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Another question: Is it true this game runs better on Vista than it does XP? A lot of people in the beta seemed to insinuate that it does.

I was under the impression that Vista doesn't do much for game performance, if anything it is going to take more of your ram when you run the game.

* Photo-realistic graphics, adding to the game atmosphere immersion

WTF?

Some of the textures are photos from their Chernobyl visit, hopefully that is all it means.

 

[ThomPayne]

I shall be getting the Corroded Edition.
http://www.gpstore.co.nz/images/products/lg1463913.jpg
http://www.gpstore.co.nz/images/products/lgshots/1463913-1.jpg

I shall be playing it on medium settings probably. I shall have fun hopefully.

PC Gamer UK scored it 87% btw.
And here be 3D screens.

some here, except I'll be running it on high

 

[Bunny]

i might just pick this up....and play it on the lowest settings.

 

[Avalon]

Okay!

I turned off the dynamic lighting (set it to static) and my frame-rate and general stability EXPLODED. At 1280x1024 with settings at medium-high and I'm getting 30-60+ FPS.

Yeah, the lighting looked really nice, but it's really hard to appreciate it when it's a slide-show.

EDIT: Anyone know any console commands for the beta? Just want to mess around a bit.

 

[Vormund]

I will buy this.

I'll also turn bloom off for a frame rate increase. Which is good because I hate it anyway.

 

[Chiggs]

I was under the impression that Vista doesn't do much for game performance, if anything it is going to take more of your ram when you run the game.

That's what I thought, too; however, reading some impressions over at Rage3D and NvNews led me to believe otherwise. It should be interesting to see what the reality of the situation is when the retail version hits.

Also, if you know the right tweaks (like disabling the many worthless services), you can get Vista ram allocation well under 500 megs.

 

[FartOfWar]

I'm writing a review at the moment and will talk at length about the game on Tuesday's GFW Radio (recorded on Monday), but we'll have to get some multiplayer matches going.

 

[Chiggs]

I'm writing a review at the moment and will talk at length about the game on Tuesday's GFW Radio (recorded on Monday), but we'll have to get some multiplayer matches going.

Anything you want to share with us at the moment? Come on, throw us a bone or two!

 

[FartOfWar]

Anything you want to share with us at the moment? Come on, throw us a bone or two!

Yeah, I'm kind of holding out for the podcast (that and there are limits to what I can conclusively say before the embargo lifts), but it is definitely worth the $30-$40 you'll find it for.

Here's something I haven't heard mentioned much: It's scary as hell at times, more horrifc than some straight up survival horror. And, as you know, it's from the System Shock, Deus Ex, Far Cry (PC) school as opposed to Medal of Honor/Call of Duty/Half-Life.

 

[Chiggs]

Yeah, I'm kind of holding out for the podcast (that and there are limits to what I can conclusively say before the embargo lifts), but it is definitely worth the $30-$40 you'll find it for.

Excellent.

 

[Polari]

Is this inspired by the Tarkovsky film?

 

[Chiggs]

Is this inspired by the Tarkovsky film?

Somewhat, yes.

 

[ZombieSupaStar]

Also, if you know the right tweaks (like disabling the many worthless services), you can get Vista ram allocation well under 500 megs.

good grief, and I get pissed at xp taking 110 megs of my 2 gigs.....

 

[Chiggs]

good grief, and I get pissed at xp taking 110 megs of my 2 gigs.....

I could disable Aero, and then I'd be around the upper 300's. But yeah, it does sort of put things in perspective.

 

[JDSN]

Yeah, I'm kind of holding out for the podcast (that and there are limits to what I can conclusively say before the embargo lifts), but it is definitely worth the $30-$40 you'll find it for.

Here's something I haven't heard mentioned much: It's scary as hell at times, more horrifc than some straight up survival horror. And, as you know, it's from the System Shock, Deus Ex, Far Cry (PC) school as opposed to Medal of Honor/Call of Duty/Half-Life.

Im so ****ing there.


Edit: If my PC can run Half life Ep 1, can it run this decently?

 

[Chiggs]

Here's something I haven't heard mentioned much: It's scary as hell at times, more horrifc than some straight up survival horror. And, as you know, it's from the System Shock, Deus Ex, Far Cry (PC) school as opposed to Medal of Honor/Call of Duty/Half-Life.

Didn't see your update. I'm glad to hear that it's scary. I just got done finishing Thief 3 (heavily modded -- thanks TTLG) and F.E.A.R., and I'm ready for some more horror action.

