S.T.A.L.K.E.R - Stories

[MRG]

I'm sorry to start a new thread, but I just had one of those rare moments in gaming, where it was necessary to get up & leave the game for a few minutes, because I just got one hell of a case of the Wheebie-Jeebies. I can't believe that I am just now playing this game. Where was I when it came out? After typing out the below, I went back ingame because I wanted to take a screenshot of what it was that killed me, so that you all here could see it. I'm not sure if it's a stock enemy or one added from the Mod. Either way it was creepy as hell. Sadly, after the 3rd death, it's become clear to me, that the creature just does not want his picture taken. So if you want to see what killed me, then you'll have to download the mod, install it & then get to where I was ingame.

The following is a true story. My True Story:

With the lights turned off, the door to my office closed & my headphones on tight, I had been playing STALKER since 9:00pm this evening. It is now a little after midnight. As stated earlier, I had the Faiakes Mod installed & running as I played.

I chose to do each mission that Wolf gave me one at a time, so that it would give me the chance to explore the surrounding area to where you first started. Finally, I finished all those that he had for me at this time & so I went to the trader & did those of his that he had, that did not require me to go beyond the first area. Finding PDA's on dead bodies which would lead me off to different places where goods were stashed. As I progressed, the day slowly started to turn toward dusk & then onto full night. I must admit, this was a very cool effect & very well done. All the while i'm still running around exploring or rather blundering around would be a better description, until it got almost impossible to see. Of course that didn't hamper the enemies from hunting me.

All around me I would hear the barking of diseased dogs, some of which sounded close & so I would spin around & pop off a round from my pistol. The muzzle flash would give me a split second view of my immediate surroundings, before darkness fell once more. Sometimes I would hear a whimper after firing a round into the darkness, telling me I had hit something. Sometimes I would fire off a shot, just to give me a quick glimpse of where I was.

It was while wandering around in the general direction of the trader & on the other side of the broken bridge where those soldiers are that you can pay to let you pass, that I heard a different sound coming from the darkness. It was not the high pitched yip of a dog, but a more gutteral sounding growl. A sound I had not yet heard & since I found out at a very early stage of playing, that the ambient sounds you hear are actually creatures, I knew that it wasn't just a sound effect of the game. As the growl drew nearer, I fired off a shot into the general direction of where I had just heard the growl, only to hear it again behind me & this time sounding much, much closer. Instantly, my heart went into overtime as a shot of adrenaline hit my bloodstream.

Whoa!

I attempted to spin around as fast as my cheap optical mouse would let me, which seemed an awefully long time, & quickly fired off 2 shots into the darkness. My second shot hit.. something, for I heard a scream that damn near turned my blood to ice. As I strain looking at the screen, I see 2 dots moving & then I see 2 more & then 2 more, all moving in different directions. I fire off another round, trying to get a better look. By now my heart is really pumping. Since I had started playing, 3 hours earlier, I had not died once & I was playing on Master. From the muzzle flash of the last round I had just fired, for a split second a bloody face full of teeth was burned into the monitor, before darkness fell again. My finger twitched on it's own accord and within the space of 2 seconds, I had emptied the clip. Wheather or not I had killed what I had just seen, was unknown, as the next second, I hear that god awefull growl, this time right next to me, instantly followed by those 3 red claw marks on my screen. Poof! Just like that, my health is down 3/4. So I do what any wanna-be hero would do in a situation such as this, I turn around & run like hell. 30 seconds later, mad that I have no health kits & mad that I am so far away from the safety of the Loner camp, I turn around again and empty 2 clips into the darkness. Then I hear the growls again. So I run again & end up at the checkpoint, suddenly faced with 2 enemy soldiers or bandits or whatever. I manage to dodge past them & make it into the building & then i'm asked if I want to go to the next zone. Hell yeah I do!

Once the zone loads, I find myself facing what looks like some stalled vehicle in the middle of the road, but as it's damn near pitch black out, it's hard to tell. As I walk up to it, I hear gunfire erupt in front of me & see muzzle flashes up ahead, then I see a dark shape charge where the muzzle flashes just were. Next I hear a scream of pain that only comes from when a "human" is killed. Now there is nothing but the sounds of the crickets. As I stare at the screen, trying to see through the darkness, I see 2 white dots moving up ahead of me. Again my finger twitches all on it's own without concious thought & I empty a clip into the darkness. As I am reloading, I see the 2 white dots come around from the back of the vehicle thats stalled in the road. So silent did it move, that I didn't hear him approach. As I finish reloading, I once again bring up the pistol & as I start firing, just before I die, the muzzle flashes reveal my attacker....

