Playing STALKER:SoC for the first time! Tips?

pigwalk

pigwalk

[H]F Junkie
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Hey guys, I bought STALKER like 2 or 3 years ago, need to get around to actually playing it. Already have the Complete mod installed, any kind of pointers or tips to make me actually stick through playing it this time?
 
You don't have to play the game if you're not enjoying it, you know?

I've completed the SoC without the mod and still had a blast with it. Just because so many people love the game (myself included) that doesn't mean you have to like it too.
 
if you follow the story early on it helps. side missions offer little and can be difficult till you get some upgrades.
 
gesicht said:
if you follow the story early on it helps. side missions offer little and can be difficult till you get some upgrades.
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Yeah, that would be my one suggestion. The first time I played I ran around doing all the little sidequests like "find the tail of the pseudodog." I got bored and never really got too far. This time though I did plenty of the story quests and I'm having a lot more fun, and am currently about 75% done. :cool:
 
my suggestions:
- be selective on what items you loot from dead enemies, choose lightweight valuable items.
- you don't need to run around with 3 different AR's, 2 shotguns, and 3 handguns. choose 1 or 2 AR's you like, 1 shotgun (optional but comes in handy in close quarters), and 1 handgun.
- collect as many artifacts as you can, they bring in big money.
- don't underestimate the power of the knife when you're being attacked by a pack of dogs.
- use the binoculars to spot friendly, neutral, and enemy NPC's at a distance.
- equip artifacts that make sense for your surroundings (e.g. an artifact that reduces chemical effects when you're in a chemically saturated area).
- experience running around in the zone in the pitch-black dark of night ONE time, then avoid it from there on out like a pansy :p
 
Never sell anything really valuable to Sidorovich. He has the highest prices and gives the least amount for items. Sell weapons to Barkeep and artifacts to the Scientists for the best turn-out.

Also, don't pick up low-condition items, you'll get more rubles if you only pick up stuff that is still green.

Check the body of every mutant you kill. Mutant parts fetch quite a bit of money (1200 rubles for bloodsucker tentacles IIRC).
 
Is the gunplay better with SoC Complete? It seems to play better than I remember.
 
You can't play this game like CoD. You need to take cover many times and shoot single shot or in bursts and aim for the head. Always have your bandage button at the ready and your medpack button too.

Do not use the teleport option from SoC Complete, I tried it(Due to me being lazy after playing CoP) and while it worked sometimes it seemed to be a gamble where I would end up and the one time it spawned me into and enemy spawn point...15 guys blazing their AK's into me didn't end well :p

Also its a very dark game, depressing for some. So just remember that. Great story though. If you had Clear Sky I would have recommended you play that before juts because its a "Prequel".
 
the game really comes into its own once you have a good gun and a decent suit. the crappy artifacts you can sell, others you will want to always equip, ie: antirads, stamina, healing, -bleeding. You need to counter the rads with antirads and have a surplus for hotspots. For good guns you can probably run straight through garbage to rostok I think. and then back through the hot zone on the right to get a scope. but it is more fun to explore. exploring is what the game is about. unfortunately many people get frustrated at the initial difficulty.
 
First parts are definitely the most boring. Your first underground complex is a great experience.
 
There's a neat suit in the attic of one of the houses of the starting "town" if you can find it.

Don't explore too much. I think I remember reading that going to one of the zones past the town with the Barkeep was what caused the door to one of the labs you explore for the main quest to be bugged.
 
Mayson said:
There's a neat suit in the attic of one of the houses of the starting "town" if you can find it.
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is this still true? i started another play-through a couple weeks ago and i couldn't find that damn suit for the life of me. i'm wondering if they patched it out, or if the Complete 2009 mod i'm using has removed it.
 
my only real suggestion is don't try to carry all the cool guns, you'll end up without ammo for anything.

inventory managment is pretty big in SoC. if you find yourself running out of ammo don't be afraid to just dump the gun you hve and pick up a looted rifle in the area you are, you'll find you do better because the ammo in the area will be plentiful.

I personally never carried the shotgun,

Don't worry about buying the big rifles from the barkeep etc., you'll usually loot the same gun in the next parts of the zone anyway.
 
Porter_ said:
is this still true? i started another play-through a couple weeks ago and i couldn't find that damn suit for the life of me. i'm wondering if they patched it out, or if the Complete 2009 mod i'm using has removed it.
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yes, its in a box in an attic you can't enter
 
Mokkat said:
don't rush, try to immerse yourself in the zone.
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This. SoC is definitely not a run and gun game. Take your time and build up your money and equipment. A good scoped rifle really helps,I prefer the one carried by some of the guards at the Freedom base in the army warehouses.
 
I love how much life this man has injected into the Stalker series, 4 years after release (SoC) and the game still immerses me completely, much thanks to Pavel.
 