 

[Chiggs]

Edit: If my PC can run Half life Ep 1, can it run this decently?

Does it run Episode 1 well? Also, systems specs would help.

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest

 

[FartOfWar]

IF you ran Ep One, you'll run Stalker at decent settings. I have an old ass Radeon 9800 here at home at the moment and that works well.

 

[FlyinJ]

IF you ran Ep One, you'll run Stalker at decent settings. I have an old ass Radeon 9800 here at home at the moment and that works well.

I love how the editor of Games For Windows magazine only has a Radeon 9800 in his home machine.

Anyhow, thanks for the info, Jeff. I was hoping this was going to have a Deus Ex vibe to it. I'm definitely looking forward to picking it up next week.

 

[maus]

3rd screenshot's got me all pumped on this shit. Had no idea it had an inventory system like that. x700s prolly not gonna fly with this apparently unoptimized game though. Bring it to 360 bros

 

[Odrion]

I am so ****ing pumped for this game. Probably the only reason the end of Spring Break isn't too horridly depressing for me.

 

[maus]

Chernobyl's pretty depressing

 

[bigmit3737]

IF you ran Ep One, you'll run Stalker at decent settings. I have an old ass Radeon 9800 here at home at the moment and that works well.

Hmmm, maybe I can run this game then.

 

[Kevin]

What makes absolutely no sense to me is the fact that I had the old alpha build running perfectly on a 650MHZ AMD system with 324MB of ram and a Geforce FX 5200 at full graphics. While they were not as good as the final product a lot of the effects were indeed there. Now I can't get decent frame rates on a 3.0 GHZ, 1.256 gig and an ATi 1650xt 256mb. Now that makes no sense to me. Here is a picture of the alpha:

http://news.mydrivers.com/pages/images/20031231104803_33068.jpg

 

[Romance Pie]

http://news.mydrivers.com/pages/imag...4803_33068.jpg

Looks like that is running in DirectX 8, Stalker is now using DX9 to keep up, plus the lighting has imporved very much since.

Can't wait to play this as well, but its been delayed here till the 28th as it has not been rated yet :/

 

[Borys]

Whoa, this already looks like a better Fallout game than Fallout 3.

 

[PeteJ]

gamesTM in the UK have given this a 9/10.

"There might not be a single other game that brings to mind Half-Life, Operation Flashpoint, Resident Evil4 and Riddick, but STALKER manages it without ever losing its individual sense of style and personality."

 

[Joshua Hull]

IF you ran Ep One, you'll run Stalker at decent settings. I have an old ass Radeon 9800 here at home at the moment and that works well.

Is this in single player? What type of processor is this on?

I'd love to be totally down on the Stalker train, I've only got a 2.8 Ghz Northwood so I'm a little wary about the Core 2 Duo being the recommend spec.

So has the crippling speed that both yourself and Garnett on 1UP Yours mentioned with the older preview builds been fixed?

 

[dark10x]

Man, I hope I can run this. >_<

I'm not ready to upgrade yet. I just want a playable framerate here.

 

[Draft]

I shall be getting the Corroded Edition.

I shall be playing it on medium settings probably. I shall have fun hopefully.

PC Gamer UK scored it 87% btw.
And here be 3D screens.

YO

Where do you get THAT thing? Amazon and Gamestop both seem to have the normal box only.

 

[Solo]

This will be my first game purchase of the year.

 

[big_z]

Im interested in this only for the exploring of the chernobyl area but if this is using starforce protection i'll pass. That shit is not going on my machine again.

 

[Defcon]

YO

Where do you get THAT thing? Amazon and Gamestop both seem to have the normal box only.

www.gogamer.com

Im interested in this only for the exploring of the chernobyl area but if this is using starforce protection i'll pass. That shit is not going on my machine again.

It's THQ publishing. No starforce. I believe it uses Securom.

 

[FartOfWar]

I love how the editor of Games For Windows magazine only has a Radeon 9800 in his home machine.

Anyhow, thanks for the info, Jeff. I was hoping this was going to have a Deus Ex vibe to it. I'm definitely looking forward to picking it up next week.

Surprisingly, it got me through all the key mp games (including COH) and that's all that has mattered at home. I do have an 8800 GTX and some other parts sitting around but I suck with tech and am a cheap bastard, so they've sat there for ages. Same thing when my second fussy 7800 rig borked for the third time, leaving me clueless.

