S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Series Megathread: The Zone will stop the Russians - Games

[QUOTE=Etcetera;43535519]In English it's very hard to pull off effectively. Especially for extended texts, I'd advise sticking to 3rd person.[/QUOTE] Yeah, I'd also advice sticking to 3rd. In this way you can easily describe the character in detail as well as how they perceive different situations / surroundings.

TFW paints a depressing picture. I see 30~ dead Mercs, and 30~ dead Duty bodies. They all gave their lives over a pipe and some boxes.

Just a few general comments, then. Run through it with a spellchecker. You've misspelt Isaac a few times, and I'm sure some more typos will pop up on closer inspection. You've overused commas and semi-colons in some sentences, and as a result your prose doesn't flow as naturally as it could. Swap out some of the semi-colons for hyphens. You suffer a little bit from overuse of adjectives and adverbs. The sentence "Rat was an odd fellow; a worn, well palmed and blackened oak pipe sat unlit in the corner of his mouth, between his chapped lips." is a clear example of this. Try using one or two adjectives - "a worn oak(en) pipe", or an extended image "an oak pipe, worn smooth by the passage of the years." Equally, go easy on the italics. Sometimes quotation marks would work better, but for the most part I would avoid using them except in conversation and times you really really want to emphasise things. Unless a bed being old is a key plot point or significant character development, it doesn't merit the emphasis italics provide. Plus, if you overuse them you risk diluting their impact at the points when you really need it.

If you want to add detail into text, I suggest taking examples from Tolkien's shit. Instead of hyperdetailing a select few objects, detail [B]everything[/B] slightly/moderately. It's easy filler text and helps the reader imagine the area more vividly in their mind. However, there is a way to fuck even this up by going overboard. If it takes more than a page to describe one room, it's probably going a bit too far in a light novel.

[QUOTE='[Green];43535992']However, there is a way to fuck even this up by going overboard.[/QUOTE] I'm by no means a writer but when reading Southern Comfort, this sort of thing popped up occasionally : there was just too much detail going into describing irrelevant details that took me as a reader away from the actual action that was going on. There's a time and place for description porn but overall like you said, it's better to just describe the scene in general and use the more detailed descriptions to add emphasis on things that are important for the story or invoke emotions in the characters.

Yes, as important as detail is, you should never have too much of it. [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnDoGu8xuhg#t=540"]Here's an egregious example of overdone attention to detail.[/URL] PS. Watch the whole riffing if you really want to know how not to write. PPS. Although considering it's a riffing of a [I]touhou fanfic[/I], some people may or may not just want to close the video instantly.

[QUOTE=LoNer1;43531612]Yes, Pripyat in CoP is and still was the biggest disappointment in the series. I feel the same way about it though. I recommend you install MSO or Alun's Pripyat Reborn to breathe new life into the zone again. Or just install SGM for the hell of it :v: I personally [I]needed[/I] SGM to breathe new life into CoP, otherwise I would've stayed with SHoC. [/QUOTE] So I'm guessing there aren't any mods that [I]don't[/I] require you to start a new game again? If not, I think I'll beat the game and go with SGM Will SGM work with Atmosfear 3 [I]and[/I] OWR? Also on a side note, are there any plans to add new locations to misery (or are there some already)?

[QUOTE=Bloodshot12;43537366] Also on a side note, are there any plans to add new locations to misery (or are there some already)?[/QUOTE] I won't give a definite [I]yes[/I] or [I]no[/I] answer as it's still a discussion point, but from what I've noticed it's a 45/55 procent chance we'll eventually get to it. We've been looking at various packs and individual levels already with some decent modellers aboard and waiting in line for my emails :v:

It's good to know that it's in consideration. Time to download SGM and find out if it'll work with OWR or not

[QUOTE=Bloodshot12;43537636]It's good to know that it's in consideration. Time to download SGM and find out if it'll work with OWR or not[/QUOTE] As a general rule, nothing will work with SGM (or similar mods) if there isn't a compatibility patch available, unless you manually merge it. SGM is a finely oiled machine that will explode the moment you think you understand how it works.

