S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow Of Chernobyl Comments by Kristan Reed

Shhh don't tell them about Direct X 9!!!

Peej

2005 will be PC upgrade time I think.

TS gets down on his knees and prays?..

"please don't turn out like FarCry, please don't turn out like Farcry......"

I have very high hopes for this as a sort of FarCry done right. But hope is all I have at this stage since we haven't seen anything substantive on this one .... However there are a lot of things that cause me to be a little apprehensive about this .... even at this stage . . . . so I'll wait and see how it turns out and hope for the best in the mean time.

"However, I strongly suspect you won't forget this site in a hurry. "

Not with the amount of people posting it and reposting it we won't!

Peej

We have over eight different endings

So er, 9 then.

I'm really looking forward to this one, far more than HL2 or Doom 3 if I'm honest. Atmosphere and immersion is what I want in a game, and despite my anticipation for those two games, this one just pips them.

When I first heard about the game a year or two ago I realised that even though I remember the disaster vividly I never really knew much about it or the effect it had on peoples lives, so I've done a lot of reading up since then. It gives me chills just thinking about it, and I think the setting is going to give the game an extra dimension, an extra emotional hook and creepy atmosphere that not many games can pull off.

Of course GSC have added a sci-fi twist to the real historical background of the game, taking ideas from 'Roadside Picnic' and the film 'Stalker', but the background is still there.

Personally I think to argue that they're cashing in on the tragedy is pathetic. If anything a game like this will open peoples eyes to it, like it has mine. Knowing a lot more about the disaster now than I learned at the time has added another draw to this game for me, giving the whole environment in the game a creepy, tragic ambience.

please don't turn out like FarCry, please don't turn out like Farcry

So you don't want STALKER to turn out to be a 90%+ game recieving rave reviews from all quarters and being hailed as the best fps since Halflife ?

Kristan, one thing I really wondered is whether the skies actually animate - eg, moving clouds and the like, along the course of the day - or do they just fade from texture of clouds 1 to texture of clouds 2? That's what it seems like from the trailers I have. Of course, the former would be more impressive, but it seems like generating a fulfilling variety of such skies would tax the environment quite a bit... and it can hardly be dynamic clouds such as those used in GTA, right?

Hmm.

I must say though, the more screenies I see, the more I think my PC is going to need s serious overhaul in time for its release...

Peej

Thanks for that link, Realist. Entrancing stuff.

I didn't see the sky change, but I wasn't really looking tbh. We got kicked off the machines before we had a chance to appreciate subtleties.

errol wtf does reviewers know... far cry is annoyingly linear with such an engine...

stalker has that trespasser feeling...

Says you.

annoyingly linear?

heh, right.

stalker has that trespasser feeling...

Now wait, you think Far Cry is annoyingly linear, but Stalker will somehow be better because it reminds you of, of all games, Trespasser?

/slowly backs out of thread

;-)

Looks good.

But Far Cry was a little linear... not so much a bad thing, but when you render a huge landscape the least you expect is a little more diversity. It was a great, playable title, but it was still rough at the edges. Stalker is looking great, a lot more moody and atmospheric. So I'm kinda keen to see how this turns out...


Another title to see if my rig can cope.

far cry sucked, its one of the most boring linear, generic games with a few dx9 effects, nothing to get your knickers off for.

Hurrah for the jaded crew! Why do you guys even play games any more?

Also, re: STALKER...

'Cheap holiday in other people's miseryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!'

Peej: Don't worry about system specs.. I've played the leaked code on a 1.4 Athlon + GeForce 4200 Ti and it was smooth. Really looking forward to this - hope they've fixed the dodgy character animation though.

The leaked code was supposed to be pretty ancient so it's likely to be much improved now.

I can't see how GSC are trivialising the Chernobyl disaster, they're the nutters that actually visited the zone to get the feel right and they're Ukrainians too.

The plotline isn't saying the zone ended up like it is in the game just because of what happened in 1986 either.