Does STALKER have Werewolves?

-MRG

 

[MiccyNarc]

And this my friends, is why stalker is ****ing awesome.

 

[DEATH eVADER]

The muzzle flash would give me a split second view of my immediate surroundings,

Are you playing with no Dynamic Shadows, it sounds like you are playing with no flashlight

Does STALKER have Werewolves?

They have PseudoDogs, which is the equivalent of a RabidDog; Mad, Fast and with a bad temper

 

[Combine Hybrid]

I get some serious sea sick while playing stalker. whenever the main character walks, it seems like he walks like a drunk tard. I get very sick from it.

Has anyone else experienced this?

 

[Gargantou]

STALKER is ok, but still merely a shadow of what it was supposed to be, which is why most of the original lead developers left to form their own company and develop "Metro 2033" which is supposed to be what STALKER SHOULD have been.

 

[jimbo118]

Hmmm i remember the area you are talking, the only animals and/or mutants in the area were the dogs(blind and maybe pseudo?), mutated boars and those mutated pigs(creepy). I'm guessing the second area you entered was 'The Garbage', immediately when you enter that area you come across a hostage situation, 3 stalkers with long, black cloaks are holding another guy at gunpoint, maybe thats the situation you came upon but werewolves?

 

[taviow]

Well I'm sure you will have long stories to tell when you find your first bloodsucker or controller. :naughty:
In the end, you liked Stalker? That's nice. :thumbs:
Looking forward to read more stories!

 

[Krynn72]

See, we told you Stalker was worth playing.

 

[MRG]

@ Death eVader: I have the "Full Dynamic Shadows" option enabled, not that other generic graphic option. The game is just so cool with the mod i'm using, that I don't want to disable it to see if the mod is the cause of the improved lighting.

@ Jimbo118: Your right, that is the name of the Zone I came to. "The Garbage". Whatever I came across did not run on all 4 legs & seemed to be "man size" in shape, does that describe the PseudoDogs? I'm going to run Fraps & just take screenshots like crazy to see if I can capture a pic of the creature. Now that it's the light of day, it'll not be as creepy to just stand there & get owned for the sake of science. (And getting a good pic!)

I have been hearing people talk about Float32. Apart from dealing with graphics, what exactly does it do or is it for?

-MRG

 

[taviow]

Makes the game run better if you are using full dynamic lightning. Looks like you are, so it will do you good.

 

[jimbo118]

@ Jimbo118: Your right, that is the name of the Zone I came to. "The Garbage". Whatever I came across did not run on all 4 legs & seemed to be "man size" in shape, does that describe the PseudoDogs? I'm going to run Fraps & just take screenshots like crazy to see if I can capture a pic of the creature. Now that it's the light of day, it'll not be as creepy to just stand there & get owned for the sake of science. (And getting a good pic!)


-MRG

Didn't have 4 legs? Hmmm it wasn't a Bloodsucker was it? I had a look at the mod you are using and it re-skins alot of characters, some i don't recognise at all.

 

[taviow]

Looks a lot like a bloodsucker but... well it's not common for them to appear in the garbage, is it? Really, never seen one there. In fact, they are kind of rare.

 

[MRG]

Didn't have 4 legs? Hmmm it wasn't a Bloodsucker was it? I had a look at the mod you are using and it re-skins alot of characters, some i don't recognise at all.

The bloodsuckers, are they those humanoid creatures with the octopus looking head, like the one in the pic below, because if it is, then no, thats not what I saw.

I'm going back ingame soon as I post this & i'll have Fraps running. I'll see if I can snag a pic of it. Watch, it turns out to be some harmless creature that looks nothing like I described.

I'll post back here shortly.

-MRG

 

[taviow]

Well that's a bloodsucker. Looking at the picture scares me enough. I hate those, they scare me too much D:

 

[Thunderclap]

You, sir, have just enjoyed the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. experience.

That is why I love the game. Screw the plot. Screw the characters.Screw 'objectives' and 'missions'.

What I come for is the pulse-pounding, terrifying day-to-day surviving that makes up most of the game.

My fave place is still Yantar though, takes the disturbing post-nuclear hell to its ass-kicking extreme, and the weird light filter they slap on in that area is hella cool.

