[jgwdoc]

I've been playing STALKER for a dozen or so hours, and it's kind of interesting as a game, but I'm having trouble with my moral compass. What is my purpose, actually? Am I just a mercenary trying to acquire goods and sell them for a profit, with an additional interest in settling a few old scores? Am I in any way able to make the Zone a better place or somehow cure it of its ills? What's the point of it all?

[QuantaCat]

There is a story to it all, maybe you just haven't played enough?

[Quicksilver]

I'm going to say it because nobody else has: "In Soviet Russia, game controls you!"

[jgwdoc]

I'm beginning to explore the outlines of the story, and I agree the Zone essentially dictates my actions. I guess my question is, why am I bothering to do all this? What's the greater good to be achieved?

[bobbob]

jgwdoc, on September 29th 2008, 02:41 PM, said:

why am I bothering to do all this?

You don't know who you are, you want to explore the Zone, and you seem to want to kill Strelok.

Quote

What's the greater good to be achieved?

'Greater good'? I guess some stalkers hope the Zone can be utilized for good, some think its risk can be contained or destroyed, and some try to make money and advance the global economy with synergistic market outcomes.

Quicksilver, on September 29th 2008, 01:12 PM, said:

I'm going to say it because nobody else has: "In Soviet Russia, game controls you!"

In the Ukraine, they have no clue who YOU are!

[teflon]

You need to find Strelok, or at least follow the trail that hes left for you, in order to progress in both game terms and also story.
The further you go in the story, the clearer the picture will become.

[jgwdoc]

teflon, on September 29th 2008, 05:12 PM, said:

You need to find Strelok, or at least follow the trail that hes left for you, in order to progress in both game terms and also story.
The further you go in the story, the clearer the picture will become.

Yup, that's pretty much the plan so far. Apparently, the plot is derived from a novel called "Roadside Picnic" by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, later (loosely) turned into a movie called Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky. Anybody read/seen either?

[Wumpus]

To answer your above query, I read the book which I highly enjoyed, and I skipped through the movie which was a bit odd and tedious, but interesting all the same. I'd recommend the book if you are at all interested in reading, but I don't think I'd suggest the film. Look it up at IMDB though, it might perk your interest.

By the way, Stalker rules Just keep playing.

[PeopleLikeFrank]

The book and film are both brilliant, but very different. In fact, the book, film and game are different stories entirely, the latter two based on elements inspired by the book.

The film doesn't concentrate at all on the life of the main character or setting outside of the Zone, which the book features, dealing a lot with scenes in the nearby town. The film is also typical of Tarkovsky's extremely long attention span, with very beautiful but very long-duration shots, and generally slow pace. If you've seen Solaris (the real one, not the Clooney remake), you'll know what that's like.

I very much recommend both, though the book is more accessible.

[jgwdoc]

Yes, at this point I'm sold. Took awhile to really get a feel for the thing, but now I'm hooked. Very atmospheric, some interesting gameplay elements, and the underlying plot is blossoming all around me. I'm definitely going to try the book, with the movie to follow if I can Netflix it.

[Rubel]

I also thought Tarkovsky's move Zerkalo was very beautiful and touching. I found the game for cheap, and I'm looking forward to exploring it!

[jgwdoc]

Just finished "Roadside Picnic," which was really good. Interesting reading it after playing the game, as I actually am more impressed with the game after reading the novella. They changed many important plot elements, but the game really managed to capture the feel of the Zone. Many of the anomalies are brought to life in a convincing manner, and little details from the story (like the bolts you throw to check out your path) pop up nicely in the game. Even the conversion of the Golden Ball to the Monolith is relatively successful. And the heavy drinking and bar room dealings of the novella are realized quite nicely in the game. I'll definitely get the movie now, just to see what that interpretation is like.

[Sneaky Snake]

Thumbs up or down for this game, I watched and read a few reviews. Looks great, very open ended, which is the main draw for me. The only downside is that I hear that there is quite a few major bugs that needed to be fixed. Have they been fixed? or is still quite buggy?

[jgwdoc]

Sneaky Snake, on February 25th 2009, 07:49 PM, said:

Thumbs up or down for this game, I watched and read a few reviews. Looks great, very open ended, which is the main draw for me. The only downside is that I hear that there is quite a few major bugs that needed to be fixed. Have they been fixed? or is still quite buggy?

I did not find it buggy at all (one patch downloaded). It crashed maybe twice, and I once managed to wander off the edge of the world and wander around without being able to get back to the active areas. That was solved by just loading the last save game. I ran it under Vista-64, with really no complaints.

[bobbob]

Sneaky Snake, on February 25th 2009, 08:49 PM, said:

Have they been fixed? or is still quite buggy?

Just download a mod that fixes most of it.

[Wumpus]

Sneaky Snake, on February 25th 2009, 07:49 PM, said:

Thumbs up or down for this game, I watched and read a few reviews. Looks great, very open ended, which is the main draw for me. The only downside is that I hear that there is quite a few major bugs that needed to be fixed. Have they been fixed? or is still quite buggy?

If you download and use the latest patch, it has very few bugs. The original release was quite buggy, but now its good.

http://stalker.filefront.com/ is a great source.

[clocknova]

As an added bonus, the game runs great in Crossover Games, so no need to boot into Windows (although you do miss out on some of the better lighting effects).

[jgwdoc]

For those interested, STALKER: Clear Sky is an excellent addition (prequel). With one patch downloaded, it has run flawlessly for me, and it is both very involving and quite challenging.