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[Topher]

From Windows Central:

New STALKER 2 screenshots make The Zone look damn good

Environments so gorgeous you'll forget you're in a supernatural hellscape.

www.windowscentral.com

Updated with Husky 's formatting. Click on image for closer view

 

[Heisenberg007]

Looks good, especially the first image.

The other images have some minor issues I didn't expect this game would have visually. But still, looks very good!

 

[SteelCurtain 59]

It kind of blows my mind they're able to work with a war going on in their own backyard, let alone work at what appears to be a super high quality.

 

[Topher]

It kind of blows my mind they're able to work with a war going on in their own backyard, let alone work at what appears to be a super high quality.

Exactly what I was thinking. For a while there, I really didn't think STALKER 2 would ever be a thing until the war was over.

 

[Kacho]

God bless Slavs. Looks stunning.

 

[Mister Wolf]

Gonna be a PC showcase.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

This visual quality in UE5 with ray tracing, nanite i suppose.

We might finally be entering next gen.

 

[winjer]

To think we could be close to playing this game, if it wasn't for Putin and his war.

 

[Kacho]

Gonna be a PC showcase.

Damn straight. This will be used in PC benchmarks for a long time. My ultrawide is ready.

 

[TheGodfather07]

This year is the real start of the current gen.

 

[Topfuel]

Love the first screenshot.

 

[Turk1993]

The level of detail on the first image is insane and the lighting looks realy good. 2023 gonna be a good year for us graphics whores.

 

[AutumnLeaves]

Hope the atmosphere is as amazing as the first games, which, based on the screenshots, it will be.

But I also hope it's more than just "amazing graphics." Better AI, better physics, better world interaction, etc...but I highly doubt it.

 

[OZ9000]

I don't think I have seen graphics look this good in a long, long time.

This might be the defacto visual king.

 

[FeralEcho]

Looks absolutely incredible.Like a true next gen showcase.Made by a team that's dealing with a war in their backyard no less.God bless them and keep them safe!

AAA developers should be embarassed with themselves with the way they've been showcasing this generation.Absolute garbage graphical ambition on the american side of development!

 

[diffusionx]

I’m skeptical, expecting a “downgrade”

 

[amigastar]

Unfortunately no 4k screens from what i can see. Looks awesome, though.
Edit: Nvm they are 4k.

 

[winjer]

I’m skeptical, expecting a “downgrade”

With UE5, those graphics are very well possible, especially on PC.
But I bet it will have cutbacks on console and will have to use TSR to upscale the image.

 

[hououinkyouma00]

It kind of blows my mind they're able to work with a war going on in their own backyard, let alone work at what appears to be a super high quality.

IIRC they are based out of Malta or Cyprus or something partially

 

[Ozriel]

IIRC they are based out of Malta or Cyprus or something partially

I believe much of their team moved to Prague.

Though there are still team members in Ukraine. Some fighting on the front lines

 

[Husky]

By the way, you can usually adjust the version of the image a website shows you. Remove .webp, -80 (80% image quality) and -1920/-1200 (resolution setting) to get the full 4K image. These are so beautiful that I'm worried it's gonna get downgraded. I can't wait to play this, I love STALKER so much, and I'm still glad to see the minimap replaced with a compass bar
I'm gonna scale these down cuz I don't like oversized posts, but you can click to expand, or open these in a new tab.

 

[Black_Stride]

Nanite is absolutely earning its keep in these screenshots.
The geometric density is insane in that first shot.
If I didnt know Unreal Engine could actually achieve this, I would be calling bullshot.
But I believe they can release this.......atleast on PC.

 

[Topher]

By the way, you can usually adjust the version of the image a website shows you. Remove .webp, -80 (80% image quality) and -1920/-1200 (resolution setting) to get the full 4K image. These are so beautiful that I'm worried it's gonna get downgraded. I can't wait to play this, I love STALKER so much, and I'm still glad to see the minimap replaced with a compass bar
I'm gonna scale these down cuz I don't like oversized posts, but you can click to expand, or open these in a new tab.

That is definitely better. Updated OP with your formatting. Thanks.

 

[SkyHighTrees]

I don't think I have seen graphics look this good in a long, long time.

This might be the defacto visual king.

lol what

 

[OZ9000]

lol what

Looks genuinely better than most games I have seen recently. I haven't been particularly impressed with this gen but STALKER 2 looks nuts.

 

[FoxMcChief]

Don’t show these to that guy that gets upset about downgrades!

 

[Solarstrike]

 

[KuraiShidosha]

It's 2023 and people are still falling for bullshots.
When will you people learn to wait until the game is out before you draw any firm conclusions?

 

[Balducci30]

Looks good, especially the first image.

The other images have some minor issues I didn't expect this game would have visually. But still, looks very good!

What are the minor issues? Not seeing

 

[poppabk]

Looks like the original stalker looked

Spoiler

at least how I remember it looking

 

[lh032]

metro DLC!!??

 

[Heisenberg007]

What are the minor issues? Not seeing

Lack of or improper shadows, lower LOD and texture farther from the player, etc. But as I said, very minor issues that wouldn't distract from the game.