[QUOTE=LoNer1;43537423]I won't give a definite [I]yes[/I] or [I]no[/I] answer as it's still a discussion point, but from what I've noticed it's a 45/55 procent chance we'll eventually get to it. We've been looking at various packs and individual levels already with some decent modellers aboard and waiting in line for my emails :v:[/QUOTE] can you please ask if they want work now, because we could seriously use modellers

[QUOTE=Bloodshot12;43537636]It's good to know that it's in consideration. Time to download SGM and find out if it'll work with OWR or not[/QUOTE] Make sure to download vanilla SGM 2.2 [URL="http://www.moddb.com/members/davidme"]Here[/URL] is all you need.

Oh yeah, speaking about modeling stuff for X-Ray, what do you guys use to import and export models from a modeling program? I was wondering how that script pack made by den-stash functions for any of you if you happen to use it. It's the one that's from [URL="http://ap-pro.ru/forum/21-2830-1"]here[/URL], by the way.

[QUOTE=Etcetera;43535743]Just a few general comments, then. Run through it with a spellchecker. You've misspelt Isaac a few times, and I'm sure some more typos will pop up on closer inspection. You've overused commas and semi-colons in some sentences, and as a result your prose doesn't flow as naturally as it could. Swap out some of the semi-colons for hyphens. You suffer a little bit from overuse of adjectives and adverbs. The sentence "Rat was an odd fellow; a worn, well palmed and blackened oak pipe sat unlit in the corner of his mouth, between his chapped lips." is a clear example of this. Try using one or two adjectives - "a worn oak(en) pipe", or an extended image "an oak pipe, worn smooth by the passage of the years." Equally, go easy on the italics. Sometimes quotation marks would work better, but for the most part I would avoid using them except in conversation and times you really really want to emphasise things. Unless a bed being old is a key plot point or significant character development, it doesn't merit the emphasis italics provide. Plus, if you overuse them you risk diluting their impact at the points when you really need it.[/QUOTE] Will change some stuff about when I get a few free moments at work. Ty.

[QUOTE=Monolits;43538221]Oh yeah, speaking about modeling stuff for X-Ray, what do you guys use to import and export models from a modeling program? I was wondering how that script pack made by den-stash functions for any of you if you happen to use it. It's the one that's from [URL="http://ap-pro.ru/forum/21-2830-1"]here[/URL], by the way.[/QUOTE] x-ray plugins, which are largely shit

Holy shit CoP's ending is cheesy as fuck

[QUOTE=Bloodshot12;43539548]Holy shit CoP's ending is cheesy as fuck[/QUOTE] I kind of liked how it showed the outcome to some characters and other things based on your actions

I do like that, but I preferred the animated endings of SoC and CS in terms of tone. So are there any weapon, or animation mods at least that work with SGM? I really fucking can't stand the default pistol anims. I'm attempting to figure out how to merge SGM with OWR but I doubt it's gonna work. .

[QUOTE=Bloodshot12;43539548]Holy shit CoP's ending is cheesy as fuck[/QUOTE] I find it confusing as fuck that they'd let [sp] Strelok become a major guy in the science division for zone research, considering he was almost certainly wanted for going there in the first place.[/sp] On a SHoC related note, are there any good mods for weapons that work with the stalker mod compilation? Stock weapons look like ass and the iron sights really suck.

Has anyone ever tried to make a random artifact generator mod for Call of Pripyat? Where artifacts are spawned with random names and stats rather than there being a set number that are duplicated over and over again. I know that you could make a ton of artifacts with various stats and give them all an equal chance to spawn, but I wasn't sure if there was a more efficient way to accomplish the same thing.

That would certainly be interesting.

I just started over but this time, I'm in [B]M-M-M-MASTER MODE![/B]

[QUOTE=Devil Traitor;43541512]I just started over but this time, I'm in [B]M-M-M-MASTER MODE![/B][/QUOTE] Enjoy it, it's better than the lesser difficulties. Harder, but you spend less time fighting and more time looting bodies/saveloading if you're smart and use cover/don't use cover.

