At least yearly I travel to the back of beyond, but in 2009 a costly adventure seems wasteful. Furthermore, a less than smooth month in Uzbekistan moved Russia to the bottom of my visit-someday list. However, thanks to a GoGamer special, I’m visiting the Ukraine for the price of two days airport parking. To be more precise, I’m exploring the area around Prypiat in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. It’s true, radiation and mutants are some of the local hazards, but they are almost canceled out by the avoidance of jet lag and Motezuma’s Revenge.
How does a former adventure gamer stay alive in a first person shooter? Following Army policy: Don’t ask, Don’t tell. Moreover, as a tourist rather than a mercenary, I feel free to take further liberties. Travel adjustments were easy once I discovered the modding community. Collect too many souvenirs to fit in your suitcase? No problem, unlimited weight lets you bring everything home. Weary of local cuisine or failed to pack clothes for nasty weather? Not to worry, mods can tweak, power-up & spawn both armor and weapons to suit your needs. As if this weren’t enough, a mod manager will handle conflicts and merges while loading your designed to order destination.
Despite few obvious similarities, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.‘s strong sense of place reminds me of Oblivion. While I loved the world exploration in Cyrodiil, my central complaint was that everything seemed too squeaky clean and orderly. Not so “The Zone,” where everyday tasks are struggles, seeing the sun is reason to celebrate. In spite of the hardships, huddled around a bonfire with my Russian speaking comrades although my comprehension is limited to nyet and spasiba, I think I’m going to enjoy my stay here. 
Great one, Yap! I think you’ll enjoy your visit as well – Stalker’s a rough game for those unaccustomed to shooters, but the excellent user mods should bring it right into line for you. I admit when I first played this game a while ago, I thought that you and some of our other, more adventure-inclined FFCers would enjoy it, but I couldn’t think of a way around the high barrier to entry, which you’ve vaulted dexterously. I look forward to more of your thoughts on this, one of my favorite games ever. Perhaps a Second Opinion review?
Does anyone notice how even in my most heartfelt compliments, like this one, I somehow manage to wind up asking people to do more work? I guess it’s a personal weakness… 😉
STALKER is a great game all around. I loved the atmosphere, and the post-nuclear phantasmagoria.
Though I got stuck midway just as the story was getting good, I still intend to return and finish.
Since we’re doling out STALKER chores to Yap, how about any mods to get a shooter wimp out of a hard place. I looked a little for a god mode at the time, soon after US release, but didn’t come up with anything. I’m sure there are all kinds of fixes by now. I was coming out of the tunnel and into the crazy compound crawling with soldiers. Invisible would work nice, I think.
Scout, there are mods and there are cheats (trainers, codes), mods not necessarily being cheats although they can be. You may be a god but your armor can still be reduced to worthless (as I found out running through that anomaly electrified tunnel) although who needs armor if you are invincible? Suffice to say, tweaking is a balancing act. And most mods & all trainers must match your game version – currently 1.0005 if one plays only single player.
I’d suggest either a trainer with on/off options (godmode, no degrade weapon/armor/hunger/radiation, etc) or a mod that ups your weapon damage, or one that spawns a high-powered one. Strategyinformer.com is a great place to start looking at what’s available.
Alas, I haven’t seen an invisible mod. As The Zone has no magicka (like Oblivion), it’s unlikely the FPS crowd considers such an option. More’s the pity. 😛 But I’m a rank newbie, still in early areas, so what do I know.
Finally, I must give a plug to an amazing fansite: The Zone Survival Guide. He’s even posted videos to illustrate what he explains in text & pictures. Extraordinary effort.
Hmmm I like that high powered weapon spawn idea. Much more satisfying to vaporize all the “base belong to me” than to slink away in god mode. Thanks for the tip on game versions. Will have to check. Enjoy the game. I still think about it even after what, 2 years of not playing. Scenes are still vivid in my memory.
I liked Stalker too, but even with the mods, it is not a nice place to be. Have fun with it.
Cannot believe I found a mod called S.A.F.E. based on an earlier mod, Stalker Explorer. Allows me to wander anywhere, npcs gone, anomalies harmless, and animals are my friends. Of course there are no missions either but the point is exploration, not achievement. The mod maker is the first shopkeeper who has been storing free stuff for me like huge weapons.
So, first I go look around that (now empty) army post just south of the rookie camp. Then I head for the railroad track with the intention of going through the tunnel. But..I walk through radiation…don’t have any meds….and I DIE!!! Served me right. 😛
The mod starts the game with a custom menu where I must pick what seems to be my level: Explorer, Traveler, Tracker or Tour Guide. Except I don’t know the differences. Anyone want to hazard a guess?
Those do sound like levels, you’re sure there are no hazards?
Hope you enjoy your visit. They have a cleanup detail working on the carcasses right now, shouldn’t be more than a week or two to get the beaches cleaned up. Not sure where to get a Margarita though…
Yap, you still exploring? I finally found a trainer and made my way past that hard spot and to the Bar, a whole new area with new NPCs and missions. Slowly remembering the game, esp. all the failed missions. Returning to an area I had once been at a new mission appeared to save the fort so to speak. I managed to kill all the bandits and there was one stalker left, yelling for first aid, but I couldn’t find him. Finally saw a body floating 8 feet off the warehouse floor in midair. I healed him, turned around, a new bandit appeared and whacked him and I failed the mission as he was the last friendly left. NOW…I’m starting to remember this game…
Ever so slowly, with my Explorer (no npcs, no missions) mod I passed the garbage dump & explored the train station. While doing so I realized I’m playing your wished for invisibility mod!
Initially, the areas I explored I had already played for real so I knew what should of been happening (missions, npcs). Further afield in new territory, I’m learning the lay of the land before actually playing it filled with bandits & dogs.
Is there a keystroke for third person view? I so wanted to take a screenshot with me & my undernourished canine friends. Or me next to a docile people-faced dog mutant!