S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky Trailer

[Asuka]

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/48244

Doesnt really show much. All i have to say is please dont **** this game up!

 

[CR0M]

How can they **** up game code that is already ****ed up? :O

 

[Asuka]

It wasnt that bad, it was a good game. Im just worried they are going to rush this out.

 

[Gorgon]

It wasnt that bad, it was a good game. Im just worried they are going to rush this out.

true, really liked the above clip, wondering if stalker bugs got fixed with clear sky.

 

[DEATHMASTER]

They said something about a prequel there, so is Clear Sky the prequel to SOC or is SOC the prequel to CS?

 

[Adabiviak]

I'm down. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was a fun game, in spite of the bugs, and this looks like more of the same. Maybe this version is simply the first engine but with the bugs fixed? Also, I hope there are critters to fight. Did anyone else think it was slightly reminiscent of HL2?

 

[hneaz]

i just wish stalker would look good like HL2 and doom 3 on a half decent pc.
im playing the game and it looks like hl2 in dx 7. well, ill get a laptop that can run stalker good.

 

[Dalamari]

If the Zone is clear, then that would mean no mutants and the zone wouldn't be radioactive or whatever anymore, so it'll be just like playing OFP or something

 

[DEATHMASTER]

err radiation stays for 50 years right? And its not like mutants are automatically just gone, just no more are produced (again if the radiation is completely gone)

 

[Adabiviak]

If the Zone is clear, then that would mean no mutants and the zone wouldn't be radioactive or whatever anymore, so it'll be just like playing OFP or something

That's what I'm talking about, as this is a prequel to 'the event', how much weirdness can we expect? I'd still be surprised if there were no anomalies or mutants of some kind.

 

[Bob_Marley]

Hope they're gunna fix those sights.

 

[Gargantou]

It wasnt that bad, it was a good game. Im just worried they are going to rush this out.

It's due to be out LESS than a year after the original STALKER came out, and it took them 6 ****ing years to get STALKER out the ****ing door, and it still wasnt anywhere close to what had been promised to the fanbase over and over.

To me, that spells RUSHED and trying to milk the name for cash.

 

[Cerpin]

The game takes place before and after the second blowout.

 

[Baal]

It's due to be out LESS than a year after the original STALKER came out, and it took them 6 ****ing years to get STALKER out the ****ing door, and it still wasnt anywhere close to what had been promised to the fanbase over and over.

To me, that spells RUSHED and trying to milk the name for cash.

Except, what was produced, was actually still really good according to most of those who played it, even after having months to reflect. I've followed STALKER as much as the next guy ever since E3 2003, and I really enjoyed what was finally released.

 

[Gargantou]

I quite liked it too, but it was still far from what was repeatedly promised, and was still probably one of the largest cases of misleading promotion I have ever seen, and I followed it ever since E3 2002, infact STALKER was the reason I bought a PC in the first place.

Now they're having so much trouble even getting the new patch with Freeroam mode out the door and not communicating with the community properly that the BIGGEST STALKER fansite has gone on STRIKE.

 

[Baal]

I didn't know about that

Oh well...I guess I just don't expect replay value in my games anymore. Seems like it's too much to ask of the gaming industry now-a-days.

 

[Gargantou]

I am not putting the blame on GSC though, I still have some faith in them, my guess is THQ being the big culprit, inside sources in GSC have stated that THQ pushed'em to make the game more linear in order to fit in a story to generate more sales, whilst it probably worked, I'm still sad they didn't go for the true free-form game like they were planning.

 

[Cerpin]

The story was one of the best things about the game.

 

[xcellerate]

I played s.t.a.l.k.e.r 3 times...once and got the 'wrong ending', a second time so I could get the 'real' ending (and like an extra hour of gameplay), and a third time because I had uber-h4x and wanted to **** around with infinite grenade launcher ammo and infinite money/run/health/etc.

I enjoyed the game and will probably buy this new one.

 

[Aki]

SOC was awesome. Clear Sky is bound to be amazing.

I mean, it's a freeform FPS with minor RPG elements. That's awesome. :E

If the Zone is clear, then that would mean no mutants and the zone wouldn't be radioactive or whatever anymore, so it'll be just like playing OFP or something

It's an ironic title, or indicative of how the game ends. The zone of Clear Sky is worse than SOC. SOC was "calm". SOC was a year after Cleay Sky's events.

Clear Sky, it's pure hell. Factions warring, anamolies going nuts, mutants everywhere...

It's due to be out LESS than a year after the original STALKER came out, and it took them 6 ****ing years to get STALKER out the ****ing door, and it still wasnt anywhere close to what had been promised to the fanbase over and over.

To me, that spells RUSHED and trying to milk the name for cash.

THQ was the cause of much grief for GSC. With THQ gone they're bound to do better. Especially since the X-ray engine is fully developed and being improved on, saving the time they spent creating it, and they've learned from STALKER, enabling them to make Clear Sky as Stalker should've been.

The story was one of the best things about the game.

That and atmosphere. SOC had amazing atmosphere.

 

[Gargantou]

SOC was not 'freeform', it gave an impression of being freeform but if you look at games like Elder Scrolls they are FAR more freeform than STALKER..

 

[CR0M]

Freeform is not a word I would use for STALKER, like Gargantou said, it is a just the illusion of freeform. In reality, the game is one wide-ass corridor with barbed wire along the edges, in which you have to reach the northernmost point of the map to win.

If you take doom 3 and stretch the 1 linear corridor wider and put some trees in there, you have STALKER. On mars.

 

[Docm30]

If you take doom 3 and stretch the 1 linear corridor wider and put some trees in there, you have STALKER. On mars.