While we're on the subject, does anyone here think that Clear Sky is worth the 10 bucks on Steam, especially when combined with the Complete mod for it? I know it never reviewed well, but I figure after some official patches and the Complete mod, it might be worth looking at. But if it sucks or is a waste of time if one has SoC and CoP, I'll skip it. Thanks!
 
clear sky is a fine game. they tried to do a little much with the faction war thing, I don't think it worked that well. still if you played soc it is nice to see how of the same areas have evolved. i'll be picking it up on steam myself to replay with the complete mod without the disk, so i'd say it is worth it.
 
Clear Sky isn't so bad... not compared to other games on the market. I recommend playing it when you've exhausted SoC/CoP.
 
Mr. Stryker said:
Actually, hold on to that. Artistpavel (author of Complete series) is working on Complete 2012 for SoC.
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How long till that's supposed to come out? Or is it one of those "it's done when it's done" things? If it's like, 2 weeks, a month maybe, I won't waste time starting with 2009... if longer, doubt I'll wait.
 
2 things I did to make me enjoy the game much more:

1) Removed head bob. That alone made the game 1000000 X better.
2) increased my backpack size. This makes the game a little easier, but I had already beat the game without any changes, and getting to carry everything I want was nice.
 
Definitely make extensive use of cover. Also, don't hesitate to use grenades against groups, but, at the same time, make sure to always save a couple grenades for tough situations. A patient, tactical approach certainly pays off with this game.
 
This thread made me reload and try the game on my current rig with the 'complete mod'. Woot.
 
Colonel Sanders said:
While we're on the subject, does anyone here think that Clear Sky is worth the 10 bucks on Steam, especially when combined with the Complete mod for it? I know it never reviewed well, but I figure after some official patches and the Complete mod, it might be worth looking at. But if it sucks or is a waste of time if one has SoC and CoP, I'll skip it. Thanks!
Click to expand...

It's definitely worth it. Play it through once without mods then try the Total Faction War 2.5 mod by smoq2 et al. Its probably the best mod available for Clear Sky and you can combine it with AtmosFear for CS by Cromm cruac for graphical goodness. I'd choose it over CS: Complete given the choice but that's not to say that Complete isn't good, it's just that TFW is bloody brilliant! :D

TFW is a total conversion mod that allows you to wander the zone as a loner and then gives you the option of joining Duty, Clear Sky, Freedom, Bandits, Mercenaries and Defiance, a new faction based on the Loners lead by Father Valerian. The faction warfare elements have been much improved and given a complete overhaul with the ability to order squads to attack positions, reinforce and more via radio. Each faction has a base and the objective is to take over the whole zone.

If you don't fancy the factional warfare then you can play as a SoC style Loner and enjoy the free-play element. Even though the mod is based around factions, the free-play element is fantastic with a multitude of tasks avaiable from all the loner traders and all the faction traders etc. The depot has been converted to a Loner base similar to the Bar area in SoC. You'll find a variety of Loners wandering through the zone and you can ask them if they are selling special items or if they know of anyone who is selling anything interesting. They'll also tell you information about any dangers nearby creating a very dynamic dialogue.

TFW also has the option of recruiting companions that will follow you and assist in firefights etc. You can access their inventory and arm them with any weapon and equip them with any armour and artefacts. Their ammo and med supplies are finite so you've got to make sure you can supply them accordingly. If you become a loner then 1 companion is available; if you join a faction then 2 companions become available.

You can find out more about the mod and download it from here:
http://www.gsc-game.com/index.php?t=community&s=forums&s_game_type=xr2&thm_page=1&thm_id=22782&sec_id=21

AtmosFear can be downloaded from here:
http://www.gsc-game.com/index.php?t=community&s=forums&s_game_type=xr2&thm_page=2&thm_id=22047&sec_id=21
 
Krenum said:
lol

"What are you deaf?!, What are you here!"
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Lol, I love Stalker. I'd say a fair amount of my enjoyment of the Zone/atmosphere comes from the badly translated Russian dialogue. :D



One thing that might be helpful to the OP: Pretty much my favorite weapon combo in SoC was the Vintar BC (stealth sniper rifle) and Big Ben (a Desert Eagle that uses rifle bullets). The Vintar is pretty much a one-shot kill from range if you land a headshot, and Big Ben rocks people up close. Plus, you only have to carry one type of ammo. :cool:
 
I need to replay the STALKER games again some time as well. I finished SoC one time but had a really hard time getting into it. I failed to join a faction in time or something, and ended up running into one of the "fake endings", didn't realize at the time that wasn't supposed to be the end, and I moved on to other games... I still haven't felt like going back to replay the whole game just to see what other endings I missed.

So... I now have CoP as well, and I'm considering just jumping straight into that game to get a fresh start on the STALKER games.

Question: Will I miss mutch from the first game if I dive straight into Pripyat? Do I really need to re-play SoC and find more of the endings to get all the backstory, or is CoP enough of a stand-alone game that I can just start on it now?
 
Pripyat pretty much stands on it's own.As long as you're familiar with the basic story in SoC,you should be fine. Although some key characters from SoC make appearances,you play a new character with his own mission to accomplish.
 
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