one community mod that was recommended, but I can't remember what it does at all. I can see why people are fond of the game, it has some fun moments and simple things like letting the player tell NPCs to "**** off, i'll do it myself" which modern games lack. That said I'm thinking i'm already done with the game after only a few hours, For the first hour I took the game very slowly. Approaching situations in stealth, mapping out enemy locations and planning assault paths etc. Then I realized I could rebind the quick medpack and bandage to my mouse hotkeys and now i'm just sprint blasting everything down, including the military and mutants. I know the game is dated so I shouldn't expect much but is this the gameplay loop for the next 8 hours? Should I download some difficulty mods and start over on Hardcore or just leave it as it is? You can backpedal most monstrous enemies, and corner peak humanoid ones. So even if all guns were 1-shot cannons I can see what the next couple of hours would be anyway. Are the later releases any better? Any RPG mechanics? Should I just mod the **** out of FNV and play that?
What community mod did you download, and are you playing on Master? The only mod/patch that should be used is ZRP. It sounds odd that you are able to sprint into groups of enemies, even with a lot medkits. Corner peaking will be used for most of the game though. Even then it certainly beats the shooting and encounter design, or total lack thereof, in FNV.
Stalker is always meant to be played on Master, if enemies are going down and you're taking tons of hits you're either playing on easy or running a crappy mod. Higher difficulty levels make enemies into bullet sponges except master which puts you on even footing, meaning you can die to a single shot to the head just as God intended. ZRP cleans up the game without really messing with anything, but whatever you do avoid Complete, it's total trash.
What community mod did you download, and are you playing on Master? The only mod/patch that should be used is ZRP. It sounds odd that you are able to sprint into groups of enemies, even with a lot medkits. Corner peaking will be used for most of the game though. Even then it certainly beats the shooting and encounter design, or total lack thereof, in FNV.
Honestly I was thinking about this line of thought while driving to get lunch. Corner peaking, double crouching, stealth, weapon accuracy etc. It's all handed to the player right out of the gate which TBH makes the game easy, sure I don't have the best gun yet nor do I have the best armor yet but the actual gameplay will be the same. If all of those mechanics were locked behind skill trees would it make a difference? Also ZRP was the mod I downloaded, although I didn't see Master as a difficulty option. I just picked normal as I don't consider bullet sponge a proper difficulty setting, and I figured the game was too old to lock advanced AI behind a difficulty setting.
Stalker is always meant to be played on Master, if enemies are going down and you're taking tons of hits you're either playing on easy or running a crappy mod. Higher difficulty levels make enemies into bullet sponges except master which puts you on even footing, meaning you can die to a single shot to the head just as God intended. ZRP cleans up the game without really messing with anything, but whatever you do avoid Complete, it's total trash.
I get what your saying, however. I have played hundreds of hours of Stealth Archery already, which is exactly what you are describing. And if I want to play a stealth archer I can at least do it in a game with magic and big titty nordic women. Sarcasm ended, Does master or mods add ways to get around the one shot gameplay that makes it feel like I'm playing smart? Can I drug myself into temporary invulnerability? Gain magic shield powers? Or does the game just end once I acquire a semi accurate weapon with a scope?
I get what your saying, however. I have played hundreds of hours of Stealth Archery already, which is exactly what you are describing. And if I want to play a stealth archer I can at least do it in a game with magic and big titty nordic women. Sarcasm ended, Does master or mods add ways to get around the one shot gameplay that makes it feel like I'm playing smart? Can I drug myself into temporary invulnerability? Gain magic shield powers? Or does the game just end once I acquire a semi accurate weapon with a scope?
Better armor withstands better bullets, but body armor is more a buffer for reacting, not for wading into fire fights and yeah you get magical shielding of a sort from certain artifacts, but you need to balance them or else you die of radiation poisoning or bleedout. The game doesn't end when you get a rifle with a scope, the game ends when you get a VSS Vintorez, but by that time everyone else has one too and the game is almost over, but you also get these small explosive things called grenades that they don't in SoC. Come in fun, handheld versions and long range, launcher versions.
