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

[QUOTE='[Green];43643839']I believe their point was to bring back the Lost Alpha experience as it was with the holes patched to the best of their ability. I doubt it'll take long before mods for LA begin popping up.[/QUOTE] IIRC they said they wanted to shift away from this as much as possible as there's loads of mods 'trying to do the same as they do' already :v: Not saying they should get rid off ALL of their features, but we'll see how it plays out. I for one am sceptic

[QUOTE=LoNer1;43643822] Indeed. [I]I liked that[/I]. It adds to the atmosphere and lore of the game, the [B]believability[/B]. [I]Drag-and-dropping ammo boxes on my belt certainly don't.[/I][/QUOTE] If the game had some sort of full body awareness system, whether faked or real it would be pretty cool if you'd put ammo and grenades on your belt and you could see them there by looking down

[QUOTE=Bloodshot12;43643929]If the game had some sort of full body awareness system, whether faked or real it would be pretty cool if you'd put ammo and grenades on your belt and you could see them there by looking down[/QUOTE] This gave me an idea. What would make sense is you having to put your nades in your belt to be able to throw them. Now you actually take them out of your backpack :v: I don't see someone doing that in the middle of a firefight lol *just grabbing my nades from my backpack* while being shot

[QUOTE=LoNer1;43643966]This gave me an idea. What would make sense is you having to put your nades in your belt to be able to throw them. Now you actually take them out of your backpack :v: I don't see someone doing that in the middle of a firefight lol *just grabbing my nades from my backpack* while being shot[/QUOTE] Could say the same for reloaded a weapon. Taking the box out your backpack, opening the box, and putting the rounds into the magazine, and then proceeding to put the mag into the weapon. :v:

[QUOTE=Jamie1992GSC;43643983]Could say the same for reloaded a weapon. Taking the box out your backpack, opening the box, and putting the rounds into the magazine, and then proceeding to put the mag into the weapon. :v:[/QUOTE] This combined with animations ... hot damn. Might ask our 1P animation guy if he can come up with something cool (from the misery team) I can only wish for the day I actually get off my arse and learn animations :v: I still want to learn 3D first though but hey, It's never too late to learn.

[QUOTE=LoNer1;43644001]This combined with animations ... hot damn. Might ask our 1P animation guy if he can come up with something cool (from the misery team) I can only wish for the day I actually get off my arse and learn animations :v: I still want to learn 3D first though but hey, It's never too late to learn.[/QUOTE] 3D Is generally not too hard to pick up. At-least I found it somewhat easy. But I guess it depends person to person. Regardless, it's certainly worth taking a shot at.

[QUOTE=Jamie1992GSC;43644019]3D Is generally not too hard to pick up. At-least I found it somewhat easy. But I guess it depends person to person. Regardless, it's certainly worth taking a shot at.[/QUOTE] Before going too offtopic, what are you working with? I'm currently working in Blender and it indeed doesn't take a whole lot, but some stuff (unwrapping mostly) is just too painful, especially in blender. I've made new / recreated old models from stalker, like fences / roadblocks etc. but I never got to unwrapping them because blender is just ... shitty :v:

[QUOTE=LoNer1;43643822]ZoA does it right, loading separate bullets into a mag and then you're able to equip it to your belt. You need to buy both mags as ammo for this.[/QUOTE] tbh screwing with ammo and mags was the most horrible and boring part of ZoA. [I]Drag-and-Drop ammo belt[/I] looks perfect to make the player manage his ammo without falling into [I]~oh so hardcore~ reelism simulator[/I] bullshit like ZoA. You still need to make sure you have enough ammo before starting a firefight, but at the same time you are not screwed by retarded logic like "why I can't hold more than 6 mags". It also save your time from spending hours on sitting in a corner loading mags with extremely slow animation.

[QUOTE=LoNer1;43644038]Before going too offtopic, what are you working with? I'm currently working in Blender and it indeed doesn't take a whole lot, but some stuff (unwrapping mostly) is just too painful, especially in blender. I've made new / recreated old models from stalker, like fences / roadblocks etc. but I never got to unwrapping them because blender is just ... shitty :v:[/QUOTE] Unwrapping is just a pain in the arse in general, it doesn't really vary much in ease from program to program.

[QUOTE=LoNer1;43644038]Before going too offtopic, what are you working with? I'm currently working in Blender and it indeed doesn't take a whole lot, but some stuff (unwrapping mostly) is just too painful, especially in blender. I've made new / recreated old models from stalker, like fences / roadblocks etc. but I never got to unwrapping them because blender is just ... shitty :v:[/QUOTE] 3D Studio Max is my poison so to speak. :v: Unwrapping within itself can be a painful process, depending on the complexity of a model, and the manner in which it is modeled, dependent on a persons workflow.