There's a difference between setting a game in a real world location or using real world events to inform it, and wheeling out one of the people responsible for what is possibly the single biggest catastrophe in the history of mankind. I say props to the French journalistic for having the principles and the integrity to do what he did.

me hoping it turns out to be Gothic + Fallout

D.O.D.G.Y. F.O.R.C.E.D. A.C.R.O.N.Y.M.S. S.U.C.K.

Agree with deadlock. This is pretty pointlessly offensive. It could have been set in a fictional nuclear incident with no problems (and more artistic freedom) - it's not as if Chernobyl is a real franchise to cash in on, or that the game has anything to do with the real events anyway.

Can't wait for Escape The World Trade Centre Attack next year, and the new Resident Evil: Bhopal. I hear the Dunblane FPS is looking good too.

Idiots.

"Agree with deadlock. This is pretty pointlessly offensive"

What is more offensive - people who were actually affected by the tragedy using the defining moment in their recent history to prick the world's conscience, or the outpouring of mock indignation by disinterested people telling them that they should know better?

These people are at the centre of what happened and if anyone has the right to use the events at Chernobyl in this manner, it is them. I didn't see too much Chernobyl discussion prior to this game becoming publicised, so the Daily Mail style condemnations are a little one eyed and hypocritical.

Where was the outrage at Conflict Desert Storm, Black Hawk Down or for that matter Medal Of Honour? The biggest conflict in history is repeatedly used and presented in a less than sensitive manner so let's stop being so prissy about this game!!!!

"Idiots"

Wanker

:¬)

Angrydarren:

Where was the outrage at Conflict Desert Storm, Black Hawk Down or for that matter Medal Of Honour? The biggest conflict in history is repeatedly used and presented in a less than sensitive manner so let's stop being so prissy about this game!!!!

To be fair, I'm not entirely comfortable with the idea of using wars as a source of entertainment either, particularly ones that were as bloody as World War II - or as recent as either of the Gulf Wars. Especially when the presentation is skewed and the reasons for the conflicts are only touched upon, if they're even mentioned at all.

And I don't necessarily find the game itself offensive. But like I said previously, I don't agree with trivialising it by wheeling out one of the chief protagonists of the catastrophe and I think that saying that it's OK for GSC to do so, because they are Ukrainina as both simplistic and stupid. If I, as an Irish man, were to create a game based on the Omagh bombing and then roll out one of the bombers in my press events, people would cry foul, obviously.

If I, as an Irish man, were to create a game based on the Omagh bombing and then roll out one of the bombers in my press events, people would cry foul, obviously.

What happened in Chernobyl was an accident, whether it was due to poor design, negligence or anything else, it wasn't a deliberate act. If you don't see the difference I'm amazed.

It would have at least been nice if we knew who it was the GSC had brought in from Chernobyl and what he had to say. I'm sure he wasn't saying how marvelous it was that part of his homeland got turned into a rad-zone for hundreds of years.

I also think people should "go play barbies", whatever their opinions on stalker.

Being written by Ukranians doesn't stop it being a juvenile explotative waste of talent worthy of Running With Scissors. Could have been entirely fictional based (like, oh, Half Life), and lost nothing. Making a disaster into a license is just crass publicity seeking.

Whether the accident was deliberate or not is irrelevant; real people still died, and kids still got born with real deformaties. And you think it's funny to have a game based on going in and shooting the victims? Cute. And yep, I think the Iraq based games are pretty lame too.

A "stalker" in russian is not an english "stalker".
Oh. Silly me. Does "Shadows" mean something else in Russian as well? Maybe "Offensive to all victims" - that'd make the title make more sense.

And you think it's funny to have a game based on going in and shooting the victims?

What victims? Every human in the zone is another Stalker, there for their own reasons to make money or perform other goals. There aren't any radinfected civilians pleading for mercy in the game.

More shouts of moral outrage from people who know fuck all about the game then?

Or have they played the completed code and therefore know what they are talking about?

