S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat

[Toxicfluff]

I'm not aware of any evidence that Crytech (or Source or Unreal for that matter) wouldn't stumble a bit pulling the same kind of AI and landscape load.
Then again I get the odd hiccup every now and then and that's it and my PC isn't exactly top of the line, so I can live with it.

Hmm. I don't think Stalker is doing anything that special in terms of landscape detail in many places. I don't think it's the AI either, because I get similar performance even in desolate areas of the game and the AI switches to offline mode outside of 300 metres.

Nope, just a slow engine in my O. Still, it can push out some great visuals.

I hope the next expansion will be good, but I find GSC to be a bit of a dubious, haphazard developer.

[mothra]

I read some translated article from russia that stalker 2 is using the CryEngine and it featured one of the devs. did sound like FACT from the devs to me. don't stress me for links but the CryEngine - Stalker2 bit has been burned into my brain. try google or the gsc forum. I don't care what CryEngine3 is/was in comparison to CE2, all I wanna know is if they pull off a better amazing atmosphere, set pieces, AI and last but not least Animal A-live than in Stalker1. (and continue the cheesy conspiracy story with more and better interaction, voice-over and quests than before).

[clearing]

I read some translated article from russia that stalker 2 is using the CryEngine

STALKER 2 Echo? http://www.theonestalker.ucoz.ru/news/2009-03-14-13

[242]

As for me, that doesn't seem like truth at all. I mean S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Flashback for XBOX360 already "is ready" and PS3 version will be ready in a few months, Echo on CE2 with changed design, aesthetics, and whole new setting in a year, WTF? No way it can be truth.

[clearing]

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Getting Second Expansion, Sequel: http://kotaku.com/5207526/stalker-ge...pansion-sequel

[Zygoptera]

You should totally have linked to the Blue's News story since it cites, well, you as its source (and is the source for Kotaku too).

[JohnnyTheWolf]

Taken from GSC forums :

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y11...lker/10972.jpg

The game takes place after the end of SHOC. There not is the Clear Sky faction, was destroyed at the end of Clear Sky.

There not is the war of factions or the overpopulation of Clear Sky. The Alife shows a more peaceful life of stalkers.

No more launching grenades at our feet like Michael Jordan, even if we are cover in the wall of the sarcophagus.

Only three maps, and two underground in Pripyat. The three maps are very large, as large as 12 maps of SHOC. 1.5 x 1.5 km per map . The transition between the maps is only possible with a guide. Pripyat be several times larger than the current

Performance, better than Clear Sky. 50 fps at 1920x1200. The graphics are similar, with some minor improvements.

Question: If the original location was not small, what is the size of these (length x width, at least approximately)?

One and a half to one and a half kilometers. But not wastelands, but densely arranged by objects area. Again, there are similarities with the early Gothic 1-2 - there is also the patch which is much lower than in Oblivione, but exploring of it is more interesting in times because of saturation. So, I hope that will be.

[242]

Again, there are similarities with the early Gothic 1-2 - there is also the patch which is much lower than in Oblivione, but exploring of it is more interesting in times because of saturation.

I like the comparison with G1/2 but the whole sentence is a Chinese puzzle to me.

[JohnnyTheWolf]

Blame Google Translation. However, I don't know Gothic games, so what's up with the comparison? Is it a good or bad thing?

[242]

I guess it's compared with G1/2 it terms of interesting places/objects density, it's good. But Stalker always has been like that, with distinct maps crafted 'by hand', devs fanatically devoted great care to environments and modeling and it shows.

[Koki]

I guess

Have you forgotten you know ukrainian? He even posted the link to thread at GSC.

Anyway, sounds damn good if you ask me. If they can pull 1.5km x 1.5km maps now, I think we cold hope for fully seamless world in STALKER 3.

[242]

I missed the link.

Anyway, sounds damn good if you ask me. If they can pull 1.5km x 1.5km maps now, I think we cold hope for fully seamless world in STALKER 3.