Speaking of cover, I love being able to lean. So few games do this now (most opt for cover systems) but I feel having total control of when you lean around corners and how far you lean out feels a lot more natural during gameplay then a context sensitive action or UI element telling me "PRESS A TO LEAN" I am enjoying SGM already (despite having to use default weapons) The intro quest is a little too vague, the starting weapons suck, I'm constantly running into annomalies and I've had to load my game a lot more than CoP already. [sp]Puts a smile on my face.[/sp] Plus dat cordon music completes the SoC feel.

[QUOTE=Bloodshot12;43541763]Speaking of cover, I love being able to lean. So few games do this now (most opt for cover systems) but I feel having total control of when you lean around corners and how far you lean out feels a lot more natural during gameplay then a context sensitive action or UI element telling me "PRESS A TO LEAN" I am enjoying SGM already (despite having to use default weapons) The intro quest is a little too vague, the starting weapons suck, I'm constantly running into annomalies and I've had to load my game a lot more than CoP already. [sp]Puts a smile on my face.[/sp] Plus dat cordon music completes the SoC feel.[/QUOTE] There's a Zaton Start patch if you hate the Cordon Start, i opted for it because the quests are shitty and not very rewarding.

So on a scale of 1-10 how would you guys rate AA2? Right now I'm looking for an excuse to get back into SoC again.

[QUOTE=zombini;43541806]There's a Zaton Start patch if you hate the Cordon Start, i opted for it because the quests are shitty and not very rewarding.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Bloodshot12;43541763] [sp]Puts a smile on my face.[ / sp] [/QUOTE] On the contrary, I actually like it quite a bit, as weird as that may be.

[QUOTE=Bloodshot12;43539548]Holy shit CoP's ending is cheesy as fuck[/QUOTE] It feels sad, tbh. Just as the screens go, with the outro music playing in the background, you think about your whole journey through the Zone. From SoC, to CS, and finally CoP. And to think about this ending will put an end to everything. There's no returning to the Zone. No STALKER 2. [video=youtube;5XZfD1HCI7s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XZfD1HCI7s[/video]

[QUOTE=The golden;43542146]Oh yeah, and it removes almost all color from the game.[/QUOTE] B-but less color = more realism!

[QUOTE=The golden;43542146]Well I tried the MISERY mod for CoP and I fucking hate it. I respect the time and effort that went into making it but my god... I understand that the point is to make a really hardcore survival experience but it tries way too hard to the point of being silly. Unless you have a healthy supply of antirads or vodka (which you also need to carry food with because vodka makes you starving after one swig oh yeah and bread is fucking like 500+ each) then simply walking past a wrecked car by the side of the road will give you a lethal dose of radiation. I've died like 6 times now just from walking past irradiated objects and then keeling over and dieing. They've also upped the price of things which is kinda nice because it's a bit too easy to hoard money in vanilla CoP but holy shit it costs over 10,000 just to repair 3 bullet holes in my fucking raggy-ass trenchcoat. I don't even know how to make any money either because every NPC carries weapons that are near broken (trader won't buy) and going anywhere near an artifact will turn you into a vegetable. This isn't fun or thrilling survival this is just illogically stupid. Oh yeah, and it removes almost all color from the game.[/QUOTE] I didn't see a problem with pricing, aside from the repair costs going way the fuck above the cost of buying an Exo from Nimble for the sunrise suit though. The real problem was the unnecessary complexity brought on by the weapon repair and maintenance system. There's so many fucking things to buy, when it could be simplified into 3-4 items for each thing, 3-4 for armor, 3-4 for weapons. Tiered repair kits, first tier would be a cleaning kit or sewing kit, next would be heavier duty equipment for maintenance, 3rd would be actual repair kits and spare parts. Not this system of having 20 different cleaning kits for different things that are basically the same. IIRC there were 4-5 different cleaning kits just for hand guns, and none of them could bring a seriously damaged gun to working order, and the cost of paying Cardan or Nitro to do it would cost 100X more than a new gun would. I think SGM's system of self-repairing items works well, needs to be rebalanced, but it works. You have the option of stripping a similar weapon for parts to aid repairs, or use what's in the kit.