Listen, 3Williams56, without wanting to lurch too much into pretentiousness I think you'll find that almost all forms of media/art derive from great human tragedy. What is your opinion on Guernica? Schindlers Ark? (which before you get pedantic is the name of the book that Schindlers List was based on) Doctor Zhivago? Platoon? The Wall? All of which are based on war - a deliberate act I might add.
Chernobyl was an accident which the world has forgot. It's a sadly typical atttitude of us in the West - out of sight, out of mind, so please don't get so indignant. If you REALLY want to get your enormous morality bubbling check out what happened at Semipalatinsk ( http://www.isar.org/isar/archive/ST/Semipalatinsk.html ). In fact check out how utterly fucked up Kazakhstan is thanks to years of nuclear tests and the biological weapons facility at Vozrozhdeniye Island.
Meanwhile (and back on topic) I find the fact that you're basing your indignation on incorrect game information a big dent in your credibility.

Must say that I am quite looking forward to this one, sounds like it could be a good game to me

Whizzo:

What happened in Chernobyl was an accident, whether it was due to poor design, negligence or anything else, it wasn't a deliberate act. If you don't see the difference I'm amazed.

Of course I see the difference; but you're not seeing the point that I am making; you're focussing on the content, rather than the message. I wasn't comparing the tragedies, I was just making the point that arguing that it's OK for someone to publicise a game based on a real-life tragedy in a certain fashion purely because they come from the part of the world in which the tragedy occurred is facile and smacks of hand-wringing.

And again, I must make the point that I'm not against the game per se; I just think that some of the publicity and marketing surrounding it is a bit insensitive and trivialises the event somewhat. In a broader sense, I think that games set in real-world locations smack of a lack of imagination.

Incidentally, Chernobyl and its after effects receive plenty of coverage in this neck of the woods for two reasons:

a) the work of Adi Roche and Ali Hewson (wife of Paul 'Bono' Hewson) and their Chernobyl Childrens' Project charity and
b) the threat to Ireland's eastern seaboard that is posed by the vicinity of Sellafield.

Exactly what marketing are you referring to though? Other than screens and movies online I've not seen any advertising or tacky PR tricks that can be accused of exploiting the tragedy. Has anyone seen any ads for this game?
There are however plenty of ill-informed opinions claiming (incorrectly) that the game is based around killing chernobyl victims.

Angrydarren:

As if this needs any further clarification that actual, you know, written comprehension wouldn't provide... From the outset I have been saying that I am commenting specifically on the tacky PR stunt of wheeling out one of the technicians repsonsible for the disaster, at the press conference that Kristan attended. As I have said several times, I have no particular gripe with the game itself or its content, since no one really seems to know what it entails.

Edit: I've just read back over my last post and I'll concede that I shouldn't have said 'publicity and marketing' - I should simply have said 'publicity'.

Political Correctness gone mad, pictures at 11.

Peej

Whatever. There's a difference between 'political correctness' and being able to recognise tackiness when one sees it.

ZeTimbo:

Just for the illiterates at the front, here's my original post, in all its regurgitated glory:

There's a difference between setting a game in a real world location or using real world events to inform it, and wheeling out one of the people responsible for what is possibly the single biggest catastrophe in the history of mankind. I say props to the French journalistic for having the principles and the integrity to do what he did.

From the outset I have been saying that I am commenting specifically on the tacky PR stunt of wheeling out one of the technicians repsonsible for the disaster

So why did your first post contain this :-

'Cheap holiday in other people's miseryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!'

I see no comment on the PR.

We don't know who it was that was brought out, Kirstan's article isn't very specific, the people at the scene of the accident are all long dead.

For crying out loud it's a game set in the future, after a second incident at the Chernobyl site which is obviously fictional.

What happened at Chernobyl was a bad thing, people died or had their lives changed forever, no-one is trivialising it and making a game set in the future in the same place isn't either.

Better not play Medievel: Total War as that obviously trivialises the many thousands of deaths during the Crusades which of course still have echoes in today's events in the Middle East...