 

[Krynn72]

Wow. blood suckers are way more common in my game this time around. I decided to go see if i could finish the "reach the end of the tunnel" part of my quest that i was talking about in the other thread. And as I made my way out from the Bar back to the right area. When I got there I saw my path was blocked by 6 pseudodogs. I decided it was safer to make my way through the factory where you originally saved the guy who shows you the entrance to the tunnel. The guy was still in there according to the yellow blip on my map, so I figure its safe.

I sprint through the place, trying to speed up the process, but when I get to the hole in the wall at the other end I find that a bunch of bandits are hanging around outside the walls. So I take out a few, then fall back deeper into the factory, climb a building, and just snipe off the remaining bandits. Once they're all dead, I climb back down and look at my map to see if there were any other red dots coming. Nothing but the grey dots of the dead bodies littering the place. Not even the yellow dot of the Stalker is there. But I know he didnt take part in the fight, so I am confused as to where he went. I back track through the factory to where I saw him last, and look around at all the dead bodies to see if he is among them. As I search for them I hear a roar, and my screen goes red with the slash marks. I freak and just spin around unloading my clip into the air wildly. Then I see him run further away and cloak. I can still see him so I get my composure and line up my sights on him. I get off maybe 2 shots when *SMACK* I get hit.

"OH ****" There was another one behind me! I book it towards the hole in the wall, they both chase after me. I run into something that stops me mid-run, so I turn around and unload a clip right into the face of the closest bloodsucker. It takes the entire clip, but he drops. I see the other one cloak up, and then run away. I line up my sights and fire another several rounds at him. The flashing of my rifle's muzzle as I fired, combined with his cloaking, makes me loose track of him. I reload, and I wait with my rifle aimed down the factory. I see movement, but hes far away now. It would just be a waste of ammo to shoot at him from here, and im sure as hell not going after him.

So I quickly make for the hole in the wall and escape. My next destination is the military-complex down the road, which is where the tunnel's exit is. I take out my binoculars and see what is ahead. Awesome news! A large pack of rabid dogs, 2 psudodogs, and 2 military patrolmen. I unsuccessfully try to avoid the dogs, and am forced to slaughter all of them and backpedal almost all the way back to the bloodsucker factory. I kill the last psuedodog and then out comes my friend the bloodsucker to finish me off. Luckily I manage to see him early enough to take him out before he gets close enough to attack. Now I hurry forward to my objective. Ive had enough by this point, so I just open fire outright on the patrolmen. They go down easily, and I get closer to the entrance of the miltary compound. 2 guys inside open fire on me, so I take cover behind a tree.

I line up my sights to take out the first one of them when a loud roar breaks my attention. Another god damned bloodsucker. I run around in circles, backpedalling to get away from it, all the while being shot at by now 3 military guys with automatic guns. I kill the damn bloodsucker, take out 9 military guys who were in my way and finally make it to the tunnel's exit.

I go down, and "HOLY ****" that bastard mind-fuck mutant its just waiting for me at the bottom of the ladder. I freak and just hip-fire my whole clip at him. Hes still standing, but he staggers, which is enough time for me to reload, and empty another clip into his mother****ing chest. Finally he drops, and I gtfo. I find two guys had reinforced the miltary's base, and are blocking the entrance. They're taken out without missing a beat, and I just book it back towards the factory. The 6 or 7 psuedodogs are still roaming the road, so i have to go back through the factory. Thankfully, it seems a group of 5 or 6 stalkers have secured the place, and I join up with them inside of the buildings to take a break. I saved the game, and came here to tell my story.


Stalker is one of my favorite games ever.

 

[MRG]

Sweet Story Krynn. :thumbs:

You mentioned that an enemy cloaked? As in like Star Trek cloaked?

-MRG

 

[Krynn72]

Never watched Star Trek, but if youve ever seen the Predator movies, its like how they do it.

 

[taviow]

Bloodsuckers can cloack themselves, but it's very useless if it's day. When it's night, well...

Edit: Krynn, I tought you would die in the end of your story. Well, it was epic! Now, I wonder why there are so many bloodsuckers out there for you. That's very unusual.

 

[Krynn72]

I hate how mutant's eyes glow white in the dark. Makes me jump at anything thats shining in the moonlight.

 

[Dekstar]

Sweet Story Krynn. :thumbs:

You mentioned that an enemy cloaked? As in like Star Trek cloaked?

-MRG

The bloodsuckers can go almost invisible (you see a slight haze when they move). Very creepy stuff.

