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STALKER difficulty formula?

C

chineseman

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Mar 28, 2004
Messages
1,218
I'm about to play through the STALKER series for the first time. I've owned all three games at release date but never made it past the first thirty minutes. I forced myself to play at least a couple hours this weekend and the game got much better once I got some decent weapons and made it out of the starting zone.

Now that I've gotten to see some of the game and figured out how a lot of the stuff works, I'm planning to do a fresh start on a challenging difficulty. I've been trying to find out how the difficulty modes scale but haven't found any concrete numbers. I've read some posts stating that enemies drop fewer ammo, healing, etc and are more accurate which is fine with me. However, I really hate when higher difficulties turn enemies into bullet-sponges, which is something I haven't been able to find any information on yet. Anybody know?
 
I haven't experienced with the higher difficulties, i think I play it on the 2nd to hardest mode right now. Best advice I would say just try it and see how much different it feels when you go into that first camp. That should give you enough of an idea of how it will play out from then on.
 
I have nothing good to contribute to this thread, but I do love the modest difficulty in this game. I'm laughing my ass off every time my brother in law plays the game at the easiest setting, and getting his ass owned at the fist camp in the SoC. Lol... console players.
 
northrop said:
I have nothing good to contribute to this thread, but I do love the modest difficulty in this game. I'm laughing my ass off every time my brother in law plays the game at the easiest setting, and getting his ass owned at the fist camp in the SoC. Lol... console players.
Click to expand...

You probably want to get his head check for just being straight retarded, since being a console player has nothing to do with people sucking in the first camp.
 
ocellaris said:
You probably want to get his head check for just being straight retarded, since being a console player has nothing to do with people sucking in the first camp.
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Well.. he managed to beat all the Halo series on the hardest level... go figure. :rolleyes:
 
I just finished the first stalker on hardest difficulty and it isn't too bad, there are some situations that that get kindof ridiculous like at the end.

The thing i really liked about it being really hard is it makes some of the "mutants" actually scarey or more like you just don't want to even attack them because you know you are going to get killed.

Ammo can be a problem if you choose the wrong weapon going into a level or zone, as the enemy will only drop a specific kindof ammo - i got caught twice having to drop nice weapons so i could have some ammo. My suggestion is just watch what is dropping in the zone you are in and make sure that is the gun you have. Don't try to carry 10 guns and ammo for each.

Also look for anomolies that boost your "Endurance" basically being able to spring most everything makes the game a little more fun. (at the end I had +145 endurance which was enough for sustained running)

like it has already been said - get STALKER compelete 2009

All in all a great game, and as you go through the game you do feel like you get stronger (as the weapon strength increases)
 
evilsofa said:
You should install the Stalker Complete mods for your first time through these games. They fix bugs not fixed by official patches, and make the graphics even better.

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1445755
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1510128
Click to expand...

Anything for Call to Pripyat?

I am playing that one now and I actually am thinking that is the best one so far.


H-street said:
Also look for anomolies that boost your "Endurance" basically being able to spring most everything makes the game a little more fun. (at the end I had +145 endurance which was enough for sustained running)
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What do you do about the radiation those artifacts produce? I have a couple of nice ones in Call to Pripyat but I can't survive long using them.
 
Met-AL said:
Anything for Call to Pripyat?

I am playing that one now and I actually am thinking that is the best one so far.




What do you do about the radiation those artifacts produce? I have a couple of nice ones in Call to Pripyat but I can't survive long using them.
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You need to balance +rad with -rad, really use as much -rad as you can spare, since it is generally useful.
They got stingy with the slots though, so maybe 1 of each
 
Met-AL said:
What do you do about the radiation those artifacts produce? I have a couple of nice ones in Call to Pripyat but I can't survive long using them.
Click to expand...


In SoC there are 2 or 3 anomolies that have no negatives.. just +Endurance
 
evilsofa said:
You should install the Stalker Complete mods for your first time through these games. They fix bugs not fixed by official patches, and make the graphics even better.

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1445755
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1510128
Click to expand...