'Cheap holiday in other people's misery'

The opening salvo from the Sex Pistol's 'Holidays in the Sun', used here for sarcastic effect.

From the article (emphasis mine):

Stranger still, during the press conference to promote the much anticipated mutate 'em up S.T.A.L.K.E.R, they wheeled one of the men responsible for the tragedy.

Whizzo:

Better not play Medievel: Total War as that obviously trivialises the many thousands of deaths during the Crusades which of course still have echoes in today's events in the Middle East...

Look, I really don't see why you have such great difficulty understanding this - it's not like I'm speaking a different language, or using archaic words, or even just not expressing myself properly, but here goes, once more: I don't give a flying fuck about the game; I'm commenting solely on the fact that, to my mind, using one of the people who allegedly was responsible for possibly the single biggest tragedy in human history to promote a game based on that tragedy, is a little insensitive. And as far as I'm concerned, it removes any moral superiority that GSC could have claimed on account of their nationality.

But ultimately this is just my opinion, so, you know... whatever! It actually annoys me more that you're arguing with me over something completely different to what I'm actually talking about!

they wheeled one of the men responsible for the tragedy.

And I'm saying we have absolutely no idea who it was or how they were involved in the disaster. So condemning GSC for bringing someone who had some connection to Chernobyl without knowing who they are is stupid. Is that understandable enough?

Kristan, who was it that was brought out and what was their function at the plant?

I dunno, it still seems to me that the intention was to use someone who had some connection to the tragedy as a publicity ploy. And yes, I know, I keep saying that I don't really care and yet I can't stop posting! What can I say, I'm a sucker for pointless internet arguments!

Also, I forgot to mention that I haven't played Medieval: Total War, for exactly the reason that you specified.

I.T.'S. A. G.A.M.E.

You don't play Medieval because it trivialises crusades.... so I assume:

-you don't play Mario as it ridicularises plumbers
-You don't play anything in which you kill because it trivialises death
-And of course no Monkey Island because it doesn't represent correctly pirate culture...

At this point I'm just going to assume that I'm speaking an arcane dialect of English, because it seems to me that absolutely no one here seems to capable of recognising:

a) the fact that I am not talking about the game or its content. I have only ever referred to the PUBLICITY PLOY.

b) sarcasm when you see it. I don't play Medieval: Total War because I have absolutely no interest in playing it. Just to clarify, in case anyone didn't get that I was joking.

Perhaps you can explain, in simple terms for us semantically and linguistically challenged buffoons explain:

1) Who the person was that was wheeled out in front of the press.
2) What his job at Chernobyl exactly was.
3) What level of complicity he had in the disaster.

When you are so inclined to provide this level of information to us unwashed and ignorant proles then we can gladly bow down before you and your boundless wisdom.

However while you continue spouting conjecture and half truths and presenting them as facts, you will continue to receive opposing views from this board.

With the what now? What 'conjecture and half truths' am I misrepresenting as fact? I didn't claim that the person that GSC rolled out for the press conference was complicit in the accident at Chernobyl; they/he did and Kristan reported it as such. All that I have done is expressed an opinion based on the information to hand; nothing more. How that constitutes 'conjecture and half-truths' is totally beyond me. But, you know, whatever. Keep up the good work, you're a good dog, Whacker.

In the name of accuracy and all that, I'm finding out exactly who this fellow that was wheeled out was, and what role he played in the accident.

Hm, deadlock has raised an arguable point, but somehow the discussion got out of control. Shame on all of you!

:-)

This is a GAME! If you don't like the subject matter, DON'T PLAY IT!
It's like making a documentary on real events (World War II ect...)
Or not letting your kids watch a show thats adult material.

It's your choice to play or not to play. Your intitled to your opinion
but this is out of control. I've been ready these posts trying to find
opinions that refer to the actual GAME and not Politics.

Anyone have an opinion on what minimum system requirments will
be?