I was somewhere (near one of the mind**** mutants), and walked into a factory looking room with a small path running round the outside and loads of machinery in the middle. I stop for a second as I walk in, because usually there's enemies, but I see nothing. I start to move, then hear a growl and notice a haze. I think shit, oh well there's only on-- and then THREE more ****ing hazes appear. I panic like hell and run round the outside of the room, firing backwards. Needless to say one of the bastards flanked me from behind and I got raped .

Load -> Grenades.

 

[MRG]

Well, it would seem that I was wrong. I guess the enemy I saw, does run around on all fours after all. I must have just seen him mid-jump & in the glow of the muzzle flash, you don't exactly have a lot of time to analyze details.

This is the creature moments before he tore my head from my body. The one that has made my life hell since entering "The Garbage" zone. You notice how he seems to shy away from my light? Damn creepy stuff if you ask me. Them eyes glowing in the dark is a very nice touch.

This is me shortly after.

-MRG

 

[Krynn72]

Yeah, Ive never seen that guy before.

 

[Thunderclap]

Jesus Christ, what is that thing? I have never seen anything like that in the Zone. It must be a new monster, I can't identify it. The game is rife with a lot of creepy stuff, like others have said, mutants shying away from light, their eyes glowing in the dark, awesome-possum stuff like that.

Even the 'weak' monsters can give you a run for your money, especially after you've been injured after a big fight. Just after I smashed through a bandit ambush in the Garbage, I went to the southern junkyard, where I found al the Stalkers dead. I felt genuine remorse for them, for I'd saved their asses and they'd saved mine on numerous occassions. As I was pawing through their bodies for loot* Suddenly I heard growling and suddenly coming out from between the abandone cars and buses was a swarm of dogs. I ran, but was trapped in that guard stationby a massive pack. I'm talking something along the lines of 12 Blinds and 8 Pseudos. It was like Stephen King's Cujo or something. I had next to no ammunition, so I had to make every shot count. I made it out by the skin of my teeth, but goddamn was it thrilling. And completely unscripted I'd like to point out.

*Call me callous, but looting the dead is vital to survival in the Zone.

 

[MiccyNarc]

What version of faikes mod

 

[Combine Hybrid]

can someone tell me how to get rid of damn head bobbing?????

 

[MRG]

Here is the direct link to the mod that I am using. It weighs in at just under 670MB when installed. For those that have played the vanilla version of this game, please give me your opinion of how the changes are.

Faiakes Mod 2.4
http://stalker.filefront.com/file/Faiakes_Mod;83643

I simply cannot recommend this mod enough. I am torn between waiting until tonight to play the game some more when it's pitch dark outside & the house is silent or to hang up a blanket over the window to try to make it as dark as possible. One thing though. You HAVE to have the audio turned up to really appreciate just how creepy shit sounds.

<Runs to get nails>

-MRG

 

[MRG]

Jesus Christ, what is that thing? I have never seen anything like that in the Zone. It must be a new monster, I can't identify it.

Use extreme caution when you go up against it. It's attack is nothing short of deadly. Oh, & it can leap a good distance as well, which does some massive damage if it hits you. It does have a scary as shit growl though, so you'll at least hear it coming before it guts you like a pig.

I'm not sure if the first place you find it is when you first enter The Garbage Zone, but I advise you to go to that zone under cover of darkness. Adds to the experience. No point in looking for a scare, if the room you are playing in is bright & cheerful or it's mid-day ingame.

-MRG

 

[jimbo118]

wtf is that thing? Never seen anything like that in 'The Garbage', must be part of your mod.

 

[MRG]

The wife just left to take my daughter to the Hannah Montana movie. So now i'm free to go game distraction free for at least 2 hours. I'll have the speakers cranked up now too. I'll keep Fraps running & if I can get a better shot of that crature without being killed, i'll do so. I thought it was a great feature, that when all was pitch dark, yet being able to hear everything around me, only too see those glowing eyes appear & get closer, only to then veer off & run away when I turned on my flashlight.

-MRG

 

[Thunderclap]

I would like to take the time and say how awesome this is, and thank S.T.A.L.K.E.R. again for providing some great times.

While swapping stories, a fellow Stalker shares with us his knowledge of a fresh horror the Zone has coughed up, and we all sit around debating its origins and how best to kill it. I can just see MRG's face lit from below as he recalls with haunted eyes his near death experience. The rest of us, jimbo119, myself, and a few others are sitting around the campfire at night while we listen to his story, sheltering in some dilapidated house as the moon rises in the sky and the occasional mournful cry reaches us on the wind.