 

[ahtlas7]

I like it. Graphics seem like Witcher 3 meets Dying Light. Look’n good. Hoping for optimization.

 

[RPS37]

Rooting for them. Day 1 on GP as always.

 

[bbeach123]

Suprise it doesnt look like a unreal engine game .

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Looks good.

The game also has some MP modes. If the maps look as detailed and grubby as those pics, it'll be sweet.

 

[Sweden85]

Looks like the last Metro game..looking forward to it

 

[Warablo]

No way will it look that clean.

 

[april6e]

For someone who wants to play only one STALKER game QOL modded, which one do you recommend?

When I've looked up this question in the past, the answers are always split equally between Call of Pripyat, Shadow of Chernobyl and the Anomaly mod. The fanbase seemingly doesn't agree at all on a consensus best game.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Lack of or improper shadows

LMAO, it's UE5. Most likely ray traced.

 

[Heisenberg007]

LMAO, it's UE5. Most likely ray traced.

There are no shadows here. And there are many inconsistencies.

But again, these are very minor issues and imperfections that are okay and wouldn't distract players from the game.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

There are no shadows here. And there are many inconsistencies.

But again, these are very minor issues and imperfections that are okay and wouldn't distract players from the game.

It's soft light, like sunlight going through clouds. So the shadows are soft as well. They are there and I can see them.

Again, if it's ray traced, it's giving a accurate portrayal, how you would see in real life.

 

[Heisenberg007]

It's soft light, like sunlight going through clouds. So the shadows are soft as well. They are there and I can see them.

Again, if it's ray traced, it's giving a accurate portrayal, how you would see in real life.

It's not really accurate though. For example:

1. #1 has extremely soft shadows originating from the left side. The body creates a shadow, but the head doesn't.
2. #2 does not have any shadow at all.
3. Then #3 also has an incorrect shadow originating from a different direction altogether, as if there's another light source (which isn't the case). It confirms that these are not ray-traced shadows at least.

Apart from the shadow, I feel the lack of ambient occlusion also makes it look worse than it currently is.

But I once again want to reiterate that these are minor issues and not really worth discussing in this detail.

 

[bentanchorbolt]

Unsure how I feel about this game. Reminds me of Metro Exodus which I wanted to like but the game never did hook me.

 

[Riky]

Looking like a next gen showpiece as you would expect, lighting looks incredible.

 

[xpresstuning]

For someone who wants to play only one STALKER game QOL modded, which one do you recommend?

When I've looked up this question in the past, the answers are always split equally between Call of Pripyat, Shadow of Chernobyl and the Anomaly mod. The fanbase seemingly doesn't agree at all on a consensus best game.

Yeah we do, and it's simple. I have been a huge S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fan for almost 15 years now.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is the best one to start with because it's the most atmospheric and the one that flawlessly eases you into the world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. It's essential for first time players. You can play it either with ZRP (huge bug fix patch with optional QoL features) if you want to play it vanilla, or with Xpresstuning's Remaster Edition for a graphical overhaul.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat is more polished, but not nearly as atmospheric. It feels a little scripted here and there and it also just throws you into the world with little to no lore or additional information. I never liked this one, to be honest, and there's .. really no point in playing it because you can just jump straight into S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Anomaly.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Anomaly is the absolute best S.T.A.L.K.E.R. experience you can possibly have. It is an incredibly polished sandbox which merges all the maps and locations of the entire trilogy into a cohesive experience, also introducing a shit ton of additional layers of mechanics and quests. There are also mods upon mods for it to make it fucking amazing beyond what it currently offers. But, Anomaly is end-game, something to play after you are accustomed to the world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R because it is haaard as fuck.

So i think the best way is to finish S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, treat it like a sort of tutorial and introduction to the Zone, and then jump straight into S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Anomaly.

 

[samjaza]

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Anomaly is the absolute best S.T.A.L.K.E.R. experience you can possibly have. It is an incredibly polished sandbox which merges all the maps and locations of the entire trilogy into a cohesive experience, also introducing a shit ton of additional layers of mechanics and quests. There are also mods upon mods for it to make it fucking amazing beyond what it currently offers. But, Anomaly is end-game, something to play after you are accustomed to the world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R because it is haaard as fuck.

Have reiterate that, Been playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R. since before release and if you don't come in prepared and already know how the game mechanics work, you will have a terrible time. Especially if you use a mod pack like gamma.

Not to put anyone off, The stalker games are well worth playing through (with just some basic mods).

 

[Vindicator]

That bridge seems familiar, wonder if there's some bunker underneath it. Can't wait to return to the zone, been a while since I stopped with Stalker: Lost Alpha, guess there won't be any drivable cars in S2.

 

[RJMacready73]

First shot looks insane, this is an Xbox/PC exclusive right?

 

[Heisenberg007]

First shot looks insane, this is an Xbox/PC exclusive right?

3-months timed exclusive. Considering the post-war turmoil with the studio, the PS5 port now may take more than 3 months.