Unwrapping was very daunting when I did it first. I hated it. I spent some extra time trying to understand it as much as I can, and now I can unwrap all my models in blender pretty efficiently. Still don't feel like doing it though :/

[QUOTE=LoNer1;43643822]ZoA does it right, loading separate bullets into a mag and then you're able to equip it to your belt.[/QUOTE] Yeah, too bad that in ZoA it's evident that the magazine system is also really hard to get working right and it has some distinct clunkiness to it. I'm by no means knocking magazine system or FF's dedication in the issue but Lost Alpha adding a magazine system like that into Lost Alpha would be complained about a lot, both for adding unnecessary "tedium" into the game and betraying the expectations of the fanbase to an extent. [QUOTE=LoNer1;43643822]Especially because they're using boxes, instead of mags or separate bullets.[/QUOTE] It's literally just a graphic. You can change the icon manually to your liking if you wish. It may sound like I'm having a kneejerk reaction but honestly I don't think the halfway-house between full realism magazine loading and ammo pool in Lost Alpha is that bad and it doesn't seem that out of place either when it's something that was once a planned part of the official product. Sure, they could've just had the ammo pool but as long as it isn't too bothersome and can act as a subtle balancing element (i.e deciding whether I should pack my equipment belt full of ammo or have some more tacticool gadgets on) it seems like an okay solution. Not something I'd be willing to defend tooth and nail over the ammo pool system but it's certainly something that is [I]okay[/I] in Lost Alpha.

[QUOTE=Bloodshot12;43644111]Unwrapping was very daunting when I did it first. I hated it. I spent some extra time trying to understand it as much as I can, and now I can unwrap all my models in blender pretty efficiently. Still don't feel like doing it though :/[/QUOTE] I feel the same way when working on projects, especially high poly. Unwrapping a car as an example that is 1.2 million polys and composed of over 6 thousand meshes that are intertwined and on occasion grouped or merged/attached with others can be interesting, especially if you forget to weld verts and end up having to fight with the face selection tool to separate two parts of a mesh out from each other for such minuscule progress/result.

[QUOTE=Muukkis;43644117]Yeah, too bad that in ZoA it's evident that the magazine system is also really hard to get working right and it has some distinct clunkiness to it. I'm by no means knocking magazine system of FF's dedication in the issue but Lost Alpha adding a magazine system like that into Lost Alpha would be complained about a lot, both for adding unnecessary "tedium" into the game and betraying the expectations of the fanbase to an extent.[/QUOTE] This exactly. But still, ZoA was indeed overdoing it. Too tedious, too clunky and very inconvenient (if you depleted all mags, you'd practically be dead and this made me get rid of it very quickly)

The one obvious benefit to ZoA's magazine system is that it removes the hard-coded issue that Stalker with ammo stacks. I like the ammo on the belt feature, but when that last full box box of 30 rounds breaks down to boxes of 11, 7, 2, 4 and 6 when you place it on your belt, it just isn't as tolerable anymore.

[QUOTE=LoNer1;43644190](if you depleted all mags, you'd practically be dead and this made me get rid of it very quickly)[/QUOTE] I think it's okay in certain aspects, like the system would make backup weapons such as sawn-offs and weapons with internal magazines (i.e pump action shotguns) more useful, I remember this being one of the stated reasons why Redux is doing the magazine system and I'm looking forward to seeing how that is implemented as well. The important distinction between ZoA and Lost Alpha is that ZoA is creating a much more focused product with the mentality that's more reminiscent of "I do what I enjoy and if others like it that's fine too" and Lost Alpha is a mod that is for many, going to be essentially the next official S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game. And that's why Lost Alpha has much less room for movement in what they can do, they can't make too divisive choices when it comes to features in their mod unless those choices are backed up by "official" features, things that could be demonstratably be shown to have been in old builds or the development visions of the original creators. That doesn't mean that their product is "dumbed down" or that they lack creativity, they're just leashed a bit more tightly in what they can do with the new features. But magazine systems, even if they're creating a lot of danger for the player, can be a really interesting dynamic. Like when you run out of magazines, you have to consider really hard whether you really have to run away from the engagement at hand to be able to beat that encounter. It can be really harrowing in situations in SoC where you have to run gauntlets where you likely won't have much time to reload your magazines manually but it would fit Call of Pripyat really well since you're rarely forced into a linear gauntlet where you have to mow down these thirty dudes and keep pushing forward or else you'll die. Experienced players will know when they have to prepare for sections and can act accordingly meaning that they know to pack enough ammo for this section or that, but rookies will likely just find it confusing and get murdered, then turn around and blame the game for putting them into and impossible situation. That doesn't mean that games / mods should be made according to the failings of the lowest common denominator but it's just very understandable why Lost Alpha wouldn't probably implement a magazine system even if they came up with one that would work 100% perfect without much technical hiccups. [editline]herp[/editline] [QUOTE=Hammer7;43644077]retarded logic like "why I can't hold more than 6 mags".[/QUOTE] Many modern military load-bearing vests come with around 6 or so ammo pouches but yeah, a regular player won't likely think of that since it's not communicated that well the the audience. Also many suits in the games aren't even military suits with visible ammo pouches, they're sometimes just regular outfits and scientific outfits so you can't see any sign of magazine pouches in there. I think that it would be probably more better communicated to the player if the amount of magazine pouches depended on the suit that the player was wearing and / or it's upgrades. That would make some outfits like the mercenary outfit more useful because it would have more capacity for ammo pouches than say, the SEVA and would make up for it's poor protection qualities. Then, to not completely shit on the not-combat oriented suits, they could have some degree of upgrades for extra magazine pouches. But yeah, it's still sort of an artificial limitation and not everyone is cool with that.