 

[Combine Hybrid]

mrg, you have 1.0005 patch?

I try to play with faiakes mod but it won't work.

 

[MRG]

I feel like a kid that was just paid his allowance & set loose in a candy store. While attempting to take a good screenshot, I was trying to sneak around from bush to bush, which as you all know, this excellent game allows you to do & it does it well, giving a whole new meaning to stealth. It was while I was sneaking around, thinking i'm some sort of waste-land ninja, I heard a growl right behind me. (Thank you god for positional audio) I spun around (ingame, this time) and managed to catch this, just before I died... again. Keep in mind, he lept at me from near those vehicles in the pics forground.

I know this is just a game & all, but this last time hearing that growl from right behind me, I jumped, I didn't squeal like a girl, but I jumped & then did that self conscious laugh & then looked around to make sure no one saw me. So I reload my savegame & off in the distance, I hear sounds that leave no doubt that someone else ingame just met Mr.Creature. Then I hear this moaning sound, that gets louder & then other sounds that almost sound like speech. I turn around & from over the hill, I see these 3 blokes come shambling.

WTF! It's Night of the living dead now or what?

-MRG

 

[MRG]

mrg, you have 1.0005 patch?

I try to play with faiakes mod but it won't work.

Damn, I forgot to mention that the mod only works with version 1.0004. I had 1.0005 installed originally & the game kept crashing. So I read the mods readme & looked through the forums & saw that the mod was for version 1.0004. From what I was able to tell, the 1.0005 patch was mostly to do with fixing online aspects of the game & since I do not play this game online, I uninstalled the game & then reinstalled it and applied the 1.0004 patch & then the mod.

Keep in mind that the mod adds a ton of stuff & changes. For example, at the start when you have to talk to Wolf, well with this mod, soon as you start talking to the trader for the first tiem, you hear a battle raging above you. Once you make it out & get topside, Wolf is not in his normal place right away, instead you'll see him on your Hud. Go to him & then talk to him or wait a minute for things cool off & then he'll talk to you.

Trust me, I may be new to this game, but it's very much worth uninstalling the game, just to be able to reinstall it to patch it to 1.0004.

-MRG

 

[Combine Hybrid]

problem is, I bought it from steam. and the newest patch comes with it.

 

[Kadayi]

Stalker is ace, those creatures are from the mod rather than the game. I'd personally recommend playing the game straight first. I think add -on mods can ruin a game by adding too much extra content, rather than enhancing the existing game.

 

[MRG]

I would like to take the time and say how awesome this is, and thank S.T.A.L.K.E.R. again for providing some great times.

While swapping stories, a fellow Stalker shares with us his knowledge of a fresh horror the Zone has coughed up, and we all sit around debating its origins and how best to kill it. I can just see MRG's face lit from below as he recalls with haunted eyes his near death experience. The rest of us, jimbo119, myself, and a few others are sitting around the campfire at night while we listen to his story, sheltering in some dilapidated house as the moon rises in the sky and the occasional mournful cry reaches us on the wind.

Well said Thunderclap, very well said.

-MRG

 

[MRG]

problem is, I bought it from steam. and the newest patch comes with it.

Oh, I see. Damn, sorry mate. I wonder if there is a way to revert back to a previous patch. Did you try to apply the 1.0004 patch anyways?

-MRG

 

[MRG]

Stalker is ace, those creatures are from the mod rather than the game. I'd personally recommend playing the game straight first. I think add -on mods can ruin a game by adding too much extra content, rather than enhancing the existing game.

That is good advice Kadayi, sadly thats no longer an option for me, for I am too deeply hooked now.

-MRG

 

[Acepilotf14]

I remember, that when I got to the last Laboratory and was fighting my way out against all those damned marines, a pseudodog or whatever the shit ran out of NOWHERE. It freaked me out so freaking bad, because I hadn't even seen it, and after it ran and killed one of the marines, it ran away, and I never saw it again.
Crazy.
Also, near the end when that mindraep guy started making ghosts attack you all the time. :|

Great thread, perhaps we can make this into a roleplay of some kind?
Also, zombies are funny. Be sure to run around them [they have shit hearing and sight, so even if you're right behind them in pitch daylight they won't sense you.] and knife them in the back. Good fun.