 

[Draft]

Surprisingly, it got me through all the key mp games (including COH) and that's all that has mattered at home. I do have an 8800 GTX and some other parts sitting around but I suck with tech and am a cheap bastard, so they've sat there for ages. Same thing when my second fussy 7800 rig borked for the third time, leaving me clueless.

Damn son! There is lazy like won't get up to change it from Oprah because the remote is missing, and then there is lazy like can't be arsed to upgrade my 9800 Pro to the 8800GTX in the drawer over there.

I'd salute such majestic sloth if I wasn't insanely furious at your wasted 8800GTX.

 

[FartOfWar]

Damn son! There is lazy like won't get up to change it from Oprah because the remote is missing, and then there is lazy like can't be arsed to upgrade my 9800 Pro to the 8800GTX in the drawer over there.

I'd salute such majestic sloth if I wasn't insanely furious at your wasted 8800GTX.

Yeah, but you know it's not like I can just plug the one into the other. The 8800 won't even fit into the massive 7800 rig's case so in addition to a core duo, mobo, case, power supply, copy of XP or Vista and all the rest I have some work and spending to do.

 

[Kabouter]

Well, if you have one laying around anyway and you don't plan on using it, why not make a GAFfer happy?

 

[FartOfWar]

Well, if you have one laying around anyway and you don't plan on using it, why not make a GAFfer happy?

Because I've been waiting for one of the many, many delayed and redelayed aps to kick my ass into doing what I've got to do (ETQW, Crysis, UT3, TF2).

 

[Kabouter]

Because I've been waiting for one of the many, many delayed and redelayed aps to kick my ass into doing what I've got to do (ETQW, Crysis, UT3, TF2).

Dang
(Oh, and add World in Conflict to that list, you're gonna want that 8800GTX for that if the screenshots and movies are any indication )

 

[Victrix]

Sweet. Really looking forward to this. I was very excited about it when it was first announced, then hit a level of 'haw haw, more Stalker screens', and now not only is it actually coming out, the buzz is positive

I'll probably wait to see some impressions here before I pick it up, but if they're good, instant purchase. FPS RPG is my single favorite genre in all of gaming.

 

[Woo-Fu]

If I had an 8800GTX sitting in a drawer I would not be able to sleep until it was in my rig.

Anyways, back on topic, looking forward to picking this up. It has been on and off my radar quite a few times, glad to see it finally is shipping.

Love those 360 degree screenshots.

 

[speculawyer]

I'm happy to see this eventually got finished & released. I saw it at E3 a couple years ago and then it completely disappeared off the radar.

I like the concept of a Chernobyl mutant world game.


However, I really hate the obsession of sci-fi things with long period filled acronyms. (S.T.A.L.K.E.R.)

 

[speculawyer]

Jeez . . . reading this thread makes me think that they need a faq on how to tune your settings for decent performance. Which options can be turned down/off for maxium FPS gain.

 

[Avalon]

Jeez . . . reading this thread makes me think that they need a faq on how to tune your settings for decent performance. Which options can be turned down/off for maxium FPS gain.

The dynamic lighting really brought my system down to a crawl. Once I turned it off I could run the rest of the settings on high and still get 40-60+ FPS in the MP demo. I'm sure the retail version will be more intensive with all the AI stuff going around though.

 

[border]

I just got done finishing Thief 3 (heavily modded -- thanks TTLG) and F.E.A.R.,

What are the mods people install over Thief 3?

 

[Reikon]

The tin case looks nice, but for twice the price? Yikes, no thanks.

I want this game, but I don't think my computer can handle it now.

 

[Ahriman]

Is this inspired by the Tarkovsky film?

No. Both the film and the game are LOOSELY based on a book called "Roadside Picnic". Apparently all the English editions are a rarity nowadays. However, the Wiki page has links to a bunch of free English translations. I never read the English version so I cannot comment on how much was lost in translation, but my guess would be a lot.

 

[Sjoerd]

Can't wait for it! Let's hope it lives up to half of the hype.

 

[Chiggs]

What are the mods people install over Thief 3?

High-res textures, minimalist interface, and a shit-ton of .cfg tweaking. All in all, it's about an hour's work, but it was well worth it.

http://www.graphics-by-john-p.com/textures/Thief-DS/index.shtml

 

[kzkb1]

This Wednesday it's either this or EDF 2017 for me. Still haven't decided.