Including the weapon minimod which changes the weapon balance to be suited to the veteran difficulty setting by reducing the number of rounds required to kill/die and adjusts the ballistics slightly.
 
I always start on the 2nd hardest until I get used to the game play, then I restart at the hardest level, it's never any fun playing on the lowest difficulty in ANY game, unless you're one of those people that want to pound your chest about beating a game in a few hours the day you get it, also, the mods make it even harder...
 
Jellylesg said:
Including the weapon minimod which changes the weapon balance to be suited to the veteran difficulty setting by reducing the number of rounds required to kill/die and adjusts the ballistics slightly.
Click to expand...

Does the pack make the game more fun for normal difficulty? I am just starting out SoC on default "stalker" difficulty and running Stalking Complete mod. I am all for the guns feeling like they have more impact, I just don't want to get one shot by standard enemies :rolleyes:
 
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Started over tonight on Master difficulty and it's good times. Takes like two magazines to drop a target if you hit them center mass but one or two taps to the head will ruin their day so it's a good system.

I hope there aren't too many scary moments cause I almost crapped my pants when I got mindfucked by some psionic mutant in the sewers. I'm a huge wuss when it comes to scary games and the atmosphere in this game has me on edge the whole time. AAAAHHHHH
 
H-street said:
In SoC there are 2 or 3 anomolies that have no negatives.. just +Endurance
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There are a few like that CoP as well,but they're rare and hard to find. Overall,the artifacts in CoP aren't as useful as in SoC,except as a way to build up your cash reserve. In SoC,some artifacts like Fireballs increased your radiation resistance,so you could combine them to cancel out the radiation from other artifacts.
 
ocellaris said:
Does the pack make the game more fun for normal difficulty? I am just starting out SoC on default "stalker" difficulty and running Stalking Complete mod. I am all for the guns feeling like they have more impact, I just don't want to get one shot by standard enemies :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

The pack is kind of like Hardcore mode in CoD. It basically tweaks the damage and accuracy of your guns, but it's best to play it on a harder difficulty because at normal your health doesn't change so you are overpowered. On a harder difficulty it makes it more challenging by altering the damage you can take. so it's best to give the higher difficulties a try to see what works for you.

http://www.moddb.com/mods/stalker-complete-2009. It's the weapon pack 0.8 at the bottom.
 
northrop said:
^armosfear 2 for COP: http://atmosfear.crommcruac.com/call-of-pripyat/
Click to expand...

+1 for AtmosFear 2 for CoP.

Here's a selection of some of the best stalker mods to try/get for each iteration of the genre:

SoC:
Oblivion Lost by Kanyhalos Old classic
Priboi Story by dezodor et al New version of which is being released by LoboTheMan
Supermod Pack by Wolfehunter et al SMP 2.5 should be released in the next month or two
Lost Alpha by dezodor et al Due for release maybe sometime this year, one of the most eagerly awaited mods in the Stalker community. More info here:
http://www.moddb.com/mods/lost-alpha

CS:
Total Faction War by smoq2 et al Features an all new storyline, controllable faction wars, henchmen with adjustable inventories and the best freeplay i've encountered in a Stalker mod yet (Whether it's SoC, CS or CoP). Version 2.5 has just been released.
Spartan 11:11 mod by x Spartan x new version released within next month adds many more new levels. Here is the global map:
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff251/Spartan2073/GlobalMap.jpg
PreSky v0.2 by fluffy22 Set before the events of CS, this total conversion mod offers enjoyable freeplay with many new items, weapons etc

CoP:
S.M.R.T.E.R. Pripyat by smrtphoneuser offers hundreds of new weapons hidden in various stashes, added anomalies ala SoC, added more creatures from SoC and much more. Next release will feature most of the SoC levels in an all-new storyline.
AtmosFear by cromm cruac The graphical mod for CoP, new blowouts look amazing. A version is also available for CS.

There are many more decent mods out there, especially on the Russian side of the modding community. I'd advise using the official GSC forums to find out the latest information about mods in development.
http://www.gsc-game.com/index.php?t=community&s=forums
 
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