Except Doom 3 sucked, and STALKER didn't.

 

[L3adCannon]

Except Doom 3 sucked, and STALKER didn't.

Well put

 

[Cerpin]

The game DID allow for some freeform play within its levels, though.

 

[Sparta]

True, but not nearly as much as other games. At the same time, i dont see why people are complaining about it. It was more open-ended than Far Cry was, and whenever people talk about Far Cry all they do is praise the A.I. and open-ended levels.

STALKER was a great game, and is pretty much what Far Cry should've been.

 

[Aki]

SOC was not 'freeform', it gave an impression of being freeform but if you look at games like Elder Scrolls they are FAR more freeform than STALKER..

Oh, I know. But it's a lot more freeform than say, FEAR, HL2, Halo, or a dozen other FPSes.

Freeform is not a word I would use for STALKER, like Gargantou said, it is a just the illusion of freeform. In reality, the game is one wide-ass corridor with barbed wire along the edges, in which you have to reach the northernmost point of the map to win.

If you take doom 3 and stretch the 1 linear corridor wider and put some trees in there, you have STALKER. On mars.

You can walk around the levels as you please however, do what you want, etc. It's not super-free-form, but it's better than most FPS games offer in terms of "hey, I wanna go over to that abandoned village.

True, but not nearly as much as other games. At the same time, i dont see why people are complaining about it. It was more open-ended than Far Cry was, and whenever people talk about Far Cry all they do is praise the A.I. and open-ended levels.

STALKER was a great game, and is pretty much what Far Cry should've been.

Stalker could've used some better AI, though.

It's silly when master stalkers walk into electro anomalies and die. They're so obvious a rookie could avoid them and yet...

 

[Nemesis6]

I think Stalker and Far Cry are pretty equal in quality, although their setting differs. But yeah, it's stupid to see guys just walk into an anomaly. And they bragged so much about how the AI was amazing, about how a guard might leave his post because he wanted to bum a smoke...

Hmmmmm.

 

[Aki]

I think Stalker and Far Cry are pretty equal in quality, although their setting differs. But yeah, it's stupid to see guys just walk into an anomaly. And they bragged so much about how the AI was amazing, about how a guard might leave his post because he wanted to bum a smoke...

Hmmmmm.

Or how other stalkers may finish the game before you, etc etc.

I doubt Clear Sky will live up to that level of awesome, but at least they aren't making those claims again, which means they probably plan to revamp and improve the AI some, but not try anything too ambitious.

Oh, and anomalies needed some better handling. I didn't really have to use bolts to avoid them much, aside from a few cases of anomaly-ridden tunnels. Most were at least semi-visible AND you had a built in anomaly detector in all your suits...

 

[Cerpin]

I hope the story and atmosphere will be equally as good.

 

[Sui]

From the sound of it, this game is going to be genuinely freeform - choosing to side with different factions is a huge part of the game. I expect the developers will use this as an opportunity to create the STALKER that they always wanted to make. THQ should be taking them seriously now that the original game proved to be such a big hit.

 

[Aki]

I hope the story and atmosphere will be equally as good.

I bet it will be. You play as some mercenary stalker dude who's out to stop Strelok from reaching the center of the Zone again or something.

This time, it's "Find Strelok, Kill Strelok" for real. :E

From the sound of it, this game is going to be genuinely freeform - choosing to side with different factions is a huge part of the game. I expect the developers will use this as an opportunity to create the STALKER that they always wanted to make. THQ should be taking them seriously now that the original game proved to be such a big hit.

GSC is dumping THQ from the looks of it, so whether or not THQ takes them seriously may not be much of an issue.

 

[CR0M]

Except Doom 3 sucked, and STALKER didn't.

Believe it or not, some people actually liked Doom 3, so stay behind and write on the blackboard 100 times: The word 'sucked' is not the final word on anything.

Let's also not forget that Doom 3 worked when it was released, and it had real time shadows that didn't cripple your graphics card like some fat sweaty jogger running off a three double whopper meal (with bacon and cheese) snack.

The killer of this game is the engine itself, regardless of gameplay mechanics, and any addon is going to be bugged with the same flaws as the original, potentially great though it was.

 

[L3adCannon]

Believe it or not, some people actually liked Doom 3, so stay behind and write on the blackboard 100 times: The word 'sucked' is not the final word on anything.

Let's also not forget that Doom 3 worked when it was released, and it had real time shadows that didn't cripple your graphics card like some fat sweaty jogger running off a three double whopper meal (with bacon and cheese) snack.

The killer of this game is the engine itself, regardless of gameplay mechanics, and any addon is going to be bugged with the same flaws as the original, potentially great though it was.

Only that Doom 3 shadows suck the balls compared to STALKER. The engine is not so well optimized but hell, having dynamic lighting, soft shadows, etc on every single object, even grass, takes one hell of a gfx card to run better than good.

The bugs "killed" (sorta, i guess) the game, not the engine, imo.

 

[Aki]

Believe it or not, some people actually liked Doom 3, so stay behind and write on the blackboard 100 times: The word 'sucked' is not the final word on anything.

Let's also not forget that Doom 3 worked when it was released, and it had real time shadows that didn't cripple your graphics card like some fat sweaty jogger running off a three double whopper meal (with bacon and cheese) snack.

The killer of this game is the engine itself, regardless of gameplay mechanics, and any addon is going to be bugged with the same flaws as the original, potentially great though it was.

Not the engine, the lack of optimization. Clear Sky runs off an improved version of the X-Ray engine and will likely be optimized as, well, not optimizing turned out badly.