Well, apparently Stalker 2 (I give up calling it 3) will use some different engine, unlike Call of Pripyat. And Farcry2 as well as Gothic3 f.e. had seamless worlds, were they great? Seamless or not seamless, it's not important, IMO.

[Koki]

I thought the whiole new engine thing was only a rumor.

[JohnnyTheWolf]

More info, thanks to Don Reba :

Here is the text from those screenshots translated:

1. Geography

A significant part of Pripiat will be recreated with 100% accuracy. Except, this time it will be not the central, but the Eastern area — the developers want to show us the city from a new perspective. There will also be the "Jupiter" factory and the buried village Kopachi.

2. Even smarter

GSC yet again promises to get the A-life simulation system up to snuff. Although, there will no longer be faction wars — that has not worked out.

3. Plot

"Call of Pripiat is a real sequel. After Strelok destroys "C-Consciousness" in the original game (the developers ignore the alternative endings), a government expedition has set out into the Zone. However, something went wrong, and the expedition vanished without a trace. In order to investigate the causes of this catastrophe, a Ukrainian security service agent is sent. Whom we, obviously, will have to play as.

4. Quests

Quests in the previous games looked like a product of a random number generator. This time we will get about 70 optional quests made by hand. So, this time there will be no "go to the woods and kill five boars".

5. Small and hungry

"Call of Pripiat" will have two new monsters. Burer is a dwarf with telepathic abilities, which could be found even in the original game's archives, but this time implemented properly The second addition is the Chimera, familiar to the readers of Stalker books.

6. Radioactive!

Blowouts will have a larger effect on the game world. If previously they entailed only a reddened screen and death, should we not make it to a hideout, this time they will radically change positions of anomalies and artefacts.

Is it me or they are ripping off both Priboi Story and AMK?

[242]

The plan looks promising. I hope they also will return to SoC's mutants/humans balance.

[GRRRR]

Hope Call of Pripyat rips off AMK alot, could really use some updates

[Malleus]

Damn, I just got excited about a game again.

Btw:

Performance, better than Clear Sky.

Naturally, I'll believe it when I see it.

[Koki]

Many ideas there definitely from AMK, heh.

[clearing]

1, 2.
242, translate.

[Koki]

I love bridges in videogames. Don't ask me why, they just make for some very interesting locations.

[242]

1, 2.
242, translate.

Don Reba already has done that, see JohnnyTheWolf post above.

[mothra]

I'm so happy. even the lackluster clear sky could not break my love for the stalker world and its features. even if not working properly the ambition, the diversity and the hand-crafted, superior designed locations are now in my personal "greatest of all time" gaming enceclopedia. the bloodsucker, the bar, the reactor, cordon....each and every map a "real" location in my memory. Clear Sky added the swamp to it, but not much unfortunately. Limansk was a joke.

[242]

Clear Sky added the swamp to it,

Red Forest was good too...

[Koki]

Swamp was pretty silly. Despite the potential of being extremely creepy, it took me about an hour to figure out there are no mutants in it at all except the occassional Boar spawning behind your back with the characteristic "shshshshsh".

Then they lost all their creepiness and joyful running-everywhere-looking-only-at-the-minimap-to-avoid-water began. Seriously, I wasn't even looking at the game window when moving from A to B.

[mothra]

i had a different experience, i loved traversing the sandbanks, getting to a high point and unpacking my binoculars, just watching my surroundings being bathed in the light or glimming wet after a rainstorm. did I mention that ClearSky convinced me that DX10 can be a good thing: streaming water along surfaces is the single best feature of an dx10 enabled game I've seen until now. it just a step up in immersion and seeing the raindrops splashing on my trusty shotgun never gets old. windows7, here I come. this made the graphics whore come thru in me again. But I agree that the non-existence of real wildlife in the swamps and mainly not being able to loot the animal corpses was a real bad step back from soc. and of course the dreadful faction war. once the swamp was emptied I felt "back home"