I'll have to conclude you're right (I also didn't mean it broke the game for me, ZoA just gave me SUCH a hard time I completely lost interest in magazine systems) I do look forward to trying it out. Like I say to everyone, try it vanilla before adding sprinkles indeed. No exception there. And I know they're tight in what they do, I've said that on the moddb video as well :) But, In conclusion, NLC prolly did it the best [video=youtube;ZNmarck1F-4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNmarck1F-4[/video] Also, on the topic of uber-duper realism. [video=youtube;oNKdLxIyZpI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNKdLxIyZpI[/video] It broke me when he said these aren't for release. We could do a lot with these animations. Just imagine crawling through grass in STALKER.

[QUOTE=LoNer1;43644391]-video-[/QUOTE] I prefer this video, though. [video=youtube;-XVjyoXnrCU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XVjyoXnrCU[/video] Heh, I'm still waiting for them to get "The path to truth" or however it was subtitled released.

Holy ... mother of the zone

[QUOTE=Muukkis;43644349]But yeah, it's still sort of an artificial limitation and not everyone is cool with that.[/QUOTE] Agree on ammo pouches but the thing is - I cannot hold more than 6 mags even in my backpack. The game simply drops them out if I buy more and I can't even pick them up.

Posted this in the Postal thread and I reminded myself how I never posted it here Look at the glorious polish dub of Stalker That's how I actually played Clear Sky the first time [video=youtube;EmLNr-N5XGs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmLNr-N5XGs[/video]

[QUOTE=Hammer7;43645770] I cannot hold more than 6 mags even in my backpack.[/QUOTE] I see. Well, it's certainly an ill-conceived system even if it can be reasonably explained by the fact that ammunition and magazines are both plentiful in ZoA so the mod dev wants to include some sort of balancing element to it so that the magazine system won't become as broken as the ammo pool, only with added tedium of reloading the spent magazines. I guess it's a compromise that has to be done because the implementation of the magazine system is fighting against it's creator at every turn judging from what I've read of the reports from the mod dev. But yeah, that sounds like it's not probably the most ideal solution to the problem and I hope that future mods will have a better way of balancing player's ammunition in regards to the magazine system.

[video=youtube;tX9j-TyapLI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX9j-TyapLI[/video]

SPAS with RDS sight. Disgusting.

[QUOTE=Beacon;43642233]Congrats mate! What degree did you do?[/QUOTE] Information Technology & Communications [editline]24th January 2014[/editline] Majored in telecommunications/corporate networking

[QUOTE=proch;43645830]Posted this in the Postal thread and I reminded myself how I never posted it here Look at the glorious polish dub of Stalker [/QUOTE] Jesus, did they seriously dub it like that?! It's surreal, like some kind of bad teledrama. [QUOTE=1239the;43646589]Information Technology & Communications [editline]24th January 2014[/editline] Majored in telecommunications/corporate networking[/QUOTE] Congratulations! Lucrative business down-under as far as I'm aware.

[video=youtube;9ZYf46SDEHA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZYf46SDEHA&feature=youtu.be[/video] This was pretty nice [editline]23rd January 2014[/editline] Also people like [URL="http://www.moddb.com/members/dylanland234/comments"]this[/URL] [img]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_ODcECzxGQ/T4sMKffGa8I/AAAAAAAAA88/LnQ8Dvynqbg/s1600/michael-scott-no.gif[/img]

I would love to think he was just trolling. But something tells me he isn't. Poor soul.

[QUOTE=Fuxed;43646619]Jesus, did they seriously dub it like that?! It's surreal, like some kind of bad teledrama.[/QUOTE] [I]Exactly.[/I] Gets even better when you recognize that voice from exactly what you said, bad teledramas.

[QUOTE=Bloodshot12;43641626]Forgive me if late [video=youtube;FUaKelpyAXE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUaKelpyAXE&feature=youtu.be[/video] also great news for LURK[/QUOTE] HOWDY HO